ng winter nights into summer days. It would very condition to be a paradise to you.

10. If grace be not exercised and improved, the soul may be easily surprised, conquered, and vanquished by a tempting devil, and an enticing world.

When the sword is in the scabbard, the traveller is easily surprised, and when the guard is asleep, the city is quickly conquered. The strongest creature, the lion, and the wisest creature, the serpent, if they be dormant, are as easily surprised as the weakest worms. So the strongest and wisest saints, if their graces be asleep, if they be only in the habit and not in the exercise, may be as easily surprised and vanquished, as the weakest Christians in all the world, as you may see in David, Solomon, Samson, Peter. Every enemy insults over him that has lost the use of his weapons.

11. We must improve our graces, because decays in grace are very great losses to us.

By decaying in grace, we come to lose our strength, our best strength, our spiritual strength, our strength to do for God, our strength to wait on God and walk with God, our strength to bear for God, our strength to suffer for God. By decaying in grace we come to lose that joy that is unspeakable and full of glory; and that comfort and peace which passes understanding; and to lose the sense of that favour that is better than life. Now our faith will be turned into fear, our dancing into mourning, our rejoicing into sighing. And when, O Christian, thou beginnest to fall and to decay, who knows how far thou mayst fall, how much thy graces may be impaired, and how long it may be before thy sun rise when once it is set? Spiritual losses are hardly recovered. A man may easily run down a hill, but he cannot so easily get up. Philosophers say, that the way from the habit to the privation, is easier than the way from the privation to the habit: as a man may soon put an instrument out of tune, bnt not so soon put it in again. Therefore you had need to exercise and improve

your graces.

12. You are to improve your graces, because souls truly gracious have a power to do good.

I do not say that a man in his natural state, though Arminians do, has power in himself to do supernatural acts, as to believe in God, to love God, and the like, for I think a toad may as well spit cordials, as a natural man do supernatural actions. And I do not say that all the grace we have is not from God, nor that man in his natural state is not dead God-ward, and Christ-ward, and holiness-ward, and heaven-ward; but this I say, that souls truly gracious have a power to do good. It is sad to think how many professors do excuse their negligence, by pretending an inability to do good, or by sitting down discouraged, as having in their hands no power at all. 'What can we do,' say they, if the Lord do not breathe upon us, as at first conversion? We can do nothing.' I think in my very conscience, that this is one reason of much of that slightness, neglect, and omission of duties, that are among professors in these days, so that we may complain, with the prophet, There is no man that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: Isa. Ixiv. 7; they are as men asleep, that sit still and do nothing. But certainly they who are truly united to Christ, are not actuated as dead stocks, as if every time and moment of their acting God-ward, and holiness-ward, they received new life from the Spirit of Christ, as at first conversion they did. And I am confident, for want of the knowledge and due consideration of this truth, many professors take such liberty to themselves, as to live in the neglect of many precious duties of godliness, for which first or last they will pay dear.

But remembering that it is not a flood of words, but weighty arguments, that convince and persuade the souls and consciences of men, I shall give you four reasons to demonstrate, that believers have a power to do good. And the first is this because they have life, and all life is a power to act by; natural life is a power to act by, spiritual life is a power to act by; eternal life is a power to act by. The philosopher says, that a fly is more excellent than the heavens, because the fly has life, which the heavens have

not.

Secondly; else there is no just ground for Christ to charge the guilt of sins upon them; as neglect of prayer, repentance, mortification; nor the guilt of carelessness and slothfulness; which he does, if they can act no further and

NO. XLI.

no longer than the Holy Ghost actuates them, as at their first conversion, notwithstanding their union with Christ, and that spiritual principle of life that at first they received from Christ. Certainly if it be so, it will not stand with the unspotted justice of God to charge the guilt of sins of omission upon believing souls, if they have no power to act, but are as stocks and stones, as some dream.

A third ground is this-if there be not some power in believers to do good, then we should not have as much benefit by the second Adam, as we had by the first. The first Adam, if he had stood, would have communicated a power to all his sons and daughters to do good; and being corrupted, he does communicate power to sin, as all his children find by sad and woful experience; and shall not Christ much more communicate power to us to do good in our measure? Surely he does, though few mind it, and fewer improve it as they should. If there be not such a power in believers, how have they gained more by the second Adam than they lost by the first? and wherein lies the excellency of the second above the first?

Fourthly; all these exhortations are void, and of none effect, if there be not some power in souls truly gracious to do good; as all those exhortations to watchfulness, to stir up the grace of God that is in us, and to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling; and that also, Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure, To what purpose are all these precious exhortations, if the regenerate man have no power at all to act any thing that is good? Nay then, believers under the covenant of grace, should be in no better a condition, than unregenerate men that are under a covenant of works, who see their duties discovered, but have no power to perform them; which is contrary, as to other Scriptures, so that in Psal. xl. 7, 8; Then said I, Lo I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me: I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea thy law is within my heart; or, thy law is in the midst of my bowels, as the Hebrew reads it. And to that of Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27. A soul truly gracious can sincerely say, Thy law, O Lord, is in the midst of my bowels, and I delight to do thy will, O my God.' I confess I cannot do it as I should, nor shall I ever do it as I would, till I come to heaven; but this I can say in much uprightness, that

thy law is in my heart, and I delight to do thy will, Father. And so Paul; With my mind I serve the law of God, though with my flesh the law of sin.

And we have many promises concerning divine assis. tance; and if we did but stir up the grace of God that is in ns, we should find the assistance of God, and the glorious breakings forth of his power and love, according to his promise, and the work that he requires of us, Isa. xxvi. 12; lxiv. 5. Though no believer does what he should do, yet doubtless every believer might do more than he does, in order to God's glory, and his own and other's internal and eternal good. Affection without endeavour is like Rachel, beautiful, but barren. They are blessed that do what they can, though they cannot but under-do.

When Demosthenes was asked what was the first part of an orator, what the second, and what the third, he answered, Action. The same may I say. If any should ask me what is the first, the second, the third part of a Christian, I must answer, 'Action.' Luther says that 'he had rather obey than work miracles.' Obedience is better than sacrifice.

But you will say, What is the meaning of that text, which is so often in the mouths of professors; Without me ye can do nothing?' I answer, all which that text holds forth, is this, that if a man have not union with Christ, if he be not implanted into Christ, he can do nothing. Without me, that is, separate from me or apart from me, as the words may be read, ye can do nothing. If you are not implanted into me, if by the Spirit and faith you are not united unto me, you can do nothing.' The arm may do much, it may offend an enemy and it may defend a man's life, by virtue of its union with the head; but if you separate the arm from the head, from the body, what can it do? Certainly the soul, by virtue of its union with Christ, may do much, though such as are separated from Christ can do nothing, at least, as they should. Ah Christians, if you would but put out yourselves to the utmost, you would find the Lord both ready and willing to assist you, to meet with you, and to do for you above what you are able to ask, or think.

Cæsar, by continual employment, overcame two con

stant diseases, the head-ach, and the falling-sickness. O the spiritual diseases that the active Christian overcomes! Among the Egyptians, idleness was a capital crime. Among the Lucani, he who sent money to an idle person, was to lose it. Among the Corinthians the slothful were delivered to the carnifex, says Diphilus. O the deadly sins, the deadly temptations, the deadly judgments, that idle and slothful Christians are given up to; therefore be active, be diligent, be abundant in the work of the Lord. Idleness is the very source of sin. Standing pools gather mud, and nourish and breed venemous creatures; and so do the hearts of idle and slothful Christians.

II. Now the second thing that we are to do for the further opening of this point, is to shew you the special ends that the gifts and graces which God has bestowed upon believers, should be exercised and improved to. And they are these that follow;

1. They are to be improved and exercised to the honour of God, to the lifting up of God, and to the keeping up of his name and glory in the world. He who improves not his gifts and graces to this end, crosses the grand end of God's bestowing such royal favours on him. Graces and gifts are talents that God has given you to trade with, and not to hide in a napkin. The idle servant, in Christ's account, was an evil servant. The idle soul, in Christ's account, is an evil soul, and Christ will deal accordingly

with him.

Seneca calls sloth, The nurse of beggary, the mother of misery; and slothful Christians find it so. Christians, God has given you grace, that you should give him glory. His honour should be dearer to you, than your jewels, than your crowns, than your lives, aye, than your very souls. Thou livest no longer than thou livest to his praise.

It is recorded of Epaminondas, the commander in chief of the Thebans, that he did not glory in any thing but this, that his father, whom he dearly loved and honoured, was living, when he won three famous battles against the Lacedemonians, who were then held for their valour to be invincible; regarding more the honour and content his father would receive of it, than his own. Shall a heathen thus strive to honour his earthly father? and shall not