6. How do you ftand affected as to the word and ordinances? What longing have you after them? What delight in them? With what defign and defire do you attend upon them?

7. How are your hearts fuited to fecret fpiritual duties? thofe that lie between God and your own fouls, and relate to the workings of the thoughts and affections. What inward grief and forrow have you upon account of fin? What humility in a sense of your vileness and corruption? What defires have you after God? What exercife of love to him, truft and dependance upon him, care to please and keep up daily intimate communion with him, as one you have more to do with, than with all the world befides ?

8. How are you affected to Chrift, the purchafer of grace, through whom it is bestow'd, and by whose spirit it is wrought? Such as are made partakers of faving grace cannot but adore and love him, have high thoughts of him, and blefs God for him; remembering with thankfulnefs his astonishing love, fufferings and death, and what they owe thereto; the prevalency of his interceffion, and what they have received therefrom, and further hope to do.

O my foul, can I look upon myself as an heir of the grace of life, grace as leading up to glory, and shall not that Redeemer be infinitely dear to me, whose blood is the price of all?

9. How are you affected to the faints? Doth the grace of God appearing in them, the image of God impreffed upon them, recommend them to your love and efteem, how low or mean foever in the world?

makes believers groan, and of all things renders their stay upon earth moft grievous.

O my foul, how is it as to this? While others pour out their grief for outward croffes, do I feel inward malady, and mourn over it? Do I pray as heartily to be freed from fin as others from outward forrow and affliction ?

my

3. What is your esteem of holiness, and how is it evidenced in your endeavours after greater conformity to your pattern and rule?

4. How are you affected towards fuch as are yet in a finful unrenewed ftate? Do your hearts melt over them? Do you pity and pray for them, and carneftly endeavour the converfion and falvation of all about you? Do you bear your children and relatives on your heart to the throne of grace, crying as Abraham, O that fuch may live in thy fight. Gen. xvii. 18?

Grace is of a communicative nature; infpires the breaft, in which it is, with the most tender compaffion and trueft affection, which will be expreffed in defires and endeavours to promote the eternal happiness of others, and in order to it, that here they may be truly holy in heart and life. This is the apoftle's requeft, in which he breathes the fpirit of a faint: The very God "of peace fanctify you wholly," Theff. v. 23.

5. Are you willing to come in to the light; to be tried by the impartial rule, or do you decline and hate it, from consciousness of guilt, and fear to be stop'd and difturb'd in the ftate and course you are in? This is a mark laid down by our bleffed Lord, John iii. 21. Every one that doth

evil hateth the light."

6. How do you ftand affected as to the word and ordinances? What longing have you after them? What delight in them? With what design and defire do you attend upon them?

7. How are your hearts fuited to fecret fpiritual duties? thofe that lie between God and your own fouls, and relate to the workings of the thoughts and affections. What inward grief and forrow have you upon account of fin? What humility in a fenfe of your vilenefs and corruption? What defires have you after God? What exercife of love to him, trust and dependance upon him, care to please and keep up daily intimate communion with him, as one you have more to do with, than with all the world befides?

8. How are you affected to Christ, the purchafer of grace, through whom it is bestow'd, and by whose spirit it is wrought? Such as are made partakers of faving grace cannot but adore and love him, have high thoughts of him, and bless God for him; remembering with thankfulnefs his aftonishing love, fufferings and death, and what they owe thereto; the prevalency of his interceffion, and what they have received therefrom, and further hope to do.

O my foul, can I look upon myself as an heir of the grace of life, grace as leading up to glory, and shall not that Redeemer be infinitely dear to me, whose blood is the price of all?

9. How are you affected to the faints? Doth the grace of God appearing in them, the image of God impreffed upon them, recommend them to your love and efteem, how low or mean foever in the world?

10. What

10. What delight do you experience in God and his ways? viz. How do you ftand affected towards heaven?

Do your defires move upward, are your motions and operations directed that way ?Do you think with pleasure of the perfect ftate and work which all there are advanced to; the holiness and happiness; the purity and glory that fill that world?

Do you long, and breathe, and daily afpire, after perfect conformity to God, and perfect bleffednefs in him, fo as never to be quiet or fatisfied with any thing elfe?

This is faitable to the temper and experience of faints. "Our converfation is in heaven." Phil. iii. 20. And where the faving grace of God is bestowed, it will beget in the foul a tendency to the enjoyment of him in endless glory.

Thus I have endeavoured to help you to underftand your cafe; whether you have that grace which 'tis here proclaimed, the Lord will give, or are yet deftitute of it.

Let me defire you to treat the matter with folemnity, like persons upon the brink of an everlafting world; to be tried and adjudged to the inheritance of the faints in light, or to utter darknefs, as you are found in a state of grace or of fin.

Set yourselves, therefore, in the presence of God, with your Bibles before you, and beg of God to make you ferious and faithful, and by his convincing fpirit, direct and enable you to bring, the matter to an iffue.

Let

Let me only add a word by way of foliloquy. And is it plain, O my foul, that I am destitute of the divine grace, without a title to, or meetnefs for the heavenly glory? How deplorable is the ftate in which I have hitherto lived! And fhall I any longer continue in it? Shall I not prefently arife and go to my Father, and owning my fin and mifery, in the deepest humility, but with fupporting hope, cry for mercy ?

O how reviving is it to hear, The Lord will give grace; grace which I want, and can never be happy without: That 'tis the Father of mercies with whom I have to do: That the Lord will give; he whofe power and goodness are always the fame, and always infinite; able to cure and heal my foul; recover and bring me up, how low foever I am fallen, and willing to do fo.

Obferve, O my foul, how the proposal runs. The Lord will give, freely beftow, his grace, which I fo greatly need, and can never deserve ? What comfort is here in every word, against my weakness and unworthiness? If the Lord will work, let me not question his power: If he will give with whom is the fountain of life, let me not diftruft his goodness.

To him let me direct my eye, and the defires of my foul: At the footstool of his throne let me bow my knee: To him let me fend my earneft repeated prayers, and give him no reft, till I hear that joyful, reviving word drop from his lips, My grace is fufficient for thee: fufficient to pardon and purify, heal and fave thy foul.

And