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DISC.
3111:;
tXTRÀORDINARY
WITNESS
OF
THE
SPIRIT.
3O1
I
proceed now
to
finish
this discourse,
by
offering
to
your thoughts
a few
advices
concerning
these witnessings
'bf
the
Spirit of God, both
in
his
ordinary and extraordi-
nary
ways.
1.
Though
you have never felt
any
such
immediate
influences
of
the Spirit
Of
God,
giving
you
an
extraordi-
nary assurance of your
interest
in
his
love,
yet
have
a care
of
ridiculing and reproaching
these
peculiar
and
uncom-
mon
operations
of
the
Holy Spirit Take heed
of pro-
nouncing them
all
at
once, the
delusions
of
the
devil,
the
visions
of
an
heated
fancy,
or
vain and idle
dreams.
It
is
certain
that God
has bestowed some
such favours
on
men
in
the
primitive
days
of
christianity.
It
is
certain
also,
that
there
-is
no
place of scripture
that
declares,
that
these influences
are utterly
ceased, or
that God
will
bestow no
more
such divine favours.
It
is
certain yet
further, that
wise,
and judicious, and
holy
men,
have
had
very
extraordinary
impressions
of.this kind
made
on
their
souls,
so
that
they were
almost
constrained
to
believe
that
they
were
divine
;
and the
effects
of
these impressions
have been
holy
and glorious
:
We should
seta
guard
therefore
on
our hearts
and
our
tongues, lest
we
cast
a
reproach
and scandal
on
such
sacred appearances,. which
the Spirit of God
will
hereafter
acknowledge
to
have been
his
own
work.
2.
Let not
humble christians,
who
walk with
God
ac-
cording
to
the
ordinary
methods
of
his
grace, be
discou-
raged, though they have never
found
this
extraordinary
witness
of
the
Spirit,
nor
tasted
of
these
peculiarfavours.
Value
the
evident
marks
and characters
of
the children
of
God, wrought
in
your
hearts, more
than
ecstacies
ofjoy
and pleasure.
Value mortification
tó
sin
more than
rap-
tures
;
for mortification
is
a certain
sign
that
the Spirit
of
God
dwells in us,
and
that
we
are heirs
of
life
;
Rom.
viii.
13.
"
If
you
by
the Spirit
do
mortify
the deeds
of'
the
flesh you
shall
live."
Heaven
is
the place
of
com-
plete
joy
;
heaven
is
the
state
where sight
and
sense shall
.
be exercised
;
but
we
are here
ordained
to
"
live by
faith;"
2
Cor.
v.
7.
We
may have
the assisting presence
of
the
Spirit
of adoption, and
by
that
Spirit
may say
unto
God, "
Abba,
Father," without
the
extraordinary
wit
-
nessing
of that
good Spirit.
Dare
not
believe any
sudden raptures
to
proceed