SERMON II. The Inward Witness to Christianity. I JOHN N. 10.E He that believeth on theSon of God, hath the Witness in himself. Tx7 THE SECOND PART. VVHEN such a text as this is named for the foundation of discourse, some nicer hearers begin to grow jealous, that the preacher is entering into mystery and inward light, and they ex- pect to hear no clear and solid reasoning, nor any justness of thought. Thus blinded by their own prejudices, they prevent their improvement by the ministry of the word ; and because they have heard the experiences of christians wittily ridiculed, they resolve to believe that nothing of experimental religion can be justified to strict reason, or have any thing to do with argument. But how impious, and flow unreasonable a fancythis is, will sufciently, appear, if it can be proved that every true christiau has a most rational and incontestible evidence of the truth of his religion, drawn from the change that is hereby made in his own heart. If it can once be made evident, that eternal life isbegun in every soulthat believes in Jesus Christ, this will confirm christianity with a high hand, and confute the wicked scandal for ever. I have begun this attempt in the first discourse, and have shewn that eternal life is composed of twoparts, viz. holiness and happiness. The happiness of it consists in a just and comfortable sense of theforgiveness of sin, and a lively hope and persuasionof the special love of God, and the delightful harmony of all the natural powers, viz. reason, conscience, the will and the passions. Where these are found, heaven is begun ; eternallife has takenpossession of the soul ; and this evidently proves the doctrineahat effected it tobe divine. Now, if an atheist, a heathen, or a Jew, should cavil and say, " Arc not all your hopes mere presumption ? Are not your sense and persuasion of the love of God mere delusions of fancy, and raptures ofwarm imagination, without any ground, or solid foundation of reason ?" The christian may boldly refute such 'suspicions. These are nó vain transports, no foolish visions of hope and joy, because as high and glorious as my comforts and
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=