3. And so for unfruitfulness in conversation. Notwithstanding all those motives we have in the word of God, a man that is not convinced spiritually of those excellent things, he goes on deadly, as if there were no motives, because the Spirit of God hath not sealed them to his spirit. He hath not given him an apprehension of the divine encouragements wrapped up in the promises in the Scripture ; and when death and danger come, for the most part such men are desperate, notwithstanding all their learning and know- ledge literal that they have ; for it will not hold water. All knowledge that is not wrought by the Spirit of God sealing divine truth to the soul, with some evidence of the power of it, it will not hold out in the trial.
Especially when Satan with his fiery darts comes with strong tempta- tions, for the soul never felt the working power of the word. It feels then the temptation, it apprehends the poisonful fiery temptation, but it
VOL. VII. % e
434 FAITH TRIUMPHANT.
hath not so inwardly digested the truths of the Spirit, and therefore is sur- prised with horror and despair. There is not wrought in the heart an experimental feeling of knowledge, and therefore the heart cannot beat hack the temptation.
When the devil shall come and tell men, You have been thus and thus, and they have not felt the truth of that they seemed to believe, conscience tells them, It is true I have heard and read such and such things; I never believed them ; they never sunk deeply into my heart. When temptation shall be nearer the soul than the truth shall be, when temptation presseth sore, they are swallowed up of despair. Therefore let us labour that our general knowledge from the word, and our particular knowledge and per- suasion, that it may be spiritual.
Quest. Now how doth the Spirit work this particular persuasion ?
Ans. I answer, the Spirit of God works it in the soul together with the word: the Spirit and the word go together. All the men in the world cannot persuade the soul without the Spirit of God join. Paul preached, but God opened Lydia's heart. Acts xvi. 40, seq. We have it not of our- selves. It must come from without, from God's Spirit opening our eyes, and persuading and convincing our hearts : * God persuades Japhet to dwell in the tents of Shem,' Gen. ix. 27. No creature can do it. It is passive. It is said here * they were persuaded.' That persuasion that is sound, that carries a man to heaven, by which he dies in faith, it must be from the Spirit of God. All the words of the ministry, and all reasons, nothing will do it but God. God must persuade the soul.
Quest. Now what doth the Spirit here ?
Am. The Spirit enlightens the understanding, which I spake of before. It opens the understanding in persuasion. It doth propound arguments and motives from the excellency of the things promised, and the privileges of religion, and the good things we have by Christ, &c. ; and, together with propounding these excellent encouragements and motives, the Spirit strongly works upon the disposition, upon the will, and affections. It works upon the soul, and so doth persuade and convince.
And thereupon comes embracing, which I shall have occasion to speak of afterward. The soul being persuaded, embraceth.
Now this persuasion is not only by propounding of arguments by the word and Spirit, but likewise a working upon the will ; from whence there follows an inclination of the will, and an embracing of the things we are persuaded of.
For let all the arguments in the world be brought to a man to persuade him that God will be merciful to him in Christ, tell him of the free offer, ' Whosoever will, let him come in,' Rev. xxii. 17 ; all that will : a large offer ; let him join to that offer of mercy the inviting, ' Come unto me, all ye that are iceary and heavy laden,' Mat. xi. 28, and I will ease you ; a sweet inviting ; join with the invitation a command, * It is his command that we should believe in his Son Jesus,' Acts xvii. 30 ; let him strengthen that command with the threatening, ' He that believes not is damned already,' John iii. 18 ; let a man remove all objections that the soul can make of its unworthiness, ' Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will ease you,' though you groan under the burden of your sin ; let a man object again, I have nothing worthy in myself; why, come and buy, though you have no money; let him strengthen all these proposals with examples of the mercy of God to Manasseh, to Peter, to Paul, a per- secutor, to Mary Magdalene, and the like ; let all these arguments be won-
FAITH TRIUMPHANT. 435
drous eflfectually propounded, the soul will not yield, unless God's Spirit join with these arguments, and all in that kind, and convince the soul of our particular interest in these things, and persuade the will to embrace these things oflered.
That, God hath reserved in his own power to bring our hearts and the promises together, to bring our hearts and divine truths together. Let there be never so much set before us in the ministry, he hath reserved this prerogative and authority, that our hearts and the truth should close together to embrace them in hearing. All things depend upon the Spirit ; when we do not regard the Spirit in hearing and reading, &c., let all the things the Scripture hath be propounded, and set on with all the excellency and eloquence that may be, God hath reserved it to himself, by his Spirit, to give faith to persuade our souls that these belong to us, and to incline and draw the will.