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for such a certainty of salvation, as shall put you above such fears and moderated apprehensions of danger; for then it is ten to one you will lose your hold. You read in Scripture very many warnings to take heed lest we fall, and threatenings to those that 'do fall away and draw back. What are all these for, but to excite in us those moderate fears, and cares, and holy diligence, which may prevent our falling away? And remember this, that there can be no such holy fears, and cares, and diligence, where there is no danger or possibility of falling away; for there can be no act without its proper object; and the object of fear is a possible hurt, at least in the apprehension of him that feareth it. No man can fear the evil which he knoweth to be impossible.

Direct. XXI. The next advice which I must give you is this: 'Be thankful if you can but reach to a settled peace and composure of your mind, and lay not too much on the high raptures and feelings of comfort which some do possess: and if ever you enjoy such feeling joys, expect not that they should be either long or often.'

It is the cause of miserable languishing to many a poor soul, to have such importunate expectations of such passionate joys, that they think without these they have no true comfort at all; no witness of the Spirit, no spirit of adoption, no joy in the Holy Ghost. Some think that others have much of this, though they have not, and therefore they torment themselves because it is not with them as with others; when, alas! they little know how it goes with others. Some taste of such raptures sometimes themselves have had, and therefore, when they are gone, they think they are forsaken, and that all grace, or peace, at least, is gone with them. Take heed of these expectations. And to satisfy you, let me tell you these two or three things: 1. A settled calm and peace of soul is a great mercy, and not to be undervalued as nothing. 2. The highest raptures and passionate feeling joys are usually of most doubtful sincerity. Not that I would have any suspect the sincerity of them without cause; but such passions are not so certain signs of grace, as the settled frame of the understanding and will; nor can we so easily know that they are of the Spirit; and they are liable to more questioning, and have in them a greater possibility of deceit. Doubtless it is very much that fancy and melancholy, and especially a natural weakness and movable temper, will do in such cases. Mark whether it be not mostly these three sorts of people that have, or pretend to have, such extraordinary raptures and feelings of joy: (1.) Women, and others that are most passionate. (2.) Melancholy people. (3.) Men that by erroneous opinions have lost almost all their understandings in their fancies, and live like men in a continual dream. Yet I doubt

not but solid men have oft high joys; and more we might all have, if we did our duty. And I would have no Christian content himself with a dull quietness of spirit, but by all means possible to be much in laboring to rejoice in God and raising their souls to heavenly delights. O, what lives do we lose, which we might enjoy! But my meaning is this; look at these joys and delights as duties and as mercies, but look not at them as marks of trial, so as to place more necessity in them than God hath done, or to think them to be ordinary things. If you do but feel such a high estimation of Christ and heaven, that you would not leave him for all the world, take this for your surest sign. And if you have but so much probability or hope of your interest in him, that you can think of God as one that loveth you, and can be thankful to Christ for redeeming you, and are more glad in these hopes of your interest in Christ and glory than if you were owner of all the world, take this for a happy mercy, and a high consolation. Yet I mean not that your joy in Christ will be always so sensible, as for worldly things; but it will be more rational, solid and deeper at the heart. And that you may know by this, you would not for all the pleasures, honors, or profits in the world, be in the same case as once you were, (supposing that you were converted since you had the use of reason and memory,) or at least as you see the ungodly world still lie in.

3. And let me add this: commonly those that have the highest passionate joys, have the saddest lives; for they have, withal, the most passionate fears and sorrows. Mark it, whether you find not this prove true. And it is partly from God's will in his dispensations; partly from their own necessities, who after their exaltations do usually need a prick in the flesh, and a minister of Satan to buffet them, lest they be exalted above measure; and partly, and most commonly, it is from the temperature of their bodies. Weak, passionate women, of movable spirits and strong affections, when they love, they love violently, and when they rejoice, especially in such cases, they have most sensible joys, and when any fears arise, they have most terrible sorrows. I know it is not so with all of that sex; but mark the same people that usually have the highest joys, and see whether at other times they have not the greatest troubles. This week they are as at the gates of heaven, and the next as at the doors of hell: I am sure with many it is so. Yet it need not be so, if Christians would but look at these high joys as duties to be endeavored, and mercies to be valued; but when they will needs judge of their state by them, and think that God is gone from them or forsaken them, when they have not such joys, then it leaves them in terror and amazement; like men after a flash of lightning, that are left more sensible of the darkness. For no wise

man can expect that such joys should be a Christian's ordinary state; or God should so diet us with continual feast. It would neither suit with our health, nor the condition of this pilgrimage. Live therefore on your peace of conscience as your ordinary diet; when this is wanting, know that God appointeth you a fast for your health; and when you have a feast of high joys, feed on it and be thankful; but when they are taken from you, gape not after them as the disciples did after Christ at his ascension; but return thankfully to your ordinary diet of peace. And remember that these joys, which are now taken from you, may so return again. However, there is a place preparing for you, where your joys shall be full.

Direct. XXII. My next direction is this: 'Spend more of your time and care about your duty than about your comforts; and for the exercise and increase of your graces, than for the discovery of them and when you have done all that you can for assurance and comfort, you shall find that it will very much depend on your actual obedience."

This direction is of as great importance as any that I have yet given you; but I shall say but little of it, because I have spoke of it so fully already in my Book of Rest, Part iii. Chap. 8-11. My reasons for what I here assert are these: 1. Duty goeth, in order of nature and time, before comfort, as the precept is before the promise: comfort is part of the reward, and therefore necessarily supposeth the duty. 2. Grace makes men both so ingenious and divine, as to consider God's due as well as their own; and what they should do, as well as what they shall have, still remembering that our works cannot merit at God's hands. 3. As we must have grace before we can know we have it, so ordinarily we must have a good measure of grace, before we can so clearly discern it as to be certain of it. Small things I have told you are next to none, and hardly discernible by weak eyes. When all ways in the world are tried, it will be found that there is no way so sure for a doubting soul to be made certain of the truth of his graces, as to keep them in action and get them increased. And it will be found that there is no one cause of Christians doubting of the truth of their faith, love, hope, repentance, humility, &c., so great or so common as the small degree of these graces. Doth not the very language of complaining Christians show this? One saith, 'I have no faith; I cannot believe; I have no love to God; I have no delight in duty.' Another saith, 'I cannot mourn for sin; my heart was never broken; I cannot patiently bear an injury; I have no courage in opposing sin, &c." If all these were not in a low and weak degree, men could not so ordinarily think they had none. A lively, strong, working faith, love, zeal, courage, &c., would show themselves, as do the highest towers, the greatest mountains, the strong

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est winds, the greatest flames, which will force an observance by their greatness and effects. 4. Consider also that it is more pleasing to God to see his people study him in his will directly, than to spend the first and chiefest of their studies about the attaining of comforts to themselves. 5. And it is the nature of grace to tend first and chiefly toward God; and but secondarily to be the evidence of our own happiness. We have faith given us principally that we might believe, and live by it in daily applications of Christ: we have repentance, that it might break us off from sin, and bring us back to God; we have love, that we might love God and our Redeemer, his saints, and laws, and ways; we have zeal, that we might be quickened in all our holy duties; and we have obedience, to keep us in the way of duty. The first thing we have to do with these graces, is to use them for those holy ends which their nature doth express; and then the discerning of them that we may have assurance, followeth after this both in time and dignity. 6. And it is a matter of far greater concernment to ourselves to seek after the obtaining of Christ and grace, than after the certain knowledge that we have them. You may be saved though you never get assurance here, but you cannot be saved without Christ and grace. God hath not made assurance the condition of your salvation. It tends indeed exceedingly to your comfort, and a precious mercy it is; but your safety lieth not on it. It is better to go sorrowful and doubting to heaven, than comfortably to hell. First, therefore, ask what is the condition of salvation and the way to it, and then look that you do your best to perform it, and to go that way, and then try your performance in its season. 7. Besides, as it is a work of far greater moment, so also of quicker dispatch, to believe and love Christ truly, than to get assurance that you do truly believe and love him. You may believe immediately, (by the help of God's grace,) but getting assurance of it may be the work of a great part of your life. Let me therefore entreat this one thing of you, that when you feel the want of any grace, you would not presently bend all your thoughts upon the inquiry, whether it be true or no; but rather say to yourself, I see trying is a great and difficult, a long and tedious work: I may be this many years about it, and possibly be unresolved still. If I should conclude that I have no grace, I may be mistaken; and so I may if I think that I have it. I may inquire of friends and ministers long, and yet be left in doubt; it is therefore my surest way to seek presently to obtain it, if I have it not, and to increase it if I have it. And I am certain none of that labor will be lost; to get more is the way to know I have it.'

But perhaps you will say, 'How should I get more grace? That is a business of greater difficulty than so.' I answer, Under

stand what I told you before, that as the beginning of grace is in your understanding, so the heart and life of it is in your will; and the affections and passionate part are but the fruits and branches. If therefore your grace be weak, it is chiefly in an unwillingness to yield to Christ, and his word and Spirit. Now, how should an unwilling soul be made willing? Why, thus: 1. Pray constantly, as you are able, for a willing mind, and yielding, inclinable heart to Christ. 2. Hear constantly those preachers that bend their doctrine to inform your understanding of the great necessity and excellency of Christ, and grace, and glory; and to persuade the will with the most forcible arguments. A persuading, quickening ministry, that helps to excite your graces, and draw up your heart to Christ, is more useful than they that spend most of their time to persuade you of your sincerity, and give you comfort. 3. But especially lay out your thoughts more in the most serious considerations of those things which tend to breed and feed those particular graces which you would have increased. Objects and moving reasons kept much upon the mind by serious thoughts, are the great engine appointed both by nature and by grace, to turn about the soul of man. Thoughts are to your soul as taking in the air, and meat and drink, to your body. Objects considered do turn the soul into their own nature. Such as are the things that you most think and consider of, (I mean in pursuance of them,) such will you be yourself. Consideration, frequent serious consideration, is God's great instrument to convert the soul, and to confirm it; to get grace, and to keep it, and increase it. If any soul perish for want of grace, it is ten to one it is mainly for want of frequent and serious consideration. That the most of us do languish under such weaknesses, and attain to small degrees of grace, is for want of sober, frequent consideration. We know not how great things this would do, if it were but faithfully managed. This, then, is my advice when you feel so great a want of faith and love, (for those be the main graces for trial and use,) that you doubt whether you have any or none, lay by those doubting thoughts awhile, and presently go and set yourself to consider of God's truth, goodness, amiableness, and kind-heartedness to miserable, unworthy sinners; think what he is in himself, and what he is to you, and what he hath done for you, and what he will do for you if you will but consent. And then think of the vanity of all the childish pleasures of this world; how soon and in how sad a case they will leave us; and what silly, contemptible things they are, in comparison of the everlasting glory of the saints! By that time you have warmed your soul a little with such serious thoughts, you will find your faith and love revive, and begin to stir and work within you; and then you will feel that you have faith and love. Only re

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