Select discourses ... by John Smith ... ; as also a sermon preached by Simon Patrick ... at the author's funeral ; with a brief account of his life and death.

CHAP. VII.

The Fifth Property or Effect discovering the Excellen∣cy of Religion, viz. That it advanceth the Soul to an holy boldness and humble familiarity with God, and to a comfortable confidence concerning the Love of God toward it, and its own Salvation. Fearfulness, Consternation of Mind and frightfull passions are con∣sequent upon Sin and Guilt. These together with the most dismall deportments of Trembling and Amazement are agreeable to the nature of the Devil, who delights to be serv'd in this manner by his worshippers. Love, Joy and Hope are most agreeable to the nature of God, and most pleasing to him. The Right apprehensions of God are such as are apt to beget Love to God, Delight and Confidence in him. A true Christian is more for a solid and well-grounded Peace then for high raptures and feelings of joy. How a Christian should endeavour

the Assurance of his Salvation. That he should not im∣portunately expect or desire some Extraordinary mani∣festations of God to him, but rather look after the mani∣festation of the life of God within him, the foundation or beginning of Heaven and Salvation in his own Soul. That Self-resignation, and the subduing of our own Wills, are greatly available to obtain Assurance. The vanity and absurdity of that Opinion, viz. That in a perfect resignation of our Wills to God's will, a man should be content with his own Damnation and to be the subject of Eternal wrath in Hell, if it should so please God.

THe Fifth Property or Effect whereby True Religion * 1.1 discovers its own Nobleness and Excellency is this, That it advanceth the Soul to an holy boldness and humble familiarity with God, as also to a well-grounded Hope and comfortable Confidence concerning the Love of God toward it, and its own Salvation. The truly religious Soul maintains an humble and sweet familiarity with God; and with great alacrity of spirit, without any Conster∣nation and Servility of spirit, is enabled to look upon the Glory and Majesty of the most High: But Sin and Wickedness is pregnant with fearfulness and horrour. That Trembling and Consternation of Mind which pos∣sesses wicked men, is nothing else but a brat of dark∣ness, an Empusa begotten in corrupt and irreligious Hearts. While men walk in darkness, and are of the night, (as the Apostle speaks,) then it is onely that they are vext with those ugly and gastly Mormos that terrify and torment them. But when once the Day breaks, and true Religion opens her self upon the Soul like the Eye-lids of the Morning, then all those shadows and frightfull Apparitions flee away. As all Light and

Love and Joy descend from above from the Father of lights: so all Darkness and Fearfulness & Despair are from below; they arise from corrupt and earthly minds, & are like those gross Vapors arising from this Earthly globe, that not being able to get up towards heaven, spread themselves about the circumference of that Body where they were first begotten, infesting it with darkness and generating into Thunder and Lightning, Clouds and Tempests. But the higher a Christian ascends 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 above this dark dungeon of the Body, the more that Religion prevails within him, the more then shall he find himself as it were in a clear heaven, in a Region that is calm and serene; and the more will those black and dark affections of Fear and Despair vanish away, and those clear and bright affections of Love and Joy and Hope break forth in their strength and lustre.

The Devil, who is the Prince of darkness and the great Tyrant, delights to be served with gastly affecti∣ons and the most dismal deportments of trembling and astonishment; as having nothing at all of amiableness or excellency in him to commend himself to his worship∣pers. Slavery and servility (that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as Longinus truly calls it) is the badge and livery of the Devil's religion: hence those 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 of the Hea∣thens perform'd with much trembling and horror. But * 1.2 God, who is the supreme Goodness and Essentiall both Love and Loveliness, takes most pleasure in those sweet and delightfull affections of the Soul, viz. Love, Joy and Hope, which are most correspondent to his own na∣ture. The ancient superstition of the Heathens was always very nice and curious in honouring every one of their Gods with Sacrifices and Rites most agreeable to their natures: I am sure there is no Incense, no offer∣ing we can present God with, is so sweet, so acceptable

to him as our Love and Delight and Confidence in him; and when he comes into the Souls of men, he makes these his Throne, his place of rest, as finding the great∣est agreeableness therein to his own Essence. A Good man that finds himself made partaker of the Divine nature, and transform'd into the image of God, infinite∣ly takes pleasure in God, as being altogether Lovely, according to that in Cant. 5. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Totus ipse est desideria; and his Meditation of God is sweet unto him, Ps. 104. S. John that lay in the bosome of Christ who came from the bosome of the Father, and perfectly un∣derstood his Eternal Essence, hath given us the fullest description that he could make of him, when he tells us that God is Love, and he that dwells in God, dwells in love; and reposing himself in the bosome of an Al∣mighty Goodness, where he finds nothing but Love and Loveliness, he now displays all the strength and beauty of those his choiest and most precious affections of Love and Joy and Confidence; his Soul is now at ease, and rests in peace, neither is there any thing to make afraid: He is got beyond all those powers of darknesse which give such continual alarms in this lower world, and are always troubling the Earth: He is got above all fears and despairs; he is in a bright clear region, above Clouds and Tempests, infra se despicit nubes. There is no frightful terribleness in the supreme Majesty. That men apprehend God at any time in such a dismayed manner, it must not at all be made an argument of his nature, but of our sinfulness and weakness. The Sun in the heavens always was and will be a Globe of Light and brightness, howsoever a purblind Eye is rather dazled then enlightned by it. There is an Inward sense in Mans Soul, which, were it once awaken'd and ex∣cited with an inward tast and relish of the Divinity,

could better define God to him then all the world else. It is the sincere Christian that so tasts and sees how good and sweet the Lord is, as none else does: The God of hope fills him with all joy and peace in believing, so that he abounds in hope, as the Apostle speaks Rom. 15. He quietly reposes himself in God; his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord; he is more for a solid peace and setled calme of spirit, then for high Raptures and feel∣ings of Joy or Extraordinary Manifestations of God to him: he does not passionately desire nor importu∣nately expect such things; he rather looks after the Manifestations of the Goodness and Power of God within him, in subduing all in his Soul that is unlike and contrary to God, and forming him into his image and likeness.

Though I think it worthy of a Christian to endea∣vour the Assurance of his own Salvation; yet perhaps it might be the safest way to moderate his curiosity of prying into God's Book of life, and to stay a while untill he sees himself within the confines of Salvation it self. Should a man hear a Voice from Heaven or see a Vision from the Almighty, to testify unto him the Love of God towards him; yet methinks it were more desire∣able to find a Revelation of all from within, arising up from the Bottome and Centre of a mans own Soul, in the Reall and Internal impressions of a Godlike nature upon his own spirit; and thus to find the Foundation and Beginning of Heaven and Happiness within himself: it were more desirable to see the crucifying of our own Will, the mortifying of the mere Animal life, and to see a Divine life rising up in the room of it, as a sure Pledge and Inchoation of Immortality and Happi∣ness, the very Essence of which consists in a perfect conformity and chearfull complyance of all the

Powers of our Souls with the Will of God.

The best way of gaining a well-grounded assurance of the Divine love is this, for a man to overcome himself and his own Will: To him that overcomes shall be given * 1.3 that white stone, and in it the new name written, which no man knoweth but he that receives it. He that be∣holds the Sun of righteousness arising upon the Hori∣zon of his Soul with healing in its wings, and chasing away all that misty darkness of his own Self-will and Passions; such a one desires not now the Starr-light to know whether it be Day or not, nor cares he to pry into Heaven's secrets and to search into the hidden rolles of Eternity, there to see the whole plot of his Salvation; for he views it transacted upon the inward stage of his own Soul, and reflecting upon himself he may behold a Heaven opened from within, and a Throne set up in his Soul, and an Almighty Saviour sitting upon it, and reigning within him: he now finds the Kingdome of Heaven within him, and sees that it is not a thing merely reserved for him without him, being already made partaker of the sweetnesse and efficacy of it. What the Jewes say of the Spirit of Prophesy, may not unfitly be applyed to the Holy Ghost, the true Comforter dwelling in the minds of good men as a sure Earnest of their Eternal inheritance, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, The Spirit resides not but upon a man of Fortitude, one that gives proof of this Fortitude in subduing his own Self-will and his Affections. We read of Elisha, that he was fain to call for a Musical instrument and one to play before him, to allay the heat of his Passions, before he could converse with the Prophetical Spirit. The Hely Spirit is too pure and gentle a thing to dwell in a Mind muddied and disturb'd by those impure dreggs, those thick fogs and mists that arise from our Self-will

and Passions; our prevailing over these is the best way to cherish the Holy Spirit, by which we may be sealed unto the day of redemption.

To conclude this Particular: It is a venturous and rugged guess and conceit which some men have, That in a perfect resignation of our Wills to the Divine will a man should be content with his own Damnation, and to be the Subject of Eternal Wrath in Hell, if it should so please God. Which is as impossible as it is for him that infinitely thirsts after a true Participation of the Divine Nature, and most earnestly endeavours a most inward Union with God in Spirit, by a denial of himself and his own will, to swell up in Self-love, Pride and Arrogancy against God; the one whereof is the most substantial Heaven, the other the most real Hell: where∣as indeed by conquering our selves we are translated from Death to Life, and the kingdom of God and Heaven is already come into us.

Notes

• * 1.1

  5.
• * 1.2

  The words for false Gods and Idols, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, import Trouble and Terrour & Frightfull pas∣sions in their worshippers.
• * 1.3

  Revel. 2.