them from darkness to his light. But one who never was favingly illuminate, nor, it may be, ever fhall, may yet undergo a great change in his understanding. I tell you a threefold change upon the mind that one may undergo who never was favingly enlightened. (1.) Such an one may, by mere diligence and application, without any fupernatural affiftance, attain a great deal of knowlege of the truths of God, and of the things of religion, that he had not before. There are few, if any of you, fo very dull, but could attain a great measure of knowlege, would ye apply your felves to reading, ftudy and meditation; ye might get your minds fraught with much head know. lege of religion: and fome by this means do attain a great mealure of knowlege, which makes a great change upon their minds; the mind that formerly was full of the blackness of darkness and grofs ignorance, is now furnished with a stock of knowlege. But all this may be without any faith, or without any fupernatural work of God upon the foul; yea, it may be in one utterly void of any regard to God. (2.) There may further bea change to fomething yet higher; the mind may have a beam or ray of fupernatural light darted into it, whereby it may not only understand these truths as it doth other truths, but may further come to fee fome peculiar beauty and ufefulness in them. That one that is void of the faving faith of God's elect may reach this illumination, the apoftle af ferts plainly, while he makes it one of the attain ments of them who may fall irrecoverably away, Heb. vi. 4. Nay, (3.) This light may be increafed to fuch a degree, as to put them in a capacity to unfold the truths of the gospel to others. Thus there may be a great change wrought upon the

mind or understanding, a change from grofs ignorance to fome acquired knowlege; from this acquired knowlege to fome degree of fpiritual illumination, and from that to a high degree of fpiritual light, fuch as Judas and Balaam had, whereby they were capacitate to know and understand the things of God in a degree fo eminent, as to be able to inftruct others. All this change may one that is an unbeliever undergo, and yet continue fo ftill, and perish eternally in unbelief.

(2.) There may be a great change upon the confcience, and yet the foul may be void of faith. There may be a change from deep fecurity to awakenings and convictions; and from fuch troubles again to a fort of peace, calmnefs and ferenity of confcience. Thus many times it is with temporary believers. If the thunderings of the law make finners begin to shake and beftir themfelves; then the joys of heaven presented to the foul's view, in the light of a beam of fupernatural common illumination, will immediately calm, compofe and fettle all again.

(3.) There may be a great change wrought on the affections, where there is no faith. One may have flashes of joy and grief about fpiritual objects. Nay, more, there may be fomething like an abiding change wrought on the affections; the delight in fpiritual duties, the forrow for fin, fear of wrath, that is attained, may be kept up in the foul for a long time. But of this we have spoken fufficiently already: wherefore we proceed to a

(4) Change, that may be where there is no faith, and that is upon the will. See what a will the Ifraelites had, Deut. v. 27. The will may be wrought fo far upon, as to arrive at many faint inclinations, wifhings and wouldings after grace.

The man that is awakened in fome measure, hears fo much of the excellency of grace, and of the beauty of holinefs, which he is convinced in his judgment is true, that it may induce and draw the will to fome wifhes, and even to fome refo lations of feeking after it. In fine, there may be

(5.) Great changes upon the converfation where there is no faith. The openly profane man may be changed into a civil, moral and blamelefs man; the civil man, by fome common work of God's Spirit, may be turned into a profeffor, who may multiply religious duties, and pretend as high as any. Where perfons live under a faithful miniftry, and under the influence of lively ordinances, they may find it almoft impoffible, through the power of conviction, to continue in open profaneness, or, it may be, to reft upon mere civility. Thefe minds may be fo filled with light, that confcience will not fuffer them to reft fhort at least of a form of godliness: and therefore many upon fuch occafi ons go this length, and ftep no further. As fome do efcape the pollutions of the world through luft, who yet are again entangled therein, and overcome, 2 Pet. ii. 2. So fome who have been entangled for a confiderable time, are afterward pulled as it were out of the fnare again, and reach a blamelefs walk before the world; and, it may be, make a fair profeffion of religion, and yet are unacquainted with faith. Paul, before his conver fron, was blameless concerning the righteousness that is of the law: and why may not one, who has for a while been profane, reform, and go as great a length that way as Paul did? There is no doubt he may.

10. In the laft place, we fay, that ye may have fome fort of faith, and yet want the faving faith

of

of God's elect. Every one that believes has not that faith which we have been difcourfing of. There are three forts of faith which ye may have, and yet be eternally ruined, getting your portion with hypocrites and unbelievers.

(1.) There is a fort of faith that we may call a cradle faith. It is of an age, if I may fo fpeak, with the person that has it. Some of you, tho' ye fay ye believe, yet cannot tell how ye came to believe; only as long as ye can mind any thing, ye remember ye ftill did fo; from the time ye could diftinguish betwixt good and evil, ye did always believe; ye brought it from the cradle with you. This is the common faith that most part have, and they go no further. And if we could but once get men and women perfuaded that this faith will not fave them, we would, we think, have gained much upon them. Believe it, my friends, this faith never faved one, and to eterni

ty will never fave any; but many one has it

ruined. I have a fourfold exception to lay against this faith. (1.) It is a plant not of God's planting. The faith of God's elect is a plant that is planted by the hand of God; hence it is called, the faith of the operation of God, and the gift of God: but this faith that is fo rife among you, is a weed that grows up of its own accord, without any fort of pains. They who have it are not debtors to God for it, fince it fprung up with them, and God had no hand in its production. (2.) It is in a bad foil that it grows, in a corrupt unrenewed nature. Ye who fay ye do believe, dare ye fay, as in the fight of God, that ever your hearts were changed and renewed? I am fure many of you dare not fayit; or if ye do, confcience will tell you to your face, that you lie: yet notwithstanding this, you X 2 will

will maintain that ye believe, and fo think your• felves fure of falvation. I beseech you, by all the love ye bear to your own fouls, do not hazard them upon this faith; for as fure as God lives, it will deceive you. There never grew a tree in nature's garden. in foil fo bad as that of unrenewed nature, that ever was capable of bearing so choice a fruit as falvation is. All that grows there is fin, and the fruit of that is death. The wages of fin is death, Rom. iii. 23. and if ye expect any other, ye will meet with a difappointment that will not be eafy to be born. (3.) This faith of yours is not kept alive by influences from heaven, as is the faith of God's elect. As the precious faith of God's elect is at firft planted in the foul, by the blessed hand of him, who is the author of faith to all them that believe; fo it receives all its increases from him. He nourishes it by influences from above: it derives all its growth from him. The gentle breezes of the fpirit, the north and fouth winds breathing in the ordinances, quicken all the graces of the fpirit, and caufe them fend forth a favoury and fragrant fmell. Faith holds its life, its all of Chrift. But this faith of yours quite overlooks the Mediator; it fees no need of him; it leads not to him. That which it lays hold upon, is fome wrong notion of God, as if he were al together fuch an one as yourselves, a God that has as light thoughts of fin as ye have, and can with as much ease pass it by without any refent ment, as ye can commit it. God doth indeed take pleasure in them that hope in his mercy; but it is in his mercy as difcovered in the gospel-me. thod of falvation; and any faith that has no refpect to this, will be rejected of God. The faith of God's elect fetches every thing from Chrift as

the