186 / 808
ephefianl,Chap.><,
V
Ex,lp,
come
a
&uaily
to
convert
;
for
that Gods
power put forth to
worke
good
for
us,
is
a
helpe given
from
his free
grace, or
his
free
favour
to-
ward
us
cannot be doubted, when the Scripture every where
maketh
him our
helper, from
his
meere grace.
If
we lend our
arme or
hand
to
helpe one, being no way tyed
to it,
it is
a
helpe given from our
free
favour.
That
his call
,
inward or outward ,
and
habit of
grace,
wrought
in
us,
may be fitly called grace
effe&ually helpfull
to
the
a
is
brought forth bythem,
none denieth,
though
all
will not have habit
needful! to our
firft
converfion. And this
firft
thing
is
well to
be
noted;
for
from hence we may
gather
in
what ftandeth the
efficacie
of
Grace,
effe&uall
to
converfion,
viz.
In Gods
effe&uall
power, put forth
to
ex-
ecute his
intention which
he
hath
of
converting
Tome
aétually
before
otherfome
; it
doth not
ftand
in
any
congruity or temperature
of
Grace,
correfpondent to our
Nature;
for
this Both argue
that there
is
inward-
ly an
incorrupted
, a
connaturall difpofition to
receive
grace.
This
maketh the
effe&
of
converfion to depend
as
much
on
the
active
ca-
pacity
of
the
will,
as
on the Grace
of
God
;
nay more
:
fork
maketh
the Grace
of
God
worke
it
morally and externally,
and
the
will
of
man from
a
power within
it
felfe,
which doth more inwardly
enter
the
effe&
of
converfion then
the other;
as
he who perfwadeth me
to
give
an acmes, is
the
caufe
of
it fo effentially
as
I
am, who
out
of
my
plea
-
fure give it upon his firft
motion.
To
the
fecond I anfwer,
that God doth
ufe
fo
to
worke
our corn-
ming
to
him by beliefe,
that
he
doth
firft
for the moft part prepare
us
thereunto
:
As before we engraffe
a
Sience
we cut
itand
fen
it
for
loci-
Gon; and
if a
timber logge
lye funkeinto mudde, men fet
to their
tack
-'
lings
firft
to
draw
it
out
ofthe
mire, before
they
lay it
in
on
Cart
to
car-
ry it away
:
Thus God
doth
by
his
power oftenworke
fome
prepara-
tive change
in
a
finner,before
he
doth by
his
power
and
word
worke
the
fpirit
of
faith
in
them,
and make
them come to him.
Thus God
by
of h
lions
is
faid
to boare the
Bare,
and
to
prepare
to converfion. When
cJtanaffes was
humbled
in
great mifery, he fought
the Lord
;
Thus
by
convi
&ion
of
finne
they
were pricked
in
heart,
and
Paid,
What
fholl
wee doe to be
faved?
and then fpeedily received
the Gofpell
beleeving:
fometimes by extraordinary terrors, riling from external! accidents,yea,
hidden naturali caufes; thus the Jaylor was prepared, and Paul
him
-
felfe
by
an
extraordinary
vifion was
brought
to great aftonifhment
:
fometime
by
reftraining,giving commongifts which
make men for
de-
gree neerer, that is,
in
their
kinde and ftate not
fo
much removed,
as
o-
thers
in
the
fame flateand kinde with
them:ThusChrift
faid
to the young
man,
who
was rich and
unconverted,
that
he was nerve
the kingdeme:
Nay,
God
may by giving
a
man
up
to
the height
of
force finne, or
fins,
prepare one
to Converfion,
as
Pex1
and
Manaffes,
the
one left to
perfe-
cuttng, the other tothofe horrible
outrages;
that looke
as
Phyfitians
by
ripening
difeafes make
way
to
heale
them
;
for
ficke
matter
is
never
more ea9ly brought
away,thenwhen
it in
ripenefs and
quantity
exceed
-
eth. Concerning
this
matter,
for our
better underítanding,let
there
con-
clufi«ns
be
remembred.
Firft,