never think of God but as our God and 'our Father,' and labour to answer all Satan's temptations in that kind from hence...

Use 4. Again, This assurance, that God is our God in Christ, and our Father, is wrought by the sealing of the Spirit, and sanctifying of us; therefore take heed we grieve not the Spirit of God God's Spirit moveth our hearts oftentimes in hearing the word, or reading, or praying; when we have any good motions, or when we entertain them; and therefore do not grieve the Spirit of God, whose office is "to seal us to the day of redemption,' to assure us God is our God and our Father in Christ. Grieve him not, lest he grieve us, by racking and tormenting our consciences. That is the way to maintain our interest. Take heed of crossing the Spirit, especially by any sin against conscience. Conscience is God's deputy. Grieve not the Spirit. Grieve not conscience, for conscience is God's deputative. It is a little god within us. And therefore, if we will not alienate God from us, to whom we have given ourselves if we be true believers, do nothing against his deputy and agent, the Spirit that sanctifieth and sealeth us to the day of redemption.

This is the way to maintain assurance, that God is our God. For men may be led with a spirit of presumption, and say, God is my God. But if conscience telleth them, they live in sin against conscience and the motions of the Spirit, and suppress them, and kill them, as births that they would not have grow in their hearts; then they cannot say God is my God, but conscience telleth them they lie. And therefore, I beseech you, labour for an holy life. That faith that maketh this claim, that God is my Father and my God, is a purifying faith, 1 John iii. 8. It is a faith quickening the soul, a faith purifying, a faith cleansing. Faith is wonderfully operative, especially having these promises. What promises? I will be your God and your Father.' Having such promises, let us cleanse, ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and grow up in all holiness in the fear of the Lord.' And therefore labour for that faith that layeth hold upon this privilege, God is our Father and our God. Make it good by this, that it be a purifying faith, an operative faith, that worketh by love, that sheweth itself in our conversation. The more we labour and grow this way, the more we grow in assurance of salvation.

Beloved, favour cannot be maintained with great persons without much industry, and respect, and observance of distance. A man that will maintain the favour of great persons must be well read in their dispositions, must know how to please them, and yield them all observance and respect. And shall we think then to preserve respect with God without much industry and holiness? It cannot be. And therefore give all diligence,' not a little, to make your calling and election sure,' 2 Peter i. 10. It requireth all diligence, it is worth your pains. We live on this, that he is our God, and will be our God to death and in death, for ever and ever. That God is our God to everlasting, that he is of an equal extent with the soul, he liveth to fill it and make it happy, our souls being of an eternal subsistence. Therefore it standeth us upon to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure,' else it will not be maintained. Why do not Christians enjoy the comforts of this, that God is their God in Christ, more than they do? The reason is, they be negligent to maintain intercourse between God and them. We must know our distances, there must be reverent carriage to God, Ps. ii. 11. A loose Christian can never enjoy the comforts of God. He is so great, and we so mean, we ought to reverence him, we ought to love him with fear, and rejoice with trembling,'

Ps. ii. 11. Humble thyself to walk with thy God. Where there is a great deal of humility, it maintaineth friendship. We cannot walk with God as a friend, as Abraham is said to be God's friend. We must acknowledge ourselves to be' dust and ashes,' know him in his greatness, and ourselves in our meanness, if he will maintain this to our hearts, that God is our God. If we be careful to maintain this, surely he that delighteth himself in the prosperity of his servants will delight to make himself more and more known to us, that we may be assured of our salvation.

All that hear me are such as have not yet made choice of God to be their God, or have made choice. Let me speak a word to both; for there be many that yet have their choice to make, that have other lords and other gods to rule over them. Let them consider what a fearful state it is not to be able to say, in regard of life everlasting, 'God is my God and my Father. They can say they be God's creatures; but what a fearful condition is it not to be able to say, God is my Father. Will not these know whom he is not a God to in favour, he will be a God to in vengeance? He must be a friend or enemy. There is no third in God. God and the devil divide all mankind. They share all. If thou be not God's, and canst not say so on good titles, thou art the devil's. Yet God is daily pulling men out of the kingdom of the devil, by opening their eyes to see their miserable condition; yet all go under these two grand titles, God's and the devil's. If thou canst not say, God is thy God, then the devil is thy god; and what a fearful condition is it to be under the god of the world by a worldly, carnal disposition! And perhaps thou mayest die so, if thou be not careful to get out of it. If God be not our God, he is our enemy; and then creatures, angels, devils are against us, conscience against us, word against us. If he be for us, who is against us? If he be against us, who is for us? A terrible condition, and therefore get out of it, I beseech you.

But how shall I do ? Is there mercy for such a wretch? . Yea, he offereth himself to be thy God if thou wilt come in. Wherefore serveth our ministry, the word of grace, but to preach life to all repentant sinners. 'He that confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy.' And therefore God hath ordained ambassadors of peace to proclaim if you will come in. And he entreateth you to come in, and he chargeth and commandeth you. You be rebels, not only against him, but enemies to your own souls if you do not. And therefore I beseech you, if you be not yet come in. Add this more, you be sacrilegious persons if you be not Christians in earnest. Have not you given yourselves to God in baptism? And have not you in your lives given yourselves to lusts which you renounced at your baptism? Now you have alienated yourselves from God, to whom you were dedicated. Did not you engage yourselves to God in your baptism? And is not he willing to receive you? He thought of you when you could not think of yourselves. And therefore, as it bindeth you over to greater punishment if you will not come in, but continue sacrilegious persons from God to whom you have dedicated yourselves, so God preventeth* you with mercy..

He encourageth by the seal of election in baptism to make it good by faith, without which it will do no good, being but a seal to a blank. Therefore how many encouragements have you to come in? Take God's gracious offer. He giveth you time.. Make your peace. It is nothing but wilful rebellion to stand out against God.

* That is, 'God has come before with mercy, eg., baptism,' &c.-G.

**

For they that have given themselves to God, and now renewed their interest in him by the sacraments, let them conceive what a word of comfort they have in this, that Christ is theirs and God is theirs. What an ocean of comforts is it when all things leave you, as all things will; yet we have God, that will be a God for evermore. At the time of death, what comfort will it be to say, God is mine, Christ is mine. Life is mine no longer; world is mine no longer;, friends forsake me, but I am interested in God, and have made covenant with God, who is a God for ever. The covenant I have made is an everlasting covenant.' It is of that largeness, the comfort is, that the angels themselves admire it,* the devils envy it, and it is a matter of glory and praise in heaven for ever. Therefore make much of such a privilege, that is the envy of devils, the admiration of angels, that is the joy of a Christian's heart here, and matter of glorifying God for ever, world without end. That God in Christ is become his God here and for ever, it is a ravishing consideration. It is larger than our hearts. Here be comforts larger than the capacity of our hearts. Cor vestrum soli Deo patere debet: our hearts ought all to lie open to divine things, for they have more in them than the heart can contain. If we will shut them, shut them to worldly things. Oh the comfort of a Christian that hath made his state sure: let him glory in the Lord.

There be three degrees of glory in all. Let him glory under hope of glory, glory in afflictions, and glory in God; that is, we glory in God to be our God. That in the sharing and dividing of all things God hath given himself to us; and what an offer is this, that when God divideth this world to the children of men, you shall have this and that, but you shall not have me. But to his children he hath given himself, and he hath nothing better to give, and indeed there is nothing else needs. For there is more in it than we can speak. But that when God divideth all things he should give such a share as himself, is not this a glory, that a poor creature should have God to be his, and all he hath to be his, to make use of it in life and in death? It is worth all the world; it is worth our endeavours 'to make our calling and election sure,' when we may have this comfort from it, 2 Peter i. 10.

* That is, 'wonder.'-G.

NOTES.

(a) P. 416.- Savitum est in cadavera, sævitum est in ossa, sævitum est in cineres (Cyprian) of the Roman emperors' cruelty, to remove a dead body.' This Father has many eloquent passages on the reverence due to the 'body' of the believer, as formerly a temple' of the Holy Ghost; and the present is a reminiscence of one of them.

(b) P. 416.-'She turned herself back. The same phrase the Septuagint use of Lot's wife looking back.' Genesis xix. 26 in the LXX. is as follows:-KalšTéßλs↓ev ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω.

(c) P. 417.- Tolle meum, et tolle Deum, as he said.' Qu. Bernard?

(d) P. 422.—'Rabboni.

...

It is a Syraic word.' See Robinson under Paßß, and Gesenius under and By Syriac, Sibbes means Hebrew, a common use

of the term by him and his contemporaries.

(e) P. 423.- As Austin saith, Non frustra dicit anima, Deus salus tua.' Cf. Augustine, De Arbitrio, and in loc.

(f) P. 429.-' For the word "touch," in the original, doth not signify merely,' &c. The verb is άrw, on which see Robinson, sub voce; and on the passage, for excellent remarks, consult Webster and Wilkinson.

(g) P. 480.— As Augustine saith well, Mitte fidem in cœlum et tetigisti. As he said in the sacrament, Quid paras dentem et ventrem? Crede et manducasti.' For the first part of this reference see Com. or Hom. on Mat. ix. 21; for the latter, cf. Tract 26 in Joan; e. g., Credere in Christum hoc est manducare vivum;' also in Joh. Evang. c. vi.

(h) P. 457.-'It is an eternal relation, Dum percutis, pater es, dum castigas, pater es, saith Austin. One of the often-recurring apophthegms of the 'Confessions' and Theology of this Father.

(1) P. 463. There is a world taken out of the world," as Austin saith.' Cf. remark under note h. It is the ground of his entire doctrine of Predestination. (j) P. 471.- As the Grecian calleth him; they be for all turns,' &c. See note eeee, Vol. III. p. 536. G.

KING DAVID'S EPITAPH.