will be at great uncertainty in judging of his state: for instead of making the word of God, he will make his comforts the ground of his faith, and as these are more or less, so will his faith be. When he has comfortable feelings then he will think himself a believer, and when he has none, then he will think himself an unbeliever, changing his judging of himself, as his feelings do, like the wind, and varying as his comforts do, like the weather. This is a common case. I have seen the sad effects of it in the lives of many of my acquaintance, who from being taught thus to judge of themselves, were tost about for several years, up and down, now comforted, then doubting, and could not get any solid establishment, till the Word and Spirit of God convinced them, that sense was not to be the ground of their believing, nor the object to which they were to look. Sense judges by feeling, and report what it sees. Sense says, now I am in the favour of God: for I feel it, Now he is my God; for I find him so, I am comforted. Now he demonstrates it to me: for I feel nearness to him in prayer, and sweet answers. Now I am duties and services are acceptable: for I am quite lively in them, and I come from them with warm affections. Now I cannot doubt, for I feel the assurance of his love to me. And when sense has lost those comfortable feelings, then it draws contrary inferences.

sure my

-Now I am not in the favour of God: for I do not feel it. Now he is not my God for I do not find him so, I am not comforted, &c. What can be the issue of this, but continual wavering and changing? For our feelings are sometimes more, sometimes less, as every believer experiences. What an unsettled state then must he be in, who has no way to judge of himself, but by those changeable things? What room does he leave for continual doubting, and what trouble and misery does he thereby bring upon himself, as well as dishonour, to the unchangeableness of God in his na ture and promises?

If the poor weak believer should say, I am convinced VOL. I.

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of this, and I should be glad to have my faith so fixed, that I might be freed from doubts and fears. Then let it rest upon the word of God, which is the only ground of believing, and is therefore called the word of faith, upon which faith is built, and by which it is nourished and grows up. The believer should receive and rely upon what God hath spoken, and because he hath spoken it for his word changeth not. It abideth the same for ever: therefore what it truly reports, stands upon an immoveable rock. Sense and feeling may report things contrary to it, but the believer can silence them with God hath spoken it: for his faith has evidence of things not seen, and he does not form his judgment by the things which are seen, but by the things which are not seen. Generally speaking faith judges the very contrary to what sense does, and will not believe what sense perceives. Abraham against hope believed in hope, so do all his children. They believe the pardon of sin, victory over sin, and the death of sin, the immortality of the body, though crumbled to dust and atoms, the second coming of Christ, and the eternal state of happiness or misery. Faith looks at God's word, calling the things which be not, as though they were, and is commonly forced to contradict sense. Sense judges from what it sees-Faith from what God says. Sense is governed by what appears-Faith by what God says shall be. Sense looks inward-Faith looks outward. Faith can answer the seeming contradictions, which sense opposes to it, from the word of God which cannot be broken. And when

sense is ready to despair, and all its fine frames and feelings are gone, then it is the believer's happy privilege, still to trust in the Lord, and to have a good hope because of the word of his grace.

But perhaps thou are ready to say, it is written, that there is great joy and peace in believing, yea, joy unspeakable and full of glory, True, these are what faith produces, and not what it is. These are the fruits of faith, which it brings forth in most abundance from the

inexhaustible fulness of Jesus. The more simple the believer is, the more he eyes Christ the object of faith, and the word the ground of faith, the more clear and distinct will the actings of his faith be, and consequently it will bring greater peace into the conscience, and more joy into the affections. But still these fruits are not faith no more than the fruit is the tree. The fruits do not go before faith, but follow it, and grow from it. This is God's order. He gives us his word to be the ground of our believing, and by believing all things promised in the word are made ours, then we go on comfortably, and are happy; but when sense is put in the place of the word, then the consequence is, that weak believers have got a changeable rule to judge of themselves by, which hinders them from being establish ed in believing, aud from attaining the promised peace and joy.

Some may begin to object, what are you against all lively frames, and sensible comforts? No, God forbid. I would have them spring from the right cause, that they might be more pure and fixed, than they commonly are. God's word and promises, are an unchangeable foundation to rest upon, even when sensible feelings are gone; because Christ revealed in the word, and laid hold of in the promises, changeth not. Therefore, reader, for thine own sake, and for the glory of God, take heed what thou buildest thy faith upon. Beware of making any thing, that sense reports to thee, the ground of it, but rest it upon that which abideth for ever. The word of God is a sure foundation. It will never fail thee. Thou mayest safely depend upon it, because it cannot be broken, and stedfastly rely upon Christ to make its promises good to thee. There is thy object. Look at him. And since he is thine, thy Saviour and thy God, make use of him as such, and trust body and soul, and all things belonging to them in his hands, and among the rest, thy comforts. Be content he should give them to thee as seemeth him good. Set not thy heart upon them, nor follow him, as the

multitude did for the sake of his loaves and fishes, and the dainties that he gave them, who, when these were with-held, soon forsook their kind Benefactor. Thou art by faith to make up all thy happiness in him, and in him only; and he himself being thine, let him give thee or take away what he will besides, thou hast enough. What! is not this comfort enough, that thou hast got the pearl of great price, the infinitely rich inestimably precious Jesus? Who has the wisdom of God to contrive what is best for thee, boundless love to dispose him, and almighty power to enable him to give it thee, and he has promised it; canst thou desire more? Walk then with him by faith, and not by sight. When the word of God is the ground of thy faith, which rests there, and is grown to a fixed settlement, then thou wilt be enabled to go on comfortably, whatever thy frames and feelings be; yea, when these are at the lowest ebb, thou wilt not be thereby discouraged. Suppose thou art walking in darkness, thou canst walk by faith; because thou hast a promise, "Who is among 66 you that walketh in darkness and hath no light? Let "him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his "God," Isa. 1. 10. Still let him trust and believe. Why? Because God is his God still. Mind that, his God still; this blessed relation still subsists, and faith may draw comfort from it in the darkest hour. Suppose thou art in heaviness through manifold temptations, the word says to thee, "heaviness may endure for "a night, but joy cometh in the morning," here thou "mayest quiet thy heavy heart, and rest with confidence, till the Lord deliver thee out of thy temptations. Suppose God hideth his face from thee, thou hast the example of those in the same case, "I will wait

"for the Lord that hideth his face from the house "of Jacob, and will look for him," Isa. viii. 17. Wait in faith looking for him, and thou shalt see the light of his countenance. Suppose all other comforts fail; thou hast one still, worth more than all." This God

is my God for ever and ever. He will never leave

me nor forsake me." This is the happiness of the true believer, he is enabled to maintain his confidence, when sensible feelings are no more. And thou seest reader, how this happiness is attained, and how it is preserved. It is by trusting to things which change not, the word of God, the Son of God and his promises, all which are in him, yea, made in him, and in him, Amen fulfilled by him. May the Lord help thee simply to trust his word, and to live upon Christ for the fulfilling of it, and then thou wilt indeed get, what thou art now seeking in vain, a comfortable frame, and will be enabled to maintain it against all the discouragements of sense. To that end search the scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation; and let it be thy daily request to the Lord, to make thee strong in faith, that thou mayest not stagger at his promises through unbelief, but mayest against hope believe in hope. Beg of him, when sense goes contrary to the word, to enable thee still to believe it, and not to doubt of Christ's faithfulness to fulfil it—and ask for strength to walk every moment by faith and not by sight. Thus the Lord will carry thee on safely and sweetly from faith to faith, till thou receive the end of thy faith, even the salvation of thy soul. May it be so. Amen.

St. Paul has been my guide hitherto. He says, Heb. v. 13. that a babe in Christ is one who is unskilful in the word of righteousness. To this determination of his, I have had an eye all along, and have accordingly endeavoured to remove those hinderances out of the way of young beginners, which chiefly arise from their unskilfulness in the word of righteousness. Righteousness signifies strict justice, with respect to God it is paying him the full demands of his holy law: in this sense there is none of us righteous, no not one. God-man Christ Jesus, the surety of his people, came to work out such a righteousness for them, and the word reveals it, sets it before them in its infinite freeness, and in its infinite sufficiency to justify from all things. The word is also the means in the hand of the Spirit, of bringing them with the heart to believe unto

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