the day Dan. 3. 28 29 30. of their sufferings O the sight of so noble a spirit in the Saints cause others Dan. 6. 25 26 27. to admire God to lift up God to fall in love with God and to glorifie God for owning his people and for being a light to them in darkness a joy to them in sorrow and a pallace to them in a prison God is very sensible of the many praises and prayers that he should lose did he not cause his love and his glory to rest upon his people in suffering times There is Isa 48. 11 nothing that God is so tender of as he is of his glory and that his heart is so much set upon as his glory and therefore he will visit them in a prison Gen. 39. 20. ult and feast them in a dungeon and walk with them in a fiery furnace and shew kindness to them in a Lyons den that every one may shot and cry Dan 6. Grace Grace God loves to act in Zech 4. 7. such ways of Grace towards his suffering ones as may stop the mouths of their enemies and cause the hearts of his friends to rejoyce Fourthly Believing times are times Reas 4 wherein the Lord is graciously pleased to lift up the light of his countenance upon his people when his children are in the Exercise of Faith then the Lord is pleased to make known his goodness and to feal up to them everlasting happiness and blessedness Eph. 1. 13. In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the Word of Truth the Gospel of your Salvation In whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed with the holy Spirit of promise or In whom believing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vide Beza and Calvin ye were sealed that is As you were in the very Excrcise and Actings of Faith upon the Lord Jesus Christ the Spirit of the Lord made sure and sealed up to you your Adoption your Reconciliation your Pardon and everlasting Inheritance Him that honors Christ by believing by fresh and frequent actings of Faith upon him him will Christ certainly honor and secure by setting his seal and mark upon him and by assuring of him of a Kingdom that shakes not of riches that corrupt not and of glory that fades not Ah Christians you wrong two at once Christ and your own souls whilest you thus reason Lord give me first assurance and then I will believe in thee and rest upon thee whereas your great work is to believe and to hold on believing and acting of Faith on the Lord Jesus till you come to be assured and sealed up to the day of Redemption This is the surest and the shortest way to assurance That is a remarkable passage of the Apostle in Rom. 15. 13. Now the God of hope fill you with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shall fill you from signifies to be filled with joy and peace as the sails of a ship are fillâ—d with wind all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost The God of hope saith the Apostle shall fill you with all joy and peace in believing that is whilest you are in the Exercise and Actings of Faith the God of hope shall fill you with that joy that is unspeakable and full of glory and with that peace that passes understanding Faith is the Key that unlocks paradise and lets in a flood of joy into the soul Faith is an appropriating Grace it appropriates all to it self it looks upon God says with the Psalmist This God is my God for ever and Psal 63. 1. 48. 14. ever it looks upon Christ and says My beloved is mine and his desires are towards Can. 7. 10. me it looks upon the precious promises and says these precious promises are 2 Pet. 1. 4. mine it looks upon Heaven and says Henceforth is laid up for me a Crown of 2 Tim 4 8. Righteousness and this fills the soul with joy peace Faith hath an influence upon other graces it is like a silver thred Tantum possumus quanium credimus that runs thorow a chain of Pearl it puts strength vivacity in to all other vertues it made Abraham to rejoyce and it made Noah sit still quiet in the midst of a deluge Faith is the first pin that moveth the soul it is the spring in the Watch that sets all the Golden Wheels of Love Joy Comfort and Peace a going Faith is a root of Grace from whence springs all the sweet flowers of joy peace Faith is like the Bee it will suck sweetness out of every flower it will extract light out of darkness comforts out of distresses mercies out of miseries wine out of Judg. 14. 14. water honey out of the rock and meat out of the eater 1 Pet. 1. 8. Whom having not seen ye love in whom though now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Upon the Exercise of Faith their hearts are filled with joy with unspeakable joy with glorious joy Faith sees in Christ Plenitudo abundantiae There is in Christ not onely plenitudo vasis but plenitudo fontis the fulness of a vessel but the fulness of a fountain and this makes the heart of a Saint leap when he sees it by an eye of Faith and plenitudo redundantiae a fulness of abundance and a fulness of redundancy and this fills the heart with glorious joy Ah Christians believing believing is the ready way the safest way the sweetest way the shortest way the onely way to a wel-grounded assurance and to that unspeakable joy and peace that flows from it as the effect from the cause the fruit from the root the stream from the fountain There is such assurance and such joy that springs from the fresh and frequent actings of Faith that cannot be exprest that cannot be painted no man can paint the sweetness of the honey comb the sweetness of a clustre of Canaan the sweetness of paradise the fragrancy of the Rose of Sharon As the being of things cannot be painted and as sweetness of things cannot be painted no more can that assurance and joy that flows from believing be painted or expressed it is too great and too glorious for weak man Rom. 4. 18. to paint or set forth When Abraham believed in hope against hope and when in the face of all dangers and difficulties he put forth such noble and glorious acts of Faith as to conclude That the Lord would provide himself a Gen. 22. 8. Dominus providebit the Lord will provide was Maximilians pious Motto and should be every Saints Motto in straits and troubles Lamb for a burnt-offering and that in the Mount he would be seen God is so taken with the actings of his Faith and the effects of it that he swears by himself That in blessing he would bless him that is I will
As the Publicans God be merciful to me a sinner Thirdly There is conceived prayer and prescribed prayer Fourthly There is publick or private prayer These hints may suffice as to this wherein we speak to God in Faith Humility Sincerity and Fervency of Spirit through the Mediation of Christ begging those good things that we and others want deprecating that we and others fear and giving thanks for that we and others have received Prayer is a speaking to God face to face it is Iacobs Ladder by which the soul climbs up to Heaven it is Noahs Dove that goes and returns not till it brings Assurance of Peace But not to please you with notions you must remember that that Prayer that accompanies Salvation is such Prayer as hath in it all the requisites of Prayer Now there are four requisites in Prayer First The person must be righteous Iam. 5. 16. The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much John 9. 31. God heareth not sinners The Jews urge it as a Proverb An unclean person polluteth his own Prayers Good motions from a bad heart make no musick in Heaven the sweet words that drop from a Lepers lips are but lies in the account of God Hosea 11. 12. I have read of a Jewel that being put in a dead mans mouth loseth all its vertue Prayer in the mouth of a wicked man that is dead God-wards Christ-wards Heaven-wards and Holiness-wards is a Jewel that loseth all its vertue Psal 50. 16 17. But unto the wicked God saith What hast thou to do to declare my Statutes or that thou Quid prodest voce invocare quem operibus negas Jerom. What availeth it to invocate him with thy voice whom thou deniest in thy works shouldest take my Covenant into thy mouth Seeing that thou hatest instruction and castest my words behinde thee Bias an Heathen being at Sea in a great storm and perceiving many wicked wretches with him in the ship calling upon the gods O saith he forbear Prayer hold your tongues I would not have the gods take notice that you are here they will sure drown us all if they should You are wise and know how to apply it The second requisite in Prayer is It was both a prophane and blasphemous Speech of that Atheistical wretch that told God he was no common beggar he never troubled him before with prayer and if he would hear him that time he would never trouble him again Heil Mic p. 376. this viz. The matter of your Prayer must be good 1 John 5. 14. And this is the confidence that we have in him That if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us The Favorits of Heaven have no further the ear of the King of Kings in Prayer then the matter of their Prayer is good and agreeable to his will Rom. 8. 27. The matter of your Prayer must fall under some particular or general precept or promise or else God will never own it nor honor it with acceptance You must not pray as Augustine prayed before his Conversion he prayed for continency with a Proviso Lord give me continency saith he but not yet Such Hypocrisie is double Iniquity and God will deal with such sinners accordingly Thirdly As the matter of your Prayer must be good so the manner of your Prayer must be right God regards not so much the matter as the manner of our Prayer God loves Adverbs better then Nowns not to Criton pray onely but to pray well Non bonum sed benè agere not to do good but to do it well Now for the better and further clearing of this truth I shall shew you by Divine Assistance what it is to pray in a right manner and that I shall do in the following particulars First To pray in a right manner is to pray understandingly to pray knowingly 1 Cor. 14. 15. I will pray with understanding He that doth not pray understandingly doth not pray but prate as that Parrot in Rome that could distinctly say over the whole Ignorat sanè improbus omnis saith Aristotle Ignorance is the source of all sin the very well-spring from which all wickedness doth issue Creed John 4. 22. Ye worship ye know not what sayes Christ So many pray they know not what Without knowledge the minde cannot be good Prov. 19. And can the Prayer be good when the minde is bad A blinde minde a blinde Sacrifice and a blinde Priest are abominable to God It was a good saying of one God heareth not the words of one that prayeth saith he unless he that prayeth heareth them first himself And verily God will never understand that Prayer that we do not understand our selves Secondly To pray in a right manner is to pray believingly Heb. 11. 6. He The Philosopher could say Qui timiâ—è rogat docet negare He that craveth fearfully draweth on a denial that cometh unto God must believe that he is that is that he is really as good as gracious as glorious as excellent as constant c. as his word reports him to be And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Mark 11. 24. Therefore I say unto you what things soever ye desire when ye pray believe that ye One of the Ancients describes Prayer thus It is saith he Ascensus mentis ad Deum a climbing up of the heart to God which cannot be done but by the power of Faith receive them and ye shall have them In the Greek it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Present-tense Ye do receive them to shew the certainty of receiving them You shall as certainly receive the good things that believingly you ask in Prayer as if you had them already in your hand God will never let the hand of Faith go empty away in Prayer Faith is Gods darling and he never fails to give it a worthy portion a Benjamins portion a Hannahs portion a double portion Iam. 1. 5 6 7. If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him But let him ask in faith nothing wavering for he that wavereth is like Unbelief is virtually all ill therefore fight especially against it a wave of the Sea driven with the wind and tossed For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. He that prayeth doubtingly shuts the Gates of Heaven against his own Prayers It is reported in the life of Luther that when he prayed it was Tanta reverentia ut si Deo tanta fiducia ut si amico with so much reverence as if he were praying to God and with so much boldness as if he had been speaking to his friend Faith in Prayer makes a man divinely familiar and bold with God in Prayer That Prayer that hath not the image and stamp of Faith upon it is no Prayer in Divine account The sweetest flowers of Paradise are onely
not been soundly prest thereunto of the Reasons that have prevailed with me to publish this Treatise to the World and to dedicate it to your selves Let your hearts dwell on Truth as the Bee doth upon the Flower every Truth being a Flower of Paradise that is more worth then a World Now the God of all Grace fill your Hearts and Souls with all the Fruits of Righteousness and Holiness that you may attain unto a full Assurance of your Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness which that you may is the sincere earnest and constant desire of him who is Your Souls Servant Thomas Brooks THE PREFACE touching the nature of Assurance TO be in a state of true Grace is to be miserable no more it Psal 144. 15. Mal. 3. 17. Rom. 8. 16 17. is to be happy for ever A Soul in this state is a Soul near and dear to God it is a Soul much beloved and very highly valued of God it is a Soul housed in God it is a Soul safe in everlasting Arms Deut. 33. 26 27. 1 Cor. 3. 22 23. it is a Soul fully and eminently interested in all the highest and noblest Priviledges The being A man may be Gods and yet not know it his estate may be good and yet he not see it Ephes 1. 13. 1 John 5. 13. Gal 4. 6. in a state of Grace makes a mans condition happy safe and sure but the seeing the knowing of himself to be in such a state is that which renders his life sweet and comfortable The being in a state of Grace will yeeld a man a Heaven hereafter but the seeing of himself in this state will yeeld him both a Heaven here and a Heaven hereafter it will render him doubly blest blest in Heaven and blest in his own Conscience Now Assurance is a reflex act of a gracious Soul whereby he clearly and evidently sees himself in a gracious blessed and happy state it is a sensible feeling and an experimental discerning of a mans being in a state of Grace and of his having a right to a Crown of Glory and this rises from the seeing A man cannot see the Sun but by the light of the Sun in himself the special peculiar and distinguishing Graces of Christ in the light of the Spirit of Christ or from the testimony and report of the Spirit of God the Spirit bearing witness with his Spirit that Rom. 8. 16 17. he is a Son and an Heir apparent to Glory It is one thing for me to have It is one thing to be an Heir and another thing to know that one is an Heir the childe in the Womb or in the Arms may be an Heir to a Crown and yet understands it not Grace it is another thing for me to see my Grace it is one thing for me to believe and another thing for me to believe that I do believe it is one thing for me to have Faith and another thing for me to know that I have Faith Now Assurance flows from a clear certain evident knowledge that I have Grace and that I do believe c. Now this Assurance is the beauty and top of a Christians glory in this life it is usually attended with the strongest joy with the sweetest comforts and with the greatest peace It is a Pearl that most want a Crown that few wear His state is safe and happy whose Soul is adorned with Grace though he sees it not though he knows it not Assurance is not of the essence of a Christian it is required to the bene esse to the wel-being to the comfortable and joyful Being of a Christian but it is not required to the esse to the being of a Christian A man may be a true Believer and yet would give all the World were it in his power to know that he is a Believer to have Grace and to be sure that we have Grace is glory upon the Throne it is Heaven a this side Heaven But more of these things you will finde in the following Discourse to which I refer you THE CONTENTS THe Preface touching the Nature of Assurance CHAP. I. PRoving by Ten Arguments that Persons may in this life attain to a wel-grounded Assurance of their Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness Page 1 to 30 This truth improved against Papists and Arminians P. 30. to p. 35. CHAP. II. COntaining several weighty Propositions about Assurance P. 35. to p. 77 Further in this Chapter is shewed Ten special Seasons and Times wherein the Lord is pleased to give to his people a sweet Assurance of his favor and love p. 77. to p. 155 CHAP. III. COntaining Ten Hinderances and Impediments that keep poor Souls from Assurance with the means and helps to remove those Impediments and Hinderances p. 155. to p. 207 Further in this Chapter is laid down Six Motives to provoke Christians to put out all their strength and might against bosom sins against the iniquity of their heels against the sins that do so easily beset them p. 207. to p. 218 Also Five Means to help on the Mortification and Destruction of bosom sins p. 218. to p. 224 CHAP. IV. COntaining Ten Motives or Incentives to provoke all that want Assurance to be restless in their spirits till they have obtained it p. 225. to p. 251 Also in this Chapter you have Ten Advantages that will redound to such Souls that get a wel-grounded Assurance of their Everlasting Happiness and Blessedness p. 251. to p. 270 CHAP. V. SHewing Nine Ways and Means of gaining a wel-grounded Assurance c. In the handling of which several considerable Questions are also resolved p. 272 to p. 320 Also in this Chapter Eight special things are discovered As first What knowledge that is that doth accompany Salvation p. 320. to p. 362 Secondly What Faith that is that accompanies Salvation that borders upon Salvation p. 362 to p. 399 Also several Hints are given both concerning strong and weak Faith p. 399 to p. 405 Thirdly What Repentance that is that accompanies Salvation p. 405. to p. 424 Fourthly What Obedience that is that accompanies Salvation p. 424. to p. 445 Fifthly What Love that is that accompanies Salvation p. 445. to p. 460 Fourteen wayes whereby that love that accompanies Salvation doth display and manifest it self p. 460. to p. 487 Sixthly What Prayer that is that doth accompany Salvation p. 487 to p. 504 Eight Differences betwixt the Prayers of Souls in Christ and Souls out of Christ betwixt the Prayers of Believers and Unbelievers p. 504 to p. 516 Seventhly What Perseverance that is that doth accompany Salvation p. 516 to p. 522 Eighthly What Hope that is that doth accompany Salvation p. 522 to p. 544 Two Cautions upon the whole p. 544 545 CHAP. VI. SHewing Eight notable Differences between a true and a counterfeit Assurance c. p. 546 to p. 565 Also in this Chapter is set forth in Nine special things the difference between the Whisperings of the
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to know certainly we are as certain of it as we are certain that we live that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren hee that loveth not his brother abideth in death The Apostle doth not say we thinke we hope c. that we are translated from death to life but we know that we are translated from death to life because we love the brethren Love to the brethren is not the cause of our passing from death to life that is from a natural state to a spiritual state from hell to heaven but an evidence thereof I confesse it is very sad to consider how this precious stream of love is even dried up in many It was wont to be a Proverb Homo homini Deus One man is a God to another But now it may bee truly said Homo homini Daemon One man is a Or Homo homini Leo one man is a Lion to another Devil to another Hee that wants love to his brethren wants one of the sweetest springs from whence Assurance flowes A greater hell I would not wish any man then to live and not to love the beloved of God Now is it not as easie a thing as it is pleasant for a man that hath severall sweet Springs in his Garden to sit Joh. 4. 14. down draw water and drinke O beleeving souls there are Springs there are Wels of living water not only near Gen. 21. 15. to the 19. ver you but in you why then doe you with Hagar sit down sorrowing and weeping when you should be a tasting or a drinking not only of the springs above you but also of the springs within you A man that hath Gal. 5. 22 23 fruit in his Garden may both delight his eye and refresh his spirit with tasting of it certainly we may both eye and taste the fruits of the Spirit in us they being the first fruits of eternall life I thinke none but mad souls will say that grace is that forbidden fruit that God would have us neither Col. 1 27 Solomons Song 1. 5. Solomons Song 4. 7. Psal 45. 13. see nor taste we ought not so to minde a Christ in heaven as not to minde Christ in us the hope of glory Christ would not have his Spouse so to minde her owne blacknesse as to forget that she is all faire and glorious within Sixthly The Holy Ghost exhorts us to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure and presses us to looke to the obtaining of a full assurance therefore Beleevers may attaine unto an assurance of their everlasting happinesse and blessednesse Wherefore 2 Pet. 1. 10. the rather Brethren saith the Apostle give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you doe these things you shall never fall The Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vide Beza and Jansen Luther saith he had rather obey then work Miracles translated give diligence signifieth two things 1. All possible haste and speed 2. All manner of seriousness and intention in doing make it your maine businesse your chiefest study your greatest care to make your calling and election sure saith the Apostle when this is done your all is done till this be done there is nothing done and to shew the necessity utility excellency and possibility of it the Apostle puts a rather upon it wherefore the rather give all 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 firme or stable God loves curristas not quaeristas the runner not the questioner he is taken most with them that are more for motion then notion for doing then talking diligence to make your calling and election sure or as it is in the Originall firme or stable it is the one thing necessary it is of an internal and eternal concernment to make firme and sure work for your souls Assurance is a jewel of that worth a pearle of that price that he that wil have it must work and sweat and weep and wait to obtaine it he must not only use diligence but he must use all diligence not only digge but he must dig deep before he can come to this golden Mine Assurance is that white stone that new name that hidden Manna that none can obtaine but such as labour for it as for life Assurance is such precious gold that a man must win it before he can wear it win gold and wear gold is the language both of heaven earth The Riches Honours Languages Psal 127. 1 2. Luk. 5. 5. Prov. 14. 23 and favours of this world cannot bee obtained without much trouble and travell without rising early and going to bed late c. and do you think that assurance which is more worth then heaven and earth can be obtained by cold lazie heart-lesse services if you doe you doe but deceive your own soules There are five things that God Qui fecit te sine te non salvabit tâ— sine te Aug. wil never sell at a cheap rate Christ Truth his Honour Heaven and Assurance he that wil have these must â—ay a good price for them or goe for ever without them And as Peter exhorts you to give all â—iligence to make your calling and election sure So Paul presseth you to looke to the obtaining of full assurance which does clearly evidence that there is a possibility of attaining unto a full assurance of our happinesse and blessednesse in this life And we desire saith Heb. 6. 11. 12 Vide Calvin and Piscator on the text Praecepta decent exempla movent Precepts may instruct but examples doe perswade See from the 13. vers to the 19 ver of this chapter the Apostle that every one of you doe shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end that yee be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherite the Promises We must not only strive after assurance but we must strive and shew all diligence to the attaining of that rich and full assurance which wil scatter all feares and doubts which wil make a soule patient in waiting couragious in doing and cheerful in suffering and which wil make a heaven in a mans heart on this side heaven and make him goe singing into Paradise in despight of all calamities and miseries And certainly it can never stand with the holinesse righteousnesse faithfulnesse and goodnesse of God to put his people upon making their calling It was a good saying â—a quod juâ—es jube quod vis and election sure and upon obtaining full assurance if there were not a possibility of obtaining a full and well-grounded assurance of their happinesse and blessedness in this life and therefore it doth undeniably follow that they may attaine unto a blessed assurance of their felicity and glory whilst they are in this vale of misery The contrary opinion we make a mans life a hell here though he should escape a hel hereafter Seventhly
The Lord hath in much mercy and love propounded in his Word the wayes and meanes whereby Beleevers may obtain a wel-grounded assurance of their everlasting happiness and blessedness and therefore it may be obtained take three Scriptures to evidence this The first is in that 2 Pet. 1. chap. 5-13 if you 2 Pet. 1. ch 5. 13. turne to the words you shal finde that the Lord does not only presse them to give all diligence to make their calling and election sure but he shewes them plainly the way and meanes whereby this may be done namely by adding to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledge c. The second Scripture is 1 Cor. 11. 28 that in the 1 Cor. 11. 28. But let a man examine himselfe and so let him eate of that bread and drinke of that cup. By examination the Soule comes to see what right it hath to Christ and all the precious things of his House and beleevingly to eate so of that Bread of Life of that heavenly Manna as that it may live for ever The third Scripture is that 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine 2 Cor. 13. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Goldsmith does the gold in the fire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. unapproved or counterfeit not reprobates as it is translated vide Grâ—tius your selves whether yee be in the faith prove your selves know yee not your owne selves how that Christ is in you except yee be reprobates or unapproved or rejected by a serious examination of a mans owne estate he may know whether he hath faith or not whether he be Christs Spouse or the Devils strumpet whether there bee a worke of grace upon his heart or not and certainly it cannot stand with the glorious wisdome unspotted righteousness and transcendent holiness of God to put men upon the use of such Eâ—od 15. 11. and such meanes in order to the obtaining of such an end if that end could not be obtained by the use of the meanes prescribed Man that hath but a sparke of that wisdome righteousnesse Job 38. 5. 5. 18. 21. 33. verses compared and holinesse that is in God wil not put any upon the use of such oâ— such meanes for the obtaining of health wealth or the like unlesse there be a proper tendency in the use of those means prescribed to reach such Abstracts do better expresse God then concretes and adjectives ends and will God who is wisdome righteousnesse and holiness in the abstract Surely no God is one infinite perfection in himselfe which is eminently and virtually all perfections of the creatures and therefore it is impossible that God should act below the creature which he should do if he should put the creature upon the use of those meanes that would not reach the ends for which the means were used Thus you cleerly see by this seventh Argument that beleevers may in this life attain to a Well-grounded Assurance of their everlasting happiness and blessedness Eightly It was the principal end of Christs institution of the Sacrament of the Supper that he might assure them of his love and that hee might seale up to them the forgivenesse Matth. 26 27 28. of their sinnes the acceptation of their persons and the salvation of their soules The nature of a Seale is to make things sure and firme among Dan. 6 8. Mat. 27. 66. men So the Supper of the Lord is Christs Broad-seal it is Christs Privy-seale whereby he seals and assures his people that they are happy here that they shall be more happy hereafter that they are everlastingly beloved of God that his heart is set upon them that their names are written in the 2 Tim. 4. 8. Book of life That there is laid up for them a crowne of righteousnesse and that nothing shall be able to separate them from him who is their light their life their Col 3. 11. crowne their all in all In this Sacrament Christ comes forth and shews his love his heart his bowels his blood that his children may no longer say Doth the Lord Jesus love us doth he delight in us c but that they may say with the Spouse I am my beloveds Caâ— 7. 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and his desire is towards me Many precious Christians there are that have laine long under feares His desirous affection is towards me as the wiveâ— is towards her dearest husband So the Hebrew word signifies and doubts sighing and mourning and that have run from Minister to Minister and from one duty to another c. and yet could never be perswaded of the love of Christ to their poor soules but still their fears and doubts have followed them till they have waited upon the Lord in this glorious Ordinance by which the Lord hath assured them of the remission of their sins and the salvation of their soules In this Ordinance God hath given Rev 2. 17. them mannah to eat and a white stone and new name which no man knoweth but he that receiveth it Tell me you precious beleeving souls whether you have not found God in this Ordinance often whispering of you in the ear saying Sons and daughters be of Mat. 9. 2. good cheer your sinnes are forgiven you I know you have Those Scriptures that do expresly require Saints to be abundant and constant in rejoycing and in praising of God to have alwayes harps in their Nulla verior miseria quâ—m falsa laetitia there is no â—â—uer misery then false joyâ— hands and Hallelujahs in their mouths doe clearly evidence that beleevers may attaine to a well-grounded Assurance in this life How can they rejoyce and glory in God that doe not know whether hee will bee an everlasting friend or an everlasting enemy to them whether hee will alwayes breath out love or wrath upon them how can they Psal 13 7. 2. but hang their harps on the Willows that do not know but that they may live in a strange land yea in a land of darknesse all their dayes How can they be cheerful or thankful that doe not know but that they may at last heare that heart-breaking that conscience-wounding that soul-slaying word Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting Matth. 25. 4. It would even be an endlesse businesse to cite every Scripture wherein this duty is injoyned It is a duty that is much pressed in both Testaments as little practised by all whimpering Christians fire prepared for the devil and his Angels Now there is no duty in the whole Book of God that is more frequently and abundantly prest upon beleevers then this of joy and rejoycing of praise and thanksgiving as all know that know any thing of the Scripture 1 Thess 5. 16. Rejoyce evermore God would not have his children alwayes a putting finger in the eye Ah Christians remember what Christ hath done for you and what he is still a doing for you in heaven and what
loathed and long since crucified when those old sins which hath cost a soule many prayers and many tears and many sighs and may groans and many complaints when those sinnes that have been long buried shall bee againe revived and meet the soule and stare upon the soule and say to the soule We are thine and wee will follow thee wee are thine and wee will haunt thee Ah how will this cause a mans countenance to bee changed his thoughts to be troubled his joynts to be loosed and his heart to be amazed David and Job meeting with the sins of their youth long after they were Psal 25. 7. Job 13 26. lamented and pardoned makes their hearts startle and tremble Upon the new risings of old sinnes the soule begins to question all and thus to expostulate the case Surely my estate is not good my pardon is not sealed if it be how comes these sinnes to bee revived to be remembred hath not God ingaged himselfe in the promises Isa 43. 25 Jer. 31. 34. of Grace that those sinnes that are pardoned shall never be remembred and surely if these sinnes be not pardoned I have reason to feare that others bee not pardoned and if my sins bee not pardoned how shall I escape being destroyed Surely my repentance was not sound my sorrow was not sincere the blow the wound I gave sinne was not mortall if it had how comes it to passe that it now meets mee like an armed enemy Thus these new risings of old sinnes keeps many a mans soule and assurance asunder Again a man may have grace and yet want assurance and this may arise Perfection is desireable on earth but shall be onely enjoyed in heaven It was a sweet saying of One In libro tâ—o scribuntur omnes qui quod possunt faciunt si quod debent non possunt They are surely written all in Gods Book that doe what they can though they cannot but under do from his falling short of that perfection that the word requires and that other Saints have attained to Ah sayes such a soul surely I have no grace Oh how short do I fall of such and such righteous rules and of such and such precious Christians Ah how cleer are they in their light how strong are they in their love how high are they in their attainments how are their hearts filled with grace and their lives with holinesse all their motions towards God and towards man speaks out Grace Grace they pray indeed like Saints and live indeed like Angels Now many poore soules comparing themselves with the perfect rule of righteousnesse and with those that are in the highest formes in Christs Schoole and that are the noblest and choicest patterns for purity and sanctity and finding such a vast disproportion between their hearts and the rule between their actions and lives and the lives and actions of others they are apt to fit downe sadded and discouraged Suetonius reports of Julius Caesar that seeing Alexanders statue hee fetched a deep sigh because hee at that age had none so little So many precious Remember this Though your consolation depends upon degrees of grace yet your salvation depends upon the truth of grace soules sit downe sighing and weeping that they have lived so long and done so little for God and for their owne internal and eternal good This wounds and sinkes their spirits that they are so unlike to those in Grace that they desire to be like unto in Glory and that they are so far below such and such in spirituals whom they are so far above in temporals 5 Again a man may have true grace and yet want assurance and this may arise from that smoak and clouds those feares and doubts that corruption raises in the soule so that the soule cannot see those excellent The being of grace is a different thing from the seeing of grace The blind man you know in the Gospel calls his faith unbeleef graces that otherwise might bee discerned though there may bee many precious gems and jewels in the house yet the smoak may hinder a man from seeing them sparkle and shine So though there be many precious graces in the soules of Saints yet corruption may raise such a dust such a smoak in the soule that the soule is not able to see them in the beauty and glory Gen. 21. 19 20 The Wel of water was neer Hagar but she saw it not till her eyes were opened by the Lord. So grace is neer the soul yea in the soul sometimes and yet the soul doth not see it till God opens the Gen. 28. eye and shews it The Lord was in this Yet a Saint at worst is not like him in Plutarch who would not bee resolved of his doubts because he would not lose the pleasure in seeking for resolution No he loves and looks and longs for resolution to all his doubts place said Jacob and I knew it not so many a precious soule may say Grace was in my heart and I knew it not I saw it not Blessed Bradford in one of his Epistles saith thus O Lord meethinks I feel it so with me sometimes as if there were no difference between my heart and the heart of the wicked my minde is as blinde as theirs my spirit as stout stubborne and rebellious as theirs and my thoughts as confused as theirs and my affections as disordered as theirs and sâ—rvices as formal as theirs c. Ah Christians have not many of your soules found it so Surely yes no wonder then that though you have grace yet you have not seen it sparkling and shining in your soules as some have thought that their fields have had no corne because they have been so full of weeds and that their heap hath no wheat because nothing hath appeared but chaffe that their pile hath no gold because it hath been covered with much dross So some have thought that their hearts have been void of grace because they have been so full of Matth. 14 30 Mat. 12. 15. Gen 20. Chap. fears and doubts Peter at one time beleeves and walkes at another time he doubts and sinkes Abraham beleeves and offers up Isaac at one time hee feares and falls at another time Say thou art my sister lest they kill mee So David and Job they had their shufflings tremblings faintings shakings Psal 116. 11. Psal 31. 22. and questionings It is not alwayes high water with Saints sometimes they are reduced to a very low ebbe The best of Saints are like the Rara hora brevis mora Ber. Arke tossed up and downe with waves with feares and doubts and so it will bee till they are quite in the bosome of Christ 6 Lastly a man may have grace and yet not see it yet not know it and this may arise from his non-searching his non-examining his non-ransacking of his owne soule there is gold in the Mine and men might finde it if they would
Lord. It is dangerous to be curious in prying into hidden matters and careless and negligent in observing known Laws say to him Satan thou hast been a lyer and a murderer John 8. from the beginning thou art a profest enemy to the Saints confidence and assurance to their consolation and salvation If thou hast any thing to say say it to my Christ he is my comfort and crown my joy and strength my redeemer and intercessor and he shall plead for me Ah Christians if you would but leave disputing and be much in believing and in obeying assurance would attend you and you should Lye down in peace and take Job 11. 13. to 20. your rest and none should make you afraid The third Impediment that keeps 3. Impediment poor souls from Assurance is the want of a thorow search and examination of their own souls and of what God hath done and is a doing in them Some there be that can read better in Conradus Motto was a notable rule Omnium mores tues imprimis observato observe all mens carriages but especially thy own other mens Books then in their own and some there be that are more critical and curious in observing and studying other mens tempers hearts words works and ways then their own This is a sad evil and causes many souls to sit down in darkness even days without number He that will not seriously and frequently observe the internal motions and actings of God in and upon his noble part his immortal soul may talk of assurance and complain of the want of assurance but it will be long before he shall obtain assurance O you staggering wavering souls you tossed and disquieted souls know for a certain that you will never come to experience the sweetness of assurance till your eyes be turned inward till you live more at home then abroad till you dig and search for the Mines that be in your own hearts till you come to discern between a work of Nature and a work of Grace till you come to put a difference between the precious and the vile between Gods work and Satans work When this is done you will finde the clouds to scatter and the Sun of Righteousness to shine upon you and the Day-star of assurance to rise in you Doubting trembling souls do not deceive your selves it is not a careless slight slender searching into your own hearts that will enable you to see the deep the secret the curious the mysterious work of God upon you If you do not seek as for silver and search for Prov. 2. 3 4 5. Christ and grace as for hid treasures you will not finde them Your richest So saith Pliny Seneca and others mettals lie lowest your choicest gems are in the bowels of the Earth and they that will have them must search diligently and dig deep or else they must go without them Doubting souls you must search and search again and dig and dig again you must work and sweat and sweat and work if ever you will finde those Spiritual Treasures those Pearls of price that are hid under the ashes of corruption that lie low in the very bowels of your souls Tell me O doubting souls hath that sweet word of the Apostle been ever made to stick in power upon you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to pierce tâ—orow c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to prove and try as Gold-smiths trie their mettal by the fire and the touchstone God brings not a pair of scales to weigh our graces but a touchstone to try our graces if our gold be true though it be never so little it will pass currant with him He will not quench the smoaking flax c. 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the Faith or Whether Faith be in you prove your selves c. The precept is here doubted to shew the necessity excellency and difficulty of the work to shew that it is not a superficial but a thorow serious substantial Examination that must inable a man to know whether he hath precious Faith or no whether he be Christs Spouse or the Devils strumpet All is not gold that glisters all is not Faith that men call Faith therefore he that would not prove a cheater to his own soul must take some pains to search and examine how all is within Climacus reports that the Ancients used to keep in a little Book a memorial of what they did in the day against their night reckoning But ah how few be there in these days that keeps a Diary of Gods mercies and their own infirmities of Spiritual Experiences and the inward operations of Heavenly Graces Seneca reports of a Heathen man that would every night ask himself these three Questions First What evil hast thou healed this day secondly What vice hast thou stood against this day thirdly In what part art thou bettered this day And shall not Christians take pains with their own hearts and search day and night to finde out what God hath done and is a doing there God hath his doing hand his working hand in every mans heart either he is a working there in ways of mercy or in ways of wrath either he is a building up or a plucking down either he is a making all glorious within or else he is a turning all into a Hell Well doubting souls remember this That the soundest joy the strongest consolations flow from a thorow examination of things within This is the way to know how it is with you for the present and how it is like to go with you for the future This is the way to put an end to all the wranglings of your hearts and to put you into a possession of Heaven on this side Heaven The fourth Impediment that keeps 4. Impediment many precious souls from Assurance is their mistakes about the work of grace Look as many Hypocrites do take a good nature for grace and those common gifts and graces that may be in a Saul a Jehu a Judas for a special distinguishing grace c. So the dear Saints of God are very apt to take grace for a good nature to take Pearls of price for stones of no value Mark 9. 24. to take special grace for common grace Many trembling souls are apt to call their Faith unbelief with the man in the Gospel and their Confidence presumption and their Zeal passion c. And by this means many are kept off from Assurance Now the way to remove this Impediment is wisely and seriously to distinguish between renewing grace and restraining grace betwixt common grace and special grace betwixt temporary grace and sanctifying grace Now the difference betwixt the one and the other I have shewed in Ten particulars in my * The same man sells that that sells this Treatise called Precious remedies against Satans devices from page 217. to page 230. And to that I refer thee for full and
assurance and less money will serve your turns get but more assurance and less places of honor and profit will serve your turns get but assurance and then you will neither transgress for a morsel of Bread nor yet violently pursue after the Golden Wedge c. Fourthly Assurance will exceedingly heighten you in your communion with God and it will exceedingly 1 John 1. 1 2 3 4. sweeten your communion with God Assurance of a mans propriety in God raises him high in his fellowship with God There are none that have such choice and sweet communion with God as those that have the clearest assurance of their interest in God as may be seen thorowout the whole Book of Solomons Song My beloved Cant. 2. 16. is mine and I am his saith the Spouse I am assured of my propriety in him sayes she and therefore he shall lie all night betwixt my Brests and upon Chap. 1. 13. Chap 7. 5. this account it is that she holds King Jesus in the Galleries that she is sick of love that she is raised and ravished with his kisses and embraces His left Chap. 2. 6. hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me None had more assurance of her interest in Christ then she and none higher and closer in communion with Christ then she The Wives assurance of her interest in her Husband sweetens and heightens her communion with her Husband The Childes assurance of his interest in his Father sweetens his commerce and fellowship with his Father So the Believers assurance of his interest in God will exceedingly heighten and sweeten his communion and fellowship with God Assurance of a mans interest in God sweetens every thought of God and every sight of God and every taste of God and every good Word of God God is as Habet omnia qui habet habentem omnia He hath all that hath the honor of all sweet to the assured soul when he hath a sword in his hand as when he hath a Scepter when he hath the rod of indignation as when hee hath the cup of consolation when his garments are rowled and dyed in blood as when hee appeares in his VVedding Robes when hee acts the part of a Judge as when hee acts the part of a Father c. Fifthly Assurance will be a choyce preservative to keep you from backsliding from God and his wayes Ah Assurance will glue the soul to God and his wayes as Ruth was glued to her Mother Naomi It will make a man stand fast in the Faith and quit himself like a good Souldier of Christ 2 Pet. 1. 10 11. Wherefore the rather Brethren give Luther writing to his friend Melancthon troubled with fears saith Si nos ruimas ruit Christus If we fall saith he Christ falls diligence to make your calling and election sure for if yee doe these things yee shall never fall Stumble yee may and hee that does but stumble gets ground by his stumbling Assurance will keep a man from falling foully and from falling utterly Verily the reason why there is so many Apostates in these days is because there are so few that have a wel-grounded assurance in these days Pliny speaks of some fishes that swim back-ward Ah many Professors Pulchrior inpralio occisus miles quam fugâ salvus Better be slain in the Bed of Honor then be safe by running away in these days swim back-ward they swim from God and Christ and Conscience yea they swim from the very principles of morallity and common honesty Believe it Friends it is not high notions in the Brain but found assurance in the heart that will keep a man close to Christ when others back-slide from Christ An assured Christian will not exchange his Gold for Copper he knows that one old peece of Gold is worth a thousand new Counters One old truth of Christ is worth a thousand new errors though cloathed with glistering Robes and therefore he will prize the truth and own the truth and keep close to the truth when others that want a sound assurance make merchandize of Christ precious 2 Pet. 2. 3. truths and of their own and others immortal souls Get assurance and thou wilt stand when seeming Cedars fall want assurance and thou canst not but fall to the breaking of thy bones if not to the utter loss of thy precious soul Sixthly Assurance will very much imbolden the foul with God it will make a man divinely familiar with God it will make a man knock boldly at the door of Free-grace it will make a man come boldly before the Mercy-seat it will make a man enter boldly within the Holy of Holies Heb. 10. 22. Let us draw neer with a true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Such full assurance as fills all the sails of the soul heart in full assurance of Faith having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water Assurance makes the soul top and top gallant it makes the soul converse with God as a Favorit with his Prince as a Bride with her Bridegroom as a Joseph with a Jacob. Luther under the power of assurance le ts fall this transcendent rapture of a during Faith Fiat mea voluntas Let my will be done and then falls off sweetly Mea voluntas domine quia tua My will Lord because thy will It is the want of assurance that makes the countenance sad the hands hang down the knees feeble and the heart full of Heb. 12. 12. fears and tremblings O therefore get assurance and that will scatter your fears and raise your hopes and chear your spirits and give wings to Faith and make you humbly bold with God You will not then stand at the door of Mercy with a may I knock with a may I go in with a may I finde audience and acceptance but you will with Esther boldly adventure your selves upon the Mercy and Goodness of God Now verily I think saith one speaking of Christ he cannot despise me who is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh for if he neglect me as a brother yet he will love me as a husband that is my comfort Assurance will remove all strangeness from between Christ and the Soul of two it will make Christ and the Soul one Seventhly Assurance will sweeten the thoughts of death and all the Nemo ante sâ—nera fâ—lin Solon aches pains weaknesses sicknesses and diseases that are the fore-runners of it yea it will make a man look and long for that day it will make a man fick of his absence from Christ it makes a man smile upon the King of terrors it makes a man laugh at the shaking of the Spear at the noise of the battel at the garments of the Isa 9. 5 6. Nazianzen said to the King of Terrors Devour me devour me Death cures all diseases the aking head and the unbelieving heart Ultimus morborum medicus mors Warriors rolled
is true even in his Son Jesus Christ this is the true God and eternal life 2 Pet. 1. 3. According as his Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and vertue What this Knowledge is that accompanies Salvation I shall shew you anon Secondly Faith is another of those special things that accompanies Salvation 1 Thes 2. 13. But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you Brethren Beloved of the Lord because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation thorow sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the Truth 1 Pet. 1. 5. You Vide Parcus Esteum Gerhardum on the Text. who are kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation Vers 9. Receiving the end of your Faith even the salvation of your souls Heb. 10. 30. But we are not of them who draw back to perdition but of them that believe to the saving of the soul John 3 14 15 16. Mark 16. 16. Acts 16. 31. Rom. 10. 9. Isa 45. 22. Phil. 2. 8. Joh 11. 25 26. 1 John 5. 10. All â—hese and many more Scriptures speaks out the same truth This dâ—uble asseveration or protestation is used onely in matters of weâ—ght and unhappy are we â—hat we cannot believe without them And as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life for God so loved the world that he gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Vers 36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life Chap. 5. 24. Verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my Word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life Chap. 6. 40. And this is the will of him that sent me that every one that seeth he Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day Vers 47. Verily verily I say unto you he that believeth on me hath everlasting life Thirdly Repentance is another of those choice things that accompanies salvation 2 Cor. 7. 10. For godly sorrow The very word repâ—nt was very displeasing to Luther till his conversion but afterward he took delight in the work Paehitens de peccato dolet de dolore gaudet Luth to sorrow for his sin and then rejoyce in his sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death Jere. 4. 14. O Jerusalem wash thy heart from wickedness that thou mayest be saved Acts 11. 18. When they heard these things they held their peace and glorified God saying Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life Matth. 18. 3. And Jesus said verily I say unto you except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Acts 3. 19. Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Fourthly Obedience is another of those precious things that accompanies salvation Heb. 5. 9. And being Vide B. Dewâ—h of Justification 17. c. 7. made perfect speaking of Christ he became the Author of Eternal Salvation unto all them that obey him Psal 50. 23. whoso offereth praise glorifieth me and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I declare the Salvation of God Fifthly Love is another of those singular things that accompanies salvation Deus nihil corenat nisi dona sui August When God câ—ownâ—th us he doth but crown hâ—s own gifts in us 2 Tim. 4. 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day and not to me onely but unto them also that love his appearing James 2. 5. Hearken my beloved brethren haâ—h not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdome which he hath promised to them that love him 1 Cor. 2. 9. It is written eie hath not seen nor eare heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him James 1. 12. Blessed is the man that indureth temptation for when The word Crown notes to us the perpetuity of that life the Apostle speaks of for a Crown hath neither beginning nor ending 2. It notes plenty the Crown fetches a compasse on every side 3. It notes dignity it notes majesty Eternal life is a coronation day It notes all joys all delights in a word it notes all good it notes all glory he is tryed he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him Matth. 19. 28 29. And Jesus said unto them verily I say unto you that yee which have followed me in the regeneration When the Son of Man shall sit in the Throne of his glory yee shall sit upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel And every one that hath forsaken houses or Brethren or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Children or Lands for my name sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life The whole is as if Christ had said whosoever shall shew love to mee this way or that in one thing or another out of respect to my Name to my Honor mercy shall bee his portion here and glory shall bee his portion hereafter Sixthly Prayer is another of those sweet things that accompanies salvation Rom. 10. 10. 13. For with the heart man beleeveth unto righteousnesse and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved Act. 2. 21. And it shall come to passe that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved That is saith one hee shall be certainly sealed up to salvation Or as another saith he that hath this grace of Prayer it is an evident sign and assurance to him that he shall be saved Therefore to have grace to pray is a better and a greater mercy then to have gifts to prophesie Matth. 7. 22. Praying souls shall finde the gates of heaven open to them when prophecying souls shall find them shut against them Seventhly and lastly Perseverance is another of those prime things that accompanies salvation Matth. 10. 22. And yee shall be hated of all men for my name sake but he that indureth to the end the same shall be saved Chap. 24. 12 13. And because iniquity shal abound the love The same words you have in Mark 13. 13. of many shal wax cold but he that indureth unto the end the same shal be saved Rev. 2. 10. Fear none of
those things which thou shalt suffer behold the Devil shal cast some of you into prison that ye may be tryed and yee shall have tribulation ten dayes be thou A crown without cares fears coâ—rivals envy end God turns the crown of thorns into a crown of glory Pericula non respicit Martyr coronas respicit Basil faithful unto the death and I will give thee a crown of life Chap. 3. 5. He that overcommeth the same shall be cloathed in white raiment and I will not blot out his name out of the booke of life but I will confesse his name before my Father and before his Angels To him that overcommeth will I grant to sit with me in my Throne as I also overcome and am set down with my Father in his Throne Thus you see these seven choyce things that accompanies salvation But for your further and fuller edification satisfaction confirmation and consolation it will be very necessary that I shew you 1. What Knowledge that is that accompanies Salvation that borders that touches upon salvation 2. What Faith that is that accompanies salvation 3. What Repentance that is that accompanies salvation 4. What Obedience that is that accompanies salvaâ—ion 5. What Love that is that accompanâ—es salvation 6. What Prayer that is that accompanies salvation 7. What Perseverance that is that accompanies salvation I hope when I have fully opened these precious things to you that you will be able to sit down much satisfied and cheated in a holy confidence and blessed assurance of your everlasting wel-being I shall begin with the first and shew you what that Knowledge is that accompanies salvation that comprehends salvation that touches upon salvation and that I shall open in these following particulars First That Knowledge that accompanies salvation is a working Knowledge Knowledge that swims in the head only and sinks not down into tâ—e heart doth no more good then rain int h mâ—ddle reâ—ion or then the Unâ—corns horn iâ— the Unicorns head an operative Knowledge 2 Cor. 11. 6. God who commanded the light to shine out of darknesse hath shined in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ Divine light reaches the heart as well as the head The beames of Divine light shining in upon the soule thorow the glorious face of Christ are very working they warm the heart they affect the heart they new mould the heart Divine knowledge masters the heart it guides the heart it governs the heart it sustains the heart it relieves the heart Rom. 6. 6. We know that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth 1 John 3 6. Whosoever sinneth viz. Customarily habitually delightfully hath not seen him neither known him we should not serve sin Divine knowledge puts a man upon crucifying of sin it keeps a man from being a servant a slave to sin which no other knowledge can do Under all other knowledge men remain servants to their lusts and are taken prisoners by Satan at his will No knowledge lifts a man up above his lusts but that which accompanies salvation The wisest Philosophers and the greatest As Socrates and others Doctors under all their sublime notions and rare speculations have been kept in bondage by their lusts That knowledge that accompanies salvation is operative knowledge 1 John 2. 3 4. And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his Commandments He that saith I know him and keepeth not his Commandments is a lier and the He is a lier in a double respect 1. In that he saith he hath that knowledge which he hath not 2. In that he denies that in his works which he affirms in his words truth is not in him By keeping his Commandments they did know that they did know him that is they were assured that they did know him To know that we know is to be assured that we know So in Jam. 3. 17. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie Verse 13. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge amongst you Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom Divine knowledge fills a man full of spiritual activity it will make a man work as if he would be saved by his works and yet it will make a man believe that he is saved onely upon the Ephes 2. 8. account of Free-grace That knowledge that is not operative and working will onely serve to light souls to Hell and to double damn all that Matth. 23. 14. have it Secondly That Knowledge that accompanies Salvation is transforming knowledge it is metamorphosing knowledge it is knowledge that transforms that metamorphosies the soul 2 Cor. 3. 18. But we with open face beholding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the glory of the Lord as in a glass are changed into the same image from glory to glory Divine light beating on the heart warms it and betters it it transforms and changes it it moulds and fashions it into the very likeness of Christ The Naturalists observe That the Pearl by the often beating of the Sun beams upon it becomes radiant so the often beating and shining of the Sun of Righteousness with his divine beams upon the Saints causes them to glister and shine in Holiness Righteousness Heavenly-mindedness Humbleness c. Divine light casts a general beauty and glory upon the soul it transforms a man more and more into the glorious Image of Christ Look as the Childe receiveth from A Father stands obliged not onely in point of honor buâ— also by the Law of nature to receive his childe that bears his image so doth Christ to receive those that by divine light have his image stamped upon them his Parents Member for Member Limb for Limb or as the Paper from the Press receiveth Letter for Letter the Wax from the Seal Print for Print or as the Face in the Glass answers to the face of the man or as Indenture answers to Indenture so the beams of Divine Light and Knowledge shining into the soul stamps the lively Image of Christ upon the soul and makes it put on the Lord Jesus and resemble him to the life Notional knowledge may make a man excellent at praising the glorious and worthy acts and vertues of Christ but that transforming knowledge that accompanies salvation will work a man divinely to imitate the glorious acts and vertues of Christ 1 Pet. 2. 9. But ye are a chosen Generation a royal Priesthood an holy Nation a peculiar People that ye should shew forth the praises of him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the vertues of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light When God causes his Divine light his marvellous light to shine in upon the soul then a
appear that Hope doth accompany Salvation it doth boarder upon eternal life The second thing that I am to shew you is What Hope that is that doth accompany Salvation that comprehends Salvation and that I shall do with as much brevity and perspicuity as I can in the following particulars First That Hope that accompanies Salvation is A grace of God whereby Spes est expectatio eorum quae verè à Deo promissa fides credidit Calvin 1 Tim. 6. 17. This very title The God of Hope may serve as a soveraign antidote against the blackest and horridest temptations for why should any despair of his mercy who hath proclaimed himself to be the God of Hope Spes est virtus qua inclinamâ—r ad expectationem eorum quae Deus nobis promisit Perkins we expect good to come patiently waiting till it come First I call it a Grace of God because he is the donor of it and therefore he is called the God of Hope Rom. 15. 13. Now the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing Now God is called the God of Hope because he is objectivè the onely object of our Hope and he is effectivè the onely Author and Worker of Hope in the Soul Hope is no natural affection in men men are not born with hope in their hearts as they are born with tongues in their mouthes Hope is nobly descended it is from above it is a heavenly Babe that is formed in the soul of man by the power of the Holy Ghost And as Hope is no natural affection so Hope is no Moral vertue which men may attain by their frequent actions but Hope is a Theological vertue that none can give but God Secondly I say it is a Grace of God whereby we expect good to come I say good not evil for evil is rather feared then hoped for by any The object of this Hope hath four conditions 1. It must be Bonum good 2. Futurum future 3. Possibile possible 4. Arduum hard or difficult to obtain Thirdly I say Hope is a Grace of God whereby we expect good to come patiently waiting till it come Hope makes the Soul quiet and patient till it comes to possess the good desired and hoped for Rom. 8. 25. But if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it The Hebrew word Kavah that is often translated Hope signifies a very vehement intention both of body and minde a stretching forth of the Spirit or Minde in waiting for a desired good 2 Cor. 4. ult Hope fates well it keeps a Princes Table it lives upon Honey and Milk Oyl and Wine it sives upon the sweet meats the delicates of Heaven as God Christ and Glory Psal 31. 24. 33. 22. 38. 15. 42. 5. 43. 5. 39. 7. 71. 5. 65. 5. Secondly That Hope that accompanies Salvation is alwayes conversant about holy and heavenly objects as about God and Christ 1 Tim. 1. 1. Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ which is our Hope In these words Christ is set forth as the chief object of our Hope because by his merits and mercy we hope to obtain the remission of our sins and the eternal Salvation of our souls Sometimes Hope is exercised about the Righteousness of Christ Gal. 5. 5. For we through the Spirit wait for the Hope of Righteousness by Faith Sometimes Hope is exercised about God the Father 1 Pet. 1. 21. Who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God Jere. 14. 8. O the Hope of Israel the Saviour thereof in time of trouble Chap. 17. 13. O Lord the hope of Israel all that forsake thee shall be ashamed Vers 17. Thou art my hope in the day of evil Sometimes Hope The Jewish Rabbins were wont to say That upon every Letter of the Law there hangs Mountains of profitable matter Ah then what abundance of comfort and sweetness may hope finde yea does hope finde in the Promises is exercised and busied about the Word and Promises Psal 119. 49. Remember the word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to Hope Vers 81. My soul fainteth for thy Salvation but I hope in thy Word Verse 114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield I hope in thy Word Psal 130. 5. I wait for the Lord my soul doth wait And in his Word do I hope Psal 119. 74. They that fear thee will be glad when they see me Because I have hoped in thy Word Verse 147. I prevented the dawning of the morning and cryed I hoped in thy Word Hope in the Promise will keep the head from aking and the heart from breaking it will keep both head and heart from sinking and drowning Hope exercised upon the promise brings Heaven down to the heart The Promises are the Ladder by which Hope gets up to Heaven Hope in the Promise will not onely keep life and soul together but it will also keep the soul and glory together Hope in Psal 4â— 5. 119. 49 50. compared Hol. 6. 1 2. the Promise will support distressed souls Hope in the Promise will settle perplexed souls Hope in the Promise will comfort dejected souls Hope in the Promise will reduce wandering souls Hope in the Promise will confirm staggering souls Hope in the Promise will save undone souls The Promise is the same to Hope that Rom. 8. 24. The Promises are Hopes rich Magazin Hope is to the Soul the Promise is the Anchor of Hope as Hope is the Anchor of the Soul Look what the Brests are to the Childe and Oyl is to the Lamp that are the Promises to Hope Hope lives and thrives as it feeds upon the Promises as it embraces the Promises The Promises are the sweet-meats of Heaven upon Heb. 11. 13. which Hope lives And every degree of Hope brings a degree of joy into the Soul which makes it cry out Heaven Heaven Again Hope is exercised about the glory and felicity the happiness Psal 16. ult Tit. 3. 7. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Looking for Christs coming as earnestly as men look and long for the coming of some special friends or as Inn-keepers do for special guests and blessedness that is at Gods right hand Tit. 2. 13. Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Hope makes a man stretch out his neck and put forth his hand and look as earnestly for the glorious appearing of Christ as Sisera's Mother did for the happy return of her Son The hoping Soul is often a sighing it out Why are his Charriot Wheels so long a coming Col 1. 5. For the hope which is laid up for you in Heaven Hope in this place So in Rom. 8. 24 25. Col. 1. 27. Rom. 5. 2
c. is taken by a Metonimy for the things hoped for viz. All that glory and felicity that blessedness and happiness that is laid up for us in Heaven So in Heb. 6. 18. Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us Hope here is put for the object of Hope viz. Heaven and Happiness Hope layes such fast hold as the Greek word here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies upon Heaven and Happiness that none shall ever be able to take those precious things out of Hopes hand So Hope is put for the glorious things hoped for Ephes 1. 18. And thus you see those precious and glorious objects about which that Hope that accompanies Salvation is exercised Thirdly That Hope that accompanies Salvation that comprehends Salvation that borders upon Salvation is grounded upon the firmest foundations to wit the Promises of God as hath Psal 40. 4. Prov. 10. 28. been fully shewed before and it is built upon the Free-grace of God 1 Pet. 1. 13. It is built upon the infinite and glorious power of God Rom. 4. 21. It is built upon the truth and faithfulness of God 2 Tim. 2. 13. These precious and glorious Foundations do bear up the hopes of the Saints as the three Pillars bore up the hangings in the Tabernacle A Believers hope is founded upon the Love of Christ the Blood of Christ the Righteousness of Christ the Satisfaction of Christ and the Intercession of Christ c. But the hopes of Hypocrites and wicked men are always built upon weak slender and sandy foundations sometimes they build their hopes upon their outward profession upon their Lamps though Matth. 25. 3. they are empty Lamps and sometimes upon their duties and services as Isai 58 1 2 3. Matth. 6. Every false principle in Religion is a Reed of Egypt that will certainly deceive souls at last therefore take heed of leaning upon any of those Reeds the Jews Scribes and Pharisees did and sometimes upon their outward priviledges crying out The Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord and sometimes they build their hopes upon others good opinion of them and sometimes upon flashes of joy and sometimes upon enlargements in duties and sometimes upon the heat and vigor of their spirits in Religious services c. And all these are but sandy foundations and they that build their hope upon them will certainly fall and great will be their fall The hopes of the Saints are built upon the surest and the strongest foundations It was a good saying of one of the Ancients I Bernard Sâ—rm 3. de fragm Sept. Miser consider saith he three things in which all my hope consisteth to wit 1. Gods love in my Adoption 2. The truth of his Promise And 3. his power of performance Therefore let my foolish cogitation murmur as long as it list saying Who art thou or what is that glory or by what merits dost thou hope to attain it For I can answer with sure confidence I know 2 Tim. 1. 12. on whom I have believed And I am certain First That in his love he adopted me Secondly That he is true in his promise And thirdly That he is able to perform it This is the threefold cord which is not easily broken Fourthly That Hope that accompanies Salvation that borders upon Salvation that comprehends Salvation that brings Salvation may be known from all false hopes by the excellent properties of it and they are these that follow The first property of that Hope that accompanies Salvation is this It Matth 6. 20 21. Phil 3. 20 Col 3. 1. Mark wicked mens hopes never raise them as high as Heaven under all their hopes they are as very enemies and as great strangers to God Christ and Heaven as ever elevates and raises the heart to live above where its treasure is This Hope is from above and it makes the heart to live above it is a spark of glory and it leads the heart to live in glory Divine hope carries a man to Heaven for life to quicken him and for wisdom to direct him and for power to uphold him and for righteousness to justifie him and for holiness to sanctifie him and for mercy to forgive him and for assurance to rejoyce him and for happiness to crown him Divine hope takes in the pleasures of Heaven before hand it lives in the joyful expectation of them it fancies to it self as I may say the pleasures and joyes of eternity and lives in a sweet anticipation of what it possesseth by Faith Hopes richest treasures and choicest friends and chiefest delights and sweetest contents are in the Country above and therefore Hope loves best to live there most A second property of that Hope that accompanies Salvation is this It will strengthen the Soul against all afflictions oppositions and temptations Dan. 3. 57. Psal 4. 6 7. Heb. 10 34. 11. 2 Cor. 4. 16 17 18. 1 Thes 5. 8. But let us who are of the day be sober putting on the brest-plate of faith and love and for an helmet the hope of salvation Look as the Helmet defends and secures the head so doth Hope defend and secure the heart Hope is a Helmet that keeps off all darts that Satan or the world casts at the Soul The hopes of heavenly riches made It was a wicked and hopeless Cardinal that said He would not leave his part in Paris for a part in Paradise those worthies in that eleventh of the Hebrews to despise the riches of this world The hopes they had of a heavenly Countrey made them willing to leave their own Countrey and to live in the very Land of Promise as in a strange Countrey The hopes they had of possessing at last a house not made with hands but eternal in the Heavens made them willingly and cheerfully to live in deserts and in mountains and in dens and caves of the Earth The hopes they had of a glorious Resurrection made them couragiously to withstand the strongest temptations c. A Saints hope will out-live Rom. 5. 2 3 4 5. Some are verily perswaded that the want of this Divine hope hath been the reason that many among the Heathen have laid violent hands upon themselves See Plutarch in Caesar and Catoes lives Heb. 11. 10 14 16 25 32 compared all fears and cares all tryals and troubles all afflictions and temptations Saints have much in hope though little in hand they have much in reversion though but little in possession they have much in the promise though but little in the purse A Saint can truly say Spero meliora my hopes are better then my possessions Hope can see Heaven through the thickest clouds Hope can see light through darkness life through death smiles through frowns and glory through misery Hope holds life and soul together it holds Christ and the Soul together it holds the Soul and the Promises together it holds the Soul and Heaven together
man a servant to sin that breeds a contempt of Ordinances a neglect of holy Duties a carelesness in walking with God And from those hissings of the old Serpent O Lord deliver my Soul and the Souls of all thy servants that put their trust in thee Ninethly and lastly Assurance is a Jewel a Pearl of that price that God onely bestows it upon renued hearts The Spirit never sets his Seal upon any but upon those that Christ hath first Revel 2. 17. Ezek. 36. 25 26 27. compared printed his Image upon God gives to none the white stone but to those from whom he hath taken the heart of stone Christ never tells a man that his Name is written in the Book of Luke 10. 20. Life till he hath breathed into him Spiritual Life Christ never sayes Son be of good chear thy sin is pardoned Luke 5. 18 19 20. till he hath first said Be thou healed be thou cleansed Christ never gives a man a new name that is Isa 56. 5. 2 Cor. 5. 17. better then the names of Sons and Daughters till he hath made them new Creatures Of Slaves Christ first makes us Sons before we cry Abba Rom 8. 15. Ephes 2. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20. Father Of Enemies he first makes us Friends before he will make us of his Court or Counsel Christ will never hang a Pearl in a Swines snout nor put new Wine into old Bottles nor his Royal Robes upon a leprous back nor his Golden Chain about a dead mans neck nor his glistering Crown upon a Ephes 1. 13. Traytors head The Spirit never sets his Seal upon any but upon those that Christ hath first seâ— as a Seal upon his Cant. 8. 6. heart The Spirit onely bears witness to such as hate sin as Christ hates it and that love Righteousness as Christ Psal 45 7. loves it that hate sin more then Hell and that love truth more then life A Soul sealed by the Spirit will pull out right eyes and cut off right hands for Christ such a Soul will part with a Benjamin and offer up an Isaac for Christ And this is to be seriously minded against those deceived and deluded Souls that remain yet in their blood and that wallow in their sins and yet boast and brag of the Seal and of the witness and testimony of the Spirit And thus I have shewed you the difference between the whisperings of the Spirit and the hissing of the old Serpent between a true testimony and a false CHAP. VII Containing Answers to several special Questions about Assurance BUt me thinks I hear some precious Souls saying Sir Quest 1 we have after much praying weeping and waiting gained this Pearl of price Assurance But O how shall we do to strengthen it How shall we do to keep it Satan will labor to weaken our Assurance and to rob us of this Jewel that is more worth than a world what means must we use to strengthen our Assurance and to secure it c. Now to this Question I shall give these following Answers First If you would have your Assurance strengthned and maintained then keep close to Soul-strengthning The old Rule was Hoc age ways be serious and sincere be diligent and constant in the use of those means and ways wherein you first gained Assurance as Prayer the Word breaking of Bread Communion of Saints c. A conscionable and cordial A cool spirit is always a losing spirit the doing heart the diligent heart turns the spark into a flame the mite into a million c. use of holy and heavenly means is blessed not onely with a preservation of Assurance but likewise with an addition and increase of it The ways of God and his goings in the Sanctuary have wrought wonders upon thee when thou wast dead how much more will they work upon thee and for thee now thou art by Grace made alive He that will not apply himself to Gods strengthning methods will quickly finde his Assurance weakned if not wholly wasted He that thinks himself too good for Ordinances will quickly grow weak in his Assurance The choicest Prophets and highest Apostles if I may so speak that had attained to the fullest Assurance kept close to the ways and precious institutions of Christ Verily those that pretend to live above Ordinances and yet live below them never knew by experience what a mercy it was to have a wel-grounded Assurance or else they have lost that blessed Assurance that once they had c. Secondly If you would strengthen and maintain your Assurance then dwell much upon your Spiritual and Eternal Priviledges viz. Your Adoption Holy and heavenly priviledges are the food by which Assurance is cherished and maintained Justification Reconciliation c. 1 Pet. 2. 9. This you will finde by experience will mightily tend to the strengthning and maintaining of your Assurance He that neglects this Rule will quickly finde his Sun to set in a cloud his Harp to be turned into mourning and his Organ into the voice Job 30. ult of them that weep Thirdly If you would strengthen and maintain your Assurance then look that your hearts and thoughts run more out to Christâ— then to Assurance to the Sun then to the Beams to the Fountain then to the Stream to the Root then to the Branch to the Cause then to the Effect Assurance is sweet Cant. 1. 13. but Christ is more sweet Assurance is lovely but Christ is altogether lovely Cant. 5. 16. Prov 3. 15. Assurance is precious but Christ is most precious Though Assurance be a flower that yeelds much comfort and delight yet it is but a flower Though Assurance be a precious Box yet it is but a Box. Though Assurance be a Ring of Gold yet it is but a Ring of Gold And what is the flower to the Root what is the Box to the Oyntment what is the Ring to the Pearl No more is Assurance to Christ therefore let thy eye and heart first most and last be fixt upon Christ then will Assurance bed and board with thee otherwise thou wilt quickly finde thy Summer to be turned into Winter Fourthly If you would strengthen and maintain your Assurance then look that your hearts are more taken up with Christ then with your Graces Though Grace be a glorious Creature Christ is the pot of Manna the Cruse of Oyl the bortomless Ocean the most sparkling Diamond in the Ring of glory c. yet it is but a Creature therefore let Grace have your eye but be sure that Christ have your heart Christ will not allow your very Graces to be corrivals with him He that mindes his Graces more then Christ or that sets his Graces upon the Throne with Christ will quickly finde what it is to lose the face and favor of Christ Your Grace are but Christs Servants and Handmaids you may look upon them but you must not match with