in Facts frequently speak more distinctly and more truly than words. The Spirit of God seals believers, and leaves his own impression upon them. He is "the earnest of our inheritance;" and the earnest in possession is preferable to a voice from heaven. By presenting the things of Christ, as explained in divine revelation to the mind of man; by communicating and cultivating spiritual life in the soul; ul; by fluencing the understanding and the affections to holiness of thought and of action; and by rendering the grace which he has given vigorous in its exercises, the Comforter works out proof more decisive, more excellent, and more to be desired than words: and thus, conducted by him, we draw near to the High Priest of our profession in the full assurance of eternal life in him. O believers, you have a hope which shall not make ashamed. Established upon an immutable foundation, it must stand out the storm. Raise up your eyes to the place, in which your Redeemer dwells on high, and there fix your affections. Be not discouraged at your pains and your trials: Let not even the magnitude of your personal criminality occasion a doubt of his power to save. Conscious of your self-abasement of your entire dependence on the righteousness of God our Saviour of the sincerity of your obedience to his revealed will and of your joy in the excellency of the covenant which is ordered in all things and sure, you have the means of assurance, that the good work is commenced. You may, therefore, ore, confident of your connexion with that ransomed society, of which Christ is the Head, and the Holy Ghost the animating Spirit, ascend the hill of Zion, with songs-"Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." "Joined to the Lord and one spirit" with him. -"He will guide us with his counsel, and afterwards receive us to glory." "We know that he dwelleth in us, and we in him, because he hath given us of his Spirit." AMEN. THE DUTY OF THOSE WHO HAVE SERMON VIII. SA. 1. 10.- Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. THIS exhortation was addressed, by Isaiah the son of Amos, to the commonwealth of Israel, in a dark and dissolute age. It is at this day, also, applicable to the professors of religion in the Christian church. There are so many calls upon our attention to the concerns of this world, that the best interests of our souls are frequently altogether neglected; and always but partially understood and followed. Perplexed with the multiplicity of their cares and employments; afflicted, too, more or less, in body and in mind; and distracted by disappointments in business and in friendship, many good men are occasionally left to darkness and despondence. It is, therefore, to be expected, that among the few, who attend on public ordinances, there will be a large proportion of persons, who have sometimes doubted, and have reason to doubt, the correctness of their own religious temper and conduct; and so call in question, the reality of their piety. It must also be acknowledged, that no rules, laid down and applied by man, can be relied upon as sufficient, in all cases, to detect and expose hypocrisy, or lead to assurance indiscreet, feeble, or decaying saints. Nevertheless, we use the means, in hopes of the divine blessing; and urge TRUST IN GOD, as, at all times, the duty and the refuge of the timorous, the needy, and the dependent-" Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." In explaining these words, our attention is required first, to the character addressed, and secondly, to the duty recommended, in the exhortation. The character addressed is distinctly drawn. It is "a child of light walking in darkness."* One that feareth the Lord and obeyeth the voice of his servant, is one, who from a principle of reverence for Jehovah, conscientiously submits to the direction of his revealed will. It is one, who is in principle and in practice a Christian. Obedience nce to the voice of God's servants, as such, is obedience to himself; and the fear of the Lord, which is productive of such obedience, is perfectly consistent with the highest exercises of faith and love. The Old Testament phraseology more generally employs this term, as expressive of true piety, than the New Testament; but even in the writings of the New Testament, filial fear, as distinguished from servility and terror, is represented as a proper principle of action in the worship of God. Wherefore we, receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.† The pious person, who fears God and keeps his commandments, according to the measure of grace given to him, is represented in this instance as walking in darkness, and having no light. The ideas, which we are to connect with the well-known words, darkness and light, must be determined by the connexion in which they occur, both as to the kind and degree of either the one or the other. Darkness may be partial or total, and may be understood, either as it respects the natural or the spiritual world. The scriptural use of this word, in relation to personal religion, is perfectly coincident with the common use of it, in relation to the concerns of life. Any privation of information or of comfort may be denoted by the word darkness. It is indeed employed, in the bible, to signify ignorance, unbelief, depravity of heart and of manners, sin in general, the grave, and even hell itself. When applied to a pious man, a state of darkness indicates, that he is, at the time, under those afflictions which produce deep perplexity and sorrow. 1 * Many of my hearers are acquainted with an excellent treatise under this title, by Mr. Thomas Goodwin. It is a work on experimental and practical religion, which all who are religiously exercised may peruse with profit. † Heb. xii. 28. + John iii. 19. Eph. v. 8. Col. i. 13. Job x. 22. Matt. xxii. 13. 1 God, who is rich in mercy, does often, in his holy sovereignty, leave his own children, whom he still loveth with an everlasting love, to walk in darkness, deprived of the light of religious consolation. To teach them the necessity of his constant presence with them; to chastise them for their transgressions; to make trial of their faith and their patience; to fit them for the work of comforting others who are in their turn in afflictions; and to promote his own glory in displaying the wisdom of his plans, and the fulness of his covenant, God leaves his own people, at times, to a disconsolate state of mind. Poverty, disease, litigation, oppression, perplexity, the loss of intimate friends and relations, doubts, disappointments, errors in religion, actual transgressions, and the temptations of the adversary, working with the corruptions of the human heart, are permitted in the providence of God, to affect Christians in various degrees of perturbation and sorrow, until they walk in darkness and have no light. Some such condition is supposed to exist, in the text which I am explaining; and to persons, in such a state, is the duty recommended. Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. I had a particular design in selecting these words for discussion. The subject of spiritual declension and desertion is indeed important; and the Christian has need of understanding both the nature and the causes of decay in personal religion; and, also, the end for which such decay is permitted in divine Providence, to take place. Upon that subject, however, it does not comport with my plan, to enlarge in this discourse. I would only observe, that decaying Christians, who stand in need of revival; fainting Christians, who stand in need of being strengthened; wandering Christians, who stand in need of being restored to the path of righteousness, all, are either shaken in the assurance of salvatian which they had before, or have not yet attained to a comfortable persuasion of the truth of their personal piety-they walk in darkness. It is my design to point out the means of comfort to them who are in such a state as this; to show to them the path of life as a shining light: for it is the object of this discourse, to exhibit THE DUTY OF SUCH AS HAVE NOT ASSURANCE. The duty immediately pointed out in the text, is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ "Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God;" but in order to act believingly in any particular case, it is necessary to know the several exercises of faith indicated by that case: therefore, in directing those persons, who are in doubts of their interest in the salvation of God, to trust in his name, I feel myself not only allowed, but required, by the subject under examination, to describe the following exercises of an evangelical disposition as proper for your relief from perplexity. They, who would obtain assurance, must learn to distinguish doubting of their own state from the sin of unbelief-Ascertain what is, in their own case, the cause of doubting-continue still in practical obedience to God and go to him in the direct exercise of faith in Jesus Christ. I. Distinguish doubts of your own piety, from the sin of unbelief. The indefiniteness of words, in every language, is some impediment to discrimination and distinctness of thought. With all the imperfection of our phraseology, however, and probably while we are ourselves imperfect, this evil will not find a remedy, the humble inquirer after divine things, will ultimately succeed in knowing what is truth. In common use, the words believe and doubt convey opposite ideas; for so far as you doubt my veracity, you do not believe my words: hence, it is not surprising, that, when these words are employed in regard to personal religion, it should be laid down as a maxim, that he who is in doubt, has no faith. The manner, moreover, in which some have spoken and written of the subject of assurance itself, is such as to confound the distinction between that confidence with which the mind acts in believing in Christ, and the confidence which is subsequently derived from self-examination. In common concerns, men of the least discernment-plain men, unaccustomed to reflection, constantly make a distinction, and perfectly understand it, between the confidence with which they perform an action, and the certainty that they have performed it: you all know the difference, between the confidence with which you took your seats in this church, and the assurance you now feel that you are actually seated. Before you sat down, you did believe, that the seat was strong enough to bear your weight; in sitting down, you were confident that it would in fact bear your weight; and, now, you know that you are sitting thereon, and that it does bear you. It is a pity that men, anxious to distinguish in matters of religion, should have been so often perplexed by their public teachers upon |