:266 An Expofttion of the Epifile ~have the eyes of your mind enl_ightned, tbat J01l may k11ow, (faith the A• J'er. XX. pof\le,) or clfe you wiH not iee it: Your graces lhme. With a borrowed ~light. You can tell I tlunk fuch tbouglltS as behever.s dunk, but to tell that this is true Faith and differetl1 from that ot H1pocntes, th1s you cannot tell With· out the Holy Ghol:t enligluoo you: Therefore he prayeth I qat the e;·es of their miuds way 6e mltgbttlfd tbat they may know. I will give you a Scripture more for this, Ram, 8..' 6. (mark that place,) It is the Spirtt (faith he) that beareth wttuefs wtth our Sp~rzts that we are the Chtldren of' God; he cloth not only fay he beareth wttnefs to our Spirits, but he bearcth wirnefs with ottr Spirtts, our Sptrits, our graces, ( tb.tt w hich is bont of.tht J'pn:t u J'pmt,) never wanelieth unlefs the Holy Ghol:t witnefs with them; if he do not g.1ve m h1s Tefltmony WJth them, your graces will give no witnefs at all, it he do nor. enltghten the eyes af ) our mindto !mow, you wtll not know the hope of your callmg , you will have no affurance. · Likewife that other place, Rom. 1 'i· q. the Aponle prayeth there, tbat they may tJ/;ound in hope,tbrougb tbe power of tb: Holy GhoJ1. Dorh a man abound in hope? Hath he any comfort? Any aflurance? (for I rake hope there for affurance as I do here,) Any confident perfwafton? It is l;tith he throtrgb tbt power ofthe Holy Gojl. So much for rhe fecond potnt.. I might interpret it thus. The J'cript11re is uot of przvate luterpretatio11. So faith the Apof\le, 2 Pet. 1. 21. Read another book, your natural u~derf\anding will help you to underl:tand tt, but fatth he, the J'crzpt11re u 1101 of private i11· terpret"tiofl; that is, no mans private underf\andmg wtll help to under!\and it, but that Spirit that writ it. Look into your own hearts, there is a word written in the heart, as here the word is written in our books; that word written in the heart, the Law written there, is not of private interpretation; all the humane wit that any man bath who bath grace, cannot help him to do it, to know the meaning of ir, but that Spirit that wrote it there, tor fo you know we are called tht Ept/1/eoj Clmff, wrzttennotwttb !Ilk but wztb the Spmt of the lzvhtg God.2 Cor,3. 3' He is only able to read it,unlf:fs he enlighten your eyes, give you an eye, and give you light, a!)d draw forth anac:l: of knowledge, you will not know what is the hope of his calling, you will not know what ground you have for affurance of Salvation. 06Jtrv. 3· To come to a Third Obfervation, and it is a good one. You know I interpreted the hope of his calling, partly in this fenfe, to be that which God calleth you to have. Art thou a believer ? He calleth thee to hope, as he calleth you to ltolinefs, fo he calleth you to affurance, to hope. What is the reafon then that poor fouls want comfort? It is God's mind you lhould have it, there is enough in the word ro comfort you; there is enough in your own hearts to colil· fort you, there is a Holy Gho!t that dwelleth withtn you. God I fay calleth you to hope. Satan (my Brethren,) and 1\ntichrif\, they call you to doubt, fa the Papif\s do, but God calleth you to hope, ca\leth you to .affurance. The Papifls they exac:l: of ~very.man as neceffary to falvatton, to beheve a harder point than the aflurance ot their own falvat10n ;. for they exac:l: of them to believe that the Church of Rome is the only Church of Chrif\, to believe the Mother, bur they would have men to doubt of their Father; they would have men to be baf\ards that is the truth of it. B11t faith he, thatyou may lmow wbat is the hopt ojj·otw calling, he would have them know it. The Apol:tle writing to men that had affu· rance, to OldMm,fairh he, you have kuown the Father from the 6egiuni1l,t, not only the Mother but the Father. It ts a harder pomt to believe that the Church of Rome is the only true Church ofChril:t, then to believe that thou art in Chrif\, and there is more evidence in thy own heart,if the Holy Ghoil: irradiate thy mind, than there is of the ot~er, for that. is an extrinftcal thing, and yet they are flriCl: m that pomt, upon pam of damnanon a man mull: behove that rhat is the true Church : yet they would not have a man believe he is a true member ofthe Church, nor of Jefus Chrif\. No, it is, wbtlt ii the hope of his ra/lillg, he calleth) ou ro hope, that is his Commandment. Rom.
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