A heavenly conference between Christ and Mary after His resurrection. Wherein the intimate familiarity,…

¹6. The last end is, that he might show that our salvation is exactly wrought, that God is perfectly satisfied to the full, else he should never have risen, much less ascended to Heaven. And therefore if we once believe in Christ, for forgiveness of sins, and yet say, I doubt of salvation, it is all one, as if you should go about to pluck Christ from Heaven. The doubtful distrustful heart, till it be subdued by a spirit of faith, saith, who shall ascend to Heaven, to tell me whether I shall go to Heaven? or who shall enter into the deep to tell me, I am freed from hell? I am afraid, I shall be damned, saith the guilty heart; till the spirit of God hath brought it under, and persuaded it of Gods love in Christ. Say not, who shall ascend up to Heaven? for that is to bring Christ down from Heaven. ⟨p. 100⟩And what an injurious thing is ²it to bring Christ from heaven, to suffer on the Cross. This is a great indignity, though we think not of it, to doubt of our salvation, and not cast our selves on his mercy? For as verily as he is there, we shall be there. He is gone to take up a place for us; he is there in our name, as the Husband taketh a place for his spouse. And if we doubt whether we shall come there, or no, we doubt whether he be there, or no. And if we doubt of that, we doubt whether he hath wrought salvation, or no; and so we bring him down to the Cross again. Who shall descend to the deep? that is, to bring Christ from the dead again: such is the danger of a distrustful heart. So that by Christs ascending into Heaven, we may know all is done and accomplished, all our enemies are subdued, God is appeased and fully satisfied, Heaven is taken up in our room, and therefore labour for a large heart answerable to the large unchangeable grounds we have, for faith to pitch and bottom it self upon.

¹6. The last end is, that he might shew that our salvation is exactly wrought, that God is perfectly satisfied to the full, else he should never have risen, much lesse ascended to Heaven. And therefore if we once believe in Christ, for forgiveness of sins, and yet say, I doubt of salvation, it is all one, as if you should go about to pluck Christ from Heaven. The doubtful distrustful heart, till it be subdued by a spirit of faith, saith, who shall ascend to Heaven, to tell me whether I shall go to Heaven? or who shall enter into the deep to tell me, I am freed from hell? I am afraid, I shall be damned, saith the guilty heart; till the spirit of God hath brought it under, and perswaded it of Gods love in Christ. Say not, who shall ascend up to Heaven? for that is to bring Christ down from Heaven.