Of Pre/Umptuotts Sins. Bjrth-rjgbt and Bleffing; ~mt at their fir:ft Meetinq, God by_ a_fccrc:c 'Nork fo mollities his 1-Icarr, that mftead of fallmg upon h_Im, ~nd ktlhng h1m, he falls upon. his Neck, and kiffcs him ; here ~od reftra1ns _lmn from rhar prefu~ptuottr Sh1 of Jvlurd~r nor in a Way of meer External Provtdence, but wuh l11s own Hand immedi~rciy turns ab.out his Heart, and by feeing fuch a Company of Catde bleating and bellowing, fo_ many timoro~s Men and J1elplefs Children all bowing and fupplicating unto htm, he rurns hts Revenge mto Con_1paffion, and wirh much urgino- receives a Prefent from him, whom before he •mended to make a Prey. Th~ fame Power of Reftraint God laid upon the Heart of Abimelech rharHeathwKh1g; you have it in Gm. 20. 6. when he had t::~ken Sarah, Abraham's \Vifc, incending to make her his Wife or Concubine,; God tells him in a Dream, I ?vi:h. held thee from {inning againft me, therefore {~jfer'd I thte no•· to touch her : Here was nothing vifible eo hinder Abimelech from fo great a Wickcdnefs, bur God invifibly wrought upon his Hearr, and unhing'd his wicked Defires; now from the Infiances of E[auandAbimelech,we may clea rl y collec1, how Reftrain;,,g Grace d i ffer~ both ~ron~ Rejfraining PrtnJidmre, and alfo from S~nC!ifj_· in ~ Grace: From Prondence 1t differs, becaufe ufually when God provJdentJafly rcftrains fr_om. Sin, he doth ir by feme vi0ble apparent Means that doth not work by brmgtng any Change ·or Alreranon on the H earr, bur only by laying an External Check upon Men's ACI:ions; but now by Reftraining Grace, God deals in a fecret Way with the very Hearc of a Sinner; and rho' he doth not change t he Nature of his Heart, yet he alters the prefenc Frame :.~nd Difpofirion of it, and takes away the Defire of committing thofe Sins, that yet it dorh not mortifie; and from San£lijjing Grace it differs alfo, in that God vouchf:tfcs Reftraining Grace to wicked Men, as you have heard, bqt none partake of SanC!ifi·ing Grace befides the Children of God, and the Remnant according to r.lecl: ion ; tho{e whom be predeftiltates them, be alfo calls; that is, them he {an£lijie1 , as you have it in Rom. 8. ; o. EleEfion and SanBification are of the fi:M fame Breadth; Ele£/ion is the Caufe of SanE!ificatien, and SanE!ification is a Sign of Elc£/ion: Thofe whom God w tll bring to himfelf in Glory, he cauferh a double Separat ion to pafs upon them ; the one from Eternity, when he ca lls them out from the Mafs of thofe that he leaves to perifh in their Sins ; and the other in Time, :vhen thofc whom he hach fer apart for himfclf by Eldli®, he brings home to htmfelf by Converji~n: And therefore whatever Meafure of Reftrnining Grace God may afford to Wtcked Men and Reprobates, yet San£/ifying Grace is the Fruit only of Elec1ion, and the Portion only of thofe who are Elected. And that is the firft D ifference. 44S Secondly, They differ a/fo in the;,. Nature and E./fence. San8ifying Grace is a Habit{:;, thtir wrought in the Sou l by the Spirit of God, call'd therefore a Writhtg of the Law 411 ~u;.J .. on the Heart, and a putting God's Fear into our inward Parts, ) er. ;r. H And.fen.:r. Se. .foh~ terms it, .n Swl that _ re~ains, .1obn I: 9· Thefe Expreffions clearly denote It to be an mcernal Pnnc1ple, or Habit, deeply rooted and fix.'d in the S~u~; and wlntev~ r Holy .Attions a Saint performs, as they are caus'd by a Dn•mc Influence Without Jum, fo they flow alfo from a Holy Principle wtth, in him. Hence our Saviour tells us, in Mark 12. 35'· That a good M an out of the good Treafure of his Heart bringeth forth good Things; that is, ouc of that inward Habit and Principle of Grace, that the Holy Ghoft hach wrought in him the Work of Regeneration. But Refhai~ring Grace hath no fuch Habit and Principle imp\amed in the Snul, but is only a Merciful Actual Influence from God hindering the Ccmmit1ion of rhofe Sins, to which Men's Narural CortUpcion~ make tht!m cnclin'd : In brief, Sanilifjing Grace is a Qual ity wrought in us but Rt.Jlrttining Grace is only an Action flowing from God. 'In t/J( Tl1lrdly, SanEiifjiug mJd Reftrainir.g Grace diffir in their Manner of fVorking ant! MamfrroJ OptratiotJ; and here we may obferve a Four~fold Difference. rhe~r Ope· .Fir!\., San{/j/Jing GraCe ke~ps the Sou~ fro~ Sfn b] d~(lroying of il, but Re{lraini 11g ratton_, "Guu~ keeps the Sod from Sm onlj by :mprifimmg of tt. God many times fhuts ~allf!iJJup _the Sins of. thote .i!l. PrifOn, whom nocwithftanding he will at laft fhur J:~r~~..ut up m !f.eli: It ts SanCbtymg Grace alone that can do Execution upon them · Sin, Rt-· Reftrammg Gra_ce may debar tl_1em. of their Liberty, but it is ~mly SanBifJiniPr~ininz Grace can depnve them of thetr Life. There may appear but ltnle Diff~rence <?14'~ on!J betwixt the Converfation of a Child of God, whom Special Grace dorh fanctifie, ~';!rifons a:1d
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