love him, on whom his faith and hope are placed. A three-fold cord this, not to be broken, 1 Thess. i. 3, 5, 8. And thus, in the very first act of believing, he has the hope of eternal life, Tit. i. 1, 2. If this be denied, the unavoidable consequences are, either that faith is separable from hope; or that prior to the inward evidences of grace, the sinner has no warrant to trust in Christ for salvation. And who that knows the grace of God in truth (Col. i. 6.) will admit these? Two things may be observed, respecting this assurance of faith and hope, (Heb. vi. 11. x. 22.) viz. that it is so far from being any how prejudicial to holiness, that it has a native tendency to promote it; and that it is fundamental to the assurance of sense.

1st, It is most friendly to true holiness. Like every other evangelical doctrine, holiness to the Lord is deeply engraven as on its forehead, 1 Tim. vi. 3. 1 John iii. 3. For the believing sinner does not simply believe that he shall be saved (which is the destructive dream of multitudes) but that he shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, Acts xv. 11. He trusts that he shall be saved according to the method of grace, or in the way in which God has appointed sinners to obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, 2 Tim. ii. 10. He trusts that he shall be saved from sin, as well as from wrath, Matth. i. 21. Tit. ii. 14. Rom. v. 9. 1 Thess. i. 10. He believes not only that he shall set foot in Canaan, but also that he shall be preserved in marching up through the howling wilderness, 2 Tim. iv. 18. And so believing, he goes on in the strength of the Lord God, Psal. lxxi. 16.

He goes on his way rejoicing, Acts viii. 39. He is not insensible of the difficulties and dangers to which he must ever be exposed, amidst the lions' dens, and leopards' mountains, Song iv. 8. But believing that as his days are, so shall his strength be, Deut. xxxiii. 25. he girds up the loins of his mind, 1 Pet. i. 13. and sets his face as a flint, Isa. 1. 7. He does not believe that he shall be saved, except in the way of duty; or that he shall conquer his Lord's enemies and his own, but by fighting the good fight of faith, 1 Tim. vi. 12. 2 Tim. iv. 7. Knowing that a conquest implies a combat, he dreams not of the one without the other. Trusting that God will deliver his enemies into his hand, he puts on the whole armour of light, and goes forth to war.

Judg. xx. 28. 1 Thess. v. 8, 9.

Compare

2dly, This assurance of faith is fundamental to

that of sense. other the stately superstructure. The one rests on the word alone, the other is founded also on the inward evidence of those graces unto which the promises are made. Confession, chap. xviii. 2. In the one, the sinner believes or rests on Christ for salvation; in the other, he believes, or rather knows that he has so believed, 2 Tim. i. 12. As to the one, he is warranted to do it immediately, without delay, Acts xvi. 31.; as to the other, he must examine himself, in order to attain it, 2 Cor. xiii. 5. In the one, he looks to the word of God without him, assuring himself, that through grace he shall be saved; in the other he looks to the work of God within him, assuring himself that he hath passed from death unto life, and shall be saved, 1 John

The one is the firm foundation, the

iii. 14.-19. Thus, the assurance of sense, entirely coincides with that of faith in this, that in both, the sinner believes he shall obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, 2 Tim. ii. 10. But they differ in this, that in the one he believes with a view to be in Christ; in the other, he believes, upon evidence, that he actually is in him. This is what he neither can, nor ought to believe, in the first act of faith. For he ought to believe nothing but what is truth.

But it is not true that he is in Christ before he be united to him. But finding, upon evidence, that he has joined himself to the Lord (Jer. 1. 5.) he cannot but believe what he knows. Knowing this, he cannot but also be persuaded that he shall never perish, John x. 28. And now it is easy to see, that in this respect, the assurance of faith and the assurance of sense differ in degree only, as the morning and the meridian. light. In the assurance of sense, the persuasion is stronger than in that of faith, being supported by inward evidence. Thus we may also see the truth of what is taught in our Confession, chap. xiv. 3. viz. "that faith receiving and resting upon Christ alone for eternal life, grows up in many, to the attainment of a full assurance."

If there were not

some assurance in it, it never could grow up to full assurance. To whatever degree any thing may in*crease, it can never, by growth, acquire another nature. It may grow up another cubit, but not into another kind. A plant can never become a beast, nor it a man. In like manner, were there not some assurance in faith, it could never grow up to full assurance. The light shines more and more unto

Ff

the perfect day, Prov. iv. 18.; and the little child becomes a mighty man.

We may likewise see how the good works of believers, strengthen their assurance, as our Confession teaches, chap. xvi. 3. In the beginning, the assurance of faith must be generally weak, the poor sinner having to believe in opposition to mighty difficulties; to grapple as with guilt, and fight with fears, as out of the depths he looks unto the Lord, Psal. cxxx. 1. But having, in the progress of a holy life, often examined himself whether he be in the faith, 2 Cor. xiii. 5. and being enabled to know the things freely given him of God, 1 Cor. ii. 12. 2 Pet. i. 5. -10. he is confident, that he who hath begun a good work in him, will finish it, Col. i. 6. At first he saw only the word of the Lord, now he also sees his work, and hence he is made to ride, as on the high places of the earth, Isa. Iviii. 14. Faith and works are connected as cause and effect and therefore the truth of the former is known by the latter, as the tree by its fruits. Faith worketh by love, Gal. v. 6.; and this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, 1 John v. 3. Faith without works is dead, James ii. 20.; meanwhile, they do not give it life, but only show that it is alive, verse 18. For as it is dead without them, so are they without it, Heb. iii. 16. Hence we read of repentance from dead works, Heb. vi. 1. and of the conscience being purged from them, chap. ix. 14. Faith gives existence to works, and they evidence to it. It renders them. good, they prove it to be true. It is the mother,

:

they the daughters. But though they may greatly as

sist her in her various conflicts, certain it is, they could not bring her forth.

No. 35.-Page 189, last line. *

As all men are by nature under the one covenant, and therefore miserable till interested in the other, it is the indispensible duty of ministers to unfold the nature of both. Accordingly, they ought to preach the law, pointing out the spirituality, and extent of its precepts, together with the justice and terrors of its penalty. Nor should they always detain sinners as at the foot of the burning mount: but having sounded the alarm in their ears, they should also point out the method of reconciliation. Having aroused the man-slayer, (so to speak) it is incumbent on them to point out the way to the city of refuge. The reconciliation of sinners, and the edification of the saints, being the great ends of their ministry, they should keep these constantly in view, as they would be pure from the blood of all men, Acts xx. 26. Having brought sinners as from Sinai to Sion, they should lead them around her, telling her towers, marking her bulwarks, and considering her palaces, Psalm xlviii. 3, 14, 15. viz. the safety, satisfaction, and honour" enjoyed in communion with Christ. Having ministerially espoused them to him, 2 Cor. xi. 2. they must let them know that they are not without law to God, but under the law to Christ, 1 Car. ix. 21. Gal. vi. 2. Solicitous to throw wide the gates of grace, let them be equally so, not to open a door to

* The number in the text referring to this note was omitted by mistake.