-to tbe Chief of Sinners. I I 3 24·4· Arid with this, that of the paffages. that wcre betwixt the Lord ,and 1-, is Servant Gideon fG11 upon my Spirit ; 'how hecaufe,that Gideon ten1pted God with his Fleeces both wet and dry,wh'en he f.lould have believed and ventured upon his Word,therefore,the Lord did afterwards fa try hjn1, as to fen.d him againft an . innumet able company of E-. nemies.And-that too as to outward appea– rance, without any ft.rength or help; Jrt~g. 6.7.Tbus l1e ferved n1e,and· that jufrly, for I · Ihould have believed his Word,and not havepnt an ifupon the A11fe~ingnefs of God .. 245· And no"v to fhew you fon1ething of ~he advantages- tl1at I alfo have gained by this temptation; and firfr, by this I was n1 ade con~inuaily to poffefs in/ tny Soul a very . wonderful fenfe both of the Being ~nd Glo-. ry of God, and of his beloved Son, in the · temptation that went before, n1y Soul \V~1s perple~ed with unbelief, l?lafphen1y, hard– nefs of heart, queftions about the being of God,Cinift, the tt:nth of the Word, and cer– tainty of the World to come;I fay,then I was .gr~atly , aHaulted, and tormented with A- - ; the1fm, but no\v ~ the Cafe was otherwife, . ow was God and Chr·ift continually before my Face, though not in a w~y of cqmfort, · but in a ·way of ~xceeding dread and terror .. The Glory of the Holinefs of God did at this time break n1e to pie~es, and the Bowels d compaffion of ,Chri1t did break n1.e as ,. on.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=