Recommended from Phil. 2. 12, 1 3· unto them, fa ys our Saviour, thry had then had r.o fin, but now they have r;o cloak for their fin. So if God had not come and fpoken unto Sinners, they had neither had Sill nor Condemnation; but now that he hath fpoken to them fo often, and exhorted them fo frequenr:ly and earneftly, therefore, now they haw no cloak for their fin. God hath fpoken , and his fpeaking will ftrikc every impeninent Wretch dumb and filent at the ereat Day, whateY-er they pretend to now. And this is a Jtcond Particular in Anfwcr to this Objcflion, God doth not mock Mens Weaknefs when he commands them to work, but bath great, wife and weighty Ends why 593 he doth it. ' Thirdly, To come fomewhat nearer: There is indeed no fuch Impotency and .Anfw. 3~ Weaknefs in Man, but if he will he may work out his own Salvation. l fpeak not this to aflht the power of M~tn to work out Savation without the Aid of fpe~ cial Grace, to incline the Will; but if the Will be once inclined and made wil~ ling~ there is nothing more requi red to make a Man able; I fay, where there is fpecial Grace given to make the V/ ill willing to convert,- to believe and to re· pent, there is nothing more required to make a Man able; bccaufe Converfion, Faith and Repentance chiefly confift in the ACt of the Will it felf; now if the Will wills Repentance, it doth repent; if it wills Faith, it doth believe; and fo of the reft: And therefore there is nothing more required to make a Man able than what he hath in a ftate of un·regeneracy; only to make him willing is required fpecial Grace, which they that favour the undue liber ty of the Will do deny. And therefore, God expoftulates with the ftubbornnefs of the Will, Why will you pmp,, Ezek: why wiU you di&? And Chrift accufcth the Will, You wi/J not come unto me that you ]oh, .f,40• may h~tve Life. It is true there is an impotency in the Will, but this is only its ftubbornnefs and obftinacy; it will not hearken to God's Call, it will not obey his Commands, it wil1 not ftrive againft Sin nor perform Duties, and therefore it can.. not. Our Cannot is net indeed an impotency that we lie under fo much, as Itubbornnefs of our Wills. There is not the greateft Sinner, who bath wrought Ini· quity witb both Hands greedily, but may work ollt his own Salvation if he will; if he be but once willing, he bath that already that may make him able; God .Puts no new Powers into the Soul when he converts it. It is true, the Will cannot incline it felf to Obedience without Grace, but yet it can intend it if it will; it is its frubbornnefs that makes it impotent. It is in the things of Grace, as in other free ACl-ions of a Man's Life with a proportionable abatement: A Man can Speak and \Valk if he will, but if be be refolutely fet not to do there things, he cannot do them fa long as that Re[olution remains, though limply ·and abfolutely he can do them; doth this argue any impotency? So is it here, you may obey and work if you wi!l; but if you are refolutely bent againft thefe, if you are refolved not to do them, while that Refolution continues you cannot do them ; but this argues not any Jiatural impotency, but a moral impotency only; this is an impotency ofStubbornnefs and Perverfnefs. Never therefore plead the inabilit.y of your Will, no it is through yonr own fiubborn Refolution if you pcrifh; you arc refolved for Hell and DeftruCtion, and if you are plunged into them) it is through your own Wilfulnefs, and not through \Vcaknefs. EtJurrhly, To come yet a little nearer to Confcicnce and PraC.Hce : Thefe very An[w: 4 • Men that thus make their impotency a pretence for their Sloth, they do not in· deed believe what they pretend and affert here; they do not believe that they are thus impotont, no it is in the inwa rd and fe<.rct Thoughts of them all that they have a Power to work out their own Salvation; and therefore whether they have 10r have hot Power, yet frill they are inexcufable, if while they think they have Power, yet they wi!l not frrive and endeavour to p.ut it forth. Thofe Men who thus plead impotency and want of power to Obey and work out their Salvation1 th()ugh they fpeak thefe ~hings,' yet they believ:e not a word of what they fay, and therefore they arc inexcufable,_ if they ftrive not to put forth that Power that they fuppofe they ha,re into ACt. Although a Ma.n's Feet be chain'd a~d f~tter'd that he cannot walk nor _ftir, yet if he thinks himfclf at Liber.cy, and yet wtll fit ftill, jltdgc you whether the Fault be not wholly to be imputed to his want of Will, and not to his want of Power; for he thinks himfelf free aud able to .move, but will not try. So is it here; wicked Men do think they have Power ~o Work, however they fpeak otherwife fometimes, and therefore they are utterly mexcufable it they do not Work; this is ils clear as the Light, and their Slot:hF f f f f fulnefs
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