Of regeneration, and its neceffity, Ser. 109. God's grace upon their hearts, are fuddenly changed, and strangely reclaimed from a very wicked and vicious, to a very religious and virtuous courfe of life; and that which others attain to by flower degrees, and great conflicts with themfelves, before they can gain the upper hand of their lufts, thefe arrive at all on a fudden, by a mighty refolution wrought in them by the power of God's grace, and as it were a new bias and inclination put upon their fouls, equal to an habit gained by long ufe and cu-. ftom. This God fometimes does, and when he does this, it may in fome fenfe be called the infufion of the habits of grace and virtue together, and at once; because the man is hereby endued with a principle of equal force and power, with habits that are acquired by long ufe and practice. A ftrong and vi gorous faith is the principle and root of all graces and virtues, and may have fuch a powerful influence upon the refolutions of our minds, and the government of our actions, that from this principle all gra ces and virtues may fpring and grow up by degrees into habits; but then this principle is not formally but virtually, in the power and efficacy of it, the infufion of the habits of every grace and virtue; and even in thofe perfons in whom this change is fo fuddenly, and as it were at once, I doubt not but that the habits of feveral graces and virtues are afterwards attained by the frequent practice of them, in the vir tue of this powerful principle of the faith of the gopel, as I fhall fhew in the progrefs of this difcourfe. And this I doubt not was very frequent and visible in many of the first converts to Christianity; efpeci ally of thofe, who from the abominable idolatry and impiety of heathenifm were gained to the Chriftian religion. The Spirit of God did then work very miraculously, as well in the cures of fpiritual as of bodily diseases. But then to make this the rule and ftandard of God's ordinary proceedings in the converfion and regeneration of men, is equally unreasonable, as ftill to expect miracles for the cure of difeafes; and it is certain in experience, that this is

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not God's ordinary method in the converfion of finners, as I fhall fully fhew by and by.

Secondly, I fhall fhew what regeneration is, by which it will plainly appear, that there is no neceffity that it fhould be effected in an inftant, and at once, but that it will admit of degrees. I do not deny that it may be in an inftant, and at once. The power of God is able to do this, and fometimes does it very thoroughly, and very fuddenly. But the queftion is, whether there be a neceffity it fhould be fo, and always be fo. Now regeneration is the change of a man's ftate, from a state of fin to a state of holinefs, which because it is an entrance upon a new kind or courfe of life, it is fitly refembled to regeneration, or a new birth; to a new creation, the man being as it were quite changed or made over again, fo as not to be, as to the main purpofe and defign of his life, the fame man he was before. This is a plain fenfible account of the thing, which every one may eafily understand. Now there is nothing in reason, why a man may not gradually be chan ged, and arrive at this ftate by degrees; as well as after this change is made, and he arrived at this ftate of a regenerate man, he may by degrees grow and improve in it. But the latter no man doubts of, but that a man that is in a state of grace, may grow and improve in grace; and there is as little reafon to queftion why a man may not come to this ftate by degrees, as well as leap into it at once.

All the difficulty I know of in this matter is a mere nicety, that there is an inftant, in which every thing begins, and therefore regeneration is in an inftant; fo that the inftant before the man arrived at this ftate, it could not be faid that he was regenerate; and the inftant after he is in this ftate, it cannot be denied that he is fo. But this is idle fubtilty, juft as if a man fhould prove that an houfe was built in an inftant, because it could not be faid to be built, till the inftant it was finished; though for all this, nothing is more certain than that it was built by degrees. Or, fuppofe the time of arriving at man's eftate be at one and twenty, does it from

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hence follow, that a man does not grow to be a man by degrees, but is made a man in an inftant; becaufe juft before one and twenty he was not at man's eftate, and juft then he was? Not but that God, if he please, can make a man in an inftant, as he did Adam; but it is not neceffary from this example, that all men fhould be made fo, much less does it follow from this vain fubtilty. This is just the cafe. All the while the man is tending towards a regenerate ftate, and is ftruggling with his lufts, till by the power of God's grace and his own refolution, he get the victory; all the while he is under the fenfe and conviction of his finful and miferable ftate, and forrowing for the folly of his paft life, and coming to an effectual purpose and refolution of changing his courfe; and it may be feveral times thrown back by the temptations of the Devil, and the power of evil habits, and the weakness and infta bility of his own purpofe; till at last by the grace of God following and affifting him, he comes to a firm refolution of a better life, which refolution governs him for the future; I fay all this while, which in fome perfons is longer, in others fhorter, according to the power of evil habits, and the different degrees of God's grace afforded to men; all this time the work of regeneration is going on; and though a man cannot be faid to be in a regenerate ftate, till that very inftant that the principle of grace and his good refolution have got the upper hand of his lufts; yet it is certain for all this, that the work of regeneration was not effected in an inftant. This is plainly and truly the cafe, as I fhall fhew in the

Third particular I propounded, namely, that it is evident from experience, of the ordinary methods. of God's grace, both in thofe who are regenerate by a pious and religious education, and those who are reclaimed from a vicious course of life.

The first fort, namely, thofe who are brought to goodness by a religious and virtuous education; these (at least, fo far as my obfervation reacheth) make up a very confiderable part of the number of the regenerate, that is, of good men. And though it be

certain

certain, confidering the univerfal corruption and de generacy of human nature, that there is a real change made in them, by the operation of God's grace upon their minds; yet it is as certain in experience, that this change is made in very many, by very filent and infenfible degrees, till at length the feeds of religi on, which were planted in them by a good education, do vifibly prevail over all the evil inclinations of corrupt nature, fo as to fway and govern the actions of their lives; and when the principles of grace and goodness do apparently prevail, we may conclude them to be in a regenerate ftate, though perhaps very few of these can give any account of the particular time and occafion of this change. For things may be feen in their effect, which were never very fenfible in their caufe. And it is very reasonable that fuch perfons who never lived in any evil course fhould efcape thofe pangs and terrors which unavoidably happen unto others, from a courfe of actual fin, and the guilt of a wicked life; and if there be any fuch perfons as I have defcribed, who are in this gradual and infenfible manner regenerated, and made good, this is a demonftration, that there is no neceffity that this change fhould be in an inftant, it being fo frequently found to be otherwife in experience.

And as for others, who are vifibly reclaimed from a notorious wicked courfe, in thefe we likewife frequently fee this change gradually made, by ftrong impreffions made upon their minds, moft frequently by the word of God; fometimes by his providence, whereby they are convinced of the evil and danger of their course, and awakened to confideration, and melted into forrow and repentance; and perhaps exercifed with great terrors of confcience, till at length by the grace of God they come to a fixt purpofe and refolution of forfaking their fins, and turning to God; and after many ftrugglings and conflicts with their lufts, and the ftrong bias of evil habits, this refolution, affifted by the grace of God, doth effectually prevail, and make a real change both in the temper of their minds, and the courfe of their lives; and when this is done, and not before,

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fore, they are faid to be regenerate. But all the while this was a-doing, the new man was forming, and the work of regeneration was going on; and it was perhaps a very confiderable time from the first beginning of it, till it came to a fixt and fettled state. And this I doubt not in experience of moft perfons who are reclaimed from a vicious courfe of life, is found to be the ufual and ordinary method of God's grace in their converfion. And if fo, it is in vain to pretend that a thing is done in an instant, which by fo manifold experience is found to take up a great deal of time, and to be effected by degrees.

And whereas fome men are pleafed to call all this the preparatory work to regeneration, but not the regeneration itself, this is an idle contention about words. For if thefe preparations be a degree of goodness, and a gradual tendency towards it, then the work is begun by them, and during the continuance of them, is all the while a-doing; and though it be hard to fix the point or inftant when a man just arrives at this ftate, and not before, yet it is very fenfible when a man is in it, and this change, when it is really made, will foon difcover itself by plain and fenfible effects.

Fourthly and laftly, All this is very agreeable to the plain and conftant tenor of fcripture, Ifa. i. 16. where the Prophet exhorts to this change, he fpeaks of it as a gradual thing, Wash ye, make ye clean, put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; ceafe to do evil, learn to do well; that is, break off evil and vicious habits, and gain the contrary habits of virtue and goodnefs by the exercife of it. The fcripture fpeaks of fome as farther from a ftate of grace than others, Jer. xiii. 23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his fpots? then may ye alfo do good, that are accustomed to do evil; plainly declaring the great difficulty, equal almoft to a natural impoffibility, of reclaiming those to goodnefs, who have been long habituated to an evil courfe. And the fcripture fpeaks of fome as nearer to a state of grace than others, Our Saviour tells the young man in the gospel, who faid he had

kept