and what are the profits of it, but heapes of chaff, which any winde from heaven may scatter? and what are the friends of it, but a gourd, which any worme may gnaw out and shris vel?

And why doeft thou fear man, whofe utmost power exceeds not thy body, and feareft not that God whofe vengeance can. (eaze on thy foul? and why wilt thou beftow the ftrength of thy time, to get no more then nothing, and in the mean time to lofe eternity, a foul, a Chrift, a heaven? yet thus it is, the poor creatures (at the beft) but our fervants have got our hearts, whiles Chrift complaines against us, we withhold our fouls from him, our just Lord and best Master.

But if there were not more glory in Chrift, then honour in the world, if there were not more gaine in Chrift, then profit in the world, if there were not more love in Chrift,then friendfhip in the world; if there were not more comfort in Chrift, then difcouragemen's in the world; if there were not more faferics in Chrift, then dangers in the world; nay, if the real and true exceedings of infinite betterneffe, were not on Christs part, 1 duift not fo to encline your hearts for faith in him, &c.

Sixthly,the cunnings of natural unbelief,are a great impediment; I will not speak of al of them,only I wil difcover a few, all which are hindrances.

Imaginations of impossibility: it cannot be, that if I fhould la» bor for faith, that ever I fhould get it, the intentions of mercy lie not that way, nor do the ftreames of graciousness run towards fuch a deeply finful and guilty foul; my fins are grown to fucha vaftaeffe of provocation, as if all the Angels in heaven should be fent unto me, I could never credit their relation of hope or perce

unto me.

Now when the heart is thus foreftalled with a strength of conceit, that God never did, nor will bend the curement of the blood of Chrift towards the foul; Why! the hands fink, no man will be periwaded to compaffe impoffibili

ties

Apprehenfions of difficulty. Unbelief fets up a Lyon in every i path, and fo keeps off from all endeavour: First, I fhall never be able to spare time, I fhall never be able to pray, I shall never. be able to keep on in fuch a course, I fhall never be able to leave

fuch.

6.

I.

2

3.

fuch fociety, I shall never be able to deny the world, I cannot take fuch paines, I cannot waite, I cannot tell how to get off these finnes, to change this heart, to bring it to yield to Chrift.

Difcourfe of carnall reasonings, which try all the promises of God at a humane bar, difputings against juft precepts by unjust practices, and the undertakings of a great and faithful God, by the hallowneffe of a blind and proud and weak understanding, throwing up infinite exceptions.

Inftances of fenfe and feeling; Why if a man will judge of God, by what he alwaies hears and feels within himself, he shall never believe.

'Yea, if I were now fure, I fhould have mercy, that Christ were mine, that my fins were pardoned, if I could fee my heart changed, and fins difperfed and fubdued, then I would put out for faith, and then I would look up to Chrift. And wouldit thou have thy cure before thy plaifter, thy health before the Phyfick, thy life before thy foul, the portion before the perfon, thy nonefaft before thy meal, the benefits of Chrift, the vertues of Chrift, before Chrift himself.

Nov

men.

SECT. III.

Thirdly the Meanes.

I come to direct you unto the ufe of such meanes by which God workes this faving faith in the hearts of

Where,premife with me fome particulars.

1. There is no natural power in man to produce a caufe within himfelf; This great grace of faith is no fruit of the wisdome of the flesh, nor is it the birth of a corrupt will, if it were poffible for a natural heart to fee all the excellencies of Chrift, if it were poffible for him to draw out and behold all the arguments of Scripture, yet could he not. by his own ftrength make his own heart to believe.

2. The immediate and fole canfe of faith is the Spirit of God: He

it is who is greater then the heart, and who can perfwade, and draw the heart, and who can change and renew the spirit, which till it be renewed by him, will never, be moved to beleeve in Chrift.

3. There are meanes appointed by God, and which God doth ordinarily bleffe, for the production of faith; as he hath ordained meanes, for the revelation of Chrift, fo he hath likewife confecrated meanes,to lead the foul unto him,to implant faith.

4. Now the great and ordinary meanes by which God workes faith in the hearts of men (I speak of fuch as are come to ripeneffe of years) is the preaching of the Word.

So Acts 13.48. When the Gentiles heard this,they were glad, and glorified the Word of the Lord,and as many as were ordeined to eternal life believed, Rom. 10. 17. Faith comes by hearing,and hearing by the Word of God, Eph. 1. 13. In whom ye also trusted after beard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salva

that je

tion.

That the Word is the Minifterial inftrument, which God ufeth to beget faith in Chrift,may thus appeare.

1. It is that which discovers unto the foul its extreame mifery and great need of Chrift; nothing quickens the confcience to that reflexive evidence, to the cleare and true fight of the natural ftate, which pricks the foul, which in a fort compels the foul to look after the Redeemer of the world as the Word doth. You fee it bath been thus formerly, that when men bave heard it, it hath unfolded their ftate unto them, it hath broken all their proud imaginations, it hath driven them to their feet, it hath made them to cry out, men and brethren what shall we do to be faved?

Yea, and we find it in experience to be fo,that the preaching of the Word, it opens the eyes of Ginners, it frames in them the fenfe of finfulneffe, and accurfedneffe, it makes them indeed to feel the need of a Phyfician of fuch an one as Chrift.

2.It is that which difcovers a boare for a broken fbip; which doth reveale,and proclaime to poor finners Articles of peace in Chrift; it makes known the great love of God and Chrift, and how that Chrift is the Sonne of God, and was fent by God, and

fatisfied

2. Things,

fatisfied for finners, and this was accepted.

3. It makes the foul to confeffe thofe things as most true and good in themselves: It convinceth a man, that of a truth God meanes graciously to men, that his Sonne was a Sacrifice, was a propitiation, that he did purchase pardon and falvation for finners.

4. It is that which cafteth down all the reasonings, argu ments and difputes of the minde against the conditions of Chrift, and renders all the termes of Chrift upon which he will be taken, as most equal, and faire, and reafon. able.

5. It is that which clears the way for the foul against all its feares and unbeleeving doubts from the freeneffe of Gods mercy, from the fuineffe of Chrifts redemption, from the willingneffe on Chrifts part, and requests unto us to accept of him.

6. It is that which doth powerfully renew the difpofition of the understanding and will, and fo incline them to esteeme of Chrift, as the highest truth, and to bend after him as the chiefeft good.

7. It is that which stirres up the heart with a choice of Chrift, and refolution to have him what ever may be fal it.

8. It is that which makes the heart to try fervently to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to work his blessed grace of faith: Yea, which draws out of us ftrong fupplications with many teares and longings, and to implead all the promiles of making mercy good, and Chrift good, and faith good

unto us.

9. It is that which establisheth the foul to a patient expecta tion for ever to lie at the poole, for ever to attend the doors of the Sanctuary, till the foul can take and clofe wich Chrift by true beleeving.

But then to open unto you the way more diftinctly,I would commend this courfe unto a perfon, that he may at length get a believing heart.

1.Study thy natural condition throughly: The right fenfe of this, though it doth not formally caufe faith, yet it may hav: 8 compelling force to make us look after Chrift; and to strive for faith.

The

The Apoftle calls the Law a Schoolmaster to Chrift, Gal. 3. why? because it doth reveal fuch a smart and ftrong evidenceof the finful condition, that it fcourgeth a man out of himfelf to look for a Saviour; yea, it helps much to caft the proud foul down, and to break and crush his natural bo com; which otherwife would ftave off, and hinder a man from believing. Therefore ftudy thy natural condition: I would believe, and I would have Chrift: yea, but why? what need leeft thou in thy felf of him? I tell you, that the more desperate the foul fees its own natural condition, the more willingly may it be drawn to apprehend, adore, and embrace its remedies and fafeties:

Now there are three things to convince our felves of, about our natural condition, I meane the ftite without Christ.

First, the ugly vileneffe of it. That it is finful and stark naught, it is no fuch thing as God doth like or approve, but his foul abbors and bates it. For it is compounded of nothing, but want of good, and inclination to evil to all that is oppofite to God and holineffe: That thou art in it, poor, and blinde, and miferable, and naked, an ignorant, oppofing, unconceiving creature of any spiritual good, proud, and fenfual, and vain, and earthly, loathfom and dead.

Secondly, the fure and fearful mifery of it: Thou art without God, without Chrift, without the Covenant, not a drop of mercy for thee, whiles thou remain'ft thus; but all the wrath of God is against thee, and thou art under the dominion of finne, and terrible curfe of the Law, all the threatnings in the book of God are ever ready to feafe on thee, and how foon may they arreft thee, if God gives them commiffion?

Thirdly, the utter infufficiency to deliver thy felf out of this ftate: Thou art never able to merit the leaft mercy, nor to answer the great juftice of God; Though thou fhouldest offer thousands of lambs, and ten thousand rivers of oyle; thou art fo totally broken in thy ftrength,that thou canst not pay a farthing, and never canft thou be a Redeemer to thy felf, from thy fins, or Gods justice.

Now drive and faften these things as real and experimental truths into thy heart, till thou art shut up under finne, as the

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Apostle