(6.) Hast thou any enticing touches of the Word of God upon thy mind? Doth, as it were, some holy word of God give a glance upon thee, cast a smile upon thee, let fall, though it is one drop of its savor upon thy spirit; yea, though it stays one moment with thee? O then the day of grace is not past! The gate of heaven is not shut! nor God's heart and bowels withdrawn from thee as yet. Take heed, therefore, and beware that thou make much of the heavenly gift, and of that good word of God of the which he has made thee taste. Beware, I say, and take heed; there may be a falling away for all this; but, I say, as yet God has not left thee, as yet he has not cast thee off (Heb 6:1-9).
2. With respect to thy desires, what are they? Wouldst thou be saved? Wouldst thou be saved with thorough salvation? Wouldst thou be saved from guilt and filth too? Wouldst thou be the servant of thy Saviour? Art thou indeed weary of the service of thy old master the devil, sin, and the world? And have these desires put thy soul to the flight? Hast thou, through selfishness, betake thyself to thy heels? Dost fly to him that is a Saviour from the wrath to come, for life? If these be thy desires, and if they are unfeigned, fear not! Thou are one of those runaways which God has commanded our Lord to receive, and not to send thee back to the devil thy master again, but to give thee a place in his house, even the place which liketh thee best. 'Thou shalt not deliver unto his master,' says he, 'the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee. He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him' (Deu 23:15,16).
This is a command to the church, consequently to the Head of the church; for all commands from God come to her through her Head. Whence I conclude, that as Israel of old was to receive the runaway servant who escaped from a heathen master to them, and should not dare to send him back to his master again; so Christ's church now, and consequently Christ himself, may not, will not, refuse that soul that has made his escape from sin, Satan, the world, and hell, unto him, but will certainly let him dwell in his house, among his saints, in that place which he shall choose, even where it liketh him best. For he says, in another place, 'And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.' In no wise, let his crimes be what they will, either for nature, multitude, or the attendance of aggravating circumstances. Wherefore, if thy desires be firm, sound, and unfeigned to become saved of Christ and his servant, fear not, he will not, he will in no wise put thee away, or turn thee over to thy old master again.
3. As to thy fears, whatever they are, let that be supposed which is supposed before, and they are groundless, and so of no weight.
Objection. But I am afraid I am not [of the] elect, or chosen to salvation, though you called me fool a little before for so fearing.
Answer. Though election is, in order, before calling, as to God, yet the knowledge of calling must go before the belief of my election, as to myself. Wherefore, souls that doubt the truth of their effectual calling, do but plunge themselves into a deeper labyrinth of confusion that concerns themselves with their election; I mean, while they labor to know it before they prove their calling. 'Make your calling, and so your election sure' (2 Peter 1:4-10).
Wherefore, at present, lay the thoughts of thy election by, and ask thyself these questions: Do I see my lost condition? Do I see salvation as nowhere but in Christ? Would I share in this salvation by faith in him? And would I, as was said before, be thoroughly saved, to wit, from the filth as from the guilt? Do I love Christ, his Father, his saints, his words, and his ways? This is the way to prove we are elect. Wherefore, sinner, when Satan or thine own heart, seeks to puzzle thee with election, say thou, I cannot attend to talk of this point now but stay till I know that I am called of God to the fellowship of his Son, and then I will show you that I am elect and that my name is written in the book of life.
If poor distressed souls would observe this order, they might save themselves the trouble of an unprofitable labour under these unseasonable and soul-sinking doubts.
Let us, therefore, upon the sight of our wretchedness, fly and venturously leap into the arms of Christ, which are now as open to receiving us into his bosom as they were when nailed to the cross. This is coming to Christ for life aright; this is right running away from thy [old] master to him, as was said before. And for this, we have multitudes of Scriptures to support, encourage, and comfort us in our so doing.
But now, let him that doth thus be sure to look for it, for Satan will be with him tomorrow, to see if he can get him again to his old service; and if he cannot do that, then will he enter into dispute with him, to wit, about whether he be elect to live, and called indeed to partake of this Christ, to whom he is fled for succor, or whether he comes to him of his own presumptuous mind. Therefore we are bid, as to come, so to arm ourselves with that armor which God has provided; that we may resist, quench, stand against, and withstand all the fiery darts of the devil (Eph 6:11-18). If, therefore, thou findest Satan in this order to march against thee, remember that thou hadst this item about it; and betake thyself to faith and good courage, and be sober, and hope to the end.
