Confidence towards God, explained. 333 receiving the facrament of the Lord's fupper, S E R rvr. their being members of the pureft primitive XIII. and apoftolic churches ; not to mention the"v-4 groffer fuperflition of thofe who place their confidence in penances, pilgrimages, the merits of the faints, the abfolutions, intlul- gencies, prayers, and facrifices of the church. Others, again, groffly miftake the true no- tion of repentance, which confifteth in an univerfal change of heart and converfation from evil to good, fubftituting in the room of it, forrows, confeffions, humiliations, and good difpofitions, which produce no real amendment of life. And, laftly, force pre - fumptuoufly truft in the merits of Chrift, even when their confcìences accufe them of continuing to live in obftinate difobedience to his laws. Now, all thefe dangerous er- rors and falfe hopes are fo far from receiv- ing any countenance from the text, that, on the contrary, it is the apoftle's intention to call us off from them, and direct us to a quite different way of trying our claim to the divine approbation, namely, by a diligent inquiry into our tempers and moral condu &, which I (hall afterwards endeavour to thew you is much more juft, and founded in in- variable truth. By a parity of reafon, the f-eif condemnings ofdiftempered good minds are
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