Vje r. Sed:. + Sorrow for Sinne, THe nex~ llcp, is Sorrow for fm; concerning which,are two Q!:•ell:ions: I. Whether it be a work of faving grace? 2. Whether God work it in all ulike ? To the firll:, I anfwer, There is a double Sorr8W; one in Preparation, the other in SanElijication: They dilfet thus; Sorr01v in Preparation, is when the \Vord of God leaves an imprdlion upon the heart of a man, fo that the heart of it felf is as it were a Patient, and oncly bears the blow of the Spirit; and hence come all thofe phrafes of Scripture, as wonnded, pierced, pricksd, in the paflive"Voice: So that this Sorrow is rather a· Sorrotv wrought on me, than any work coming from any Spiritual ability in me: bur Sorrow in Sanctification, flowes from a.Spiritual principle of Grace, and from that power which the heart hath formerly received from Gods Spirit; fo that in this a man i> a free worker: Now both thefe arefavingforrows, but they differ marvi eoufly; many think,that every faving work i~ afanctifying work,which is falfe. Thofe 1vhom he cal– leth(fanh the Apo!He)them he alfo )njfifics,and whom he juflifies,he glorifies: You may ob– ferve,That G"lmficatton in this place implies Sanctification here,and glory here after;now before Glorification, you fee there isJuFrificarion and Vocariw,and both thefe are faving. To the fecond,I anfwer; Howfoever this work is the fame in all for fubll:ance,yet in a different maner it is wrought in moll:: Two men are pricked,the one with a pin,the other with a fpear; two men are cut, the one with a pen-knife, the other with a fword : fo rhe Lord deals kindly and gently wi;h one foul, and roughly with another : There is the melting of a thing, and the breaking of it with hammers; fo there is a difference in perfons: for in(bnce, if the perfon be a fcanc\alous liver, and an oppofer of God and his Grace: Secondly, if a man have harboured a filthy heart, and continues long in fin. Thirdly, if a man have been confident in a formal civil courfe. Fourthly, if God purpofe by fome man to do fome extraordinary great work: In all thefe four cafes he !ayes an heavyplow on the heart; the Lord will bruife rhem,and rend the caule oftheir hearts, and make them feek to a faithful Minifter for direCtion, & to a poor Chriftian for counfel, whom before they defpifed. But if the foul be trained up among godly Parents, and live under a foul-faving Minill:ery, the Lord may reform this man, and cut ~imofffrom his corruptions kindly,and break his heart fecretly,in the apprehenfion of his fins, and yet the world never fee it. In both thefc we have an example in Lydia and the Jay/or : Lydiawas a finful woman, and God opened her eyes, and melted her heart kindly, and brought her to a tall:e ofhis -goodnefse here, and glory hereafter : But. the Jay/or was an outragious rebellious wretch; for when the Apoftlcs were committed to prifon, he hid them up in the ll:ocks, and whipped them fore; now there was much work to bring this man home: when the Apoftles were tinging Pfalms, there came an Earthquake, which made the prifon-dores flie open, and the prifoners fetters to fall olf, but yet the Jaylors heart would not !hake : at lall: the Lord did !hake his heart too, and he came trembling, and was ready to lay violent hands upon himfelf, becaufe he thought the prifoncrs had been fled; but the Ap~ll:les cried to him, Do thyfelf no harm, [o' we are all here: with that he fell down before them, and fa id, Men and brethren, ,.hatjha/1 1 dutobcfavtd ? For Conclufion, give me a ChriftianthatGod doth pleafe to work upon in this extraordinary manner, and to break his heart fo;mdly, and to throw him down to purpofe, though it coil: him full dear; this man walks or– dinarily with more care and confcience, and hath more comfort coming to himfelf, and gives more glory unto God. Is it fo, that the foul of a man is thus pierced to the quick, and run through by the wrath of the Almighty ? then let this teach all how to carry themfelves towards fuch as God hath thus dealt withal: Are they pierced men? 0 pity them! 0 let the bowels ofcommifcrarion and compaflion be let out toward them ! let us never ceafe to do good to them, to the very uttermoll: of our powers ! And to the performance ofthis, Rcafon.and Religion, and pity (me thinks) fhould move us: Hear the cry, Oh (faith the poor foul) will the{e and thefe fins never be pardoned? will this proud heart. never be h~tmbled? Thus the fouf Lighs and mourns, and fayes, 0 Lord, 1 fee this jinne, andfeel the burthen oftt, andyet I have not an heart to be humbledfor it, n(Jr to be fued from tt : 0 whm wilt it once be ? Did you bur know this, it would make your hearts bleed t_o hear him : Oh 1 the fword of the Almighty hath pierced through hii heart, and he rs breathmg
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