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of prayer. In this there are several things to be considered.

When there is strong desire, there is a feeling of want. Man has nothing for which he is not dependent. He needs many things for the welfare and comfort of his body. These wants are supplied by the beneficent dispensations of divine providence. For these blessings he is permitted to ask: "Give us day by day our daily bread." As to the extent of earthly blessings, he should ask only for what is necessary, and may be for his own good, and the glory of God. When deprived of health or other temporal blessings, he may seek for deliverance and for a restoration of such favours as have been withheld; but as it is good to be afflicted, he should rather pray to have his sufferings sanctified, than removed.

But our prayers should be chiefly offered for spiritual blessings, for ourselves and others. Here, we cannot be too importunate. We are taught, indeed, that it is importunity in prayer, which secures the blessing. This includes earnestness and perseverance. We should pray and not faint; be instant in prayer; yea, pray without ceasing. Prayer, to the spiritual life, is like breathing to the life of the body. We cannot live without prayer. Our prayers should not

be confined to ourselves and our immediate connexions. These may properly hold a first place in our petitions; but we are bound to pray for rulers, and for all that are in authority, and for all sorts of men, that God would be merciful to them, and show them his salvation.

Prayer should be in the name of Christ. Faith is absolutely necessary in acceptable prayer, and faith always has respect to the Mediator. The humble penitent feels that he is unworthy to approach the

throne of God in his own name, for he is defiled with sin. He can only come with liberty and confidence, when he beholds his great High Priest standing between him and the divine Majesty. The prayers of believers are rendered acceptable and efficacious, only through the intercession of Jesus Christ our advocate. This is the precious incense, which is offered with the prayers of all saints.

But faith has respect also to the promises of God. On these it firmly relies, believing that what He hath said, he will faithfully perform. The person who prays in faith, confidently expects to receive whatever God has promised to give, in answer to prayer. Christians should therefore watch for the answer to their petitions. They should be attentive to the providences of God, by which prayer is often answered.

Prayer was never intended to supersede the use of other means; effort should always follow our prayers. The more faithfully we labour, the better reason have we to expect an answer to prayer.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

ASSURANCE OF SALVATION.

66

WE read in the Epistle to the Hebrews, both of the assurance of faith," and the "assurance of hope." As faith is itself a belief of the truth, the assurance of faith can signify nothing else than a strong faith, an undoubting conviction of the truth. And, as hope is an expectation of future good, which may be more or

less strong, as the evidence that the good hoped for shall be ours, the assurance of hope is a full persuasion that in due time we shall realize the blessing which we desire. According to this interpretation, the assurance of hope does not differ from the assurance of salvation.

The relation between the assurance of faith and the assurance of hope, is hence manifest. The former is the necessary foundation of the latter. Unless we are fully persuaded that there is a full and suitable salvation in Christ, it is impossible that we should be assured that we shall obtain salvation through Him. But as God promises eternal life to every one who believes in Christ, when we do sincerely believe, and when our faith is strong, it is easy to draw the inference, that the salvation of the gospel is ours. The thing stands thus. God says, "he that believeth shall be saved." I am conscious that I believe, therefore, I know that I shall be saved. The strength of this conclusion, or the assurance that I shall obtain salvation, depends first on the assurance which I have that there is salvation in Christ for every one that believes. If I receive this declaration with some degree of dubiety, then there being no assurance of faith, of course, there can be no assurance of salvation. But if this truth be received, without any wavering, then there is a solid foundation on which the assurance of hope may rest.

In the next place, having believed in the promise of God, I must know certainly that I have believed, and that my faith is genuine. For although I believe ever so certainly in the truth of God's promise of eternal life to him that believeth, yet, if I doubt whether I have believed, or am uncertain whether my faith is of that kind to which the promise is made,

I cannot possess assurance of salvation. And there seems to be some ground for a doubt of this kind, as we read of several kinds of faith which were not connected with salvation. And one species of faith which was not saving, is represented as being accompanied with joy and every appearance of being genuine, until being put to the trial, it was found to be deficient.

Again, it ought to be remarked here, that many persons have entertained a strong persuasion that they were the heirs of salvation, and yet their confidence was founded in error or delusion. Therefore, although at first view, it would seem the easiest thing in the world, for a true believer to arrive at assurance of salvation, yet, when we take into view the deceitfulness of the heart, and the power of Satan to transform himself into an angel of light, and also the numerous cases of actual deception which have occurred, we are so far from thinking it easy to arrive at assurance, that we are disposed to believe that an infallible, unwavering assurance, on solid scriptural grounds, can be acquired by no one, without the special witness of the Holy Spirit. Most Christians, at least in our day, do not possess an assurance of salvation which excludes all doubt and fear, as to their future destiny. They have attained to a comfortable hope, but not to the assurance of hope; except at some favoured moments, when the love of God is shed abroad in their heart, by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Then the Spirit witnesses with their spirits, that they are the children of God.

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How this witness is given, is a mat concerning which there are different opinions. But as there are spurious joys which may be very extatic, it is safest to believe, that this assurance is commonly given, by

bringing into lively exercise, faith, love, and joy; so that there can be no doubt of the existence of these exercises, as there can be none, that they are feelings peculiar to the children of God. The Spirit not only enlightens the mind to discern the beauty of holiness in the word, but to discern also, the image of the truth made on the heart, so that by his illumination, the believer is enabled to look back on his past experience, and to see, that, from time to time, he has exercised true faith, love, &c.; or, that he now actually is in the exercise of these graces. I do not, however, see any reason to doubt that God may sometimes, without any examination or comparison of its exercises with the marks of his word, fill the soul of the believer with a joyful persuasion of his love, and may so pour into it the spirit of adoption, that it shall be enabled, with filial confidence, to cry, Abba, Father. Many testimonies to this purpose might be collected from the experience of saints.

But alas! many serious, conscientious persons are always more or less under a cloud of doubt and uncertainty, respecting their spiritual condition. These broken reeds must not be crushed, nor this smoking flax quenched, by any doctrine of ours; for often among these are found the truly contrite and humble spirits with whom Jehovah delights to take up his abode. Where doubting does not arise from any want of confidence in the truth of God's word, but altogether from diffidence of the genuineness of our own faith, it does not partake of the nature of unbelief; for there is so much reason to distrust our own hearts, that this timidity and uncertainty is often rather an evidence of self-knowledge and humility, than of unbelief. Still, such persons are deprived of much comfort, which Christians ought to enjoy.

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