Now it is this subserviency of religion to itself, that may carry men very far in it. When they have begun a profession, and entered upon one duty, that duty delivers them over to another, and makes it more facile and easy to them; because the precedent duty, as it doth engage them to, so it prepares them for, the subsequent duty, as well as engage them to the present duty. One duty doth, as it were, perform half the task and bear half the burden of the other.

Thus then you see, whence it is that natural men may make so great a progress towards Christianity, so as to be almost Christians, from the Power of Nature, and from the Attractiveness of Religion.

Now, here, if you ask me, "How shall I know, whether it be the power of nature helped by the common workings of the Spirit, or the power of supernatural grace, that carries men out to all their profession?" I shall give you but this one discriminating character of it: See whether your abilities be greater in the things that belong to grace and holiness, than they are to natural things. A child of God, who is but of weak parts as to the things of the world, that can scarce give you a rational account of such affairs when propounded to him, bring him but to the things of God, and how admirably will he be able to unfold, even the very mysteries that are hid from the wise and prudent of the world! Put him upon any common discourse, how broken and incoherent is he! but engage him in prayer, how doth he expatiate and enlarge, and what a torrent of divine rhetoric will he then pour into the bosom of God! Is this from nature, that he is able to exceed and go beyond himself? No, certainly. It is very observable concerning the ways of God, what the Prophet speaks, Isa. xxxv. 8. A highway shall be there.....and it shall be called, The way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it: though they wander and err in every other way; though they do not take the right way to be rich, and great, and honourable in the world; yet these, that are fools in every thing else, shall not err from the way of holiness and, therein, lies the only wisdom. But, take a mere carnal man, that hath eminent abilities in earthly things; usually, he is never weaker than when he is engaged in that which is holy and spiritual: at least his chief excellency doth not lie there: though he doth perform the duty well, yet he doth not

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do it beyond what he doth in ordinary and natural things. Now how is it with you? do you find yourselves carried much beyond the rate and size of your natural abilities? that you never so much exceed yourselves, nor do so well, as when you are about some holy and spiritual employment? that you are not so artificial in any thing, as in holy performances? This is a good sign, that it is the power of grace, and not only the power of nature, that carries you forth to the profession of religion which you make. I take the extraordinary gifts, bestowed upon unregenerate men in a vast disproportion from their natural abilities, to be long ago ceased.

Thus you see what enables a natural man to go so far towards Christianity.

III. The Third General propounded, was to shew WHAT IT IS THAT HINDERS THESE PROFICIENTS FROM MAKING FURTHER PROGRESS: that, when they are almost, what keeps them from being altogether Christians.

I answer to this, in general: It is only through a wilful and wretched neglect of what they might do, that any of them do fall short of grace here and glory hereafter. It is not our want of power, but our want of will, or rather indeed our willingness, that makes us miscarry to our eternal perdition.

Now,

I shall illustrate this by a plain and obvious similitude. Suppose that God should promise to bestow heaven upon us, if we would but reach forth and touch it with our hands. although we can never reach so high: yet if we do not stretch forth our hands, and reach as high as we are able to do, the fault of losing heaven will not lie upon the inability and impossibility, that were in us to touch it; but upon our wilful neglect of striving to our utmost to do what we are able to do: the reason why we fall short, would not be because our arm is not long enough; but because we do not stretch it forth to the utmost length.

The instance is somewhat plain and familiar; but yet it holds an exact proportion to the case in hand. God promiseth heaven to us, if we will but touch it; that is, if we will lay hold on Christ by faith which faith we can no more work in ourselves by our own proper efficiency, than touch heaven with our finger; yet, howsoever, if we do not do our utmost, our falling short of hea

ven and faith cannot be imputed to the impossibility that we lie under, but to our wilful sloth and neglect. It is not men's "cannots" but their " will nots," not their impotency but their obstinacy, that destroys them: Ye will not come to me, that ye may have life: John v. 40. Ye will not! Doth not Christ himself tell us, that no man can come to him, except the Father draw him? true: but the fault lies in the stubbornness of your wills: though you could come, you would not: therefore, it is not your weakness, but your wilfulness, that keeps you from coming to Christ.

Let me here appeal to yourselves. Doth not he deserve eternal death, who had a power in his hand to make himself a Christian, and yet would not? Certainly you will all conclude, this man is very equally and justly dealt with, if sentenced to eternal misery; since he had a power to avoid that misery, and to lay hold on eternal life and happiness: his condemnation lies on his own head for his wilful contempt of salvation, which he had a power to work out; and, by a diligent improvement of the means tendered to him, to make sure of. Every carnal man, if he had power to convert himself, yet, through his wilful neglect and obstinacy, would not do it: and this appears, because there is not one of us, that doth as much as he might do. There is not one natural man, that doth as much as he might do will be not now do what he can, to prepare and dispose his heart for grace? then much less would he work grace in his heart, though he had a power to do it; and therefore the whole default of men's falling short of grace, lies in their wilful neglects. Men indulge themselves in carnal sloth: and, if they can but maintain the pace and rate of common ordinary professors in a formal course of duty, or abstain from gross sins, then they are contented, and will be drawn on no further. Cannot they command their thoughts to dwell more fixedly and more abidingly upon spiritual objects? Cannot they be oftener in meditation; and meditate more fervently, and with more affection? In both, have they not power to refuse temptations and sinful motions? Doth the Devil use any force or violence upon them? Did they ever find, when they threw themselves upon their knees in prayer, that he stiffened them that they could not bend? or that he stopped their mouths from speaking, or their hearts from thinking? Had he a power to strike men lame, when they should come to the ordinances; or deaf, when

they should hear; or dumb, when they should speak; then there were some shew and colour of reason, why men attended no more frequently, why they heard no more attentively, why they did not ponder more considerately, why they prayed so seldom and heartlessly: did but the Devil compel them to this, the sinner might have some excuse; but, when he must woo their consent and allowance, and wait their pleasure and leisure, it is merely a wretched neglect or wilfulness, that they yield to the commission of any sin. Can you do all this, and more; and yet will you not? know, that, if you perish, it is only your own fault: you your ownselves are the bloody murderers of your own souls. It will be in vain for you to plead, that you had no power to make yourselves Christians: you never went so far as to make a trial, whether you had a power or no: for a man not to do the utmost that he might do towards Christianity, though he hath no power to make himself a Christian, is the same as if he had a power, and yet will not make use of it. Oh, let this that I have said prevail with you, to be not only almost, but altogether Christians; and to put forth all the power and might and ability, that you have, in the working out of your own salvation. Is there not infinite reason, why you should speedily set about this important work, while you have time and opportunity for the doing of it? Is it not a matter of the greatest moment in the world, and not to be delayed one moment? Be persuaded, then, to the speedy practice of it.

OBJECT. Some desperate wretches may think, indeed, that "Arguments to persuade men to work out their salvation, may be of weighty import to enforce the duty, upon those that do expect salvation; but, for my part, I pretend not so high: let me but enjoy now the sins which I serve and the pleasures which I pursue; and, for the state of my soul hereafter, I commend that to the mercy of God: and, if I must perish, I will perish with as much ease and content as I may. It is hard to alter an irreversible doom; and, if it be to perdition, it is but folly to hang down the head, and blubber the eyes, and break the heart for that which cannot be altered. If I must go to hell, I may as soon be carried down thither in a flood of tears, as in doing ungodly actions. Why should I conspire with God's decree to make myself miserable. If he hath sentenced me

to hell hereafter, I may as well sentence myself to a heaven here. My future torments are in his hands, but my present delights are in my own. Therefore, if salvation and happiness be such nice points, I forego them; and will embrace more easy and more obvious pleasures."

Answ. I know there is no pious heart here, but shivers with horror at such language, though it be but personated. Methinks, rather it represents the speech of a devil, who is without all possibility of happiness, than of men who are in the way to it. Indeed, it is the speech of the Devil; but it is likewise in the hearts of men when they storm and bluster at the difficulties of salvation, and narrowness of the way, and straitness of the gate, the Devil interposeth this suggestion, "It is as good to perish with ease, as to be saved with so much labour and pains." But, what! shall we leave men to such desperate resolutions, and suffer them to go dreaming to hell and destruction? Certainly, religion hath arguments enough to prevail, even with these; if they would but shew themselves to be men, and but ponder how much reason can speak.

For, consider thou, that wilt rather perish, than make thy life a trouble to thee by obedience: God may, under thy disobedience, make thy life a trouble, yea a hell to thee, by his terrors. Thou thinkest that thy garments of sin and pollution will sit more loose and easy about thee, than the garments of holiness, that are too straitlaced and troublesome: yea, but what if God should roll these thy filthy garments in brimstone, and fire them about thee? How dreadfully wouldst thou be disappointed, when, instead of that ease which thou seekest in the service of sin, God should make thee thine own tormentor, and make thy conscience a hell incarnate! Believe it, the wrath of God can fry the marrow in thy bones, and reduce thy soul to ashes. Read Psalm lxxxviii. and you will think it a doleful and sad description of the state of the damned. While I suffer thy terrors I am distracted: and, if the wrath of the Almighty lay thus sore upon a holy man, how fretting and corroding will it be upon the leprous soul, and upon an ulcerated conscience! If it burns up green tree, what will become of the dry tree, which is but as prepared fuel for it to prey upon? No man hath his present delights and contentments in his own power, because no man hath his own conscience in his own power: it will speak, yea,

the