320 DIRECTIONS FOR GETTING AND KEEPING have you observe this, ' That God doth not command everyman, nor properly any man, ordinarily, byhis word,' to believe that his sins are forgiven, and himself is justified, adopted, and shall be saved. But he bath prescribed a wayby which they may attain to assurance of these, in which way it is men's duty to seek it; so that our assurance is not properly that which is called a certainty of belief.' I have said enough for the proof of this proposition in the third part of my Book ofRest, chap. iiwhither I must refer you. But there is more to be said yet for the application of it. But first I must briefly tell you the meaningofthe words. 1. God command - eth us all to believe (wicked and godly) that our sins are -made pardonable by the sufficient satisfaction of Christ for them ; and that, God is very merciful and ready to forgive; and that he hath çonditionally forgiven us all in the new covenant, snaking a deed of gift of Christ, and pardon, and life in him, to all, oncondition they believe in .him, and accept what is given. 2. But no man is commanded to believe that he is actually:forgiven. 3. There- fore I say dur assurance is not strictly to be calledbelief; or a cer- tainty of belief; for it is only our certain belief of those things which we take on the mere credit of the witnesser or revealer, which we call certaintyof faith. Indeed, we commonly in Eng- lish use the word '.belief,' to express any confident., but, uncertain, opinion or persuasion; and if any will so take it, then I deny not but our assurance is a belief. But it is commonlytakenbydivines for an 'assent to any thing on the credit of the word-of the revealer, and so is distinguished both from the sensibleapprehensionof things, and from principles that are known by the mere light and help- of nature; and from, the knowledge of conclusions, which by reason- ing we gather from those principles. Though yet ene and the same thing may be known, as revealed in nature, and believed as revealed immediatelyor supernaturally ; and so we both know and believe that there is one only God, who made andpreserveth all things. 4. But our assurance is an act of knowledge, participating of faith and internal sense or knowledge reflect. For divine faith saith, " He that ,believeth is justified, and shall be 'saved." In- ternal sense and knowledge of, ourselves saith, a But I believe.' Reason or discursive knowledge. saith, ' Therefore I am justified, and shall be saved.'. Only I must advise you, that you be not troubled when you meet with that which is contrary to this in any great divines ; for it is only our former divines, whose judgmentswere partly hurt by hot disputations with the Papists herein, and partly not, come to that maturity as others since then have had opportunity to do. And therefore in their expositions of the,creed,"and such-like pas-
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