knowledge in itself. This sort of fact, is not that which requires any higher or more divine kind of suggestion, in order to impress it on the mind, than any other fact which Balaam had impressed on his mind. It requires no higher sort of idea or sensation, for a man to have the apprehension of his own conversion impressed upon him, than to have the apprehension of his neighbour's conversion, in like manner, impressed: but God, if he pleased, might impress the knowledge of this fact, that he had forgiven his neigh bour's sins, and given him a title to heaven, as well as any other fact, without any communication of his holiness: the excellency and importance of the fact, does not at all hinder a natural man's mind being susceptible of an immediate suggestion and impression of it. Balaam had as excellent, and important, and glorious facts as this, immediately impressed on his mind, without any gracious influence; as particularly, the coming of Christ, and his setting up his glorious kingdom, and the blessedness of the spiritual Israel in his peculiar favour, and their happiness living and dying. Yea, Abimelech king of the Philistines, had God's special favour to a particular person, even Abraham, revealed to him, Gen. xx. 6, 7. So it seems that he revealed to Laban his special favour to Jacob, see Gen. xxxi. 24. and Psalm cv. 15. And if a truly good man should have an immediate revelation or suggestion from God, after the like manner, concerning his favour to his neighbour, or himself; it would be no higher kind of influence; it would be no more than a common sort of influence of God's Spirit; as the gift of prophecy, and all revelation by immediate suggestions; see I Cor. xiii. 2. And though it be true, that it is not possible that a natural man should have that individual suggestion from the Spirit of God, that he is converted, because it is not true; yet that does not arise from the nature of the influence, or because that kind of influence which suggests such excellent facts, is too high for him to be the subject of; but purely from the defect of a fact to be revealed. The influence which immediately suggests this fact, when it is true, is of no different kind from that which immediately suggests other true facts and so the kind and nature of the influence, is not above what is common to natural men, with good men.

But this is a mean ignoble notion of the witness of the

Spirit of God given to his dear children, to suppose that there is nothing in the kind and nature of that influence of the Spirit of God, in imparting this high and glorious benefit, but what is common to natural men, or which men are capable of, and be in the mean time altogether unsanctified, and the children of hell; and that therefore the benefit or gift itself has nothing of the holy nature of the Spirit of God in it, nothing of a vital communication of that Spirit./ This notion greatly debases that high and most exalted kind of influence and operation.of the Spirit, which there is in the true witness of the Spirit *. That which is called the witness of the Spirit, Rom. viii. is elsewhere in the New Tes tament called the seal of the Spirit, 2 Cor. i. 22. Eph. i. 13. and iv. 13. alluding to the seal of princes, annexed to the instrument, by which they advanced any of their subjects to some high honour and dignity, or peculiar privilege in the kingdom, as a token of their special favour. Which is an evidence that the influence of the Spirit of the Prince of princes, in sealing his favourites, is far from being of a common kind; and that there is no effect of God's Spirit whatsoever, which is in its nature more divine; nothing more holy, peculiar, inimitable and distinguishing of divinity: as nothing is more royal than the royal seal; nothing more sacred that belongs to a prince, and more peculiarly denoting what belongs to him; it being the very end and design of it, to be the most peculiar stamp and confirmation of the royal au

The late venerable Stoddard in his younger time, falling in with the opinion of some others, received this notion of the witness of the Spirit, by way of immediate suggestion; but, in the latter part of his life, when he had more thoroughly weighed things, and had more experience, he intirely rejected it; as appears by his Treatise of the Nature of Saving Conversion, p. 84. "The Spirit of God doth not testify to particular persons, that they are godly. Some think that the Spirit of God doth testify it to some; and they ground it on Rom. viii. 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. They think the Spirit reveals it by giving an inward testimony to it; and some godly men think they have had experience of it: but they may easily mistake; when the Spirit of God doth eminently stir up a spirit of faith, and sheds abroad the love of God in the heart, it is easy to mistake it for a testimony. And that is not the meaning of Paul's words. The Spirit reveals things to us, by opening our eyes to see what is revealed in the word; but the Spirit doth not reveal new truths, not revealed in the word. The Spirit discovers the grace of God in Christ, and thereby draws forth special actings of faith and love, which are evidential; but it doth no work in way of testimony. If God do but help us to receive the revelations in the word, we shall have comfort enough without new revelations."

thority, and great note of distinction, whereby that which proceeds from the king, or belongs to him, may be known from every thing else. And therefore undoubtedly the seal of the great King of heaven and earth instamped on the heart, is something high and holy in its own nature, some excellent communication from the infinite fountain of divine beauty and glory; and not merely à making known a secret fact by revelation or suggestion; which is a sort of influence of the Spirit of God, that the children of the devil have oftenbeen the subjects of. The seal of the Spirit is a kind of effect of the Spirit of God on the heart, which natural men, while such, are so far from a capacity of being the subjects of, that they can have no manner of notion or idea of it; agreeable to Rev. ii. 17. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it. There is all reason to suppose that what is here spoken of, is the same mark, evidence, or blessed token of special favour, which is elsewhere called the seal of the Spirit.

What has misled many in their notion of that influence of the Spirit of God we are speaking of, is the word witness, its being called the witness of the Spirit. Hence they have taken it, not to be any effect or work of the Spirit upon the heart, giving evidence, from whence men may argue that they are the children of God; but an inward immediate suggestion, as though God inwardly spoke to the man, and testified to him, and told him that he was his child, by a kind of a secret voice, or impression: not observing the manner in which the word witness, or testimony, is often used in the New Testament, where such terms often signify, not only a mere declaring and asserting a thing to be true, but holding forth evidence from whence a thing may be argued, and proved to be true. Thus, Heb. ii. 4. God is said to bear witness, with signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost. Now these miracles, here spoken of, are called God's witness, not because they are of the nature of assertions, but evidences and proofs. So Acts xiv. 3. Long time therefore abode they, speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. And John v. 36. But I have greater witness than that of John: for

the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. Again, chap. x. 25. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. So the water and the blood are said to bear witness, 1 John v. 8. not that they spoke or asserted any thing, but they were proofs and evidences. So God's works of providence, in the rain and fruitful seasons, are spoken of as witnesses of God's being and goodness, i. e. they were evidences of these things. And when the scripture speaks of the seal of the Spirit, it is an expression which properly denotes, not an immediate voice or suggestion, but some work or effect of the Spirit, that is left as a divine mark upon the soul, to be an evidence, by which God's children might be known. The seals of princes were the distinguishing marks of princes: and thus God's seal is spoken of as God's mark, Rev. vii. 3. Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads; together with Ezek. ix. 4. Set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh, and that cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. When God sets his seal on a man's heart by his Spirit, there is some holy stamp, some image impressed and left upon the heart by the Spirit, as by the seal upon the wax. And this holy stamp, or impressed image, exhibiting clear evidence to the conscience, that the subject of it is the child of God, is the very thing which in scripture is called the seal of the Spirit, and the witness, or evidence of the Spirit. And this image instamped by the Spirit on God's children's hearts, is his own image: that is the evidence by which they are known to be God's children, that they have the image of their Father stamped upon their hearts by the Spirit of adoption. Seals anciently had engraven on them two things, viz. the image, and the name of the person whose seal it was. Therefore when Christ says to his spouse, Cant. viii. 6. Set me as a seal ироп thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm; it is as much as to say, Let my name and image remain impressed there. The seals of princes were wont to bear their image; so that what they set their seal and royal mark upon, had their image left on it. It was the manner of princes of old to have their image engraven on their jewels and precious stones; and the image of Augustus engraven on a precious stone, was used as the seal of the Roman

emperors, in Christ's and the apostles times *. And the saints are the jewels of Jesus Christ, the great potentate, who has the possession of the empire of the universe: and these jewels have his image instamped upon them, by his royal signet, which is the Holy Spirit. And this is undoubtedly what the scripture means by the seal of the Spirit; especially when it is stamped in so fair and clear a manner, as to be plain to the eye of conscience; which is what the scripture calls our spirit. This is truly an effect that is spiritual, supernatural, and divine. This is in itself of a holy nature, being a communication of the divine nature and beauty. That kind of influence of the Spirit which gives and leaves this stamp upon the heart, is such that no natural man can be the subject of any thing of the like nature with it. This is the highest sort of witness of the Spirit, which it is possible the soul should be the subject of: if there were any such thing as a witness of the Spirit by immediate suggestion or revelation, this would be vastly more noble and excellent, and as much above it as the heaven is above the earth. This the devil cannot imitate: as to an inward suggestion of the Spirit of God, by a kind of secret voice speaking, and immediately asserting and revealing a fact, he can do that which is a thousand times so like to this, as he can to that holy and divine effect, or work of the Spirit of God, which has been now spoken of †.

• See Chambers's Dictionary, under the word ENGRAVING.

Mr Shepard is abundant in militating against the notion of men's knowing their good estate by an immediate witness of the Spirit, without judg ing by any effect or work of the Spirit, wrought on the heart, as an evidence and proof that persons are the children of God, Parab. P. I. p. 134 ing your election of God. How so? Immediately? Some divines think angels

Know

see it not so, and that it is peculiar to God so to do; but mediately; for our word came in power, and in much assurance, to make you enlarged for God, to turn you from idols unto God, &c." Again in the same page," It is heaven to cleave to him in every command; it is death to depart from any command. Hereby know we that we are in him. If it were possible to ask of the angels, How they know they are not devils? they would answer, l'he Lord's will is ours. So here, how do you know you have not the nature of devils, and so in a state of devils, bound there until the judgment of the great day? Because God hath changed our vile natures, and made our wills like unto his glorious will." And p. 135. "The major is the word, the minor experience, and the conclusion the Lord's Spirit's work, quickening your spirits to it. Now, say some, how do you know this? Thus you may be mistaken; for many have been deceived thus. Grant that; and shall a child not take bread when it is given him, though dogs snatch at it?" And p. 137. if you look to a spirit without a work, whilst you do seek con