S u C T. I. TheDoti<rine and UfefidneßofSuns. 5 3 diffidence anddiftrufl mayraifebetween God and us. TheApoftÌe aggravaterh this Heb.6i6. Thatby two immutable things, in which it ü'aaimpofblefor God to lie, Wemight have ftrongconfolatians. Again, althoughGod bath given us his Promife, and nothing can be Purer tiren that , yet he addeth Sacraments to feat and confirm his Promife unto us ; Therefore though fuch Affurances were granted yet there is great ufefulneffe of the evidences we have by fignes. A fourthDoubt maybefrom thatuniverfal received Maxim, Nouemay be at the Doubt q. fame time Reus au4Jude; the Perfon gaeflionedand the ?edge : but this abfurd:ry would follow, ifWe proceedby evidences, for the heartof a man is quefhoned, whe- ther it bath truegrace in it, and the heart anmuttbe Judge of this at the fame time. We anfwer, ThisWould notfollow, foralthoughthe heart be infuppofedgnat,and Anfw. fo queflioned, yet thejudging of this, is by the Spirit of Gad , and our hearts not en guilty, butas fanîfifled; andallthis accordingto the rules of Scripture. Indeed this abfurdity followeth ina pharifaical or formal man, who is altogether carna I, and bath not theSpirit ofGod, or any fupernatural principles; whenhe acquitteth himfelf, be is both the guilty Perfon, and the Judge too; and by this means they give falfe judgement, callingevil good, and darkneffe light, but it is not thuswith believers. A fifth Doubt may be from the difficulty, ifnot impoffbility of any certainty by Doubt g, fignes: for take we any ligne, fuppofe love of the brethren, that mutt be explained of fach love as is becaufe they are brethren, and of fuch a love as proceedeth from upright principles, , andpuremotives, and with many other qualifications; which will be as bard to know, as the inward root of grace it felf. Now to this we anfwer theft things : Firft , That the Scripture giveth many Anfr. Signs and Symptoms of grace ; So thatif a man cannot finde all , yet if he diG cover fome, yea, if but one, he may affuredly gather all thereft are there, for the wholeharmony andconnexionof grace iscompared to the image of God, whichdoth confift of all its due lineaments ; fo that it is hard ifa Chüfiian doubt ofall, fo that hear' finde nothing ofGodsSpirit in him. Secondly, There is a twofold Knowledge, one DiIlia.' andDemonftrative,which a. is ei priori, from the caufe totheeffe/ , and that is, when we know theprinciples and root ofgracewithin us,and foproceed to theeffelts of it. The other is more General, and that is from the etteet to thecaufe, and this is a knowledge àpofte- rioni, we proceed fromthe ftreams to the fountain, and this kinde ofknowledge as it is molt eafie, fo we areprone to, and the Spirit of God guideth us in this way, as beingmoli futable to our natures. Thirdly, Although aman may doubt of fome Signs, yet it loth not follow he Will doubt ofall, becaufe his temptation may beféronger aboutone Sin then another, and one Signmay be more eafly perceived then another ; And foa godlyman may argue from that which is leffe known, to theother that ismore known; even as in the matterof theCanon ofthe Scripture, fome have doubted whether Inch books were Canonical or no, becaufe the Argumentsof Divine Authority were more irradiant in the other then in them, yet from thofe Books concerning the Autho- rityofwhich theywere not tempted, theywere at laft induced to believe the Authorityof thofe thatwere controverted. In this mannerit maybe about the fignes of grace. It is more difficult to finde fome of them in our felves then others, yet we are to proceed front thofe that are more facile, to thofe that are moredifficult. The fifth Doubt, Aman may be eafily deceived In their Wáyes of Signs, for this Doubt 6. Knowledgeconfifleth of apraélicalSyllogifm thus, Every one that loveth the brethren is tranflatedfromdeath to life, But l love thebrethren, Therefore I amIranflared from death to life. Therefore a lateAuthour (Cornwellin his Treatifeof Jufification,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=