Mr Frogmoiton was as holy and as choice a preacher as most was in England in those days, and he lived seven and thirty years without assurance, and then died, having assurance but an hour before he died. He went to die at Mr Dod's, who is now with the Lord, and did die there in full assurance of the justification of his person, the remission of his sins, and the salvation of his soul.^ God denied assurance a great while to Mr Glover, though he sought it with many prayers and tears ; and 3'et when he was in sight of the fire, the Lord sinned forth in his favour so sweetly upon him, that he cries out to his friend, ' lie is come, he is come ''^ So Mrs Katherine Bretterge, after many bitter conflicts with Satan the day before she died, she had sweet assurance of that kingdom that shakes not, of those riches that corrupt not, and of that crown of righteousness that fades not away.^
I have read of three martyrs that were bound and brought to the stake, and one of them gets from under his stake to admiration, and falls down upon the ground, and wrestles earnestly with God for the sense of his love, and God gave it him then at that instant, and so he came and embraced the stake, and died cheerfully and resolutely a glorious martyr. God delayed till he was bound, and then lets out himself sweetly and gloriously to him.*
Now God doth delay the giving in of assurance to his dearest ones, and that partly to let them know that he will be waited ou, and that assurance is a jewel worth waiting for.
The least smile from God when our last glass is running, will make our souls amends for all their waiting. And partly that we may know that he is free in his workings, and that he is not tied to any prepara- tions or qualifications in the creature, but is free to come when he will, and go when he will, and stay as long as he will, though the soul doth sigh it out, ' How long, Lord, how long will it be before my mourning be turned into rejoicing ?'
Again, God delays the giving in of assurance, not because he delights to keep his children in fears and doubts, nor because he thinks that assurance is too rare, too great, too choice a jewel to bestow upon them ; but it is either because he thinks their souls do not stand at a sufficient distance from sin, or because their soids are so taken up and filled with creature enjoyments as that Christ is put to lodge in an out-house, or else it is because they pursue not after assurance with all their might ; they give not all diligence to make their calling and election sure ; or else it is because their hearts are not prepared, are not low enough, for so high a favour.*
Now God's delaying assurance upon these weighty grounds should rather work us to admire him, to justify him, and quietly to wait for him, than to have any hard thoughts of him, or to carry it unkindly to him, or impatiently to say, * Why is his chariot so long a-coming ?' Judges v. 28.
The fifth proposition is this. That those choice souls that have assur- ance may lose it, they may forfeit it. The freshness and greenness, the beauty, lustre, and glory of assurance may be lost.
* See Index, sub Frogmorton.— G. * See Vol. I. p. 109.— G. 3 Ibid. p. 116.— G.
* Hudson, Ibid, p. 109 G. Voluntat Dei neeessitas ret, God will have every child of
hi* to put his fiat, hia placet, to God's, go it never so much against the liaira.
' Isa, lix. 1, 2 ; Jeremiah t. 25 ; Luke ii. 7 ; 2 Peter ii. 5.
Rom. VIII. 32-34] heaven on earth. 343
It is true, believers cannot lose the habits, the seeds, the root of grace ; yet they may lose assurance, which is the beauty and fragrancy, the crown and glory of grace, J John iii. 9, 1 Peter i. 5. These two lovers, grace and assurance, are not by God so nearly joined together but that they may by sin on our side, and justice on God's, be put asunder. The keeping of these two lovers, grace and assurance, together, will yield the soul two heavens, a heaven of joy and peace here, and a heaven of happiness and blessedness hereafter ; but the putting these two lovers asunder will put the soul into a hell here, though it escape a hell hereafter. This Chrysostom knew well, when he professed that the want of the enjoyment of God would be a far greater hell to him than the feeling of any punishment,'
As you would keep your Christ, as you would keep your comfort, as you would keep your crown, keep grace and assurance together, and neither by lip nor life, by word nor works, let these be put asunder. It is possible for the best of men so to blot and blur their evidences for felicity and glory, as that they may not be able to read them nor under- stand them. They may so vex and grieve the Spirit either by gross enormities, or by refusing his comforts and cordials, or by neglecting or slighting his gracious actings in themselves and others, or by misjudging- his work, as calling faith fancy, or sincerity hypocrisy, &c., or by father- ing those brats upon him that are the children of their own distempered hearts, as that he may refuse to witness their interest in him, though he be a witnessing Spirit, and refuse to comfort them, though he be the only Comforter.^
The best believer that breathes may have his summer-day turned into a winter-night, his rejoicing into sighing, his singing into weeping, his wedding-robes into mourning weeds, his wine into water, his sweet into bitter, his manna, his angels' food, into husks, his pleasant grapes into the grapes of Sodom, his fruitful Canaan, his dehghtful paradise, into a barren and unlovely wilderness. Look, as faith is often attended with unbelief, and sincerity with hypocrisy, and humility with vain- glory, so is assurance with fears and doubts.^
Blessed Hooker* hved near thirty years in close communion with God, without any considerable withdrawings of God all that while ; and yet, upon his dying bed, he went away without any sense of assur- ance, or discoveries of the smiles of God, to the wonder and deceiving of the expectation of many precious souls, and without doubt in judg- ment to wicked men.
Look, as many a man loses the sight of the city when he comes near to it, so many a choice soul loses the sight of heaven, even then when he is nearest to heaven. Abraham, you know, had assurance in an extraordinary way concerning his protection from God ; and yet says
* It is wonderful rare, if possible, for a soul that ever had a ■well-grounded assurance not to experience this truth at first or last. A separation between the body and the Boul will not so torment the soul as separation between grace and assurance.
^ Spiritus tanclus eat ret delieata, the Holy Spirit is a very tender thing, 1 Sam. zvi., and John xiv.
* What Latimer said of the Spirit, It is going and coming, may be truly said of assur- ance, and joy, It is coming and going. So did Master Burroughs, of blessed memory, go into heaven in a cloud. [That is, Jeremiah Burroughs, He died in 1646. — G,]