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34

:NWARD WITNESS

TO

CHRISTIANITY.

tSERM.

III.

diligence

I

am employed

for the

honour

of

his

name

in

the

world.

These

things

I

find

wrought

in me

by

the

gospel

of

Christ The

discoveries

of

the

nature

and works

of

God,

by his gospel,

have

filled my

soul with holy won-

der,

and

bowed

my

spirit

down

to

adore

him.

The re-

velations

of

his

amazing

condescension and

love,

have

raised and

fired

my

heart

to

love

him

;

the examples

of

superlative

piety

I

meet

with in this

gospel, have

excited

my holy

imitation

;

,

and the motives proposed

here,

are

so

awful

and

so

alluring,

that

all

my

powers

of

hope

and

fear are joined

and engaged

to

constrain

my

obedience

to

the

excellent and

divine

precepts

of

this religion.

I

feel

that I

am

quite

altered

from what

I.

once

was,

I

am

a

new

creature, and the

change

is

divine

and heavenly.

There

is

something within

me,

that

bears

witness,

that

ray religion

is

from

God.

II.

It

is

a

witness

that

will,

in some

measure,

appear

in the

life,

wheresoever

it

is

written

in

the

heart

:

For

eternal

life

is

an active principle, it

will be

discovering

and exercising

itself.

Is

it

possible,

that

a

man

should

have the

pardon

of

his

sins,

and

sweet peace

of

consci-

ence,

a

sense

of

the

love

of God,

who

is

an infinite

good,

a joyful satisfaction

in

his

heavenly favour,

and

manifest nothing

of

this in his

aspect and be-

haviour

?

That

he

should

shew

no serenity

of

counte-

nance,

no

sweetness

of

temper,

no

inward

joy

?

Is

it

possible

that

he

should have an

utter

aversion

to

sin,

a

hatred of

all

iniquity

in his

heart, and

not

make

it ap-

pear

in

his

life?

That

he should

maintain

a holy

con-

tempt of

this world,

and

scorn of

it,

in

comparison

of

the

future

glories

that

his eye

is

fixed

upon,

so

warm a

zeal for

God, and

so

hearty a

love to men,

and

not

ma-

nifest

it

to the world

?

Surely

his

life

will

be

above,

where

his

heart

is

;

and

his

heart

will

he in heaven,

where

his

treasures are.

Our conversation

is

in

heaven,

says

the

blessed

Paul, under

the influence

of

this religion

and these hopes,

Phil.

iii. 20,

21.

It

is

true, indeed, this

is

a

testimony

that

cannot

be

communicated

to others,

in

the

same

measure and man-

ner that

it

is

felt

by

the persons

that

believe.

In

this

respect it

is

like the hidden manna, which none

knows

but

they

that

taste

of

it;

yet

those

that

feed

upon

it

daily

will

discover it

in some

outward

appearances;

as

5