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Take heed, that you do not lay the stress and weight of all your comfort upon duty: either the gift of duty, or the grace of duty, or the present answer of it. So much as ye lay the stress, and weight of your comfort upon duty, so much will you be discouraged in case you do either want duty, or an answer to it. When Paul was tempted and buffeted, he prayed thrice: "For this, (saith he,) I besought the Lord thrice," 2 Cor. xii. 8, that is often, and the Lord gave him no other answer than this, " Paul, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength shall be made perfect in thy weakness." Whereupon Paul saith, "Now therefore will I glory in mine infirmities, that the power of the Lord may rest upon me." Hast thou therefore been at prayer? and hast thou prayed thrice or often? and hast thou no answer but this, "My grace is sufficient for thee?" know that thou hast a Paul's answer, and therefore rather glory in this, that the Lord should find thee faithful for to wait upon him, than be discouraged; knowing, that the Lord's strength shall be perfected in thy weakness.

Consider seriously and frequently of this rule-That difficulty doth commend duty: the more difficulties your duties do press through to God, the more acceptable they are to him. The less there is to sweeten your duty to you, the more sweet is your duty to God. It is in our performing of duty, as in the offering of the Jewish sacrifice, in the offering of their sacrifice there were two things, the sacrifice, and the obedience in offering the sacrifice; and the more difficult it was for any poor Jew, by reason of poverty, or the like, to offer this sacrifice, the more and greater was his obedience in offering it; the more difficult in offering, the greater the obedience offered. So also it is in our gospel sacrifices, and in all our duties, there are two things in them; there is the sacrifice, the duty, and there is the obedience in bringing the duty and the more difficulty in performing the duty, the greater is the obedience to God in the performing of it. Now is it not an hard thing, and very difficult, for a man to pray, and continue praying, when his heart is hardened and his spirit straitened? especially if he be sensible thereof? then he is ready to despond, and say, I can pray no more: and is it not a very hard thing for a man to pray, and persevere in prayer, when he thinks that God doth not regard his

prayer? then he is apt to say, Why should I pray any longer, for God regards me not: yet, now, if you do pray and perform your duty, your obedience is the more obediential, and the more acceptable; and if you would but think of this rule— Difficulty doth commend duty, and the less you have to sweeten your action the more sweet it is to God; I say, if would but remember this, it would both encourage you you to duty, and keep you from discouragement in it.

And we must all learn to leave the event and success of our spiritual things unto God himself; so shall we never be discouraged in any duty. For the word of the Lord is sure, and God hath spoken it: "Cast thy gift upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee; he will not suffer the righteous to be moved for ever," Psalm lv. You read it thus: "Cast thy burden upon the Lord:" but in the Hebrew, it is, thy gift; "Cast thy gift upon the Lord."* That is, saith Schindler, Quicquid tibi dari donative expelis: Whatsoever thou dost desire that God should give thee, cast that upon the Lord: thou comest to prayer, and thou prayest for such a mercy, or such a gift, cast that on God, and leave it wholly to him. Oh, but the mercy I pray for is a necessary mercy! Be it so, yet it is to be cast on God. But it is a spiritual gift! I pray for pardon of sin, the sense of God's love, growth in grace, consolation to my poor drooping soul. Be it so, yet thou must cast this on God. Many there are, that can leave the event and the success of their outward things unto God, but to leave the event and success of prayer, and their spiritual things unto God, this they cannot understand, and this they are utterly unacquainted with: but whatever thy gift be, cast it upon the Lord, leave the success and the event of all your spiritual things upon God: what then?" and he will sustain thee, and thou shalt not be moved for ever." Thou art moved for the present, and thy heart is moved, and thou art much discouraged, yet do but try this way, leave the event to God. Go to prayer, go and perform thy duty leav

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Rab. Salv. Jar.-Abbreviate dictus Rashi vel Rasi RWD (quod etiam pro dono usurpatur on пкwp 2 Sam. ii. 8). Bibl. Bomb.

ing the event of that unto God, and the Lord that hath promised will certainly fulfil it, thou shalt be sustained, and though thou art moved for the present, thou shalt not be moved for ever. stance.

And thus I have done with the third in

SERMON VII.

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A LIFTING UP IN THE WANT OF ASSURANCE.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me, &c."-Psalm xlii. 11.

IV. SOMETIMES the discouragements of God's people are drawn from the want of their evidence for heaven.

And thus they reason or argue: I am a poor creature, who doth want assurance of the love of God, and of mine own salvation; therefore I am thus discouraged. Indeed, if I had any evidence of an interest in Christ, I should never be discouraged whatever my condition were: but, alas! I want the assurance of God's love, and of eternal life. Should I now die, I do not know whether I should go to heaven or hell, and what would become of my soul to all eternity. Oh I want assurance of my salvation, and therefore I am thus discouraged. Have I not just cause and reason for my discouragements now?

No, no reason yet. It is indeed a great evil and a sore affliction, to want the assurance of God's love and of one's own salvation; yet, notwithstanding, the want of this assurance is no sufficient ground or bottom for your discouragement. I confess it is a great evil and a sore affliction for a man to want assurance; for sin and affliction are twisted together in the want of assurance. As of all blessings those are the greatest, where grace and comfort are joined together; so where sin and affliction are twisted together, of all afflictions they are the most afflictive. And thus it is in the want of assurance: for as in assurance there is something of grace,

and something of comfort or reward; so in the want of assurance there is somewhat of sin or unbelief, and somewhat of affliction too. Sin and affliction, affliction and sin, are both twisted together in the want of assurance.

The truth is, a man that wants the assurance of God's love, and of his interest in Christ, is neither fit to receive mercy from God, nor to make return of love and praise to God as he should. Not fit to receive mercy as he should, for though he would have Christ come in, yet by unbelief he shuts the door against him, and he makes an evil interpretation of mercies offered unto him. If a mercy or blessing be tendered unto him, he saith, This comes in judgment to me; it is a blessing indeed in itself, but I fear it is a judgment to me. Thus he makes an ill interpretation of blessings, and so is unfit to receive. And he is not fit to make returns of love to God again: assurance returns praise. And therefore saith the text here, O my soul, wait on God, hope in God, "for I shall yet praise him," why?" for he is my God." Praise grows upon assurance. And upon this account, I say, he is neither fit to receive mercy, nor to make return of praise as he should.

Yea further, he that wants assurance of God's love, converseth too much with Satan. As he that hath the assurance of God's love, doth converse with Christ," the Spirit bearing witness to him that he is the child of God;" so he that doth want assurance, converseth with Satan, and Satan, though falsely, is still bearing witness to his spirit that he is not the child of God. And is it not a misery to be in these converses with Satan, to be under his hellish droppings ? David felt one pang of unbelief, and he cried out, and said, "It is too painful for me." Oh, what a pain is it then, to lie bed-rid of an unbelieving heart. You know a chaste and a loving wife, counts it an affliction to her, to be followed with the solicitations of an unworthy person, to suspect and be jealous of her husband's love; for, saith she, he doth therefore follow me with these solicitations, making me to suspect my husband's love, that so he may attain his own. filthy desires. So saith a gracious soul, the devil is always following and tempting me to suspect the love of Christ, and he doth therefore do it, that he may attain his mind upon me; for the devil knows well enough, that the more I sus

pect Christ's love, the more I shall embrace Satan's love. The truth is, beloved, this want of assurance of God's love, or interest in Christ, is an inlet to many sins and miseries; for first a man doubts of his own salvation, and after he hath continued doubting, then he riseth up unto a full conclusion, saying, Now know I that Christ doth not love me, I did but doubt before, but now I know he doth not love me. And after he is risen to this conclusion, then shortly he riseth higher, and he goes further, thus: If Christ doth not love me now, he will never love me, and if I have not interest in Christ now, after all the preaching I have heard, and ordinances enjoyed, if I have not an interest in Christ now, I shall never have it; and so the longer I live, the more I aggravate my condemnation; therefore as good in hell at first as at the last, and therefore now I will even make away with myself. Oh, what a black chain is here, and the first link is the want of assurance. If you should see a child, a pretty child, lie in the open streets, and none own it, would it not make your bowels yearn within you? Come to the little one, and say, Child, where is thy father? I know not, saith the child. Where is thy mother, child? I know not. Who is thy father? what is thy father's name, child? I know not. Would it not make your heart ache to see such a little one in the streets? But for a poor soul to lie in the streets, as it were, and not know his father, whether God be his Father, or the devil be his father; for a soul to say, I do not know my father, whether God in Christ be my Father, yea or no; this is pitiful indeed. The word father is a sweet word, for it sweetens all our duties; take the word Father out of prayer, and how sour is it? Surely, therefore, it is a sad and sore affliction, to want the assurance of God's love in Christ. But now, although it be a great evil, and a sore affliction for to want this assurance, yet I say, the saints and people of God have no reason to be cast down or discouraged, although they do want the same.

How may that appear?

Thus if the want of assurance be not the damning unbelief, then a man hath no reason to be quite discouraged, although he do want assurance. Now, though there may be much unbelief bound up in the want of assurance, yet I say, the bare want of assurance, is not that unbelief that shall

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