father's affection seems to break first
from under ground, is, the revealing to the heart the love and mercy of
God to sinners. I do not say, to such a soul in particular, for that
application is neither first, nor universal. But herein the Spirit of
adoption first appears from under the cloud of fear; and this is the first
opening of the prison of bondage, wherein a soul was shut, when the plain
way of reconciliation to God in Christ, and delivery from the bondage of
sin and wrath, is holden out; when such a word as this comes into the
soul, and is received with some gladness, "God so loved the world that he
gave his Son," &c. "This is a true and faithful saying," &c. "Come, ye
that labour and are weary, and I will give rest to your souls." When a
soul is made to hear the glad tidings of liberty preached to captives, of
light to the blind, of joy to the heavy in spirit, of life to the dead,
though he cannot come that length as to see his own particular interest,
yet the very receiving affectionately and greedily such a general report
as good and true, gives some ease and relaxation to the heart. To see
delivery possible, is some door of hope to a desperate sinner. But to see
it, and espy more than a possibility, even great probability, though he
cannot reach a certainty, that will be as the breaking open of a window of
light in a dark dungeon. It will be as the taking off of some of the
hardest fetters, and the worst chains, which makes a man almost to think
himself at liberty. Now this is the great office of the Spirit of the
Father, to beget in us good thoughts of him, to incline us to charitable
and favourable constructions of him, and make us ready to think well of
him, to beget a good understanding in us and him, and correct our jealous
misapprehensions of him. For certainly we are naturally suspicious of God,
that he deals not in sad earnest with us. Whenever we see the height of
our provocation, and weight of deserved indignation, we think him like
ourselves, and can hardly receive without suspicion the gospel that lays
open his love in Christ to the world.

Now, this is the Spirit's work, to make us entertain that honourable
thought of God, that he is most inclinable to pardon sinners; and that his
mercy is infinitely above man's sin; and that it is no prejudice to his
holiness or justice; and to apprehend seriously a constant reality and
solid truth in the promises of the gospel; and so to convince a soul of
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