Secondly, He must seek it orderly, he must follow the vein; He must not begin where God begins, but where God ends; he must not begin at the root to fi•d the branch, but by the branch ⟨image 9⟩descry the root, my meaning is, he must not begin with Gods decree in predestination, which is the root of salvation; But with regeneration and justification, which are branches issuing out of this root, other ways he may destroy the tree ere he is aware, I mean himself, and all hope of Heaven and salvation, as I have known some do, and fall into utter desperation; The truth is, he that will not believe, until he read God's decree in Heaven, must never look for any assurance of Heaven here, nor fruition of it hereafter; If you will not believe, you shall not be established, 1saith the Text; He that will reach to Heaven by Jacobs Ladder, must begin at the lowest step; this is the Scripture way to get assurance; Christs directory prescribes it, when Jesus Christ would instruct Nicodemus about his spiritual and eternal estate, he did not send him to Heaven, to read the records of the celestial court, but sent him to read himself over, to search his own heart and life, to consider whether he were regenerate and born again, 2whether he were ingrafted into Christ, and made a new Creature, yea, or nay; Christ directs him to the effect to find out the cause, not to the cause to find out the effect, which teaches us, that he that would get some good Evidence of the Love of God and his own salvation, must begin at home with the workings of God, in and upon himself, he must consider what work the Spirit of God hath done in him, what sight of sin, what sense of sin, what sorrow for sin, what l•athing and forsaking of sin, he hath wrought in him, what grace or desire of grace, or prizing of grace, the Spirit of God hath wrought in him; The Father himself Loveth you, saith Christ. But how shall that ⟨image 9⟩appear? Why the next words tell us,3 Ye have loved me, and believed, &c. The Father himself loved you, because ye have loved m•, and believed that I came out from God: It is as if Christ had said, your faith to me, working by love to me, demonstrates it; for Christ doth not here make our Faith, or our love the cause of Gods love to us, but the discoverer of it:
Secondly, He must seek it orderly, he must follow the vein; He must not begin where God begins, but where God ends; he must not begin at the root to fi•d the branch, but by the branch ⟨image 9⟩discry the roote, my meaning is, he must not begin with Gods decree in predestination, which is the root of salvation; But with regeneration and justification, which are branches issuing out of this root, other wayes he may destroy the tree ere he is aware, I mean himself, and all hope of Heaven and salvation, as I have known some do, and fall into utter desperation; The truth is, he that will not beleeve, untill he read God's decree in Heaven, must never look for any assurance of Heaven here, nor fruition of it hereafter; If you will not beleeve, you shall not be established, 1saith the Text; He that will reach to Heaven by Jacobs Ladder, must begin at the lowest step; this is the Scripture way to get assurance; Christs directory prescribes it, when Iesus Christ would instruct Nicodemus about his spirituall and eternall estate, he did not send him to Heaven, to read the records of the celestiall court, but sent him to read himself over, to search his own heart and life, to consider whether he were regenerate and born again, 2whether he were ingrafted into Christ, and made a new Creature, yea, or nay; Christ directs him to the effect to find out the cause, not to the cause to find out the effect, which teaches us, that he that would get some good Evidence of the Love of God and his own salvation, must begin at home with the workings of God, in and upon himself, he must consider what work the Spirit of God hath done in him, what sight of sinne, what sense of sinne, what sorrow for sinne, what l•athing and forsaking of sinne, he hath wrought in him, what grace or desire of grace, or prizing of grace, the Spirit of God hath wrought in him; The Father himself Loveth you, saith Christ. But how shall that ⟨image 9⟩appeare? Why the next words tell us,3 Ye have loved me, and beleeved, &c. The Father himself loved you, because ye have loved m•, and beleeved that I came out from God: It is as if Christ had said, your faith to me, working by love to me, demonstrates it; for Christ doth not here make our Faith, or our love the cause of Gods love to us, but the discoverer of it:
- 1Isa. 7.9.
- 2John 3.Iohn 3.
- 3Joh. 16.27.29.Ioh. 16.27.29.
