A Box of precious Ointment : Or, (hail be as certainly faved, as if at this very time I fa',V him in an aCtual poffelfion of glory ; becaufe God in the Scri- pture has faid it, Ma. 5. 3-12. Rom. 8. 1. 13. 451.10.43. loh. 3. 15,16, 3 6 Chap. 6. 37, 38, 39, 40, &C. 0 Sirs, no man in his wits dares difpute againft the Authority of Scripture, or deny it as falfe and erroneous; and therefore if the Scripture fay, a man has grace, he ought in confcience to fubfcribe to it againif all obje&ions or temptations to the contrary. For ever remembtr this ; Till a man comes to be willing to have his fpiritual and eternal eflate to be deter- mined by Scripture, he will never enjoy any fetled reft or quiet in his fpirit, When once the goodnefs of a mans eflate is cleared up to him by the Word, he is never to regard what Satan or carnal reafon objects againft him ; Satan is a lyar and a deceiver, of neer fix thoufand years ftanding he is full of envy, and full of malice, and full of wiles, devi- ces and fetches, and therefore give no credit to anv of his reports againfi the report of the Word, but 'land by the te- qimony of the Word, and the witnefs of your own confci ences, againft all Satans cavils, temptations, objeaions and fuggeffions; and then, and not till then, will you find reit to your fouls. He that would hold on cheerfully and refolutely in a Chriftian courfe, and go merrily to his grave, and ting- ing to heaven, he muff maintain the teflimony of the Word againft all the gainfayings of fenfe or carnal reafon, he mull hear nothing, nor believe nothing againft the Word, nor againfi the goodnefs and happinefs of his own elate or condition, which has been evidenced to him from the Word. Men will not be eafily baffled out of their eflates : If fame great man should , come and lay claim to your glans, you will not prefently give them up, though your evidences are not at hand, or though they are blotted, or though perhai;;. you cannot clearly make out your title, yet you will not tamely and quietly give up your eftates ; and yet how ready are many Chriftians, upon every clamour of Satan againft their fouls and fpiritual eftates, to give up all, and to con- clude, that they are hypocrites, and have no true grace and fpiritual life in them ! &c. But, The 1 I ii
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