The Spirit of Bondage and Adoption, Treatise 2 · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. A diſcourſe concerning the manner of the Mediate and Argumentative Teſtimonie of the Spirit.
Q. HOW wee may diſtinctly conceive the witneſſing of Gods Spirit with our ſpirits in that Mediate and Argumentative way which wee laſt ſpake of?
Anſw. For Anſwer hereunto, ſeeing this worke is directly oppoſite to that of the Spirit of Bondage before mentioned, I ſhall review that againe here, and lay the compariſon betweene them, which (I conceive) will give us a cleare light in this particular.
In the work of the ſpirit of bondage, I told you, the ſoul was brought under the Conviction of a practical ſyllogiſme, ſuch an one as this,
Every unbeliever, every perſon that is in a ſtate of nature (in general;) or (in particular) every drunkard, ſwearer, &c. living under the reigning power of ſuch, or the like ſins, is a child of wrath, &c.
But thou art, (ſaith the ſpirit of God;) I (ſaith a mans owne ſpirit) am ſuch an one.
Therfore thou art (ſaith Gods Spirit;) I am (ſaith a mans owne ſpirit) a child of wrath, &c.
The three Propoſitions of this Syllogiſm, I told you implyed three ſorts of conviction.
1. Conviction of Law.
2. Conviction of caſe, or fact.
3. Conviction of ſtate: with the conſequents of theſe.
Sutably in unlocking this priſon, there muſt bee a key of as many wards, as there are in the lock, and thoſe anſwerable to them. For a key will not unlock a doore that hath not anſwerable wards to the lock that faſtens it.
Now theſe wards of the Spirits key are,
1. Conviction of Goſpel, oppoſite to that of Law.
2 Conviction of another caſe, ſutable therunto.
3 Conviction of another state, ariſing from both theſe.
4 And the conſequents.
1 Conviction of Goſpel: For as the law, the bondwoman, from mount Sinai, is the ground of terrour, engendring unto bondage, Gal. 4. So the Goſpel is the free woman, the Jeruſalem from above, that engenders to liberty, ibid. and 2 Cor. 3. 17. and ſo is the ſpecial ground of comfort. The Law is the warrant upon which the ſpirit impriſons the conſcience; and the Goſpel the warrant on which it releaſeth it againe. And as it is in civill affaires; a man that is under an execution for body and goods by ſuch or ſuch a ſtatute, hides, and flies, and is under feare, and ſometimes laid faſt in priſon, and cannot bee releaſed, but either upon a repeale of that law, or the annexing ſome condition to it, under which hee ſues for, and recovers his liberty; ſo it is in this caſe. The Law ſayes, every one is accurſed that continues not in every thing written in that booke. No fornicator, idolater, covetous, &c. ſhal enter into the kingdome of God. Now a man that is under the ſentence of this law in his own conſcience is capable of releaſe no way, but either by the repeale of that Law, or adding ſome ſuch limitation, or reſtriction, or condition to it, as may include him. Therefore when the Spirit gives peace from the word by way of Argument, it firſt produceth the law of liberty, the Goſpel againſt the law of bondage. It is confeſt, (ſaith the ſpirit in the conſcience of a converted ſinner) the law gives mee no hope; but there is an addition to, and an exception from that law, which I plead for my releaſe. There is a pardon proclaimed for ſuch ſinners as I am. Iſai. 55. 7. Prov. 28. 13. The Law in the new edition excepts believers, Joh. 3. 26 from its ſentence.
Now the apprehending and aſſenting to this truth, is the firſt work of the ſpirit in order to this regular aſſurance of a mans heart before God. A man in a ſtate of ſpiritual darkneſſe, is like Hagar in the wilderneſſe, Gen. 21. 19.ſhe and her ſonne Iſmael, are ready to dye for thirſt, when there was a well near them, but they could not ſee it till the Angel ſhewed it them. So is it in the children of the Law, that Hagar, and Iſmael ſhadowed out. When they are under Bondage of ſpirit, there be many precious wells of ſalvation in the Bible, but all theſe are hidden from their eyes, the Bible is a ſealed book to them, and the fountains of life are fountains ſhut up (as to them) till the ſpirit that leads into all truth direct a man or woman in ſuch a caſe to ſuch promiſes as may be a ground of peace to him, that may ſatisfy the weary ſoul, and refreſh the ſorrowfull ſoul.Jer. 31. 25.
I appeal to the experience of all the Saints of God that know what this means, whether the Spirit of God hath not many times guided them to places of Scripture (as it were) by his own finger. When they have even thrown the Bible away, after much ſearch for a comforting word, and reſolved to look no more for that that is not to be found there, hath not a ſecret whiſper, (like that to Auguſtine in his Converſion, tolle, lege) been caſt into them try once again? and have they not unexpectedly dipt and lighted on a place that hath ſatisfied them as with marrow and fatneſſe? Hath it not been with them, as with a godly Miniſter that I knew when I was a child, who having been under a Spirit of Bondage for many years, and now even ready to dye in that condition, when the eighth chapter of the Romans was read to him a little before his laſt gaſpe, ſtopping at the firſt verſe, now there is no condemnation to them that are in Chriſt Jeſus, &c. Stay, ſaid he, I never ſaw ſo much in thoſe words in my days as now, though I read them often: ſo (I ſay) can you not ſay that you have read ſuch and ſuch chapters, ten, twenty, thirty, forty times over, (and that not ſlightly or curſorily, but deliberately and with meditation) and yet could ſee never a well of Salvation in them, and yet afterwards from thoſe very places of Scripture the Spirit of God hath made you draw water with joy! So that 'tis the Spirit that doth this firſt work, diſcover and convince of Goſpel truth, the ground of our aſſurance. Now this conviction is either,
1. General, and ſo the ſoul is convinced of thoſe very truths long before it can take comfort from them, and believes them with ſuch a faith as he believes the Bible to be true in every part of it: and this appears in thoſe that are under a Spirit of Bondage. Produce ſuch and ſuch promi…es to them, they will ſay, true, theſe promiſes are excellent promiſes; and will (no queſtion) yeild abundance of marrow to them to whom they belong; but they can ſee nothing in them that belongs to them. Here is a full well, but they have nothing to draw; or it is a well incloſed, it is not free for them.
(2 Particular. When the Spirit helps the ſoul to ſingle out ſuch a word, and opens a door of hope to the ſoul, that it hath a ſhare in it; and this is that that makes way for, and is compleated in the Minor of the former Syllogiſme; which I call,
(2) Conviction of Caſe: Thus the Spirit enlightens the conſcience to apply the Promiſe to its ſelf by owning the condition of it. The Word ſaith, Such and ſuch perſons are children of God: the renewed conſcience enlightned by the Spirit, ſaith, This is my caſe, I am ſuch a perſon. Now here the Spirit either enlightens a man to ſee himſelf under that condition, by working a preſent aſſent to the truth of this Minor Propoſition; (As ſuppoſe an Argument from the Promiſe [He that believeth hath everlaſting life:] but I believe: Ergo. The aſſent to this Minor Propoſition, I believe, may be wrought by a ſudden work of the Spirit, as ſoon as the major Propoſition, whereon it is grounded, is apprehended; and ſo it is a work ſomewhat neer of kin unto that of the firſt branch of Mediate Teſtimony, wherein the teſtimony was ſuppoſed to be by the word, yet without Argumentation:) Or elſe (as uſually) by eliciting and drawing forth the ſoul to ſuch an aſſent, by a farther evidence of Argument. For it is very ſeldom ſeen, but that ſuch ſouls as have been exerciſed with a Spirit of Bondage, are not eaſily brought to own any good in themſelves, ſo that even the Spirit of God hath much ado to anſwer all the cavils of Satan and their own ſuſpicious hearts in point of gracious ſelf-Juſtification, which ſuch ſouls are much afraid of; and not more difficultly brought to any thing, then to own this Propoſition, [But I believe,] or the like. Now in ſuch a caſe the Spirits work is longer, and he is fain to bring many more Arguments to confirm this Minor. True (ſaith the ſoul) he that believes hath everlaſting life, but I am none of thoſe Believers, and therefore quid ad me? What doth this Promiſe concern ſuch an unbelieving wretch as I am? Then the Spirit ſatisfies the ſoul in the Minor, by producing ſuch proofs of Scripture, as evidence faith in the Subject in whom it is, ſuch as purifying the heart, love to God, his wayes, his Act… 15. 9 Gal. 5. 6 Zech. 12. 10people, grief for ſin, &c. And poſſibly goes farther, and proves thoſe graces to be in the ſoul by farther Marks, drawn from the acts of them which diſcover the habit whence they proceed. This is a work of conviction, I told you before, and may be done by many Arguments or few, according to the light that accompanyes them to the ſoul.
Nor is there any reaſon why Dr. Criſp and his followers ſhould cry down this way of getting aſſurance by Marks and Signs as uncertain, ſeeing the doubting ſoul will find ſomething that ſeemes faulty in every grace which is preſented to it as an evidence.
Object. If the Spirit ſay, (ſay they) Thou art a Believer becauſe thou haſt love, that is a fruit of faith; the ſoul may ſtil doubt, Whether it have love; if love be manifeſted by delight in Gods Commandments, &c. the queſtion will ſtill be, Whether that delight be ſincere or counterfeit, pure or mixed, ingenuous or ſelf-ended; and therefore ſay they, there can no judgment be made certainly concerning a mans Juſtification by his ſanctification, or concerning ſanctification by the operations of particular graces.
Anſ. To this we anſwer, True, theſe graces whiles I barely endeavour to diſcover them by my own reaſon, may be ſtill ſubject to queſtion, and ſo can make no firme aſſurance. But in the ſoul that is graciouſly aſſured this way, the Spirit of God reſts the heart upon an ultimum quod ſic, convinceth him by that which is moſt viſible in him, and ſtops the mouth of cavilling reaſon from perplexing the Queſtion any more. As a wiſe Moderator in a Diſpute, that when the Argument hath been ſpun out ſo long by a wrangling companion, that there can be no more ſaid, but in away of groundleſſe cavilling, and angry reflections, &c. breaks off the Diſpute, checks the wrangling Antagoniſt, and determines the Controverſie by his own ſentence upon the whole matter. So when a mans own cavilling heart, and Satan helping it, have picked out all the flawes poſſibly in his evidence for heaven, and have left no ſtone unturned to invalidate it, and withal the Spirit hath enabled a man to plead to all exceptions of moment, and yet theſe wrangling companions will not be ſatisfied; at laſt the Spirit makes a man to ſee, that there is nothing can be ſaid that hath not been anſwered, but only ſuch wranglings as deſerve no anſwer but ſcorn, and ſo determines, and enables the ſoul to determine the great Queſtion, by inferring the concluſion with undenyable evidence. I know not why this way (the Spirit of God aſſuring) ſhould not be leſſe ſubject to queſtion, then immediate aſſurance. Seeing in a time of darkneſſe, that is as queſtionable, and will require as long a debate to ſatisfie the ſoul, whether indeed it were the voice of the Spirit, or a mans owne heart, and Satan colluding with it to deceive a man. Let any man ſhew mee that 'tis eaſier for a man to be certainly convinced, that the Spirits immediate teſtimony is true, and proceeding from the Spirit, then that ſuch and ſuch fruits of grace (the matter of its mediate teſtimony) are not counterfeit, and I have done preſſing this Argument any more.
3 The third thing the Spirit doth, is to infer the concluſion of the grand Syllogiſme, in a conviction of a gracious and happy eſtate; thus: therefore, Thou art a child of God, an heir of glory, juſtified, ſanctified, &c. (For all theſe termes and many more are of equal import to the caſe in hand; the concluding any thing in a man that neceſſarily accompanies ſalvation, concludes the certainty of ſalvation to that perſon, and ſeals up aſſurance.) In the former two acts, the Spirit is the candle of the Lord, without a man, in pointing out the word; and within a man, in the application of his caſe to the Word; and in this he acts the part of a juſt determiner of the controverſie upon this evidence, a Judg in the conſcience quitting and juſtifying the Priſoner; and this is his ſentence of Abſolution, and therefore when it is pronounced by his Miniſters (as moſt commonly it is) 'tis called, looſing the conſcience, Mat. 16. 18, 19. And this I cal conviction of a gracious and happy eſtate, which is oppoſite to that conviction of a wicked and wretched eſtate, diſcovered in the concluſion of the legal Syllogiſm before mentioned.
4 The Effects of this Teſtimony when it is finiſhed, are quite contrary to the former of the Spirit of Bondage.
1. Calmneſſe and ſedation of ſpirit by the allaying of thoſe boyſterous winds of temptation, that raiſed the waves. This is contrary to that ſoul confounding horror, that ſoul-ague, ſoul-quake that I ſpake of formerly, and is called in the Scripture, Peace, Iſai. 57. 19, 21. and 'tis oppoſed to the horrible confuſions that are in a wicked mans awakened conſcience, ver. 20. But the wicked are like the troubled ſea when it cannot reſt, therefore the godly mans pacified conſcience is like the calmed ſea, that hath not a wrinkle in its face, not a blaſt to ſtir any there, no wind breathing on it, except that of the Spirit of God to excite it to love and thankfulneſſe.
2. Joy and ſweetneſſe, and ſelf complacency in the heart. Which is oppoſed to that ſecond fruit of the Spirit of Bondage within a man which is before mentioned; viz. Soul diſtreſſing anguiſh. A man that was before not only a terror, but a burthen to himſelf, and was weary of living through his anguiſh of heart, now begins to take pleaſure in himſelf, and begins to eat his bread with joy; and goes about his buſineſſe rejoycing, as 'tis ſaid of the Primitive Saints, Acts 2. 46. & 8 39. This is called, Joy in the Holy Ghoſt, Rom. 14. 17. and 1 Theſſ. 1. 6. Of the Holy Ghoſt, becauſe proceeding from this Teſtimony of the Holy Ghoſt. It is like the content a man takes in viewing a great deal of wealth heaped up together, and a man can …ay, This is mine; when a Miſer doth ſibi plaudere, applaud himſelf (in the language of the Poet) and bleſſe his ſoul in the Horace.language of the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 49. 18. ſuch a ſoul can go through the whole Treaſury of the Word, and wallow on the Promiſes as o… ſo many heaps of gold, and cry out rejoycing, All this is mine; Can look abroad among all the providences of God, and ſay, All theſe are mine; and look upward to heaven, and to crown of glory, and an innumerable company of Angels, &c. and ſay, All this ſhall be mine too, in poſſeſſion, as it is now in Title.
This is like the tryumph after a peace: and expreſſed by the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 15. 55, 56, 57. in ſome ſuch height of actual aſſurance of Gods love and his own happineſſe. Such a ſoul looks (as God promiſed Davids houſe ſhould be) like the graſs ſpringing up by 2 Sam. 23. 4clear ſhining after rain.
3 Soul ſupporting hope. And this I ſet againſt ſoul-diſtracting Deſpair, which was reckoned (in the former point) among the fruits of the Spirit of Bondage. This is not that hope which is the ground of juſtifying dependance upon Chriſt, of which I have ſpoken before, but that which is the daughter of aſſurance, and differs from the other, as I told you, as Negative and Poſitive, as rational and ſpiritual differ. That hope is the daughter of notional knowledg, this of Experimental. Experience produceth this hope, Rom. 5. 4. This is that that raiſeth a man to a certain and patient expectation of, and waiting for the things which faith of evidence aſſures him he hath a title unto, and ſhall certainly enjoy. We through the Spirit wait for the hope of Righteouſneſſe by Faith. Where [waiting] ſets out the nature of this hope, foreign, we do look out for, and expect with earneſtneſſe (as the mother of Siſera is ſaid to do, Judges 5.) [the hope;] i. e. the matter of the hope; which is [Of righteouſneſs by faith,] which juſtifying faith aſſures us of; and this is [By the Spirit;] the Spirits teſtimony is the ground of this hope; and his aſſiſtance the cauſe of it. This is called the Anchor of the ſoul, that ſtayes him from being carryed away with waves of deſpaire upon the rocks of certaine ruine. And this is that that is the Helmet of our ſalvation; guards all blowes from our heads, all the blowes of temptations, Heb. 6. 19, 20. 1 Theſ. 5. 8.