34$"- Eph. 4 30. ob 33: oh. /. 13. Ira. ço. 10. Rom. S. 13, Bbx of precw us . Ointment 4: Or world, but the fpirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Our graces, our fan6tification, as well as our eleaion, vocation, jollification and glorifica- tion, are freely given to us of God ; and the spirit of Qod is given as well to difcover the one as the other to us. Mark, the things freely given us may be received by us, and yet the receit of them not known to us ; therefore the Spirit for our further confolation doth (as it were) put his hand ancrfeal to our receits, whence he is faid to feal us asp onto the day of re- demption. The graces of the Spirit are a real earneft of the Spirit;yet they are not alwayes an evidential earneil ; there- fore an earnefl is often fuperadded to our graces. For ever remember thefe few hints ; r: That it is the work of the Spirit to plant grace in the foul. 2. That it is the work of the. Spirit to aCt and exercife the graces that he has planted there. 3. That it is the work of the Spirit to Thine upon thofe gr a- ces that he has planted in the foul, and to caufe the foul to fee', and feel what he has wrote. 4. That it is the work of the Spirit to rage fprings of comfort and joy in the foul, upon the difcovery of that ;race which he has wrote in the foul. 0 Chriftians, till the Spirit of the Lord thine upon your graces, you will fill be in the dark. 'Tis only God's own Interpreter that mull fhew a man his righteoufnefs. When the holy Ghof} fhines upon a Chriflians graces, then a Chri- ftian finds the fprings of comfort to rife in his foul, and then he finds the greateft ferenity and calmnefs in his fpirit. 0 Sirs ! no man can by any natural light or evidence in him, come to be allured of the grac'e wrought in his foul. Look, as no man can fee the Siln but in the light of the Sun ; fo no man can fee the gi.aces of the Spirit but in the light of the Spirit. A man may have grace, and not fee it ; he may be in a fate of grace and not know it; as the child lives in the womb but don't perceive it, is heir to a crown but don't know it. 0 I till the Spirit chines upon his own work, a child of light may walk in darknefs and fee no light. Look, as no man can fubdue his fins bat by the power of theSpirit ;fo no man canfee his graces but the light of the Spirit. The confidence that a believer bath of the truth of grace wrought 1
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