Secondly, Know also, that there is a great difference betwixt spi- ritual death, and spiritual deadness ; the former is the state of the unregenerate, the latter is the disease and complaint of many thou- sand regenerate souls : If David had not felt it as well as thee, he would never have cried out nine times in the compass of one Psalm, Quicken me, quicken inc. Besides,
Thirdly, Though it be often, it is not so always with thee ; there are seasons wherein the Lord breaks in upon thy heart, enlarges thy affections, and sets thy soul at liberty ; to which times thou wilt do well to have an eye, in these dark and cloudy days.
Object. 4. But the Spirit of God is the comforter, as well as a
* He who inclines to that which is good, and is averse to that which is evil, has a de- sire of pleasing God, though sometimes, being seduced by evil concupiscence, through infirmity he may commit that which is displeasing to God. Daven.
SERM. XXIV. THE METHOD OF GRACE. 343
sanctifier : He doth not only enable men to believe, but after they believe, he also seals them, Eph. i. 13. But I walk in darkness, and am a stranger to the sealing and comforting work of the Spirit : How therefore can I imagine the Spirit of God should dwell in me, who go from day to day in the bitterness of my soul, mourning as without the sun ?
Sol. There is a twofold sealing, and a two-fold comfort : The Spirit sealeth both objectively, in the work of sanctification ; and formally, in giving clear evidence of that work. Thou mayest be sealed in the first, whilst thou art not yet sealed in the second sense: If so, thy condition is safe, although it be at present uncomforta- ble. And, as to comfort, that also is of two sorts, viz. seminal, or actual: in the root, or in the fruit; Light U sown for the righteous, Psal. xcvii. 11. though the harvest to reap and gather in that joy and comfort be not yet come. And there are many other ways beside that of joy and comfort, whereby the indwelling of the Spi- rit may evidence itself in thy soul : If he do not enable thee to re- joice, yet if he enable thee sincerely to mourn for sin ; if he do not enlarge thy heart in comfort, yet if he humble and purge thy heart by sorrows : if he deny thee the assurance of faith, and yet give thee the dependence of faith, thou hast no reason to call in question, or deny the indwelling of the Spirit in thee for that cause.
Object. 5. But the apostle saith, a They that walk in the Spirit, " do not fulfil the lusts of the flesh," Gal. v. 16. but I find myself entangled, and frequently overcome by them : Therefore I doubt the Spirit of God is not in me.
Sol It is possible the ground of your doubting may be your mis- take of the true sense and meaning of that scripture : It is not the apostle's meaning in that place, that sin in believers doth not work, tempt, and oftentimes overcome, and captivate them ; for then lie would contradict himself in Rom. vii. 23. where he thus com- plains, " But I see another law in my members, warring against " the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law " of sin which is in my members.'" But two things are meant by that expression, " Ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh."
First, That the principle of grace will give a check to sin in its first motions, and cause it to miscarry in the womb, like an un- timely birth, before it come to its full maturity ; it shall never be able to gain the full consent of the will, as it doth in the un- regenerate.
Secondly, If, notwithstanding all the opposition grace makes to hinder the birth or commission of it, it doth yet prevail, and break forth into act ; yet such acts of sin, as they are not committed without regret, so they are followed with shame, sorrow, and true
344 THE METHOD OF GRACE. SEItM. XXIV.
repentance : And those very surprisals, and captivities of sin at one time, are made cautions and warnings to prevent it at another time. If it be so with thee, thou dost not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.
And now, reader, upon the whole, if upon examination of thy heart by these rules, the Lord shall help thee to discern the saving work of the Spirit upon thy soul, and thereby thine interest in Christ, What a happy man or woman art thou ! what pleasure will arise to thy soul from such a discovery ! Look upon the frame of thine heart absolutely as it is in itself at present, or comparatively r, with what once it was, and others still are, and thou wilt find enough to transport and melt thy heart within thee : Certainly this is the most glorious piece of workmanship that ever God wrought in the world upon any man, Eph. ii. 10. The Spirit of God is come down from heaven, and hath hallowed thy soul to be a temple for him- self to dwell in ; as he hath said, " I will dwell in them, and walk " in them, and I will be their Gad, and they shall be my people," 2 Cor. vii. 16. Moreover, this gift of the Spirit is a sure pledge and earnest of thy future glory : Time was, when there was no such work upon thy soul. And, considering the frame and tem- per of it, the total aversation, strong opposition, and rooted enmity that was in it; it is the wonder of wonders, that ever such a work as this should be wrought upon such a heart as thine : that ever the Spirit of God, whose nature is pure and perfect holiness, should chuse such an unclean, polluted, abominable heart to frame an ha- bitation for himself there to dwell in ; to say of thy soul (now his spiritual temple) as he once said of the material temple at Jerusa- lem, Psal. exxxii. 13, 14. " The Lord hath chosen it, he hath de- " sired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever : Here will " I dwell ; for I have desired it," O what hath God done for thy soul !
Think, reader, and think again : Are there not many thousands in the world of more ingenuous, sweet, and amiable dispositions than thyself, whom yet the Spirit of God passe th by, and leaveth them as tabernacles for Satan to dwell in ? Such a one thou lately wast, and hadst still remained, if God had not wrought for thee, beyond all the expectations and desires of thine own heart. O bless God that you have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God ; that ye might know the things which are freely given unto you of God.
SEKM. XXV. THE METHOD OF GRA< E $45
Of the Nature and Necessity of the New Creature.
Therefore if any man be in Christ , he is a new creature : old things ■ are passed aicay ; behold, all things are become new.