56 Directions forgetting and keeping tiondire&ly, without firft difcovering the funsofit within you ; as ifby an inward voice he Mould fay toyou, Thou art a child ofGod, and thy fins are pardoned. This that I defcribed toyou, is the true witnefs of the Spirit. This mifake is fo dangerous, that Y, had thought to have made it a peculiar Direir`ion by it fell towarn you oit : but now I have gone fo far, I will difpatch it here. Twodangerous cónfecluents ] find do follow this unwarrantable expe&ation of the firft immediate efficient Revelation that we are Adopted. r. Some poor fouls have languifbed in doubtings and trouble of mind almoft all their days, in ex- pe&ation offuch a kind of witnefs as theSpirit ufeth not to give when in the mean time they have other fufficient means ofComfort, andknew not how to improve them ; yea they had the true witnefs of the Spirit in his inhabitation and holy workings, and didnot know it ; but run as Samuel did to Eli, not knowing the voice ofGod : and look for the Spirits teffimony when they had it, as the Jews for Elias and the Mesas. 2. Others do more dangeroufly err, by taking the ftrong conceit of their own phantafie for the witnefs of the Spirit, as loon as they do but entertain the opinion that it muff be fucka witnefs oftheSpirit, without the ufe ofMarks, that mutt Affure men of their Adoption, prefently they are confident that they have that witnefs themlelves. It is fcarce lively tobe Gods Spirit that is fo ready upon the meer change ofanopinion : The devil ufeth to do as much to cherifh prefurnption, as to deftroy true faith and Af-
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