Acting Our Faith On The Almighty Power of God - Faith and Obedience Continued...

The Christian's comfort increaseth or wanes, as 2- the aspect of his faith is to the power of God.  Let the soul question that, or his interest in it, and his joy gusheth out, even as blood out of a broken vein.  It is true, a soul may scramble to heaven with much ado, by a faith of recumbency, relying on God as able to save, without this persuasion of its interest in God; but such a soul goes with a scant side-wind, or like a ship whose masts are laid by the board, exposed to wind and weather, if others better appointed did not tow it along with them.  Many fears like waves ever and anon [so] cover such a soul, that it is more under water than above; whereas one that sees itself folded in the arms of almighty power, O how such a soul goes mounting afore the wind, with her sails filled with joy and peace!  Let affliction come, storms arise, this blessed soul knows where it shall land and be welcome.  The name of God is his harbor, where he puts in as boldly, as a man steps into his own house, when taken in a shower.  He hears God calling him into this, and other his attributes, as chambers taken up for him.  ‘Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers,’ Isa. 26:20.  God calls them his, and it were foolish modesty not to own what God gives.  ‘Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength,’ Isa. 45:24; that is, I have righteousness in God’s righteousness, strength in his strength, so that in this respect Christ can no more say that his strength is his own, and not the believer's, than the husband can say, My body is my own and not my wife's.  A soul persuaded of this may sing merrily with the sharpest thorn at his breast; so David, ‘My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise,’ Ps. 57:7.  What makes him so merry in so sad a place as the cave where now he was? he will tell you ver. 1, where you have him nestling himself under the shadow of God's wings, and now well may he sing care and fear away.  A soul thus provided may lie at ease on a hard bed.  Do you not think they sleep as soundly who dwell on London-bridge, as they who live at Whitehall or Cheapside, knowing that the waves that roar under them cannot hurt them? even so may the saints rest quietly over the floods of death itself, and fear no ill.