MEN DISBELIEVE GOD'S FORGIVENESS. 225 tamed it, saith another. What I have attained to hath been of unspeakable mercy : and it is my daily prayer that I may be preserved in it by the exceeding great- ness of the power of God; for I continually wrestle with storms that are ready to drive me from my anchor. A little of this discourse may be sufficient to convince poor, dark, carnal creatures, of the folly and vanity of their confidence. IV. There are certain means whereby the revelation of this mystery is made to the souls of men. By these they obtain it, or never receive it. The mystery itself was a secret, hidden in the counsel of God from eter- nity ; nor was there any way whereby it might be re- vealed but by the Son of God; and that is done in the Gospel. If, then, you say you know it, let us inquire how you came so to do, and by what means it hath been declared to you. Has this been done by the word of truth l Was it by the preaching of the word, or by reading it, or meditating upon it l Or has it in- sensibly gotten ground upon your heart or mind from the truth wherein you had been instructed l Or by what other ways or means have you come to that ac- quaintance with it whereof you boast ? You can tell how you came by your wealth, your gold and silver; you know how you became learned, or obtained the knowledge of your trade, who taught you it, and how you came by it. Wonder not then if you are called to answer this question also, By what way or means came you to the knowledge of forgiveness, which you boast of I Was it by any of those before mentioned, or some other l If you cannot answer distinctly to these things, only you say that you have heard it, and believed it ever since you can remember ; that those that went be- fore you did so ; that so they say with whom you con- verse; that you never met with any one that called it in question, nor heard of any, unless it were one or two 10
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