the powerful word of God, faying, let fuch and fuch things be, and immediately they were; fo this new creation is in an inftant, and admits of no degrees.

The first of these I have confidered, and entered upon the fecond; namely, that as the creatures were merely paffive in their being made, and contributed nothing at all thereto, no more do we in our converfion and regeneration.

This I told you does plainly make void all the precepts and exhortations, and all the promises and threatenings of fcripture, to argue and perfuade men

to repentance.

That which remains to be done upon this argument, is,

First, To answer an objection or two, which are commonly urged by the affertors of this doctrine, that we are merely paffive in the work of converfion.

Secondly, To give a clear ftate of this matter, fo as is moft agreeable to fcripture, and the attributes and perfections of God. For the

First, The objections are these three:

1. That if we be not merely paffive in the work of regeneration and converfion, we afcribe the whole glory of this work to ourselves, and not to God.

Or, 2dly, We do however extenuate or leffen the grace of God, if there be any active concurrence and endeavours of our own towards this change.

3dly, They ask St. Paul's queftion, who maketh thee to differ? and think it impoffible to be anfwered, if the efficacy of God's grace do depend upon. our concurrence and compliance with it. These are all the material objections I know ; to every one of which I hope to give a very clear and fufficient anfwer.

1. Objection. If we be not merely paffive in the work of regeneration and converfion, we afcribe the whole glory of this work to ourselves, and not to God. But that I certainly know this objection is commonly made, and have feen it in very confiderable authors, I could not believe that men of fo good fenfe could make it. For this is to fay, that

if we do any thing in this work, though we acknowledge that what we do in it, we do by the affiftance of God's grace, we afcribe it wholly to ourselves, and rob God altogether of the glory of his grace; or in plainer terms, it is to fay, that though we fay God does never fo much, and we but very little in this work, yet if we do not say that God does all, and we nothing at all, we take the whole work to ourfelves, and fay God does nothing at all; which let any one that confiders what we fay, judge whether we fay fo or no.

The fcripture, which never robs God of the glory of his grace, does I am fure ascribe our converfion and repentance, our regeneration and fanctification, to feveral caufes; to the Holy Spirit of God, to his minifters, to his word, and to ourselves. To the Holy Spirit of God, as the principal author, and efficient. Hence we are faid to be born of the Spirit, to be fanctified by the renewing of the Holy Ghost. To the minifters of God, as the inftruments of our converfion. Hence they are faid to turn men to righteousness; to convert a finner from the evil of his ways to fave fouls from death; to fave themselves, and them that hear them; to be our fpiritual fathers, and to beget us in Chrift. To the word of God, as the fubordinate means and inftruments of our converfion. Hence we are faid to be begotten by the word of truth, to be fanctified by the truth. And laftly, to ourselves, as concurring fome way or other to this work. Hence we are faid to believe and repent, to turn from our evil ways, and to turn to the Lord, to cleanfe and parify ourselves. Hence likewife are those frequent commands in fcripture, to amend our ways and doings, to wash our hearts from wickednefs, to repent and turn ourselves, and to make ourfelves new hearts and new fpirits. So that all these causes, the Spirit of God, his minifters, his word, and we ourselves, do all fome way or other concur and contribute to this effect. God indeed is the principal, and hath fo great an hand in this work, from beginning to end, that all the reft are nothing in comparifon, and we do well to afcribe to him the whole glory of it, that

no

no flesh may glory in his fight: But nevertheless in ftrictnefs of fpeech, fufficiently warranted by fcripture, the minifters of God, and the word of God, and we ourfelves, do all co-operate fome way or other to our converfion, and regeneration; and by afcribing to any of thefe fuch parts as they truly have in this work, God is not robbed of any part of the glory of his grace, much lefs the whole. Much lefs is it the afcribing of it all to ourselves, whom we affirm to have the leaft part in it, nor worthy to be mentioned, in comparison of the riches of God's

grace towards us. And yet unless we do fomething,

what can be the meaning of making ourselves new hearts and new fpirits? Is it only that we fhould be paffive to the irrefiftible operations of God's grace? that is, that we fhould not hinder, what we can neither hinder nor promote; that we fhould fo demean ourfelves, as of neceffity we muft whether we will or no. So then to make ourselves new hearts and new Spirits, is to do nothing at all towards the hindrance or furtherance of this work; and if this be the meaning of it, it is a precept and exhortation just as fit for ftones, as for men; that is, very improper for either.

2.

Objection. But however, we do extenuate and leffen the grace of God, if there be any active concurrence and endeavours on our part towards this change. For anfwer to this, three things deferve to be confidered:

First, It is very well worthy our confideration,' that they who make this objection, have the confi dence to pretend that they do not diminish the grace of God, by confining it to a very fmall part of mankind in comparifon; nay, they will needs face us down, that by this very thing they do very much exalt and magnify it, and that the grace of God is fo much the greater, by how much the fewer they are that are partakers of it. But I hope they only mean that the grace is greater to themfelves (in which conceit there is commonly as much of envy as gratitude) but furely they cannot mean that the grace which is limited to a few, is greater in itself, and VOL. V.

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upon the whole matter, than that which is extended to a great many; it being a downright contradiction, to fay that the grace of God is magnified by being confined. For at this rate of reasoning, the leffer it is, the greater it must be, and by undeniable confequence would be greatest of all, if it were none at all. So that it feems the grace of God may be extenuated in favour of ourselves, but when we do so, we must say we magnify it.

Secondly, But to come clofe to the objection; though it be true, that if God's grace in our converfion do not do all, it does not do fo much as if it did all; yet this is really no injury or difhonour to the grace of God; and though in fome fenfe it doth extenuate it, it doth not in truth and reality take off from the glory of it. In my opinion, the grace and favour of a Prince is not the lefs in offering a pardon to a traitor, who puts forth his hand and gladly receives it, than if he forced it upon him, whether he would or no. I am fure, it is in the firft cafe much fitter to give it, and he on whom it is conferred much better qualified to receive it. 'Tis no difparagement to a Prince's favour, that it is bestowed on one who is in fome measure qualified to receive it. But be it

more or lefs in one cafe than the other, this is cer tain, that in both cafes the man owes his life to the great grace and goodnefs of his Prince; and I cannot fee how it leffens the grace, that the miferable object of it, the guilty and condemned perfon, was either by his humble fubmiffion, or thankful acceptance of it, in fome degree better qualified to receive fuch a favour, than an obftinate refufer of it.

Thirdly, Which is the principal confideration of all, We must take great heed, that while we endeavour to make, God to do all in the converfion of finners, we do not by this means charge upon him the ruin and deftruction of impenitent finners, which I doubt we fhould do, if we make the reafon of their impenitency and ruin their utter impotency and dif ability to repent; and we certainly make this the reafon of their impenitency and ruin, if there be no other difference but this, between penitent and impe

nitent finners, namely, that in the one God works repentance by an irresistible act of his power, fo that he cannot but repent, and denies this grace to the other, without which he cannot poffibly repent. But the fcripture chargeth the deftruction of men upon. themfelves, and lays their impenitency at their own door. O Ifrael! thou haft destroyed thyself; but in me is thy help, Hofea xiii. 9. But where is the help, when the grace abfolutely neceffary to repentance is denied? And how is their deftruction of themselves, if it is unavoidable, let them do what they can? Ifa. V. 3, 4. God appeals to his people Ifrael, that nothing was wanting on his part, that was fit and neceffary to be done, that they might bring forth the fruits of repentance, and better obedience: And now, O inhabitants of Jerufalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard: what could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? Is it true that God hath done all that was neceffary, to have brought them to repentance? Then if irrefiftible grace be neceffary, he afforded them that; but that was not afforded them, becaufe then they must unavoidably have repented, and there had been no caufe for this complaint: if he did not afford it, but only the outward means of repentance without the inward grace (as fome fay ;) then it is eafy to judge why they did not repent, because they could not; and there feems to be no caufe either of wonder or complaint. Befides, that it will be hard to justify that faying, What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? when it is acknowledged by the affertors of this doctrine, that the main thing was not done, and that without which all the reft fignified nothing, leaving them under the fame impoffibility of repentance, as if nothing at all had been done to them.

But now, upon our fuppofition, that fufficient grace was afforded to them, which they wilfully neglected to make use of, the reafon and equity of this complaint is evident, and God is acquitted, as having D d 2

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