to help forward such delusions. But the witness of the Spirit may be distinguished from all enthusiastic pretensions to it, if we consider attentively,
1. What precedes it —
[Conviction of our lost estate, faith in the Redeemer, and devotedness to God as our rightful Sovereign, must precede it. If we have not these things, we cannot be God's children ; and we may be sure the Spirit will never attest a falsehood.]
2. What accompanies it —
[Humility of mind, a jealous fear of ourselves, and a love to the weakest of God's people, attend these divine communi- cations ; whereas pride and conceit, with a presumptuous confidence, and a contempt of others, are ever found in deluded enthusiasts.]
3. What follows it—
[Manifestations of God to the soul always produce zeal in his service ; victory over sin ; and a longing for the enjoyment of him in heaven ; but supineness, subjection to evil tempers, and a forgetfulness of the eternal world, generally characterize the self-deceiving professor. Let every one therefore examine his pretensions by these marks ]
Address —
1. Those who know nothing of this testimony of
the Spirit —
[You probably do not understand the regenerating in- fluences of the Spirit ; and yet you see them manifested in the lives of many around you. Do not then condemn the witness of the Spirit merely because you cannot comprehend it : rather pray to God that you yourselves may be his children, and that the Spirit may testify to you of your adoption.]
2. Those who profess to have received it —
[A delusion in this is above all things to be guarded against: if your dispositions be habitually bad, your preten- sions are all a delusion : where the witness of the Spirit is, there will the fruits also of the Spirit be.]
3. Those who long to receive it —
[To have the full witness of the Spirit is desirable, but not necessary : it is a great mercy if we enjoy his lower attes- tations in a good conscience. Let us labour to serve God, and leave to him the time, manner, and degree, in which he shall reveal himself to us.]
4. Those who now enjoy this witness —