sus Christ, that believers might be perfect as pertaining to the conscience, as is signified, Heb. ix. 9, if assurance of freedom from the guilt of sin is not attainable.

It further appears that assurance is not only attainable in some very extraordinary cases, that all Christians are directed to give all diligence to make their calling and election sure, and are told how they may do it, 2 Pet. i. 5-8. And it is spoken of as a thing very unbecoming in Christians, and an argument of something very blameable in them, not to know whether Christ be in them or not, 2 Cor. xiii. 5. "Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" And it is implied that it is an argument of a very blameable negligence in Christians, if they practise Christianity after such a manner as to remain uncertain of the reward, in that 1 Cor. ix. 26. "I therefore so run as not uncertainly." And to add no more, it is manifest that Christians' knowing their interests in their saving benefits of Christianity as a thing ordinarily attainable, because the apostles tell us by what means Christians (and not only apostles and martyrs) were wont to know this; 1 Cor. ii. 12. "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God:" and 1 John ii. 3. " And hereby we do know him, if we keep his commandments:" and verse 5. "Hereby know we that we are in him;" chap. iii. 14. " We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren:" v. 19, "Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him:" ver. 24. "Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the spirit which he hath given us:" so chap. iv. 13, and chap. v. 2, and ver. 19.

Therefore it must needs be very unreasonable to determine that persons are hypocrites, and their affections wrong, because they seem to be out of doubt of their own salvation, and the affections they are the subjects of seem to banish all fears of hell,

On the other hand, it is no sufficient reason to determine that men are saints, and their affections gracious, because the affections they have are attended with an exceeding confidence that their

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state is good and their affections divine.t Nothing can be cer- · tainly argued from their confidence, how great and strong soever it seems to be. If we see a man that boldly calls God his father, and commonly speaks in the most bold, familiar and appropriating language in prayer, “ My Father, my dear Redeemer, my sweet Saviour, my Beloved!" and the like;—and it is a common thing for him to use the most confident expressions before men, about the goodness of his state; such as “ I know certainly that God is my Father; I know so surely as there is a God in heaven; that he is my God; I know I shall go to heaven as well as if I were there; I know that God is now manifesting himself to my soul, and is now smiling upon me;" and seems to have done forever with any inquiry or examination into his state, as a thing sufficiently known, and out of doubt, and to contemn all that so much as intimate or suggest that there is some reason to doubt or fear whether all is right; such things are no signs at all that it is indeed so as he is confident it is. Such an overbearing, high

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7“O professor, look carefully to your foundation: “Be not high minded, but fear. You have, it may be, done and suffered in many things in and for religion; you have excellent gifts and sweet comforts; a warm zeal for God, and high confidence of your integrity: all this may be right, for aught that I or (it may be) you know; but yet it is possible it may be false. You have sometimes judged yourselves, and pronounced yourselves upright; but remember your final sentence is not yet pronounced by your Judge. And what if God weigb you over again, in his more equal balance, and should say, Mene Tekel, Thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting! What a confounded man wilt thou be under such a sentence, Quæ splendent in con. spectu hominis, sordent in conspectu judicis; things that are highly esteemed of men are an abomination in the sight of God: he seeth not as man seeth. Thy heart may be false, and thou not know it: yea, it may be false, and thou strongly confident of its integrity." Flavel's Touchstone of Sincerity, Chap. i. sect. 5.

“ Some hypocrites are a great deal more confident than many saints." Stoddard's Discourse on the way to know sincerity and hypocrisy, p. 128

# “Doth the work of the faith in some believers, bear upon its top branches the full-ripe fruits of a blessed assurance? Lo, wbat strong confidence and high-built persuasions of an interest in God have sometimes been found in unsanctified ones! Yea, so strong may this assurance be, that they dare boldly venture to go to the judgment seat of God, and there defend it. Doth the

handed and violent sort of confidence as this, so affecting to declare itself with a most glaring show in the sight of men, which is to be seen in many, has not the countenance of a true christian assurance: it savours more of the spirit of the pharisees, who never doubted but that they were saints, and the most eminent of saints, and were bold to go to God, and come up near to him, and lift up their eyes, and thank him for the great distinction he had made between them and other men; and when Christ intimated that they were blind and graceless, despised the suggestion; John ix. 40,“ And some of the pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?” If they had more of the spirit of the publican with their confidence, who, in a sense of his exceeding unworthiness, stood afar off, and durst not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote on his breast, and cried out of himself as a sinner, their confidence would have more of the aspect of the confidence of one that humbly trusts and hopes in Christ, and has no confidence in himself.

If we do but consider what the hearts of natural men are, what principles they are under the dominion of, what blindness and deceit, what self-flattery, self-exaltation and self-confidence reign there, we need not at all wonder that their high opinion of themselves and confidence in their happy circumstances, be as high and strong as mountains, and as violent as a tempest, when once conscience is blinded and convictions killed with false, high affections, and those fore-mentioned principles let loose, fed up and prompted by false joys and comforts, excited by some pleasing imaginations impressed by Satan, transforming himself into an angel of light.

When once a hypocrite is thus established in a false hope, he has not those things to cause him to call his hope in question, that oftentimes are the occasion of the doubting of true saints; as, first, he has not that cautious spirit, that great sense of the vast impor

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Spirit of God fill the heart of the assured believer with joy unspeakable and full of glory, giving him, through faith, a prelibation or foretaste of heaven itself, in those first fruits of it? How near to this comes what the Apostle supposes may be found in apostates!" Flavel's Husbandry Spiritualized, chap. xji.

tance of a sure foundation, and that dread of being deceived. The comforts of the true saints increase awakening and caution, and a lively sense how great a thing it is to appear before an infinitely holy, just and omniscient Judge. But false comforts put an end to these things, and dreadfully stupify the mind. Secondly, The hypocrite has not the knowledge of his own blindness and the deceitfulness of his own heart, and that mean opinion of his own understanding, that the true saint has. Those that are deluded with false discoveries and affections, are ever more highly conceited of their light and understanding. Thirdly, The devil does not assault the hope of the hypocrite, as he does the hope of a true saint. The devil is a great enemy to true christian hope, not only because it tends greatly to the comfort of him that hath it, but also because it is a thing of a holy, heavenly nature, greatly tending to promote and cherish grace in the heart, and a great incentive to strictness and diligence in the christian life. But he is no enemy to the hope of a hypocrite, which, above all things, establishes his interest in him that has it. A hypocrite may retain his hope, without opposition, as long as he lives; the devil never disturbing it nor attempting to disturb it. But there is perhaps no true Christian but what has his hope assaulted by him. Satan assaulted Christ himself, upon this, whether he were the Son of God or not: and the servant is not above his Master, nor the disciple above his Lord; it is enough for the disciple, that is most privileged in this world, to be as his Master. Fourthly, He who has a false hope, has not that sight of his own corruptions which the saint has. A true Christian has ten times as much to do with his heart and its corruptions as a hypocrite: and the sins of his heart and practice appear to him in their blackness; they look dreadful; and it often appears a very mysterious thing that any grace can be consistent with such corruption, or should be in such a heart. But a false hope hides corruption, covers it all over, and the hypocrite looks clean and bright in his own eyes.

There are two sorts of hypocrites: one that are deceived with their outward morality and external religion; 'many of whom are professed Arminians in the doctrine of justification: and the other

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are those that are deceived with false discoveries and elevations; who often cry down works and mens own righteousness, and talk much of free grace; but at the same time make a righteousness of their discoveries, and of their humiliation, and exalt themselves to heaven with them. These two kinds of hypocrites, Mr. Shepard, in his exposition of the parable of the ten virgins, distinguishes by the names of legal and evangelical hypocrites; and often speaks of the latter as the worst. And it is evident that the latter are, commonly, by far the most confident in their hope, and with the most difficulty brought off from it: I have scarcely known the instance of such a one, in my life, that has been undeceived. The chief grounds of the confidence of many of them, are the very same kind of impulses and supposed revelations (sometimes with texts of scripture and sometimes without) that so many of late have had concerning future events; calling these impulses about their good estate, the witness of the Spirit, entirely misunderstanding the nature of the witness of the Spirit, as I shall show hereafter. Those who have had visions and impulses about other things, it has generally been to reveal such things as they are desirous and fond of: and no wonder that persons who give heed to such things, have the same sort of visions or impressions about their own eternal salvation, to reveal to them that their sins are forgiven them, that their names are written in the book of life, that they are in high favour with God, &c. and especially when they earnestly seek, expect and wait for evidence of their election and salvation this way, as the surest and most glorious evidence of it. Neither is it any wonder, that when they have such a supposed revelation of their good estate, it raises in them the highest degree of confidence of it. It is found, by abundant experience, that those who are led away by impulses and imagined revelations, are extremely confident: they suppose that the great Jehovah has declared these and those things to them; and having his immediate testimony, a strong confidence is the highest virtue. Hence they are bold to say, I know this or that; I know certainly;-I am as sure as that I have a being, and the like; and they despise all argument and inquiry in the case. And above all things else, it is easy to be accounted for, that impressions and impulses, about