' Anastasius his motto was, Mellitum venenum blanda oratio, smooth talk often proves sweet poison. Many in these days have found it so. [Cf. references, ante. — G,]
400 HEAVEN ON EARTH. [ROM. VIII. 32-34.
2. From a burden of fears.
3. From a burden of doubts.
Now the burden of cares, ah Christians ! causes thee to sit down sighing and groaning ; ah ! how doth the cares of getting this and that, and the cares of keeping this and that worldly content, disturb and distract, vex and rack the souls of men that live under the power of carking cares, Mat. xiii. 22. Oh, but now assurance of better things makes the soul sing care away, as that martyr said, ' My soul is turned to her rest ; I have taken a sweet nap in Christ's lap, and therefore I will now sing away care, and will be careless according to my name.'' Assurance of a kingdom, of a crown, is a fire that burns up all those cares that ordinarily fill the head and distract the heart. There is no way to get off the burden of cares but by getting assurance.
Again, assurance will free you from the burden of fears, as well as from the burden of cares.^ Now, your hearts are filled with fears of possessing the creature, with fears of wanting the creature, with fears of losing the creature, &c. And these fears make men turn, like the chameleon, into all colours, foims, and fashions, yea, they make their lives a hell. Oh, but now assurance will scatter all these fears, as the sun doth the clouds ; it will extinguish these fears, as the sun doth the fire. Assurance made David divinely fearless, and divinely careless : ' Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me,' Ps. xxiii. 3. Ah ! how full of fears and perplexities was Hagar, till the Lord opened her eyes to see the well of water that was near her, Gen. xxi. 16. So the soul will be full of fears and perplexities till it comes to see assurance, to enjoy assurance. Christians, when all is said that can be, this will be found at last a most certain truth, that there is no way to be effectually rid of your fears, but by obtaining a well- grounded assurance of your happiness and blessedness.
Again, assurance wiU rid you of your burden of doubts.' Now you are still a-doubting. Sometimes you doubt whether that you are a thorough Christian, and not an Agrippa, an almost Christian, an half Christian, as most professors are. Sometimes you doubt of your son- ship, and that leads you to doubt of your heirship. Sometimes you doubt of your acquaintance with God, and that leads you to doubt of your access to God, and acceptance with God. Sometimes you doubt of your union with God, and those doubts lead you to doubt of the truth of your communion with God, &c. The truth is, your whole life is a life of doubting, and so it will be, till you reach to a well-grounded assurance.
Though the two disciples had Christ for their companion, yet their hearts were full of fears and doubts, whilst their eyes were held that they should not know him, Luke xxiv. 14, 15, &c. Till a Christian's
* John Careless, in a letter to Mr Philpot. Acts et Mon., folio, 1743. [Foxe, by Townsend, viii. pp. 171-201 ; and Clarke, as before, pp. 441, 473.— G.")
* And men are apt to make elephants of flies, and giants of pigmies. Till men reach assurance, they will still create fears rather than want them.
' Remember, Christians, (1.) that doubts are bred and fed by ignorance and unbelief, and therefore are siiiful ; (2.) that they rob the soul of all joy, comfort, and content ; (8.) they render men babes in Christianity ; (4.) they throw reproach upon God, Christ, and the promises ; (5.) they give Satan the greatest advantage against us.
KOM. VIII. 32-34-.] HEAVEN ON EAETH. 401
eyes be open to see his assurance, his heart will be full of doubts and perplexities. Though Mary Magdalene was very near to Christ, yet she stands sighing, mourning, and complaining that they had stolen away her Lord, because she did not see him, John xx. 13-16. Christians! though you may be very near and dear to Christ, yet till you come to see your assurance, you will spend your days in doubting, mourning, and complaining. The sum of all is this, as you would be rid of your burden of cares, your burden of fears, and your burden of doubts, get a well-grounded assurance of your happiness and blessedness ; but if you are in love with your burdens, then neglect but the making of your calling and election sure, and you shall certainly make sure your bur- dens ; they shall rise with you, and walk with you, and lie down with you, till they make your lives a hell.
(4.) The fourth motive to provoke you to labour after a well-grounded assurance is, To consider that Satan will labour with all his art and craft, with all his power and might, to keep you from attaining a well-grounded assurance of your happiness and blessedness. Such is Satan's envy and enmity against a Christian's joy and comfort, that he cannot but act to the utmost of his line to keep poor souls in doubts and darkness.^ Satan knows that assurance is a pearl of that price that will make the soul liappy for ever ; he knows that assurance makes a Christian's wilderness to be a paradise ; he knows that assurance begets in Christians the most noble and generous spirits ; he knows that assur- ance is that which will make men strong to do exploits, to shake his tottering kingdom about his ears; and therefore he is very studious and industrious to keep souls off from assurance, as he was to cast Adam out of paradise.
It is no wonder that Satan, who envied the first seeds of grace that divine love sowed in thy soul, that he should envy the increase of thy grace, yea, thy assurance, which is the top and royalty of grace. When thou wast a babe, Satan cast water upon thy smoking flax, that it might not flame forth into assurance ; and now thou art grown up to some more maturity, he is raised in his enmity, so that he cannot but put out his power and policy to keep thee from assurance of felicity and glory. Satan envies thy candle-light, thy torch-light, thy star-light, how much more that the sun should shine upon thee ! Satan envies thy eating of the crumbs of mercy under the table, how much more that, as a child, thou shouldst sit at Wisdom's table, and eat and drink abundantly of Wisdom's delicates ! Satan envies thy feeding on husks among the swine, how much more that thou shouldst eat of the fatted calf! Satan envies thy sitting with Mordecai at the king's gate, how much more that thou shouldst wear the king's robes I Satan envies thy tasting of the least drop of comfort, how much more thy swimming in those plea- sures that be at God's right hand for evermore ! He envies thy sitting upon God's knee, how much more, then, thy lying in his bosom ! He envies thy being admitted into his service, how much more that thou shouldst be of his court and council !