ing
him for thine and embracing him in thy soul? Now I say, if that time which
is spent about such unprofitable debates, were spent in solid and serious
endeavours about the thing in debate, it would quickly be out of debate.
If you were more in the obedience to those commands, than in the dispute
whether you have obeyed or not, you would sooner come to satisfaction in
it. This I say the rather, because the weightier and principal parts of
the gospel are those direct acts of faith and love to Jesus Christ, both
these are the outgoings of the soul to him. Now again examination of our
faith and assurance are but secondary and consequent reflections upon
ourselves, and are the soul returning in again to itself, to find what is
within. Therefore, I say, a Christian is principally called to the first,
and always called. It is the chief duty of man, which, for no evidence, no
doubting, no questioning, should be left undone. If ye be in any
hesitation whether you are believers or not, I am sure the chiefest thing,
and most concerning, is, rather to believe than to know it. It is a
Christian's being to believe, it is indeed his comfort and well being to
know it, but if you do not know it, then by all means so much the more set
about it presently. Let the soul consider Christ and the precious
promises, and lay its weight upon him; this you ought to do, and not to
leave the other undone.

Secondly, I say to such souls, that it is the mistake of the very nature
of faith that leads them to such perplexities, and causeth such
inevidence. It is not so much the inevidence of marks and fruits that
makes them doubt, as the misapprehension of the thing itself, for as long
as they mistake it in its own nature, no sign, no mark, can satisfy in it.
You take faith to be a persuasion of God's love that calms and quiets the
mind. Now, such a persuasion needs no signs to know it by, it is manifest
by its own presence, as light by its own brightness. It were a foolish
question to ask any, how they knew that they were persuaded of another's
affection? The very persuasion maketh itself more certain to the soul than
any token. So then, while you question whether you have faith or not, and
in the mean time take faith to be nothing else but such a persuasion, it
is in vain to bring any marks or signs to convince you that you have
faith, for if such a persuasion and assurance were in you, it would be
more powerful to assure your hearts of itself than a