to the E PHE S I AN S. 357 -------------:--;:------ -- - -- - --' was fame difpofitib!is in the one , that made a fitnds , more thah in the o; ~ ther. Stmto~< So that I\ill, Let Corrupt nature be wr_ought upon, raifed never fo high; if "XVlf. God will fave a man, there mufr be an~w prmc1ple put 111 by an Alm•ghty power, ~ and all this will not help toward Jt, not to abate of the Power. 1 come to a third Corollary, and that is this: That look over all the Scri– ptures where you find inferiour workings, which men fall from, and feem to be conve:red and fall away; you !hall find m all thofe Scriptures , that thofe men are frill unregenerate, they are but fie!h. look over them all. I fhewed, how that Corrupt nature may be thus wrought upon, remammg fucb · I lhewed the Reafons of it· you iliall fee the Scripture reckoneth thole to be'llefh and unregenerate. My'meaning is not, that there is llelh in them, for fo it is in godly men; but that they remain frill corrupt, unr.egenerate '· un– renewed. Take that for a Rule, While Self-love 1S the predommant pnnc1ple, though a man go never fa far in fupernatural _actions, he is but fle!h frill, It is a~ellion that learnedCamtro fiarteth upon Ht6.6. Whtther that a mm: tnlighttJ~d, that falleth awuy, /;(a rrgn:erate, o; an m~rtgr11_eratt man, or a thirdthwgbetwunthtm? He dare not fay, he IS a thirdthmg; Why! Be· caufe then there mufi be a third place, there mufr be feme third thing be– tween the frate of Nature and the frate of Grace; but he would make him ro be one that is in order to Convcrtion, and fo he is in the way of it, and fo he is neither. As the Embrio in the Womb, before the reafonable Soul cometb into it, is neither a Man, nor a Beafr, nor a third thing; but a thing in order to be a , man. But I do not fuppofe alwaies, rhat God ufeth fuch works to prepare men for Grace; many a man that bath never been a Temporary, is wrought upon at firfr: SoPautwa$, and fothc Thief upon the Crofs, and the Jaylour, and many others. · Now this Third thing, which I have mentioned by wayof confequence from the former Do~rine, rendeth to two things. Fir!l, To anfwer all thofe places that are alleadged for falling :iway from Grace. The Scripture fpeaks of glorious works they fall from; but if it be manifefred to you, that they are all this while but fle!h, then here is no falling from Grace. Here is falling from the work they had indeed ; but they are where d1ey were, they are in the frate of Nature frill. The Second thing for which I alleadged the point is this. It is the greatell: comfort m the World. You are troubled at there Doctrines, many of them ;' comfort your felves with this, let them go whether they will go, let them be wound up never fo far, they are but flefh, they are but unreg~ncrate men !\ill. I lhall make application of it by and by. Bur · Firft, I fay, I mention it to anfwer all th~fe places that are urged for falling away.. There He three places in Scripture, \\h1ch are more eminently alleadged for falhng from Grace; that men have true Grace wrought in them, and yet tall eway. , The Fir!l is in the 2 Pet.2.2o. I opened that before. I lhewed they were un– renewed, they were Sw ilu and Vogs, and efcoped but the grofs defilements of the World, not the corruptions that are through ltifls. I lhall not need ro fiand upon that now. The Second place is the Parable of the J'owtr; where there are four forts of ground~, three were wrought upon by the Holy Gho!l in hearing of the Word. There IS the fiof!Y ground, that received it with joj' ; and there is the thorny ground, that goes farther,_ and yet bringcth not forth fruits to perfection. Then Th!ldly, There IS that place in Heb.6. that bath troubled all men almofr that have had any work upon them, where he fpeaks of men that wore onct enlzghtntd, and havt tajlrd of the heavmty gzjt, \:le. Now this is it I will p~ove, that all thofe that had thefe workings upon them were unregenerate men fhll, and that will be home to the poinr. Zz:t
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