a Chrif$ians Growth. bewailing them, and crying to him, Oh miserable man that I am ; and ordinarily, fee and difcerne them, men would not, unieffe left to them. As in cafe ofhumbling a man, though God fome- times doth humble a man that hath kffe finnes, more then one that hath greater, to Phew that he can give a fpirituall light to fee more finne in a little then others in much ; yet ordinarily thofe are moll: humbled that have beene greatefl finners, as c.Mana4"es humbled hirnfelfegreatly, and Mary Magdalen lovedmuch, and the ApoRie thought himfelfe the greateji offinners : And thus it is in aging grace, or lettingforth corruptions, it is according to their principles within. And fecondly, that very ac4inggrace doth increafe habits : fo as the increafe of habits and inward mortification is proporti- oned according to the wing of grace by the holy Ghoil ; for every abffinence doth mortifie, as was laid, and every aft of grace doth through the bleffingofthe Spirit further fanttifie and increafe the habit, Rom. 6. You havejour fruit in holine,le. When they doe any duty, it makes the heart more inwardly holy : fo as indeed the one cannot be without the other; but the more a man doth abfiaine out of right principles, by the affiffance of the Spirit,the more he grows : fo as in the end all comes to one ; he whole holineffe is aced moil, hath in the end moll habituall grace, and thereby often it comes to paffe, that he that is first, comes to be laß, andhe that is lajt,firjt. Two limitati Yet there are two limitations to be put in about this. ons. Firft, I grant, for force times ofmens lives, that God doth i. ac`I Tome mens graces more, who have yet lefl'e grace, and leave thofe to finnes who have more grace. So he left Peter who in all appearance had more grace then any of the twelve, yet God left him to deny Chrifl more foulely and faifly then any of the other. But then let the ends of God be confidered why hedoth it. Firft, in cafe oftoo much confidence upon inherent grace, and the flrength ofit : When we trufl to habituall grace received, thenChris}, toPhew that it is a new grace, to AEI that grace, and to the end that it may be acknowledged that he that gives one grace, is not bound to give another, may in thiscafe leave one that hath indeed more grace to the prevailing of cor- ruptions
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