PART IL to d'ingu .Apa ons. $5 Friends, Shibboleth, may reprefent a full Ear with Fruit in it, typify- ing the Fruits of the Friends of Chrift, the Antitype of 7ephthah and the more lean Pronounciation of the Ephraimites his Enemies, may reprefent their emptyEars, typifying theShow of Religion inHy- pocrites, without Sub(lance and Fruit. This is agreable to the Doc- trine we are abundantly taught in Scripture, viz. That he who is fet to judge thofe that pals through Death, whether they have a Right to enter into the heavenly Canaan or no, or whether they fhould not be flain, will judge every Man according to his Works. We fecm to be taught the farne Things, by the Rules given for the Priefis difcerning the Leprofy. In many Cafes it was impofiible for the Priefl to determine whether a Man had the Leprofy, or whe- ther he were clean, by the mofi narrow InfpeEtion of the Appearances that were upon him, 'till he had waited to fee what the Appearances would come to, and had Phut up the Perfon who fhewed himfelf to him, one feven Days after another ; and when he judged, he was to determine by the Hair, which grew out of the Spot that was (hewed him, which was as it were the Fruit that it brought forth. And here, before I finifh what I have to fay under this Head, I would fay fomething to a firange Notion fame have of late been led away with, of certainly knowing the good Eflate that others are in, as tho' it were immediately revealed to 'em from Heaven, by their Love flowing out to 'em in an extraordinary Manner. They argue thus, that their Love being very fenfible and great, it may be cer- tainly known by them who feel it, to be a true chriflian Love : And if it be a true chriflian Love, the Spirit of God mull: be the Author of it : And inafmuch as the Spirit of God, who knows certainly, whether others are the Children of God or no, and is a Spirit of Truth, is pleafed, by an uncommon Influence upon 'em, to caufe their Love to flow out, in an extraordinary Manner, towards fuch a Perfon, as a Child of God ; it mull needs be that this infallible Spirit, who deceives none, knows that that Perfon is a Child of God. But fuch Perfons might be convinced of the Falrenefs of their Rezfoning, if they would confider whether or no it be not their Duty, and what God requires cf 'em, to love thofe as the Children of Gad, who they think are the Children ofGod, and whom they have no Reafon to think otherwife of, from all that they can fee in them. Tho' God, who fearches the Hearts, knows 'em not to be his Chil- dren. If it be their Duty, then it is Good, and the Want of it Sin ; and therefore, furely the Spirit of God may be the Atthor of it : The Spirit of God, without being a Spirit of Falfhood, may in fuch a Cafe afiift aPerfon to do his Duty, and keep himfrom Sin.But then they ar- gue from the uncommon Degree and fpecial Manner, in which their Love flows out to thePerfon ; which they think theSpirit of God never would cattle, ifhe did not know the Obje6t to be a Child of God. G 3 But
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