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grand essential of it, THE NEW BIRTH, had never entered his mind-that he had never derived comfort from the promises of God-that he had never known the plague of his own heart, having never taken notice of his secret thoughts-and that he was entirely unacquainted with Satan's temptations, and the way to resist them. He therefore frequented the company of those persons, to obtain information ; his mind was constantly intent upon gaining spiritual knowledge; and his whole soul was so fixed on eternal things, that it was difficult to draw his mind from heaven to earth. He now began to read his Bible with new eyes: it became inexpressibly sweet and pleasant to him, because it held forth a Saviour whom he now felt the want of Reading, meditation, and prayer to understand the scriptures, were his delightful employment. Now the enemy of souls assaulted him with his temptations. One of the principal was, Whether he was elected or not ? But it pleased God to relieve him, by impressing his mind with such words as these; " Look at the generations of old, and see, did ever any trust in God and were confounded ?” This gave him much encouragement, as if it had been said, " Begin at Genesis, and read to the end of the Revelations, and try if you can find any that ever trusted in God and were confounded, and if none that trusted in God ever miscarried, then your duty is to trust in God, and not concern yourself about election, which is a secret thing."
Another temptation that violently assaulted him, was, “ How. if the day of grace should be past and gone ?" But after many days spent in
