Go f el l?emfsion. pooring and beating their brains and hearts, and fret them- felves, becaufe they cannot find fuch and fuch a thing that was to them an Evidence of the pardon of their fins this is through their negleft ; and if they had been careful to have kept their Evidences clear and plain , O the comfort they might have had to have read them every morning : If the Pollutionof fin recoil back again, no marvel the fenfe of guilt of fin upon thy Confcience recoil back again ; if God have committed fuch a Jewel to thee as the Evidence of pardon of fin, and thou makeft no better ufe of it , 'tis juft with God to take it out of thy hands, and keep it in his own ; and though he Thew mercy at lafl unto thee , yet thou may'ft not know it whilft thou art in this world ; its a very hard thing to recover it again : thofe that have had the pardon of fin feal'd unto them , have by their falling into fin afterwards , fo darkned and loft their Evidences that they could never recover them again ; as David , fee how he cries out, Create in me a clean heart, and reftore to me the joyofthy falvation ; David faw all was gone , and that there muff be a newCreation and Reftoration ; Reftore to me the by ofthy f alvation ; O the joy that once I had, and now have loft ; O Lord that I may have it once again : David had a little fenfual pleafure for a while , but he paid dear for it , he loft the joy of Gods falvation : What think you David would have given to have got it again ?for ought we know, he never had it fo fully as before : Thole that have had force comfortable Evidence of pardoning grace , and after- wards through their negligence, loofnefs, and vanity, have loft it, may never come to enjoy the comfort of it again as for- merly they did ; and therefore when Peter had finned againft hisMauer ; mark, when Chrift came to Peter, fays he, Lovett thoume ? he anfwered, Lord thou knoweft 1 love thee ; Chrift puts it to him again ; Lovett thou me ? he would not take his firft anfwer, but puts it to him the fecond and third time, Lovett thoume ? as ifChrift had faid to Peter, look to your felf, it is not any prefent fudden work that can reco- ver your Evidences again ; you that have finned and darkned your Evidences , had need to put this Queftion R to 121
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