was in his power to have covered it. He saw it, and might have drawn a curtain over it, but would not; and for this, by a spirit of prophecy, he was cursed by his father, Gen. ix. 25. This age is full of such monsters, that rejoice to blazen abroad the infirmities of such saints, and these certainly justice has or will curse.

There is a mantle of compassion that must be cast over the weaknesses and infirmities of weak saints. When a weak saint comes to see his sin, and the Lord gives him to lie down in the dust, and to take shame and confusion to himself, that he has dishonoured God, and caused Christ to bleed afresh, and grieved the Spirit; O now thou must draw a covering, and cast a mantle of love and compassion over his soul, that he may not be swallowed up with sorrow. Now thou must confirm thy love to him, and carry it with as great tenderness and sweetness after his fall, as if he had never fallen. This the apostle presses in 2 Cor. ii. 7; Love covereth all sin. mantle is very large. Love claps a plaister upon every sore. Love hath two hands, and makes use of both to hide the scars of weak saints. Christ, O strong saints, casts the mantle of his righteousness over your weaknesses, and will not you cast the mantle of love over your brother's infirmities.

Love's

10. It is the duty of strong saints to sympathize with the weak; to rejoice with them when they rejoice, and to mourn with them when they mourn.

Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 2 Cor. xi. 29. Thuanus reports of Ludovicus Marsacus, a knight of France, when he was led with other martyrs that were bound with cords going to execution, and he, for his dignity, was not bound, he cried, Give me my chains too; let me be a knight of the same order.' It should be between a strong saint and a weak as it is between two lute-strings that are tuned one to another; no sooner is one struck, than the other trembles : no sooner should a weak saint be struck, than the strong should tremble. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them, Heb. xiii. 3. The Romans punished one that was seen looking out at his window with a crown of roses on his head, in a time of public calamity; and will

not God punish those that do not sympathize with Joseph in his afflictions? Surely he will.

11. It is the duty of the strong to give to the weak the honour that is due unto them.

They have the same name, the same baptism, the same profession, the same faith, the same hope, the same Christ, the same promises, the same dignity, and the same glory with you; therefore speak honourably of them, and carry it honourably towards them. Let not them be under your feet, that Christ has laid near his heart. And so much for this second doctrine.

CHAPTER III.

ON THE DIFFERENT MEASURES IN WHICH SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE COMMUNICATED,

We shall speak now to the word grace. The Greek word that is here rendered grace, has a two-fold signification. Sometimes it is taken for the gracious favour and good will of God, whereby he is pleased of his own free love to accept and own poor sinners in the Son of his love, for his own. This is called the first grace, because it is the fountain of all other graces, and the spring from whence they flow. And it is therefore called grace, because it makes a man gracious with God.

This word that is here rendered grace, is taken for the gifts of grace; and they are of two sorts, special and common. Common grace is that which hypocrites may have, and in which they may excel and go beyond the choicest saints, as in a gift of knowledge, a gift of utterance, a gift of prayer, a gift of tongues. A man may have these, and many other excellent gifts, and yet miscarry, yea, fall as low as hell; witness Judas, Demas, the scribes and pharisees. There is also special grace, as faith, love, humility, meekness, which the apostle reckons upon, Gal. v. 22, 23.

Now here by grace you may either understand the gracious favour of God; or else you may take it for the gifts of grace, both saving and common, which the apostle had

given him, in order to the discharge of his ministerial office, which by the special favour of God he was advanced to.

The word grace being thus opened, we may from thence observe, first, that the Lord gives his best gifts to his best beloved ones.

For the opinion and clearing of this point, I shall, premise these four things:

I. To shew you what those best gifts are, that God bestows upon his best beloved ones.

II. I shall shew you the manner of his giving the best gifts to his beloved ones; or the difference there is between Christ's giving and the world's giving.

III. And then the excellency of those gifts that Christ gives, above all other gifts that the world gives.

IV. And lastly, the reason why Christ gives his best gifts to his best beloved ones.

I. What are those best gifts that Christ bestows upon his best beloved ones?

I shall not instance in those common gifts that they have in common with others, but rather shew you those special gifts that he bestows upon them; and of these I shall single out those that are most choice, and that carry most in them of the glory, favour, and good will of him that dwelt in the bush.

1. And the first is this-he gives light to his beloved ones; and light is a pleasant thing to behold, as the wise man speaks. He gives spiritual light, which is a mercy of mercies. Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light, Eph. v. 14. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light, that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, John i. 8, 9. He gives that light whereby his people are enabled to see sin to be the greatest evil, and himself to be the chiefest good. He gives that light which melts the soul, which humbles the soul, which warms the soul, which quickens the soul, which quiets the soul, and which glads the soul. Man is not born with heavenly light in his heart, as he is born with a tongue in his mouth. Till Christ comes and sets up a light in the soul, the soul lives in darkness, and lies in

darkness, yea, in darkness in the very abstract. Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: Ephes. v. 8. Saints are always in the sun-shine, there fore they should be like a crystal glass, with a light in the midst, which appears in every part. A Christian should be like the lamp in the story, that never went out. Were it not for the sun, it would be perpetual night in the world, notwithstanding all star-light, and torch-light, and moonlight. It is not the torch-light of natural parts and creature comforts, nor the star-light of civil honesty and common gifts, nor yet the moon-light of temporary faith and formal profession, that can make day in the soul, till the Sun of Righteousness rise and shine upon it. And that is the first thing he gives, light.

2. Now the second thing he gives is repentance.

Repentance is not a flower that grows in nature's garden. Him hath God the Father exalted, to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and forgiveness of sins, Acts v. 31. The servant of the Lord must in meekness instruct those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, 2 Tim. ii. 25. By these scriptures it is clear that repentance is no flower that grows in nature's garden, though Arminians teach and print, that if men will put out their power and their strength, they may repent. But several who have been of this opinion, have experienced the falseness of it when it has been too late. The Ethiopian cannot change his skin, nor the leopard his spots, Jer. xiii. 23. And certainly, if there were such a power in man to repent, as some would make the world believe there is, man would never miscarry everlastingly for his not repenting. O is it good dwelling with everlasting burnings, with devouring fire? Is it good being for ever shut out from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power? Certainly if there were such a power in vain man to repent, no man would go to hell for not repenting ; and many that have boasted much of their ability to repent, when they have been upon a dying bed, would have given a thousand worlds, were there so many in their power, that they could but repent.

Luther confesses, that before his conversion he met not with a more displeasing word in all the study of divinity, then this word repent; but after the Lord had converted him, and manifested himself to him, he delighted in this word; then he could sorrow for his sins, and rejoice in his sorrow.

Repentance strips the soul stark naked of all the garments of the old Adam, and leaves no covering behind. In this rotten building there is not one stone left upon another. As the flood drowned Noah's own friends and servants, as well as strangers, so true repentance drowns all darling lusts. True repentance is the cutting off of the right hand, and the pulling out of the right eye; and is this such an easy thing? surely no. True repentance is a gift that is from above, and if the Lord does not give it, man will eternally perish for the want of it.

3. Christ gives his Spirit.

The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Rom. v. 5. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, 1 John iii. 24. how by the Spirit which he hath given us. So in chap. iv. 13. The Spirit which the Lord Christ gives, is an enlightening Spirit; it is the candle of the Lord set up in the hearts of the saints, to guide them in the way everlasting. It is a sanctifying spirit, a spirit of burning, Isa. iv. 4. He is a fire to enlighten the soul, and a fire to enliven the soul, and a fire to warm the soul. Whatsoever is of the Spirit is spirit. It is nimble, and lively, and active, and full of life, and motion, as the Spirit is. A man without the Spirit of the Lord is a dull, dronish creature. As the Latins call a dull, dronish man, a fireless man, so we may call a man who has not the Spirit, a spiritless man.

The Spirit that Christ gives, is a sealing Spirit, Ephes. i, 13.; and a leading Spirit, Rom. viii. he leads from sin, he leads from wrath, he leads from the curse, he leads to God, he leads to Christ, he leads to the promises, he leads to glory.

This Spirit is a comforting Spirit, John xiv. 16.; and a pleading Spirit, Rom. viii. 26. Every Christian has three advocates pleading for him. The first is that divine love