THE NEW BIRTH: OR, A TREATISE OF REGENERATION, DELIVERED IN CERTAIN Sermons; and now published by WILLIAM WHATELY, PREACHER and Minister of Banbury in Oxfordshire.  1. COR. 5.17. 
If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  
LONDON, Imprinted by Felix Kingston, for Thomas Man, and are to be sold at his shop in Pater-Noster-Row, at the sign of the Talbot. 1618.   

THE METHOD OF THE TREATISE.  
The Doctrine concerning the necessity of Regeneration, is, 

1. Propounded and proved by Testimonies of Scripture.  
2. Confirmed by four manifest Reasons, taken from the 

1. Sinfulness of Man's corrupt Nature.  
2. Purity of God's Nature.  
3. Tenor of the Covenant of Grace.  
4. End of Christ's sufferings.    
3. Explicated 

1. By a Description of Regeneration from the 

Causes 

Efficient 

Principal, the Holy Ghost.  
Instrumental, the Word of God, chief preached.    
Material, Holiness.  
Formal, Infusion.  
Final, God's glory in the persons salvation.    
Subject, which is the whole man..    
2. By a Declaration of the degrees and order of working it, which are four. 

1. By discovering to a man his natural sinfulness.  
2. By stirring up in him a settled desire of pardon, and of holiness.  
3. By dropping into him the spirit of Prayer, enabling him solemnly to beg the two forenamed things at the hand of God.  
4. By sealing him with the Spirit of Promise, which certifying him of acceptance with God, imprints in his will a firm purpose of living to him hereafter; and so he is a new creature.    
3. By a declaration of the effects that follow, which are four, 

1. A Spiritual Combat with the Devil, the World, and the Flesh; where the combat of flesh and spirit is distinguished from the combat of the light of Conscience, and the corruption of the will, in five points. 

1. In the things that are at variance.  
2. In the things about which they fight.  
3. In the motives inducing them to fight.  
4. In the weapons by which they fight.  
5. In the success of the combat.    
2. In a good conversation in both parts of it, 

1. Leaving all evil 

Known 

Grosser, so as not ordinarily to commit it.  
Less gross, so as not to allow, excuse, defend it.    
Suspected, so as to seek, and be willing to know it, and to leave it.    
2. Doing good 

For extent, Of all sorts.  
Manner 

Out of conscience to God.  
According to the direction of the Word.        
3. A knowledge of his own being regenerate, unless in cases of 

1. Infancy and new coming on.  
2. Strong temptations.  
3. Spiritual sows of sin.    
4. Growth in Grace, whereof the 

Kind's are either in 

Quantity.  
Quality.    
Manner is, though not without divers (it may be) long stops, as in sickness, yet by recovering out of all.      
4. A Declaration of the principal graces of the new man in the 

1. Chief faculties 

1. Understanding 

1. Knowledge.  
2. Faith in 

God.  
The Word of God.      
2. Conscience 

1. peaceableness.  
2. wakefulness.    
3. Will 

1. Being carried after God.  
2. Subjection to the will of God.      
2. The inferior powers, 

1. Memory.  
2. Imagination.  
3. Affections.        
4. Applied, by making uses, 

1. General to all, to try themselves.  
2. Special to the 

Unregenerate, to 

Terrify them.  
To exhort them to be regenerate by 

1. Desiring and begging for the spirit of regeneration.  
2. Hiding the Doctrine of the Law and Gospel in their hearts.  
3. Constant hearing the word of God preached, and meditating of it after hearing.      
Regenerate, 

1. To comfort them in the sight of their happiness.  
2. To exhort them to two things, 

1. To cherish Grace in themselves, 

1. By avoiding ill company, and keeping good.  
2. By avoiding things sinful, in resisting the first motions.  
3. By shunning excess in things indifferent.  
4. By being constant in religious exercises.    
2. To propagate it to others, which concerns the 

Flock, and every private man, & that in regard both of 

All, with whom he shall converse, and that by good 

Life.  
Conference.    
Especially those of his own family, both them of 

Age, by 

1. Worshipping God amongst them.  
2. catechizing them.  
3. Bringing them to Church.  
4. Praying for their regeneration.    
2. That are infants, by bringing them to Baptism with faithful and fervent prayer.      
Ministers, by constant and plain preaching of the Word of God to them.               

Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses, and the rest of the Inhabitants of the Town and Parish of Banburie: the Author dedicateth the following Treatise, and wisheth all happiness.  
Worshipful and well-beloved, I have (not long since) preached amongst you some things, concerning the nature of the New Birth. I am glad to understand, that in handling of them, I gave to some of you some good content. I am willing (you see) to renew your content, by offering the same things now to your eyes, that formerly to your ears; that the serious (and I hope) often reading, of what you but once heard, may instruct you better, and ground you further, in this necessary doctrine. And, Oh that the Lord of Heaven would please so effectually to cooperate with his Word, that many of you may become partakers of this happy and saving work of grace! My greatest covetousness is, that your souls may be thus enriched; my greatest ambition, that they may be thus advanced. To this end have I bend mine endeavours amongst you in the constant employment of the talon lent me by God: which, how hearty do I wish and pray, that it may be available for your renovation! For in truth, the whole world is not worthy to stand in comparison, with this life of holiness. I say it again, All the greatest advancements, profits, pleasures (which this prick of earth, this almost nothing, which we tread upon, is able to afford), are in no sort to be esteemed desirable; if they be laid in the balance, against those heavenly preferments, those infinite treasures, those unutterable comforts; whereto this estate of grace doth bring those that are brought unto it, even in this present world in some good measure: but most fully in the upper region of this world, the stately palace of heaven, the fairest room of this large house, and the Presence Chamber of the King of Kings. Why then is any man, especially why is any of you (to whom these things have been frequently delivered, on whom they have been earnestly pressed, on whom they are constantly inculcated; why (I say) is any of you) so worse than childish, yea, then brutish, as to be careless of seeking that unspeakable felicity, from which nothing can hinder you, but your own slothful negligence, or wilful carelessness, in not vouchsafing to seek it? This small Treatise I am now bold to dedicate unto you; both that it may witness to your own consciences, and all that read it, that none of you doth want grace for want of means to get it, either on Christ's part, the King of your souls, or on my part, his unworthy Ambassador: and also that it may be present with you at all times, to provoke you to get that holiness, without which (you have learned, that) you cannot be saved. Accept (I pray you) of this my labour, as a testimony of my desire of your soul's welfare; and make this one only sufficient recompense of this, and all other my travel amongst you, in receiving the grace that God offers; and striving to be such, as here you may find, that all the citizens of heaven must be, even men regenerate. So with my most fervent prayers to God for your prosperity, I kindly take my leave; resting (so long as the over-weightinesse, and over-toylsomnesse of the place shall suffer) your Pastor,  
WILLIAM WHATELY. May 8. 1618.   

THE CONTENTS OF THE BOOK.  
CHAP. I. 
THe order of the word●, and the doctrine of them concerning the necessity of regeneration. pag. 1.  CHAP. II. 
The reasons of the point, in number four. pag. 6.  CHAP. III. 
The description of regeneration. pag. 13.  CHAP. IU. 
The order of working regeneration. pag. 26.  CHAP. V. 
The effects of regeneration. pag. 40.  CHAP. VI 
The principal graces, which by regeneration are wrought in the soul. pag. 69.  CHAP. VII. 
An exhortation to all to examine themselves, whither they be regenerate, yea, or no. pag. 87.  CHAP. VIII. 
A terror to them that are unregenerate. pag. 95.  CHAP. IX. 
An exhortation to the seeking of regeneration, showing the means of attaining it. pag. 101  CHAP. X. 
A comfort to the regenerate. pag. 115  CHAP. XI. 
An exhortation to the regenerate, to cherish the life of grace, showing the means of cherishing it. pag. 129.  CHAP. XII. 
An exhortation to the regenerate to propagate grace to others, showing the means of propagating it. pag. 139    

THE NEW BIRTH: OR, A TREATISE OF REGENERATION, etc.  JOHN 3.3. 
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, unless a man be borne again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  

CHAP. I. Showing the order of the words, and the doctrine of them.  
AFter that the report of our saviours many and great Miracles, had caused many of the common people in great multitudes to follow after him; at length also a man of better note and esteem (though commonly the men of most note in the world, are most backward to the things of most use for the soul), bethinks himself of visiting, and conferring with him. This man, by Name, is called Nicodemus; by Place, he was a Ruler of the jews; by Degree, a Doctor; by Sect, a Pharisie; a generation of men, not so glorious in the world, for their fair outside, as loathsome to Christ for their soul inside. Now because the carnal regard of his worldly credit (the main block that many times lies in the way of greatness, to hinder it from frequenting the poor and despised School of Christ), made him unwilling to be seen, and accounted one of the followers of the poor Carpenter of Nazareth: he therefore hides himself under the curtain of darkness, and chooseth the opportunity of the Night-season; by benefit whereof, he might enjoy some private communication with our blessed Saviour, unobserved of his proud and spiteful fellow-Pharisies. His first salutation to Christ is formerly set down, and hath in it a manifest demonstration of much respect and reverence borne unto him; for he doth acknowledge him to be a Teacher sent of God, and gives a just reason of his such confession, from the great Miracles which he 〈◊〉 wrought, and did daily work amongst them, ●●yond all possibility, either of ignorance or denial. So hath our Saviour gotten a new Scholar into his School, and therefore enters him (as it was fit he should, though he were for other learning a great Scholar) into the very A, B, C, of Christian Religion, and gins to teach him the first principles and rudiments of the doctrine of salvation. The points of doctrine, wherein our Lord instructeth this Ruler and Doctor are two; in themselves easy enough, yet the first and easiest of them goes much above his carnal and shallow capacity. The first point is of the persons that shall be saved; the second, is of the causes of salvation and damnation. The former is in this verse propounded, and after to the thirteenth in more words discussed, upon occasion of Nicodemus, his gross and un-doctor-like objection: for which grossness, he being gently reprehended, gives Christ leave to proceed in the second, without interruption, from the thirteenth verse to the two and twentieth. So then the words read, contain the very foundation and cornerstone, as I may term it, of the doctrine of Christianity, which Christ seeks to lay fast, in the heart of the honest-hearted, but (for all his great learning) ignorant Nicedemus. The words themselves draw us to two considerable points in them; the proof; the doctrine proved. The proof, Christ's authority and word, delivered in an earnestly-doubled asseveration; Verily, verily, I (whom before thou didst confess to be a Teacher sent of God) ●●y unto thee. The doctrine proved, is about the subject of salvation, or the persons that may, or may ●●t attain eternal life, laid down in a conditional proposition negatively, thus; unless a man be (or if a man be not) borne again, he shall not see the Kingdom of God. Of Christ's vehement and repeated asseveration I will say nothing, but in that doctrine, whereof he sees cause to make so plain and strong an affirmation, I will be bold to dwell a while; because the knowledge of it is so exceedingly needful, that without it, in vain, and idle is all else that we can possibly know concerning God, or Christ, or the doctrine of the Scriptures. Mark then, I pray you, this most necessary instruction, and learn you (if you have not hitherto learned) at this time, that which this ancient Teacher in Israel was first set to learn, that No man can be saved, unless he be regenerate. No person, be he jew or Gentile, Christian or Pagan, Pharisie or of other sect, Ruler or of inferior place, learned or unlettered, Doctor or of lower degree; no person, I say, of what Nation, condition, wit, knowledge, virtue or other excellency so ever he be, can possibly see (that is, enjoy), the Kingdom of God (that is the blissful estate of heavenly glory), if he be not borne again (that is made quite a new man, from that that he was in his first birth): not (as Nicodemus too too grossly fancied) by a carnal re-entering into his mother's belly; but by a spiritual renewing of his whole man, in all the powers thereof. There is a total, and absolute impossibility of any man's being admitted into the place and state of celestial happiness, unless he be regenerate. Sooner may Angels tume devils; men beasts; and beasts stones; & all the world just nothing; then that any one vnrenewed person, shall have entrance into heaven. Yea, as possible is it, that God should cease to be God, as that any man, not made anew according to the image of God, should be received into the blessed vision, possession, fruition of God; and of all utterly impossible things, this is (if of such things there might be any comparison) one of the most impossible; that there should be any communion betwixt God and man (by Gods participating his favour and blessedness unto man), so long as man remaineth in the estate of his corrupted nature, not being created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness. It neither is now, nor ever was, nor ever shall be found, that any man should get within the gates of the kingdom of glory; unless he have first entered into the kingdom of grace, through the Churches narrow womb of regeneration. A new birth, is absolutely needful to an eternal life: and in a word, regeneration of perfect necessity to salvation. It were a matter even very superfluous,, to seek more proofs, after such a testimony, of such a witness (or author rather) as Christ is. But the unbelieving spirit of man doth stand in need of over-abundant conviction, in truths of this strain. Wherefore I will a while stand to make good this point, and then (after explanation) proceed to apply it. First, we may read Ezechiel crying out to the old Church, in these words, Make you a new heart, and a new spirit, 
Ezech. 18.31.  for why will you die, O house of Israel? What more evident, then that this question doth take it for granted, that the house of Israel, the seed of Abraham, followers of the true God, professors of true religion, sealed with circumcision, admitted unto the Altar, and participating of the sacrifices according to the Law, and worshipping the God of heaven, after the external manner prescribed by himself: that these I say, (and therefore questionless none other) could not escape death, even eternal death; death of body, and death of soul, if they got not a new heart, and a new spirit; that is, (the same thing being expressed in diversity of phrases) were not borne again, as our Saviour pleaseth to term it. For this cause the same Prophet a little after, and in one or two places more, calleth upon them, 
Vers. 32.  saying, return and live ye: so that but by converting, there is no living, and conversion and regeneration are always and altogether inseparable: therefore life and regeneration must needs go together; have one, and have both; miss one, and miss both. To the same purpose the author to the Hebrews speaketh, 
Chap. 12.14.  in these words, Without holiness, (and that no man hath but by being borne again: for the image of God lost in Adam, is not recovered but by the new birth in Christ), I say, without holiness, no man shall see God.   

CHAP. II. Showing the reasons of the point.  
THree testimonies are plentifully sufficient to confirm any divine truth. But (because it will help much to conceive of the point of regeneration, that we do well understand the grounds of the impossibility of being saved without it); we will therefore lay them down also for further proof of the point. These are Reasons. 4 in whole, or in chief, four:  
First, the monstrous filthiness of man in his first birth.  
Secondly, the infinite purity and perfection of God's nature.  
Thirdly, the tenor of the covenant of grace, wherein the salvation of lost mankind is promised.  
Fourthly, the fruit and end of Christ's death and obedience, whereby our salvation is deserved. For the first of these reasons. Man in his first birth, 
1. From man's natural filthiness.  (even every particular man, woman, and child, Christ jesus alone excepted, who was therefore conceived by the holy Ghost, that he might escape that pollution) is conceived in sin, and borne in wickedness, 
Psalm. 51.  as David speaketh of himself. First, by imputation of the sin of our first parents, which is ours; because they did it in each of our steads, in whom, each of us was then originally comprehended; and then by transfusion (because we are branches of that bitter root), we are each of us become sons of disobedience, subjects to the God of this world, slaves to sin, captives under the dominion and power of lust, having our understandings darkened, and hearts hardened: so that, we can neither conceive, nor receive the things of God; but are led of Satan, at his pleasure, to do his will, according as he doth effectually work in us. In a word, we are enemies to God, heirs of death, children of the devil, dead in sins and trespasses, doing the lusts of the flesh and of the mind, and by nature sons of wrath and destruction, one as well as another. A man in the state of corrupt nature, is nothing else but a filthy dunghill of all abominable vices: he is a stinking rotten carrion, become altogether unprofitable and good for nothing: his heart is the devils storehouse, an heap of odious lusts; his tongue is a fountain of cursing and bitterness, and rotten communication; his hand is a mischievous instrument of filthiness, deceit, and violence; his eyes great thorowfares of lust, pride, and vanity; his feet are swift engines, moving strongly to revenge, wantonness and lucre; his life a long chain of sinful actions, every later link being more wicked than the former: yea it is but (as it were) one continued web of wickedness, spun out, and made up, by the hands of the devil and the flesh, an evil spinner, and a worse weaver. He brings into the world with him, the kernel of all impiety and injustice, even an aptness and disposition to all the foulest acts, that lie within the possibility of his natural strength and means to perform, either against the Lord, or against his neighbour; and an utter unaptness and inability to do any thing (that in the true judgement and estimation of God, who only can judge aright in this case), is, or may be termed good, as answerable to his law. In his soul and body there lies the spawn of all wickedness: of Atheism, of pride, of unbelief, of hypocrisy, of rebellion, of impatiency, of hatred and contempt of God, and of his word, of indevotion, of profaneness, of ambition, of wrath, of filthiness, of worldliness, of arrogancy, of self-conceitedness, of murders, of whoredoms, of thefts, of perjuries, and whatsoever thing beside, is hateful to God, and contrary to his most holy law. He is wholly darkness, wholly flesh, wholly and totally opposite to the living God; to whose law, he neither is subject, nor will, nor can be, till he be cast into an other, and a fairer mould, by the working of his spirit. Such a thing as this (my brethren), even just such a thing and none other, is a man, even every man; such an one am I, are you, are all, and each of all, the sons of Adam, that have been, are, or shall be, and that universally, without any exception, as witnesseth the Prophet, saying, 
Psal. 14.  They are all gone out of the way, they are all become unprofitable, there is none that doth good, no not one. All these words, and more than all these, or all that can be spoken by us, falls far short, of a full description of man's natural sinfulness. For if the tongue itself (one poor and little member) may well be entitled, 
jam. 3.6.  (as it is entitled by the pen of S. james) a world of wickedness; then alas, how many, and how great worlds of wickedness, are included in this one little world of man? Now how should so foul, so unclean, so polluted a creature, set his foot within the portal of heaven? How should such an heap of hellish lusts, and devilish vices, be received into that happy palace, and holy mansion place, of Saints, and Angels? What was the reason that the devil could not tarry in heaven, having once been there? was it not because he had infected himself with sin? with which, seeing all mankind are wholly poisoned, and covered over from head to foot, being of their father the devil, nothing else but even little devils, differing from the great ones, not in substance and parts of corruption, but alone in the degrees thereof, (as a child of four or five years, from a man of thirty or forty): how can he possibly find any place in the kingdom of heaven? Thus therefore we conclude our reason: Sin can have no place, no dwelling, none entertainment in the kingdom of God. Man unregenerate is nothing else, but a very compound, or bundle, of dirt and sin. Wherefore man unregenerate, cannot possibly find a place in heaven. And this is the first reason, from the sinfulness of man's nature.  
Reason. 2 
From the purity of God's nature.  The second follows, taken from the purity of God's nature. The Lord is a God of pure eyes, and can abide none iniquity, yea the wicked and the workers of iniquity his soul hateth. He is as contrary to sin, as heat to cold, as light to darkness, as any two contrary things in the world can be imagined to be contrary, and a great deal more too. For other things are contrary each to other alone in regard of their qualities. But the very nature, substance, and being of God, is contrary to sin. For sin is a taxie, disorder, confusion, a not being; and God is order, perfection, holiness, an absolute, and a simple being. For holiness in God is not an accident, but his very essence is holiness, and he is after an inconceiveable and incomprehensible manner, infinitely, and essentially, good, holy, and pure. Wherefore there can be no reconciliation, nor union, betwixt him and the sinner, till the sinfulness of the sinner be removed, and the image of God be form and imprinted in him a fresh. Even as the poison of an Adder is contrary to the nature of a man, and the venom of a Toad extremely opposite to his life: and therefore no force can compel, no wages hire, no Rhetoric persuade, no persuasion induce him, to lodge a Toad, or Serpent, in his bosom; so is it impossible that the most holy, pure, righteous, perfect essence of God, should admit into a society of grace and glory with him, the impure, filthy, loathsome, toadlike, serpentine nature of man. For though the infinite perfection & excellency of God's nature be such, that he cannot receive any hurt or endamagement from sin; as a man is hurt by the poison of a poisonful creature: yet still withal, such is his excellency, and the infiniteness of his power and goodness, that he cannot but remove far and far from himself, all things whatsoever that are contrary unto himself. What fellowship can there be betwixt light & darkness? God and wickedness? How can things absolutely and essentially contrary, be joined together in one? Seeing God is perfectly holy, and man (if we may use that epithet in this matter) perfectly sinful; either God must become sinful like to man, or man holy like to God, or else there can be no gracious union and communion betwixt man and God. Now to imagine that God should become sinful, is the most blasphemous and utterly impossible imagination in all the world. Wherefore unless a man be made holy, (that is to say, be regenerate, or borne again) he cannot see the kingdom of God.  
In the third place let us peruse the covenant of grace, Reason. 3 in which the Lord hath manifested his purposes of goodness to the sons of men, 
From the tenor of the covenant of grace.  and we shall find that it runneth along in these promises: 
Ezek. 36.26.  I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you: I will take away the stony heart out of your bodies, and give you an heart of flesh. Hence it is easy to reason thus, Whosoever is a stranger to the covenant of promise, is likewise a stranger from all happiness, and from eternal life. Now until a man be regenerate he is a stranger to that covenant. For why, that promiseth in the first place a new heart, and a new spirit: wherefore it must needs follow, that until a man be regenerate, he cannot be saved.  
Lastly, let us consider the end of our Saviour Christ's Reason. 4 death and sufferings: 
From the end of Christ's death.  was it only to purge us from the guilt of sin, and to save us from the pit of hell? was it not also to redeem us from this present evil world? that we being sanctified by his truth, might avoid the corruptions that are in the world through lust, and become a peculiar people unto him, zealous of good works. Doubtless had Christ gone about to ransom us upon other terms, he must have lost his labour altogether. If Christ should come, and die, for one man, ten thousand times; all those deaths should profit that one man nothing at all for his salvation, unless he be made a new creature. For the death of Christ, though it be of force to reconcile mercy and justice in God, yet is not of force enough to make God unjust, or to diminish any whit his infinite righteousness; which should be diminished (yea annihilated), if he should open the gates of heaven, to unholy, unsanctified, unregenerate persons: for than should he be a lover of the wicked, then should fools dwell with him, than should he have fellowship with the unrighteous, and communion with the darkest darkness. Whereas the Scripture saith that he is light, 
1 john 1.5.  and in him is no darkness; and that if we walk in darkness, and say, we have communion with him, we lie, and deal not truly. For all that are in heaven are loved of God, and have communion with him. Wherefore such admittance of such men into heaven, can no more stand with God's justice, than it can stand with a man's life to be cast into the bottom of the sea. For this cause, it was never the meaning, or intention of our Saviour, to open heaven to any, but to those whom he would sanctify, and by sanctification bring to salvation. And so we conclude the point in this manner: Whosoever is without Christ, cannot possibly come to heaven. For he is the way, the truth, and the life. Every unregenerate man is without Christ, for all that are in him are new creatures, having crucified the flesh, with the affections & lusts. Therefore no unregenerate man, so continuing, can see the kingdom of God.   

CHAP. III. Containing a description of Regeneration.  
SO have we demonstrated the truth of this necessary principle of Christian religion. Now we go forward to explicate the same, 
The explication of the doctrine, by showing four things.  and will endeavour to lay it open so clearly, that every man may be able (if he be willing to bestow the labour of trying) to discern of his own estate in this behalf, and to say whether himself be regenerated yea or no. So will there be a ready way made, to that application of the doctrine which hereafter we intent. Now that this matter may be sound conceived of by you, it shall be requisite for me to enter into a discourse consisting of four heads. First, to give a description of regeneration. Secondly, to show in what order, and in what degrees, (as I may term them) it is wrought in the sons of men. Thirdly, to declare what effects do follow upon it, there where it is wrought. Fourthly, to set down the most eminent of those graces, that are to be found in regenerate men. Of which four I pray you revive your attention to hear in order.  
For the first point Regeneration, 
1. A description of regeneration.  (called also sanctification, and renovation, and conversion, and repentance, having the three former names given it, in as much as it is God's work in us; the two latter, in as much as we also being moved by God, do work together with him for the accomplishing and fulfilling thereof; and fitly called a rebegetting, because in it we are restored to that image of God, wherein we were at the first created: but now, by means of our corruption through the fall, are altogether destitute of it in our first birth). This regeneration, I say, seems to me conveniently described in these or the like terms: It is a work of the spirit of God, by means of the word of God, infusing holiness into the whole man, for the glory of God in his salvation. I call it a work, because it is so called of God himself, for we are said to be his workmanship, 
Ephes. 2.10.  created in Christ, unto good works: and because to beget, is to do; to be begotten, to suffer; in the plainest discourse of natural reason. Now this work is in this description set out by all the causes, and by the subject thereof. The causes are four, all briefly named in the description. The efficient, formal, material, and final. The efficient is double, principal, and instrumental. The principal, the sole author (in whom remaineth all the power of working, and to whom all the praise appertaineth) is the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, the third Person in Trinity. The same Spirit by whom our Saviour Christ's Manhood was conceived in his Mother's womb, is the sole worker of this conception of grace in the heart of Christians. So doth our Lord himself instruct Nicodemus in the words following, saying, 
vers. 6.  That that is borne of the spirit, is spirit: and before Saint john had told us, that believers were borne, not of blood, 
cap. 1. vers. 13.  nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man; that is, not by any natural power, virtue, or strength, which is naturally inherent in them; but of God, that is, of the Spirit of God: wherefore in the New Covenant, the promise is made on this wise, 
Ezek. 36.16.  I will put my spirit in your hearts: and in another place, I will pour forth my spirit upon all flesh. The spirit of God that rests upon our Saviour Christ, doth descend from him, unto those that shall be his members; at the same time implanting them into him, and imprinting his image upon them. No Angel can change man's heart, no Angel can quicken the dead soul, no creature can breathe into us the divine nature: but we are the workmanship of God, by his spirit created unto good works. This is the anointing oil, that being poured upon us, doth consecrate us unto God. The holy Ghost himself (in a wonderful and undiscernible fashion, as the wind that bloweth where it lusteth) doth convey and insinuate himself into the man, whom he will beget again to a new life, and becometh purifying water to cleanse him; and an holy fire, coming down from heaven, to consume his corruptions, and refine him for the Lords use. And yet the Spirit of God, that could work of himself, and without means, pleaseth not so to do in this great work: but of his own free-will, makes choice for himself, of a fit and blessed instrument for that purpose; even the Law of God, the whole doctrine of the Scriptures: which he hath for that end, made known to the sons of men by his holy Prophets; and which hath received this high commendation, from the Divine testimony left in writing by David's pen, that it is perfect, 
Psalm. 19  and converteth the soul. This doctrine hath two main heads; the Law, and the Gospel: The former used by God's Spirit, as a necessary preparative; the other, as a proper & essential instrument in this business. Wherefore the Word is called the incorruptible seed, which being sown in the heart, 
1. Pet. 1.23.  doth by little and little grow up to a new creature; and Peter tells us, that by the precious promises, 
2. Pet. 1.4.  we are made partakers of the divine nature; and to his Apostles our Saviour uttereth as much, saying, Now are you clean by the word that I have spoken unto you. 
John 15.3.  There may be a question made, whither the Word of God read only, may become effectual to regenerate? or whither it must want this efficacy, unless it be preached, as well as read? To which question, me thinketh that this should be a true answer, that the instrumental power of regenerating cannot be denied to the Scriptures barely read, though preaching be not joined withal. For why? seeing the doctrine of the Gospel is called, 
2. Cor. 3.8.  the ministration of the Spirit, and it is the doctrine of the Gospel, when it is offered to the understanding by bare reading; therefore it must follow, that in such case also, it may become the power of God to salvation, and the instrument of the spirit to regeneration. The same precepts, promises and threats are by reading, delivered to the mind of the man that readeth, or heareth the Word read; and why then should we think, that the Holy Ghost either cannot, or will not, work together with them? Yea doubtless he can do it when he will, and will do it then, whensoever he doth not (as often he doth not) afford to men a possibility of enjoying any other help then reading. Unless the not being preached, could make the Word not to be the Law of God: I see no reason that it should be thought unable to convert souls, without being preached. But withal we must add this, that the Word of God is made effectual by the Spirit, more often, more usually, more ordinarily, to beget a new life, in the preaching (that is to say, the interpreting and applying of it, by the mouth of a man, enabled and assigned to that work) then in the bare reading: for the Lord hath appointed in his Church, Pastors and Teachers to be his Workmen, his labourers, Dispenser's of his heavenly mysteries, and Fellow-workemen together with him; that by becoming his instruments, to convey grace into men's hearts, they might become spiritual Fathers unto them; and by attendance (not to reading alone, 
1. Tim. 4 13.  but also) to doctrine or teaching, they might save themselves and their hearers. And when Christ himself was pleased to raise up the dead world of the Gentiles, unto the new life of godliness (and so to fulfil that which himself had foretold, saying, 
john 5.25.  The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear it shall live). He commanded his Disciples to go and preach unto all Nations: will any man make himself so simple, as to say, 
Matth. 28.19.  he meant thus; Take the volume of the Law in your pockets, and draw it out, and read a Chapter or two at a time unto them? Nay doubtless, he willed his Disciples to do that, which they had so often seen and heard him doing; whose custom was (as we may collect out of the fourth of Luke, where one instance is recorded, to make us conceive his ordinary practice), when he had read, to interpret the Scripture by him read, as there he did, saying, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears: and after to apply it to the hearers, as in the same place, he falls into the reproof of their quarrelsomnesse against him, that would upbraid him with the Proverb of, Physician heal thyself; 
Proverb.  amplifying his reproof, with allegation of the examples of the Widow of Zarepta, and the Syrian Naaman. So the Apostles could not mistake his meaning, when himself had by constant practice gone before you, in doing what he bade them do. And therefore it will not at all follow, that because the word read, is able to beget faith; either the ministers may content themselves usually to read it, without preaching: or the people usually content themselves to hear it so; and not be careful to seek for the preaching of it. For of such absolute necessity, and of such excellent worth is regeneration, that it is needful to seek it, (and sinful not to seek it) not only in some one of the most easy means that may sometimes procure it; but also in all the means (though never so painful) that God hath appointed for it. Every man may read himself, yea must read, if he can. This is a duty that might have been performed, without establishing of any ministry in the Church. But the Minister is, not only to read; but also to divide the word of truth aright, to exhort, improve, rebuke, to speak to men's edification, exhortation & comfort; that he may be truly called a fellow-labourer with God, in the work of men's salvation. Shall we rest ourselves satisfied in one thing, that may convert? shall we think it enough to be constant in one exercise, that may work grace? Doubtless if we do so, our own worldly wisdom and diligence shall rise up in judgement, and condemn our spiritual folly and negligence. Yea brethren, in things temporal, men stand thus affected: that as they will neglect nothing, that may promise them any furtherance to their good success; so they will show most care, and most earnestness, in that which they have cause to think, will be most available for their purpose. Now without question, the word preached is more usually, and more powerfully effectual to regeneration, than the word read. The holy Ghost doth more often, and more mightily work by the word interpreted, and applied, then by it barely repeated out of the book. I think him not worthy to be reasoned withal, that will stand in denial of this matter. Read the stories of holy writ, and search and see, if the examples of men by only reading regenerated, be not few, rare, seldom; nay scarce any where at all to be found: but on the other side, the examples of men by preaching made new, common, frequent, and usual. Therefore be it again concluded, that he doth far undervalue the gift of spiritual life; which satisfying himself in the less usual, and less available means of working it, because it is most easy; pretermitteth the more available, and more usual, because he is not willing to undergo the pains, labour, or cost that it will require. And thus you have the efficient causes of regeneration. God's spirit as the chief, the word principally preached, as his instrument. The material cause is holiness, that is the thing, in the working of which regeneration is conversant: Holiness (I say) the most admirable of all things in all the world: as far surpassing wit, and learning, and riches, and other earthly vanities; as learning surpasseth ignorance, and wealth beggary. This is (as it were) the character of Christ jesus, the image of God, the beauty, the riches, the strength, the life, the soul, of the soul & of the whole man: It is a very beam of the divine light, called therefore by the Apostle, The divine nature; it is the most excellent and worthy thing under heaven, or (of things incident to creatures) in heaven. It is that, that distinguisheth Angels from devils; the Saints, from the damned Ghosts. Take away from a blessed Angel his holiness, he will become a black fiend of hell. It is (in a word) the best of all things that a creature can have; without which nothing is worth the having; and with which the meanest condition is able to afford a man happiness enough. This admirable thing, that can by no words be sufficiently commended, is given by regeneration; and therefore we call it the matter of regeneration. Now holiness is nothing else but this, a supernatural power of withdrawing the faculties of the whole man from sinful and earthly objects, and exercising the same upon God, and the things of God. This Adam had in his first creation, and that in such perfection as God required at his hand. This should he have propagated to his son; and his son, to his son, had he continued in his innocency: so that to him the same thing was natural (and to his innocent posterity should have been), which now to us is above the power and course of nature to attain; and therefore need we to get it by a second birth, because we cannot get it in our first birth. For the natural man doth not conceive in his mind (and consequently neither apply his will and affections to receive) the things of God, 
1. Cor. 2.14.  as the Apostle speaketh: yea his mind is always bowing and bending, after either bare earthly, or very hellish objects: but because these things must be spiritually discerned, therefore the holy Ghost endues him with a new power of raising himself up, from these base and filthy matters, unto his Creator, the eternal fountain and first cause of being and of bliss, even unto the God of heaven; in comparison of whom, all things are less and worse than nothing: and likewise unto the things of God, remission of sins, the favour of God, communion with Christ jesus, increase of holiness; and the like to these, which are by an excellency called the things of God: because they are the chiefest of all those things, that he bestows upon the sons of men; and to the seeking whereof, he directs them in his holy word, whereas else they would never have sought them. This is the material cause of regeneration. The formal is, infusion, as witnesseth the Lord himself, saying; I will pour upon the house of David, 
Zach. 12.10.  the spirit of grace And in another place, I will pour floods upon the dry ground. And Paul saith, 
2. Tim. 1.7.  God hath given us the spirit of a right mind. For whereas some qualities are implanted in men by nature; some attained unto, by their own industry, and by virtue of certain actions for that purpose performed; and some again are wrought in them, by a supernatural work of God: this gift of holiness, is neither naturally descended unto them, (as it should have been, had their parents been innocent); nor yet attained by their diligence and pains, or by force and power, of any action done by them: but is put into them, by the spirit of God, working above and beyond, either their power, or the power of the acts that they shall do, for the attaining of it. Let us make the matter more plainly understood by comparisons. The power of seeing, is naturally bestowed upon all men in their very birth, and by the course of nature working in their mother's womb. This power or use of this faculty is altogether denied unto some men, and they are borne stark blind, as was he of whom we read in the Gospel. Christ with spittle made clay, and having anointed his eyes, bade him to wash, and he returned seeing. We say now that into this man, the power or act of seeing was infused: for why by nature he could not see. The spittle, clay, water, had no such natural force in them, as to work the power of seeing in an eye, that through natural indisposition, wanted it. Wherefore it must needs be infused, that is wrought in that person, by a supernatural work of God. So again, Health is a quality; sickness (for example a burning ague) taketh away this quality of health. A man being so sick, of such a disease consulteth with Physicians, receiveth potions from them, and recovereth his health: this quality now was acquired, or gotten by pains and industry. For by virtue of some inherent quality in the medicines received, was this quality of health restored unto the body. But a man that was sick of an ague in the time of Peter, sending to him receiveth a napkin from him, and by the receiving of it is healed. This health was an infused health, for not any power inherent in the cloth, or derived from the body of Peter; but a supernatural work of God, did procure that health at the presence of such outward actions. In like sort, Holiness was to Adam a natural power, or ability created in him, and with him, and immediately accompanying his nature, or issuing from it. But the devil rob him of it, by taking that from him, and poisoning him with the contrary natural impotency of sin, (for I suppose we may well call sin, I mean original sin, a natural impotency, or a mischievous and corrupt disorder in all the faculties). Wherefore it is requisite, that he recover it again, if he shall be saved. Now the Lord of heaven pleaseth by means of the word (as it were by the spittle of his mouth making clay, to anoint his eyes) to rebeget or recreate, this quality of holiness in him; not that the word hath any natural inherent ability of working holiness, no more than a napkin of curing an ague; but alone because the Lord sees it fit, in and with that doctrine to work this work, by a power immediately and solely derived from himself. So may a man by long study obtain the science of natural Philosophy, which is a quality, and an habit; but the Lord did please by his own immediate power, to derive this science into the mind of Solomon: and therefore his knowledge was an infused knowledge, and more excellent for measure and degree, than ever any man did, or could attain by study. So the power of speaking and understanding any language, is a quality, which by study, or custom of hearing and speaking, a man may work in himself; and he that by much labour and reading gets, for example, his Latin tongue, hath wrought this quality in himself; but the Apostles had the knowledge of speaking all, and by name the Latin tongue, put into them suddenly, by the immediate operation of the holy Ghost, and by virtue of a divine work, in an unconceivable manner working in their imaginations. So we call holiness an infused quality, because the holy Ghost, by virtue of his own hand, and by power immediately derived from himself, not by virtue of any power naturally dwelling, either in man, or in the Word, doth please, in and with the word to work it in man. The spirit of life doth breath it into those in whom it is, and they have it by the mere efficacy of his divine power, not of the means in themselves, considered. Neither yet must we neglect those exercises and ordinances, in and by which it pleaseth him to cooperate, and to convey unto us this grace; but rather must with all diligence apply ourselves unto them; that by making ourselves subject unto his blessed will, we may likewise be capable of this excellent work of his. Though clay made of spittle, and the water of Siloah, had no such virtue in them, as to make a blind eye see, and to turn the natural impotency back again into the power of seeing; yet the man that was borne blind, was to use that washing, and that clay: for else his disobedience to Christ, would have deprived him of the divine virtue of Christ, which upon his obedience, showed itself in healing him. So regeneration is not attaineable by virtue of any act or acts, that we or any creature can do; but it cometh from above, and is effected by an inconceiveable power of God's spirit, (for it must needs far surpass the strength of a creature, to change the soul, and to cause a return, from so miserable a privation or natural impotency, as sin is, unto so glorious, blessed and excellent an habit, or supernatural ability, as that holiness is, into which we are transformed). But for all this, he that would have the holy Ghost show his infinite power in making such a change in him; must willingly submit himself to the doing of any actions whatsoever, wherewithal the spirit of God shall manifest, that it is his pleasure to join, this his happy and powerful working. And such is the formal cause of regeneration. The final cause, or the end of it, is the glory of God, in the salvation of the party regenerate. For to speak truth, it were a shame and reproach to the God of heaven, to let a sinner (that is to say, his professed enemy) come into heaven: for this would upbraid him with falsehood, in regard of his word, and with want of holiness and justice in his nature. Now the Lord cannot be so weak, as to do any thing, that should give him just cause (to speak (as of God we must needs speak) after the manner of men) of being ashamed thereof. Wherefore that he may with glory, and honour, and praise, and the content of his own most holy nature, take thither, so many of the corrupted sons of Adam, as he pleaseth to make vessels of honour; it is his will and care, thus to change their nature, and to renew them by his spirit: and so he obtaineth the fullest fullness of glory that may be, in their happiness; being for ever praised, by all his holy creatures, and (which more is) infinitely satisfying himself in the beholding of the excellency of that great work of their blessedness, and the most pure and holy and admirable means, that he hath ordained to bring them unto it. And these are the causes of regeneration. The next thing mentioned in the description is the subject of it: which is the whole man, in all the powers of the soul and of the body, according as the Apostle prayeth for the Thessalonians, 
1. Thes. 5.23.  that they might be sanctified throughout, and that their whole soul and body might be kept blameless. And by this note it is differenced from all other changes, that may carry any resemblance to it; they being all but partial changes, either of the outside alone, and not the inside; or of some one power alone, not of all the powers: because indeed they are not fruits of holiness, but either of hollowness, and self-love; or at best, of a bare and weak work of illumination. And thus have I performed the first thing intended, in describing regeneration; of which if any man demand what it is? we say it is a change, that is, a bringing of a new and (here too of a) contrary quality, in stead of the old that was before; if who makes the change? the holy Ghost: if by what means? by the word: if in what manner? by infusion; that is, by the working of a proper and immediate virtue derived from himself. If from what, and to what this change is? from the sinfulness of a man (which he receiveth from Adam successively) to holiness. If wherein? in the whole man, soul and body, and all the powers of both: If to what end? to the glory of the worker, and salvation of him in whom it is wrought. O happy work of an happy workman, by an happy instrument! and thrice happy that man, in whom this blessed worker shall vouchsafe to accomplish this his most worthy, and excellent, and only blessed work, to so worthy and blessed a purpose.   

CHAP. FOUR Showing the order of working Regeneration.  

2. The order of regenerating in four acts.  NOw I proceed to declare, in what order the Spirit of God pleaseth to perform this most admirable change: which is done in these four actions, which I shall lay down. First, the spirit of God working, in and with the Law, (but tempered with the Gospel) becomes a spirit of contrition, causing a man to see and feel his extreme sinfulness, 
1. Showing a man his natural sinfulness.  and wretchedness, in so much that he is even wounded at the very heart therewith, and his sinful and unhappy estate becomes a woeful bondage & captivity unto him. The Lord doth not alone raise up miserable terrors of conscience in him, in regard of some one or more gross offences that he hath actually committed, (although often he maketh these very terrors, a means of making himself a passage to enter in at), but he opens the eyes of the mind, to see the very mud and filth of the soul, that lay at the bottom before unseen and undiscerned. The Spirit convinceth him of sin: It shows him that general wickedness and sinfulness of his nature, whereof we spoke before. Now he feels his unbelief, pride, ignorance, hypocrisy, and other heart-corruptions. He judgeth himself worthy to be destroyed, not alone having a sight of his own inability to escape damnation: but likewise of the justice of God in damning him, so that he doth even stoop and yield himself thereto. Whereas before he was alive without the Law, not having the true knowledge of it, now the Law coming in the sound power and working of it, through the strength of the holy Ghost; causeth that he becomes dead in his own sense, and apprehension: but sin becomes alive to his sense and feeling; and he perceiving the strength, force, violence, and mischievousnes of it, more than ever before, now cries out with the Apostle, O miserable man that I am! and now confesseth that he is carnal and sold under sin, as the same Apostle did, in the same sense of his natural wretchedness, which the coming of the life of grace had brought with it. Thus the death of sin gins to be changed into life, in that it is felt and discerned. For the very first working of this new life, must needs be a feeling of the old death in sins and trespasses: Not (I say) alone of his death in hell, in regard of his deserving the torments thereof, but of his death in sins and trespasses, of his utter inability to do any good thing, of his utter emptiness of all heavenly graces; of his extreme slavery to ungodliness, and unrighteousness, and all the lusts of the flesh; and of his perpetual and vehement proneness to all abomination and wickedness. There is often (I confess) a work, and a very terrible work, of the Law & the natural conscience together, procuring most extreme and hideously-bitter pangs, and hellish agonies in the soul of man; where the spirit of regeneration neither is, nor ever shall be: this being alone a fruit of the spirit of bondage, not of the spirit of grace. And oftentimes again, the spirit of sanctification comes into the soul, together with this spirit of bondage, making a violent entry, and by main force breaking open the heart; formerly locked and barred against it; and so beginning this saving work of holiness. But terrors of conscience, which may be in all unregenerate men, (because they are already in all the damned, into whom no part nor piece of regeneration can enter) is far different from this first degree of the work of a new birth. The sanctifying spirit, lays the filthiness, not alone the danger of sin, before the eyes of the mind. It causeth a man, not alone to be in extreme anguish, because he fears he must be damned: but even to loath and abhor himself, and to be very vile in his own eyes, because he knows he hath deserved to be damned: and that so foul a thing as sin, (wherewith his Maker hath due cause to be so much displeased) doth not alone abide, but reign and command in him. Wherefore he doth even lie down at the foot of the throne of God's justice, and in a most ardent abhorring of himself, doth subscribe to the righteousness of God in his own feared destruction; having nothing in the world to say for himself (as of himself), why he should not be destroyed: and not so much as a tittle of a word to object against the perfect and exact equity of the living God, if that he should destroy him. Sin, I say sin, not alone the punishment of sin, but sin itself, is discovered unto him: he sees its loathsomeness and vileness; he sees its strength and violence; he sees his own total defilement; he perceives himself thoroughly, and thoroughly polluted with it: and cries out bitterly, Ah what shall I do! not only, nor so much, because I shall be damned; but because I am so wicked, so sinful, so contrary to God, so rebellious against him, so very a traitor unto him, and so utterly unable to mend these woeful disorders of my soul. These be his groans, these be his plaints, and his cry out are of his wickedness and iniquity, wherein he was conceived, wherein he was borne, wherein he hath lived; and whereof now he perceiveth not so much as one part of his heart, or of his life, to be clean, and unspotted. This acknowledgement and sense of our sinfulness, is the very first beginning of holiness. The unregenerate often sees and feels his damnation; the regenerate alone his sinfulness, the miserable depravation of his nature; the utter, total, odious, pollution of his whole man; being so loathsome, that he sees God cannot choose in justice but detest him, and for any thing that is in himself, for ever reject him. This apprehension of sinfulness is mixed always at first (at least often) with the fear of God's wrath and vengeance: but it doth so temper and allay that fear, as the bitterness thereof, carries not the soul furiously to contend against God, as else he could not choose but do. For his hatred is not stirred now against God, whom in truth (by virtue of a secret, unfelt, and undiscerned hope, that the spirit of God hath created, and doth uphold in him) he loveth, and honoureth, though he be more than half in doubt, lest he may destroy him: but alone against himself, his wretched hateful self, that is so intolerably wicked and nought, that he can see no cause, but that the Lord should glorify his equity and justice, in damning him. And so much for this first work of regeneration: the second follows it close at the heels, and is nothing else, 
2. An earnest de●●●e of ●●●●nesse with remission of sins.  but an earnest desire of attaining holiness and virtue, together with remission of sins, and the favour of God in Christ jesus. For you must conceive the party that is now in regenerating, to have a general knowledge of the doctrine of the Gospel, and a general assent also to the truth of it: this doctrine being (as I said before) an instrumental cause of regeneration. But now the general knowledge gins to be made special, and the man touched with a sense of sin, is moved also with a most vehement longing after grace and mercy; not alone to pardon his sin, but also to heal his soul of it, as of a desperate wound, which he feeleth to be most smarting and mortal. So he cries out, who shall deliver me from this body of death? No hungry man did ever, with a more eager appetite, wish for meat; nor thirsty man for drink; nor covetous man for money; nor ambitious man, for advancement, than he now longeth to be reconciled unto God in Christ; to have his foul nature made clean, his woeful sins forgiven, his abominable corruptions removed, and killed, and holiness planted in their room. Oh how feign he would be holy! O how feign would he be humble, faithful, obedient! how feign he would believe in, love, fear, serve God but, ah wretch that he is, he cannot: Woe, woe, unto him, he cannot. O, how shall he be able to prevail against these vile disorders of his heart, and life? how shall he do to be less sinful, and more righteous? These be his thoughts, these his wishes, these his groans: he finds so great a miss of nothing, as of the pardon of his sin, and the graces of the Spirit of God; and if he had that bestowed upon him, were he a beggar, a prisoner, a slave, any thing; yet he should seem to himself an happy man: and, ah Lord, (thinks he) that thou wouldst be pleased, for Christ his sake, to forgive my wickedness, and to heal my nature. Now the thirst that he had after the things of this world, is wonderfully cooled; and, (as a man in a burning fit of an ague, makes no reckoning of his fine clothes) he doth almost put off all those desires, and poor or not poor, esteemed or not esteemed, it is no great matter; but that he might be accepted into the favour of God, and have his sins pardoned and subdued, and his unholy nature made holy, that is all in all within him. There is to be seen in unsanctified men, in case of terrors of conscience, (which sometimes do lie long upon them) a great desire to be free from the insufferable evils they see coming upon them. For, who can make question, but that judas would feign not have been damned? or, that the damned in hell have not a wonderful desire get out of their torments? this being one main aggravation of their pangs, that they cannot but desire, to be delivered out of those evils, which they cannot escape. But they, not having the supportation of the Spirit of God to underprop them with hope, do vanish in these desires, and lose the fruit of them for lack of a kindly working of them towards the Lord: for they be not lifted up to heavenward. But the man that is now in framing a new, (being sustained with the forementioned secret hope) hath vehement and settled wishes, fixed and fastened in him; whereby he thirsteth after the grace of God, not alone to save, but also to amend him. So the desires of the sanctified arising from the spirit, are differenced from the desires of the unsanctified, that are mere fruits of nature, (which would feign be well eased of an heavy burden) by these two things: First, that they are directed unto God, whereas the other are roving and confused desires. Secondly, by their being set, always, as well (often as much, sometimes more) upon holiness, as upon freedom from punishment: upon the getting of virtue and goodness, as upon the getting of an heavenly kingdom; whereas the heart of the unsanctified is so taken up, (when he must needs feel it) with the sense of his misery and punishment, that he cannot have while to settle any part of his long, upon the renewing of his soul by grace; and so far is the work of a new birth well proceeded. The poor dead man, being so far awakened out of his senseless death in sin, that with great disquietment he feels it, and with heartiest workings of his soul doth covet to come out of it: which last I take to be the hungering and thirsting after righteousness; noted by our Saviour as a blessed note of blessedness. 
3. The spirit of Prayer.  In the third place, there is dropped into him the spirit of grace and supplications, by which he is at length emboldened to go unto God, and in some solemn and express manner, to utter his confessions and petitions; which before (perhaps) for some good space of time he could not dare to do. For the former two works of grace do often (a great while together) show themselves in sighs and groans, and sudden & strong ejaculations, & secret & undissembled boilings up of desire, in deep wishes & long, afore the poor sinner can take so much heart to himself, as to make a form and settled prayer unto God. But after the working of these motions some while, he puts upon himself the resolution of the King of Nineveh, and saith within himself, 
jonab. 3.  Let me cry mightily unto the Lord of heaven & earth; his mercies are infinite, who can tell, but that be may have mercy upon me, that I perish not? (so is his secret sustaining hope, now form and fashioned into the right proportion of a saving grace, and shows itself manifestly within him), he saith to himself, there is hope concerning this thing; and therefore I will cry, and continue crying, and let the Lord do what he pleaseth unto me. Then down upon his knees he falls, and with his hands and eyes lifted up to the throne of grace (yet almost afraid and ashamed to look thither, and therefore ready often to rise up, and start back again), he dares at last to pour forth his lamentable confessions into God's bosom; whom now he hopes he may have leave to call Father, though (alack) he have been too too ungracious a child. Thus he proceeds to arraign and accuse himself; acknowledging (for which he hates himself, because it is so plain that he cannot but know it), that he hath sinned in such and such, and such and such particulars; and that he hath a most filthy heart, as full of wicked inclinations and thoughts, he thinks verily, as the sea itself is full of water. Wherefore he passeth a very sharp sentence upon himself, and that also very sharply; plainly saying, with an inward assenting of his very soul, that he is fully worthy of all those plagues and punishments, which the Lord hath threatened in his word, and will execute in hell; and that it should not be in the least degree injurious, if God would not be merciful unto him: for ah! how unfit is he to receive mercy? But yet withal, he takes heart in the most humble abasement of himself, most earnestly to call, and cry, and beg for mercy, and forgiveness, and for the work of grace, to change his nature from that loathsome disposition which troubles him: now it may be, by the working of hope, having his heart so much softened, that tears (before stopped up by that binding force, that strong and secret sorrows show themselves to have in man's heart) do even begin to flow forth from him, to add (if it might be) a greater fervour unto his prayers. And if at first, second, third, fourth, and (it may be) many more times, he seem to have cried in vain; because none answer cometh, but heaven itself seems strongly stopped up against him: yet he goes again still to the same throne of grace, again reckoning up the same, and (if he can also) new sins, again bewailing them bitterly, and hearty imploring both pardon and help again. This is to come unto Christ jesus heavy laden, as our Saviour comfortably inviteth us; this is to seek God while he may be found, and to call upon him while he is near, as the Prophet exhorteth us. Which having done, he knows not what to do more; and therefore even casts himself upon God's goodness through jesus Christ; and knowing that in him (the Son) the Father is well pleased, he strives to rest in him, continuing to knock, continuing to seek, because his heart gives him, that at last he shall not fail to find acceptance. And this spirit of prayer seemeth to me so proper to the regenerate, that it cannot any way befall the unregenerate: who when he feeleth not his misery, doth but multiply idle words in seeming to pray, when he feeleth it is so wholly drowned and swallowed up thereby, that he cannot run unto heaven for help. But with the regenerate, prayers and supplications are always found, and a continuing therein also, how many bitter repulses soever he suffers at God's hand; as often he doth very many, the Lord either deferring or making more speed to answer, as he sees most behoveful for the profit of each of his servants; and proportioning the fruit of his grace this way, to his knowledge of their ability and fitness to receive an answer, or to brook delays. It must not be denied, but that the man that never shall be regenerate (in the griping and twinges of his accusing conscience, through the working of the law, and the bare illumination of the spirit) may come so far, as to roar out his Lord have mercy upon me, very often: yea, he may by persuasion and entreaty of friends, be brought to read some good prayers out of a prayer-book: yea, to be glad to have an other pray for him, in his own hearing; and in some sense also, to join with him: yea more, by frequent persuading, urging, teaching of some godly man, he may be drawn to pray for himself; but yet still the spirit of prayer is absent, in that he doth not find himself by an inward moving of his own heart) inclined (in the midst of his griefs and fears) to betake himself (to God for help, by calling upon his name. And (which is a main observation in this matter) if he pray, he prays almost altogether for pardon, and for favour, little for grace and holiness; whereas the Christian man, (by a secret drawing of his own inward soul, wrought by this regenerating spirit) comes unto the Lord with his requests, begging grace and holiness, with no less earnestness, than remission and salvation. Yea, and having once begun this course, he finds so much refreshing thereby, that he cannot but continue to do it, even sometimes with much struggling against, of his own heart, through fears and doubtings thereof. So it is one thing to be persuaded to pray by men, and to do it for ease sake; another thing to be inclined unto it, by the private and secret working of the Spirit. One thing to beg for pardon, not much minding amendment; another thing to cry for the help of God to reform one's heart and soul, as well as his free favour to pardon former offences. An unsanctified man, by benefit of Christian acquaintance, in long and heavy terrors, may come to the one of these; to the other, alone the Spirit of sanctification can lead one. To which pass, when the heart is once brought at length, 
4. A persuasion of mercy, bringing a resolution of obedience.  the fourth act of the Holy Ghost doth plainly show itself; for it becomes a spirit of adoption within him, the very earnest penny of salvation, sealing up unto him the favour of God, the pardon of sin, the attaining of life; and by a new (and in truth considering the difference of former times) a strange work, persuading him, that God is reconciled unto him, and hath accepted him for his child. As it made him able to take unto him words, and go unto the Lord, craving to be accepted graciously: so it brings him word again from God, that he shallbe, yea, that he is, accepted graciously; and answering him (even as, one would say, with a sensible answer in the midst of his prayers oft-times) so strongly and undoubtedly ●●●ures him of his being heard, that he makes, for the time, no more question of it then whither he lives yea, or no. From which assurance of spirit (having tasted the sweetness of God's Grace, and felt how good the consolations of his Word and Spirit are) he grows resolute in his very soul, for the time to come, in all things, to please God, and finds a new kind of disposition, enabling him to avoid evil, and do good; so having put his neck under the gentle and easy yoke of Christ jesus, he finds rest unto his soul: and thus is Christ form in him, and he transformed into a new creature. For this firm purpose of will to please God in all things, is so manifest, and evident, and sensible a work of grace; that now we may say, this act of regeneration is grown to some good ripeness, and even now perfected in him: before he was in making a new man; but now he is made new: now he is begotten again, and become a son of God, and heir of his kingdom, and fellow-heire of Christ. I know that it may befall an hypocrite (lying under the burden of a terrified conscience, which may be totally and perpetually separated from regeneration, and regeneration from it) by the diligent inculcating of the comforts of the Gospel, and the earnest labour of some Christian and godly men (that in such case would feign speak peace), to be brought (because they are told, there is none other way of comfort) to a purpose of never committing such and such gross sins, as they are accused of in their own souls; and to some promise of amendment of life: but this is rather a resolution forced upon them by striving of others, hereupon promising comfort; then a thing growing in themselves, out of the sense of the loving kindness of the Lord their God. Whereas a Christian finds somewhat within him, inclining him, and making him to say within himself, and even little less than to swear and vow with David, that he will surely keep the righteous judgements of the Lord, and that in all things, and for ever, to his dying day. And thus is the work of regeneration brought to some perfection, thus doth the holy Ghost mould the soul of a man into a new fashion; thus doth he stamp upon him a new image, and as you would say, the very lineaments and proportion of God his Father, whom in a sweet likeness (that makes him amiable to God and Angels), he gins to resemble. Only my brethren understand you one thing for the better conceiving of all that hath been spoken. There are two sorts of regenerate men in the world. Some it pleaseth God to call to himself, even very betimes, dropping piety and grace into them, almost together with their mother's milk (by benefit of that great favour of God, holy and Christian education), and that even in certain insensible degrees; so that they cannot so easily name the beginning and progression of this work. In these all the forenamed things are most manifestly found (for in truth the working of them doth not cease, till life cease); and that so, as sometimes the one of these works of grace is more strong than the other. Sometimes they find a more sensible abasement of themselves within their own hearts, out of the apprehension of their sinfulness; sometimes desires and prayers are more vehement; sometimes a comfortable resolution of pleasing God, doth more mightily stir in them: yet because of the early working, and that they were wrought in a still manner by very small degrees, the work did almost go beyond observation; and they cannot so distinctly tell when they began to be abased, when to be raised up. But there is another sort of men regenerate, who did live a long time in unregeneracy; yea perhaps also in profaneness, and notable and notorious wickedness, (for oft it falleth out that the pharisees and Scribes make less haste to the kingdom of heaven, than the Publicans and sinners, I mean that the gross offenders are sooner regenerated then the civil livers). Now for such men, it pleaseth the holy Ghost many times, yea most times, to work these four fore-rehearsed works, very distinctly; making as it were some evident pause, betwixt each of them, and grace goes forward in them, even step after step, in the manner that hath been described. Most times, if not always, (the difference of their former life, when they were but dead, making the matter evident enough), they can name, when, and where, and by what means, the Lord began first to lay them low, to pull them down; and (as they say, in nature corruption and generation go together) to kill their old man by terrors; till being so slain, he had in a calmer manner showed them the filthiness and loathsomeness of it. They can tell, what long they felt before they durst pray; and what ado they had to bring themselves to pray; and then, how long they continued praying, before they were answered; and lastly, when that sweet tidings came, that ravished their soul with joy, and made them so enamoured of God's goodness, that they even made a strong covenant with him, to walk in his ways and keep his judgements. All these things (I say) they can tell well, and nothing doth them more good, then to recount with themselves, this mighty act of the most high; whereby their fowls (with as great a miracle as once Lazarus his body) were raised up from the rotten grave of sin, wherein they lay (wrapped up in the winding sheet of hardness of heart, and blindness of mind) stinking and putrefying; & (as a carcase crawleth with worms) swarming with those noisome lusts, that are able to poison up an honest heart.   

CHAP. V Showing the effects of Regeneration.  
ANd so have you (brethren) the order, and (so far as may be collected out of scripture) the manner of the bringing to pass of this most excellent and wonderful work, of a new begetting: by the most excellent and wonderful begetter, the Spirit of truth: and by that excellent and wonderful seed of life, the word of truth. 
3. The effects of regeneration, which are four.  Now I will declare unto you (that which is the third thing I promised) the effects that follow hereupon. Not every particular, (for who can name them? the life of grace abounding in multiplicity of actions and operations, (as it were eating, drinking, breathing, grieving, striving, smarting of the soul) as the life of nature); but alone some principal, and most eminent; by the seeing of which in itself, the soul of the new borne babe of Christ shall have cause to receive much comfort. The principal effects therefore of regeneration are these four. First, a spiritual combat. Secondly, a good life for all this combat. Thirdly, a knowledge of that good estate, whereinto the regenerate is translated. Fourthly, Spiritual growth in those graces, that at first were but weak and feeble in the regenerate. For alack, an infant is a very tender thing, and so are Gods infants.  
For the first of these: 
1. The spiritual combat with  No sooner doth a Christian begin to draw the breath of this new life, but he finds himself called to fight even in the very cradle (as I may so speak, and as they fabled of that renowned heathen man). He stands in a pitched field of enemies, so soon as he can go upon the feet of his soul; and there he must never cease giving and taking blows, till he cease to be in this lower world. Although indeed there be some intermission, and relaxation of the strength and fury of the encounter, as it pleaseth the Lord (that knows all things) to temper them to his strength, and direct them to his good. 
1. The Devil.  First the devil gins to play his part with him; and finding him gained out of his hands, and pulled from under his tyranny, musters up an army of temptations, wherewith at least to annoy him; if he cannot (as he cannot) prevail to bring him back again to his servitude and thraldom. For when the strong man armed kept his house, all things were at quiet under him: but when he feels himself bound, and cast out, and his house rifled by a stronger than himself, than it must needs follow, that he will bestir himself, and lay about him with all the power that he can make. So now the poor Christian (though perhaps but an infant in grace) is violently assailed by Satan, (according to his nature) with extreme rage and subtlety. And if it have so fallen out, that the Spirit of God was feign to batter down the height of his heart, and make passage for himself, with horrible fears and terrors; then Satan labours often to revive those terrors, and by infinite cavils and objections, to make him even despair of his salvation. There is none end almost of the devils striving in this case, but he will labour continually with new doubts and objections, to call his salvation into question; and to make him think, that he shall never enjoy the quiet possession of his heavenly inheritance. Yet against all these, the Spirit of God so strengthens him, that by virtue of the gracious promises of God, and by the power of constant prayers and supplications, he supports himself, and still continues to rest himself upon the free goodness of God in Christ, notwithstanding all these objections and shake. Neither yet will Satan rest here, but is further troublesome unto him, by stirring up innumerable vile suggestions, to draw him to the committing of some most notorious sins, perhaps worse than ever in all his life before; and for his old corruptions, he ceaseth not to provoke and incense them, with all vehemency, that he may drive him into lewd and hateful practices of sin. But against these suggestions also, he fighteth resolutely, much indeed vexed and disquieted with them, but still rejecting & abhorring them, and beating them back by the word of God (which is his sword), & by constant supplications; whereby still he settles his soul firm and fast in his holy purposes of obedience. I confess, that the devil is a common enemy to all mankind, both sanctified and unsanctified: and therefore the unregenerate also are much molested with him oftentimes, when he grows exorbitant, and seeketh to pull them (by the strength of utter despair), as it were quick into hell, and to make them kill themselves, or do some other most gross and unnatural crime. But Satan is not willing to deal so roughly with them, if he could choose; for he stands ever in most danger of losing them, when he carries himself towards them, in so hard a fashion. Wherefore he rather flatters, and fauns, endeavouring to rock them asleep still, if he can, in the cradle of security and presumption. Neither will he storm thus, but when he sees his advantage in regard of some bodily cross or distemper; or that he sees the Lord will needs awaken their sleepy consciences. But for the poor Christian, he would not give him rest, no not for a day or two, from the most horrible fears, and from the foulest temptations, whereto his corruption gives any passage, or from others more hideous; especially if he see him weak, scrupulous, and iniudicious, than he makes use of such ignorance and weakness; and will never find time to make an end of vexing him, but that the Lord himself doth please to sound a retreat. Indeed the Lord, by this means to keep down his pride, and overmaster his strong corruptions, doth give much way to Satan's rage: but so still, that he forgets not to refresh him, with seasonable aid of his spirit of prayer, and with the strength and comfort of his holy word and promises. And in these terms stands he with Satan, ever (almost) assailed and encumbered by him. And besides this, the flesh also, 
2. Of the flesh.  as a more dangerous enemy, though not so violent, steps forth to encounter him. For though by grace it be wounded and mortified, yet is it not quite and clean taken away and removed. Wherefore the corruptions of his heart also grow violent in him, lusting against the spirit, and with a kind of insinuating and secret inclination, carrying him forward to all the former lusts of his ignorance, and perhaps to some that are more loathsome and abominable. Now unbelief, passion, lust, revenge, wantonness, wordliness, and all the old distempers, will be moving in his soul: and he shall find himself ever and anon, little less than ready to yield unto them, and to be quite overcome by them. But the spirit, in this case, reviveth itself also, and lusts against the flesh; stirring up good motions against the bad, and holy desires against the unholy, and virtuous wishes against the vicious, and hearty prayers and requests to God against the sinful inclinations of the evil heart: so that at length his godly purposes grow strong, and he remaineth resolute, not to work wickedness, for all his earnest proneness thereunto. Thus the regenerate finds himself strangely divided within and against himself: Sometimes he would be sinful, and commit such and such wickedness; and yet again, having better thought of the matter, he would not. At other times he would cast away all sin, and feign perform all good duties with all constancy: but he finds something within, resisting and rebelling, and he would not be so good. But still in conclusion either sooner or later, the sanctified part gets the better of the unsanctified; the desires and purposes of goodness, prevail against the desires and purposes of evil; and he is settled in the holy determinations, that the spirit of God doth lead him unto. His heart is even a pitched field of contrary desires; the bad often grow very strong and vehement, and able almost to overthrow and chase away the good. But the good gather head again, and beat back the bad; and by the spirit he mortifies the flesh, and by the word of God and prayer subdueth and crucifies those carnal affections of his. I confess there is a miserable stir, & a troublesome discord, in the soul of an unsanctified man, betwixt the light of the conscience, and the corruption of the will; this haling him forward to divers wickednesses, and that drawing back: but the difference betwixt the natural combat, and the spiritual, is so manifest, that no good man, which hath felt them both, can choose but see how to distinguish them one from the other. 
The difference betwixt the combat of the and spirit, and the opposition of the conscience & the corrupted will, in the unregenerate.  Indeed they are evidently distinguished in five things: 1. In the faculties that oppose each other. 2. In the things about which they quarrel. 3. In the motives of the opposition. 4. In the means of resistance. And fifthly, in the issue thereof. First, in the unregenerate the will is wholly carried after sin, alone the conscience makes a clamorous gainsaying, and suffers not the will to go on in its evil courses uncontrolled. He would with all his heart commit wickedness, but he dares not: not so the regenerate. In him not the conscience alone stands out against sin, but the will itself is divided, in part hanging one way, in part another. He would not do evil, not alone he dares not; and the act of the will setting against its own corruption, by its own holiness, is far different from the act of the conscience, opposing the will that remaineth wholly corrupted. See it in a comparison: An hungry dog hath a strong appetite to be devouring some meat that stands before him: but at the same time he sees a man standing by with a cudgel to strike him if he touch it. Now his appetite is altogether to the meat, but he is feared and overawed by the sight of the man that is ready to strike him. So is it with the unsanctified man, sin is his food, his will is wholly carried to it; but the conscience holds as it were a cudgel over him, threatening to strike, if he taste. Wherefore, what with a full desire he would do, he forbeareth in act to perform, affrighted by those clamours. But now a man diseased, sees some food to which his appetite inclineth: but he knows it hurtful for his body, and therefore, though his will, drawn by his senses, sometimes move him to be tasting; yet the same will, informed by reason, doth prevail in him to be unwilling, and out of such unwillingness to forbear. So is it with the godly man: His will stands to sin, for the pleasure or profits sake in some part: but being better taught by God's spirit, of the sinfulness thereof, his own will checks itself, and he sets up his resolution not to meddle with it. So is this point of difference made plain; not to be willing to do is another thing, than not to dare. In the former the will bridleth and holdeth-under it's own inward motions, and not alone the outward act: in the latter the motions of the will have a free scope, but alone the outward act is restrained. Further, in the things whereabout the stir is, they differ very much. For the conscience of the unsanctified, makes resistance to their will, alone (unless in case they be under terrors of conscience) in some more gross, notorious, palpable, and unaccustomed sins; which are commonly joined with shame and reproach in the world, and are not likely committed but by those that are infamous amongst men: as in perjury, murder, adultery, theft, false witness bearing, and such like. For smaller evils, and such as the world little accounts of, though known and confessed to be sins, the natural conscience is content to dispense, and daub, and daily, and give easy way to the doing of them, upon a thousand fond shifts and pretences: but now the regenerate man's will (so far as it is regenerate) is in combat against its own unsanctifiednes, about every known evil, the little as well as the great; that that is allowed in the common practice of the world, as well as that that is disallowed. For of him it is truly said, that he worketh none iniquity. Thirdly, the natural conscience useth the motives (or restraints rather) of fear, of shame, of danger amongst men, at the best and most, of destruction and damnation from God: and by threatening these things, (sometimes somewhat terribly) it over-aweth the motions of the will, from consenting to act, though not to desire. But in the regenerate will, the arguments of resistance are fetched from God, and from Christ, from the love of God, from the death of Christ, from th● scandal of religion, from the dishonour of the name of God, from the Lords being displeased with sin; and not only, barely, or chief, from the punishment of sin. Fourthly, the conscience of the unsanctified drives him not to prayer, to the word, to spiritual meditations, as weapons, whereby to mortify evil lusts, and to restrain the will from consenting; only it follows him with its own vehement checks and reluctations, in divers troublesome and confused thoughts. But the sanctification of the will opposeth its corruption, by prayers, by the word, by the blood of Christ jesus, and by the hopes of eternity. For having this hope, he purgeth himself as Christ is pure. So the unsanctified man, when he would do evil and dares not, is tossed and tumbled from place to place, now thinking of one thing, now of another, wishing to follow his own inclinations, but wanting boldness; and if he do any thing to help himself, it is to get him into some company, that perhaps may ease him a while. But the sanctified, when he finds this distraction of his will, usually seeks out some secret place; tells himself of God's commandment, of God's love, of Christ's suffering for him; asketh himself, if he can find in his heart so much to offend so good a Father, so perfect a Saviour: and then falling down, telleth the Lord how wicked he finds himself, what foul desires are stirred in him, and how weak he is to make resistance; he beseecheth God to pull out this prick of his flesh, to strengthen him against these wicked desires, and to establish his heart in a sincere purpose of obedience, by his holy spirit, and so riseth up confirmed. Thus (I say) he doth usually and ordinarily, though sometimes the suddenness of occasions hinders him that he cannot; and sometimes his own neglect of duty hath so estranged him, that he finds no power so to do: in which last case he is often foiled, in the former not so often. Lastly, the conscience, if it take the foil once or twice, is benumbed and silenced. Sometimes it suffers its mouth to be clean stopped, by some idle shift and vain distinction, which the wit (that in many men is too good for their conscience) hath invented for the justification of evil: and after some such paltry defence or apology, a man is suffered to sin freely enough. But if the thing be never so unjustifiable, yet after two or three times doing it, the heart is hardened, the natural conscience put to silence; and a man's checks grow faint, or none at all, until some cross come, or some immediate hand of God to set it on working again. For why? the unsanctified man, as he did not beg grace to hold him up before his sin; so neither after, hath any heart to go and confess it, and crave the spirit of repentance; but either lets it pass, or falls to extenuate and excuse it, unless (perhaps) it grow desperate, as in judas. But now the santification of the will, doth still get the victory, though it may receive a foil. It will not be put down; it will not be vanquished: yea every latter time of offending, it is more vehement in its opposition then before: at least so far as to make a man appear more vile and abominable to himself. So it brings him into God's presence again, sooner or later; and makes him say, Lord I have done exceeding foolishly! but ah, do away the sin of thy servant, for thy sons sake; and Lord through thy grace help me, that hereafter I may offend no more. Thus commonly he doth quickly renew his repentance, and the spirit wins the field of the flesh; though it were somewhat disadvantaged, and made to recoil back at first. For stronger is the spirit that is in us, then that, that is in the world: grace is always in conclusion more available than natural corruption. Yea, when God's children are most deeply cast (through presumption of sinning) into the sows of deadness, security, and unconscionableness; yet then still they hear a voice behind them saying, This is the way, walk in it. Then the sanctification of the will shows itself, in many motions and rise against the evils that they do, and by renewing in them the purposes of amendment; though these purposes, perhaps (in case of great prevailing of corruption) be so weak and feeble, that they be not put in practice, any thing thoroughly, till God arise to weaken corruption, and to strengthen grace: and then he weeps, and prays, and recovers himself, resolving to sin so no more, and standing to his resolutions. And so fareth a poor Christian within himself. There is a civil war in his very bosom, and his bowels be sometimes little less than rend asunder with intestine discord, betwixt himself, and himself. He is no longer one, but two men, the old, and the new; deadly enemies, dwelling both in one room. He finds two laws in his heart, the law of his flesh, and the law of the spirit; that drawing him captive to sin, and this helping him out of that captivity. He serves God in one part of his will, and sin in the other; not meaning this last of such a serving of sin as was before his new birth, but some kind of serving, even a doing of that sometimes that sin doth persuade, though unwillingly and against the hair. Neither yet is this all; for as within he is thus perplexed; 
3. The world.  so can he not long be free from disquietment without. The third enemy stands up quickly, and that is the world; and that hates him, maligns him, abhors him, cannot away with him. When once some glimpse of God's image shineth in him, then worldly men perceiving it, if they were his friends, turn foes. They think and call him a fool; they say he is either proud, or stout, or mad, or all. After a while also come slanders, as it were stronger and sharper weapons: then (if the times will give leave) his enemies growing in rage, as he grows in goodness, he meets often with loss of goods, banishment, and even death itself. So the world tries, what she can do by violence, if that way seem the fittest course of pulling him back again into her society: but if the case be such, that that way seem not at first so plausible, the world assaults him with strong allurements; his friends and neighbours will persuade him to return to be himself again: he shall have large offers of friendship, and of gain. Many entreaties, many promises, many assurances, and many performances of good turns, as strong baits, are held out before him, to divert him from the ways of godliness. And these fairer assaults often hurt him much more, than the more violent; but yet still his faith is his victory, by which he overcomes the world. The assurance that he finds in himself of God's eternal love, and the sweet effects thereof makes him to disdain these sugared allurements, and to stand strong against those bitter encounters; flatter they, or frown they; do him good, or do him evil, still he holds himself to this conclusion, he will not leave God, to cleave unto the world again. Thus you see how the regenerate man is laid too, on every hand, within, without, on every side. There is no day in a year, no hour in a day; nay verily, scarce any minute in an hour, wherein some one or other of these his back friends, doth not strive to do him a spite. The worst enemy is within himself, the next is the devil, and the world the least. These welcome him in this manner, into the City of God. Thus they entertain him into the society of Christ's mystical body. But in all these things he is an excellent conqueror, yea verily more than a conqueror, through him that hath loved him: for he is out of all danger, of ever being quite overcome. Wherefore notwithstanding all the trouble of this first effect of grace; 
2. A good life.  the second will follow the first, and that is, a good conversation. A man would imagine, that the forenamed encumbrances should so far discourage his heart, to whom they befell; as to take from him all boldness, so much as to attempt a good course. And indeed so it would, were he not continually led and strengthened by the same spirit, that at first regenerated him. But by virtue of that divine assistance, it comes to pass quite contrary: for those enemies do but quicken and further his proceed in goodness; and in spite of them all, let earth and hell and his own heart, do the worst that ever they can, he is able to live godly in Christ jesus. He is enabled both to leave evil, and to do good (for both these parts of a good life must be had, or else indeed the life is not good); and that in a good measure and quantity, and far better than ever he could do, in former times. Indeed he doth never satisfy himself in this matter, but always falleth far shorter than his own desires aspire unto: but were the former lusts of his ignorance, compared to that his present behaviour, a blind man might perceive the difference to be exceeding great. For as to the first part of a good life, which stands in leaving off wickedness, he cometh so far; not, as to be quite free from all sin (ah this life were a little heaven unto him, if he could once attain to such freedom); but indeed he cannot attain it here, for in many things (ah that word many is too true a word), I say in many things we sin all; and they be quite besides their Christian wits, that imagine once repenting, to be sufficient for a Christian man, in all his life: but yet so far he comes, as to forsake the ordinary practice of gross sins, and the allowance of all known and vehemently suspected sins. So soon as ever a Christian is truly regenerate, so soon he ceaseth to make a trade of sinning. He that is borne of God sinneth not, neither can sin, in this manner. He may slip into faults of gross nature, once, twice, many times, (sin cleaving so fast unto him as it doth), but still it is not his usual practice so to transgress. For in truth, now sin is become unnatural to him, and as contrary to the life of grace bestowed upon him, as poison is contrary to his natural life; and as bitter things are to his taste, and harsh sounds unto his ear: wherefore his soul riseth against it, and he doth much more frequently overcome the temptations by resistance, then is overcome of them. Sins, I mean gross and grievous sins, are to him as deadly wounds to his body; which sometimes (as a man in a frenzy) he is drawn to give himself, but usually he doth not so. And when he doth so, the manner is exceedingly different from his former course. Then he committed it with greediness: now with great and continual reluctation. Then he kept in himself a purpose of sinning, if he could for fear of shame or danger: now his heart stands constantly resolute not to sin. Then he followed after the occasions of sinning: now he flies far from them. Then he shifted, and excused himself, having committed sin: now he becomes a most bitter and severe censurer of himself for sin, if he do commit it. Having fallen, he riseth again, and with anger indites and arraigns' himself before the Lords tribunal. There he poureth forth many bitter lamentations, and could almost find in his heart to throw himself down to very hell for it. He thunders out against his own heart, all the bitter curses and threatenings of the Law; and is even almost willing, that God should even damn him for it, but that he hopeth, for his mercy sake, he will not so do. And such is his freedom from gross sins, that are against the plain light of nature, or express words of the Law, and wherein the members of the body are given as weapons of unrighteousness. He falls into them, if at all, yet seldom, and seldomer and seldomer, with an horrible strife, with great anxiety, with little or no content; and with a most vehement condemning of himself, before the face of God, in secret, afterwards. Thus unless (perhaps) he be cast into a sown for a time, and cannot yet rise again: which if he be, he fares all that while as a man that hath a thorn in his eye, or wound in his sides, never at rest, never quiet, filled with bitter and intolerable anguish, and full of woeful and continual complaints. For still he heareth the voice behind him sounding in his cares, and saying, this is not the way. And still the anointing that he hath received doth so preserve him, that he cannot sin, meaning, give himself over to a settled resolution or practice of sin. And yet further, for sins of a less grievous nature, evil motions, sudden passions, dullness and distractions in good things, and the like: God knows, and he knows, that he commits full many of them. But always he is so upright with God, that he allows them not. He doth not extenuate them, he doth not shift them off with a pish; he doth not run over them as matters of nothing, he doth not let them pass unobserved and unregarded, as in former time, and as it is with unsanctified men. But they be unto him matter of constant and daily sorrow and shame and humiliation. He confesseth them daily, he prays against them daily, and he is continually in a quarrel with himself, because he cannot be so free from them as he desireth. So it comes to pass that he purgeth himself as Christ is pure, so far prevailing against these sins, that he commits fewer of them, and commits them seldomer, & sees them with more dislike of himself, and grows by them more mean and base in his own eyes, and is made by them more careful to sue unto the Lord jesus, and to take more steadfast hold of his merits. So he casteth off the old man, as concerning the conversation in time past, and that even out of his new nature; not moved thereto by reward, or punishment; either alone or principally, but by a kind of natural working of grace in him: but (indeed) it is a supernatural nature poured into him from above; by which it comes to pass, that as S. john saith, he cannot sin, he knows not how to work wickedness, he cannot find in his heart to be a slave to sin any longer. Company or no company, seen of men or not seen, danger or no danger, shame or no shame, punishment or no punishment, still he is averse from sin in his regenerate part; he wills not to do it, he shuneth it, he bewaileth it, one or both: that so it may be manifestly seen, there is a contrariety betwixt his very soul and all sins, that he knoweth to be sins. And for those that are not known to him; he is not ignorant of them, because he will not know them, with neglect of the means of knowing, or with a wilful resistance of them: but alone because he cannot know them, either for want of means to know, or capacity to conceive of, or light to see the truth offered. He doth not wink with his eyes, he doth not set himself to find out shifts, to bury the light that beginneth to appear, and to hold down the truth in unrighteousness; striving not to know sin, because he would not leave it, and out of a purpose to practise it, for the profit or pleasure of it; still labouring to have somewhat to say in its defence, and to elude and shift off whatsoever may be said against it: but he is willing to know, desirous and ready to yield, and when the light gins to shine within, he quickly opens his eyes to behold the same; and if he suspect it, he looks more narrowly into it, with a sincere purpose of being convinced, if the truth appear unto him. And this is the first part of a good life. The second, and as necessary as the first, is doing of good, wherein he is careful to exercise himself; and though all be not alike fruitful, yet every regenerate man is fruitful in some degree. The life of grace hath its gracious effects, as well as the life of nature its natural: and he that hath the former, is as kindly and freely carried to the one, as he that hath the life of nature, to the other. By the supernatural life of God that is in the sanctified man, it is natural to him, to speak to God in prayer, to hear from God in the Word, to confer with God in holy meditations. Wherefore these things he finds himself inwardly moved unto, and he cannot choose but be constant in them. If at any time his wicked flesh hinder him from them (as sickness makes a man sometimes that he cannot eat his meat), then doth he feel, as sensible a miss of them, even as of his meals; and he could be as well without food, as without these exercises: for in truth they are the food of his soul, and he relisheth them as food, though sometimes less than at other times, as the diseases of his soul grow more or less within him. Further, mercy, justice, liberality, truth, diligence, and other virtues, are now natural unto him as well as religion. He takes comfort in doing the duties thereof, and makes conscience of doing them, as he hath occasion. Indeed sometimes he finds a great loathness and backwardness, as a man that is lame, limps and goes softly and with pain; but yet he goes, and he must needs go, and for all the loathness, he cannot be well unless he address himself unto them. Often he hath little mind to pray, and do other religious duties; but then alack, he finds himself (as we say for the body) not well at case, and he hath something within him, that puts him forward, that presseth and urgeth him, and causeth that he must do them, though with much weakness, and resistance of his fleshly heart; for in part it is still fleshly. If he have neglected a work of mercy, he is not well after it, and he is inwardly grieved for it, and resolves to take the opportunity better next time. If he have not followed his calling diligently, he is vexed at heart to think of it, and that day is a day of little comfort, that night a night of little rest unto him. So, if he have omitted admonitions, exhortations, good conference, or any other part of good life. Not alone one, but all good duties, both of the first and second Table, so far as his knowledge extendeth, begin to be to him natural and familiar. He takes a secret and a sweet delight in doing them, & he finds himself exceedingly discontented with himself, if he do them not; and therefore commonly though he come far short of what he would and should, yet there is no day without a line; some or other good work he doth daily, herein indeed exceeding all that himself was able to do before, or that unsanctified men can attain to; that, what he doth, he doth it, because God would have him do it; and his heart doth often actually incline itself to the will of God, and move itself to the duties, with minding itself of the good pleasure of God. It is not company; it is not applause, nor credit, nor gain, which sweyes him; if all these things were away; yea, if all these things were against him, yet he would do good: for he knows, that Gods will is his guide, and that is the thing he desireth to accomplish in his very soul. And further, though he be like a young Artificer, that useth his tools somewhat unskilfully, and doth his business somewhat bunglingly; yet the Scriptures, the Word of God, they be his line and his level, and according to the direction, either special, or general, which he receiveth from them, he striveth to frame his life and actions. So is the true Convert godly in life; gross sins usually he commits not; the smallest known sins he ever disalloweth, condemneth, confesseth before God in secret; and suspected sins he labours to know, and for fear avoideth; and unknown sins he is ready and willing to know. Al and all manner of good duties (though some he finds more hard and difficult, and himself more backward unto them; yet I say, all, and all manner of good duties) he resolveth to do, and striveth to do; and either doth them, or is afterwards very angry with himself, for not having done them; so that his life is to his own feeling, but a very death, if he find it to have been unprofitable: & which is much to be marked, he is hearty glad to see, that others can do the good that he cannot, or can do it better than himself. 
3. Knowledge of this good estate.  So you have the second effect of regeneration: the third follows, and that is a knowledge of this his good estate. The man regenerate, understands himself to be regenerate, as the man that liveth & walketh, that he liveth and walketh. So S. john tells us plainly, 
1. john 3.14.  We know that we are translated from death to life. Lo, I say, an assured word of knowing, used by the Apostle. But how knows he it? even by a most infallible knowledge, grounded upon the perceiving of the effects of a spiritual life: as he knows, that he is a living man, and not a carcase, by feeling in himself the manifest effects of this common life. For in very truth, spiritual life can no more be hidden, then natural. Can that admirable change, that cumbersome combat, that so far from former times differing, life be found in a man, and he not know of it? Can a blind man become seeing, and he not know it? Can a deaf man hear, a lame man go, a sick man become whole, a dead man live, and not know of these alterations in themselves? It is utterly impossible, that such things should be hidden from him in whom they be: & the taking away of blindness, deafness, dumbnes, lameness, death, from the soul, is to him in whom it is, no less manifest and evident, than the removing of these bodily infirmities. And therefore S. john saith, 
1. john 2.13.  I writ unto you babes, because you have known the Father, meaning with a knowledge of acquaintance, whereby they conceive him to be their father; such as little children (to whom he alludeth) have of their fathers and mothers that they be theirs. In truth the Christian man finds in himself, something within him, sealing him up to life: he hath an earnest penny that makes the bargain sure betwixt the Lord and his soul. He cannot but call God Father, and often (though not always) in calling him so, he even feels him so also. He hath an inward & a sure certificate of his reconciliation with his displeased Lord. And if doubts do arise (as I told you before that they would, and that right often, and very troublesomly: for the devil will cast them in, thick and threefold, and with great violence), these his very doubtings drive him to his father to be resolved of his doubts; by which means it comes to pass, that as a truth is much cleared, by making & answering objections, so his assurance is confirmed by these doubts. Indeed an infant at first, hath not so much knowledge, or use of reason, as to conceive of his own life: but when some days are past, and himself becomes stronger, than doth he well enough know that he liveth: so in the infancy of regeneration, the regenerate can scarce tell that he is regenerate, but having a little grown forward in a good life, he findeth his case plain enough, and wants not this assurance, though he be encumbered with many doubtings. Yea, when he stands at the weakest, and doth most complain for want of this assurance, yet even at that time, he neither accounts it impossible, nor yet needless to have it; but desireth it with the strongest of his desires, and is troubled for want of it, more than for want of any other thing: and the feeling that he hath it not, serveth but to quicken his care of seeking it, and to make him seek sound, that he may not be deceived with false imaginations about it. Sometimes also it falls out, that a fit of Melacholy possesseth a grown man so strongly, that he imagines himself no better than a dead man: but then the actions of life performed by him, do put the matter out of question, amongst others that have life; and the same actions at last, persuade himself also, that he liveth. Even so a man borne again, and well grown in the life of Grace, through strength of tentation, may be so far troubled, as to make a great doubt, whither he live the life of grace yea or no. But he by feeling the troublesomeness of this fear, & by striving against it, at length doth evidently find, that he judged falsely of his own case, and so returneth to enjoy his assurance again. Yea, sometimes a living man by some wound received, or by some inward distemperature, is cast into a deadly swoon, neither feeling life, nor giving any great signs of it: but after a while, by rubbing and the like means, he is restored to the use, and to the feeling of life. So a regenerate man being overcome by some tentation, and having run into some swoon, doth lie almost like a man dead in sins and trespasses; but after some checks of his own heart, and admonitions of others, and corrections from the Lord, he is revived out of that sown, and gins to show forth the effects of grace; and withal, with comfort to feel and understand the same. Wherefore it is manifest, that the knowledge of a man's being regenerate, is a necessary effect of regeneration, and which faileth not, out of the forenamed cases, and after some time to reveal itself. Hence it is, that the regenerate man wonders at no kind of men more, then at them which will needs hold, that the matter of ones being truly sanctified is so extremely ambiguous, as that, by reason of the deceitfulness of man's heart, it should be impossible for any man, infallibly to know himself to be in the state of grace. He counts this is as absurd, as if a man should say, that because an image may be made and painted so like a living man, and that withal, fits of melancholy, and sows are of so strong a working in men; therefore it should be impossible for any man to know usually and infallibly, that himself is a living man. He perceives that such men speak thus, alone because they talk of these points barely by roar (as they say) & by mere speculation. For he having known the powerful working of God's spirit, knoweth well enough that he hath found it; and knows that having it, it will make itself so evident, that after a little while it will be known; and when he wants it, he finds himself not driven to deny the possibility or necessity of knowing it; but alone to be grieved, and to condemn himself that he doth not get that, which is both possible & necessary to be gotten. He finds also, that though, after his committing of some kinds of sins, this his assurance that he is God's child, is very much enfeebled; yet there is a secret and strong work of grace, inwardly moving him, inviting him, leading him by the hand; and little less than with a kind of sweet and gentle violence, drawing him to go to God and confess his sin, craving mercy, purposing amendment, and casting himself upon Christ for acceptance: that now he cannot but say within himself, sure here is life, though before the matter were called into doubt. Yea he findeth the spirit of adoption, dictating unto him the name of Father, in this case, and making him bold so to call God, and to cry unto him, till at length he perceive by manifest signs, that he is indeed a Father unto him. Yea verily, to the Christian man, this knowledge of God is so rich and precious a jewel, that he makes more account of it then of a thousand worlds, and a thousand lives. Wherefore of (almost) all errors concerning man's condition, he can with least patience brook their (to him being made in case to discern it) most palpable fancy, of which I spoke before, that think it impossible to attain a sure knowledge and infallible, that one is the child of God, not know himself to be Gods by regeneration, and adoption. Take away his life then, take away his being. The world is worse than a prison and a dungeon to him, if the light of this knowledge be taken away: he can have no quiet in himself, no comfort in any thing else, without this knowledge; he perceives that this is the greatest confirmation of his soul, in an holy life, that he knows himself to be begotten again by the seed of immortality, to a lively hope, and to an immortal inheritance. This knowledge therefore is so necessary unto him, that he cannot live without it: and hence it is that he no longer enjoys himself then he retains it. And so much for the third effect of regeneration. The fourth, and (of those that I purpose to speak of) the last effect followeth. That is growth. As a natural life, 
4. Growing in grace.  so likewise a spiritual, by degrees increaseth & waxeth stronger & stronger, approaching nearer to perfection; & that with a proportionable & suitable increase of every part and member, as I may call it, of the new man. For though in some parts he may be weaker than in others; yet in those weaker parts also, considering the weakness, there is a growth correspondent to the growing of other parts. 
joh. 15.2.  All the branches that bring forth fruit in Christ the vine, the Father the good husbandman purgeth, that they may bring forth more fruit; and in Christ all the body having nourishment ministered, and knit together, 
Colos. 2.19.  increaseth with the increase of God; and that also according to the effectual working of every part. A living branch, in a living tree, will draw sap, and get growth. A living member, of a living body, cannot (by the course of nature) but attract fit nurture, and procure to itself a going forward in stature, till the stature be full and perfect. Doubtless Christ is a living tree, his mystical body a living body; wherefore the regenerate must needs be growing. But this matter of growth doth stand in need of a sound explanation. Understand therefore that there is a double growth, one in greatness, the other in goodness; one in quantity, the other in quality. So you may see a man from his birth, to 24. or 25. years grow bigger and bigger, he is higher and thicker, hath larger limbs, and stronger joints; but from these years upward he grows wiser, sager, more stable, more sober and better settled also in his bodily might. So an apple from Spring to Midsummer or after, grows larger and larger in bigness; from thence to the time of its pulling, it grows pleasanter and pleasanter in taste, and better and better relished. Thus it is with a Christian man: For a good space of time, he doth sensibly increase in knowing and leaving more sins, and in knowing and doing more duties; this is to grow in bigness: but after a good time spent in Christ's school, and that there be but few new lessons (not above his form, as it were) to be learned, he cons over the old lessons again, and gets them more perfectly by heart, and better understood. Those sins he leaveth, he leaveth with more sincerity, with more rectified zeal, with more love to God, with more detestation of sin. Those duties likewise which he performeth, he performeth more advisedly, more resolutely, more humbly, more sound, and with a more entire bending of his soul to the glory of God in them, than before: This is his growing in goodness and in ripeness. And always in this latter kind of growth a Christian man stands so affected, that he doth most of all quarrel with himself for not growing, when he grows most of all. Yea his slips into some gross faults (and it may be also sometimes too too thick) do further this his growth ordinarily; so that he never grows faster and better, then after the time that some falls have discovered unto him his badness: for than he grows in humility; in hatred of himself, in suspicion of his own frailty, whereby he is made capable of a profitable growing in all virtues, till at length this become his excellency, that the better he is, the meaner he is in his own eyes; and the further he proceedeth, the more he is acquainted with his own defects, and becomes more sorrowful and ashamed for the slowness of his proceed. But now it must be further conceived, that this growth hath his stops, stays, hindrances, intermissions; and those also sometimes even some long space of time together, even for months and years, as is to be seen in David, Solomon, Asa, Vzziah, and others. For as in natural life, the child may grow till it be twenty, or more years old, and then fall into a dangerous fit of sickness, as an ague, or the like; which shall cast him upon his bed, and make his cheeks pale and wan, his legs quaking and feeble, his stomach nought, and quite turned away from, almost all food, his whole body faint and powerless; so that he can neither stand nor go, nor scarce speak or move himself, but even lie at point of death: Even so also in the life of grace there be Agues, there be diseases, there be sicknesses, into which a Christian man (even now (it may be) come to so much ripeness, as this life will bear) doth suddenly sometimes, but most times by degrees fall headlong, and almost dies, though quite to die it be impossible. Now if you speak of his growing, he doth but grow backward; even as a sick man grows weaker and weaker, after sickness hath ceized upon him. These diseases grow for the most part from the coming in of promotion and wealth, and the pleasures and vanities that most commonly come in with them; that we may see how dangerous the goods and greatness of this world be to a Christian soul, that cannot sound digest and concoct them. Or else, they arise from the poisonful infection of some evil companion or other, to whom a man hath by some occasion foolishly linked himself in familiarity. In truth most times surfeiting breeds spiritual sickness. From the excessive love, and liking, and using, and enjoying of earthly things, and from a conceit of ones own being better and safer for their abundance, a man comes to be less satisfied in God, and in holy duties; and to have less mind to think and muse of heaven, and the graces of God's Spirit, the practising of which is the way to come to heaven. So there is a stoppage and obstruction in the soul, and hence so sensible a decay of spiritual strength, till a man fall to heap more than one or two gross sins (and sometimes presumptuous), one upon the neck of another, and sometimes to lie long in them, before he can see to reform them, or sound renew his repentance for them; the one hardening his heart, and blinding his mind so, that the other following can scarce be seen or felt. Thus there is wrought a strange decay of the power of godliness, even in a true regenerate man, by the increase of his outward estate: for he was a sanctified man, 
Prou. 30.9.  that prayed God not to give him riches, lest himself being full, should deny God, and say, Who is the Lord? And sometimes also on the contrary, even hard and sharp afflictions do bring a decay of sanctification. The anguish of a cross may breed impatiency, distrust, lying, using of base shifts, and twenty disorders in a regenerate man's life; in so much, that he may be drawn to very gross and sinful practices. But when the poor Christian soul is either of these ways diseased, or any other like to them; O, than he fareth like to a sick man indeed, he feels his disease with exceeding great pain. It makes him groan, and cry out many a time, he is weary, full weary of such an estate. No man is more tired with a burning fit of an ague, than he with these fits. Rest, comfort, quiet he can get none. Indeed the devil and the world in some cases, do as friends use to do in case of sickness. They bring likely conserved Plums or marmalade, or some such like sweet meat, which the poor sick man takes indeed, because they will have it so that are about him: but alas, they do but clamme his mouth, and he finds their very sweetness bitter and troublesome: So the devil and the world, and the flesh, offer to the Christian soul, the pleasures, and profits of this world, as it were sweet meats, & he willing to find ease in any thing, seeks if there it may be had: but alas he finds it not, he cannot relish these pleasures, he hath small comfort in these profits; this credit is a dry credit unto him, his heart will not relish such things as these; but still he tosseth and tumbleth, finding no rest in his estate, nor perhaps power to get out of it: for it may be, he cannot bring himself to pray at all, 
Psal. 32.3.  as David could not; for he saith of himself, that he held his peace: or if he do, it's too coldly and faintly to remove so mortal a sickness. But still as the same David also confesseth of himself, he roareth and crieth out all the day long (I cannot but be fully persuaded, that there he describes his estate in the interim betwixt his sin, and his earnest repentance, for some feeble offers to repentance perhaps he might have before), and so now his case is a very restless and diseaseful case. Solomon (the man that of all Gods sick children, I think, by surfeiting caught the so rest sickness) shall witness this. He wanted no sweet meats, but they cloyed him in stead of comforting him; he professeth of them all, that he found them mere vanity and vexation of Spirit. So when a Christian lies under these spiritual diseases, all his outward comforts are but even vexation of spirit unto him. When he hath thus almost wounded and killed himself, Oh how he smarts and bleeds, and is troubled! Indeed he still perhaps is carried after the vanities of the world, sin having now so very much prevailed against him, that he wants power to withdraw himself, and to go back; but yet full many a time he sighs, and groans, and looks towards God, and towards the spiritual rest of his former life, and he finds a very bitter, bitter heart. He is in very great extremity, and it is even a pang of death for him to remember, how the case stood with him once, and how it is now. And in very truth, were he let alone in this case, his soul would perish; the life of grace would die, and he would prove his disease mortal. But, Ah he hath a good Father, who is also a good Physician, who finding his disease grow mortal (and that the admonitions of the Word in public will not reform him, and that the voice of the spirit behind him, is now too weak to be heard by him, though still it cease not to check him, and to call upon him, and to make him sometimes purpose to return again from this outstraying) doth now like a good and wise practitioner, administer some such physic as shall serve the turn. Some potion of a bitter cross, which the spirit shall work withal to make it effectual, is put into his hand to drink it: or some sore tentation of Satan, or some horrible fear of heart, which opens these stoppages, purgeth out these humours, reviveth his soul; and then woefully most woefully, he cries out of himself, laments his exceeding folly, goes to God, heartily confessing his sins, and with all rigour passing sentence upon himself for the same, and so continues to mourn and cry, and beg mercy till he find it; and then strives to make amends for his former not growing, by growing so much the faster for it now. So he is recovered, and continues to the end; for totally or finally fall away by sin, he cannot, because the anointing of the spirit preserveth him: till he be raised up at the last day, Christ will not cease keeping him: yea to salvation is he kept, by the power of that great God that hath adopted him to himself for a son: and this spiritual life given in regeneration, indeed becomes an eternal life; sick he may be, die he cannot.   

CHAP. VI Showing the principal graces which by Regeneration are begotten in the soul.  
ANd so much for the fourth effect of regeneration, and for three of those things, I promised to speak of: I go on now to the fourth and last point, 
4. The principal graces in regeneration bestowed on the regenerate.  viz. to make known unto you the principal graces that show themselves in the regenerate man; and by having of which (seeing by nature he had them not) he deserveth to be entitled a new creature. These are in all the powers of his soul. For as I said at first, holiness is infused into his whole man. First, 
1. In his principal faculties.  in the principal faculties, understanding, conscience, and will. Secondly, in the inferior powers, thinking-power, memory and affections; of which let us speak in order but briefly, First then the understanding of the regenerate is perfected with two most excellent and beautiful graces; 
1. In his understanding.  knowledge, and faith. Knowledge, I say, first of God, then of himself; out of which springeth humility as a proper effect of both. He perceiveth a new light shining within him, enabling him to conceive with a very steadfast apprehension (not with a wavering, wandering, doubtful confused fancy, as that was which he had before) that there is a God, an eternal and infinite essence; his maker, & the maker of all things, most wise, most mighty, most true, most righteous; most merciful, most holy, hating sin with a perfect hatred, and fully bend to punish the impenitent sinner with unutterable punishments; fully resolved with all loving kindness to accept of the penitent. And in one word every way inconceiveably excellent, as being indeed the fountain of all goodness, the creator, preserver, governor of all things, the Father, the Son, the holy Ghost, as he hath revealed himself to his Church. The brightness of this light discovereth itself upon his soul so effectually, that now he stands undoubtedly persuaded of these things; which is also a principal cause of all other the good things, that are begun in him, and so is fulfilled in him the word of God, 
Heb. 8.11.  saying, They shall all know me from the least to the most: 
joh. 17. last.  and again: righteous Father the world hath not known thee, but these have known that thou hast sent me, and I have made known thy name unto them, and will make it known. 
job. 17.3.  So it gins to be to them, life eternal, to know the only true God, and him whom he hath sent jesus Christ. Further, as it were a reflex of this knowledge, follows an apprehension of himself, as of a most mean, base, and contemptible thing (compared to God) in his very creation; for he was made of dust, and came of very nothing: but in this his corruption, which came afterwards, as a most loathsome vile and abominable creature; because he is (now he finds it) full of wickedness and extremely sinful. So grows he more and more to dis-esteme himself, and to have himself in no reputation; yea to be vile and odious to himself, and loathsome in his own eyes; and by acknowledging his infinite baseness in comparison of God, & Gods infinite excellencies in comparison of him, he is made truly humble. Secondly, faith is wrought in his mind (for this I conceive to be the seat of it, for it is the understanding that must deduct particular conclusions from general; and so make application of them, wherein consists the very essence of faith), faith (I say) both in God, and in the word of God. Faith in God, whereby he is verily persuaded that God is his God; being enabled in true and sound manner, to apply to himself the sweet covenant of God, whereby the Lord hath made himself one with him, he can say with assurance of heart, O Lord my God: and, the Lord is my shepherd; and my Redeemer liveth. For in truth, finding the lively portraiture of the divine nature in him, how should he but know his father by his image? & this assurance that God is his, & he Gods, is to him the sweetest thing in all the world; them to miss which, he had rather choose to miss his very life & soul. The stronger it is, the more cheerful & happy is he; the weaker it is (as sometimes it hath its faintings), the less lively is he. There is also faith in the word of God to be seen in him: out of an experimental feeling, and certainty of the truth of it, he is undoubtedly resolved that it is from God; and that so, as he is enabled to apply it to himself in all the parts thereof. For having been to him, as Paul speaketh, in power, 
1. Thes. 1.5.  it must needs also be in much assurance. Before the word of God doth work so mightily, to convert the soul, a man may have a confused opinion of its being true, taken up upon trust (because in the places, and among the persons, where he hath received his education, it is so generally accounted); or else wrought by a common grace of illumination, enabling the mind to give a light, weak, and infirm assent unto it; but he cannot be thoroughly and infallibly resolved of the truth thereof, nor that it is from God: and therefore it is said of the stony ground, that they believed indeed, but withal that the seed had no root in them: 
Luk. 8.13.  they had a conceit, and a sudden flashing apprehension, that sure this doctrine must needs be true; but they had no settled, well grounded, and established assurance thereof. Only when the word sinketh thus into the bottom of the soul, and a man hath had so lively experience of its wonderful and divine working; he makes no more question whether it be of God or no; then whether the Sun shine, and whether that be food that doth daily nourish his body. Wherefore by the inward operation of the spirit, and mighty efficacy of the word, being most effectually convinced of its divinity & truth, he now makes care to apply it in all parts to himself; he lays hold upon the promises, threats, precepts, and makes particular use thereof to his own heart, captivating his reason, sense and all, to the infallible certainty and verity thereof: for he knows that God is the author of it, seeing it hath begotten him again to be the child of God. So is his understanding beautified with these two most admirable fruits of the spirit; by which also he attaineth (as the Scripture calleth it) a notable sharpness of wit, 
Prou. 1.4.  quickening him to the discerning of things spiritual and divine, in such manner and measure, as a man of far better wit & more learning, but destitute of the same help, could not attain unto. In the next place his conscience is also quieted with peace, 
2. In his conscience.  & in lived with conscionableness. Whether conscience be a distinct faculty of the soul; or whether alone a particular act of the understanding reflecting upon its self & its own actions, with immediate reference to God, I hold it not very needful to dispute: but here we will speak of it, as of a special faculty, by reason of the wonderful power, that it is perceived to have in all the soul. First then, I say, the conscience of the regenerate proclaims within him, an established peace betwixt God and him. For the kingdom of God is peace, saith the Apostle Paul, 
Rom. 14.17.  and being justified by faith, (which in nature goeth before this work of regeneration, though in time they be conjoined) we have peace with God. Then in truth Christ fulfilleth his promise of leaving his peace with them; 
job. 14.27.  even such a peace as the world cannot take away from them; and this peace that passeth all understanding, is even as a guard & a watch to keep their whole souls in quietness & safety, though in the world they meet with many troubles and disquietments. Their consciences by this most sweet grace becometh an admirable friend unto them: It tells them from God, that he is reconciled unto them; and being calmed from the former raging wherewith it was tossed, it now makes unto them (even within to the care of the soul) the most pleasing music, & the sweetest melody that is to be heard in all the world. It acquitteth, it excuseth, & in the name and in the room of God, it pronounceth absolution. O unspeakable consolation! This is the peculiar happiness of the sanctified, they have many times tranquillity in their souls through this peace of their consciences, which with a quiet countenance, & a still voice it doth publish within in their hearts. And yet in the midst of this peace their consciences are not dead and sleepy neither; but are ready in a friendly & loving manner to check & control them, if at any time, in things known unto them to be evil, they shall offend: a good man is so conscionable, that he can in no known thing swarm out of the way, but his conscience will be telling him of it. Only this is done in fair terms, not with outrageous bitterness driving him from God, as in former times; but with kind & yet earnest expostulations, drawing him before God to confess & seek pardon. 
1. Sam. 24.5.  Thus David's heart, that is, his conscience, smote him, when he had cut off the lap of saul's garment. Thus his heart also smote him after the numbering of the people, & he went in before the Lord & said, I have done exceeding foolishly, 
1. Sam. 24.10.  but do away the sin of thy servant. And though the conscience (being too much put to it by the servants of God in their folly) do wax somewhat sharp; yet still it keepeth this note of difference from the unpurged conscience, that it draws them unto God. So a good conscience is both quiet, for it promiseth forgiveness; and withal wakeful, for it calls for duty incessantly, & steppeth out against every confessed evil, yea against suspected ones too. 
3. In his will.  In the third place, the will of the sanctified man shows itself to be holy, by two graces also planted in it. First, it is carried up to Godward. It longeth & thirsteth after the living God, so that it findeth nothing in heaven nor in earth comparable unto him. It doth embrace him, and draw unto him as unto the chief, & (in a manner) the only Good. The being, happiness, and felicity of God, is the thing that above all things, yea above his own happiness he desireth; the favour, love, and grace of God next to that, above all other things. Let him enjoy the light of God's countenance, and let corn and wine go which way they will; he is happy enough, in that God is happy and is his Father. So David once, 
Psal. 73 25.  Whom have I in heaven besides thee, and whom in earth with thee? and in an other place, All my bones shall cry, Lord who is like unto thee! Now he hath learned to place his felicity in the living God. Now apprehending him as goodness itself, he uniteth himself unto him by a fervent act of his will, even panting after him. Secondly, his will becometh very flexible to the will of God. It gins to be made one with God's will, and to be (as it were) carried therein, like a star in its proper orb; or even as a man in the chariot, wherein he hath seated himself. His will gins to be even swallowed up in the will of God, and to be nothing but as God will have it; which is the principal, and a most inconceiveable happiness which he findeth in this world. If it may appear unto him that God would have such a thing done, he resolves to do it, say profit, pleasure, & credit what they can to the contrary. Contrarily, if that he perceives the Lord of his life would not have him to do such a thing; his determination is that he will not do it, though he be solicited with all the allurements of delight, commodity, & advancement. In truth, this free and firm disposition of the will to do the good, and avoid the evil, which God enjoineth him, for God's sake; is the very heart and marrow of regeneration: and therefore there is nothing which a Christian man more misseth, than the work of his will this way, if it be hindered; and nothing in himself which he doth enjoy more, whilst the motions of it are uninterrupted. An hearty and unfeigned desire to please God in all things, is the characteristical note (as I may term it) of the sanctified. It is the most apparent, evident, sensible distinction betwixt him, & the falsly-seeming sanctified, the hypocrite. Wherefore it is of much importance to find this grace in ones self. And so are the superior powers of the soul framed to the blessed Image of God. 
2 In the inferiors powers.  The inferior powers must needs follow the temper of the superior, and in them there resteth the spirit of grace and glory, which adorneth them with the brightness of excellent graces. First the thinking power (or imagination) is raised up to God and the things of God. 
1. The thinking power.  The Christian man finds, that as he is apt by nature to think of the King, or of his parents, or friends, or such like thing; so by virtue of his new nature, he is of himself moved to be taking occasion very many times to entertain thoughts of God, and always thoughts tending to magnify him within his soul. He is often stirring up in his own heart, motions tending to discover unto himself the beauty and sweetness of God, his wisdom, his power, his truth, his justice, and other attributes; and withal also the admirable and inconceiveable excellency of heaven, & the surpassing glory and felicity of an other life. There is some familiarity and loving acquaintance betwixt God, and the kingdom of God, and his imagination; and it is a great pleasure & content to him, to converse (as it were) with these things, in the cogitations of his mind, & to have them dwell within him. Before God was not in all his thoughts, as the Psalmist speaketh; 
Psal. 10.4.  but now contrarily, as the same Psalmist affirmeth of himself, his meditation of God is sweet: every thing almost that he sees, serveth but to beget in him new forms of apprehending God's excellency, which in truth shineth forth most brightly in all these his works. A man that knows a rare secret and hidden treasure, cannot but ever and a none have the cogitation of it reviving itself within him: and the Christian having the eye of his mind opened to know God, and to believe in him, sees such rich treasures of wisdom and goodness in him; that his mind must needs be entertaining him within, by the imagination of these things. Wherefore not in solitariness alone, but in company, the motions of his mind are advanced towards heaven; and other things serve but as ladders to raise his soul thitherward. He is often, even in the midst of other businesses, digesting in his mind, the excellencies of God: and thinking with himself how good, how great, how wise is the Lord God, who hath done this, and this, and this! how excellent is his name through all the earth! how happy is he in the highest heavens, where he hath founded the throne of his glory! yea, how blessed a Crown hath he laid up for them that fear him, & how plentiful a reward is reserved for them! when he walketh abroad, and sees God's works, and when he is employed in other occasions, he holdeth his inward comfortable conference with himself about his God, and often hath his soul provoked to speak unto God, and to take him into part of this divine conference; telling him, as it were with a reverent boldness, and wifelike familiarity, how much good he knows by him, and how excellent he must needs conceive him to be by such and such works of his. In one word, he mindeth not only, not chiefly, the things that are below, as once he did; but the things that are above, where jesus Christ our saviour sitteth at the right hand of glory. His meditation is of God and his law and Kingdom continually. In like sort his memory is hallowed to the remembering of God, 
2. Memory.  and the things that pertain to God. He frequently mindeth himself, of that allseeing eye, which in all places attendeth him; and though the Lord as being a spirit, be in a sort absent from his senses, yet by virtue of this sanctified memory (which makes absent things present), he offers him unto his mind as continually standing at his right hand: & beholdeth him in all places (even then when he is far removed from all other company), as a narrow observer of his secret actions, and an eyewitness of all his most inward and retired cogitations. He puts himself in mind still and still, saying, Lord whither can I fly from thy presence? The Lords eyes behold me, his eyelids ponder my paths: to him nothing is secret, from him nothing can be concealed; thus (I say) he mindeth himself of the Lords being hard by him, and represents him often to his soul, as a witness and judge of his whole life, yea of his very heart and conscience. And this excellent virtue of remembering God, doth stand betwixt him, and the temptations to sin, as it were strong barriers, that do mightily restrain his forward flesh from committing it. For why? saith he to himself, doth not the God of heaven see and know and understand? how then shall I do this wickedness, and sin against him to his face? Further, his memory serves his turn also for the things of God. The commandments, threats, promises of the word, the works of God, either of mercy or justice, the infinite and eternal reward of well doing, the intolerable and endless punishment of irrepentant sinning, and the like, are always before his eyes, and he makes none end of minding himself of such divine things, as may frame him to holiness. There is a natural power of memory consisting in the ability of retaining, and making repetition of things that one hath heard or seen. This ability as following the temperature of the body, the sanctified man (perhaps) may want, (and if nature have not bestowed it upon him, he must want it; for grace doth not add a greater natural perfection to the powers of man's soul, but alone makes the perfections it hath strait and right, and guideth them to God ward): but that memory which God hath given him, he can use for the good of his soul to godly purposes, in all the sanctified performances of memory. He can retain good things, according to that strength of retainement which nature affords him: but that that he doth retain (and here indeed he shows his memory to be sanctified), he hath at hand for the benefit of his soul in due season: fruitfully recalling it, in the instant of tentation, in the very time of need, when it may avail him to resist sinful suggestions of Satan or the flesh, and to quicken him against his backwardness and unwillingness to duties commanded. So his memory becomes a principal instrument of order, both to his heart and to his life: for example; A godly man and an unregenerate, come both to one sermon. It is made against filthiness or covetousness, or any vice, as it falleth out. The unsanctified man may (perhaps) be able to repeat ten times more, and more orderly, than the sanctified, (this is a fruit of nature not of grace); but when some time is past, and that both shall be tempted to covetousness or filthiness; all that, that the unregenerate man could so readily repeat, is slipped quite out of his mind (as a thing carelessly thrust into a corner, which a man cannot find when he should use it), so that he follows the sin as much, as if he had never heard that Sermon: but the godly man, hath those reasons & proofs of Scripture which he was able to carry away, instantly in his mind repelling such thoughts and saying, have I not heard what a sin this is? have I not been taught how it displeaseth God? so by this his holy remembrance, the word of God is available to keep him from sinning, or at least after to raise him up to the renewing of his repentance. And so you see the holiness of a Christian man's memory. 
3 In his affections.  Thirdly his affections are also sanctified, and set in good order by the virtues which the holy Ghost infuseth into him. The principal affections are, love and hatred, fear and confidence, joy and sorrow: All these are enabled by the spirit of God, with a new power of exercising themselves upon God, and the things of God; and there are certain virtues which do rectify each of them in their several workings. First for love, the motions and inclinations thereof are ruled by (that King of virtues) charity, both towards God and towards the children of God. A good man's heart is inclining itself still to Godward, he finds in his soul that he hath something within him bowing and bending his heart to God, and making him even earn and melt after him sometimes, and cleave and stick unto him, in an unexpressible manner: yea the sweetness of that love wherewith he finds himself loved of God, is still pulling him unto God, even then when (perhaps) he finds the Lord somewhat displeased with him, and carrying himself towards him somewhat angrily; as a wife comes towards her husband, with a kind of melting affection, submissively but still lovingly, when she perceiveth that he is offended with her. In truth the working of this affection rectified (as I said above) by charity, cannot be well enough set out in words; he findeth such a kind of clinging to God, and such an uniting of his heart towards him, that he had rather be deprived of all that is dear to him in the world, then of him: and his soul doth so setledly, steadfastly, solidly, irresistibly bend itself to be one with him, that this inclination many times doth overweigh and overrule all other inclinations in him; and sometimes he cannot but even break forth into words, professing so much to himself, as David, I love the Lord; and calling upon others, saying, love ye the Lord, wishing with all the wishes of his soul, that himself and all others might more and more love the Lord. A sanctified heart standeth affected toward God, even as the lover doth to the person he loveth; and he hath (though not so passionate, because the object is spiritual, yet) as true and as perceivable a working of his heart to God, as one lover hath to the other: and as to God, so he is likewise endued with charity to God's people. The liking of his heart is to them above all other men: he finds his heart moved with good will to none, so much as to the Saints. If he perceive the beams of God's image shining, that is to him as good, and better than twenty years acquaintance: yea it surpasseth all names of blood and alliance; whom he sees godly, him he prizeth above all other men. In truth this charity doth then show its warmth, when almost the breath of grace is choked by vices of divers kinds. Though some particular breach may cause a little jarring of affections between a godly man, and another whom he persuadeth himself to fear God also, yet he cannot but feel his heart to stand towards him even in this jar. Yea let a Christian man, be at the worst that ever he can be, and gone as far back from his growth in godliness as he can be gone, yet he doth not (as the hypocrite when he falls off) fall on hating those that he sees to hold out in piety; but even then he liketh and loveth them, and none so much as them, unless it may be in some particular jar to some one: and so is his love ruled. His hatred likewise is made a spiritual hatred, it is set on work against sin and sinful men: It is as natural with him to hate wickedness as poison, and he cannot but hate it, and find his soul as it were rising and warring against it; and for those that love sin, he cannot but be out with them. In truth, this hatred of sin doth cleave so unto him, and doth so insinuatingly work within him, that he cannot but hate himself (against that filthy self-love which he finds in himself) when he perceiveth the working of sin in himself. And as for wicked men, though he would never so feign, he cannot find his heart to be joined with them: he must be of David's mind, and hate them that hate God; not meaning that he carrieth the habit of malice against them, but this his affection (of disliking and of separating from any thing) that he must needs find stirring in himself towards a wicked man, in whom he sees not the image of God. Now for his affection of fear, that is also rectified by the virtue of the fear of God: his soul is overawed by a grace, making him that he dares not sin against God, as a child doth not dare to offend his father; though he know well that God will do him no harm, yet he cannot make himself bold against him; for why, he fears him, and doth apprehend the displeasing of him, to be so great an evil, that he even shrinks at the conceit of it, and finds his heart (as it were) falling down at the thought thereof. Therefore though no man could punish for such and such sins, yet he cannot adventure upon them (though he perceiveth something within him provoking him, that is, his flesh), because he knows not how to answer it to God, whom he counts it madness to be bold to make his enemy. Yea, and this his fearing of God doth sometimes work so mightily in him, that it makes him fearless of those dangers which else would make him tremble; because he apprehends them as matters of nothing in comparison of the displeasure of God, which above all things he feareth. Indeed, if God do please to reveal himself any whit terribly, or to stir up the conscience, the unsanctified man, trembles much at God's presence; he cannot keep this passion of fear from working, when there is present an object fit to move it; but take away this, and he ceaseth to fear: only the good man, hath the fear of God so habituated in him, that though he find not a shaking of his joints at all times, yet his very heart shaketh and trembleth to think of offending him, and so he cannot be induced to do it: or if he have, this fear of his will give him no peace, till he have attained reconciliation. So that it is a fear mixed with love, making one careful not to offend, and to seek atonement: not an astonishing fear joined with hatred, making a man to run desperately from God when he hath sinned, and nothing else but cry out against himself, and his own misery. Now for confidence, here the Christian finds himself confirmed with strength from above, to rest his heart upon God in Christ, for the obtaining of all good things and escaping of all evil. His soul hangs to Godward, God's truth and God's power are leaned unto (when any thing assails his hopes), as the very pillars and foundations thereof: and if he have no friend nor means to trust in, yet he gives not over hope; but as David, can comfort himself in God, because his heart was fixed upon him. And though this his confidence wants not its imperfections, yet he perceiveth himself to have gotten a new strength by it, which he was never acquainted with before; establishing and confirming him in and against all those shows of evil, that are ready to offer themselves unto his mind. In like manner his joys are taken-up with God, and things heavenly many times. O how much good it doth him, to consider how glorious the Lord his God is in himself, and how gracious unto him? and what an unutterable, and heart-ravishing pleasure it is to him sometimes to meditate of his full enjoying of God hereafter? These things coming to his mind, do even sweetly enlarge his heart, and make his soul to open itself to take contentment in them, sometimes even as sensibly as in the things that are here below, and often times more. The virtue of joy of the holy Ghost doth rule his natural passion of joy, and causeth it to be provoked by things that are not subministred unto his fancy by his senses; but to his understanding by his faith. God's promises are sweet to him, the Kingdom of heaven hath a comfortable relish in his soul, and he finds a life indeed, in knowing that his life is hid with Christ. Lastly, his sorrows are ordinated by the virtue of godly sorrow, so that sometimes his griefs do even run towards things spiritually evil. Always he maintaineth in himself a being displeased against sin, but oftentimes it doth even sting his soul to consider how he hath offended his God. And though he do know himself, out of the danger of damnation; yet the loving of God breaks his heart, and he can then with a still and quiet mourning, sigh and mourn, and weep for sin, when he is far enough from having any fear of damnation: and though his griefs this way be not every day alike in quantity nor insensibleness; yet usually no day passeth him; wherein he doth not seek to draw his heart to a relenting remorse for his sins. Though his offences be either unknown to the world, or such as the world (if it do know) makes no reckoning of: yet his heart is touched with them, it often doth even ache and is troubled, when he remembers his past or present transgressions: Yea, and he never remembers them, but he would feign have it ache. Even as nature hath framed him, so that he cannot but grieve at natural inconveniences if they befall him (for the passions are not simply at the command of the will in their working, but alone in regard of the measure): so grace doth in such sort rule his heart, that spiritual inconveniences, and chiefly, sins cannot but be troublesome to him. It is a voluntary sorrow that he hath for sin; a sorrow not forced upon him by crosses alone, but sought by him when he hath no cross to grieve for, oft times: yea, he grieveth for this, that he cannot be better than he is; and it is a trouble and anguish to his soul, that he finds in himself no stronger and better growth in godliness. And thus (my brethren) is a regenerate man's heart adorned in all the powers of it: understanding, will, conscience, the principal; and imagination, memory and affections, the inferior. Not so perfectly I confess, that the contrary vices do not often show themselves, interrupting the working of these virtues, and obscuring and darkening their lustre: but so, as that still the Sun of holiness doth break through the mists of vices, when they be at the thickest; and shine out again, in spite of such indarkening of them. In an unsanctified man, these graces are not to be found at all, he doth not perceive the working of them; he feels not their weakness, he desireth not their confirmation: but the child of God findeth them in himself, and often again findeth the quite contrary; he perceiveth them sometimes to be stronger sometimes weaker, and he is truly disquieted with the vices that are opposite to these virtues, as with diseases of body; and with the infirmity of these graces, as with weakness of his legs and arms, when he should employ himself in any work or business. His knowledge of God, is obscured with ignorance, and often assailed with objections, his faith in God and in his word hath its faintings, his conscience feels some pricks of guiltiness; his will is not without its rebellious motions, his thoughts are dull to God often times; and his memory is turned to other things with the neglecting of God: his love is cold, his fear is changed into a kind of stupidity; his confidence is shaken, his joys weakened, and to his seeming little less than dead; and his griefs are even stopped, and the stream of his tears dried up or diverted: but alack he finds this so to be, and is vexed at it: he perceiveth it and discerneth it with pain and dislike, and he can tell well that sometimes it hath been otherwise with him; and why is he thus now? why is he so altered from himself? Indeed he hath these graces never so plentifully, but that he sees defects, and knows there should, and desires there might be more: but yet when grace is a little weakened over that it was, he findeth it before long, and seeks to restore it again to its former, and a stronger strength.   

CHAP. VII. All to examine themselves whither they be regenerate, yea or no.  
ANd so (brethren) have I done mine endeavour to explain this most necessary doctrine of regeneration; without which our Saviour, little less than swears, that no man can be saved. Give me leave now (I pray you) to apply the point a little closer to your consciences, without which the word will want much of its efficacy to your good. Uses. 
1. To all, that they inquire into themselves, whether they be regenerate, yea or no.  And in this application I would address my speech, first, to all indifferently; regenerate or not: then to the unregenerate; and lastly to the regenerate specially, according to their different estates. Brethren you hear, and I am persuaded you do believe that, that our Saviour speaks, verily, verily, unless a man be borne again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Be you therefore persuaded all of you to descend into your own souls, and well to prosecute the examination of your own estates; whether you be as yet regenerated yea or no. Tell me I say in the name of God, whosoever thou be'st that standest here before the Lord, art thou regenerated yea or no? It is very necessary to know, at least wise whither it be possible for us to be saved or not. Seeing of this life we have no further assurance then for the present moment, and that we know all, it must shortly have an end; can it be any other then very madness, to remain uncertain whether there be a possibility of our changing for a better; when change we must of necessity, either for a better or worse? It pleaseth us not to hang in uncertainties about the things of this world, which are but for the twinkling of an eye: will we make ourselves so foolish as to be content alone not to know, what ill may befall us hereafter? An impossibility of entering into heaven, carries with it a certainty of falling into hell: he that cannot enter into the former, cannot but be cast into the latter. Wherefore again, and again I exhort you, seeing it is impossible to be saved without regeneration; know you of your own estate so much, whether you be regenerated yea or no. And (my brethren) take heed of satisfying yourselves here, in a matter of so much importance, with wandering conceits, and uncertain probabilities: let it not suffice you to think you are borne again: rest not seeking till ye have concluded upon the matter undoubtedly one way or other, and can say without all question, either I am regenerated; or I am not. In very truth, the unwillingness to enter into this inquisition, giveth occasion of vehement suspicion that one is not regenerated. It is a sore presumption, that a man hath not that grace, whereof he is not willing with any seriousness and diligence, to examine himself, if he have it yea or no. And let that man, that is willing to put of this matter slightly; & to please himself in idle imaginations, saying, I hope I have been regenerated, though he have never bestowed pains to inquire into the grounds of this hope: let that man I say, be even all most assured, that he is not as yet regenerated. A sound and well grounded scholar fears not be examined in grounds of learning; a sufficient workman in any trade is never unwilling to come into trial and question about his skill: only bunglers, only dunces abhor from all search and trial of their sufficiencies. A secret guiltiness of wants, causeth an unwillingness of being hard pressed to show what one hath; doubtless it is so in the matters of the soul also. The regenerate is willing to search out his estate, because the goodness thereof doth more clearly appear, by how much it is more often searched; but he that cannot away to stand ask and demanding of himself, and call for infallible proofs of his being regenerate, is therefore alone unwilling to put himself to the trouble of proving it, because he is destitute of sufficient proofs. I say therefore unto thee, thou must follow this inquiry close: thou must not believe every thought of thine heart: thou must have good assurance, and good grounds of good assurance, afore thou be bold to call thyself a regenerate man. The heart of men (brethren) is a very Sea of guile: Every son of Adam hath a marvelous selfe-deceiving spirit. Self-love, I say, self-love, and a desire of all good to ourselves, makes us too too credulous of our own condition for the most part: because nature worketh in us a desire of being happy, we are all too too willing to believe that we have those things (I mean it of spiritual things), without which we cannot be happy. In truth for things temporal, because our senses (strong confut●rs) do refel all conceits of having that, which indeed we have not, we are not here so apt to beguile our own selves: but because in things spiritual, our understanding (without sense most times) must judge of the truth or falsehood of our opinions, it comes to pass that we are very ready to be deceived with overloving opinions of ourselves. Where almost shall we find a man (not extremely and notoriously wicked in all manner of shameful abominations), which will not say, that he hopes he is God's child, and to be God's child, and to be regenerate? or almost one and the same thing, they differ alone in some respects. Let our readiness to brag of being better than in truth we be (a certain fruit of the blindness of our minds in the matters of God), let this readiness I say, to be overwell conceited of ourselves, make us afraid to rest upon any over hasty answer to this question, whether we be regenerate yea or no. Before thou do rest in the answer thou hast to make to this question, look well to the grounds of thine answer, and see that thine answer be made out of knowledge and judgement; not out of the folly and blindness of self-love. Verily (brethren) I would have you make a true answer this way, and neither deny the work that God hath wrought in you; nor yet brag of a conceit of that work which never was: but yet let me freely confess thus much, that I had much rather have you fear without a cause, then hope without a cause. I would thou shouldest answer truly of thine estate; but I had rather thou shouldest err in thinking thyself not regenerated, when thou art; then on the other hand in deeming thyself regenerated when thou art not: for indeed, the former, though it be a troublesome error, yet is nothing dangerous; the latter though pleasing enough, is extremely perilous. Dangerless fear, is better than fearless danger. If a man condemned to die, and leading to execution, think that he hath a pardon and hath none; he may go pleasantly to the gallows out of this fancy; but he will scarce come from it pleasantly: but if he that hath a pardon, think he have none; his heart is heavy in going, but he feels himself lighted quickly, when at the instant the pardon is produced to save his life. Just so it is, in this case: If any amongst you be strongly conceited that he is God's child and is not, he goes towards death with fewer fears, and is not much troubled at the remembrance of his last hour: but in that hour and after that, O then how terrible are his terrors, made by seeing himself disappointed! Shall a man, think you, have any refreshing in hell, from the remembrance of his former conceits, whereby he did account himself the child of God, which now all too late he findeth quite contrary? On the other side, if the child of God remain fearful of his estate, and cannot tell what to affirm of himself, but rather conceiveth he is not God's child then otherwise; I confess he hath many needless fears, many causeless disquietments, & a life far more uncomfortable than he need to have: but, when after death he shall be received, into the inheritance of God's children, than his former fears shall no whit impeach his present glory, he is safe and happy for all his fear. Much rather therefore would I so speak, that you might be fearful without cause, then hopeful: for I wish your present disquietment without your future peril: rather than your present case with your future destruction. This is the cause that I dwell so much upon this point, that I urge it so hard, and strive to set it so near unto thy soul, advising thee, to ask thyself once; am I regenerate? and not to believe thyself at first (because thou mayest perhaps quickly say, I hope I am); but to demand the second time and say, yea, but do I not deceive myself? am I so indeed? and is not my conceit of myself groundless? and yet not to rest in the second answer, but to go about again, and to inquire often, and often, saying, to thyself, what am I? a child of God or not? begotten again or not? where be the reasons of my taking myself for his child? what due proofs can I bring that I am regenerate? what arguments sound grounded, and gathered from the word of God can I produce, to demonstrate to my soul, that I am translated from death to life? It is good to be suspicious of the well known partiality of our own hearts; it is good to be jealous of our too too palpable guilefulness in this case: and so shall a thing well done, be more than twice done; and a sound and and through search, breed a sound and infallible assurance. Let me then undertake the examination for every of your souls at this time; and know, that the Minister standing in Christ's room, must make bold with your consciences, and must speak unto you with authority, because he speaketh with commission. Say then, thou man or woman, of what age, place, rank, condition, so ever: Dost thou think it possible for thee to be saved, when thou diest? and to pass into God's Kingdom, when thou passest out of this world? Tell me what thou thinkest of this matter. If thou answer, that thou hast never greatly troubled thine head with these thoughts, but taking thy salvation for granted, hast busied thy mind about other matters. Then do condemn thee of monstrous folly & blindness, and assure thee, that howsoever it go with other men, yet thou (as yet) art in no case to come to heaven. But if thine answer be, that thou hopest thou both mayest and shalt be saved. Then I demand again; Hast not thou heard the words of our Saviour? is he not peremptory and plain, with great earnestness affirming, that unless thou be'st borne again, thou canst not see God's kingdom? wilt thou impute falsehood to his speeches, yea or no? if no, then tell me, thou that hopest to be saved: art thou regenerate yea or no? Here lies the main matter now, upon thine answer to this question all thine hopes must depend, and therefore answer deliberately and truly; Art thou regenerate, or art thou not? Like enough to this thou mayst say thou art. But I reply upon thee, that it is not enough to say so: what will it avail to say thou hast riches, and hast them not? to say thou art in health, and art deadly sick? to say thou hast a pardon of thy felony, and hast none? Or to say thou hast been borne again, and hast not? Wherefore I call thee again to thine answer, to see if thou wilt stand to it? Art thou indeed regenerate, or is it alone thy conceit without substance? Art thou assured of it, or dost thou alone go by guesses and conjectures? If thou rest upon poor and thin hopes, may I not be bold to charge thee with extreme folly? I am sure thou wouldst call him fool, that should content himself with such simple evidences in the matter of his lands, or living, or his temporal estate: how much more dost thou deserve the same name, that dalliest with thyself so fond in matters, whereupon thine eternal estate dependeth? but if thine hopes be well grounded, show us the grounds of them, and bring them forth now in so due an hour, before God and thine own conscience. Where is thine holiness? where is the Image of God wrought in thee? show how the spirit, and the word of God have wrought together, to change thee into a new man: when didst thou see and feel (I do not say, hell open before thee, ready to receive thee; for that judas saw and felt, and yet was never regenerated), but the filthiness of thy nature, thine abominableness, sinfulness and wickedness? what fervent and strong desires hast thou found of being renewed and sanctified by the spirit of God? Where be thy cries, thy groans, thy tears, begging reconciliation at God's hand, and earnestly seeking unto him to reform thy lewd nature? Where is the firm purpose of thy soul out of the apprehension of his grace, to please him in all things? Where is thy godly conversation, thy departing from all wickedness, and exercising thyself constantly in that that is good? What combats hast thou made with sin and Satan, and with the unsanctified world? Where is thy growth and proceeding in all godliness? Show me the virtues of the inward man formerly declared. Show me thy love and fear of God; show me thine hatred of sin, and sorrow for it: show me thy mindfulness of God, thy thinking of him, thy believing and rejoicing in him, and in his word. Are these things to be found in thee? Canst thou approve before the living God and thine own soul, that these matters are in thee? then stand to thine answer, then confirm thyself in thy persuasion, and be thou more and more assured, that the spirit and word of God have begotten thee again indeed: but if these things be absent from thee, or if thou please thyself in certain shadows and resemblances, and conceits of them; I say unto thee, thy conceits are vain, thine answer false, and thou art so much the further off from being the child of God, by how much thou dost more peremptorily boast of thy being such. Brethren, what should I say more? you see the necessity of this searching into yourselves: I have endeavoured to go before you in it; continue you now constantly, and never give yourselves any rest, till by looking narrowly into your hearts, you have attained a true and sure knowledge of your estates, and be able to say and show that you are regenerated, yea or not.   

CHAP. VIII. Containing an use of terror to them that are unregenerate.  
ANd in the second place, let me turn my speech to all them (which are without doubt the greater number) that if they will answer truly, 
2. To the unregenerate. 1. Terror because of their hard estate.  must answer negatively to this question; & must confess, if they will not lie, that in very deed they are not regenerate. To which kind of men I have two things to speak; the one, to show them their wretchedness, out of Christ's own words; the other to beseech them, that they would be careful and willing to come out of it. Come hither all ye unregenerate men, and see your hard condition: you know you must not live in this world always: you see so many dye before you, that you cannot but see, (though you refuse to consider of it) that death must cease upon your persons also afore long. And you have been wont to flatter yourselves with hopes of being saved, when you die. But now I pronounce against you, that all these your hopes are lying hopes, and like a broken reed, will but run into your arms if you rest upon them. Either out Lord jesus Christ did egregiously falsify, when he did so vehemently assure Nicodemus, that a man cannot see the kingdom of God, unless he be borne again: or else you have most egregiously deluded your own souls with vanity & lies; when (being unregenerate) you have been bold to make yourselves believe, that you should be saved. Now for our Saviour, we are sure he affirmeth nothing but what he knoweth; his words be all pure words, tried in the furnace seven times; he that is the author of salvation, can well enough tell to whom he will grant it; you therefore, even all you that have maintained contrary hopes in yourselves, have lied to yourselves, have trusted in vanity, have been beguiled by sin and Satan, have flattered yourselves foolishly, and shall surely be disappointed of your goodly hopes, unless you take a better course than heretofore. I say unto thee that art unregenerate: Though thou livest an honest and civil life; though thou carriest thyself justly and truly towards thy neighbours in thy dealings; though thou give much alms to the poor; though thou come to Church, and hear the Word, and receive the Sacraments; though thou hast been baptised, and professest to believe in Christ; though thou read the Scriptures, and pray with thy family; yea though thou have some fits of sorrow for some sins; yea though thou confessest and leavest many sins, and seemest to take much pleasure in the company of good men, and be'st forward to the external exercises of religion and piety; though thou dost all these things (as all these things may be done), and yet be'st not regenerate, thou canst not for all that, have any admittance into the kingdom of God. How miserable therefore is thy condition, that losest all thy pains and cost that thou bestowest in some good things, and canst not be saved by all that thou dost? Doubtless even so stands it with all your souls that are unregenerate, your best works are but guilded sins; and that that in you seemeth fair and lovely to yourselves, and to your neighbours; to God, that searcheth the heart, and judgeth of all things by the heart, appeareth exceeding loathsome and abominable. Acknowledge thy wretchedness therefore, thou that art not regenerate: for to speak all in one word, Do what thou canst, so long as thou remainest in this estate, there is an utter impossibility of thy coming to heaven. But you may (perhaps) say unto me; Who be the men, whom I dare charge to be unregenerate, and in that name bar up the Kingdom of God against them? I answer, Too too great a multitude, and more by far than we do desire: even all those that boast of their own virtues, and will needs make themselves believe, that they love God above all, and with all their hearts, and their neighbour as themselves: that is in a word, That they do more than ever any of all the Prophets and Apostles, or any besides Christ (in the present World) since the first sin of Adam. All these that find in themselves so great store of the love and fear of God, as that they conceive, that they love him with all their hearts, and fear him with all their hearts, and trust in him with all their hearts, and repent every day, and believe in Christ as well as the best, and have done ever since they can remember; these full men, these rich persons, these that have souls so perfectly replenished with all graces, that they find no want of faith, or of repentance, or of humility, or of the spirit of prayer, or of the love of God, or almost any thing. These that have no faults in themselves, they were never proud in all their lives, they know as much as any of them all can tell them; and they have not brought up so many children, they trow, but that they can tell how to be saved; that never wronged any in all their lives; and that hope in God they shall be saved for their good lives and good meanings. All these ignorants never understood, and therefore only boast of much; because wanting knowledge totally, they cannot know their own wants. Wherefore if any amongst you be such, and out of ignorance so well-conceited of himself, let him not pretend to be regenerate. In vain he claimeth God's Kingdom, if he be not changed and become another man. Yea, all those, that though they have more knowledge then to brag thus, yet never felt themselves to have been the children of wrath, nor were never pained with the apprehension of their own sinfulness. These also I affirm to be unregenerate; and so remaining, cannot be saved. Yea, all that allow wicked thoughts in their hearts, and never take care to see, and lament the evil conceits of their inward man; but rather serve sin in the lusts of it, and please themselves in thinking of that, which for fear or shame they do not dare to accomplish; those also have no part in God's Kingdom, as the case goes with them hitherto. Yea, all that makes no conscience of small sins, which the world doth not take notice of; but pass over such trespasses, without making any matter of them, or troubling themselves to bewail them; these have cause to fear● that heaven is fast locked upon them. Yea, all that allow themselves for gain, profit, or pleasure sake, in any one sinful action, secret or open; excusing, and shifting, and turning themselves into all shapes, to make themselves not to know it to be sinful, and labouring not to be moved with the exhortations of the Word, & checks of their own consciences: but holding still their resolution, that that thing they must needs do, they cannot choose but do; though their consciences would willingly check them for the same, were they not by them put to silence. All these are to number themselves among the unregenerate: and such, as if God be, as he is (most perfectly just), cannot be saved, whilst they abide such. But most of all those that live in open gross sins, and yet flatter themselves with hopes of doing well enough, because others live as bad as they; and because they doubt not to over-entreate God, with the repentance of the last hour: these are farthest off from regeneration, and remain in a dangerous and damnable estate; so that I doubt not to proclaim unto them in the name of God, that (so continuing) Christ shall profit them nothing; Christ shall never bring them to heaven. Now therefore if any of you that hear me, do perceive yourselves to be such, I pray you lay aside all your conceits of going to heaven: I pray you surcease to feed yourselves with vanity, and wind; and to make yourselves secure, by making false promises to your souls of that they shall never attain. Know thou whosoever, that art an ignorant boaster of thine own goodness; or a man senseless of thine own badness, and must be dispensed with all in some one darling sin, which feign (against the truth beginning to show itself to thee) thou wouldst not have to be counted a sin: know thou whosoever that art a worker of iniquity, and puttest off repentance till the time of sickness, that thou hast no part nor portion in this inheritance; that thou art the old Man, leavened with old leaven, and not renewed nor purged; and therefore that it cannot possibly befall thee, to see God's Kingdom, if Christ be true, and God just, so long as thou abidest unchanged. What should one do, to make dead men feel their death? If we could speak plainer to you, we would (brethren): for why, we know, that at this very point, your whole happiness must begin. The unregenerate can never become regenerate, till he first perceive himself unregenerate. A child of Satan can never be made the child of God, till he feel himself the child of Satan. Our spiritual felicity gins in the sense of our spiritual misery; and therefore we take all this pains to make you see your wretchedness, because it is upon none other conditions avoidable. Open thine eyes therefore and see; open thine heart, and feel thine unregeneracy, thy being in the state of death, thine horrible sinfulness, and thy being (as I have often said, and cannot too often say) no better than the very son and daughter of the Prince of Darkness. Will you not see? will you not feel? will you hoodwink yourselves? will you harden your hearts? will ye suffer the Devil to turn you from heeding your own estate, till at last it be past recovery? I pray you do not so, be not so great enemies to your own souls, I entreat you: But what should I go forward with more words to you? I will turn my speech to God for you: And, O thou Author of life and light, be pleased now to remember the end of thine own ordinances, and make them fruitful for the purposes by thyself appointed. O, open the eyes of some one of these blind men; enlighten the souls of some one of them, at least with so much light, that they may perceive themselves hitherto to have been void of light: put into them, at least, that first motion of life, that they may feel themselves hitherto to have been but dead men, and void of life: O let not thy word return empty, but make it effectual to all, to which thou sendest it.   

CHAP. IX. Containing an exhortation to seek regeneration.  
AND now (brethren) in the next place, 
2. Exhortation, that they seek to come out of this hard estate.  if there be amongst you any, whose soul the Lord may have awakened to feel their unregeneracy; to them let us further add a word of exhortation. It were (in truth) a poor comfort to know one's wound, if there were not a plaster delivered withal to heal those wounds. But we come to entreat you to be made the children of God, and to be begotten again: and withal, we come to assure you, that you may be such, if you do not reject the present offer of grace. I pray you therefore let these words sink into your minds, and be you willing & desirous to be the children of our heavenly Father. I hope (brethren) the request will not seem to you unreasonable, nor the motion light, and not worth hearkening to; when the God of heaven sues unto you, that be his enemies, to be changed and become his adopted sons. Sure I am, that if a Gentleman should, with the same good meaning, make the same offer to a poor miserable beggar, either he would greedily accept the motion, or else all that knew him, would esteem him mad. How much worse than mad art thou then, which wilt reject the Lords own motion, offering to become thy Father, and entreating thee to be willing to be made his child by adoption? you may (perhaps) say unto me, that you do already wish and desire so to be with all your hearts, but that all the difficulty lies in being made such as you desire to be. And I answer, that if you do indeed and in truth long and desire to be regenerate, with a settled and firm desire, and stable and confirmed wishing of your hearts, that then the greatest impediment is removed, and the greatest difficulty overcome, and your regeneration is now in a fair forwardness, yea verily, it is already begun; and do you but cherish these motions, and it shall be perfected. You may (perhaps) make another objection, and say, that it is not in your power to regenerate yourselves; and therefore it is an idle attempt of me, to persuade you to become such as you cannot make yourselves to be: for the Spirit of God must regenerate, and who can command that to come upon him? To which I answer, that indeed a man cannot possibly regenerate himself, this is God's act, not his, he is a mere patient in it. But yet I say moreover, that the doctrine of the Gospel is the ministration of the Spirit; and where that is preached, as now it is preached amongst you, there the holy Ghost comes to regenerate; there he comes with his inliving virtues; there he is present with his quickening power: and he that will not resist the motions and exhortations, that the word and spirit of God do raise up within him, shall surely be visited from on high, and shall have the spirit of God descending upon him, to make him a new creature. Yea further I say to such an one, that God hath appointed certain things to be done by men, which they that will not refuse to do, may do, and those that shall do, shall be regenerated. For there is a common work of illumination, so making way for regeneration, that it puts a power into man of doing that, which when he shall do, the spirit of God will mightily work within him to his quickening and purging. All you therefore that find yourselves as yet not to be regenerate, but yet feign would be (for to others it is in vain to speak, they be not yet so far enlightened as to be capable of regeneration), but all you, hearken and understand what it is that you must do, that you may be regenerate; and by doing which, you shall not fail of receiving this wonderful blessing of a new life, to be created in you: only yet with one proviso, that you do not damp the present motions of the word and spirit of God with procrastinations and delays, with putting off, and deferring till an other time. Nay, you must accept of the offers of grace, whilst it is called to day; and know, that nothing doth more harden your hearts, and chase away the spirit of God from them, than that foolish and slothful shifting off his persuasions, with a purpose of settling about the work hereafter, but not yet. Thou must take God's time, and not bid him tarry thy time. It is no reason the King should wait upon the traitor, till he were at leisure to receive a pardon. If thou wilt not have while, when the Lord sees it fit to make thee a sweet promise of grace: remember the terrible threatening of Wisdom, You shall seek me and not find me, 
Prou. 1.24.28.  because I stretched out mine hands, and you would not hear me. O then venture not to put off God till hereafter. Who can tell whether ever he will come so near thee again, if at this time thine entertainment of him be no better, then to shut up the doors of thine heart, and tell him the rooms are otherwise filled, there is no place for him as yet? But now I say with proviso, that you will now begin without further deferring; I will show you the way of life, and tell you that, which if you will be pleased to do, (and it shall be no such hard matter nor impossible, but that your own souls shall confess there is nothing to hinder you from doing it, but your own unwillingness, or carelessness, or both) if, I say, you will be pleased to do, I testify unto you in the name of the Lord, that you shall be regenerate; and that from the time you begin to do them, you begin to be regenerate. Now these things are in number three, (as I said before) neither impossible for you to do, 
Whereof the means are three.  nor yet difficult; there lacks but a willing mind, and they be easily done; only understand of them, that you must not satisfy yourselves with having done them once, but must do them continually; because they are means of increasing holiness, as well as attaining it. The first is, 
1. To desire and pray for the spirit of regeneration.  so to nourish your apprehension of your own misery in not being regenerated, and your earnest desire of being regenerated, for the escaping of this misery, that it may break forth into requests and petitions unto God, for his spirit of regeneration. Go thou and muse thus with thyself; Alas, I see most evidently, that as yet I am but a son of old Adam! there is no thorough change of mine heart, nor of my life, from sin to holiness; I am as I was borne, and have not been altered by a new birth: and therefore I am in no possibility of being saved. This night, if God should (as how know I, but he may this night) take away my soul from me, O I perish; for out of heaven, the blessed Saviour of mankind hath excluded me; for thither he tells us evidently, that none must enter that are not borne again; and O miserable man, I that am not yet capable of eternal life, and that stand in such terms with God to this day, that he cannot both keep his own truth, and save my soul! What shall I do? what course shall I take? O could I once obtain regeneration, than I were safe, than I were sure; then if death should come immediately, I need not fear it; then were the gates of heaven opened unto me, and then I both might, and should enter in thereto. O that I were regenerate! O that I were borne again! O that I were a new creature! O that once the image of Christ jesus were imprinted upon me! All the goods and honours of this world, would not so much advantage me as holiness, if I could attain it. But what do I stand wishing? I have been told that the spirit of God is he, who regenerateth his people. Wherefore I will beg at his hand that mighty and saving work of his spirit, and boldly I may do it: for Christ jesus hath promised to all that thirst, that if they come, 
Isa. 55.1.  he will make them drink of the waters of life. Yea, he hath told me, that if we men who are evil, can yet give natural good things to our children that ask them; God will much more give his spirit to them that ask it. For his promise is, to pour waters upon the dry ground, and floods upon the thirsty ground, and to pour out of his spirit upon all flesh. Well I am assured the word of God is true, and these promises shall be performed to every one that asketh, that he may receive; and to every one that seeketh, that he may find: for the Lord is rich in grace, and gives to all that ask, & hits no man in the teeth. And therefore I will take courage to call upon him, for that most desirable gift of God, even the spirit of regeneration. Thus having enkindled thy desires, bow thou the knees of thy body, and of thy soul too, unto the king of heaven; and pour out thy requests in the most submissive & earnest manner thou canst, saying, either in these words, or to this purpose: O Lord, I am a lost sheep, I am a child of wrath by nature, I am most miserable, most sinful, & I see that in me there dwelleth no good thing, and if I be not renewed I must perish; I beseech thee have mercy upon me, that I perish not. Send thy blessed spirit into mine heart to regenerate me; for so is thy promise plainly made in thy word. Thou knowest that I cannot make myself new: O let thy spirit come upon me, and make me to have a new heart, and a new spirit. Lord jesus Christ, send thy spirit into me, which may restore me from this death of sin (which now at last thou hast made me to feel) unto the life of holiness. Thou toldest the woman of Samaria, 
〈◊〉 4.  that if she would ask of thee, thou wouldst give her the water of life. Now Lord, I come and ask of thee that water, that living, that precious water of the holy spirit. O give it unto me, that I may never thirst, but that it may spring forth in my belly, and become a river of water. O Lord, I beg not money, I beg not honour, I beg not health, I beg not natural wisdom; but I beg that, which I have more need to receive, and shall have more benefit by receiving; and which thou hast more promised to give, and shalt have more honour by giving, then by any such temporary or external thing. O give me therefore thy holy spirit to regenerate me, and make me to feel by experience the truth of thy gracious promises. My brethren, I have put these prayers into your mouths: learn you to pour them forth, before the throne of grace in secret; forget not in some such manner of words to cry for this best of all gifts, and beg earnestly, and if thou canst not amplify, yet multiply; if thou canst not use variety of words, yet repeat the same request often, and again and again; if thine invention serves not to say more, let thy desire force thee to dwell upon this 20. times, & rather than fail, twice 20. times. O Lord give unto me (a miserable sinner) thy spirit of life & grace to regenerate me; for so hast thou promised to them that ask; & I ask Lord, & resolve to continue ask. I certify you all from God, and by this authority of Christ jesus committed to his Ministers, do verily assure you, that he who so seeketh regeneration, shall as certainly be regenerate, as God is true of his word; and that is more certain than the suns shining in the heavens, and the earth's keeping his own place. I know that Satan will step forth to hinder you from following this counsel; he will strive to make you careless of it all together, as if there were no need of begging so hard: but I assure thee, that he doth but beguile thee. Never any man was regenerate, nor shall be (after years of ability to pray) unless he do pray for it: for the gift of the spirit is promised to you that ask, and to none else: and by telling thyself of thy misery in wanting regeneration, thou shalt easily shake thyself out of this carelessness; and bring thyself to a care of seeking that, which but by seeking thou canst not get; and but by getting thou canst not be saved. Then will the Devil assail thee with more temptations, and cast objections and doubts in thy way, as if it were in vain to pray; for sure thou shalt not be heard: but believe him not; he is a liar in going about to make thee make God a liar; for is not the promise so universal, as no man is excluded that doth not exclude himself? doth it not run thus, every one that asketh receiveth: every one that seeketh findeth, and therefore say thou to thine own heart, if every one why not I? sure I will ask then, and will not spare to speed, by sparing to speak to God. And that thou mayest yet more embolden thyself, know that God hath tied thee by a kind of vow to seek to him for the spirit of regeneration, and himself to give it unto thee, when thou so seekest. For, tell me, art thou not a man professing to be of the Christian religion? Wast thou not baptised in the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy Ghost? To what end was this washing; but to assure thee, of the spirit of God working like water to thy regeneration? Wherefore urge thou the Lord with his own seal, and say, O Lord! what better evidence can I wish? Thou hast given me the seal of regeneration. O make it to appear not to have been an empty sign: Lord, baptize me with the Spirit, and with Water; even wash me and cleanse me, by that pure Water of thy holy Spirit; which may sanctify me throughout, and make me a new creature. If any doubt arise in thine heart, look thus to the seal of the covenant and confirm thy faith: and assure thyself that God will never falsify his bond and seal, he will wash thee according to his covenant sealed up unto thee by Baptism. In very deed (brethren) it is an absurdity to imagine, that all, that are baptised with water are also infallibly regenerated: but yet it is sure, that all such might be regenerated, if considering what this seal importeth, they would duly and earnestly seek unto the Lord for performance thereof. This is that I call upon you now to do, if already any have not done it: Let the remembrance of thy Baptism with water, cause thee to seek to him that can give the Baptism of the spirit; & he knoweth not how to deny himself nor his covenant. But (perhaps) still the Devil may be busy with thee, and cast some quiddity, and subtle cavil in thy way; as sometimes he hath done, telling thee, that if thou be'st not, as thou findest thyself not to be, regenerate: thy prayers cannot be heard, because they be not of faith. Thou mayest answer him, that that work of God in his word, which moveth thee so to pray, is a beginning of regeneration, which shall undoubtedly be perfected if thou continue to pray; and therefore that thou wilt not be hindered by such cavils. For thou believest that God hath said true, when he said, Ho every one that thirsteth; and seeing out of a persuasion of the truth of this general promise, thou addressest thyself to perform the duty whereto the promise is made, thy prayer must needs be of faith (though of a weak faith), and be no sin, but an acceptable service unto God. Now therefore (brethren) be not discouraged for praying for the spirit of life to breath upon you, by any cavils or objections of Satan; be not made careless of seeking so necessary a thing, by any fond imaginations that he will put into your minds; be not diverted from doing this duty, by any worldly business that may come betwixt: but what ever thou dost, now in thine heart, and when thou comest home, in thy closet, and in the solemnest manner bow thyself to God, and cry unto him for the holy Ghost to regenerate thee. And O thou blessed spirit, that art like the wind, and breathest even where thou luste●●, breath into the hearts of some of these that hear me this day, and cause some of them to be inflamed with a desire of regeneration, and to be encouraged to the begging of it, whereas yet it hath not been wrought. And so much for the first means to be used. 
2. An hiding of the word of God in the heart.  The second means is a diligent hiding of the word of God in the heart. For seeing that is the seed of immortality, if it be closely laid up in the ground of our souls, it will fructify to life. This law is pure, and it will purify. It is perfect, and it will convert the soul, if like a plaster it be laid unto it. Let it be engraffed into you like a science, and it will change the wild sap of your nature, and make you able to bring forth fruits of holiness. A man than buries the seed of the word in his heart, when he doth ponder and muse upon it; when he sets himself seriously to consider the truth of it, and to apply it unto his own soul, taking that, that is generally delivered, as pertaining to himself in special. Now the whole word must be thus whetted upon the heart; not the Law alone, for that of itself will breed nothing but miserable terrors; not the Gospel alone, for that finding the heart unprepared to receive it, in such ill ground, will bring forth nothing but the stinking weeds of presumption: but both the Law and the Gospel, it so being tempered together, and obtaining a joint work in the soul, by their mutual forces, they may both produce the grace of sanctification. So then, if one would be regenerate, he must take to himself the whole Word of God. He must set himself all alone to muse of it, saying to himself, These commandments the Law giveth to all mankind, & among the rest to me; these curses it denounceth against the transgressers of it, of which seeing I cannot deny myself to be one, the curses thereof belong unto me, and I, alas, I lie under them. But the Word of God hath showed me the way of escaping the curse: for Christ jesus, the Son of God, was in our stead accursed, that we might be free from the curse and be partakers of that blessing, which was long since promised in him, saying, In thy seed shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed. Also the Word of God doth plainly declare, concerning all the sons of men, 
Psalm. 14.  that they have done a corrupt and abominable deed, and that none of them do good, no not one. It shuts them all under sin, and pronounceth them all the sons of wrath. But jesus Christ is become the Saviour of mankind, and in him his Father is well pleased, and none that believe in him shall perish. Yea, in him is preached remission of sins, and life everlasting to all that believe in him, and rest upon his merits, as upon a perfect satisfaction; and he doth ratify all the sweet promises of the Law, to all that believe in him, and strive to obey him; so that for his sake, they shall obtain all the good things which the Law promiseth: but because we are all sinful, it cannot bestow them on us. I am a sinful wretch, I am a cursed creature, I am under God's anger in myself; but Christ jesus hath satisfied for my sins, he hath performed a perfect righteousness for me. I will go out of myself, I will renounce mine own righteousness and rest only in him, even upon him only; in whom (O my soul), assure thou thyself to find full remission and perfect salvation, only so be it, thou turn not the grace of God into wantonness; but out of love to him, set thyself to keep his holy commandments; and take upon thy neck that sweet & gentle yoke of his, the bearing of which is the most comfortable liberty in the World. Certainly (men and brethren) he that will often renew these meditations in his soul, and see the foulness of sin in the glass of the Law, and the sweetness and brightness of God's free grace shining forth in the doctrine of the Gospel, shall surely be translated into the image of God from glory to glory. Therefore now resolve with yourselves, that you will find time constantly to meditate on the Word of God, and it shall not fail to give light unto your eyes, and life unto your souls. So have you the second means of attaining regeneration. 
T●ir●, constant 〈◊〉 t●e Wor● p●eached.  The third and last is to attend at the gates of Wisdom, to wait on her posts, I mean, to be constant hearers of the Word of God preached. This is the ordinance of God, which he will work by most effectually and most usually. The mouth of the Minister is the Conduit pipe, whereby the Lord doth please to derive the sweet & wholesome waters of life into the souls of men; 
1. Cor. 1.20.  It hath pleased God by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe. The Lord hath appointed his Ministers to be spiritual fathers, by their labours in publishing his Word, to beget men unto him: and whosoever will not seek regeneration and salvation here, where God hath taken order, that he may meet with them; he for his carelessness or ignorance of God's ordinance, shall never be able elsewhere to attain them. I told you mine opinion before of the Word barely read. I cannot esteem it quite devoid of all power to regenerate, where God doth not give unto men a possibility of using other help; I see not that he should be thought either unable or unwilling to work by this: but where preaching with pains, or cost may be gotten, there he that to save his labour, or to spare his purse, will neglect it, shall never be borne again. Wherefore (beloved) you must make high account of this ordinance, you must follow it, you must be constant in frequenting it; that the Lord by the mouths of his faithful servants, may breath the breath of life into you. I confess that there is a kind of fine, neat, dainty preaching, consisting in wel-sounding words, and strains of wit and human learning, to set out the skill and art of the speaker, and make the hearer applaud and commend him; which a man may well doubt, whither God will ever bless to the winning of souls. These selfe-preaching men, that make preaching little else, but an ostentation of wit and reading, do put this sword of the Spirit into a velvet scabbard, that it cannot prick and wound the heart; it cannot work life, by working death first; it cannot quicken, by killing before it quicken. But the plain and downright preaching of the Word, by laying it open in plain terms, to the eyes of the mind; and laying it hard to the very consciences, by exhortations, rebukes, and comforts, for which it is profitable; even this foolish preaching, is that that must make you wise to salvation. Wherefore how much were it to be desired, that all we Ministers would follow that, whereby (with fetching less circuits, and taking less unprofitable, and selfe-intended labour) we might do more good to men, and bring more glory to God? and, Oh, how much are you to be called upon, to love the Word of God preached, to be glad to have it plainly delivered unto you, and with earnestness pressed upon you without all quirks of wit, and guilded shows of man's wisdom, and of gay words? In one word therefore I do you all to wit, that this preaching is the instrument of God, I mean the chief and principal instrument, by which he is pleased to regenerate men's souls. Wherefore I command you all in the name of the Lord, to love it, honour it, frequent it, & submit yourselves to it, as you love your souls-health. But let me add one necessary observation more in this point. They be but unclean beasts, that do not chew the cud. If you will have the Word, which you hear, effectual, to make you the sons of God: you must not be careless and forgetful hearers; you must not let it slip from you, as soon as it is heard: but you must join meditation with it, and after you have heard, consider with yourselves what you have heard; and ponder upon it, as upon a thing that much concerns you, and lay the precepts, reproofs, threats, promises, and exhortations thereof, unto your souls; saying each to himself, I see this is a duty; have not I omitted it? O yes, I have! and so fall a begging pardon for former omissions, and strength for more careful performance hereafter, and so in all the other parts of the Word that may be delivered unto you. And (brethren) the Word thus heard in the Church, and thus ruminated, digested and concocted at home, will be a Word of power unto you, to convert you to God from the power of Satan. Thus I have showed you the means of being made the sons and daughters of the living God. Be they not plain? be they not possible? be they not easy? If any of you miss of a new birth, is it not because he cares not for it; and in very truth, because he is not willing to accept it? I call your own souls to witness, and that God, in whose name, and those Angels, in whose presence I have spoken these things unto you, that God desireth not your death, he would have you saved; he offers salvation, he would have you renewed; and he offers the spirit of renovation; and if you want it, it is only merely wholly, because you regard it not, and because you will not take his directions in seeking it. O thou therefore that art unregenerate! see thine unregeneracy; desire to be regenerate; call upon God for his Spirit of grace to regenerate thee; ponder upon his Law and his Gospel, the seed of regeneration. Hearken to his voice, speaking in his messengers; and meditate on what thou shalt hear from them, and thou shalt be regenerate. But if thou wilt needs stand in thine own light, and out of a conceit of being already in a good estate, keep thyself irrecoverably in an evil estate; or out of slothful negligence, or profane carelessness, omit to follow the sound directions, which have been given thee: be thou ever then the child of the Devil; be thou ever the son of perdition; work out thine own destruction, and thy blood be upon thine own head: the Lord is free; we are free, and of thine own hand alone it shall be required.   

CHAP. X. Comforting the Regenerate.  
ANd so much be spoken to them that are not borne again. 
3. Use to those that are regenerate.  Now from the same point also we have something to say to those, that through the grace of God, have been blessed with this greatest of all blessings, and that both for comfort and exhortation. First then, 
1. C●ns  let us lay open before the sanctified man, the riches of consolation, of which the words of our Saviour do put him in possession. This work of the Spirit of God, doth him more good, than all the wealth, strength, health, wit, learning, beauty, credit, favour and grace, that could befall him in the world. For all these things forenamed, a man may have in as great abundance, as this earth could yield, and yet be no whit nearer to heavenly felicity; yea, be quite out of all present possibility of attaining it. But so soon as ever the Spirit of God from above, hath visited the soul of a man, and hath begotten in him the image of Christ jesus; so soon is he interessed into the glorious Kingdom of God, and hath that riches and honour of heaven appertaining unto him, as an inheritance that cannot fall besides him. Every true Christian therefore, be he of never so mean repute & parts, in the esteem of others, or of himself, is yet a great, and a rich heir, and hath a mighty and large kingdom, by virtue of this birthright appertaining unto him: for the excluding of all that are not borne again, from out of heaven, is a plain admittance of all them into heaven, to whom this benefit of a new birth hath befallen. The one cannot but be saved as well, as the other cannot possibly be saved. Seeing if the cause that hindereth our entrance into God's Kingdom be removed, we need make no question, but that our passage afterwards, shall be found both certain and easy enough. O therefore that the children of God could sufficiently understand their own bliss! that with hearty rejoicing within themselves, and unfeigned thankfulness unto God, they might pass on forward towards the fruition of it. Hope of great things in the world doth fill the soul with joy; and men before the attaining of good things, made sure and certain unto them, do comfortably foresee, and expect the attainment. Let us do so for things spiritual; consider with thyself, to what inheritance the Lord of heaven hath pleased to adopt thee. Represent unto thyself, the unutterable joys which are laid up for thee, and which thou canst no more be deprived of, than God himself can fail of truth and all-sufficiency: for he that hath promised is faithful, and will perform his promise. The children of God, whilst they frame their affections according to their present estate in the world, do walk heavily and discouragedly; at once wronging both God, that hath given them such excellent things to take comfort in, and themselves, that have received so certain assurance of such things. Doth it become thee, to whom God hath made over the royal inheritance of heaven, purchased with the blood of his own Son, to wear out thine heart with discontentment, and to mar thy face with carnal tears? Is not the fullness of celestial glory and riches, able to countervail thy mean and afflicted estate here? Cannot eternity outweigh this inch of time; and infinite blissfulness, the present sleighthy afflictions? surely the balances are too too unequal, wherein things of so great value, are not of sufficient weight, to pull down such trifles. It is nothing in the world, but our being led by sense, rather than by faith; which makes our hearts heavy, and our lives uncomfortable. Let us but clear up our eyes, dimmed with excessive, and causeless tears; and we shall find matter enough for glorious and unspeakable joys, even in these tribulations, which feel most burdensome unto us. Be thou never so poor, never so despised, wronged, troubled; yet being regenerate, God is thy Father, Christ thine elder brother, heaven thine house and habitation, and the glory thereof thine inheritance. Can he be poor, that hath such riches? despised, that hath such honour? dejected, that hath such comforts belonging unto him? To every soul amongst you, that is able to approve his regeneration unto himself, I am to speak in the name of the Lord, and to say unto him in this wise; That he is not to lay the fault of his troublesome, and discontented life upon his estate, but alone upon his unbelief and inconsiderateness: for God hath given cause and means enough, of being full of hearty comfort and joy, in despite of all that the devil, and the world can do unto him. Dost thou not see, how frolic the foolish worldling is, if he have gotten a few thousand pounds together? if he have built him a fair house, and purchased a good living, or two, lying near about it: and yet in such terms standeth his soul with God, that if he should (as he may) decease to night, he were sure to be roaring in Hell before morning. But thou, to whom Heaven is ascertained by the most plain evidence, and strong assurance, that God can tell how to make unto his creature of a future thing; if thou have an ill child, a froward yoke-fellow, a sickly body, a penurious and friendless estate; dost spend thy time in sullen discontentment, weeping, and wailing, and taking on, with little less immoderateness of grief, than Rahel weeping for her children, which would not be comforted, because they were not. I tell thee the truth in the name of the Lord, this is a great sin of thine, and a soul shame for thee. Is it not a sin to underprize heaven? is it not a sin to embase God's richest gifts? is it not a sin to disesteem these benefits, that pass all the estimation of all men? and what is this but a dis-esteeming, embasing, underprizing of heaven itself, to carry thyself as if the comfort and felicity thereof, were not of worth enough, to keep thee from sinking under the burden of sorrow, about earthly matters? Again, tell me, if thou shouldest hear of a man that had at the same time made two bargains, by the one of which he should lose some four or five shillings (or pounds say); and by the other he should gain so many hundredth thousand pounds: and upon the former trifling loss, should sit weeping and sighing, and wring his hands, and crying out that he were undone; though he knew well enough what a rich amends his second bargain had made him. If (I say) thou shouldest hear of such a person; what wouldst thou say to him? wouldst thou not cease pitying him; and even break into laughter, at his so ridiculous and absurd folly, that would needs torment himself without all cause, and would not enjoy the good that God had offered him? In truth few men would find in their hearts, so much as to take compassion of such a wilfully-miserable man. Hearken now then what I say; Thou art this man forespoken of, and thy carriage is just his carriage: so that what accusations of folly and absurdness thou wouldst cast upon him, the same do (in the truest application of things) appertain to thyself. Thou hast two lives, and two estates; a temporary, and an everlasting. For the temporary, thou hast indeed (let it be confessed) made but a sorry match: Thy children are not so dutiful, thy yoke-fellow not so loving, thy state not so plentiful, thy friends not so faithful, as were to be wished. But for the everlasting, thou hast made a bargain above all imaginations gainful. For God is to thee a most faithful friend and Father; Christ jesus a most dear surety and brother; heaven a rich inheritance, all Saints fellow-citizens, and all Angels willing servants; and after this minute of time spent in affliction, thou shalt pass to a state of bliss that never shall have an end. In truth the gaining of ten hundred thousand pounds, doth not more exceed the loss of two single pence, than these thy spiritual benefits exceed thy natural crosses; and therefore (I say) it is most ignorantly and simply done of thee, to pass away thy days in heaviness and sighing; which thou hast so good and sufficient cause to spend in all holy cheerfulness and rejoicing. wouldst thou then be acquainted with the true cause of thine unquiet and uncomfortable living? It is not the multitude nor greatness of thy crosses; it is not the heaviness of those afflictions, that lie upon thee more hard then upon other men (as thou art ready to imagine so, seeking to excuse thine own fault); but it is thy carnalness of mind, thy being led all by sense, thy looking only to things visible here before thine eyes, and not to things invisible, prepared for thee above the clouds, and kept for thee by a strong and able friend, Christ jesus, that hath also bought it, and paid dear for it. The children of God do not take pains to make themselves understand their own inward happiness; they will not find time enough to contemplate the beauty of that goodly portion, which the Lord hath allotted unto them; they will not bestow their thoughts in heavenly meditations: hence their being overcome of carnal sorrow; and well may they thank themselves for the want of comfort, seeing they will not open their eyes to look abroad into the land of comfort. I am sure if any of us were shut up in close prison, for the space of one whole twelvemonth's; and should there be destitute of all good attendance, lodging, far, and other comforts; but withal were assured, that at the years end he should surely come out of prison, and be made a great Prince for all the rest of his life, which should endure for the space of forty or fifty years after: he would scarce feel any trouble in that restraint, any grief in those wants, any discontent in that bad usage: yea so much familiarity would his thoughts have, with the wealth, and honour, wherein he should live so long a time after his enlargement, that the imprisonment would seem nothing unto him; and he would rather wish to lie in prison upon those terms, then to live in his house without those hopes. My brethren, such, and none other is your condition. This world is your present prison; and for some of God's children it cannot be denied, but that they do find in it somewhat course entertainment; but it is certain, that after a little time (perhaps less than half a year, it is (sure) not many years), they shall be enlarged; and after their enlargement advanced to a kingdom so far excelling all earthly kingdoms, in the honour, wealth, joys thereof, as gold excels dirt. And this kingdom they shall be sure to enjoy; not for forty or fifty, nor for so many thousands or millions of years: but even for all eternity world without end. What do you then souring and embittering your hearts with thinking upon the tediousness of your imprisonment, and refusing to take comfort to your selves in the consideration of your kingdom? It is therefore (as I said above) long only and merely of your carnalness●, in not pondering of the good that God offers unto your souls; which makes you lie mourning under the pressure of your afflictions. Wherefore settle yourselves to resist carnal sorrow, and to embrace spiritual joys; you shall find your labours this way void of difficulty, and full of success. When thy worldly heart would thrust thee into the pit of worldly sorrow, by telling thee of thine hard fare, thy poor house, thy little means, thy debts, thy wrongs, thine enemies. Stay thou thyself up by opposing to all these, the consideration of thy new birth, whereby thou art instated into an heavenly kingdom; wherein thou shalt abound with all fullness of joys for evermore; and wherein thou shalt be more happy and blessed, than thine own heart can possibly conceive of, and that for evermore: And then propound the case unto thine own self indifferently, and say unto thy soul; O my soul, look on both sides with an unpartial eye: look to the condition of my body, and estate, and take a view of the miseries that lie upon me; but look withal to the condition of my soul, and ponder well upon the happiness that I am admitted unto; and then be thou but an impartial judge betwixt sorrow and joy, to whether rather thou oughtest to incline. I am sickly, but I am regenerate and shall be saved: I am poor, but I am borne again, and shall see the kingdom of God: I have few friends, but I am made the child of God, and shall attain heaven. I have few friends, but I have received the spirit of grace to beget me again to a kingdom immortal, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. I have a froward husband, or wife, or a stubborn son or a daughter; but I am God's son or daughter, and have Christ jesus to be mine husband and yoke-fellow. Have I these blessings to countervail these miseries? and shall I pule, and whine, and look with a sad countenance, and walk with a dead heart? Nay I ought not; nay I must not; nay I will not yield to this extreme weakness of carnal lamentation. I have cause to be glad, I have reason to be merry; and in spite of all that the worst yoke-fellow, or worst child, or worst estate can do to grieve me, I will be merry, and I will be glad. O my soul rejoice in the Lord, be merry in thy father, and shout for joy in Christ thy Redeemer. Thou art begotten again, thou art made new, thou art regenerate: who should be lively, if not the children of Kings? who should rejoice, if not the heirs of Crowns? I am God's heir, heaven is mine inheritance, and a crown of glory is laid up for me, and I will be glad. Thus you must labour against the untowardly griefs of your own hearts, and enjoy the wonderful blessing of regeneration. So must you wipe away those unprofitable tears from your eyes, and cloth yourselves with the garments of gladness. For it is a wrong to yourselves, a disgrace to the good thing given, & an ingratitude to God the giver; if he bestow precious benefits upon you, and you enjoy them not. See therefore that your hearts do not droop, nor your faces look sad as in former time; but go you now out of God's house (refreshed with the sweetness of this comfort) unto your own houses rejoicing, as once the man did that was healed of the palsy. And if thine heart (after all this) object and say, Indeed if I were sure of my regeneration, and so of my salvation, your speeches were to some purpose: but alack! I want that assurance. Why then I answer thee, thou hast other more necessary work then to grieve for crosses or losses, for the unkindness of thy yoke-fellow, or death, or undutifulness, or afflictions of thy children; even for this, that thou canst not tell but that thou mayest be in hell (where thou sh●lt meet with that, which is incomparably worse than all hard usage in the world), and that within the space of 24. hours or less. Wherefore now turn thy thoughts from striving to put away grief, and only labour to change the object of it; that by grieving for thy sins, and by considering thy wickedness of nature, and of life, and sorrowful confession of the same to God, with humble supplications for a redress of all, thou mightest at last become a new creature, and be assured that thou art so; and then set thyself to enjoy the forenamed consolation. Either (brethren) you be not certain of your new birth, and then you have cause to grieve for things of a more dangerous nature then outward crosses, and so to labour to know yourselves borne again; or else you be certain of your new birth, and then you have reason even to scorn to be cast down at any outward evils, as much as a great rich man will scorn to cry for the loss of a shilling. Wherefore if you be not regenerate, yourselves according to the former exhortation, to become so; if you be, and know it not as yet certainly, settle yourselves to search into your hearts and lives, and to consider of the things formerly delivered, whether you have found them in your souls yea or no, and so bring yourselves to certainty in this point: and if you be once certain of it, then apply yourselves, maugre earth and hell, to live with glad hearts, and cheerful countenances. For once the word of David is a most true word. It becometh upright men to rejoice. And (my brethren) that you may the better rejoice, know, that you are to be frequent in practising the duty of thanksgiving to God, for this mercy of all mercies: I mean, to appear before him in your secret closerts, and there all alone (with hearts exalted to as much joy as can be, and enlarged to as full an acknowledgement of indebtednesse as is possible), to report before him the wonderfulness of his goodness towards you, and to recount the uncountable number of his mercies, in that he hath done more for you, then if he had made you of base slaves, absolute monarchs of the world. The Lord (my brethren) is exceedingly well pleased with the sacrifices of thanksgiving: no offering is better welcome unto him, than the hearty offering up of the calves of our lips, speaking good of his name. It doth the Lord good (to speak after the manner of men) to hear his own praises related by them that are dear unto him, and have best cause to know his inconceiveable treasures of grace, because they have been plentifully partakers thereof. Now the benefits of this present life are so mean, worthless, contemptible, in comparison of those of a better life; and by name, of this foundation of all the rest, (so it is in regard of possession and enjoyment) a new birth, as that they which want it, can but speak hollowly to God, when they begin to speak of his mercies; and can be but very faint in thanks, how earnest soever they may be in requests. But the child of God, that hath a right unto heaven, given him at the same time that he became God's child, he may most feelingly express his apprehensions of God's goodness; and upon occasion of this one mercy, magnify the name of the Lord his God, for all the rest which become truly and indeed mercies, by means of this, and with this. Wherefore I do again propound this matter unto you, as one of the most pleasing and acceptable services, which in this present life you are able, any of you, to perform unto the Lord; even to withdraw yourselves from company and worldly businesses, and with bended knees, and hands and eyes reared up to heavenward, in the most solemn manner, to confess before the Lord his loving kindness; and to amplify, as much as your hearts and heads will serve, the exceeding greatness of that his undeserved grace, which he hath showed in making you new creatures, in making you his own children by adoption. This is better than all riches, better than all nobility, better than all learning, and better than all health. And the receiving of this one mercy alone (though one should for all other things be as afflicted, as the world can make him or imagine him) deserveth more, and more fervent praises, than all the nobility, wealth, wit in the world without it. Hath God made thee his child? he hath done more for thee, then if he had set thee in salomon's Throne, without making thee his child; and therefore discharge the payment of praise for so incomparable a mercy; and that fully and without delays. Especially (brethren) you are to do this, considering that it is (to which end we began to mention it) a principal means of helping you to the enjoyment of the comfort, which we are about to distribute unto you. For the benefits of God then are made truly comfortable to us, when we do turn them to the praise of God: but when we forget to return him his deserved thanks, then doth he justly punish us, by taking away the pleasant relish of his benefits out of our mouths; & by leaving the palate of our souls to such an untastfulnesse, that we shall not be able to find the sweetness of them: As a mouth that is out of taste, feels no content in the most savoury meat that is. Wherefore put together the honour of God, and your own comfort; and (that you may have your souls so truly ravished with the sense of his goodness, that above all carnal reason, and almost against it, you may be glad and cheerful) set yourselves (as I was about to say) in the most solemn and hearty manner, to tender unto the Lord this welcome present of thanksgiving. Say unto him, O Lord God of heaven, the King of men and Angels, and ruler of all creatures, and Father of our Lord jesus Christ! infinite are the benefits, whereby thou hast obliged my most unworthy soul unto thee: For all that I have, I have from thee; and all that I shall have, I must have from thee: thou art the only indefinite fountain of goodness, from whence issue forth all good things to all that enjoy good. It is thy wonderful goodness that I was borne a man, with use of my understanding and se●ses: but yet Lord, far, far above all other things that in this life I have received, or can receive, doth this benefit of causing me to be borne again, of water and of the holy Ghost, exceed. I was the son of death, thou hast made me the son of life: I was an heir of perdition, thou hast made me an heir of salvation: I was a slave to sin, thou hast made me a freeman from sins servitude, and a voluntary servant to holiness: I was under the power of Satan, led by his temptations according to his will; I am now under the dominion of Christ jesus, led by his spirit, to do his will: I was the child of the devil, and thou hast made me thy child. O blessed change! O happy alteration! I own to thee my soul by many bonds, it is thine (Lord) many ways: thou madest it, thou hast redeemed it, thou hast regenerated it; and now (Lord) accept it as an offering of a sweet savour, and accept with it all the hearty praises, and unfeigned thanks, that a poor unworthy creature can breath forth unto thee. O Lord, this mercy can but be abased by words, thou hast made me thine own child by adoption, thy Son, O Lord, even thy Son, who art the most rich, the most high, the most renowned, the most puissant Prince and King; in comparison of whom all Princes are worse and less than very nothing. What shall I render unto thee for all thy goodness? thou requirest thanks, thou deservest thanks, and thou acceptest thanks: and Lord, be thou blessed and praised with all possible thanks. O thou art good, thou art gracious, thou art full of compassion, mercy pleaseth thee: I feel, I feel that thy mercy is over all thy works; and I have cause to say by experience, that thy mercy endureth for ever; for thou hast made me thine own child by adoption, which by nature was the child of wrath. O blessed be thy great and glorious name for evermore. Brethren, open your mouths wide in thanksgiving, and God will fill them full of comfort; and know that thou canst not have a more sensible assurance of thy new birth, then if thou canst feel thyself hearty moved to give praise to God for it: It shall witness to thee, that thou art a new creature, if thou canst give many thanks to him that made thee so, for having so made thee. Rejoice therefore in thy blessedness that art borne again, and be frequently and hearty thankful to him, by whose word and spirit thou wast borne again; that so thou mayst comfortably enjoy this greatest of all blessings, thy being borne again.   

CHAP. XI. Exhorting the Regenerate to grow in Grace.  
ANd this is the consolation of God we have to give you: O, all ye, his sons and daughters; 
2. Exhortation twofold:  hearken a little further (I pray you) to the exhortation that must ensue: Seeing the Lord of Heaven hath created a new life in you, learn you two things for the necessity thereof to salvation; First, 
1. To nourish this life of grace in themselves.  to cherish it in yourselves; secondly, so much as is possible, to propagate it unto others. First (I say), make much of this life of grace; this new man created in you according to God in righteousness, and true holiness; make much of it: strive to confirm it; strengthen it, and increase it; so soon as the life of nature is seen in a man, he is made (you know) desirous of nourishment, that augmentation may follow generation: So be you also for your souls, that you may at one time, both show your new birth, and confirm it. In truth this I must tell you assuredly (for I know it to be as true, as the Lord himself is to be trusted of his word), he that once hath this life, shall never see death. But I told you before, that he may feel sickness; and that if it were not for the sick-making physic; which the Lord will give him for his recovery, he might feel death. Now therefore I am to entreat you all, to save the labour of taking physic, and that by seeking to prevent diseases, and to grow in soundness of spiritual strength. You all know right well, what be the chief things which impair natural strength, and procure diseases of body, namely, poison, surfeiting, and starving. It is even so likewise with the soul: 
1. By avoiding ill company and choosing g●od. 2. By avoiding things sinful in resisting the first motions to ill.  first, by poison it inuenometh itself; secondly, by surfeiting it distempereth itself; and lastly, by starving it infeebleth itself. Beware of rank poison: Sin, I say, sin; things unlawful and condemned; these are very stark poison to the soul: Ratts-bane, and Hen-bane, and Mercury, and Opium; yea, the very inward moisture of a Toad or Serpent, are no more dangerous to the flesh, than this is to the spirit. And when a Christian man gins to yield so much to the naughtiness of his own heart, that he takes leave to allow some sin in himself, in some small degrees; than it ceaseth not to work woefully in his soul, till at last it have caused him to break forth into the gross and foul practice of it, and then is he poisoned indeed; and if the Lord should not come with his physic, he could not but be damned: but howsoever, he languisheth and is sick, he loseth the sense of God's favour; the desire of God's service; the comforts of God's Word; and the love of the coming of Christ jesus. Lust, revenge, deceit, love of money, love of credit, love of pleasure, and all other corrupt affections lodging within (if they once so far prevail, that a man is willing to follow them, in thoughts and words agreeable to their wicked nature) do by little and little even grieve the Spirit of God, and quench the graces of the holy Ghost, till after a while, a man falleth into some wicked act of some of these kinds: and, Oh then, the burning, and shooting, and swelling of the body after the drinking of Ratts-bane, is not more manifest in the body, than the miserable effects of these sins are evident in the soul. The conscience gins to accuse; God is alienated; the heart is hardened; the mind blinded; and sometimes a man lies long (as it were) in a sown, before he can recover himself by repentance. Wherefore the godly man's care must be, to oppose the first motions of sin, to fly the occasions of evil doing, to be careful of restraining himself from the very smallest degrees of wickedness: for a little sin allowed, will bring in a greater; till that come accompanied with the greatest of all; and that make a man little less than dead the second time. We must therefore cast away the superfluity of maliciousness (that is, this allowing of sin, and pleasing ourselves in the occasions, & first degrees of it), if ever we desire the spiritual health and welfare of our inner man. David's conceitedness begat idleness; idleness begat adultery; adultery, murder; and all, a long lying, and deep sleep in sin. It is woeful to consider the miserable ruins, that have been made in the souls of many of God's servants, by their carelessness this way; how weak they have grown! how their acquaintance with God, their delight in his Word, their comfort in prayer, their desire of being dissolved, and their joy in a godly life, hath been interrupted! and how they have come to that pass, as scarce to show to others, or find in themselves any sign of living! Perhaps this may be the very case of some amongst you, that hear me at this time: O (if it be) get thee a preservative; take thee a large quantity of godly sorrow; feed upon the bitter (but wholesome) herbs of humiliation and grief; go and meditate on the threatenings of the Law; on the death of Christ; on the lamentable effects that others of God's people have found upon their growing so nought: and recover thyself again by hearty confession, and humble begging of pardon and of strength. And now all you, that be (as yet) free from such woeful sicknesses, be admonished by the miseries of others; and let not the deceitfulness of sin so far prevail against you, that you should give any allowance unto it, take any pleasure in the motions or occasions of it, or give your hearts leave so much as to think or speak of it, but with detestation. Poison is often sweet; but a wise man had rather deny to his taste the delight of sweetness, then fill his stomach with deadly pangs and gripings. Sin is honey in the mouth, but gravel in the belly. Hidden bread is pleasant, and stolen waters are sweet: but, O the miserable agonies which must ensue, before the soul can be clearly purged again, from the remainders of such poison! It is a pleasing thing to dally, to revenge, to deceive, to play the glutton, and the drunkard: but it must cost a man so much toil, so many sorrowful confessions, so many heavy passages, before he can recover again the quiet of his conscience, and his enjoyment of the assurance of God's favour; that at last it shall appear a dear-bought contentment, and an evil pennyworth of delight. No wise man will drink Wine and Sugar, if it have been first empoisoned with some deadly thing: neither let any Christian so far forget the rules of Christian wisdom, as for any paltry pleasure, or profit, or credit (which lying, swearing, whoredom, drunkenness, idolatry, or any like gross sin, may yield unto him) to venture the committing of them. Doubtless if he do, his complaint shall be at last as those sons of the Prophets once said; O man of God, death is in the pot! But to surfeit is little less dangerous, 
3 Taking heed of excess in things indifferent, and accustoming to sparing and moderation.  then to feed on poison: to labour overmuch, and overhard to the inflaming of the blood; to drink when a man is hot, to eat and drink excessively; these things do so exceedingly disquiet and overcharge the body, that many a man dies of them. So in the soul, it is likewise found, that the excessiveness of things lawful, and the unseasonableness of indifferent actions, doth sometimes little less annoy the soul's welfare, than the committing of things sinful. Especially if a man do mistake, and account that thing lawful or indifferent, which is wicked and sinful; and hereupon out of his erroneous judgement, lay the reins upon the neck of his carnal desires: gross, known, confessed sins, do no more enfeeble the soul, and overthrow the quiet and strength of the inward man, than such licentiousness. The abuse (I say) of things in themselves lawful, through the untimely and immoderate doing of them, is exceeding perilous unto the soul; and often death is little less, then ready to enter in at this window. The over-eager following of worldly business, when a man, not out of obedience to God's commandments, and out of a desire to humble himself by just painfulness in his calling: but out of a love of wealth, and a desire to grow rich and great in the world, doth set his thoughts and hands a work about the affairs of this life, so that he can scarce think or speak (with any life or comfort) of any other thing, than this earth; this greedy and continual pursuing of worldly businesses, though in themselves lawful, honest, and commendable doth vex the spirit, choke the word, dis-hallow the soul, offend God, and wound the conscience, no less than the committing of fornication would do: for this is to commit spiritual whoredom with that grand harlot, the wicked world. Also the perpetual and unsatiable use of pleasures and pastimes (in themselves, it may be no way sinful nor condemnable), yet still pursued with an over-vehement affection to them, with an overstrong delight in them; when they be not used as means of maintaining our health, or fitting ourselves for the works of our calling, and (indeed according as the name of recreations beareth) for the refreshing of the mind, and making it more lively and cheerful in better things; but are followed for their own sakes, out of a love of pastime (which is a childish, and too base a thing for a wise heart to be in love with), and when there is no conscionable regard had, of that rich and precious jewel of time (which no treasure can redeem): I say, the most honest and lawful recreations in the world, so inordinately followed, without regard of the due end thereof, and without the practice of Christian moderation in them, is no less harmful to the soul, than it is to the body to be over-watched, or over-laboured. It dulleth the heart, it clogs the conscience, it stoppeth the mouth from praying, it interrupteth all good meditations, and by little and little doth steal away the heart from God and godliness; till at the length gross sins and presumptuous, do come in the neck of lawful liberties abused. The same be spoken of the use of dainty fare, and soft raiment, and all other natural comforts, when the heart gins to be engaged to them; when we only seek our own satisfaction in them; when we forget to demonstrate in our manner of using them, a denial of the world, and a crucifying of ourselves to the world, and the world to us: then they are dangerous to our souls, and do even little less than kill up the new man in us. O I would that the experience of many a Christian did not verify this! Learn therefore to temper yourselves in things indifferent; to be moderate in following your calling; moderate in using recreations; moderate in meat and drink, and attire; and always rather to be oversparing to yourselves in these things, then over-large; rather abridge thyself of somewhat thou mightest have, then by venturing as far as ever thou art able, to make thyself believe it is lawful, to bring thyself in danger of going a step or two further, and falling into a f●at sinful abuse. Show forth the virtues of Christ jesus, & let it appear, that thou dost not love the world, nor the things thereof, by being content always to come a little too short of thine allowance, than any whit at all exc●eding it. The most wholesome diet is that, that is most sparing; and it is profitable for the body somewhat to deny the appetite, and abridge the stomach. Even so it is also for the soul; and no man shall ever be other than a dwarf and weakling in godliness, that will not be drawn to deny himself somewhat of his lawful liberty: for so slippery is our standing, so weak are our feet, that if we venture to do all we think lawful in these kinds, we shall surely do it unlawfully. I have told you (brethren), believe it as a sure truth, which your experience shall justify, though your tongues may deny: You shall not be confirmed in the inward man, if you do not keep yourselves somewhat short in outward liberties of the body, about profit, pleasure, food, attire, and the rest of these bodily, and sensual matters. O prefer thy soul before thy body; and make more account of inward strength, then of outward wealth, credit, or merriment. But lastly, if a man do starve himself for want of victual, 
4. By being constant in religious exercises.  and pine his body, by neglecting his due meals, it is without all doubt, that he shall have a weak and feeble body. So it is also for the soul. The Lord that hath ordained bread to make man's heart strong, hath ordained also the spiritual food of his soul, prayer, preaching, the sacraments, holy meditations of the Word, and works of God. These are as requisite for the souls increase in grace; as meat, and drink, and cloth, for the bodies proceeding in strength. Now as it often falleth out in the body, that there grows upon it a certain kind of craziness and stomacklesnesse, which makes a man to have no mind of his victuals; and then the longer he abstaineth, the less mind he hath to eat, the less ability to digest: so it cometh to pass likewise in the inward man; the soul gins to take little content in prayer, in reading the Scriptures, in hearing the word preached, in the receiving of the holy sacrament. These things are not desired, nor delighted in, with half so much ardour & fervour, as in former time. When the case stands thus with the soul (and likely the coming in of gain and preferment, by diverting the thoughts and affections from things heavenly, to things earthly, do bring the soul to this case), than it grows weaker and weaker, and often falleth grossly and palpably. Yea, it cometh to pass sometimes, that afflictions lying hard upon a man, do even put his soul out of taste, through the sourness and bitterness of carnal sorrow, that he findeth no appetite to holy exercises, (which are the repasts of the soul) nor any contentment in them: then grace is in the wane also; then all virtues whither and languish, and the soul fareth like unto him that cannot eat is victuals, whose very cheeks show it: so the outward behaviour and carriage of such a man, being far short of that heavenlinesse and fruitfulness, that once will discover this languishing of his soul. Wherefore he that would be strong in Christ jesus, and in the power of his might, must stir up in himself the Spirit of God which he hath received, by constancy in holy meditations of God, of his Kingdom, of his works, of his attributes; of himself, his mortality, his sinfulness, the shortness of life, the vanity of earthly things, the uncertainty of friends and wealth, and that last hour of his life, and that great day of judgement. He must also revive the same grace of God in him, by being fervent in prayer, and by provoking himself with all heartiness of desire, to beg good things at God's hand, especially the increase of all heavenly virtues. He must also labour to make his heart hot, with earnest and unfeigned thanksgiving for all temporal and spiritual benefits; especially for the death of Christ, and the kingdom of heaven by that dear price purchased for him. He must gain all opportunities of hearing the Word preached; and not suffer any idle objection, and foolish impediment to hinder him from frequenting it. He must digest it by meditation, when he comes home. He must carefully prepare for the Lords supper, by renewing his repentance and his faith, before he come thither: And thus he must feed of all the delicates, that God hath provided for him. No so true sign of bodily health, nor so sure means of outward strength, as a good stomach with good digestion: No so sure token and certain means of spiritual strength and health, as a longing desire to all holy exercises, public as well as private, and private as well as public. By these Christ jesus communicates his graces to us. The Word that begat us, will nourish us. The spirit of prayer that obtained good things, will obtain also increase of them, and so the soul must needs be well liking. Brethren, you all are taught by nature the need of corporal food, know also the need of spiritual; and if thou desire to have thy soul thrive in strength and stature; forslake not thy meals, cut not off religious exercises short, dispatch not God's worship cursorily, turn not holy duties into matters of fashion, and formality; but do them, and do them constantly, and do them hearty, and content not thyself in doing them, unless thou find some life and courage in doing them. And that thou mayest thus maintain in thee an hungry appetite after the exercises of piety; dip thy morsels often in the sharp sauce, and sour herbs of humiliation. Look back (so often as thou findest a kind of fullness of stomach, and spiritual satiety growing upon thee), look back unto the former sins of thine ignorance, consider thy natural misery and wretchedness, consider of thy most beloved corruption, and address thyself to work some sensible apprehension of grief for these things and cease not striving, though at first thou seem to strive in vain. It is certain, that labouring with one's own heart, to find out his corruptions that lie hidden, and to lament them being found out, will quicken the soul's appetite, and restore a man to some liveliness in holy duties; at least will so far forth prevail, that if he recover not his appetite; he shall remain sensible of this spiritual stomacklesnesse, and humbled under it, and full of sighs and groans, because of it; which at length will cure him without inconvenience. Now (brethren) let this word of exhortation sink into your souls. If regeneration be necessary to salvation, than the growing in the power of regeneration is also necessary. Weak things are often so obscured with their contraries, that it remaineth uncertain, whither they be or no: but that that is strong, will stir and show itself. Grace may be doubted of, so long as it remaineth feeble and infantlike; add unto it growth and bigness, and it will be out of question. No man can be assured of his salvation, without edifying his inward man; more than be saved, without having the new man. If you would enjoy your new birth, confirm it; if you would attain the comfort of it, grow in it. Neglect not the grace of God that is given unto you: now that you are in Christ, be strong men in Christ: and seeing the Lord hath vouchsafed you the work of his Spirit, give me leave to make use of the sweet exhortation of Paul to his Thessalonians; & to entreat you (brethren) to increase yet more and more.   

CHAP. XII. Exhorting to propagate grace to others.  
But our exhortation (if you remember) had an other member; 
1. To propagate it to others.  it is not enough for a good man to get more grace to himself, unless he do his best also to help his neighbours unto grace. They that are begotten of God, must do their utmost endeavours to beget others unto God. All things in nature have an inclination to derive their own qualities unto other things, and to assimilate or work like unto themselves, that that comes near unto them. Fire makes all things hot, and water all things moist: and in nature, nothing is more engrafted, than the propagation of the kind. Surely this new and divine nature must not be idle in this behalf; but they upon whom the Lord hath pleased, to bestow it, must labour to be his instruments, of conveying it to others. And in truth, what more comfortable thing can there be in all the world, then to be the instrument of making many to turn from the Kingdom of Satan, to the Kingdom of heaven? Doubtless the point we have proved, doth necessarily lead me to this exhortation. Seeing without regeneration there is no salvation, O let all that know the necessity, fruit, use, of a new birth, labour to hasten the new birth of others also, that so they may be furtherances to their salvation: to which if they have any degree of Christian charity, how can they choose, but put to an helping hand; although (perhaps) their endeavours that way be misconstrued, and they win no thanks, but rather hatred for their labour? A mad man in his madness, is most outrageous against those, that seek his recovery, and will needs force medicines, and good order, and diet upon him: But no man after his return to his sound mind, is (I think) so worse than mad, that then he doth not thank such friends with all his heart, and esteem himself much indebted to them for their pains: even so those that are possessed (as all unregenerate men are) with a spiritual frenzy or lunazie, may (perhaps) be distempered with choler against such as seek their regeneration; that is to say, their bringing to a right mind: But if ever the Lord show mercy unto them, and visit them with his heavenly gift, they will glorify God for us in the day of their visitation. Understand, that it is a great fault for a Christian man, not to be forward in seeking (according to his place) to help others to the participation of the same grace with himself. It discovers a want of zeal to God's glory, and charity to men's souls; and it shows, that a man hath not well considered, either of the bond wherein God hath tied him to his neighbour; or of the service which he shall perform unto God in such endeavours. See you not (brethren) how all heretics, and schismatics, and men of false religions, strive to draw others to their opinions and practices? See you not, how even damned Atheism, and hellish profaneness, and beastly epicurism, are not ashamed to attempt the drawing of companions? Shall God's child alone be content to go solitary to heaven? and to get out of Satan's clutches himself, though he lend an hand to pull out no man else besides himself? Doubtless the readiness of wicked men to poison all that come near them, with the poisonful breath of their errors and disorders, should enforce us to more forwardness and care, in seeking to be God's instruments, so far as in us lies, at least to prepare some to their regeneration: unless we will be content, that they shall be truer servants to the Devil, than we to God; and they more full of mischief, than we of well-doing. But I am persuaded, that you are already persuaded, that this is a duty, and that the consideration of the absolute necessity of a new birth to life everlasting, doth even necessarily enforce it upon you: for how can he say he loves his neighbour, that will not put himself forward, to help him forward in the way that leadeth to life. Wherefore that the exhortation may not be fruitless, I will also give you some necessary directions in that behalf. All men therefore considered as members of the same particular Church, are either Pastors, or the flock committed to them. The Ministers are appointed by God to make it their main work and business, to beget men to life eternal, and to nourish this life in them. It is their special calling, to apply themselves unto this most profitable service to God, and the souls of men. Now for private men, they are also to attend and heed this service with great care, so far as it may lie in the way of their calling. Wherefore some rules must be given to all men in general, some in particular to the Ministers. The duties that are common to all men, are likewise of two kinds: some respecting all those with whom they may have any occasion of dealing withal; some specially respecting those that are under their government. In respect of all men, 
W●i●● all must l●●. 1. To all. 1. 〈◊〉 a godly 〈◊〉.  they must shine forth in the clear light of an holy conversation: and secondly, be abundant in godly exhortations and admonitions, looking first to their actions, and then to their words. For the first: Those to whom God hath afforded this unspeakable benefit of a new life, must so carry themselves in all their behaviour, that they may adorn the Gospel of Christ jesus; and make others to perceive so much beauty and praise-worthinesse in their lives, that they may be provoked, out of an holy emulation, to be like unto them; therefore Christ jesus hath made us lively members of his body, that by following him our head, we may draw others unto him. So Paul was bold to propose his example to the Churches to imitate: so he telleth the husband, who hath an unbelieving wife; and the wife, which hath an unbelieving husband, that they should dwell one with the husband, the other with the wife; 
2 Cor. 7.16.  For why (saith he), how canst thou tell, but that thou mayest save thine husband, or thy wife? And the way how, Saint Peter showeth, saying, 
1. Pet. 3.1.  that Those which will not be won by the Word, may be won by the Wife without the Word, whilst (saith he) they behold your good conversation. Lo, how the virtuous conversation of a good wife hath a singular efficacy to draw the husband to God; and to allure him to the embracing of the same faith, which hath been so powerful and profitable to the amendment of her manners! And albeit the woman, in regard of nearness, and perpetuity of conversing together, hath more opportunity to do her husband good this way; yet no question but the like care of godly behaviour, hath the like power also to work upon brethren, and neighbours and acquaintance, and is in that name required of every Christian man. For in truth, the lustre and shining of virtue, hath great force to stir up admiration in the beholders; and to establish in them an high opinion of the person, in whom they see the same, and to make them even wish to be found like unto them: and so at length to condescend unto the using of the same means, by which they have perceived, so wonderful effects to have been wrought in them. Indeed men desperately and exorbitantly wicked, and withal so owle-eied, and so mischievously minded, that the shining of holiness doth exceedingly offend them, and provoketh in them the sharpest hatred, and most vehement malice that can be. But for those in whom the restraining spirit of God, hath kept down corruption from such an absolute prevailing; and some common work of grace, hath planted some, either beginnings, or appearances of some goodness; they cannot but wonder at the image of God, and highly esteem him in whom it is; and be provoked with some desire at least, to strive for the attainment of the same excellencies. Yea, for those most notorious sinners, that are habituated so strongly in sins and wickednesses, that virtue stirreth up hatred and ill will in them: if ever any cross befall them, or any trouble of mind, or the like accident, that somewhat crusheth their corruptions, and abateth the power of their lusts; at that time, they cannot but make known a secret estimation, that goodness winneth upon them, and even desire to seek some comfort of those, whom they think able to afford it. Wherefore it is required of all those, whom the Lord hath begotten again to life everlasting, that they frame their conversation, as beseemeth the Gospel of Christ, and agreeably to their high and excellent calling; that men beholding it, may glorify their heavenly Father, and may be alured to a liking of piety, which is the first step towards the working of it. They must even shine as lights in the midst of a froward generation, being blameless and sincere, and holding out the word of life among them: yea, they are expressly commanded, to walk wisely towards them that are without, because their walking may be a great furtherance to the others conversion. They must show forth the virtues of him, that hath called them from darkness to light, that their light may help to enlighten others also. They must be patiented in affliction, gentle in bearing wrongs, painful in doing service, just in all their dealings, true in all their speeches, pure in all their carriage, sober in all their lives, and unspotted in their whole conversation. They must bear much, and suffer long, and be plentiful in works of mercy, and cheerful in works of kindness; and above all, shine forth in doing good against evil, and overcoming injuries with good turns. They must show themselves cheerful, and amiable, peaceable, and heavenly minded; and that they do not serve themselves, but seek the profit and good of their brethren, in charity. They must neither be so licentious, as to be won by company of others, to things that are unlawful; nor so over strict and scrupulous, as to be enemies to the lawful use of lawful contents. And it is certain, that that man (which being sanctified by the spirit, doth show forth the fruits of the spirit (joy, love, peace, temperance, goodness, meekness, and the rest), and that observeth a prudent mediocrity in all things, so that he neither overlash in unlawful things, nor be too straight in lawful liberty), shall win to himself an honourable estimation in the hearts of them that are not stark nought; and shall make them ready to receive his exhortations, and to join with him in good exercises, by which they may at length be made partakers of the grace of God. Wherefore (my brethren) see that ye beautify the doctrine of God; see that ye honour the name of Christ; see that ye be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own souls. Deny yourselves, crucify your lusts, serve not your own bellies, seek not your own things, but show your holy conversation in the meekness of wisdom. Let those that are not yet regenerate, behold in you that be, something that may affect them, that may stir them to a good liking, to a care of following, and to a desire (at least) of being found such as you are; and so by working out your own salvation, be helpers also to the salvation of others. Secondly, let your tongues be well ordered, 
2. By good conference.  and your words gracious. Let your lips feed many, let your mouths be wellsprings of life, and pleasant and fruitful trees; the words of which (as it were leaves) may heal many. Although the preaching of the word by the Minister, be the chief means of begetting again; yet there can be no doubt made, but that good communication of private men, hath been, and may be, and (if it were well used) would be effectual to the same purpose. The preaching that first spread abroad the Gospel, was of men by private conference speaking to those of their acquaintance, whom they found opportunity so to teach; as well as by a more public preaching of Ministers, Apostles, Evangelists, and Prophets, taking the advantage of public assemblies. And in this sense it is said of all those, that were scattered abroad by the persecution of Saul; that they preached the Gospel to such as they met: (not all indifferently, but alone the jews) until at length, some of them of Cyrene, began also to speak unto the Gentiles. Now the words of a godly man, tending to convert others, must be of two sorts, or rather three. First, instructions, I mean a plain declaration of such necessary heads of Christian doctrine, as are most useful to the working of grace, viz. of Adam's fall, and the miserable estate of mankind thereby; of the necessity and nature of repentance; of the death and sufferings, and natures, and offices of Christ jesus; of the exceeding great danger of sinning, and of the endless torments of hell; of the certainty of salvation to all believers, and of the nature of true faith, and such other like. These a godly man should seek opportunity to fall in speech of; and avoiding all jangling and frivolous disputes about unnecessary quirks and quiddities; and forbearing all opposition in matters of ceremony, and disputable points in things external, (wherewith some do only take up the time and trouble themselves, & the Church, without edification): I say shunning, or slenderly & lightly passing over these, should bend himself to a more plentiful and serious delivering of these points (which are so necessary, that without them men cannot be saved), according as God hath given him utterance and ability; always remembering to observe the circumstances of time, place, person: and not to speak in the ears of a scorner, that will despise the wisdom of his heavenly speeches. O how happily might a private man's lips spread abroad knowledge, if he would thus redeem the time to holy conference! not as if it were not lawful to speak of other matters, either of business, or for delight; but that the best things should not be quite shouldered out, & utterly forgotten. Thus as men ride together by the way, as they walk together in the field, as they sit together in their houses, they might (without hindrance to their natural affairs) be busy in furthering their own and other men's everlasting estate. And doubtless that man should be wonderfully confirmed in knowledge himself, that would thus endeavour to communicate his knowledge to his brethren. Other things are diminished by participating; but knowledge is increased by making it common, with a most happy and a gainful kind of increase, where both sides be gainers: and the giver getteth so much more to himself, by how much he giveth more unto another. Wherefore if those amongst you that have knowledge, do meet with ignorant persons (as alas the store of them is so great, that you cannot choose but meet with many), then open your lips with discretion, and let the law of wisdom be under your tongue. Then slip gently into some one or other necessary head of Christian doctrine, that may be most behoveful; and from one to an other, till your wholesome and profitable speeches, have helped to open the eyes of the blind. Say to thyself, how can I tell but that God by my means, may begin to make these simple ones understand wisdom; and these ignorant learn that knowledge, which may in time procure their conversion? then let thy love burn within thee, and strengthen thy desires so far, till thou hast broken through the bands of shamefastness, and fear, and other carnal hindrances, that Satan will cast in thy way: till having made it familiar to thyself to use good conference, thou be'st able to do it at all seasons, and with all readiness. No soldier is hindered, either by bashfulness or fear, if the company will give him hearing, to talk of war, and the discipline of war. The drover and grassier will be talking of sheep and oxen. The husbandman cannot keep his tongue from the plough, and the prices of his corn: Every tradesman is apt to fall in speech of the commodities or works, that belong to his trade. Shall the Christian and sanctified man alone, either fear or shame, to show forth the riches of his mind, and to be telling of the wonderful mysteries of godliness? I pray you lay aside carnal fear, and carnal shame, and resolve to approve the goodness of your hearts, by the seasonable wisdom of your words; and remember what David tells you in the Psalm; The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh judgement. Secondly, join loving and wholesome exhortations, stirring up one another, and exhorting one another, as the Apostle speaketh. Persuade with the kindest and affablest words thou canst invent: persuade (I say) those, whom thou mayest hope will be persuaded by thee, to read the Scriptures, to read other good books of good men; and if thou thinkest there be any hope that they will read the same, give them withal some brief and good writing, that thou hast found to thyself most beneficial; especially persuade them to go and hear the word of God: say, Come let us go up to the house of the Lord. Strive to bring them to a good estimation of God's ordinance of preaching, and to frequent it constantly, and take advantage, of what thou knowest they have heard, to stir them up to godly sorrow, and to mourning for sin, and to amendment of life. Do thy best to draw them unto those duties, that have drawn thyself, and may draw them to God. Great is the force of loving persuasion; it stealeth into the soul afore a man is aware, and taketh footing before he can observe it. It leads and guides men with a kind of gentle violence, to the things that they never intended; and often times it altars even peremptory and stomachful resolutions. Forget not therefore by these goads, to prick men forward unto all the good duties of piety, which thou hast found effectual to thine own new birth. And thirdly, let wholesome reproofs or admonitions be intermingled. How truly said he, that called these, Precious balms? only let them be delivered lovingly, and seasonably, in as much privateness as may be, and with as much gentleness. It is Saint Paul's precept, Admonish the unruly. Indeed we must limit it with salomon's limitation, unless he have showed himself a scorner: but otherwise he is, and must be more then ordinarily unruly, that if he be gently taken aside and told of a fault, with kind words, shall not be somewhat affected for the present, and more when he comes alone and thinks of it. But chief, if a man do purposely betake himself to one with whom he hath some acquaintance, and some interest in him, having formerly prayed to God for assistance and success; and there in mild and sorrowful manner, lay open unto him the greatness of that evil course he can prove him to live in; the danger of it, the dishonesty, the discreditfulnesse, the vengeance of God against it, and such like; withal, beseeching the offender to remember himself, and afore it be too late, to reform himself. If a man (I say) shall thus do, he must be a double scorner (even one that hath settled himself in the seat of the scornful), that shall not be somewhat wrought upon by words so sweetly and wisely uttered. And thus must all regenerate persons (as they have occasion) labour the regenerating of others by good life, and good speeches. Now I show governors of families, how they should seek the regenerating of those that are under their government. 
2 To those of their family, ●●●●r should pping God w●th them.  Their care must extend itself, partly to those of years, partly to their infants. For those of years: first, they must see God served in their own families; learning of him that said, I and mine h●use will serve the Lord. Now God is served in the family by reading of the Scriptures, and invocation of the name of God: for seeing God hath united them into the body of one family, and made them a common body; therefore he doth require a common service of them, that they may all join in doing homage to him, to whom all are servants; remembering, that even the families, as well as the kingdoms, are cursed, that call not upon the name of God. Is the Master commanded to whet the Law of God upon his children as he sits in his house? and must it not needs follow, that he must join with them in calling upon that God, whose law that is? When Daniel did pray in his house, it seemeth probable to me, that if it had been a private prayer of himself alone, no man could have known it, his enemies could not have found him at it. It was therefore rather an household prayer, than a closet prayer; in regard of which those enemies of his did seek an advantage against him. And seeing Hester took her maids with her in the extraordinary prayers joined with fasting: we have little reason to think, but that she took them to her also in her daily and ordinary prayers. Zachary tells of them upon whom the spirit of grace and prayer should be poured, that they should mourn (and this mourning was not without praying) every family apart, and their wives apart. Behold an exercise of the family apart, from other families; and of each member of the family (the wife put for the rest synecdochically) apart from other members of it. So then, let every godly man strive to propagate godliness, by performing these duties of godliness with his people. Let him make them acquainted with the Scriptures, by an orderly and constant reading it amongst them; 
catechizing them.  and let him learn them, how to pray for themselves, by praying with them, and for them all. Secondly, let him instruct them in the principles of religion, teaching them some good Catechism, according to their capacity; at least labouring to drive into their heads, the main points of Christian doctrine; and that in such familiar sort of questioning with them, that they may make him perceive they know what they speak. Must not children be brought up in information of the Lord? and how this should be, if they be not catechised, I think no man can conceive. Is not knowledge as necessary for the soul, as food for the body? Doubtless he must be void of knowledge that will deny it. How then shall he not deserve to be called worse than an Infidel, that cares not though his people's souls be starved? You all know, that the master is enjoined to look that his servants break not the Sabbath. Assure yourselves, the law of God puts one part of his duty, for all parts of the same kind; so that he must as well look to him, that he know God and his worship, as that he do not profane his Sabbath. Salomons mother taught him when he was young. She may be a precedent for all mothers: and the father should be ashamed to be found negligent in that, wherein the mother must be forward. Abraham commanded his servants to keep the law of God. How should he command them to keep it, if he had not taught it them? God would have him that was bought with money, circumcised. Doubtless then, he would have him also instructed in the religion of the jews, whereof that circumcision was a badge. In very deed, if this, and the former duty be not done by the master, he shows himself little to heed the salvation of his family. So that whosoever doth make conscience of helping his household to heaven, must lead them the way, by serving the Lord with them, and teaching them his ways. Thirdly, 
Thirdly, bringing them to the Church.  he must likewise bring them to the assembly of God, to hear his word preached, and examine them what they have learned and remembered. For if people be at Church and attend not, little shall they get by the word: and if they be never demanded what they have heard, they will not likely attend; but a desire of not shaming themselves by silence to such questions, will make them bow their ears and listen. Indeed herein the master must consider the capacity of his servants, and encourage those of mean wits in the little they can do; and rather draw them to remember something (who are less ready for that duty) by loving persuasion, then by tartness of speech; and by commending to them the necessity of remembering the word, rather than by speeches of disgrace. And if they cannot remember any thing, yet he must not desist to examine, exhort, admonish still; for why, this is the best means that he can do, to make them mark and observe: and having done his own duty, he shall be blameless before God, though they be negligent. And last of all, he must not forget to pray unto God, for the regenerating of those under his roof in special. 
4. Praying for regeneration.  For if Paul did beg of God the salvation of the jews (his countrymen); shall a governor of a family forget those of his family, whom he daily sees, and speaketh with? In truth, of all requests that a man can make for his people, this is the most behoveful, and the most necessary. This the master that doth, shall find himself made loving, charitable, patiented, courteous towards his servants: for in exercising Christian charity towards them, he shall be sure to find it increase. And if he make such particular prayers, either they shall be heard to his great content; or at least they shall be accepted by God, as fruits of his charity, as much as if they were heard. If God be glorified by the conversion and salvation of our children and servants, as well as our own; and his glory be (as it should be) dear unto us, as well as our own salvation; why should we forget to beg at his hands so profitable a thing for persons so near unto us? Wherefore if thou hast formerly been behind hand in mentioning thy wife, children, servants to God this way; now make it one of thy daily & hearty petitions. O Lord be thou entreated to make these my children thy children, & these my servants thy servants; & let thy spirit work grace in them, that they may be true members of thy family (the Church of the sanctified), as well as of this my family. But there remaineth one peculiar thing in behalf of Infants; 
Especially for Infants, to bring them to baptism in right manner.  that is, not alone to bring them to Baptism (which all do as a matter of course), but to bring them to Baptism with an high esteem of the ordinance, & with fervent prayers to God for his blessing upon it, that it may be effectual for their regeneration. Doubtless Baptism is the Sacrament of the New birth: and look what efficacy the Lords Supper hath to feed our souls; the same (I must think, unless I could see a difference in the common nature of these two Sacraments) hath Baptism to the rebegetting. Wherefore it is a most behoveful duty of the parents (not with those public prayers alone which are made, in, and by the congregation, being very well and fitly prescribed in our Liturgy: but) with most urgent prayers at home, to beg of God, that his Infant may be washed with the holy Ghost, as well as with water. Is not a New birth worth ask, think we? thy child cannot ask; therefore it is thy duty, as to bring him to be baptised, so to strive with God in earnest prayers that his Baptism may become effectual. For my part (brethren), none error seems to me more absurd, then to imagine that the spirit of regeneration is included in water, as a medicine in a box; or so necessarily joined to the water, as a sweet smell to something that is perfumed: that all which are baptised, should also be inwardly and actually regenerated. But this I hold, that we should beg the regeneration of each one that is baptised, and presume him to be regenerate; because we see the seal of the new birth stamped upon him. But among other causes of the in-efficacy of this Sacrament, I think one chief, to be the parents little esteem of it; that rather do it as a matter of course, then as a thing that shall be behoveful for them, and that they expect God's blessing upon, for the sealing up of regeneration. God is not (for the most part, he is not) importuned as he expecteth to be, for his cooperation with this ordinance. Many, and many parents come to the baptism of their children, or cause their children to be brought unto it, without faith, without fervent prayer, without any care used to have it blessed unto their children. Many a good man would be afraid to come to the Communion himself, without some special calling upon God for his heavenly blessing, without some special care of renewing his repentance; but ●uen of those, that thus make account of the Sacrament of nourishment for themselves, there be, that have made so little account of the Sacrament of begetting again; that they scarce have made one prayer the more for it, or been any whit the more careful to lament their own original corruption, and their child's, which it hath received from them. O how great a blessing is it to a Father, to have his child regenerated even from his infancy! how great a blessing for the child to be borne again, even so soon (almost) as ever he is first borne! Why should not a man cry mightily to God for such a blessing? Hath not the Lord bond us to seek to his ordinance, and to bring our children to it? Doubtless Circumcision was no more needful for jewish Infants, than Baptism for ours. Why then, why do not we seek to it according to the worth of it? and cry to him also to be merciful to them and us, in washing them with his spirit, and with water. Sure God hath given thee good hope that thy child may be regenerate there and then, by calling it to the seal of regeneration; wherefore do thou thy best endeavour to procure that it may be regenerate, by begging the performance of what the seal imports. Set a day (at least some good time) apart to seek the face of God, to find out and confess thy sins, chief thine original sin, which thou hast derived to thine infant; lament it in thyself, lament it in and for him; and with the most vehement prayers that thou canst put up, beseech the Lord to accept thee, to accept the fruit of thy body, to bless his own institution to it, to wash it with the holy Ghost, and to beget it to a new life, and to infuse into it that holiness now (by means of Baptism), which he can as easily infuse into an Infant, as into a man of years. I say again, pray for the regeneration of thy child, as well as for thine own nourishing; to obtain the fruit of Baptism for it, as to obtain the fruit of the Lords Supper for thyself. Both are Sacraments, both God's ordinances; but the efficacy of Baptism is more necessary than that of the Lords supper: for if one be not borne anew he cannot be saved, he may be saved without sensible confirmation. And Baptism cannot be reiterated, as may the Lords Supper; wherefore what thou canst do but once for thy child, that thou must be careful to do this once in the best manner; that being well done, it may be better than twice done. How strong and full hopes of his child's salvation and regeneration might a parent have, if he would thus win them of God by prayer? the fervent prayer of a righteous man prevaileth very much. Here therefore, if in any thing; & at this time, if at any time; and for this benefit, if for any benefit, see that you make your prayers most fervent. And so much for those duties, which concern all men to use both towards all, and towards those of their own families, both elder and infants. Now I come to those that concern the Ministers of God's Word especially: 
The Minister principally, by constant and plain preaching.  In all the former duties they are bound, to abound above others: for their calling affords them more knowledge, more opportunities, more authority. But some things they must do, that others may not. They must administer the holy Sacraments; they must offer up public prayers for, and with the Congregation: they must preach the Word constantly in season, and out of season; following Christ jesus, whose custom it was to go into their synagogues upon the Sabbath day; and so to speak, as all wondered at his gracious words. In truth, God would not have ordained in his Church Pastors, that should live of the Gospel, and whose main work should be to study, and to grow in knowledge; but that they should be careful to speak, as beseemed wholesome doctrine, even to speak and exhort with all long suffering, and with all authority. I do wonder in my very soul, how any man dare adventure to take upon him, the weightiest office and burden that can be (even the care of men's souls), that knows himself able to do no more for their salvation, than a schoolboy of a dozen years old might do; even fairly read them some prayers, and a chapter or two! Is this the labouring in the Word and doctrine; for which Ministers are specially accounted worthy double honour? Is this to be a Workman, that needeth not to be ashamed, dividing the Word of truth aright? Who can hold up his face before God, and make answer to these questions; so as it shall not enforce him to confess, that if he will be a pastor over souls, he must be able to do more for the sheep, than many (perhaps most) of the sheep are able to do for themselves. The conscience therefore of that pastor must needs bear witness against him, that dares reap earthly things, when he cannot sow spiritual? that dare challenge a place of double honour, when he cannot perform a single work. Darest thou (whosoever thou art) for a liuing's sake serve filthy lucre, in adventuring on that calling which thou knowest thyself utterly unable to fulfil? Doubtless the time will come, when thou shalt wish that thou hadst rather chosen to have lived any where then at the Altar, not being able to do the service of the Altar; and then of the Gospel, not being able to preach the Gospel. O then study day and night, and by continual pains, and putting forth thyself to all laboriousness; make thyself able to do that, which by pains-taking (with much prayer to God for a blessing) thou mayest attain unto. I entreat thee to consider the words of our Saviour Christ; whosoever is a scribe, instructed for the kingdom of God (that is, a good and fit Minister) must not alone have in his treasure, but as a good householder, bring forth of his treasure, new things and old. Art thou not God's steward? art thou not God's Ambassador? art thou not God's fellow-workman? why dost thou not deliver thine embassage? why dost thou not distribute God's food? why dost thou not plant and water, that God may give the increase? Consider what a weighty duty, what a great honour it is to be God's instrument for the regenerating others; to be a spiritual father, to have them our spiritual sons in Christ, who are Gods adopted sons in Christ. Happy is he to whom many men, some men, one man, oweth his title of God's child, and his interest into God's Kingdom.   
FINIS.