S a C T. VII. The Counterfeit ofInherent. grace. 353 Thework of godlineffe in a man, is ofan higher fphere, and there is as great a differencebetween them, as between true Pearls and counterfeit. Onely I mutt re- move one Objedion,.before I proceed to the point : for you may readily demand, Obje6F. wkatidall thh.Doblrine tosu? What doth it concern us to hear, that Heathens What is this may, orhave donefach righteous things ? Are we Pagans, andGentiles ? We are doctrine of the Baptized, and have given;up our names toChrift, and therefore doubt nor, bat Ri hteou(ne(t that ourcondition is far betterthan theirs: we believe in Chrift , we rea onhim of Heathens for falvation, we receive the Sacraments, Therefore this difcourfe about natural) Chrütir light, and naturali power, feemeth altogetherimpertinentto us ; the leaft dwarf in Chriftianicybeing higherthan the tallest Giant in Heathenifm: What doyou tell no of nature, who liveunder grace ? Toauftoer this, Firfl,:itmay be charitably-and jtefily alerted, tbat there aremany 44fm r: Who have the titlesof Chriflians, that yet in &newledge and lives differ nothing at all from Heathens. They know no more than a very Pagandoth, and their lives are far worfe than manyGentiles. There are men among us that feldome or never fre- quent Chat-Affenablies, that if they be qutftioned about God, or Chrift, or the Holy Glielt, can give nobetter account, than if they had lived among the Indians; onely theyhave heardof a Chrift; but what he is, and to what purpofe appointed by God, theyknow not the leafs iota or tittleof it : Its not any knowledgeorfaith theyhave about the Chriltían Religion, rather thanany other ;in the World, but onely theKingdome wherein they live, and the Authority under which they are, enjoyneth fuch things to be received, with the exampleof ocher their neighbours, efpecially the imitatiomof their parents, and this is all that moveth them to the owning of Chrift. Certainly, the faithful! Minifters of God, may, or ought to. fay, Riversofwaterrunne down our eyes, becaufe manyunderfland not the veryfeun- dation andfirll principles of Religion. They are but mock-Chriflians, theyhávea name and a badge of Chrillianity upon them, but their ignorance and foctifhnef .r is to great, that it would make a man tobe amazed at it. Do not therefore fay, What is this tous? Oh it is too much to toomany, who have fcarce learned, whe- ther therebe a Chrift, or an holyGhoft, or no. Secondly, This Difcourfe to pertinent, becanfc thoagh there may be many among j ou, who have the knowledgeof Chrift, and und.rfland the true Religion ; yet they, have not powerful! efficacy, or operation upon their hearts or lives. The Word of .God doch not direft, correct,or mold their lives, they attend not to that, but what good they doe, or evil) they avoid, is wholly from thole Reliques and rc mnants whichGod hath left in them. This is a chief point in Chrilhanity, ro confider, whether it be a natural( principle onely that carrycth thee to what is good, or á fupetnaturall; whetherit be the Lawwritten in us by God the Author of nature, or theLaw written in us by God the Author of grace. The Apofile fpeaketh of the acknowledgment of the truth after Godlmetle, Tithe r. r. the know- ing of truths as they are in Chrift Jefus, Ephefans 4 and Colofans r. 6. The knowing. of the grace of God in truth. All which is, when men living under the Gofpel, are by the power of it fo changed and altered, that whatever good they doe, or evil! they avoid, they are all babiedby a fupernaturall arength vouchlafed untothem. Nowit's coo apparent, that molt mens Religion, AHeéli- ons, Converfations, are wholly built upon a natural! Devotion, and a natural( righteoufneffe : they wouldhave been loch devout men and fo jilt 'men, if they had never heardof Chrift; if they lived among the Heathens they would have beenno betteror worfe. I entreat you therefore to confider what divine imprtf lions the Chritlian Religion hath made upon you. Art thouany more in all the du- ties thoudoft,than what thy mother.Piety,(as we fay mother-wit) or thy mother- Righteoufneffe inableth thee to. Thou worfhippeft God andChrill with the the fame humaneaffections and devotions as the Romanstheir yrepiter,or the Ephe- fans their/As/ea, onely thou haft the true objedof worlhip, and they have Doc, When our Savior preached,that he was the true bread which came down from tea Z v.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=