ners is either borne up on false, ungrounded hopes, which is the common case, or else they drop into desperation. The hopes of an unconverted man, are foolish and contrary to the word of God, and do but shew the delusion of his soul, and tend to his destruction: they are like the hopes of a man that thinketh he is travelling to London, when he is in the way to York, and yet goes on, and hopes he shall come to London for all that, as well as they that go the right way so do these men commonly hope to come to heaven, while they go in the way to hell. And though God have told them, and passed his word on it, that he that goes in these ways shall not see peacef: and hath assured the world, that there is no peace to the wicked: yet still they will hope to find peace in evil ways: these deceiving hopes are the common cause of the damnation of the world; as the Scripture frequently acquainteth us. But when converting grace comes, O! what work it maketh on the soul in this particular! How it battereth down all the false hopes of sinners; and maketh them see that they are all this while deceived! O! it maketh the poor soul even undone in its own apprehension, and shews then that all his hopes were vain that before he trusted in. Then he cries out, I had hoped to come to heaven without conversion, but now I see it will not be: I had hoped I was well enough before; and that God would have mercy on me in that condition without any more ado, but now I see I did but deceive myself. I had hoped that I had a saving part in Christ, though I loved the world and followed my sins; but now I see it is not so. I had hoped. I might have been saved if I had died in that condition; but now I see that I had certainly been damned.' Now the soul is brought to a kind of despair; not an absolute despair that God will have no mercy on him; no, he never escaped that till now; but a conditional despair, that ever he should come to heaven without conversion; he despaireth of ever being saved in the old condition that he was in: and then comes in another kind of hope than ever he knew before then the Spirit of grace loth bring him to hope upon grounds that will not deceive him now he hath a hope that quickeneth him, and that comforteth him: before he had a dull and dead hope to esg Isa. lvii. 21. xlviii. 22. f Isa. lix. 8. : cape damnation; but now he hath a living hope of seeing the face of God for ever. He hath now that hope toward God by which we are saved, even the hope of the resurrection of the dead, and the hope of things not seen ". Now he hath a hope which is built on the Scripture, and bred by experience, and which will not make him ashamedi: before, as he was without God, so was he without hope *; but now he hath that hope which is an anchor of the soul1; a hope that he can give a reason ofm; a hope that purifieth him"; even the hope of eternal life, which none have but those that are heirs by faith, and are brought to it by this regeneration. And for this blessed hope at the glorious appearing of the great God our Saviour, doth his faith and patience expect and wait P. So that now he hath some reason for his hopes, for he hath the promise of the faithful God to support them. The least hope that a poor troubled soul hath after conversion in the midst of all his fears and doubts, is of more value than all the most confident boastings of the unconverted for there can be no hope of being saved out of the way that God hath appointed to salvation: and the bolder men are, and the more they hope and boast in a wrong way, the blinder they shew themselves, and the more is their misery; but the godly are safe in an objective hope, even when they want much of the subjective. There is hope, yea, and assurance in itself, when they know it not; and they are safe in that which they do not perceive. (5.) The next pair of affections that manifest their conversion, are, courage and fear; an unconverted man is bold in sin, but feareth not much the wrath of God, and the sorest evil that he threateneth in his word. But when he should encounter with any of the enemies of his salvation, there he hath no courage. It is a marvel to see the strange distemper of a graceless soul. These poor wretches are so valiant in their wickedness, that they dare sin when the converted dare not; they dare break the Lord's-day, and dare drink, and revel, and take their pleasure, and neglect their souls, and slight God and all his mercy: they dare run upon his sorest wrath and upon hell itself. Tell them of these things, and you cannot much daunt them. It is their mad valour that they dare damn their own souls : like a distracted man, that dares leap into water and drown himself; or a blind man that dares run into a coal-pit, because he knows not what he doth: such a kind of valour have unconverted men, when as in the way of their duty, they are the most notorious cowards in the world: they dare not venture upon a little suffering to prevent eternal sufferings; or upon the frowns of men, or the danger of being undone in their worldly estates, though it be for a hope of everlasting glory. Nay, they dare not venture upon a very scorn; but when they have some mind to turn and set upon duty, a wicked man can mock them out of all. Are not these valiant men indeed, that dare not look the feeblest enemy of their souls in the face, and yet dare venture on the flames of hell? This is the common case of the unconverted. us. But when grace hath made this change, then they are clean contrary affected; then they are the most fearful men in the world, of God and his displeasure, and the most courageous against all the opposition of the world. Alas! they find then that it is madness, not valour, to be fearless of the wrath of God: there is no standing before his indignation, and no dealing with Almightiness, if it be set against Therefore doth the poor soul throw down all weapons of opposition, and lay himself at the feet of God, as Saul, Acts ix. 3. and say, "Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?" Therefore we find converts use to come in trembling to Christ, Acts xvi. 29. and ix. 6. And Scripture tells us, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom 9." Now he Idare not for his life do that which before he did: he durst have let fall an oath or a curse in his passion before; but now he dares not: he durst have secretly deceived others, and have committed secret filthiness; because no body saw him, he was out of fear; but now he dares not; for he feareth him that is greater than all. He durst have neglected duty, and have been indifferent for all company, and taken his fleshly pleasures, but now he dare not: for his life he dare not. O! thinketh he, what if I should die in the act of that sin? What if God should deny me repentance and 9 Psal. cxi. 10. Prov. i. 6. ix. 10. forgiveness? Where were I then? He durst before lie in a state of death, and now he dares not live quietly, till he have laboured after assurance of his salvation; that he may know it shall go well with him when he must be here no more. Now if he be tempted to know sin, this is his answer, 'I dare not do it, because I fear God".' Other rulers oppressed the people, and so did not he; because he feared God. It is the description of the ungodly, that "there is no fear of God before his eyes "." And the description of a wicked place, "There is no fear of God in this place t." And the description of the godly, that "they fear God"." By this "fear of the Lord it is that men depart from evil." This "tendeth to life." In this "is strong consolation "." So that it is the work of conversion to bring the presumptuous, hardened sinner to this fear of the Lord: none do so much fear God as they. But then for the threats of men, for worldly troubles or crosses, or losses, or any such thing that may stand in the way to heaven, how little do they fear them all? Here where the wicked are most cowardly, the converted soul is most courageous. Alas! he knows the difference between the creature and the Creator. And therefore, when he hath once got God on his side, he seeth he is safe, and the danger is most over. Then, O what light thoughts hath he of man, or of all that he can do! "In God have I put my trust," saith David, "I will not fear what flesh can do unto me a "q.d. What is flesh to be compared with God? Can flesh resist him, and cross his pleasure, and overcome him? as Psal. cxviii. 6. “The Lord is on my side, I will not fear what man can do unto me;" and Psal. xlvi. 1—3. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble; therefore will we not fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar." So xxvi. 3. He knoweth what encouragement God hath given him, Ia. xli. 10. "Fear not, for I am with thee ;" and vii. 4, 35. xiv. xli. 13, 14. xliv. 2, 8, li. 7. "Fear ye not the reproach of man, neither be afraid of their revilings; for the moth shall eat them up like a gar ment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But But my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation." These words of God are the instruments of that change that is made on the converted soul, and therefore will make an impression like themselves. When God doth change men, he maketh them soldiers under the banner of Christ, and setteth them in fight against principalities and powers, even against a world of wicked enemies; and therefore he will certainly give them courage. This courage is an essential part of our change, and without some measure of it we cannot be Christians. He that will come to heaven must forsake all, and tread down all, and despise all in comparison of Christ, that he may not be a forsaker and a despiser of Christ. Therefore we find the apostle, in the name of himself and his fellow-soldiers, courageously triumphing over death, and the grave, and every enemy, 1 Cor. xv. 55. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" And Rom. viii. 18, 31. to the end: "The sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us; what shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? It is God that justifieth, who shall condemn? What shall separate us from the love of God?" Read these triumphant words at leisure. Certain, a true believer hath more valour than to be turned out of the way to heaven, by any assault that a creature can make upon him. (6.) The next passion that sheweth the change, is anger. This is a single passion, and hath no contrary. Before conversion, men are angry with those that trouble them in their sins. If you would but teach the ignorant, or persuade the obstinate, or cross them in the way of their beloved sins, O how angry will they be! as if you were their enemy, and did them some deadly hurt. You cannot speak to them so tenderly in a reproof, but they will think you do it to disgrace them, or in ill will to them, or at least that you make them worse than they are, and they think you make more ado than needs; as Amaziah did by the prophet. They would stop his mouth if they could, who would stop their course of sinning. You shall not see one of many of them that have so much ingenuity as to take a |