384 Of Cóm ivl u N i o;.v with 4. Another effete we have of his, Rom. viii. 16. 'The Spirit itfelf beta witnefs with ourfpirits, that we are the children of Cod. You know whore children we are by nature; children of faran, and of the curfe, or of wrath. By the Spirit we are put into another capacity, and are adopted to be the children of God, inafmuch as by receiving theSpirit of our Fa- ther, we become the childrenof our Father. Thence is he called, v. ip, The Spirit of adoption. Now, fometimes the foul, becaule it bath fomewhat remaining in tt, of the principle that it had in its old condition, is put to queftion, whether it be a child of God or no ; and thereupon, as in a thing of the greateft importance, puts in its claim, with all the evidences that it bath, to make good its title. The Spirit comes and bears witncfs in this cafe. An allufion it is to judicial proceedings inpoint of titles and. evidences. The judge being fee, the perfon concerned lays hisclaim, pro duceth his evidences, and pleads them ; his adyerfaries,endeavouring all that in them lyes, to invalidate them, and difannul his plea, to call him in his claim : in the midft of the tryal, a perfon of known and approved integrity comes into the court, and gives teftimony fullyand diteddy on the behalf of the claimer, whichReps the mouths of all his adverfaries, and fills the man that pleaded with joy and fatisfadion. So is it in this cafe. The foul, .by the power of its own confcience, is brcught before the law of God ; there a man puts in his plea, that he is a child of God, that !le belongs toGod's family ; and for this end, produceth all his evidences, every thing, whereby faith gives hint zn intereft in God : Satan, in the mean time, oppofeth with all Ids might; fin and law affift him, many flaws are found in lais evidences; the truth of them all is iueltioned, and the foul hangs in fufpence, as to the iffue. In the midit of the plea and contri, the Comforter conies; and by a word of promoifo, or otherwife, overpowers the heart with a comfortable perfusfion, and bears down all objections, that lais plea is good and that lae is a child of God. And there- fore it is faid of him, wpcpcutroócn7i wrestuzezr i h : when our fpirits are pleading their right and title, he comes in and bears witnefs on our fide: at the faine rime, enablingus to put forth ads of filial obedience, kind and child like, which is called, crying Abba, Farber, Gal. iv. 6. Remember dill the manner of the Spirit's working before-mentioned; that he dorli it effectually, voluntarily, and freely. Hence fometimesthe difpure hangs long ; the taufe is pleading many years : the law feeins fometimes to pre- vail fin and faran to rejoyce; and the poor foul is filled with dread -about its inheritance, perhaps its own witnefs, from its faith, fanctification, former experience, keeps up the plea with tome life and comfort ; but the work -is not done, the conqueft is not fully obtained, until the Spirit who worketh freely and effectaall, when, and how he will, conies inwith his teftimony alto : cloathing lais power with a word of promife, he makes all parties- concerned to attend unto him, and puts an end to the controverfy. Herein he gives us holy communion with himfelf. The foul knows his voice when he fpeaks : nec hominem fnnat; there is fomenting too great in it, to be the effe& of a created power. When the Lord Jefus-Chrift, at one word Gilled the ragingof the fea andwind, all that were with him, knew there was divine power at hand, Math. iv. 39. And when the Holy Ghoft by one wordGills the tumults anddorms that are railed in the foal, giving it an immediate calm and fecurity, it knows lais divine power, and rejoyces in his prefence. q. He feats us. We are foaled y the Holy Spirit ofpromife, Egli. i. 13. And grieve not the Holy Spirit whereby yore are fooled o the day of'redem- ption, chap. iy. 3ci. I am not very clear in the certain peculiar intendment
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