Nay, it is possible that for a long time God's child may want this act of assurance, for there is a double act of faith.
(1.) An act whereby the soul relies npon God as reconciled in Christ, and rehes upon Christ as given of God, and relies upon the promise. And then ; —
(2.) There is a reflect act, whereby, knowing we do thus, we have assurance. Now, a man may perform the one act and not the other. We may do that deed that may found our assurance, if the waters of the soul were not troubled ; that is, we may believe and yet want assurance, because that is another distinct act that followeth upon our casting of ourselves upon God. And so, many of the dear children of God, sometimes they can hardly say that they have any assurance, but j^et, notwithstanding, they can say, if they do not belie themselves and bear false witness against themselves, that they have cast themselves upon God's mercy, they have performed the first act of faith, and this faith is not fruitless altogether.
Now, there be many things that may hinder this other act, viz., that act of faith whereby I am assured of my state in grace. Sometimes God, together with my believing, will present such things to the soul as wholly take it up, so that a man cannot have definitive thoughts upon that that God would have him think of. As when God will humble a man for his boldness in adventuring upon sin, he takes not away the sphit of faith, but God, to humble him throughly, he sets before him his anger, sets before him terror, even hellish terrors, that will make him in a state little different from a reprobate for the time, so that he is far from saying that he hath any assm-ance at that time ; yet, notwithstanding, he doth not leave off", he casts himself upon God's mercy still. Though God ' kill him, yet he will trust in him,' and yet he feels nothing but terror. And this, I say, God doth to school him, and to humble him, and to prepare him for the feeling of assurance after.
These things we must observe, that we give not a false evidence of our- selves, that though we have not such ; assurance as we have had and as others have, yet, I say, alway there is some ground in us, whereupon we may be assured that we are God's, if we could search it. Such ought to labour for assurance, and such will in time come to assurance. And, there- fore we should be far from allowing that doctrine, which is as if a man should light a candle before the devil, as we use to say, to help him against
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our hearts by a doctrine of doubting, as if our naughty hearts were not ready enough of themselves to doubt.
It is th(! profanenesH of the world — they will not use the means that God hiith appointed to this end ; nay, they had rather stagger, and take con- teutnuait and assurance in their own ways. If God will love mo in a loose course, so it is ; but ' to give diligence to make my calling and election sure,' 2 Peter i. 10, I had rather believe the popish doctrine that I ought to doubt, and only to be of a good hope ; whereas we ought constantly to labour to be assured of our state in grace, that God may have more honour, and that wo may have more comfort from him again, and walk more cheer- fully through the troubles and temptations that are in the world.
A carnal, proud person, ho swells against this doctrine, because he feels no such thing, and he thinks what is above his measure is hypocrisy. He makes himself the measure of other Christians, and therefore he values and esteems others by his dark state ; for a carnal man's heart, it is like a dungeon. A man in a dungeon can see nothing, because he hath no light, but ho that hath the light, he can see the dungeon. The heart of a Christian hath a hght in it, — there is the Spirit in him, — and therefore he can see his own estate, and he can tell what is in him upon due search. Now, in a carnal man all is dark. Ho sees nothing, because his heart is in a dungeon, his eye is dark, his heart is full of darkness ; all is alike to him, he sees no difierence between flesh and Spirit, and therefore he holds on in a doubting hope and confused disposition and temper of soul. But a Christian that laboui's to walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, he is not content with such a confused state ; and therefore we ought to abhor that doctrine by all means, and to justify this doctrine, that we ought, and that we may, have assurance of salvation in this world.*
The second thing which I observe, and which I join to the former, is Iho doctrine of perseverance. An earnest, you know I told you, is made up with the bargain, but it is never taken away, so that the point is this, that God's children, as they may be assured of their salvation, so