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one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid up on him the iniquity of us all,' or as the Hebrew hath it,' He hath made the iniquity of us all to meet in him.' I must not sit down discouraged under the apprehensions of those debts, that Christ to the utmost farthing hath fully discharged. Would it not argue much weakness, I had almost said, much madness, for a debtor to sit down discouraged, upon looking over those debts that his surety hath readily, freely, and fully paid? The sense of his great love should engage a man for ever to love, and honour his surety, and to bless that hand that hath paid the debt, and crossed the books, &c. But to sit down discouraged when the debt is discharged, is a sin that needs repentance.

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Christ hath cleared all reckonings between God and us. You remember the scape-goat, Upon his head all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, were confessed and put, and the goat did bear upon him all their iniquities,' &c. Lev. xvi. 21. Why, the Lord Jesus is that blessed scapegoat upon whom all our sins were laid, and who alone hath carried our sins away into the land of forgetfulness, where they shall never be remembered more.' A believer under the guilt of his sin, may look the Lord in the face, and sweetly plead thus with him: It is true Lord, I owed thee much, but thy Son was my ransom, my redemption; HIS BLOOD WAS THE PRICE,

he was my surety, and undertook to answer for my sins; I know thou must be satisfied, and Christ hath satisfied thee to the utmost farthing; not for himself, for what sins had he of his own? but for me, they were my debts that he satisfied for; be pleased to look over the book, and thou shalt find that it is crossed by thy own hand, upon this very account, that Christ* hath suffered, and satisfied for them.'

CHAPTER II.

The second Device that Satan hath to keep souls in a sad, doubting, and questioning condition,

is,

BY helping them to make false definitions of their graces: Satan knows, that as false definitions of sin wrong the soul one way, so false definitions of grace wrong the soul another.

I will instance only in faith: Oh! how doth Satan labour, with all his power, to lead men to make false definitions of faith? Some he persuades to define faith too high; as that it is a

The bloods of Abel, for so the Hebrew hath it, (as if the blood of one Abel had as many tongues as drops) cried for vengeance against sin: but the blood of Christ cries louder for the pardon of sin.

full assurance of the love of God to a man's sout in particular, or a full persuasion of the pardon and remission of a man's own sins in particular. Saith Satan, what dost thou talk of faith? Faith is an assurance of the love of God, and of the pardon of sin, and this thou hast not; thou knowest thou art far off from this, therefore thou hast no faith. And by leading men to make such a false definition of faith, he keeps them in a sad, doubting condition, which makes them spend their days in sorrow, so that grief and sorrow are their meat and drink, and sighing is their work all the day, &c.

The philosophers say, there are eight degrees of heat, we discern three. Now if a man should define heat only by the highest degree, then all other degrees must be rejected from being heat: so if men shall define faith only by the highest degrees, by assurance of the love of God, and the knowledge of the pardon of his sins in particular, what must become of less degrees of faith?

If a man should define a man to be a living man, only by the highest and strongest demonstrations of life, as laughing, leaping, running, working, walking, &c. would not many thousands that groan under internal, and external weaknesses, and who can neither laugh, nor leap, nor run, nor work, nor walk, be found dead men by such a definition, who we yet know to be alive? It is just so in the matter of

assurance. Now the remedies against this de vice are these:

Remedy 1. Against this device of Satan, solemnly consider, that there may be true faith, yea, a great measure of faith, where there is not assurance. The Canaanitish woman in the gospel had strong faith, yet no assurance that we read of. These things have I written unto you (saith John) that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.' In these words you see they were believers, and had eternal life, in respect of the purpose and promise of God, and in respect of the seeds and beginnings of it in their souls; and in respect of Christ their head, who sits in heaven as a public person, representing all his chosen ones, Who hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,' Eph. ii. 6. and yet they did not know that they had eternal life. It is one thing to have a right to heaven, and another thing to know it; it is one thing to be beloved, and another thing for a man to know that he is beloved. It is one thing for God to write a man's name in the book of life, and another for God to tell him that his name is written therein; and to say to him, 'Rejoice, because thy name is written in heaven.' So Paul, In whom ye also trusted, after ye heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise.' So Micah, vii, 8, 9. • Rejoice not against me, O my enemy, for when I shall fall, I shall rise; when I shall sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me; I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned, &c. or, "The sad countenance of God,' as the Hebrew hath it. This soul had no assurance, for he sat in darkness, and was under the sad countenance of God, and yet had strong faith; as appears in those words, When I fall I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.' He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. And let this suffice for the first answer.

Rem. 2. Solemnly consider, that God in the scripture defines faith in a different manner. God defines faith to be a receiving of Christ: (John i. 12. 'As many as received him, to them he gave this privilege, to be the sons of God. To as many as believed on his name ;') to be a cleaving of the soul unto God, though nothing but afflictions attend it.* To be a coming to God in Christ, and often to arresting, staying, or rolling of the soul upon Christ. It is safest and best to define as God defines, both vices and graces: this is the only way to settle the soul, and to secure it against the wiles of

Mat. xi. 28. John vi. 87. Heb. vii. 25, 26. Is. iii. 4. &cr

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