enough in Christ and his promises, to give my soul full content: these have I lodged in my heart, and there is no longer room for such guests as you. Never shall you have quiet entertainment more within these doors.

Thou God of truth, I here take thee at thy word; thou requirest but my acceptance and consent, and here thou hast it. Good is the word of the Lord which he hath spoken; and as my Lord hath said, so will thy servant do. My soul taketh fast hold of thy promises: I take them as my heritage for ever. Let others desire the preferments and possessions of this world; it shall be enough for me, to be an heir of thy promises.

She maketh her boast in God.

O happy soul, how rich art thou! What a booty have I gotten! It is all mine own; I have the promises of this life, and of that which is to come. Oh, what can I wish more? How full a character is here! Now my doubting soul may boldly and believingly say, with Thomas, "My Lord and my God!" What need we any further witnesses? We have heard his words; he hath sworn by his holiness, that his decree may not be changed; and hath signed it with his own signet.

Rejoice, ye heavens; strike up, ye celestial choirs; help, heaven and earth. Sing unto the

a 1 Tim. iv. 8.

Lord, O ye saints of his! Bless the Lord, O my soul! Oh, had I the tongue of men and angels, all were too little for my single turn. Had I as many tongues as hairs, the whole choir were not sufficient to utter my Creator's praises.

My beloved is mine, and I am his. The grant is clear, and my claim is firm. Who durst deny it, when God himself doth own it? Is it a hard adventure to speak after Christ himself? Why, this is the message that he has sent me, "I ascend to my Father, and your Father; my God, and your God "b He hath put words into my mouth, and bid me to say, "Our Father."

I believe; Lord, help mine unbelief. O my God and my Father, I accept thee with all humble thankfulness, and am bold to take hold of thee. O my King and my God, I subject my soul, and all its powers, to thee. O my glory, in thee will I boast all the day. O my rock, on thee will I build all my confidence and my hopes. O staff of my life and strength of my heart, the life of my joys and joy of my life, I will sit and sing under thy shadow, and glory in thy holy

name.c

O my soul, arise, and take possession: inherit thy blessedness, and cast up thy riches: thine is the kingdom, thine is the glory, and thine is the victory. The whole Trinity is thine: all the persons in the Godhead, all the attributes in the Godhead, are thine. And behold here is the evi

A Cant. ii. 16. b John xx. 17. c Cant. li 3.

dence, and these are the writings, by which all is made sure to thee for ever.

She quelleth discontent, and reasoneth down unbelief, in the following.

And now, return to thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. Say, if thy lines be not fallen to thee in a pleasant place, and if this be not a goodly heritage.. Oh blasphemous discontent! how absurd and unreasonable an evil art thou, whom all the fulness of the Godhead cannot satisfy, because thou art denied in a petty comfort, or crost in thy vain expectations from the world! O most unthankful soul! shall not a Trinity content thee? Shall not all-sufficiency suffice thee? Silence your murmuring thoughts for ever; I have enough; I abound, and am full. Infiniteness and eternity is mine, and what more can I ask.

SECTION II.

The assaults of unbelief. It questions 1. the truth of the promise.

But methinks I feel some secret damps upon my joy; and when I would soar aloft, and triumph in the riches of my portion, a secret diffi

a Psalm xvi. 6,

dence plucks me back, as the string doth the bird; and unbelief whispers in mine ear, "Sure this is too good to be true."

The triumph of faith in the certainty of God's truth.

But who art thou that disputest against God? The Lord hath spoken it, and shall not I believe him? Will he be angry, if I give my assent, and speak it confidently upon the credit of his word?

Oh my Lord, suffer me to spread the writing before thee. Hast not thou said, "Thy Maker is thy husband,a I will betroth thee unto me;b thou shalt call me, My Father ?" I pray thee, O Lord, was not this thy saying, "I am God, even thy God; I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters?"d Why then should I doubt? Is not the the truth of the living God sure footing for my faith?

Silence then, O quarreling unbelief! I know in whom I have believed:-not in friends, though numerous and potent; for they are men, and not God:-not in riches; for they make themselves wings:-not in princes; for their breath is in their nostrils. But let God be true, and every man a liar. In God have I put my trust, in his word do I hope. O sure word! Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of

a Isa. liv. 5. b Hos. ii. 19. c Jer. iii. 19. d2 Cor. vi. 18. e Isa. xxxi. 3. fProv. xxiii. 5. g Psalm cxlvi. 3, 4.

this. I have not built upon the sand of mortality: let the rain descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow, nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure.a His everlasting counsel, and everlasting covenant, are my stay. I am built upon his promises; and let hell and earth do their worst to blow up this foundation.

Now shall my faith triumph, and my heart be glad, and my glory rejoice. I will shout with the exulting multitude, "The Lord-he is the God!" And he is not ashamed to be called my God. He is not ashamed of my rags, my poverty, nor of my parentage; and since his infinite condescension will own me, will he take it ill if I own him? Though I have nothing of my own to glory in,d (unless I should glory in my shame,) yet I will glory in the Lord, and bless myself in him.

For who is like unto the God of Jeshurun ?e Bring forth your gods, O ye nations: lift up your eyes, and behold: who hath created all these things? Can any do for their favorites, as the Lord can? Or, if he be angry, who is that God that shall deliver out of his hands? Will you set Dagon before the ark? Or shall Mammon contend with the holy One! O ambitious Haman, where is now thine idol honor? O rich glutton, that madest a god of pleasure, where is now the god whom thou hast served? O sensual world

a Matt. vii. 25, e Heb. xi. 16.

2 Tim. ii. 19. b1 Kings xviii. 39. 1 Cor. i. 29, 31. e Deut. xxxiii. 26.