Ver. c 5, the 8th Chapter to the R O MAN S. 167 enter into conditions of peace, enter into Covenant with God, abhor your former difoS_dience, ca ft away the weapons of defiance, and love God,and delight in him. 2. Steep your minds in frequent thoughts of Gods fatherly goodnefr, r' John 3. 1. Behold what manner of love is this, that we fhoeld be called the fans of God ! Confider it, and ad- mire it 2. U S E, Refletiion. Have we the Spirit of Adoption ? 'Tie known, 1. By a kind of n4turalrrefs; to come to God, and open our hearts to bins ; in all our wants go and cry Abba Father The fpirit of Adoption much worketh, and difcovereth its felf ni prayer; to cry to our Father, is an alt becoming the Sons of God ; the manner is feèvent, affectionate ; this cry is not by the tongue, but by the heart, Exod. t 3, rq The Lord"needeth no interpreter between him and the hearts of his children; he that heareth without earls, can interpret our defires, tho not uttered by the tongue ; de(res are ftrong cries, Pfal. ro. 17. Thou hafl;beard the defresof the humble, Pfal.38. 9. all my deft're is before thee, and my groaning is not hid from thee : This crying is oppLoorite d! to that carelefs formality and deadnefs, whiçh is in other mens prayers ; this crying to God, asoue that is able and ready to help us, is a great fruit of the fpirit of Adoption; 'tis a childlike boldnel. 2. Achildlike ingenuity in the court of obedience to him; both in our abilaining front fin (as the Rechabites are an Emblem, Per. 35. 6. Wa dare not break the commands of our father ) : And in a ready diligence in . our obedience, 2 Cor. 5. 14. The love of God conflrainethus; for we thus judg, if one dyed for ail, then were all dead,. &c. The Will of our Father is inflead of all Reafons; Chrift ever urged this, This is the will of my Fa- ther, John 6.26, 38. So toChriftians, i Thef. 5. 18. This it the will of God, in Chriff con- cerning you. r Thef. 4. 3. This is the will of God,evenyour fanfyiftcation : That's enough, beyond all enforcemerits. 3. Arta the inheritance, they are very chary of it', and will not hazzard the hope and comfort of it upon ealle terms, Heb. 12. 16. Let there not be found a prophane per_ fon, as &fail, who fold his birth -right for a mefs of postage, r King; 25.3. And Naboth fold to Ahab, The Lordforbid it me, that 1 fhould give the inheritance of ney Father to thee. 3 U SE is Direïlion to us in the Lords Supper : This is the leal of the new Covenant;.. the Table which God keepeth for the entertainment of his family, the feaft for fouls5 Gods Children ate lure of Welcome; 'tis childrens bread we eat ; we come hither both to remember the grounds of our Adoption, and to receive , the comfort of it ; we come . to meditate on the fatherly love of God, and to get a new tall and experience of it in our own fouls ; here we have fpecial communion with him :as children with a Father; we come for a further participation of the fpirit, for we all drink into one fpirit, s Cor, 12, 13. Here we look up unto God, and in our hearts cry, Abba, Father : We bind our felves alto to perform the duty of children , by new refolution to fubmit to his fathern. ly government, both in his Laws and Providences 5 to hiscommandingand difpofingwilla and lift. up our hope for the eternal inheritance. S E é s..
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