Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

whereas in the word there are such promises made to faith and love and holiness, the irradiating spirit plainly discovers that faith and that love and that holiness to be indeed in the heart, and so seals up the promises to the believer in particular, as if it had expressly said, this or that promise belongs to thee. Hence the believer so sealed may say of the promises, as Origen did of those Scriptures which did much affect him, haec est Scriptura mea, this promise is mine, and that promise is mine; nay, all the Land of promise, as much as I can set my foot on, is mine own. There are three seals to the promises, first God seals them for true in the blood of his own Son, in whom all of them are Yea and Amen; then man seals them for true by faith, he that believeth, sets to his seal that God is true; and then again ⟨p. 145⟩God seals them for true to the believer in particular by his irradiating spirit. Faith then goes before all other graces, but assurance comes after them, as being no other then the clear evidence of their true existence in the soul. Unless we allow this distinction, we gratify the Enthusiasts, who declaim against all marks of grace as legal things, and sandy foundations.

whereas in the word there are such promises made to faith and love and holiness, the irradiating spirit plainly discovers that faith and that love and that holiness to be indeed in the heart, and so seals up the promises to the believer in particular, as if it had expresly said, this or that promise belongs to thee. Hence the believer so sealed may say of the promises, as Origen did of those Scriptures which did much affect him, haec est Scriptura mea, this promise is mine, and that promise is mine; nay, all the Land of promise, as much as I can set my foot on, is mine own. There are three seals to the promises, first God seals them for true in the blood of his own Son, in whom all of them are Yea and Amen; then man seals them for true by faith, he that believeth, sets to his seal that God is true; and then again ⟨p. 145⟩God seals them for true to the believer in particular by his irradiating spirit. Faith then goes before all other graces, but assurance comes after them, as being no other then the clear evidence of their true existence in the soul. Unless we allow this distinction, we gratifie the Enthusiasts, who declaim against all marks of grace as legal things, and sandy foundations.