Spiritual Peace and Comfort. i 87 may have Chrift ifyou will ; yet I will fay to noman, You can be willing ofyour felf, or without the fpe. cia.; Grace ofGod. Nay let me further ask : Have not you darkned, buried or weakned your Graces, inftead of exerci- fing and increafing them, even then when you com- plained for want ofAffurance of them ? when you found a want of Faith and Love, have not you weakened themmore, and fo made them le.fs difcer-, nable ? Have you not fed your unbel.ef, and difpu- ted for your doubtings,and takenSala is part againft your feif; and (which is far worfe) Lave you never through thefe doubtings entertained hard thoughts ofGod, and prefentedhim to your foul as unwilling to thew you mercy, and in an unlovely, dreadful, hideous fhape, fitter to affright you from him, then to draw you to him, and likelier to provoke your hatred then your love ? If you have not done thus, I know zoo many troubled fouls that have : And ifyou have,you have taken a very unlikely way to get affurance. If you would have been certain that you Loved Cod in fincerity, you fliould have laboured to Love him more, till you had been cer- tain : And that you might do fo, you fhould have kept better thoughts of God in your mind. You will hardly love himwhile you thinkof him as evil, or at lean as hurtful toyou. Never forget this Rule which I laid you down in the beginning, that, He that Will ever love God, mufl apprehend him to be Good and themore largeanddeep are our apprebenfions of1), goodneff, the more Will be our Love. Forfilch a.s Godappears to be to men" fixed conceiving', fuch will their Aft-aliens be to him. For the fixed, deep con- ceptions,
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