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Show 3· Branch. nuatio!l which is a true and real cha_nge of heart wrought in us; nor upon' the difcovery and manifdlatinn of it to us ; and from hence lfkewife will appear, the t~ncharitabl(llf{s of any j~dgmcnt palfed upon others, whom we fee walking in the dark and feeing no light, or wh•fecandle ptrhaps the Lord fuffereth to g• ortt in ob{ c~trity. .Every one doth not lye dorr>n ill [orrorr>, whcm Gorl fulfcrs to go out of thu world weeping. The hardtfl cafe of this nattUe is the cafe of fuch as lay violent b>11ds upon timnfilvn, under great terrors and din"' bances of mind, about their Spiritual elf ate, a fad and dreadful d tfpenlJtion of providence( without all doubt;) yet even (a; to fuch) I think their former hfe is a better rule of judgmeut for us than their fad ends.! take the cafe of Come fuch, to _ be no other than the cafe may be of one that in a great diflraction ' upon au high Fever 01ou!d kill himfdf,li>r which to condemn them as fel(-munhcrers, were doubdefsan hard and unjull judgment; becaufe they Jruly !(new not what tbey did, were not in the excrcifc of their reafun ; and fo their aClion is iRa great mcafurc involuntary. I will not determiue any thing in this cafe, but only leave it to Gods jodgment. We mull judg from the outward apearance; and that not from a lingle act, much lefs a lingle act that is the etleCl: of a difeafe where the agent hath not the exercife ofReafon. What you have heard may infotm you of the mifiakesofthofe, who judg they have not affurance; becaufe (it may be) they have not that fulmjsof joy an:J. peau, which they have fcen Qthers have, and which perhaps themfclves have had. Give me leave to tell you, that that a§Nrance whY;h is the effiCI of faitl?, argue> the flrongrft Fait/1, when it is leafl advantaged withfinjib/e joy, an.i overj/o.,ings ofdivim cmfolations from more extraordinary influen- - ces: .)Oil l1ave [een (faith ourS •viot<r ) tbere/ore yot< bne brlieved, bleffid are tluy that bJve not [een and J!t believed. I do take it to be one of the great millakes of Chrillians, and that which much prejudicerh them_in their comfortable walking with God; That tl1ere can be no ajJuranu without a great· degree ufjenfible j<:y and con[ol,tiOII;doubrleCs there is an affurance, which is the proper and genuine elfeCl: ofFairh;working upon s~ripture-Foundations,and upon the evidence of an holy life. For example the Scripture fairh, bv this we know we 4re tranflated from death to life, if we love the Brethren. Hence faith F aitb, be that loves the S.•ints,tbe cbildren sfGod,is tranj!Jted from death to ltfe. But I love th' Brethren, !love rhe Children of God, all the Children of God; and becaufe I fee ' tl.e il the Image of God upon them, what ihould now hinder the Soul from concluding; Therefore I know I am tranflated fro,; tkath to lift l Here now is required no more than the ordinary concurrtnce of_the Spirit of God, atlifling the Soul to fee its own acl's, and thefincerity of them; yet may this Soul be under great temptations,. N1y, and it may be under fome degrees of divine d<{<rti- ' ons, , which may fpoil its degrees of joy and peace. The Souls ar- , guing for Gods Interefl in itfelf, and' for irs own integrity, and fo conduding well as to irs (\ate, againll thefe incumbrances of fenfe, doth not argue an incertainty, 'nor fpoil irs aff,trance. But yet they much hinder the Souls joy ~nd fulnefs of confulation, which mufl follow a further influence of the Spirit upon it, conti-dered as a 'comforter. .. But (to ihut up this difcourfe) you have heard, 1 That it is 2, 7Jf,, the right of ev'ery true believer to fay, rnj Beloved is •nine, and I am his; and you have heard ftirther,that it is that priviledgwhich many oft he Children_ of God have attained, anJ' whkh is attain-able, in ordinary cafes _by every true believer: Let me plead with every one that hearetn me this day,' 10 make this their bufinefs and great fludy. Arguments ill the cafe cAnnot (certainly) be wanting.to any intelligent Ohril\ian. " Hf' that underflands, that bt muf! one day die , and that he is t<nder an ordiMiion to Eternity; That when he dies( as to the world)then he enters into this Eternity, either of happimfs or mi[ery; That the Etmul happinefs of a Soul Jepen,ds t<pon his union with Chrift-; he cannot· bu1 in fotT.e mea- Cure judg t~i_s the highell con~ern ofhis life ; efpecially qm!idering, 1. The Influence that this /tllo,.,ledg or capJcity, to f•y fo, hath upon a Chrillians con[olation dnd cbearful w•l~iHg with God, A truth of Faith is fufficicnt to Salvation ; but forne fir_ht "f the-truth of it is neceffary to a Souts Confol~tton, - , 2!, The influence i-t hath upon a Souls holi>ujs and glorifJing of God. _ 'L'he Soul that· is at fome certainty oPits peace' with God, -cannot but1ook llpmi it felf, as •under high obligalibns to' terve God; and indeed, where this attends not the Souls aJJur•nce.or comforts, it is a certain fign ofalnillake, that the So'UI ch'eats it felf with a dream~ Befides, rhat no SQlll under fears and doubts ,can fo:gird up its, loins to its dul·f', as tha'f So'u! that is freed from :thefe ch:cks: . No~ doth any Chr1fiian ' fo'heMur God, a~ the free and chcarful walking Chriflian. But this is fo obvious to the meanell capa.ity of any graciou~ 'Soul, tha~l rlec'd rio't enlarge a 0 o o difcourle |