bring them from the power of Satan unto God. Zion's King gets no subjects but by stroke of sword, in the day of his power, Psal. cx. 2, 3. None come to him, but such as are drawn by a divine hand, John vi. 44. When the Lord comes to the soul, he finds the strong man keeping the house, and a deep peace and security there, while the soul is fast asleep in the devil's arms. But the prey must be taken from the mighty, and the captive delivered. Therefore the Lord awakens the sinner, opens his eyes, and strikes him with terror, while the clouds are black above his head, and the sword of vengeance is held to his breast. Now he is at no small pains to put a fair face on a black heart; to shake off his fears, to make head against them, and to divert himself from thinking on the unpleasant and ungrateful subject of his soul's case. If he cannot so rid himself from them, carnal reason is called in to help, and urgeth that there is no ground for so great fear; all may be well enough yet; and if it be ill with him, it will be ill with many. When the sinner is beat from this, and sees no advantage in going to hell with company, he resolves to leave his sins, but cannot think of breaking off so soon; there is time enough, and he will do it afterwards. Conscience says,To-day if ye will hear his voice, barden not your hearts" but he cries, To-morrow, Lord, tomorrow, Lord; and just now, Lord, till that now is never like to come. And thus, many times he comes from his prayers and confessions with nothing but a breast full of sharper convictions; for the heart doth not always cast up the sweet morsel, as soon as confession is made with the mouth, Judges x. 10---16, And when conscience obligeth them to part with some lusts, others are kept as right eyes and right hands; and there are rueful looks after those that are put away, as it was with the Israelites, who, with bitter hearts, did remember "the fish they did eat in Egypt freely," Num. xi. 5. Nay, when he is so pressed, that he must needs say before the Lord, that he is content to part with all his idols, the heart will be giving the tongue the lie.

Thirdly, There is in the will of man a natural proneness to evil, a woeful bent toward sin. Men naturally are bent to backsliding from God, Hos. ii. 7. They hang (as the word is) towards backsliding; even as a hanging wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. Set holiness and life upon the one side, sin and death upon the other; leave the unrenewed will to itself, it will chuse sin and reject holiness. This is no more to be doubted, than that water, poured on the side of a hill, will run downward and not upward, or that a flame will ascend and not descend.

Evidence 1. Is not the way of evil the first way the children of men go? Do not their inclinations plainly appear on the wrong side, while yet they have no cunning to hide them? In the first opening of our eyes in the world, we look hell-ward, not heavenward. As soon as it appears we are reasonable creatures, it appears we are sinful creatures, Psal. lviii. 3. "The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they be born," Prov. xxii. 15. "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child: but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." Folly is bound in the heart, it is woven into your very nature. The knot will not loose, they must be broke asunder by strokes. Words will not do it, the rod must be taken to drive it away and if it be not driven far away, the heart and it will meet and knit again. Not that the rod of itself will do this: the sad experience of many parents testifies the contrary; and Solomon himself tells you, Prov. xxvii. 22. "Though thon shouldst bray a fool in a mortar, among wheat, with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him." It is so bound in his heart. But the rod is an ordinance of God appointed for that end; which, like the word, is made effectual, by the Spirit's accompanying his own ordinance. And this, by the way, shews that parents in administering correction to their chil dren, have need, first of all, to correct their own irregular passions; and look upon it as a matter of awful solemnity, setting about it with much dependence

on the Lord, and following it with prayer for the blessing, if they would have it effectual,

Evid. 2. How easily are men led aside to sin! The children who are not persuaded to good, are, otherwise, simple ones; easily wrought upon; those whom the word cannot draw to holiness, are led by Satan at his pleasure. Profane Esau, that cunning man, (Gen. xxv. 27.) was as easily cheated of the blessing, as if he had been a fool or an idiot. The more natural a thing is, it is the more easy: so Christ's yoke is easy to the saints, in so far as they are partakers of the divine nature: and sin is easy to the unrenewed man; but to learn to do good, as difficult as for the Ethiopian to change his skin; because the will naturally hangs towards evil, but is averse to good. A child can cause a round thing to run, while he cannot move a square thing of the same weight; for the roundness makes it fit for motion, so that it goes with a touch. Even so, when men find the heart easily carried towards sin, while it is as a dead weight in the way of holiness; we must bring the reason of this from the natural set and disposition of the heart, whereby it is prone and bent to evil. Were man's will, naturally, but in equal balance to good and evil, the one might be embraced with as little difficulty as the other; but experience testifies, it is not so. In the sacred history of the Israelites, especially in the book of Judges, how often do we find them forsaking Jehovah, the mighty God, and doting upon the idols of the nations about them? But did ever one of these nations grow fond of Israel's God, and forsake their own idols? No, no ; though man is naturally given to changes, it is but from evil to evil, not from evil to good, Jer. ii. 10, 11. "Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their glory, for that which doth not profit." Surely the will of man stands not in equal balance, but has a cast to the wrong side.

Evid. 3. Consider how men go on still in the way of sin, till they meet with a stop, and that from another hand than their own. Isa. lvii. 17. I hid me,

and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart." If God withdraw his restraining hand, and lay the reins on the sinner's neck, he is in no doubt what way to chuse; for (observe it) the way of sin is the way of his heart; his heart naturally lies that way ; it hath a natural propensity to sin. As long as God suffereth them, they walk in their own way, Acts xiv. 16. The natural man is so fixed in his woeful choice, that there needs no more to shew, he is off from God's way, but to tell he is upon his own.

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Evid. 4. Whatever good impressions are made upon him they do not last. Though his heart be firm as a stone, yea, harder than the nether milstone, in point of receiving them; it is otherwise unstable as water, and cannot keep them. It works against the receiving of them; and, when they are made, it works them off, and returns to its natural bias, Hos. vi. 4. "Your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew, it goeth away." The morning cloud promiseth a hearty shower, but, when the sun ariseth, it vanisheth the sun beats upon the early dew and it evaporates, the husbandman's expectation is disappointed. Such is the goodness of the natural man. Some sharp affliction, or piercing conviction, obligeth him, in some sort, to turn from his evil course: but his will not being renewed, religion is still against the grain with him, and therefore this goes off again, Psal. lxxviii. 34, 36, 37. Though a stone thrown up into the air may abide there a little while; yet its natural heaviness will bring it down to the earth again; and so do unrenewed men return to the wallowing in the mire; because, although they were washed, yet their swinish nature was not changed. It is hard to cause wet wood to take fire, hard to make it keep fire; but it is harder than either of these to make the unrenewed will retain goodness; which is a plain evidence of the natural bent of the will to evil.

Evid. 5. Do the saints serve the Lord now, as they were wont to serve sin, in their unconverted state? Very far from it, Rom. vi. 20. "When ye were the

servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness." Sin got all, and admitted no partner; but now, when they are the servants of Christ, are they free from sin? Nay, there are still with them some deeds of the old man, shewing that he is but dying in them; and hence their hearts often misgive them, and slip aside into evil, when they would do good, Rom. vii. 21. They need to watch, and keep their hearts with all diligence; and their sad experience teacheth them, That he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool,' Prov. xxviii. 26. If it be thus in the green tree, how must it be in the dry?

Fourthly, There is a natural contrariety, direct opposition and enmity, in the will of man to God himself, and his holy will, Rom. viii. 7. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." The will was once God's deputy in the soul, set to command there for him; but now it is set up against him. If ye would have the picture of it in its natural state, the very reverse of the will of God represents it. If the fruit hanging before one's eyes be but forbidden, that is sufficient to draw the heart after it. Let me instance in the sin of profane swearing and cursing, to which some are so abandoned, that they take a pride in them; belching out horrid oaths and curses, as if hell opened with the opening of their mouths; or larding their speeches with minced oaths, and all this with out any manner of provocation, though even that would not excuse them. Pray tell me, (1.) What profit is there here? A thief gets something in his hand for his pains; a drunkard gets a belly full; but what do ye get? Others serve the devil for pay; but ye are volunteers that expect no reward, but your work itself in affronting of heaven. And if And if you repent not, you will get your reward in full tale; when you go to hell, your work will follow you. drunkard shall not have a drop of water to cool his tongue there. Nor will the covetous man's wealth follow him into the other world: but ye shall drive on your old trade there. And an eternity will be

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