stand strong on the promise, the only true basis and foundation of solid comfort. Be not more cruel to thy soul, O Christian, than thou wouldest to thy friend's, shall I say thy enemy's, body. Should one, thou didst not much love, lie sick in thy house, yea so sick that if you should ask him whether he be alive he could not tell you (his senses and speech being both at present gone) would you presently lay him out, and coffin him up for the grave, because you cannot have it from his own mouth that he is alive? Surely not. O how unreasonable and bloody then is Satan, who would presently have thee put thyself into the pit-hole of despair, because thy grace is not so strong as to speak for itself at present ?

SECT. II.

Let me send thee back upon a melius inquirendum; look once again more narrowly, whether Satan, that Joab, hath not the great hand in these questions and scruples started in thy bosom about thy sincerity, merely as his last design upon thee, that he may amuse and distract thee with false fears, when thou wilt not be flattered with false hopes? The time was thou wert really worse, and then by his means thou thoughtest thyself better than thou wert; and now, since thou hast changed thy way, disowned thy former confidence, been acquainted with Christ, and got some savour of his holy ways in thy spirit, so as to make thee strongly breathe after them, thou art affrighted with many apparitions of fears in thy sad thoughts, if not charging thee for a hypocrite yet calling in question the truth of thy heart. It is worth, 1 say, the enquiring whether it be not the same hand again, the devil, though knocking at another door; no player hath so many different dresses to come upon the stage in, as the devil hath forms of temptation; and this is a suit which he very ordinarily hath been known to wear. If it were thy case only, thou mightest have more suspicion lest these fears should be the just rebukes of thy own false heart; but when thou findest many of thy fellow-brethren (whose sincerity thou darest not doubt, though thou savest not so much charity for thyself) their

complaints so meet with thine that no key, though made on purpose, can more fit all the wards of a lock than their condition doth thine: this I say may well make thee set about another search to find whether he be not come forth as a lying spirit, to abuse thy tender spirit with such news, as he knows worse cannot come to thy ears, that thou dost not love Jesus Christ as thou pretendest, and deceivest but thyself to think otherwise. Thus this foul spirit (like a brazen-faced whore that lays her child at an honest person's door) doth impudently charge many with that which they are little guilty of, knowing that so much will likely stick of this bold accusation to the poor Christian's spirit, as shall keep the door open to let in another temptation which he much desires to convey into his bosom by the favour and under the shadow of this, and it is ordinarily this, to scare the Christian from duty and knock off the wheels of his chariot, which used so often to carry him into the presence of God in his ordinances, merely upon a suspicion that he is not sincere in them; and better stay at home without hearing, or joining with God's people in any other duty, than go up and shew the naughtiness of thy heart, saith the Devil. Had the Serpent a smoother skin and a fairer tale when he made Eve put forth her hand to the forbidden fruit, than he comes with in this temptation, to persuade thee, poor Christian, not to touch or taste of that fruit which God hath commanded to be eaten ordinances, I mean, to be enjoyed by thee? Yet, Christian, thou hast reason, if I mistake not, to bless God, if he suffers thy enemy so far to open his mind, by which thou mayest have some light to discover the wickedness of his design in the other temptation of questioning thy sincerity. Dost thou not now perceive, poor soul, what made the loud cry of thy hypocrisy in thy fears? the Devil did not like to see thee so busy with ordinances, nor thy acquaintance to grow so fast with God in them; and he knew no way but this to knock thee off. Bite at his other baits thou wouldst not: sin, though never so well cooked and garnished, is not a dish for thy tooth he sees; and therefore he must either affright thee from these, by troubling thy imagination with fears of thy hypocrisy in them, or else he may throw his

cap at thee, and give thee up for one got out of his reach. Dost thou think, poor soul, that if thy heart were so false and hypocritical in thy duties, that he would make all this bustle about them? He doth not use to misplace his batteries thus, to mount them where there is no enemy to offend him; thy hypocritical prayers and hearing would hurt him no more than if none at all. Neither doth he use to be so kind as to tell hypocrites of the falseness of their hearts: this is the chain with which he hath them by the foot, and it is his great care to hide it from them, lest the rattling of it in their conscience awake them to some endeavour to knock it off, and so they make an escape out of his prison. Be therefore of good comfort, poor soul; if thy conscience brings not Scripture-proof to condemn thee for a hypocrite, fear not the Devil's charge; he shall not be on the bench when thou comest to be tried for thy life, nor his testimony of any value at that day: why then should his tongue be any slander to thee now?

SECT. III.

Neglect no means for the getting thy truth of heart and sincerity evidenced to thee; it is to be had. This is the "white stone with the new name in it, which no man knoweth but he that receives it," promised Rev. ii. 17. And I hope thou dost not think this to be such an ens rationis, an imaginary thing, as the philosopher's stone is, which none could ever say to this day that he had it in his hand. Holy Paul had this white stone sparkling in his conscience more gloriously than all the precious stones in Aaron's breast-plate, 2 Cor. i. 12. "Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, we have had our conversation in the world." And Job sure was not without it, when he durst with such a confidence appeal to the thoughts that God himself had of him, even then when God was ransacking and searching every corner of his heart by his heavy hand: "Thou knowest that I am not wicked;" Job x. 7. mark, he doth not deny he had sin in him, that you have again and again confessed by him; but he was not "wicked," that is, a rotten-hearted

hypocrite. This he will stand to, that God himself will not say so of him; though (for his trial) the Lord gives way to have him searched, to stop the devil's mouth, and shame him who was not afraid to lay suspicion of this spiritual felony to his charge.

Object. But may be thou wilt say, These were saints of the highest form, and though they might come to see their sincerity, and have this "white stone" in their bosoms, yet such jewels cannot be expected to be worn by ordinary Christians.

Answ. For answer to this, consider that the weakest Christian in God's family hath the same witness in him that they had: "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him." 1 John v. 10. Mark, it is indefinite, every one that believeth, not this eminent Christian or that, but every one. "The witness," the same Christ and Spirit, dwell in thy heart that do in the highest saint on earth; the same blood thou hast to sprinkle, and the same water to wash thee; these can, and will (when the Lord please) testify as much for thy grace and sincerity as it doth for theirs. Only, as witnesses that are in a court stay till the judge call them forth, then, and not till then, do they give their testimony; so do these, and God may and doth use his liberty when he will do this; as on the contrary, every wicked impenitent sinner carries a witness in his own bosom that will condemn him, but this doth not always speak and presently make report of the sad news it hath to tell the sinner; that is, when God calls a court, and keeps his private session in the sinner's soul, which is at his pleasure to appoint the time: only means must not be neglected, of which I shall propose a few.

1. Reach forth, Christian (for such I must call thee, whether thou wilt own the name or no) to further degrees of grace. The more the child grows up the more it comes to its right complexion, and so doth grace. There is so much slavish fear, selfishness, with other imperfections at present (like so much scurf) on the face of this newborn babe of grace, that they hide its true favour, which by degrees will wear off as it grows up; yea, the spiritual reason of a Christian ripens as the whole body of

grace grows, whereby he is more capable, by reflecting on his own actions, to judge of the objections Satan makes against his sincerity; so that, if you would not be always tossed to and fro with your own fluctuating thoughts whether you are sincere or no, be not always children in grace, but grow up to higher stature, and thou wilt grow above many of thy fears; for by the same light that thou findest the growth of thy grace, thou mayest see the truth of it also. Though it be hard in the crepusculum, or first break of day, to know whether it be day-light or night-light that shines; yet when you see the light evidently grow and unfold itself, you by that know it to be day. Paint doth not grow on the face fairer than it was, nor do the arms of a child in a picture get strength by standing there months and years; does thy love, hope, humility, godly sorrow, grow more and more, poor soul, and yet question what it is, whether true grace or not? This is as marvellous a thing, that thou shouldest not know what thy grace is, and whence, as it was that the Jews should not know who Christ was, when he had made a man born blind see so clearly. John ix.

2. Readily embrace any call, that God sends thee by his providence, for giving a proof and experiment of thy sincerity. There are some few advantages that God gives, which if embraced and improved, a man may come to know more of his own heart, and the grace of God therein, than in all his life besides. Now these advantages do lie wrapped up in those seasons wherein God more eminently calls us forth to deny ourselves for his sake. Be but ready to entertain, and faithful to obey, that heavenly call, and thou wilt know much of thy heart; partly, because grace in such acts comes forth with such glory, that (as the sun when it shines in a clear day) it exposeth itself more visibly to the eye of the creature, as also because God chuseth such seasons as these for to give his testimony to the truth of his children's grace in, when they are most eminently exercising of it this way. When does the master speak kindly to his servant, and commend him, but when he takes him most diligent in it? then he saith, "well done, good and faithful servant.' May be some time or other God is calling thee to such