SECTION IV. 99 Patton, and persuade sinners to accept ofthe offered grate, by all the allurements of the compassion of God, and by the dying love of aRedeemer, beseeching them to be reconciled: And they draw out the hearts of believers to repentance, and lead them with the spirit of power and love to an easy and connatural obedience by the constraintsof the love of Christ, and by a humble persuasion of their acceptance in.him unto eternal life. In short, the one dwell most upon the duties of the gospel in their sermons, in order to qualify their hearers for the pri- tileges : the other insist most upon the privileges and comforts of the gospel, in orderto invite and álláre them to fulfil the duties, and to givetheir hearers strength and delight in the dischargeof these duties. I would not here be understood, as though I supposed either of those ministers never to mingle mercy and terror, precepts, penalties, and promises ; for it must be acknowledged, there are some persons of each opinion, in whom all the talents of a preacher happily unite, and they honourably sus±ain both cha- racters, the sons of thunder, and the sons of consolation ; and all of them make conscience of publishing to men both divine grace and their duty, all of them preach repentance toward God, andfaith inour Lord Jesus Christ ; but those who have chosen one séheme of divinity for their own, more generally bend their ministry the one way, and those whohave chosen the other,preach snore usually in the other way. All our protestant confessions of faith, and I wouldper- suade myself that our ministers, at least among the non-confor- mists, agree that, though duties are required to be performed by us, yet the grace that is necessary to perform them is given freely to us : that though faith and repentance, and sincere obedience, are indispensibly necessary, in order to our final sal- vation, yet they are not the justifying righteousness upon account ofwhich our sinsare pardoned, and eternal life is bestowed upon us : That the obedience and death, and intercession of Christ, as a proper high-priest and sacrifice, are the only foundation of our acceptance with God, and ground of all our hopes ; and that from him, as a head of influence, we must receive all grace, wherebyweare conducted safe to glory. Both sides agree that weare to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but that it is God who worketh in us to will and to do ; Phil. ii. 12, 13. That we are saved by the faith of the Son' of God, and not by works, lest any should boast ; yet that we must also be created in Christ Jesus unto good works, for God bath appointed that we should walk in them; Eph. ii. S -10: In the next place, II. That I may make a little further apology for those that are humble, honest and sincere on both sides, I would consider, G 2
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