Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

Having thus far gone through the Enemies Camp, I come now to lay down my Thesis to be proved, viz. That a Believer may be certainly and infallibly assured of his Pardon and Salvation; I say a Believer may be assured: an Unbeliever while such is not a subject capable of Assurance; he hath Plague-Sores and Tokens of Wrath upon him, but as yet never a Beam of Grace or Love: the Justice and Holiness of God cannot suffer him ⟨p. 389⟩to be shined on; none of the Promises can speak kindly or comfortably to him; his stony Heart cannot receive the Seal and Impress of the Holy Spirit. Hence the Apostle saith, After the believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise, Ephes. 1.13. after, and not before. First, there must be a new Creature, and then a new Name. First, Gods Image is printed on the Heart, and then his Love. I say, a Believer may be assured, but not that all Believers are so. A man may be a Babe in Christ and not know it: a Child of Light, and yet walking in darkness. A Believer may live in crepusculo, in the twilight or mixed condition of Hope and Fear; and so, though sure of Heaven, not in his own sense assured of it: I mean not that he may be assured by an Angel or Voice from Heaven or extraordinary Revelation: This the Adversaries will admit, but in an ordinary way, in the diligent use of such Helps and Means as are common to all Believers. Thus the Apostle speaks in common to them all, These things have I written to you that believe; that ye may know that ye have eternal Life, 1 John 5.13. He doth not say, some may know it in an extraordinary way, but speaks of it as knowable by Believers in common: I mean not that he hath this Assurance always or in every point of time; perpetual Serenity is not here below: Earth is not as Heaven; the Sun may be eclipsed, the Seal of the Spirit may be clouded, Evidences may be blurred and hardly legible: It may be God ⟨p. 399⟩in Sovereignty withdraws, or Satan in envy buffets, or the Believer lets down his Spiritual Watch, or a due estimate is not set on Heavenly Comforts, or there is some great Transgression, which as an accursed thing, causes the Lord to depart. In such cases, though there be no intercision of Justification, yet there is an interruption of Consolation. These Things premised, I proceed to prove the Point, viz. That a Believer may attain Assurance of Pardon and Salvation.