foul cafts the confcience into a fever, and guilt makes the rage of it. The great Phyfician gives the proper remedy and fo the confcience gets a cool, the fickness is removed, and the man gathers health, ftrength, and foundness, Job xxxiii. 22.-26. Heb. ix. 14.

II. I fhall fhew the excellency of it. It is Abraham's bofom, on this fide of heaven, the lower paradife; it is like the fhore to the fhipwrecked foul; and life from the dead. I will only fay three things of it.

1. It is the wine-prefs of the grapes of heaven, that fqueezeth out into the man's mouth the fap of the covenant, Pfal. cxix. 102. 103. It was a fad tale of the good Afaph's, Pfal. lxxvii. 3. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my Spirit was overwhelmed. Peace of confcience makes a man remember God, and be comforted; to fuck the fap of promifes, and all the declarations of God's love and favour in his word, as the fame Afaph did, Pfal. lxxiii. 24. 25. 26.

2. It is fap and foifon to all earthly comforts, Prov. xv. 15. A fick man can take no pleasure in the comforts of life, as a healthy man does. An uneafy confcience fucks the fap out of. all. But peace there makes coarse fare, and little of it, very fweet, Prov. xvii. 1. And whatever a man has, it puts an additional fweetness in it.

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, eafy in the middle of the little annoyances of the world, though they be great in themselves, 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 houfe. But heavy is their cafe, who come from bitterness abroad, and are met with bitternels at home. The former is an emblem of peace of confcience, the latter an emblem of the foul in afflic

ons.

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

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 reconcliation without his blood. The convinced finners could have had no more inward peace than devils have, if Chrift had not died to procure it; but their wound had been incu rable, stood open and gaping for ever.

2. It is obtained by them, by these two methods. (1.) By a believing application of the blood of Chritt, Rom. xv. 13. Job xxxiii. 23. &c. This is the only medicine that can draw the thorn of guilt out of the confcience, and heal its wounds, 1 John i. 7. Medicines prepared by men, may cure bodily diftempers, 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 conscience; and do what ye will, if ye do not that, ye will never get true peace, If. vii. 9.

(2.) By God's speaking peace thereupon to the foul, If. İvii. 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, Pfal. li. 8. He speaks peace in the word; but a work of the Spirit on the confcience is neceffary to make the application, as appears from 2 Sam. xii. 13. compared with Pfal. li. And this is a light ftruck up in the foul, discovering 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.

VOL. II.

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IV. I fhall fhew how this peace is maintained. The apoftle tells us it was his exercife to maintain it, Acts xxiv. 16. And if we be not exercifed 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 ftand aloof from fin, coft what it will, Acts xi. 2 3. David kept up his peace that way, Pfil. xvii. 3. This is the breaft-plate of righteoufnefs, Eph. vi. 14. the which if it fall by, one may quickly be wounded to the heart. Unfettlednefs of heart, one's being at every turn unresolved what to do, cannot mifs to leave him in the mire.

2. Living a life of dependence on the Lord, for light and life, direction and through bearing, Prov. ii. 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.

3. Watchfulness against fin, fnares, and tempta tions, 1 Cor. x. 12. One that would maintain his peace, must be upon his guard, otherwife it will foon be difturbed, in this evil world.

4. A ftrict, holy, gofpel walk, in all known du. ties, towards Gcd, and towards man, Gal. vi. 16. He that will adventure to balk any of them, fhall foon lofe it.

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

V. I proceed to fhew how peace of confcience is diftinguished from falfe peace. A godly man may have a falfe peace, Cant. v. 2. Such had David be fore Nathan came to him after his fall. An unregenerate man can have no peace but what is falfe, lf. Ivii. ult.

1. True peace, built on the ground of God's word, is eftablished 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 mifunderftand 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 tender nefs, and conftant ftruggle against fin: but falfe peace is maintained without it, 1 John iii. 3.

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, I, 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 exercifed to keep it.

III. Of Joy in the Holy Ghost. SPIRITU AL joy, or joy in the Holy Ghost, is a benefit flowing from juftification.

Now to fhew firft of all what spiritual joy is: Joy in general is a pleafing paffion, ariling 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.

Here I fhall fhew,

par

1. The fubjects of this joy, who they are that take of it,

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 ufe of to convey it into the hearts of the faints.

VI, The difference betwixt it and the hypocrites 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 bleffed 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 delusive joy, which is a carnal joy in fpiritual things, Matth. xiii. 20. But faints only have the true fpiritual joy, or joy in the Holy Ghoit; for it is peculiar to the fubjects of Chrift'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 intereft in Chrift: in fuch a cafe he cannot have this joy. It is true, there is a feed of joy, in the molt bitter forrows of a fpirit, which will fpring up in due tim, Pfal. xcvii. 11. But it feems it may be the cafe of fome of the faints, never to have that joy till they get it in heaven, though I judge it very rare, especi ally under the New-teftament difpenfation, Heb. ii. 15:

II. I fhall fhew the objects of this joy, what they joy in.

3:

1. The principal object is God in Chrift, Phil. iii. Rom. v. 11. They look to and remember God in Chrift, and joy in him. God out of Chrift is a moft terrible object, Heb. xii. ult. Our God is a confuming fire. And a finner can never truly rejoice in an abfolute God. But God in Christ, 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 two

fold.

(7.) The precious fpiritual privileges they have in hand, which they enjoy for the prefent in this life, as juftification, adoption, fanctification, peace with God, peace of confcience, accefs to God, and communion