The Spirit ofChrift, a Ehrii fansComfort. 43 5 God, to comfort the hearts orhis vople. You may remember that I have formerly opened the truth to you , and have chewed you what this fpiritual comfort is, that the Spirit of Chrift works in the hearts of his Difciples. I gave it you in this Defcription. It is that inward, fpiritual fatisfa6tion, that the heart of a graci- ousperfon finds in, and through Jefus Chrift, in all the various dif- penfations of God towards him, whereby he is enabled to go on in cheerfulneffe in the way that God wouldhave him, whether it.be by a way of doing, or of &tering. And herein I (hewed, I. The natureof the fpiritual fatisfaaion. s. The Author of it, It is God by his Spirit. 3. The Objeft of it, God through Jefus Chrift. 4. The proper Subject of this inward fpiritual comfort, the-peo, pleof God. 5. And laftly, The effeas of the fpiritual comfort ; it is to ftreng then the heart; both todo and fuffer. I came the loft time, to threw you how the Spirit of God doth this i. He doth it as an enlightningSpirit,. bylliewint, where com- fort is to be had, by opening the eyes of the underifanding, as he did Ha ors bodily eyes, to fee the Well of water. 2. Hedoth it as a quickningSpirit, bringing the foul into that ca- pacity to take in the comfort; for what.comfort can a dead man re-,- ceive ? a Cordial and a Puddle. is all one to a dead man. 3. Heworks this inward fpiritual fatisfaaion, bydifcovering the. truth of this vital Principle in the foul.: for a man may have a princi- ple of Grace and fpiritual Life in-him, and not know it, that though. he has the fpiritual comfort , yet it is all one as ifhe had it not. Now this is the great CILleilion that is debated in the heart of a-- Childof God, Whether he be regenerated and born again ? whether he bath grace in his foul, that grace that will qualify him for glory ?- and ifhe was fatisfied as to this, he would not be a moment with- out comfort : But he is afraid that he is dead in fin, that be is a ftranger to the life of Grace ; hence arifeth all his fpiritual trou- bles ;' now the Spirit of God comes in, and refolves the cafe, comes. into the foul by his bright RefleEtions, and fills our fouls with com=ma , fort,_: Nowwe have received not the fpirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God. 4. The Spirit of God is_a comforting Spirit, as he openeth the go(Ily /wow thelbul Truly this is the next way to fpi- ritual
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