with those weak wishes and velleicies,char are fo frequent in the mouths of many, O chat we were sure of heaven, of happiness!

that our souls were well provided for! O chat we knew whac should become of them to eternity! Truly these are but gaping and yawning desires, as if hidden Manna would drop into their mouchs. This great blessing requires a wrestling prayer. The White Stone is given to none but a Conquerour. The Spirit won't set his Seal to a faint and languishing velleicy. An Eccho wont answer a whisperer ; a weak voice is not worth a re, bound.

The truth is, there is a great deal of Vicinity and friendship, say I think I might say Confanguinity, between Assurance and Prayer. Prayer thould be Plerophoria quadam explicata. Asíurance does mightily enliven and animate Prayer,and Prayer does Pour te deper, cherish and maintain Assurance.

Go chen unto thy God, and be importunate with him: beg a. smile,a glance, a beam of his face: delire him to take all worldly tbings again, unless he will [weecen them with his love. Tell bim, chou canst no longer seed upon husks, and desire him to give thee fomewhat that's fit for a Soul to live on.

3 Be diligent and frequent in communion with thy God. Con versing wich God puts a lustre and radiancy upon the Soule; descending to the creature, puts a Veile upon chat former brigheness ; sweet and familiar entercourse with thy God, puts chee into the number of his friends; and friendship brings Adurance and Confidence along with it.

Would God (dolt thou think) admit thee into his most shining and beautiful presence? would be thus display himself to thee, and make known bis most secret treasures of goodnesse and sweetnesse unto chy soul, unlesse he lov'd thee? would thy Saviour thus smile upon chee? would he thus uobosome and una bowel bimself to chee? would be tbus flourish in at the Lattices, unlesse he were chy Spouse? would he thus kisle thee with the kisses of his mouch? would be cell thee so much of his mind, anleffe his heart were with chee? would be accept of thy pray. ers and thy performances, thy spiritual facrifices, if he meant to destroy thee? didit thou ever know him deal thus deceitfully with any? would he give thy foul such frequent visits, Luch gentle breachings? would be so often whisper* co thee, thac

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which the world most not hear, if thou wert an enemy as well
as they canst thoa chiok thy self in darkness, when the Sun looks
upon thee? Canst chou doubt of quenching thy chirst, when the
fountain bubbles out, and flows upon chee? Canst thou doubt of
liberty in the year of fubilee? what is the Dove in the Ark, and
yer can it find no rest to the soul of her feet? Canst thou question
thy fafery under che wings of Christ? No, whatever it was chat
put out thy joy,it did firit estrange & alienate thee fron thy God.
And couldīt thou but recover thy former neerness to him, thou
need't not doubc of the same affe&ionace expressions from bim.
Communion with God, is that which gives an heavenly and e-
ternal Plerophory; tis that which maintains the assurance of
gorious Angels, and glorify'd Saints. And cbat which takes a-
way all hope from the dam’d, is this, that they are perpetually
banisht, irrecoverably excommunicated from the face of their
God: Depart from me, I know you not: there is more in that
than in fire and brimstone. But God has said unto chee, Seek my
face and let thy soul eccho out ics resolution, Tby face, Lord, will
'Iseck: for all certainty Aows from God, from chat fixt and un-
shaken Entity, from chac Original immutability that is in him.
And wben God sets his seal unto thee, be prints somewhat of this
upon thee: And therefore the more God gives of himself to chee,
the more Assurance he gives thee.
Go chen to the place where his honour dwells, go to the place
where his glory shines. You know that the Apostle Thomu,
when he was absent from the Apostles meeting, he fell into a
strange distrust of that which the others were very well assar'd
of. Go then to those Ordinances, that drop goiden Oile opon
the soul, and make its countenance to shine. Hide thy self in
those clefts of the Rock, that God may make his goodnesse passe
before thee. God will there beam out upon thy soul, he will
warm ic with his love, and will then seal it to the day of redem,
ption.

Observ.3,

Chriftian A Curance deserves diligence. 'Tis a miserable thing to toile for vanity and emptinesse ; to fow the wind, and to reap the whirlewinde. But to cake pains for happinesse, who would not be willing to this? An Israelite that would be loth to spend his time in gathering stubble, would willingly spend it in gathering Grapes. A wise Virgin will cheerfully put in so much Oile, as will make the Lamp to shine. The soul will never be weary of gathering hidden Manna. Afsurance is a very satisfactory thing ; men take a present and compleat acquiescence in it.

Consider it in temporals, wbat won't wordlings do to secure their lands and goods and estates? How do they seek for Bonds, and Seals, and Oaths and Sureties; and yet think all this too little? They have set up an Ensurers office, and will scarce venture a Ship at sea, unlesle ic can have an unquestionable Plerophory; unlesse one will secure it from wars, and another from rocks, and a cbird from winds and tempests. And this is one of those stings and vexations which God has put into cemporals, that they are uncertain. Many a worldling has pin’d 2way under this very notion, that his riches bad wings, and could fly away when they lift. And this was the reason, why the E. picures were all for enjoying the present moment; because that was all they were certain of; and therefore they would have devour'd and foopt up the quintessence of all happinesse in a zo rūs if they could. Thus Anacreon sings ri onu eper énet udd, tód wie elor os órds. And this was that which made the Heathen so angry with Fortune, a Goddesle of their own framing, because the put them alwayes upon blind uncertainties. This made the Stoicks to run into the other extreme,co fix themselves in an unevitable certainty, in a fullen neceffity, co anchor upon fate, ra. ther than to be left to a wavering contingency.

2. Assurance in Intellectuals is very fatisfactory. There's nothing that corcures the soul more then scruples and difficulties, it makes it to dwell like a Lily amongst Thorns,

The Scepticks were a perpetual wrack to themselves. Objections fly like dust inco the souls eye, and sometimes tis fain to weep

them out. How does it vex the Naturalist that his head is so non-plust, as that he must fly to the refuge of an occult quality? How impatient was Aristotle, what boylings, and tossings in bis breast more than in Euripus, because he could not give a full account of the ebbing and flowing of that River? He threw himfelfinto it, as if he thought to find more rest there then in his. own spirit, discomposed only with this uncertainty. Every que

stion checks the understanding, and makes it remove a little from certainty, as the learned Verulam observes. Every question cis some grace to errour, and some repulse to truth.

But how sweetly does the mind relish those first and common nocions, chaç carry a native light, and convincing evidence and certaincy in them, and won't give the Soul leave to doubt? and how does it bacbe ic self in those crystalline streamings out, those pure derivations of secondary nocions, chat freely bubble out from chefe fountain principles, which for their certainty fometimes are honoured with the name of axioms? And some give this rule for a tryai and touchstone of notions: Whatsoever Propofition the mind does fully close with, that is unqueftionably true; because the mind can't reit satisfied but with certainty. And that which it gives but an hovering & imperfect affent to, is but probably crue. Now though sometimes a fallity may come under the fair disguise of an apparent certainey, yet this is also sure, that the mind cannot fo fully and sweeily acquiesce in an appa rent certainty,as in a real certainty. As neither can che Will lo fully close with an apparent good, as with a real good; for in realicies there is a sure enticy at the botcom, which is a just foundation for appearance, whereas the other is a meer colour, a surface, a shadow. And the more perfect any intelle&ual being is, the more of certainty it has.

Our knowledge therefore here is but cloudy and enigmatical, shadowy, and in a glasse. The nearer to God any being is, the more ic has of certainty. And therefore the Angels and Spirits that see God face to face are satisfied with bis image. Truch chen plucks off her veile, puls off her mask, thac che soul may falute ber. And this is the great prerogative of that infinite and supream Being, God bimself

, that he has an independent and eternal certaincy,and beholds all beings & motions of beings past, present, and to come without the least shadow of variation. And those things which pose created beings,are more plain and obvious to his ey e,chan first principles are to ours. The very intimate forms of beings are naked and anatomiz'd before him. He looks down upon the sons of men, and fees them rolling and Auctuatiog, toft and cumbi'd up and down in uncertainties, sometimes even questioning him in his wayes and his dealings, while as he rests in a full and absolute Omniscience. And this is his great goodnesse,

tha

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that he allows us cercainty in those things that concern our web fare and happinesse.

3. In spiricuals and eternals, Assurance is very satisfactory. Religion should be above syllogisms & disputings. Spiritual notions should have the seal of God in their foreheads,they are not co be struck like sparks out of a flint, but are to spring like light from the Sun, they are to flow like streams from the Ocean; & Principles of Religion must be built upon a Rock,upon the most fure & unquestionable grounds that can be. Men that build for eternity, kad need to lay the foundation sure, and they must build gold and precious stones upon the foundation,that which has a solidicy,and a firm certainty in it. And if this were observ’d,

1. You would have no such jars and divisions in the Church: you would not be so much troubled with the noise of Axes and Hammers; imposing things questionable as certain, is agreeable to that spirir, which allows no other Assurance but this, That their Church is the true Church.

2. The mixing and blending of Religion with uncertainties, is that which does emasculate, and dispiric, and endanger it; tis a dashing the wine wich water; cis an adulterating the gold with dross, so as it wont endure the fiery trial.

3. The taking up Religion upon uncertain grounds, does put men upon an odious luke-warmness and neutrality; for men can't be zealous for a thing they doubt of: it puts them upon variableness and unconstancy, upon the very brim of Apostasie; and (it may be) plunges them into it. Nay,it strongly tends to Atheism; fome do so long question which is the true Religion, as chat ac length they resolve to have none at all.

4. The leaving the success of Religion uncertain, does damp and cool the spirits of men. The learned Moralists amongst the Heatben, could never content chemielves with a fair probability onely of summum bonum, but did spin it out to an imaginary certaincy. The Scoicks would have a Domestick plerophory, they must be unavoidably happy: A meer eertainty won't suffice them, it must be condens d into a necefficy. A wise man with them must irreversibly seal up himself to happiness: And fo though he were in Phalaris his bull, he must glory and triumph, and ling Hallelujahs: But the fairer Moralists were willing to depend more upon the bounty of Heaven, which yet they look'd

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