Houston-Packer Collection BV4253 .B85 1649 .B85 1649

Ho The spirituallife, andbz-being 5. fometimes, he begins to fin ; and faith he within I will do it but a little, I will not goe very farre , I will never do it again, I will now take my leave of this fin, it !hall never be acted by me any more. But he goes farther idit than ever he intended ; Why ? becaufe the Devil bath a greater Uroke upon him than himfelfbath. So here,when as a mans foul fhall be carried out untowhat is good, be- yond what he intended, this argues that the Lord Jefus Chrift is at work upon his foul, andbath a greater hand and firoke upon his aelions; his fpiritual aftions than him- felf path. Now is it not thus with thee ? Fiftly. Who ever thou art (man or woman) that makes this Objetlion, and lies under this fear, That the Lord Chrift doth not live in thee. Were younever perfwaded of this, did younever yet think, that Chrift was in you ? did younever yet beleeve, that Chrift lived in you ? Yes, I con- feffe I had Inch thoughts once ; but oh ! I have loft thole thoughts, I have loll thofe perfwafions. But when you had thofe thoughts, andwhen you had thofe perfwafions, how came you by them ? My foul was lying in a fad,dark, dead, hardned condition ; my foul wasready to fink with defpair : and all'on a fudden, my foul was railed upwithin me to this perfwafion, for to think that Chrift was in me, and that Chrift liveth in me. Wel, Either there thoughts were from Satan, or from Chrift, Either this perfwafion ofyours was from Satan, or it was from Chrift : Not from Satan, for Satan doth not ufe to be fo loving to a poor tempted foul, to bear it up when it is ready to fink under Temptation ; Satan doth not ufe to be fo loving to a poor foul, to free it from Liefpair : Then it was fromChrift ; and ifit were from jefus Chrift, then Chrift had a greater hand and ftroke in this perfwafion than thy own fonl ; for thou fayeil, I was dead, dull, hardened, ready to fink; and I Paid, Mercy is gone, I hhall never fee the face of Chrift again ; and all on a fudden there perfwafions were raifed inme. Here Chrift plainly bath a greater firoke in this perf,a a fion than thine own foul. Upon

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