3 DIRECrrONS FOR GETTING AND SEEPING Inclining to judge thus: but as I would have no man take this as my resolved judgment, much less a certain truth, and least of all, to venture on sin and impenitency ever the more for such a doubt- ful opinion, which doth not conclude him to be certainly unjusti- fied ; so I am utterly ignorant both how long sensual passions may possibly rage, and keep the soul from sober consideration, or how far they may interpose in the very timeof consideration, and frus- trate it, and prevail against it, and s6 keep the sinner from actual repenting, or, at least, from a full, ingenuous acknowledgment and bewailing of the sin, which is necessary to full repentance ; and how long repentance may be so far stifled, as to remain only in some inward grudging of conscience; and trouble of mind, hinder- ed from breaking out info free confession, (which seemeth to have been David's case long.) Nay, it is impossible to know just how long a man may live in the very practice of such gross sin, before Christ's habitual interest above the flesh be eitheroverthrown, or proved not to be there; and how, oft a man that bath true grace may commit such sins: these things are undiscernible, besides that none can punctually define a gross sin, so as to exclude every de- gree of infirmities, and include every degree of such gross sin. Perhaps you will marvel why I run so far in this point: it is both to give you as much light as I can, what sins they be which are to be called infirmities, and so what sins theybe that do forbid . that gentle, comforting way of cure, when the soul is troubled for them, which must be used with those that are troubled more than needs, or upon mistakes ;" and also to convince you of this weighty truth, That our comfort, yea, and assurance, bath a great depen- dence on our actual obedience; yea, so great, that the least obedient sort of sincere Christians cannot, By ordinary means, have any as- surance; and the most obedient (if other necessaries concur) will have the most assurance ; and for the middle sort, their assurance will rise or fall, ordinarily with their obedience, so that there is no way to comfort such offending Christians, but by reducing them to fuller obedience by faith and repentance, that so the evidences of their justification may be clear, and the great impediments of their assurance and comfort be removed. ThisI will yet make clearer to you by its reasons, and then tell you how to apply it to yourself. 1. Noman can be sure of his salvation or justification, but -he that is sure of his true faith and love. And no man can be sure of his true faith and love, but he that is sure of the sincerity of his obedience. For true faith doth ever take God for our great Sovereign, and Christ for our Lord Redeemer, and containeth 'a covenant-delivery of a man's self to God and the Redeemer, to be ruled by him, as a subject, child, servant, and spouse. This
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