he had shewn them at large what a height a natural man may arrive to, presseth them to be earnest in their endeavours after perfection. This will be the best evidence to you, that you are indeed Christians; that you have the truth of Christianity. Though natural men may possibly glister in a glorious profession, and shine like the sun in its radiant splendour: yet, like it, they have their zenith, their highest degree; which when they have climbed to, they fall down again. But a true Christian's course hath not any declension: he may proceed infinitely, from one degree of grace to another: he may ascend and reach higher and higher, till he hath reached heaven; where all his infirmities shall be swallowed up, and abolished in consummated glory. And, indeed, this is the greatest evidence of the truth of grace. A natural man's motion to heaven is violent and unnatural: it is forced from him, by some external im. pressions upon the conscience, illumination, and common works of the Holy Ghost; and, as soon as this external force is spent, he falls naturally back again to his former course of sin: as a stone may be carried a great height towards heaven, by an outward violent impression upon it; but, when that force is worne off, it falls naturally back again to the earth. Now a Christian mounts naturally to heaven; while, by reason of that dull mixture of earth that is in him, his course tends to the earth again: but the true Christian still mounts upward, from the principle that carries him up, which indeed never totally spends itself. Therefore, if thou wouldst prove thyself to be not almost, but altogether a Christian, continue thy progress: still gain ground towards heaven: rest not satisfied with any present attainments; but be still rising and soaring, until thou hast gotten the world and them too under thy feet.

Use 4. When you see any, who have been forward in a profession and gone far in Christianity, to forsake their station, and full back to their former course of profaneness, take heed that you do not reproach, that you do not scandalize religion with their apostacy.

This is that, which opens the mouths and hardens the hearts of wicked men; when they see such glorious, but yet temporary professors, to return with the dog to the vomit. They, indeed, first, bless themselves in their own ways, as being better than the ways of God, of God, as being better than the profession of religion: otherwise why should those, that so long have forsaken them, and, with a great deal of pomp, made such a glorious shew and ostentation of religion and of conscientiousness; why should

such return back again to their old ways? Secondly, it makes them think, that all professors are but hypocrites, that it is but a solemn cheat put upon the world, since such forward professors of it are found forsakers of it: "Some men please themselves with a few idle conceits of grace, and the new-birth communion with God, and the like unintelligible notions, when there is no other difference between them and others, but what only their fancies make." Oh, take heed, therefore, that you do not blaspheme the ways of God, when you see the apostacy of professors. No, these men were never in those ways. Had they been Christians indeed, they would never have deserted those holy ways: their natures were never changed; and, it is no wonder, that they are relapsed and fallen back again into their old customs: to see the swine that is cleansed return back again to the mire, is nothing strange: had Christ changed the nature of these swine, and made them his sheep; then, as they had first escaped the pollutions of the world, so they would have kept themselves from ever being entangled by them. But this makes highly for the honour of Christianity; and proves it to be a thing so excellent, that it cannot be long counterfeited: hypocrisy shall certainly betray itself by its apostacy, that it had never any thing of true and saving grace, although it carried fair in a shew and pretence of it.

Thus much for the first thing propounded, how far a man may attain towards Christianity, and yet be in a natural sinful state.

II. The next thing is to shew you, WHENCE IT IS THAT NATURAL MEN ARE ENABLED TO MAKE SO GREAT A PROGRESS TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY.

I shall give you a brief resolution to this question: and that shall be drawn,

From the consideration of the Subject; and that is a
Natural Man himself.

From the consideration of the Object; and that is Holi-
ness or Christianity, to which it tends.

i. If you look into the SUBJECT, the Natural Man himself, so you shall find that man, and that which is wrought upon him; which may carry him out possibly to a very great progress in religion, and that may be Twofold.

The Power of Nature.

The Elevation and Recruit, which that power may receive from a common work of the Holy Ghost, much helping nature, quickening conscience, and reform. ing the life.

1. The carnal man may be carried very far towards Christianity, from the mere Strength and Power of Nature.

For the mere power of corrupt nature is, of itself, sufficient to raise a man to any attainment, that is short of true saving grace. A natural man may so prepare and dispose his heart, as that the very next thing to be wrought upon him should be grace: it may carry him out to the externals of Christianity; and, it may be, with more pomp and grandeur, than sometimes the power of grace doth carry out a child of God: when the Power of Nature takes on it the Form of Godliness, it will make bright and glittering professors. Now these externals of Christianity lie in two things, the Performance of duties, and the Avoiding of sin.

As for Duties, they may so far outstrip and outshine a child of God, in the pomp and gaudiness of them, as to be their emulation and example: and, for Sin, there is not any one particular sin, setting aside those common and unavoidable infirmities which are inseparable from the frailty of human nature, but a carnal man may keep himself from the commission of it, by the mere power of nature; and there is scarce any sin, that is branded remarkably in the world, but some wicked man or other doth abstain from it, and that merely from the power of nature: one, by this power, abstains from this sin; another, from that; and a third, from another sin: and each of these has power to abstain likewise from all these sins; because what power the one hath may, possibly, be found in the other, since, in nature, there is nothing partial, for a man naturally is not so. Again, the Devil, when he tempts, doth not force and constrain them he doth not forcibly move the black tongue of the swearer to curse and blaspheme; nor doth he screw open the drunkard's mouth by force, to pour down intemperate cups; nor force the murderer's hand to sheath his sword in his brother's bowels, whether he will or no: but he solicits the wills, and insinuates into the affections by his temptations, and makes these freely move the engine to that to which his design tends; and therefore all his triumphs are but for beggarly victories; he could not prevail over us, did not we prove traitors to our own

souls; did not we surrender up ourselves, by the consent of our own wills; else, we could never be distressed, much less taken by the violence of the tempter.

2. As men may proceed far toward Christianity by the Power of Nature, so they may have Common and Ordinary Works of the Holy Ghost upon them, that may carry them out to a very great progress.

They may be made, saith the Apostle, partakers of the Holy Ghost: Heb. vi. 4. and that is, of its common gifts and operations. It is the Spirit of God, that enlightens their understandings, that awakens their consciences, that excites their affections. It is the Spirit, that works conviction, that works reformation; yea, and sanctification in wicked and unregenerate men: for we have that expression concerning them.

There is a Twofold Sanctification.

(1) Of the Flesh, consisting in the removal of all carnal and external filthiness; called by the Apostle an escaping of the pollutions of the world through lust: 2 Pet. ii. 20. and that consists in a separation from all those gross and vile sins, wherein the flagitious and debauched world do wallow.

(2) There is likewise a Sanctification of the Spirit, consisting in a separation from a state of nature to a state of grace.

The one is external, by reformation: the other is internal, by renovation.

The former sanctification a natural man may be made partaker of by the Holy Ghost; so as to have his life and actions. stand at a greater distance from and a greater opposition to those carnal gross sins, which the world is generally defiled with: but this is no more than a common and ordinary work of the Holy Ghost: they may account the blood, whereby they are sanctified, an unholy thing. There is a far different force and energy, that the Holy Spirit puts forth, when it works conversion, and when it works only outward sanctification in both it may work upon the heart; but in conversion it works upon the heart so as to change it and renew it, while in the reformation of a natural man he works upon the heart indeed, but it is only to change and amend the life: the Spirit may persuade the one to change his heart, but then he changeth the heart of the other he may persuade the will of the one to submit to Christ, but then he subdues the will of the other: he persuades the one to become a Christian, but he makes the other a Christian. Now there is a very wide difference between these two ways of

working by the one he only excites men to use somewhat of the power they have, but by the other he gives them the power they want.

And thus you see, what there is in man, considered both in nature and with the help of the common work of the Holy Ghost, that may carry him so far towards Christianity.

ii. There is also something considerable in the OBJECT, viz. Religion and Christianity itself, whence it is natural men may make so great a progress towards it: and that is Twofold, The Attractiveness of Religion:

The Subserviency of Religion to itself.

1. The Attractiveness of Religion.

And this consists not only in the inward and spiritual beauty of holiness, which these men have not eyes to discern; but also in that happiness, which is annexed to Religion and Christianity. This is that, which draws out natural men to all their attainments. Happiness is the great bait of men's desires; and that, which sweetens the means tending to it: though they be in themselves very difficult and burdensome, yet, leading to happiness, they close with it: and, therefore, as the apprehensions of heaven and hell work upon a natural man more or less forcibly than the thoughts of the difficulty or tediousness of holy duties; so is his progress more or less strong and vigorous towards Christianity.

2. Another thing in Christianity or Religion, that advanceth some to so great a progress, is the Subserviency of Religion to uself.

Religion doth mightily promote and advance itself.

(1) In that the performance of one part and of one duty of religion, obligeth and engageth to the performance of another.

a

As one sin draws on another, by consequence likewise doth one duty draw on another. There is a connexion and dependance between them: hearing engageth to meditation, and meditation to prayer, and prayer for grace to endeavour after it: 3 glorious profession obligeth to something, at least that may be answerable to that profession. Thus, one duty of religion hands a man over to another; and, when he is passed through one, another stands ready to receive him.

(2) A little progress in religion doth facilitate.

It is harder, at first, to begin; than, having begun, to continue: because use and custom in any thing make it easy.