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 ? 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.

VOL. V.

With what purpose and intent?

We

This is the complaint our Lord makes in this case; 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 carnal 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

about such an important matter, coming with so much evidence from him, and upon his authority, cannot be believed; when men do so ordinarily and easily believe one another, about matters wherein they take themselves to be very much concerned.

Thus much then is to be said for it; as to the little which can be said against it, see the close of the foregoing discourse. This is the first use of this truth, I should proceed to the rest, &c.

SERMON VI.*

WE have at large opened the words, and made some progress in the use. We have inferred from hence, how strange it is that so plain and important a doctrine as this cannot obtain to be believed: that we insisted somewhat largely upon. We proceed to another inference, that it is evident the design of regeneration is to prepare and fit men to be of God's kingdom.-This is that which he hath in his eye and aim, when he begets souls by his own Spirit in a holy spirituality, suitable to the productive cause. It is very becoming a reasonable creature when he observes some great work is to be done, and there is great apparatus for the doing of it, to inquire, What doth all this mean? What is all this for? We are plainly told, that such a work as this is to be done upon men, as begetting them anew; we see great preparations are made for it; the gospel sent down from heaven on purpose; an office constituted and set up to dispense it; time sanctified and made sacred; solemn ordinances appointed, a frame of worship instituted. It would certainly be great inadvertency not to consider within ourselves, What is all this for? Why all this is for regenerating men first; and what is that for? Why to bring them into God's kingdom. I doubt it is not seriously considered as it

*Preached January 16th, 1677. at Cordwainer's Hall,