that his judgment and confcience tells him he ought to do; and in the ordinaries of life, things that may lawfully be done in measure and degree, to fubordinate thefe to ferve and advance the intereft of his foul in eternity, which is his main and great concern-' ment; and this is unquestionable, indubitable, and indifpenfible in religion; and if there be a failure any of thefe, a man cannot approve himself, for a man of honesty and integrity to God; a man of good confcience ; a man that is in a temper and in order to eternal life, nor in a true state of religion. And fo I have done with the fecond propofition, and Come to the third.

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III. Which was this, where he profeffeth his humility, there he engageth himself to industry and diligence and where he doth this, he doth acknowledge the grace of God: that I may apprehend that for which I am aprehended; which words import three things concerning the grace of God.

First, They intimate the priority of God's grace; that his grace doth first lay hold of us, and prevent

us.

Secondly, They intimate the freeness of God's grace; for he was apprehended before he did apprehend, therefore he had no antecedent merit, nothing on his part that did procure: and,

Thirdly, The efficacy of God's grace, that he was apprehended. And what fhall I fay more? if God be first in his grace, and do all voluntarily and freely without antecedent merit, or after recompence; and on purpose for our good; are we not then bes holden to him, and may we not fay with the a

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poftle, By grace I am what I am, I Cor. xv. 10. and that I live, yet not I, but Chrift liveth in me? Gal. ii. 20. I formerly fpake fomewhat to this; but now it comes more directly in my way. I fhall endeavour to fatisfy all men.

The grace and favour of God expresseth it self in a way of benevolence and compaffion, or in a way of love and complacency. That of benevolence and compaffion prevents all our application to God and converfion to him; for God so loved the world, that

be gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him, fhould not perish, but have everlasting life, John iii. 16. When we were in a state of fin and unregeneracy, God did bear us good-will, to wit he bare the affection of benevole nce, he had compaffion for us. But the love of complacency and delight, that is fubfequent to our regeneration; for it is repugnant, that God fhould take pleasure in us, till we do harmonize with him, which is by our regeneration, and being made like him, and comformable to him. And the grace of God is taken, both for his favour and good inclination towards us, and also for his divine affiftance; and the former is that which is the cause of the latter; for out of God's benevolence and compaffion, he doth afford aid and affiftance: upon that score he doth awaken us, call upon us, and excite us; he doth both begin, go on, and confummate. The very first beginning of a good mind is from the grace of God; we are not only prevented, but promoted by him, and every good work is perfected by the continuance of divine grace. We cannot acknowledge the grace of God too much, provided we do

it right, and not neglect it. But this is the abuse of the grace of God, to neglect it. For his grace and favour towards us, is for our encouragement; his aid and affiftance is for our performance; and fince he doth fo declare his grace and goodness to us, we are obliged to obey and please him. And fince he doth afford us his aid and affiftance, we are enabled to turn to him: and all men that have any experience of themfelves, or acquaintance with God, are free and ingenuous, in the acknowledgement, that we are beholden to the grace of God both for the ftrengthning of us, and carrying of us on, for the exciting of us and enabling of us, and profpering of us in any good work, so that we may say, our fufficiency is of God, 2 Cor. iii. 5. And as this is true in it felf, fo it is the fenfe of every one that is partaker of God's grace; and he that hath attained to the highest growth in religion, this man Idare fay, will make the freest and fullest acknowledgement of the divine grace, and he will fay fincerely and heartily, that through the grace of God, I am what I am, I Cor. xv. io. There are two questions which will easily be refolved, Who made thee to differ from another? Or what haft thou that thou hast not received? I Cor. iv. 7. I fay these two questions are readily and chearfully answered by every one that is the fubject of the grace of God. If he do but confult his own experience, he will fay, that he has nothing but what he received from God, and is the fruit of his grace; and that it is the grace of God that makes him fo differ from another. is the sense of every good man that is VOL. I. A a

And as this beholden to the

the grace of God for what he is, so it is becoming and comely, to acknowledge grace, and to look upon it as the leaft return that we can make.

For on our part, there is neither antecedent merit, or after recompence; we live by grace, and therefore it is comely for us, to acknowledge grace, Pfal. lxvi. 16. The gracious and ingenuous foul doth not account any thing more reasonable than to be grateful to its benefactor.

I will conclude now with this, that this upon fcore of magnifying and advancing the grace of God, two things are not to be done, which fome that are unwary do interpret as derogatory to the grace of God, and fo I hope fhall prevent all mistakes. To wit,

1. They are not to be blamed or looked upon as neglecters of God's grace, or undervaluers of it, or to abate it in the leaft, who vigorously and with all imaginable zeal, call upon men to use, employ, and improve the principles of God's creation: that charge it upon men, as a point of religion and confcience, to ufe, employ and improve the principles of God's creation. I find that fome men take offence, to hear reafon spoken of out of a pulpit, or to hear thofe great words of natural light, of principles of reafon, and confcience. They are doubtless in a mighty miftake, for these two things are very consistent, as I fhall fhew you by and by, and there is no inconfiftency between the grace of God, and the calling upon men carefully to ufe, improve and employ the principles of God's creation, and the telling men. they fhall meet with no difcouragement from God,

God, forafmuch as he will not leave them, till they firft leave him. And indeed this is a very profitable work to call upon men to answer the principles of their creation, to fulfil natural light, to anfwer natural conscience, to be throughout rational in what they do; for these things have a divine foundation. The fpirit in man is the candle of the Lord lighted by God, and lighting men to God. It is from God by way of efficiency, and to God finally. And then

2. For the other, those two great places of fcripture will answer all that I fay, to wit, that we may speak clearly and fully to any one that is in a way of religion or in dependance upon God, or in the ufe of means, that there is no difcouragement lies upon him, from any thought or purpose of evil in God against him, or that God will be wanting to him, unless he first fall off from God, and leave him. In every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteoufnefs, is accepted of him, Acts. x. 15. And therefore to speak of natural light, of the use of reason in religion, is to do no differvice atall to grace; for God is acknowledged in both in the former, as laying the ground-work of his creation in the latter, as reviving and reftoring it. So that thefe do agree together, as God doth agree to himself; God laying the religion of conscience, and making man in fuch a power of judging; and God restoring him to the felf fame ftate again, after he had confented to iniquity, whereby he had marred his principles, and disabled himself; so that I fay, these two do as well agree together, as God doth agree