There is nothing like faith to help at a pinch; faith dissolves doubts, as the sun drives away the mists.  And that you may not be put out, know your time of believing is always.  There are times when some graces may be out of use; but there is no time wherein faith can be said to be so.  Faith is the eye, the mouth, the hand, and one of these is of use all day long.  Faith is to see, to receive, to work, or to eat; and a Christian should be seeing, or receiving, or working, or feeding, all day long.  Let it rain, let it blow, let it thunder, let it lighten, a Christian must still believe.

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked:”  to quench them, though they come from him as kindled with the very fire of hell.  None knows, save he that feels it, how burning hot the fiery darts of Satan are; and how, when darted, they kindle upon our flesh and unbelief; neither can any know the power and worth of faith to quench them, but he that hath it and hath power to act it.

There are three things in faith, that directly tend to make a man depart from iniquity.

1.  It apprehendeth the truth of the being and great ness of God, and so it aweth the spirit of a man.

2.  It apprehendeth the love of this God in Christ, and so it conquereth and overcometh the spirit of a man.

3.  It apprehendeth the sweetness and blessedness of the nature of the godhead, and thence persuadeth the soul to desire here communion with him, that it may be holy, and the enjoyment of him when this world is ended, that it may be happy in and by him for ever.

There is a man sows his field with wheat, but as he sows, some is covered with great clods:  now, that grows as well as the rest, though it runs not upright as yet; it grows, and yet is kept down.  So do thy desires—­when one shall remove the clod, the blade will soon point upward I know thy mind; that which keeps thee that thou canst not yet arrive to this, to desire to depart and to be with Christ, is because some strong douht or clod of unbelief as to thy eternal welfare lies hard upon thy desiring spirit.  Now let but Jesus Christ remove this clod, and thy desires will quickly start up to be gone.

Upon the swallow.

This pretty bird, O how she flies and sings!  But could she do so if she had not wings?  Her wings bespeak my faith, her songs my peace.  When I believe and sing, my doubtings cease.

Trust.

Why, this is the case, thou art bound for heaven, but the way thither is dangerous.  It is beset everywhere with evil angels, who would rob thee of thy soul.  What now?  Why, if thou wouldst go cheerfully on in thy dangerous journey, commit thy treasure, thy soul, to God to keep.  And then thou mayest say with comfort, “Well, that care is over.  For whatever I meet with in my way thither, my soul is safe enough; the thieves, if they meet me, cannot come at that; I know to whom I have committed my soul, and I am persuaded that he will keep that to my joy and everlasting comfort against the great day.”