agonies, is very desirable on earth, but shall never be obtained till we
14. Our knowledge of God, of Christ, of ourselves, and of the blessed Scripture, which is the rule of trial, is imperfect in this life. And how then can our assurance be perfect? David, a man eminent in grace and holiness, had his up-hills and his down-hills, his summer days and his winter nights. Now you shall have him upon the mountain singing and saying, 'The Lord is my portion,' Ps. 73:25; and presently you shall have him in the valleys, sighing and saying, 'Why art thou cast down, O my soul; why art thou disquieted within me?' Ps. 42:5, 11. The same is evident in Job, Heman, and Asaph, Job 3; Ps. 77; Ps. 88. Such an assurance as shall exclude all fears, doubts, conflicts, agonies, is very desirable on earth, but shall never be obtained till we come to heaven. The grievous assaults of Satan, the power of unbelief, and the prevalency of other corruptions in a Christian's heart, may be such as may shake, I do not say overturn, that assurance which a Christian may gather from the sight and evidence of his graces in the light of the Spirit. 'The flesh lusteth as well against the Spirit,' Gal. 5:17, as it is a Spirit of consolation, as it lusteth against the Spirit as it is a Spirit of sanctification; and therefore such an assurance as shall exclude all sorts and degrees of fears and doubts, is not attainable in this life. Whilst we are in this old world we shall have water with our wine, gall with our honey, and some clouds with our brightest sunshiny days, &c. Most Christians think, that as long as they have any doubtings they have no assurance; but they consider not that there are many degrees of infallible certainty, below a perfect or an undoubting certainty. Doubtless some darkness, more or less, will overspread the face of every Christian's soul, and unbelief in one degree or another will be making head against their faith; and hypocrisy in one degree or another will be making head against sincerity, and pride in one degree or another will be making head against humility, and passion in one degree or another will be making head against meekness, and earthly-mindedness in one degree or another will be making head
against heavenly-mindedness, &c., yet as long as a Christian has the sight of his graces or his gracious evidences, he may and ought to walk in much peace, comfort, and joy. Such Christians as are resolved to lie down in sorrow, till they have attained to a perfect assurance, must resolve to lie down in sorrow till they come to lay down their heads in the dust. Our graces are imperfect, and therefore that assurance that arises from the sight and evidence of them must needs be imperfect. Perfect signs of grace can never spring from imperfect grace, 1 Thes. 3:10. Now, if this were seriously apprehended, studied, and minded by many weak Christians, they would not at every turn call their spiritual estates into question, as they do, because they find some seeds and stirrings of pride, hypocrisy, vain-glory, and other sinful humours and passions working in them. But,
[11.] The eleventh proposition is this, viz., When all your signs and evidences of the happiness and blessedness of your condition fails you, and are so clouded, obscured, darkened and blotted that you cannot read them, that you cannot take any comfort from them, then it highly concerns you to keep high, and precious, and honourable thoughts of God, of Christ, of his word, and of his ways in your souls, Ps. 97:2. When Christ was withdrawn from his spouse, Cant. 5:6, 7, and when the watchmen that went about the city had smote her and wounded her, and when the keepers of the walls had took away her veil from her, yet then she keeps up in heart very high, precious, and honourable thoughts of Christ. Ver. 10, 'My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.' Ver. 16, 'His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether lovely;' or his mouth is sweetnesses, and he is altogether desirablenesses, or all of him is desires, or he is wholly desirable. Here she breaks off her praises in a general eulogy, which no words can express enough. Alas! saith the spouse, I want words to express how sweet, how lovely, how comely, how desirable,
how eminent, and how excellent Christ is in my eye, and to my soul! He is the desire of all nations de jure, Hag. 2:8, and all that is perfect in heaven or earth is but a dim shadow of his excellency and glory. Where Christ is there is heaven. Heaven itself, in the spouse's eyes, without Christ, would be but a low little thing. The spouse looks upon Christ as the sparkling diamond in the ring of glory. So David, when he was wofully clouded and benighted, when all was dark within him, and dark about him, and dark over him, Ps. 73:13, 'Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.' Ver. 21, 'My heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.' Ver. 22, 'I was as a beast before thee;' or I was as a great beast, or as many beasts in one, as the Hebrew word Behemoth imports. Ver. 26, 'My flesh and my heart faileth;' that is, my outward man and my inward man faileth me. And yet mark, at this very time, when the psalmist was thus overcast, he keeps up in him very high, precious, and honourable thoughts of God. Ver. 1, 'Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.' Ver. 23, 'Nevertheless, I am continually with thee, thou hast holden me by my right hand.' Ver. 24, 'Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.' Ver. 25, 'Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.' Ver. 26, 'God is the strength,' or rock, 'of my heart, and my portion for ever.' Ver. 28, 'It is good for me to draw near to God.' So the church in that Micah 7, when God had hid his face from her; ver. 7, when she sat in darkness; ver. 8, when she was under the indignation of the Lord; ver. 9, when the righteous man was perished, and there was none upright among men; ver. 2, and when her enemies rejoiced, insulted and triumphed over her; vers. 8 and 10, yet now, even now, she keeps up in her soul very high, precious, and honourable thoughts of the Lord. Ver. 7, 'My God will hear me.' Ver. 8, 'When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.' Ver. 9, 'He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.' I might give
you twenty more instances, but enough is as good as a feast. Dear Christians, when your graces are not transparent, when your evidences for heaven are blotted, and when the face of God is clouded, oh then, keep up in your hearts high, precious, and honourable thoughts of God and Christ, and of his word and ways, &c. When your sun of righteousness is set in a cloud, when great darkness is upon your spirits, when all moonlight and starlight of your graces and gracious evidences fails you, Acts 27:20, yet then say with David, 'Thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel,' Ps. 22:3; and with Ezra, 'Thou hast punished me less than mine iniquities deserve,' Ezra 9:13; and with Nehemiah, 'Howbeit, thou art just in all that is brought upon us, for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly;' and with the church, 'The Lord is righteous,' Neh. 9:33. In the darkest night, and under your deepest soul-distresses, say, Well, if I perish, if I should miscarry for ever, yet I will maintain and keep up in my heart, high, and precious, and honourable thoughts of God and Christ, Lam. 1:18. Say, Well, though my graces are obscured, and my evidences for heaven are blurred and soiled, yet I shall to my last breath say the Lord is good, and his word is good, and his ways are good; yea, though he should slay me, yet I will trust in him, and entertain noble and glorious thoughts of him, Job 13:15. This is the way of ways to have your graces cleared and strengthened, your evidences brightened, your comforts restored, and your assurance confirmed. But,
[12.] The twelfth proposition is this, viz., That it is the great duty and concernment of Christians to keep the evidences of their gracious and happy condition always bright and shining. Christians should make conscience of blurring and disfiguring the golden characters of grace in their souls. The least character of grace in the soul, is more worth than all the gold of Ophir, yea, more worth than ten thousand thousand worlds; and therefore every gracious Christian should be
marvellous careful, that he does not by wilful omissions or sinful commissions cloud, dim, or darken the least character of grace, Eph. 4:30, Ps. 51:11, 12. Such as blot or lose their evidences for heaven, they lose the comfort of their lives in this world. Satan's masterpiece is first to work Christians to blot and blur their evidences for glory, by committing this or that heinous sin; and then his next work is to rob them of their evidences for glory, that so though at the long run they may get safe to heaven, that yet Jacob-like they may go halting and mourning to their graves. Satan knows, that whilst a Christian's evidences are bright and shining, a Christian is temptation-proof. Satan may tempt him, but he cannot conquer him; he may assault him, but he cannot vanquish him. Satan knows, that whilst a Christian's evidences for heaven are bright and shining, no afflictions can sink him, nor no opposition shake him, nor no persecution discourage him, nor no outward wants perplex him; and therefore he will use all his power and policy, all his arts, crafts, and parts, to draw poor Christians to blot and blur their evidences for glory. Satan knows, that a man may lose one friend, and easily get another, lose his trade in one place, and soon get a trade in another place; lose his health and get it, lose an estate and get an estate, &c. But if he lose his evidences for heaven, he knows it will cost him many a prayer, and many a sigh, and many a groan, and many a tear, and many a sad complaint, before he recovers his lost evidences; and therefore his grand design is to plunder a Christian of his evidences for heaven. O sirs! keep but your evidences for heaven always bright and shining, and then heavy afflictions will be light, and long afflictions will be short, and bitter afflictions will be sweet, 2 Cor. 4:16–18; and then every evidence fairly written in your hearts will be a living comfort to you in a dying hour. When the tokens of death are upon your bodies, and you shall see the lively characters of grace shining in your souls, you will then cry out with old Simeon, 'Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace,' Luke 2:29; and with the spouse, 'Make haste, my
beloved, and be like to a roe, or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices,' Cant. 8:14; and with the bride, 'Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly,' Rev. 22:20; and with Paul, 'I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ,' Philip. 1:23. When a man's evidences for heaven are either lost or blotted and blurred, then he will be ready to cry out with David, 'Oh spare me yet a little, that I may recover strength before I go hence and be seen no more,' Ps. 39:13; and with Hezekiah, to turn his face to the wall and weep, Isa. 38:3. There are four things that above all others a Christian should labour to keep; (1) Christ; (2) his own heart; (3) the word; (4) his evidences for heaven, bright and shining. But,
[13.] The thirteenth proposition is this viz., It is the high concernment of every Christian, either when he is in the dark, or when his graces shine brightest, and when his evidences for heaven are clearest, and his springs of comfort rise highest, then to have his heart and the eye of his faith most firmly fixed upon these three royal forts, or these three cities of refuge. It must be granted, that though our graces are our best jewels, yet they are imperfect, and do not give out their full lustre; they are like the moon, which when it shines brightest hath her dark spots; and therefore a Christian had need have his eye, his heart fixed upon the three following royal forts. You know in time of war there are the outworks, and there are the royal forts. Now, when the soldiers are beaten out of their outworks, they retire to the royal forts, and there they are safe; and then they cast up their caps and bid defiance to their proudest enemies. Now, our graces and our gracious evidences, they are our outworks; and from these we may be beaten in a day of desertion and temptation, &c. Now if we make our retrea to the three following royal forts, we may in a holy sense cast up our caps, and bid defiance to an host of devils, yea, to all the powers of darkness. But,