bÍtbtNAlt'Y tbttlPE95 bF t3tE Si 1RrT, tD1sC. Weaned from this life as from a state of sire and sorrow, and drawn nearer to heaven, it is acomfortable sign that we belong to the family ofGod. 7. They that gain a victory over the world, and live above the reach of the frowns and the smiles of it, they are the children of God too : The-apostle John assures us of this; 1 John v. 4. He that is born ofGodovercon- eth the world. 8. They are the Children of 'Cod that walk as Christ walked and live as Christ lived : They that follow the glorious example of ttie original and first-begotten Son, have the mark of true children ; Rom. viii. 29. " God has 'predestinated all his children to be conformed to the image of his Son Christ Jesus. I might sum up all the foregoing evidences of sonship in this general character of likeness and conformity to our Redeemer: For if we consult that text; 1 ..foi m t. '6. ive shall 'find that the water andblood are the two great testimonies that are ,given to the sonship of our Lord Jesas. This is he that came by water and by blood. -And -as °he was manifested to be the -Son of -God 'by the purity of his life, and the blood of martyrdom, which also was a blood of 'atonement, so are we mani- fested to be the children of God. "The blood is our wit- ness, ''w:hen we by faith lay hold of the atoning blood of Jesus, and commit ou-r guilty souls to -'pardon'ing mercy, -to be -accepted through that blood of his sacrifice. And when we are sprinkled with the clean water of sanctifica- tion, or baptizedwith the Hóly'Spirit-acrd made holy, as f-esus-is holy, the we have the "witness of the water too. Thus; by the witness of the water and the bloód, Jesus the first Son is evi 1 aced, and we 'also appear to be chil- dren. lid Prop. As the word of God discovers to us, a.nd describes the characters of his children, so the Spirit of God -works these heavenly dispositions in us, -these happy characters of out- sonship. By nature we are the chil- dren of -wrath, the 'mere seed of the first Adam, and the offspring -of Satan, -rather than of God; in our .corrupt natural state, we are led -by the " 'prince of the power of the air ; -we are children of-disobedience, and ofdeath;" 'There are none of these 'divine marks upon -us. It is the blessed Spirit that forms these Filial graces
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