$ á c . 11. True Sigrís ofGrace. 75 to finne arifethwholly from a kindly workof grace within , otherwife a wicked man cannot fume fometimes, becaufe God puts a terriblereflraint upon his con- fcience; Salaam he could not finne in that wherein he was follicited, If thou lbouldflgive me (faith he to Balaak,) this hoiofefull ofgold, Icannot curie them, but mutt bleJfechafewhowGodbleffeth. Godmany times puts a bridle upon the confcience ofa wicked man that he dareth not , nor cannot commit fuch a finne, as his heart would carry him to , but this cannot fsnne, is farce dif- ferent from the godlies cannot fare ; The one is a violent motion , the principle is from without, the other is a natural motion, andbath its ground fromwithin it. Fourthly, Thin is afgn in that hereby agodly man inforcemeafure, and by de- grees,doth not only leave outwardgraft fins, but even conquer and crucifiethe inward body of finne. Gal.S. He hash crucified the flefhWith the offetîions andlufs thereof; and he is faid to crucifie the body offinne, and the deeds of the fleJh and herein this fignismoft eminently fignifcant; for a man cannot imply take comfort from this hebath indeed once been fuch and fuch an ungodly finner, he hath wallow- ed in fuch,mire, but now he bath given over all chofe courfes ; a man (I fay) cannot barely take comfort from this leavingofactual grotfe fns , unleffe there be a mortifyingofthem inthe root, in theaffedions andmotions thereunto ; for Peter fpeaks of force, Who hadefcaped the pollution ofthe World,and that throughthe knowledgeofChrifi; yet were Swines and Dogs in their nature. Wherein doth Paul Romq: fopaffonately bewail his captivity tofinne, but only in refpeft of the inward motions thereof? Thus David, Pfal.5a. ftaieth not upon his mur- der and adultery, but goeth to that foul fountain, He was conceivedinfns, and intreatsGod to create in 'limaclean heart. If therefore thou would fain know whether thou art borne of God or no ; See how pure and clean thou defireft to make thy felf within, how doth the fountain of blond within theedry up ? Fifthly, This is align, When amans oppofition to fsnne, and leaving oft, be- 4o ea ore of thefoulnature offinne. It is contrary to God, it's a crass re ton of his Law, and upon this fpiritual motive he is bent againft it. The Apollle (as you heard) giveth this asa reafon, why the fonsof God fhouldnot finne, becaufe fuse is tranfgreff on oftheLaw ; andDavid Pfal.sa. bewails his finne, though pardoned, becaufeGodwas offended thereby ; fo that though a man pour out flouds oftears for fins, though his converfationoutwardly becomewhite asflow, yet this is no fymptome of grace, a man can take no comfortfrom hence, unleffe it be upon this ground, becaufe God is difpleafed, and his law broken s. look over the Scriptures, you may fee wonderfollexamples ofmens remorfe and for- row about finne, yet thofe very tears were fafdul that they needed wafhing ; Take Ahab, obferve the Jews, confider 7ndas, how were they raft down about their finne ? with what horrour ofconfcience didfudas calf awayhis thirty pie- ces ? Oh men may go very farre in forrow for finne, and in reforming of their livesabout finne, andyet this be no fignto them of the truth ofgrace. Why (you mayfay) what fhouldwork upon them, if it be not grace ? Oh there are manyother motives thatwork upon them, terrors of confcience, fear ofGods judgements, and the prellingcalamities that lie upon them I Infomuch that true unfeigned hatred of finne is very rare ; I deny not but the judgements ofGod up- on a'ínanought to workinhima fenfe and feeling of his fins a fevere judging and condemning of himfelf underGods hand. But to havethis theonlyground argueth notthe prefence of grace inthem.They are tiedup from finne as Maflifrs_ and Wolves are, their naturesare notchanged. Sixthly,This is afign,When the inclination andbent ofthe heart again{? finisuni- e verfal in refpeti ofallfinne e Fora man highly in love withfame fns, may yet ex- treamly fet againft other fins. Therefore asfns run out in feverail reams, fo do tbeiraffeftions proportionably s asthere arefins ofthe heart; and fns ofthe out- L z wars#
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