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fufed skill of Bezaleel and Aboliab could prove them Saints;yet,lastly, there may be fenfible operations of the Spirit of God upon the foul in the influences of holy motions into the heart, in working a temporary faith, and fome fair progreffe in an holy profeffion, and yet no fonfhip; the world is full of fuch glow-wormes, that make fome fhow of Spiritual Light from God, when they have nothing in them, but cold crudities that can serve for nothing but deceit.

Will ye then fee, what leading of the Spirit can evince us to be the Sons and Daughters of God; know then that if we will hope for a comfortable affurance here of: we must be efficacioufly led by his fanctifying Spirit, firft in matter of judgment, fecondly in our difpofitions, and thirdly in our practise.

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For matter of judgment, ye remember what our Saviour faid to This Difciples; when the Spirit of truth is come he will lead into all Truth, John 16. 13. That is into all faving and neceffary truthes; fo as to free us from groffe ignorance, or main errour: Whofoever therefore is enlightned with the true and folid knowledg of all thofe points of Chriftian doctrine, which are requifite for salvation, is in that firft regard led by the Spirit ; and in this behalf hath a just title to the fon-fhip of God, as contrarily thofe that are grofly and obftinately erroneous in their judgment of fundamental truthes, let them pretend to never fo much holincffe in heart, or life, fhall in vain lay claim to this happy condition of the Sons of God.

For our difpofition fecondly. If the holy Spirit have wrought our hearts to be right with God in all our affections; if we do fincerely love and fear him, if we do truely believe in him, receiving him as not our Saviour only, but as our Lord; If our defires be unfained towards him; If after a meek and penitent felf-dejection we can find our felves raised to a lively hope, and firm confidence in that our bleffed Redeemer; and fhall continue in a conftant, and habitual fruition of him, being thus led by the Spirit of God, we may be affured that we are the Sons of God; for flesh and blood cannot be acceffary to thefe gracious difpofitions.

Laftly for our practife, it is a clear word which we hear God fay by Ezekiel, I will put my Spirit into the midst of you; and will by it caufe you to walk in my ftatutes, and keep my laws, Ezech. 36. 27. Lo herein is the main crifis of a foul led by the Spirit of God, and adopted to this heavenly fon-fhip. It is not for us to content our felves to talk

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of the lawes of our God; and to make empty and formal profefions of his name.

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Here must be a continued walk in Gods ftatutes; it will not ferve the turne for us to ftumble upon fome acceptable work, to step afide a little into the pathes of godlineffe, and then draw back to the World; no my beloved, this leading of Gods Spirit muft neither be a forced angariation (as if God would feoffe grace and falvation upon us againit our wills) nor fome fuddain protrufion to good, nor a meer, actual, momentany, tranfient conduction, for a brunt of holineffe and away, leaving us to the finful wayes of our former dilobedience, and to our wonted compliances with the World, the Devil, and the Flesh; but must be in a steady, uninterrupted,habitual course of holy obedience; fo as we may fincerely profefle with the man after Gods own heart, My foul bath kept thy Feftimonies, and I love them exceedingly, Pfal. 119. 67. Now then dear Chriftians lay this to heart feriously and call your felves fadly to this triall: What is the carriage of our lives? What obedience do we yeild to the whole law of our God? If that be entire, hearty, univerfal, conftant, perfeverant, and truly confcientious, we have whereof to rejoyce; an unfailing ground to paffe a confident judgment upon our fpiritual estate, to be no leffe then happy. But if we be willingly failing in the unfained defires and indevours of these holy performances, and fhall let loose the reins to any known wickedneffe we have no part nor portion in this bleffed condition: Mark, I befeech you, how fully this is afferted to our hands, in this (faith the beloved Apoftle) the Children of God are manifeft, and the children the Devil; whofoever doth not righteonfneffe is not of God, neither he that loves not his brother, 1 Joh. 3. 10. Obferve I pray you what test we are pur to ye hear him not fay who fo talks not holily, or who fo profeffes not godlineffe; in thefe an hypocrite may exceed the best Saint; but whofoever doth not righteoufneffe: withall fee what a clause the Disciple of love fuperadds to the mention of all Righteoufneffe (neither he that loves not his brother) furely the Spirit of God is a Loving Spirit, wifdom 1. 6. and St. Paul hath the like phrase, Rom. 15.30. To let paffe then all the other proofes of our guidance by the fpirit: Inftance but in this one: Alas my Brethren what is become of that charitable, and chriftian carriage of men towards one another, which God requires of us and which was wont to be con

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fpicuous amongst Christian compatriots. Wo is me, instead of that true and hearty love which our Saviour would have the Livery of our Difciple-fhip,the badg of our holy profeffion, what do we fee but emulation,envy,& malice, rigid cenfures, and rancorous heartburnings amongst men? In ftead of thofe neighbourly, and friendly offices which Chriftians were wont lovingly to performe to each other, what have we now in the common practise of men, but underminings, oppreffions, violence, cruelty? Can we think that the Spirit of him who would be ftyled Love it felf, would lead us in thefe rugged, and bloody pathes? No, no, this alone is too clear a proof how great a ftranger the Spirit of God is to the hearts and waies of men ; and how few there are that upon good and firme grounds can plead their right to the fon-fhip of God: Alas, alas, if thefe difpofitions and practises may bewray the fons of an holy God, what can men do to prove themselves the children of that hellish Apollion, who was a man-flayer from the beginning? For us, my beloved: Oh let us hate and bewaile this common degeneration of Christians; and as we would be, and be acknowledged the fons of God, Let us put on as the elect of God holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindnesse, humblenese of mind, meeknesse long-fuffering, forbearing one another, forgiving one another, if we have a quarrell against any ; even as Chrift forgave us ; and above all thefe things put on charity, which is the bond of perfeineffe, Colof. 3. 12, 13, 14. And lastly, forfaking the mif-guidance of Satan, the World, and our corrupt nature which will lead us down to the chambers of death, and eternal deftruction, let us yield up our felves to be led by the holy Spirit of God in all the wayes of righteoufneffe, and holyneffe, of piety, juftice, charity, and all manner of gracious converfation, that we may thereby approve our felves the fons and daughters of God, and may be feoffed in that bleffed inheritance which he hath laid up for all his; to the poffeffion whereof may he happily bring us who hath dearly bought us, Jefus Chrift the righteous: to whom with the Father and the bleffed fpirit, one infinite God, be given all praise, honour, and glory, now and for ever. Amex.

THE

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SION:

ECCLESIASTES 3.4.

[There is] a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Need not tell you that Solomon was a wife man, his wisdom, as it was in an extraordinary measure put into him by him that is wisdom it felf; fo was it in a more then ordinary way improved by his diligent obfervation his obfervation was Univerfal of times, things, perfons, actions, events: neither did he lock his experiments up in the clofet of his own breft; but by the direction of Gods Spirit laid them forth to the World in this divine fermon, which, not as a King, but as a Prophet he preach't to all pofterity. Every sentence here therefore is a dictate of the holy Ghoft; it is not Solomon then, but a greater then Solomon, even the holy Spirit of the great God that tells you there is not a time onely, but a feafon too, for every thing and for every purpose under Heaven: that is (as I hope you can take it no otherwife) for every good thing, or indifferent; as for evill things or actions, if men find a time, yet fure God allowes no fealon those are alwayes damnably-unfeasonable abuses of times, and of our felves: not to meddle with other particulars: our thoughts are now by the divine providence pitch't upon, a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance, or rather onely upon the time to weep and mourn, for our time of laughing and dancing is paft already and perhaps we have had too much of that in our former times; which makes the causes and degrees of our now weeping and inourning, as more uncouth, fo

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more intensive: we must be so much deeper in our mourning by how much we have been more wild, and wanton in our laughter, and dancing. To fall right down therefore upon our intended difcourse without any previous circumlocutions: There is a threefold time of juft mourning. 1. When a man is fenfible of his punishments. 2. Of his fins, 3. Of his dangers.

Of his punishments firft, or rather which is more general, of his afflictions: for all afflictions are not intended for punishments; some are fatherly chaftisments onely for our good, whereas all punishments are afflictive; when we are whip't then, when we smart with the rod, we have caufe to weep, and if in this cafe we shed no tears it is a fign of a graceleffe heart. It is time therefore to mourn when we are preffed by fufferings, whether from the immediate hand of God, or mediately by the hands of men ; whether by private, or publique calamities; are we fmitten in our bodies by fome painfull and incurable difeafes? Doth the peftilence rage in our streets? Hath God forbidden us the influence of Heaven and curft the Earth with barrenneffe? Hath he broken the staffe of bread, and fent leanneffe into our fouls? Hath he humbled us with the fearfull cafualties of fire or water? by wracks at Sea, by lightnings and tempefts by land? hath he fent murrain amongst our cattle, and deftroying vermine into our barnes, and fields? now God tells us it is a time to mourn; are we difquieted in our minds by fome overmaftering paffions of griefe, for the mifcarriages of children, for the fecret difcontents of domefticall jars, for unjust calumnies. caft upon our good name? are we molefted in our mindes and fpirits with impetuous, and no leffe importune then hatefull Temptations?? now it is a time to mourn: do we find in our fouls a decay, and languifhment of grace, a prevalence of thofe corruptions which we thought abated in us? Do we find our felves deeply foulfick with our finfull indifpofitions? Shortly, do we find the face of our God for the time withdrawn from us? Now, now it is a time

to mourn.

If we turn our eyes to thofe evils which are caft upon us by the hands of men: Domen find themselves defpoyled of their eftates, reftrained of their Liberties, tortured in their bodies? Do they find the wofull miseries of an inteftine war; killings, burnings, depopulations? do they find fire and fword raging in the bolom of

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