Direction 5

But now if former signs remembered bring no comfort, but the waves that come over your soul prove so deep that you can find no bottom to cast anchor on, the storm and stress so great that no cable will hold but they snap all asunder — as is often the case with many a poor soul —

Then fifth, take and put into practice this fifth direction: renew your faith and repentance. Set your heart to work to believe and repent afresh as if you had never yet begun. Leave off and cease for a while to reason about the goodness of your former faith and repentance, and set upon the work of believing and repenting anew. Spend not all the time casting out anchors but fall to pumping. Say: 'Well, suppose I have not hitherto been in the state of grace, yet I am not incapable of it for time to come; I may obtain grace yet. Suppose my faith and repentance has not been true until now; I will therefore now begin to endeavor after such as is true.' And to that end, make use of whatever flaws the devil finds in either to direct you what to mend and rectify for time to come. Begin to make up the breaches and unsoundness that is discovered; endeavor to supply all those wants he objects to be in either, to mend all the holes he picks. Say: 'Lord, I cast myself upon your mercies afresh. I desire now to make my heart perfect with you for time to come — to part with every sin, to submit to every duty, to curse every selfish motive to hell, and to set up God and Christ as my mark, pole-star, and aim in all.' And when you have done this, let the devil say his worst. Of all the former directions I commend this to you as a special means to dissolve and put these temptations about assurance to an end. I set a 'proven remedy' stamp on it — take it, practice it; it is a tried one. It is that which in the end the church in desertion comes to in Lamentations 3:40: 'Come, let us try our ways and turn to the Lord' — that is the last way and course she takes. Now when the water is at its lowest and the tide of assurance has ebbed, build up your banks as you do at low water. Now when nothing but hypocrisy, unbelief, and falseness of heart appear to be in your heart, groan, sigh, and endeavor after the contrary sincerity, and let Satan say his worst.

But know that though this is to be done and not to be neglected, and is often found comforting — and therefore in the former direction I exhorted to it — yet you are not only to take that course, nor to look back so much to your former faith and repentance as to forget to practice new. Begin to practice new acts of faith and repentance; this is the rightest way, the shortest cut, and requires as little labor. You may with as little effort get a new lease renewed as prove the old one good. It will require many terms to examine all your evidences again and again, which perhaps are blotted and blurred. You may cut the knot and dissolve the temptations sooner by new faith than untie it by reasoning and disputing. And the truth is, in the end you must come to this, for God's great end in deserting is to put you upon renewing your faith and repentance. 'Unless you are converted' — as Christ says to his apostles — converted as it were anew. He will not deliver you from the dungeon until you enter into new bonds and bail for your good behavior. Therefore begin to do it soon. And whereas you think that by this you might prejudice your former title, that is not my meaning — as if you should utterly give up your old faith and repentance as counterfeit. 'I will keep my integrity,' says Job. Only my advice is to forbear and cease pleading of it for a time, and to begin to renew it rather. And then the comfort of your old repentance will come in. As the apostle says of the law, so I say of your former title: it is not destroyed but established rather by this. And as Christ says in John 7:17, 'If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it is of God' — so often the best way to know the truth is not to spend all the time disputing about it but to practice it, which puts an end to controversies in men's hearts. So say I: to know the truth of, and so to come to have the comfort of, former grace, is to add to these reasonings about it the practice of believing and repenting anew. This baffles the devil exceedingly and gets the advantage of him. For by this the case is removed, all his old pleas dashed, and he is put upon a new reply, the war is diverted. Indeed it stops him, for what can he say to it? He must now prove you are incapable of grace, that you shall never repent — which all the world and devils in hell cannot prove. And yet if in this case he tells you (as usually he does) that all will be in vain for time to come as it has been for time past:

But if recalling former signs brings no comfort — if the waves rolling over your soul are so deep you can find no bottom to drop anchor on, and the storm so severe that every cable snaps — as is often the case with many a poor soul —

Then fifth, take this fifth direction and put it into practice: renew your faith and repentance. Set your heart to the work of believing and repenting afresh, as if you had never yet begun. Stop reasoning for a time about the quality of your former faith and repentance, and instead get to work believing and repenting anew. Stop spending all your time throwing out anchors; start pumping out the water. Say: 'Well — suppose I have not yet been in a state of grace; that does not mean I am incapable of it going forward. Suppose my faith and repentance have not been genuine until now; I will therefore now begin to pursue what is genuine.' And to that end, use whatever flaws the devil points out in your past faith and repentance as a guide for what to correct and improve going forward. Begin to address the weaknesses and gaps that have been exposed; work to supply everything he charges is lacking in either, and mend every hole he picks. Say: 'Lord, I cast myself on Your mercies afresh. I want now to walk uprightly before You going forward — to let go of every sin, to submit to every duty, to reject every selfish motive, and to set God and Christ as my aim and north star in everything.' And having done this, let the devil say his worst. Of all the directions I have given, I commend this one as a particularly effective remedy for dissolving temptations about assurance. I stamp it as proven — take it, practice it; it has been tested. It is the course the church in desertion finally comes to in Lamentations 3:40: 'Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the Lord' — that is the last and best course she takes. When the water is at its lowest and the tide of assurance has run out, build up your banks as you would at low tide. When nothing but hypocrisy, unbelief, and insincerity appear to be in your heart, groan, reach, and strive after genuine sincerity — and let Satan say his worst.

But know that while this must be done and must not be neglected — and is often found to be a source of comfort, which is why I urged it in the previous direction — you are not to take only that course, and you must not look back to your former faith and repentance so much that you neglect practicing new faith and repentance. Begin to practice new acts of faith and repentance; this is the most direct route, the shortest path, and requires no more effort. It takes as little effort to obtain a new lease as to prove an old one valid. It would take many attempts to examine all your old evidences again and again — and they may be faded and blurred. You can cut the knot and end the temptations sooner through new faith than untie it by reasoning and arguing. And in truth, you must come to this in the end, because God's chief purpose in desertion is to drive you to renew your faith and repentance. 'Unless you are converted' — as Christ says even to His apostles — converted as if for the first time. He will not release you from the dungeon until you enter into new commitment and pledge renewed faithfulness. So begin to do it now. And as for the concern that doing this might undermine your former claim — that is not what I mean; I am not saying you should abandon your old faith and repentance as counterfeit. 'I will not abandon my integrity,' as Job says. My counsel is simply to stop insisting on it for a time and instead focus on renewing it. Then the comfort from your old repentance will return. As the apostle says of the law, so I say of your former claim: it is not abolished but confirmed by this. And as Christ says in John 7:17, 'If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching whether it is of God' — so often the best way to know something is true is not to spend all your time debating it but to practice it, which settles controversies within a person's heart. So I say: to know the genuineness of, and therefore to find comfort in, former grace, add to your reasoning about it the practice of believing and repenting anew. This thoroughly outwits the devil and gains the advantage over him. By it the whole case is shifted, all his old arguments are overthrown, and he is forced onto new ground — the battle is moved elsewhere. Indeed it stops him entirely, for what can he say to it? He must now prove you are incapable of grace, that you will never repent — which all the world and every devil in hell cannot prove. And if in this situation he tells you (as he usually does) that everything going forward will be as futile as everything in the past has been: