law to forbid her murdering her husband, or abusing him. But withal we know, that no man on earth is perfect in the degrees of love; and therefore all need laws and fear.

Use all God's penal laws to the ends that he appointed them, to quicken you in your obedience, and restrain you from yielding to temptations, and from sinning, and then your own benefit will reconcile you to the wisdom, holiness, and justice of the laws.

Direct. 6. Remember that all Christians have solemnly professed their own consent, to the threats and punishments of the Gospel.'

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Though God will punish sinners whether they consent or not; and though none consent to the execution upon themselves, when it comes to it; yet all that profess Christianity do profess their consent to the condemning, as well as to the justifying part of God's word. For every Christian professeth his consent to be governed by Christ, and therefore he professeth his consent to be governed by Christ's laws for if Christ be a King, he must have laws: and if he govern us at all, he governeth us by laws. And this is Christ's law; "He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; and he that believeth not, shall be damned;" Mark xvi. 16. He that professeth to be governed by Christ, professeth his consent to be governed by this very law; and therefore he professeth his consent to be damned if he believe not. Christ told you that you must consent to both parts, or to neither and will you grudge at the severity of that law which you have professed your consent to? The curses of the covenant (Deut. xxix. 21.) were to be repeated to the people of Israel, and they were expressly to say Amen to each of them. For life and death were set before them; blessings and cursings, (Deut. xxx. 1. 19.) and not life and blessings alone. And so the Gospel which we are to believe, containeth though principally and eminently the promises; yet secondarily also the threatenings of hell to impenitent unbelievers. And our consent doth speak our approbation. Direct. 7. Observe that the belief of Christ's threatenings of damnation to impenitent unbelievers, is a real part of the Christian saving faith, and that whenever it is joined with a true love and desire after holiness, it certainly proveth that the promises also are believed, though the party think that he doth not believe them.'

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Note here, 1. That I do not say, that all belief or fear of God's threatenings is saving faith. But, 2. That all saving faith containeth such a belief of the threatenings. 3. And that many times poor Christians, who believe and tremble at the threatenings, do truly believe the promises, and yet mistake, and verily think that they do not believe them. 4. But their mistake may certainly be manifested, if their faith do but work by a love and desire after holiness, and the fruition of God.

For, 1. It is evident that the same Gospel which saith, "He that believeth shall be saved;" doth say, "He that believeth not shall be damned." Therefore the same faith believeth both. 2. It is plain that the same formal object of faith, which is God's veracity, will bring a man to believe one as well as the other, if he equally know it to be a divine revelation: he that believeth that All that God saith is true:' and then believeth that God saith that All true believers shall be saved;' must needs believe that this promise is true. And he that understandeth that Christ saith, Unbelievers shall be damned;' cannot but find also that he saith, True believers shall be saved.' And if he believe the one, because it is the word of Christ; he doth sure believe the other, because it is the word of Christ. 3. Yea it is in many respects harder to believe God's threatenings, than his promises; partly because sinners are more unwilling that they should be true; and they have more enmity to the threatenings, than to the promises; and partly because they commonly feign God to be such as they would have him be: "Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself," &c.; Psal. l. And partly because God's goodness being known to be his very essence, and all men being apt to judge of goodness, by the measure of their own interest, it is far more obvious and facile to man's understanding, to conclude that some are saved, than that some are damned; and that the penitent believers are saved, than that the impenitent unbelievers are damned: We hear daily how easily almost all men are brought to believe that God is merciful; and how hard it is to persuade them of his damning justice and severity. Therefore he that can do the harder, is not unlike to do the easier.

And indeed it is mere ignorance of the true nature of faith, which maketh those whom I am now describing, to

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think that they do not believe God's promises, when they believe his threatenings. They think that because they believe not that they themselves are pardoned, justified, and shall be saved, that therefore they believe not the promise of God: but this is not the reason; but it is because you find not the condition of the promise yet in yourselves, and therefore think that you have no part in the benefits: but it is one thing to doubt of your own sincerity, and another thing to doubt whether the promise of God be true. Suppose that the law do pardon a felon if he can read as a clerk ; and one that is a felon be in doubt whether his reading will serve or not; this is not to deny belief to the pardoning act of the law. Suppose one promise a yearly stipend to all that are full one and twenty years of age, in the town or country: to doubt of my age, is not to doubt of the truth of the promise.

Object. But do not Protestant divines conclude against the Papists, that saving faith must be a particular application of Christ and the promise to ourselves, and not only a general assent?'

Answ. It is very true; and the closer that application is the better. But the application which all sound divines (in this point) require as necessary in saving faith, is neither an assurance, nor persuasion that your own sins are already pardoned, or that they ever will be: but it is, 1. A belief that the promise of pardon to all believers, is so universal, as that it includeth you as well as others, and promiseth and offereth you pardon, and life, if you will believe in Christ. 2. And it is a consent or willingness of heart that Christ be yours, and you be his, to the ends proposed in the Gospel. 3. And it is a practical trust in his sufficiency, as choosing him for the only Mediator, resolving to venture your souls, and all your hopes upon him: though yet through your ignorance of yourselves, you may think that you do not this thing in sincerity, which indeed you do; yea, and much fear (through melancholy or temptation) that you never shall do it, and consequently never shall be saved.

He that doubteth of his own salvation, not because he doubteth of the truth of the Gospel; but because he doubteth of the sincerity of his own heart, may be mistaken in himself, but is not therefore an unbeliever (as is said before).

If you would know whether you believe the promises truly, answer me these particular questions: 1. Do you believe that God hath promised that all true believers shall be saved? 2. Do you believe that if you are or shall be a true believer, you shall be saved? 3. Do you choose or desire God as your only happiness and end, to be enjoyed in heaven, and Christ as the only Mediator to procure it; and his Holy Spirit as his Agent in your souls, to sanctify you fully to the image of God? Are you truly willing that thus it should be? And if God be willing, will not you refuse it? 4. Do you turn away from all other ways of felicity, and choose this alone, to venture all your hopes upon, and resolve to seek for none but this; and to venture all on God and Christ, though yet you are uncertain of your sincerity and salvation? Why this makes up true saving faith.

5. And I would further ask you; Do you fear damnation, and God's wrath, or not? If not, what troubleth you? And why complain you? If you do, tell me then whether you do believe God's threatenings, that he that believeth not shall be damned, or not? If you do not, what maketh you fear damnation? Do you fear it, and not believe that there is any such thing? If you do believe it, how can you choose but believe also, that every true believer shall be saved? Is God true in his threatenings, and not in his promises? This must force you plainly to confess, that you do believe God's promises, but only doubt of your own sincerity, and consequently of your salvation; which is more a weakness in your hope, than in your faith, or rather chiefly in your acquaintance with yourself.

Direct. 8. Yet still dwell most upon God's promises in the exercise of love, desire and thankfulness; and use all your fear about the threatenings, but in a second place, to further and not to hinder the work of love.'

Direct. 9. Let faith interpret all God's judgments, merely by the light of the threatenings of his word; and do not gather any conclusions from them, which the word affordeth not, or alloweth not; God's judgments may be dangerously misunderstood.'

CHAPTER VII.

How to exercise Faith about Pardon of Sin and Justification. THE practice of faith about our justification, is hindered by so many unhappy controversies and heresies, that what to do with them here in our way, is not very easy to determine. Should I omit the mention of them, I leave most that I write for, either under that disease itself, or the danger of it, which may frustrate all the rest which I must say for the errors hereabout are swarming in most quarters of the land, and are like to come to the ears of most that are studious of these matters: so that an antidote to most, and a vomit to the rest, is become a matter of necessity, to the success of all our practical directions.

And yet many cannot endure to be troubled with difficulties, who are slothful, and must have nothing set before them that will cost them much study; and many peaceable Christians love not any thing that soundeth like controversy or strife (as others that are sons of contention relish nothing else). But averseness must give place to necessity. If the leprosy arise, the priest must search it, and the physician must do his best to cure it, notwithstanding their natural averseness to it. Though I may be as averse to write against errors, as the reader is to read what I write, we must both blame that which causeth the necessity, but not therefore deny our necessary duty: but yet I will so far gratify them that need no more, as to put the more practical directions first, that they may pass by the heap of errors after, if their own judgments prevail not against their unwillingness.

Direct. 1. Understand well what need you have of pardon of sin, and justification, by reason of your guilt, and of God's law and justice, and the everlasting punishment which is legally your due.'

1. It must be a sensible, awakening, practical knowledge of our own great necessity, which must teach us to value Christ as a Saviour, and to come to him in that empty, sick and weary plight, as is necessary in those who will make use of him for their supply and cure; Matt. ix. 12. xi. 28, 29. A superficial, speculative knowledge of our