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an affurance, that Christ is my Chrift; my Redeemer liveth, who gave himself for me; My Lord, and my God, that he is my righteoufne e, my redemption, my propitiation.

For the better fettling and exciting of you in this particular, I will briefly touch at thele things.

1. What the affurance of faith is.

2. It may be had.

3. It should be had.

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4. The Arguments to ftir us up to labour for it (that is) to know our riches, and to know our poffeffions.

5. The means to get it.

SECT. I.

Qweft. 1.

Sol.

Har the assurance of faith is.

It is a victorious conclufion against the ftrength of doubts, whereby the minde of a beleeving perfon is ascertained and perfwaded, and upon good ground fettled, concerning his perfonal intereft in Chrift and his benefits.

For the better opening of this defcription, be pleased to obferve these fubfequent propofitions.

1. That the affurance of faith, it is the conclufion of an evangelical fyllogifme: The fyllogifme is this, Whosoever repents and believes in Chrift, Christ with his benefits are bis, and he is Chrifts but I do truly repent and beleeve in Chreft, therefore Chrift and his benefits are mine, and I am bis.

In this Syllogifme there are three propofitions.

The firft is, a Propofition of moft infallible certainty, it being exprefly the voice of Jefus Chrift himself, and of it the minde hath no doubt, but fully affents unto it as a principle of Divine truth, viz. That he who repents and beleeves in Chrift, is bis, and be is Chrifts. And of this the minde of a belcever may be abundantly perfwaded without queftionings, and doubts, for as much as it is a part of the Word of God, to whose abfoJute truth it doth plentifully fubfcribe.

The

The fecond is a propofition, carrying with it the direct act of faith, in which the beleeving foul doth accept of Christ, or receive him, and truft upon him, by vertue of which there arifeth a moft real and true union 'twixt Chrift and the beleever.

The third and the laft, which is the conclufion or inference drawn from both the former, comprehends in it the formal affurance of a beleeving heart, that therefore Chrift is mine and

I am his.

That he who beleeves in Chrift,hath Chrift, and shall be faved; this is not yet that fubjective assurance of justifying faith, for as much as many an hypocrite may beleeve that truth, and yet have no perfonal intereft in Chrift.

Againe, that I do beleeve in Chrift, neither is this effentially affurance, for as much as to beleeve is one thing, and to be affured is another thing; many a good heart may accept of Chrift upon all his termes, and articles of peace and life, and may caft and repose it self on him as the only rock and hope of the foul, and yet it may be fo farre from affurance (even at that time when it doth fo earnestly cleave unto Chrift) that inftead of affurance, it may be both toffed and prevailed upon by doubtings, fufpitions, and feares,concern. ing its particular and perfonal propriety in Christ and in his

merits.

But the laft of the propofitions, I am Christs, and Christ i mine, this is formal assurance: for this concludes the dif pute of the heart, and hath in it particular and perfonal e

vidence.

2. It is a victorious conclufion against the strength of doubt. ing: you know that in the minde of man, there are three kinds of working about an objec comprehending goodneffe and truth.

One they call peremptory affenting, and peremptory diffentings, in which the minde doth yeild plainly, or elfe refufeth to fubfcribe, and grant the matter propofed to be true and. good.

Another they call doubtings,which are the wavering acts of of the minde, wherein it doth not abfolutely grant or deny, it doth not abfolutely conclude, that fo it is, nor abfolutely,.

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that.

that fo it is not; yet rather enclines for want of further evidence in the foul) that it is not fo, then that it is fo.

The third they call evidence or affurance, which is such a work of the minde, wherein, against all doubtings and suspici. ons,the minde fees clearly the thing to be fo, or not to befo: And thus is it here in the affurance of faith, it hath fuch a light, the minde hath that it is able to rife beyond, and against doubtings, and to convince the foul against all fufpicions, that Chrift indeed is mine, and I am his.

Where, by the way obferve thus much; that affurance doth prefuppofe fome doubtings, for if the mind of a believer had not doubtings about its perfonall intereft, it could not well be faid to be now affured. Doubtings did verily, and do, and may work in a believing foul; yea, but am I fure that Chriftis mine is it certain that my fins are pardoned?l trust they are, but I fear they are not.

Now affurance comes and conquers thefe workings, and clears all the doubting arguments, and convinceth the minde, that of a truth Chrift is mine, and my fins are pardon

ed.

There are two degrees of doubtings.

One confifts in the questioning of our beleeving proprie ties, is Chrift mine, is his righteoufneffe mine, &c?

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Another exceeds this, and confifts in dominion, when the foul is fuppreft by the strength of thefe doubtings, to fide with it,and till to hang in fufpenfe.

Now this latter degree (especially) is affurance opposite untog namely, it conquers our doubtings, answers our arguments, cleares it unto the foul against the many fufpitions which did arife, that Chrift doth indeed owne it, that he is the Saviour thereof, and therefore I call it a victorious conclufion.

3. Afurance of faith, it is an afcertaining or perfwading act, and that is proper and infeparable from affurance; therefore is it fo expreffed in Rom. 8.38. I am perfwaded that neither Death, nor Life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor things prefent, nor things to come, ver. 39 Nor Height, nor Depth, nor any other creature shall be able to feparate us from the love of God which

is in Chrift lefus our Lord. Yea, and it is expreffed by a word of perfonal certainty, 2 Tim. 1. 12. I know whom I have believed: In knowledge there is alwayes a certainty, for that is one of the maine differences 'cwixt it and opinion, that the one leaves the minde uncertain and wavering, and the other determinates the minde with certainty, and infallibility.

Whiles the minde remaines like a paire of indifferent scales, which bend this way and that way; or like a boat in the river, now floating up, and then finking down; now reeling to this fide, by and by to that fide; it cannot be faid to be affured, perhaps Chrift is mine, perhaps I am his; this is a plaine uncertain. ty, for the minde is not perfwaded. But in the affurance of faith, the minde is like a scale that weighs down,it is perfwaded, and afcertained, there is a prevalent evidence of the thing. Not only in abfolute tearmes, that Chrift belongs to a believer but in reflexive tearmes, that Chrift belongs to me, he gave himfelf for me, and he is my redeemer, and this particular, or personal perfwafion is affurance..

4. Afurance is not all kinds of perfwasion or afcer taining, there are two kindes of affurance or perfwalion of the minde touching a mans perfonall intereft in Chrift.

One is Imaginary and deluding: for as the heart of a man may deceive it self about the habit of faith (or any other grace) fo it may delude bim about the acts, and degrees of the fame : doth the true believer believe in Chrift? fo thinks the Hypocrite,. that he doth too: Hath the true believer a perfwafion of his perfonall propriety in Chrift, which cleares the minde of doubting? fo bath the Hypocrite too, a most exalted confidence an iron faith that would never bend, nor bow by doubtings. It may be with him as with a poore man in a dreame; what the rich man bath by propriety, and in poffeffion, even that same thing may the poorest man have in a dreams ing fancy, and imagination.

But then ask the Hypocrite, by what grounds art thou thus confidently perfwaded; what did encline thy mind berero, what promife haft thou found that Chrift is, and will be his, whole heart was never bumbled for fin, whofe heart fill retains the love of fin? Now, as the man who being demanded.

how.

how be came without his wedding garment, he is speechLeffe.

The fool (faith Solomon Prov. 14. 16. ) rageth and is confident, and fo the prefumptuous perion, He finneth, and yet is perfwaded he walketh in his finnes, and yet is aflu

red.

I pray you remember that the affurance of faith is no fuch ab. folute and boyftrous fetling of the minde, that Chrift is mine however, though I be never fo ignorant and wicked,and though Ilive never fo wretchedly and profanely; yet Chrift is mine, and God is my mercifull Father, and my finnes are pardoned: Ono, this is a Diabolical assurance, it is no Evangelical affu

rance.

Another is grounded, and divinely rational, and it alwayes followes found repentance and faith: That affurance which goes before thefe,is falfe; abfolutely I am bound to repent and to believe, but I cannot be affured, but in a conditionall order: IfI fhould be affured that Chrift were mine before, before I did believe,this were a lie forafmuch as Chrift is not mine, untill I do by faith accept of him, and if I fhould be affured that my fins were pardoned before I did repent, I did in this delude mine own heart, forafmuch as fin is not pardoned, unleffe it be repented of. No, but I must repent of my fins, I must accept of Jefus Chrift offered unto me in the Gospel, to be my Lord and Saviour, and now I labour to be affured, now I come to be perswaded, having fubfcribed to all the propofitions, and articles of the Goffel, that now Chrift is mine, and I do by the Word convince my foul that fo it must be. For thus I argue with my foul, whosoever repents,and believes,and endeavors to walk in Christ, affuredly Christ is his, and he is Christs; but I do this, Ergo,Chrift is mine.

I cannot make fo fhort a cut as the prefumptuous perfon doch, Christ died for finners, therefore for me; God is merciful, therefore my fins are pardoned without any more ado. O no, there is an orderly progreffe in true affurance. It doth not (falium facere) ftride over to extreames; As if a man fhould fee a Leafe drawn, and presently concludes the houses are mine, the lands are mine; No, but he must hear, and underftand, and weigh things, and fubfcribe, and feal to the conditions, and then he

may

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