How comes likewise Despair in time of temptation, and in death, but 1only because men want this stablishing by the Spirit of God? Men go on in evil courses, trusting to a formal, dead, humane knowledge, gotten by humane means; and not settled in them by the Spirit of God, that hath not sealed the truth in their hearts: and hereupon when sharp trials come, they despair, because they have no feeling of the truths of the Gospel: and so when conscience is awakened and smarts, it clamours and cries out upon all their formal and humane knowledge: For they having not a spiritual sense of the mercies of God in Christ, and the persuasions of comfort, are not so near to support the soul, as the tentations, and vexations, and torments are, how can they but despair? Now who can still the conscience but the Spirit of God? Why now, if the knowledge that men had were spiritual and heavenly; in all accusations of conscience, it would set conscience down, and still it; I am a sinner indeed, I am this and this, but I have felt the sweet mercies of God in Christ: God hath said to my soul, I am thy salvation: he hath intimated to my spirit by a sweet voice, Son, thy sins are forgiven thee. Where there is (I say) a knowledge and an apprehension of these Evangelical truths wrought by the Spirit, it sets down Conscience and stills it, though the heart rage at the same time. There are thousands in the very bosom of the Church that miscarry because of this, resting in a literal, outward, formal knowledge, gotten only by discourse, and by reading, and commerce with others; and never labour to have their hearts stablished in Christ by Gods Spirit.
How comes likewise Despair in time of temptation, and in death, but 1onely because men want this stablishing by the Spirit of God? Men go on in evil courses, trusting to a formal, dead, humane knowledge, gotten by humane meanes; and not settled in them by the Spirit of God, that hath not sealed the truth in their hearts: and hereupon when sharp tryals come, they despair, because they have no feeling of the truths of the Gospel: and so when conscience is awakened and smarts, it clamours and cryes out upon all their formall and humane knowledge: For they having not a spiritual sense of the mercies of God in Christ, and the perswasions of comfort, are not so near to support the soul, as the tentations, and vexations, and torments are, how can they but despair? Now who can still the conscience but the Spirit of God? Why now, if the knowledge that men had were spiritual and heavenly; in all accusations of conscience, it would set conscience down, and still it; I am a sinner indeed, I am this and this, but I have felt the sweet mercies of God in Christ: God hath said to my soul, I am thy salvation: he hath intimated to my spirit by a sweet voyce, Son, thy sinnes are forgiven thee. Where there is (I say) a knowledge and an apprehension of these Evangelical truths wrought by the Spirit, it sets down Conscience and stills it, though the heart rage at the same time. There are thousands in the very bosome of the Church that miscarry because of this, resting in a literall, outward, formall knowledge, gotten onely by discourse, and by reading, and commerce with others; and never labour to have their hearts stablished in Christ by Gods Spirit.
- 1The reason of Despair.
