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or indulging fin. There are feveral things that tend to keep off from affurance, which you fhould beware of.-Beware of thinking that affurance is not attainable; that it is attainable, fee Isaiah xlv. 24. Ixiii. 16. 2 Cor. v. 1.6. Rom. viii. 39- Some think it is their duty to live doubting, and imagine they would fin, if they would feek affurance; but it is a duty commanded as well as other duties: "Wherefore, brethren, give all diligence to make your calling and election fure," 2 Pet. i. 10.Beware of limiting the Lord to your time; wait his leisure.-Beware of grieving the Spirit, and refifting his motions; "Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are fealed unto the day of redemption," Eph. iv. 30.-Beware of yielding to carnal and unbelieving reafonings; reafon your heart rather out of unbelief, faying, "Why art thou caft down, O my foul? Why art thou difquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I fhall yet praife him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God," Pfalm xlii. 11.-Beware of fpiritual floth and fecurity, Heb. vi. 11.; or of nourishing any fin, Heb. x. 22. Seek to be fprinkled from particular corruptions, by the blood of Chrift.

4. Be much in the exercife of thefe duties of religion that have a tendency to cherish the witnefs within you. . g. Frequent felf-examination hath a tendency this way; "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own felves: know ye not your own felves, how Chrift Jefus is in you, except ye be reprobates?” i.e. unapproved or rejected, 2 Cor. xiii. 5. Satan endeavours to beat off from this duty, because the end of it is to help the foul to the right understanding of its condition but exercise yourself much in it, especially when your eyes are clear, and not dim with defertion.—Also, a careful obferving of the Lord's dealing with your foul, hath a tendency towards this. God's end towards the Ifraelites in their temptations, and miraculous prefervation in the wildernefs, was, that they might know that the Lord was their God, Deut. xxix. 3,6. A multitude of experiences muft needs conduce much to clear up the flate.-Renewed actings of faith have a fpecial tendency this way alfo: all opportunities that are

offer.

offered, even for the moft eminent acts of faith, are to be improved. Abraham's laying of his fon Ifaac, feemed to be contrary both to God's command, that he fhould not kill; and to God's promife, that in Ifaac his feed fhould be called: yet his faith got over all, and he had a bright appearance of Chrift after it, Gen. xxii. 11, 12. 16. Perhaps you are in an ill frame, a fad condition, and dare not act faith on the promife; but it is your duty to believe, whatever your condition be, were it even a defperate, hopeless-like condition: why, faith may then be moft gloriously acted, when against hope, you believe in hope. Though the particular promife fail; though sensible experience fail, fo that it is a midnight darkness with you; yet there is the name of God still to run to; fuch as that, Exod. xxxiv. 5, 6. . that he is the Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious. When you cannot fee that he is gracious to you, or that he hath forgiven your fin; yet, through grace, ef fay to stretch forth the withered hand, and to put forth an act of faith upon him through Chrift: and in that way wait for his being gracious, and for his forgiving your fin. A new act of faith is the beft way to recover

all.

But, perhaps, you cannot believe; mountains of difficulties are in the way of believing: if you could get believed, you would not complain. But know, that the Lord himself may caft in matter of difcouragement in the way of your believing, purposely to draw out the acts of faith, Rom. iv. 19, 20. Matth. xv. 24. Why, how could Abraham believe an apparent impoffibility, he being old, and Sarah's womb dead?--How could the woman believe? Chrift called her a dog; and tells her, "I am not fent but to the loft fheep of the house of Ifrael." Seeming impoffibilities may be in the way of his mercy, and yet it may be intended for the trial of faith, and not for the hinderance thereof; but in fuch cafes, the Lord holds up the heart; as this woman was the more importunate, the more repulles and feeming denials fhe had.

Chrift never contradicts his own command, to forbid any foul to believe; therefore, nothing should

bear

beat you off from this. In Pfalm lxxxix. 34, 35, 36. the Lord engages himself by oath and covenant, that the throne of David fhould be eftablifhed for ever; and presently he was rushed under fuch difpenfations as did threaten the non-accomplishment of what was promised, ver. 38,-45. But the Lord's defign herein was not to lead him into contradictory apprehenfions to his oath; but to give an opportunity to believe above, and against hope.

In a word, it tends to cherish the witnefs mightily, when a man, at all times, in his pleading with God, makes ufe of arguments drawn from God himfelf. Do not prefent the Lord with your prayers, or any performance of yours; but urge his name, his nature, his word, his free promife, Ifa. lxiii. 15. "Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness, and of thy glory; where is thy zeal, and ftrength, the founding of thy bowels and of thy mercies towards me? are they restrained?" Then follows affurance, ver. 16. "Doubtlefs thou art our Father, tho' Abraham he ignorant of us, and Ifrael acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer; thy name is from everlafting." See Num. xiv. 17, 18. 20.

Finally, It tends to this, that a man make much ufe of the fcripture: "Search the fcripture:" for it is by the word that the Spirit doth witnefs. If a word, fuitable to your cafe, be given, blefs the Lord for it if not, feek out one, take it and pray over it, till the Lord make a powerful application, by drawing you out after Chrift by it; for, though you fhould get never fo many words hinted into your heart, they will be of little advantage, unless your heart be thereby drawn out after Christ.

I fhall yet add another thing, that may tend greatly to the cherishing of confidence about your ftate, who are believers, and that is, holding faft the doctrine of perfeverance the Lord hath promifed that he will put his fear in your heart, that you fhall not depart from him, Jer. xxxii. 40. Pfal. lxxxix. 30,-34. He will not caft off his people; if they fin, he will correct them, Ifaiah liv. 8, 9, 10. A faint may fall into fin, but he cannot

fall

fall from his faith, Luke xxii. 32. with John xxvii. 20. Let go the doctrine of perfeverance, and your peace will be like the morning dew, that paffeth away; but retain this, and then you may rejoice in hope of the glory of God. If ever the Lord hath wrought this grace of faith in you, plead he may increase your faith; for, if he that believeth hath the witness in himself, then, the more faith, the more evidence; the more of believing, the more of the witnefs is difcernable.

May the Lord himself give you to know from sweet experience, that be that believeth in the Son of God bath the witnefs in bimfelf.

SERMON

SERMON

CXLI.

The REPOSE and REPAST of FAITH, under the Shady and Fruitful TREE of LIFE *.

SONG ii. 3.

-I fat down under bis fhadow with great delight; and bis fruit was fweet to my taste.

MY Y friends, though I do not determine that the forbidden fruit, of which our firft parents did eat, and poifoned themselves and all their pofterity, was the fruit of an apple-tree, yet I have ground, from this text, to make proclamation this day to you, that our Lord Jefus Chrift is the Apple-tree whofe fruit is a blessed antidote against that poifon. The tree of knowledge of good and evil proved, in the issue, a tree of death and deftruction; but here is the tree of life, that grows in the heavenly paradise above; yea, in the gofpel paradife below and happy they who can, or fhall have it to fay on this occafion, I fat down under bis fhadow with great delight; and bis fruit was sweet to my tafte.

Thefe who are my ordinary hearers, know I have preached, for fome time, on the verfes preceding; wherein we have these two things more generally.

1. Our Lord Jefus Chrift, the glorious Bridegroom of the church, commending himself, ver. 1. faying, "I am the rofe of Sharon, and the Lily of the vallies;"

* This Sermon was preached immediately before the celebration of the facrament of the Lord's fupper, at Dunfermline, July 16th, 1749. To which is fubjoined, the Difcourfes before and at the Service of the first table.

then

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