generate and fanctify them, Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthinefs, and from all your idols will I cleanfe you. A new heart alfo will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and caufe you to walk in my ftatutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. Now that which I would argue from hence, is this; Thofe idolatrous Jews, to whom God promifes that he will cleanfe them, and give them a new heart, and a new fpirit, and put his Spirit into them, were as yet unregenerate, and confequently, as the objection fuppofeth, could not pray for these bleffings, nor ask them of God in a right manner; and yet he fufpends these bleffings upon the condition of their praying for them, as is evident, ver. 37. Thus faith the Lord God, I will yet be enquired of by the house of Ifrael, to do it for them. From whence it is plain, that God would not beftow these bleffings upon them, without their feeking to him for them. Now if thefe perfons, because they were unregenerate, could not pray for these things, then thefe promises fignified nothing; which is by no means to be imagined of the promises of God. So that it is clear, that the Spirit of God is here promised to the unregenerate, upon condition of their fuing to God for it; and if fo, there can be no reafon to reftrain the promise in the text, which is of the fame nature, and made upon the fame condition, to the regenerate only.

The other text I fhall mention, is Jam. i. 5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men libérally, and upbraideth not; and it fhall be given him. In which words, St. James, under the notion of wifdom, (as I told you before) doth comprehend all the fruits of the Spirit, which are the effect of regeneration and fanctification. Now this promife being conceived in fo general terms, cannot without manifeft force and violence be reftrained only to the regenerate; for then the promife should not have run thus, If any man lack

wisdom; but, If any man have this fpiritual wif dom already, let him ask more of God. You fee then what reafon there is, why this promife of God's Holy Spirit fhould be understood in the latitude wherein it is expreffed, and not restrained to the regenerate only.

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Thirdly, If by having the Spirit of God, be underftood the general and common influence of God's Spirit upon the minds of men, whereby they are quickened and excited to their duty; I grant that no man that hath not the Spirit of God in this fenfe, can pray to God, or acceptably perform any other duty of religion: And this affertion is very agreeable to the phrafe and language of the holy fcriptures, which attribute all good motions and actions to the Spirit of God working in us, and affifting us; and in this fenfe unregenerate men are under the influence of God's Spirit, or elfe they could not be faid to refift it but they have not the Spirit of God dwelling in them, which is the moft proper fenfe of having the Spirit of God; in which fenfe the Apoftle fays, If any man have not the Spirit of Chrift, he is none of his but then it is fpecially to be noted, that the common and tranfient operation of God's Spirit, which is preparatory to converfion and regeneration, and whereby God works in men a fenfe of fin, and fome inclination and difpofition to goodnefs, is by our Saviour peculiarly attributed to the Father, as his proper work, in which fenfe our Saviour fays, John vi. 44. No man can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him. Verfe 45. Every man therefore that hath heard, and learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Now men

are faid to learn of the Father, and to be drawn by him, by thofe preparatory difpofitions for the receiving of the Chriftian religion, which were wrought in men by that natural fenfe of good and evil, which they have by the law of nature, which is properly the difpenfation of the Father, as being the immediate effect of God's creation, as a late judicious writer hath very well observed, and more largely explained.

Fourthly,

Fourthly, But if by having the Spirit of God, be meant the fpecial effect of regeneration, and fanctification, and the permanent influence and constant refidence of God's Holy Spirit in good men, then I make no doubt to fay, that those who have not the Spirit of God in this sense, may ask his Spirit of him; that is, those who are not yet regenerate and fanctified, may in an acceptable manner pray to God to give them his Holy Spirit, to the purposes of fanctification and perfeverance in goodness; and they may ask this of God, fincerely, earnestly, and in faith, which are the qualifications of an acceptable prayer. And this I think may be evidently made appear, both from fcripture, and by good confequence from the conceffions of all forts of Divines.

1. From fcripture. It is plain that wicked and unregenerate men are commanded and required to pray to this purpofe. Not to mention the general commands concerning prayer, which do certainly oblige unregenerate men, I will produce one plain and undeniable inftance, Acts viii. 22, 23. where St. Peter directs Simon Magus, whom he exprefly declares to be in an unregenerate ftate, to pray to God for the pardon of his great fin; which certainly he would not have done, had he thought an unregenerate man could not pray in an acceptable manner; because his counfel would have been to no purpose: but it is plain that St. Peter was fo far from thinking that an unregenerate man could not pray acceptably to God, that he gives this as the reason why he fhould pray; because he was unregenerate: Pray to God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee: for I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

2. This will appear farther by clear confequence, from the conceffions of all forts of Divines, and principles granted on all hands.

1. It is univerfally granted, that it is a thing very pleafing and acceptable to God, that men fhould. pray to be regenerate and fanctified; fo that the matter of this prayer is unquestionably acceptable.

2. It is likewife granted on all hands, that before a man is regenerate and fanctified, he must be made fenfible of his evil and finful ftate, and of his great need of God's grace and Spirit, and that God's Spirit is able to work this change in him, and that it is the will of God that he fhould be regenerate and fanctified.

3. It is likewife generally granted, that thefe preparatory works of regeneration, thefe beginnings of our repentance and turning to God, and all defires and endeavours to that purpose, are acceptable to God.

Now from thefe conceffions it plainly follows, that an unregenerate man may pray to God acceptably for his Holy Spirit, to regenerate and fanctify him. For,

1. The matter of his prayer is very acceptable to God, according to the firft conceffion.

2. The manner of it may be acceptable, becaufe an unregenerate man may pray for this fincerely, with earneftnefs, and in faith: fincerely, becaufe he may put up this prayer to God, out of a true fenfe of his miferable and finful ftate, and his great need of God's grace and Holy Spirit; and he that is truly fenfible of this, cannot diffemble with God, he cannot but be very real and fincere in this request; and this fenfe of his condition, and the need of what he asks, will make him earnest and importunate; and he may pray in faith, that is, not doubting but that God is able and willing to grant him what he asks, because he may be convinced that the Spirit is able to work this change in him, and that this is the will of God, that he fhould be regenerate and fanctified, according to the fecond conceffion.

3. There is no reason to think, that God will not accept fuch a prayer as this; because these prepara-tive works of regeneration, viz. a fenfe of our finful ftate and of our need of God's grace and Spirit, and earnest defires and prayers for thefe, are acceptable to God, according to the third conceffion. So that now I hope this objection, which hath been fo troublesome to many, is fully fatisfied.

VOL. X.

As for thofe texts where it is faid, that the prayers and the facrifices of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, I fhall briefly return this anfwer, That these texts are not to be understood of a wicked and unregenerate man, fimply as fuch, but as refolved to continue fuch. And thus Solomon elsewhere in the Proverbs explains what he means by a wicked man, Prov. xxviii. 9. He that turneth away his ear from bearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination. So that the wicked man, whofe prayer is an abomination, is fuch an one as is obftinately and refolvedly difobedient, fuch an one as turneth away his ear from hearing the law. And David much to the fame purpose, Píal. l. 15, 16, 17. Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. But unto the wicked God faith, What haft thou to do to declare my ftatutes, or that thou shouldft take my covenant in thy mouth; seeing thou hateft inftruction, and cafteft my words behind thee? Such wicked men as will not be reclaimed, what have they to do to pray, or perform any other act of religion? Nothing that they do, whilst fuch, can be acceptable to God. And to the fame fense David fays elfewhere, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear my prayer. God will reject the prayers of the best men, if they retain a fecret love to any fin.

If it be yet farther objected, That unregenerate men are out of Chrift, in and through whom we are accepted: To this I anfwer, That thofe only who are in Chrift, are in a state of perfect acceptance with God: But the beginnings of this state, and all tendency towards it, fuch as is hearty and earnest pray. er to God for his Holy Spirit, to regenerate and fanctify us, have their degrees of acceptance from their relation to the perfect ftate whereof they are the beginnings, and toward which they tend for by the fame reafon that a regenerate ftate is acceptable to God, all the beginnings of it, and preparations to it are proportionably acceptable; the degrees of acceptance being proportionable to the dif

ference