so troubled he could not speak yet Asaph spake these words with his mouth but the meaning is though Asaph was a godly man yet he was so overwhelmed with trouble he could not speak to God he could not call upon God with that inward vigor of spirit Though thou mayest sometime call upon God with affection yet when trouble rests upon thee thy heart may be out of frame Thirdly many times Gods people are subject to a state of desertion and abatements in their spiritual affections and then they are out of a praying vein when you loose affections the wheels of prayer are knocked off Many times it falls out with Gods people that they are even brought into a languishing and low condition they are in such a swoune as if they had neither a principle nor the actings of spiritual life Rev. 3. verse 2. Strengthen that which remaines saith the holy Ghost that is ready to die Godly people may bee a dying people and then the tongue failes when it is a dying the people of God may be in a dying condition though they never die wholly in grace yet they may be so weakned in their spirits that they cannot poure out their requests to God as in wonted time 2 Chron. 17.3 Jehosaphat he walked in the first wayes of David his father implying that Davids first wayes were better then his last So many men may have their first wayes good yet sometime in the end before they die they may have much failing and deadnesse of spirit upon them Fourthly If a man doth but mourn that he cannot call upon God God looks upon that as calling upon him If you can but sigh out your requests and mourn that you cannot mourn and pray that you might pray the Lord hears your prayer This is the most melodious musick you can make in the eares of God Therefore David saith Psal 6.8 The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping There is a voice in Teares as well as in Words If the Lord see thee to weep over thine own straitnesse and mourn over thine own deadnesse the Lord looks upon this with a more pleasing eye then if thou couldst poure out the inlargements of thy tongue with most fluent and voluble expressions 2 PET. 1.10 Wherefore the rather Brethren Give all diligence to make your Calling and Election sure THE Doctrine which I am yet upon is this That Christians ought to put forth a great deal of diligence to make this sure to their souls that they are effectually called by Jesus Christ In the prosecution of which I have gone over many particulars and answered some doubts in reserence to godly men who are effectually called As first in regard of some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the manner of their calling Secondly in the means of their calling And thirdly which I am yet upon of some defects they apprehend about the concomitants that accompany those that are effectually called of which I have spoken onely of one in particular to wit that they cannot call upon God in prayer I now passe to the second Secondly They apprehend that those that are effectually called they have this to accompany their calling that they are brought out of a state of ignorance into a state of knowledge out of a state of darknesse into a state of light hence they will urge this against themselves 1 Pet. 2.9 Ye are to shew forth the praises of him who hath call'd you out of darknesse into his marvellous light And Acts 26.18 He sent forth his Word to call them from darknesse to light and from the power of Satan unto God Now saith the poor soul Alas I do not finde this concomitant to be in my heart I do not finde this marvellous light the Scripture here speaks of 2 Cor. 4 6. Alas my heart is like a dungeon of darknesse and like a house that hath no inlets no windows to let in the Sun-shine of the Gospel upon it and many times this gravelleth many a godly minde Now to those that make this doubt I shall onely speak two or three things to take it off First to you that make this complaint I would say this that those that know most they know but little in the mysteries of Christ as you are not perfect in other graces so you are not here perfect in knowledg You know but in part 1 Cor. 13.9 therefore you have no need to be discouraged at this Secondly and more particularly you that complain of ignorance though you are ignorant and cannot finde that marvellous light shine in your souls which you exspect yet if your ignorance have not these three ill qualities you may rest confident your ignorance will never prove a damning sinne unto you but it may be consistent with your effectual calling As First If you ignorance be not a stubborne and wilfull ignorance Secondly If it be not a sottish and brutish ignorance And thirdly If it be not a fundamental ignorance First If it be not a stubborne and wilfull ignorance Though you are ignorant yet if you are willing to learn and know the wayes of God revealed in his Word such an ignorance will never damne you But when ignorance comes to be wilful that a man doth not know and he will not learne a man is an ignorant man yet he thinks he knows more then all the Preachers can tell him this is a sad signe you are not effectually called Hence you read Prov. 1.22 How long ye simple ones will you love simplicity c Godly people may be in a state of ignorance but they love it not therefore 2 Pet. 3.5 the Scripture tells us of wicked men that they are wilfully ignorant So that if your ignorance have not this bad quality in it to be a stubborne and wilfull ignorance it may stand with your effectual calling Secondly Provided that your ignorance be not a sottish and brutish ignorance that is that you do not so lie clouded in a state of darknesse that you are uncapable to discerne the goodnesse of the Word and uncapable to apprebend any thing that is taught you that you are not like those Jer. 4.22 My people have no understanding they are a sottish people wise to do evil but to do good they have no understanding Many men are ignorant men yet not so sottishly ignorant as not to be capable of learning if you will teach him he is willing to be instructed but some men are so ignorant they are not capable of learning you may as well teach a block as them Hence it is the Prophet complains Esa 1.4 The Oxe knows his owner and the Asse his Masters Crib but Israel knows not the Lord his God Thirdly In case your ignorance be not a fundamental ignorance I mean such an ignorance as not to know those necessary and fundamental points in the Word that must be known if ever you be saved as about Jesus Christ and salvation and justification by his blood and faith in
of John so the Eunuch was converted by reading Isa 53.7 Beloved God is not bound up to any one way in saving man He that wrought upon Austin by a verse reading upon another by a Sermon he can do so by thee Reading is an ordinance of God and God is not bound up but may use that as ameans of thy effectual call likewise Thirdly Yea but saith another doubting soul Peradventure I was never wrought upon neither by seeing godly people among whom I lived and observing their example nor was I wrought upon by reading good books but I was first wrought upon by hearing such a Minister that I now see is run into error or a Minister that is grown loose in his practice happily in these present times gone to joyne with the enemy against the Kingdom and become a wicked and vile liver and the Minister being bad that wrought upon me makes me question whether the work be not an unsound and bad work also and this gravels many a Christian likewise To which I answer briefly First That suppose the Minister were bad that wrought upon thee yet the badnesse of the Minister is no just ground of making us suspect our calling For then we should never be sure of our call A man may be sure of his own conversion though a man may not be sure of the conversion of him by whose means he was called Secondly Again it is clear in Scripture God may use Ministers that are wicked themselves to convert others The Ministers of the seven Churches of Asia doubtlesse some of them were bad men Paul tells you 1 Cor. 9.27 I keep under my body lest when I preach to others I my self may be a castaway Intimating that a man may preach to others and may be a means to save others and yet not be saved himself So 1 Cor. 13.1 Ministers in this case may be as Cooks are A Cook may dresse many a dish and let them go through his hands to furnish a large and stately Table yet of all these dishes himself hardly taste one So Ministers they may dresse many a dish for their hearers yet they not lick their fingers or taste of this spiritual food themselves As in the building of the Ark there were many men built Noahs Ark to save others that were drowned themselves so many men may build an Ark by preaching the Word and the wayes of God to save other mens soules when they may be drowned themselves Hence it is the Scripture tells us of Starres that fell from Heaven many Ministers that seemed godly Ministers like Starres in their Generation yet they fell and became wicked and loose And I remember Doctor Pembleton a famous Minister in the dayes of Queen Mary and a man whose Ministry had converted many Christians yet at length he himself turned to be a Papist Now these Christians did never misdoubt or suspect their conversion because the man that converted them was a bad man They might be good people though he was a bad Minister so that this is no ground in the world though I confesse it is not ordinary that God makes wicked men meanes of conversion but God ordinarily crowns the Word most in the mouth of a godly Minister yet sometimes I say God may use a wicked man to be a means to convert soules And I would give you these reasons to prove that a wicked man may convert soules and that God ties not conversion onely to a godly Minister Because first the efficacy of the Word doth not depend upon man but upon Jesus Christ and Christ may make use of whom he pleaseth Secondly If only a good man could convert then this would follow that we could be as well sure of another mans conversion as we are of our own which is a thing most untrue For if only a godly man could convert then if I were sure of my own conversion I were as well sure of his conversion that wrought upon me also which cannot be so that clearly this should lay no block in your way because you discern the Minister that wrought upon you to be no good man seeing conversion is not tied onely to a godly Minister Thirdly a third ground from whence doubts arise in called ones is from some seeming defects they apprehend to be in the concomitants that accompany or in the effects that should follow effectual calling and this makes them fear that sure they are not effectually called I will name to you three or four First saith a doubting Christian I do hear in Scripture what effects will follow and what will accompany a man effectually called and I find them not wrought in my soul As now first I apprehend that when a man is effectually called he shall be inabled by God to call upon him in prayer I finde in Scripture 1 Cor. 1.2 That all that are called to be Saints they shall call upon the Lord in every place but alas wo is me I do not find this in my soul I find I have a dull dead listlesse unpraying heart all the dayes of my life and therefore I doubt whether I am effectually called or no. Now to this I shall lay down three things for answer First peradventure you judge that you are not enabled to pray because you want expressions in prayer though you have affections Now if you judge your inability to pray because you want expressions only you judge amisse because prayer is to be judged by the affections not by the expressions Expressions they are but the breath of nature a natural voluble tongue may tumble out expressions whereas affections in prayer they are the breath and fruit of the holy Spirit Therefore do not judge you cannot pray because you have not such fluent expressions as others use for the very essence of a prayer lies in the heart and therefore it is said when the Spirit of God teacheth men to pray it teacheth them not only in expressions but with sighs and groans that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 When the Spirit moves the heart and makes you sigh out your requests and sorrow out your supplications you pray best of all Secondly you that judge your inability to pray and therefore think you are not called because you cannot call upon God I would say this unto you That the best of Gods children have found a great difference in their spirits in reference to praying duties the best of Gods children do not alwayes pray alike Sometimes the affections of godly men are as swift in prayer as the Chariots of Aminadab otherwhiles they drive as heavily as Pharaohs Chariots when the wheels were off Sometime the people of God are burning in their affections hot as fire otherwhiles they are frozen in their affections cold as ice None of Gods people are in their carriage alwayes alike towards God in prayer Psal 77.4 It is the speech of Asaph O Lord my spirit is overwhelmed within me I am sore troubled I cannot speak The man was
ingages God to take away comforts from a people As First the sinne of superciliousnesse and uncompassionatenesse of spirit towards doubting Christians If a soul carries a proud and supercilious eye over poor Christians and carries no compassion towards doubting souls God for that sinne of wanting bowels of compassion may bring him to the same estate which he could not compassionate in other men Secondly the sinne of grieving the Spirit if you grieve Gods Spirit God will grieve yours Esa 63.10 Or Thirdly The sinne of spiritual pride ordinarily this may be the sinne Or Fourthly The sinne of worldly-mindednesse or eager pursuit after the things of this world As digging in the earth doth endanger a man to bee stifled with damps so digging and poring in the world brings but a damp upon a Christians comforts and many times stifles their assurance As the Sun is eclipsed by the interposition of the Moone between it and our sight so if the world once get between the Sunne of righteousnesse and you it will eclipse the Sunne that you shall not see the glory of Jesus Christ and shall not perceive nor gain that interest in Jesus Christ you had in former time Secondly Another cause you are to search If it be not the commission of some great transgression yet it may be the omission of some necessary and weighty duty and the Lord may bring you upon the stage of discomfort for omission as well as commission If a man doth let but a wound go undressed he may as well die as if you knockt him with a Beetle upon the head Beloved if you let your wounds be undressed and let your discomforts be unlooked after and let all run at sixes and sevens if you interrupt in your duties it is just with God to interrupt you in your comforts If you keep not your watch 't is no wonder if you are surprized There are many Christians that grow carelesse in keeping communion with God that love seldome reading and seldome praying and seldome examining their owne hearts alas men casting away their duties it makes God in judgement make stoppage in a way of comfort Fifthly In your searching work examine your selves what you would do in case God should restore to you your former evidences could you bring your hearts to this temper that you would think no pains too much to take no cost too much to give nothing should be irksom to you that God would have you perform in case he would give you your wonted comforts If you finde this temper of spirit in you this is a very ready way to bring on your comforts and restore the joyes of your salvation to you Secondly Set upon humbling work the onely way to gain what you have lost is to mourn over your losses Jer. 31.18 19 20. See how Ephraim comes to have his comforts restored when he wept over his own discomforts I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himselfe saith God and I said Is Ephraim my dear sonne I saw him smiting upon his thigh humbling his soul for his sinnes and since I saw him I do earnestly remember him and I will shew mercy to him Here you see lamenting Ephraim God in the very time of his bemoaning himself restored his comforts to him we hear many lament for their outward losses but who laments for the losse of inward comforts And David after he had lost his comforts by that great sinne of adultery makes seven penitential Psalmes Psalmes of lamentation or repentance and he calls one of them A Psalm to call to remembrance And as an Authour well notes when David came to renew his comforts he makes a Psalm to call to remembrance those sinnes that might provoke God to take away his comforts from him So Beloved let it be your work to make such Psalms in your Closets and make it your practice to call to remembrance those evils that provoke God to eclipse your comforts to you and let that humble you If you cannot find out the Particular sin labour to humble your soules for every sinne and then to be sure you cannot misse that Thirdly Would you restore your wonted comforts then set upon praying work This course you finde David took Psal 51.8 Make me O Lord to hear the voice of joy and gladnesse that the bones which thou hast broken might rejoyce Create in me a new heart and establesh me with thy free Spirit verse 12. Here you read of Davids praying work how he poured forth his soule in prayer that God would restore to him the joyes of his salvation And here in your praying work I would only cast in three directions First Pray for a distinct sight of those evils that provoked God to take your comforts from you Secondly After you have got a sight bend the strength of your prayers most against those evils that did so provoke God to cloud your comforts Pray against them as against the deadliest enemy you have in the world Thirdly Pray for attaining those graces that may be inlets to spiritual comfort as the graces before named the grace of godlie sorrow the grace of humiliation the grace of faith and of love to Jesus Christ Thus if you set upon searching upon humbling and upon praying work you are in a likely way to have your comforts restored Fourthly Set upon the work of meditation and in this work I shall commend four meditations you are to take into your thoughs which may be very helpful and useful to you in restoring your comforts As First Let your meditations run upon this that sometimes you are not so competent Judges of your own spiritual estate as others may be As First In a time of desertion when God hath left you and frownes upon you Secondly In times of temptation when the devils temptations are violent against you Thirdly In times of Relapse when you are fallen into some great sinne at this time you are not so competent Judges of your own estate but standers by may see more of your own good and your own sincerity then your selves may do as the Proverb is Many times Lookers on see more then he that playes the game it is true in this A Looker on may see sincerity sparkle in thy practice and thy graces shine in thy conversation when thou canst not do it thy selfe A childe when it blubbers and cries can see nothing of his book So when Christians are sad and sullen and lumpish they can hardly read any thing of their evidence Mr. Throgmorton got his assurance this way by the Testimony of a company of godly Ministers that they could lay their soules in his soules stead Let this therefore run in your Meditations that many times standers by and Christians that behold your walkings and see your Actions they may see more ground of comfort in you then your selves can do Secondly Meditate and think upon the comforts God gave you in wonted time and call them to minde Do as David did Psal 77. I called to
the Apostle Paul Pual was the most eminent of all the Apostles no Apostle like Paul none outstript him Now Divines ask the reason why Paul should be more eminent then the rest of the Apostles who saw Christ in the flesh whereas Paul saw him onely in a vision and no where else yet Paul was more eminent then any other Apostle and they give this reason Paul was in labours more abundant Paul was more industrious putting out his gifts and graces and God did blesse that industry with a fuller increase of the graces of Gods Spirit then others had So that though God gives us not heaven for our growth in grace yet ordinarily God intails a greater measure and increase of gifts upon the wel using of them while we are in the world Open your mouthes wide and God will fill them The more wide we are in our desires and expectations the more we shall be filled Vse 2 2. For Reprehension Is it so that in all matters of soul concernment we should put forth a great deal of diligence then this should be a great scourge to that sluggishnesse of spirit that most men in the world are guilty of What benummedness and what sluggishnesse of spirit do most men lie under Many men are as David was 1 King 1.1 who when he grew old he was so cold no clothes could warm him There are many men that haply have been hot and zealous in profession yet in processe of time they are grown so cold that all Ordinances can not warm them And though ordinarily the words of the wise saith Solomon are as nails and goads they are as nails to fasten us in a course of profession they are as goads to put us on every Ordinance is as a goad in our side still putting us on in a course of holinesse yet O that sluggishnesse and O that deadnesse of spirit that lies upon mens hearts they go but a snails pace in the way to heaven whereas they can run as fast as a Dromedarie in the waies of sin It is the Observation of a Rabbi That the Snail above all other creatures was by God pronounced unclean because of its slow and easie pace God looks upon thee as an unclean man and an unclean woman that hast a sluggish and a slow spirit in matters of Christianity There are many men that like no life like an idle life they are never wearie so much as they are wearie of doing good and wearie of duties an hour at a Sermon a day at a Fast a little time at prayer quite tires them whereas ways of vanitie and wayes of pleasure they are never weary of It was the speech of that Epicure Marcus Lepidus O utinam loc esset laborare who lying under a shady tree upon a Sun-shine day stretching himself cryes out O would to God this were to take pains to live at ease There are many men as sottish as he they could wish I would to God to sit in a Tavern were the way to go to heaven I would to God to walk in the fields to sit at the door on the Sabbath day that this were the way to Heaven many men would be saved more easily Why how should this condemn that great sluggishness and idleness of mens spirits that they do so little in the matters of soul concernment Beloved you have cause to labour because you find many that have taken pains for Heaven that never came to Heaven Many shall strive to enter but shall not be able Luke 13. Had not you therefore need to take heed Nay Beloved suppose it is a supposition Aegidius hath Si unus tantum homo damnandus esset caeterique omnes salvandi Ego totis viribus anniterer ne essem ille solus Talis dili gentia respicit tantam rem tanta res requirit talem diligentiam though not true yet I say suppose it that all the world should be saved but one man yet saith he you have cause to take pains to be happy lest you should be that one man should perish If all the world should be saved but one man only if only one man should be damned I have cause to labour with all my might that I be not that one man Here then great cause you have not to ly under sluggishness in all matters pertaining to the soul You have a great deal of work to do and haply but a little time if you knew the greatness of your work and shortnesse of your time haply you would now set about the business of your salvation It was the speech of young King Charles of Sicily lying upon his death-bed I have scarce yet begun to live and now wo is me I am compelled to die Beloved Many of you may have cause to say thus you have scarce yet done one good action that may give you any evidence to be happie with Christ another day Happily you have not yet begun to be Christians and you may be soon called to die and what an affliction would this be to you that you have hardly begun to live a life of grace and yet you must die the life of nature This diligence is conversant about many things 1. In getting grace Here you have a great work to do to get grace Above all gettings get understanding And the difficulty of getting grace doth shew the goodness of grace As we say in nature the most vile things are most obvious to the eye and most common to be found you have stones and dirt every where but things of a more excellent nature are more hard to come by if you would have Gold you must dig into the earth if you would have Pearle you must dive into the sea things that are excellent nature hath made them hard to come by This shewes the goodness of those matters which concern the soul that they are very hard to be got Prov. 22 4. Seek for wisdome as for silver and dig for it as for hidden Treasure Non minor est virtus quam quaerere parta tueri And then 2. Diligence is required not only to get grace but to keep it and it is no less skil to keep grace then to get it theâ—e are so many temptations lie in your way And then 3. to watch the heart that doth conspire against your graces and against your soul Prov. 4.23 Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life 4. In examining the heart Psal 64.6 The heart is deep and Psal 77.6 All these considered you have cause to take pains in all the matters of the soul Thus having finish'd this Doctrine I now pass to the Particulars to which this diligence is applied Give diligence to what why To make your Calling and Election sure From whence the second Observation I shal draw is this Doct. 2 That Christians that profess the Gospel ought to put forth a great deal of industry and diligence to make this sure to their
in with me and cleave to me and take content and delight in me Beloved there are many that hear the word yet never go out of themselves and never close in with Christ yea but all they that heare and learne that hear and are called by hearing they all come in to Jesus Christ Wherefore all you that in hearing cannot find your hearts in love with Christ cannot find your hearts to close in with Christ and believe in Christ you have just cause to suspect your Call that your calling is not effectual 1 Cor. 1.24 The Apostle tels you there were other men counted Christ foolishnesse but to you that are called Christ is the power and wisedome of God that is you do acknowledg and you do conceive of Jesus Christ that he hath as much power as God hath in him and as much wisedome as God hath in him and you close in with Christ for that end when other men think Christ to be foolish and Christ weak men uncall'd they have low thoughts of Christ but to you that are call'd Christ is the power and wisedome of God You will have high thoughts of Jesus Christ if you are effectually called 4. That man that is effectually called he shall be inabled by the spirit of Christ to call upon God 1. Cor. 1.2 To all in Corinth called to be Saints with all that call upon the name of the Lord. There the Apostle joynes called to be Saints with this phrase to call upon God to shew that whoever is effectually called to be a Saint that man shall be inabled by the Spirit of Jesus to call upon God Psal 27.8 When thousaidest Seek my face my heart said unto thee thy face Lord will I seek Hence ye read Acts 9.11 when Ananias doubted whether Paul was truely call'd or no and Jesus Christ would convince Ananias that he was truely call'd what means doth he use verse 11. do not suspect him but arise saith Christ and goe to him into the street called Straight and enquire at the house of Judas for one Saul of Tarsus for behold he prayeth If he were not call'd he would never goe to God in such a cordiall way and humble his soul before God for his by past failings and beg strength for time to come and labour to have his peace made with me Go to him for behold he prayeth and therefore all you that have not a spirit in any measure to call upon God and to powr forth your requests in a solemn prayer you have just cause of jealousie to suspect your Call 5. If you are effectually call'd God hath wrought in your souls an utter detestation and loathing of all the evils that in the former part of your lives before you calling your have committed and were guilty of Hos 14.8 Ephraim shall say what have I any more to doe with Idols The interrogation imports a vehement detestation of them and indignation against them 2 Cor. 7.11 the Apostle speaks there of repentance the same with calling when men come to have the work of grace in their hearts and this is a branch of it that godly sorrow causeth care and causeth fear and causeth indignation that is if any man be a repenting man and a converted man this conversion will cause indignation that is he will be even mad with himself and angry with himself that he should be so vile a wretch before conversion as he hath been Thus was Paul hee speaks with indignation against the sins he was guilty of before his calling I have been a persecutor I have hal'd the Saints into prison Nay saith hee I was even mad against the Church Beloved you will count your sins to be madnesse and count them to be greatly aggravated that were committed before God call'd you Anselm said to his body I 'le tame thee O unruly beast with fasting and praier We read of one that bit off his tongue in indignation that therewith he had denied Jesus Christ Another Martyr put that hand first into the fire with which he had subscribed a recantation saying Burn thou O hand that didst subscribe to that which might have made me burn both body and soul in hell And therefore you that have no loathing thoughts against past deceit and past drunkennesse and past swearing and your past evils suspect your calling You that do not abhor the thoughts of your former evils your wonted pride and wonted covetousnesse if you cannot looke with indignation against these you have great cause to suspect your call For if God have call'd you he will make you even angry with your selves that ever you have been so vile as you have been Hence it is when God speaks of Israels conversion Isa 2.20 't is said they shall cast away their idols from them they shall cast away their sins as with indignation against themselves because they have sinned And hence in the Prophesie of Ezek. 20.43 the Prophet tels them that for the evils they had done they should loath themselves in their own eyes their indignation should be so great against themselves that ever they should be so vile against God before their call So David with indignation saith after he had recovered himself and brought his heart into a repentant frame so foolish was I and ignorant Psal 73.22 Now Beloved I would here appeale unto you I will judge no man let your own consciences pass sentence upon you But let me appeal to your selves Have not many of you before these times been opposers of Religion men walking in ungodly lewd and profane courses of living haply now you are moulded into a form of Profession now you hear the Word speak well of Ministers now you cry up Government many plausible wayes and actions you can cary on but what is in your hearts Have you indignation against your past persecution and evils If not beleeve it though you go far I fear you may come short of beaven your calling is not real if you have not indignation and wrath against your former sins committed And therefore O what a sad word is this to all insensible sinners that are men that never had their hearts touch'd with remorse for any evil What a sad word is this to you that have been drunk week after week and sworn day after day and deceived hour after hour and been unclean time after time and yet all these evils never touch'd the heart Truly you have great cause to fear that God hath not yet effectually called you by Jesus Christ 6. The man that is effectually called his spirit is brought into an obediential frame to yeeld obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ if God call you by his Spirit hee will not leave you to the exorbitancies of your own wayes and will but he will bring you to a yeeldingnesse of heart to all his commands Rom. 15 6. We have received grace and Apostleship for obedience to the faith among all Nations among whom you are also the called of
it If you 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 brest in the assurance of his love and favour to you You read Esa 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 sinne of hypocrisie false grace will breed a false joy A false heart 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 do it but hypocrites shall not Take heed therefore of this evill and you are in a way to preserve your assurance 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 do this improve your graces The more you increase in grace the more you will grow in comfort Grace and comfort they are two Twinnes that the more one growes the better the other thrives Hence you read that in the saluation 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 Peter 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 will follow verse 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 Jesus Christ You shall not onely go 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 Esa 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 a humble people Hence it is James 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 rear up a most beautiful Building in way of comfort Secondly Improve the grace of faith in believing 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 only 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 That is 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 hee 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 sowe in tears shall reap in joy You shall not onely have a dram but a handfull of joy as Reapers they cut down handfuls of corne at once And as you know in seed though you sowe but one grain of corne 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 a Father speaks of the Holy Ghost Res delicata est Spiritus Dei and the comforts thereof The Spirit of God is a
200 Signes of Election p. 208. seq Cautions about using them p. 210. seq What guesse may be made of persons not Elected and severall sorts of persons under that suspition p. 212. seq Comfortable positions about Election p. 218 Whether Election be universall p. 220 253 Whether any that is Elect can fall from his Election p. 225 Objections against it answered p. 226. seq Whether men be Elected for faith or works foreseen p. 230 Objections answered p. 233 256 Whether Gods Election doe make men secure and carelesse p. 235. seq Vpon what grounds the godly oft times question their Election p. 239 Sinfulnesse before calling no ground to question our Election p. 239. seq Falling into scandalous sinnes after calling may stand with Election p. 245 By what delusions men are perswaded they are Elected when they are not p. 248. seq Freedome from a scandalous conversation no sure argument of Election p. 249 It may preceed from other principles p. 250 That God is mercifull no certain evidence that we are Elected p. 253 The Elect very few p. 254 We are not elected for Christs sake though saved for his sake p. 256. See Calling and Assurance An elect person may not expresse the fruit of Election in many yeeres p. 258 Wicked men enjoy many mercies for the Elect sake p. 258 The world continues but till the number of the Elect be accomplished p. 259 F. FEw elected p. 254 Friends of the Elect no prejudice to Gods mercy p. 255 G. VVE should labour to thrive in Grace p. 3 Of the sinne of the Holy Ghost p. 217 H. HYpocrites will be discovered p. 56 Hearing the Word not alwaies a signe of effectuall calling p. 81. seq I. VVHat Ignorance may stand with Effectuall calling p. 122 Christians not alwaies competent Judges of their own estate p. 176 L. TImothies love to Paul p. 36 Light into which we are called how a marvellous light p. 37 All Love to the godly no signe of Effectuall calling p. 88 M. WIcked Ministers may be a means of conversion p. 116 Gods mercy no ground to believe we are elected p. 253 Paucity of the Elect in prejudice to Gods mercy p. 255 O. DEfects in Obedience may stand with Calling and what p. 124 P. GOds people a scattered people p. 2 Though they live in different places yet all have the same faith p. 3 The Poore most commonly called p. 54 55 Poverty hinders many from embracing the call of Christ p. 75 We may be truly called though not by the preaching of the Word p. 113 Comfort against want of a spirit of prayer p. 118. seq Difference between assurance and presumption p. 141. seq Comfortable promises to dejected soules p. 178 Terror to those that presume on their Calling p. 198 R. WHether a man can resist his own call p. 64 Reproach from wicked men alwaies a signe of effectuall calling p. 95 96 Reading the Word may be a means of conversion p. 115 S. The evill of Slothfulnesse p. 20 Sad conclusions about calling p. 49 Five things to be searcred for p. 172 What sinnes most damp our assurance p. 173 T. TEmptations of Satan to hinder our call p. 66 Want of great terrors no ground to doubt of our call p. 110 and who are usually most terrified in their calling ibid. p. 32 Terrour to those that presume of their calling p. 198 W. THe Word preached the ordinary means of calling p. 52 The Will of Gods good pleasure and his signifying Will p. 253 Y. YOung men not to neglect the call of Christ p. 66. seq FINIS