hearts with a lightfome comfort that cannot' be uttered ; \llhilcll on the contrary the deluded man ls alwayes ;dike peremptory in his confidenCe; you fhall not take him at any time without a bold pcrfwafion, that he hopes to be faved as well as the belt; thus like a man who lying fall: afleepon the edge of~ Rock, he dr'eams merrtly of Crowns and Kingdomes,' and will not ofl'it, but on a fudden ilarting for joy, he tumbles into the bottom~ ofthe Sea, and there lies drowned in the deep; that affurancc which is e– ver fccurc is hut a drcam,,vhcrcas the rrftimony<f Gods ,Sptrit is fomctimcs mixed with doubts and fome times (to our unfpeakablc comfort) with a fecrct, ll'!ll, hear~-ravifhing'voice thus fpeaks to our confciences, Th'ou fl,a/t be] Thou jl>alt b.e J wi1h me in Pa· radife. . . . . . . , You fee the teftimony of Gods Spmt, how 1t JVorkJ mw, and how 1t IS difccrnedby 1:;; it workJ in us by a particulor application of the promifes in th.e Gofpcl, and is difeer– ned by"' by theWord, by our love, our prayers.' our f•ars, our joy.cs at fome times while we are a domg our duttes. But for th1s, fee our be:l: ev1dcn-:es 111 M.dta. Self-trial. eh.+ feC1. 8. third Edition. . ' 0 bleffed man that feels in his foul this bleffed teftiuJOny! what is here comparable to it? riches ate deceitful, pleafure is a toy, the world is but a bubble, only our .AJ!it· ranee of Heaven is the only real comfort that we have oo earth; who then would not fludy to make this certain? if we purchafe an inheritance on earth , we make it as fure, and our tenure as lhong, as the brawn of the Law,or the brain of L1wyers can dcvife: we have conveyance, and bonds, and fines, no ftrength too much; and !hall we not be more curious in the fetling our eternal inheritance in Part~dt}e? a man can never be too Jure of going to Heaven; and ther£fore in Gods fear let us examine the tejlimony uf ultr [pints by the inward tokens, and by <he outwardfr~its: let us examine theteftimony •f Gods Spirit by the mean.< and the dtffcre~ce ; ancl 1f we find both thefe :eflun"m~s to accord within us, how bleffed are we m th1s vale of tears! 1t 1s an heaven upon earth, a Poradife in a wi\derneffe; in a word, a comfort i11 all miferies, be they never fo em– bittered. See a Thief hanging on the Croffe, an Engine of mofr grievous torture; but who can tell the joy that entred into him before he entered into Heaven? you may gueffe it by his defirc to be remembred ef Chrij/1vhen he ca.me into his Kingdome; he begs not for life, nor pleafure, nor riches, n_or honour; no, There is otte thing neceffary; give him Heaven and he cares for nothmg; toth1s purpofe doth he addreffe himfclf to our blefl'ed Saviour, and he asks,-.--What? Ifthou be CJ,rifl, fave thy felf, faid the Luke •J. 3MP Jmes inderifion; and, If thou he Chrijl,fave thy ftlf and m, faid the other Thief to him ;.but this was only for the bodies fafety; and here is a man quite of another mind, let the ]ewes rack him, tear him, break all his bones, and pull him into atomes, if our Saviour will but do fo much as remember bim in his Kit~~do,>te, he defircsnothing more: 0 bleffed Chrill:, fpeakcomfortably to 'Ius foul that begs it thus vehemently at thy hands! but why do I prevent? the bowels of our Savtour to yearn hear him; remember him? yes; he will remember him, and he jha/1 be wi1h him ; comfortable news !how leaps his heort at thefe fo bleffed worcls? his defire is granted, and Hcavcn'is affured and the Spirit of God, yea,th God of Spirits thus tefl:ifies it to him, To day [jhnlt tho; be 1•ith me in Paradife.] Thus far of the certainty of his falvation, Thott Jhalt be:] but as the grant is fwcet that is certain,fo is it yet more acceptable if done with<xpcduicn: and here is both the certainty and expedition) 'I,'hottJhalt be, w ..hen? to day] !Vith "!c in p~trad'(e. Today. OUr Saviour deferres not that he promifes, but as he quickly hears, and quick– ly grants: fo he qmckly gives him paradijr, and a Kingdom. This fuddcn un– expected joy makes all more grateful: to tell us of Crownes an~ Kingdomcs that we mull: mhent, and then to pot us off with delayes, abates the fweetncffe of the promife: inen that go to fuits for lands & livings,though Lawyers feed them with hopes yet one order after another, fpinning our time to a multitude ofTermes, makes them weary o! the bufinefs: 1t l1the happinefs of this fuitor that he comes t<> an hearing, but the h1ghefl: degree ofh1s happinefs was the expedition of his fuit:no fooner he motions, Lord rememb~r me whtnthou comcs7: into thy Kingdom; but the Lord gives hitn that he asks upo~ h1s firll: motton, To day, ere the Sun be down, the Kingdwt £hall be thiric, thou Jbalt be wzth me mPar~dife. But you Jllay object, w.as there no Limbtu PatrJim,· no htrc~atory to run through? but the very fame day he died, he mull: then go toParadifc? no, unlefs Litnbmor Pur· gatory
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