are not without either. The patriarchs hnA their money all day boiind up in their sacks as they travelled, though they did not know this till they came to their inn and opened them. Thus there is a treasure of sincerity hid in many a soul, but the time to open the sack, and let the soul know its riches, is not come. Many are now in heaven, have shot the gulf, and are safely landed there, who were sadly tossed with fears all along their voyage about the truth of grace in them. Faith unfeigned puts a soul into the ark Christ; but it doth not hinder but such a one may he sea-sick in the ship. It is Christ's work, not grace's, to evidence itself to our eye so demonstratively as to enable us to own it. Besides an organ fitly disposed, there is required light to irradiate the medium ; so, besides truth of grace, it is necessary there be the Spirit, being another light, for want of which the soul is benighted in its thoughts, and must cry for another, and he no other than the Holy Spirit, to lead him into the light. This is the great messenger which alone is able to shew a man his uprightness ; but as the eye may be a seeing eye in the dark, when it doth not see anything, there may be truth of grace where there is not present sense of that truth ; yea, the creature may be passionately hunting from ordinance to ordinance, to get that sincerity which it already hath ; as sometimes you may have seen one seek very earnestly all about the house for his hat, when at the same time he hath it on his head. Well, lay down this as a real truth in thy soul ; I may be upright, though at present I am not able to see it clearly ; this, though it will not bring in a full comfort, yet it may be some support till that come. As a shore to'thy weak house, though it does not mend it, yet it will underprop and keep it standing till the master workman comes, the Holy Spirit, who with one kind word to thy soul is able to set thee right in thy own thoughts, and make thee stand strong on the promise, the only true basis and foundation of solid comfort. Be not more cruel to thy soul, O Christian, than thou wouldst to thy friend's, shall I say, yea, thy enemy's body. Should one thou didst not much love lie sick in thy house, yea, so sick that if you should ask him whether he be alive, he could not tell you, his senses and speech being both at present gone, would you presently lay him out, and coffin him up for the grave, because you cannot have it from his own mouth that he is alive ? Surely not. O how unreasonable and bloody then is Satan, who would presently have thee put thyself into the pit-hole of despair, because thy grace is not so strong as to speak for itself at present.
Section H. — 2. Let me send thee back upon a melius inquirendum ; look once again more narrowly whether Satan, that Joab, hath not the great hand in these questions and scruples started in thy bosom about thy sincerity, merelj^ as his last design upon thee, that he may amuse and distract thee with false fears, when thou wilt not be flattered with false hopes. The time was thou wert really worse, and then by his means thou thoughtest thyself better than thou wert. And now, since thou hast changed thy way, disowned thy former confidence, been acquainted with Christ, and got some savour of his holy ways in thy spirit, so as to make thee strongly breathe after him, thou art affrighted with many apparitions of fears in thy sad thoughts, if not charging thee for a hypocrite, yet calling in question the truth of thy heart. It is worth, I say, the inquiring whether it be not the same hand again, the devil, though knocking at another door. No player hath so many several dresses to come in upon the stage as tlie devil hath forms of temptation, and this a suit which he very ordinarily hath been known to wear. If it were thy case only, thou mightest have more suspicion, lest these fears should be the just rebukes of thine own heart ; but when thou findest many of thy fellow-brethren, whose sincerity thou darcst not doubt, though thou savest not so much charity for thyself, their com- plaints so meet with thine, that no key, though made on purpose, can more fit all the wards of a lock than their condition doth thine; this, I say, may well make thee set about another search to find whether he be not come forth a lying spirit to abuse thy tender spirit with such news, as he knows worse cannot come to thy ears, that thou dost not love Jesus Christ as thou pretendest, and deceivest but thyself to think otherwise. 'I'hus this foul spirit (like a brazen- faced whore that lays her child at an honest person's door) doth impudently charge many with that which they are little guilty of, knowing that so much will likely stick of his bold accusation to the poor Christian's spirit as shall
274 HAVING YOUR LOINS