382 Of the Nature of Regeneration, and its Neceffity, &c. Vol. j. own Salvation ; Repent and turnyour felves from allyour evil ways ; Make ye new Hearts and newSpirits. Thefe are more than a thoufand Metaphors to convince a Man, that we may and ought to do fomething towards our Repentance and Converfion. And if any Man be fire that we neither do nor can do any thing in this Work, then I am fure that thefe Texts liignifie nothing. Finally, thefe Texts which fpeak molt clearly of the neceflity of the Divine Grace and affi- fiance, to our doing of any thing that is fpiritually good, do fuppofe fomething to be done on our part. That of our Saviour, without me you can do nothing, implies that with-his Grace and Afliftance we can. That of St. Paul, Iam able to do all things through Chrillfirengthning me, implies, that what wedo by the firength of Chrif6 is truly our own a/ ; Iam able to do all things. And this does not in the leaft prejudice nor obfcure the glory ofGod's Grace. St. Paul it feems knew Ve- ry well how to reconcile thefe, two, and to give the Grace of God its due, without rejecting all concurrence of our own Induftry and endeavour, r Cor. 15. io. But by the Grace ofGod I am what Ism ; and his Grace which was be- flowedupon me was not in vain; not becaufe it was irrefiflible, and he meetly paf- five in the receptionof it; butbecaufe he did concur and co-operate with it. So he tells us, his Grace that was bowed upon me ma, not in vain, but I laboured more abundantly than they all ; yet not I, but the grace ofGod which-waswithme. So that our Concurrence and Endeavour in the doing of any thing that is good, does not derogate from theGrace of God, provided that we afcribe the good which we do to the affiitanceofDivine Grace, to which it is incomparably more due, than to our own aâivity and endeavour. And fo St. Paul does, I labour'd abun- dantly ; yet not I, but the grace ofGod, which was with me. So that the gloryof God'sGrace may beadvanced to its due pitch, without af- ferting that weare meetlypave to the operations of it. God's Grace may be abundantly befiowed upon us, and yet we may labourabundantly ; God maywork in us to will and to do, and yet we may work out our own Salvation. I have done with the Second Dollrine grounded upon this Metaphor of a New Creature. SER-
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