to his faints; but let them not turn again to folly. Open your heart to those whom God has appointed to comfort the feeble-minded, and to support the weak.-Ufe thefe means diligently and confcientiously. Wait on the Lord, and he will fave you.

Steadily aim at a conformity to the will of God, both in heart and life. Walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long, and make it your conftant care to please him. "His falvation is nigh them that fear him. Unto you that fear my name fhall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his wings; and ye fhall go forth, and grow up as calves of the ftall." If you favour fin, it is impoffible you fhould enjoy a comfortable affurance of God's favour; for "your iniquity will separate between you and your God." It will interpofe, as a thick mift, to hide his face from you. If you grow indolent, negligent, and of a worldly fpirit, you need not wonder to find yourself involved in darknefs and perplexity refpecting your fate towards God; for he hath faid, "If ye walk contrary unto me, I also will walk contrary unto you.”

It must be owned, as has been before obferved, that fome pious and upright minds are suffered, for a time, to be involved in darkness through the prevalence of fore temptations; others are awfully

tried by fpiritual defertions; and others again are

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subject to a kind of constitutional melancholy. All these are objects of pity; and the Lord will eventually appear for their comfort and deliverance. He hath faid, "I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the fpirit fhould fail before me, and the fouls which I have made." He will heal the broken in heart, and bind up their ⚫ wounds.

Some are prevented from enjoying an assurance of the divine favour through causeless fears and jealoufies. These are conftantly encouraged not to fear, by him who knows the feebleness of their faith, and the weakness of their hands. "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not difmayed, I am thy God. Fear not, thou worm Jacob; neither be dismayed, ye men of Ifrael." They are afraid, because fin is in them as an active and restless principle, that they have no contrary principle of grace or holiness. And, because, for a season they have not strong confolation, they are afraid they have no right to it, nor to any other spiritual bleffing. These jealoufies and fears, at least, evidence a defire to be right, and to be conformed to the will and image of God; which certainly springs from a gracious principle. In these persons, the want of skill to distinguish between the motions of the flesh, and those of the Spirit, is the occafion of

their diftreffing fear. They ought to reason thus, He that fincerely repents of fin, believes in Jefus, and is defirous of giving his whole, heart to God, is in a ftate of acceptance with his Maker, according to the declarations of his word; I cannot deny but this is my cafe; therefore, why do I entertain thefe difquieting fears?

It may be of service to fuch perfons, to call to mind paft experience, and to think of God's gracious dealings with them. "I call to remembrance my fong in the night; I commune with my own heart, and my spirit made diligent search. And I faid, This is my infirmity (to entertain thefe gloomy fears, and defponding thoughts ;) but I will remeinber the years of the right hand of the Moft High. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me;" this I muft own; then obferve what he faith to you at prefent, "Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." Let this be for your comfort.

After all, it must be acknowledged, that the true, folid and rational affurance of hope is often the result of many severe trials. When young difciples are filled with comfort, peace and joy, they are, for that feason, ftrangers to doubts and fears refpecting their acceptance with God. But this is not that assurance of which the fcriptures fpeak. Y

No. XVIII. 2.

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No fooner are their comforts withdrawn, than they are filled with perplexity, difquieted with fears, and ready to count all their former experience mere delufion. Affurance grows, and is established by repeated conflicts, and by renewed experimental proofs of God's power to fave and deliver us. When we have been brought low, and helped by his gracious hand; forely wounded, and healed again; caft down, and raised up; when we have given up all hope, and been fuddenly fnatched from danger, and exalted to a place of safety;when we have experienced these troubles and reliefs a thousand times over, we learn to trust fimply to the word and power of God, in every state and condition. This truft, this hope, when habitual and ftrong, becomes like an anchor of the foul, fure and ftedfaft, in all the ftorms of life. It bears, when thus confirmed, the name of affurance. But in this holy confidence there are many degrees.

This affurance is built upon a foundation that cannot be shaken, though it is often much affaulted. It does not depend on occafional and changeable frames of mind, nor upon any thing precarious; but the word of infallible truth, and an agreement and correfpondence in the chriftian's experience with that word. Nor does this agreement

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depend altogether on a train of laboured arguments and deductions, but is felf-evident to the gracious mind. For "he that believeth hath the witnefs in himself." The most simple and unlearned may be the subjects of it, in a way as extensive and fatisfactory, as the moft wife and learned.

This holy confidence may be maintained in a believer, even under darkness, and the hidings of God's face. He that walketh in darkness, and hath, comparatively, no light of divine comfort, is encouraged, and even commanded to trust in the name of the Lord, and stay himself upon his God. He is to do this when the cheering rays of the Sun of righteousness do not fhine upon his mind, so as to afford him the refreshing light of extraordinary confolation and joy. Hereby, the foul of a christian is preserved tranquil and composed, though it hath not that degree of pleasure, which springs from the affecting manifestations of divine love.

This holy confidence carries the mind above the afflictive and diftreffing things of this world. As it swims not upon a torrent of terrestrial pleafures, fo it is not deeply depreffed by the heavy weight of worldly forrows. He who is well fatisfied respecting his intereft in the divine favour,. is not elevated by the most flattering things which. may attend him in this mortal ftate; neither is he,.