founded on the testimony of his conscience ; but from what did his conscience testify? from his sincere conversation. Again, take that memorable instance of Job ; God hid his face from him ; the arrows of the almighty stuck fast in him ; Satan was let loose upon him ; the wife of his bosom proved a tempter to him, a tormentor of him ; his most inward acquaintance deserted him, reproached him, and condemned him as a hypocrite ; God writ bitter things against him, and made him ' to possess the iniquities of his youth :' all was clouded above him, and he stripped of all the outward comforts that did once surround him, Job. i. 8, and ii. 3, so that he had nothing left to stay him, to refresh him, to support him, and to be a comfort and joy to him, but the sense of his integrity, and the evidence he had of his own up- rightness, his own righteousness : Job xxvii. 5, ' Till I die I will not remove my integrity from me ;' ver. 6, ' My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go : my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.' Job was under great afflictions, sore temptations, and deep desertions. Now that which was his cordial, his bulwark, in those sad times, was the sense and feeling of his own uprightness, his own righteousness. The sense and feeling of the grace of God in him kept him from fainting and sinking under all his troubles. So in 1 John ii. 3, ' Hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments,' &c. In these words two things are obser\'able : First, that w^here there is a true knowledge of Christ, there is an observation of his commandments. Secondly, that by this observation of his royal law, we may know that our knowledge is sound and sincere. He speaks not of a legal, but of an evangelical, keeping of his commandments. A conscionable and serious endeavour to walk in a holy course of life, according to God's will revealed in his word, is a most certain mark or evidence that we have a saving know- ledge of God, and that we are his children, and heirs of glory. Such who sincerely desire, and unfeignedly purpose, and firmly resolve, and faithfully endeavour, to keep the commandments of God, these do keep the commandments of God evangelically and acceptably in the eye of God, the account of God. So ver. 6, ' He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.' Here you may ob- serve two things : First, that by faith we are implanted into Christ ; secondly, that we discover our implantation into Christ by our imitation of Christ. Such as plead for sanctification as an evidence of justification don't make their graces causes of their implantation into Christ, or of their justification before the throne of Christ, but they make them testi- monies and witnesses to declare the truth of their real implantation into Christ, and of their being justified before the throne of Christ. So 1 John iii. 14, ' We know we are translated from death to life, because we love the brethren.' The apostle makes this a great sign of godhness, to love another godly man for godliness's sake, and the more godly he is, the more to love him, and to delight in him. Now mark, this love of our brethren is not a cause of our translation from death to life, for the very word trcmslated supposeth such a grace, such a favour of God as is without us, but a sign of our translation from death to life. But of this I have said enough already, as you may see if you will but read from page 189 to page 200 of this book.^ But,
' That is, of our text pp. 372-380— G.
476 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. V.
[6.] The s^'aji^ proposition is this: There are many scores of precious promises made over to them that believe, to themthat trust in the Lord, to them that set him up as the great object of their fear, to them that love him, to them, that delight in him,, to them that obey him, to therti that walk ivith him, to them that thirst after him, to them that suffer for him, to them that follow after him, &cc} Now all these scores of promises are made for the support, comfort, and encouragement of all such Christians whose souls are bespangled with grace. But now if we may not lawfully come to the knowledge of our faith, love, fear, delight, obedience, &c., in a discursive way, arguing from the effect to the cause, what support, what comfort, what advantage shall a sincere Christian have by all those scores of promissory places of Scripture ? Doubt- less all those scores of promises would be as so many suns without light, as so many springs without water, as so many breasts without milk, and as so many bodies without souls, to all gracious Christians, were it not lawful for them to form up such a practical syllogism as this is, viz. the Scripture doth plainly and fully declare that he that believeth, feareth, loveth, obeyeth, &c., is blessed, and shall be happy for ever ; But I am such a one that doth believe, fear, love, obey, &c. ; Therefore I am blessed, and shall be happy for ever. Now, although it must be granted that the major of this proposition is Scrip- ture, yet the assumption is from experience ; and therefore a godly man, being assisted therein by the Holy Ghost, may safely draw the conclu- sion as undeniable. Oh that you would seriously consider how little would be the difference, should you shut out this discursive way, be- twixt a man and a beast : if a man should assent to a thing unknown through an instinct and impression, and should to one who asks him a reason of his persuasion be able to return no other answer but this, I am persuaded because I am persuaded. But,
[7.] The seventh proposition is this, That the Scripture giveth many signs and symptoms of grace ; so that if a man cannot find cdl, yet if he discover some, yea, but one, he may safely conclude that all the rest are there. He who hath but one in truth of the fore-mentioned characters in this book, hath seminally all; he who hath one link of the golden chain, hath the whole chain. Look, as he who hath one grace in truth, hath every grace in truth, though he doth not see every grace shining in his soul ; so he that hath in truth any one evidence of grace in his soul, he hath virtually all. And oh that all weak, dark, doubting Christians would seriously and frequently ponder upon this proposition ; for it may be a staff to uphold them, and a cordial to com- fort them under all their fears and faintings. But,
[8.] The eighth proposition is this. Without the light of the Holy Ghost our graces shine not. Our graces are only the means by which our condition is known to us, Rom. ix. 2. The efficient cause of this knowledge is the Spirit illustrating our graces and making them visible, and so helping us to conclude from them, &c. : 1 Cor. ii. 1 2, ' Now wc have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of