to theE PH E SI AN S. 345 SERMON XXVII~ . w Sermon. xxvn. ~ . E p H E s, I; I g, 1.G. And what it the exceeding gnatnefr of hit power to m:. ward, 111ho believe, &c. FOr the opening. of.thefe words, I have difp~tthed two .thi_ngs already; Whereof the ltr!t 1s, that they are meant and mtended pnnc1pally by the Apo!tle, of the power that Go~putteth forth in the work' of co~verfion, or quickning us when we were dead mSms and Trefpa!fes, as h1mfelf lnterpre· teth it in the Chapter following from the fir!t verfe ~o the 1 ~th. . The Second thing that I have already d1fpatched m openmg of thefe .words"· this What it is in the work of converfion that draweth forth and requueth the ma~ife!tation of fo great a power, The e:xctedinggreatnejf of hidpown·. J lhall repeat nothing of thefe. · In the Third place, I entred upon this, to lhew you what was the occalion of the miftake, (as I apprehend it, ) why that ~t. is denied by fome, that fo great a power as there is mentioned is not needful to convert men unto God. The ground of this mi!take I refolved much into this. That there are indeed inferior worki~s of the Holy Ghoft wherein ft> great a power is not mani· fe!ted ; not fuch a power as raifed up Chri!t from death to life. There are workings of the Holy Gho!t upon corrupt nature , wherein he works but upon the common principles that are in corrupt nature already, and he doth proportion and apply thofe workings to the liberty ofman's will exceeding much, he doth but !trive with them, that often times they do refi!t them, and yet they clofe with them; yet becaufe he workes but upon flelh it remaineth fle{h fiill. Their turning to God, (if I may call it fo,) is but a fruit of the flelh , and there– fore withereth and decayeth as all fruits of the flefh do. There is indeed an under• work of the Holy Gho!t which men fall from, wherein God doth not put forth, ( in the manifefiation of his power,) fo great a power as this here mentioned. And (my Brethren,) although the prefervation of man's natural liberty of his Will,be the greatArmory whence all the Arguments are fetched to lhewthat the power of God in converfion is not infallible, yet the groundw<Jrk which occafio· neth and !trengthneth men in this Difpute ( a real experience , which the mo!t men's hearts that live under the Gofpel, more or lefs, can feal to,) isthis, That there are "orkings upon thdr hearts which they often times do refi!t, which have h1gher effects m fome than m others. Some are fo far overcome as to clofe with them, and yet becaufe flelh is only wrought upon, it remaineth flefh llill, hence they fall away ; and thefe workings men take for all the work of converfion, therefore they deny any further power in a further work. Now, the fcopeof my undertaking is this, It is not to difcourfe fo much of the work it felf, and of the particular difference• between a true work and a lalfe, or rather an under inferior work ofthe Spirit and that which puttetll a man into the !\ate of Grace ; •s it is to !hew the different Make or Workmanfhip, the different Woof, or the different power rather that goeth to thefe two works. And to handle this, !judged it not impertinent to the Text, for when he faith, thee:x– cerdi,ggreat•ufs of his power to tu·al.lrd, whobd ieve acco>·d111g to rbrmigbt of hu power wbtcb he wrougbt ill Cbrtf1 when be rai(ed hnn f rcm rhe dead ; he
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