310 / 652
SOO;
EXTRAORDINARY
WITNESS
OE
THE
SPIRIT.
DISC.
Xtr..
sudden, the
other
is
more durable
;
this
is
only
a cordial
to
encourage
us in
an
hour of
danger,
or
support
us in
a
fainting
season
;
the
other
is
our
common
food,
and
our
daily refreshment.
It
has been
said
of
this
favour
;
it
is
rara
hora,_brecis
mora
:
A visit seldom bestowed,
and
of
short
'continuance.
3."
The
ordinary
witness
of
the Spirit
of
God
with
our
spirits, proving
our regeneration
and adoption in
a
rational
way,
may in some
measure
be
.made out to
ethers;
but
the
extraordinary
witness
of
the Spirit
is
like
the
"
white stone
of
absolution, and
the
new
name writ-
ten
in
it
;"
Rev.
ii..
17.
which
none knows
but
he
that
receives
it.
It
is
like hidden manna,
with which
God,
at
special
seasons, may feed
his
children
in
secret.
4.
The extraordinary
witness
of the Spirit
fills
the
soul with
great
and exceeding joy, and
brings
it,
as
it
were, within the confines
of
heaven;
It
is
"
joy unspeak-
able, and
glorified
;"
as
the apostle
Peter
calls
it;
1
.Pet.
i.
8.
The other maintains
the
soul in such a
degree
of
peace, comfort, and
well-
grounded
hope,
as
carries the
christian
onward
through
the
difficulties
and
duties
of
life,
though without such
raptures
of
inward joy.
There
is
an unknown sensation
of
heavenly light and
love,
which
runs
through
the
spirit
of
a christian,
under
such
extra-
ordinary assurances of
divine
love
;
and it
has been
with
a saint at
such a time as
it
was with
Peter
in
the
mount,,
when he said,
" Lord,
it
is
good
for
us
to be
here
;"
Mat.
xvii.
4.
When
he
was
overwhelmed
with
revela-
tion
and pleasure,
such
a
soul has felt
more
than
feeble
nature
was
able
to bear, and
has cried out,
"
it
is
enough,
Lord
;
or,
it
is
too much for a state
of
flesh
and
blood
;
Lord,
either
withhold thy comforts, or
enlarge
the
vessel; for I
cannot
bear
these
joys.
51'This
extraordinary
witness
of
the Spirit
doth
not
belong
to
every saint.
Many
a christian,
it
may
be,
passes
the
whole
course
of
his life,
and practises
a regu-
lar
faith and
holiness for many
years, without
this excess
of
joy, this assurance
of
God's
love. Believers
are
ge
nerally led
on
in
a
rational
way
of
evidence
and
hope;.
and walking in the paths
of
holiness, having good
hope
through
grace,
hold fast
an humble
confidence
unto
the
end.
The extraordinary
witness
is
exceeding rare
and
-uncommon,
at
least
in
our
days.