Pial 32.1, 20

thou mayest come in all cafes to that of Job, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and with Paul, He loved me and gave himfelf for me.

Again, what doest thou think of the pardon of finnes? verily the time was once, even then when thy fpirit did roare all the night, and thou found eft no quiet in the day, when thy moyfture was turned into the drought of Summer and thy foul was disquieted within thee; I say in that time thou couldest with many teares break out, and fay, with David, Bleed is he whofe tranfgreffion is forgiven, and whose finne is covered. Bleed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. O what wouldeft thou have given to have beleeved that thy Gnes fhould be pardoned? thou couldeft then difcover death in fo unpardoned a state and life, then in a discharged and abfolved condition. Why I pray you, is pardon of finne fo precious a thing? and is the affured knowledge thereof a small thing? Is it not enough to have the pardon paffe, not onely the feale of the King, but the eye also of the malefactor?

Yea, yet further, what think you of eternal life? what is it? Q, Icannot reach it by thoughts, much leffe by words; Life! no fuch thing on the earth as it; eternal life, what thing in heaven more then it? To fee my God, my Chrift, to be gloriously united to them, to be filled with the perfections of ho lineffe, brightneffe of glory, to know him as we are known, to love him in the tranfcendency of love; I know not what I fay; for I fpeak of eternal life :O! if the the glimpse of divine favour bere be the admiration of our foules, the perfection of our joyes, the heaven on earth? tell me, what is the fulnesse of his favour? what is the full evidence of his favour? what is the everlasting evidence of his favour? Now, eternal life is all this, all this; alas I have faid nothing of it yet; Eje bath not feen, ear hath not heard, neither bath it entred into the heart of man what God bath, &c.

And is not this a matter to be determined and ascertained to our fouls? what, to let eternal life hang in fufpenfe; verily, though until we do mount and rife to the affurance of faith, we leave (for our part, though the thing may be fure in it felfe)

even this alfo,our eternal life as a thing doubtful. Thou wilt not hold the leaft quillet of thy land, upon unevident and unfure term, yet wilt thou? &c.

2. Assurance will marvellously fettle and quiet the foul. David expreffeth fo much, Pfal.4.6. Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Ver. 7. Thou hast put gladnesse in my heart, more then in the time that their corn and wine increased. Ver. 8. I will lay me down and fleep. The ship at an chor is fafe, but in a calme it is quiet; faith makes our state fure, and affurance peaceful.·

Two effects be there delivers of this bleffed affurance; one is a tranfcendent joy, and another is a compleat peace: It glads the heart, and it pacifies the heart: It is most true that faith in its vital act (of acceptation)intitles us to both. Every belcever hath cause of great joy,& sweet peace; but it is faith in this eminent act of afurance) which replenisheth the foul with acu.. al joy, and actual comfort; For now the beleever fees and knows his happineffe; He hath a Chrift and knows it; he bath pardon of finne, and knows it; he ftands in favour of God, and knows it that which held up his foule, is now opened; all the causes of his comfort fhine, as it were, and clearly discover themfelves in a way of well grounded propriety. As David faid concerning his enemies, Pfalme 27.1. The Lord is my light, and my falvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is. the frength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? So the affured foale in this cafe can exule God is my God, Chrift is my Chrift, they have pardoned my finnes, ac cepted of my perfon, what fhould trouble me? what fhould difquiet me? my foule doth now rejoyce in God my Savi our. Who shall lay any thing to the the charge of Gods Ex lect it is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Chrift that died, Romans 8. 34. Sinne, that is pardoned ; Juftice, that is fatisfied; my foul, that is reconciled; my perfon, that is juftified; my prayers, they are answered my heart, that is pacified, for God is mine, and Chrift is mine, and I am his. Before I am affured, I fee my finnes, look up to Chrift, and adventure my foule on him for pardon, I trust on him, yet I may feare; but when I am af

fured

fured, I fee my finnes lock up to Chrift, and my foule is quiet and rejoyceth. As it was with the Ifraelues, when they were Neere the red fea, they looked back on their enemies, and looked up to God, but yet they were ex. ceedingly afraid: Afterwards, when they had paft through the read Tea, and stood upon the shore, they looked back upon the fame enemies, but now as drowned, and then their fighes were turned into joyes, and their feares into peace: They exceedingly rejoyed. Why; in affurance, though we look upon the fame finnes, yet not in the fame manner: Now we look upon them as drowned enemies; as iniquities caft into the depths of the fea, as pardoned iniquities: Now, though fin doth grieve the foule, yet finne pardoned doth quiet and rejoyce the foul.

1

3. Aurance doth arme the heart against future tempta

tions.

There are two forts of temptations,against both which the affurance of faith doth arme the beleever.

1. To finne: Though affurance be a kinde of heaven upon earth, yet in this doth the beatifical vifion differ from a beleeving affurance, that the one leaves no finne at all, but the other is a day of great comfort to a beleeving finner; yet even an affured perfon hath yet much of a finning nature remaining

in him.

Nevertheleffe, though affurance doth not wholly caft off feare, yet it doth exceedingly keep off finne: A beleving perfon fhall not eafily finne whiles he is reading his pardon, and looking his Chrift in the face. How can I do this great wickedne Je and finne against God? If the meere refpe&t of a God was fo prevalent with Jofeph; O how much more powerful is the propriety in a God? How can I do this great wickedneffe and finne against my God? Should fuch a man as 1 flee, faid Nehemiah! so the affured Chriftian, fhould fuch a man as I finne!

Nay, remember it: Sinne is never more odious to the heart, then when the heart is most affured: The great and rich mercy of God in Chrift, it is the principal bane of a temptation: The man who formerly would have ftept out a

gainst

against the threats of juftice, having now obtained mercy, trembles at the very thoughts of finning.

2. To defpaire, it is poffible for an affured person to finne, and then this is probable, and more then fo) that new finnings will quickly cloud old affurance: Though a beleever loofeth not his life, yet he may loofe his health; and though he hath a Father ftill, yet by finning he loofeth the fight of that Father; and is hereupon exceedingly humbled and repents, and yet perhaps cannot read his former Evidences, he feares that he is caft off for ever, and fhall be remembred no more. But yet an ancient affurance well grounded may affift the foul, and preferve the foul againft defpairing throwes; That God will not caft off the foul, fer. 31. 3. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, faying, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindnesse have I drawn thee. Ver. 4. Againe, I will build thee, and thou shalt be, built. So Pfal. 8. 30. if his children forfake. my Law and walk not in my judgments. Ver. 31. If they break my ftatutes and keep not my commandments. Ver. 32. Then will I visit their tranf greffion with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes. Ver. 33. Nevertheleffe my loving kindneffe will not witerly take frem him, nor fuffer my faithfulnesse to faile. Ver. 34. My Covenant will I not break, &c. Sure mercies of David, Ifaiah 55. 3. So for Chrift, loh.13. 1. Having loved bis own, he loved them to the end.

4. Afurance by faith (weetens all other bleffings to us: Job Speaking of many outward mercies, in his children,in his plency, his honours, fob 29. 5. 67. and ver. 3. he recounts one which fhadowed all of them, (his candle shined upon my head.) As if the evidence of Gods favour were like the light which gives life, and beauty to all the colours in the roome, and without which all our bleffings lay dead and dark. O what an enlivening matter is this to all that I enjoy! and God is my God too, and Chri, is my Chrift too, and my fins are pardoned? too here is a dear and loving husband; yea, and God is my God too; here are to der and obferving children; yea, and Chrift is my Chrift too; here is plenty of food, and raiment, and friends; yea, and my fins are

Nn

par

pardoned too. But the want of this may check all our bleffings, and is able to marre the very comfort of our comforts; I am exceeding rich, yea, but I cannot yet fay that God is my God; I am greatly honoured by man; yea, but I cannot yet fay that Chrift is my Redeemer; I have health and marrow in my bones, and want not for any outward mercy; yea, but I cannot yet fay that my finnes are pardoned; for ought I know that may yet ftand upon record, which may lose my foul for ever.

5. Nay, again, it is able to sweeten all our croffes; a croffe is more or leffe heavy, (to the Chriftian) by how much the more or the leffe God appeares to the foul; The Dif ciples may even in a storme rejoyce, if Chrift be in the Ship.

It was an excellent fpeech, that of Job 29. 3. Bj his light I walked through darknesse; and David anfwers him in Pfal. 23. 4. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evill, for thou art with me, tby rod and thy staffe they comfort me; How triumphant is Paul, and beyond both bimfelf and all croffes,and all because of his affurance, and perfwafion? Rom. 8. 35. Who fball separate us from the love of Chrift? ball tribulation, or diftreffe, or perfecution, or famine, or nakednesse, or perill, or word. Ver. 37? Nay in all these things we are more then conquerors through him that loved us. Ver. 38. For I am perfwaded that neither Life, nor Death, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor things prefent, nor things to come. Ver. 39. Nor Height, nor Depth, nor any other creature fhall be able to Separate us from the love of God which is in Chrift lefus our Lord. Can more be faid? need we to adde; See him againe in Romans 5. 2. We rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God.

Objection. Who would not, may fome reply? in fo great a good.

Sol. 3. And not only fo, but we glory in tribulation also; and who can do this but he who hath fome measure of affurance.

Indeed faith can make the foul to fubmit in a croffe,

but