DISCOURSE XI. 297 ledge of our sonship, that our spirits maybe able tobear a wit- ness, that we are the children of God. Blessed are they who, upon such an inward search and ex- amination of themselves,can find such marks of his children. Blessed are we, if .our ownhearts condemnus not Then wemay assure our hearts before Jesus our Judge, and have confidence at his coming; 1 John iii. 19-21. Happy is our state, if our spí- sits bear witness that we are the children of God, by this inward and impartial reflectionupon ourselves, and the comparison ofour hearts with this rule of judgment. 1V. Though God has given us this power of reflecting and comparing ourselves with characters laid down in his word, yet there is need of the assisting light ofhis Spirit to search withour spirits, and to witness to his ownwork in our hearts. We are toó often ready to deceive ourselves in this matter two ways : -1. In some persons, pride and self- flattery are so prevalent, that they always think better of themselves than they deserve, and are ready to pronounce themselves the children of Hod, 'without just evidence and sufficient ground.-2. Others, who are humble and sincere christians, have their spirits so de-. pressed, either by a melancholy constitution, by a natural self:, diffidence, by weakness of body, or by heavy afflictions, that theycan see nothing good inthemselves ; they cannot read any characters of divine grace in their hearts, though grace shinew visibly in their whole conversation, to the view of their fellow- christians. On these accounts, and some others also, we stand in need of divine assistance in this work of self-examination. And there- fore it is, that though we arecommanded tosearch ourselves, yet we have the examples of saints in the scripture, that desire the, Spirit of God to search them too. With what zeal and fervency cloth holy :David.intreat that God would search hbn. See Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24. when he hadbeen examining his ownheart in the. two former verses, he concludes, Search me, O Lord, and tryme. As we cannot work grace in our own hearts, so, in anhour of darkness, we cannot clearly discover that grace that is there, to the full satisfaction of our consciences, unless the same. Spirit that wrought it, is pleased to reveal it to us by assist- ing influences. It is by observations and assistances borrowed from the sun, that hour-lines are drawn on a sun-dial, and they abide there the dark ; but we cannot find what hour of the clay it is, unless the sun shines upon those hour-lines: So grace in the heart is wrought by the Holy Spirit, and it abides still cream the darkest night of temptation, when once the Spirit of God has wrought it there, it shall never be quite lost; for the seed of God remains : But the soul cannot discern it clearly, so as .to take comfortfrom
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