476 The NATURE and POWER ed and profane perfon, to bring forth that fin, that had lain in his heart now twenty years i he bath full power in his hand to perform his pur- pofe. In the midit of this poffure of things, God comes in upon his heart with force ferret and effectual working of his fpirit and power, changeth him from his purpofe, caufeth his conceived fin to melt away, that he falls upon the neck of him with embraces, whom he thought to have flain. Of the fame nature, though the way of it was peculiar, was his deal- ing with. Labatt the Syrian, in reference to the fame Jacob, Gen. xxxi. 24. Bya dream, a vifion in the night, God hinders him from fo much as fpeaking roughly to him. It was with him as in Micah ii. r. he had de- vifed evil on his bed, and when he thought to have pramifed it in the morning, God interpofed in a dream, and hides fin from him, as he fpeaks, yob xxxiii. 15, 16, s7. To the fame purpofe is that of the Pfaliniflcon- cerning the people ofGod, Pfal. cvi. ¢6. He made them to bepitiedofall thofe who carried them captives. Men ufually deal in rigour with thofe whom they have taken captive in war. It was the wayof old to rule captiveswith force and cruelty. Here God turns and changes their hearts, not in general unto himtelf, but to this particular of refped to his people. And this way in general doth God every day prevent the bringing forth of a world of fin. He fharpens arrows of convi&ion upon the fpirits of men, as to the particular that theyare engaged in. Their hearts are not changed as to fin, but their minds are altered as to this or that fin. They break, it may be, the veffel they had fafhioned, and go to work upon faine other. Now that we may a little fee into the ways whereby God doth accòm- plifh this work; we muff premife the enfuing confederations. 1.] That the general medium wherein the matter of reftraining grace doth confift; . whereby God thus prevents the bringing forth of fin, doth lie in certain arguments and reafonings, prefented to the mind of the finner, whereby he is induced to defert his purpofe, to change and alter his mind, as to the fin he had conceived. Reafons againft it are prefented un- to him,' which prevail upon him to relinquifh hisdefign, and give over his purpofe. This is the general way of the working of reftraining grace, it is by arguments and reafonings riling up againft the perpetration of con- ceived fin. 2.] That no arguments or reafonings, as fuch, materially conlidered, are fufficient to flop or hinder any purpofe of finning, or to taufe conceivedfin to,prove obortive, if the finner have power and opportunity to bring it forth: They are not in themfelves, and on their own account reftraining grace ; for if they were, the adminiftration and communication of grace, as grace, were left unto every man who is able to give advice againft tan. Nothing is norcan be called grace, though common,and fuels as may perifh, but with refpe4 unto its peculiar relation to Cod. God by the power of his fpirit making arguments and reafons effeftual and prevailing, turns that to begrace, I meanof this kind, which in itfelf, and in its own nature was bare reafon. And that efficacy of the fpirit, which the Lord puts forth in thefe perfuafions and motives, is that which we call reftraining grace. Thefe things being premifed, we (hall now confider force of the argu- ments which we find that he bath made ufe of to this end and purpofe. [o. God flops many men in their ways upon the conception of fin, by an argument taken from the difficulty, if not impoffibility, of doing that they aim at. They have a mind unto it, but God fets anhedge and a wall before them, that they (hall judge it to be fo hard and difficult to accomplifh' what they intend, 'that it is better for them to let it alone and give over. Thus Herod would have put John Bapift to death upon the fiat provoca- tion
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