shine who sits under evidences of the Lord's love, and this cannot fail to melt the heart. The soul will be filled with admiration of God's goodness and grace.

2. It humbles the soul. None are more vile in their own eyes, than those who are most highly lifted up in the manifestations of the Lord's love. Abraham is but dust and ashes, while God is speaking to him as a friend. When David's honours were conferred upon him, he exclaimed, "Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ?" In 2 Cor. xii. you will find Paul as high as he could be raised, ver. 4. Caught up into paradise. And yet as low as he could lay himself, though, says he, ver. 11. I be nothing. For always the nearer a soul comes to God, God appears the greater, and the creature the less.

3. It produces tenderness of heart and life, great care to please God in all things, and watchfulness against every sin that may disturb the soul's rest in God. The empty traveller walks at random, fearing nothing, because he has nothing to lose. But he that hath full pockets will look well to himself. The solid hope of heaven, makes the soul study to be heavenly, and the hope of the marriage day makes the spouse of Christ to prepare for it.

4. It gives strength against corruption. "Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if ye do these things ye shall never fall." The heavenly light within the soul, cleared as to its eternal interest, dispels the darkness that strengthens the work of corruption, and fits a man for every duty of a holy life. Faith is the provider for all our other graces. It brings in oil to the lamp, and the more evidence faith hath, it can do its office the better. A doubting Christian will always be a weak Christian, even as the soldier who has little hopes of victory, will be readily faint-hearted.

5. Assurance is the best support under sufferings and afflictions, as the connection of the text shews. It is a storehouse of patience and contentment under the rod, for it shews them things will have a happy issue; and under the want of all things, it shews them, that they shall inherit all things. It makes a man despise the frowns of the world, and the threats of enemies. Why should they fear the falling of their tabernacle, who know that they have an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens? They need not fear death, when to them it is an inlet to eternal life.

6. It fills a man with contempt of the world. If one know that his treasure is in heaven, his heart will be there also. "God forbid," says the apostle, "that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which I am crucified unto the world, and the world unto me." If you gaze on the shining sun for a time,

you will scarcely discern the beauty of the earth for some time after. And he that can solace himself, in the contemplation of heaven as his, this will much sink the value of created things with him. It sets a man above the earth, so that it must needs appear a very little thing.

Finally, To sum up all in one word, it makes a man fit either to live or die. Alas! how often are even good people unfit for either? Unfit to live, because of the weakness of grace, in the midst of temptations and trials. Unfit to die, for want of evidence of grace.Whereas the man that has solid evidence for heaven, he has what can bear him through trials, support him under temptations, and even in the hour of death. We now proceed,

II. To point out the hinderances of evidences for heaven. There are very few have a right to heaven, and those that have no right can have no evidence; yet there are far fewer that have evidences of that right, of which they can give any rational account. causes of this are these,

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1. The great hindrance is a loose and irregular life. troubled water will not reflect the image of the sun, as clear standing water will do, so an irregular walk, will not afford that evidence of grace which a strict holy life will do. "He that hath my commandments," saith Jesus, "and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." While violent temptations and passions disturb the soul, it is as the troubled sea, dark and muddy. The outbreakings of corruption are as the mists and fogs that darken the air.

2. Weakness of knowledge in matters of religion. This has been very evident in some, who when they have once got their judgments informed from the Lord's word, they have then got their troubled consciences eased.

There are four things have a very bad influence here.

First, Some weak persons have a notion that assurance of an interest in Christ and clear discerning of grace in the heart, is an extraordinary thing, at least that it is a business of insuperable difficulty, that they never have courage to attempt it. But pray, will you consider that God calls all Christians to it, weak and strong. "Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure." He has appointed ordinary means for it. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. How then can it be looked on as an extraordinary thing? And is it a business of insuperable difficulty to

a man that understands the nature of grace, to reflect upon and discern the motions of his own soul within him, and compare them with the word? Is it such a very hard business for a man's own spirit to discern itself and its own actings and motions? “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?

Secondly, Mistakes as to the nature of evidences for heaven. It is surprising to find the weakness of some, in other respects not ignorant, who being asked the grounds of their hope for heaven and evidences for eternal life, will tell you that they build on such scriptures as these, "Him that cometh unto me, I will by no means cast out," ," "Christ died to save sinners."-These, and such declarations as these, are a foundation for the direct act of faith; but still the question returns, How know you that you have come to Christ? or that Christ died for you? and the only answer to these questions must be brought from some parts of the saving change which the man finds to be wrought in him.

Ignorance of the nature of true grace in general is a third thing that hath bad effects here. If in a time in which much counterfeit money is in circulation, a person receives a purse of good money, who yet does not know money, and cannot discern betwixt real and counterfeit coin, that man cannot be easy. So how is it possible that a man can have solid evidence for heaven, who knows not how to distinguish between true grace and that which is counterfeit. It is a great defect in many, who in other respects are knowing, that in this matter they are at a loss. Perhaps they can tell you, that love to God, and a real desire after righteousness, are marks of grace, but their loss is they cannot circumstantiate that love and desire, so as to distinguish them from hypocritical love and desire.

The fourth thing is the razing of foundations still upon every new prevailing of iniquity, so that by this means some are still kept fluctuating and unsettled. For, say they, if it be so, why am I thus? But why do they think that grace will get so soon free of its ill neighbour. This is surely your weakness. Iniquitics prevail against you. If you labour to watch, and upon your frequent failures flee anew to the blood of sprinkling, and look to Christ for his Spirit to subdue sin, and be more sensible of your own weakness, and your need of Christ and imputed righteousness, you may even draw evidence from this, "That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."

3. Sloth and laziness are a great hinderance. Under their influence persons cannot be at the trouble to call the soul to an account. Alas! how sad is it that many who dare not knowingly neglect

other duties, live nevertheless in the habitual neglect of self-examination, and enquiring by scripture marks into the state of their souls. They do not make it their business to observe the way of God towards them, nor the way of their spirits towards God. They never set themselves to seek evidences for heaven, till God in his anger lets them be tossed with violent doubts and fears. And it is not to be expected that evidences for heaven, will just fall down into the bosom of indolent unobserving Christians.

4. Indistinctness in closing with Christ and accepting of the covenant. If a bargain be huddled up in a haste, no wonder the man be not very clear about it. The not making the work of believing more clear and distinct causes such confusion in the review of it, as also an unclearness and uncertainty in pleading the benefit of it. Therefore labour to be very distinct in the renunciation of idols, particularly that which is the idol of jealousy, in closing with Christ in all his offices, and for all the glorious ends for which the Father has given him to poor sinners, for sanctification particularly as well as justification.

Lastly, The violence of temptations. God for the trial of his own permits it, and then Satan tosseth them so as they can hardly find where to fasten their feet. They stand as it were in a quagmire and find hard work to dispute their sincerity against the tempter. As it is the great work of Satan to blow up graceless persons in their presumptuous hopes, so it is his grand design, to rob the gracious of their peace and the comfort of their grace. For this purpose he raiseth darkness about them, and then orders the poor soul to read its evidences. And he has carried his point far, when he gets the soul over to his own side to dispute itself out of Christ. "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted."

Sometimes Satan gives the hopes of the saints a side stroke, inferring their naughtiness from the way of the Lord's dealing with them in afflictions. He gets them first possessed with jealousies of the Lord's love, and unkindly thoughts of an afflicting God, and then carries them forward to conclude that their stroke is not the stroke of the Lord's children, and therefore their spot is not the spot of his people. "Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?" In this case it is good to use the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, in which it is very like you will find the like case in which the saints have been. And if you cannot find the parallel of your own case yourselves, you should take advice of others, who may be better acquainted with the Scriptures. But cases are like faces, though for VOL. III.

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substance the same, yet possibly some circumstances may differ; and it is a needless rack to please Satan, on which persons put themselves when nothing will satisfy them, but the case of a scripture saint, exactly like their own in every circumstance. To dismount the devil's cannon mounted upon this ground, you need no more but to observe these scriptures, Eccles. xi. 1, 2. 1 Corinth. iv. 9. Psalm lxxi. 7. and lxxvii. 19.

But again, Satan sometimes gives their hopes a foundation stroke, overturning to their view the very foundations of their peace, in their first turning to God, and closing with Christ, persuading them all was naught, because the law work was not deep enough, and their repentance was not complete. Often have the saints themselves to blame for this. They lay much of the weight of their peace, upon the depth of their convictions and terrors, and the bitterness of their repentance. Whereas the weight of it is to lie entirely on the blood of Christ, for nothing else can shelter us from the wrath of God. "For other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. For he is our peace. And his blood alone can purge our consciences from dead works, to serve the living God." And if people will lay on a plaster that cannot cover the sore, they need not wonder, if being once skinned over, it should break out again. I know no need of a farther depth of the law work than to convince a sinner of his absolute need of Christ for justification and sanctification. And there is no depth at all of true repentance less or more but what flows from faith. So that if your peace and hope of heaven, have been built on the depth of the law work, or repentance, lay them not there again, but upon the blood of Christ entirely, as apprehended by faith. If you have seen the absolute need of Christ for sanctification as well as justification, this was sufficient to reach the end, namely your closing with Christ for all his salvation. And whatever be the defects in your repentance you must not stand off from believing till you have repented more deeply. If you do, you are egregious fools. But believe that you may repent. And the more evidence and confidence your faith in the promise hath your repentance will succeed the better. "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first born."

Satan also sometimes gives their hopes an universal shock, by plying their corruptions hard, and stirring up the muddy pool of the heart, till there is not one drop of clear water to be seen in it; but whatever of heaven be in the heart, hell is uppermost. This is the heaviest case of all. I will not advise a person in this case to ex