set bounds to him, he encloses himself within
the bounds of promises to us, and gives all flesh liberty to challenge him
if he be not faithful.

Now all "the promises of God are yea and amen in Jesus Christ," that is,
established and confirmed in him. Christ is the surety of them, and so the
certainty and stability of them depend upon him, at least to our sense,
for God in all his dealing condescends to our weakness that we may have
strong consolation. A promise might suffice to ground our faith, but he
addeth an oath to his promise, and he takes Christ surety for the
performance, and therefore Christ may be called the truth indeed,--the
substantial word of God,--for he is the very substance of the written and
preached word. And then he is the certainty and assurance of it, the
Scriptures testify of him, and lead us to this "rock higher than we," to
build upon, and against this "the gates of hell cannot prevail." If the
word lead not a soul into Christ himself, that soul hath no foundation.
Though thou hear the word,--though thou know the word,--yea, suppose thou
couldest teach others, and instruct the ignorant,--yet all that will be no
foundation, as good as none, except thou do it. And what is it to do the
word but believe in him whom the word testifies of? This is the work of
God, to resign thy soul to his mercies and merits, and have no confidence
in the flesh, to scrape out all the rubbish of works and performances and
parts out of the foundation, and singly to roll thy soul's weight upon
God's promises and Christ's purchase, to look with Paul on all things
besides, in thee, and about thee, as dung and dross that thou can lean no
weight upon, and to remove that dunghill from the foundation of thy hope,
that Jesus Christ may be the only foundation of thy soul, as God hath laid
him in the church for "a sure foundation that whoso believeth in him may
not be ashamed." Whatever besides a soul be established on, though it
appear very solid, and the soul be settled and fixed upon it, yet a day
will come that will unsettle that soul and raze that foundation. Either it
shall be now done in thy conscience, or it must be done at length, when
that great tempest of God's indignation shall blow from heaven "against
all unrighteousness of men," in the day of accounts. Then shall thy house
fall, and the fall of it shall be great! But a soul established upon the
sure promises and upon Christ, in whom they "are yea and amen" shall abi