* This phrase is tropically to be understood. The Greek cannot be fully expressed in our tongue, t« -jfyiZfjia,, to clytey, Tou ^laD,, i. e. the Spirit, the holy of that God. To shew the transcendent excellency and glory of the Holy Spirit.
Rom. VIII. 32-34.] heaven on eakth. 417
comfort and assurance that flows not in through the golden pipes of the sanctuary, will not better the soul, nor long abide with the soul ; it will be as the morning dew, and as the flowers of the field that soon fade away, Hosea vi. 4 ; 1 Peter i. 24.
I have in the former discourse shewed at large how the Lord is gra- ciously pleased to cause his love and glory to beam forth upon souls in ordinances ; and therefore I shall say no more unto this particular at this time.
(5.) The fifth rrheans to obtain assurance is, wisely and seriously to observe what gift of God there is in thee, that brings thee within the compass of the promises of etei^nal mercy. Now, let the gift be this or that, if it be a gift that brings thee within the compass of the promise of eternal mercy, that gift is an infallible evidence of thy salvation.
For the better and further opening of this truth, premise with me these two thinofs :
[1.] First, No man can have any sure evidence to himself of his happiness and blessedness from absolute promises.^ Absolute promises do not describe to whom salvation and all eternal blessings do belong. The promise of giving Christ, of giving the Spirit, of giving a new heart, and of pardoning and blotting out sin, are all absolute promises. Now God is free to make good these to whom he pleases ; therefore he often steps over the rich and chooses the poor ; the learned, and chooses the ignorant ; the strong, and chooses the weak ; the noble, and chooses the ignoble ; the sweet nature, and chooses the rugged nature, &c., that no flesh may glory, and that all may shout out Grace, grace \ 1 Cor. i. 25-29.
[2.] Secondly, Though no man can have any sure evidence of his happiness and blessedness from absolute promises, because absolute pro- mises do not describe the persons to whom salvation and all eternal blessings do belong ; yet absolute promises are of most choice and singular use.
(1.) In that they discover to us that our salvation is only from free grace, and not from anything in us or done by us.
(2.) They are a most sure and glorious foundation for the very worst of sinners to stay their filthy, guilty, wearied, burdened, perplexed souls upon. Seeing that God looks not for any penny or pennyworth, for any portion or proportion in the creature to draw his love, but he will justify, pardon, and save for his name's sake, Isa. Iv. 1, 2 ; seeing all the motives that move God to shew mercy are in his own bosom ; seeing they are all within doors, there is no reason why the vilest of sinners should sit down and say. There is no hope, there is no help, Deut. vii, 7, 8 ; Ps. Ixviii. 18.
[3.] Thirdly, Absolute promises may, and doubtless often are, choice cordials to many precious souls, who happily have lost the sense and feeling of divine favour. Absolute promises are watei*s of life to many precious sons of Sion. They are a heavenly fire at which they can sit down and warm themselves when they cannot blow their own spark into a flame, and when all candle-light, torch-light, and star-light fails
' Isa. xlii. 6, xlix. 8 ; Joel ii. 28 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27 ; Jer. xxxii. 40 ; Heb. viii. 10- 12;' Isa. x.xxii. 16.
418 HEAVEN ON EARTH. [ROM. VIII. 32-34.
them. When all other comforts can yield a perplexed, distressed soul no comfort, yet then absolute promises will prove full breasts of con- solation to the distressed soul.'
These things being premised, see now what gift of God there is in thee that brings thee within the compass of the promise of everlasting happi- ness and blessedness ; and to help you a little in this, I shall put you in mind of these following particulars.
1. The first gift. Faith is a gift of God that brings the soul within the promise of everlasting blessedness, as the Scripture doth everywhere evidence : ' He that believes shall be saved ;' ' he that believes shall not come into condemnation ;' ' he shall not perish ;' ' he shall have eternal life,' &c.^ Now believing is nothing else but the accepting of Christ for thy Lord and Saviour, as he is offered to thee in the gospel ; and this accepting is principally, if not only, the act of thy will ; so that if thou art sincerely and cordially willing to have Christ upon his own terms, upon gospel terms, that is, to save thee and rule thee, to redeem thee and to reign over thee, then thou art a believer. Thy sincere willing- ness to believe is thy faith ; and this gift brings thee within the compass of the promise of eternal happiness and blessedness.
Chi'istian reader, in the following discourse thou wilt find the nature, the properties, and the excellencies of a sound saving faith clearly and largely laid open before thee ; and therefore I shall say no more to it in this place, but refer thee to what follows.
2. The second gift. Waiting 'patiently on God is a gift that brings thee within the promise of everlasting happiness and blessedness. And he that hath but a waiting frame of heart, hath that that God will eternally own and crown : Isa. xxx. 18, 'And therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you ; and therefore will he be exalte'd that he may have mercy upon you ; for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.' Verily, it is no iniquity to pronounce them blessed that God pronounces blessed. It is no piety, but cruelty and inhumanity, for any not to be as merciful to themselves as God is merciful to them ; not to have as sweet and precious thoughts of their present condition as God hath. If God says the waiting soul is blessed, who dares judge, who dares say it is not blessed? ' Let God be true, and every "man a liar,' Rom. iii. 4 ; Isa Ixiv. 4, ' For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither •hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee, what he [hath] prepared for him that waiteth for him '; Prov. viii. 34, ' Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, and waiting at the posts of my doors' ; Isa. xlix. 23, ' They shall not be ashamed that wait for me'; that is, I will never fail the waiting soul ; I will never put him to blushing by frustrating his patient waiting on me. The waiting soul shall bear the belt, and carry away the crown at last. Verily, glorious love and power is as much seen in keeping up a poor soul in a patient waiting on God, as it was in raising Christ from the grave, and as it is in bringing souls to glory. Nothing can make the waiting soul miserable. Hold out faith and