7Iste Spirit ofChriff) a Cigri jiiota Comfort, 439 ofhenthe Scribes and Piaariies, notwicnitanding all their long pray.; ers, and their !Irk}Rites andCeremonies, hear not.a word of him. 7. Another Seafon of Comfort is, When we are either preparing for, or in the fpiritual a6t of fome duty.. When grace is exercifed to prepare the heart to pray, and in attendance upon fuch an Ordi- nance, then oftentimes the Spirit of God is with them, to let poor fouls in the x endeavours find acceptance with God. Hannah had been praying to. God , but what melody did fhe find in her heart ! When Mary fax az Chrifts feet, how cloth Chriit fill her heart with comfort , up her falvation to her ! I now come to dole with fome application. Life of Information. We. If it be the work of the Spirit of Gad to comfort the hearts or Chrifts 15,fciples,then. by way of information I gather this, That a poor foul is very hardly fetled andfatisfied in point of Comfort. Sure it is a hard matter to comfort a poor foul , when one of the Perfons of the blefed Trinity mutt be employed on purpofe to do it. This is an Office belonging to the Holy Ghoft , when he is to he the Pa. raclee, tix comfort of the Holy Goff. This Pure is a_hard matter, to comfort the wounded fpirit, when the foul is full of the fpirit of bondage. Oih ! the hefitates, the jealoufies, ex doubts and fears , the ocraions that a poor foul makes againft iris fpiritual peace and cyrnfort now it begins to take comfort, ti en it doubts aga n; now he believeth, and-taies courage, but anon he is afraid ; t..ere is a great deal ado to faiten cord:ort upon a poor foul, 2 r or, r. 21, 22. What a heap ofwords are there together, n it is all little enough to comfort a poor foul! Now he dm, eliahli(teth fits wifhyou in CIF ill, and I ath annotnted us, is God, and lath alfo fealed ass , and given the earn& of the Spirit in our hearts, It .s n, .t without much tugging and drawing that the foul is firif hroughl to helieve, and Olen, when it loth believe, it is a hard thing to perf,, ade it that it cloth beleve: There is aftrangerkind offcluem4Eneis upon t' x heart , he thinks that that is no comfort to be taken t'at dot r belong to him. //rather 1:ayes, It is a harder thine to comfort a troubbdConfcrence,- than to raye the dead. Sure:y it muit be as hard when nothing but the fame power muff do it. TheSoul is hardly convinced; but all the- glad tidings of t'-e Gof- pel, are golden ftreams,and all the Promites are but pleafant Fancies, without any Reality ;- but that thee thins fhould belong to liirn,this be cannot believe, for want of Faith : So that tl'e Spirit of God is fain to comein andtnd,thecontroverfie, before tile foul will be fa- tisfia I, I I 2. If
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