The Spirit of God MUST NOT BE RESISTED when proffering his help to the work of faith 2/3

 God makes short work with some in his judiciary proceedings.  If he finds a repulse once, sometimes he departs, and leaves a dismal curse behind him as the punishment of it.  ‘I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper,’ Luke 14:24.  They were but once invited, and, for their first denial, this curse [is] clapped upon their heads.  It is not said they shall never come where the supper stands on the board, but they shall never ‘taste.’  Many sit under the ordinances, where Christ in gospel-dishes is set forth admirably, but, through the efficacy of this curse upon them, never taste of these dainties all their life.  They hear precious truths, but their hearts are sealed up in unbelief, and their minds made reprobate and injudicious, that they are not moved at all by them.  There is a kind of frenzy and madness I have heard of, in which a man will dis­course soberly and rationally, till you come to speak of some one particular subject that was the occasion of his distemper, and first broke his brain; here he is quite out, and presently loses his reason, not able to speak with any understanding of it.  O how many men and women are there among us—frequent at­tenders on the word—who, in any matter of the world are able to discourse very understandingly and ration­ally; but, when you come to speak of the things of God, Christ, and heaven, it is strange to see how soon their reason is lost and all understanding gone from them!  they are not able to speak of these matters with any judgement.  Truly I am afraid, in many —who have sat long under the means, and the Spirit hath been making some attempts on them—It is injudiciousness of mind in the things of God is but the consequence of that spiritual curse which God hath passed upon them for resisting these essays of his Spirit.

           I beseech you, therefore, beware of opposing the Spirit.  Doth he beam any light from his word into thy understanding, whereby thou, who wert before an ig­norant sot, comest to something of the evil of sin, the excellency of Christ, and canst discourse rationally of the truths of the Scripture?  Look now to it, what thou canst with this candle of the Lord is lighted in thy mind; take heed thou beest not found sinning with it, or priding thyself in it, lest it goes out in a snuff, and thou, for ‘rebelling against the light,’ com­est at last to ‘die without knowledge,’ as is threatened, Job 36:12.  If the Spirit of God goes yet further, and [so] fortifies the light in thy understanding that it sets thy conscience on fire with the sense of thy sins, and apprehensions of the wrath due to them; now, take heed of resisting him when in mercy to thy soul he is kindling this fire in thy bosom, to keep thee out of a worse in hell, if thou wilt be ruled by him.  Thou must expect that Satan, now his house is on fire over his head, will bestir him what he can to quench it; thy danger is lest thou shouldst listen to him for thy pres­ent ease.  Take heed therefore where thou drawest thy water with which thou quenchest this fire; that it be out of no well, but out of the word of God.  In thinking to quiet thy conscience, thou mayest quench the Spirit of God in thy conscience; which is the mis­chief the devil longs thou shouldst pull upon thy own head.  There is more hope of a sick man when his disease comes out, than when it lies at the heart and nothing is seen outwardly.  You know how Hazael helped his master to his sad end, who might have lived for all his disease.  ‘He took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died;’ and it follows, ‘and Hazael reigned in his stead,’ II Kings 8:15.  Thus the wretch came to the crown.  He saw the king like to recover, and he squat­ted his disease, in all probability, to his heart by the wet cloth, and so by his death made a way for himself to the throne.  And truly Satan will not much fear to recover the throne of thy heart—which this present combustion in thy conscience puts him in great fear of losing—can he but persuade thee to apply some carnal coolings to it, thereby to quench the Spirit in his convincing work.  These convictions are sent thee mercifully in order to thy spiritual delivery, and they should be as welcome to thee as the kindly bearing pains of a woman in travail are to her.  Without them she could not be delivered of her child, nor without these, more or less, can the new creature be brought forth in thy soul