The Spirit of Bondage and Adoption, Treatise 2 · Chapter 22
CHAP. XXII Popiſh Doctrine concerning doubting and uncertainty, confuted. Our own certainty and Aſſurance of Salvation examined. Where ſeveral Caſes concerning the diſtinction of the Spirits teſtimony from Satans or our own hearts.
THis affords us matter of Confutation of the Erroneous Doctrine of doubting Application.and uncertainty which the Papiſts, and perſons among our ſelves un-experienced in the things of God, take for truth; viz. that a man cannot in this life, be certainly aſſured of his own ſalvation. Theſe perſons rob the Holy Spirit of one of his ſpecial Offices, that of being the Comforter; the Lord Jeſus, of one of the glorious fruits of his Aſcenſion, which is the ſending the Holy Ghoſt to his people to that end; God the Father of a great deal of glory and ſervice, at leaſt of the moſt noble and generous part of it, that that proceeds from love and thankfulneſſe; the Saints of their greateſt encouragement to obedience, ſupport in tribulations, comfort in ſufferings, and hope in death; and laſtly, evacuate one main end of the very Scriptures themſelves, which were therefore (at leaſt) a main part of them, written, that the Saints may know that they have eternal life, 1 John 5 13. And if there were no other reaſon why we ſhould abhor the Romiſh Synagogue, yet were this ſufficient, that they profeſſedly hold forth a Doctrine of deſpair, that is, ſuch a Doctrine, in which a man can neither comfortably live nor dye. But 'tis no wonder that thoſe that preach up the merit of works, ſhould preach down certainty of Salvation; for if God love me or hate me, as I believe or not believe, obey or not obey, perſevere or not perſevere, its no wonder if from the ſight of my own frequent failings, I be in a perpetual heſitancy as to my eſtate. No certainty in the concluſion can be gathered from uncertain premiſes.
Ʋſe 2. This lets us know, whether the perſwaſion that we have of our own good condition, and the peace and joy that poſſibly we get therefrom, be ſound and certain, or no. If the Spirit witneſſe it, it is ſound; if the Spirit witneſſe it not, it is ſuſpicious, and can afford no ſufficient and ſatisfactory peace unto our ſpirits.
Queſt. But how ſhall I know whether the perſwaſion that I have, that I am a child of God, do proceed from the Teſtimony of the Spirit, or no? May not Satan be the Authour of ſuch a perſwaſion, and may not I reaſon my ſelf into it? and if ſo, how ſhall I know the Spirits teſtimony from theſe?
Anſw. This is a very difficult Queſtion: And therefore I ſhall take up ſome time more then ordinary to ſift the difficulty to the bottom, and then take it away, as God ſhall enable me.
Somethings I ſhal premiſe by way of Conceſſion. As,
1 It is undoubtedly true, that Satan may ſo transform himſelf into an Angel of light, as to ſuggeſt to a man a certain perſwaſion of his own good condition. He is a lying ſpirit in the mouth of falſe Prophets and inſpires them with plauſible Doctrines and comfortable dreames, where with they pronounce peace to thoſe to whom the Lord ſaith, There is no peace. And this he doth not only by ſtupifying the conſciences of profane wicked men, which occaſions their crying Peace to themſelves, though they walk in the wayes of their own heart, but even in civil and moral men, he can many times counterfeit the work of the Spirit of God, and give a falſe peace in a ſerious and ſeemingly regular way.
1 I ſhall not here ſpeak much of thoſe ſudden irradiations of joy and comfort wherewith he can fill men: only thus much, that in all ages he hath had advantage over credulous ſpirits by ſudden raptures and exſtaſies. It hath been an old Art (as the ſtories of the Anabaptiſts will ſufficiently inform us) by which he hath deluded millions of ſouls. Now thoſe exſtacies proceed originally from diſturbing and diſcolouring the phantaſie, that it may apprehend objects as he thinks fit to repreſent them. And no queſtion he may thus abuſe the fantaſie by the repreſentation of falſe matter of comfort and joy, and ſet it home with ſo ſtrong an appearing evidence, that a man may verily think that it comes from God himſelf. Certainly, Satan, if (as was aboveſaid) he can transform himſelf into an Angel of light, can ſecond theſe deluſions with viſions of an heavenly appearance: poſſibly he may uſurp the name of Chriſt himſelf. I knew ſuch a caſe once in mine own experience. A woman not till that time noted to have had any ordinary At Pool about ten yeers ſince.proportion of knowledg, on a ſudden in child bed, is taken with abundance of joy, and Chriſt himſelf (as ſhe fancied) appearing to her, giving her a revelation againſt Infant Baptiſm, and perfuming her, of which ſhe was ſo confident, that ſhe would ask thoſe that were about her, whether they did not ſmel thoſe perfumes? I that had a little before ſpoken againſt Anabaptiſtical revelations, was ſent for to be confuted by ſo pregnant an example, and ſhe told me as much. I gave her good advice; told a friend, I ſuſpected an impoſture, and departed. Within a few days after, the woman was grown perfectly diſtracted, and then the Devill put on his own blacks, and appeared in his own colours, and ſhe ſmelt him in every thing, and her ſweet perfumes ended in filthy ſtenches, &c.
I have before ſhewn you the rules by which you may judge of ſuch immediate, and reaſonleſſe raptures of aſſurance. I ſhall only adde here, If you will diſcern them, mark the end of them for which they are given.
Que. How ſhall I know that, will you ſay?
Anſw. Thus. Obſerve what is infuſed with them. Satan ſeldome uſeth this Art to any ſoul, but he withall infuſeth ſome erroneous doctrine or other, or ſtirs up to ſome or other irregular practice. The End of that dealing of his with the party before mentioned, was to ſcruple her in point of Infant-Baptiſme (as ſhe confeſſed to me;) and his end, in others, is to propagate one error or other, as appears in theſe days of deluſion by ordinary experience. A like revelation there was in theſe parts lately (concerning which more may be ſaid ſhortly in print) to perſwade a woman to leave her husband, who by that very ſuggeſtion diſcovered it to be a deluſion, becauſe it was quite contrary to the word.
Now a Chriſtian muſt be ſo confirmed in the fundamental points of Religion, and ſo well ſatisfied in all things that concerne the practice of Godlineſſe, that he ſhould be able even hereby to diſcover Satans impoſtures, by the Rule before I laid down, [The Spirit of God always moveth according to the Word.] In a word, you may do well to demurre to ſuch an evidence. 'Tis not good to be too haſty in owning ſuch extraordinary perſwaſions at the firſt daſh, as we ſay. A man offends not, that rejoyceth under them with trembling. If they come in ſeaſonably, to encourage me to any unqueſtionably good duty. I may (at preſent) act in the ſtrength of them. But afterwards, I may ſafely deſire an evidence from a known rule, whereby I may regularly be certified that they are indeed from God. Nor will ſuch a ſuſpenſion of my full aſſent to them, bee charged upon me as any affront to the Spirit of God (ſuppoſing him to be indeed the Author of them) or as an act of unbelief; but will be kindly taken, as an act of holy warineſſe, proceeding from a ſoul, that puts a due valuation upon the word, and deſires (as it ought) to make it in all things a light to its feet, and a lantern to its path. Pſalm 119. 105.
God himſelfe hath told me, that the written word is a ſurer word of propheſie then immediate Revelations, 2 Pet. 1. 19 and he tells me moreover, that I do well to take heed to it, as to a light ſhining in a dark place.
2. Nor ſhall I tell you at large, How far Satan may concurre in giving aſſurance from marks and ſignes (though certainly he may do much this way:) or how far he may miſapply Scripture it ſelfe to delude men into a falſe peace (though this he may do alſo:) The joy of the cloſe Hypocrite, and of the meere civill Juſticiary, are evidences of this impoſture every day to be found, almoſt in every Congregation where the word is preached in a convincing ſearching way; every ſuch perſon hath his foreign, his preſervative or Antidote of this kind, by which he keeps the word of God at a diſtance from his heart, when it approacheth with conviction of ſin. Moſt of both ſorts can plead good deſires, love to the brethren, ſtrictneſſe in religious duties, and moral converſation, &c. And though in all theſe they be miſerably miſtaken, yet (how ever) for the preſent theſe g…ounds ſtop the mouth of conſcience, and give a preſent repulſe to the power of a ſhaking ſermon: we will take theſe things for granted
2. It is as undoubtedly true, that (Satan thus miſrepreſenting Arguments) a mans own ſpirit may conſent to him and make uſe of them, and ſo by deluded Reaſon argue himſelf into a ſtrong perſwaſion that he is a child of God; when there is no ſuch matter. Nay, I doubt not, but the very ſame Arguments which delude one man in this caſe, may truly ſatisfie another, and the application of the ſame Scriptures, (Satan playing the Sophiſter whith his reaſon) may give a falſe perſwaſion to one man, which by the convincing evidence of the Spirit may give a ſound aſſurance to another.
But let me not here be miſtaken. I ſay not that theſe Arguments, and Scriptures may Caution.be managed the ſame way in both. For ſeeing the concluſion is falſe, which in a deluſive aſſurance is to be inferred, there muſt alſo be ſome falſehood in the premiſſes. As in Temptation, when Satan came to Chriſt to tempt him to break his neck; the concluſion which he would perſwade him to entertain from that place in the Pſalm, was wicked, and falſe, viz. that it is lawfull for a man wilfully and without a calling to endanger his own life; therefore he muſt needs juggle in the premiſſes, which hee doth, by leaving out [in thy ways] out of the Scripture cited: ſo in Aſſurance, if Satan delude a mans reaſon into ſuch an Aſſurance, to whom aſſurance doth not belong, there is ſome fault or other in the premiſſes whence the concluſion is deduced.
3. There may alſo (I conceive) be a rational aſſurance, whoſe concluſion is true (as to the ſtate of the perſon whom it aſſures) and yet it may not be the ſpeciall Teſtimony of the Spirit, but meerly the Teſtimony of a mans own reaſon enlightened by ordinary illumination. For as the Spirit when he teſtifies, teſtifies with our ſpirits, Rom 8. 16. So ſometimes our ſpirits may teſtifie, when the Spirit doth not. As there may be in a man that is convinced of ſin, a true conviction by the common illumination of the Spirit, which differs widely from that ſpecial and effectual conviction which uſhers in ſaving converſion. So in this caſe the child of God may be let alone to frame to himſelfe a peace by arguing and reaſoning his caſe from the Word of God, and the Spirit may accompany this endeavour of his by common illumination; wherein the concluſion may be true, and truly inferred; nay, ſometimes the Spirit may leave a man that is truly converted, even in the buſineſſe of illumination, and ſuffer him to conclude his good eſtate irregularly, though truly. As (I will give you this caſe for explication) A man that hath prayed and waited long for Aſſurance, and cannot obtain it, growes weary, and can wait upon Gods pleaſure no longer; nay, I ſhall ſuppoſe, that the man may be unwilling to be aſſured without the Spirits own Teſtimony, ye he thinks it's long a coming, and therefore deſires to haſten it. In this caſe, the Spirit of God may juſtly let him weary himſelf in a maze of his own reaſonings for a time, and permit him to perſwade himſelfe that he is in a good condition; and afterwards, becauſe though this concluſion were true, yet it was not gathered in a right way, may ſuffer him to fall into ſuch a ſin, or ſuch darkneſſe, as may make him ſee a need of farther evidence. And in this caſe God may deal with a man as he did with Iſrael in the wilderneſſe; God had promiſed them Canaan, and they thought long ere they had it, were loath to ſtay till Gods time; and therefore whiles they think to haſten the time, they are many of them deſtroyed at Hormah, and all turned back into the wilderneſs Numb. 14.for forty years.