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XII. The DAY of GRACE.

If you ask the opinion of some divines concerning the day of grace, they will tell you it signifies that particular season of a man's life, when the Spirit of God, by convictions and good motions, stirs him up to seek after salvation, and gives him sufficient grace to convert him; and all this while it was possible for him to be saved, and it was within the reach of his own power to make this grace effectual:-But this is determined to a certain, though unknown day, which if a man passes without being converted, then his salvation becomes impossible. Now, though I would not choose to borrow all my sentiments in the chief doctrines of the gospel from the sermons of a bishop published on the terms of salvation, yet against this scheme I may venture to use an argument taken from that book.

Let us suppose, that it was declared in the gospel, that there was a certain number of sins, or a certain period of time, beyond which God would not pardon; and not any particular number, or time, was specified to the world: yet still most men (it is too justly to be feared) would first be led by hope to commit many sins, with a flattering persuasion that they should not come to that number, or arrive at that period: and then, when the habit was become strong, they would be fixed by despair in this opinion, that being probably got past that number of sins, and that period of grace, they had even as good continue in their sins, as their inclination powerfully directs them; they would go on in great wickedness and say, There is no hope. And thus we see, that even his supposition, which seems to take most care of the cause of holiness, leaves it not only in a naked and unguarded, but in a very desperate condition.

Concerning a day of grace, thus much may be said, and this is all that I can understand by it, (viz. That in the life of a man, there are particular seasons when he enjoys more of the outward means of grace, or advantages for the good of

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his soul, than at other times; that is, more constant opportunities of hearing the word, a more useful and affecting ministry, better company, warmer admonitions, and plainer warnings by divine Providence; more leisure and conveniences for reading, meditation, and prayer: or, if all this continue all his life-time, yet there are seasons when the Spirit of God, by his common operations, does more powerfully convince of sin, and stir up the conscience to duty, and impress his word with more force upon the heart; but, being opposed and resisted, he is grieved and departs, his workings grow daily fewer and feebler; or it may be he retires at once, and leaves the soul in a stupid frame, and

returns no more.

Yet we could not say heretofore, That the Spirit of God, in his former operations, gave him a full and proximate sufficiency of inward converting grace before, since it proved so insufficient in the event, and ineffectual: nor can we say now, that his day of grace is quite past and gone; because the Spirit of God, who is sovereign in mercy, may return again.

Yet it is a very good motive to urge upon delaying sinners, that it is a daring and dangerous piece of impiety and rebellion to quench the motions of the holy Spirit; lest he depart grieved, and never return again; lest he never give them so fair an opportunity for conversion, never bring them so near again to the kingdom of heaven.

XIII. GOD and NATURE unsearchable.

How poor and imperfect a creature is man! How unequal his knowledge of things! How large and almost immensely diffusive his acquaintance with some parts of nature, but how exceedingly limited and narrow in others! The man of learning, who has the highest temptations to pride, has also the most powerful motives to humility.

Man can measure the heavens, tell how many miles the planet Venus is distant from Jupiter, and how far the earth

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from the sun. He has found out with certainty the pe riods of their revolutions, and the hour of their eclipses ; he can adjust the affairs of the planetary world to a moment, their vast variety of appearances, with all their prodigious circuits. But this great artist, MAN, is puzzled at a worm or a fly, a grain of sand, or a drop of water: there is not the least atom in the whole creation, but has questions about it unsearchable by human nature; no, nor the least part of empty space, but sets all the wisest philosophers at variance when they attempt to tell what it is, or whether it be any thing or nothing.

This sort of talk, my neighbours will say, is a flourish. of wit to teach us to undervalue our reason, a mere rant of rhetoric, an hyperbole of reproach to our understanding : but while I leave it to astronomers to confirm what I have said concerning the vast extent of their acquaintance with the heavens, I shall make it appear, even to a demonstration, that our knowledge of the things on earth is as mean as I have expressed, in the literal and proper sense.

There is not the least grain of sand on the shore, nor the least atom in the whole creation, but has questions about it unsearchable by human nature.

This atom may be divided into millions of millions of pieces, and after all this the least part of it will be infinitely divisible. The infinite divisibility of matter is so often proved and so universally granted by all modern philosophers, that I need not stand to prove it here: yet, that my unlearned readers may see and believe, I will set down a plain vulgar demonstration or two of this matter.

I. It is certain, that if matter be not infinitely divisible, then there is, or may be, so small a part of matter which cannot be divided further: now take this supposed smallest part, this fancied atom, and put it between the points of a pair of compasses made of stiff and inflexible matter; it is, evident that the legs of the compasses, in less and less degrees, will be divided asunder quite to the centre; and from the points to the centre there is room for still less and less

pieces of matter to be put between the legs. Therefore that very supposed atom may be conceived to be divided still further into less parts, and consequently it was not indivisible.

II. If there be any indivisible part of matter, the shape of it must be spherical, or a perfect globe, wherein every part of the surface is equally distant from the centre; for if you suppose it of any other shape, then some parts of it will be farther from its centre than other parts; and all these longer parts may be shortened or pared off till every part be equally short or equally distant from the centre; that is, till it be reduced to a globe. Now, from the centre of this little globe to the surface, the parts of it are but half so long as from any part of the surface to its opposite part; and therefore this globe may be still divided into two hemispheres, or semicircles, which are not the smallest parts of matter that can be, because they are not of a spherical figure, as in the beginning of the argument.

And then, by a repetition of the same reasoning, those little semicircles, or half-globes, by paring off the parts which are farthest from their centre, may be reduced to smaller globes again, and those smaller globes again divided in halves as before: there is no end of these divisions, and therefore matter is infinitely divisible.

To carry on this argument yet further to the surprise of my unlearned readers; let us take notice, that all matter has three dimensions in it, namely, length, breadth, and depth now every part of matter, every grain of sand, is infinitely divisible as to each of these dimensions; that is, every part which results from an infinite division of the length of it, may be yet again infinitely divided according to its breadth; thus the division of this grain of sand becomes infinitely infinite. And yet still it may be further infinitely divided, according to the depth or thickness of it: thus the divisibility of matter swells beyond all imagination, and is more than infinitely infinite, and that with resistless evidence and astonishment to the eye of reason.

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Go now, vain man, and find fault with any part of the creation of God, and play the foolish critic on his works of providence; go and censure the justice of his conduct towards Adam or any of his children, or blame the wisdom of his institutions in the dispensations of his grace: monstrous arrogance, and proud impiety! Rather go first and learn what an atom is, or the meanest part of the dust of this vast creation which God has made. It has something of infinity in it; it confounds thee in perplexing darkness, and reaches far beyond all the little stretch of thy boasted powers of reasoning. Be dumb in silence, O vain creature! at the foot of this infinite and eternal Being, nor pretend to measure his steps, to censure his motions, and direct his conduct, till thou art better able to give an account of the dust which he has put under the feet of the meanest of his slaves.

XIV. The DIAMOND painted.

How wide and unhappy a mistake it is, when Christians endeavour to adorn their pure divine worship by the mixture of it with ceremonies of human invention. The symbolical ordinances of the gospel have a noble simplicity in them their materials are water, bread, and wine, three of the most necessary and valuable things in human life; and their mystic sense is plain, natural, and easy. By water we are cleansed when we have been defiled; so, by the grace of the holy Spirit, we are purified from sin, which pollutes our souls in the sight of God. By bread we are fed when we are hungry, and nourished into strength for service: by wine we are refreshed and revived when thirsty and fainting; so, from the body of Christ, which was broken as an atoning sacrifice, and his blood which was poured out for us, we derive our spiritual life and strength. The application of these symbols is most simple, and natural also: we are commanded to wash with the water, to eat the bread,

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