An Expojition of the Epiflle ~come to a life. But when God came to make Man, and the firft .Bea!l that was Sermo11 heufed then no Oreature to do it, he did it himfelf immediately, he did not work XXVII. upon the principles in Nature, in a natural way; but he wrought upon nothing, ~and fo Created. · Now; my Brethren, this difference I have always thought to hold true in this very thing, that in thofe inferior works of the Holy Gholl which you ·read of in Scripture, there i• indeed an educing forth of the principles that are in the heart already, a winding them up, beyond what they would,be,but there is not a new Creation. I gave you before t Scripture in .'Jam, 1. '7· Every good atJd ptrfecl gift faith he, (he fpeaks of regeneration plainly,read the next verfe,Of his O'WIJ wi/J f;eg,zt hr :u,) is from above. It is .;,,g.,, wholly from above, and therefore it is a perfect w~rk. But there are other works which are temporary works, in oppo· finon to wluch 1amrs feemeth to fpeak, for he fpeaks of a temporary behever in 'the 8th. verfe, of a double minded man that is unftable in all his ways, a man that hath a heart,and a heart that is fometimes moved to good, but yet falleth back again. And it appeareth likewife by the 22. and 27th. verfes, that he fpeaks this in oppofttion to"temporaries, to inferior works of the Spirit; for verfe 22. he fpeaks of men that are hearers of the word and not doers , that have not pure Religion, fo is his expre1Tion verfe 27. Now here lieth the difference; the one ·is wholly from above; as Chri!l is faid to be from above, fo is grace. But thefe lower works they are indeed partly from above, (for if the Holy Gho!l would nor ftir corrupt Nature rhus, it would not have any good in it,) but they are .partly from below,cherefore they are not perfect gifts, for every goodandptrfeCI gtft 1< whoUyfrom above. Now, my Brethren, lthall explain my felf, (to open this thing unto you more 'fully,) by t,hefe particulars. : The Fir!l thing fthall fay unto you by way of premife inhis, That if the Holy Ghoft will be pleafed to work upon the heart of a corrupt man, and not change it, create nothing anew; then necelfarily he mull work upon fome principle that is .in corrupt Nature already. This all will yield. If corrupt Nature remain cor– ·rupt, and the Holy Ghoft mean not to change it, and yet will work upon it, he mufi work upon fome principles that are iR it already. That is the Firft thing. The Second thing I premife to under!land it is this, There is in all men natu· ral faculties of Will, and Underfianding, and Affections, which are both the fub– jects of grace, and of thefe interior works too; therefore they are not the prin· ciples, I mean limply conftdered. Aman could not love God but he mull have in him the affection of love ; a !lone could not love God. A man could not under– fiand fpiritual things unlefs he had an underfianding. Therefore when I fay he works upon the pnnciples of corrupt Nature already,there my mneaing is not on· 'ly to exprefs this, chat he works upon the faculties of tile Soul, and the fub!lance is the Soul in which rhefe faculties are feared, that is not all, for that is common .both to an inferior work, and to this other faving work, 'fherefore Thirdly, that I may fpeak clearly, There is in the Will and Under· fianding belides the natural power of it, principles (whether left in corrupt Na– ture as relicks of the Image of God, as men call them, or whether put in, I will not now difpute,) but ehere are principles in them, which the Holy Ghoft works upon and windeth up as far as they will go, yet there is no true grace, no through change, the heart remaineth ileth notw11hftanding. · Now, that which I am to do is this. I am to thew you thefe two thin·gs. Fidl, I am to thew you what rhefe principles arc that are left in corrupt Nature .that may be wrought thus upon, And . : Secondly, How far they are wrought upon and the heart not changed. · And when I have !hewed thefe two things, this will plainly appear unto you, that in a lower work ot the Holy Ghoft he only works upon principles already, whereas in a true work he changerh the heart,putteth in new principles infiead of them, The one is but improving what is there already; the other is a putting in ofnew•. flfil,
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