1'98 Falfe Signr ofGrace. S a c r. I I I. the earthto bring forth graffe ; but alas our heartscannot do fo : Grace hi our hearts is like a granger ina ftrangeLand, like a fpark offire in the deepocean,like a candlein a boifterous windy night, it'sa wonder if it donot gó out. And cer- tainly if Adam foquickly loft his grace, when yet it was connatural to him, his heart was a fit foil; were it not for the Covenant of Crate, which fails nor, a godlymanwould fall feven times a day wholly fromGod, as will as the Scri- pture faith hedoth fo often in temporalcalamities. Oh then wonder how any grace comes to be alive in thy heart, thatthofecoals arenot fmothered up, thatevery night thou doftnot as that mother lie upon thy childe, and thorow fe- curity and negligence kill this poor infant ofgrace. 2. The impoflibility ofit appeareth in thefeveral manifoldworksof Gods grace, yihich re abfolute/yneerjjsrj after We are regenerated : So that fuppofe a man be converted, yet ifgrace do not afterwardshelp, and that feveral waies, this man would die in thewildernefs and never'get to Canaan; nowGods graceis various, There ispreventinggrace,whereby a man is kept from thofemany fins and tempta- tions, which ifplunged into wouldutterly undo him. Thus Davidwas kept from murdering Nabal; and as Paul faid, 1 Cor.15.10. By thegrace ofGod I amWhat I am ; So he might havefaid (faith Auf ia) By the graceof God I am eat what I am. riot. Yea Divines fay, Flaresfunt gratia privativaguars pafitiva, Gods prevent ingmercies aremore then his pofitive mercies. Oh therefore think, If the grace ofGod did notkeep offthisfrnne, this lull, thistemptation,howhad it (wallowed thee up, as the Whale did7onah I Again, There is protetlinggrace, and that is, when thou art in the midft ofall temptations, yet grace defends thee, and thou finneft not ; we wonder at Godsmiraculous deliverance toDaniel, who was kept alive in themid[t ofroaringLions. Alas God doth no leffe for thee everyday: There are devils like fo many roaringLions, feeking to devour thy foul and its grace bath a covering overtheelts a remarkable expref ionofthe Pfalmif6, mercy d.ehcompaffè the godly, Pf,3 i.to. itsa Court ofguard againftall thofeail-auks that our fpiritual enemieswould make upon us.There is altoquick ninggrace, whereby the principles ofholineffe are daily blown up andenlivened; now if this bellows were not alwaies blowing, if this werenot alwaies fillingour fails, we fhould lie like fomany dry bones ; This winde mull arife ere theycan come together. David found the neceffry ofthis, when hefo often praied,That God Wouldquicken him. Thyvery graceswould lie &ruff away,were therenot this exciting grace;Do not the peopleof God fal into divers lethargies and hurtful fleeps,becaufeofthe want of this.Again,there is cooperating grace,which goeth along with us to do,as well asto purpofe inour heart : Its Gods grace that work.1th inus,not only to will but to do, Phil. 2.13. when we have defires and affeetions to duties, how many times are we diverted, and through lazineffe or diftralkionsinterrupted, but gracecar- rieth usout to the work it fell. There is alto corroborating grace, whereby the principlesof holineffe, being weak and unfieady, are confirmed and ftrength- ned more and more ; for grace though it keeps us fromfin, yet carriethus on to holineffe weakly and faintly. Thus he praied, Ibelieve, help myunbelief, Mar.9. 24. Thus theflesh lxffeth againfl the Spirit, and the Spirit againft thefiefh, that ma- ny times theydo the things theywould not, Gal. 5.17. Paul cals this tobe f rang in the might ofthe Lord; and Scando all things through Chrif that f rengthens me. Paul bath a knde of omnipotency, and tohim all things arepoffible, becaufe pof- fible to grace which inableth him. Laftly, There is perfevering Grace ; for let a man be furnifhed with all the former fruitsofgrace, yet if this of perseverance be not added, theirworks are not crowned ; when we do things eiç7í4&, then they are as vrxñr, as they are oftenput one'for another. Itsnot of theeffence of grace to continuealwaies in thefubjeél where it is,forthen Adam and the Angels could not have fallen. Ít is therefore adiffinf workof grace to give perfe- Yerancefróm the firft infufion of it. 3. The impofbility ofit isfeen in thafefie infinuatingmotions of loft that do fill abide
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