SPIRITUAL PEACE AND COMS'ORT. 421 and complaint to God, that our hearts areso dull andTittle affected with bis sacred truths, and our own sins. But this is the scope of all my speech, Why do not you distinguish between matter of sor- row and mattes of doubting? No question but you should lament your dullness and stupidity, and use all God's means for the quick- ening of your affections, and to get the most lively frame of soul ;' but must it cause you to doubt ofyour sincerity, when you cannot obtain this ? . Then will you never have a settled peace or assur- ance for many days together, for aught I know. I would ask you but this, whether you are willing or unwilling of all that hardness, insensibleness, and dullness which you complain of? If you are willing of it, what makes you complain of it ? If you are unwill- ing, it seems your will is so far sound ; and it is the will that is the seat of the life of grace, which we must try by. And was not Paul's case the same with yours, when he saith, " The good which I would do, I do not ; and when I would do good, evil is present with me?" Rom. vii. 19. I know Paul speaks not of gross sins, but ordinary infirmities. And I have told you before, that the liveliness and sensibility of the passions or affections is a thing that the will, though sanctified, cannot fully command or excite at its pleasure.. A sanctified man cannot grieve or weep for sin when he will, or so much as he will. He cannot love, joy, be zealous, 8tc., when he will. He may be trulywilling, and notable. And is not this your case ? And doth not Paul make it the case of all Christians? "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary one to the other, so that we cannot do the things that we would ; " Gal. v. 17. Take my counsel,therefore in this, if you love not self-deceiving and disquietness.- Search whether you can say unfeignedly, 'I would with all my heart have Christ and his quickening and sanctifying Spirit, and his softening grace, to bring my heart to tender- ness, and my dull and blockish soul to a' lively frame ! O that I could attain it!' And if you can truly say thus, bless God that hath given you saving sincerity ; and then let all the rest of your dullness, and deadness, and hard-heartedness, be matter of daily sorrow to you, and spare not, so it be in moderation, but let it be no matter of doubting. Confess it, complain of it, pray against it, and strive against it; but do not deny God's grace in you for it. And here let me mind you of one thing, That it is 'a very ill distemper of spirit, when a man can mourn for nothing but what causeth him to doubt ofhis salvation. It is a great corruption, if when your doubts are resolved, and you are persuaded ofyour sal- vation, if then you cease all your humiliation and sorrow for your sm; for you must sorrow that you have in you such a body of death, and that which is so displeasing to God, and are able to
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