IT resteth that I show you some Means, whereby a Man may so improve his Time, that at last he may obtain this blessed Estate of being glad in the Lord. The Means are four. But before I begin with them, you must first know that we may use the Means, and yet ⟨p. 77⟩find no Means under Heaven to do it, except God strike the Stroke. You must therefore wait upon GOD, and the SPIRIT of GOD in the Use of the Means for this Matter, by believing rightly to your Assurance. For, so the Text saith, Phil. 1.19. To you it is given to believe: It must be given therefore: And Faith is the free Gift of God, Eph. 2.8. It is GOD then that must do it; who yet will not do it without us, being reasonable Men and Women in the Power of Willing. Again, The LORD affords us Means; yet not to use them, and give HIM the slip. And here it is a good Saying; Let the LORD do what he will, and let us do what we should. We must not think when we have the Means, that we can get Faith presently: For, as Paul saith, Eph. 1.10. The same Power that raised up Jesus from the Dead, must make us able to believe; or else all the Angels in Heaven, and all the Ministers on Earth, and all the Help that Men and Means can give us, will do us no Good.
IT resteth that I shew you some Means, whereby a Man may so improve his Time, that at last he may obtain this blessed Estate of being glad in the Lord. The Means are four. But before I begin with them, you must first know that we may use the Means, and yet ⟨p. 77⟩find no Means under Heaven to do it, except God strike the Stroke. You must therefore wait upon GOD, and the SPIRIT of GOD in the Use of the Means for this Matter, by believing rightly to your Assurance. For, so the Text saith, Phil. 1.19. To you it is given to believe: It must be given therefore: And Faith is the free Gift of God, Eph. 2.8. It is GOD then that must do it; who yet will not do it without us, being reasonable Men and Women in the Power of Willing. Again, The LORD affords us Means; yet not to use them, and give HIM the slip. And here it is a good Saying; Let the LORD do what he will, and let us do what we should. We must not think when we have the Means, that we can get Faith presently: For, as Paul saith, Eph. 1.10. The same Power that raised up Jesus from the Dead, must make us able to believe; or else all the Angels in Heaven, and all the Ministers on Earth, and all the Help that Men and Means can give us, will do us no Good.
