3. It is fweet fauce to all afflictions, 2 Cor. i. 12. John xvi. 33. When there is no peace within, little thing makes people fretful: even a fcratch of a pin is a wound with a fword. But this makes a man easy in the middle of the little annoyances of the world, though they be great in themfelves, Col. iii. 15. Phil. iv. 7. Compare Heb. x. 34. When a man meets with difquietments and vexations abroad, he is helped to bear all, when he is comforted and cheered coming into his own house. But heavy is their cafe, who come from bitterness abroad, and are met with bitterness at home. The former is an emblem of peace of confcience, the latter an emblem of the foul in afflictions.

III. I am to fhew how this peace of confcience is obtained. This peace is peculiar to the faints. Others may have falfe peace, Luke xi. 21. but they only have, or can have, true peace, Rom. v. 1.

1. It is obtained for them by Jefus Chrift dying and fuffering to procure it, If. liii. 5. Eph ii. 14. There can be none of this peace without reconciliation with God, and there could be no reconciliation without his blood. The convinced finners could have had no more inward peace than devils have, if Christ had not died to procure it; but their wound had been incurable, and ftood open and gaping for

ever.

2. It is obtained by them, by these two methods.

(1.) By a believing application of the blood of Christ, Rom. xv. 13. Job xxxiii. 23. &c. This is the only medicine that can draw the thorn of guilt out of the conscience, and heal its wounds, 1 John i. 7. Medicines prepared by men may cure bodily distempers, and a vitiated fancy, or difordered imagination, among other things. Confeffing, mourning, reforming, watching, &c. may give a palliative cure even to the confcience, fcurfing over its fores. But nothing but a believing application of Chrift's blood will give true peace of confcience; and do what ye will, if ye do not that, ye will never get true peace, If. vii. 9.

(2.) By God's fpeaking peace thereupon to the foul, If. lvii. 19. The foul refting on Chrift by faith, brings it into a state of peace with God; but for peace of confcience, more is required, namely, a fenfe of that peace. And this none but God can give, Pfalm li. 8. He fpeaks peace in the word; but a work of the Spirit on the confcience is necef

fary to make the application, as appears from 2 Sam. xii. 13. compared with Pfalm li. And this is a light struck up in the foul, difcovering the foul to be at peace with God, an overpowering light that filences doubts and fears, and creates a bleffed calm. This alfo is obtained in the way of believing, in the reflex act of faith.

IV. I fhall fhew how this peace is maintained. The apostle tells us it was his exercise to maintain it, Acts xxiv. 16. And if we be not exercised in it, it will foon be loft. Now, it is maintained by,

1. Keeping up a firm and fettled purpose of heart to follow the way of duty, and to stand aloof from fin, cost what it will, Acts xi. 23. David kept up his peace that way, Pfalm xvii. 3. This is the breaft-plate of righteousness, Eph. vi. 14. the which if it fall by, one may quickly be wounded to the heart. Unsettledness of heart, one's being at every turn unrefolved what to do, cannot miss to leave him in the mire.

2. Living a life of dependence on the Lord, for light and life, direction and through-bearing, Prov. iii. 6. Gal. ii. 20. And this will keep a man from prefumption, and doing any thing with a doubting confcience, which will foon mar one's peace.

x. 12.

3. Watchfulness against fin, fnares and temptations, 1 Cor, One that would maintain his peace, must be upon his guard, otherwise it will foon be disturbed, in this evil world.

4. A strict, holy, gospel-walk, in all known duties, towards God and towards man, Gal. vi. 16. He that will adventure to balk any of them, shall foon lose it.

5. Lastly, Frequent renewing of our faith and repentance, for purging away the fins we fall into, 1 Pet. ii. 4.

V. I proceed to fhew how peace of confcience is distin guished from false peace. A godly man may have a falfe peace, Cant. v. 2. Such had David before Nathan came to him after his fall. An unregenerate man can have no peace but what is false, If. lvii. ult.

1. True peace, built on the ground of God's word, is established by the word, however fearching; the other is weakened by it. For God's word is a friend to God's peace, but an enemy to delufion, 1 John iii. 20, 21. But this is meant of God's word rightly understood, (if we misunder,

ftand it, it is not his word, but our own mistake); and fuch mistakes may have the quite contrary effect.

2. True peace cannot be maintained but by a holy ten. derness, and constant struggle against sin: but false maintained without it, 1 John iii. 3.

peace is

Inf. 1. The unconverted finner, and the untender Chriftian too, are in a very unfit cafe for a time of common calamity, If. lvii. 20, 21. Matth. xxv. 5. Only the man that has peace of confcience is prepared, If. xxxiii. 14, 15.

2. Let all who would have their confciences to be their friends, flee to the blood of Chrift, and lead a holy life. 3. Lastly, Let those that want it, labour to get it; and they that have it, be exercised to keep it.

III. OF JOY IN THE HOLY GHOST.

Spiritual joy, or joy in the the Holy Ghost, is a
benefit flowing from juftification."

Now, to fhew first of all what spiritual joy is: Joy in general is a pleafing paffion, arifing from the enjoyment, or hope of the enjoyment of a defired object. Spiritual joy is a joy arifing from the enjoyment, and hope of the enjoyment of fpiritual bleffings.

it.

Here I fhall fhew,

I. The fubjects of this joy, who they are that partake of

II. The objects of it, or what they joy in.

III. The grounds of it.

IV. The Author of it.

V. The means the Spirit makes use of to convey it into the hearts of the faints.

VI. The difference betwixt it and the hypocrite's joy.
VII. Lastly, Apply.

I. I fhall confider the fubjects of this joy, who they are that partake of it.

1. It is peculiar to the faints; for they only are blessed with fpiritual bleffings in Chrift Jefus, and no others can have true fpiritual joy, Phil. iii. 3. Any body may have a fenfitive joy, viz. in things grateful to their fenfes, Acts xiv. 17. Profane men may have a finful joy, a joy in fin, Prov.

xv. 21. Hypocrites may have a delufive joy, which is a carnal joy in fpiritual things, Matth. xiii. 20. But faints only have the true spiritual joy, or joy in the Holy Ghost; for it is peculiar to the subjects of Christ's kingdom, Rom. xiv. 17. 2. Yet the faints have it not at all times, Pfal. li. 8. A child of God may be walking in darkness, going mourning without the fun, having no evidence of his interest in Christ : in fuch a cafe he cannot have this joy. It is true, there is a feed of joy, in the most bitter forrows of a spirit, which will spring up in due time, Pfalm xcvii. 11. But it seems it may be the cafe with fome of the faints, never to have that joy till they get it in heaven, though I judge it is very rare, efpecially under the New Teftament difpenfation, Heb.

ii. 15.

II. I fhall fhew the objects of this joy, what they joy in. 1. The principal object is God in Christ, Phil. iii. 3. Rom. v. 11. They look to and remember God in Christ, and joy in him. God out of Christ is a most terrible object, Heb. xii. ult." Our God is a consuming fire." And a finner can never truly rejoice in an abfolute God. But God in Chrift, reconciled to the foul, breathing out peace and love to the finner through a crucified Redeemer, is the chief and fundamental, the comprehenfive object of his joy.

2. The lefs principal, or fecondary object, is twofold. (1.) The precious fpiritual privileges they have in hand, which they enjoy for the present in this life, as juftification, adoption, fanctification, peace with God, peace of conscience, access to God and communion with him, &c. In these they justly joy, If. lxi. 10. Will a man rejoice in the favour of his prince? Sure then a faint may well rejoice in the favour of his God.

(2.) The precious privileges they have in hope, Rom. v. 2. Rejoice in hope of the glory of God." They have heaven and the eternal weight of glory in view: and this hope makes them fing the triumph before the victory. Yet are they not rash and foolish; for it is a fure hope, and will never make one afhamed. One counts his riches, not only by what he has in hand, but what he has in bills and bonds, and joys in the latter as well as the former.

III. I fhall confider the grounds of this joy in these things. They are twofold.

1. A fuitableness of the objects to the heart and mind of

the child of God. Thefe objects are the great defire of a believer, 2 Sam. xxiiii. 5. So the receiving of them in hand, or in hope, makes him to joy, Pfal. iv. 6, 7. Without this there can be no joy, Prov. xiii. 12. "When the desire cometh, it is a tree of life." If ye would make a starving man rejoice, you must give him meat; if a condemned man, a pardon. Holinefs and communion with God are fapless to the unrenewed man, God himfelf is not the object of his defire; neither is the holiness of heaven fuited to his mind: therefore he cannot rejoice in thefe. But it is otherwise with the faints; so strangers intermeddle not with their joy.

ct

2. A sense of an interest in these objects, John xx. 28. My Lord, and my God." One has more joy in his own cottage than in another's palace, because he can fay, It is my cottage. Hagar could not rejoice in the well of water, till the Lord opened her eyes to fee it. Though a pardon were flipt unawares into a man's pocket, he cannot joy in it till he knows he has it. So a fenfe of our intereft is neceffary to fpiritual joy.

IV. I shall next confider the Author of this joy. The Holy Spirit of God is the Author of it, and therefore it is called "joy in the Holy Ghoft," Rom. xiv. 17. i. e. wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghoft, fhedding abroad the love of God, in the fenfe thereof, like a fweet-fmelling ointment in the heart of the faint. It is he that adminifters the reviving cordial to the fainting foul, draws off the faints fackcloth, and girds him with this gladness.

V. I come now to confider the means which the Spirit makes ufe of to convey this joy into the hearts of the faints. These are twofold.

These

1. External means are the word and facraments. are the wells of falvation to the people of God, If. xii. 3. (1.) The word of God, which brings the glad tidings of falvation from heaven to poor finners; it discovers the enrich ing treasure to the foul, Pfal. cxix. 162. "I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great fpoil." And no earthly treasure will raise fuch a joy in one's heart, as a word of promife will do, when the Spirit of the Lord fhines on it unto a foul.

(2.) The facraments, which feal and confirm the word of grace to the foul. This is plain from the exercife of the eunuch, Acts viii. 39. who, when he was baptifed, went on VOL. II. No. 17.

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