An Expojition of the Epiftle --------,---- ~-in his heart which be can never fell away again, but it worl<s his heart off from Serm. IX. all things elfe, this man is a wife man; and this is wrought in your hearts by ~Faith. This is the fir(\ thing. Seco~tdl)•, Prudence, it is that principle ofwifdom,that doth change the heart, which as Faith looks out to the truths or the Gofpel, and the Promrfes of the Gof– pel, to Chri!l: and to God, and free Grace,and the like; fo this fpiritual prudence it looks out to all that rs a mans duty, that God requrres of hrm agarn, to holrnefs, to obedience, to the whole Law of God, to the whole Will of God, and a man's heart is taken with them too,and that man whofe heart is drawn by them through feeing the excellency of them in his judgment, that man is a wife man, is a prudent man. What is it that turns a man's heart to righteoufnefs and .holincfs? It is a fprntual knowledge of what holrnefs rs,and what that obedrence rs that we ought to perform to the Lord. I will quote you one or two places for it,Luk. r. 1 7· where the very fame word is ufed that is ufed here. He tells us there that the end of ,7o!m's Mini!l:ry, it was to turn men; to what? The hearts of' the Fathers to the Childrtlt, that is the fir!l: that refpeCl:eth matters of Faith: The Phartjtes they had in their Doctrine led many from the Gofpel,and from the Faith of A6ra– bam, and the Children of Ifrael did not believe as their Fathers did, he turns them to their Fathers to believe as A6rabamdid, •od not as thePharifees taught them. And then it follows, a1td the dtjo6edtmt to the wi(dom of thejufl, of the righteous; it is the fame word in the Original that i~ tranflated here for Prudence in my Text. That wifdom that cloth make a man nghteous, that changeth his heart,makes him take in all that holy and righteous Law of God,fee an excellency in it, that it is right in all things (as the Prophet 'David fpcaks, Pfal, "9 :) this is Prttdtllce,and this is the fecond thing wherein Converfton lies; to make a man a prudent man, prudent with the prudence of the ju!l:,to !llake a man righ te– ous,to make a man jull, to make a man holy. It is a practical skill (as I n1ay fo call it) which God imprints upon a man's under!l:anding,that frames the heart and makes him wife to do good. You read inJer+22, where the Prophet fpeaking of wicked men,he faitb,Tbry are wtfe to do evil,they are wife enough there,but to do goodtluy have tto knowledge: Now to have an under!landing to do good, to have fuch an underfianding,as changeth a man's heart and makes it conformable to the Law; this is Pru~ence. And it conftfis in tW? things,tl)at I may open it unto you. Frr!l:, It confifis rn enablrng a man to take to all the rules ofholiuefs,or the more fundamental rules of holinefs in a fpiritual manner, to know the rule fpiritually . A man's heart mufi be changed to do that. The Apo!l:le prays, Rom, 12 2, that they may be rmewed ill tbezr mi11ds (to .be changed there, is to have their minds turned) to what end ? Tl\3t you may approve (faith he) of tb,,t good and ac· ceptable Wilt of God; to take in the Will of God,. or any part of it in the fpiri– tualnefs of rt, to approve 1t rn the excellency of 1t, and to e!l:eem rt right in all things. My Brethren,to know the rule fpiritually, it is from fpiritual prudence it is tram Grace to fay the Law is holy, fpiritual, good. The eamal part of th~ Law, carnal men fay it is good; but to fay of the fpiritual, the holy part of the Law that requires the whole heart to be obedient toGod,as fuch principles as thefe to lye in no known fin, to aim at the glory,ofGod more than at a mans felf. and the like, for a man to take infuch principles as thefe, and to approve them'from his very foul, this is wifdom, this is prudence, this is part of the prudence of the ju!l: that makes a man righteous. Again, in the fecond place it imports a sk>ll that God imprints upon the mind of a man to manage his whole man, to do according to what he knows. We k11ow not,how to p•·ay as we ottght, the Holy Ghofi comes and imprints a skill up– on a mans heart, and teacheth hrm how to pray acceptably to God which no man in the World can do; tomake an acceptable prayer to God, is 'es much as to IT!ake a World, to have t!Je skill of it, to have the knack of it, as I may call 1t, to have the wrfdom rn the performance of any holy duty, for there is a skill, a wifdom that belongs to the performance of holy duties. When you take an Apprentice you teach him two things, you teach him the Rules of your Trade , but when he hath learnt the Rules he mu!l: by ufe get a skill. in his fancy to enable him to W~rk. Now that which men get by t1me and ufe, wh1ch you call Bab!tS, that cloth God I'mprint in every·
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