over my head, and it will light upon me one time or other. Can any man be happy as long as the case is so, and while he hath no comfortable expectation of any thing better hereafter? Men are a little pleased sometimes, while they can forget dying. But what is all that happiness which depends only upon a man's forgetfulness; that is, which is capable of being undone and blasted by a thought? That is a pitiful happiness, which a thought can destroy and blow away. Such only is that happiness which this world affords, and which can grow up out of this earth. I conclude therefore, that nothing can be more evident to the common sense and experience of all men; than that as they are not yet happy, so they cannot be, by any thing this world can give them.

[4.] That they cannot be happy in God without having their spirits changed, and made suitable to him. It puts an equal impossibility in the way of my happiness, whether, either my spirit be suitable to such or such a thing, and it hath not enough in it to make me happy; or that such another thing hath enough in it to make me happy, but my spirit is not suitable to it. As it is in reference to the matter of nourishment; neither can that nourish which doth not afford fit matter, or suitable aliment to a man's body; nor doth that which is never so suitable nourish if it cannot be received, or there is an aversion and dislike to it. A stone cannot nourish, because it is not fit aliment; and the best food cannot nourish, if the appetite is averse and disaffected to it. That person who can think of God with no pleasure, takes no complacency in him; and who bears towards him, not only a cold, but an averse and disaffected heart can never be happy in God. And such is every one who is as yet only born flesh of flesh, for the carnal mind is enmity to God; and they who are after the flesh, do savour only the things of the flesh.

[5.] That men cannot change their own hearts, so as to attemper them to God, and make them suitable to him, and capable of his converse, and of being blessed in him. This must also be evident to every man's conscience, who doth but reflect and commune a little with himself. If any man say, I can change the temper of my own soul; it is true it doth not love God, and take a present felicity in him, but I can alter it and bring it to that pass: any one who will say so, must be the most self condemned creature in all the world. Canst thou turn and change thy own heart, and wilt let it go as it is, averse and disaffected to God, one moment longer? If they can work that change themselves, they are utterly inexcusable that they do not do it out of hand. But if they cannot, as whosoever will go into that trial, will soon find; then in the

[6.] Place, God must do it, or it can never be done; and this is that begetting spirit of spirit, which we speak of, as necessary to a man's coming into the kingdom of God, or being happy. And these considerations laid together, make it apparently reasonable in itself, unto any man who will allow himself to consider, that such a work must be done, in order to such an end. Now how perverse a thing is it to disbelieve and reject so plain a truth, which will not admit of debate? If a man bring the matter to a serious scrutiny, and will but reasonably consider it, he must yield the cause, as soon as he begins to think of it.

(2.) Add thereto, the authority of the Revealer, which ought to silence our spirits, and bring them to a compliance with the revelation, though the thing were not evident, and we had much to say against it. And here we have a twofold revealer, to consider, and speak briefly of; that is-the subordinate, and secondary revealer, namely, the evangelist-and the primary and first Revealer; our Lord Jesus himself. If there is any doubt in the case, it must be concerning the one or the other of these; either that this holy inspired man did not truly report to us Christ's words, and that he tells us Christ said what he never said; or else that our Lord Jesus himself did not say truly, in what he said. As to the

[1] Why should we think that this blessed man, should write down such words as these in his gospel as spoken by Christ, if he had not spoke them ? If any man would think this matter is not to be believed upon that account; it doth manifestly appear, if we would think no better of him, by the general strain and tenour of his writing, that he writes like a rational man; and then supposing him a rational intelligent man, it cannot but be supposed, that he must have some design or other, in whatsoever he did set down. Now what can any man think his design should be, to say, that our Lord said such words as these, if he did not say them? You would easily suppose that John being by his calling and office a disciple and apostle of Christ, that he must needs think himself, upon that account, concerned and engaged to promote that interest, which he had now espoused, and to propagate to the utmost, the Christian name and profession. We cannot in reason but suppose him to be very intent upon this. If he were so, and would disguise and palliate things, and represent them otherwise than they were; surely he would have misrepresented them to the advantage of his cause with men, and not to the disadvantage. If we could allow ourselves to suspect; as we who are christians cannot, though it is possible that such disallowed thoughts may sometimes start up in our

minds; that he would disguise or misrepresent any thing; we must suppose that he would do it, so as to make the profession and cause, which he had undertaken, look more plausibly, and be more alluring and inviting, and fit to draw multitudes, to embrace the Christian profession as he had done. But would any man who had such a design as this, if he would misrepresent things, offer to put such devised things in those records which he was to transmit up and down the world, and from age to age; as he could not but know would be universally disrelished; and than which it was impossible that any thing could be more ungrateful to the spirits of men, or more opposite to their lusts and interests? What to tell men that they must undergo a new birth, and must be born spirit of spirit, be refined into a certain sort of spiritual beings by the work of God upon them; or else they can never come into the kingdom of God? Certainly if he would disguise, and misrepresent, he would not have done it on that hand; he would have done it rather on the other, by indulging and complying with the prejudices and lusts and interests of men. There remains not therefore any colour for an imagination, that he should tell us, our Lord spake such words as these, if he did not. And there can be less pretence in the

[2.] Place, to think or imagine, that our Lord Jesus Christ, did speak these words, but that he misrepresented the matter, and did not speak the thing as it was. For what can be supposed? that he did not know his own power, or that he did not know his own mind? He who is appointed the great Lord of this kingdom, the very Founder of the constitution, and who is to gather and bring in all to it whoever shall come into it; did he not know upon what terms men could be brought into the compass of God's kingdom? Or was it to be supposed possible that any should intrude, and maintain their intrusion into this kingdom, against him and the supreme power which he hath in it? Briefly consider, either he must be deceived himself or have a design to deceive us. Why, what should that aim at? With what purpose and intent? What was to

be got by it? What end could be served? If it could consist with his nature, with whom guile was never found; yet certainly it never could with his design : we cannot suppose any by-design he should aim at; and with his great and main design, it holds no agreement either way. But with what horror should men's infidelity be thought of, when it doth even in the very substance of the thing, cast such reproaches as these upon our great Lord? What is infidelity in reference to any gospel truth, but a disassent that this is true; and so it is saying, that it is not true, when he saith, it is; and opposing our sense to his plain and express word.

This is the complaint our Lord makes in this case; We testify the things we have known; As if he should say: "I speak upon knowledge; I understand all these things very well, they all lie before me, and within my prospect. I testify what I see, and is under my own eye; and ye will not receive our witness. If I speak to you of earthly things, and you will not believe ;" (that is, in respect of the manner of their presentation, not the matter represented. It was not the matter ultimately represented, but mediately. He speaks with reference to a known custom among the Jews of baptizing their proselytes : the proselytes of justice, were constantly admitted by baptism among them; and then forsook father and mother, and all their former natural relations, and came into new relations throughout. Other usages belonging to the Jewish constitution, are called in Scripture by the suitable names of worldly and camal things, like this expression here, of earthly things. I speak to you of what these earthly things, which are in use among yourselves, do signify; and yet, you do not believe me; you will not take in what I say, when I go so familiarly to work with you, only to shew you the meaning of your own practice, and what is done among yourselves ;') "how shall you believe when I come to tell you of heavenly things; which have no dependance upon, or relation to such usages among yourselves; as the Son of Man's descent from heaven, and ascent into it again; and his being on earth and in heaven at the same time?" as his words afterwards are. "What do you make of this, when you will not believe me opening to you so plain and obvious a rudiment of religion, that men must undergo a change in the temper of their spirits, signified by the practice, which is common and usual among yourselves, of baptizing them; as if they were born into a new world, who come to be proselytes of your religion?" It is therefore upon the whole matter a thing full of horror, and which ought to make our hearts to tremble to think that such infidelity should lurk in the spirits of men who call themselves christians, in reference to so great and unquestionable things of Christianity; and that it should admit of any debate. Such expostulations we find used by our Lord elsewhere: "I come to you," saith he, "in my Father's name, and you will not believe me." Monstrous partiality and disaffection of men's hearts, to divine truths, even because they are truth, and because they are divine! So our Lord expressly speaks: Because I tell you the truth, you will not believe me, John 8. 45. As if it were truth as truth, which was hated by men; and which they therefore cannot endure, because it is true. And when we consider too, that to believe a divine truth with a divine faith, is a great piece of homage

which we pay to the great and glorious Lord of heaven and earth, the first and eternal truth, into whose veracity the whole matter is resolved. That is, the thing is therefore certainly true and credible, and to be believed as true; because it comes from the first and eternal truth, and is a derivation or beam of light, from that original light. It is the homage of a reasonable creature to the Author of his being, to have his soul overwrought and swayed, by the authority of his word. Because he hath said it, I yield and submit; I dare not but own it as true, and believe it as true. And then what an affront must it be on the other hand, to the great and eternal God, when such truths as these so plainly proposed to us in his word, are by infidelity excluded and shut out of our hearts! The authority of his word does not prevail to weigh and sink them down into our souls; but they hover on the surface, and we entertain them with a notional opinion, as true; but in the mean time, exclude them out of our hearts as false. For there it is that infidelity hath its seat, as faith hath its seat there; With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Rom. 10. 10. That assent is not worthy the name of faith which doth not enter into and possess and command a man's soul. Then it is indeed that a truth is entertained with a divine faith, when the thing revealed is received not as the word of man, but as the word of God. This comes from the eternal God, I take it upon the authority of his word; and hence it comes to be urged upon a man's heart, and to impress its own stamp and likeness there. This is the believing any thing with a divine faith. So that indeed this truth, of the necessity of a man's being born spirit; that is, who do then come to be born spirit, at that very time; it doth in this way insinuate, and get into them; not by violence, or offering force to human nature; we are to imagine no such thing: but it doth by a plain and evident discovery of the truth, slide into it, and through it, notwithstanding all the prejudices which obstruct and shut up the heart of man; and so creates that faith, by which men believe unto righteousness and blessedness. And therefore it is plainly said, They who are of God do hear God's words. John 8. 47. Their hearing doth include believing: Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. The expression there, to be of God, is only a short eliptical expression, for being born or begotten of him. You therefore receive not his words because you are not born of God; therefore his word doth not enter into you, and has no place in you. And certainly it ought to fill our souls with deep resentments, to think that there should be such an obstruction in the hearts of men towards God; that a discovery

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