PART III. -efgracious 4fé Lions. 117 uncertain and precarious Determination, as has been now (hewn and therefore is a falle and fandy Foundation for Faith ; and accordingly that Faith which is built upon it is falle. The only certain Founda- tion which any Perfon has to believe that he is invited to partake of the Bleffings of the Gofpel, is that the Word of God declares that Perfons fo qualified as he is, are invited, and .God who declares it is true and cannot lie. If a Sinner be once convinced of the Veracity of God, and that the Scriptures are his Word, he'll need no more to convince and fatisfy him that he is invited ; for the Scriptures are full of Invitations to Sinners, to the chief of Sinners, to come and par- take of the Benefits of the Gofpel : He won't want any new fpeaking. of God to him, what he hath fpoken already will be enough with him. As the first Comfort of many Perfons, and their Af-fe& ions at the Time of their fuppofed Con verfion, are built on fuch Grounds as theme which have been mentioned ; fo are their Joys and Hopes, and other Affections, from Time to Time afterwards. They have often particular Words of Scripture, fweet Declarations and Promifes fug- gefled -to 'em, which by Keafon of the Manner of their coming, they think are immediately fent from God to them, at that Time which they look upon as their Warrant to take 'em ; and,which they aau- ally make the main Ground of their appropriating them to themfelves, and of the Comfort they take in them, and the Confidence they re- ceive from them. Thus they imagine a kind of Converfation is car- ried on between God and them ; and that God, fromTime toTime, does, as it were, immediately fpeak to 'em, and fatisfy their Doubt and teflifies his Love to 'em, and promifes 'ern Supports and Supplies. and his Blef ing in fuch and fuch Cafes, and reveals to 'em clearly their Intereft in eternal Bleffings. And thus they are often elevated, and have a Courfe of a fudden and tumultuous Kind of Joys, mingled with a flrong Confidence, and high Opinion of themfelves ; when indeed the main Ground of thefe Joys, and this Confidence is not a- ny Thing contained in, or taught by thefe Scriptures, as they lie in the cc The Teftimony of the Spirit does not make a Man more a Chriftian, but only evidenceth it ; as 'tis the Nature of a cc Witnefs, not to make a Thing to be true, but to clear and cc evidence it." And p. r4o. fpeaking of them that fay they have the Witnefs of the Spirit, that makes a Difference between them and Hypocrites, He Pays, " The Witnefs of the Spirit GG makes not the first Difference for first a Man is a Believer, cc and in Chrift, and juftified, called, and fan tified, before the cc Spirit does Witnefs it , elfe the Spirit fl]oùld Witnefs to an `c Untruth, and Lie." . 13 Bible,
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