The Canaanite woman shewed much love, wisdom, zeal, humility, and faith, yea, such strength of faith as makes Christ admire her, and yield to her, grace her, and gratify her, and yet she had no assurance that we read of, Mat. xv. 22, 29. So Paul, speaking of the believing Ephesians, saith, ' In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation : in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,' Eph. i. 13.* First, they heard the word ; and then secondly, they believed ; and then thirdly, they were sealed ; that is, fully assured of a heavenly inheritance, of a purchased possession.^ So 1 John v. 13, 'These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the Son of God.' So Isa 1. 10, ' Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyetli the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light ? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay himself upon his God.' So»Micah vii. 8, 9, ' Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy : when I fall, I shall arise ; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me; he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.'* Asaph was a very holy man, a man eminent in grace, and yet without assurance, as may be seen at large, Ps. Ixxvii. Heman, doubtless, was a very precious soul, and yet from his youth up, he was even distracted with terrors, P.s. Ixxxviii. There are thousands of Christians that are in a state of grace, and shall be saved, that want assurance and the proper effects of it, as high joy, pure comfort, glorious peace, and vehement longings after the coming of Christ.*
Assurance is requisite to the well-being of a Christian, but not to the being ; it is requisite to the consolation of a Christian, but not to the salvation of a Christian ; it is requisite to the well-being of grace, but not to the mere being of grace. Though a man cannot be saved with- out faith, yet he may be saved without assurance. God hath in many places of the Scripture declared, that without faith there is no salvation, but God hath not in any one place of the Scripture declared, that without
' The blind mau in the Gospel called his faith unbelief. [Mark ix. 24. — G.]
* They that honour God by sealing to his truth, those God will honour by sealing them with his Spirit.
* Saints have eternal life, 1. inpretio ; 2, in promisso ; 3, in prmitiis.
* Eiyt. Zagnaph signifies vehement anger, with a sad and lowering countenance, Dan. i. 10. Vide Merc. [That is, John Le Mercier or Mercerus. Died 1572. His 'Com- mentaries' still in use. — G.] ' Isa. viii. 17 ; xlix. 14-16 ; liv. 6-11.
Rom. VIII. 32-34.] heaven on earth. 337
assurance there is no salvation.^ A man must first be saved before he can be assured of his salvation, for he cannot be assured of that which is not ; and a man must have saving grace before he can be saved, for he cannot be saved by that which he hath not. Again, a man must be ingrafted into Christ, before he can be assured of remission or salvation, but this he cannot be before he hath faith, therefore there may be grace where there is no assurance. Christ went to heaven in a cloud, and the angel went up to heaven in the smoke and flame of the sacrifice ; and so I doubt not but many precious souls do ascend to heaven in clouds and darkness. Acts i. 9 ; Judges xiii. 20.
Now a man may have grace, and yet want assurance, and that may arise from these causes.
(] .) First, From his cavilling spirit, and from his siding with the old man against the new, with the flesh against the spirit, with corrup- tion against grace, with the house of Saul against the house of David, with the work of Satan against the work of God. Sin is Satan's work ; grace, holiness is God's ; yet such is the weakness, yea, madness of many poor souls, that they will fall in and side with Satan's work, rather than with God's, against their own souls.* Ah ! Christians, will you con- demn that judge for injustice and unrighteousness, that shall open his ears to the complaints of the plaintiff, but stops his ears against the answers of the defendant ; and will you not condemn yourselves for that you do with both ears hear what sin and Satan hath to say against the soul, but have not one ear open to hear what the Spirit, what grace, what the new man, what the noble part of man, what the regenerate man, can say for the justification, satisfaction, and consolation of the soul.^ Let me tell thee, O thou cavilling soul I that it is thy wisdom and thy duty to rememember that command of God, that doth pro- hibit thee from bearing false witness against thy neighbour. That same command doth enjoin thee not to bear false witness against the work of grace upon thy own heart, against the precious and glorious things that God hath done for thy soul. And thou shouldst make as much conscience of bearing false witness against anything the Lord hath wrought in thee, and for thee, as thou doest make conscience of bearing false witness against thy neighbour. It cannot but be sad with the soul, but be night with the soul, when it makes much conscience of the one, and no conscience of the other. Many heathens have been so loving and faithful one to another, that they would rather die, than they would bear false witness one against another. How dare you
* God never said, Except you be assured I will pardon you, I will never pardon yon ; except you are assured 1 will save you, I will never save you. This is language God never spoke ; and why, then, should men speak it ?
' Cease cavilling, thou weak soul, and say, Quodfui, Domine, ignosee; quod mm, eorrige; quod ero, dirige, 0 Lord, forgive what I have been, correct what I am, direct what I shall be.
' When John Prostiborski [?], baron of Schanow, was laid on the rack, he, with an heroical indignation, cut out his tongue, and cast it away. Being demanded why he did 80, set down his answer with a quill on the wall : I did it, said he, because I would not bft brought by any tortures to say anything that is false against myself or others. Ah ! cavilling souls, I had almost said that you were better cut out your tongues than suffer them to be cavilling against the grace of God, the image of God, that is stamped upon you;
338 HEAVEN ON EARTH. [RoM. VIII. 32-34.
cavilling souls, then to bear false witness against your own souls, and the gracious work of the Lord upon them ! If this be not the way to keep off assurance, and keep the soul in darkness, yea, in a hell, I know nothing.