596 HOW THE SPIRITCONVINCES OP SIN. read, may have a veil over it; the word is as a glass wherein we are_ordered to look to see the spots of our souls ; but the Spirit is as the sun, without.whose light the glass is useless. When we are in the night of dark- ness and of sorrowful perplexing thoughts, then the Spirit shines in his own lightinto the soul, and sin is.dissovered as the true reason why God corrects us and contends with us. Perhaps the soul has-in its own enquiry been perplexed, but when the Spirit comes it is with demon- stration and power. Whether:it be todiscover righteous- ness or sin, it makes the soul hear what Providence before spoke, and read plainly what is written in'the word ; it shews in what part of Scripture the soul may read its own case and circumstances, and teaches how to apply it. There is no teacher like the Spirit of God. It is an affecting and self condemning discovery of sin that the Spirit of God gives us.. Should we, by a due and rational consideration of the word of God and his providence, find out such and such sin in our hearts and lives, for which we suppose God would contend with us, yet we should not be much concerned about it, unless the Spirit convinces us. There áre a thousand instances of this in a Christian nation ; mankind cannot.be so-stupid and brutish as to have lost all- sense of religion, or all inward reproaches of conscience ; reason itself, examining- the heart and life by the rules of the law of God written in the con- science, must needs convince and condemn, but'it cannot effect or move, or make the-soul mourn, unless the Spirit convinces. I might appeal to the conscience of many,._ that when they have by a reflection on their own hearts and lives, and by comparing them with the word of God, found out and discovered sin they have not been touched with shame, nor had the guilt-of it loading and burden- ing the conscience, unless the Spirit has accompanied these meditations and reflections. We have'often been Willing to Overlook sin, and pass -by a . beloved lust, till the Spirit has drawn it forth and presented it to our view ; we have been ready if we found it out to let the enemy escape, but no sooner has God discovered sin to our souls but we rejoice to find our enemy, and n-,ourn to think there should be such an enemy within us. We then say to sin as Elijah to Ahab : " I have found thee r
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=