as of fire And again it is said That the Apostles were stirred up with boldness to speak That is when they saw God dishonoured this spirit kindled a high zeal in them that is set their hearts on fire it set their tongues on fire when the spirit enters into the heart of a Christian it will fill it full of zeal the heart the tongue the hands the feet and all the rest of the parts will be full of the heat of the spirit for it is imposssible that any man should have true zeal except he have the spirit Therefore it is said that they spake with New tongues us the spirit gave them utterance that is they spake with a great deal of zeal of another nature and qualitie then they did before Well then examine what heat and zeal you have in your actions so much heat so much spirit He shall Baptize you with the spirit and with fire That is if you have the sanctifying spirit you shall know it by the zeal that is in you in the performance of holy duties Therefore I say it is an excellent sign whereby a man may know whether he hath the spirit or no Now that a man may know by this I will make it clear by this example Take a bottle that is full of water and another that is full of Aqua vitae look upon them outwardly and they are all of one colour but if you tast them the one is hot and lively the other is cold and raw So look unto the formal outward actions of wicked men they have the same colour which the actions of holy men but if you tast them that is examine their lives and search into their hearts you shall find a great difference It may be they may seem to have light and heat in them but they want this Spirit for they have neither a loathing of sin nor power to resist sin They may put a false colour upon their actions but it will not hold And by this they may restrain lusts for some end they cannot Master and subdue them and it may heat a part of his heart but it cannot heat all his heart But where the sanctifying Spirit comes it heats all the soul That is it kindles a holy fire in all the faculties to burn up sin that is there Therefore this was the difference between Iohn the Baptists Baptisme and Christs Iohn could baptize them with water but Christ with the Spirit and with fire Therefore examine what heat there is in you against evil and what zeal there is in you to good Are you cold in prayer in conference in the Communion of Saints it is a sign that you have not the Spirit It may be you read hear pray and conferâ— but see with what heat you do them is it with you in these things as the Apostle would have you to be in earthly things in the 2 Cor. 7. 30. 31. To sorrow as if you sorrowed not to use the world as if you used it not That is do you perform holy duties with that coldness as if you cared not whether you did them or did them not Do you hear as if you heard not and do you receive the Sacrament as if you received it not do you pray as if you prayed not do you love as if you loved not then surely you have not the Spirit And on the contrary if you find spiritual heat and zeal in you a nimbleness and quickness to goodâ— it is a sign that you have the Spirit â—or it is the propertie of the Spirit to heat the soâ—l therefore the Prophet saith The zeal of thy house hath even eaten me up That is I have such a measure of zeal wrought in me by thy Spirit that I cannot see thee in the least measure dishonoured but I must burn with zeal Therefore examine your selves what zeal you have for God and godliness Are you hot for the things of this world and cold for grace and holiness Then whatsoever you think of your selves yet you have not the sanctifying Spirit There is not a holy man or woman that belongs unto Christ but they have this holy fire in them And yet I would not have you to mistake me as if every Christian did attain unto the like heat and zeal as others do for you must know that some have more and some have lesse according to the measure of the sanctifying Spirit that they have but this you must know that you must be full of heat full in some measure answerable to the measure of the sanctifying Spirit but if you find no heat at all in you then you have not a grain of the Spirit in you Not to be hot is to be luke warm and luke warmness is that which God hates it is a temper mixt of both heat and cold loathsome to nature and odious to God and therefore in Revel 3. Because the Laodiceans were neither hot nor cold but luke warm that is they had neither heat to God nor were so cold as to forsake the Truth That is sin and holiness stood in arbitration together and they had as good a minde unto the one as unto the other Now because it was thus with them therefore saith God I will spew them out and in the next verse he exhorts them To be zealous and amend That is except they labour to be hot in the Spirit they cannot be saved Again in Titus 2. it is said by the Apostle That Christ died that he might purchase to himself a people zealous of good works that is this zeal must not be a constrained zeal but a willing zeal And if there were no other motive to move men to be zealous but this because Christ came to redeem them for this end that they might be zealous of good works for his glory if there be any spark of the fire of grace in us it will burn at Christs dishonour And if Christ came to this end to make men zealous then surely Christ will not lose his end but they that Christ will save shall be zealous Therefore I beseech you labour to be strong in the inward man and labour to get the Spirit that you may be zealous But alas men think that they have drunk too much of this cup of giddiness That is they think they need not be so zealous as they are but I say if you be not it is a sign that you have not the Spirit especially it stands men now upon if they have an holy zeal in them to shew it I say it is time you should when you see such halting between two opinions shew your zeal by hating and abhorring Poperie and labouring to draw men from it especially now when we see men so desirous to go into Egypt again which is to be lamented in these dayes for which the Lord hath stretched out his hand against us But where is our zeal That is what spiritual heat is there in us where are those
men that at such a time would have been hot and zealous where are the generation of these men surely they are all gone for there is no heat nor zeal left It is true we abound in knowledge that is we have the same knowledge that they had but we want their zeal and Spirit and we have the same gifts but we want their spirit Therefore let us now shew our selves to be in the Spirit that is to have the Spirit in us by our zeal against evil But you will say that many holy men that have the Spirit yet they are not so hot and zealous against evil but are marvellous mild and patient First to this I answer that holy men may have pits wherin they may be faln I say they may have dross as well as gold and hence they may be driven through a strong passion and lust not justly to scale sins aright whence ariseth remissness and neglect both in doing good and resisting evil But this in a regenerate man I call but a passion because it continues not for prayer and the Preaching of the pure word will recover this again that is it will recover his strength and make him zealous against sins But if you see a man what profession soever he makes of Christ that can wink at sin and not be moved at it and the word nor prayer do not kindle this holy fire in him Then plainly that man is a dead man there is no spark of holiness in him Therefore I may say to every such holy man as they were wont to say to Hannibal that he hath fire in him but he wants blowing so I say unto you if you have the spirit you have heat in you but if this heat do not appear at all times or at sometime it is because it wants blowing for when they have just occasion to exercise the strength of the inward man for Gods glory they will shew that they have zeal in them and are hot and lively to good and not dead in sin As for example this is the difference between a man that is dead and a man that is in a swoon the man that is in a swoon if strong waters and rubbing of his joints do not recover him it is a sign that he is dead so if the word will not work in you but you remain senseless and dead without spiritual heat in you it is a sign that you are more then in a swoon that is you are already dead in the Inward man It is said of the Adamant that it will not be heated with fire so I say of you if the word will not heat you when you are rubbed with it it is a sign that you are like the Adamant dead unto grace Secondly to this I answer that howsoever some men that are faithful are not so zealous it is true yet I say it is no good argument to say that because counterfeit drugs and wares have the same sent and smell that good wares have therefore they are as good or that the good wares have not the like It were better to say that they have the fame but the difference is in this that they have a false die and glosse upon them 〈◊〉 soâ—l say there is false and counterfeit zeal and there is a true zeal That is there may be a zeal without heat as a Painter may Paint the similitude and proportion of fire but he cannot give heat unto it or as there may be pieces of coin counterfeit as well as pieces of true Metal so there may be a counterseit fire as well as true fire So I say men may be sanctified and yet be mild and not of a hot and fierie disposition That is they do not so burn in the Spirit as others do It is not therefore good to conclude that it matters not whether you be zealous or no for howsoever it be true in him it may be false in thee And know also that this weakness is joyned with much holy zeal though it be not outwardly expressed for certainly as where true fire is there is heat so where there is the Spirit there is zeal Therefore examine whether you have heat in you if you have not you have not the Spirit The second sign whereby you shall know whether you have the sanctifying Spirit or no is this if you find that you are not onely able to do more then you would naturally do But you have also holiness joyned with it this sign I make of two parts because a man may do many things that carry a shew above nature and yet want holiness but if they be above nature and then have holiness joyned with them it is a sign that you have the sanctifying Spirit First I say it will make you to do more then you could do by nature that is it puts another manner of strength in you by which you are able to do those things which before you were not able to do As for example it will work in you a Patience above a natural Patience This we see in Christ himself when he was crucified he opened not his mouth he was like a Lamb That is he had more then natural patience also this is true in Paul Peter and the rest of the Saints also it works in us love above a natural love therefore it was said that Christ was full of love and had compassion on the multitude Again it works joy in a man beyond natural joy this we see in Paul and Silas when they were in prison they sang for joy And the Disciples in Acts 4. Rejoyced that they were thought worthy to suffer for Christ. Again it works in a man boldness above a natural boldness and therefore it is said in Acts 4. That they preached the word with great boldness That is with a boldness above a natural boldness And so Luther he was endued with a Spirit of boldness else he would never have been so bold in the defence of the Truth if he had not had another spirit in him Again it works in a man wisdom above a natural wisdom and therefore 1 Sam. 18. it is said of David that the Spirit of the Lord was with him therefore Saul was afraid of him And so Abimelech feared Abraham because he saw a great measure of wisdom and discretion in him Again it works in a man strength above a natural strength because to the strength of nature they have another added Again it will make you see above a natural sight Therefore it is said they shall not need to teach one another but they shall be all taught of God That is they shall see into the excellencie that is in God Therefore examine your selves whether you have the Spirit or no by this for if you have the sanctifying Spirit then you shall be able to keep down lusts to have power and abilitie to sanctisie the Sabbath power to pray power to hear power to confer power to
reason of it but because he wanted the spirit and on the contrary when the Disciples had received the Spirit They spake with boldnesse The fourth effect that the spirit begets i holy and heavenly desires in the soul therefore the Church in Cant. 2 is marvellous inquisitive to find Christ and what is the reason there is in men such a want of holy desires but because they have not the spirit The fifth effect is That the spirit begets holy indignation holy anger is an effect of the spirit and therefore thé Apostle saith in 1 Cor. 7. What indignation and wrath This he speaks in the commendation of the Corinthians men will not be angry with sin as an evil untill they get the Spirit The sixth effect of the spirit is holy affections It will make you have heavenly affections towards God to grace to the Saints Therefore the Lord saith Eze. 26. 21. I will give you a new heart Carnal men they may do some things to make their children to reverence them as to love them in regard of some donation that is they may proffer an object but they cannot beget holy affections That is the onely work of the Spirit thus to change the heart The seventh effect of the spirit is this It will purge the soul i. e. it will cast out all rubbish out of the soul There fore the Lord saith that he will purge the sons of Levi as silver That is that they may be fit for the service of the Priesthood he will purge out of them by the spirit that which other wayes would make them unfit And David in Psal 51. often prayes That the Lord would purge him and then after he prayes for the restoring of the spirit making the absence of the spirit the cause of his uncleanness The eighth effect of the spirit is It kindles holy affections to good in us and this is that that giveth us great advantage against sin I say we have no small advantage against the devil when the heart is full of heavenly affections and that for these reasons First because the more holy affections the better man That is God accompts more of him A man is esteemed of God as he hath or hath not holy affections a man is that which he is in his affections that is a man is not a good man because he knowes much but he is a holy man because he hath holy affections when he is full of love to God to Christ and to the Saints The second reason is because holy affections are a means or a second cause of good That is they are the cause of good actions as for example for a man to suffer for Christ and yet not to do it with holy affections out of love unto Christ That is nothing worth Therefore when the affections are ripe they are drawn upwards by the spirit both to do and to suffer The third reason is because holy affections they widen the soul that is they make the soul large for when holy affections are dead in you the soul will begin to shrink in even as cloth that is not thorowly made when water fals upon it it will run in but if you stretch it it will come to its own length again so when the spirit comes and â—…rks holy affections they widen the soul and make it large and firm Therefore that you may have large hearts in prayer and in meditation labour to get the spirit that you may have holy affections kindled in you The fourth benefit that a Christian hath by the Spirit is this it will make the heart good because it is the proper work of the holy ghost to sanctifie the heart that is to cleanse and change it and so make it good It is the work of the Spirit to work repentance a thorow change because men for the most part mistake repentance That is men do think that if they be turned this way and that way from this sin and from that sin though it be not from every sin and evil way that they have true repentance but they are deceived For repentance is a true change of the whole man consisting both of soul and body whereby the parts and faculties of both are turned a quite contrary way That is the heart is turned out of the way of sin into the way of holiness Now that a partial turning is not repentance I will make it clear by this comparison Take any natural thing that is of an earthly substance whose nature is to go downwards Yet you may force it upwards by means that you may use As for example Water you know is of an earthly substance and the nature of it is to descend yet you see by the force and strength of the sun it is drawn upwards first into vapors and then congealed into ice and snow and rain and then it will not rest till it descend again But there is another motion of things light and spiritual clouds ascend upwards and are not forced but naturally do it Even so a carnal man may do the same things that a spiritual man doth he may keep down some lust and he may forsake some evil That is he may forsake his drunkenness and his uncleanness and his old evil haunts but yet he doth not forsake all neither doth he keep out sin by the spirit but by a natural strength if he do a good action itâ—… by constraint he is forced by something to do it but it changeth not his heart a whit he may take a resolution to be good and to be better yet to change his own nature is not in his own power for this is the work of the holy Ghost Thus much for this use and for this point We now come to a third point the Apostle saith he would have them To be strengthened by the spirit in the inward man noting thus much that God must give them the spirit before they could have him The point is this That The Spirit is a free gift I say that the sanctifying Spirit is a free gift I gather it thus The Apostle here prayes That God would give them the Spirit Not that they had deserved it and so should have it by merit as the Papists teach but he must give it them freely without defert of their own I need not stand in the proving of it long That the Spirit is a free gift onely I will shew you briefly how the Spirit is a free gift and this shall be in these five particular things First the Spirit is a free gift and it must be free because the Spirit is a gift and what more freer as we use to say then a gift is Now it is a free gift because it is not merited by us at Gods hands it is not extorted and drawn from God by force nor merited by desert because all the good that is in us is wrought by God it is God that
puts the very first stamp of holiness upon us Secondly The Spirit is a free gift because the Spirit is a free Agent that is it works freely of himself Now reason is the free Agent of the outward man but it is the Spirit that gives reason Therefore the Spirit must be most free Thirdly The Spirit is a free gift by his carriage towards them that he will save he might have chosen the elder and not the younger That is he might have chosen Esau and not Iacob or if he would have chosen the younger Then he might have brought him first out of the womb but he will not because he is most free in his choice he will have Iacob and cast off Esau and so he might have chosen honourable and Noble men to have both preached the Gospel and to be saved by the Gospel he might have chosen them onely for salvation but he will not The poor they shall receive the Gospel That is he will make choice of them for salvation he might as well have chosen Simon Magus as Simon Peter but he will not therefore he is free Fourthly the Spirit is free which appears by the paucitie and fewness that he chuses he is at libertie he might have saved more but this shewes his freedom he is not tied to one more then to another The winde bloweth where it listeth That is he cals when and whom he will Let them come in that my house may be full That is none shall come no more no lesse then I have chosen Fifthly that the Spirit is a free gift appears by the prosecution of his decree both of Election and reprobation nothing more free then the Spirit is he might as I said have chosen Esau and not Iacob for there cannot a reason be given wherefore he should chuse the one and not the other he will chuse the wife and not the husband and he will chuse the husband and not the wise he will chuse the childe and not the father and he will chuse the father and not the childe Again he will chuse this man and that woman and not another man or the other woman and what is the reason of it surely there can be no reason given of it because the Spirit is free to chuse and chuse not Thus briefly I have shewed you that the Spirit is a free gift Is the Spirit then a free gift and doth it work freely Then let them consider this and tremble that are not sanctified by the Spirit For if the Spirit work freely and yet thou hast not sanctification wrought in thee it is a sign that thou doest not belong unto God Again if the winde bloweth where it listeth then it stands you upon to do as Millers and Marriners do to watch the opportunitie and grind when the Spirit bloweth upon you That is if at any time the Spirit doth kindle any spark of grace in you Take heed of neglecting the opportunitie That is do not say in this case unto the Spirit as Festus said unto Paul That you will hear him another time but be sure if the Spirit command do you run or if he cals be sure to answer him left he call you no more I have often told you there is a time when he will call you no more Therefore think with your selves what time of darkness and sorrow it will be to you then when with the five foolish virgins you shall be shut out of heaven and happiness There is a time when he will swear That ye shall not enter into his rest and do not I say onely labour and watch for the opportunity that is take the Spirit when it is offered but labour to get the oportunitie That is use the means whereby you may get him And for your help herein I will lay down some means whereby you may get the Spirit The first means to get the spirit is this you must labour to know the spirit for what is the reason that men do not receive the spirit but because they know him not that is they do not know him in his puritie in his free working in his incomprehensible greatness in his increase in holiness and therefore they put off the working of the spirit when men think now that their sin in this kind is not so great as Simon Magus was It is true say they Simon Magus his sin was a great sin and worthy of punishment because he thought to have bought the spirit with mony But if we will consider mens dealing now with the spirit we shall find that the same sin is committed still I say men think that they do not commit the sin of Simon Magus when indeed you do you know how great the sin was in him and what a judgement was inflicted against him and your sins are as great and the same but you know them not Therefore let us compare them together and you shall see that they are all one and that in these three particulars First Simon Magus thought that the spirit might have been had at any time for he neglected the means and despised it presupposing that at any time with a small reward he might get it of the Apostle what shall I give thee c And so when you put off the Spirit is not your sin the same thinking that you may have him when you will that you can have him at your pleasure to mortifie a strong lust a sin that you would be rid of and for a sin that is pleasing to your nature you can subdue it when you will And is not this a great sin as great as Simon Magus his was but can you do this can you mortifie your lusts have you power over them can you love God and the Saints well if you had never so much time you can never get the Spirit except that God give him Secondly Simon Magus thought that it was in the power of man to give the Spirit Therefore he asked Peter what he should give for the Spirit and is not your sin the same do not many men think that it is in the power of men to give the spirit when all the time of their life they will neglect the calling of the Spirit but in some great affliction that is when they lie upon their death bed then they will send for the Minister but not till then as if it were in his power to give the spirit Oh sir what shall I do to be saved can you tell me of any hope of salvation and the like Thirdly Simon Magus desired the spirit to a wrong end namely for his own advantage that upon whom soever he should lay his hands They might receive the holy Ghost And do not men do the like now They desire to have the spirit and they could wish with all their hearts that they had him but yet not to a right end That is for Gods glory but for some carnal end of their own That you
once in the year and do some other outward performances they think they make God some amends But alas it is not so the Lord abhorreth all those sacrifices because they come not from his Temple They are not sacrifices offered upon that altar they should be they are not yet of that holy Priesthood spoken of before and yet there is that hypocrisie in the spirits of men that they are neither willing to omit holy duties altogether nor willing to perform them in that holy and zealous manner as they ought Labour therefore to have Chirst dwelling in your hearts otherwise nothing will be accepted I thought to have added something to have made known to you when Christ dwelleth in your hearts As one way to know it where Christ dwelleth there none dwelleth but him as the glory of God filled the Temple so Christ filleth the heart Again where he dwelleth he dwelleth powerfully he is strong able to make men go through with their good purposes and resolutions Again 3. He continueth and abideth there for over he makes them constant in performing holy duties And lastly He is active as the Sun when that dwelleth in the world we see how it enlightâ—eth the world so Christ enlightneth the soul where he dwâ—lleth makes us able to judge all things Again where the Sun cometh it thaweth the frozen earth and causeth a Spring it causeth every thing to flourish so Christ dwelleth in the heart as the Sun in the world or as the soul in the body see what a beauty the soul putteth upon the â—ody what motion what sence such an al eration there is when Christ commeth into a mans heart If you find therefore a power in you to do good duties not weak offers and breeding of good conceptions and yet have no strength to bring them forth Christ is not yet in you But if Christ be in you where he dwelleth he dwelleth powerfully shall the Devil think you powerfully rule those in whom he dwelleth And shall not Christ strengthen and enable those in whom he dwelleth Again if you finde your Religion to be but for a fit if upon sicknesse or upon the apprehension of death or upon the touch of some sermon or upon some fearful accident befalling others or your selves you can pray and hear and perform the outward parts of Gods Worship and yet fall off again afterwards Know for certain that you have not Christ in your hearts for if once he were there he would remove no more â—ut â—nâ—â—le you to constart course of holiness There may be some clâ—uding now and then but the Sun will nâ—ver set upon your hearts Lastly If you find not an alteration in your soul a spring in the inward man as when the Sun cometh into the world life and beauty as when the soul commeth into the body be assured that Christ is not yet come into your heart on the contrary if you do find all these then know that Christ dwelleth in your hearts And this you are to rejoyce in as the greatest priviledge vouch safed to you under the Covenant of Grace THE BUCKLER Of a BELIEVER ROM 8. Verse 34. Who shall Condemn It is Christ that is dead yea rather which is risen again who is also at the right hand of God and maketh request also for us IN this most sweet and comfortable Scripture I mean the eighth Chapter our blessed Apostle Saint Paul shews at large the happy and safe estate of every true believer that hath his part in Christ where he proves at large that there is nothing can hinder and dis-anul that estate but that he must enjoy it according to his faith shewing withal that if any thing could hinder it it must come either from sinne or from the crosse the punishment of sinne Now he shews this and proves it strongly against all the enemies of Salvation that neither sinne nor the crosse can do it and therefore not any thing Sinne cannot do it verse 1. Because there is no condemnation that is for sinne to them The crosse cannot do it because as vers 28. All afflictions they shall work to good for them Therefore once in Christ nothing can hinder them from eternal Salvation And one would think this were sufficient proof yet as if all this were nothing Therefore that he may raise the true believer to the highest pitch of sound and lasting comfort he goes further and would have him to insult and victorio â—sly triumph verse 33 34. and rise to the highest pitch of holy confidence speaking here in a kind of defiance and saying If any man dare be so bold as to accuse one that believes yet where is he that can condemn him as if he had said There is none at all that can So that briefly in these words contained in the Text is laid down every holy believers challenge which he may take up against the face of all enemies whatsoever Wherein observe two parts First A true beleevers challenge in these words Who shall condemn Secondly the person in whose name the challenge is made which is Christs It is Christ that is dead c. For though the beleever is weak in himself yet in the rock Christ strong and invincible For the first viâ— The true beleevers challenge it is the more to be noted because it is laid down by way of interogation For that hath with it a strong confidence and a kind of victorious triumph as if he said there is none at all that can condemn though they may go about it It is not intorrogatio rogantis or dubitantis but instantis â—t triumphâ—…is It is not a question of one asking by way of doubt but of one earnest in affirming and Triumphing So that the point then is this There is not any one in heaven earth nor any where else that can bring in any thing to condemn a true believer in the sight of God Or There is not any thing in this world nor in the world to come to hinder the salvation of a true believer Where we are to consider First What it is to condemn Secondly That all and every one of us before we believe are in the estate of condemnation and therefore easily to be condemned because under the curse of the law and the guilt of sin Thirdly That when we come truly to believe in Christ even then we are not to think to be free from all that will assay and seek to condemn us and bring us to perdition and destruction Fourthly That though there be many as the Devil and all his instruments that aim and endeavour by many means to spoil us of our faith and hinder our salvation and so bring us to destruction yet shall none ever be able to do it Lastly We will make application of all to our selves For the first namely what it is to condemn It is taken diversly either in foro publico as in our courts when one is guilty of some offence against the Law and
purse he cannot abide to let it be tryed but if it be sound and good he is not affraid to bring it to the touchstone God in this case will take nothing for currant but what hath his own stamp upon it The word of God hath that in it that will try us let us therefore every one deal sincerely with our own hearts as in the sight and presence of Almighty God that so we may know whether we have this blessed Grace of Faith or no. But before we come to this let us consider these grounds First That all that live under the Gospel have if not though it be called the word of Faith and be the very meanes to beget Faith For this look 2 Thess. 3. 2. where it is given as a reason why those that truly receive the Gospel are so reproached and hardly dealt withall by the world even because all men have not Faith for if all had Faith then could all be of the same minde and Holinesse Righteousnesse and Love would be their delight Secondly That this triumphing Faith which upholds a man and opens his mouth to speak upon grounds of Faith is so far from being a common giâ—t to all that but few indeed have it It is a special and peculiar grace that makes a man triumph over condemnation That this was hard to be found the Prophet complains in his dayes Isa. 53. 1. Lord Who hath believed our report And that not among the heathen onely but even among the people of God The like complaint Christ takes up in the very words of the Prophet Iohn 12. 38. Rom. 10. 16. He admires at the paucity of true believers So now the sound of the Gospel hath come to all of us but who shewes this faith of Gods elect in them This also we may see in the parrable of the sower wherein is set forth the estate of the visible Church Where there is but one sort of the four kinds of hearers that bring forth this fruit Three sorts come to hear some but for fashion sake or compelled thereunto some to get knowledge onely some to carpe scoff or catch somewhat to run to rulers with or to judge that which shall judge them one day This triumphing faith it ariseth from an Immortal seed of Gods word alone Thirdly That though there be but few that have this faith yet not the poorest and meanest of Gods children if they have any true hope of Gods mercy but in his time shall come to it Act. 13. 48. As many as were ordained to eternal life believed whosoever is Gods childe shall have this faith and therefore Titus 1. 1. it is set out to be a pecular grace and gift of God that onely belongeth to the elect Gal. 3. 6. all are said by faith in Christ to be Gods sons Iohn 10. our Saviour shewes as none will so none can believe but such as are Gods sheep that is his elect even those that are chosen in Christ to eternal life The fourth thing we are to consider as a matter to bee believed is That those that have this faith that will save their souls they may know they have it Which is against Bellarmines reasons of diffidence and doubting First They may know it to themselves for their comfort and next they may make it known to others by the fruits thereof 1 Cor 2. 12. That we may know saith the Apostle the things which are given us of God in Christ which is spoken in common to all that truly believe and not onely to any special person the true beleever hath such a light going along with his faith that he comes to know though not perfectly yet truly and infallibly that God hath chosen Adopted and sanctified him c. He takes hold of the promise of Salvation upon Gods commandment Faith is that which receiveth the word and promise and cherisheth himself in a special manner in the Word and Sacrament The Devils works are in darknesse God gives his in light and therefore his children are called Saints in light Col. 1. 12. and Iohn 15. 10. He that believes in the Son of God hath the witnesse in himself So that thou needest not have others tell thee that thou dost believe for if thou hast faith indeed t is not so hid and buried in thy heart but that thou mayest know it Secondly Others also may know it as it manifests it self in the fruits Rom. 1. 8. Their faith was spoken of far and near which was known by their wonderful change they were become new creatures such as were now of a holy life and conversation for which Paul thanks God and desires to be with them to be comforted with their faith and his own Nâ—xt to this considâ—r that this triumphing faith wheresoever it is kindled it will endure the tryal even the fire of Gods spirit it will endure also the fiery tryal of affliction 1 Cor 3. 13. It is not a chaffie or counterfeit faith that all the troubles or temptations can blow away But being begotten by the word it pacifies the conscience and stablishes the heart in the bloud of Christ And purges the heart to make it fit for the Holy Ghost to dwell in also it works by love and makes a man not churlish and froward but loving and that even to his very enemies for Christ sake thy heart will tell thee thus much and make thee say I thank God I have this faith in me Lastly seeing it is thus namely that it is the duty of all every one that lives under the Gospel to prove his heart and search it to the bottom 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves whether you be in the faith this shewes that it is not a thing to be taken as granted that we have this faith except we find that we have it indeed but to search and try our selves for it Because else we are in a great danger even in the state of reprobates Therefore examine thy self and if thou hast it bless God that ever thou wert born to be brought to such a blessed state wherein thou mayst thus triumph Now for the notes whereby thou mayest try thy self they may be these The first is taken out of Rom. 8. 15. yea have not received the spirit of bondage to fear again but the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abbâ—… Father Thou hast found thy self before to have bin in an estate of bondage as those believing Romans there who were accepted in an estate of fear and bondage under the curse of the Law and condemnation even in despair of themselves the spirit of Bondage for that time shews us the law that condemns us and makes it to triumph over a man so long as it lasts try therefore if thou hast felt thy conscience set on thee and found thy self to be condemned for thy sins Thus all Gods children truly converted indeed have felt though some more some less and lyen under it some a longer