gainflfpiritual wickedneffe. 289 but thou mayeft be left to commit it, except one. It was a bold fptech of him, and yet a good man (as I have heard,) If Clap- ham die of the plague, fay Clapham had no faiths and this made him boldly go among the infe&ed. If a Chriftian, thou (halt not die of spiritual plagues, yet fuch may have the plague-fores of groffe fins running on them for a time, and is not this fad e- nough ? therefore walk humblywith thy God. hirdly, this high conceit of the ftrength of thy gracewill make thee cruel and churlifh to thy weak brethren in their in- firmities, a fin that leaft becomes a Saint,Ga/. 6. a. If any one be overtaken, you that be fpiritual, refute fuek a one with meek-, nefle but how (hail a foul get fuch a meek fpirit? It follows, confitering thy (elf, left thou alto be tempted. What makes men hard to the poor ? they think they (hall never be fo themfelves. Why are many fo (harp in their cenfures, but becaufe they truft too much to their grace, as if they could never fall ? 0 you are in the body, and the bodyoffin in you, therefore fears. Ber, nardufed to fay, when he heard any fcandalous fin of a Profef., four ; Hodie illi,crat mihi, He fell to day, I may ftumble to- morrow. 3 SECT. II. The fecond way a foule may be proud of his grace, is by reft- ing on it for his acceptance with God. The Scripture calls inhe- rentigrace our own thteoufnefe, (though God indeed be the ef- ficient ofit),and oppofeth it to the righteoufneffe of Chrift, which alone is called the Righteoufnefe of god, Rom. to, I. Now to ref on any grace inherent, is to exalt our own righte- oufneffe above the righteoufneffe of God ; and what pride will this amount to ? if thiswae fo, then a Saint when he comes to heaven might fay, This is Heaven which I have built, my grace bath purchafed ; and thus the Godof Heaven fhorild become tenant to his creature inHeaven. No, God hath caft the order of our falvation into another method, ofgrace, but not ofgrace in us, but grace to us. Inherent grace bath its place and office to accompanffalvation,Heb.6.9.but not procure it.ThisisChrifts P p work 2.
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