is
it for Satan--such an ingenious and experimented spirit--assisted with the
help of our deceitful hearts, to cast such a mist over the eyes of hearts,
and make them believe any thing! How easily may he hide our misery from
us, and make us believe it is well with us! And thus multitudes of souls
perish in the very opinion of salvation. That very thing which they call
faith,--that strong ungrounded persuasion,--is no other thing than the
unbelief of the heart, unbelief, I mean, of the holy law, of divine
justice, and the wrath to come, for if these once entered into the soul's
consideration, they would certainly cast down that stronghold of vain
confidence that Satan keeps all the house in peace by. Now this secure and
presumptuous despising of all threatenings and all convictions, is
varnished over to the poor soul with the colour and appearance of faith in
the gospel. They think, to believe in Christ is nothing else but never to
be afraid of hell, whereas it is nothing else but a soul fleeing into
Christ for fear of hell, and fleeing from the wrath to come to the city of
refuge.

Now again, there are some other souls quite contrary minded, that run upon
another extremity. They once question whether they have faith, and always
question it. You shall find them always out of one doubt into another, and
still returning upon these debates, Whether am I in Christ, or not? And
often peremptorily concluding that they are not in him, and that they
believe not in him. I must confess, that a soul must once question the
matter, or they shall never be certain. Nay, a soul must once conclude
that it is void of God, and without Christ; but having discovered that, I
see no more use and fruit of your frequent debates and janglings about
interest. I would say then unto such souls, that if you now question it,
it is indeed the very time to put it out of question. And how? Not by
framing or seeking answers to your objections,--not by searching into
thyself to find some thing to prove it,--not by mere disputing about it,
for when shall these have an end? But simply and plainly by setting about
that which is questioned. Are you in doubt if you be believers? How shall
it be resolved then but by believing indeed? It is now the very time that
thou art called to make application of thy soul to Christ, if thou
thinkest thou cannot make application of Christ to thy soul. If thou
cannot know if he be thine, then how shalt thou know it but by choos