help on Jesus Christ upon one that is mighty and exalt arguments of faith and this will much strengthen your comforts Luke 8.42 There came a â—uler to Jesus Christ and besought him for his daughter that lay a dying And while he was telling Christ this there came another messenger after him Thy daughter is dead â—rouble the man no farther What saith Christ hearing this Fear not onely bâ—lieve As if he should say sense and reason would have told him it were a needlesse thing to beg of Christ for his daughter when she was dead but saith Christ Doe not stoop to sense and reason Fear not onely beleeve and the work shall be done So I say to you Consult not with flesh and blood but exalt arguments of faith against present feelings and this is the way to get assurance of your comforts Secondly Keep conscience clear that no sin be harboured there and you are in the way to get your comforts full God saith David will speak peace to his people but they must not returne unto folly As if he should say though God doth speak peace and assure you of your pardon and salvation yet if you return to sin God can tell how to break your peace and turn his smiles into frowns and angry looks Take heed of sin and keep your conscience clear and that 's the way to have peace setled in thine heart Job 11.14 15. If iniquity be in thy hand put it far away and let not wickednesse dwell in thy Tabernacle What follows and then shalt thou lift up thy face before God without spot thou shalt be stedfast and shalt not fear A strange expression That if you will keep sin far away then you shall be stedfast before God and not fear that is you shall not be exposed to those fears and doubts and anxieties which other men are exposed to Heb. 10.22 Let us draw neer to God with an upright heart in full assurance of faith Now what shall a man doe to come to God in full assurance Mark the next words Draw nigh to God in full assurance of faith having your hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience Here is the way if you are sprinkled from an evil conscience you may be bold to come to God in full assurance Whereas alas if thy conscience tell thee thou art a Whoremaster and thou art a deceiver and a liar and loose liver thou canst not come with full assurance thou mayest come in presumption indeed but not with the assurance of faith and therfore keep a conscience clear from harbouring guilt upon it and that 's the way to have the heart full of joy Thirdly Be diligent in keeping company with the most godly experienced Christians where you live this is a very special way to encrease your comforts Ye read an excellent passage 2 Cor. 1.4 We are câ—mforted of God saith the Apostle that we might comfort others with the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God Godly Christians they will comfort you with the same comforts wherewith they themselves are comforted If we are comforted it is for your consolation Godly men if they have any inward comfort from God they will impart their experiences to you and tell you as David did Psal 66.16 What God hath done for their soul There is no way better then this to keep in communion with godly and knowing Christians Mr. Bradford that famous Martyr who was in prison about his profession of Christ the story saith he lay a long time under trouble of minde and horrour of conscience that he could not finde a real and clear evidence of his effectual calling there came many men to him and could not settle him Yet a poor Weaver an ancient and experienced Christian that did usually accompany Mr. Bradford in prison by his frequent communion with this poor man he got more inward comfort then ever he got all his life before Beloved this I speak to you to make you the morâ— to study the the worth of godly society and the more you are conversant with Christians that live in the enjoyment of the light of Gods countenancâ— and in the assurance of his favour all the day long the more you are in the ready way to encrease your comforts and assurance Fourthly Submit thy selfe to the approbation of others and be willing to have them passe a verdict upon thee When thou art asleep or in a swoun then thou canst not tell thy self what thou dost but others must tell thee So it may fall out with the godly they may be in such a spiritual swoun that they are not fit judges of their own condition in this case submiâ— to the judgment of others they may see grace in thee when thou thy self canst not see it so Mr. Throgmorton was comforted by the testimony of a company of godly Ministers Fifthly live in the dayly improvement of grace and that 's the way to get assurance And this meanes the Holy Ghost layes down in the Chapter out of which my Text is taken Adde grace to grace And I remember that Beza upon this Text doth write that in the Greek Translations these words are put in Give diligence by good works to make your calling sure whether it be so or no I cannot affirm but this I am sure of and the context will clearly prove it that the way to make your calling sure is to adde grace to grace For after the Apostle had spoken of adding grace to grace he comes in with this Give diligence to make your calling sure Implying that the more you live in the actings of grace the more you shall live in the enjoyment of comforts Isa 32.17 The works of righteousness shall be peace Not the habit but the work if you act righteousnesse and live in the workings and thrivings in grace this shall be peace and the effect of it quietnesse and assurance for ever So John 16.24 The more you pray the more you encrease your joy So that the more you live in the improvement of grace the more likely way you are in to get assurance Sixthly If you would get assurance spend more time in strengthening your evidences for heaven then in questioning of them It is the great fault of many Christians they will spend much time in questioning and not in strengthening their comforts They will reason themselves into unbeliefe and say Lord why should I beleeve why should I take hold of a promise that am so unholy and so unmortified a creature And so by this they reason themselves to such a passe that they dare not lay hold upon Christ whereas it should be your work to reason your selves into Christ as much as you can Labour to strengthen your comforts and reason thus Why should I not beleeve in Christ Thus David did Psal 42. Why art thou troubled O my soule and why art thou cast down within me Is not the mercy of God more then sin in the creature Is not there free grace where
20. When Christ called a companie of men there to come to him what excuse have they Saith one I have bought a yoke of oxen and I must prove them I have bought a Farm saith another and I must manage that I have marria wife and therefore cannot come saith a third All these were lawful callings and yet these callings kept them from Heaven and kept them from Jesus Christ You read Acts 24.25 When Paul did startle Felix's conscience by a powerful Sermon of judgement to come Felix's heart trembled but mark now how did Felix put off the power of the word Why Now saith he I am not at leasure but go thy waies and in convenient time I will send for thee to speak of this matter As if he should say I am now to go about some other business about the affairs of my Kingdome and cannot have leasure to hear thee now and so by some outward imployment he justled the power of the word from his heart and had not convenient time to imbrace Jesus Christ Fourthly Consider this That this plea of yours in making your callings an excuse to neglect your effectual calling it is the only way to provoke God to curse and blast all your outward callings to you and to engage him to curse all you put your hands unto Hagg. 1.6 9. Because they neglected Gods Worship and Gods Ordinances Therefore saith God you shall have much but it shall come to nothing and what you get you shall put into a bag with holes You shal lose all you get and all you sow and all you labour for because you would not look after Gods worship So Micah 6.13 14. I will make thee sick in smiting thee and desolate because of thy sins Thou shalt eat and not be satisfied thou shalt sow and not reap thou shalt tread Olives and not anoint thy selfe with oyle and make sweet wine but shalt not drink it For the statutes of Omri are kept and all the manners of the house of Ahab and you walk in their counsels As much as if the Lord should say You wil not hearken to my Statutes and to my Counsels but Omri's statutes and Ahabs counsel you wil hearken to Therefore now you shall eat and not be satisfied sow and not reap That is God wil curse what you have and what you doe because you wil not hearken to Gods cal and counsel So Deut. 28.38 to 46. Thou shalt carry much seed into the field and gather but little the Locusts shall consume it ther 's one curse And shalt plant Vineyards but shalt not drink the wine nor gather the grapes the worm shall eat them another curse Thou shalt have Olive-trees throughout all thy coasts but shalt not anoint thy selfe with Oyl for thy Olives shall fall there 's a third curse Thou shalt beget sons and daughters but shalt not enjoy them all the trees and fruit of the Land shall be consumed Now what 's the reason of all this that God should thus blast their callings and their comforts to them Verse 45. Yea all these curses shall come upon thee and pursue thee and overtake thee because thou hearknedst not to the voice of thy God to keep his commandements and his statutes which he commanded thee Here is the reason they would not hearken to God nor obey God and therefore God would blast their comforts to them Now then Beloved think of this you that make your callings a plea why you cannot hearken to the call of Christ this plea is a great provocation to engage God to blast and to curse your very callings to you Fifthly Take this consideration that God will the more blesse you in your callings and prosper you in the work of your hands the more consciencious you are in hearkning to the call and invitation of Jesus Christ And the reason is because Godlinesse hath not onely a promise of the life to come but of this life also 1. Tim. 4.8 And Mal. 3.10 11 12. Bring yea all the tythes into the Store-house that there may be meat in my house that is saith God Use all means and take all care that there may be meat in my house that Ordinances may be on foot that my worship may be maintained and what then And if you will take care of his Ordinances God bids you prove him and try him if he will not take care of you ver 11. Mâ—rk the words Let there be meat in my house and prove me now saith the Lord if I will not open the windows of heaven and poure forth a blessing upon you and there shall not be room enough to receive it A strange blessing that if men wil take care to have meat in Gods house have a care of Gods ordinances God would open the very windows of heaâ—en and make the earth so fruitful they should not have room to receive Gods blessings And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes and all Nations shall call you blessed and call you a delightsome land Here now you see if you will take care of Gods Ordinances and imbrace his cal God wil blesse your outward calling the more and give you in a more abundant increase if you imbrace the cal of Jesus Christ 6. You that urge your outward callings as a reason why you cannot hearken to the cal of Christ take this for answer that if truth were known it is not the urgencie of your callings but the obstinacie of your wils and the slugishnesse of your spirits is the cause you do not give entertainment to the cal of Jesus Christ If it were mens callings urged them they would not take pleasure in sin therefore it is not their callings but the badnesse of their hearts they do not love Christ and love his waieâ— but think it too industrious a work to labour for conversion and therefore they make this plea. John 5.40 Ye will not come to me that ye might have life When will is wanting saith Doctor Preston any vain excuse wil be pretended When wil is wanting to walk in the waies of God any groundlesse pretence wil be made to excuse their negligence And thus much to take off the second suggestion that men have callings to follow in the world and therefore they haue no leisure to look after their effectual calling by Jesus Christ 3. Sug. Thirdly The Devil suggests if you give entertainment to the cal of Jesus Christ this wil expose you to a great deal of povertie and persecution in this world and therefore you must not hearken to his cal And he wil urge Scripture for this First for poverty the Devil wil urge Matth. 8.19 20. Christ said the Foxes have holes the Birds of the air have nests but the Son of man hath no where to lay his head The Devil wil urge this Scripture and tel you you are exposed to poverty want and beggery if you follow Christ And this we read in history likewise of Lucius the fiâ—st
it will make a heart quake there that there shall not be that calmness and quietnesse and setlednesse of minde which there would be were sin away Hence we read Esa 33. â—6 The sinners in Sion are afraid and fearfullness hath surprised the Hypocrite The sinners are afraid those who had guilt upon them their sins bred terrour and fear and hypocrites that are conscious to themselves of their own guilt fearfulnesse surprâ—zeth them but the upright and sincere in heart were not so To note that this is a great enemy to inward peace and to assurance about your everlasting estate if so be you harbour sin upon the conscience unrepented of And it is just with God it should be so because if you keep sin in your hearts that will be ever jarring with Heaven it is just with God to be at oddes with you Fourthly Avoid the easting of your eye in a way of dejection upon others who are more eminent in grace then you and have got a precedency of you in the wayes of godlinesse 'T is true indeed a man that is given to spiritual pride and self-conceitednesse touching his own goodnesse it is fit that he should look upon those that have a precedency before him in grace the more to humble him But for a man that lies under trouble of minde and doubtings touching his everlasting estate that man should not look upon others more eminent then he in grace because it will rather increase discomforts then any way work assurance in you If you look up-the glittering beames of the Sun shinning in its full strength the more you look upon that orient and resplendent body the more it will dazle your eyes that you can behold but dimly things upon the earth It is so with Christians some Christians they shine like so many Suns in the firmament their graces do so shine and sparkle that if you look upon them they will even dazle your eyes and make you blinde that you cannot see those small scantlings and sparks of grace that are in your own hearts In case therefore you would get assurance avoid the casting of your eye too much upon those that have a precedency in grace before you Fifthly Take heed you make not sense and feeling the Touchstone to try your effectual calling by sense and feeling will deceive you in the matters of your calling I may allude â—o â—â—aâ— pâ—â—sâ—gâ— in the bâ—ok of Geâ—â—sis yoâ— know old Isaac was â—immâ— sigâ—ed and by reason of his old age he ran into a misâ—â—â—e by â—â—eling Hâ— had Jacob by thâ— hand and by feeling thought it â—ad been Eâ—au Beloved many of us are dimme-sighted in our comforts and in our graces and if we trust to feeling we may be deceived as Isaac was You may think when you have Jacob by the hand I mean grace in the heart that it is but an Esau it is but a reprobate Therefore take heed of making sense and feeling the Touchstone to try your calling by A childe is born yet knows not that it is born lives yet knowes not that it lives but those about it do so a Christian may be born again live the life of grace and yet not be sensible of it Sixtly Give diligence to remove this hinderance to wit Pride in your guifts and dependance upon you graces Pride and dependance they are not onely murderers of comforts but they murder our graces also and if God sees you swell with pride because you abound in grace he will soon prick that swelling bladder It is the observation of a Modern Divine that exaltings of spirit after assurance attained it will inevitably expose a Christian either to great discomforts or to great sins Hence the Scripture makes mention that pride of your gifts is not onely an enemy to the comfort but an enemy to grace not onely an enemy to the comforts from grace but to the very having of grace Hab. 2.4 If a mans heart be exalted his spirit is not upright within him James 4.6 God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble So that pride is not onely an enemy to your comforts but to the very getting of grace likewise when the branches of a Vine grow luxuriant they shall have the pruning hook And thus you have the first sort of helps laid down to you In case you would get assurance you must use diligence to avoid those things that may be a hinderance to you in getting assurance of your call Secondly A second sort of helps in case you would get assurance is to use diligence in the practice of those things that may be helps and furtherances to the obtaining of assurance about your effectual calling And here I shall name onely six or seven particulars First Exalt arguments of faith against presenâ— feelings If so be that you will once enter the lists to dispute with the devil he will out-cavill you and Non-plus you The devil is a cunning Logician and it is not safe saith Dr. Preston to argue with the devil the devil will out-dispute and out-argue you It is a Christians work to exalt arguments of Faith against present feelings In case you would get assurance you are to do as Abraham the father of the faithful did when he was to believe a thing that sense and reason would tell him should never come to passe It is said of Abraham Rom. 4.18 19. That in hope he believed against hope He would exalt faith against sense And how was it God promised Abraham a childe reason and sense would have told Abraham Abraham thou art a hundred years old thy wife ninety nine her womb is barren and it is not likely you should have children but Abraham would not argue thus but would exalt arguments of faith and apply Gods Promises and Gods Word exalting these Abraham did believe in hope against hope Beloved so must you though you say you have barren womb Grace is not likely to grow in you and though you are old and decrepit and feeble Christians yet advance arguments of faith from Gods love and from Gods power and from Gods Providence and Gods Promises and that 's the way to get your comforts clear and full I may apply what Fox in his Acts and Monuments reports of a good woman that was called before Bonner and the rest in Queen Maries Reign that sate in Judgement about her Religion they see her though a poor and silly woman yet keep firm to her principles and would not deny her Religion At length Bonner sent some learned Doctors to dispute with her and argue the case about some points she held they coming to see her she puts them off with this saying Well you are Scholars and you come to dispute I must needs tell you I cannot dispute but I can burn for my Religion Beloved I would have you answer the devil thus If he comes to outwit and cavill with you about your comforts say you cannot dispute but you can believe you can lay your
heart nor in thy house then shalt thou lift up thy face to God without spot thou shalt be stedfast before him and not feare This will ballance thy spirit and keep thy heart from feare and keep thee in a stedfast assurance if thou keep thy conscience clear Thirdly if thou wouldst keep assurance gather and heap together all the experiences thou hast had of God in thy heart in times past I called to â—emembrance the dayes of old Psal 77.7 Call to remembrance all the experiences thou hast had of God and had of Christ and of thy own grace and the fruits of Gods Spiriâ—â—n â—hy own soul and this will wonderfully keep up thy assurance Rom. 5.4 The Apostle tels us Experience worketh hope The more experimental you are and the more you gather experience together the more you strengthen hope and thâ— mâ—râ— hope is strengthened the more assurance is gained Theâ—e are the particulars you must practice in case you would preserve in your brests this assurance of your effectual calling Secondly there are some things you are to avoid and take heed of in case you would perpetuate assurance in your hearts and those I shall comprize under six heads First Take heed you do not wallow in and give your selves to sensual joy and pleasure There is nothing in the world will more eat out spiritual joy and that effectual assurance in your hearts then giving your selyes too much to carnal joy and sensual pleasure which takes away the hearts The more your joy runs in that channel after sensual pleasure the less it runs towards God and the comforts that are above godly sorrow is the seed-plot of spiritual joy Secondly The evil of earthly-mindedness take heed of that if ever you would keep your comforts There is nothing in the world will more blast your comforts then an earthly minde to be still poring upon the things of the world What the Philosophers say of the Eclipse of the Sun that it is occasioned by the intervening of the Moon between the Sun and our sight is is true in this case The Moon is an Embleme of the world If the world get between Christ the Sun of righteousnesse and our fight it will darken our sight of Jesus Christ and bring Eclipses upon our comforts and graces Those men that dig deep nito the bowels of the earth they are oftentimes choaked and stifled by damps that come from the earth So it is with Christians those that will be ever poring and digging about the things of this world it is a thousand to one if from worldly things a damp doth not arise to smother their comforts and quench their graces the world pierceth with sorrow therefore must needs damp your joyes A candle though it may shine to the view of all yet put it but under ground and though there be not a puff of wind the very damps will stifle the light of the flame Beloved though you shine like candles in your comforts yet bring them but under the earth and a clod of earth will stifle your candle will damp your comforts There is nothing lays a Christian under more loss in his assurance then worldly-mindedness Thirdly avoid remisseness in Religious duties If you slack in duties you will slack in comforts less duties and less comforts goe together If a man doth let loose the tacklings of his ship and let slack the sailes that ship cannot goe with so swift a motion specially if wind and tide be against it the ship must needs goe backward Believers that are assured Christians they are like a ship under saile you goe against wind and tide against nature and against corruption against temptation and the devil and all now if you let slack your sails and grow remiss in duties you will quickly slack in your comforts whatever weakens your graces and straitens your duties will impaire your assurances and eclipse your comforts and therefore take heed of remisseness in a way of duties oh do not less work when you have most encouragement Fourthly Take heed of spiritual pride If once you begin to admire your selves then you lose your selves If once you are proud of your graces it is a provocation to make God take away your comforts and to make you lose your graces I mean lose them not in the very being but in the comfort and exercise of them pride it is the great murderer of a Christians comforts Fifthly Take heed of grieving the spirit of God Grieve not the holy spirit saith the Apostle whereby you are sealâ—d to the day of Redemption The Spirit of God is a sealing Spirit O grieve not this Spirit The Spirit deals with us as we deale with it if we grieve the spirit of God God will grieve you and your spirits shall be grieved that you shall not keep the joyes of the Lord in your brâ—st in the assurance of his love and favour to you You read Isa 63.10 They grieved his Spirit so he was turned to be their enemy and fought against them Beloved though God may be your friend yet he will frown upon you as an enemy and seem to fight against you too in case you grieve his Spirit if thou grieve Gods Spirit God will grieve thine and when thy spirit is grieved thou must needs lose thy comforts Sixthly Take heed of the sin of hypocrisie false grace will breed a false joy False hearts must needs have false comforts You will never keep true comforts if you have an unsound heart The upright in heart they shall shout upon their beds for joy they shall doe it but hypocrites shall not Take heed therefore of this evil and you are in a way to preserve your assurance SERMON XI 2. Pet. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure THE Doctrine I am yet upon is this That Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their soules that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ In the managing of which I came to an use of direction to those who are assured of their effectual calling and to them I gave three directions First That you would rightly manage your assurance Secondly Carefully preserve your assurance Thirdly Daily improve your assurance the last of which I have yet to handle And touching this third direction daily to improve your assurance I shall give you but three heads which if you make use of you may every day improve your assurance and bring it from a little to a great measure As First In case you would doe this improve your graces The more you encrease in grace the more you will grow in comfort Grace and comfort they are two Twins that the more one growes the better the other thrives Hence you read that in the salutation of every Epistle the Apostle puts both together Grace mercy and peace be multiplied to you in Christ Jesus 1 Cor. 1.3 There the Apostle makes the multiplying of
grace to be the multiplying of peace The more you multiply and grow in grace the more you will increase peace inward peace of conscience they are both joyned together You have a passage 2 Pet. 1.5 11. compared together Adde to your faith vertue c. The Apostle there urgeth our diligence to adde grace to grace that is to live in the improvement of grace And what wil follow ver 11. If you doe these things you shall never fall for so an entrance shall be ministred unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdome of our Lord Iesus Christ You shall not onely goe to heaven but you shall have an abundant entrance ministred before you come there you shall have abundance of assurance and inward peace before you come there And here to give you a more particular direction there are these foure graces chiefly you are to improve First Improve the grace of humility Isa 57.15 The Lord doth promise there to revive the spirit of the humble It is a particular promise to that grace that God will revive you and give you a new life if you have it And reviving there is not meant of the first life of grace but of a life of comfort They had grace before but God would give them a life of comfort he will restore your consolation to you in case you are an humble people Hence it is Iam. 4.6 The Lord gives grace to the humble Yea he gives more grace The Lord gives more grace to the humble person then to any man in the world Now the more grace you have the more comfort you must needs have Humility is a foundation of more grace therefore needs must be a foundation of more comfort That building whose foundation is laid lowest is of all the most beautiful and comely Fabrick above ground So those Christians that lay a foundation low in humility they are likely to reare up a most beautiful Building in way of comfort Secondly Improve the grace of faith in beleeving and that is the way to increase comfort 1 Peter 1.8 Whom though you have not seen yet believing you rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory Though they did never see Christ yet believing in Christ and improving their faith they had not onely an ordinary measure of comfort but they had more comfort in their hearts then they could utter with their Tongue They rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory So Rom. 15.13 The God of peace fill you with all joy and peace in Believing that you may abound in hope through the Holy Ghost Believing makes you full of all joy and makes you abound in it The more you are in Believing the more you will be in assurance Thirdly Improve the grace of love to Jesus Christ John 14.23 If any man love me my Father shall love him and we will come in unto him and make our abode with him If you improve in your love to Jesus Christ God the Father and God the Son will make their dwelling in your hearts Now he must needs be a comfortable Christian that hath so good a guest as God the Father and Jesus Christ to come in and make their abode with him As you know to your bosome-friend whom you love and you know loves you you will communicate all your secrets Thus will God the Father if he knowes you are his bosome-friends and seeth you love him he will communicate all his comforts to you you shall never want comforts if you increase in love to Jesus Christ Fourthly Improve the grace of godly sorrow you will never finde sweeter musick in comfort then when you are laid down in teares As the sound of the Trumpet is never more pleasant then when they are upon the water so when God seeth you flow with the water of repentance and godly sorrow then you are likely to hear the most melodious harmony in the apprehension of Gods love Psal 126. They that sow in teares shall reap in joy You shall not onely have a dram but a handful of joy as Reapers they cut down handfuls of corn at once And as you know in seed though you sowe but one grain of corn there may a dozen eares come from that one seed so if you sowe but a little godly sorrow a grain of godly sorrow may be a root to a great deal of spiritual joy Secondly If you would improve your assurance preserve a clear conscience both towards God and man A good conscience is a continual Feast Prov. 15.15 Assurance I may say of it as the Father speaks of the Holy Ghost and the comforts thereof The Spirit of God is a very nice thing every thing will give the comforts of Gods Spirit a check and distaste now if you harbour sin upon conscience you will never thrive in comfort every thing will give comfortable motions a check And as Philosophers say when the Aire is foggy it ariseth from vapours that are exhaled from the earth which makes the Aire so cloudy as it is So it is filth drawn from our earthly hearts that makes such foggy mists to arise between our comforts and us and between God and us You must keep conscience clear else you will never keep heaven clear Heaven will be clouded if the heart be filthy Job 11.14 15. If iniquity be in thy hand put it far away If sin be upon the conscience harbour it not for then thou shalt lift up thy face before God thou shalt be stedfast and not fear You shall not onely not fear but you shall have a degree of assurance You shall be stedfast if you put sin far away from you A sullied and a polluted conscience shall never be in a Christian strong in assurance You will not grow in assurance if your conscience harbour guilt Thirdly If you would improve your assurance keep close in communion with God Nothing that feeds comforts so much as a Christians holy walking Esa 32.17 The work of righteousnesse shall be peace and the effect thereof quietnesse and assurance for ever If you walk in works of righteousnesse and in a way of keeping lose communion with God this shall be peace and this shall be quietnesse and great assurance Mark how the Holy Ghost makes a gâ—adation not onely peace and quietnesse but assurance also you shall have the highest degree of peace and the highest step of comfort if you walk diligently in a way of holinesse with your God And thus much be spoken to the first sort of men those that live in the enjoyment of the assurance of their effectual calling I have now a word to those men that live in the want of this assurance who happily have in times past had some glimmering and some dimme sight of comfort touching their everlasting estate and yet are now much clouded and eclipsed in their comforts or have lost the comforts they once hâ—d what they should do to recover it And to these I â—hall by way of direction speak
after that time he did evil against his God Nay you read further Nebem 13.26 27. That Solomons wives turned away his heart from the Lord though he was the beloved of his God Though he were beloved by God and were elected by him yet his wives turned away his heart from the Lord. The like phrasâ— you have Numb 14.23 After all these works I have done among them and the miracles I have shewn them in Aegypt and in the Wilderness they have provoked me saith the Lord these ten times After they were the Lords by covenant and after they were a delivered people after this they provoked him many a time by sinning against him and yet divers of them were elect vessels of mercy So that I say many of Gods servants after their calling are fallen foulely into scandalous sins and yet have been within the compasse of Gods election Secondly if you falling into grosse and scandalous sins have not these four sinful ingredients your falling into sin after calling may be consistent with election First if you fall not into sin voluntarily Secondly if you fall not into the same sin frequently Thirdly if you fall not into sin with complacency And fourthly if you lie not under your fall impenitently If these ingredients be mixed with your sinning after your call they are inconsistent with election First if you fall into sin voluntarily that you rush into sin as a horse into the battel Secondly if you fall into the same sin frequently then it is hazardous and dangerous It is true Peter denied Christ but it was but in one fit of a temptation Dâ—vid fell into Adultery but it was never but once Lot was guilty of drunkennesse but onely in one fit For the Servants of God though they fall yet they fall not frequently into the same sin if grosse and scandalous Thirdly if you fall into sin with complacency that you take pleasure in the evils you fall into if you do as Job saith wallow sin under your tongue counting it sweet and delightsome to you And lastly if all this be joyned with impenitency that you have not a heart to repent of the evils you fall into the Lord have mercy upon you for certainly if you fall into sin with these ingredients you are not within the compasse of Gods mercy to save But now though you do fall into sin if it be not voluntary but through the force of temptation if it be not with complacency but a dislike of the sins you fall into and as soon as you do fall and see your sins you repent and rise again though you doe fall in this way it will be no prejudice to your election Thirdly falling into sinne after calling and profession made of Jesus Christ may be consistent with Election in these foure cases First if the sins you fall into be clearly discerned Secondly if they are sensibly bewailed Thirdly if they are strongly resisted and lastly if they are dayly laboured and prayed against Though you doe fall into sinne yet in these cases sin will not be damning to you or be an impediment to your election And thus I have done with the second case of conscience Only let me urge this one thing before I leave it for I would not have you make this Doctrine a Doctrine of liberty but I would have you lay this to heart that if any of you fall foulely after conversion believe it God will make you smart for this though not in hell yet you shall have a hell in your conscience you shall have the very pregustations of hell a wounded conscience and God will expect deep humiliation and great repentance if you sin after profession made of Jesus Christ It may have that influence upon you as upon David who cried out I have no quietnesse in my bones by reason of my sin God will give you no rest night nor day by reason of sin if you run into it after profession made of Jesus Christ Thirdly men do doubt of their election because God pursues them with continual afflictions and layes the continued strokes of his heavy wrath upon them and this makes many a godly man think that he is not in the number of Gods elect ones To which I shall briefly answer That this is nothing else but a temptation and not a truth and it was the very controversie that Jobs friends had with him they would fasten this upon Job that he was a Reprobate and an Hypocrite because God did so afflict him yet Job maintained his sincerity and shews his grounds that God was his friend and that he did not reject him though he did afflict him But to speak more particularly First no man can infallibly and certainly judge of Gods purposes about mans election or reprobation by any of the dispensations of God toward their bodies in the things of this life Eccl. 9.1 2. No man knows either love or hatred by any thing that is before him All things fall alike to all The same event to him that feareth God and to him that feareth him not to him that sweareth and to him that feareth an oath Secondly Afflictions from God are so far from being grounds or evidences that a man is not elected that in some cases they may prove evidences that they are the very elect of God Heb. 12.6 7. He chasteneth every son whom he receiveth they are bastards and not sons whom he chastiseth not As â—any as I love I rebuke and chasten be zealous therefore and repent Rev. 3.19 In some cases afflictions from God are rather tokens of love from God then the contrary As now in case afflictions be as a spur to you to make you quicken your pace in heaven-way 2. In case your afflictions be as pruning-hooks to you to cut and lop off the luxuriant buddings and workings of sinne in the heart 3. In case affliction be as a hedge to you to keep you in and to make you walk in a close communion with God and not to wander or goe astray from him 4. In case affliction be as a file to you to file off that rust that cleaves to your nature 5. In case affliction proves a furnace to refine you from that drosse of corruption that is mixt with your services In these cases afflictions are so farre from being grounds to doubt of your Election that they may rather give you evidence you are the very elect of God Thirdly That God in his wisedome doth many times expose his own people to greater troubles in this life then he lets wicked and reprobate men undergoe God will not give reprobates their hell here that so he might give them hell hereafter God will not give the elect heaven here to make heaven more desirable to them while they live here and more welcome when they come there It is Gods pleasure in the dispensations of his providence amongst men to let his own people lie under more outward sorrows then wicked men shall do Psal
obedience in the habit and obedience in his purposes and resolutions always attending him Secondly you find in Scripture that the strongest and ablest Christians who have done most for God have sometimes been very defective in the Actings of obedience that they could not do what they would do for God And therfore Paul complaines Rom. 7. The good that we would do we cannot do Paul himself that was a pillar in Gods house yet he tels you he could not go out in those Actings of obedience which in his heart he would do therefore if you would willingly do more then you do God accepts of the little you do Thirdly Though you can not put forth many Actings of obedience to God where there is readinesse of mind and heart God accepts the pâ—rposes of the mind for the Action it self 2. Cor. 8.12 Where there is a willing mind it is accepted of God as if the deed were done And thus much be spoken to the second case of conscience why men effectually called do so much doubt of their own call Thirdly Seeing Christians must put forth diligence in making their calling sure therefore now whereabouts must this diligence of ours be conversant or in what Channel must our diligence run that we might be sure of our effectual calling This is a very mateâ—ial question and in resolving of it I shall answer it in these two generals First if you would get assurance of your effectual calling you must put forth diligence to remove those things that will hinder you in making sure your calling And Secondly use diligence to set upon the practice of those duties that may further you in making this sure that you are effectually called First You must remove those things which do much hinder you from being assured and those hinderance that are to be removed I shall comprize under six heads As First you must use diligence to remove Melancholy from your Thoughts This iâ— a natural hinderance of assurance Melancholy is a temper in man arising from a black blood running about the body that doth naturaly occasion distrust and fear in mens mindes this temper being in the body doth work much upon the disposition of the â—oul Now if your temper Melancholy and so dispose you to distrust and fear this will be a great stop to your having of the joyes and comforts of the Lord in your hearts in assurance of his love It is a note Perkins hath upon Nebuchadnezzar when he ate grasse like a beast he writing upon that place thinks that Nebuchadnezzar was in a deep Melancholy and that did so possâ—sse him that he could not tell whether he was a man or a beast though saith he he did not eat grasse but his deep perplexity seazing upon him did make him think that he was from a man turned into a Beast Beloved Melancholy in a Christian it will make him think himself an Hypocrite when he is a Saint and therefore take heed of a Melancholy lumpish and sad temper it is a very great hinderance to this grace of assurance This I lay down only as a Natural remedy Secondly A mind filled with worldly cares and running into incumbring imployments in the world this is a great hindrance of assurance The cares of this life Mat. 13.15 are compared to thorns Now thornes they choake the seed by drawing the juyce that is in the seed to themselves and so the Corn doth not grow where thorns spring The cares of this life they are like thorns in this they are of an attractive power to suck and draw the juyce of your spirits and comforts to themselves so that you cannot have the juyce of your spirits in gathering your evidences for heaven the more incumbred you are in the world the lesse clear you will be touching the evidence of your elerlasting condition The cares of this life they peirce the soul through with many sorrowes Now when a man is pierced through with many sorrows he is in a very unfit temper to be raised up in spiritual joy the more you incumber your selves in the employments of this world the lesse you will be in the comforts of heaven I remember it was the speech of a Pope when he lay a dying When I was a painful preaching Minister then I had hopes of my salvation when I came to be a Cardinal I doubted of it but when I came to be a Pope I despaired of it I was so entangled in the Affâ—irs of this life Beloved so I may say to you When you were but ordinarie Christians in the world you were in a way to get assurance of your salvation but since you have been taken up with the affairs of the world it doth so distract your minde that yâ—u may â—â— in no composâ—d temper to have any setlednesse of heart about your everlasting estate It is the observation of Philosophers that the Sun is eclipsed by the interposition of the Moon the Moon coming between the Sun and our sight Beloved the Sun of your comforts comes to be eclipsed by the Moon which is made an Emblem of the world Rev. 12.9 Now if the Moon of the world comes between your comforts and you it will miserably darken and eclipse your comforts to you Nothing in the world doth so much impede your comfort in assurance as incumbring and carking cares about the things of this world Thirdly Take heed you do not harbour the guilt of any one known sin upon your conscience Keeping of sin upon the conscience is a great impediment to your inward comforts You will never be assured while you do thus and therefore if ever you would have assurance remove this It is an observation of Mr. Hildersham upon Psal 51.12 14. What doth David do when he prayes for assurance saying Restore to me the joyes of thy salvation establish me with thy free Spirit Restore my comforts and my evidences to me And what course doth he take Read verse 14. Deliver me from blood-guiltinesse O Lord As much as if he should say All the while that sin lay upon conscience unrepented of as it did for nine monthes together all that while David lost the joyes of the Spirit and lost the comforts of Heaven And therefore when he comes to renew his comforts and restore his assurance he doth with begging of God for assurance beg of God also to deliver him from blood-guiltinesse as knowing that if this sin should be upon conscience unrepented of and unpardoned he should never have the joyes of Gods Spirit restored Beloved you will never have assurance of your effectual calling till your consciences are freed from having sin upon them with approbation It is an observation that Aristotle hath about earth-quakes that they are occasioned by winde got into the Caverns and hollow places of the earth which having no place for vent again it makes rupturs and overturns houses and mountains and all before it Sin upon the conscience unrepented of is like winde in the earth
called Robbin-red-brest that when he was in his study came chirping at the window and leaping upon his book and singing a great while together upon this fight he breaks out into this contemplation O this little silly Bird that doth not know where to pick up the next crum that doth not know where â—o pitch and rest it selfe for the next night yet behold how cheerfully doth this Bird sing when man and a Christian man that knows God to be his Father that hath not only crumbs of outward blessings but whole morsels of inward comfort and can drink draughts of inward consolation Christians that have a God and a heaven that have Christ and glory yet they cannot be merry as a poor Bird can be and truly it is a good Meditation Many times people that are caâ—led by Jesus Christ and have ground and assurance of their everlasting happinesse by him yet they cannot be so merry as a poor Bird will be Birds in the morning will be chirping aâ—d singiâ—g 〈◊〉 â—â—tâ—â—ng lâ—y â—t thâ— Leaâ—â— whâ—n â— Christian iâ—â—â—d and â—â—â—ing anâ—â—â—â—aâ—yin◠〈◊〉 his 〈◊〉 in diâ—â—ontâ—nts and 〈…〉 bâ—comes not a Chrâ—â—â—ian Assâ—red Christians they shoâ—â—â— be cheerful Christâ—â—â—s Ninthly â—â—sured Châ—â—stians they should bâ—â—hankfull Christians Fâ—r one to give a man a proâ—â—â—e it is â—orth thanks but when a man shall not â—nly give but â—ssure that promise that he will mâ—ke iâ— good that is â—ore tâ—anks-worthy Beloved if God had only promisâ—d you a heaven and had given no assurance it was thanks-worthy but whâ—n God shall give thee his Broad Seal that shall seal thee up to the day of Redemption and wheâ— God shall give theâ— an assurance in thy own brest thou shalt go to heaven and go to God this should much more make thee in thy spirit blesse thy God It is a speech of the Prophet David My soule blesse thou the Lord for his marvellous loving kindnesse Thou hast kindness and thou hast marvellous loving kindnesse My soule bless God for this David would not keep back Gods praises seeing God would not keep back Davids comforts In heaven we shall break forth into admiration because we have good things in possession here we should break forth into thanksgiving because we have them in expectation And thus I have done with the first part of my direction to you that are assured Christians you should labour first rightly to use your assurance Secondly All you that are assured Christians you are to be directed carfully to keep and preserve your assurance There is no less skill saith the Poet to be put forth in keeping vertue then in getting of it It is said of Hannibal he was a a skilful Souldier to get Victories but he had no skill to keep them when gotten It may be said so of us Christians can get assurance but they have not the skill to keep it when they have got it This therefore therefore I am now to press that you would be carâ—full to preserve your assurance And here in speaking of this I shall lay down two particulars that in case you would keep your assurance there are some things you must doe and some things you must avoid and take heed of First There are some things you must do and those I shall comprize under two or three heads First In case you would keep assurance you are to keep close in communion with your God in the exercise of the duty of godliness The more you keep grace the more you will keep your comforts And here that I may branch out this direction I shall comprize these duties under four heads and shew you from Scripture that keeping close to God in the use of four duties will be a ready way to keep your assurance in you As first keep close to God in the duty of prayer John 16.24 Ask saith Christ and your joy shall be full Ask that your joy may be full implying that if you keep close to God in the duty of prayer after assurance your spirits shall be compleat and full Secondly keep close to God in the duty of reading the Word often By often reading the Word you will often meet with Promises and Supports for your comfort That 's the reason men lessen in comforts because men do not frequently read the Word you cannot read a Chapter but you will finde there a prop for faith and a prop for assurance Keeping constant to the Word and that 's the way to keep your assurance 1 John 5.13 These things have I written to you that believe that you might know that you have eternal life These things have I writ not only that you have life but that you might know it By reading the writings of John John tels them they might the better know they should live for ever and everlastingly be saved Keep close to God in reading his written Word and this will be of great use Because there are promises scattered throughout the veins of Scripture Not a Scripture almost you can read but there is a promise or support for your faith one way or other Thirdly Keep close to God in a constant and conscientious hearing of his Word and â—his is a great meanes to get assurance Luk. 1.76 Thou shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest for thou shalt goe before the face of the Lord to prepare hiâ— way that is thou shalt goe to prepare â—he peoples hearts that they may receive Jesus Christ that followâ—â—â—â—er This is â—poken of John Baptist And what was the effect of hearing John preach To give knowledge of salvation to his peâ—ple for the remission of their sins not only to give them salvation but to give them knowledge and assurance of this salvation O live under the Ministery and under Iohn Baptists Ministery that preacheth repentance and humiliation and that is the Ministery will give most assurance of your salvation Fourthly Keep in communion with God in a daily trying and examining your own hearts Gal. 6.4 If any man think himself to be somewhat when he is nothing he deceiveth himself but let every man prove his own works and then he shall have rejoycing in himselfe That is let a man examine himselfe and prove his heart and this will be a meanes to work joy in the heart that they shall have comfort and joy in themselves in the assurance of their happiness Beloved what 's the reason you do not keep assurance the reason is you keep not close to God in a way of communion in these duties of holiness you keep not to God in a way of prayer and reading and examining your hearts and proving your comforts and your own estate and that 's the reason you are no more full and no more firm Secondly if you would keep your comforts keep your conscience clear from harbouring the guilt of sinne Iob 11.14 15. If iniquity be in thy hands put it far away if sinne be in thy conversation away with it Let not sinne be in thy