NM, SPIRITUAL PEACE AND COMPORT. 285 his father, "I go, sir," but went not to labor in the vineyard, was not accepted or justified. If, therefore, you are in doubt whether your willingness be sincere, inquire into your practice and per, formance. God commandeth you to pray, to instruct your family, to be merciful to the poor, to forgive those that wrong you, &c. The flesh and the devil persuade you from these. Do you perform them, or do you not ? Though you maydo it with backwardness, and dullness, and weakness, yet do you do it? And desire you could do it better, and lament your misdoing it ? And endeavorto do it better than you have formerly done ? This shows then that the Spirit prevaileth, though the flesh do contradict it. v. Yet here you must carefully distinguish of duties ; for God bath made some to be secondary parts of, the condition of,the covenant, and so of flat necessity for the continuance of our justi- fication, and for the attaining of glorification. Such are confessing Christ before men when we are called to it ; confessing sin, pray- ing, showing mercy to the poor, forgiving wrongs, hearing and yielding to God's word, &c., still supposing that there be opportu- nity and necessities for the performance of these. But some duties there are that God bath not laid so great a stress or necessity on, though yet the willful resolved omission, in ordinary, ofany known duty, is contrary to the nature of true obedience. Also, the case may much differ with several persons, places and seasons, concerning duty ; that may be a duty to one man, that is not to another; and at one place, which is not at another; and at one season, which is not at another. And that may be a greater duty, and ofindispensable necessity to one, which to another is not so great. It may stand with true grace, to omit that duty which men know not to be a duty, or not to be so to them, (except where the duty is such, as is itself of absolute necessity to salvation ;) but it cannot so stand with grace, in those that know it, ordinarily to reject it. vi. Also you must understand, that when I say, that true will- ingness to be ruled by Christ, will show itself in actual obedience, I do not mean it of every particular individual act which is our duty, as if you should judge yourself graceless !Br every particular omission of a duty ; no, 'though you knew it tobe a duty, and though you considered it to be a duty. For, 1. There may be a true habituated inclination and willingness to obey Christ rooted in the heart, when yet, by the force of a temptation, the actual prey- alency of it at that time, in that act, may be hindered and sup- pressed. 2. And at the same time, you do hold On in a course of obedience in other duties. 3. And when the temptation is overcome, and grace hath been roused up against the flesh, and you soberly recollect your thoughts, you will return to obedience
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