We must have the evidence of our own spirit that we do indeed love and approve the law of God; and we must have the evidence of the Spirit of God working in us by obedience: and, when we both love and obey the commands of God, we want nothing farther to affure us that we are the children of God; but, where either of thefe is wanting, the evidence of the other avails nothing. If you love and approve the command, but do not obey, you are self-condemned, you are in your fins; luft has dominion over you, and not the Spirit of God. If you obey the law, and conform outwardly to it, but do not love and like it, you are an hypocrite, no servant of God, but of the world; and your outward compliance is fleshly wifdom, and not the work of the Spirit.

So then you have two ways of judging yourselves, which must both concur; you have inward and outward figns of grace: the inward figns are a pure confcience, a fincere love for God and religion, and whatever tends to the glory and honour of your Maker: the outward figns are acts of obedience conformable to the inward purity and love of your mind. These are fruits by which you may judge yourselves. Our Saviour tells us, that we may know men by their fruits: much rather may we know ourfelves by our own fruits; efpecially when we may know the stock too from whence they grow, the motions and workings of our own heart.

Hence it appears, that the evidence of the Spirit is not any fecret infpiration, or any affurance conveyed to the mind of the faithful; but it is the evidence of works, fuch as by the Spirit we perform:

and therefore the only fign of fanctification is holinefs; and the only mark of grace is to obey from the heart the word of God: and therefore they err, not knowing the Scriptures, who from this or the like paffages imagine, that the Spirit ever gives, or was ever defigned to give, inward affurance or certainty to men of their final state.

Hence likewise it is certain, that some go too far on the other fide, by denying that any man may know himself to be in a state of grace: for all the children of God are in a ftate of grace; and the evidence of the Spirit of God and our own spirit may make us certain, where they concur, as they ought to do, that we are the children of God. If our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God: which is St. John's rule, and comprehends both the evidences in the text; for our heart judges both of our inward and outward obedience: and therefore, where our hearts condemn us not, we have the evidence of both spirits, the end of which is confidence.

But, laftly, this certainty does not extend to our future and final falvation: for to be in a state of grace is to be heir of falvation: but an heir may be defeated, if by any after-act he incapacitates himfelf to inherit. In a word, a ftate of grace may be loft; he that is the child of God may cease to be the child of God: and therefore being certain and confident that you are now in a state of grace cannot make you certain of your falvation; but you muft ftill work out your falvation with fear and trembling. This we may learn from our Apostle's own arguing here; The Spirit itself beareth witness with our

Spirit, that we are the children of God. The confequence of this is, if children, then heirs, ver. 17. But now are we heirs through hope, he tells us in another place; and at the twenty-fourth verfe of this chapter, we are faved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope. Certainty fhuts out hope: and, fince being children makes us only heirs through hope, it is plain, being certain that we are now the children of God can give us no abfolute certainty of our falvation: and therefore it is great presumption to talk of security. Our certainty reaches to our prefent condition, which is enough to keep our minds easy and contented. Other certainty than this might make us remifs: this may encourage us to run with patience the race that is before us, and to labour in the Lord, knowing that our labour shall not be in vain.

DISCOURSE IX.

JOHN XX. 30, 31.

And many other figns truly did Jefus in the prefence of his difciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jefus is the Chrift, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

THESE words ftand towards the close of St. John's Gospel, and are by fome thought to be the laft of his own writing. They give us an account of the nature of his Gospel, and of his end and defign in publishing it to the world. The Apostle does not pretend his Gospel to be a perfect and complete narrative of all that our Lord did whilft he conversed among men, not even of all the miracles and wonders which he wrought in confirmation of his doctrine: Many other figns truly did Jefus,which are not written in this book. He adds farther, that the figns omitted in his account were done in the prefence of his difciples, and were, confequently, of as good authority as thofe related by himself. This was but a neceffary piece of caution; for St. John wrote his Gospel late, towards the end of his life, after the Apostles and difciples of Chrift had fpread the Gospel far and near, and had both by