Or, The NeUJ 73irth. 501 more Ittong the grounds and reafons are that the Will acts by, fo much the more do they in a fort neccffitate the Will to aa,, and yet by fo .much the more free is the Will in its aCtings:, fo that here that the hberty ~f the W1ll may nor violate the certainty of God's Purpofe a~d. Decr~e, he changeth It l!Y t~c power of his irrefiJtible Grace, and yet that tins 1rrefifhble Grace may not VIOlate the ltberty of the \Mill, he perfwades ir.by fuch PO\_verful and ratidna:l Arguments t~at it fhou_ld not act freely if it fhould ddfcnt from It. T hough God nfcth an Infillltc Power 1n Regenerating and Conver ting ofa Sou l, yet he ufeth no violence, he fubducs the Will, but he doth not compel it: This is that vittorious Grace, that doth not more overcome a Sinner's re!iftances than it dot h his pr ejudices; it overcomes all Ol)pofi~ tions by its own irrefiftible Power, and it overcomes all prejudices by its attracting fweetnefs; and when it brings a Sinner to fubmit to God, i t makes him apprehend alfo that it is his chiefcft happinefs ::md joy fo to do. This is the fweet natiirc of Regenerating Grace, and it is the fame winning fweetnefs that afterwards preferv es the Regenerate from a total .Apoftacy from Grace; for tho~1gh there is a conftant fupply of Grace to keep them t hat they fha\1 never certamly draw back to perdition, yet withal their own freedom is fuch that they may, if they will; but how can they \ViU it, fince the Will never incl ines but to that which moft pleafeth it and nothing plCJfeth a Regenerate and Sanctified Will fo much as that Sovcra ign G'ood that comprehends in it all other good, and that is God himfclf? And thus you fee how God difjJofet h of the \:V ill of Man in changing of it to himfelf, without confl:raining of it, turn.ing it, as unf~rci b l y fo _i n~llibly to himfelf, when he draws it by the 1\vectnefs of IllS own EfficaciOus Infplrat JOns. And thus I have difpatchcd the firft plrticnhtr, in Jhewing you after what manner the Spirit of God works this change on the \V ill, by perfwading it with rational Ar~umcnts that it cannot gainfay, ::wd by overcoming it by his irrcfiftible Grace that It cannot oppofe. The Second particular is to Chew you, What other changes may be wrought upon rhe 2 Will t1Jt!t 4rc no good evidences of a Man's Renovation and Regeneration. wh 11 ; And firft, An Vnregenerate Man may have many faint 'VCIIcities and wi{hes aft a Grace :ehangts When he hears fo much fpoken of the Beauty and Excellency of Holincfs, he is they ar~ convinced in his Judgment that thefe things are true, that without holincfs no Man ~w maYh fhall fee the Lord; and though now whilft he is carnal, fpiritua l Duties are tediousD; ~;;u;i~ and hurdenfome to him, yet were he himfelf but fifirirua l, they would be plcafingrh.d arurJ and dclightfn l to him, that thofe very pleafiues o fin that now keep him off from E"TJirlenm clofi ng with Gr1cc, were he but renewed they would all be but an unfavoury thing Df ~egtm:'> to him ; that rlmt \vhich he is afraid to lofe fhould he turn to Chrift, he would nof,."11;1f· value the lofs of were he but in Chrift: When an unregenerate Man is fully con- u,,_ 1 • tvinced of this, it makes him break out into pangs of Affe(tionate wifhes for Gracc,rau ~;;en 0 that I were holy and 11raciom ! 0 that my Heart were changed and renewed! 0 thi!!t I were may haw better, and could do b~tter! Let every Man appeal to his own Confcience, whetherma;pf.o~m~ when he h:1th been convinced of the Excellency and Dcfircablenefs of Holinefs, he ;;ttt~h hath not breathed forth fuch wifhes as thefc are? When you h:tve feen a Chrift ian t:Jfur~n"~: Eminent and ExemplaryforPiety,have you not wilhed your fclf in hiscondition,not only in refpect of his future Reward and Glory, but alfo in refpeti of his prefcnt Grace and Holincfs, and wilh not only with Balaam, to die the death of the Righteous, and rhat ·your lrtucr md may be Like his, but alfo to live the lift: of rhc Righteom? And ycr fril l yon con tin ne, notwithftanding thefe wi fhes, in the fame finful courfe and ftare as formerly yon d id: Now fuc:h as t hcfe are, arc but empty vclleities, and idle win1ings and wonld ings. An unregenerate Man may poffibly wi fh he were a &inr, as a Man mdy wi01 he wcfc an .Angel, but fitch a Man's willies put him not upon any fefim1s a'nd conftant a~tempti ng of the means whereby he may become fo ; no Man that wilhes he were an .An11el is t hereby put upon the means of mak ing hj~fclf an Angel; fo,. many wifh theY were Saints, but never put themfelves upon tlil; ufc of thGfc ·mean:s that might make them fuch; generally their willies and fighs vanifh a\Vay together, and the one leaves no more impreffion on their Hearts, than the oth~r doth in the Air; they run to the comrniffion of fin even with a with in their l\.louth~ that they might not co_mmit ~t, and they neg_lefr Duty, and yet at the f:Jmc tt~e wilh they were a performmg of u, fu.ch contradtttory wifhcs have they; they wdh themfelves holy, and yet they are willingly finful; they wifh themfelves better, but yet they never endeavour and ftrive after their own amendment) thcfe S f f f z are
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