in glory: but, when there is so much hard and unpleasing work, first that they must be born of God; and, after they are true Christians, that they must exercise every grace and perform every duty that may fit and prepare them for glory; they look upon these things as too difficult, which makes them sit down with idle wishes short both of grace and glory. Their wills are very irrational: they would have heaven; but they slight grace, the way to it and, possibly, they would have grace; but they cannot bring themselves to the performance of those irksome and unpleasing duties, in and by which grace is usually bestowed and conveyed.

(4thly) The will of an unregenerate man is usually a general, not a particular will.

If God should ask them, "Sinners, what would you do to be saved?" They would answer, " Any thing, every thing." But, let God bid them leave such and such a sin, perform such and such a duty, they answer with Naaman, " Any sin, but that; any duty, but that." So it is with these men: "Oh, any thing," in the general: but, when God brings them down to particulars, to do this or that, then they are willing to do just nothing.

I have shewed you how far the will itself may be changed in unregenerate persons: they may wish after grace, and resolve® to be better, and to do better; and yet fall short of saving grace. And, also, what it is that hinders this change from being a thorough work of grace; what it is that obstructs them, when they are almost, that they are not altogether Christians.

(5) As for the Life and Conversation.

There may be a great change wrought in the lives of unregenerate persons, who yet fall short of Christianity.

The Apostle, 2 Pet. ii. 20. speaks of such who having escaped the pollutions of the world, through lust were again entangled therein and overcome, &c. It seems, to escape the pollutions of the world is no argument of true grace, unless they be also cleansed from the pollutions of the heart: for sin may be left merely from external and forced principles; such as terrors of conscience, for the heavy judgments of God; when God sets up a flaming sword, between a sinner and those sins, which he accounts his paradise here. Now to leave sin upon such a strait as this, is to leave it with a great deal of reluctancy: as when a mariner, in a storm, casts his goods overboard into the sea: it is with his will, indeed; but it is with an unwilling willingness: he is frighted and terrified to it. So, when the soul is tossed with

the tempest of divine wrath; and when ready to be split upon the rock of ages, and be sunk and swallowed up in a sea of fire and brimstone; he is forced to light himself, and to cast this and that dear lust overboard; this he doth from his will: but it is such a forced will, as that of mariners, who throw their treasure overboard; and, as soon as the tempest is over, the one gathers up his floating wrecks, and the other his sins. These men leave their sin, as Lot's wife left Sodom: they dare no longer continue in it, lest fire and brimstone rain upon them; and, yet, when they do leave it, they give many a wishly look back again, and have strong and vehement desires after it. That reformation of life, that only frees us from debauchedness, falls far short of true Christianity, and of making us altogether Christians: this is that, with which many soothe up themselves, when they reflect back upon the wild extravagances of their former time: how outrageously wicked they have been, riotous, drunkards, unclean, blasphemers; and, now that they find themselves deadened to these sins, and grown men of staid and sober lives, they straightway conclude, that, certainly, this great change could never be made on them otherwise than by the renewing work of the Holy Ghost: and, yet, in this amendment there may be no work of Regeneration; for men may gather up their loose and dissolute lives within some compass of civility and morality, and yet be utterly strangers to this work. Much of this may be ascribed, partly to convictions of God's Spirit, awakening natural conscience to see the horror and danger of such daring and outrageous sins; and, partly, too to prudence, gotten from frequent experience of manifold inconveniences that they brought upon themselves by such sins: and both these convictions and moral prudence are principles, that fall very far short of true Christianity. Usually, all the specious reformation and amendment of these men's lives, is, in effect, either a changing of the sin, or a tiring out of the sinner.

[1] The life may seem to be reformed, when men exchange their rude and boisterous sins, for such as are more demure and sober.

From riotous, they grow worldly from profane and irreligious, they grow superstitious and hypocritical: from atheists, they grow heretics: from sins of practice, to sins of contemplation. They are, then, apt to think, that, certainly, this change must needs be the change of their nature, when indeed it is but the change of their sins; and usually it is such a change too, that,

though it render the life more inoffensive, yet it makes the soul more incurable. St. Austin, in his 29th Epistle, tells us, That vices may give place, when virtue or grace does not take it.

[2] The life may seem to be reformed, when men are only tired out; when they have outgrown their sins.

There are sins, which are proper and peculiar to such a state and season of a man's life, upon the alteration of which they vanish and disappear. Sins of youth drop off from declining age, as misbecoming them. Now this deceives inen: when they look back to the vanities which they have forsaken, how deadened they are to those sinful ways which before they much delighted in, they conclude, certainly, this great change must needs proceed from true grace; when they do not leave their sins, so much as their sins leave them, and drop off from them as rotten fruit from a tree: the faculties of their minds and the members of their bodies, which before were instruments of sin and unrighteousness, are now become instruments of morality and seeming virtues: this sets them not free from the service of sin; but only restrains them from breaking out into notorious and scandalous vices.

[3] A civil and harmless demeanour doth not render a mau altogether a Christian.

There be many ingenuous spirits, who live blamelessly in the world; their good natures nearly resembling grace. And such was St. Paul's, before his conversion: for he tells us, as touching .....the Law, he was blameless. So, the young man, that came to Christ to know what lesson he had further to take out. This only argues a sweet disposition, but not a gracious heart. Thus you see how dissolute men may mistake themselves in this work, upon which their eternal happiness depends. It is to be feared, that many may rest upon these; and think the great discrimi nating change to be wrought, only because they are morally honest, or gained over to a profession of truth, or to such a party or sect of professors; when, indeed, true Christianity consists not in these things.

This shall suffice for the First General propounded: What change may be wrought upon a man, so as to bring him almost to Christianity, and yet leave him short of being a Christian.

iv. I shall close up this branch with some PRACTICAL CONSI

DERATIONS.

Use 1. What then shall become of such, as fall short of those that fall short of grace, that are not so much as almost Christians? What will become of carnal, loose, and profune sinners?

If those, that have been gazed at and admired for burning and shining lights, yet have fallen into the blackness of darkness, even into the dungeon of eternal darkness, were we but serious in this reflection, it would make all our faces gather blackness, and fill all our hearts with astonishment, to consider that we are not gone so far in Christianity as those may go, who yet fall short of heaven. Have we all been enlightened? Have we all tasted of the heavenly gift, and of the powers of the world to come? Have we all been made partakers of the Holy Ghost? Are there not many among us, possibly, whose hearts have never yet been touched with the sense of sin, never affected with any of the ways of God? that give themselves up to all wickedness with greediness? who never have given so much as one serious wish towards holiness? When those, that seemed to shine as stars in heaven, shall be at last burning in hell, oh, in what a dismal case shall these firebrands be!

Use 2. Hence, likewise, See what a difficult thing it is to be a true Christian.

May a natural man attain to all this, that I have spoken of before? we may then take up that same question, which the disciples asked Christ, (when he had told them, that it was as easy for a camel to go through a needle's eye, as for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven) Lord, who then shall be saved?" What! may those, whose profession hath been eminent, who have been sainted in every man's calendar, may they at last miscarry and perish? Who then shall be saved? If such be not Christians, Christianity seems to be rather some fancied notion, than any thing real and attainable." To this we may make the same answer, that Christ gave to the disciples: With men, indeed, these things are impossible, but with God all things are possible: it is impossible for men, by their own strength and natural ability, to become Christians; but it is possible for God to make them Christians: it is possible, as miracles themselves are possible, only possible to the Almighty power of God. Not any soul can be persuaded to be a Christian, but he hath a miracle wrought upon him: and he himself must do that, which is little less than a miracle; he must act beyond the power of nature, and do more than a mere man can do: therefore, well may you suspect your Christianity, who find it so easy

a matter to be a Christian. Even natural men find it a difficult task to attain to that height and pitch, where they shine in moral virtues, though far short of heaven; and is it easy for you to mount far higher than they, far beyond them? Indeed it is an easy matter for any to make a slight formal profession, to run in a round of hypocritical duties, and live a moral civil life: this is easy: there is nothing miraculous in this. But is it easy to pluck out the right-eye, and to cut off the right-hand? It is not easy, to crucify a darling lust; to cut off the righthand, when it lifts up itself to plead for mercy, and to be spared a little longer; to pluck out the right-eye, when it drops tears to beg compassion, and a little favour to be granted to it. Is it easy, to combat with principalities and powers, to baffle devils, and despise the scorns and affronts of the whole world? Is it easy, to live like an angel? nay, to live like Christ, to live like God himself? Is this easy? when we see so many tottering professors aspiring towards Christianity, some mounting till they are giddy and brain-sick with their most damnable errors, others tumbling down from the precipices of great and dangerous sins. We may well wonder that any are saved, when such as these miscarry. To consider, then, what it is that is wrought upon you, even that which the Omnipotent God hath wrought; and what it is that is wrought by you, that which is beyond the power of nature: we may well conclude, what a difficult matter it is to become a true and serious Christian altogether.

Use 3. May natural men go thus far in Christianity? Oh, be you then persuaded to go much further.

Do not rest in any attainment, short of heaven and glory. Rest not in any present attainment. And this, indeed, is the most natural use, that can be made of this subject, when you hear how great a progress wicked men may make. I know that the hearts of the best Christians are ready to suggest to them, and they will be apt to conclude against themselves, that all, that is wrought upon them, is but the common work of the Spirit: therefore, their graces are but counterfeit, and themselves yet short of Christianity: I know that this subject may cause such jealousies and suspicions to arise in the hearts of some but the genuine use of this doctrine, is, not so much to pore upon our present condition, as to stir you up to make a future progress. May a natural man make so great a progress, as to be almost a Christian? then, certainly, I must never rest any where short of heaven. Well, therefore, the Apostle, in Heb. vi. 11, 12. after