had a comfortable persuasion that God was his God in covenant: verse 14, "I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God.” And the tenor of the covenant, wherein alone God is the God of any person, is, that he will be merciful unto their sin and iniquity. To whom he is a God, he is so according to the tenor of that covenant; so that here these two are conjoined. Saith he, "Lord, I am pressed with the sense of the guilt of mine iniquities; and thou art my God, who forgivest them." And the ground hereof is, that God by the gospel hath divided the work of the law, and taken part of it out of its hand. Its whole work and duty is, to condemn the sin and the sinner. The sinner is freed by the gospel, but its right lies against the sin still; that it condemns, and that justly. Now, though the sinner himself be freed, yet finding his sin laid hold of and condemned, it fills him with a deep sense of its guilt and of the displeasure of God against it; which yet hinders not but that, at the same time, he may have such an insight as faith gives into his personal interest in a gospel acquitment. A man, then, may have a deep sense of sin all his days, walk under the sense of it continually, abhor himself for his ingratitude, unbelief, and rebellion against God, without any impeachment of his assurance.

(2.) Deep sorrow for sin is consistent with assurance of forgiveness; yea, it is a great means of preservation of it. Godly sorrow, mourning, humiliation, contriteness of spirit, are no less gospel graces and fruits of the Holy Ghost than faith itself, and so are consistent with the highest flourishings of faith whatever. It is the work of heaven itself, and not of the assurance of it, to wipe all tears from our eyes. Yea, these graces have the most eminent promises annexed to them, as Isa. lvii. 15, lxvi. 2, with blessedness itself, Matt. v. 4; yea, they are themselves the matter of many gracious gospel promises, Zech. xii. 10: so that they are assuredly consistent with any other grace or privilege that we may be made partakers of, or [any that] are promised unto us. Some, finding the weight and burden of their sins, and being called to mourning and humiliation on that account, are so taken up with it as to lose the sense of forgiveness, which, rightly improved, would promote their sorrow, as their sorrow seems directly to sweeten their sense of forgiveness. Sorrow, absolutely exclusive of the faith of forgiveness, is legal, and tendeth unto death; assurance, absolutely exclusive of godly sorrow, is presumption, and not a persuasion from Him that calleth us: but gospel sorrow and gospel assurance may well dwell in the same breast at the same time. Indeed, as in all worldly joys there is a secret wound, so in all godly sorrow and mourning, considered in itself, there is a secret joy and refreshment; hence it doth not wither and dry up, but rather enlarge, open, and sweeten the heart. I am per

3. A dip was of tie vadreitag power of na is consistenz *A gare ishranes. Sense of adveling in will cause maidoni perputitles in the wall Trade, Daynermend, Krow and nonl of near expresing "tentsel "es in she mourning, yaning år deATSTUME 24an attend it To vine purpose lo pun senatu A MUL bigdig bensine of the resnom power of hiwaing sia aneeming averance? "Alia," alth be, I am rady to perish every moment Xate are doing active, restilla, pra om geons; they give me do zest, to „er 7, and bus Lude muccess to Idicala Aenance is fir congery te ihm das Lie as ress and peace I he growing on the sproud a. my days, and mus needs te acertain vids will But when such a one hath done all le na, be will not be able to made more wofll complaints of this matter than Finl Lath doue bere him, Tom vin; and yet he closeth the discourse of it with as hig. an expresion of assurance as any person needs to sex alter, vere 25, and chop. viii L. It is not assurance but enjoyment that exsides this sense and trophie But if men will tink they can have no ass.mace because they have that without which it ia impossible they should have any, it is hard to give them relief A listic cruse of sait of the gospel cast into these bitter waters will make them sweet and wholesome Sense of the guils of sin may consist with faith of its pardon and forgiveness in the blood of Christ. Gody sorrow may dwell in the same heart, at the same time, with joy in the Holy Ghost, and grading after deliverance from the power of sin with a gracious persuasion that “sin shall not have dominion over na, because we are not under the law, Lut under grace.”

(4) Doubtings, fears, temptations, if not ordinarily prevailing, are consistent with gospel assurance. Though the devil's power be limited in reference unto the saints, yet his hands are not tied; though he cannot prevail against them, yet he can assault them. And although there be not "an evil heart of unbelief" in believers, yet there will still be unbelief in their hearts Such an evidence, conviction, and persuasion of acceptance with God as are exclusive of all contrary reasonings, that suffer the soul to hear nothing of objections, that free and quiet it from all assaults, are neither mentioned in the Scripture, nor consistent with that state wherein we walk before God, nor posible on the account of Satan's will and ability to tempt, or of our own remaining unbelief. Assurance encourageth us in our combat; it delivereth us not from it. We may have peace with God when we have none from the assaults of Satan.

Now, unless a man do duly consider the tenor of the covenant wherein we walk with God, and the nature of that gospel obedience which he requires at our hands, with the state and condition which is our lot and portion whilst we live in this world, the daily sense of these things, with the trouble that must be undergone on their account, may keep him in the dark unto himself, and hinder him from that establishment in believing which otherwise he might attain unto. On this account, some as holy persons as any in this world, being wholly taken up with the consideration of these homebred perplexities, and not clearly acquainted with the way and tenor of assuring their souls before God according to the rule of the covenant of grace, have passed away their days in a bondage-frame of spirit, and unacquaintance with that strong consolation which God is abundantly willing that all the heirs of promise should receive.

2. Evangelical assurance is not a thing that consisteth in any point, and so incapable of variation. It may be higher or lower, greater or less, obscure or attended with more evidence. It is not quite lost when it is not quite at its highest. God sometimes marvellously raiseth the souls of his saints with some close and near approaches unto them,-gives them a sense of his eternal love, a taste of the embraces of his Son and the inhabitation of the Spirit, without the least intervening disturbance; then this is their assurance. But this life is not a season to be always taking wages in; our work is not yet done; we are not always to abide in this mount; we must down again into the battle,-fight again, cry again, complain again. Shall the soul be thought now to have lost its assurance? Not at all. It had before assurance with joy, triumph, and exultation; it hath it now, or may have, with wrestling, cries, tears, and supplications. And a man's assurance may be as good, as true, when he lies on the earth with a sense of sin, as when he is carried up to the third heaven with a sense of love and foretaste of glory. In brief, this assurance of salvation is such a gracious, evangelical persuasion of acceptance with God in Christ, and of an interest in the promises of preservation unto the end, wrought in believers by the Holy Ghost, in and through the exercise of faith, as for the most part produceth these effects following:

(1.) It gives delight in obedience, and draws out love in the duties that unto God we do perform. So much assurance of a comfortable issue of their obedience, of a blessed end of their labours and duties, of their purifying their hearts, and pressing after universal renovation of mind and life, as may make them cheerful in them, as may give love and delight in the pursuit of what they are engaged in, is needful for the saints, and they do not often go without it; and where this is, there is gospel assurance. To run as men uncertain, to fight

it a not out a fear was it was ti HAA YA The thing 9 vol. But as a crmed and sonscoed by Hashana, Čarktes und verfalle, such as the bent and persies Me tight, sento de labs and storaions must be a b tar has a opere wding pricipe in the wet a bucaq" - a prema ng frate onsalty meiningu fan of treada Izradina di God and its own oneditita Soundly. That if tends is bondage. It bring the wn into basinge: Hell 14.15, Le ded “to deliver uem vio turogi, fear of death were all their lifetime mijra vi bradley" Yen & death as petal, as it lies in the curse, which is that fear that prosesle from a “spirit of bon lage,” brings the persons in whom it is into bondage; that is, it adds weariness, trouble, and anxiety of mind unto fear, and puts them upon all ways and means imaginable, unduly and disorderly, to seek for a remedy or relief. Thirdly, It hath torment: "Fear hath torment," 1 John iv. 18. It gives no rest, no quietness, unto the mind. Now, this is so cut out by gompel assurance of forgiveness, that, though it may absult the soul, it shall not possess it; though it make incursions upon it, it shall not dwell, abide, and prevail in it.

(3.) It gives the soul a hope and expectation of " the glory that shall be revealed," and secretly stirs it up and enlivens it unto a supportment, in sufferings, trials, and temptations. This is the "hope which maketh not ashamed," Rom, v. 5, and that because it will never expose the soul unto disappointment. Wherever there is the root of

assurance, there will be this fruit of hope. The proper object of it is things absent, invisible, eternal,—the promised reward, in all the notions, respects, and concernments of it. This hope goes out unto, in distresses, temptations, failings, and under a sense of the guilt and power of sin. Hence ariseth a spring of secret relief in the soul, something that calms the heart and quiets the spirit in the midst of many a storm. Now, as, wherever assurance is, there will be this hope; so wherever this secret relieving hope is, it grows on no other root but a living persuasion of a personal interest in the things hoped for.

(4.) As it will do many other things, so, that I may give one comprehensive instance, it will carry them out, in whom it is, to die for Christ. Death, unto men who saw not one step beyond it, was esteemed of all things most terrible. The way and means of its approach add unto its terror. But this is nothing in comparison of what it is unto them who look through it as a passage into ensuing eternity. For a man, then, to choose death rather than life, in the most terrible manner of its approach, expecting an eternity to ensue, it argues a comfortable persuasion of a good state and condition after death. Now, I am persuaded that there are hundreds who, upon gospel, saving accounts, would embrace a stake for the testimony of Jesus, who yet know not at all that they have the assurance we speak of; and yet nothing else would enable them thereunto. But these things being beside the main of my intendment, I shall pursue them no farther; only, the rule is of use:-Let the soul be sure to be well acquainted with the nature of that which it seeks after, and confesseth a sense of the want of.

RULE III.

Continuance in waiting necessary unto peace and consolation.

Whatever your condition be, and your apprehension of it, yet continue waiting for a better issue, and give not over through weariness or impatience. This rule contains the sum of the great example given us in this psalm. Forgiveness in God being discovered, though no sense of a particular interest therein as yet obtained, that which the soul applies itself unto is diligent, careful, constant, persevering waiting; which is variously expressed in the fifth and sixth The Holy Ghost tells us that "light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart," Ps. xcvii. 11. Light

verses.