Whom we mufi tak.e for God/y. l7J CHAP. XXVII£. Special [afes and :Dire8ions for Low to Godly pe1jom as fuel). Tit.t. [afes of [onfcimce about Lo'Ve. to tbe God/y. WHom we mull take for Gadly I anfwered before Chap. 24. 1it. r. £!0ejl. 5· Q!dt. 1. H9TD csm we ,love the Godly, wJmz no man can certainly ~(.now rvho is jincerc· ~eft. x. ry godly ? Anfw. Our love is not the love of God which is guided by infallibility ; but the love of man, which is guided by the dark and fallible difccrning of a man; The fruitr of piety and cha, rity we infallibly fee in their lives ! But the faving uuth of that grace which is or ought to be the root, we mull judge of according to the probability which thofc figns difcover; and love men accordingly. Q!!e!l. 2· M•ft we love thofe as godly, .-ho can give no [tnjible account if tiJtir converjion, for t~e £!0ejl. 2; time, or m/JHner, or evidence of it l An[w. We mufi rake none for godly, who Chew no credible evidence of true converfion, that is, of true faith and Repentance; But there is many a one truly godly, who through natural defect of underfianding or utterance, are not able in good fcnre to tell you what Converfion is, nor to de– fcribe the manner in which it was wrought upon them, much le[s to define exad:ly the time or Ser– mon when it was firll wrought ; which few of the bell Chrillians arc able to do ; efpccially of them who had pious education, and were wrought on in their childhood. But if the Covenant ofGrace he wifely opened to them according to their capacity, and they deliberately, and foberly, and vo– luntarily profeCs their prefent dfi'cm and confent thereto, they do thereby give you the credible evi– dmce _of a true converfion, till you have fufficient contral'y evidence to difprove it. For none but a converted m1.n can truly repent, and believe inGod the Creator, Redc:emc:r and SJnctific:r, accord– ing to the BJptifmal Covcnam. Q£_efi. 3· BHt what if hr be fo ignor.:t~Jt rbat he cannot tctl wh:ll JaiJb, or repentance, or redemptiM, or !!:!Jft. 3•l fanUiftcation, or tbe Covenant of Grace Hl An[rv. If you have fufficient eviden<e that indeed he doth not at all under!land , the dfentials of the Sacramental Covenant, you may conclude that he is not truly godly: Bccaufe he cannot confcnt to what he knoweth not : Ignorantii non ljl c:mfo:nfiu: And if yolt have no evidence of fuch know– ledge, you have no evidence of his godlinefs, but mull fufpend your judgement. But yet many a one undcrfiandeth the effentials of the Covenant, who cannot teU another what they are. There~ fore his mind '( in cafe of ·great difability of utterance,) mull be tiOlCd out by Q:<fiions, to which his Yea or No, will difcovcr what he undcrfiandcth and confcmeth to: You would not rcfufe to do fa by one of another language, or a dumb man, who underflood you, but could anfwer you but by broken words or figns: And verily ill education may make a great many of the pluafcs of s,ri– pturc, and religious language as firange to fame men, though fpoken in their nadve tongue, as if it were Greek or Latin to them, who yc.t may poffibly underHand the matter: Awife Teacher ~y well compofcd quefiions may ( without fraud or formality ) difccrn what a man underlhndeth, though he lay but Tea or No; when an indifcreet unskilful man, will . makc his own unskilfulncfs and un– charitablenefs, the occafion of contemptuom trampling upon fame that are as hondi as himfelf. If a mans defiru and endeavours are to that which is good, and he be willing to be taught and ufc the · means, it mull be very grofs ignorance indeed, and well-proved, that mufi difprove his profcffion of faith. If he competently undcrlland what ·it is to bdicvc in God the Father, Son and Holy Ghofi, the Creator, Redeemer and San8itier, he underfiandeth all that is abfolurely necdfuy to falvation. And his Yea or Nomay fomctime fignitie his underllanding ir. Qlell. 4· Mujl I tail.! tbe vijible member; .of tbe ChurciJ, bccau{< fi~eh, f'r tmly 5:odly l ~eft, 4 , 1 Anfw. Yes; except when you have puncular fuffic1cnt proof of .thc~r hypocrdu.·. Certainly no :; man dorh finccrely mtcr into the Baptifmal Covenant,. but he that IS hncertly a penitent believer (if at age.) t'or that Covenant givcth aCtual p1rdon and adoption w·rhofe that fiocercly c:nter into it: the very confenting to it ( which is Repentance and faith) being the very condition of th' Zz z z z z z prefent
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