to theE P H E S1AN S. I come now to fome Obfervations our of this Interpretation, . ~-, The fir!\ Obfervation is thJs. T hat every man 10 rhe !late of grace IS called Srr. XX. to have atTurance and there are grounds enougl1for it. Oh, faith the Apo!lle, '~ wo~ldyoudidkn~w whatisthehopeof his ca!Lng, what grounds you have of erV.I• hope from thatcallwg of God that hath put you mto the !late of grace! The !late it felfatfordeth it, and the word of God upon you atfordcth it , only you want eyes to fee it; therefore I pray that the eyes of your under!landing may be enligltrned to know it, dayly €nhghtned to fee rhofe grounds, My Brethren, every beltever hath grounds enough of alfurance if there eyes were but enlightned. There Js a whole EpJflle wnrten on purpofe; God wrote one book to !l1ew the vanity of the Creature, _he hnth written anotner book on purpofe to a!fure us of Salvationand every believer. The firfl: Ept!lle of ."fohtJ 1s writtenon purpofe for that end; you lhall fee it is his fcope both by the fir{\ Chap. verfe 4· fo he beginneth, The(e thmgs write we uTJtoyou tb,Jtyottr)o)' may befull, and by Chapter 5. verfe 'l· Thefe things have I wrzttnz 1111toy·ou thM believe on the tltlme of the So11 of God, thatye may kuow th.ltye have eter1!:zl /Jfe, And faith he, I write to allforts of Chn(hrms that are called , fo be fatth Chapter 2. verfe 12. q. I wr1te toyott Ch1ldren, ( thofe that are babes they are capable of a!furance, to know the hope of their calling, if God enlighten them, ) becauje )'Ottrfins areforgivett for bis Name fake. . !write ulltoyor• Fathers , becmtje)t haw kttown him, that zs from tht begznttwg. I wrzte tmto yott ) 'MIIIg men, ~c. All forts of Chrifl:ians they are capable of alfurance if God enlighten their eyes, and if t)ley be once called there !s abundance of grounds to give them alfu– rance to give them hope of falvanon. He telleth us m the 10th. verfe of the 5th. Chapter, He that bduveth bath the wittJejs i11 himfelj; that is,he bath the matter ot it. Yea there Js no act of fatth but putteth fortha WJtnefs; as when we come to a hollow place there is no voyce but turneth back an Eccho, only if you fpeak low th~ Eccho anfwereth you low ~ but if you fj>eak loud the Eccho is loud too; fo 1fa mans fauh fpeaks !lrongly,It will Eccho forth back agam a !lrong witnefs; there is the witnefs of blood and the witnefs offaith. He_ that 6elieveth bath the WJtuejs ttt h1mje!f. There IS no grace a man bath but It IS a ground of alfurance, there is no exercifc ofgrace but is a ground ofa!furance. In your very not !inning you may fetch alfurance from it,fo.'John telleth us, Ep.1c.). v. 9· He c,m11otfin, be l1<ztb thefud of God itt h1m; you lhall find that in your hearts that you cannot fin, there is an evidence of grace when you are temp– ted to fin. The grounds that every believer bath for aflttrance of falvati– on, if he did but know them, they are infinite ones and infallible. So much for the firfl: Obfervation, To give you a Second Obfervation, Though a man have never fo much Objerv.z' ground of hope from God's calling him, yet notwith!landing he mull have the ' eyes of his mind ef1lightned to know what is his hope, what are the grounds of evidence and affurance of falvation; and further than he bath an eye and an act of knowledge drawn forth he cannot fee it ; therefore the Apo!l!e prayeth that the t)'ts of their tni11ds may be wlightned that they may know wbatrs the hopt of hi. calli11g. To make this plain to you. All graces as they work with a borrowed !lrength, n~t with a!lrength oftheir own,but with the !lrength ol the Holy Gho!l, fo they llune to comfort you With a borrowed hght, as the Stars do with the light of the Sun.Aman bath a natural power to know what is within hi m,fo f.1ith the Apo!l!e, r Cor. 2. r r. Let any man ask me what I think, I can tell him and fo can you, it is lrom the natural fpinr that is in every one; What mrm (faith he,) lwoweth the thi11gs of a mm1, fuve the Spirit of 11 mall that is m him ? The Spirit of a man that is in him cloth know it, it can tell you a mans thoughts and atfeCl:ions ; but if you would ~ome to kn~w whether faith be in you or nor, or whether true love to Chn!l be In you or no, or zeal for his glory; nowyou mull have the fpi– nt to enli(;hten your eyes, though it be in you, the meer Sp,rit of a man will not do Jt; fo It followeth, we have •·eceived the Sptrtt that ts of Gotl,that we may know the thiugs that arefreelygiven z« of God.![ you will come to know whe– ther you have grace or no, which God bath bellowed upon you, here you muil: have
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