to theE PH E SI AN S. 3 49. Firtl let us confider what p~inciples there are in the heart, (f mean beiides crteer ~ Nature that is Undertlandmg, Wtll and Atfecl:Jons, )by winch a man IS capable Sermott to be w'rought u'pon by the Holy GhoJ:t, and raifcd up to fome good. FirJ:t I will XXVIf. . !hew you what the.pnnciples are.. Secondly I WIH !hew you plamly that the Ho- V'V';J ly GhoJ:t may work ttpoti thefe prmop!es, and raife them 11p to mttchgoodwtthout changi 11 g the hMrt or puttwg m a 11ew, Firfi of aH there is in every mans Underfianding feeds of truth, not only of truth tOundalland tlungs of tillS World; but there are feeds or truth tO under' !land the God-head, to und~rlland many piec~s of the Law of God. This you have plain by two Scnptures, which I will not !land long upon,for ou all know them, The one is Roml. '·'5•'4· The Gmtile1 (faith he,)whtc!i ~Jvrttot the L aw do 6y 11aturnhe tmngecontamedm the Law , thefe havmg 1101 the L aw are a'Law u111othem{elves, whichjbew the work of the Law writ– tenin thetr hearts, theirConfeiencealfo 6earing wit11e[s, tJ_ttda11dtheir thot~ghts ; 11 the mean whilt accu}ing or dp exctif!ttS one a11othn;. Tlus IS by nature you _fe~; . that he plainly expreffeth, that Is, It IS !mm a mans bmh, .I Will not fay It IS from nature for it is faid to be a thing written, I believe it is by the finger ofGod put m, for ~an bath loll all light. But this is in every man's nature more or lefs; here is one pnnc1ple, whereby he knoweth many tlungsof the Law. Then here is another principle, in Rom. I, '7· ,g,,~.and fo on, He faith, there is a·truth which was withheld by all the Gelltllet 1n unnghteoufnefs, fo he faith at the 1 8th. verfe: What truth was that? It was a glimring light that there was a God; Becmtfe (faith he,) that which. may be knowtt oj God is mmufefl i11 them this was not from nature, though It was by nature, tor he faith, Godbath fbew:d it 1111to them, It was God put it in over and above what was the due of corrupt nature_, yet there it is, and it is you fee in all mens hearts Now, as there are in every man's heart feeds and principlesof Rcafon, which by education an~ living in the World may be i~proved, a man may be exceeding wife, and yet w1fe only fo far as thofe pnnc1ples will go and be !\retched, he !hall be wife in his generation. So bring this light of Confcience which a man hath by nature, bring it to the word of God to be improved, it will be mightily enlarged; and yet Hill all the light thnt is added to it by the word it will be but of the fame kind , it will not rife to grace, to a new principle, it is but inlarging the old. As for example, take the 'Jews; the Apofile iri Rom. 2. alter he had !hewed in verfe '4· what the light of nature is, in the 17th, verfe he faith, Behold thou art calledaJew, mtdrejlef/ ill the Law, and mak– .ejltlqy 6oafl of God, and tho11 ktJOwefl hu wi!J, and approvejl the things thttt art ·· mort exce!Jent, being i~tf/rt~f!ed out of the Law, atldart conjide11t that thor< thy ]elf flrt a guide of the 6/itld, an injlructer of thefoolijb, which haft the form of knowledge, andofthe truth ittthe Law. Here you fee that if the light of nature be brought to the Law of God, it is mightily improved. Aman by nature hath fome light that there is a God, let that light be brought to the Law and he will be confident ; he hath fome light by nature about duties belonging tb God, bring that light to the Law and he will have a form of knowledge and qfthe truth in the Law. So that thofe feeds of knowledge that are in the mind of a a man by nature,. of Goc! and of the Law, bei~g. brought to the Law and lighted at that Torch, h1s light IS greater, but yet fidla ts of the fame kind there is bL!t an improvement of the principles of nature. There is one. ' . In the Second pl~ce, there is in man a natural devotion to a Deity, that is niore, The Heathens had It, they all would worihip fome God or other,though this was ·thCir fault, that when they knew God they glorified him not as God ; fo the A– pollle faith, Rom. 1. u. You !hall find in Acts q. 50. that there were devout Wome~ which the .'Je~s 1\irred up againfi Paul and Bama6as. They had a de– votton 10 them,There IS a natural devotion in men; now bring that to the Law to the word of God, and it will come both to know the true God, and to have ; reverence of the true God too. All this is l:>y nature, nature improved. Yy 2 Wdl
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