but he hath entered into covenant with us, founded upon full satisfaction by the blood of Jesus, and confirmed it with an oath, Heb. vi. 17. and to this covenant, sealed by the blood of his son, he hath added the seals of the sacraments; and all this, that the heirs of the promises, namely, all true believers might have strong consolation, and be cured of all their heart-troubles.

Upon this sure foundation then must our faith act in an holy confidence in God, and in Christ the soul being taken off from all other objects, carried, out of self, unto God and Christ; who presently (as soon as trusted in) communicate themselves, and their love, and goodness to the soul, filling it with peace, strength, and settlement. By this trusting in God, we honour God most, and best provide for our own safety.

The way then, whereby faith quieteth the soul, and cures it of its troubles, is, by raising it above all disquietments, and pitching it, solely upon God in Christ; and thereby uniting it to God in Christ; from whence it draws virtue and strength, to subdue whatever troubleth its peace. For the soul is made for God, and never finds rest, till it return unto, and settle and center itself upon him again. And that we may thus place our confidence in God and Christ for all supplies, we must most earnestly beg, cry, and seek to God for grace and strength so to do; we must trust in God alone, for all things, and at all times: and thus by appropriating God to us; and Christ to us, and placing our confidence in them, we may be cured of all our heart-troubles.

First, if faith acted upon God in Christ be such a remedy against heart-trouble; then surely, faith is a very precious, a very excellent thing; a grace of very great worth and value, and of great use and efficacy: It is precious faith indeed, the very trial of it is more precious than gold, 1. Pet. i. 7. Precious for its author, the Lord Jesus; for its object, precious Jesus, and all the exceeding great and precious promises, the purchased inheritance for its offices, it unites us to Christ, gives us title to eternal life; it supports under all afflictions prevents or cures all heart-troubles; and precious for its end, which is the salvation of our souls, Eph. iii. 17. Heb. i. 39. 1 Pet. i. 9.

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This grace of faith is of a transforming, spiritual nature; and the soul of a believer, by acting it on God and Christ, and on divine, heavenly and spiritual things, becomes divine, heavenly and spiritual. Faith unfasteneth the heart from the creature, shewing the soul the vanity of it, and carries the soul unto God and Christ, shewing it God's all-sufficiency, and Christ's, allfulness; for faith believes, what God in his word hath revealed of both. It is the great design of God in all the troubles he sends upon his people, effectually to teach them the exceeding vanity of the creature, to imbitter the things of this world to them, to wean their hearts from them, to bring earthly things out of request with them, to make them see, that there is no true coutentment, nor solid satisfaction for the soul to be found in them, and to make them see where true happiness and contentment is to be had even in God and in Christ alone, for whom their souls were created, redeemed, and sanctified, Now the great work of faith is, to take

off the soul from the creature, and fix and settle it upon God and Christ the true foundation. Naturally our hearts hang loose from God, and cleave to the creature, and when the creature fails, our hearts are troubled; but faith takes off the heart from the creature, and settles it upon God in Christ, where it finds rest; and this is the great service it doth us. All the great and famous things which those worthies did, and all the hard and heavy things they suffered, mentioned in Heb. 11. were all done and suffered by the power of faith, ver. 37, &c. The settling of our hearts upon God in Christ; trusting all there, is the best means to cure our heart-trouble ; and thus faith doth, and therefore it is precious.

Secondly. It follows from the premisses, that the want of faith in God, and in Christ, is the great cause of all our heart-troubles, despondencies and disquietness. Could we but act our faith strongly on God and Christ, as our God in Christ, our troubles would be prevented or cured: For by faith the soul looks up to God in Christ, through the promises, looking off from all other supports, unto God for all supplies, for the removing of all evil felt or feared, and for the obtaining of all good promise and needed; and by this exercise of faith, the soul is raised up above all discouragements and disquietments: but where this faith is wanting, or the lively exercise of it suspended, there the soul sinks under heart-troubles. But of this somewhat was said before.

Thirdly. Hence also we may clearly see the absolute necessity of getting faith in God, and in Christ; and of acting it, and living by it : there is no living quietly and comfortably with

out it, no standing under our burdens, no bearing with patience and cheerfulness our losses and crosses without this faith; no joy and peace, but by believing; by faith we stand.

Fourthly. Then the things of the world are not to be trusted to, nor trusted in, for comfort in time of trouble. Nothing but God and Christ to be trusted in, and trusted to, and there is enough in them to support and comfort us, as hath been shewed: but no confidence to be put in the creature; there is a curse upon such confidence, but a blessing on them that trust in God: No trusting in friends, riches, gifts, or any thing; for so to do, is idolatry, to give that to the creature, which is due to God alone.

Fifthly. Hence we see the reason why so many faint in the day of adversity, and sin under trouble; and others use unlawful means to prevent trouble, or to get out of it: It is, because they want this faith in God and Christ; and for want of it, too many miscarry under affliction.

The second use is, by way of of exhortation to all the disciples of Christ, in the word of the text; Let not your hearts be troubled, but believe in God, and believe in Christ: You must get and act faith in God and Christ, this is the only preventive, the only remedy against heart-trouble. Our Lord in this text commands it, and commends it: we must needs get faith above all gettings; next to Christ, we must get faith, for we cannot have Christ without faith: Go to. God for it, it is his work, his gift, yea, it is his operation; yea, the same power that raised up Jesus from the dead, must be put forth upon a

soul to work faith, Eph. i. 19, 20. The exceeding great and mighty working of the power of God, to raise up the soul to God and Christ, and to enable it to lay hold on God and Christ: for such is our natural proneness to live by sense and carnal reason; and such is the most transcendent excellency of God and Christ, and of divine things, which faith looks unto; and so great an inclination we have to self-sufficiency, and so much rooted in self-love, and inordinate love of the creature, and so hard to take off the soul from false bottoms; and because we are such strangers to God naturally; and because there is so much guilt of sin still remaining on us, by our renewed provocations, that we are afraid to entertain serious thoughts of God: and because of that infinite distance between God and us, we can never come to believe in him, and rely upon him, until our hearts be renewed by the power of grace, and this divine grace of faith infused into them: Therefore must we go to God and Christ, and put up strong cries and prayers to God to work faith in us, and never give over, until it be wrought

in us.

And having got faith, we must act and exercise it upon God in Christ; upon God, I say, He only is the object of faith, and is worthy of it; for a man can be in no condition, in which God is at a loss, and cannot help him: If comforts and means of deliverance be wanting, God can create comforts, and command deliverance, Isa. lvii. 19. He can bring light out of darkness, to him all things are possible.

1. Then, faith assents to, and is persuaded that there is a God, the infinite first, and best