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ther we must reft fatisfied that God will forgive them upon these terms, or conclude that they fhall not be forgiven at all; which is contrary to the whole tenor of the fcriptures. I fay, in many cafes, more than this is impoffible; becaufe fins of ignorance, and thofe common errors and frailties of human life, which David calls fecret fins, are not particularly known to us when they are committed; and confequently it is impoffible that we fhould particularly repent of them. And therefore, in this cafe, there can be no doubt, but that God doth accept of a general repentance, as he did from David, when he made that humble confeffion and prayer to him, Pfal. xix. 12. Who can understand his errors ? cleanfe thou me from fecret fins.

3dly, They are afraid their obedience is not fincere, because it proceeds many times from fear, and not always out of pure love to God. For anfwer to this: It is plain from fcripture, that God propounds to men feveral motives and arguments to obedience; fome proper to work upon their fear, as the threatnings of punishment; fome upon their hope, as the promises of bleffing and reward; others upon their love, as the mercies and forgiveness of God. From whence it is evident he intended they fhould all work upon us. And accordingly the fcripture gives us inftances in each kind. Noab, moved with fear, obeyed God in preparing an ark. Mofes had refpect unto the recompence of reward. Mary Magdalen loved much. And as it is hard to fay, fo it is not neceffary to determine, juft how much influence, and no more, each of these hath upon us. It is very well, if men be reclaimed from their fins, and made good, by the joint force of all the confiderations which God offers to us. To be fure, love is the nobleft and moft generous principle of obedience; but fear commonly takes. the firft and fafteft hold of us, and, in times of violent temptation, is perhaps the beft argument to keep, even the best of men, within the bounds of their duty.

4thly, Another caufe of doubting in good men, is from a fenfe of their imperfect performance of the duties of religion, and of the abatement of their affections towards God at fome times. They have many wandering thoughts in prayer, and other exercises of devotion; and they cannot for their life keep their minds continually

intent on what they are about. This we should strive againft, as much as we can; and that is the utmost we can do but to cure this wholly, is impoffible. The infirmity of our nature, and the frame of our minds, will not admit of it. And therefore no man ought to que ftion his fincerity, because he cannot do that which is impoffible for men to do.

And then for the abatement of our affections to God and religion at fome times, this naturally proceeds from the inconftancy of mens tempers; by reafon of which it is not poffible that the beft of men should be able always to maintain and keep up the fame degree of zeal and fervour towards God. But our comfort is, that God doth not measure mens fincerity by the tides of their affections, but by the constant bent of their refolutions, and the general tenor of their life and actions.

5thly, Another cause of these doubts is, that men expect more than ordinary and reasonable affurance of their good condition; fome particular revelation from God, an extraordinary impreffion upon their minds to that purpose, which they think the fcripture means by the teftimony, and feal, and earnest of the Spirit. God may give this when, and to whom he pleases; but I do not find he hath any where promised it. And all that the fcripture means by thofe phrafes, of the teftimony, and feal, and earnest of the Spirit, is, to my apprehenfion, no more but this, that the Holy Spirit which God beftowed upon Chriftians in fo powerful and fenfible a manner, was a feal and earnest of their refurrection to eternal life; according to that plain text, Rom. viii. 11. If the Spirit of him that raifed up Jefus from the dead, dwell in you; he that raised up Chrift from the dead, fhall alfo quicken your mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. But then, who they are that have the Spirit: of God, is only to be known by the real fruits and effects of it. If we be led by the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit, and do not fulfil the lufts of the flesh, then the Spirit of God dwelleth in us. But this is very far from an immediate and extraordinary revelation from the Spirit of God to the minds of good men, telling them in particular, that they are the children of God. I know not what peculiar favour God may fhew to fome ; but

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I know no fuch thing, nor ever yet met with any wife: and good man that did affirm it of himfelf: and I fear that in most of those who pretend to it, it is either mere fancy, or grofs delufion.

6thly, As for the cafe of melancholy, it is not a reafonable cafe; and therefore doth not fall under any certain rules and directions. They who are under the power of it, are seldom fit to take that council which alone is fit to be given them; and that is, not to believe themfelves concerning themselves, but to truft the judgement of others, rather than their own apprehenfions. In other cafes, every man knows himfelf beft; but a melancholy man is moft in the dark as to himself. This caufe of trouble and doubting is very much to be pitied, but hard to be removed, unlefs by phyfick or by time, or by chance. One may happen to fay fomething that may hit the humour of a melancholy man, and fatisfy him for the prefent; but reafon must needs fignify very little to thofe perfons, the nature of whofe temper it is, to turn every thing that can be faid for their comfort, into objections against themselves.

3. But, befides those who miflake their condition,. either by prefuming it to be better, or fearing it to be worse than it is, there are likewife others, who, upon good grounds, are doubtful of their condition, and have reafon to be afraid of it; those I mean, who have fome beginnings of goodness, which yet are very imperfect. They have good refolutions, and do many things well; but they often fall, and are frequently pulled back by thofe evil inclinations and habits, which are yet in a great meafure unfubdued in them. Thefe I cannot liken better than to the borderers between two countries, who live in the marches and confines of two powerful kingdoms, both which have a great influence upon them, fo that it is hard to fay whofe fubjects they are, and to which prince they belong. Thus it is with many in religion: they have pious inclinations, and have made fome fair attempts towards goodness; they have begun to refrain from fin, and to refift the occafions and temptations to it; but ever and anon they are mastered by their old lufts, and carried off from their best refolutions ; and perhaps, upon a little confideration, they repent,

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and recover themselves again; and, after a while, are again intangled and overcome.

Now, the cafe of these perfons is really doubtful, both to themselves and others. And the proper direction to be given them, in order to their peace and fettlement, is, by all means to encourage them to go on and fortify their good refolutions; to be more vigilant and watchful over themselves; to ftrive against fin, and to refift it with all their might. And, according to the fuccefs of their endeavours in this conflict, the evidence of their good condition will every day clear up, and become more manifeft. The more we grow in grace, and the feldomer we fall into fin, and the more even and conftant our obedience to God is, fo much the greater and fuller fatisfaction we fhall have of our good eftate towards God: for the path of the juft, is as the fhining light, which fhines more and more unto the perfect day; and the work of righteousness fhall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and affurance for ever.

I fhall only make two or three inferences from what hath been discoursed upon this argument, and so conclude.

1. From hence we learn the great danger of fins of omiffion, as well as commiffion: Whofoever doth not righ teoufnefs, is not of God. The mere neglect of any of the great duties of religion, of piety. towards God, and of kindness and charity to men, though we be free from the commiffion of great fins, is enough to caft us out of the favour of God, and to shut us for ever out of his kingdom: I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat; thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; fick, and in prifon, and ye vi fited me not therefore depart, ye curfed.

2. It is evident from what hath been faid, that nothing can be vainer than for men to live in any course of fin and impiety, and yet to pretend to be the children of God, and to hope for eternal life. The children of God will do the works of God; and whoever hopes to enjoy him hereafter, will endeavour to be like him here: Every man that hath this hope in him, purifies himself, even as he is pure.

3. You see what is the great mark and character of a man's good or bad condition: Whofoever doth righteouf

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nefs, is of God; and whofoever doth not righteoufness, is not of God. Here is a plain and fenfible evidence, by which every man, that will deal honeftly with himself, may certainly know his own condition; and then, according as he finds it to be, may take comfort in it, or make hafte out of it. And we need not afcend into heaven, nor go down into the deep, to fearch out the fecret coun fels and decrees of God: there needs no anxious inquiry whether we be of the number of God's elect. If we dai ly mortify our lufts, and grow in goodness, and take care to add to our faith and knowledge, temperance, and patience, and charity, and all other Chriftian graces and virtues, we certainly take the best courfe in the world to make our calling and election fure. And with-out this it is impoffible that we fhould have any comfortable and well-grounded affurance of our good condition. This one mark of doing righteousness is that into which all other figns and characters which are in fcripture given of a good man, are finally refolved. And this anfwers all thofe various phrafes which fome men would make to be fo many feveral and diftinct marks of a child of God: as, whether we have the true knowledge of God and divine illumination; for hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments : whether we fincerely love God'; for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and whether God loves us; for the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, and his countenance will behold the upright whether we be regenerate, and born of God; for whofoever is born of God, finneth not whether we have the Spirit of God witneffing with our fpirits, that we are the children of God; for as many as have the Spirit of God, are led by the Spirit, and by the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh: whether we belong to Christ, and have an interest in him or not; for they that are Chrift's, have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lufts thereof in a word, whether the promise of heaven and eternal life belong to us; for without holiness no man fhall fee the Lord; but if we have our fruits unto holiness, the end will be everlasting life. So that you fee at laft, the fcripture brings all this to one mark, holiness, and obedience to the laws of God, or a vitious and wicked life: In this the children of God

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