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SEAM.

III.

INWARD WITNESS

TO

CHRISTIANITY.

3T

ed, convinced

-of

sin

and

of righteousness; they learnt

their

ruin

and

their

recovery

at

once,

through the atone-

ment and

grace

of Christ

:

The

poor

came home

en-

riched with various

graces

:

the

blind see wonders,

and

the

lame

return.:

leaping

and rejoicing in the hope

of

glory.

This

gives

plain

proof

of a

divine doctrine, and

a

divine-

attending spirit

and

power.

It

is

the

blessed

spirit of

God,

who dictated

these

divine

truths

of

the

gospel,

that

accompanies

them with

his own

power to

the

minds

and

consciençes

of those

who

hear

the gospel preached,

and

by his own ,power

works this glorious change

in

the hearts- and

lives

of

sinners:

It

is

through the 'sanctification

of

the spirit,

and

the

belief

of

the truth,

that

sinners

are

called

by.

the

gospel,

to

the obtaining

-of

the

glory

of

Our

Lord

Jesus

Christ,

2

Thess.

ii.

13,

14.

It

is by

the

preach-

ing

of

this gospel,

attended'

with this

spirit,

that-the

fornicators and -adulterers become

chaste,

the

thieves

and extortioners are made honest and

just

; _.the

covetous

earth

-worms become

heavenly-

minded,

the

drunkards

are turned

sober, and these heirs

of

hell

are made

fit

to

inherit the

kingdom

df God. The unclean àre

washed;

the

unholy are sanctified,

and the

guilty

justified

in

the

name

of

the

Lord

rJesus

and

by

the

,Spirit

of

our God,

1

Con

vi.

9,

10,

1

1.-

It

is

the

blessed

Spirit the Com-

forter,

-that

speaks peace

to

the-consciences

ofbeliëvers;

through

the

atoning

blood

of Christ; it

is

he

sheds

abroad the

love-

of

God

in

their

hearts,

by

believing

the

gospel, Rom.

v.

5. and

it

is-he

that

fills

them

with love

to God and

to

their neighbour;

for this love

is

the

fruit

of

the spirit,

Gal.

v. 22:

and

when

the Spirit

of God

shines

upon

his own

work

in

the soul

of

man,

and

makes

this

glorious

change

appear

to the self-examining,

chris-

tián,

'it

is

a

nòble testimony-that

it

gives-

to .the

truth and

divinity

of

the gospel

of

Christ.

IV.

-This

witness to

the

truth of.christianity is certain

and

infallible, in the

nature

and reason

of

things

and

where this divine

life

arises

to

a

considerable height,

it

gives

a full assurance

to the

christian,

that

his

religion

is

true.

Eternal

life

begun in the

soul,

according to

the

description

of

it,

cannot

rise from

a

false

doctrine

;

it

must

proceed

from the

God

of

truth,.

who

himself

is

DJ-