208 The rootiug up of every Plant,not 'FIeb:12. 2. Heb. 2 10. Efa.42. B. Joa.3.8. Aft.z6./t Aft.9.t,z. Gala. i6. i Timt. 13. ker, an Agent, and a faniJher of Faith. Some conf( ffe that God hebegins and layes the foundation, but man mutt car- ry it on and do his part : elfeall is nothing : what an high indignity is this to thegrace and power of God ? And hence it is that men glory andpride themfelves fo much in their own doing, and are fo forward to cenfure and judge other men : when alas, man hath done nothing at ail in this fpiritual planting and watering but onely taken up a conceit of his own doing, aping and working, and priding himfelfe in a meer empty fancy, without any real doing at all . For be fare this is that great work whichChritt alone hath undertaken,Tobring manyfoes unto Glory:and in this He will never give his glory unto another:Hewill befree,and his wind (hall blowwhen he hf{eth,andworkwhen hepleafeth : And for man to fay that there mutt be any other power, or any o- ther meanes in the whole earth, is to rob God of his glory , and t) give it to another : But the pra&ice of all the Saints is, 1 donot fay inwords onely, but in theirpractice, they afcribe aV to Godonly. Howviolent was Paul againft theTruth and the profeffors thereof ? and yet he had attained to be a for- wardand an exact Pharifee: far moreßrict thenanywe thall finde inour days:And how zealous was he (as he thought) for the Truth ? exceedingly zealous againfi erronrs (in his way) andyet it was noother but madneffe againfi the truth, andperfecuting both men and women that were of that way, that he might bring them bound to 3erufalem, dragging them out ofevery City, and breathing out threatnings and flaughter, and compelled them to blafpheme. Who now do you think turned Paul grout, and ofaSaul made himPaul? was there any other handdid this but the good hand of the Heavenly Husbandman, who ofa Devil mad e him a Saint ? Nono ; he clearly lawhe oppofed falvation, fought againfi it : and he hadonely aNotion of Salvation and Happinefle in his mind : but really to defire Salvation, he neither did, nor knew not what falvationwas ; but it?leafed. the -Father to re- veal his Son andSalvation in me, andto receive meto mercy,be- caufeIdid it ignorantly, and through unbelief. 1t was alone his goodpleafure to cut me off from the wild. Olive and to plant me into the true Olive. And
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=