PART III.. of gracious Afetions. I 33 humble Love to God, give clear Evidence of the Soul's Relation to God, as his Child ; which does very greatly and direaly fatisfy the Soul. And tho' it be far from being true, that the Soul in this Cafe, judges only by an immediate Witnefs, without any Sign or Evi- dence ; for it judges and is affured by the gre..ateft Sign and cleareft Evidence ; yet in this Cafe, the Saint ftands in no need of multiplied Signs, or any long Reafoning upon them. And tho' the Sight of his relative Union with God, and his being in his Favour, is not without a Medium, becaufe he fees it by that Medium, viz. his Love ; yet his Sight of the Union of his Heart to God is immediate : Love, the Bond of Union, is feen intuitively : The Saint fees and feels plainly the Union between his Soul and God ; it is fo ftrong and lively, that he can't doubt of it. And hence he is affured that he is a Child: How can he doubt whether he ftands in a child-like Relation to God, when he plainly fees a child -like Union between God and his Soul; and hence does boldly, and as it were, naturally and neceffarily cry, 2Ibba Father ? And whereas the Apoffle fays, the Spirit bears Witnefs with our Spirits ; by our Spirit here, is meant our Confcience, which is cal- led the Spirit of Man ; Prov, 20. 27. The Spirit of Man is the Can- dle of the Lord,fearching all the inward Parts of the Belly. We elle- where read of the Witnefs of this Spirit of our's; 2 Cor. I. 12. For our Rejoicing is this, tbeTellimonyofourConfcience. And i John 3. r q , 20, 21. Ind hereby do we know that we are of the Truth, and(hall allure our Hearts before him. For if our Heart condemn us, God is greater than our'Heart, and knoweth all Things. Beloved ifour Heart condemn us not, then have we Confidence towards God. When the Apoftle Paul fpeaks of the Spirit of God bearing Witnefs with our Spirit, he is not to be underftood of two Spirits, that are two fepa- rate, collatteral, independant \Vitnef es ; but 'tis by one, that we receive the Witnefs of the other : The Spirit of God gives the Evi- dence, by infufing and fhedding abroad the Love of God, the Spirit of a Child, in the Heart and our Spirit, or our Confcience, receives and declares this Evidence for our Rejoicing. Many have been the Milchiefs that have arifen from that falle and delufive Notion of the Witnefs ofthe Spirit, that it is a Kind of in- ward Voice,';Suggeftion, ` or Declaration from God to a Man, that he is beloved of'him,'and pardoned,-eleaed, or the like, fometimes with, and fometimes without 'Text' of Scripture ; and many have been the falfe, and vain, (tho' very 'high ') 'Affe&ions that hàve arifen from hence And-'tis to be feared that Multitudes of Souls have been eternally undone by it. I have therefore infifl:ed the longer on this Head. LBut
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