Besides the seal of the sacrament, the end of which is to cherish hope- fulness of Christ, and of all the good we have by him, his oath is added to his promise, that all things might be immutable and unchangeable of the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting, &c. Now especially when we find our hearts to sink downward, and not to have that life as they should have, by meditating on these things, of their excellency and necessity, and to conceive in Scripture the grounds of hope of them, it will quicken us.
Add likewise, for our own interest, what work of the Spirit we have, and then what singular promises we have, that where G-od hath begun he will make an end. For why is the work of the Spirit called an earnest, but that God will make good the bargain ? Consider what work of the Spirit we have ; for whatsoever is spiritual is eternal in a man. What joy is spiritual, what love is spiritual, what knowledge is spiritual, it shall be made up in perfection, it shall never be taken away.
See then how the Spirit seals us by the work of it, and what earnest we have, in peace of conscience and the work of it. This will cherish hope ; for that is part of this embracing, to embrace them with faith and hope.
And this should be a daily course, to work upon the affections, to estrange them from all things, and from the meditation of all things, else. And as I said before, to consider the love of God to us, and to love him again. And consider likewise the hopefulness of good things, that nothing in the world is so made good to us as the things of a better life ; the things of grace and glory. And God hath borrowed from all assurance amongst men, terms to shew the assurance of the good things we have in hope and faith. The pledge of the Spirit, the earnest of the Spirit, the seal of the Spirit, the witness of the Spirit.* What terms are there used among men that may confirm anything, that you have not used to strengthen this super- * Cf. Eph. i. 14 ; Rev. viii. 2 ; 1 John v. 9.— G.
448 FAITH TRIUMPHANT.
natural assurance of these supernatural good things ? God herein succours our weakness, knowing how prone we are to call these things into question. And consider especially our own un worthiness, our vileness and baseness, that we deserve none of this. When conscience is once awaked to know aright our own unwortbiness, then we shall find it a difficult thing to believe these things. Therefore it is a work worthy of our daily endeavour, to search the Scriptures, which applies itself to our capacity, and confers all the help in the world to increase our grounds of hope of the best things, and then our disposition is as it should be.
And let us deeply consider of the necessity of heavenly things, and the foulness of sin, and the danger of our natui'al condition, and this will make us embrace better things. He that sees himself in danger of drowning will embrace that that may stay him. He that sees himself in danger to be pulled away from that that upholds him from sinking, he will clasp about it fast. Let us consider what a-many things we have in this world to pull us away from God and good things, and to loose our grip, that we may not lay such hold of them. The devil envies our embracing of these things, and there are many things to loose our affections from them. Consider the danger, and withal the necessity of these good things, that if they be lost, we do not only lose them, but we lose them with the loss of our souls, with eternal damnation in the world to come. We do not simply lose them, but we plunge ourselves into the contrary. Let us consider of this, and it will make us clasp fast, and keep our hold by all means possible. In that measure that we apprehend the danger, in that measure we shall embrace these excellent things.
Case. Now to answer a doubt and a case or two by the way. How hap- pens it, then, that God's children sometime, when their judgment is con- vinced, yet their affections are not so quick, they are something flat in their affections? As God's people complain sometimes, Alas! that I should believe such a happiness as heaven is, and such glory, and yet find my affections no more stirred ! Is it possible that I should be the child of God, and believe these things, and find myself no more affected ?
Sol. Indeed^ this troubles the peace of God's children sometimes; and good reason: for we see here, after sight comes persuasion, then embracing. The will and afi"ections cannot but entertain that good they are persuaded of, and so there is great ground for the objection.
But there may be some mistake in this ; for sometimes the judgment may be convinced, and yet the affections not be so quick, because there may be a diversion at the same time. There may perhaps be some present cross that may befall thee, or some present thing lawfully loved, that takes up the affections at that time. As, for example, the presence of father, mother, wife, or children, or of other friends, may take up the affections for the time. Now the affections running that way at that time, perhaps not sinfully neither, they are not so enlarged to heavenly things. God knows our capacity, and what our afl'ections can do.