344 Grace in the working of it, is often corn. pared to life. Now, look as natural life is dilcerned by the afficn5 thereof, as by many figns, fo alfo is fu- pernatural life. Koc6xooll, -is boafting '- they boailed in the reftimony of their confci- ences. 0 the quiet and tran- quility that arifes from the ieflimony of a mans finceri- ty, both in heart and life. A Box of precious Ointment: Or, inherent. Fie only point atfome of thofe Scriptures among many others,that clearly fpeak out this truth; the firft Epifile , of :John, fames 2. I7--alt. job 23. lo, 111; I2;- and the. whole 31. Chapter of Pfd. 119. 6. Ifa. 3 8.. 2,3. Neh. 1. tilt. & 13. 14, ezc. Now all thefe Scriptures do evident-. ly prove,that the precious fervants of the Lord did take their graces for precious figns and teitimonies of God'slove,--of their intereil in Chrifi, and thereby received much com- fort, pence and fatisfaction. And truly, to deny the fruit growing upon the. Tree to be an evidence that the Tree is alive,, is to me as unreafonable as it is abfard : Certainly 'tis one thing to judge by our graces;and another thing to trail in our graces, to make a Saviour of our graces. There is a great deal of difference betwixt declaring and deferving Chriftians, they may doubtlefs look to their graces as evi- dences of their part in Chrill and falvation (and the clearer and ilronger they are, the greater will be their comfort and afl'urance) but not as caufes. No man advanced free grace- lik.; Paul; no man debafed his own righteoufnefs like ''Ail, he counted it but dung and drofs ; and no man exalted-the- righteoufnefs of Chrifi like Paul, and yet by th:.s way of figmhe gathered-much comfort and affurance, 2, rim, 4.7,8. I have fought a good fight, I have finifbed my courfe, I have kept de faith, henceforth is laid up for me a croon of righteonfnefs. How-plainly, how fully doth he here conclude his right to the crown of life, from his fighting a good fight, his finith- ing his courfe (in a way of grace and holinefs) and his keep- ing.th faith.- By this great inflance you maclearly fee, that a Chriltian may greatly exalt Chrifi, lift up free grace,tread upon his own righteoufnefs (as to juflification, and at the ve- ry fame time take comfort in his graces, and in his gracious actings. So in that, 2 C or. 1. 12. Our rejoycing is this, the te- Amony of a good confcience, that in gidly fincerity we have -had aro converfation n the world. His joy was founded on the tefti- mony of his confcience ; but from -what did his confcience teilifie ? from his fincere con-verfation., Again,' take that memorable inflance of job, God hid his face from him, the arrows of the Almighty flack fait in him, Satan was let bole u FoLa
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