impossible and therefore in that we are commanded and bound to do it it is clear that it is possible and may be made sure Secondly Because it is the office of the Spirit of Jesus Christ to work this particular assurance in the hearts of those that are effectually called that they are in the state of grace and shall be brought to glory 1 Cor. 2.12 We have received not the spirit of this world but the Spirit which is of God that we might know the things that are freely given us of God 1 John 5.10 He that believeth he hath a witnesse in himselfe a witnesse to his own soul that he doth believe Eph. 1.13 14. There the Spirit is called a Seal you are sealed by the Spirit of Promise and verse 14. It is called the earnest of our inheritance Now a seal and earnest is to give more assurance to a Promise and here the Spirit of God is given to Believers as a Seal and earnest-Penny that as they have the first fruits in grace they shall have their harvest in glory 1 John 4.13 Hereby we know we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us his Spirit It is the office of the Spirit of Jesus Christ to assure our hearts in this particular Rom. 8.16 The Spirit it self beareth witnes with our spirits that we are the children of God Thirdly Particular servants of God in Scripture that have been partakers of this mercy they have had this firm assurance of their effectual calling I shall instance in three First in Paul and the Scripture tells us of him that he had a clear evidence of his effectual calling Gal. 2.20 I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me who loved me and gave himself for me There he had a particular assurance that Christ loved him and gave himself for him So 2 Tim. 1.12 I know whom I have believed and I am perswaded also that what I have committed to him he will keep till the last day So 2 Tim. 4.8 I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith henceforth there is a Crown laid up for me Nay not onely Paul but Job also Job 19.25 I know that my Redeemer liveth and I shall stand up before him at the last day he knew Jesus Christ was his Redeemer And so David also saith Thou art my God and I will praise thee Psal 118.28 and Psal 23.6 Surely the goodnesse and merey of God shall follow me all the dayes of my life So that put these together God commands it it is the spirits office to work assurance in the heart and particular servants of God have had this assurance therefore why may it not be obtained But if you say these were not ordinary servants of God these were servants of a higher rank and form but may ordinary weak Christians know this also Yes Therefore Fourthly Not only particular Saints have had this but the people of God in General they have declared in Scripture that they have injoyed this particular assurance of their effectual Calling and safety of their condition by Christ Instance in a few Isa 63.16 Doubtlesse thou art our Father They made no doubt of it they were so perswaded they feared it not Isa 45.24 Surely shall one say In the Lord have I righteousnesse and strength Surely a word of confidence they were assured they had righteousnesse for their justification in Christ Jesus So 2 Cor. 5.1 We know that if our earthly Tabernacle be dissolved we have a building of God eternal in the heavens They knew that when they died they should see God in heaven not only Paul but other godly Christians with him So Heb. 10.34 You know in your selves that God hath provided for you a better and more induring substance They were assured within themselves that when they should die or lose their estates here God had provided for them a more enduring substance So 1 John 3.19 Hereby we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before God So verse 14. We know we are translated from death to life c. So that what can be more clearly proved then this that this assurance is to be attained in this life because God commands it it is the spirits office to work it particular Christians have had it and the people of God in general they have enjoyed and profest this Temper Vse Is it so then that assurance is attainable in this life Then how much to blame are our adversaries the Papists who hold their followers in suspense that they must live without the assurance of their own estate that their soules must hang in feares and doubts all their dayes that the most they can have is only a conjecture oh into what a gulph of discomforts do they plunge them Beloved the Lord in the Book of Deuteronomy chap. 29. did pronounce it as a curse that their lives should hang in suspense it 's a greater curse that mens souls should hang in suspense that men shall not know whether they shall be saved or damned it 's a hell on this side hell and therefore they are much to be blamed that hold their followers in hand with a peradventure they shall be saved peradventure not when the Scripture is so clear in this thing Secondly Let not the thoughts either of the impossibility or the difficulty of attaining this assurance discourage you from looking after it It is not impossible though it is difficult indeed and the difficulty should be so farre from discouraging you that it should quicken your endeavours to make your calling and election sure Thirdly Seeing assurance is attainable in this life inquire into the cause why you who are effectually called have not attained this assurance before now And this puts me upon handling of the second case of conscience seeing this assurance is attainable Therefore Answ Secondly what is the reason that many Christians who are called effectually by Jesus Christ do live in many doubts and feares about their effectual calling Doubt In answer to this I shall lay down these three particulars that the doubts that do arise in Christians about their calling they flow from this threefold fountain Either first from some seeming defect they apprehend in the manner of their calling Or Secondly some seeming defect they apprehend to be in the meanes of their calling Or else Thirdly some seeming defects they apprehend in the effects of their calling and these three grounds are the rise from whence many Christians effectually called do doubt of their call and are not assured of it First It doth arise from some seeming defect they apprehend to be in the manner of their calling They say I am not called in such a manner as I see others are As thus Think they I see other men when they are converted that their humiliations are great I see that they have horror of conscience that they are wrought upon by the terrors of the law
by good works to make your calling sure whether it be so or no I cannot affirm but this I am sure of and the context will clearly prove it that the way to make your calling sure is to adde grace to grace For after the Apostle had spoken of adding grace to grace he comes in with this Give diligence to make your calling sure Implying that the more you live in the Actings of grace the more you shall live in the enjoyment of comforts Esa 32.17 The works of righteousnesse shall be peace Not the habit but the work if you act righteousness and live in the workings and thrivings in grace this shall be peace and the effect of it quietnesse and assurance for ever So John 16.24 The more you pray the more you increase your joy So that the more you live in the improvement of grace the more likely way you are into get assurance Sixthly If you would get assurance spend more time in strengthening your evidences for heaven then in questioning of them It is the great fault of many Christians they will spend much time in questioning and not in strengthening their comforts They will reason themselves into unbeliefe and say Lord why should I believe why should I take hold of a promise that am so unholy and so unmortified a creature And so by this they reason themselves to such a passe that they dare not lay hold upon Christ whereas it should be your work to reason your selves into Christ as much as you can Labour to strengthen your comforts and reason thus Why should I not believe in Christ Thus David did Psal 42. Why art thou troubled O my soul and why art thou cast down within me Is not the mercy of God more then sin in the creature Is not there free grace where there is guilt Are not there pardoning mercies where condemnation is deserved you should reason up your comforts rather then reason them down and spend more time in strengthening then in questioning of them You would count him a very unwise man that hath a Lease of so much land and he himselfe shall create scruples and doubts and shall use no means to make his title good And truly many Christians are as unwise for heaven They have as I may say good bond and seal that God will bring them to heaven and yet they will question and cavill themselves into unbeliefe Beloved this should not be but you ought rather to strengthen your comforts then question them Seventhly Be diligent in the earnest study of the Covenant of grace Beloved all a Christians doubts arise from ignorance of the Covenant of grace And here that I may speak a little to it I beseech you follow me study the Covenant of grace which if you do you shall discern five particular props in it to bear up your hearts against discomforts and to strengthen you in a way of assurance touching your effectual call First the Covenant of works it commands perfect obedience upon pain of damnation but the Covenant of grace doth command and accept of imperfect obedience if it be sincere there 's your first prop. Secondly the Covenant of works is not contented with good desires unlesse there be good deeds the Covenant of grace accepts the good will and good desires when the deed is wanting and is content with the will for the deed Thirdly the Covenant of works doth require that you should obey the will of God perfectly in your own person the Covenant of grace requires onely that you obey in the person of Christ so Christ obeyes for you it is accepted though you do not Fourthly the Covenant of works requires you to obey the whole will of God by your own strength the Covenant of grace accepts of it though not our own strength but the strength of Christ be put forth in doing any spiritual action Fifthly the Covenant of works requires the performance of the condition before it gives the Promise As Do this and live you cannot live saith the Covenant of works without you do this but the Covenant of grace it first tenders the Promise and then requires the condition Bids you first take Christ and first Believe and then shew forth the effects of faith First lay hold upon the promise and then hold forth and practise the condition of that Promise First believe and first take Christ though thou art unworthy and art a wretched creature if after taking of him thou wilt be consciencious to practise those obligations this lies upon thee and I will accept thee Now would you lay these to your heart to study that vast difference between the Covenant of works and the Covenant of grace doubtlesse these would be great props for your inward comforts 2 PET. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren Give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure THE point of Doctrine I am yet upon in the prosecution of these words is this That Christians ought to put forth a great deale of diligence to make this sure to their soules that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ to grace and glory In the handling of which I have gone over many particulars and resolved several cases of conscience I have yet two cases more to resolve and then shall winde up all in a general use Therefore Fourthly When or at what time doth God fill the soules of his people most with this assurance of their effectual calling And then Fifthly Wherein lies the difference between that assurance a godly man hath of his effectuall calling and those presumptuous perswasions that wicked men have that they are called effectually when they are not First when or at what time doth God give to his people most and strongest assurance of their effectual calling And here in answer to this I shall comprize all I have to say under four heads that in four cases or times God doth usually give to his people most strong assurance First After the Lord hath greatly humbled the hearts of his people and broken them for sinne then doth he usually give in most assurance of a mans effectual calling and of the happinesse of his future condition When you can say as David did Psal 38.3 There is no rest in my bones by reason of my sinne When you can say as the Psalmist doth Psal 51.8 Let the bones which thou hast broken rejoyce Then is the time for God to make you break forth with joy when he hath broken your hearts with sorrow God had broken Davids heart under the sense of that uncleannesse he had committed O saith David Thou hast broken my heart now let my broken spirit rejoyce and God gave him comfort and did restore the joy of his salvation to him You have a phrase Psal 34.18 The Lord it nigh to them that are of a broken heart to save them that are of a contrite spirit The Lord is nigh to them Nigh what to do not onely to give them deliverance from outward troubles but
from inward sorrows to give them inward joy and inward comforts that the bones which he hath broken might rejoyce The Lord is nigh to them that are of a broken spirit to give them comfort Luke 4.18 It 's said there that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Christ what to do It was to binde up the broken in heart and to comfort those that mourn So Esa 61.1.2 3. To those that mourn he should preach comfort and binde up the broken-hearted When the Lord hath broken you under sinne and humbled you under the sight of your evils then is the time when God will break in upon you with greatest joy Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all you that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest Rest there hath not onely reference to our rest in heaven that we shall rest there from sinne and rest there from sorrow and rest there from temptation but I will give you rest it hath reference also to a promise in this life that if you are heavy laden that you count your iniquities a burden too heavy for you to bear Christ hath promised you peace inward peace in your own consciences in the assurance of your everlasting estate in assurance that you are called to a state of grace and shall come to a state of glory You know when the ground is plowed the clods are broken and the breaking of the clods makes way for the deeper rooting of the corn and that it may spring up with greater increase It is so when ye plow up in the Prophets Language Jer. 4. the fallow ground of your hearts when you break the clods of your hearts by humiliation this makes way for the corn and grain that precious grain of assurance to spring and grow up to a fuller measure so that you are out of Gods way then to have strong assurance that never have been humbled in the sight of sinne I say it 's Gods ordinary way I do not deny but God may bring you to heaven though you have no legal workings and horrors upon you yet God will never give you such strong assurance and such ravishing comforts as he gives them that are most broken in spirit Look through the whole verge of Scripture and you shall finde that those that were most broken in heart they were most strong in comfort That house that hâ—th the deepest foundation is likely to be the most beautiful Fabrick and building whereas your tents and lesser cottages a little rooting in the earth will serve their turn It is likely God may make thee as a little cottage though not deeply rooted but thou wilt never be reared up a beautiful building to become an amiable Christian in point of comfort and assurance if God have not bottomed thee low in humiliation It 's a true rule in grace They that sow in tears shall reap in joy The deeper you are in sorrow the higher you shall be lifted up in joy Secondly after the people of God have been tossed and tumbled and turmoiled with the violent assaults and temptations of the devil then is Gods time of filling his people with greatest joy and most comfort You know at the Mill at the Floodgate when the stream goes strongest then the Mill goes fastest Beloved God lets the stream of temptation grow strong against thee but to make thy Mill to go to make thee grinde thy lusts to powder and to make thee grinde thy sinnes as corn under the Millstone God doth but make the flood to be strong at the gate to make thy comforts to be more strong and thy graces to be more firm When God lets in a flood of temptation and tosseth thee upon those waves and billows then is the time for God to give thee in strongest comforts Esa 54.10 11 12 13 14. O thou afflicted tossed with Tempest and not comforted Mark their estate Now what will God do with a soul thus tossed with a Temptation Read the verse before My Covenant of peace shall not depart from theâ— O thou afflicted God doth here speak most peace and tenders most freely his Covenant in this condition when they were most tossed and tumbled And verse 13. Thy children shall be all taught of God and great shall be their peace And verse 14. In righteousnesse thou shall be established and thou shalt not fear Here you see how God as it were boulsters and beares up a dejected heart O thou tossed with a Tempest Behold I have made a Covenant of peace with thee and Behold thy children shall have peace and Behold thou shalt not fear See how God keeps up the hearts of his people in this condition when you are most tossed and tumbled with the tempest of temptation then doth God ordinarily speak to you most inward peace and strongest assurance As you know it is with an Oake the more they are shaken by tempestuous windes the firmer and faster are they rooted in the bowels of the earth It is so with Christians they are compared in Scripture to an Oak whose fruit and sap is in them Now a Christian the more he is shaken by a tempestuous temptation the Lord makes him by that to be the more firm and to be the more fastened and setled in strong comforts and assurance Thirdly when God hath any extraordinary work for his people either to do or suffer this is a time when he fills his people with most assurance Should God put his people upon outward sufferings and give them inward fears they were not in a capacity to undergo the condition with joy or patience and therefore when he calls his people to some extraordinary measure of suffering this is the time when God will fill them with more then ordinary comforts I have read in the book of Martyrs of Mr Robert Glover a famous man in his generation who during the time of his imprisonment was much troubled in minde for want of his assurance yet the story tells us when he was brought to the stake to be burnt assoon as ever he saw the fire he broke out in the hearing of the people and said He is come he is come I am now as full of joy as my heart can hold All the while he was in prison he was blubbring and much troubled till God brought him to an eminent suffering to suffer death for him and then he was full of comfort I have read also of one Adolphus Clarebachius who was a man subject to Melancholy and lay under many doubts and fears yet assoon as ever he was brought to the stake he openly declared to the people I have been naturally of a sad Temper but now I professe before you all I think there is not a merrier heart in all the world then mine is Thus they being to go through extraordinary sufferings God gave them extraordinary assurance Beloved this is Gods time when he will give you most assurance when he calls you to most sufferings When you are to go through
when they are not the devil Iulls them asleep he lets them alone and never troubles them Luke 11.21 When the strong man possesseth the house the goods are at peace That is when the devil of hell hath whole possession of the soul of a man he is no whit tempted his thoughts are at quiet When the devil sees a man build upon a sandy and corrupt foundation he will never shake that by a Temtation lest you should by shaking be a wakened to look after a better and more induring substance When the devil sees you Iull'd asleep in a golden dream of presumption he will never awaken you by Temptation but Iâ—ts you sleep on because he knowes that sleep will be a sleep to death As a man lying asleep on a steep rock dreams merrily of Crowns and Kingdoms but suddenly starting for joy breake his neck and tumbles into the bottom of the Sea so is it with a man that harbours ungrounded perswasions of his good estate That which a carnal man makes his evidence that he is in a good condition is an undoubted demonstration he is in a bad You shall have a wicked man when he hears a godly man to be troubled in minde and wounded in spirit he will tell you he thanks God he was never troubled since he was born the devil never disturbed him and he hath had a strong faith ever since he can remember Alas Beloved this is a sad signe thou makest this a sign of thy comfort whereas indeed it is a demonstration of thy want of a sound assurance for were thy assurance good the Devil would never let thee alone but would still be labouring to make thee cast away thy confidence but being bad he would have thee nourish it still We say those Oxen that are fed in greenest pastures they are nearest the slaughter when the poor lean Oxe that hath the yoke and whip every day and is at daily labour is long liv'd and in a better condition Those men that the devill lets alone and never tempts that are as fatted oxen never come under the whip and yoke and never are troubled it is an argument they are near the slaughter and under a great deal of danger of their souls but those that are under the yoke that are often tempted and the pricks of Sathan lie upon them this is an Argument their comforts are right and their evidence good because so assaulted and opposed by the devil Thirdly true assurance is more or lesse in a mans spirit by how much more or lesse that man keeps in communion with God If a man doth remâ—t in his converse with God and grow carelesse and formal and a stranger to God he shall grow a stranger to himselfe in the end and to his comforts also but if a man keep close to God and keep close to duties can retire and recollect himself to converse with God in a more solemn and serious manner is preparedly and fruitfully exercised in Ordinances can poure out his soul into Gods bosome that man is in the way to have his comforts raised up Whereas now for men that have false comforts and perswasions whether they are much or little with God all is one to them their comforts are at the same stand still Come to a man that hath false comforts and at all times he is alike peremptory he is in the same perswasion he was 3.4.7 yeares ago Ask him any week in the yeer any day in the week any hour in the day and he will tell you he hath the same comforts and the same evidences still he had a strong faith in God and he hath it still he had strong hopes to be saved and so he hath still he is still peremptory in his comforts though he never so much alter in communion with his God this is an argument thy perswasions are salse because a Christians communion and converse with God doth feed his comforts Now as the body by how the much more or lesse it is fed by so much the more it is weakened or strengthened so it is with your comforts so much as they are cherished by your walking with God so much they grow weak or strong Now let a wicked man grow never so vile and never so sinful it interrupts not his peace he hath hopes and assurance still and he will trust in God still though he sin ever this is an argument his comforts are unsound You have a lively picture of this Mic. 3.11 The heads of the people judge forreward the Priests teach for hire and the Prophets divine for mony and yet they will lean upon the Lord and say Is not the Lord among us That is though they have these sins among them and did walk thus and thus yet they would hope in God to be saved for all this Why Beloved thou wilt find God to fail thee though he never faild an assured Christian yet he will fail that man that leanes upon him when he belongs not to him When thou dost intermit walking with God and dost lanch forth into a gulph and sea of lusts and yet canst still say thou art the same in thy comforts and the same in thy perswasions it is an argument all thy comforts are but false and thy evidence unsound Fourthly Reall assurance of your estate it doth bear up the soul under the greatest outward sorrow and sufferings that it can meet with in this world Heb. 10.34 They suffered joyfully the spoiling of their goods knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and more induring substance What made them so to rejoyce to see their houses plundered before them their estates taken from them but this they knew in their own selves and had assurance in their own hearts that Christ was theirs and heaven was theirs and this made them suffer joyfully the spoiling of their goods So Psal 119.50 This is my comfort in affliction that thy word doth quicken me That is this beares up my heart when I am afflicted that I have a Word to build upon that I have assurance I have interest in a Promise to build upon this quickens and bears me up under my sorrowes So Psal 119.81 My spirit had fainted within me onely that I hoped in thy Word That is I had hope and confidence built upon thy Word and that kept me from feares and fainting and discouragement under my affliction The sense of the pardon of their sin shall take away the sense of any outward suffering So Esa 33.24 The inhabitant shall not say I am sick the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity Beloved Assurance will lift up and bear up the heart under all sorrows Assurance in a Christian is like oile Now poure oile into a sea or ocean of water and the oile will never be kept under but still be uppermost so this oile of comfort and this oile of assurance it will bear thee up on the top though thou shouldst be cast
is a speech that Bernard hath That to whomsoever Jesus Christ once becomes sweet that he can taste the sweetnesse of his love and the sweetness of his mercy this very sweetnesse in Christs love will imbitter the world unto him Fourthly you are to manage and use your assurance with tenderness of conscience against sinne Assured Christians should be tender-conscienced Christians Psal 85.8 God will speak peace to his people but mark the duty they must not turn again unto folly They must not run again into sinne they must be tender of sin and then God will speak peace to his people Sin as I once told you will be like wind in the bowels of the earth Philosophers say Earthquakes and ruptures are occasioned by winde got into the bowels and cavernes of the earth which having no place for vent it overturnes mountaines and buildings Beloved sinne in the heart will do the like it will make the heart quake and tremble if it be there it will prove the grave of thy comforts and the resurrection of thy feares Therefore Christians that are assured they must take heed of sinne if they would keep their comforts they must keep their hearts that sin get not into their consciences Beloved they that are assured Christians they know how difficultly they did attain this assurance and they know how sweetly they enjoy this assurance and that will make them very tender that they do not lose a thing so hardly gotten and sweetly enjoyed for a trivial lust that they lose not their former evidences and revive former terrors Fifthly Assurance must be managed with patience in bearing any outward affliction that you may meet with in the world Assured Christians must be patient Christians Heb. 10.34 They suffered joyfully the spoyling of their goods knowing that they had in heaven a better and more enduring substance and that made the Saints of God tush and scorn at all the losses they met with in the world Suppose a man be at Sea and have precious jewels and pearles aboard with him if the man can be but sure he shall save his own life and save his jewels though he lose the Casket though he lose the box that will not much trouble him Thou that art sure of heaven thou canst never lose that pearle thy soul thou maist lose the shell thy life thou maist lose the Casket thou shalt never lose the jewel and shall that trouble thee If thou art an assured Christian be sure whatever storme of Temptation blow upon thee thou shalt only lose the box never lose the pearle This therefore should make assured Christians to be patient Christians what ever they shall undergo here in the world I have read a story in Fox his Acts and Monuments of a woman who when she came to be tried for her Religion before Bonner that bloody Bishop he threatened her he would take away her husband from her saith she Christ is my husband I will take away thy childe Christ saith she is better to me then ten sonnes I will strip thee saith he of all thy outward comforts yea but Christ is mine and you cannot strip me of him saith she The thoughts of this bore up the womans heart spoile her of all and take away all yet Christ was hers and they could not take him away O Beloved when thy soul lives in the assurance of Gods love and of thy calling to grace and glory this should make you wonderful patient to endure what ever you shall meet with here below It was the speech of that famous servant of God holy Bradford when a company of his fellow prisoners were that morning to go to be burnt saith Bradford O my fellow-sufferers be chearful for though we are all of us to have a bitter breakfast yet truly we shall have a chearful dinner Here you see how assured Christians their comforts in God did so transport their hearts that it made them overlook and with patience bear all afflictions they were to meet with You have a remarkable phrase Esa 33.24 The Inhabitants of Sion shall not say I am sick the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity A strange passage he doth not say they were not sick but the text saith they should not say so And what 's the reason why should the people forget their sorrows forget their pains this should make them the Lord had forgiven them their iniquities The sense of pardon took away the sense of pain And Beloved Christians should walk thus to shew that trouble should not daunt them and afflictions never startle them you that are assured Christians you should be patient Christians under all sufferings And take this for a rule that God takes impatience more unkindly at assured Christians hands then at the hands of any men in the world besides Because if God give thee assurance he hath given thee a seal in thy own brest that all shall work for thy good and wilt thou be impatient He hath given thee a seal in thy own brest that heaven shall make amends for all and wilt thou be angry God will take this more unkindly at them then any Sixtly Assurance should be managed with indeared love to Jesus Christ Assured Christians should be Christ-loving Christians When Christ told Mary Magdalen Thy sins which are many are forgiven thee When she had assurance her sinnes were pardoned what saith Christ Much was forgiven her therefore she loved much because she was sensible much was forgiven her she would shew forth much love to Jesus Christ And the reason is because it was Christs love brought those Christians into a State of salvation and his love likewise that gave them assurance of their own call and this should indear their hearts to Jesus Christ Seventhly Assurance should be managed with abundance of compassion towards those Christians that are tempted troubled by Satan Assured Christians should be compassionate Christians If God have given you assurance of his love you should carry compassionate brests towards your Brethren who remain behinde in great distress and perplexity that lie tossed and turmoiled by Temptations When a ship is brought safe to the haven if they have any bowels when they see another ship in the main Ocean strugling for life in the midst of the waters they will pity them You that have got assurance you are come to a safe harbour but your tempted Brethren they are tossed upon the waves and tempests of temptation you should now have compassionate hearts towards tempted Christians 2 Cor. 1.4 The Apostle tells us The Lord hath comforted us in all our tribulation that we might comfort others with the same comforts wherewith we our selves are comforted of God It was the work and task of the Apostle and them with him that they having comforts and assurance from God they would labour to comfort others and bear up others and establish others that they might rejoyce and receive the same comforts with themselves Hence you
minde the dayes of old and the yeers of many generations Call to minde ancient dayes did not God shew thee his face did not God bear thee in the palmes of his hands did not God give thee many a smile of his countenance and many a pledge of his love even by affliction it selfe did not God set many a seal upon thy heart that thy comforts were true thy evidence clear and thy ends sincere towards God Beloved call to minde the former frame of thy spirit how thou wast in wonted times and this Meditation being backed by Gods Spirit may bee a great means to restore thy comforts to thee past goodnesse should be present encouragement Thirdly Meditate what way it was that you got your former comforts and assurance Ex quo gignimur eo dem nutrimur and the same way God will sanctifie to restore you your comforts again What Physicians say of the body We are nourished of those things of which wee are begotten and generated So I say of comforts The very same thing that begot comforts the same will restore your comforts againe Now think upon this in your practice and consider What way did I gaine my comforts in yeeres past did I gaine my comforts by godly sorrow and by lamenting after God and by mourning over those abominable failings in my practice now take the same course to restore thy evidences Go and mourn in thy Closet over thy uneven walking before God Go lament for thy sinnes mourne after thy Father and tell him thou art grieved at the heart that he is so great a stranger to thy soule Didst thou gain thy assurance in dayes past by humbling thy soule often before God Set upon humbling work again Didst thou gain thy comforts in dayes past by walking closely with thy God Amend thy paths and direct thy wayes unto thy Maker for dayes to come There is the very same way to restore your comforts that was at first to gain your comforts Fourthly Let your Meditations work upon those comforting Promises in the Gospel that hold forth most comfort to a dejected soule And truly I am perswaded Christians Meditations running more upon their own failings and their own jealousies and their own mistakes then upon Gospel-Promises hath been the great occasion they have layen so long under a spirit of bondage and under a dark eclipse in the want of the comforts of Gods Spirit Therefore now let your Meditations work upon those Promises that hold forth most comfort to a dejected and deserted soule And here I shall name five or sixe most comfortable Promises in the Word As Esa 57.15 The Lord that dwells in the high and holy places he doth revive the spirit of the humble and of the contrite one So Esa 66.2 The Lord dwels in the heavens and yet with him also that is of an humble and contrite spirit that trembles at his Word with him will God dwell So Psal 34.18 The Lord is nigh them that are of a broken heart even them that are contrite in spirit So Luke 4.18 Jesus Christ was anointed that is appointed by God the Father to preach the Gospel to the poor to binde up the broken in heart and to comfort them that mourn So Esa 66.10 The Lord will restore comfort to thee and to thy Mourners And Heb. 12.12 The Lord will strengthen the weak hands and feeble knees And with that remarkable and most glorious Gospel-promise I shall end Esa 35.3 4 5 6. Strengthen the weak hands and confirme the feeble knees This saith God to weak Christians whose legs can hardly carry their bodies and their hands hardly reach to their mouthes Say unto the weak Christian in grace comfort and confirm and strengthen them And say unto them that are of a fearfull heart Be strong Poor fearful doubting soules that fear every Temptation and fear every corruption and fear they shall lose the recompence of their reward Say unto that fearful heart Be strong and fear not For your God will come with vengeance even God will come with recompence and save you And then the eyes of the blinde shall bee open and the eares of the deafe shall bee unstopped it is not meant of the bodily eye but those that were blinde and could not see the mysteries of Christ and could not read their own comforts then their eyes shall be open And the deaf that as Esaiah saith refused to be comforted that would not hearken to comfort but would stop their eares against all comfortable doctrines and onely give way to sorrow their eares shall be unstopped And the lame man shall leap like a Hart the poore halting Christian that halts in his comforts that is now believing anon staggering now rejoycing anon despairing the poor lame man shall leap like a Hart. And the Tongue of the dumb shall sing the poor man that could not speak one word of his owne graces and of his own comforts and touching his own evidence the Tongue of the dumb shall sing O Beloved here is your work in case you would bee Christians to restore your comforts againe set upon the work of Meditation to think upon these precious promises of the Gospell that hold forth most comfort to a drooping and dejected sinner SERMON XII 2 PETER 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure THe Doctrine I am yet upon is this That Christians ought to put forth a great deale of diligence to make this sure to their soule that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ to Grace and Glory In the prosecution of which I have gone over many particulars Vse There remains now onely one Use more to dispatch about this subject and then I passe to the third point drawn from these words And the Use shall be of Consolation from all that hath been said touching the assurance of our effectuall Calling I shall onely direct my discourse to lay down six or seven Consolatory Conclusions to those Christians who are effectually called yet happily have not a sensible assurance of their own calling First take this for a truth that Assurance is necessary not for the being but for the wel-being of a Christian It is not necessary to his estate but to his comfort It is not necessary as food is to the life but onely as physick is to the body A man cannot live without food a man may live without Physick Assurance is but as a comfortable Cordiall to the soule Grace is as food to keep the soule alive though you doe want assurance this Cordiall to beare you up Secondly that many of Gods deare Children they may lie a very long time in the want of this assurance touching their effectuall calling Psal 88. it is said of Heman 14 15 16 verses Lord why hast thou cast off my soule and why hast thou hid thy face from me Mark his complaint I am ready to die And was this onely a fit of desertion or was it a
the great props with which he bears up their hearts and comforts them by Then 3. he proceeds by way of Exhortation and Direction ver 5. and that is that they should give diligence to add grace to grace that they should make it their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or their main business for which they are sent into the world not only to get grace but to thrive in grace and begins with Faith because this is the foundation or mother grace And this he presseth by a double Argument First considering the benefit shall redound to them in case they perform this duty to labour to thrive in grace ver 8. If these things be in you and abound they shall make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledg of the Lord Jesus If you make it your work to grow in grace you shall never be a barren or unfruitful people but you shall be growing in grace and thriving in God still 2. From the inconvenience that would accrue in case they should neglect this work ver 9. He that lacks these things is blind and cannot see afar off that is he that lacks these graces if you do not grow in grace you will be so dim sighted you will so deaden your comforts and darken your evidences that you can have no assurance you shall be saved And then he comes in with a general Exhortation backing all this that seeing there is this good comes by adding grace to grace and seeing there wil be this evil if you do it not he brings all home by a practical inference in the words of my Text Wherefore Brethren give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure The words are not difficult though indeed they are mangled by the Papists who bring this Text to Martyrdome by their corrupt glosses I shall only give you a brief Paraphrastical Explication and so come to the Observations Wherefore That you may see the force of the connexion it is as much as if the Apostle should say thus Seeing there comes so great good by growing in grace and seeing the neglect of it doth so much hurt not only to deaden your hearts but darken your comforts that you can have no cleer and comfortable evidence for heaven Therefore give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure Wherefore the rather brethren that is Brethren not in the flesh but in the faith of Christ imbracing the same faith keeping to the same head them the Apostle calls brethren Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word in the Greek is more emphatical and signifies to do a thing enough not agere but sat agere not in an overly and careless way but to do a thing with industry vigilancy and unweariedness of spirit it should not be matter of constraint but free and voluntary Give diligence And the diligence you should use is in matters of the soul Give diligence In what To make your Calling and Election sure First I must shew you what is meant by Calling then by Election and then shew you why Calling is set before Election when in order of time election is before calling 1. What is meant by Calling which that you may understand you must know there is a twofold Calling an external and an internal Calling The External Calling is that general invitation which by the preaching of the Gospel is made unto men to invite them to come in to Jesus Christ and most in the world are called by this call both good and bad 2. The Internal Calling when the Spirit of God accompanies the outward administration of the word to call a man from ignorance to knowledg and from a state of nature to a state of grace and of this Calling my Text means Make your Calling sure that is you that live under the preaching of the Gospel be sure you be called thereby Your calling and election Election is an act of God whereby from all eternity he doth purpose within himself of his own pleasure and will to bring a certain number of men unto salvation by Jesus Christ But now how can it be said We must make our calling and election sure Doth not the Foundation of God stand sure as the Apostle saith And are not the gifts and calling of God without repentance How then must we make our Election sure when all the Decrees of God stand sure Answ Beloved when it is said you must make these sure you must take it in this sense not to make them sure on Gods part for it cannot be made more sure there then it is already whom he hath elected shall be glorified But make it sure on your parts that is Labour to have a real bottom'd and grounded assurance that you are effectually called that you are elected by God in his eternal Decree to obtain life and glorie by Jesus Christ Divines therefore give this distinction Certitudo Objecti certitudo Subjecti That there is an assurance of the Object and that is sure enough for if God hath decreed you to glorie that will hold sure for ever But then there is a certitude of the Subject an assurance to the person that is elected and that is when by a reflex act of faith you have a grounded perswasion in your own brests that you are effectually called and eternally elected An assurance in your own apprehension and knowledg Lastly Why is Calling here set before Election when in order of time Election is before Calling You are called in time by the preaching of the Gospel you are elected before all time before the world Before the foundation of the world was laid he hath elected us in Christ Eph. 1.4 And if so What is the reason that Calling in my Text is put before Election Answ To this I answer Calling in order of words is placed before Election not as if it were in time before it but to shew that we can never be sure of our election till God hath effectually called us by the preaching of the Gospel and therefore Calling is set before Election Thus I have opened the things most material giving you the sense of the words The whole Verse is made up of two parts First Here is a main duty enjoyned in these words Give diligence to make your calling and election sure Secondly Here is a strong inducement to inforce you to this duty and that in the last words If you do these things you shall never fall In the Duty injoyned there are several things observable 1. The matter of the duty To make sure your election and calling 2. The manner how you must set about this duty and that is with diligence Give diligence 3. The motive to draw you to it in the word Wherefore 4. Here is the comparison between this duty and all other duties Wherefore the rather do this rather then all other things in the world And Lastly Here is that loving compellation whereby Peter would
souls that they are effectually called and eternally elected Give diligence to make your Calling and Election sure Now I cannot handle this Doctrine in the bulk of it but must of necessitie take it into parts and handle it piece by piece that so I may give you the strength of the whole Observation in the Application of it And seeing Calling lies in the front I shall in a few Sermons treat of that And the Point from thence will be this That Doctr. Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their souls that they are effectually Called Beloved This is a very material Point I am now upon especially in this deceitful age wherein men plunge themselves into a gulph of presumption wherein many times men take faith upon trust and Christ upon trust It is meet that you that live under the Gospel should trie your Calling by the Gospel whether it be true or no there may be an external Cal when there is no inward calling by the operation of the Spirit upon your hearts In the managing of this Point I shall shew you these three things First What Effectual Calling is Secondly Why you are required to put forth a great deal of diligence to make your Calling sure to your souls Thirdly By what Characters or Discoveries you may be assured in your own hearts that you are effectually called First What Effectual Calling is You say we must make it sure therefore what is the nature of it For answer you may take this description of it Effectual Calling is the fruit of Gods Election whereby God of his free grace works a wonderful change in the heart of an Elect person by the inward operation of the Spirit accompanying the outward Ministry of the word by vertue of which the soul is brought from under the dominion of sin and Satan into a state of grace and so made meet for the enjoyment of God in glory Now I shal not take this apart but commit it to your memorie and judgment to apprehend Only in this description there are laid down four differences to distinguish effectual Calling from that ordinary or outward Calling that wicked men have by the Ministrie of the Word As 1. Effectual Calling in the description is said to be a fruit of Gods Election but outward or general Calling is a fruit only of common providence God by an over-ruling providence sends the Gospel among a people and thereby calls them to an outward compliance and conformitie but effectual Calling is a fruit of Gods Election 2. It is said in the description that Effectual Calling it changes the heart whereby God works a wonderful change in the heart but an external Calling no way reacheth the heart only worketh some kind of civil or common alteration in the life 3. It 's said Effectual Calling is wrought by the inward operation of the Spirit accompanying the outward Ministry of the word whereas an External Call is only by the word but no inward saving work of the Spirit at all 4. It s said of Effectual Calling that it is from the dominion of sin but External Calling is only from the external acts of sin Indeed by an external calling the word may have that power over a man as to restrain and keep in the visible and external actings of sin but it no way works upon the inclination to take off the affection from sin wheras this effectual Calling works upon the heart and works to the subduing and destroying of the power of sin as well as the actings of it Secondly Why doth God require that we should put forth such great diligence in making sure that we are effectually called by the Spirit of Jesus Christ in the Gospel There are three Reasons why this should be Reas 1 First Because there are many professing the Gospel that do harbour ungrounded perswasions that they are effectually called when they are not Now if many men be deceived why may not you And if many are apt to be deceived about this matter have not you great cause to be diligent lest you are deceived also The Jewes of old they boasted of their Calling and said We have Abraham to our father but Christ confutes that If you were Abrahams children saith he you would do the works of Abraham but you seek to kill me which Abraham did not But then they go higher John 8.46 they were effectually called For God is our Father No saith Christ You are of your father the Divel Thus many men run into these gross mistakes to believe they are effectually called when they are not Many are called outwardly that are not called effectually Matth. 22.14 And therefore it concerns you not to be deceived in this great business Reas 2 Secondly Because there is this natural aptness in all of us in things that are of any value concerning the bodie you wil be sure to make sure of them It may be if you have Brass and Pewter or baser Mettals your Kitchin shal serve for that but things of greater value as Pearls and Diamonds they must be in the Closet and in a Cabinet in that Closet you wil be sure to ensure them Why how much more should you ensure this great and precious Jewel of Effectual Calling that so much concerns your immortal souls When you buy Land you will be sure your Title is good to draw up your evidences so as to be firm in Law You know Merchants if they venture a great or most part of their estate at sea where happily there may be hazard in the Voyage they will run speedily to ensure a great part of their Commodities Beloved this should you do this bodie of yours is the Ship and the Merchandize and Freight in this Ship is your souls and this Ship is going a great Voyage to Glorie Glorie is the Port whither this Ship is to come you shall meet with many dangers in your way haply with storms and tempests of temptation yea haply you may run upon the rocks of presumption or quick-sands of despair O now run to the ensuring Office what 's that why run to seek the Testimonie of Christs Spirit in your own Spirit by the word to evidence unto you upon good ground that the Ship shal be safe and the Commodities brought secure to the Haven that Ship Bodie Soul and all shal come safe to Heaven Beloved if men wil thus ensure their Estates you have much more reason to ensure your souls For believe it if you make not sure your souls if you suffer shipwrack ye are turned Bankrupts presently bankrupt to God you lose him for ever It is said of an old Usurer That when any man came to borrow money of him he would hardly trust one in twentie and being ask'd the reason Why he would do so O saith he it is good to be sure Why Beloved shal an Usurer in all his ways be so secure and so heedful in all his disbursments that he could say
in with me and cleave to me and take content and delight in me Beloved there are many that hear the word yet never go out of themselves and never close in with Christ yea but all they that heare and learne that hear and are called by hearing they all come in to Jesus Christ Wherefore all you that in hearing cannot find your hearts in love with Christ cannot find your hearts to close in with Christ and believe in Christ you have just cause to suspect your Call that your calling is not effectual 1 Cor. 1.24 The Apostle tels you there were other men counted Christ foolishnesse but to you that are called Christ is the power and wisedome of God that is you do acknowledg and you do conceive of Jesus Christ that he hath as much power as God hath in him and as much wisedome as God hath in him and you close in with Christ for that end when other men think Christ to be foolish and Christ weak men uncall'd they have low thoughts of Christ but to you that are call'd Christ is the power and wisedome of God You will have high thoughts of Jesus Christ if you are effectually called 4. That man that is effectually called he shall be inabled by the spirit of Christ to call upon God 1. Cor. 1.2 To all in Corinth called to be Saints with all that call upon the name of the Lord. There the Apostle joynes called to be Saints with this phrase to call upon God to shew that whoever is effectually called to be a Saint that man shall be inabled by the Spirit of Jesus to call upon God Psal 27.8 When thousaidest Seek my face my heart said unto thee thy face Lord will I seek Hence ye read Acts 9.11 when Ananias doubted whether Paul was truely call'd or no and Jesus Christ would convince Ananias that he was truely call'd what means doth he use verse 11. do not suspect him but arise saith Christ and goe to him into the street called Straight and enquire at the house of Judas for one Saul of Tarsus for behold he prayeth If he were not call'd he would never goe to God in such a cordiall way and humble his soul before God for his by past failings and beg strength for time to come and labour to have his peace made with me Go to him for behold he prayeth and therefore all you that have not a spirit in any measure to call upon God and to powr forth your requests in a solemn prayer you have just cause of jealousie to suspect your Call 5. If you are effectually call'd God hath wrought in your souls an utter detestation and loathing of all the evils that in the former part of your lives before you calling your have committed and were guilty of Hos 14.8 Ephraim shall say what have I any more to doe with Idols The interrogation imports a vehement detestation of them and indignation against them 2 Cor. 7.11 the Apostle speaks there of repentance the same with calling when men come to have the work of grace in their hearts and this is a branch of it that godly sorrow causeth care and causeth fear and causeth indignation that is if any man be a repenting man and a converted man this conversion will cause indignation that is he will be even mad with himself and angry with himself that he should be so vile a wretch before conversion as he hath been Thus was Paul hee speaks with indignation against the sins he was guilty of before his calling I have been a persecutor I have hal'd the Saints into prison Nay saith hee I was even mad against the Church Beloved you will count your sins to be madnesse and count them to be greatly aggravated that were committed before God call'd you Anselm said to his body I 'le tame thee O unruly beast with fasting and praier We read of one that bit off his tongue in indignation that therewith he had denied Jesus Christ Another Martyr put that hand first into the fire with which he had subscribed a recantation saying Burn thou O hand that didst subscribe to that which might have made me burn both body and soul in hell And therefore you that have no loathing thoughts against past deceit and past drunkennesse and past swearing and your past evils suspect your calling You that do not abhor the thoughts of your former evils your wonted pride and wonted covetousnesse if you cannot looke with indignation against these you have great cause to suspect your call For if God have call'd you he will make you even angry with your selves that ever you have been so vile as you have been Hence it is when God speaks of Israels conversion Isa 2.20 't is said they shall cast away their idols from them they shall cast away their sins as with indignation against themselves because they have sinned And hence in the Prophesie of Ezek. 20.43 the Prophet tels them that for the evils they had done they should loath themselves in their own eyes their indignation should be so great against themselves that ever they should be so vile against God before their call So David with indignation saith after he had recovered himself and brought his heart into a repentant frame so foolish was I and ignorant Psal 73.22 Now Beloved I would here appeale unto you I will judge no man let your own consciences pass sentence upon you But let me appeal to your selves Have not many of you before these times been opposers of Religion men walking in ungodly lewd and profane courses of living haply now you are moulded into a form of Profession now you hear the Word speak well of Ministers now you cry up Government many plausible wayes and actions you can cary on but what is in your hearts Have you indignation against your past persecution and evils If not beleeve it though you go far I fear you may come short of beaven your calling is not real if you have not indignation and wrath against your former sins committed And therefore O what a sad word is this to all insensible sinners that are men that never had their hearts touch'd with remorse for any evil What a sad word is this to you that have been drunk week after week and sworn day after day and deceived hour after hour and been unclean time after time and yet all these evils never touch'd the heart Truly you have great cause to fear that God hath not yet effectually called you by Jesus Christ 6. The man that is effectually called his spirit is brought into an obediential frame to yeeld obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ if God call you by his Spirit hee will not leave you to the exorbitancies of your own wayes and will but he will bring you to a yeeldingnesse of heart to all his commands Rom. 15 6. We have received grace and Apostleship for obedience to the faith among all Nations among whom you are also the called of
Jesus Christ The Apostle did not alone receive grace for obedience but the same was among them also You receive grace for the obedience of faith So that now if you are the called of Jesus Christ the Lord hath this work upon you he doth bring you to the obedience of faith that is he doth work in your souls a yeelding frame to obey all the commands of Jesus Christ and therefore any of you that stand out with stoutnesse of heart against Jesus Christ let Christ say what he will you will do what you list let him command what he will you will do what you please you that stand out thus with gainsaying of spirit against Jesus Christ you have great cause to suspect your Call Again 7. A man effectually called by Jesus Christ he will be mis-called and reproach'd by the men of the world John 15.19 If you were of the world the world would love his own but because you are not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hates you Yet do not mistake me I do not say in this Concomitant That every man that is reproach'd and mis-called is a called man but I say A man that is truly called will be mis-called by wicked men Now mis-calling or the reproaches of wicked men is a pledg of your effectual calling if you take in these qualifications First If they mis-call you meerly because you are godly and hate you because of your holinesse then it is an argument As Jesus Christ said Because I have called you out of the world therefore the world hateth you Secondly If they mis-call you when you give no occasion of offence wherefore they may justly mis-call you If you can say with David Psal 59. They mis-call me but it is neither for my wickednesse nor for my sins if they mis-call you without any ground then it is a probable argument of your effectual Calling 8. A man effectually called he makes it his endeavour to walk worthy of his calling 2 Thess 2.13 14. So. Ephes 4.1 Walk worthy of the calling wherewith you are called And thus I have briefly gone over these Eight Particulars I intreat you delude not your own hearts but bring the Word and your hearts together and trie by these Notes whether you can evidence to your own souls That you are effectually called by Jesus Christ or no. Now is this true That with all those whom God hath effectually called he doth take those Methods before spoken of and he doth work these Concomitants now named Then 1. By way of Vse Vse 1 This should be astonishment to all those that never had those Methods of God upon their souls that never had these effects within them to accompanie their Call O Beloved I wish I could fasten the nail of Terror deep into their hearts that never had any of these wrought in their souls that never loved the word nor the Ministers of it that never were brought by God out of a state of ignorance into a state of knowledg that never did close in effectually with Jesus Christ that never had indignation against the evils they did before conversion that never had their hearts brought into an obediential frame to take impression of any command that God should laie upon them how sadly should this Consideration lie upon your hearts Vse 2 2. Are you effectually called Labour to resemble him in your conversation that hath called you This Use the Apostle makes of this Doctrine 1 Pet. 1.15 As he that hath called you is holy so be you holy Resemble him that hath called you in holinesse An excellent phrase you have 1 Pet. 2.9 Shew forth saith the Apostle the praises of him that hath called you from darknesse into his marvellous light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. The word is more ful in the Greek Shew forth or manifest not the praises as we read it but the vertues or the graces of him that hath called you If God hath called you and Christ hath called you you should shew forth Christs graces in your conversation that is live as Christ lived and walk as Christ walked If you say you have fellowship with Christ you ought also to walk as he walked 1 Joh. 1.6 Vse 3 3. Do nothing that may any way blemish this holy calling of yours this the Apostle presseth 2 Thes 1.11 We pray alwaies for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling So Ephes 4.1 I as a prisoner of the Lord Jesus beseech you that you walk worthy of the Vocation wherewith you are call'd Beloved If you are called take heed of any way blemishing your Call All the scandals and failings you commit laies a spot upon that holy calling of yours though indeed there is no reason to blemish a mans Profession although some should err in their practice The Apostle takes off this Gal. 5.8 This perswasion saith Paul comes not from him that hath called you As if he should say many men seeing the Galathians turn Apostates they may blame Religion and blame God that call'd them but saith the Apostle do not blame them for this perswasion of their failings comes not from him that called them your calling is not in fault but your corruptions are in fault Therefore it is an unjust accusation because some men fail to blame God and blame profession and Religion for it Vse 4 4. If God hath effectually call'd you and you can evince it to your own souls upon the discovery before heard my last Use is this that you would live in exalting and magnifying of the grace of God in your calling you are called 1 Tim. 1.9 saith the Apostle according to the purpose of his grace not according to your own works O live live in magnifying that grace that hath called you And here I might presse upon you 7 or 8 Considerations why you should live in magnifying of grace I shal name them first in general This exhortation should much sway with you if you would consider these three things 1. From what you are called 2. To what you are called and 3. For what you are called I shall put the two first together 1. The Consideration of this from what and to what you are called should much heighten your magnifying of Gods grace And here I shall name seven particulars 1. A man effectually called he is called from ignorance to knowledg 1 Pet. 2.9 You are called from darknesse into marvellous light Now should not this make you magnifie mercy that you that lay in your sins uncalled as in a dungeon of darknesse now God should call you into a lightsome and pleasurable palace thy mind was as a fair builded house without windows or if any but woodden windows that would let in no light now God hath opened these shutts and let in the Sun of righteousnesse to shine upon thy soul and brought thee from this dungeon of darknesse in thy soul and given thee the
working much upon them to the changing of their lives altering their course and new moulding of them into an external profession that yet notwithstanding all this never had saving grace wrought upon their hearts which is effectual calling Many are called but few are chosen saith Christ Matth. 20.16 And this is a dreadful Conclusion to all you that are professors that have not a saving work upon your hearts to you that flock unto the ministry of the word yet are not called thereby 2. That they who are called outwardly by the preaching of the word to a profession of Christ and yet not called inwardly by the spirit they shall endure greater damnation and greater torments in hell then those that never heard a word of Jesus Christ Matth. 8 12. Many shall come saith Christ from the East and from the West and shal sit down with Abraham Isaak and Jacob in the Kingdome of Heaven and what then but the children of the Kingdome shall be cast out into utter darknesse where shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Now who are meant here by the children of the kingdome not those that have heaven prepared for them but the professing Jewes who are called the children of the kingdome because they enjoyed a greater and clearer and fuller measure of the things of God which shewed them the way to the kingdome of heaven then other men did And when Christ cals them the children of the kingdome he cals the heathen the children of the world Now many of the children of the kingdome shall be cast into utter darknesse If there be any more dismal place then other it shall be for the children of the kingdome those that have been as it were nursed up under Gods elbow by ordinances the children of the kingdome they shall have a more dismal portion and dismal room in hell then other men shall have that never enjoyed the ordinances of Jesus Christ And O what a sad word is this to you that live where ordinances do most abound that you may be called the children of the kingdome and yet you to be thrust into utter darknesse 3. That there are many men who are only called outwardly into a bare profession that do harbour and nourish presumptuous perswasions in their own hearts that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ when they never had any saving work of grace upon their hearts This I spake of some weeks agoe from John 8.41 The Jewes had strong perswasions they had Abraham for their father and when Christ beats them off from that they went higher and said we have God to our father and yet verse 44. Christ tels them they were of their Father the Divell And Beloved you may also be deceived in harbouring strong perswasions that you are called effectually when you are only call'd outwardly 4. That they that are conceited in the opinion of their own goodnesse without seeing their want and necessitie of Jesus Christ are of all sorts of people in the world most unlikely to be effectually called by Jesus Christ This I urge from Matt. 9.13 I came not saith Christ to call the righteous c. Mark who are they that is Christ came not to call the Pharisees who were righteous in their own eyes and who had a selfe conceitednesse that things went well with them and saw no need of a Mediator and Intercessor and Redeemer I came not to call the righteous Jesus Christ excludes that sort of men from being called by him men that are self opinionated and have a conceit of their own goodness without any want of Jesus Christ Wherefore all you that think you have a strong faith towards God ever since you were born that think you live honestly among your neighbours pay every man his due and therefore see no need of Christ all your daies the Lord shew you mercie you are more unlikly to be called then any men in the world Matth. 21.31 There is a parable of a man that had two sons hee bid both work in the vineyard one son said he would not work he was obstinate the other son said he would work but did not and so was worse then his word Now these two sons they are the emblem of two sorts of men within the pale of the Church some are profane and obstinate men and they answer as the first son and say they wil not work the second are professing men men that make a good profession but do not answer their profession in their practice Now marke Whether of these twain will the father accept and they said unto him the first the most obstinate that said he would not go but went Verily saith Christ so I say unto you Publicans and Harlots shall go into heaven before you Mark how Christ applies the parable from their own mouths you that are Pharisees that are righteous and honest in your own eyes I wil sooner call whores and harlots and the worst of men then I wil call you Publicans and Harlots Publicans they were the worst sort of men that were they were sitting at the receipt of custome their calling exposing them to a great deal of extortion and briberie yet these men should go to heaven before others that made a glorious profession of Jesus Christ Again 5. A fifth sad Conclusion is this That when others are effectually called before your faces and yet you remain uncalled this should greatly aggravate your sin and condemnation when I say you shall see others that live haply in the same house with you that hear in the same congregation that sit in the same seat with you when you shall hear these effectually called and you remain uncalled this shall greatly increase your sin damnation Mat. 21.32 John came to you in the way of righteousnesse and you beleeved him not that is they were not called by his Ministry what then but the Publicans and Harlots believed what then and you when you had seen it repented not afterwards that you might believe Mark how Christ argues he urges that those men that heard the same Sermons that the other men did heare they were converted saith he you see whores and harlots converted alluding to Mary Magdalen and others you see these and yet you repent not and yet you beleeve not now you see one then another and yet when you see this you repent not that you might beleeve Beloved This is a sad conclusion to you that shall see others converted when you that haply lie in the same bed sit at the same board and hear the same Sermons in the same Congregation yet they shall be converted and called and you not this will greatly increase your sin and condemnation 6. That whoever God intends effectually to call it is Gods ordinary way to call them by the Ministry of his word 2 Thes 2.13 14. It s said there that they were called through the Sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth to obtain eternall glory by
called by God to a state of blessednesse but he was left to stand by his own strength but you are not so You are not only called by Christ but you are kept by Christ that you shall not fall from grace being once called to it Jude ver 1. Jude the servant of Christ to them that are sanctified by God the Father preserved in Christ and called Here then is your comfort that you are not called by Christ and left to your selves but you are preserv'd by Christ and called and kept in a state of grace till you shall come to glory So 1 Thes 5.24 Faithfull is he that called you who also will doe it that is bring you to that glorie which you are called unto 9. When Christ hath an intent to call a poor sinner neither their Poverty nor their impiety shal hinder the cal of Jesus Christ Not your Povertie God hath chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of a kingdome Jam. 2. Not your impiety poor Christians think Oh I am so vile and so sinful and profane that I fear Christ will not cal me Why this shall not hinder Mary Magdalen a Harlot possessed with seven Divels yet called Manasseh a blood-sucker that made the streets of Jerusalem run down with blood yet called Paul a persecuter a blasphemer a man mad with rage against the Church of God yet he obtained mercy and why that he might be an example to them that after should be called So that here is your comfort when Jesus Christ hath an intent to call you neither your Poverty nor your Impietie shall withstand his call nor turn the thoughts of his mercy from you 10. That though no man can prie into the decrees of God about election and reprobation yet if you can make good your effectual vocation you may be sure of your election and of your glorification Though no man I say can enter into the bosome of God to know his secret decrees yet if you can find upon good Scripture grounds that you are effectually called you may be sure you are eternally elected shall hereafter live in glorie Rō 8.28 Whom he predestinates them he cals whom he cals them he justifles and whom he justifies them he will glorifie And therefore comfort your hearts in these consolatorie Conclusions about effectuall calling SERMON V. 2 PET. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure THe Doctrine I am yet upon in the prosecution of these words is this That Christians should put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their souls that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ In the managing of which I laid down the last Lords day twenty Propositions ten in relation to wicked men not called and ten conclusions for the comfort of them that are effectually called by Jesus Christ I am now to proceed in the dispatch of six cases of conscience which I shall handle about effectual calling Three of which concern men not effectually called and three touching Believers who are called by Christ to grace here and to hopes of glory in the world to come The three first cases touching wicked men are these First Whether a wicked man be able to resist his own call Secondly What temptations doth the Devil suggest to keep a wicked man from entertaining and embracing the call of Jesus Christ Thirdly What delusions doth the Devil use to deceive Hypocrites to make them presumptuously believe that they are effectually called when they are not There are three cases more touching godly men As First Whether may a man that is effectually called be any way assured that he is so Secondly If a man may be assured then what is the reason many a godly man is not assured of his effectual calling And then Thirdly How may he come to get the assurance of his effectual calling I begin with the first about wicked men that are not called and the case is this First Whether may a wicked man a man as yet not called be able to resist and keep off his own cal And that you may understand the answer hereto I must lay down this distinction That there is a twofold calling of Christ A Significative calling and an operative calling First a Significative calling which is such a calling whereby Christ in the Ministry of the word signifies and declares what he would have men to do Now this kind of call wicked men may resist this call I say and this revealed will of God in declaring what graces he would have men act and what sins he would have men forbear Therefore we read Acts 7.5 You stiff-necked people and uncircumcised in heart and eares you have alwayes resisted the Holy Ghost meaning the Preaching of the word by the Ministry of his Apostles So Prov. 1.24 I have called and ye have refused c. But then Secondly There is an Operative calling and that is such a call whereby God doth not onely signifie to a man what he must do but with the signification of his will gives a man a power to do what he calls him to do accompanying the word with his Spirit making the heart stoop and yeeld to Jesus Christ Now this cal no man can resist Grace is irresistable and this effectual calling by the operation of the Spirit a man cannot resist All the gain-sayings of the heart and all the stoutnesse of the will it must stoop and must be brought under subjection to Jesus Christ John 6.37 All that the Father hath given me saith Christ shall come unto me They shal not be able to withstand Jesus Christ but they shal come in unto him So Isa 55.10 As the rain comes down and the snow from Heaven and returns not thither again but waters the earth to make it bring forth so shall my word be that goes out of my mouth it shall not return in vain but shall accomplish that which I intended and it shall prosper in the thing wherto I sent it As all the world cannot hinder the rain from coming down on the earth no more can any man in the world if God hath an intent to convert and call him hinder the benefit of the word from redounding upon his soul Now the answering of this case thus briefly will admit of a double Use Vse 1 First an Use of Condemnation to wicked men that have often resisted the significative call of Jesus Christ When Christ hath signified this is my will I would have you leave these courses and I would have you walk in these wayes Christ signifies his will in the Ministry of the Gospel yet let Christ signifie what he will you will do what you list this is for thy great condemnation Vse 2 Secondly The answering of this Query is for consolation to elect men who are not yet converted Dost thou belong to Gods Election Why before thou art converted thou hast a stubborn wil thou hast
a gainsaying heart thou hast a stout spirit against God thy heart is as hard as an Adamant as hard as the Rocks yet here is thy comfort all the gain-sayings of thy spirit and all the stubbornnesse of thy will it shall not be able to keep off converting mercy and shall not be able to keep off calling grace from thee When God hath an intent to call thee he will come with Power by his call and make thee do what he commands thee and make thee imbrace what he cals thee to Did not Jesus Christ use an operative call as well as a significative call no man in the world would ever be called And this is the reason that in hearing the same Sermon and following the same Preacher one man is converted the other is not The reason is this The call of the Ministry is onely a significative call of a Reprobate onely signifying what God would have him do But there is no power conveyed with the invitation to make the man able to do what Christ cals him to and therefore one is called the other is not Thus much in Answer to the first case Case 2 Secondly What temptations doth the Devil suggest to men who are uncalled that they should not give entertainment to or embrace the call of Jesus Christ unto grace and glory And in answer to this I shall lay down onely four suggestions of the Devil wherewith he entangles a man that he should not yeeld to the call of Jesus Christ And as I lay them down I shall labour to take them away As 1. The first temptation the Devil will suggest is to you that are young men and to you he will suggest that you are yet too young to imbrace the call of Jesus Christ 't will be time enough hereafter and you may do it soon enough hereafter you are too young now to be abridg'd of your pleasure and to mortifie your lusts and to betake your selves unto so serious a course as Christ cals you to and by this temptation the Devil prevails with young men more especially And I remember Austin saith that this temptation of the Devil made him keep off for seven years together from embracing the call of Jesus Christ the Devil would still tell him in his heart thou art too young to leave thy Drunkennesse and too young to leave thy Harlots till at last he cryed out How long shall I say it is too soon Why may I not repent to day This temptation I say it hath fastened upon many before you that they were too young to come in to Jesus Christ and to this end the Devil will suggest to you that old and false Proverb A young Saint and an old Devil Whereas indeed if you are young Devils you will be old Beelzebubs And therefore this being a suggestion prevailing with many hearts I shall lay down six considerations to take off this temptation that it may not prevail with you First If the Devil tempt you that you are yet too yong to hearken to Christs call consider That the Devil cannot give you a Lease of your lives if the Devil could give you a Lease of your lives and tell you you should live till old age you might then with more safety hearken to his temptation but your lives are not at the Devils disposal God is the Author of your life the issues of life and death are in his hands you may dye in youth and if you die in youth uncalled you may be damned as well as dead You may be as these men Job 36.14 That shall dye in their youth and their lives shall be among the unclean And therefore though the Devil tempt you that you are too young seeing he cannot assure you of your lives you have no reason to hearken to his temptation Secondly Suppose the Devil could assure you you should live till old age yet take this consideration that in putting off your calling and the work of conversion from your youth this may so provoke God that he may harden your hearts in your old dayes that you shall have no heart to think of and imbrace the call and invitation of Jesus Christ Jer. 22.21 I spake to thee in thy prosperity but thou wouldst not hear and this hath been thy manner from thy youth Thou wouldst not obey my voyce God spake but they would not hear and it was from their youth that they did thus therefore God would never speak more God hardened their hearts that they should never receive or imbrace the call of Jesus Christ So Isa 6.9.10 Seeing the Jewes from their youth were obstinate against the word of God Go saith God make their ears heavy and their hearts fat and their eyes blind that they should not be called and converted and I should save them Let this therefore be a second consideration that the putting off your call till your old age may so provoke God as never to give you hearts to imbrace his call Thirdly Suppose all this that you could have a Lease of your lives and you could be assured that when you come to old age your hearts should not be hardened yet consider this that the more sinful and evil the dayes of your youth have been the more disquietness of mind and horror of conscience will this breed in you when you are old though you should be called and converted by Jesus Christ Job 13.24 25 26. Thou hidest thy face thou holdest me as thy Enemy Thou dost drive me as a leaf to and fro and thou dost pursue me like dry stubble Now why doth Job complain thus Mark the next words For thou writest bitter things against me and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth Job when he was a young man it seems he was a wicked man and had many sins in his youth and this in his old age made him cry out and say that God took him for his Enemy and that God brake him like a leaf driven with the wind O beloved the sins of your youth though you should be Jobs converted yet they wil bring great disquietness and great horror when you come to age the lusts of youth and the vanities of youth and the sensual pleasures of your youthful dayes they will lay a foundation of sorrow when you come to gray hairs to be neare your graves so Job 20.11 And therefore put the case you should repent and should be called when you are old you have no cause to put off the call of Jesus Christ seeing sins of youth will fill you with horror and disquietness of mind Hence it is that David after he was call'd by the power of the word cryes out Psal 25. Lord remember not the sins of my youth that gravelled and gall'd his conscience the sins of his youth before his call Quae fuerunt inaenia juventut is gaudia haec sunt acerba senectutis gravamina It is the speech of an Author that to look on the pleasurable vanities
of John so the Eunuch was converted by reading Isa 53.7 Beloved God is not bound up to any one way in saving man He that wrought upon Austin by a verse reading upon another by a Sermon he can do so by thee Reading is an ordinance of God and God is not bound up but may use that as ameans of thy effectual call likewise Thirdly Yea but saith another doubting soul Peradventure I was never wrought upon neither by seeing godly people among whom I lived and observing their example nor was I wrought upon by reading good books but I was first wrought upon by hearing such a Minister that I now see is run into error or a Minister that is grown loose in his practice happily in these present times gone to joyne with the enemy against the Kingdom and become a wicked and vile liver and the Minister being bad that wrought upon me makes me question whether the work be not an unsound and bad work also and this gravels many a Christian likewise To which I answer briefly First That suppose the Minister were bad that wrought upon thee yet the badnesse of the Minister is no just ground of making us suspect our calling For then we should never be sure of our call A man may be sure of his own conversion though a man may not be sure of the conversion of him by whose means he was called Secondly Again it is clear in Scripture God may use Ministers that are wicked themselves to convert others The Ministers of the seven Churches of Asia doubtlesse some of them were bad men Paul tells you 1 Cor. 9.27 I keep under my body lest when I preach to others I my self may be a castaway Intimating that a man may preach to others and may be a means to save others and yet not be saved himself So 1 Cor. 13.1 Ministers in this case may be as Cooks are A Cook may dresse many a dish and let them go through his hands to furnish a large and stately Table yet of all these dishes himself hardly taste one So Ministers they may dresse many a dish for their hearers yet they not lick their fingers or taste of this spiritual food themselves As in the building of the Ark there were many men built Noahs Ark to save others that were drowned themselves so many men may build an Ark by preaching the Word and the wayes of God to save other mens soules when they may be drowned themselves Hence it is the Scripture tells us of Starres that fell from Heaven many Ministers that seemed godly Ministers like Starres in their Generation yet they fell and became wicked and loose And I remember Doctor Pembleton a famous Minister in the dayes of Queen Mary and a man whose Ministry had converted many Christians yet at length he himself turned to be a Papist Now these Christians did never misdoubt or suspect their conversion because the man that converted them was a bad man They might be good people though he was a bad Minister so that this is no ground in the world though I confesse it is not ordinary that God makes wicked men meanes of conversion but God ordinarily crowns the Word most in the mouth of a godly Minister yet sometimes I say God may use a wicked man to be a means to convert soules And I would give you these reasons to prove that a wicked man may convert soules and that God ties not conversion onely to a godly Minister Because first the efficacy of the Word doth not depend upon man but upon Jesus Christ and Christ may make use of whom he pleaseth Secondly If only a good man could convert then this would follow that we could be as well sure of another mans conversion as we are of our own which is a thing most untrue For if only a godly man could convert then if I were sure of my own conversion I were as well sure of his conversion that wrought upon me also which cannot be so that clearly this should lay no block in your way because you discern the Minister that wrought upon you to be no good man seeing conversion is not tied onely to a godly Minister Thirdly a third ground from whence doubts arise in called ones is from some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the concomitants that accompany or in the effects that should follow effectual calling and this makes them fear that sure they are not effectually called I will name to you three or four First saith a doubting Christian I do hear in Scripture what effects will follow and what will accompany a man effectually called and I find them not wrought in my soul As now first I apprehend that when a man is effectually called he shall be inabled by God to call upon him in prayer I finde in Scripture 1 Cor. 1.2 That all that are called to be Saints they shall call upon the Lord in every place but alas wo is me I do not find this in my soul I find I have a dull dead listlesse unpraying heart all the dayes of my life and therefore I doubt whether I am effectually called or no. Now to this I shall lay down three things for answer First peradventure you judge that you are not enabled to pray because you want expressions in prayer though you have affections Now if you judge your inability to pray because you want expressions only you judge amisse because prayer is to be judged by the affections not by the expressions Expressions they are but the breath of nature a natural voluble tongue may tumble out expressions whereas affections in prayer they are the breath and fruit of the holy Spirit Therefore do not judge you cannot pray because you have not such fluent expressions as others use for the very essence of a prayer lies in the heart and therefore it is said when the Spirit of God teacheth men to pray it teacheth them not only in expressions but with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 When the Spirit moves the heart and makes you sigh out your requests and sorrow out your supplications you pray best of all Secondly you that judge your inability to pray and therefore think you are not called because you cannot call upon God I would say this unto you That the best of Gods children have found a great difference in their spirits in reference to praying duties the best of Gods children do not alwayes pray alike Sometimes the affections of godly men are as swift in prayer as the Chariots of Aminadab otherwhiles they drive as heavily as Pharaohs Chariots when the wheels were off Sometime the people of God are burning in their affections hot as fire otherwhiles they are frozen in their affections cold as ice None of Gods people are in their carriage alwayes alike towards God in prayer Psal 77.4 It is the speech of Asaph O Lord my spirit is overwhelmed within me I am sore troubled I cannot speak The man was
eclipse your comforts to you Nothing in the world doth so impede your comfort in assurance as incumbring and carking cares about the things of this world Thirdly Take heed you do not harbour the guilt of any one known sin upon your conscience Keeping of sin upon the conscience is a great impediment to your inward comforts You will never be assured while you do thus and therefore if ever you would have assurance remove this It is an observation of Mr Hildersham upon Psal 51.12 14. What doth David do when he prayes for assurance saying Restore to me the joyes of thy salvation establish me with thy free Spirit Restore my comforts and my evidences to me And what course doth he take Read verse 14. Deliver me from blood-guiltinesse O Lord. As much as if he should say All the while that sin lay upon conscience unrepented of as it did for nine monthes together all that while David lost the joyes of the Spirit and lost the comforts of Heaven And therefore when he comes to renew his comforts and restore his assurance he doth with begging of God for assurance beg of God also to deliver him from blood-guiltinesse as knowing that if this sin should be upon conscience unrepented of and unpardoned he should never have the joyes of Gods Spirit restored Beloved you will never have assurance of your effectual calling till your consciences are freed from having sin upon them with approbation It is an observation that Aristotle hath about earth-quakes that they are occasioned by reason of winde got into the Caverns and hollow places of the earth which having no place for vent again it makes ruptures and overturnes houses and mountaines and all before it Sin upon the conscience unrepented of is like winde in the earth it will make a heart quake there that there shall not be that calmnesse and quietnesse and setlednesse of minde which there would be were sinne away Hence we read Esa 33.16 The sinners in Sion are afraid and fearfulnesse hath surprised the Hypocrite The sinners are afraid those who had guilt upon them their sins bred terrour and seare and hypocrites that are conscious to themselves of their own guilt fearfulnesse surprizeth them but the upright and sincere in heart were not so To note that this is a great enemy to inward peace and to assurance about your everlasting estate if so be you harbour sin upon the conscience unrepented of And it is just with God it should be so because if you keep sin in your hearts that will be ever jarring with heaven it is just with God to be at oddes with you Fourthly Avoid the casting of your eye in a way of dejection upon others who are more eminent in grace then you and have got a precedencie of you in the wayes of godlinesse 'T is true indeed a man that is given to spiritual pride and selfe-conceitednesse touching his own goodnesse it is fit that he should look upon those that have a precedencie before him in grace the more to humble him But for a man that lies under trouble of minde and doubtings touching his everlasting estate that man should not look upon others more eminent then he in grace because it will rather increase discomforts then any way work assurance in you If you look upon the glittering beames of the Sun shining in its full strength the more you look upon that orient and resplendent body the more it will dazle your eyes that you can behold but dimly things upon the earth It is so with Christians some Christians they shine like so many Suns in the firmament their graces do so shine and sparkle that if you look upon them they will even dazle your eyes and make you blinde that you cannot see those small scantlings and sparks of grace that are in your own hearts In case therefore you would get assurance avoid the casting of your eye too much upon those that have a precedencie in grace before you Fifthly Take heed you make not sense and feeling the Touchstone to try your effectual calling by sense and feeling will deceive you in the matters of your calling I may allude to that passage in the book of Genesis you know old Isaac was dimme-sighted and by reason of his old age he ran into a mistake by feeling He had Jacob by the hand and by feeling thought it had been Esau Beloved many of us are dimme-sighted in our comforts and in our graces and if we trust to feeling we may be deceived as Isaac was You may think when you have Jacob by the hand I mean grace in the heart that it is but an Esau it is but a reprobate Therefore take heed of making sense and feeling the Touchstone to try your calling by A childe is born yet knowes not that it is born lives yet knowes not that it lives but those about it do so a Christian may be born again live the life of grace and yet not be sensible of it Sixthly Give diligence to remove this hinderance to wit Pride in your gifts and dependance upon your graces Pride and dependance they are not onely murderers of comforts but they murder our graces also and if God sees you swell with pride because you abound in grace he will soon prick that swelling bladder It is the observation of a Modern Divine that exaltings of spirit after assurance attained it will inevitably expose a Christian either to great discomforts or to great sins Hence the Scripture makes mention that Pride of your gifts is not onely an enemy to comfort but an enemy to grace not onely an enemy to the comforts from grace but to the very having of grace Hab. 2.4 If a mans heart be exalted his spirit is not upright within him James 4.6 God resists the proud Job 40.7 and gives grace to the humble So that pride is not onely an enemy to your comforts but to the very getting of grace likewise when the branches of a vine grow luxuriant they shall have the pruning hook And thus you have the first sort of helps laid down to you In case you would get assurance you must use diligence to avoid those things that may be a hinderance to you in getting assurance of your call Secondly A second sort of helps in case you would get assurance is to use diligence in the practice of those things that may be helps and furtherances to the obtaining of assurance about your effectual calling And here I shall name onely six or seven particulars First Exalt arguments of faith against present feelings If so be that you will once enter the lists to dispute with the devil he will out-cavill you and Non-plus you The devil is a cunning Logician and it is not safe saith Dr Preston to argue with the devil the devil will out-dispute and out-argue you It is a Christians work to exalt arguments of Faith against present feelings In case you would get assurance you are to do as Abraham
into a flood of troubles and an ocean of sorrowes I have read in Latimers witings a notable saying of his to Ridley that famous Marty Sometime saith he when I live in a setled and stedfast assurance about the state of my soul me thinks then I am as bold as a Lion I can laugh at all trouble no affliction daunts me but when I am eclipsed in my comforts I am of so fearfu a spirit that I could run into a very mouse-hole Beloved it is so with godly men when they want assurance of their estate and the soundnesse of their call every affliction daunts and every trouble startles them O but when they can live in a setled assurance of their interest in Christ and calling by him they are as bold as Lions and they are born up with comfort under all the sorrowes and sufferings they meet withall But now men that have false perswasions their perswasions can never bear up the heart under a trouble and at a losse and at a pinch because it is not a saving and inward comfort it can never create inward peace The comforts of wicked men when they come to suffer they are like cloth that is ill woven Cloth that is well made let a man be in a showre of rain it will never shrink but ill woven cloth let it be but in a showre it shrinkes presently It is so with mens comforts Bring comforts well wrought into a showre of trouble and that man will not shrink under his trouble but bring an ill wrought and unsound assurance and that will shrink and fail and pull in and will not bear up the heart under the sorrowes and sufferings he may meet withall Presuming Pindleton that boasted his fat flesh should fry in the fire before he would forsake his Religion when he came to the trial flagged presently Fifthly Sound assurance whereever it is it makes the heart more humble towards God and man and more vile in its own eyes Gal. 2.20 There you have this Character I live saith Paul by the faith of the Sonne of God and Christ hath loved me and given himselfe for me Here is his assurance what then Doth this lift up Paul NO it makes him marvel I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me Paul recollects himself I live no it is not I that live but Christ that liveth in me See how Paul was beaten off from a supercilious pride and exaltation of spirit in himselfe It is not I that live The thoughts of his comforts made him recollect himselfe and seeme vile in his own eyes Whereas alas false perswasions puffe up the soule with pride and make a man supercilious and high conceited crying out as Jehu did Jonadab is thy heart like mine Come see my zeal for the Lord they make him proud like Jehu in his false perswasions Sixthly Sound comforts and real assurance do engage the soul to walk before God in a course of holinesse Psal 26.3 Thy loving kindnesse is before mine eyes that is I am assured as if I saw the thing with mine eye that Gods loving kindnesse is towards me What then and I will walk in thy truth I will walk before thee with a holy and sincere heart and I will not haunt with vain persons verse 4. And I will wash my hands in innocency verse 6 c. so that you see David would walk in a course of holinesse because he had an evidence and assurance of Gods love to him So 1 John 3.3 He that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as Christ is pure that is that man that doth nourish hopes and perswasions of heaven his hopes will make him a Christian endevouring to purifie his own heart and to be holy as Christ is holy This is the nature of true assurance But now for false assurance the man that hath it doth not look after holinesse at all he thinks himselfe well enough that he hath attained that which every wise man should rest in Si dixeris sufficit perusti Aug. de verb. Apost Serm. 18. without medling any further nay he is so far from laying bonds upon himselfe to walk in a course of holinesse that he will rather take incouragement from thence to walk in a way of loosenesse and profanenesse Because grace abounds he will abound in sin this is the ill use that false comfort makes of Gods grace And therefore Beloved look over your hearts Do the comforts you pretend to have and the assurance you pretend to enjoy make you more to pursue holinesse that you can say as David did I see thy loving kindnesse is before me and therefore I will love thy wayes and hate sinfulnesse or can you say you have comforts therefore you will run into sin and wallow in wickednes this is an argument thy comforts are not true Seventhly True assurance it is got and kept with a great deal of diligence and industry Your best things are hardest to get and hardest to keep Stones are to be had in every place but gold you must dig deep and take paines to dive into the bowels of the earth before you can get that Weeds grow easily but your fine garden-flowers they must be often watered and carefully looked unto or else they will not grow Beloved this weed of false perswasion and assurance it is a weed that will grow under every hedge and thrive in every Garden without looking after whereas alas the flower of true comforts and saving assurance it is hard to make it grow and when it is growne it is hard to keep it from withering and blasting Assurance it costs a man the waiting many a year the shedding many a teare the making of many a prayer before he can get or keep it whereas alas false assurance it is easily gotten and easily kept A man may get presumption without any paines at all the devil will egge you on both to get and keep it Therefore you that easily get your comforts without prayers and keep your comforts without paines you may be sure your comforts are but false Eighthly True assurance it is got by the Word and grounded upon the Word It is got by the Word Esa 57.19 I create the fruit of the lips peace peace to them that are nigh and to them that are afarre of The fruit of the Lips that is the fruit of the Ministers preaching the Word which falls from the Lips of a godly Minister God hath ordained and created that to be the way to work and create peace peace that is a sound peace in the hearts of his people And it is not onely got but it is bottomed upon the Word also It is the Word and somewhat in the Word that beares up the hearts of the people of God Psal 119.49 Good is the Word of the Lord wherein thou hast caused thy servant to hope So verse 50 51. It is the Word of God that bottomes the comforts of the people of God whereas look now upon
wicked men and they neither got their comfors by the Word nor do they ground them upon the Word but first they have had strong hopes in God ever since they could remember and secondly they keep and ground them either upon their good meaning that they mean well towards God or else thirdly they ground them upon this that they are not so bad as other men are A poor weak ground The Pharisee could say so I am no extortioner no drunkard no adulterer and the like yet never came to heaven for all this Or â—â—se fourthly they ground their comforts on this because they receive from God abundance of outward 〈◊〉 And this you finde was their ground of presumption Hos 12.8 Ephraim said I am become rich and I have found me out substance in all my labour they shall finde no iniquity in me that is sinne Ephraim would say I am become rich and have got me an estate and now I am an honest man and they shall finde no sinne in me yet this was a meer presumption because God tells us Eccles 9.1 No man knowes either love or hatred by the things that are before him And sometimes saith Solomon God gives men riches to their hurt And therefore this can be no evidence of a grounded assurance Ninethly That man that hath a good assurance he is willing to be tried either by God or man touching the truth of his assurance This you finde Psal 26.2 3. Try me O Lord examine me prove me and try my reines and my heart for thy loving kindenesse is before me As if he should say Lord I make a profession that I have thy loving kindnesse in mine eye that I am assured thou lovest me Lord I put my soul upon the Trial Do thou try me if my heart be not right in my assurance And not by God onely but they are willing to be tried by man also And therefore you have that phrase of the Apostle 1 Pet. 3.15 that when men ask you an account of the hope that is in you you should be ready to give answer that is when men ask you what hopes you have of heaven and upon what ground do you hope to be saved the Apostle saith you should be ready to give answer of that hope that is in you And who were they that should do so they were those that had a good conscience those men that had consciences free from sin and had evidence in their own consciences that they belonged to God they were ready whoever asked them to give a reason why they hoped for heaven Whereas a man that hath false perswasions of heaven and of his effectual calling that man cannot endure to be tried either by God or man He is like the man that hath stolne goods in his house A man that is an honest man let the Constable come let search be made it never troubles him because they are his own goods that be hath bought by his own mony but the Thief when the Constable comes and search is made every Trunk that is opened his heart trembles It is so with an unsound-hearted man a man that hath false assurance he is afraid to be searched in point of his assurance lest there should be a flaw found in it Come to a man that hath false perswasions as to your Formalists and those that are presumptuous to wretches come to these men and put this question unto them Upon what ground do you hope for salvation What evidence can you give of your effectual calling How can you make out upon Scripture-grounds that you shall go to heaven Such questions as these will puzzle an unsound heart that he cannot give you any reasonable answer at all And herein the difference is palpable between a grounded assurance and these false perswasions that wicked men have Tenthly True assurance whereever it is it makes a man so to value the comforts of the Spirit of God that he doth undervalue all other comforts in the world in comparison of them Psal 4.6 Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me what then and this shall more glad my heart then when my corn and wine and oile increaseth Beloved assurance it doth so transport and raise up the heart that it makes all things in the world all comforts here below to be nothing in comparison of that The favour of Princes is nothing to that man that hath the favour of God Life and all the comforts of life are nothing to that man that hath comfort in reference to his eternal life Psal 63.3 Thy loving kindnesse O Lord is better then life David did not value his life nor all the comforts of it so as he valued the loving kindnesse of his God But now a man that hath false perswasions these do not so transport his spirit and take up the whole man and fill the soul with joy unspeakable and full of glory these do no whit abate his comforts in the world A man you know that hath tasted hony other things are of an unpleasant taste to him that are eaten after Beloved assurance it is like hony nothing so sweet to godly palate as that is Now when a godly person tastes of the hony of assurance all other outward comforts they are but as gall and wormwood things unpleasant to his taste and palate And thus you see I have laid down ten particulars to you I would intreat you to distinguish in your own hearts whether you are the people that have a true assurance or onely false perswasions of your effectual calling And let me tell you the reason why I speak of this is because the most of men in the world do misse of heaven by false perswasions Where desperation damnes one soul presumption damns a thousand I might say of this as it was sung in the Triumphant song of David and Saul Saul hath slain his thousands but David his ten thousands So I might say desperation hath slain a thousand but presumption ten thousand Thousands and ten thousands are slain and undone for ever by harbouring presumptuous and groundlesse perswasions of their effectual calling when they are not 2 PET. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren Give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure THE Doctrine I am yet upon drawn from these words is this That Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their soules that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ In the prosecution of which I have handled many particulars I now come in the close of this point to make a particular use of all that hath been said and so passe on to that other branch to make our election sure And the Use I shall speak of shall onely be an Use of Exhortation and Direction My Exhortation shall be directed to two sorts of men First to them that do enjoy and are assured of their effectual calling who are called and are assured they are so Secondly to them
that have sometime enjoyed this assurance but now have lost or eclipsed the comfortable feeling of their assurance Into these two heads I shall branch my discourse Vse And first the exhortation or counsel I am to give is to them that are assured of their effectual calling that have done the work the Apostle here injoynes them that have made sure their vocation and by unquestionable evidence can say so And these I would advise to three particular duties First you should be directed rightly to use your assurance Secondly Carefully to preserve your assurance Thirdly Daily to improve your assurance This is the threefold task that lies upon you that enjoy this rich jewel of assurance First You are to take care that you rightly use and manage your assurance A thing hardly gotten if it be not well managed a man may enjoy it in a way of losse to himselfe To use assurance well is the great Art of a Christian And here that I might speak distinctly to this direction I shall lay down eight particulars as concomitants or gracious qualifications which must accompany you in a condition of assurance As First You must use and manage your assurance with humility in case you use it well Assured Christians must be humble Christians The more high you are in comforts the more low you should be in Spirit You know the fullest eares of corn hang down their head lowest when light and flashy darnel that hath nothing of worth in it lifts up its head on high Assured Christians they are like your full and ripe eares of corn the more full they are of this fruit of the Spirit assurance the more low do they and should they hang down their heads It is your empty barrels make a noise when your full vessels though you strike them will not sound It is those Christians that are most empty of faith and most empty of assurance that make most noise and are most proud of their gifts and graces when your assured Christians they are like vessels full of the best liquor that makethe least noise The fuller God hath fil'd you with this comfort the more you should shine forth in humility As Paul when he saith Christ loved him and gave himselfe for him when he was most full of comforts he was most fill'd with humility and said I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me Secondly You must manage your assurance with a high valuation of the comforts of God in you A man that hath received a benefit if he do not value it it is a provocation to the man that gave it either to repent of his gift or take it away David when he had assurance mark how he values it Psal 63.3 Thy loving kindnesse is better then life He valued the comforts of his God and the shining of Gods countenance better then life And Psal 4.6 Lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me and that shall more glad me then when my corn and wine and oile increaseth David would more value the comforts of Gods Spirit then any other comfort in the world Assured Christians that use assurance rightly they must put a high valuation and worth upon it And the reason is Because you will not then easily part with your assurance for a base and beggerly lust and for a fruitlesse sinne if once you know the value and worth of it Thirdly Your assurance must make you to live with a weaned heart from the comforts of this world 2 Cor. 4. the last verse compared with Chapt. 5.1 The Apostle tels you We doe not look after the things that are seen that are temporal What made the Apostle not to look after worldly things he gives the reason For when this house of ours is dissolved we have a dwelling with God eternal in the heavens As if he should say That 's the reason we do not look after the world as worldly men do for we know that when we leave this world we have a heaven to go to The assurance of the Blessednes of their future being did make them undervalue the world as a thing not worthy the glance of the eye Persons that have assurance can say as Philip said to Christ John 14.8 Shew us saith Philip the Father and it sufficeth us Thus saith a gracious heart O sweet Jesus shew us but thy favour assure but my soule that thy Father is a reconciled Father to me in thy selfe that he is my Father as well as thy Father Shew me but the Father and it sufficeth me though I have little or nothing in the world this shall suffice me Gracious hearts that live in the enjoyment of assurance they ought to live with a weaned heart from the comforts of this world Men that have tasted hony or some other sweet morsel they do distaste all other things though of themselves very pleasant So men that have tasted of this hony of Gods love and the sweetnesse of this grace of assurance it will make them distaste and disrelish all the things of this world though of themselves pleasant good If a man look on the Sun it dazles his eyes that he cannot discern colours about him so he that beholds the light of Gods countenance will not look upon the things here below I may allude to that place Luke 5.39 No man saith Christ having drunk old wine straight way desireth new for he saith The old is better His meaning is this No man that hath had a taste of Jesus Christ hath had communion and fellowship with Jesus Christ and lain under the Ministery of Jesus Christ no man that hath drunk of this old wine will say new is better to have other comforts and other pleasures is better no man will say this saith Christ And so he compares his Ministery and his doctrine and the comfort Gods people have thereby to old wine Beloved so I say men that have drunk draughts of this wine of consolation and men that are setâ—edly assured and have had a taste that the Lord is gracious no man will now say that the world is better and the comforts below better No the assurance of Gods love should wean a mans heart from all the comforts of the world As old Jacob said when he saw his sonne Joseph in his old age after he had made many a prayer and shed many a tear O Joseph my sonne is yet alive I have enough As was the carriage of Jacob to Joseph the same should be the carriage of a Christian towards Christ If he can say My Joseph my Jesus is alive in my heart I having him have enough this comfort should ravish his spirit Paul when he was rapt up into the third heaven was so transported that he knew not whether he was in the body or no so are the people of God ravished with heavenly consolations that they minde not these earthly things Cui incipit dulcescere Christus ei necesse est am â—â—escere mundum It
the better know they should live for ever and everlastingly be saved Keep close to God in reading his written Word and this will be of great use Because there are Promises scattered throughout the veines of Scripture Not a Scripture almost you can read but there is a promise or support for your faith one way o◠other Thirdly Keep close to God in a constant and consciencious hearing of his Word and this is a great means to get assurance Luke 1.76 Thou shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his way that is thou shalt go to prepare the peoples hearts that they may receive Jesus Christ that followes after This is spoken of John Baptist And what was the effect of hearing John preach To give knowlege of salvation to his people for the remission of their sins not onely to give them salvation but to give them knowledge and assurance of this salvation O live under the Ministery and under John Baptists Ministery that preacheth repentance and humiliation and that is the Ministery will give most assurance of your salvation Fourthly Keep in communion with God in a daily trying and examining your own hearts Gal. 6.4 If any man think himselfe to be somewhat when he is nothing he deceiveth himselfe but let every man prove his own works and then he shall have rejoycing in himselfe That is let a man examine himselfe and prove his heart and this will be a means to work joy in the heart that they shall have comfort and joy in themselves in the assurance of their happiness Beloved what 's the reason you do not keep assurance the reason is you keep not close to God in a way of communion in these duties of holinesse you keep not to God in a way of prayer and reading and examining your hearts and proving your comforts and your own estate and that 's the reason you are no more full and no more firm Secondly if you would keep your comforts keep your conscience clear from harbouring the guilt of linne Job 11.14 15. I iniquity be in thy hands put it far away if sinne be in thy conversation away with it Let not sinne be in thy heart nor in thy house then shalt thou list up thy face to God without spot thou shalt be stedfast before him and not fear This will ballance thy spirit and keep thy heart from fear and keep thee in a stedfast assurance if thou keep thy conscience clear Thirdly If thou wouldst keep assurance gather and heap together all the experiences thou hast had of God in thy heart in times past I called to remembrance the dayes of old Psal 77.7 Call to remembrance all the experiences thou hast had of God and had of Christ and of thy own grace and the fruits of Gods Spirit in thy own soul and this will wonderfully keep up thy assurance Rom. 5.4 The Apostle tels us Experience worketh hope The more experimental you are and the more you gather experience together the more you strengthen hope and the more hope is strengthened the more assurance is gained These are the particulars you must practise in case you would preserve in your brest this assurance of your effectual calling Secondly There are some things you are to avoid and take heed of in case you would perpetuate assurance in your hearts and those I shall comprize under six heads First Take heed you do not wallow in and give your selves to sensual joy and pleasure There is nothing in the world will more eat out spiritual joy and that effectual assurance in your hearts then giving your selves too much to carnal joy and sensual pleasure which takes away the heart The more your joy runnes in that channel after sensual pleasure the less it runs towards God and the comforts that are above godly sorrow is the seed plot of spiritual joy Secondly The evill of earthly mindedness take heed of that if ever you would keep your comforts There is nothing in the world will more blast your comforts then an earthly minde to be still poring upon the things of the world What the Philosophers say of the Eclipse of the Sun that it is occasioned by the intervening of the Moon between the Sun our sight is true in this case The Moon is an emblem of the world If the world get between Christ the Sun of Righteousnes and our sight it will darken our sight of Jesus Christ and bring eclipses upon our comforts and graces Those men that dig deepest into the bowels of the earth they are oftentimes choaked and stifled by damps that come from the earth So it is with Christians those that will be ever poring and digging about the things of this world it is a thousand to one if from worldly things a damp doth not arise to smother their comforts and quench their graces the world pierceth with sorrow therefore must needs damp your joys A candle though it may shine to the view of all yet put it but under ground and though there be not a puffe of winde the very damps will stifle the light of the flame Beloved though you shine like candles in your comforts yet bring them but under the earth and a clod of earth will stifle your candle will damp your comforts There is nothing laies a Christian under more losse in his assurance then worldly-mindedness Thirdly Avoid remisseness in religious duties If you slack in duties you will slack in comforts lesse duties and lesse comforts go together If a man doth let loose the tacklings of his ship and let slack the sailes that ship cannot go with so swift a motion specially if winde and tide be against it the ship must needs go backward Believers that are assured Christians they are like a ship under saile you go against winde and tide against nature and against corruption against Temptation and the devil and all now if you let slack your sailes and grow remisse in duties you will quickly slack in your comforts whatever weakens your graces and straitens your duties will impaire your assurances and eclipse your comforts and therefore take heed of remisseness in a way of duties oh do not less work when you have most encouragement Fourthly Take heed of spiritual pride If once you begin to admire your selves you then lose your selves If once you are proud of your graces it is a provocation to make God take away your comforts and to make you lose your graces I mean lose them not in the very being but in the comfort and exercise of them pride it is the great murderer of a Christians comforts Fifthly Take heed of grieving the Spirit of God Grieve not the holy Spirit saith the Apostle whereby you are sealed to the day of Redemption The Spirit of God is a sealing Spirit O grieve not this Spirit Ità nos tractat Spiritus sicut tractatur The Spirit deals with us as we deal with
ingages God to take away comforts from a people As First the sinne of superciliousnesse and uncompassionatenesse of spirit towards doubting Christians If a soul carries a proud and supercilious eye over poor Christians and carries no compassion towards doubting souls God for that sinne of wanting bowels of compassion may bring him to the same estate which he could not compassionate in other men Secondly the sinne of grieving the Spirit if you grieve Gods Spirit God will grieve yours Esa 63.10 Or Thirdly The sinne of spiritual pride ordinarily this may be the sinne Or Fourthly The sinne of worldly-mindednesse or eager pursuit after the things of this world As digging in the earth doth endanger a man to bee stifled with damps so digging and poring in the world brings but a damp upon a Christians comforts and many times stifles their assurance As the Sun is eclipsed by the interposition of the Moone between it and our sight so if the world once get between the Sunne of righteousnesse and you it will eclipse the Sunne that you shall not see the glory of Jesus Christ and shall not perceive nor gain that interest in Jesus Christ you had in former time Secondly Another cause you are to search If it be not the commission of some great transgression yet it may be the omission of some necessary and weighty duty and the Lord may bring you upon the stage of discomfort for omission as well as commission If a man doth let but a wound go undressed he may as well die as if you knockt him with a Beetle upon the head Beloved if you let your wounds be undressed and let your discomforts be unlooked after and let all run at sixes and sevens if you interrupt in your duties it is just with God to interrupt you in your comforts If you keep not your watch 't is no wonder if you are surprized There are many Christians that grow carelesse in keeping communion with God that love seldome reading and seldome praying and seldome examining their owne hearts alas men casting away their duties it makes God in judgement make stoppage in a way of comfort Fifthly In your searching work examine your selves what you would do in case God should restore to you your former evidences could you bring your hearts to this temper that you would think no pains too much to take no cost too much to give nothing should be irksom to you that God would have you perform in case he would give you your wonted comforts If you finde this temper of spirit in you this is a very ready way to bring on your comforts and restore the joyes of your salvation to you Secondly Set upon humbling work the onely way to gain what you have lost is to mourn over your losses Jer. 31.18 19 20. See how Ephraim comes to have his comforts restored when he wept over his own discomforts I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe saith God and I said Is Ephraim my dear sonne I saw him smiting upon his thigh humbling his soul for his sinnes and since I saw him I do earnestly remember him and I will shew mercy to him Here you see lamenting Ephraim God in the very time of his bemoaning himself restored his comforts to him we hear many lament for their outward losses but who laments for the losse of inward comforts And David after he had lost his comforts by that great sinne of adultery makes seven penitential Psalmes Psalmes of lamentation or repentance and he calls one of them A Psalm to call to remembrance And as an Authour well notes when David came to renew his comforts he makes a Psalm to call to remembrance those sinnes that might provoke God to take away his comforts from him So Beloved let it be your work to make such Psalms in your Closets and make it your practice to call to remembrance those evils that provoke God to eclipse your comforts to you and let that humble you If you cannot find out the Particular sin labour to humble your soules for every sinne and then to be sure you cannot misse that Thirdly Would you restore your wonted comforts then set upon praying work This course you finde David took Psal 51.8 Make me O Lord to hear the voice of joy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken might rejoyce Create in me a new heart and establesh me with thy free Spirit verse 12. Here you read of Davids praying work how he poured forth his soule in prayer that God would restore to him the joyes of his salvation And here in your praying work I would only cast in three directions First Pray for a distinct sight of those evils that provoked God to take your comforts from you Secondly After you have got a sight bend the strength of your prayers most against those evils that did so provoke God to cloud your comforts Pray against them as against the deadliest enemy you have in the world Thirdly Pray for attaining those graces that may be inlets to spiritual comfort as the graces before named the grace of godlie sorrow the grace of humiliation the grace of faith and of love to Jesus Christ Thus if you set upon searching upon humbling and upon praying work you are in a likely way to have your comforts restored Fourthly Set upon the work of meditation and in this work I shall commend four meditations you are to take into your thoughs which may be very helpful and useful to you in restoring your comforts As First Let your meditations run upon this that sometimes you are not so competent Judges of your own spiritual estate as others may be As First In a time of desertion when God hath left you and frownes upon you Secondly In times of temptation when the devils temptations are violent against you Thirdly In times of Relapse when you are fallen into some great sinne at this time you are not so competent Judges of your own estate but standers by may see more of your own good and your own sincerity then your selves may do as the Proverb is Many times Lookers on see more then he that playes the game it is true in this A Looker on may see sincerity sparkle in thy practice and thy graces shine in thy conversation when thou canst not do it thy selfe A childe when it blubbers and cries can see nothing of his book So when Christians are sad and sullen and lumpish they can hardly read any thing of their evidence Mr. Throgmorton got his assurance this way by the Testimony of a company of godly Ministers that they could lay their soules in his soules stead Let this therefore run in your Meditations that many times standers by and Christians that behold your walkings and see your Actions they may see more ground of comfort in you then your selves can do Secondly Meditate and think upon the comforts God gave you in wonted time and call them to minde Do as David did Psal 77. I called to
nor the glimps of his favour Secondly Thy want of assurance shall not hinder thy successe in prayer but thou maist goe away with an ample returne though thou doest not goe away with fulnesse of comfort Benjamin when he was with Ioseph in Aegypt he had a token of love from Ioseph a Golden Cup in his sacke though he knew it not This is a lively Emblem of the carriage of our Ioseph Jesus Christ to his young Benjamins who may put a love token in your hearts and may give you a Golden Cup and give you grace and you not know that grace is there And Lastly It doth not hinder your reconciliation but you may be at peace with God though you know not that the agreement is made up There may be reall friendship between God and a Believer though there may be some seeming enmity Thou holdest me for thine enemy saith Iob yet God did not though he thought so Zion said the Lord hath forsaken me and my God hath forgotten me Isa 49.14 But God had not done so for he tells them a little before almost in one breath Though a mother may forget her sucking child yet will I not forget you So that there may be some seeming jarres when there is no enmity at all between God and you Seventhly That Christians who have attained the strongest and highest degree of faith have yet had many defects and doubtings mingled with their faith Lord I believe Mark 9. Yet helpe my unbeliefe yet that man attained to a high pitch of faith 1 Thes 3.10 Night and day we pray exceedingly for you that we may see your face and perfect that which is wanting in your faith Now you must not take these Thessalonians as if they were new Converts or a people weake in the faith but herein lies the Emphasis that though these Thessalonians were the most eminent Christians of all the world yet they had a great defect in their faith Therefore compare this with 1 Thes 1.7 8. You were examples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia for from you sounded out the word of the Lord not onely in Macedonia and Achaia but also in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad The people in every place spake of the great measure of faith that was in the godly people of this Church and yet though their faith was so eminent and they Christians so eminent as they were yet they had some defects and there was somewhat lacking in their faith for all this See also Psal 55.5 and Psal 77. So that here is very great comfort for Believers that the strongest Christians in the faith have had great defects that have attended their graces Thus having finished these seven comfortable Conclusions because I would have no deluded sinner nuzled up in presumptuous perswasions of his owne blessednesse when he is a Cursed man and designed for hell I have two or three sad conclusions to lay down for all you that harbour groundlesse and presumptuous perswasions of your effectuall calling when you are not As First You that nourish presumptuous perswasions of your effectuall calling when you are not take this conclusion to dread your hearts That it is likely you shall never be effectually called by Jesus Christ There is no man so unlikely to be truely called by Christ as that man that thinkes he is called when he is not Math. 9. I came not to call the Righteous but sinners to repentance Righteous men i.e. that thought they were righteous and in their owne eye thought they had grace and were as good as the best I came not saith Christ to call them but sinners i.e. sinners that see their sinne and see their need of a Saviour and are sensible of their lost and undone condition without Christ Christ came to save them and to call them to repentance Of all men in the world you are most unlikely to be called that nourish ungrounded perswasions of your effectuall calling Secondly whilst you live in this world you are meere strangers to that inward and spirituall joy which every true Believer feeles and findeth in Jesus Christ You doe not intermeddle with those inward solaces and sweet enjoyments of heart which every sincere believer hath in Jesus Christ A man that hath assurance upon good ground he is so filled with joy that it wil bear him up against all the sufferings and sorrows he may meet with here in the world He that hath assurance no sufferings can daunt him As Adolphus Clarebachius when he was burning at the stake he was so filled with the assurance of Gods love that he saith of himselfe I think in my heart there is not a merrier heart in the world then mine is And so another Martyr burning at the stake saith I taste as much sweetnesse and finde as much ease now I am in the flames as if I lay upon a bed of Roses The fulnesse of his joy in the assurance of Gods love made him willingly undergoe any torment Mr. Saunders was in prison till hee was in prison Bainam said when he was in the fire I feele no more then if I were in a bed of down Whereas thou that harbourest false perswasions thy hopes will shrink when thou commest to suffer like cloath not well woven on a rainy day thy delusions will never beare up thy spirit to so high a pitch as these are This is thy misery thou wilt never have that sweet peace and rejoycing in thy heart Believers have who are assured upon Scripture grounds Thirdly take this for thy dread that thou wilt be thrown into hell before thou art aware It is the speech of Mr. Bolton That man that takes up a false perswasion of his effectuall Calling when he is not he is like unto a man that is in a pleasant dream who dreames he is a King and hath a Kingdome and hath Treasures full of Silver and Gold yet when he awakes behold the man hath nothing He compares him likewise to a man that is asleep upon the mast of a ship he is in a golden dream and dreams of Kingdomes and of thousands which he hath and happily in a moment the wind ariseth the ship is tossed upon the waves the man is tumbled into the Ocean and drowned It is so with many men who nourish Golden dreams and hopes that heaven is theirs and Christ theirs when as alas they are tumbled and thrown into hell before they are aware And this should be a dreadfull meditation to thy heart that harbourest presumptuous perswasions of thy effectuall Calling when thou art not Thus I have done in eleven Sermons with this Doctrine touching effectuall calling I passe now to the third and last point drawn from these words and that is Doct. That Christians ought to put forth a great deale of diligence to make this sure to their soules that they are eternally elected by God to life and salvation Give diligence to make your Calling and election sure