Saith he, 'He shall bring all things to your remembrance, for he shall take of mine and shew it unto you;' for if the Holy Ghost do not come with a word, and take of Christ's and set that upon your heart, it is a delusion; he sealeth by a promise still, and therefore in all that discourse of Christ, where he promiseth him as a Comforter, in John xiv., he calleth him a 'Spirit of truth,' as well as a Comforter. Therefore when we say, it is an immediate testimony, the meaning is not that it is without the Word; no, it is by a promise; but the meaning is, it is immediate in respect of using your own graces as an evidence and witness: but he bringeth home a promise to the heart, some absolute promise or other; he 'rideth upon the wings of a promise,' as you may read in the Book of Martyrs, concerning Bilney. He is a Spirit of promise, my brethren, when he sealeth. Therefore let me tell you this, all your revelations that are without the Word, or would draw you from the Word, are naught and dangerous. We do not speak for enthusiasms; it is the Spirit applying the Word to the heart that we speak of. It is not to write new Scripture, to make words, to be guided by the Holy Ghost without the Word. No, we detest all such; but it is to draw you to the Word; he fasteneth the Word upon your hearts, sealeth you by a promise; therefore he is called a Spirit of promise.

There is one thing more that I must make an end of; it was necessary to open these truths unto you, for I could not open the words else. The last thing he is described by as he is a sealer is, that he is a holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost hath put a mighty emphasis upon this, as you shall see by and by; he hath put an article upon every word, as they that understand the Greek know, it is τῷ πνεύματι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, τῷ ἁγίῳ, sealed with that Spirit of that promise, that holy.' There is not the like again in any place. There is a special promise of him as a sealer; and he sheweth himself to be a holy Spirit, if in any work, in sealing. And, which is more, he doth not say, that Holy Spirit,' r vμarı ȧyíw; indeed we translate it so, we put holy to Spirit; but the truth is, the word holy cometh in divided from the other, and promise cometh in between, in the Greek, r vsúμаTI Tñs STAYyehías, г àyíw, it is that Spirit of that promise, that holy.' This is the true reading of it according to the original, to shew that this title of holy is not given to the Spirit himself, but as an effect of his in sealing. It is true, indeed, he is holy in himself, and it argueth him to be so, if he make us so when he sealeth us; for look what impress is left upon the wax must needs be in the seal much more; if he make us holy when we are sealed, he himself must be holy much more originally. But that is not the aim of it, only to shew that he is holy; but to shew that when he sealeth then he works holiness; therefore the Holy Ghost here putteth an emphasis upon it, by putting to the article 'that.'

Observe from hence this, that all assurance that is true assurance, and the true seal of the Holy Ghost, it makes a man holy. If ever anything makes him holy, this doth it. Is he a holy Spirit in working faith? Doth he purify your hearts by believing? He will purify your hearts much more when he sealeth you, when he works joy in believing, unspeakable and glorious.

Yea, my brethren, God doth not give this promise of his Spirit as a sealer till a man be very holy. John xiv. 21, 'He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and manifest myself to him.' God doth not put these cordials into a foul stomach; and when a man hath these, they make him wonderful holy. Take the apostles for an instance. The

apostles, as I told you, were believers, they had a promise of the Holy Ghost as a sealer and a Comforter; but they were to wait for it, as you read in Acts i. 4. Now all the while they waited for it, what did they? They continued all the while, till they had it, in prayer and supplication; the text saith so; they were exceeding holy, especially before. Well, when they had it, how holy did it make them! It is of purpose made the preface to the Book of the Acts. You see how full of boldness they were, how full of zeal, because full of the Holy Ghost, and full of the joy of the Holy Ghost. The apostles were poor low Christians as any are, almost. When Jesus Christ was to die, how sleepy were they! When Christ was administering the sacrament to them, and told them what he should suffer, they talked presently who should be the greatest amongst them.'

Thus carnal were they, they had not received the Spirit as a sealer; but when once they had received him as a sealer, read the story of the Acts, read their Epistles, and see what a spirit of boldness and zeal they had. 'When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.' It is a new conversion, it will make a man differ from himself in what he was before in that manner almost as conversion doth before he was converted. There is a new edition of all a man's graces, when the Holy Ghost cometh as a sealer. Selflove bustleth before, and keepeth a coil to secure itself; but when once selflove is secure, and the love of God is shed abroad in a man's heart, it makes a man work for God ten times more than before, or else at least more kindly. I know there are ways wherein the soul can glorify God more, in a way of recumbency, when he hath not assurance, by submitting himself to God whatsoever becometh of him, and by pure trusting of God, though he know not whether he will save him or not, which is the greatest trust in the world. But yet in matter of holiness and obedience, the assurance of the love of God, when it is shed abroad in the heart, will constrain a man, as the apostle's phrase is. He that hath this hope,' he speaks of assurance in that 1 John iii. 3, 'purifieth himself, even as he is pure.' My brethren, it is the next thing to heaven, therefore it must needs make a man heavenly. If there were nothing but self-love in a man, it is true he would abuse it when he hath assurance; but when this love shall stir up love to God, and bring a greater increase of love to God above a man's self, how will that work! I appeal to you, good souls, if Christ do but look toward you a little, how holy doth it make you! Much more, then, when the Holy Ghost is poured out upon you, and when you are baptized with the Holy Ghost as a Comforter. Look, as when the sun cometh near to the earth, then is the spring; it was winter before; so when the Holy Ghost cometh in this manner upon the heart, it was winter before, but it will be spring now.

My brethren, to end this, therefore all those comforts,-mark what I say, try yourselves, and try others by it,-all those revelations and comforts that make men loose and unholy, unclean and carnal, are not these comforts of the Holy Ghost. I confess, a holy man may, when they are gone, abuse the remembrance of them; but while they are upon the heart, they do carry a man's soul in all up to God. The apostle Jude doth not know how to speak words bitter enough against those men that turn the grace of God into wantonness. 'They are ordained of old,' saith he, 'to this condemnation.' Read how bitterly he speaks of such men from the third verse to the end of his epistle; especially when men shall be loose in their opinions, as he saith, 'corrupt themselves' in what they know naturally to be sin. My brethren, he is a holy Spirit, nothing is more opposite to this holy Spirit than looseness, than uncleanness, and such sins are. 'If we say,' saith he, 1 John i. 6,

'that we have fellowship with God, and walk in darkness, we lie.' What doth he mean by fellowship here? He meaneth assurance plainly. These things we write to you, that you may know ye believe in the Son of God; (it is the scope of that epistle,) he that saith he hath fellowship with God, and walketh in darkness, lieth; let him be what he will. The apostles are vehement, their spirits are up against no men more. He is a holy Spirit of promise that sealeth men to salvation.

Let this therefore be made a motive to seek it at God's hands; urge him with this, besides his promise; tell him it will make you holy. It is a great motive to seek it, it is a motive to you to seek it, and it is a motive to you to urge God to obtain it.

I conclude with this: a seal hath two ends and uses, the first is to assure and certify, and the other is to stamp an image; for so always a seal doth. Now they are both here. He is called the Spirit of promise, because he bringeth home the promise to a man's heart and assureth him of an interest. He is called the Holy Spirit of promise in sealing, because he stampeth the image of holiness upon you, and makes you more holy than before.

So you have the meaning of these words, 'In whom ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,' with all those concurring scriptures that were necessarily to be brought for the opening of them.

SERMON XVII.

Who is the earnest of our inheritance until (or, for) the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.—VER. 14.

In the first place, For the reference of these words to the former; 'who is the earnest. It referreth not unto Christ, 'in whom you are sealed,' as Faber Stapulensis would have it; but they refer to the Spirit of promise mentioned immediately before. And to put us out of doubt in it, in 2 Cor. v. 5, it is called the earnest of the Spirit.' Christ is called nowhere an

earnest.

Then, secondly, For the scope of his words. The verse I have read to you is the conclusion of all about the benefits bestowed upon us, and of the Apostle's application of these benefits both to Jew and Gentile. He had enumerated all sorts of benefits,-election, predestination, our redemption by Christ, our vocation, and faith, and sealing. In enumerating of all these benefits, his scope is to mention the special glory that all the three Persons have, and are to have, from us in the work of our salvation. And so his scope is here to shew how great a gift of the Holy Ghost is added unto all that Christ hath done for us, and unto all the Father hath done for us, of which he had spoken in the former verses. As he had set out the Father's work in election in the 4th, 5th, and 6th verses, Jesus Christ's work in redemption in the 7th and the 10th verse, so here his scope is to set forth the great benefit we have by the Holy Ghost: the greatness of that gift, 'We are sealed by him, who is,' saith he, 'the earnest of our inheritance.' It is the conclusion of all, and so comprehendeth all that either the Spirit is to us, or works in us. It expresseth the greatness of the gift of the Holy Ghost to us, and the use that that gift is to us.

So you have the reference of the words; you have the coherence and scope of the words.

Now for the division of the words. You have three things contained in this verse eminently.

I. The first is, That the Holy Ghost is an earnest.

II. The second, Of what he is an earnest ? of an inheritance. Until when? "Until the redemption of the possession' of that inheritance.

III. And then, thirdly, The end of all; 'to the praise of his glory.'

I. I must first begin to explain the Holy Ghost's being an earnest. And, first, I shall explain the phrase unto you, what that importeth in itself. And, secondly, how it is to be understood that the Holy Ghost is an earnest.

And, first, for the phrase earnest, what is meant by that? 'AppaCv; it is a word which the Greeks had from the Jews; and although it is not only used in the New Testament by the Holy Ghost, but by profane writers also, yet the Greeks had it from the Tyrian merchants, and so used it in their bargains as an earnest of the whole sum in bargaining. They used it likewise for any other kind of earnest whatsoever.

The Hebrew word is of a larger signification; it takes in a pledge or pawn,

AN EXPOSITION OF THE EPISTLE

[SERMON XVII.

as you call it. You know in your English phrase a pawn is one thing, an earnest is another. Now the word that the Jews used, from whence this is fetched, signifieth a pledge, a pawn, as well as an earnest. As Gen. xxxviii.

17, there Tamar doth require of Judah a pledge that he would give her what he promised her. But the Grecians use it especially for an earnest. 'Evéxugov is put for a pledge, but appaCwv for an earnest.

Now you will ask, how these two, a pawn and a pledge, do differ from an earnest ?

I will shew you, first, what is common to them both, which will help to open the thing; secondly, wherein they differ.

In common, the nature and use of a pledge and an earnest is this, both are to give assurance, to give security. If a man borroweth money of one, oftentimes they leave a pawn; that pawn giveth assurance, giveth security for the payment of so much money. On the other side, if a man goes to

bargain with one, the buyer giveth an earnest to the seller, and that also doth bind the bargain. They are both for security, they are both for assurance, that is the scope of both.

How do they differ then?

A pawn is properly for money borrowed, or promised to be paid, and must always be worth as much as the money that it is engaged for; who will take a pawn else? But an earnest is not so; an earnest is but a part in hand. You shall have a bargain that is worth a thousand pounds, and the earnest it be is but sixpence, or a shilling, or a piece. It is but part of the payment. may In the second place, a pawn or a pledge may be something of another kind from money. One may pawn his jewels, his clothes, for money; but an earnest always is a piece of money, for money to be paid. It is a thing of the same kind.

Then, thirdly, a pawn is restored again when the money is paid; but an earnest is never restored, for it is part in hand; a man keepeth it for ever by him.

So that now, by this, you will come to understand what is meant by an earnest. It is, first, a part in hand, part of payment, it is not the whole. It is, secondly, something of the same kind; it is part of the same we shall one day receive. And, thirdly, it is never restored again as a pawn is. I shall have use of these, as you shall find, in opening how the Spirit is an earnest.

The second thing for opening the phrase is this: I have shewed you how a pawn and an earnest differ; now let us see what reference this phrase hath. in the place it cometh in, both to what is before and what is after.

An earnest is of use in two cases, and they are both here glanced at.

An earnest is of use in case of buying and selling, when the buyer hath not money ready, or the seller hath not his commodity ready, then you give money as an earnest of the bargain.

Secondly, an earnest doth not hold only in buying and selling; but it holdeth in conveying of inheritances. This is the latitude of the Greek phrase. You shall see it amongst ourselves, as I take it, at this day. When an inheritance is conveyed to another man, there is first a writing drawn, with hands unto it. Answerably, there is now for the inheritance of heaven sanctification and faith wrought in the heart, which are the finger of the Holy Ghost; they are his work. There is, secondly, the seal, which is after you have believed and have been sanctified. And, thirdly, in conveying inheritances, if I be not mistaken, they use to carry a man unto the ground. If you sell land or convey an inheritance, if you will give possession, what do you? You carry him unto the ground, and there you give him a turf of earth, something that grows upon the ground,—not money, but something of