ii 386 Of the Nature of Regeneration, and its Necef fìty, VOl, courfe of Life, it is fitly refembled to Regeneration, or a new Birth; to a new Creation, the Man being as itwerequite chang'd or made over again, fo as not to be, as to the main purpofe and defign of his Life, the fame Man he was before. This is a plain fenfible account of the thing, which every one may eafily un- derhand. Now there is nothing in Reafon, why a Man may not gradually be changed and arrive at this Elate by degrees ; as well as after this change is made, and hearrived at this flate of a Regenerate Man, he may by degrees grow and improve in it. But the latter no Man doubts of, but that a Man that is in a fiate of Grace, maygrow and improve in Grace ; and there is as little Reafon to queftion why a Man may notcome to this floe degrees, as well as leap into it at once. All the difficulty I know of in this Matter, is a meer nicety, that there is an inflant ; in which every thing begins, and therefore Regeneration is in an in- fiant ; fo that the inftant before the Man arrived at this Rate, it could not be Paid that he was Regenerate; and the inftant after he is in this (late, it cannot be denied that he is fo. But this is idle Subtilty, juft as if a Man (hould prove that an Houle was built in an inflant, becaufe it could not be Paid to be built, ':iii the instant it wasfinifb'd ; tho' for all this, nothing is more certain than that it was built by degrees. Or, fuppofe the time of arriving at Man's e(tate be at one and twenty, does it from hence follow, that a Man does not grow to be a Man by degrees, but is made a Man in an inflant; becaufe juft before one and twenty he was not at Man's elate, and juft then he was? Not but that God, if he pleafe, can make a Man in an inflant, as he did Adam ; but it is not neceffary from this Example, that all Men fhould be made fo, much lets does it follow from this vain Subtilty. This is juft the Cafe. All the while the Man is tending towards a Regenerate fiate, and is ftrugling with his Lulls, 'till by the power of God's Grace, and his own Refolution he get the Vi- ítory ; all the while he is under the fenfe and convi&ion of his finful and mi- ferable {late, and forrowing for the folly of his pat} Life, and coming to an efft&ual Purpofe and Refolution of changing his Courfe ; and it may be feve- rat times thrown back by the temptations of the Devil, and the power of evil Habits, and the weaknefs and inflability of his own purpofe; 'till at lall, by the Grace of God following and afiifling him, he comes to a firmRefolution of a better Life, which Refolution governs him for the future ; I fay all this while, which in force Perfons'is longer, in others (hotter, according to the power of evil Habits, and the different degrees of God's Grace afforded to Men ; all this time the Work of Regeneration is going on ; and tho' a Man cannot be laid to be in a Regeneratefiate, 'till that very inliant that the Principle of Grace and his good Refolution have got the upper hand of hisLufts, yet it is certain for all this, that the WorkofRegeneration was not effeEled in an inflant. This is plainly and truly the Cafe, as I (hall (hew in the Third Particular I propounded, namely, that it is evident from experienceof the ordinary Methods of God's Grace, both in thofe who are Regenerate by a Pious and Religious Education, and thofe who are reclaimed from a vicious Courfe of Life. The firft fort, namely thofe who are brought to goodnefs by a Religious and Virtuous Education; thefe (at leaft, fo far as my Obfervation reacheth) make up a véry confiderable part of the number of the Regenerate, that is, of good Men. And tho' it be certain, confidering the Univerfl Corruption and de- generacy ofHumane Nature, that there is a real Change made in them, by the operation of God's Grace upon their Minds, yet it is as certain 'in experience, that this Change is made in very many, by very ¡dent and infenfble degrees, 'till at length the feeds of Religion, which were planted in them by a good Edu- catkin, do vifibly prevail over all the evil inclinations of corrupt Nature, fo as to fway and govern the A&ions of their Lives; and when the Principles of grace and goodnefs do apparently prevail, we may conclude them to be in a Rege- neratefiate, tho' perhaps very few of thefe can give any account of the particular time
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