practice, when they speak and live in a contempt or low esteem of grace? And which is more injurious to God? for a profane person to jest at the Spirit's work, or for a Christian, or minister, deliberately to extenuate it; especially when the preaching of grace is a minister's chief work, sure we should much fear partaking in so great a sin.

Quest. 5. Why is it that the Scripture speaks so much to take men off from boasting or ascribing any thing to themselves?"That every mouth may be stopped;" (Rom. iii. 19;) and why doth not the law of works exclude boasting but only the "law of faith?" (Rom. iii. 27.) Surely the actions of nature (except so far as it is corrupt) are as truly of God, as the acts of grace. And yet God will not take it well to deny him the glory of redemption, or sanctification, and tell him that we paid it him in another kind, and ascribed all to him as the author of our freewill by natural production. For as nature shall honour the Creator, so grace shall also honour the Redeemer and Sanctifier. And God designeth the humbling of the sinner, and teaching him to deny himself; and to honour God in such a way as may stand with self-abasement, leaving it to God to honour those by way of reward, that honour him in way of duty, and deny their own honour.

Quest. 6. Why is the blaspheming, and sinning against the Holy Ghost made so heinous and dangerous a sin, if the works of the Holy Ghost were not most excellent, and such as God will be most honoured by?

Quest. 7. Is it not exceeding ingratitude for the soul that hath been illuminated, converted, renewed, quickened, and saved by the Holy Ghost, to extenuate the mercy, and ascribe it most to his natural will? O what a change was it that sanctification made! what a blessed birthday was that to our souls, when we entered here upon Life Eternal! (John xvii. 3.) And is this the thanks we give the Lord for so great a mercy!

Quest. 8. What mean those texts, if they confute not this unthankful opinion? "It is God that worketh in you to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Phil. ii. 13.) "God hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus: For by grace

ye are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created to good works in Christ Jesus." (Ephes. ii. 7-10.) The like is in Titus iii. 5-7; John xv. 16: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us." (1 John iv. 10.) "For who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (1 Cor. iv. 7.) "No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." (John vi. 44.) "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. ii. 14.) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit;" (John iii. 6;) that is, plainly, the fleshly birth produceth but flesh and not spirit; if any man will have the Spirit (and so be saved) it must be by a spiritual begetting and birth by the Holy Ghost: "The Lord opened Lydia's heart that she attended to the things that were spoken of Paul," &c. (Acts xvi. 14.) Was the conversion of Paul, a murdering persecutor, his own work rather than the Lord's, when the means and manner were such as we read of? "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldst know his will, and see that Just One, and hear the voice of his mouth," &c. (Acts xxii. 14.) He was chosen to the means and to faith, and not only “in faith unto salvation." When Christ called his disciples to come and follow him, was there no prevailing inward power that made them leave all and follow him? And was it not the power of the Holy Ghost that converted three thousand Jews at a sermon, of them that by wicked hands had crucified and slain the Lord Jesus? (Acts ii. 23. 41.) When the preaching and miracles of Christ converted so few; his brethren, and they that "saw his miracles believed not on him," (John xii. 37; v. 38; vi. 36; vii. 5,) but when the Holy Ghost was given after his ascension, in that plenty which answered the Gospel and promise, his words were fulfilled: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John xii. 32.) I pass by. abundance more such evidence.

Quest. 9. Doth it not tend to bring sin into credit, which holiness is contrary to, and to bring the love of God into discredit, and to hinder men's conversion, and keep them from a holy life, when holiness is taken for so low and natural or common a thing?

Quest. 10. And consequently doth it not tend to the vilifying of the attribute of holiness in God, when the image and effect of it is so extenuated?

Quest. 11. And doth it not tend to the contempt of heaven itself, whose state of felicity consisteth much in perfect holiness? And if sanctification be but some common motion, which Cain and Judas had, as well as Paul, sure it is less divine and more inconsiderable than we thought.

Quest. 12. Doth it not speak a very dangerous suspicion of a soul that never felt the special work of grace, that can make light of it, and ascribe it most to his own will? And would not sound humiliation do more than arguments to cure this great mistake? I never yet came near a thoroughly humbled soul, but I found them too low and vile in their own eyes, to have such undervaluing thoughts of grace, or to think it best for them to leave all the efficacy of grace to their own wills! A broken heart abhors such thoughts.

Quest. 13. Dare any wise and sober man desire such a thing of God, or dare you say that you will expect no other grace, but what shall leave it to yourselves to make it effectual or frustrate it? I think he is no friend to his soul that would take up with this.

Quest. 14. Do not the constant prayers of all that have but a show of godliness contradict the doctrine which I am contradicting? Do you not beg of God to melt and soften and bow your hearts, and to make them more holy, and fill them with light, and faith, and love, and hold you close to God and duty! In a word, do you not daily pray for effectual grace, that shall infallibly procure your desired ends? I scarce ever heard a prayer from a sober man but was orthodox in such points, though their speeches would be heterodox.

Quest. 15. Do you not know that there is an enmity in every unrenewed heart against sanctification, till God remove it? Are we not greater enemies to ourselves, and greater resisters of the Holy Ghost, and of our own conversion, and sanctification, and salvation, than all the world

besides is? Woe to him that feeleth not this by himself. And is it likely, that we that are enemies to holiness, should do more to our own sanctification, than the Holy Ghost? Woe to us if he conquer not our enmity.

Quest. 16. Is it probable that so great a work as the destroying of our dearest sins, the setting of our hearts and all our hopes on an invisible glory, and delighting in the Lord, and forsaking all for him, &c. should come rather from the choice of a will that loveth those sins, and hateth that holy, heavenly life, than from the Spirit of Christ? sure this is much above us.

Quest. 17. Whence is it that so often one man that hath been a notorious sinner is converted by a sermon, when a civiler man, of better nature and life, is never changed, though he have that and ten times more persuasions?

Quest. 18. Doth not experience tell impartial observers, that the high esteemers of the sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost, are ordinarily of more holy, heavenly lives, than they that use to ascribe the differencing work to their freewills? In my observation it is so.

Quest. 19. Should not every gracious, humble soul, be more inclined to magnify God, than himself? and to give him the glory, than to give it to ourselves, especially in a case where Scripture and experience telleth us that we are more unlikely than God to deserve the praise? Our destruction is of ourselves, but in him is our help. (Hos. xiii. 9.) When we see the effect and know it, and the causes that are in question, it is easy to conjecture from the quality, which is the true cause. If I see a serpent brought forth, I will sooner think that it was generated by a serpent than a dove. If I see sin in the world, I shall easily believe it is the spawn of this corrupted will, that is so prone to it. But if I find a divine nature in me, or see a holy, heavenly life in any, I must needs think that this is liker to be the work of the blessed God, than of such a naughty heart as man's, that hath already been a self-destroyer.

Quest. 20. What motive hath any man to exalt himself, and sin against the Holy Ghost by such an extenuation of his saving grace? It is a causeless, fruitless sin. The only reason that ever I could hear for it, was lest the doctrine of differencing grace should make God a respecter of persons,

or the author of sin, of which there is no reason of a suspicion. We all agree that no man perisheth, or is denied grace, but such as deserve it: And when all deserve it, it is no more respect of persons in God to sanctify some only of those ill deservers, than it is that he makes not all men kings, nor every dog, or toad a man, nor every star a sun, or every man an angel. To clear all objections concerning this, would be but to digress.

3. Lastly, Our knowledge of the Holy Ghost must raise us to an high estimation of his works, and a ready reception of his graces, and cheerful obedience to his motions. He sanctified our Head, that had no sin, by preventing sin in his conception, and he anointed him to his office, and came upon him at his baptism. He sanctified and anointed the prophets and the apostles to their offices, and by them endited the Holy Scripture. He illuminateth, converteth, sanctifieth and guideth all that are to be heirs of life. This is his work. Honour that part of it that is done on Christ, on the prophets, apostles, and the Scriptures; and value and seek after that which belongeth to yourselves. Think not to be holy without the Sanctifier, nor to do any thing well without the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who is Christ's internal, invisible agent here on earth (as Tertullian in the church's creed speaks, misit vicariam vim Spiritus sancti qui credentes agat). O that men knew how much of their welfare dependeth on a faithful obeying of the Holy Ghost!

CHAP. XIII.

12. The next part of our knowledge of God is to know him in those great consequent Relations, to which he is entitled by creation and redemption; viz. as he is our absolute Lord or Owner, our most righteous Governor, and our most bountiful or gracious Father or Benefactor.

1. God both as our creator and redeemer hath jus dominii,' an absolute dominion of the world; that is, he is our Owner or Proprietary, and we are his own; for we take not the term, lordship or dominion, here in the looser sense as it signifieth a ruler, but in the stricter sense, as it signifieth an Of this relation I have already spoken in a sermon of "Christ's Dominion:" and therefore shall say the less in this place.

owner.