DISCOURSIC XI. The ordinary Witness of the Spirit, i10\í. viii. 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. THE FIRST PART. HERE is a sacred honour and dignity conferred upoemen by a patent from heaven : Thepatent is the scripture, or word of God, and the dignity is, that we are made his children. Here are also two distinct witnesses to this title ofhonour ; viz. our own spirits, and theblessed Spirit of God : 1'hc Spirit itself witnesses with our spirits, that we are the children ofthe Most High. Every one that reads the text may plainly discern, -that, by the Spirit itself we must understand the Holy Ghost, or third person in the ever blessed Trinity, who is sent to dwell and operate in the hearts of christians ; as it is expressed in several of theforegoing verses. And it is as manifest, that our own spirit here signifies that principle within us, distinct front our flesh, whereby we are enabled to think, reason, compare things together, and to judge concerning them. This is sometimes called the mind, the heart, . the conscience, the soul; and it is termed our spirit here in the words before us. The Spirit ofGod may sometimes operate by himself alone, in a very extraordinary manner, upon the souls of men, and give ,them immediate and divine assurancesof their adoption and their interest in the loveof God, as his children; And this favour was . sometimes bestowed in the primitivedays of christianity, when the saints were called in an uncommon manner, to undertake ser- vices of uncommon difficulty. But the words of my text seem rather chiefly to refer to that more ordinary and usual testimony which the Spirit ofGod gives to our sonship, by assistingour own spirits to attain the knowledge of this privilege. In order to improve these words, I shall endeavour, I. To lead your thoughts on in a few propositions, towards a plain andeasy notionof this ordinary or assistingwitness of the Spirit of God. II. Shew what methods the Holy Spirit gene- rally takes in this work=IlI. Propose some advices concerning it. And then IV. I shall give my thoughts also concerning the "extraordinarywitness of theSpirit.
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