well, but yet arc not altogctbor free from fear. These are like those children that are moved with reverence to obey their parents, and yet find their commands somewhat irksome unto them. The third arc such as, by the love of God shed into their hearts by the Spirit of adoption, are carried with large spirits to obey their Father; and herein like unto those children that not only obey, but take a delight in it, upon a judgment that both obedience and the thing wherein they obey is good. This we ought to labour for. But we find many Christians in the second rank. Many truly believe in Christ by some light let into their hearts by the Spirit of adoption, who are not yet fully assured of the love of Christ. There is the act of faith and the fruit of faith. The act of faith is to cast ourselves upon God's mercy in Christ ; the fruit of faith is in believing to be assured of this. We must know that fiiith is one thing, assurance another. They may have faith, and yet want a double assurance : first, assurance of their faith, l)eing not able to judge at all times of their own act ; likewise, secondly, assurance of their state in grace, as in time of desertion and temptation. A soul at such a time casts itself upon Christ, as knowing comfort is there to be had, though he be not sure of it for himself ; and this the soul doth out of obedience, though not out of feeling, as the poor man in the gospel, ' Lord, I believe: help my unbelief,' Mark ix. 24. The soul oftentimes out of the deep, cries, and in the dark, trusts in God ; and this is the bold adventure of faith, the first object whereof is Christ held out in a promise ; and not assurance, which springeth from the first act when it pleaseth God to shine upon the soul ; and is a reward of glorifying God's mercy in Christ by casting the soul upon his truth and goodness. Assurance is God's seal, faith is our seal. When we set to our seal by believing, he sets to his seal, assuring us of our condition. We yield first the consent and the assent of faith ; and then God puts his seal to the con- tract. There must be a good title before a confirmation, a planting before a rooting and establishing, the bargain before the earnest. Some would have faith to be an overpowering light of the soul, whereby undoubtedly they believe themselves to be Christ,- and Christ to be theirs ; which stumbleth many a weak yet true Christian ; for this is rather the fruit of a strong faith than the act of a weak, which struggleth with doubting until it hath gotten the upper hand. True it is, there must be so much light let into the soul as the soul may rely upon Christ ; and this light must be discovered by the Spirit ; and such a light as shews a special love of Christ to the soul. And again, it is true that we are not to take up our rest in the light until the heart be further subdued ; as man}' are too hasty to conclude of a good condition upon uncertain signs, before they have attained unto fuller assur- ance ; but yet we must not deny faith where this strong assurance is wanting, so far as to conclude against ourselves, if there be desires putting on, to endeavour with conflict against the rising of unbelief, with a high prizing of the favour of God in Christ, so as to value it above all things. Degrees do not vary the kind ; weakness may stand with truth, but where truth is there will be an incessant desire of future sealing.
2. The second conclusion : We may, upon the knowledge of our present estate in grace, be assured for the time to come, for this sealing is to the ' day of redemption ; ' that is, till we be put into full possession of w^hat we now believe ; and besides, sealing is for securing for the time to come ; and our Saviour's promise is, that though he departed from them, yet the Comforter should abide with them for ever, John xiv. 16. And why are * Qu. ' Christ's ' ?— Ed.
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we certain of the favour of God to our comfort for the present, but that wo doubt not of it for the time to come ?
Faitli and love, and these graces, they never fail finally ; therefore when the Scripture speaks of faith, it speaks of salvation by it for the present ; as if a man should be in heaven presently so soon as he believed. ' Wo are saved by faith,' say the Scriptures, Eph. ii. 8. We are not yet saved, but the meaning is, we are set by faith into a state of salvation. Being put into Chi'ist by faith, we ' are risen with Christ, and sit in heavenly places with him,' Eph. i. 8. Faith makes the things to come present ; and faith beUeves that ' neither things present, nor things to come, shall he able to separate us from the love of God in Christ,' Rom. viii. 39. So that our assurance is not only for the present, but for the time to come. We are sealed ' to the day of redemption,' and who can reverse God's Bcal, or God's act or deed ? Grace is the earnest-penny of glory.- God bath made a covenant, and given earnest. He will not lose it. The earnest is never taken away, but filled up. If we be assured of grace for the present, we may be sure it shall be made up full in glory hereafter. If the Spirit of Christ be in us, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead will raise us up likewise, and not leave us until we be in full re- demption : * We shall awake filled with his image,' Eom. viii. 11, seq., and Ps. xvii. 15.