If we go to

And elsewhere, the Spirit of might, Isa. 11. 2. what is preparatory to this work, or the convictions which must pass upon the spirits of men in order to it, this blessed Spirit is entitled to that as the great author of them. John 16. When the Spirit the comforter is come, he will convince the world of sin, and righteousness, and judgment. When the comforter is come: the word is indifferently capable of being rendered the advocate; or the great pleader, and he who undertakes to manage the cause of Christ and Christianity against the world. He, when he is come, will make work in the spirits and consciences of men; He will make the world understand what they are so unapt to understand, their own sin, my righteousness and the power of that judgment and government, which is to be set up, in order to the saving whoever shall be saved; or this very kingdom, which is spoken of in the preceding verse. If we respect what is consequential, and following upon this work; consolations of renewed souls; they are called, the consolations of the Holy Ghost; and the church's walking in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, were edified. Acts 9. 31. All their pre-assurances of the possessing of the eternal inheritance, are owing to the Spirit, as the earnest of that inheritance. Eph. 1. 14. 2 Cor. 5. 5. And the Spirit of adoption, Rom. 8. 15. If we consider the pregustations and foretastes of heaven and glory, which souls now enjoy sometimes in their way; these are called the first fruits of the Spirit, Rom. 8. 23. If we respect the exercises of the new creature, when once there is an infused principle; or any thing of an habitual frame of a holy mind, comes to obtain in us; these are still constantly attributed to the Spirit. As the mortifying of sin; If ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live, Rom. 8. 13. Leading a holy life, or walking in a way or course of holiness, is called walking in the Spirit, and being led by the Spirit, Gal. 5. 16. The life of christians is hereupon a sowing to the Spirit, whence of the Spirit they receive at length, life everlasting, in Gal. 6. 8. Right worship is attributed to the Spirit. Prayer, which is worthy of the name, is praying in the Holy Ghost, Jude 20. and worshipping in general, if it is right, is worshipping in Spirit and truth, John 4. 24. which may be meant, under dominion of God's own Spirit. But more expressly, Phil. 3. 3. We are the circum

cision who worship God in the Spirit. So that look upon what you will relating to the new creature, and every thing of it is attributed to the Spirit, as the productive cause. Consider its parts, its sum, its exercises, its properties; consider what is preparatory to it, or consequently upon it; consider what it

doth, and what it enjoys; and all is resolved into this great principle, the Spirit.

III. We are next to consider the kind of the production, which is signified by a peculiar expression, begetting: for so it is indifferently capable of being rendered, either born or begotten. This is a distinguishing sort of production; there are many ways of production, to which the name of begetting will not square. Our further work must therefore be, to shew you the peculiar import of this expression, and what is designed to be signified by it. It plainly holds forth to us such things as these,

1. It imports the productions to be of a living thing. Begetting is a natural, vital production. All productions are not so: but there is nothing properly said to be begotten, but that which lives. Begetting, it is true, goes as low as to the lowest kind of life; as to vegetives: that is not only altrix, and auctrix, but procreatrix, which propagates its kind; but it never goes lower, and is never carried to things inanimate. They are not said to beget, or be begotten, which are in their kind dead things; it reaches not the meaner sort of natural productions; much less to artificial ones. A man is not said to beget a house, when he builds it; or any thing else which is made by the art of man. This production, inasmuch as it is signified by the name of begetting, signifies it to be a living thing. And therefore we are to know, that whatsoever it is of religion which any one pretends to, if it is a dead religion, and without life, it is an artificial religion; and you know any thing which belongs to us, which doth not partake of life with us, and from us; we can without any inconvenience, or trouble, shake it artificially, as we please, this way, or that. Many a man's religion is a cloak to him, which is no living thing; and a man may alter and change the fashion of it; and put it off, and on, and never put himself to any pain. But if a man's religion is a living thing, and is animated by a life, as it were, common to him and it; why, that must not admit of alterations. We cannot shape our limbs as we please, though we may our cloaths, for they are enlivened by that Spirit of life, which runs through the whole body. They who have a religion made up of dead formalities and duties in which there is no life, no soul; cannot be said to be born of the Spirit, and it is no production of his.

2. It imports the production of a thing of like nature, to its productive cause. There is a likeness of nature between the cause and the effect, and from such a creature begetting, a creature of a like nature doth proceed. Upon this account, though a parent is truly said by way of begetting, to produce a

child: yet he doth not by way of begetting make any other effect, which is not of that kind; as a house, a picture, or suit of cloaths, &c. It is very true indeed, we are not to strain this matter so far as if this were a univocal production which is here intended; which begetting doth not properly signify: Yet neither is it equivocal; when the thing produced is of quite a diverse nature, from the productive cause; but there is an analogy and proportion between the one and the other. There is something in that which is begotten, which doth in nature correspond and answer to that which doth beget, even wherein the one is begotten and the other begets. And what doth that speak? The production here spoken of, is not the production of a man, as a man; but of a saint, as a saint; or of a christian, as such; and therein is an agreement, or correspondency. What is it which makes a saint? That is holiness. Why we find this both in the cause, and in the effect. The Apostle presses the exhortation; Be ye holy, as I am holy, 1 Pet. 1. 16. It is a vain and absurd thing to call God Father, and preted to be begotten of him: if you are not holy as he is holy; and nothing of his holiness appears in you.

3. In the very business itself of regeneration, passiveness in the subject is manifestly imported: for who can contribute to his own being born; that is, as to the thing itself of being begotten. We are here indeed to consider a production not simpliciter, but secundum quid; that is, a creature in a creature; or something begotten in that which was begotten before. There is a new work to be done where there was a preexisting subject; and that a rational and intelligent one. There is much therefore properly to be done, and necessary to be done in order to this work, but there is nothing to be done in it, but only to be born: we are therein truly passive. Faith comes by hearing; that is a previous thing, and that we may do, and can do. We can suppose nothing more subversive of religion, than the contrary : for it is all one to say, The gospel is not at all necessary to regeneration, which is the end; as to say that the hearing of it, and understanding and considering of it, is not necessary. The gospel is neither necessary, nor significant, nor useful to the purpose of conversion and regeneration, otherwise than as the minds and understandings come to be employed about it; and this they do as men; and this way the Spirit, who is as the wind, which bloweth where it listeth, doth, as the season of grace is arbitrarily and freely chosen; come in with that influence, by which men are made saints, and then capable of acting as such.

4. The impossibility of resisting, so as to frustrate or prevent it, Being born signifies such a way of production, as

whereto we cannot oppose ourselves, or any power which should prevent, or promote it. Such a resistance as should hinder God's designed work, or the good pleasure of his will, in this case, does not take place. This is intimated in this form of speech. For this is a production, not of a separate single substance, by itself; but a creature in a creature. It is true indeed that the spirit of a man, as he was constituted, before any such work as this came to obtain, was apt enough to resist; but all that aptitude to resistance shall be overcome, whensoever that influence is put forth, by which this work is done.

And here, there needs a caution too, as well as in reference to the former head. Some may be apt to apprehend; if this work is wrought and done, by such an irresistible power, to which no opposition can be made; what need we trouble ourselves; when God will do such a work, he will do it: it will never be in our power to hinder it, and we need never be afraid, that we shall. To this it may be said, and it ought to be seriously considered; that though there is no possibility of such resistance to that influence by which this work is done, wheresoever it is done, which could have prevented the doing of it; yet there are many previous workings, in order to it, wherein the Spirit of God is frequently resisted; that is, the workings and operations of common grace, which lead and tend to this special work of grace. And here lies the great danger, when in these common precursory works of the Holy Ghost, which have a tendency in them to this work, and by which it is gradually moving on; they may resist and oppose themselves, to a total, utter, eternal miscarriage. The Spirit of God in this work. can never be resisted; but so as that it will certainly overcome and effect its work. But we must know that he is a free Agent; and there is reason to apprehend there is the same reason in chusing the degree of operation, as there is of the subject. It doth not only work where it listeth; but to what degree it listeth of power and efficacy: and when it is working but at the common rate, then it suffers itself many times to be overcome, and yields the victory to the contending sinner. You see what the charge was upon the people of Israel by Stephen, Acts 7. 51. Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ear; ye do always resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did, so do ye. It is remarkable to this purpose what this blessed man charges that people with; that this was the genius of that people from age to age, from one generation to another. Ye do always resist, &c. The same spirit of enmity and contrariety is still propagated and transmitted from one age to another, your fathers are like their fathers, and their fathers like theirs; and so run on back as far as you will; they were always a people resisting and contending agist

the Holy Ghost: as the complaint was against them not long before, Isai. 63. 10. They rebelled and vexed his Spirit, therefore he turned and fought against them, and became their enemy. And that this is the common temper, is most evident, and was so even in the more early ages of the world. My Spirit shall not always strive with man, Gen. 6. 3. That striving implies a resistance. There is great danger of resisting the Spirit of God, when it is in that method and way of operation, wherein it many times yields to the resistance. It is as if he should say to the sinner; "Because thou hast so great a mind to get the day, and deliver thyself from under the power of my grace, get that unhappy victory, and perish by it."

5. It imports the integrity and perfection of the product, and that the thing begotten is an entire thing. There doth not use to be born one simple member, but an entire creature; and there is a concurrence in the constitution of it, of whatsoever belongs to this sort and kind of creature. And though there are some kinds within the sphere of nature of mutilous and maimed persons, imperfect productions; yet we must know, that this doth by a peculiarity belong to this great parent, the Spirit of God in reference to all those productions which are within the sphere of grace; that there are never any imperfect productions there. His work is perfect, which is the character of his work in general; and especially when he is forming a people for himself, as he speaks Deut. 32. 4. He is the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment. And of those who receive not the distinguishing stamp and impress upon them; it is said, their spot is not the spot of his children. ver. 5. There is nothing in them by which they should be known to be his children. Wheresoever the Spirit of God begets, it begets perfect births; that is, according to the com. mon distinction, and a just and necessary one, speaking of a perfection of parts, not of degrees. A child hath as many parts as a man, though not so strong and large. There is an entire concurrence of every gracious and holy principle in the heart, which goes to the composition of the new creature, wherever we can say, that any one is born of the Spirit. And therefore men who pretend to have passed this birth, and yet it appears most manifestly that it is but a maimed production, as it is in too many instances, with several sorts of persons; they carry that about them, which is a confutation of their own pretences. As suppose the case to be this. Some pretend very highly to faith, but they have no humility, no meekness, no self denial. Why, their pretence carries along with it that which confutes itself; for the Holy Ghost is the author of no such imperfect births. There are some who pretend highly in