and were so overjoyed at the sight of him risen again, that they could not tell how to believe their own eyes, as we usually say; the news was, as they thought, too good to be true. People are sometimes slacker to believe that which they would very fain have come to pass. Thus Jacob's heart fainted, when he was told that his son Joseph was yet alive, and more than that, was governor over all the land of Egypt, Gen. xlv. 26.

3. The awfulness of the passage to eternal life, makes the faith of it yet harder. If all believers were dealt with as Elijah was, that after they have accomplished their course of service and suffering upon the earth, they should be sent for, as it were in a chariot of fire, to be carried up to heaven; it would be an exit, if I may so speak, suitable to their expectations. But now for a poor believer, that hath been fed all his life long with the promises of eternal life in the gospel, and has been chearing his heart thereby, that this man should lie down in the dust, should walk through the vale and shadow of death, should leave his body a prey to worms and rottenness in the grave, this seemeth very hard. Will not every one say, Is this the way to eternal life? This is a strange way to heaven, that lies through death and the grave, and through the lowest and most abject state that a man can be in. Yet thus our Lord went into his glory, only bating the corruption of the grave, which he could not suffer; but through death, and sufferings, and groanings, and pain, he yielded up the ghost, was buried, and lay under the power of death, until the time appointed of the Father for his resurrection out of it. There is no Christian, but finds this to be true which I speak, that the dark black passage of death makes the difficulty great in believing eternal life. How far remote is it from all our reason, and from all our desires, that the last step in our journey to heaven, should be through so thick. and deep a mire as death itself is?

4. The mystery of the title and right that a believer hath in eternal life, makes the believing of it the harder still. His title and right to it lies in another, and not in himself; it lies in the righteousness, and worth, and purchase, and merit of the Son of God; so that the faith of eternal life cannot be

kept clear in the heart of a believer, unless Christ, who is the hope of glory, be kept clear in our eye by faith.

5. There are many misgivings of heart that believers cannot well avoid; and if they cannot avoid them, they must meet them; and when they meet them, they must wrestle with them, and overcome them. The poor Israelites are not to be excused, but are much to be pitied; they were brought out of the land of Egypt with a high hand, God granted them a great deliverance through the Red-sea, they sung joyfully upon the other side in the view of the great discomfiture of all their enemies, and like enough they expected nothing, but very quickly they should come to the borders of the good land. But when God led them about and tried them, they sinned; when they sinned, he punished them; under their punishment they repine and rebel, they vex him, and a great deal of sorrow came thereupon. Believers are in great danger of something like this; many faintings and misgivings of heart seize upon believers as to the hope of their calling. (1.) Con science of utter unworthiness. (2.) Sense of great unmeetness for it. 1. Conscience of utter unworthiness of this great prize, and every Christian hath this. No man will ever get to heaven that thinks he deserves it; for it is certain, whoever thinks he deserves heaven, may conclude from the word of God, there is a bar and bolt drawn upon heaven's gates against that proud sinner; for it is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. But this is not usually so hard; this temptation does not so frequently distress believers, as the other; they know the reward of eternal life is a reward of grace; they know that it was dearly bought, freely promised, and is graciously given unto the seed of Christ: but here comes in the second. A sense of great unmeetness for it, says the poor Christian; I know I am unworthy of it. And so was Paul; the last hour of Paul's life, he was unworthy of heaven. But, say you, here is the great discouragement, I am unmeet for it. But consider, that God works meetness in his people for heaven: Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, Col. i. 12. Though I know that the word there in the original might be very well otherwise rendered, who hath

graced us and privileged us with his favour, as it may also be rendered in 2 Cor. iii. 6. But now this only I would have to be considered about meetness; it is certain that none are possessed of heaven, but they that are meet for it; it is as certain that all believers, when they come to lay their claim to eternal life, are all alike unmeet in their own apprehensions. There is a great difference between some and others, as to their meetness for heaven: an ordinary Christian must not pretend to be as meet for heaven as Paul was; but there is not a Christian but stands upon the same level with Paul, as to his pretensions and claim to eternal life. What would Paul be at? He would be found in him, not having his own righteousness; and so would every believer be. God works meetness for heaven in them, that he makes possessors of it in a deep mysterious way. The sense of this meetness is, that that is never to obstruct pure and mere faith. Suppose, and it is a case that I wish it were not a bare supposition, but were more frequent and with a good foundation; suppose, I say, that the grace of God seize a poor young creature, call him early, prevent him from wallowing in the puddle and mire of the world's wickedness; suppose still the same grace sanctify him, and this sanctified creature should grow up more and more unto the stature of a grown Christian for many years in the house of God: now, you will say, this man is meet for heaven; he is so, God hath made him so. Pray now let this man be examined about his meetness, and let his last plea, as it were, be heard, when he is knocking at heaven's gate for entry at last. It is only upon the account of the common foundation that every believer's faith is fixed upon; God will save none but those he sanctifies; but eternal life follows more immediately upon justification; our title to eternal life comes from the same righteousness that the forgiveness of our sins flows from.

6. There is a special activity of Satan in tempting believers, that makes this work yet the harder. The devil's great work in this world is to increase bad works, and to hinder good works; to keep them that are bad, bad still, and make them worse; and to hinder them that are bad from being good, and the good from growing better, and the best from being per

fect. Believers are the special mark of the devil's malice; and there are two times wherein, be sure, if the devil may have his will, and he hath a great deal lent him by our Lord; there are two times wherein a poor child of God may be sure to meet with the devil, if the devil be not bound by more than ordinary restraint. The first time is, when the poor elect child of God is stepping out of nature into grace; the other is, when he is stepping out of grace up to glory. If the devil can possibly have his will, and it is rarely denied him, he will shoot his fiery darts in these cases. When a poor sinner is leaving Satan's camp, and going over into Christ's kingdom, when he is just upon delivery from the power of darkness, and of being translated into the kingdom of his dear Son, then the devil bends his bow, and lets fly thick and apace. A great many poor creatures that never knew there was a devil in hell, or out of hell, till this time, as long as they were in nature and quiet, the devil was quiet too; but when Christ came to pull them, and draw them, and bring them home to himself, they then found they had been under the keeping of an enemy, that was loth to part with them. The last case is much the same: When a poor creature is going over to Christ, the devil is losing his right; when going to heaven, the devil is losing all opportunity against him. There are few of the people of God that, in walking through the vale of the shadow of death, do not feel this serpent bruising their heel; but if they once be well landed, the smart will quickly be gone.

Lastly, There is some wise deep contrivance of God in this matter. The Lord hath ordered the matter of our salvation so, that believing shall be hard, and the last believing still hardest; so he hath ordered our right to eternal life: all is lying in another, nothing in us; we have a right in and by Christ, our charter of eternal life lies in God's word. In the conducting of the people of God, the Lord guides them so, that pure believing is never put out of its office: whatever he give, whatever path he leads them in, this remains continually useful and needful to them, that they must still go out of themselves, and exercise dependence upon another, upon the Lord alone. The whole contrivance of the way of our salvation, I

mean the way of God's working with us about salvation, is framed for this end, that believing shall be perpetually used; the contrivance of the way of salvation for us, is made on purpose for the glory of God's grace through Christ Jesus; it is contrived for this purpose, that all the way we should believe; whatever we receive, we must trust still, for the great hope of our calling. So much for this second thing, What the difficulties are of believing eternal life.

The third thing is, How these are to be overcome; where is the victory that believers must have over all these difficulties? And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith, 1 John v. 4. The victory lies in this word, Faithful is he that promised. Let the difficulties that lie in the way of believing be never so great, we must hold up this as a shield against them all, Faithful is he that promised; and in order to guide you in the right way of using it, I would offer you four or five things.

1. Muse, think often, both on the promise, and on the promiser. They whose minds and thoughts are not much taken up about the faithful God, and the faithful promise of God, how can it be expected that they should believe well? Entertain, I say, a frequent savoury remembrance both of the promise and promiser. Our Lord charges his disciples with this, And now I have told you before it come to pass, that whert it is come to pass, ye might believe, John xiv. 29. and xvi. 4. Remember it then, that you may believe more. Can you imagine it possible, that faith should flourish in the heart, when the promise and promiser is out of the eye, and out of the mind? That is utterly impossible.`

He that

2. Pray to the promiser upon the promise. prays much, believes well; and no man that neglects prayer, can act faith. We pray upon the promise to the promiser : Remember the word unto thy servant, says Divid, upon which thou hast caused me to hope, Psalm cxix. 49. The promises are given for our faith, and our faith is to be acted in praying upon them; and when we pray upon the promises, we pray to him that made them, and he that made them can certainly perform them.

3. Build upon the promises, y your weight on them,