Quest. But hosv shall I know, saith a weak soul, — that finds little comfort * That is, ' communicate.' — G.
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and peace, and little sanctification ; and is besieged with troubles and is doubtful, and knows not whetliei" his sins be forgiven or no, how shall I know, — whether Christ be my life or no ?
Ans. I answer that the life of Christ is but now ber/itn in us, and it is very little at the first. There is nothing less than grace at the beginning. The life of Christ is conveyed to us from Christ voluntai'ily, not by necessity.
* He gives the will and the deed according to his pleasure,' Philip, ii. 13. Therefore we must know that we have more or less comfort, and more or less grace as he pleaseth. He brings all to heaven in all ages that have the true life of grace, though he make a difference, and give to some more and to some less ; because he is a head that flows into his members, not out of nature, but out of his own pleasure.
2. And a Christian soul that hath union with Christ, that hath a being and station in him, viaij Inww it. There are always some pulses from this heart. As we know there is some life by the beating of the pulses, so Christ's dwelling in the heart is known by these pulses. There will be striving against corruption, and complaining of it. Nature and corruption will not complain against corruption ; corruption will not strive against corruption. There will be sighing and groaning, which is seconded with a constant endeavour to grow better. It is not a flash. These pulses beating in the soul of a true Christian shew that there is the life of grace in him, that Christ dwells in his heart. And this ofttimes doth more appear in the greatest temptations. Take a Christian at the worst, his heart sighs to God to recover him ; he is sick, and yet he hopes in Christ. Christ in the greatest desertion is his life, who was also our pattern when he was at the lowest : ' My God, my God.' So a Christian at the lowest, he hath a spirit of prayer. Though it may be he cannot pray distinctly, yet he can sigh and groan ; and God hears the sighs of his own Spirit always. There- fore when these pulses beat in him, in the gi'eatest temptations he may know that Christ lives in him.
Sometimes Christ, in respect of this life, in this world reserves himself to the chief occasion, as some great afliiction of the outward man. In 2 Cor. iv. 10, we see there when the body of Saint Paul was afiiicted, when it was abased by many afllictions, ' the life of Christ was most manifest in him.' God reserves to poor Christians, that now live in peace and quiet, the greatest feelings and manifestations of Christ's living in them, till some great cross, till the hour of death, till a time of need. The life of Christ is most manifest in the time of abasement.
By the way, therefore, let us not avoid crosses for Christ's sake. Avoid not any abasement, though it be imprisonment or death. The more our outward man is abased, if it be for Christ's sake, the more this life of Christ, this blessed life, this peace that ' passeth understanding,' and this
* joy in the Holy Ghost ' is increased. We shall feel our absolution and justification the more. This life of Christ is most manifested when we honour him most by sufiering for him. Therefore let us avoid no cross for him.
' Christ, who is our life, shall appear.' There are two appearings, we know, of Christ ; his first appearing and his second appearing. His first appearing was to work our salvation ; his second shall be to accomplish and finish what he hath begun to work. His first appearing was to redeem our souls from death, and his second shall redeem our bodies from the corrup- tion of the grave. So his second appearing shall be to accomplish all the good that he came to do and to work by his first. As verily, therefore, as Christ is come in his first appearing, so verily and certainly he shall appear
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the second time. Ami as it was the description of holy men before his first coming to wait for him, ' to wait for the consolation of Israel,' Luke ii. 25, so Christians now. Those blessed souls that have the report of this, they wait for the coming of Christ.
There were all kind of witnesses then of his first coming : angels, men, women, shepherds, the devils themselves. The Trinity from heaven wit- nessed of him. So for his second coming there are witnesses. Christ himself saith he will come. The angels say, ' This Jesus that ye see go up shall come again,' Acts i. 11. It is an article of our faith that he shall come. The Spirit of God in every Christian saith ' Come,' and that is not in vain. The desires of the Spirit of God must be fulfilled. Therefore he shall come. And the Spirit of God stirs up our spirits to say ' Come.' There are all kind of proofs and arguments for it. It is an article of our faith. It is laid here for a ground, and therefore I will not enlarge myself in it, but come to the next point. Christ will appear, and