kept the commands of God from his youth, that he was not far from the kingdom of God. But now, if by an irrefiftible act of God's power, this change be made in an inftant, and cannot otherwise be made, how is one man nearer to a ftate of grace, or farther from it than another? If all that are made good, must be made fo in an inftant, or not at all, then no man is nearer being made good than another; for if he were nearer to it, he might fooner be made fo; but that cannot be, if all must be made good in an inftant; for fooner than that no man can be made fo. If the fimilitude of our being dead in fins and trefpaffes be strictly taken, no man is nearer a refurrection to a new life than another; as he that died but a week ago, is as far from being raised to life again, as he that died a thousand years ago; the refurrection of both requires an omnipotent act, and to that both are equally eafy. The two parables of our Saviour. Matth. xiii, 31. 33. are by many interpreters understood of the gradual operation of grace upon the hearts of men. That wherein the kingdom of heaven is likened to a grain of mustard-feed, which being fown was the leaft of all feeds, but by degrees grew up to be the greatest of herbs; and to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened; intimating the progrefs of God's grace, which by degrees diffufeth itfelf over the whole temper of a man's mind, into all the actions of his life. To be fure the parable of the feed which fell upon good ground, does reprefent the efficacy of the word of God, accompanied by his grace upon the minds of men, and that is faid to Spring up, and increase, and to bring forth fruit with patience; which furely does exprefs to us the gradual operation of God's word and grace in the renovation and change of a man's heart and life.

T

The New Teftament indeed fpeaks of the fudden change of many upon the firit preaching of the gofpel, which I have told you before is not a standard of the ordinary method of God's grace; the not confidering of which, hath been a great cause of all

the mistakes in this matter. It is true, thofe which were thus converted to the belief of the gospel, their faith was a virtual principle of all grace and virtue, thoug not formally the habit of every particular grace. St. Paul himself, who was a prime inftance of this kind, fpeaks as if he acquired the grace of contentment by great confideration, and diligent care of himself in feveral conditions; not as if the habit of this grace had been infused into him at once, Phil. iv. 11, 12. I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both bow to be abafed, and I know how to abound, every where and in all things I am inftructed, both to be full, and to be hungry, both to abound, and to fuffer need. And thus I have done with the first thing I propounded to confider, namely, the true and just importance of this metaphor of the new creation. The two particulars which remain, I fhall by God's affiftance, finish in my next difcourfe.

SE ER MON CX.

Of the nature of regeneration, and its neceffity, in order to juftification and falva

tion.

GALA T. Vi. 15.

For in Chrift Jefus, neither circumcifion availeth any thing, nor uncircumcifion; but a new creature.

T

The fifth fermon on this text.

from thefe

HE obfervation I am still upon words is this, viz. That in the Chriftian religion nothing will avail to our juftification, but the renovation of our hearts and lives, expreft here by a new creature. In treating of which, I propofed the doing of three things:

First, To fhew the true import of this metaphor of

a new.creature.

Secondly, To fhew that this is the great condition of our juftification; And,

Thirdly, That it is highly reasonable that it should be fo.

. In treating of the first of these particulars, I have confidered fome doctrines as founded upon this métaphor, which I have fhewn at large not only to have no foundation in fcripture, or reafon or experience; but also to be very unreasonable in themselves, and contrary to the plain and conftant tenor of fcripture, 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 reclaimed from a notorious wicked courfe of life. And that I have fo long infifted upon this argument, and handled it in a more contentious way than is ufual with me, did not proceed from any love to controverfy, which I am lefs fond of every day than other; but from a great defire to put an end to these controverfies, and quarrellings in the dark, by bringing them to a clear ftate and plain iffue, and likewife to undeceive good men concerning fome current notions and doctrines, which I do really believe to be difhonourable to God, and contrary to the plain declarations of fcripture, and a caufe of great perplexity and discomfort to the minds of men, and a real difcouragement to the refolutions and endeavours of becoming better. Upon which confiderations I was ftrongly urgent to fearch thefe doctrines to the bottom, and to contribute what in me lay, to the refcuing of good men from the difquiet and entanglement of them..

f

I will conclude this matter with a few cautions, not unworthy to be remembred by us That we would be careful fo to afcribe all good to God, that we be fure we afcribe nothing to him that is evil, or any ways unworthy of him; That we do not make him the fole author of our Salvation, in fuch a way, as will unavoidably charge upon him the final impenitency and ruin of a great part of mankind; That we do not fo magnify the grace of God, as to make

his precepts and exhortations fignify nothing; fuch as thefe, Make ye new hearts, and new fpirits, ftrive to enter in at the ftrait gate; where, if by the ftrait gate be meant the difficulty of our first entrance upon a religious courfe, that is, of our converfion and regeneration, I cannot imagine how it is poffible to reconcile our being merely paffive in this work, and doing nothing at all in it, with our Saviour's precept of ftriving to enter in at the ftrait gate; unless to be very active, and to be merely paffive about the same thing be all one, and an earneft contention and endeavour be the fame thing with doing nothing. Again, that we do not make the utmoft degeneracy and depravation which men ever arrived at by the greatest abufe of themselves, and the most vile and wicked practices, the ftandard of an unregenerate ftate, and of the common condition of all men by nature. And lastly, That we do not make fome par ticular inftances in fcripture, of the ftrange and fud. den converfion of fome perfons (as namely, of St. Paul and the Jaylor, in the A&ts) the common rule and measure of every man's converfion; fo that unlefs a man be as it were ftruck down by a light and power from heaven, and taken with a fit of trembling, and frighted almoft out of his wits, or find in himfelf fomething equal to this, he can have no affurance of his converfion; whereas a much furer judgment may be made of the fincerity of a man's converfion, by the real effects of this change, than by the manner of it. This our Saviour hath taught us, by that apt refemblance of the operation of God's Spirit to the blowing of the wind, of the original caufe whereof, and of the reafon of its ceafing or continuance, and why it blows ftronger or gentler, this way or that way, we are altogether ignorant; but that it is, we are fenfible from the found of it, John iii. 8. The wind bloweth where it lifteth, and thou heareft the found of it, but canft not tell whence it cometh or whether it goeth: So is every one that is born of the Spirit. The effects of God's Holy Spi rit in the regeneration of men are fenfible, though the manner and degrees of his operation upon the

fouls

fouls of men are fo various, that we can give no ac count of them; by which, one would think our Saviour had fufficiently cautioned us, not to reduce the operations of God's grace and Holy Spirit in the regeneration of men, to any certain rule or ftandard, but chiefly to regard the fenfible effects of this fe cret work upon the hearts and lives of men.

And after all, it is in vain to contend by any ar guments against clear and certain experience. If we plainly fee that many are infenfibly changed, and made good by pious education in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; and that fome who have long lived in a profane neglect and contempt of religion, are by the fecret power of God's word and Holy Spirit, upon calm confideration, without any great terrors and amazement, vifibly changed and brought to a better mind and courfe; it is in vain in thefe cafes to pretend that this change is not real, because the manner of it is not anfwerable to fome inftances which are recorded in fcripture, or which we have obferved in our experience; and because these persons cannot give fuch an account of the time and manner of their converfion, as is agreeable to these instances; which is just as if I fhould meet a man beyond fea, whom I had known in England, and would not believe that he had croft the feas, becaufe he faid he had a fmooth and eafy paffage, and was wafted over by a gentle wind, and could tell no ftories of ftorms and tempefts.

And thus I have fully and faithfully endeavoured to open to you the juft importance of this phrafe or expreffion 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 Chriftian religion, the great condition of our juftification and ac ceptance with God, and that this is the fame in fenfe and fubftance with thofe phrafes 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