THE knowledge of our good and safe Estate, deriving from an interest in the Everlasting Love of God, is a thing which every one who hath right thoughts of the Eternity he is going to, will be very solicitous about. There is, besides the Testimony of the Spirit of God to this in us, which is necessary for our confirmation in the belief of it, the witness of our own spirit requisite, for our ordinary Assurance about it, which must be given to those things in us which are evidential of i•. These Evidences are built upon the discovery of such fruits or effects of the love of God wrought in us, as a•e proper and distinguishing, and these are mainly the Graces of Faith and Repentance; and these are ⟨p. 4⟩put into us by the operation of the Spirit of God, in our Effectual Vocation; and because there may be something like unto these found in Hypocrites, which may cheat them into false and presumptuous hopes of their good estate; there is a yet farther trial to be made of them, to prove that this Faith is unfeigned, and that this Repentance is unto life, which must be gathered from those distinguishing fruits of them, which are not to be found in the other. These fruits are all of them in the Word of God, reduced to that common head of love, by which Faith is said to Operate, Gal. 5. 6. Which Love is distributed according to the next or immediate objects of it, into the loving of God, and of our brother; and because these two are inseparable, they are therefore made use of mutually to evidence each the other; inasmuch as, if we truly love our brother, it derives from our love to God as the principle, in which it is rooted; and if we love God indeed▪ it will unfailingly pr• duce the other love in us. So that the grand Case into which our Self Examination must ultimately resolve it self, is, Whether God loveth us with that love which he bears to his Chosen; because if we are but sure of this, the inference is infallible, viz that we shall certainly at last arrive at Eternal Life; how happy then must we needs be? and the enquiry on which this conclusion must determine, is, Whether we do cordially ⟨p. 5⟩and sincerely love God? for though our happy state was secured for us in the former, it being appointed and settled in that love of his, yet we cannot come at the knowledge of it but by the •at•er.
THE knowledge of our good and safe Estate, deriving from an interest in the Everlasting Love of God, is a thing which every one who hath right thoughts of the Eternity he is going to, will be very sollicitous about. There is, besides the Testimony of the Spirit of God to this in us, which is necessary for our confirmation in the belief of it, the witness of our own spirit requisite, for our ordinary Assurance about it, which must be given to those things in us which are evidential of i•. These Evidences are built upon the discovery of such fruits or effects of the love of God wrought in us, as a•e proper and distinguishing, and these are mainly the Graces of Faith and Repentance; and these are ⟨p. 4⟩put into us by the operation of the Spirit of God, in our Effectual Vocation; and because there may be something like unto these found in Hypocrites, which may cheat them into false and presumptuous hopes of their good estate; there is a yet farther trial to be made of them, to prove that this Faith is unfeigned, and that this Repentance is unto life, which must be gathered from those distinguishing fruits of them, which are not to be found in the other. These fruits are all of them in the Word of God, reduced to that common head of love, by which Faith is said to Operate, Gal. 5. 6. Which Love is distributed according to the next or immediate objects of it, into the loving of God, and of our brother; and because these two are inseparable, they are therefore made use of mutually to evidence each the other; inasmuch as, if we truly love our brother, it derives from our love to God as the principle, in which it is rooted; and if we love God indeed▪ it will unfailingly pr• duce the other love in us. So that the grand Case into which our Self Examination must ultimately resolve it self, is, Whether God loveth us with that love which he bears to his Chosen; because if we are but sure of this, the inference is infallible, viz that we shall certainly at last arrive at Eternal Life; how happy then must we needs be? and the enquiry on which this conclusion must determine, is, Whether we do cordially ⟨p. 5⟩and sincerely love God? for though our happy state was secured for us in the former, it being appointed and settled in that love of his, yet we cannot come at the knowledge of it but by the •at•er.
