1699. MR THOMAS BOSTON. 47 from Phil. iii. 8. by Mr Mair ; and thereafter was entertainedby him with edifying difcourfe fuitable thereto. Upon the back of this, I fometimes thought I had preached but too little of Chrift, which I would have been content to have reformed. On the. 18th I went to God, and begged an .anfwer of fume fuits I had long depending before the throne of grace ; which were efpecially two. The one was, That I might fee Chrift by a fpiritual . illumination, with more fulnefs of the evidence requititejo believ- ing onhim, according to that word, John vi. 40. " That every one which feeth the Son, and believethon him ;" toa particular notice of which paffage, I had, fome time or other, been led by Mr Mair's means alfo. The other was, That I might be helped to live, by faith, above the world. On the morrow after, as I arofe, I thought on thefe words, Pfal. cv. 13, 14, 15.1 and the view of theLord's concern about his people, in all their removes, was fweet. After which, going to prayer, the Lord was with me in it. My foul went out in love to Chrift, followed hard after him, and I faw much content, delight, and fweet in him. The iffue hereof was, that I found myfelf foniewhat helped to believe ; the which, though it carried me not fo far above the world as I would fain have been, yet it rendered the world in fóme fort contemptible in mine eyes ; and I found my heart, defirous to preach Chrift's fulnefs, his being " all and in all." This iffued in my. being determined, on the 2111, to that text, Matth. xiii. 45, 40. unto which I addreffed myfelf, after bemoan- ing, before the Lord, my ignoranceof Chrift, and begging the revealing of him tome ; being convinced I was but a'child in that matter, yet feeing it my duty to preach him. Having entered upon it, I faw it a very full text ; but going on in it, I found myfelf dry and barren upon it; which left me much dejeöted, feeingI could not preach Chrift, and beholding much of my ig- norance of him. On the morrow I got more light, cafe, and in- fight into the excellency of Chrift, from the Lord. And read- ing in my ordinary thereafter, I fell on that Col. iv. 3, 4. which afforded methis inftru&ion, That whereas I had beendifcouraged, for that I could not preach Chrift, I Law it'indeed a myftery ; and filch a one as the great apoftle found a need of the prayers of the faints, that he might be enabled to preach it. I faw the preach- ing of Chrift to be the molt difficult thing; for that though the whole world is full of wonders, yet here are depths beyond all. I was to preach in Clackmannan, where molt were for me to be their minifter, and fume that had the greatelt power were againft me, as it ordinarily fared with me in the places where I ufed to preach. On the Saturday's afternoon there comesa letter to my hand, defiring me to give the onehalfof the day toone Mr J. G. whom thofe that were againft.me had an eye upon. The letter I received contentedly, granted the defire of it, and bleffed the Lord for it. In thefe circumítances, feeing what hazard I was in of an evil eye, I committed my heart, to the Lord, that I might F2
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