But take a Christian in his right temper, he is willing to die ; nay, he is willing, and glad, and joyful to go to Christ. Then he knows the earnest shall be accomphshed with the bargain ; then he knows what God hath begun, he will perfect ; then he knows, all the promises shall be performed, when all imperfection shall be removed, and all enemies shall be conquered, &c. A carnal man doth not say as the Spirit in the spouse speaks, ' Come, Lord, come ; ' but stay. Lord, stay ; f and as the devil that possessed that person, ' What have we to do with thee ? Art thou come to torment us before our time?' Mat. viii. 29. They think of it with quaking. For otherwise they that have the earnest of the Spirit, have joyful thoughts of it, and wishes answerable to those thoughts.
7. Again, wheresoever this earnest is in truth, the earnest of the Spirit, there is growth ; for it is the nature of things imperfect to come to their per-
* and t That is, 'stay away.' — G.
474 COMMENTARY ON
fection, tliat they may onconntcr with whatsoever is contraiy to them, and that they may do their functions that they are fitted hy for God.
Now God having fitted the new creature to serve him, and to go through all the impediments in this woi'ld, and all the crosses, where he hath begun this work, it will laboui' to come to perfection. As in the natural body we are not content to live ; but when we have life, we desire health ; and when we have health, we are not content with that, but we desire strength ; not only health, but strength to perform that we should do. So where the spiritual life is begun, the living soul is not content to Uvc, to find an ' earnest,' a little beginnings, but if he have that, he would have health, he would not have any spiritual disease to lie on the soul, that might hinder it in the functions of it ; and together with health, it desires fuller and fully strength, because it hath many temptations to encounter with, many cor- ruptions to resist, many actions to do, many afflictions perhaps to bear, all which require a great deal of strength. Wheresoever grace is in truth, it is always with a desire of growth, and answerable to that desire will be the use of all the means of growth. Again, to name one or two more, and so end :
8. Wheresoever the Spirit is as an ' earnest,' it doth as the seal doth, spoken of before, that as it hath a quieting power, an assuring power, it quiets the soul. Wheresoever it is, it is given to stay the soul, to comfort it, that the whole shall be performed in time ; and therefore the soul that hath the ' earnest of the Spirit,' so far forth as he hath this ' earnest,' it quiets and stays the soul. A man may know true faith from false, and true ear- nest from presumption by this, as we know other things ; I say, it stills and quiets the soul, and
9. It ivill endure the trial. We say of alchemy* gold, it is counterfeit, it will not strengthen the heart. True gold hath a corroborating power to strengthen the heart (whether it be so or no, let the alcumists look to it) ; but it is true, that true * earnest,' the beginnings of faith, though it be but in a little measure, it hath a quieting, a stilling, a strengthening power, to strengthen and corroborate the soul, for it is given for that purpose. And a man that hath the least grace will endure the search, as true gold will endure the touchstone, the false will not. And it is a sign that a man hath true grace in him, although it be with much imperfection, that desires to he searched in jyreaching : hearing searching sermons, and desiring to be searched in conference, and that doubts not his conscience, but would be searched throughly. When men fret at the searching of their sins, they will not be searched, and are content to go on in presumptuous courses, and think all is well, it is a sign there is not so much as an ' earnest.' But not to go further, that in the Revelation shews the truth of a little grace ; what saith he ? * Thou hast a little strength.' What doth that little strength move the church of Philadelphia to do ? ' Thou hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.'
10. Where there is a little strength, there will be a keeping of the ivord in obedience, a keeping of it in conversation ; where is not a regard to God's word, a moulding of the soul into it in obedience of it, there is not so much as a little strength of grace, and therefore those that live in re- bellious courses, have not so much as an earnest to them ; yet, ' Thou hast kept my word,' and withal, ' thou hast not denied my name.'
11. Where a little strength is, there they will not deny Christ's name, they will hold out in the profession of the truth, and confess it if occasion