Aye, but how shall we know the truth of his ' earnest,' that it is true, though it be little ? To speak a word or two of that for trial.
Where the Spirit of God is, with the relation of an ' earnest,' he is an • earnest ' by way of grace and comfort ; for those two ways the Spirit dis- covers himself in us, to sanctify our nature, or by comfort, and peace, and joy, and such like.
1. Then it doth stir up the soul io mourn that [it] is hut an ' earnest,'' as I said before, and to wait for the accomplishment, as the apostle saith in Rom. viii. 23, ' We that have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, mom^n in ourselves, that it is no better with us than it is ;' and withal.
2. ' We ivaitfor the redemption of the sons of God,' the adoption of the sons of God, we wait for the accomplishment hereafter. It is the nature therefore of the Spirit of God, as it is an earnest, to stir up the spirits of God's children to mourn something, and likewise,
3. To imit patiently, to wait for the f till accomplishment hereafter; and as a fruit of their waiting, to endure quietly, patiently, and comfortably that which is between the earnest, and the accomplishment of it. And therefore God gives them the grace of hope and constancy, and of perseverance, till all be accomplished ; for there is the tediousness of time, between which is irksome, hope deferred, and a tediousness of deferring, and besides many afllictions withal.
Now God's children that have the earnest of the Spirit, they have a spirit likewise to wait ; and that they may be strengthened to wait, they have,
4. The spirit of constancy, a spirit of patience to endure trouble, and to persevere, and to hold out in regard of the tediousness of the time. So that they may not give over religious courses, though they have it not fully here, but go on still, and wait. And likewise those that have the earnest of the Spirit, that have the Spirit, as it hath this qualification upon it of an earnest, it stirs them up,
5. To frame themselves, answerable to the full accomplishment; for 'He that hath this hope,' saith the apostle, ' purgeth himself,' 1 John iii. 3. He that finds some little beginnings of grace and comfort, the beginnings of heaven upon earth, he frames himself to the perfect state in heaven ; for it is the nature of faith and hope, wheresoever they are, to frame the dis- position of the person in whom those graces are planted by the Spirit, to the condition of that soul that believes and hopes, for it is in the nature of the thing it should be so. For doth not hope in any man that hopes to appear before some great person, make him alter his attire, and fashion his carriage and deportment, as may be plausible before the person whom
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 22. 473
he goes to ? and doth not foith and hope of better things, where they are in truth, fashion and dispose every man to be such as may be fit for heaven '? The title to heaven we have indeed by Christ ; but the soul knows there must be a qnalilication, ' No unclean thing shall enter into heaven,' Eev. xxi. 27 ; and therefore where the ' earnest' is, there is a continual desii'e to be better, a continual relin(inishing of corruption more and more, a perfecting of the work of mortitication, and the work of grace more and more ; for the same Spirit that is an earnest, and gives us any beginning of a better life, it likewise stirs us up, it fits and prepares us for that state that is kept for us. It is impossible it should be otherwise. In what strength the * earnest' is, in that strength sanctification and mortification are ; and therefore persons that live in sins against conscience, that defile their tongues, and detile their bodies, let them talk what they will, it is but a presumptuous conceit. It is not the voice of God's Spirit, but of carnal presumption ; for wheresoever the Spirit is an ' earnest' of heaven, it is always preparing and fitting the soul for that glorious and happy estate. And wheresoever likewise this earnest of the Spirit is, wheresoever this grace is begun in truth,
6. There is a desire of acconiplishnient, an earnest desire of the coming of Christ to finish all, to finish the bargain. Rev. xxii. 17, ' The Spirit and the spouse say. Come ; ' that is, the spouse by direction of the Spirit, where the spouse is guided by the Spirit ; and so far as the spouse is guiJe I by the Spirit, she saith, ' Come, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly,' Rev. xxii. 20.
Cautions. Except in two cases, (1.) Except the Christian hath f/riered and u-ounded his conscience, ijrieved the S})i>it, and then it is loath to go hence. (2.) Unless likewise the spirit of a Christian he careless, and woidd settle things in better order before he go to Christ ; for this is the fruit of pre- sumption, and carelessness, that it gi'ieves the Spirit of God, and the Spirit being grieved, grieves them. He makes that which should be their comfort, their going to Christ by death, he makes it terrible ; for as we see a weak eye cannot endure the light, so a galled guilty conscience trembles to think of Christ's coming. Though the ' earnest' be there ; yet if the soul tremble, that the soul be wounded, stay a while, ' 0 stay ! ' saith the psalmist, ' before I go hence, and be no more seen.' When the wife hath been negligent, she would have her husband stay ; -'•'■ but when she hath been diligent, then the wife is willing her husband should come ; but perhaps things are not settled as they should, and therefore she doth not desire his coming as at other times.