' The heathens used to absolve men by giving them white stones, and condemn them by giving them black ones.
* f^ov^ivfiitevs, kept safe and fast, as in a strong garrison.
' See former footnote on this Treatise, and Index sub nomine- — G.
* Tarn paler nemo, iumpiut nemo. — Tertulliau.
Rom. VIII 32-34.] heaven on earth. 331
with Peter be always upon the mount ; he is loath to walk through the valley of darkness, through the valley of Baca. As the king of Sodom said once to Abraham, ' Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself,' Gen. xiv. 21 ; so gracious souls are apt to say. Give me joy, give me peace, give me assurance, and do you take trials, afflictions, and temptations to yourselves. But pray, what use would there be of the stars, if the sun did always shine? Why, none. Why, no more use would there be of your graces, if assurance should be always continued ; therefore the Lord, for the exercise of his children's faith, hope, patience, &c., is pleased, at least for a time, to deny them assurance, though they seek it by earnest prayer, and with a flood of penitent tears.^
(2.) Tlie Lord denies assurance to his dearest ones, that he may keep them in the exercise of those religious duties that are most costly and contrary to flesh and blood, as to mourning, repenting, self-judging, self-loathing, self-abhorring, and self-searching; as Lam. i. 16, 'For these things I weep : mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me'; chap, iii. 2, 3, 'He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, not into light. Surely against me he is turned ; he turneth his hand against me all the day'; ver. 17, 'And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace : I forgat prosperity.' Now, what this sad dealings of God puts the church upon you may see in ver. 40 .' Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.' ^ And if you look throughout the book, you shall find the church much in self-examining, self-judging, self- loathing, &c., upon this ground, that God had hid his face, and drawn a curtain between him and them, and stood at a distance from them, and would not speak comfortably and friendly to them.
Now, if you ask me why God will put his children upon those duties of religion that are most costly and contrary to flesh and blood 1 I answer,
1. That his strength and power may appear in their weakness, 2 Cor. xii. 7-9.
2. To discover not only the truth, but also the strength of their graces. A little grace will put a man upon those religious duties that are easy and pleasing to flesh and blood, and not chargeable, but rather profitable and pleasurable ; but it must be strength of grace that puts man upon those services that are costly and cross to the old man.
3. That they may be more fully and eminently conformable to Christ their head, who, from first to last, who, even from the cradle to the cross, was most exercised in those duties and services that were most costly and cross to flesh and blood, as is most evident to all that study the writings of the Holy Ghost more than the writings of men,
4. Because in the performance of such duties they do in a more
• If saints should always have assurance, they would be too apt to say, Bonum est essa hie, it is good for us to be here.
* 'Bring back my soul,' or 'fetch again my soul,' t. «. comfort, refresh, and rejoice me as in former times. rnprUI HK^DriJ. These two Hebrew words are joined together, to intimate to us that diligent, narrow, and accurate inquiry that they should make into their ways, to search as men do into the bowels of the earth, for the discovery of rich miyies and treasures, which made one of the Kabbins cry out. Venial Messias at ego non videam, let the Messiah come, but let not me see him. [See Index under Rabbins for for- mer reference. — G.]
332 HEAVEN ON EARTH. [ROM. VIII. 32-54.
singular way bear up the name and credit, the honour and glory of God, Christ, and the gospel in the world ; the very world will cry out, Ah, these are Christians indeed !
5. Because the more they are in the exercise of such duties, the greater at last will be their reward, Heb. xi. 7.
6. That Satan's plots and designs may be the better prevented, and the wicked world more justly condemned, who do not only despise the hardest duties of religion, but also neglect the easiest. Mat. xxv. 4-6.
(3.) The third reason why God denies assurance to his most precious ones, is that tliey may be the more clearly and fully convinced of that exceeding sinfulness and bitterness that is in sin, Jer. ii. 19.' Ah, Lord, says the soul that [is] sighing and mourning under the want of assurance, I see now that sin is not only evil, but the greatest evil in the world, in that it keeps me from an assurance of my interest in thee, who art the greatest good in the world, and from an assurance of that favour of thine that is better than life, and from the light of thy sweet countenance, that is better than corn, and wine, and oil; and from those joys and comforts that can only make a paradise in my soul, Ps. iv. 7, Ixiii. 3, 4. Ah, Lord ! now I find sin not only to be bitter, but to be the very quintessence of bitterness. Ah ! no bitterness so bitter as sin, that keeps my soul from that sweet assurance, that i& not only the top and crown of mercy, but also the sweetener of all mercy, misery, and glory.* Oh what unspeakable evil do I now see in that evil that keeps me from the most desirable good ! Oh what bitterness do I now find in that which Satan, the world, and my own deluded heart told me I should find sweetness in f Ah, now I find by experience, that to be true, which long since the faithful messengers of the Lord have told me; viz., that sin debaseth the soul of man, that it defiles and pollutes the soul of man, that it renders the soul most unlike to God, who is optimum Tnaximum, the best and greatest, who is omnia supei' omnia, all, and above all, and renders it most like to Satan, who is a very sea and .sink of sin.* That it hath robbed the soul of the image of God, the holiness of God, the beauty of God, the glory of God, the righteousness of God, and that keeps the soul from wearing this golden chain of assurance.
(4.) A fourth reason why God denies assurance to his dearest ones, is, because they seek assurance more for themselves, than they do for his honour and glory; more that they may have joy without sorrow, comfort without torment, peace without trouble, sweet without bitter, light without darkness, and day without night, than that he may be exalted and admired, and his name alone made great and glorious in the world.*
Many Christians are like the bee that flies into the field to seek honey to eat, but brings it not into the master's hive. So they seek for
^ Sin is malum catholieum, it is atema macula, it is eorruptio optimi pessima.