The Nature and Necejjiv of Regeneration : ~ancy and ~orrup~ Inclinations, that he ~ould foon wifit rather to be on Earth again lfl rh~ purfu!t of hrs more fenfi.hle and fmtable Pleafures.. I have the longer infifl:cd on thrs particular Demonftranon, becaufc I look upon th1s as a moft convincing Argummt to make every wicked Man fee how unfit he is in a ftate of llllrcgcncracy for the ftate of Glory. Well therefore, as ever you hope for Heaven ; and I dare affure my felf that this is the hope of all of you, make fure then to your felvcs thi~ great change; it is no Notion that I luve now preached unto you; your Natnrei and your Liyes muft be changed, ~r believe it, you will be found at the laft Day under . ~he w~·ath ofGod, f?r ~od wr~l not c~ange or alter the Word that is gone out of hiS Mouth; lie hath flld Jt, Chnft who JS the Tr.uth and Word of God hath pronounced it, that without this New Birth or Regeneration, no Man fhall inherit the Kingdom of God. 1· Thirdly, Whatfoever a Man dath in a ftate of Vnregrneracy io Sin, and therefore the ~':;~;,;a~ ch.-mge of Rr~cne_ra~ion is a.bfotute_ly mce!Jary un_to Eternal Life. Wh~tever fi!ch a Man's Mmd•ina who~e L1fe tS, It_ts.nothmg el~ bu.t a contmu~d cou~fe of fin_w1t_hout ctther interfl"re~fun rupt10'11 or cefianon ; and m thts one Parttcular lies a mam difference betwixt a r(gmerpq Regenerate and an Unregenerate Man; the Regenerate Man, ·thorough th.:tt Corif Shl. rnption that is remaining in him, fins in every thing that he cloth, but whatever an Unr~ener:tte Man doth is fin, there's the ditf~rence; the one cloth as it were tread awry m a nght path, and the other runs out m to a cr6oked and perverfc one; and how then is it poffible for fuch Men ever to arrive at Heaven, fince every ftep they take leads down to the Chambers of Death and Deftru(hon. I fpake fomewhat to this before, in opening to you the mifery of an unregenerate State and Conditi~ on, and fllCwed you then that the Scripture C'lery where fpeaks of the Civil ACtions and the ReligiOus Duties of wicked Men as fins; their Plowing is fin, and fo alfo is their Praying; yea, whatever they do is fin; they fin in doing EvH, and they fin T h' ln doing GoOd; but I fua\l pafs by that, and briefly enquire what it is that makes all m:~: ':tf the ACtions, and all the Duties _that wicked Men J?Crforrn, to be thus finful, and 1he A8ion1 this may be reduced to two PartiCulars; and that IS the Principle from which, and of Wi&kedthe End to wh ich his AB: ions are done. Mm /nful. Firft, The Principle~ fi'om whence all the Aaions of_ an unregenerate Man flows if corrupt, U'·ut of and when the Fountain M corrupt, the Streams alfo that i.f[ue ftom thence muft ntcds be tainted. i.A":JtufJto That Principle that is necelfarily requirtd to make our Actions to he truly good and G1d. holy is the finccre and fuperlativeLove ofGod. What we do becomes then a good :~dion when we do it fr9m the ronufianding Motive of Diviue Love; and therefore onr SJviour B:ith in 1olm 14. 24. He that loveth me not keeptth 11ot my fayings. Our / whole Duty ronfifreth either in that which immediately rcfpects God, or in that which immediately refpetl-s Man; and accordingly God hath cornprized the whole l..aw in T.'!lo Tables, in the one he prefcribes the Services due to himfelf, and in the other he requires from us what is due to Men, and both ~hefe are fulfilled by Love; fo f.1ith the Apoftle, Rom. I 3· 'ro. Love i4 the fulfilling of the Law; and therefore our Saviour redticeth all the Ten Commandments into Two, in Mat. 23. 37, 38, 39· Thou jh.tlt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with all thy might, rht~ is the .firft Cum'!lttndment, and th~fecr;,d Ulike tmto it, thou ]halt love thy ntigh-. hour M thy {cif. Our Savtonr reduceth all mto two, and thefe two fpeak but one and the fame thing Love, which is the fulfi-llihg of the Commapdment. Now this teach: eth us, that whatever external conformity our actions may carry in them to the Leqer of the Law, yet arc they not true obedience to God's Commandments, if they flow not from a Pr'indplc of Love. Tho' you may- perform each particular Duty requ ired in each particular 'Command, yet this is not fulfilling hut tranfgrcf~ fing 6[ the La.w, if wbat we do is not ddne out of a Principle of Divine Love; thii is that uniycrfal qualification that can alone make our Duties trul y good and acccP,- tablc unto God; fo that either to do contrary to the Law, or to doaCl:ions that the Law req11ites without Lov'e tO God, are both of them fins, the one ag~inft the ex~ prefs Letter, and the other againfr _the true fente of the Law. Now no 11nregen:- rate :Ma11Can act any thing from thiS Divtrie Principle "Of the Love of God, for this IS implanted in us only by Regmeration, and therefore it is ·faid, 1 'John 4· 7· Every one that loveth iJ born of G?d· "'fhe great rriOving Pr~nciple in a ~rn.a.I Man, that fets him on to work every thmg that he doth, is Love mdced, but It IS only fclf~love, not lm'e to God, but love to felf; a ldv~ that is cn.mity and hatred again!t God,' and therefore whatever he doth is fin• . Secondl;-,
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