350 An Expojition of the Epiftle ~~----~~~-~--~-- ---------- ----------– ~ ¥ea, when they are thus lick they have no mind to tbeir fins, that's more· Sermon yet it is but Nature improved f\ill. For if you lhould be lick in Body or in Old XXVII, age, you will fay of all your pleafures, Wt h.Jvt 110 piMjilre "'thtm, Eccte{.l 2. r, ~ So wl1cn a man is lick in his Coofcience, he is dead to all the pleafures in the World, and yet this is not Mortification, the lulls are not killed; for when he grows well again, his lulls grow well with him and gather up their crumbs. JcfusChrifi likewife tells him, the Word tells him, and the Minillers tell him, and good Books that he reads tell him when he is in this cafe , that he mull tall to tlJCfe and thefe Duties, that he 'never pratl:ifed in his life. If Sett:love be thus ll irred by thefe principles of Nature thus enlightncd, thus wrought upon, ' he will do any thing, take up all forts of purpofes. l will give you Scripture for it, Vml.).27· whenas God there had appeared to the People, and had ap· peared dreadtully, and thetr Conf~1ences were llruck With the greatnefs of his Majelly•. If we hear the voice of God a'!Y more, (fay they) thm we jha/J dit', Go thort 11ear, aud bear all that the Lord our Godjba/JJay ; mid [peak thou unto UJ a/J that the Lord our Godjba/J [peak ulltothee, ,mdwe will hear it and do it. They take up all good purpofes of doing, and yet mark what God faith of them, Verfe 29. Oh that there werefucb ,m heart i11them, that theywotild fear me, aud keep a/J my Commaudemtnls a/way I They wanted Hill a principle of Regeneration ; it was but Stlf-love fiirred, that made them do all this. · And then, Thirdly, (that I may end this thing) In doing a man lball have a great deal of Joy: For as the Heathens in doing according to the light of their Natural Confcience, had peace, they had an Exculing; foit is faid Rom. 2. 14 • Sn if a man in this cafe !hall fall to good Duties, and reform his life, the Holy Gholl will give him Joy. No man lh1ll do any thing for God, buche Jhall have a reward, Joy to encourage him; you know the Jlo•')' ground, they rrcti'lltd tht Word with joy. Now then, all Nature being thus wrought upon, a man falling thus adoing and reforming', and liriding himfelf thus kindly ufcd to encourage.him, Selt– flattery in a man makes up a conclulion, that he is in a fiate or' Grace. And the principles of Nature being thus wrought upon by the Holy Ghofi, thus doth a man come to be a profe!lour of Religion, Jancheth forth, walketh on frrongly; and yet all is but the principles of Nature improved, and but an under-work of the Spirit. I have made up the Demonflrations of it unto you. I will but give you fome Corollaries from it, and foconclude. The Firl.l is that,which indeed is the point in hand : If there be fuch principles in Nature, which the Holy Ghofi works with, raifeth and elevateth , fo as he need not put in new principles, but only llir nature; the Holy Gholl beginneth indeed, but flefh endeth. Then, my Brethren, fuch a work as this cloth not hold proportion with what the Text here fpeaks of, wherein a man is raifed up from death to life, as Jefus Chril.l was; or whereby he is made a w orkman/hip, crta• ted togood w orks, as the w tb Verfe of the [eco11d Chapttr hath it. For in all this working ( if you mark it) there is but an Artificial kind of working in com– parifon. As tor Example, to exprefs the difference to you between one and the other ; Go take an old piece of Cloth, by drcfling of it you may raife a new tuft upon it out of the old piece, and it will feem new; but yet it is but the fame princ.ple newly raifed up. But come to the work of R egeneration, what is it 1 It i• not a drcfling of the old garment,·but 1t IS a puttmg off the old man, and pmting on tht~uw, th•t is the expreflion the Apo!lle bath Eph4·22,2~,24. That ye put off, (Otictrlting the (ormerCoii'llerfat ion, the Oldmau w htcb i6 cormpt, ac– cordi1l_g to the deceitjullttffs, artd be renewed ill the fpirit ofyour mind; and t'hat ''ottptttonthe New man, which after God is created ilt righteoufi"fs tmd trttebolmefs. Todrefsthe Oid garment_, todrefs Old nature and make it feem new; here is not a work oow proportionable to the Creauon, here IS but a railing up the principles there already; but to put it off, and to put on the New .mun in all holy and gracious difpofltions fuited to the fpiritual part of the Word. This is by Creation, P tJt 011 the New man,which after God u creatttl,f.!Jc. Hers
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