passage and was waâ—ted over by a gentle Wind and could tell no Stories of Storms and Tempests And thus I have fully and faithfully endeavour'd to open to you the just importance of this Phrase or Expression in the Text of the new Creature or the new Creation I proceed to the Second Particular I propounded namely that the real Renovation of our Hearts and Lives is according to the terms of the Gospel and the Christian Religion the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God and that this is the same in sense and substance with those Phrases in the parallel Texts to this of Faith perfected by Charity and of keeping the Commandments of God That according to the terms of the Gospel the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God is the real Renovation of our Hearts and Lives is plain not only from this Text which affirms that in thâ— Christian Religion nothing will avail us but the new Creature but likewise from many other clear Texts of Scripture and this whether by Justification be meant our first Justification upon our Faith and Repentance or our continuance in this state or our final Justification by our solemn Acquital and Absolution at the Great Day which in Scripture is called Salvation and Eternal Life That this is the Condition of our first Justification that is of the Forgiveness of our Sins and our being received into the grace and favour of God is plain from all those Texts where this Change is exprest by our Repentance and Conversion by our Regeneration and Renovation by our Purification and Sanctification or by any other terms of the like importance For under every one of these Notions this Change is made the Condition of the forgiveness of our Sins and acceptance to the favour of God Under the Notion of Repentance and Conversion Acts 2. 38. Repent and be Baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins Acts 3. 19. Repent and be Converted that your sins may be blotted out Upon the same account a penitent acknowledgement of our Sins which is an essential part of Repentance is made a Condition of the forgiveness of them 1 John 1. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness Under the notion of Regeneration and Renovation 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any Man be in Christ that is become a true Christian which is all one with being in a justified state he is a new Creature old things are past away behold all things are became new Tit. 3. 3 4 5 6 7. where the Apostle declares at large what Change is requir'd to put us into a justified state and to entitle us to the inheritance of Eternal Life For we our selves were also sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards Man appeared not by works of Righteousness which we have done that is not for any precedent Righteousness of ours for we were great Sinners but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour that being justified by his Grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of Eternal Life So that the Change of our former Temper and Conversion and Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost is antecedently necessary to our Justification that is to the pardon of our Sins and our restitution to the favour of God and the hope of Eternal Life So likewise under the notion of Purification and Sanctification 1 Cor. 6. 9 10 11. where the Apostle enumerates several Sins and Vices which will certainly exclude Men from the Favour and Kingdom of God from which we must be cleansed before we can be justified or saved Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God And such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God 2 Cor. 6. 17 18. where the Apostle likewise makes our purification a Condition of our being received into the favour of God and reckon'd into the number of his Children Touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you and ye shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord Almighty And that by not touching the unclean thing is here certainly meant our Sanctification and Purification from Sin is evident from what immediately follows in the beginning of the next Chapter Having therefore these promises Dearly Beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God that is having this Encouragement that upon this Condition we shall be received to the favour of God let us purifie our selves that we may be capable of this great Blessing And our continuance in this state of grace and favour with God depends upon our perseverance in Holiness for if any Man draw back my Soul shall have no pleasure in him And Lastly this is also the Condition of our final Justification and Absolution by the Sentence of the great Day Mat. 5. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Joh. 3. 3. Except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Heb. 12. 14. Follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. 1 John 3. 3. The Apostle there speaking of the blessed sight and enjoyment of God tells us what we must do if ever we hope to be Partakers of it Every Man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure And this Condition here mentioned in the Text of our being New Creatures is the same in sense and substance with those Expressions which we find in the two parallel Texts to this where Faith which is perfected by Charity and keeping the Commandments of God are made the Condition of our justification and acceptance with God Gal. 5. 6. In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but Faith which is consummate or made perfect by Charity and 1 Cor. 7. 19. Circumcision is nothing and Uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the Commandments of God It is evident that the Design and Meaning of these three Texts is the same and therefore these three Expressions of the new Creature and of Faith perfected by Charity and of keeping the Commandments of God do certainly signifie the same thing That the New Creature signifies â—he change of our state from a state of Disobedience and Sin to a state of Obedience and
Holiness of Life I have shewn at large and the Apostle explaining this New Creation most expresly tells us Ephes 2. 10 We are his wormanship Created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God â—ath before ordained that we should walk in them and Colos 3. 10 12 13 14. where the Apostle tells them that they ought to give testimony of their Renovation and having put on the new Man by all the fruits of Obedience and Goodness Ye have put on the new Man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him Put on therefore as the Elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercy kindness humbleness of mind meekness longsuffâ—ring forbearing one another and forgiving one another and above all these things put on Charity which is the bond of perfection And the Apostle St. Peter tells us that our Regeneration which he calls Sanctification of the Spirit is unto obedience 1 Pet. 1. 2. So that our Renovation consisteth in the Principle and Practice of Obedience and a good Life And what is this but Faith perfected by Charity And Charity the Apostle tells us is the fulfilling of the Law and what is the fulfilling of the Law but keeping the Commandments of God And keeping the Commandments of God or at least a sincere Resolution of Obedience when there is not time and opportunity for the tryal of it is in Scripture as expresly made a Condition both of our present and final justification and acceptance with God as Faith is and in truth is the same with a living and operative Faith and a Faith that is consummate and made perfect by Charity Acts 10. 34 35. Of a truth I perceive saith St. Peter that God is no respecter of Persons but in every Nation he that feareth him and worketh Righteousness is accepted with him which speech does as plainly as words can do any thing declare to us upon what terms all Mankind of what Condition or Nation soever may find acceptance with God Rom. 2. 6 7 8 9 10. Who will render to every Man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality Eternal Life but to them who are contentious and obey not the Truth but obey Unrighteousness Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul of Man that doth Evil of the Jews first and also of the Gentiles but Glory Honour and Peace to every Man that worketh good to the Jew first and also to the Gentile As to our acceptance with God and the Rewards of another World it matters not whether Jew or Gentile Circumcised or Uncircumcised that which maketh the difference is obeying the Truth or obeying Unrighteousness working Good or doing Evil these are the things which will avail to our Justification or Condemnation at the Great Day To the same purpose is that Saying of the Apostle to the Hebrews Chap. 5. 9. That Christ is the Author of Eternal Salvation to them that obey him I will conclude this Matter with two Remarkable Sayings the one towards the beginning the other towards the â—nd of the Bible to satisfie us that this is the tenour of the Holy Scriptures and the constant Doctrine of it from the beginning to the end Gen. 4. 7. It is God's Speech to Cain If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted And Rev. 22. 14. Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have right to the Tree of Life and may enter in through the Gates into the City And thus I have done with the Second thing I propounded which was to shew that according to the terms of the Gospel and the Christian Religion the real Renovation of our Hearts and Lives is the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God and that this in sense and substance is the same with Faith made perfect by Charity and keeping the Commandments of God The Third and last Particular remains to be spoken to namely That it is highly reasonable that this should be the Condition of our Justification and acceptance to the favour of God and that upon these two accounts First For the honour of God's Holiness Secondly In order to the qualifying of us for the favour of God and the enjoyment of him for the pardon of our Sins and the Reward of Eternal Life First For the honour of God's Holiness For should God have received Men to his favour and rewarded them with Eternal Glory and Happiness for the meer belief of the Gospel or a confident perswasion that Christ would save them without any change of their Hearts and Lives without Repentance from dead works and fruits meet for Repentance and amendment of Life he had not given sufficient testimony to the World of his Love to Holiness and Righteousness and of his hatred of Sin and Iniquity The Apostle tells us that God in the justifi-fication of a Sinner declares his Righteousness but should he justifie Men upon other terms this would not declare his Righteousness and love of Holiness but rather an indifferency whether Men were good and Righteous or not For a bare assent to the truth of the Gospel without the fruits of Holiness and Obedience is not a living but a dead Faith and so far from being acceptable to God that it is an affront to him and a confident reliance upon Christ for Salvation while we continue in our Sins is not a justifying Faith but a bold and impudent presumption upon the Mercy of God and the Merits of our Saviour who indeed justifies the ungodly that is those that have been so but not those that continue so And if God should pardon Sinners and reward them with Eternal Life upon any other terms than upon our becoming New Creatures than upon such a Faith as is made perfect by Charity that is by keeping the Commands of God this would be so far from declaring his Righteousness and being a testimony of his hatred and displeasure against Sin that it would give the greatest countenance and encouragement to it imaginable Secondly It is likewise very Reasonable that such a Faith that makes us New Creatures and is perfected by Charity and keeping the Commandments of God should be the Condition of Justification in order to the qualifying of us for the Pardon of our Sins and the Reward of Eternal Life that is for the favour of God and for the enjoyment of him To forgive Men upon other terms were to give countenance and encouragement to perpetual Rebellion and Disobedience That Man is not fit to be forgiven who is so far from being sorry for his fault that he goes on to offend he is utterly incapable of Mercy who is not sensible that he hath done amiss and resolved to amend No Prince ever thought a Rebellious Subject capable of Pardon upon lower terms than these It is in the nature of the thing unfit that an obstinate Offender should have any Mercy or Favour shewn to him And
Mankind John 15. 22 23 24. If I had not come and spoken unto them they had not had sin that is in Comparison their Sin had been much more excusable but now they have no cloak for their sin He that hateth me hateth my Father also If I had not done among them the works which none other Man did they had not had sin but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father How is that Our Saviour means that they had now sinned against all the advantages of knowing the will of God that Mankind could possibly have at once opposing Natural Light which was the dispensation of the Father and the clearest revelation of God's will in the Dispensation of the Gospel by his Son Now have they both seen and hated both Me and my Father The two remaining Observations I shall reserve to another Opportunity SERMON XI The Danger of all known Sin both from the Light of Nature and Revelation ROM I. 18 19. For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men who hold the truth in unrighteousness because that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God hath shewed it unto them I Have handled Four of the Observations which I rais'd from these Words and shall now proceed to the other Two that remain Fifth Observation That the Natural Knowledge which Men have of God if they live contrary to it is a sufficient evidence of their holding the trâ—th of God iâ— unâ—â—ghteousness For thâ—â—eason why the Apostle chargeth them with this is Because that which may be known of God is manifest in that God hath shewed it â—nto them There is a Natural Knowledge of God and of the Duty we owe to him which the Apostle calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that of God which is obvious to be known by the light of Nature and is as much as is absolutely necessary for us to know There is something of God that is incomprehensible and beyond the reach of our Understandings but his Being and Essential Perfections may be known which he calls his Eternal Power and Godhead thâ—se he tells us are clearly seen being understood by the things which are made that is the Creation of the World is a plain demonstration to Men of the Being and Power of God and if so then God is naturally â—nown to Men the contrary whereof Socinus positively maintains tho' therein he be forsaken by most of his Followers an Opinion in my Judgment very unworthy of one who not without Reason was esteemed so great a Master of Reason and tho' I believe he did not see it undermining the strongest and surest Foundation of all Religion which when the Natural Notions of God are once taken away will certainly want its best support Besides that by denying any Natural Knowledge of God and his Essential Perfections he freely gives away one of the most plausible grounds of opposing the Doctrine of the Trinity But because this is a Matter of great Consequence and he was a great Man and is not to be confuted by contempt but by better Reason if it can be found I will Consider his Reasons for this Opinion and return a particular Answer to them First He says that if the Knowledge of God were Natural it would not be of Faith but the Apostle says that we must believe that he is The force of which Argument if it have any lies in this that the Object of Faith is Divine Revelation and therefore we cannot be said to believe what we Naturally know The Schoolmen indeed say so but the Scripture useth the word Faith more largely for a rela perswasion of any thing whether grounded upon Sense or Reason or Divine Revelation And our Saviour's Speech to Thomas Because thou hast seen thou hast believed does sufficiently intimate that a Man may believe what he sees and if so what should hinder but that a Man may be said to believe what he Naturally knows that is be really perswaded that there is a God from Natural Light Secondly His next Argument is because the same Apostle concludes Enoch to have believed God because he pleased God and without Faith it is impossible to please him From whence he says it is certain that Men may be without this Belief which if it be Natural they cannot Indeed if the Apostle had said that whoever believes a God must of necessity obey and please him then the Inference had been good that all Men do not Naturally believe a God because it is certain they do not please him but it is not good the other way no more than if a Man should argue thus that because whoever acts reasonably must be endowed with Reason therefore Men are not Naturally endowed with Reason For as Men may Naturally be endowed with Reason and yet not always make use of it so Men may Naturally know and believe a God and yet not be careful to please him His Third Argument is that the Scripture says that there are some that do not believe a God for which he cites that of David The Fool hath said in his heart there is no God which certainly proves that bad Men live so as if they believed there were no God nay it may farther import that they endeavour as much as they can to stifle and extinguish the belief of a God in their Minds and would gladly perswade themselves there is no God because it is convenient for them there should be none and whether David meant so or not it is very probable that some may arrive to that height of Impiety as for a time at least and in some moods to disbelieve a God and to be very confident of the Arguments on that side But what then Is the Knowledge and Belief of a God therefore not Natural to Mankind Nature it self as constant and uniform as it is admits of some Irregularities and Exceptions in Effects that are meerly Natural much more in those which have something in them that is voluntary and depends upon the good or bad use of our Reason and Understanding and there is no arguing from what is Monstrous against what is Natural It is Natural for Men to have five Fingers upon a Hand and yet some are born otherwise but in voluntary Agents that which is Natural may be perverted and in a great measure extinguisht in some particular instances so that there is no force at all in this Objection His Fourth and last Argument is that there have not only been particular Persons but whole Nations who have had no sense nor so much as suspicion of a Deity This I confess were of great force if it were true and for the proof of this he produceth the instance of Brasil in America But I utterly deny the matter of fact and History and challenge any Man to bring good testimony not only of any Nation but of any City in the World that ever were professed Atheists I know
Uncircumcision Barbarian Sâ—ythian bond nor free but Christ is all and in all Which is the same with what the Apostle says here in the Text that in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but a new Creature that is these external Marks and Differences signifie nothing but this inward Change the new Creature Christ formed in us this in the Christian Religion is all in all But that we may the more clearly understand the just importance of this Metaphor of a new Creature or a new Creation I shall First Consider what it doth certainly signifie by comparing this Metaphorical Phrase with other plain Texts of Scripture And Secondly That it doth not import what some would extend it to so as to found Doctrines of great Consequence upon the single strength of this and the like Metaphors in Scripture without any manner of countenance from plain Texts First I shall consider what this Metaphor doth certainly import so as to be undeniably evident from other more clear and full Texts of Sripture namely these two Things 1. The greatness of this Change 2. That it is effected and wrought by a Divine Power 1. The greatness of this Change it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a new Creation as if the Christian Doctrine firmly entertained and believed did as it were mould and fashion Men over again transforming them into a quite other sort of Persons than what they were before and made such a change in them as the Creating Power of God did in bringing this Beautiful and orderly frame of things out of their dark and rude Chaos Thus the Apostle represents it 2 Cor. 4. 6. God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness alluding to the first Creation hath shined into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ We are translated from one extream to another Acts 26. 18. When our Lord sends Paul to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles he tells him what a change it would make in them by opening their eyes and turning them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God And St. Peter expresses the change which Christianity makes in Men by their being call'd out of darkness into a marvellous light 1 Pet. 2. 9. And so St. Paul Eph. 5. 8. Ye were sometimes darkness but now are ye light in the Lord. And indeed wherever the Doctrine of Christ hath its full effect and perfect work it makes a mighty change both in their inward Principles and outward Practice it darts a new light into their Minds so that they see things otherwise than they did before and form a different judgment of things from what they did before it endues them with a new Principle and new Resolutions gives them another Spirit and another Temper a quite different sense and gust of things from what they formerly had And this inward change of their Minds necessarily produceth a proportionable change in their Lives and Conversations so that the Man steers quite another course acts after another rate and drives on quite other designs from what he did before And this is remarkably seen in those who are reclaimed from Impiety and Prophaneness to Religion and from a vicious to a virtuous course of Life The Change is great and real in all but not so sensible and visible in some as others in those who are made good by the insensible steps of a pious and virtuous Education as in those who are translated out of a quite contrary state and tâ—rn'd from the power of Satan unto God and translated out of the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of Christ which was the case of the Heathen World in their first Conversion to Christianity Secondly This Change is effected and wrought by a Divine Power of the same kind with that which Created the World and raised up Christ Jesus from the Dead two great and glorious Instances of the Divine Power and to these the Scripture frequently alludes when it speaks of this New Creation God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined into our hearts Like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father so we also are raised to newness of life saith St. Paul Rom. 6. 4. And to the same purpose the same Apostle speaks Ephes 1. 19 20. And that ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe according to the operation of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead So that our Renovation and being made new Creatures is an instance of the same glorious Power which exerted it self in the first Creation of things and in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Dead but not altogether after the same manner as I shall shew under the next Head I should now in the second place proceed to shew that this Metaphor of a new Creation doth not import what some Men would extend it to so as to found Doctrines of great consequence upon the single strength of this and other like Metaphors of Scripture without any manner of countenance and confirmation from plain Texts But this I reserve to another Discourse SERMON VI. Of the Nature of Regeneration and its Necessity in order to Justification and Salvation GALAT. VI. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but a new Creature IN these words are contained these two Things First That the Gospel hath taken away the obligation of the Law having taken away the sign of that Covenant which was Circumcision Secondly That according to the terms of the Gospel and the Christian Religion nothing will avail to our justification and acceptance with God but the real renovation of our Hearts and Lives For the full explication of this I propounded to do these three Things I. To shew what is imply'd in this Phrase of a new Creature II. That this is the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God and that it is the same in sense and substance with those other expressions in the two parallel Texts of Faith perfected by Charity and keeping the Commandments of God III. That it is very reasonable that this should be the Condition of our justification and acceptance to the favour of God I began with the first of these viz. To shew what is imply'd in this Phrase of a New Creature as to which I shew'd First What this Metaphor doth certainly import so as to be undeniably evident from other more clear and full Texts of Scripture namely the greatness of this Change and that it is effected by a Divine Power I now proceed Secondly To shew that it doth not import what some would extend it to and that so as to found Doctrines of great Consequence upon the meer and single strength of this and other like Metaphors of Scripture without any manner of countenance
and turn to God and who says we can of our selves do this besides the Pelagians We affirm the necessity of God's grace hereto and withall the necessity of our co-operating with the grace of God We say that without the powerful excitation and aid of God's grace no Man can Repent and turn to God but we say likewise that God cannot be properly said to aid and assist those who do nothing themselves But Men can do more than they do and therefore are justly Condemned Not in the work of Conversion sure if they can do nothing at all But they can do more by way of preparation towards it Suppose they do all they can towards it will this save them or will God upon this irresistibly work their Conversion No they say notwithstanding any preparatory work that we can do Conversion may not follow how then does this mend the matter But still they say the fault is in Men's want of will and not of power You will not come unto me that ye might have life But can they will to come No that they cannot neither Why then it is still want of power that hinders them The offer of Life is a very gracious offer to them that are guilty and liable to death as we all are but not if the Condition be utterly impossible to us tho' the impossibility springs from our own fault as I will plainly shew by a fair instance A Prince offers a Pardon to a Traytor fast lockt in Chains if he will come to him and submit himself but if he be still detained in Chains and the Prince do not some way or other help him to his Liberty 't is so far from being a favour to offer him a Pardon upon these terms that it is a cruel derision of his misery to say to him you will not come to me that you may be pardon'd and this notwithstanding that his being cast into Chains was the effect of his own Crime and Fault the application is obvious I should now proceed to answer an Objection or two and then to give a clear state of this Matter so as is most agreeable to Scripture and the Attributes and Perfections of God but this I shall reserve for another Discourse SERMON VII Of the Nature of Regeneration and its Necessity in order to Justification and Salvation GALAT. VI. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but a new Creature THE Point which I am upon from these words is that according to the terms of the Gospel nothing will avail to our Justification but the real renovation of our Hearts and Lives For the full explication of this I propounded to shew First What is implied in this expression of the new Creature Secondly That this is the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God Thirdly That it is highly Reasonable that this should be the Condition of our Justification In speaking to the first of these I have shewed 1 st What this Metaphor doth certainly import and 2 dly That it doth not import what some would extend it to whereon to found such Doctrines as these First That as the Creation was an irresistible act of the Divine Power so is this new Creation or the Conversion of a Sinner Secondly As Creatures were meerly passive in their being made and contributed nothing at all to it no more do we in our Conversion and Regeneration Thirdly That as the Creation of the several Kinds and Ranks of Creatures was effected in an instant by the powerful Word of God saying let such and such things be and immediately they were so this new Creation is in an instant and admits of no degrees The first of these I have consider'd and enter'd upon the second namely that as the Creatures were meerly passive in their being made and contributed nothing at all thereto no more do we in our Conversion and Regeneration This I told you does plainly make void all the Precepts and Exhortations and all the Promises and Threatnings of Scripture to argue and perswade Men to Repentance That which remains to be done upon this Argument is First To answer an Objection or two which are commonly urged by the Assertors of this Doctrine that we are meerly passive in the work of Conversion Secondly To give a clear state of this Matter so as is most agreeable to Scripture and the Attributes and Perfections of God For the First The Objections are these three 1. That if we be not meerly passive in the work of Regeneration and Conversion we ascribe the whole glory of this work to our selves and not to God Or 2 dly We do however extenuate or lessen the grace of God if there be any active Concurrence and Endeavours of our own towards this Change 3 dly They ask St. Paul's question Who maketh thee to differ and think it impossible to be answer'd if the efficacy of God's grace to depend upon our concurrence and compliance with it These are all the Material Objections I know to every one of which I hope to give a very clear and sufficient Answer 1. Objection If we be not meerly passive in the Work of Regeneration and Conversion we ascribe the whole glory of this work to our selves and not to God But that I certainly know this Objection is commonly made and have seen it in very Considerable Authors I could not believe that Men of so good sense could make it For this is to say that if we do any thing in this work tho' we acknowledge that what we do in it we do by the assistance of God's grace we ascribe it wholly to our selves and rob God altogether of the glory of his grace or in plainer terms it is to say that tho' we say God does never so much and we but very little in this work yet if we do not say that God does all and we nothing at all we take the whole work to our selves and say God does nothing at all which let any one that considers what we â—ay judge whether we say so or no. The Scripture which never robs God of the glory of his grace does I'm sure ascribe our Conversion and Repentance our Regeneration and Sanctification to several Causes To the Holy Spirit of God to his Ministers to his Word and to our selves To the Holy Spirit of God as the principal Author and Efficient Hence we are said to be born of the Spirit to be sanctified by the renewing of the Holy Ghost To the Ministers of God as the Instruments of our Conversion Hence they are said to turn Men to Righteousness to Convert a Sinner from the evil of his ways to save Souls from death to save themselves and them that hear them to be our Spiritual Fathers and to beget us in Christ To the word of God as the subordinate Means and Instruments of our Conversion Hence we are said to be begotten by the word of truth to be sanctified by the truth And lastly
to our selves as concurring some way or other to this work Hence we are said to believe and repent to turn from our evil ways and to turn to the Lord to cleanse and purifie our selves Hence likewise are those frequent Commands in Scripture to amend our ways and doings to wash our hearts from wickedness to repent and turn our selves and to make our selves new Hearts and new Spirits So that all these Causes the Spirit of God his Ministers his Word and we our selves do all some way or other concur and contribute to this Effect God indeed is the Principal and hath so great an hand in this Work from beginning to end that all the rest are nothing in Comparison and we do well to ascribe to him the whole glory of it that no Flesh may glory in his sight But nevertheless in strictness of speech sufficiently warranted by Scripture the Ministers of God and the Word of God and we our selves do all co-operate some way or other to our Conversion and Regeneration and by ascribing to any of these such parts as they truly have in this work God is not robbed of any part of the glory of his grace much less of the whole Much less is it the ascribing it all to our selves whom we affirm to have the least part in it not worthy to be mention'd in Comparison of the riches of God's grace towards us And yet unless we do something what can be the meaning of making our selves new hearts and new spirits Is it only that we should be passive to the irresistible operation's of God's grace that is that we should not hinder what we can neither hinder nor promote that we should so demean our selves as of necessity we must whether we will or no. So then to make our selves new hearts and new spirits is to do nothing at all towards the hinderance or furtherance of this work and if this be thâ— meaning of it it is a Precept and Eâ—hortation just as fit for Stones as for Men that is very improper for either 2. Objection But however we do extenuate and lessen the grace of God if there be any active concurrence and endeavours on our part towards this Change For answer to this three things deserve to be consider'd First It is very well worthy our Consideration that they who make this Objection have the confidence to pretend that they do not dâ—minish the grace of God by confining it to a very small part of Mankind in Comparison nay they will needs face us down that by this very thing they do very much exalt and magnifie it and that the grace of God is so much the greater by how much the fewer they are that are partakers of it But I hope they only mean that the grace is greater to themselves in which conceit there is commonly as much of envy as gratitude but surely they cannot mean that the grace which is limited to a few is greater in it self and upon the whole matter than that which is extended to a great many it being a down-right Contradiction to say that the grace of God is magnified by being confined For at this rate of Reasoning the lesser it is the greater it must be and by undeniable consequence would be greatest of all if it were none at all So that it seems the grace of God may be extenuated in favour of our selves but when we do so we must say we magnifie it Secondly But to come close to the Objection tho' it be true that if God's grace in our Conversion do not do all it does not do so much as if it did all yet this is really no injury or dishonour to the grace of God and tho' in some sense it doth extenuate it it doth not in truth and reality take off from the glory of it In my Opinion the grace and favour of a Prince is not the less in offering a Pardon to a Traytor who puts forth his hand and gladly receives it than if he forc'd it upon him whether he would or no. I am sure it is in the first Case much fitter to give it and he on whom it is conferr'd much better qualified to receive it 'T is no disparagement to a Prince's Favour that it is bestow'd on one who is in some measure qualified to receive it But be it more or less in one Case than the other this is certain that in both Cases the Man ows his Life to the great grace and goodness of his Prince and I cannot see how it lessens the grace that the miserable Object of it the guilty and condemned Person was either by his humble submission or thankful acceptance of it in some degree better qualified to receive such a Favour than an obstinate Refuser of it Thirdly Which is the Principal Consideration of all we must take great heed that while we endeavour to make God to do all in the Conversion of Sinners we do not by this means charge upon him the ruine and destruction of impenitent Sinners which I doubt we should do if we make the Reason of their impenitency and ruine their utter impotency and disability to Repent and we certainly make this the Reason of their impenitency and ruine if there be no other difference but this between penitent and impenitent Sinners namely that in the one God works Repentance by an irresistible act of his Power so that he cannot but Repent and denys this grace to the other without which he cannot possibly Repent But the Scripture chargeth the destruction of Men upon themselves and lays their impenitency at their own door Oh Israel thou hast destroyed thy self but in me is thy help Hosea 13. 9. But where is the help when the grace absolutely necessary to Repentance is denied And how is their destruction of themselves if it is unavoidable let them do what they can Isa 5. 3 4. God appeals to his People Israel that nothing was wanting on his part that was fit and necessary to be done that they might bring forth the fruits of Repentance and better Obedience And now O Inhabitants of Jerusalem and Men of Judah judge I pray you between me and my Vineyard what could have been done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes brought it forth wild grapes Is it true that God hath done all that was necessary to have brought them to Repentance Then if irresistible grace be necessary he afforded them that but that was not afforded them because then they must unavoidably have Repented and there had been no cause for this Complaint If he did not afford it but only the outward means of Repentance without the inward grace as some say then it is easie to judge why they did not Repent Because they could not and there seems to be no Cause either of Wonder or Complaint Besides that it will be hard to justifie that Saying What could I have done more
the grace of Contentment by great Consideration and diligent Care of himself in several Conditions not as if the habit of this grace had been infused into him at once Phil. 4. 11 12. I have learn'd in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and to suffer need And thus I have done with the first thing I propounded to Consider namely the true and just Importance of this Metaphor of the new Creation The two Particulars which remain I shall by God's assistance finish in my next Discourse SERMON IX Of the Nature of Regeneration and its Necessity in order to Justification and Salvation GALAT. VI. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but a new Creature THE Observation I am still upon from these Words is this viz. That in the Christian Religion nothing will avail to our Justification but the Renovation of our Hearts and Lives exprest here by a New Creature In treating of which I propos'd the doing of three things First To shew the â—rue import of this Metaphor of a new Creature Secondly To shew that this is the great Condition of oâ—â— Justification And Thirdly That it is highly Reasonable that it should be so In treating of the first of these Particulars I have consider'd some Doctrines as founded upon this Metaphor which I have shewn at large not only to have no Foundation in Scripture or Reason or Experience but also to be very unreasonable in themselves and contrary to the plain and constant tenour of Scripture and to the ordinary Method of God's grace in the Regeneration of Men whether by a Religious and Virtuous Education or in those who are reclaim'd from a notorious wicked Course of Life And that I have so long insisted upon this Argument and handled it in a more contentious way than is usual with me did not proceed from any love to Controversie which I am less fond of every day than other but from a great desire to put an end to these Controversies and quarrellings in the dark by bringing them to a clear state and plain issue and likewise to undeceive good Men concerning some current Notions and Doctrines which I do really believe to be dishonourable to God and contrary to the plain declarations of Scripture and a cause of great perplexity and discomfort to the Minds of Men and a real discouragement to the Resolutions and Endeavours of becoming better Upon which Considerations I was strongly urgent to search these Doctrines to the bottom and to contribute what in me lay to the rescuing of good Men from the disquiet and entanglement of them I will conclude this Matter with a few Cautions not unworthy to be remembred by us That we would be careful so to ascribe all Good to God that we be sure we ascribe nothing to him that is Evil or any ways unworthy of him That we do not make him the sole Author of our Salvation in such a way as will unavoidably charge upon him the final impenitency and ruine of a great part of Mankind That we do not so magnifie the grace of God as to make his Precepts and Exhortations sâ—gnifie nothing Such as these Make ye new Heâ—â—ts and new Spirits strive to enter in at the strait gate Where if by the strait gate be meant the difficulty of our first entrance upon a Religious Course that is of our Conversion and Regeneration I cannot imagine how it is possible to reconcile our being meerly passive in this work and doing nothing at all in it with our Saviour's Precept of striving to enter in at the strait gate unless to be very active and to be meerly passive about the same thing be all one and an earnest contention and endeavour be the same thing with doing nothing Again that we do not make the utmost degeneracy and depravation which Men ever arrived at by the greatest abuse of themselves and the most vile and wicked practices the standard of an unregenerate state and of the common Condition of all Men by Nature And lastly that we do not make some particular instances in Scripture of the strange and sudden Conversion of some Persons as namely of St. Paul and the Jaylor in the Acts the common rule and measure of every Man's Conversion so that unless a Man be as it were struck down by a Light and Power from Heaven and taken with a fit of trembling and frighted almost out of his wits or find in himself something equal to this he can have no assurance of his Conversion whereas a much surer Judgment may be made of the sincerity of a Man's Conversion by the real Effects of this Change than by the Manner of it This our Saviour hath taught us by that apt resemblance of the operation of God's Spirit to the blowing of the wind of the Original Cause whereof and of the reason of its ceasing or continuance and why it blows stronger or gentler this way or that way we are altogether ignorant but that it is we are sensible from the sound of it John 3. 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth and thou hearest the sound of it but canst not tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth So is every one that is born of the Spirit The effects of God's Holy Spirit in the Regeneration of Men are sensible tho' the manner and degrees of his operation upon the Souls of Men are so various that we can give no account of them by which one wou'd think our Saviour had sufficiently caution'd us not to reduce the Operations of God's grace and Holy Spirit in the Regeneration of Men to any certain Rule or Standard but chiefly to regard the sensible effects of this secret work upon the Hearts and Lives of Men. And after all it is in vain to contend by any Arguments against clear and certain experience If we plainly see that many are insensibly changed and made good by pious Education in the Nurture aud Admonition of the Lord and that somâ— who have long lived in a prophane neglect and contempt of Religion are by the secret power of God's word and Holy Spirit upon calm consideration without any great terrours and amazement visibly changed and brought to a better Mind and Course it is in vain in these Cases to pretend that this Change is not real because the Manner of it is not answerable to some Instances which are Recorded in Scripture or which we have observ'd in our Experience and because these Persons cannot give such an account of the time and manner of their Conversion as is agreeable to these instances which is just as if I should meet a Man beyond Sea whom I had known in England and would not believe that he had crost the Seas because he said he had a smooth and easie
happy are ye if ye do them As if he had said This which I have now done is easie to be understood and so likewise are all those other Christian Graces and Virtues which I have heretofore by my Doctrine and Example recommended to you but it is not enough to know these things but ye must likewise do them The End and the Life of all our Knowledge in Religion is to put in practice what we know It is necessary indeed that we should know our Duty but Knowledge alone will never bring us to that Happiness which Religion designs to make us partakers of if our Knowledge have not its due and proper influence upon our Lives Nay so far will our Knowledge be from making us Happy if it be separated from the Virtues of a good Life that it will prove one of the heaviest aggravations of our misery and it is as if he had said if ye know these things wo be unto you if ye do them not From these words then I shall observe these three things which I shall speak but briefly to First That the Knowledge of God's Will and our Duty is necessary to the practice of it If ye know these things which supposeth that we must know our Duty before we can do it Secondly That the Knowledge of our Duty and the Practice of it may be and too often are separated This likewise the Text supposeth that Men may know their Duty and yet not do it and that this is very frequent which is the Reason why our Saviour gives this Caution Thirdly That the Practice of Religion and the doing of what we know to be our Duty is the only way to Happiness If ye know these things happy â—re ye if ye do them I begin with the First of these namely That the Knowledge of God's Will and our Duty is necessary in order to the Practice of it The truth of this Proposition is so clear and evident at first view that nothing can obscure it and bring it in question but to endeavour to prove it and therefore instead of spending time in that I shall take occasion from it justly to reprove that preposterous Course which is taken and openly avowed and justified by some as the safest and best way to make Men Religious and to bring them to Happiness namely by taking away from them the Means of Knowledge as if the best way to bring Men to do the Will of God were to keep them from knowing it For what else can be the meaning of that Maxim so currant in the Church of Rome that Ignorance is the Mother of Devotion or of that strange and injurious practice of theirs of Locking up from the People that great Storehouse and Treasury of Divine Knowledge the Holy Scriptures in an unknown Tongue I know very well that in justification of this hard usage of their People it is pretended that Knowledge is apt to puff Men up to make them Proud and Contentious Refractory and Disobedient and Heretical and what not and particularly that the free and familiar use of the Holy Scriptures permitted to the People hath ministred occasion to the People of falling into great and dangerous Errors and of making great disturbance and divisions among Christians For answer to this pretence I desire these four or five things may be Considered First That unless this be the Natural and Necessary effect of Knowledge in Religion and of the free use of the Holy Scriptures there is no force in this Reason and if this be the proper and natural effect of this Knowledge then this Reason will reach a great way farther than those who make use of it are willing it should Secondly That this is not the natural and necessary effect of Knowledge in Religion but only accidental and proceeding from Men's abuse of it for which the thing it self is not to be taken away Thirdly That the proper and natural Effects and Consequences of Ignorance are equally pernicious and much more certain and unavoidable than those which are accidentally occasioned by Knowledge Fourthly That if this Reason be good it is much stronger for withholding the Scriptures from the Priests and the Learned than from the People Fifthly That this danger was as great and as well known in the Apostles times and yet they took a quite contrary Course First I desire it may be consider'd that unless this be the natural and necessary effect of Knowledge in Religion and of the free use of the Holy Scriptures there is no force in this Reason for that which is necessary or highly useful ought not to be taken away because it is liable to be perverted and abused to ill purposes If it ought then not only Knowledge in Religion but all other Knowledge ought to be restrained and supprest for all Knowledge is apt to puff up and liable to be abused to many ill purposes At this rate Light and Liberty and Reason yea and Life it self ought all to be taken away because they are all greatly abused by many Men to some ill purposes or other so that unless these ill effects do naturally and necessarily spring from Knowledge in Religion the Objection from them is of no force and if they do necessarily flow from it then this Reason will reach a great way further than those that make use of it are willing it should for if this be true that the Knowledge of Religion as it is Revealed in the Holy Scriptures is of its own Nature so pernicious as to make Men proud and Contentious and Heretical and Disobedient to Authority then the blame of all this would fall upon our blessed Saviour for revealing so pernicious a Doctrine and upon his Apostles for publishing this Doctrine in a known Tongue to all Mankind and thereby laying the Foundation of perpetual Schisms and Heresies in the Church Secondlyâ— But this is not the natural and necessary effect of Knowledge in Religion but only accidental and proceeding from Mens abuse of it for which the thing it self ought not to be taken away And thus much certainly they will grant because it cannot with any face be denied and if so then the Means of Knowledge are not to be denied but only Men are to be cautioned not to prevert and abuse them And if any Man abuse the Holy Scriptures to the Patronizing of Error or Heresie or to any other bad purpose he does it at his peril and must give an account to God for it but ought not to be deprived of the means of Knowledge for fear he should make an ill use of them We must not hinder Men from being Christians to preserve them from being Hereticks and put out Mens Eyes for fear they should some time or other take upon them to dispute their way with their Guides I remember that St. Paul 1 Cor. 8. 1. takes notice of this accidental inconvenience of Knowledge that it puffeth up and that this Pride occasioned great Contentions and Divisions among
Author of the Sins of Men. I proceed now to the Second That every Man is his own greatest Tempter But every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed God does not tempt any Man to Sin but every Man is then tempted when by his own Lust his irregular Inclination and Desire he is seduced to evil and enticed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is caught as it were with a bait for so the greek word signifies In which words the Apostle gives us a true account of the prevalency and efficacy of temptation upon Men. It is not because God has any design to ensnare Men in Sin but their own Corâ—uption and vicious inclination seduce them to that which is evil To instance in the particular temptation the Apostle was speaking of Persecution Suffering for the Cause of Religion to avoid which many did then forsake the Truth and Apostatiz'd from their Christian Profession The true Cause of which was not the Providence of God which permitted them to be exposed to those Sufferings but their inordinate love of the good things of this Life and their unreasonable fears of the Evils and Sufferings of it they valued the enjoyments of this present Life more than the favour of God and that Eternal Happiness which he had promised to them in another Life and they feared the Persecutions of Men more than the threatnings of God and the dreadful punishments of another World They had an inordinate affection for the ease and pleasure of this Life and their unwillingness to part with ease was a great temptation to them to quit their Religion by this bait they were caught when it came to the trial And thus it is proportionably in all other sorts of temptations Men are betrayed by themselves and the tâ—mptation without hath a Party within them with which it holds a secret correspondence and which is ready to yield and give consent to it so that it is our own consent and treachery to our selves that makes any temptation Master of us and without that we are not to be overcome Every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed It is the Lust of Men complying with the temptations which are offer'd to us which renders them effectual and gives them the Victory over us In the handling of this Argument I shall from these words of the Apostle observe to you these two things First That as the Apostle doth here acquit God from any hand in tempting Men to Sin so he does not ascribe the prevalency of temptation to the Devil Secondly That he ascribes the prevalency of temptation to the Lust and vicious inclinations of Men which seduce them to a compliance with the temptations that are presented to them Every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed These two Observations shall be the subject of my present Discourse First That as the Apostle doth here acquit God from any hand in tempting Mâ—n to Sin so he does not ascribe the prevalency and efficacy of temptation to the Devil That he acquits God I have shewn at large in my former Discourse It is evident likewise that he does not ascribe the efficacy and prevalency of temptation to the Devil for the Apostle in this Discourse of his concerning temptations makes no express mention of the Devil he supposeth indeed that baits are laid for Men every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed i. e. when he plays with the baits that are laid for him and swallows them And the Scripture elsewhere frequently tells us that the Devil is very active and busie to tempt Men and is continually laying baits before them but their own Lusts are the Cause why they are caught by them And I do the rather insist upon this because Men are apt to lay great load upon the Devil in the business of temptation hoping thereby either wholly or at least in a great measure to excuse themselves and therefore I shall here consider how far the Devil by his temptations is the cause of the Sins which Men by compliance with those temptations are drawn into First It is certain that the Devil is very active and busie to Minister to them the occasions of Sin and temptations to it For ever since he fell from God partly out of enmity to him and partly out of envy and malice to Mankind he hath made it his great business and employment to seduce Men to Sin and to this end he walks up and down the Earth and watcheth all occasions and opportunities to tempt Men to Sin and so far as his Power reacheth and God permits him he lays baits and temptations before them in all their ways presenting them wiâ—h the occasions and opportunities to Sin and with such baits and allurements as are most â—uitable to their tempers and most likely to prevail with their particular inclinations and as often as he can surprizing Men with these at the easiest time of access and with such Circumstances as may give his temptations the greatest force and advantage Of this the Scripture assures us in general when it tells us of these wiles and devices of Satan and of the methods of his temptations so that tho' we do not particularly discern how and when he doth this yet we have no reason to doubt of the thing if we believe that there is such a Spirit in the World as the Scripture particularly tells us there is that works in the Children of disobedience and that God from whom nothing is hidden and who sees all the secret Engines which are at work in the World to do us good or harm hath in mercy to Mankind given us particular warning of it that we may not be wholly ignorant of our Enemies and their malicious Designs upon us and that we may be continually upon our guard aware of our danger and armed against it Secondly The Devil does not only present to Men the temptations and occasions of Sin but when he is permitted to make nearer approaches to them does excite and stir them up to comply with these temptations and to yield to them And this he does not only by employing his Instruments to solicit for him and to draw Men to Sin by bad Counsel and Example which we see frequently done and probably very often by the Devil's instigation those who are very wicked themselves and consequently more enslaved to the Devil and under his Power being as it were Factors for him to seduce others but besides this 't is not improbable but the Devil himself does many times immediately excite Men to Sin by working upon the humours of their Bodies or upon their Imaginations and by that means infusing and suggesting evil motions into them or by diverting them from those Thoughts and Considerations which might check and restrain them from that wickedness to which he is tempting them or by some other ways and means
more secret and unknown to us For the power of Spirits whether good or bad and the manner of their operation upon our Minds are things very secret and of which we can give little or no account but yet for all that we have many times reason sufficient to believe a thing to be so when we are wholly ignorant of the manner of it And there is Reason from what is said in Scripture to believe that the Devil in some Cases hath a more immediate power and influence upon the Minds of Men to excite them to Sin and where he discovers a very bad inclination or resolution to help it forward and to keep Men to it as when it is said John 13. 27. that the Devil enter'd into Judas to push him on in that ill design which he had already engaged in of betraying our Saviour And Acts 5. 3. Satan is said to have filled the heart of Ananias to lie to the Holy-Ghost and to keep back part of the price for which he had sold his Estate which expressions do seem to intimate to us some more immediate power and influence which the Devil had upon those Persons but then 't is very observable that this power is never ascribed to the Devil but in the case of great and horrid Sins and whâ—re Men are before-hand notoriously depraved and either by the actual commission of some former great Sin or by entertaining some very wicked design have provoked God to permit the Devil a nearer access to them For Judas had first taken Council how to betray Christ before it is said the Devil entered into him to push him on to the execution of it And Ananias his Covetousness had first tempted him to keep back part of his Estate before it is said the Devil fill'd his heart to lie to the Holy Ghost so that what power the Devil hath over Men they first give it himâ— they consent to his outward temptations before he can get within them Hence it is that in Scripture great Sinners are described as being more immediâ—tely under the government and influence of the Devil Ephes 2. 1 2 where the Apostle speaking of those who from Heatâ—enisin were Converted to Christianity You says he hath he quickned who were once dead in trespasses and sins wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the Spirit that now worketh in the Children of disobedience or unbelief 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Spirit thâ—t sâ—â—ll acts and inspires the Children of unbeliefâ— that is those who continue in their infidelity and would not believe and obey the Gospel When Men are notoriously wicked and disobedient to the Counsels of God the Devil is said to act and inspire them which certainly signifies some more immediate power and influence which he hath over such Persons For as it is very probable that the Devil is sometimes permitted to come near good Men so as to tempt them so by notorious wickedness and impiety Men do give admission to him and he is permitted by the just judgment of God to exercise greater Dominion over them By resisting his temptations we drive him from us So St. James tells us Chap. 4. ver 7. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you but as we yield to his temptations he continually makes nearer approaches to us and gains a greater power over us Thirdly But for all this the Devil can force no Man to Sin his temptations may move and excite Men to Sin but that they are prevalent and effectual proceeds from our own will and consent 't is our own Lusts closing with his Temptations that produce Sin The Devil hath more or less power over Men according as they give way to him but never so much as to force their Wills and to compel them to consent to and comply with his temptations The grace of God doth hardly offer this violence to Men for their good in order to their Salvation and therefore much less will he permit the Devil to have this power over Men to their ruine and destruction God's commanding us to resist the Devil supposeth that his temptations are not irresistible Fourthly From what hath been said it appears that tho' the Devil be frequently accessary to the Sins of Men yet we our selves are the Authors of them he tempts us many times to Sin but it is we that commit it His temptations may sometimes be so violent as to extenuate our fault but never so forcible as wholly to excuse us for we are so far guilty of Sin as we give our consent to it and how powerful soever the temptation be to any kind of evil there is always enough of our own will in it to render us guilty I am far from thinking that the Devil tempts Men to all the evil that they do I rather think that the greatest part of the wickedneâ—â— that is committed in the world springs from the evil motions of Mens own Minds Mens own Lusts are generally to them the worst Devil of the two and do more strongly incline them to Sin than any Devil without them can tempt them to it It is not to be doubted that the Devil does all the mischief he can to the Souls of Men so far as God permits him and tho' the number of Evil Angels be probably very great yet it is but finite and every one of them hath a limited power and tho' they be very active yet they can be but one where at once so that his malice at the utmost does only all the evil that it can not all that it would he plyes where he has the best Custom where he has the fairest Opportunity and the greatest hopes he leaves Men many times for a season as it is said he did our Saviour because he despairs of success at that time and it may be sometimes when he is gone these Persons grow secure and through their own security and folly fall into those Sins which the Devil with all his baits and wiles whilst they were upon their guard could not tempt them to commit Others after he has made them sure and put them into the way of it will go on of themselves and are as mad of Sinning and as forward to destroy themselves as the Devil himself could wish so that he can hardly tempt Men to any wickedness which he does not find them inclin'd to of themselves These he can trust with themselves and leave them to their own inclinations and conduct finding by experience that they will do as ill things of their own motion as if Satan stood continually at their right hand to prompt them and put them on so that he can go into a far Country and employ himself elsewhere and leave them for a long time being confident that in his absence they will not bury their Talent and hide it in a Napkin but will improve it to a great advantage And I wish