56 The ?ryalf of , 7ryall. over 7romg2sgrás, piecemeale, Heb. t. t. Age after Age, to inflruft his Church in a larger knowledge of thole Fundamentals : So is it in Gods dealing with particular Chrif}ians, though a Béleever in his converfion hath the fubffance of all thefe taught him, yet he goes over them by piecemeale againe, throughout his whole life ; andhath often filch a di[linft apprehenfion renewed of them, as if he had not knowne or minded them afore : And fometimes his thoughts doe dwell_ more about the emptynelfe ofhis owne righteoufnelfe, fometimes about that fulneffe is in Chrill, fometimes more about the fpirituall flriftneffe he ought towalk in : And becaufe force are apt to give up the old work, when they have new ; hence that which is indeed but growth in grace in them, many account to be but their Firfl converfion ; thoughevery filch eminent additionbe to be accounted as a con. verfìon, as Chi-ill fpeaks to his Difciples, Except ye be converted ; yét they were converted afore. Now the purpofe I fpeak this for, is an help to difcerne our growth; for when God thus is leading us with farther light and affee ion to a larger apprehen- lionof fpirituall things, or to the trying new graces, fo long we grow. Therefore Cant. 7. ult. the Church is faid to lay upfor her beloved [fruits newand old : ] And Rom. 5. from patience a man is led to experience. from experience to hope. As wicked men are Ied on from one finne to another , and fo grow worfe and worfe;fo godly men from one grace to another : and when it is fo with us, then we encreafe. Secondly, when a man finds new degrees of the fame grace added, and the fi uirs of them grow bigger and more plentiful) ; as when a mans love grows more fervent, as i Pet. 4. 8. when faith, frommans calling it felfe on Chrifl, comes to find fweet- nefE in Chrifl, which is to eate his,fle/h, anddrink his blood ; and then from that growes further up to an a(f"urance offaith, which is an addition to it : When any thing that was Iackïrg in faith, (as the Apoflle (peaks, i 7hef 3. io.) is added. So when a man grows up to more flrength of faith in temptations, and is leffe moved and (haken in them, more rooted in faith, as the Apollle fpeaks. Thus in godly forrow, when from mourning for fin as contrary to Gods holineffe, we goe on to mourn for it as con- trary to himwho loves us,,which followts upon afrurance, as they mourned 1
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