as of fire And again it is said That the Apostles were stirred up with boldness to speak That is when they saw God dishonoured this spirit kindled a high zeal in them that is set their hearts on fire it set their tongues on fire when the spirit enters into the heart of a Christian it will fill it full of zeal the heart the tongue the hands the feet and all the rest of the parts will be full of the heat of the spirit for it is imposssible that any man should have true zeal except he have the spirit Therefore it is said that they spake with New tongues us the spirit gave them utterance that is they spake with a great deal of zeal of another nature and qualitie then they did before Well then examine what heat and zeal you have in your actions so much heat so much spirit He shall Baptize you with the spirit and with fire That is if you have the sanctifying spirit you shall know it by the zeal that is in you in the performance of holy duties Therefore I say it is an excellent sign whereby a man may know whether he hath the spirit or no Now that a man may know by this I will make it clear by this example Take a bottle that is full of water and another that is full of Aqua vitae look upon them outwardly and they are all of one colour but if you tast them the one is hot and lively the other is cold and raw So look unto the formal outward actions of wicked men they have the same colour which the actions of holy men but if you tast them that is examine their lives and search into their hearts you shall find a great difference It may be they may seem to have light and heat in them but they want this Spirit for they have neither a loathing of sin nor power to resist sin They may put a false colour upon their actions but it will not hold And by this they may restrain lusts for some end they cannot Master and subdue them and it may heat a part of his heart but it cannot heat all his heart But where the sanctifying Spirit comes it heats all the soul That is it kindles a holy fire in all the faculties to burn up sin that is there Therefore this was the difference between Iohn the Baptists Baptisme and Christs Iohn could baptize them with water but Christ with the Spirit and with fire Therefore examine what heat there is in you against evil and what zeal there is in you to good Are you cold in prayer in conference in the Communion of Saints it is a sign that you have not the Spirit It may be you read hear pray and conferâ— but see with what heat you do them is it with you in these things as the Apostle would have you to be in earthly things in the 2 Cor. 7. 30. 31. To sorrow as if you sorrowed not to use the world as if you used it not That is do you perform holy duties with that coldness as if you cared not whether you did them or did them not Do you hear as if you heard not and do you receive the Sacrament as if you received it not do you pray as if you prayed not do you love as if you loved not then surely you have not the Spirit And on the contrary if you find spiritual heat and zeal in you a nimbleness and quickness to goodâ— it is a sign that you have the Spirit â—or it is the propertie of the Spirit to heat the soâ—l therefore the Prophet saith The zeal of thy house hath even eaten me up That is I have such a measure of zeal wrought in me by thy Spirit that I cannot see thee in the least measure dishonoured but I must burn with zeal Therefore examine your selves what zeal you have for God and godliness Are you hot for the things of this world and cold for grace and holiness Then whatsoever you think of your selves yet you have not the sanctifying Spirit There is not a holy man or woman that belongs unto Christ but they have this holy fire in them And yet I would not have you to mistake me as if every Christian did attain unto the like heat and zeal as others do for you must know that some have more and some have lesse according to the measure of the sanctifying Spirit that they have but this you must know that you must be full of heat full in some measure answerable to the measure of the sanctifying Spirit but if you find no heat at all in you then you have not a grain of the Spirit in you Not to be hot is to be luke warm and luke warmness is that which God hates it is a temper mixt of both heat and cold loathsome to nature and odious to God and therefore in Revel 3. Because the Laodiceans were neither hot nor cold but luke warm that is they had neither heat to God nor were so cold as to forsake the Truth That is sin and holiness stood in arbitration together and they had as good a minde unto the one as unto the other Now because it was thus with them therefore saith God I will spew them out and in the next verse he exhorts them To be zealous and amend That is except they labour to be hot in the Spirit they cannot be saved Again in Titus 2. it is said by the Apostle That Christ died that he might purchase to himself a people zealous of good works that is this zeal must not be a constrained zeal but a willing zeal And if there were no other motive to move men to be zealous but this because Christ came to redeem them for this end that they might be zealous of good works for his glory if there be any spark of the fire of grace in us it will burn at Christs dishonour And if Christ came to this end to make men zealous then surely Christ will not lose his end but they that Christ will save shall be zealous Therefore I beseech you labour to be strong in the inward man and labour to get the Spirit that you may be zealous But alas men think that they have drunk too much of this cup of giddiness That is they think they need not be so zealous as they are but I say if you be not it is a sign that you have not the Spirit especially it stands men now upon if they have an holy zeal in them to shew it I say it is time you should when you see such halting between two opinions shew your zeal by hating and abhorring Poperie and labouring to draw men from it especially now when we see men so desirous to go into Egypt again which is to be lamented in these dayes for which the Lord hath stretched out his hand against us But where is our zeal That is what spiritual heat is there in us where are those
men that at such a time would have been hot and zealous where are the generation of these men surely they are all gone for there is no heat nor zeal left It is true we abound in knowledge that is we have the same knowledge that they had but we want their zeal and Spirit and we have the same gifts but we want their spirit Therefore let us now shew our selves to be in the Spirit that is to have the Spirit in us by our zeal against evil But you will say that many holy men that have the Spirit yet they are not so hot and zealous against evil but are marvellous mild and patient First to this I answer that holy men may have pits wherin they may be faln I say they may have dross as well as gold and hence they may be driven through a strong passion and lust not justly to scale sins aright whence ariseth remissness and neglect both in doing good and resisting evil But this in a regenerate man I call but a passion because it continues not for prayer and the Preaching of the pure word will recover this again that is it will recover his strength and make him zealous against sins But if you see a man what profession soever he makes of Christ that can wink at sin and not be moved at it and the word nor prayer do not kindle this holy fire in him Then plainly that man is a dead man there is no spark of holiness in him Therefore I may say to every such holy man as they were wont to say to Hannibal that he hath fire in him but he wants blowing so I say unto you if you have the spirit you have heat in you but if this heat do not appear at all times or at sometime it is because it wants blowing for when they have just occasion to exercise the strength of the inward man for Gods glory they will shew that they have zeal in them and are hot and lively to good and not dead in sin As for example this is the difference between a man that is dead and a man that is in a swoon the man that is in a swoon if strong waters and rubbing of his joints do not recover him it is a sign that he is dead so if the word will not work in you but you remain senseless and dead without spiritual heat in you it is a sign that you are more then in a swoon that is you are already dead in the Inward man It is said of the Adamant that it will not be heated with fire so I say of you if the word will not heat you when you are rubbed with it it is a sign that you are like the Adamant dead unto grace Secondly to this I answer that howsoever some men that are faithful are not so zealous it is true yet I say it is no good argument to say that because counterfeit drugs and wares have the same sent and smell that good wares have therefore they are as good or that the good wares have not the like It were better to say that they have the fame but the difference is in this that they have a false die and glosse upon them 〈◊〉 soâ—l say there is false and counterfeit zeal and there is a true zeal That is there may be a zeal without heat as a Painter may Paint the similitude and proportion of fire but he cannot give heat unto it or as there may be pieces of coin counterfeit as well as pieces of true Metal so there may be a counterseit fire as well as true fire So I say men may be sanctified and yet be mild and not of a hot and fierie disposition That is they do not so burn in the Spirit as others do It is not therefore good to conclude that it matters not whether you be zealous or no for howsoever it be true in him it may be false in thee And know also that this weakness is joyned with much holy zeal though it be not outwardly expressed for certainly as where true fire is there is heat so where there is the Spirit there is zeal Therefore examine whether you have heat in you if you have not you have not the Spirit The second sign whereby you shall know whether you have the sanctifying Spirit or no is this if you find that you are not onely able to do more then you would naturally do But you have also holiness joyned with it this sign I make of two parts because a man may do many things that carry a shew above nature and yet want holiness but if they be above nature and then have holiness joyned with them it is a sign that you have the sanctifying Spirit First I say it will make you to do more then you could do by nature that is it puts another manner of strength in you by which you are able to do those things which before you were not able to do As for example it will work in you a Patience above a natural Patience This we see in Christ himself when he was crucified he opened not his mouth he was like a Lamb That is he had more then natural patience also this is true in Paul Peter and the rest of the Saints also it works in us love above a natural love therefore it was said that Christ was full of love and had compassion on the multitude Again it works joy in a man beyond natural joy this we see in Paul and Silas when they were in prison they sang for joy And the Disciples in Acts 4. Rejoyced that they were thought worthy to suffer for Christ. Again it works in a man boldness above a natural boldness and therefore it is said in Acts 4. That they preached the word with great boldness That is with a boldness above a natural boldness And so Luther he was endued with a Spirit of boldness else he would never have been so bold in the defence of the Truth if he had not had another spirit in him Again it works in a man wisdom above a natural wisdom and therefore 1 Sam. 18. it is said of David that the Spirit of the Lord was with him therefore Saul was afraid of him And so Abimelech feared Abraham because he saw a great measure of wisdom and discretion in him Again it works in a man strength above a natural strength because to the strength of nature they have another added Again it will make you see above a natural sight Therefore it is said they shall not need to teach one another but they shall be all taught of God That is they shall see into the excellencie that is in God Therefore examine your selves whether you have the Spirit or no by this for if you have the sanctifying Spirit then you shall be able to keep down lusts to have power and abilitie to sanctisie the Sabbath power to pray power to hear power to confer power to
upon you the riches of his mercy now the more you can promise yourselves this from God the more you can expect it at his hands certainly the more you shall have of his mercy the less you do it the less you shall have if you do it not â—t all you shall have no mercy at all from God the more you can perswade your selves that God is mâ—rciful that he is loving and gracious and will be ready to do for you as you shall need the more of his mercy you sâ—all have according to the largeness of your faith so shall the largeness of the mercy â—â—e For evidence of this look into Heb. 11. the whole chapter shâ—weth what mercies faith bad what mercies Noah Abraham Moses and the Israelites had when they went through the red sea what mercies Samuel and David had the means they had to obtain al these mercies was their faith they beleived and therefore they had them you may there see how it is attributed to their faith The reason why they exceeded others in mercy was because they exceeded others in faith the reason why David was filled with mercy and goodness above others was because he attained to an higher pitch of faith then others Again the want of faith still hindred men from mercy and it is a good argument that is drawn from contraries now unbelief hindred Christs country-men from having any part in his miracles he could do nothing there because they beleived not it hindred the Israelites from that good land of promise they all died in the wilderness because they believed not so Mary she had like to have lost the raising of her brother Lazarus because she began to doubt for when Christ was upon the very point of doing the miracle and Mary she told him he had been dead four dayes Christ staied his hand and said to her Said I not to thee if thou believest c. as if he should say if thou believest not I will not do it The Apostles in the ship being ready to be overwhelmed with waves what was the cause because they doubted Why did ye doubt O ye of little faith Still mercies are kept from us for want of faith therefore it is true on the other side have faith and have mercy have faith in abundance and have mercy in abundance If you would have outward mercies do you believe that God is ready to give riches honour and life that is all a man can desire these God giveth to those that fear him believe this trust to it rest upon it Let Go I know you relie upon him for it the more yoâ— believe this the more you shall have even of these mercies And so for spiritual mercies hath he not promised to give his spirit to those that aske it and that great promise which he made when he ascended up on high that he would send down the holy Ghost the more you believe this the more of the spirit you shall have So for the forgiveness of sins the more you believe this the more assurance you shall have he hath promised to hear your prayers The more you can believe this the more you shall prevail in prayer In a word you know every one best what mercies you would have the more you believe that God is your father expecting it from his hands the more you shall have of any kinde of mercy As it was said of the faith of miracles if you have but faith you may say to this mountain be removed into the bottom of the sea it shal obey you the same may be said of justifying faith do but believe and this you shall enjoy for faith is not a bare opinion a bare perswasion for that is not operative to bring such mercies to you but faith seeth things that are not present as if present the things were before we believed them now God hath promised mercies in abundance they lie open to us the very believing of them is the taking and receiving of them God hath put them upon that Condition and not onely so but if you would have abundance of mercies add still to your faith therefore you have those words be it to thee according to thy faith that is if thy faith be great the mercies thou shalt have shall be great therefore you see now what use may be made of all that hath been said touching the riches of mercies that you might be convinced of this that according to your faith such shall your tastings be of the precious mercies of God the more you are perswaded of the greatness of his precious mercies accordingly shall you partake of them and accordingly will you look upon your selves as bound to obey and love him under the apprehension of his mercies The third meanes to obtain these riches of his mercy is humbly to rely upon the author of them as to desire much and to beleeve much so to depend upon him to wait upon him the more you do that the more readiness will you finde in him to shew you mercie I follow but the scriptures in this and set forth such mercies as is there set forth and this I take out of those places of scripture In thee the Fatherless and widow finde mercy God is still apt to help such as are in Prison and in a low degree Quest. what is the reason of that Ans. Bâ—cause such depend upon God such as have no other fathers to depend upon such are apt to depend upon God and he sheweth mercy to such not because they are fatherless but because they depend upon him So you have it exprest by the Apostle Widowes saith he that are left alone trust in God those saith he are widowes indeed they might have trusted in God while they had husbands but that is our weakness while we have other props we are apt to trust upon them but when they are taken from us we are apt to trust in God So the woman when she had spent all in Physicke then she came to Christ so if we depend upon him we shall be as the fatherl esse and widow that know not where else to have help This winneth God to you for dependance presupposeth trust for upon whom you depend upon him you trust now God will not fail those that trust in him for he hath put so much nobleness and ingenuity into the hearts of men that they will not fail those that put their trust in them now dependance is a trust in God therefore the more you depend upon God the more mercy you shall have he hath put that instinct into every Creature the hen you see covereth her chickens under her winges because they depend upon her He is worse then an Infidel saith the holy Apostle that doth not provide for his houshold because they depend upon him this is an instinct put into the very Infidels If God have put this instinct into the Creature will he not do it himself He
puts the very first stamp of holiness upon us Secondly The Spirit is a free gift because the Spirit is a free Agent that is it works freely of himself Now reason is the free Agent of the outward man but it is the Spirit that gives reason Therefore the Spirit must be most free Thirdly The Spirit is a free gift by his carriage towards them that he will save he might have chosen the elder and not the younger That is he might have chosen Esau and not Iacob or if he would have chosen the younger Then he might have brought him first out of the womb but he will not because he is most free in his choice he will have Iacob and cast off Esau and so he might have chosen honourable and Noble men to have both preached the Gospel and to be saved by the Gospel he might have chosen them onely for salvation but he will not The poor they shall receive the Gospel That is he will make choice of them for salvation he might as well have chosen Simon Magus as Simon Peter but he will not therefore he is free Fourthly the Spirit is free which appears by the paucitie and fewness that he chuses he is at libertie he might have saved more but this shewes his freedom he is not tied to one more then to another The winde bloweth where it listeth That is he cals when and whom he will Let them come in that my house may be full That is none shall come no more no lesse then I have chosen Fifthly that the Spirit is a free gift appears by the prosecution of his decree both of Election and reprobation nothing more free then the Spirit is he might as I said have chosen Esau and not Iacob for there cannot a reason be given wherefore he should chuse the one and not the other he will chuse the wife and not the husband and he will chuse the husband and not the wise he will chuse the childe and not the father and he will chuse the father and not the childe Again he will chuse this man and that woman and not another man or the other woman and what is the reason of it surely there can be no reason given of it because the Spirit is free to chuse and chuse not Thus briefly I have shewed you that the Spirit is a free gift Is the Spirit then a free gift and doth it work freely Then let them consider this and tremble that are not sanctified by the Spirit For if the Spirit work freely and yet thou hast not sanctification wrought in thee it is a sign that thou doest not belong unto God Again if the winde bloweth where it listeth then it stands you upon to do as Millers and Marriners do to watch the opportunitie and grind when the Spirit bloweth upon you That is if at any time the Spirit doth kindle any spark of grace in you Take heed of neglecting the opportunitie That is do not say in this case unto the Spirit as Festus said unto Paul That you will hear him another time but be sure if the Spirit command do you run or if he cals be sure to answer him left he call you no more I have often told you there is a time when he will call you no more Therefore think with your selves what time of darkness and sorrow it will be to you then when with the five foolish virgins you shall be shut out of heaven and happiness There is a time when he will swear That ye shall not enter into his rest and do not I say onely labour and watch for the opportunity that is take the Spirit when it is offered but labour to get the oportunitie That is use the means whereby you may get him And for your help herein I will lay down some means whereby you may get the Spirit The first means to get the spirit is this you must labour to know the spirit for what is the reason that men do not receive the spirit but because they know him not that is they do not know him in his puritie in his free working in his incomprehensible greatness in his increase in holiness and therefore they put off the working of the spirit when men think now that their sin in this kind is not so great as Simon Magus was It is true say they Simon Magus his sin was a great sin and worthy of punishment because he thought to have bought the spirit with mony But if we will consider mens dealing now with the spirit we shall find that the same sin is committed still I say men think that they do not commit the sin of Simon Magus when indeed you do you know how great the sin was in him and what a judgement was inflicted against him and your sins are as great and the same but you know them not Therefore let us compare them together and you shall see that they are all one and that in these three particulars First Simon Magus thought that the spirit might have been had at any time for he neglected the means and despised it presupposing that at any time with a small reward he might get it of the Apostle what shall I give thee c And so when you put off the Spirit is not your sin the same thinking that you may have him when you will that you can have him at your pleasure to mortifie a strong lust a sin that you would be rid of and for a sin that is pleasing to your nature you can subdue it when you will And is not this a great sin as great as Simon Magus his was but can you do this can you mortifie your lusts have you power over them can you love God and the Saints well if you had never so much time you can never get the Spirit except that God give him Secondly Simon Magus thought that it was in the power of man to give the Spirit Therefore he asked Peter what he should give for the Spirit and is not your sin the same do not many men think that it is in the power of men to give the spirit when all the time of their life they will neglect the calling of the Spirit but in some great affliction that is when they lie upon their death bed then they will send for the Minister but not till then as if it were in his power to give the spirit Oh sir what shall I do to be saved can you tell me of any hope of salvation and the like Thirdly Simon Magus desired the spirit to a wrong end namely for his own advantage that upon whom soever he should lay his hands They might receive the holy Ghost And do not men do the like now They desire to have the spirit and they could wish with all their hearts that they had him but yet not to a right end That is for Gods glory but for some carnal end of their own That you
once in the year and do some other outward performances they think they make God some amends But alas it is not so the Lord abhorreth all those sacrifices because they come not from his Temple They are not sacrifices offered upon that altar they should be they are not yet of that holy Priesthood spoken of before and yet there is that hypocrisie in the spirits of men that they are neither willing to omit holy duties altogether nor willing to perform them in that holy and zealous manner as they ought Labour therefore to have Chirst dwelling in your hearts otherwise nothing will be accepted I thought to have added something to have made known to you when Christ dwelleth in your hearts As one way to know it where Christ dwelleth there none dwelleth but him as the glory of God filled the Temple so Christ filleth the heart Again where he dwelleth he dwelleth powerfully he is strong able to make men go through with their good purposes and resolutions Again 3. He continueth and abideth there for over he makes them constant in performing holy duties And lastly He is active as the Sun when that dwelleth in the world we see how it enlightâ—eth the world so Christ enlightneth the soul where he dwâ—lleth makes us able to judge all things Again where the Sun cometh it thaweth the frozen earth and causeth a Spring it causeth every thing to flourish so Christ dwelleth in the heart as the Sun in the world or as the soul in the body see what a beauty the soul putteth upon the â—ody what motion what sence such an al eration there is when Christ commeth into a mans heart If you find therefore a power in you to do good duties not weak offers and breeding of good conceptions and yet have no strength to bring them forth Christ is not yet in you But if Christ be in you where he dwelleth he dwelleth powerfully shall the Devil think you powerfully rule those in whom he dwelleth And shall not Christ strengthen and enable those in whom he dwelleth Again if you finde your Religion to be but for a fit if upon sicknesse or upon the apprehension of death or upon the touch of some sermon or upon some fearful accident befalling others or your selves you can pray and hear and perform the outward parts of Gods Worship and yet fall off again afterwards Know for certain that you have not Christ in your hearts for if once he were there he would remove no more â—ut â—nâ—â—le you to constart course of holiness There may be some clâ—uding now and then but the Sun will nâ—ver set upon your hearts Lastly If you find not an alteration in your soul a spring in the inward man as when the Sun cometh into the world life and beauty as when the soul commeth into the body be assured that Christ is not yet come into your heart on the contrary if you do find all these then know that Christ dwelleth in your hearts And this you are to rejoyce in as the greatest priviledge vouch safed to you under the Covenant of Grace THE BUCKLER Of a BELIEVER ROM 8. Verse 34. Who shall Condemn It is Christ that is dead yea rather which is risen again who is also at the right hand of God and maketh request also for us IN this most sweet and comfortable Scripture I mean the eighth Chapter our blessed Apostle Saint Paul shews at large the happy and safe estate of every true believer that hath his part in Christ where he proves at large that there is nothing can hinder and dis-anul that estate but that he must enjoy it according to his faith shewing withal that if any thing could hinder it it must come either from sinne or from the crosse the punishment of sinne Now he shews this and proves it strongly against all the enemies of Salvation that neither sinne nor the crosse can do it and therefore not any thing Sinne cannot do it verse 1. Because there is no condemnation that is for sinne to them The crosse cannot do it because as vers 28. All afflictions they shall work to good for them Therefore once in Christ nothing can hinder them from eternal Salvation And one would think this were sufficient proof yet as if all this were nothing Therefore that he may raise the true believer to the highest pitch of sound and lasting comfort he goes further and would have him to insult and victorio â—sly triumph verse 33 34. and rise to the highest pitch of holy confidence speaking here in a kind of defiance and saying If any man dare be so bold as to accuse one that believes yet where is he that can condemn him as if he had said There is none at all that can So that briefly in these words contained in the Text is laid down every holy believers challenge which he may take up against the face of all enemies whatsoever Wherein observe two parts First A true beleevers challenge in these words Who shall condemn Secondly the person in whose name the challenge is made which is Christs It is Christ that is dead c. For though the beleever is weak in himself yet in the rock Christ strong and invincible For the first viâ— The true beleevers challenge it is the more to be noted because it is laid down by way of interogation For that hath with it a strong confidence and a kind of victorious triumph as if he said there is none at all that can condemn though they may go about it It is not intorrogatio rogantis or dubitantis but instantis â—t triumphâ—…is It is not a question of one asking by way of doubt but of one earnest in affirming and Triumphing So that the point then is this There is not any one in heaven earth nor any where else that can bring in any thing to condemn a true believer in the sight of God Or There is not any thing in this world nor in the world to come to hinder the salvation of a true believer Where we are to consider First What it is to condemn Secondly That all and every one of us before we believe are in the estate of condemnation and therefore easily to be condemned because under the curse of the law and the guilt of sin Thirdly That when we come truly to believe in Christ even then we are not to think to be free from all that will assay and seek to condemn us and bring us to perdition and destruction Fourthly That though there be many as the Devil and all his instruments that aim and endeavour by many means to spoil us of our faith and hinder our salvation and so bring us to destruction yet shall none ever be able to do it Lastly We will make application of all to our selves For the first namely what it is to condemn It is taken diversly either in foro publico as in our courts when one is guilty of some offence against the Law and
us strength when we have not that we give over The power of grace therefore is alwayes seen in that it enableth us to go through the work to perform it Therefore the world is exceedingly deceived in the misapplication of that distinction the Lord accepts the will for the deed I say the misapplication of that is the cause why there is so much laziness and dulness in men that they do not set themselves to go through with holy duties for say they we have a desire and a purpose and the Lord accepts the will for the deed You are exceedingly deceived the Lord indeed will accept the will for the deed when there is such an impediment as that you cannot proceed for what is the occasion of that speech of the Apostle to the Corinthians when they had liberal minds to supply the necessities of the Churches and yet they wanted money in this case saith the Apostle the Lord accepts the will for the deed Wilt thou say now therefore because thou hast a good desire to serve God to pray to keep to Gods truth to keep thy heart close to him and thou hopest the Lord will take the desire for the deed and yet thou wilt be negligent in them what impediment hast thou If thou wouldest bestow time in prayer if thou wouldest bestow time in working on thy heart to warm it and to quicken it to duty thou shouldest have the deed as well as the will what hinders thee then where therefore there is no impediment the Lord will not accept the will for the deed Look how much will there is so much deed there will be when the will is wrought by the spirit of God the deed will follow I am able saith Saint Paul not onely to purpose and intend but to do all things If thou hast the power of grace in thee as he here exhorts Timothy to be strong thou wilt go through with the work I say if thou hast the power and strength of grace in thee thou hast strength and ability to do all these things Again as the power of grace is seen in enabling thee to do so further it is seen in this that when thou hast begun to do it keeps thee from fainting in well-doing Another man will have some fits in well-doing but he is uneven he is unlike himself Now herein the power of grace is seen that though a man be sometimes transported through the violence of corruption and passion and the like yet grace brings him back again that is he is not quite carried away with temptations as the chaff with the wind but he is held with a strong anchor that though he float up and down and be off and on in degrees yet he is not carried clean away Therefore you shall see 2 Pet. 3. ult take heed saith he that you be not drawn away from your stedfastness but grow in grace c. As if he should say this is the power of grace that it will keep a man that though he do sin and forget God and have some such falls as David had yet herein is the power of it that it never lets a man go quite but still it brings him back again This is much for the comfort of those that are upright hearted for some man might say alas though I do purpose and have performed and kept on in a good course yet I am apt to fail back again to my old sins and am ready to return to my old courses It is true thou mayst do so but yet herein be assured that the strength of grace will be manifested in thy heart to kâ—â—p tâ—…e from falling from thy steadfastness it will keep thee along it will not suffer thee to go quite away thou wilt not depart from the Lord Ier. 32 40 I will plant my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me As for example take Saul and David Saul was in a good course a great while and he made many turnings aside yet the Lord kept him by the common assistance of his spirit yet at length he went quite away from the Lord. But now David how many turnings aside had he how many great infirmities had he yet he had the sure mercies of David the strength of grace kept him along that he never departed from the living God he never went aside so as he returned no more Therefore if thou find this that though thou fall yet thou art returning again that thy heart is never at rest till thou hast gotten the Lord again it is a sign that thou hast the true touch of the spirit As the needle we know that is touched with the load-stone it never is at quiet till it find the north point again Lastly As the strength of grace is seen in enabling us to do and in keeping us from fainting so it is seen in the particular things we do in those good duties that we perform the hearing of the word communicating the partaking of all the holy ordinances in all the duties belonging to Gods Worship herein I say the power of grace is seen For as everything is in its being so it is in its working look what being and essence it hath such is the work of it Now take those that are common and counterfeit graces which are not sound and right they are able to reach the form of good duties but not the substance but where there is true lively grace there a man is able to do the thing indeed that is he can do holy duties as he ought to do them This is the property of grace that it enableth you to do the things you do with a pure heart for my brethren it is grace that purifieth the heart it is that which makes the inside clean other things may cleanse the hands and the head Philosophy education and parts of morality but the power of grace is such as that when you come to do duties it purifies the heart because grace makes a man wise Now a wise man will be sure to look to the foundation that is to look to the heart wherewith he performs every duty the foundation is all in-all a wise man will see with what heart he performs every duty the outward performance is but as the top of the building the foundation is the principal Besides grace puts a treasure into a mans heart and makes him prize that treasure and where a mans treasure is there his eye will be he will look therefore to his heart in the performance of duties Besides it teacheth a man to exalt God as God in his heart and when he is so exalted he is more to him then a thousand witnesses It enableth him to seek praise with God and not with men Again it gives a man light whereby he can discern of the secret failings of his heart Another man that hath not light he cannot see them he can see grosse enormities but it is grace onely that makes us to see