Again, When the Spirit assureth us of God's love in the greatest fruits of it, as it doth when it assureth this redemption, that love kindles love again, and love constrains us by a sweet necessity to yield cheerful and willing obedience in all things. There is nothing more active and fuller of invention than love, and there is nothing that love studies more than how to please. There is nothing that it fears more than to discontent. It is a neat* affection, and will endure nothing offensive, either to itself or the spirit of such as we love ; and this love the Spirit teaches the heart, and love teaches us not only our duty, but to do it in a loving and acceptable manner. It carries out the whole stream of the soul with it, and rules all whilst it rules, and will not suffer the soul to divert to by-things, much less to contrary.
Again, These graces that are conversant about that condition which the Spirit assureth us of, as faith and hope, are purging and purifying graces, working a suitableness in the soul to the things believed and hoped for ; and the excellency of the things believed and hoped for have such a working upon the soul that it will not suffer the soul to defile itself. Our hopes on high will lead us to ways on high. Therefore whilst these graces are exercised about these objects, the soul cannot but be in a pleasing frame.
It hath been an old cavil, that certainty of salvation breeds security and looseness of life. And what is there that an ill-disposed soul cannot suck poison out of ? A man may as truly say the sea burns, or the fire cools. There is nothing quickens a soul more to cheerful obedience than assurance of God's love, and that our ' labour should not be in vain in the Lord,' 1 Cor. XV. 58. This is the Scripture's logic and rhetoric, to enforce and persuade [to] a holy life, from knowledge of our present estate in grace. * I beseech you by the mercies of God,' saith St Paul, Rom. xii. 1. What mercies ? Such as he had spoken of before, — justification, sanctification, assurance, that all shall work together for good, that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ. All duties tend to assurance, or spring from assurance.
* That is, = pure. Cf. Vol. II. page 80, et alibi.— G.
464 A FOnNTAIN SEALED.
God's intendment* is to bring us to heaven by n, way of love and cheer- fulness, as all his ways towards us in our salvation are in love. And this is the scope of the covenant of grace, and for this end he sends the Spirit of adoption into our hearts, that we may have a child-like liberty with God in all our addresses to him. "When he oilers himself to us as a Father, it is fit we should offer ourselves to him as children ; nature teaches a child, the more he desires his father's love, the more he fears to displease him. And he is judged to bo graceless that will therefore venture to offend his father, because he knows he neither can or will disinherit him. Certain it is, the more surely we know God hath begotten us to so glorious an inherit- ance, the more it will work upon our bowels, to take all to heart that may any way touch him. This wrought upon David. When the prophet told him God hath done this and this for thee, and ' would have done more if that had been too little,' 2 Sam. xii. 8, it melted him presently into an humble confession. Those that have felt the power of the Spirit of adoption on their hearts, will both by a divine instinct, as also by strength of reason, be carried to all those courses wherein they shall approve them- selves to their Father. Instinct of nature strengthened with grounds will move strongly.
To conclude this discourse, let Christians therefore be careful to preserve and cherish the work of assurance and sealing in them.
Means. 1. What God doth for us,"/i(? doth hi/ r/mce in us. He will pre- serve us that we shall not fall from him by putting the grace of fear into us, Jer. xxxii. 40. He will keep us, but by what means ? ' The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard our hearts,' Phil. iv. 7. God maketh our calling and election sure in us, by stirring our hearts up to be diligently exercised in adding one grace unto another, and in growing in every grace, as 2 Pet. i. 5. Therefore we must attend upon all spiritual means of growth and quickening : so shall you have a further ' entrance into the king- dom of Jesus Christ, 2 Pet. i. 11 ; that is, you shall have more evident know- ledge of your entrance into the kingdom of grace here, and likewise into the kingdom of glory hereafter. Those that do not so shall have no com- fort either from the time past, for they .shall forget that they were purged from their sins ; or from thoughts of the time to come, for they shall ' not be able to see things far off.'