156 SERMONS upon Serm.XXXVj, 4. Do not pride thy felf with the affiance he giveth, Pfal. g r. 15. He fhall call upon me, and 1 will anfwer him, and will bg with him in trouble, and 1 will deliver him. Si- mon Magus would fain have the power to work miracles, Alls 8. 1g. And when Simon faw,t hat through the layipg on of the Apoflles hands, the holyghofl was given, he offeredthem money, faying,give me alto this power, that on mhomfoever .1lay hands, he may receive the holy she. SERMON XXXVI. ROM. VIII. 2 7. And he that fearcheth the hearts, kometh what is the mind of the Spirit; becaufe he maketh interce /on or.the Saints, according to the will of God. N thefe words, the former priviledg is amplified: He had fpoken of the affiftance we have from the fpirit ; now acceptance. Thofe fight and groans which are (timed up in us by the fpirit, are not without fruit and fuccefs, for they are taken notice of, and accepted by the Lord. If they were confufed and unintelligible groans, pr batty fighs, that die away, and are gone like a puff of wind, the priviledg were.not fo much; no, they areof greater regard than fo, they are obferved and rewarded by God. And he that fearcheth, &c. In the words we have, r. A property of. God mentioned, that he fearcheth the hearts: 2. An Inference thence, or an application to the matter in hand, he knometh the mind of the fpirit. 3. A reafon why thofe groans are not unprofitable , becaufe he maketh intereefon for the faints according to the will of God. God knoweth the meaning of them, and accept - eth what is agreeable to his will. r. Let us confider the property of God, which is here mentioned; he that fearcheth the hearts. God needeth no fearch, but knoweth all things by Pimple intuition; but 'Pis fpoken after the manner of men, who enquire and fearch into thofe things which they would know more accurately and exally 5 And fo it fees forth the infinite know- ledge of God. Doll. They that come toworfbip God, had need have their hearts deeply poffef d with a fenfe of his Omnifciency. I (ball prove two things, a. That God is Omnifcient ; and in particular, doth know the hearts of men. 2. That thofe that would worfhip before the Lord, muff found!), believe, and con- fider this: r. That the hearts of men lie open to the view of God, is a truth often inculcated in Scripture, as in that fpeech of God to Samuel the Prophet, r Sam 16. 7.' When Eliab, jefes eldeft fon was brought before Samuel, forely the Lords Anointed is before him; And the Lordfaid, Look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his flature, for 1 have refufed him;the Lordfieth not as man feet h: for man looketb on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. Man feeth things (lightly and fuperficially, and judges of all things according to the (hew and outfide, for his fight can pierce no deeper: But God fearch- eth'the heart and reins, knoweth who is, and will continue to be a faithful inftrument of his glory. i Citron. 28. g..dnd thou, Solomon, my fon, know thou the God of thy Fa- ther,
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