3. Their having a Spirit, even the Spirit of God dwelling in them, which the world have not, Rom. viii. 9. Jude 19. When Lazarus's fpirit entered again into his body, he was separated from the congregation of the dead; and when a dead finner gets the Spirit of Chrift breathed into him, he is separated from the world, as much as the living from the dead. 4. Laftly, Their having a difpofition, frame, bent, and caft of heart and foul, oppofite to that of the world; fo that they are as much separated from the world, as enemies are one from another, Gen. iii. 15. Hence they are in their great defigns, affections, courfe and manner of life, non-conformists, and oppofites to the world: as oppofite as Caleb and Joshua were to their unbelieving countrymen, Numb. xiv. 24. From this doctrine, we may learn the following things. 1. This fpeaks the dignity of believers. They are the truly honourable ones, as being of God; they are the excellent of the earth. What avails it that men can boast of their honourable extract in the world, while it ftill remains true, that they are of their father the devil? The beggar on the dunghill being of God, is more honourable than the wicked king fitting on his throne, attended with all the majefty of a kingdom. 2. It fpeaks the privilege of believers. Every one will care and provide for his own: be fure God will then take special concern about believers, Matth. vi. 31, 32. Therefore take no thought, faying, What shall we eat? or what fhall we drink? or wherewithal fball we be clothed? (For after all thefe things do the Gentiles feek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye bave need of all these things. But many fuch, ye may fay, are forrily provided for. Anf. Ye are too hafty in fuch a judgment, Heb. xi. 16. God is not afhamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared pared for them a city. Every one will protect his own too; God will then protect believers, and he will avenge all their quarrels. There is never an unkindness done to them, but he will refent it, as ye will fee from Chrift's procedure with the wicked at the last day, Matth. xxv. There is not a hard word spoken to them, nor a wrong look given them, but he will caufe their enemies pay for it. 3. It speaks the duty of believers. Carry yourselves as becomes your dignity and privilege, as those that are of God. Truft him with all your concerns, in all your ftraits; walk tenderly before him, remembering that your follies reflect dishonour on him belong to; and that ye are to evidence your being of God, by your steering another courfe than the world lying in wickedness. ye 4. Laftly, It fhews the felf deceivery of unbelievers, pretenders to a faying intereft in God, while in the mean time they are lying together with the world in wickednefs. How can they be of God, who are not separated from the world, but walking according to the course thereof, in the luft of the flesh, the luft of the eyes, and the pride of life. But I proceed to the second doctrine from the text. DOCT. II. Peoples being of God, and feparated from the world lying in wickedness, is what may be. known by themselves. We know that we are of God, fays the apoftle. There is a people in the world, yet not of the world, but feparated from it; and they may fee that they are fuch. In treating this fubject, I fhall fhew, I. I am to fhew what knowledge may be had of this, That one is of God, and feparated from the world lying in wickedness. There are three ways of coming to the knowledge of a thing. 1. By 1. By our fenfes, as we know fire to be hot, and ice to be cold. But this matter cannot be known that way. The grace of God, and the fpiritual privileges of believers, are not the objects of fenfe. Indeed, if feparation from the world were juft a feparating from one party and joining with another in churchfociety; we might know it by fenfe; but it is not fo. 2. By extraordinary revelation, vifions, voices, or impreffions. Such things have been, as in Abraham's cafe, Gen. xvii. 1, 2. But that difpenfation is ceased, the canon of the feripture being completed, and we referred to it, as unto a more fure word of prophecy, 2 Pet. i. 19. It was never common to all, though all are required to know this, ver. 10. rance then of one's being in a ftate of attained without extraordinary revelation. Affu grace, may be 3. By rational evidence, as feeing a houfe, we know it has been built by fome one; feeing the world, we know that it has been created of God; because they could not make themselves. So men may know themselves to be of God, by giving diligence to make their calling and election fure, 2 Pet. i. Two things concur here. 10. ft, Spiritual discerning, a spiritual fight, tafte, or feeling of the things of God, in ourfelves or others, I Cor. ii. 14. It is the total want of this in fome, that makes them deceive themselves; they have no fpiritual difcerning, to diftinguish between God's people and the world; fo they are like men in the dark, that know not where they are, nor whither they are going. And the weakness of this difcerning in many of God's people, robs them of the comfort they might have. 2dly, Spiritual reafoning on feripture grounds, 1 John v. 13. Thefe things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. The word is the rule, which pronounces of mens ftate in the general; general; by fpiritual difcerning believers fee in them. felves or others, thofe things concerning which the fcripture pronounces; and by fpiritual reafoning they come to know by these means that they are of God, and separated from the world lying in wickednefs. Now, by way of rational evidence, one may know this of a two-fold object. 1. Of others. One may know that others are of God, and feparated from the world, difcerning the image of God fhining forth in them, and hence gathering that they are of God, and not of the world. So the apoftle in the text speaks of others as well as himself. There is a fpiritual difcerning in that cafe, as Barnabas faw the grace of God in the converts at Antioch, Acts xi. 23. And this knowledge is fuppofed in the command of loving one another, given to God's people; for how can men love others as of God, if they cannot know them to be fo? 2. Of themselves. A true believer may know himself to belong to God, and not to the world. So the apoftle fays in the text, We know that we are of God. There are fuch marks of diftinction betwixt the two focieties fixed in the word, that, by fpiritual difcerning and reasoning, one that is of God may be fatisfied, that he is really of God, and needs not be always in the dark in that point.. But betwixt that knowledge concerning one's felf and others, there is this remarkable difference. ift, In the case of others, we can have, by rational evidence, only a judgment of charity, not of certainty, without extraordinary revelation, fuch as Ananias had with respect to Paul, Acts ix. 15. This is founded upon probable appearance of the grace of God in them, which yet may be but an appearance. Hence the best of men may be deceived in their opinion of others, as Philip was with Simon Magus. The devil's goats may be taken for Christ's fheep, by very difcerning Chriftians. Of this I would fay, (1.) We should not be rash in giving or refufing that that judgment, but hold pace with the appearance or non-appearance of the grace of God in them. We are bid to beware of men; for we are told all men are liars and many a fair outfide there is, where there is a foul infide, that a little trial difcovers; therefore we ought not to have the perfons of any in admiration. On the other fide, the grace of God may dwell with much drofs; therefore we are to beware left we trample the jewel under foot, because it lies in a dunghill. (2.) The love beftowed on hypocrites is not all loft, and therefore it is safest erring on the charitable fide. A man may love Chrift in a hypocrite; not that Chrift dwells in any fuch, but that what we beflow on any for Christ's fake, whether they really deferve it or not, will not lofe its reward, Mark ix. 41. And by the rule of charity, we are obliged to put the best construction on our neighbour's ftate and way that they can reasonably bear, 1 Cor. xiii. 7. had better judge ten hypocrites fincere, for that may be duty, than one fincere perfon a hypocrite, for that must always be fin. One (3.) Let us carry our judgment of others no farther than that of charity, and not pretend to a certainty, which is not competent to us in that cafe, but to God only. He alone is the fearcher of hearts, without the knowledge of which an abfolute certainty cannot be attained. Keeping within our own bounds, the deceit difcovered in the world would brangle us the lefs, as being not inconfiftent with the judgment that we formed. 2dly, In our own case, we may have by rational evidence a judgment of certainty, without extraordinary revelation. We may in an ordinary way, if we really belong to God, be infallibly affured of it. The reafon of the difference is plain; we see the open actions and carriages of others, but we cannot know the fecret springs of them, the principles, ends, and manner of them, upon which the main ftrefs lies; but |