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DISC.
XII.]
ESTRAORJ)ÏNART
WITNESS
or
TILE
SeIRiT.
and
unworthiness
;
as holy
Job,
when he saw
God
in
some
more uncommon
manifestations
of
"
his
power
and
glory, he
abhorred
himself
in
dust and
ashes
;"
.Tog
xlii. 5, 6. So
Isaiah
when he
had beheld the
Lord
sit-
ting
upon
a
throne,
high,
and lifted up, Woe
is
me,
saith
Ile,
"
I
am
a
man
of
uncican
ps;"
Is.
vi.
1
-5.
But
vain
delusions
puff up
the
soul with
a
high
conceit
of
it-
self;
as
Simon,
Magus, when,
by
the
power
of
the devil,
he
performed
some strange feats,
"
he gave
out that he
was
some
great
person
;"
Acts
viii.
9,
10.
Many
other
instances
of
the
like kind might be
produced
out of
tho
history
of
the
christian church.
II.
By
this testimony
of
the
Spirit
tl\e
soul
is led
to
a
more
sensible
dependance
on divine grace, having an
in-
ward and effectual
conviction
how
dark and
weak
it
is
in
itself,
and how powerful
is
the grace
of
God, and
the
operation
of
the Spirit
;
it makes the soul
run
to
the
pro-
tection and succour
of
almighty
grace;
whereas vain
delusions
of
the
fancy,
or temptations
of
the devil,
rar
Cher
lead
the
soul away from divine grace,
and incline
it
to a
sort
of
self
-
sufficiency
and dependance upon
its owu
,attainments, its
own
light,
and
its own
strength.
III.
The
witness
of
the Spirit does more establish the.
soul
in
the
great doctrines
of
the
gospel,
anci
particularly
in
faith on
Christ
Jesus.
Many of
these
immediate tes-
timonies
of
old were given to the primitive
christians
with
this design,
to
confirm them
in
the
doctrines
of
grace,
and
in
the faith
of
Christ Jesus. When
St.
Paul
was
transported
into
the third heaven
;"
Cor.
xii.
and had
doubtless
an uncommon
manifestation
of
the love
of
God
;
as soon
as
the
next danger
and
trial appeared,
he
besought
the Lord
importunately, and
could
not
be
sa-
tisfied till he
received this answer from
Christ,
"
my
grace
is
sufficient
for thee
;"
Cor.
xii.
9.
He
was
weak
in
himself but strong
in
Christ. But,
on the
other
hand,'
it
bas
been
evident-too
often, when the devil has
endea-
voured
to
delude weak creatures
in
this
respect,
he
has
drawn them
off from
Christ
or
filled
their imaginations
with some
strange errors,
and led
them
away
into
false
and foolish opinions,
contrary
to
the
doctrines
of
the
gospel.
The
blessed
Spirit
will
perform
his
office
when
he becomes
a
Comforter, he
will be
an
advocate for
;lirist,
for
so
the
word
paì'actetos
also signifies;
"
he