I have shewed you, then, the kinds of persuasion, general and particular, and how it is wrought by the Spirit ; that unless this persuasion be wrought by the Spirit, we shall never hold out in it. Though we have all the arguments in the world, we shall be disobedient. Disobedience comes when things are not discovered by the Spirit, and apostasy when the per- suasion is not wrought by the Spirit, and desperation when the knowledge is not spiritual.
f- Now the manner is by removing contraries, and moving the heart, and drawing it. With the word of man, God enters into the very will and affections ; for, as he made the soul, and framed it, so he knows how to work upon it, and to draw it sweetly by reasons, but yet strongly, that it may be carried to the things revealed. God at the same time works strongly by carrying the soul, and sweetly with reasons. For God first comes into the soul by divine light, by reasons, and then he sinks into the soul by his Spirit, to draw the soul to these reasons. Without this, we never yield to those reasons, but stand out in rebellion.
1. God persuades the soul sweetly of the tndh, by shewing a man the goodness of it, and the suitableness to our condition, and the reasons of it, how they agree to our nature. He doth not force the soul, but doth it with reasons and arguments sweetly.
2. And he doth it strongly, that the soul, when it is persuaded, would not for all the world be of another mind. It is so strong, that the per- suasion and the promises are stronger than the temptations of Satan and the corruptions of the flesh, or than the scandals of the world; that nothing can separate us from Christ, nothing can drive us from our faith and hope. The persuasion is set so strongly upon the soul, because it is a divine persuasion.
It is a strong work to jjersuade the soul.
For the Spirit of God, when it brings a light into the soul, it brings a great many graces with it. When jit shines upon the soul, and discovers better things, it brings other graces to persuade, and to embrace the things it discovers.
As it is an infinite mercy and goodness of God to discover to our souls Buch excellent things as we may be persuaded of, as of our estate to be Buch as indeed it is above our comprehension in this world — ' Neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him,' Isaiah Ixiv. 4, — so like- wise it is God's infinite work of power to frame the soul to be persuaded of this. It is as much power to work the soul to this persuasion, as it is
436 FAITH TRIUMPHANT.
mercy to discover them in a manner. There is such inward rebellion and distrust in the soul calling these truths into question, as if these things were too good to be true. Considering our own unworthiness and vileness, and the exccUenc)' of these things, laying these together, the unbelieving heart of man is prone to unbelief above all other sins. He can hardly conceive that there are such things for God's children, except the heart be mightily wrought on; unless, together with persuasion, there be some work in the soul whence it may gather by the work of the Spirit that they are those to whom such good things belong, because the Spirit of God hath singled them out, and set his seal and stamp on them, above other men, by some evidences of grace.
It is another manner of work than the world takes it to be ; for, as I said before, together with the Scripture, there must a Spirit of persuasion go. There is a secret messenger goes with the outward speech both of the preacher and of the Scripture, or else all the arguments will not be to pur- pose ; they will be of no efScacy.
As the Israelites they had arguments and motives enow to persuade them of God's love and care to them, yet notwithstanding God gave them not a heart, Deut. xxix. 4. In Christ's time what miracles did they see ! Yet their hearts were hardened, because God, together with his shining in the outward means, did not subdue the rebellion of their wills and affections ; and therefore the more they saw, the more they were hardened, the Scribes and Pharisees, and some of their desperate followers.
Use. Well, then, considering that the Spirit doth this great work, let us labour that our knoirledge may be spiritual ; that our persuasion of divine truth in general, and our part and portion in divine truth, that it may be spiritual. For, as St Paul divinely and excellently sets it down, 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11, that ' as no man knows the things that are in man, but the spirit that is in man : so no man knows the things of God's word,' divine truths, nor his part and portion and interest in them, but by the Spirit of God. If we bring the engine of our own wit and parts to God's truth, to sermons and books, we may never be the better, if we come not with a spiritual intention,* with reverent and humble hearts, and implore the teaching of the Spirit, that together with the revelation of the word there may be a removing of the veil by the Spirit ; that with the outward teach- ing there may be the inward teaching of the Spirit ; that with the sound opening the ear there may be the opening of the heart ; that he that hath the key of David may open, and incline, and persuade the heart ; that he may ' persuade Japhet,' as the Scripture phrase is.