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BERM

III.

'INWARD

WITNESS

TO

CHRISTIANITY.

SS

truth

of your

religion, and

of

my

divine commission, ye

who are

conmerted

by my

gospel;

ye

Corinthians,

who

were once

vile

as

the

vilest,

and

upon

whose-

souls

the

devil,

by his

temptations and

by his

power, had

inscribed

many

dark characters, and

seemed

to

seal you, over,

and mark you

to

damnation,

ye

are

now

the

epistle

of

Christ,

ye

have those dismal

characters

rksed

out, and

ye

have 'golden

and bright

ones inscribed.

The

image

of

our Lord

Jesus

Christ,

who

is

eternal

life,

appears

fairly

written

on

your souls: Ye are

the epistle

of

Christ, and

eternal

life

is,

begun

in

you,

and thus the

gospel witnesses its

own

truth

and

divinity

by

an

internal

evidence.

The

gospel

of

Christ

is

like

a

seal

or

signet,

of

such

inimitable and

divine graving,

that

no

created

power

can

counterfeit

it;

and

when

the

spirit

of

God

has

.stamped this gospel on

the

soul,

there are

so

many,

holy

and

.happy lines drawn

or

impressed

thereby;

só many

sacred signatures

and divine

features

stamped:

on

the

mind,

that

give

certain

evidence

both

of

a

heavenly

sig-

net

and

a

heavenly

operator.

A' christian, who

has

well

studied the doctrines and

proofs

of

christianity,

can

give

sufficient

reasons

for

the

truth of

them,

and for

his

believing them.

He

:

finds

what

is

sufficiently

satisfactory,

to confirm his

belief

in

the outward

testimonies,

in

the

miracles

wrought

in

the

world,

and the prophecies

fulfilled:

I

have. (says

he)

in

my

understanding

many

arguments and evidences

of

the

truth

of

the

gospel,

and

my

reason

is

convinced

that

it

is

a divine

religion.

But there

is

a miracle wrought

in

my

heart,

that

is

of

more

efficacy

than

this,

and

is

to

me a more convincing

proof of the

gospel

of

Christ;

eternal

life

is

begun in me.

I.

find my

conscience,

that

was

disturbed with the guilt

of

sin,

established

in

peace,

upon

solid

hopes

of

pardon.

I

have an

interest

in

the

love

of

God, and

lively

sensations

of

that

love

; Í

have

a

hatred of

all

sin,

I

live

above the world, and have

a

holy

contempt of

the

trifles,

businesses, and

cares

of

this

life;

I

delight

in

the company

of

him

that

dwells

in

heaven;

I

find in my

soul

that

I

love

him,

and

love

those

who

are

like

him;

I

walk, as

seeing

him,

who

is

invisible;

I

have

a

zeal

for

his glory,

and

kith

active

VOL.

I.

19