And for thy joy and feeling : tie not thy Saviour to thy conditions and qualifications ; look to thy desires, thy constant walk, not thy straying fits and thine infirmities ; remember that this is Christian perfection, not to live in any gross sin, nor allow of any smaller sin ; and for thy imperfections, look up unto that infinite fulness of thy Saviour, and storehouse of all grace, whence we receive grace for grace : ' who is made unto us of God the Father, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,' 1 Cor. i. 30. And then, whatsoever thy emptiness be, a part of his riches being fetched and applied by the hand of faith, will make thee up complete with the best. And know, that as in the state of iunocency under the first Adam, his comfort came from within himself upon his obedience or dis- obedience, so now under the second Adam, the true and substantial ground of thy comfort is without thyself, in thy justification, and application of his all-sufficient merits and righteousness to thy trembling soul.
Walk on therefore in the obedience of faith, having a respect unto all
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God's commandments, and then assure thyself the promise is so, thou shalt not be ashamed. Labour as much as thou canst for an higher measure of sanctification and mortification, for this will assure and confirm thy justifi- cation the more it is ; but with these cautions.
Caution 1. Be not discourarjed at thy small measure whatsoever, if in truth, so as to fly off from applyiny the riches of thy Saviour and sweet husband unto thee ; in whom, whatsoever thy poverty be, if married to him, thou art com- plete and rich with the best ; for the weaker thou art, thou hast so much the more need of a stronger helper to uphold and sustain thee : it being the law of marriage for the wife to be endowed with all the husband's riches, who is to pay her debts, whatsoever she be, being once married unto him.
Caution 2. Again, Whatsoever pitch of sanctification or mortification thou ohtainest, rest not in that, hut on the all-sufficiency of thy blessed Lord Jesus, who is thine, and so with him all his obedience, righteousness, and merits of his life, death, and resurrection ; for there is nothing so exact in thee, but in the time of tentation the devil will find a hole in it, and so make his advantage thereof for thy discouragement ; whereas it is clear, * the prince of this world being come,' as our Saviour says, ' found nothing in him,' John siv. 30.
Caution 3. And for the remainder, in those eclipses which damp thy spirit in this thyp)ilyrimaye, by desertion, afflictions, or howsoever, know that precious faith, that it may shine the more, must be tried. Make then a virtue of necessity, buckle thyself to this business of most importance ; strive to obey whatsoever thou feelest ; in sense of thy misery believe thy happiness in Christ ; in sense of God's anger believe his love, and that he will not be angry for ever. Faith, where it is, is of a victorious nature. There- fore, as in contraries thou wouldst have an evidence of any goodness in thee, in contraries strive against contraries. When thou feelest nothing but matter of discouragement, know the commandment is to believe, and thy duty is to obey. No service can be performed comfortably without some persuasion. Strive then to get all the arguments thou canst of a good estate; and when thou thyself art not able get others to read thy evidences for thee, believe the judgments of others who can tell thee, that these things found in thee come not from a corrupt and false heart.
And withal, pray for the spirit of revelation, as St Paul doth, Eph. ii. 17. Pray that God would vouchsafe thee his Spirit, to discover unto thee that love he bears thee, and the riches thou hast in Christ ; to shew thee the height, and breadth, and depth, and length, with all the dimensions of his love in Christ more and more ; that so the more we grow in the sense and feeling of his love to us, the more we may be inflamed to love him again ; for we cannot love him unless we find him loving us first. So beg of him to give us the spirit of revelation. And attend upon the means that doth beget faith, which is especially the word, which is called the word of faith, and look to the examples of others, how God hath brought them from a wicked course of life into a sweet state of grace. Take benefit likewise by the example of those we live with. Use all means to take notice of Christ's particular love. It is the main thing we should labour after in this world. Can we know how long we have to live in this world ? What will make us die willingly, but when we know that Christ will have a care of our souls ? What made David to commend his soul into God's hands, but this, * Thou hast redeemed me, 0 Lord God of truth? ' Ps. xxxi. 5. What will make us die in the faith cheerfully ? Why, Lord, thou hast redeemed