THE UNCONVERTED. 6S raculous gifts and works, and the illuminating and exciting the ordina.ry ministers of the gospel, and so enabling them and helping them to publish that word; and by the same word illuminating and converting the souls of men. So that as you could not have been reasonable creatures, if the Father had not created you, nor have had any access to God, if the Son had not redeemed you, so neither can you have a part in Christ, or be saved, except the Holy Ghost do sanctify you. So that by this time you may see the several causes of this work. The Father sendeth the Son: the Son redeems us and maketh the promise of grace: the Holy ,Ghost inditeth and sealeth this gospel: the Apostles are the secretaries of the Spirit to write it; the preachers of the gospel to proclaim it, and persuade men to open it: and the Holy Ghost doth make their preaching effectual, by opening the hearts of men to entertain it. - And all this to repair the image of God upon the soul, and to set the heart upon God again, and take it off the creature and carnal self to which it is revolted, and so to turn the current of the life into a heavenly course, which before was earthly; and all this by entertaining of Christ by faith, who is the Physician of the soul. By what I have said, you may see what it is to be wicked, anJ what it is to be converted; which, I think, will be yet plainer to you, if I describe them as consisting of their several parts. And for the first, a wicked }Tian may be known by these three things:- First, He is one who-placeth his chief affections on earth, and loveth the creature more than God, and his fleshly prosperity above the heavenly felicity. He savoureth the things of the flesh, but neither discerneth nor savoureth the things of the Spirit; though he will say, that heaven is better than earth, yet he doth not really so esteem it to himself. If he might be sure of earth, he would let go heaven, and had rather stay here than be removed thither. A
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