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out ftrength; and canft not come to Chrift, till thou be drawn.. Thou art loft, and canst not help thyfelf. This may shake the foundation of thy hopes, who ne'er faweft thy abfolute need of Chrift and his grace; but thinkest to shift for thyself, by thy civility, morality, drowfy wifies and duties; and by a faith and repentance, which have fprung up out of thy natural powers, without the power and efficacy of the grace of Chrift. O be convinced of thy abfolute need of Christ, and his overcoming grace; believe thy utter inability to recover thyself:: and fo thou mayeft be humbled, fhaken out of thy felf-confidence, and ly down in duit and afhes, groaning out thy miferable cafe before the Lord. A kindly. fenfe of thy natural impotency, the impotency of depraved human nature, would be a step to wards a delivery.

Thus far of MAN'S NATURAL STATE, the State of Entire Depravation..

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H E A D I Return this book to the & whe

REGENERATION..

Avlist Stewart 62 William Shest.

I PET. i. 23..

New York

Being born again, not of corruptible Seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever..

WE TE proceed now to the State of Grace, the State of begun Recovery of Human Nature, into which all, that shall partake of eternal happinefs are tranflated, fooner or later, while in this world. It is the refult of a gracious change made

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upon these who shall inherit eternal life which change may be taken up in these two: (1.) In oppofition to their natural real ftate, the state of corruption, there is a change made upon them in regeneration; whereby their nature is changed. (2.) In oppofition to their natural relative ftate, the state of wrath, there is a change made upon them, in their union with the Lord Jefus Chrift; by which they are fet beyond the reach of condemnation. Thefe, therefore, namely, regeneration, and union with Chrift, I defign to handle, as the great and comprehenfive changes on a finner, conftituting him in the ftate of grace.

The first of thefe we have in the text, together with the outward and ordinary means, by which it is brought about. The apostle here, to excite the faints to the ftudy of holiness, and particularly of brotherly love, put them in mind of their fpiritual original. He tells them they were born again; and that of one incorruptible feed, the word of God. This speaks them to be brethren, partakers of the fame new nature; which is the root from which holiness, and particularly brotherly love, doth fpring. We were once both finners; we must be born again, that we may be faints. The fimple word fignifies to be begotten; and fo it may be read, Matth. xi. 11. “ to be conceived," Matth. i. 20. and " to be born," Matth. ii. 1. Accordingly the compound word ufed in the text, may be taken in its full latitude, the last notion prefuppoûng the two former: and to regeneration is a fupernatural real change on the whole man, fitly compared to natural or corporal generation, as will afterward appear. The ordinary means of regeneration called the feed, whereof the new creature is formed, is not corruptible feed. Of fuch indeed, our bodies are generated: but the fpiritual feed, of which the new creature is generated, is incorruptible; namely," the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever." The found of the word of God, paffeth even as other founds do; but the word lafteth, liveth and abideth, in refpect of it's everlasting effects, on all upon whom it operates. This word, which, by the Gospel, is preached unto you," (ver. 25.) impregnated by the Spirit of God, is the means of regeneration; and by it are dead finners raifed to life.

DOCTRINE. All men in the ftate of grace are born again." All gracious perfons, namely, fuch as are in a state of favour with God, and endued with gracious qualities and difpofitions, are regenerate perfons. In difcourfing this fubject, I thall fhew what generation is: Next, Why it is fo called: And then apply the doctrine.

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Of the Nature of Regeneration.

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I. For the better understanding of the nature of regeneration, take this along with you in the first place; that as there are falfe conceptions in nature, so there are alfo in grace; and by thefe many are deluded, mistaking fome partial changes made upon them, for this great and thorough change. To remove fuch mistakes, let thefe few things be confidered. (1.) Many call the church their mother, whom God will not own to he his children: Cant. i. 6. My mother's children (i. e. falfe brethren) were angry with me." All that are baptized, are not born again: Simon Magus was baptized, yet still in the gall of bitternefs, and in the bond of iniquity," Acts viii. 13, 23. Where Christianity is the religion of the country, many will be called by the name of Chrift, who have no more of him, but the name; and no wonder, feeing the devil had his goats among Christ's sheep, in thefe places where but few profeifed the Chriftian religion, 1 John ii. 19. They went out from us, but they avere not of us." (2.) Good education is not regeneration. Education may chain up men's lufts, but cannot change their hearts. A wolf is ftill a ravenous beaft, though. it be in chains. Joah was very devout during the life of his good tutor Jehoiada; but afterwards he quickly fhewed what fpirit he was of, by his fudden apoftacy, 2 Chron. xxiv. 2, 17, Good example is of mighty influence to change the outward man; but that change often goes off, when one changes his company; of which the world affords many fad inftances. (3.) A turning from open profanity, to civility and fobriety, falls fhort of this faving change. Some are, for a while, very loose, especially in their younger years: but at length they reform, and leave their profane courfes. Here is a change, yet but fuch an one, as may be found in men utterly void of the grace of God, and whofe righteoufnels is fo far from exceeding, that it doth not come up to the righteoufnefs of the Scribes and Pharifees. (4.) One may engage in all the outward duties of religion, and yet not be born again. Tho' lead be cast into. various fhapes, it remains till but a bafe metal. Men may

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efcape the pollutions of the world, and yet be but dogs and fwine, 2 Pet ii. 20. 22. All the external acts of religion are within the compafs of natural abilities. Yea, hypocrites may have the conterfeit of all the graces of the Spirit: for we read of true holiness, Eph. iv. 23. and faith unfeigned, 1 Tim. i, 5. which fhews us, that there is a counterfeit holiness, and a

feigned faith. (5.) Men may advance to a great deal of Atrictness in their own way of religion; and yet be ftrangers to the new birth, A&ts xxxvi. 5. "After the most ftricteft fect of our religion, I lived a Pharifee," Nature has its own unfanctified ftrictnefs in religion, The Pharifees had for much of it, that they looked on Chrift as little better than a mere libertine. A man whofe confcience hath been awakened, and who lives under the felt influence of the covenant of works, what will he not do, that is within the compafs of natural abilities? It was a truth, tho' it came but of a hellifh mouth, that "fkin for fkin; all that a man hath will he give for his life," Job ii. 4. (6.) One may have fharp foul-exercifes and pangs, and yet die in the birth. Many have been in pain, that have but as it were brought forth wind. There may be fore pangs and throws of confcience, which turn to nothing at last. Pharaoh and Simon Magus had fuch convictions, as made them defire the prayers of others for them. Judas repented himself; and under terrors of confcience, gave back his il gotten peices of filver. All is not gold that glifters. Trees may bloffom fairly in the fpring, on which no fruit is to be found in the harvest: and fome have fharp foul exercifes, which are nothing but foretaftes of hell.

The new birth, however in appearance hopefully begun, may be marred two ways. Firft, Some like Zarah, Gen. xxxviii. 28. 29. are brought to the birth, but go back again. They have fharp convictions for a while but thefe go off, and they turn as carelefs about their falvation, as profane as ever; and ufually worse than ever: "Their laft ftate is worse than their firft," Matth. xii. 45. They get awakening grace, but not converting grace; and that goes off by degrees, as the light of the declining day, till it iffue in midnightdarknefs. Secondly, Some, like Ifhmael, come forth too soon; they are born before the time of the promise, Gen. xvi. 1. 2. compare Gal. iv. 22. and downward. They take up with a mere law work, and ftay not till the time of the promife of the gofpel. They fnatch at confolation, not waiting till it be given them; and foolishly draw their comfort from the Law that wounded them. They apply the healing plaifter to themfelves, before their wound be fufficiently fearched. The law, that rigorous hufband, feverely beats them, and throws in curfes and vengeance upon their fouls then they fall a reforming, praying, mourning, promifing and vowing till this ghoft be laid; which done, they fall asleep again in the arms of the Law; but they are never shaken out of

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State III. themselves and their own righteoufnefs, nor brought forward to Jefus Chrift. Laftly, There may be a wonderful` meving of the affections, in fouls that are not at all touched with regenerating grace. Where there is no grace, there may, notwithftanding, be a flood of tears, as in Efau," who found no place of repentance, tho' he fought it carefully with tears," Heb xii. 18. There may be great flashes of joy as in the heavers of the word, reprefented in the parable by the ftony-ground, “ 'who anon with joy receive it," Matth. xii. 20. There may alfo be great defire after good things, and great delight in them too; as in thefe hypocrites defcribed, Ifa. lviii. 2. " Yet they feek me daily, and delight to know my ways. They take delight in approaching unto God." See how high they may fome, times ftand, who yet fall away, Heb, vi. 4. 5, 6. They may be" enlightned, tafte of the heavenly gift, be partakers of the holy Gholf, tafte the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come." Common operations of the divine Spirit, like a land-flood, make, a ftrange turning of things up fide-down. And when they are over, all runs again in the ordinary channel, All thefe things may be, where the fanctifying Spirit of Chrift never refts upon the foul, but the ftony heart ftill remains and in that cafe, thefe affections cannot but wither, because they have no root.

But regeneration is a real thorough change, whereby the man is made a new creature, 2 Cor, v. 17. The Lord God makes the creature a new creature, as the goldfmith melts down the veffel of difhonour, and makes it a veffel of honour. Man is, in refpect of his natural ftate, altogether disjointed by the fall; every faculty of the foul is, as it were diffocate: in regeneration the Lord loofeth every joint, and fets it right again. Now, this change made in regeneration is,

1. A change of qualities or difpofitions: it is not a change of the fubftance, but of the qualities of the foul, Vicious quali, ties are removed, and the contrary difpofitis are brought in in their room. "The old man is pat off" Eph. iv. 22 "The new man put on," ver. 24. Man loft none of the rational faculties of his foul by fin: he had an understanding till, but it was darkened; he had ftill a will, but it was contrary to the will of God. So in regeneration there is not a new substance created, but new qualities are infufed light instead of darkness," righteouf efs inftead of unrighteoufnefs.

2. It is a fupernatural change: he that is born again, is born of the Spirit, John iii. 5. Great changes may be made by the

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