Boston - BT700 B7 1769

Head I. ~heir Regeneration, refolved. ~'pay . be in .: And we need not doubt but fome have had dill:rdfes known only. to God, and their own confciences ; and fo, to others : thefe difl:rdft: s' .are as if they had never been. Yea, and though the fcr iptures do contain fuitable diretl:ions f&r every cafe a child' of God .can be in ; and thefe il !ut1t at ed wi(h a ·fufficient number of examl'les: yet it is not to be imaoined, that there are in the fcriptures I ~ perfetl infl:ances of .every parricul.ar cafe incident to the faints. T berefory , howbeit you cannot find an infl:ance o( your cafe in the fcrlpture ; yet bring your cafe to it, and you !hall fi nd fuitab le remedi es prefcribed there for it. And Hudy rather to mak.e ufe oJ Chrifl for your cafe, who has falve for all fo res ; than to know if eve.r any was i~ your cafe. ThoU-gh one -fhould ihew you an infi.al?ce of your cafe; in an undoubted faint ; yet oone could promife ,it ' - would certainly give you. eafe : for a fcrupulous confci· ence would readily find out fome difference. And if no– thing, but a perfect conformity of another's cafe to yours, will fatisfy , it will be hard, if not impoffible, to fatisfy yo~. Fnr :t is with peoples cafes, as with their natural faces: though faces of aiJ -me'n are of one make ; and fome are fo very like others, t~at, at firfi view, we are ready to take them fqr the fame : yet ~ if you view them more acaurat~ly, you .will fee fomething in ever¥ face, diil:inguifhing it from all others ; tho'ugh poffibly you cannot tell what it is: wberef01e I conclude, that if you can find in yourfelves the marks of regeri.eratioo, propofed to you from .the word; you ought to conclude, you are in the · fla-te of gr ace, th ough yQur cafe were _fingular, whtch Is indeed unlike ly . C.~s E lafl. 'The affliBions I meet with , are )trange and. ttnufual. I doubt ~fever a child ofGod was tryjled with fuch dijpenf atiom oj providence as I am. ·Anf Much of w.hat was,faid on t~e preceding cafe, may be heJpful in th is. Holy J t)b was a!fdulted with this temptation , Job v. 1. 'TfJ .-. ·~ which ofthefa int! wilt thou t urn ? s 'ut he r-ejeCted it, and held fait hi s integrity . f he apo fl: le fuppofeth ChriHians may be tempted to thinltjlrange concerning the fie r;· tri at, 1 Pet . iv . 1 2. But they have need of larger experience rhan Solo – mon's, who wiHvent ure to fay , See thiJ is ne"'.JJ ,, Eccl e,f. i. I o. And wh'attho t:Jgh in refpe& of the outward difpenfa.t ions of providence, it happc11:. to ;:ou flCCording lath& work. of the ' 'Wicked?

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=