walk in much peace, comfort, and joy. Such Christians as are resolved to lie down in sorrow, till they have attained to a perfect assurance, must resolve to lie down in sorrow till they come to lay down their heads in the dust. Our graces are imperfect, and therefore that assur- ance that arises from the sight and evidence of them must needs be imperfect. Perfect signs of grace can never spring from imperfect grace, 1 Thes. iii. 10. Now, if this Avere seriously apprehended, studied, and minded by many weak Christians, they would not at every turn call their spiritual estates into question, as they do, because they find some seeds and stirrings of pride, hypocrisy, vain-glory, and other sinful humours and passions working in them. But,
[11.] The eleventh proposition is this, viz., ^Yhen all your signs and evidences of the hwppiness and blessedness of your condition fails you, and are so clouded, obscured, darkened and blotted that you cannot read them, that you cannot take any comfort from them, then it highly concerns you to keep high, and precious, and honourable thoughts of God, of Christ, of his ivord, and of his luays in your souls, Ps. xcvii. 2. When Christ was withdrawn from his spouse. Cant. v. 6, 7, and when the watchmen that went about the city had smote her and wounded her, and when the keepers of the walls had took away her veil from her, yet then she keeps up in heart very high, precious, and hon- ourable thoughts of Christ. Ver. 10, ' My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.' Ver. ] 6, ' His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether lovely ;' or his mouth is sweetnesses, and he is alto- o-ether desirablenesses, or all of him is desires, or he is wholly desirable. Here she breaks off her praises in a general eulogy, which no words can express enough. Alas ! saith the spouse, I want words to express how sweet, how lovely, how comely, how desirable, how eminent, and how excellent Christ is in my eye, and to my soul ! He is the desire of all nations de jure, Hag. ii. 8, and all that is perfect in heaven or earth is but a dim shadow of his excellency and glory. Where Christ is there is heaven. Heaven itself, in the spouse's eyes, without Christ, would be but a low little thing. The spouse looks upon Christ as the sparkling diamond in the ring of glory. So David, when he was wofuUy clouded and benighted, when all was dark within him, and dark about him, and dark over him, Ps. Ixxiii. 13, 'Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in mnocency.' Ver. 21, ' My heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.' Ver. 22, ' I was as a beast before thee;' or I was as a great beast, or as many beasts in one, as the Hebrew ■word Behemoth imports. Ver. 26, * My flesh and my heart faileth ;' that is, my outward man and my inward man faileth me. And yet mark, at this very time, when the psalmist was thus overcast, he keeps up in him very high, precious, and honourable thoughts of God. Ver. 1, ' Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart,' Ver. 23, ' Nevertheless, I am continually with thee, thou hast holden me by my right hand.' Ver. 24, ' Thou shalt guide me with thy coimsel, and afterward receive me to glory.' Ver. 25, ' Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.' Ver. 2G, ' God is the strength,' or rock, ' of my heart, and my portion for ever.' Ver. 28, ' It is good for me to draw near to God.' So the church in that Micah vii., when God had hid his face from her ; ver. 7, when she sat
Chap. Y.] a cabinet of jewels. 48 1
in darkness ; ver. 8, when she was under the indignation of the Lord ; ver. 9, when the righteous man was perished, and there was none upright among men ; ver. 2, and when her enemies rejoiced, insulted and triumphed over her ; vers. 8 and 10, yet now, even now, she keeps up in her soul very high, precious, and honourable thoughts of the Lord. Ver. 7, ' My God will hear me.' Ver. 8, ' When I fall, I shall arise ; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.' Ver. 9, ' He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his right- eousness.' I might give you twenty more instances, but enough is as good as a feast. Dear Christians, when your graces are not transparent, when your evidences for heaven are blotted, and when the face of God is clouded, oh then, keep up in your hearts high, precious, and honour- able thoughts of God and Christ, and of his word and ways, &c. When your sun of righteousness is set in a cloud, when great darkness is upon your spirits, when all moonlight and starlight of your graces and gracious evidences fails you, Acts xxvii. 20, yet then say with David, ' Thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel,' Ps. xxii. 3; and with Ezra, ' Thou hast punished me less than mine iniquities de- serve,' Ezra ix. 13 ; and with Nehemiah, 'Howbeit, thou art just in all that is brought upon us, for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly ;' and with the church, ' The Lord is righteous,' Neh. ix. 33. In the darkest night, and under your deepest soul-distresses, say. Well, if I perish, if I should miscarry for ever, yet I will maintain and keep up in my heart, high, and precious, and honourable thoughts of God and Christ, Lam. i. 18. Say, Well, though my graces are obscured, and my evidences for heaven are blurred and soiled, yet I shall to my last breath say the Lord is good, and his word is good, and his ways are good ; yea, though he should slay me, yet I will trust in him, and entertain noble and glorious thoughts of him. Job xiii. 1 5. This is the way of ways to have your graces cleared and strengthened, your evidences brightened, your comforts restored, and your assurance con- firmed. But,