684 Of Eff eö lawl Calling. S B C T. XII. bealt,a çónftentfwearer, a conftantliar, mica inhis dealing, fufifull and`völup- tuous in his life. Oh thefe mutt needsbe horfe- beetles that can live in fuch dung; not Chrifis doves who delightin neat and fweet places. What? thou hope in God? thou truft thou hall a good heart and a good confcience when fo much wickedneffeis in thy life; This is impudent prefumption,andGods. eies are purer then to accept or love fuch. Doth a man then thinkhe hath grace inhis heart, how careful! is he topraEtifeall good knownduties, andto avoid allknown fin. 2. Secondly, Prefum unwilling ption is to befearched and tried. It {hob from the light,it cannotabide the touclallone; but this holy certainty loveth adeep fearch. It is here as between the Heretiqueand the Orthodoxman ; Heretiques they are lxcifugaScriptnrarum, asTertnll.faid, Thebats and owls that fly from the light. The thief hates the light, faith ourSaviour, fohn.s.so. But the truedoârine, that defirethto be tried and dived into. Then thus, where a true knowledge of grace is, that man crieth withDavid, Prove me,Lord, examine and try if there be any falfe way, Plat. 26.2. But where prefumption is, that would not have a cracked title, or a forged evidencebrought before the Judge. 3. Thirdly, Prefnmptionbearethupamensheart, tits mancome to forne great and extraordinary calamities, and then thisbubble van;fbeth away. Its nottruly root- ed, andfo will not abide a violent florin. They fall from prefumption intode- (pair. But feehow ?oh and Davidcan go through the hardefi brunts though they be under many briars, yet thefe innocent Cheep lofe nottheir wooll. Drofs will melt in the fire, but gold will bethe more refined. The winde makes chaff fly away, but leaveth the cornmore purified. The righteous bathhope inhis death, Prov.t4.;s. then when the prefumptuousmans hope cloth moth wither many times. 4; Fourthly, Prefumption is not oppafednor affaeelted by the devil. Satan Both not tempt and labour todrive peopleout ofir, but nouri(hcth them in it. Butout of this holy certainty, thedevils main (cope istodrive them. You fee he was not afraid to (hoot out hisfiery dart even atChrift himfelf, upon this, Whether he was theSon ofGod. And his firatagem was to make fob think, and condemn himfelf foranhypocrite. So that godly affuraiìee ismuch oppofed, both by the devil and theunbelieving heart of man; itshardly obtained, and hardly retain- ed. But of prefumption we may fay, asIfaardidofhis foes counterfeit venifon, bow comefi thou by it fo quickly my fon? How come you to beconfident thus quickly, thus eafily? This man-childe isborn, and yourfoul bath not been in tra- vell and pangs : this is not Gods way. S. Fifthly, Iris thefire charafler ofprefamption, that itdivideth themeansand she tad. It hopes for fuch privilcdges, though it never do the duties : Nowthis is not affurance, but a prefumptuous delulion, whereas you fee this text is, Togive all diligence to make your callingfure. Prefumption is like that charity. fames fpeaksof; that giveth good words, bids the party go homeand be warmed and cloathed, but doth not giveany thing; and in this prefumption moth menlive : They hopefor that end,the means whereof they are neverconverfant in. Should they temptGod about their natural! life (they will not eat anddrink and thinkto live) all men would fay it werehorribleprefumption: but though they do itpal. pably about fupernaturall life (they willneither repent orforfake fin, or liveho- hly)and yet hope Chrift willbe theirSaviour. Thoughthey do thus,yet men fee not their own folly and madneffe therein. 6, Sixthly, Prefnmptionis but a felf-deceiving, Palle logick_that a man deceiveth himfelfWith. Whereas you heard this certainty isa knowledge wrought byGods Spirit in us. The Apoflle fames faith, ifanyman Item to bereligious and bridle not his tongue, anefh,liCsi, he makes a falfe fyllogifme,fames t.s6. He takes son ranfa, pro taufa ; and indeed all prefumption is nothing buta falfe fyllogifine; a man takes that for a caufewhich isnot a caufe : orelfe iris an ignoration ofthe proper (lateof thequethion, that it is to be indeed godly, höwmuch goeth to the nature ofit, Seventhly,
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