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tempted, and ready to give way to unbelief: but the gracious provision made in thy word was the means of keeping me in the hour of temptation. O my God, make the word, in which thou hast caused me to put my trust, more precious to my soul. Open still more to me the fulness of it, and put me into happier possession of its promised blessings. I praise thee, I worship thee, for revealing this promise by thy Spirit, and for applying it by his grace with comfort to my heart. I now set to my seal that it is true. It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation. Glory be to thee that I accept it, and enjoy the good promised in it. O Father of mercies! what am I that I should be made one of thy people, and should have thee for my God? This love passeth knowledge. O help me to understand more, give me to find more of thy covenant love. Make my heart one with thee. Lead me in thy one way, that I may fear thee for ever. And when temptations come, such as I have been in, grant that they may bring me nearer to thee, and may be the means of my making much

use of what thou hast provided for me in thy Son's fulness. O let thy good Spirit abide with me to establish my faith in thine everlasting covenant, that I may believe thou wilt never turn from me to do me good. Merciful God, grant me this grace in every hour of need. Thou hast given me thy word for it, and therein thou hast enabled me to put my trust. On thy faithful promise I would depend, and on nothing in myself. Thou has showed me something of my heart, and I feel it is revolting and ready always to rebel against God; but thou hast undertaken to put thy fear into it, that it shall not depart from thee: therefore into thy faithful hands I commit it. Keep me, my God, by thy mighty power, through faith unto salvation. Amen, Amen.

Happy trials! which have so good an issue, and bring forth such peaceable fruits. My brethren, account it all joy, when ye fall into divers temptations, if they lead to the exercise of grace, and occasion fervent effectual prayer. The believer, thus tried, learns by practice the necessity of being at peace

with God, and of maintaining it in order to walk with God. He is put upon studying the nature of this peace. He reads and meditates upon the revealed account of it. He sees it is a perfect unchangeable peace, secured to him by the everlasting covenant of the blessed Trinity, who have engaged to save him from all his sins and miseries, and never to turn away from doing him good. To this he trusts. He commits himself to the care of this covenant God; and he finds the promise true. In temptation he believes, and is delivered. In his warfare out of weakness he is made strong. He fights the good fight of faith, and he conquers all his enemies. He learns from trials to trust with more confidence. He not only maintains, but also improves peace with God. He depends on what God has promised to them, who walk with him, and the promise is made good, and he learns to go on more comfortably, and daily walks closer with his heavenly Father.

The enemy looks on him with malice. He envies his state. He once knew the heaven

of communion with God, but he was lifted up with pride, and fell. It stirs up every infernal temper in him to see the happy believer, who had fallen like

what he can never expect.

him, restored to

Hence either as

a sly serpent, or as a roaring lion, he never ceases to tempt. As soon as one wile fails, he has another ready. He is night and day plotting and scheming, waiting for an opportunity to make a seasonable attack. While conscience is at peace with God, and lives under the protection of the blood of sprinkling, he tempts in vain. But he does not despair of success. He knows he has an ally within us in fast league with sin, and therefore he still hopes to draw him into sin by surprize and assault; in which he is indefatigable. He is never tired. He is always tempting the believer, not so much to gross offences, as to spiritual wickedness. Sly injections, legal insinuations, and self-righteous thoughts, are his most common temptations. With these he tries to shake the peace of conscience, and he forms his attack generally in this manner:

How can you be a child of God, and yet be as you are? There is nothing in you, for which God should look upon you, and love you. What have you? What ceasing from evil, what leaning to do well, to recommend you to him? How can God love any thing, unless it be agreeable to his will; and what can he delight in, unless it be conformable to his image? But do you live up to his will, and is his image perfectly renewed in you? Have you grace, and do you live up to it? Are you a Christian, and are you like Christ? How are your duties? Just as they should be? You know they are not, and how can God be pleased with them, when you are not pleased with them yourself? How is your walk? Is it such as becometh your high calling-close with God, and at a vast distance from sin and the world? How is your warfare? Is the whole armour of God kept buckled on? And are you always, in the strength of the Lord, a conqueror? Examine, and try yourself. Bring forth that one good thing, for which God should love you, and bestow his blessing upon you. You have no such thing. You have

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