of my heart, and my portion for ever."-" In the day when I cried thou anfweredft me, and ftrengthenedft me with ftrength in my foul." Pfalm cxxxviii. 3. To this agrees the prophet: "But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his tranfgreffion, and to Ifracl his fin." Micah iii. 8. Again: one of his operations produceth forrow, which rifes from a fenfe of fin, being grieved at it, and hating ourselves for the commiffion of it, and mourning after God, and after forgiveness and reconciliation with him; which forrow is drawn forth by discoveries of his goodness, and ftirred up by the Holy Spirit, who teftifies of Chrift to us, and who produceth this godly forrow, which terminates in repentance. Under this operation Hannah endured her afflic tion of barrenness and perfecution; and under the same she went to Shiloh.

Another of his operations is often felt in prayer: when he quickens us to feel our need; fhews us the things that are freely given us of God; furnishes our mouths with arguments, and our fouls with energy, till nothing in heaven or earth can ftand before us. This is helping our infirmities, and making interceffion for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

As a spirit of faith, he will at times equip the foul with fuch confidence, that even things impoffible to nature are performed without a doubt.

an

an if, or a but. Under this operation Sarah received ftrength to conceive; and under the fame David met the Goliath of Gath.

Almighty faith the promise fees,

And trufts in Chrift alone;
Laughs at impoffibilities,

And fays it fhall be done.

Again; when a child of God is called to endure a great fight of affliction, in order that he may endure them, and not be moved by them, he is wonderfully influenced with meeknefs and patience. Hence we read fo much of the meekness of Mofes, and of the patience of Job.

In defending and protecting the believer against the cunning craftinefs of those heretics which circulate damnable herefics, the Spirit's power is not a little seen in setting truth before their eyes, and in applying it with power to the heart, so as to render it impoffible for the most subtle feducer to feduce a chofen veffel. Thus he guides us into all truth, and is called "the fpirit of a found mind."

Nor are his influences lefs upon an awakened finner, whom, as a fpirit of life, he quickens to feel every fin brought to his mind and memory, and the guilt of them; yea, he makes his fenfations so keen, that the wrath, the frowns, rebukes, and reproofs, of God are all felt and feared; yea, every word of truth that militates against him is

felt,

felt, and the poor finner trembles at it; and wonderfully is fuch a poor creature fupported under the weight of guilt and wrath that lies on him, and the fore buffetings and accufations of Satan, though it is imperceptible to him. But fure I am that no foul, without almighty power and momentary support, can stand upon this ground; black despair, or wild deftruction, muft enfue. But as our day is fo fhall our ftrength be.

The fame Spirit that convinces us of our fin fupports us under our convictions.

Another of his operations is that of a comforter; which comfort is produced by believing views of Chrift, and of our intereft in him; by fhedding abroad the love of God in our hearts; by helping our infirmities in prayer; by applying the blood and righteousness of Chrift to us; by witneffing our adoption; and by applying promise upon promife to our fouls, while we fuck thofe choice breafts of confolation, milk out and are delighted with the abundance of Zion's glory, and by giving us the first fruits, powers, earnests, pledges, and foretaftes, of the world to come; which are ftreams from the river of divine pleasure flowing from the fountain of life, and are intended to make glad the city of God, the facred places of the tabernacles of the Moft High.

As a spirit of revelation he leads us into the myfteries of the kingdom, and into the fecret counfels and purposes of God, into his decrees

and

and covenants, and gives us bright views of the ancient fettlements of eternity, and of the glorious and rich displays of grace; and leads us to fee a bleffed harmony in the doctrines of the gospel, and produces harmony in our mind and judgment; and a most sweet peace and tranquillity of foul follow upon these things. An earneft defire to establish thee is the cause of my leading thy mind through the above operations.

As to myself, my heart has long funk and rofe with my country. I view Old England as the feat of the church of the living God, and the valley of vifion, Ifa. xxii. 1. And, because of the houfe of the Lord my God, I will feek my country's good. Every time that I hear of any fuccefs attending the French I find uncommon energy in prayer against them; and every time they are defeated my foul pours forth her gratitude to my God. In all the circle of my acquaintance, whether in town or country, I do not know one child of God, who really knows his own heart, and the great Phyfician, but what has an carneft defire, a prayer, and a cry, in his heart to God against that base nation. And who furnishes us with these defires and prayers? That God that will fulfil our defires, and grant the request of our lips; for fure I am that the Spirit maketh interceffion for the faints according to the will of God, but never contrary to it. I believe I have fome knowledge of about thirty perfons who, in their implicity,

have inadvertently fucked in the venom of Tom Paine; and nothing but barrennefs, confufion, guilt, and bondage, followed them. But, as foon as God led me to fhew his mind and will concerning it, they fell before it; and, by the furnace of affliction and humbling grace, they brought it up, and returned to their reft. But fome few that I know have drunk deep into it; and thefe, like the houfe of Eli, will not be eafily purged, either by facrifice or offering. They are top wife to be inftructed, and too ftrong to be brought down to fubmit to the word of truth. No private prayer, nor public warning, hath any effect upon them. And this hath made them manifeft to me, and to many more. And I believe in And I believe in my heart that their wisdom will terminate in their own deftruction, because "they have not hearkened to my counfel," 2 Chron. xxv. 16. God will deftroy the fat and the ftrong; he will feed them with judgment, Ezek. xxxiv. 16. And I know of no profeffors fo ftrong, in the worft fenfe, as those which faithful reproof cannot pull down. But my God will never look to, nor dwell with, any but those who are of an humble and a contrite spirit, and who tremble at his word. An awful proof of this hath lately been difcovered. A man who refided not far from the chapel, and who had attended me for fome time diligently, and appeared to be a reformed man, and began to call upon God, and kept up prayer in his family, and, as Paul fays of the Galatians, seemed to run well, but Satan hindered him,

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