never regenerate; they fortify their own hearts into a confidence, that they shall attain things which they were never born to, and have no other reason to expect. You would think it a great piece of madness, for a man to go about and say, that he expects a kingdom, and doubts not but he shall be a great prince; though he walks up and down in rags, and is only the son of a ploughman or some mean person: he would be thought fit to live in chains. Why, you will certainly say, The expectations of all unregenerate persons, to be hereafter happy in God's kingdom, do not carry this folly in it. Yea, it carries in it much greater folly; for we cannot say, it is impossible that a person of a very mean parentage, should come to greatness in this world. Histories of former and latter times, give us some instances of this kind; but you would think him a madman for all that, who should say so. As certainly he would be truly counted so, who should hope for every thing which is possible, merely because it is possible; as he would be who feared every thing which is merely possible to come to pass that is hurtful and evil to him; as if a man should fear that every bit of meat he eats should choke him; or that in his ordinary walks in the streets, a tile should fall and beat out his brains. Thousands of such accidents are not impossible; but if a man should fear them continually, it were certainly a great folly, and would put a great deal of misery into his life. It would be equally an absurd thing, to hope every thing which is possible, only because it is possible, and no more; but then to hope for that which is simply and absolutely impossible, and which the shortest and quickest turn of thought would convince a man is so; is a madness beyond all imagination. If you hear a man walking in the streets in rags, and saying. "I hope at some time to be a prince or great monarch before I die;" you cannot say, he hopes for an impossible thing: But if you hear an unregenerate man say, "I hope I shall have the eternal kingdom, though I continue unregenerate, and die just as I, am;" his hope is simply impossible; for there is an inconsistency even in the temper of his spirit, with the purity and felicity of that kingdom; besides the irreversible determination of the righteous and supreme Lord of it, and the Disposer of all the concerns of it. This is therefore the strongest piece of folly, which ever had place in any human breast, that a man should be yet unborn of God, and never reckon upon being other than he is; and yet expect a place in God's kingdom.

I proceed now to the third inference,-That it is a most wonderful mercy, that any such work as this should be done among the children of men, as begetting them spirit of spirit, in order to their coming into his kingdom.-This is a mercy for

ever to be had in admiration, and which we can never enough adore, if we allow our thoughts to work a little upon the following considerations.

I. The subject of it, or who they are who are thus born. Why, the most undeserving creatures; for alas! what can they pretend to deserve who are by nature children of wrath, and exposed from their birth, to his displeasure? and altogether uninclined either to desire or comply with that by which such a work as this was to be wrought upon them: who were uninclined so much as to desire, "Oh that the transforming power of the Holy Ghost might come upon me!" or disposed to fall in And besides, with the motions of the Spirit in order to it? what a wonderful mercy was it that ever such impure creatures should be dealt withal, in such a way? How would any of us like to have that for our employment to touch the ulcerous sores of some poor wretch lying in rags upon a dunghill, in order to the cure of them? Yea, and most disaffected and opposite to the work, and the worker of it, full of enmity, and apt to strive and contend, and rebel, against the blessed Spirit of God, whenever he comes to touch upon their hearts, in order to such a work as this.

II. The Author of the work, the blessed Spirit. What a wonderful mercy is it that the Spirit should ever come down amongst men, upon such a design; and become inclined and engaged to diffuse its life and vital influence, in a world lost in This appears if you consider either its carnality and death? purity, and that the Spirit of holiness should come with such a or its high and excellent digdesign, into so impure hearts: nity; if such a work as this could have been done by the hand of man; or it would have sufficed to have sent an angel, it had been less wonderful: but that the Spirit should come, and come on purpose; as though he had said, "I myself will immediately attend this affair, it shall be my own doing; no other hand is proportionable." How highly hath he merited to When the malignity of men's be called the Spirit of grace! hearts against it is intended to be represented and aggravated, it is said, they have done despite to the Spirit of grace, (Heb. 10. 29.) the Spirit of all love and goodness and benignity and sweetness. Certainly we have reason to call it the Spirit of grace, and to account and reckon it so, who came among men upon such an errand as this. Or again,

III. The nature of this work. Why, it is begetting men, and what does that import? It imports directly a total change, or a change throughout; and it imports by consequence a resulting relation. They who are begotten, become children to him who begets. What a mercy was this that such a thing

should be undertaken, as a total change, and that every part should be made new? If some little alteration would have sérved the turn, the Spirit of God might easily be supposed to be contented to do it; but to make them new throughout, and in every part, which begetting signifies; why the greatness of the undertaking speaks the mercifulness of the undertaker. And besides there is the relation which results and is consequentially imported in it. The blessed God might thus have reasoned off the design; "What, shall I beget them; then must I be their Father: and what, to have such miscreants as they, my children? Why should I beget them by my Spirit, and become a Father to them, who are already of their father the devil? shall I go to make the devil's children mine?"

IV. The end, which is to bring them at last into his own kingdom. It is a wonderful mercy, that they, who are altogether born in sin, and born under wrath and ruin, should have such thoughts taken up about them; and the holy and eternal Spirit employed on purpose, to beget them anew, and form them throughout; and bring them into the presence of his glory, to dwell with him and reign with him for ever. They so partake in this kingdom, as to be kings in it, “He washed us from our sins in his blood, and made us kings and priestsunto God and his Father.". What a wonderful mercy to engage the blessed Spirit to this employment about the blessed spirits of men, upon so important an account, and in order to so high and great a glory!

SERMON VII.*

IT is the use we have in hand; for which purpose some practical inferences have been recommended to you; and others do yet remain. That which is the fourth inference you may take thus ;-That they cannot but be very gross hypocrites who carry that semblance and shew with them, of having a standing in this kingdom of God; but were never thus born into it. Here we have these two things to do -to shew that such pretenders are hypocrites upon this account and-to shew the absurdity and folly of that hypocrisy.

I. That there is manifest hypocrisy in the case. In order to the evincing this, we need only to consider with ourselves, that such persons really have not a standing in God's kingdom, and yet that they would be taken to have. Hypocrisy is when persons pretend to that good which they have not. It is not

any kind of semblance which will put a glory upon us; but the simulation of some good or other; when men pretend to be better, or that their state is better, than indeed it is, or than

Preached January 23rd. 1677. Cordwainer's Hall.

they are. Nor is it necessary to a man's being a hypocrite that he should understand himself to be so; but only that he carries a shew or semblance, whether he deceives others by it only, or himself also; of that good which he hath not. And that such persons are not of God's kingdom we have largely shewn already. They neither are, nor is it possible they should be, upon other terms than by being born into it. There is no other possible way to come into this kingdom, or to be made suitable to the nature and end of this constitution; but by being new born spirit of spirit. And therefore that good which such persons pretend to, they have not, whoever they are who are not yet new born. They pretend to be the loyal subjects of the kingdom of God, but it is no such thing, if they are not by a new birth, made so; for by their old and natural birth, and as they were born flesh of the flesh, they were never so. And yet it is very apparent on the other hand, that there are many who would be taken to be of that kingdom, though really they were never regenerate or born into it. And this added to the former, evinces the matter we have in hand; that such persons are egregious hypocrites, who are not of God's kingdom, and yet pretend to be of it. And that many of the unregenerate do so, we have such evidences of it as these :

1. That they are very loth to go under the contrary repute. There are none but are either subjects of this kingdom, or rebels against the authority and laws of it. There is no medium between rebellion and subjection; all are either subjects, or rebels. Now they do not profess rebellion, and think it inconvenient to go under the name of rebels, or avow rebellion against the Majesty of heaven. It is plain they would be thought subjects, and are loth to wear that inscription upon their foreheads : Here is a rebel against heaven. They would be thought to be what they are not.

2. They conform themselves to some parts of the law of this kingdom; that is, in such respects wherein their compliance is more easy, and less expensive, and wherein there is less disinclination of heart to it. There are many very easy externals, which being observed and complied with, a repu tation may be gained, without any great pains, or inconvenience and loss, or without imposing too much upon themselves. There is an external obedience to the letter of the law, in some of the less principal commands and precepts of it: For if we compare them, we must acknowledge all that duty which immediately terminates upon God, to be more principal than that which immediately terminates upon men. Possibly they can be so content to put on the garb of just and charita