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children; will he therefore fay that he loves his friend more than them? Surely no. Even fo, although the Chriftian may find himself more moved in his love to the creature, than in his love to God: yet he is not therefore to be faid to love the creature more than God; feeing love to God is always more firmly rooted in a gracious heart, than love to any created enjoyment whatsoever as appears when competition arifes in fuch a manner, that the one or the other is to be foregone.. Would you then know your cafe? Retire into your own hearts, and there lay the two in the balance, and try which of them weighs down the other. Afk thyfelf, as in the fight of God, whether thou wouldst part with Chrift for the creature, or part with the creature for Chrift, if thou wert left to thy choice in the matter? If you find your heart difpofed to part with what is dearest to you in the world for Chiift, at his call; you have no reafon to conclude, you love the creature more than God: but on the contrary, that you love God more than the creature albeit you do not feel fuch violent motions in the love of God, as in the love of fome created thing, Matth. x. 37. that loveth father or mother more than nie, is no worthy of me.” · Luke xiv. 26. If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, he cannot be my difciple." From which texts compared, we may infer, that he who hates, i. e. is ready to part with father and mother for Chrift, is, in our Lord's account, one that loves them less than him; and not one who loves father and mother more than him. Moreover, ye are to confider there is a twofold love to Chrift. (1.) There is a fenfible love to him, which is felt as a dart in the heart; and makes a holy love-fickness in the foul, arifing either from want of enjoyment, as in the cafe of the fpoufe, Cant. v. 8.

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I charge you, O daughters of Jerufalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am fick of love." Or elfe from the fulness of it, as in that cafe, Cant. ii. 5. "Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am fick of love." Thefe glowirgs of affections are ufually wrought in young converts, who are ordinarily made to fing in the day of their youth," Hof. i. 44. While the fire-edge is upon the young convert, he looks upon others reputed to be godly, and not finding them in fuch a temper and difpofition as himself, he is ready to cenfure them; and think there is far lefs religion in the world, than indeed there is. But when his own cup comes to fettle below the brim, and he finds that in himself, which made him question the state of others, he is more humbled, and feels more and more

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the neceffity of daily recourfe to the blood of Chrift for pardon, and to the Spirit of Chrift for fanctification; and thus grows downwards in humiliation, felf-cloathing, and felf-denial.(2.) There is a rational love to Chrift, which, without thefe fenfible emotions felt in the former cafe, evidences itself by a dutiful regard to the divine authority and command. When one bears fuch a love to Chrift, tho' the vehement ftirrings of affection be wanting, yet he is truly tender of offending a gracious God; endeavours to walk before him unto all pleasing; and grieved at the heart, for what is difpleafing unto him, 1 John v. 3. "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." Now, although that fenfible love doth not always continue with you: yet ye have no reafon to account it a hypocritical fit, while the rational love remains with you, more than a faithful and loving wife needs question her love to her husband, when her fondness is abated.

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CASE 5. The attainments of hypocrites and apoftates are a terror to me; and come like a fhaking ftorm on me, when Tanr about to conclude from the marks of grace which I feem to find in myfelf, tham I am in the ftate of grace. Auf. Thefe things fhould indeed ftir us up to a moft ferious and impartial exami nation of ourselves but ought not to keep us in a continued fufpenfe as to our ftate. Sirs, ye fee the out-fide of hypocrites, their duties, their gifts, their tears, &c. but ye fee not their infide: ye do not difcern their hearts, the bias of their fpirits. Upon what ye fee of them, ye found a judgement of charity, as to their state; and ye do well to judge charitably in fuch a cafe, because ye cannot know the fecret fprings of their actings: But ye are fpeaking, and ought to have a judgment of certainty, as to your own ftate: and therefore are to look into that part of religion, which none in the world, but yourselves, can difcera in you; and which ye can as little fee in others. An hypocrite's religion may appear far greater than that of a fincere foul: but, that which makes the greatest figure. in the eyes of men is often leaft worth before God. I would rather utter one of thofe groans the Apoftie fpeaks of, Rom. viii. 26. than fhew Efau's years, have Balaam's prophetic fpirit, or the joy of the ftony ground hearers. The fire that hall try every man's work, will try, not of what bulk it is, but of what fort it.is

Cor iii. 13. Now, ye may know what bulk of religion another has: and what tho' it be more bulky than your own, God doth not regard that: Why then do you make fuch, a matter of it, It is impoffible for you, without divine revelation,

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certainly to know of what fort another man's religion is; but ye may certainly know what fort your own is of, without extraordinary revelation; otherwife the Apoftle would not exhort the faints to give diligence to make their calling and election fare, 2 Pet. i. 10. Therefore the attainments of hypocites and apoftates fhould not disturb you in your ferious inquiry into your own flate. But I'll tell you two things wherein the meaneft faints go beyond the most refined bypocrites. (1) In denying themfelves, renouncing all confidence in themfelves, and their own works, acquiefcing in, being well-pleafed with, and venturing their fouls upon God's plan of falvation thro' Jefus Chrift, Matth. "Bleffed are the poor in fpirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.". And chap. xi. 6." Bleffed is he whofoever shall not be offended in me." Philip. iii. 3." We are the circumcifion, which worship God in the fpirit, and rejoice in Christ Jefus, and have no confidence in the fish. (2.) In a real hatred of all fin; being willing to part with every luft, without exception, and comply with every duty the Lord makes, or fhall make known to them, Pfal. cxix, 6." Then fhall I not be ashamed, when I have refpect unto all thy commandments." Try yourselves by thefe.

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CASE 6. I fee myself fall fo far fhort of the faints mentioned in the Scriptures, and of feveral excellent perfons of my own acquaintance, that, when I look on them, I can hardly look on myfelf as one of the fame family with them. Anf. It is indeed matter of humiliation, that we get not forward to that measure of grace and holiness, which we fee is attainable in this life. This fhould make us n.ore vigorously prefs towards the mark But furely it is from the devil, that weak Christians make a rack for themfelves of the attainments of the strong, And to yield to this temptation, is as unreafonable, as for a child to difpute away a relation to his her, because he is not of the fame ftature with his elder brethren. There are faints of feveral fizes in Chrift's family; fome fathers, fome young men, and fome little children, John ii. 13, 14.

CASE-7. I never read in the word of God. nor did I ever know of a child of God fo tempted, and fo left of God as I am; and therefore no faine's cafe being like mine, I cannot but conclude I am none of their number. Anf. This objection arifes to fome from their unacquaintedness with the Scriptures, and with experienced Chriftians. It is profitable, in this cafe, to impart the matter to fome experienced Chriftian friend, or to fome godly

godly minifter. This has been a bleffed mean of peace to fome perfons, while their cafe, which appeared to them to be fingular, has been evinced to have been the cafe of other faints. The Scripture gives inftances of very horrid temptations wherewith the faints have been affaulted: Job was tempted to blafpheme; this was the great thing the devil aimed at, in the cafe of that great faint, Job i. 11. "He will curfe thee to thy face:" Chap. ii. 9." Curfe God and die." Afaph was tempted to think it was vain to be religious; which was, ineffect, to throw off all religion, Pfal. Ixxiii. 13. "Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain." Yea, Christ himself was tempted to caft hin:self down from a pinacle of the Temple, and to worship the devil, Matth iv.6. 9. And many of the children of God have not only been attacked with, but have actually yielded to very grofs tempta tions for a time. Péter denied Chrift, and curfed and fwere that he knew him not, Mark xiv. 71. Paul, when a perfe cuter, compelled even faints to blafpheme, Ads xxvi. 10, 11. Many of the faints can, from their fad experience, bear witness to very grofs temptations, which have aftonifhed their fpirits, made their very flesh to tremble, and fickened their bodies. Satan's fiery darts make terrible work; and will coft pains to quench them, by a vigorous managing of the field of faith,. Eph. vi. 16. Sometimes he makes fuch defperate attacks, that never was one more put to it, in running to and fro, without intermiffion to quench the fire-balls inceffantly thrown into his houfe by an enemy defigning to burn the house about him; than the poor tempted faint is, to repel-fatanical injections. But thefe injecties, thefe horrid temptations, though they are a dreadful affliction, they are not the fins of the tempted, unlels they make them theirs by confenting to them. They will be charged upon the tempter alone, if they be not confented to and will no more be laid to the charge of the tempted party, than a baftard's being laid down at the chafte man's door, will fix guilt upon him....

Bur, fuppofe neither minifter nor private Chriftian, to whom you go, can tell you of any who has been in your cafe: yet you ought not thence to infer, that your cafe certainly is fingular; far lefs to give over hopes for it is not to be thought; that every godly minifter, or private Chriftian, has had the experi ence of all the cafes a child of God may be in. And we need not doubt but fome have had diftreffes known only to God, and their own confciences; and fo, to others thefe diftreffes aro as if they had never been. Yea, and though the Scripture do

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antain fuitable direction to every cafe a child of God can be n; and thefe illuftrated with a fufficient number of examples; yet it is not to be imagined, that there are in the Scriptures perfect inflances of every particular cafe incident to the faints. Therefore, how beit you cannot find an inftance of your case in the Scripture; yet bring your cafe to it, and you fhall find fuitable remedies prescribed there for it. And. ftudy rather to make ufe of Chrift for your cafe, who has falve for all fores; than to know if ever any was in your cafe. Though one should thew you an inftance of your cafe in an undoubted faint; yet none could promife it would certainly give you cafe: for a fcrupulous confcience would readily find out fome difference. And if nothing but a perfect conformity of another's cafe to yours, will fatisfy, it will be hard, if not impoffible to fatisfy For it is with peoples cafes, as, with their natural faces, tho' the faces of all men are of one make, and fome are fo very like others, that, at first view we are ready to take them for the fame: yet, if you view them more accurately, you will fee fomething in every face, diftinguishing it from all others; tho' poffibly you cannot tell what it is: wherefore, I conclude, that if you find in yourfelves the marks of regeneration, propofed to you from the word; you ought to conclude, you are in the ftate of grace, though your cafe were fingular, which is indeed unlikely.

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CASE Laft. The afflictions I meet with, are ftrange and unufual: I doubt if ever a child of God was tryfted with fuch difpenfations of providence as I am. Anf. Much of what was faid on the preceeding cafe, may be helped in this. Holy Job was affaulted with this temptation, Job v. 1. "To which of the faints wilt thou turn ?" But he rejected it, and held faft his integrity. The Apoftle fuppofeth Chriftians may be tempted 10 "think ftrange concerning the fiery trial," 1 Pet. iv. 12.But they have need of larger experience than Solomon's, who will venture to fay, "See this is new," Eccl. i. 10. And what though, in refpect of the outward difpenfations of providence, it happen to you according to the work of the wicked? You may be juft notwithstanding; according to Solomon's obferve, Eccl. viii. 14. Sometimes we travel in ways, where we cannot perceive the prints of the foot of man or beast ; yet we cannot from thence conclude, that there was never any there before us fo, albeit thou canst not perceive the footsteps of the flock in the way of thine affliction; thou must not therefore conclude, thou art the first that ever travelled that road.

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