it is well with thy foul, thou kcepd l: tny Evidwce to p·urpofe . . 2 . Be daily renewing our faith in. Chrifl:, cfp~cially that aB: offllth, by which o~r touls knit or tic thcmfelves to Chrt:1: for falvat!On: Caufc our fvules every day tn folemn m;nn'cr to a~ that part: put fo rth this primitiv~ acr of fa1_th m. ou r fou ls : the daily d ercife of this w1ll cncreafe and ll:rcngtheri the d1VIfiC hab1t of fa1th m the foul, and make the foul fenfiblc of every act of it. Hy frequent belid mg we fholl feel at bur very hcarrs-root that we do belteve, and f? w'ejhall have rhe wttm!Je m ourfelv•s 1 ] >im 5. 10~ that weate inChrijl, we fhall knowmgly carry mour hearts the Counterpatt of all the F~~ . 1 . Pcrforme all thofe duties and exercifes of Religion which God hath ordained for this very purpofe : As r. Reading the Word, T hefe thin<~' write .we unto you, that 1 J olm 1 • 4 1 your joy mc.y!befull: 2 Heanng the W'ord, for therefore IS the Mm1(1:ry of 9'hnfl: to Lu~n . 17 . give k_: 101 vledgeof[alvauo11 to hiS Peo;le by the remtffion of thetr finnes. 3. The Sacraments, Rom.:nr 4 1 t for they arcthe [ea!s ofthe righ;eoujnc!J<of f atth. 4· Prayer, A rk._andyo~t jha,~ rewvc,. Joh• J6, ' 4 rhat your joy maybef ull. To this purpofe IS Gods pr01111fe, I wdl brm,g niy peopleto my E[nJ so. 7 h(J/y mo:mttlin~, au~mak!them;o).fHlzn ~~qhouji cfP;aytr.. , . . r 4 . Maintam holmefs and punty of hfe. T he ejfefl of ngotcoufne!fe u qwetnef{e and E,aJ3> · '7 . ajfurancef or ever, and to him that ordererh His converfatiorl aright will I jhew thefalvati. ?f•lmc so. 2 3' 011 of God. The Saints while they keep their fincerity enjoy affurance, for the Spirit R •m.m. a 1 ~ . of God, which is in them, Jheds abroad the love of God in their hearts, i;.abling them to . ~~. cry Abbaf ather: and bears wimcffcwirh theirfpr.rits that 1hcy arc the childrm of God. But when they fall into wilful tranfgreffions, andgrieve the Spirit of God, afi'urance is gone. This made Davidafterhis foul fins, tocry outfovehcment!y, M aksmero hear joyand gladm!fe. Rejloremeto thejoyof thyf alvation. Otake heed of fpotting 1. our Evidences, ofdefiling our Evidencesby any finful a{ts. 5 . Take heed ofyielding to any bafe doubts, or fears, or objections of Satan and· our ownhearts; deny not the work of grace in us, left wegricvethe Spirit of God; if any !hall yield fo fiavifhly to the mifgivings of their own hearts, or to the temptations of Satan, that they !hall conclud.e agai11{\ themfelves, they have nofaith, no lu:ve,thvugh all other Chriftians can fee thefe in them, what di!honour is it to God, and to the Spi– t1t of God? what, hath God written thy name in heaven, and wilt thou attempt ro– rafe it out, ~nd to write thy name on the doores of hell ? fie upon thefe injurious (if not blafphemous) thoughts ; what, !hall a dark humour, a melancholy thought pre– vaile on thy foul more than the Word, and more than the teftimony of thy own con– fcience enlightned by the fpirit? Take h~ed ofthis as ofa great pride in thy heart : what, to yield more to a ll:urdy, dark, iinfubdued humour, than toEvidence it fe!f ? 0 take heed! 0 hearken not to what fear fayes, or to what humour faycs, or to what Satan fayes, or to what the world fayes, but hearken to what truth it felf •a 1 .1 , . • fay~s, and hc~rken to what confcience fayes, when it is inlight'n~d by the Spirit, qu:fti:n" ;;;,{[ as m good times, when we are at the beft: *Hearken to thefe, and fo get our rhyfelf,• bring Hearts and WiUs over-powered with the Evidence, and yield and fubjeCl: our felves riJy h,., 10 lbe tO it. b.arqf ~ry~f, force 1l to ar... . . . . jJ.~:er tiJe ;nrer .. r~gat.o~res put to11: {et t.lu co~dwons of th.! Gofpel ""d qualificariom of tbt Sair.tJ on onefii~, tar.d t1Jy perfot manct of tbofe condmoru, 11nd the qualifi;attons of tb) bul on the orber fide, a11d r-benjJldte how ne~~r 1bry rcjemb/e. B11XIc?rs Evt•rl41jlinj; )\.eft. , 6. K~ep the_graces of the fpirit in continual excrcifc upon all occalions : habits arc not felt tmmedlately, but by the freenefs and facility of their acrs . the lire that lieth ll:dl mthe flint is neither fcen nor felt; but when you fn1ite ~~and force it into act,it is d1fcerned: many queftion their Ev~dences ; they knovt not whether they have repen– tance, orfa~th, orlo~e, or JOY; but tf they were more in the a{ling of thcfc, they would ~afily know. Chnlhans! draw forth an obje{t for godly forrvw, or f~ith, or love, or JOY, a~d lay Y?ur heart~ fl~t unto it, and take paines to provoke 'it into fuitable a{tion. b Somcttmes gneffor fin 1S m us when we think there is none it wants but lrirring up Yfomc quickning word ; the like we may fay of love, and of every gr~ce, how can we doubt whether we~ove God in the very act of loving? or whether we believe in ~he very a~ ~f beltevm_g? If we be affured, whether this facred lire be kindled in our "earts, blo:v tt up, get 1t mto a flame, and then we {hall know: Believe till we feele ~hat we.beheve, an~ lvve tell we feel that we love, for grace exercifed, both brings 11nd mamtams ccrtam comfort ; it may be with a G:t~iftiall in his feelings, as with the worftt
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