the first Adam derived guilt and corruption to his pofterity; fo the fecond Adam derives pardon and holineffe, therefore he is called a quickning fpirit, 1 Cor. 15. It is not 'twixt Chrift and believers, as 'twixt a root and a dead limb, which hangs on, but hath no life, nor fap: Chrift hath really no fuch members in his body, he is not like Nebuchadnezzars image,whole head is of gold, and the feet of clay; for a man to boast much of his head of Christ, of gold, and yet be to remaine a piece of clay; he to bave a nature utterly heterogeneous unto Chrift, this man decéives himself. For every plant, every graff that is inferted into Chrift hath the aliquality of his nature. Hence those who infoba 1. 12. are ftiled Beleeuers, they are faid in the next ver. 13. to be borne of the will of God; Now as in the natural birth there is a new forme, fo in the heavenly there is a fupernatural and holy frame of grace ingenerated.

Thirdly, No man bath a changed nature but a Beleever. Why? Because no man hath grace but from Christ, and none have Chrift but Beleevers: Again, it is impoffible for a man to be lovely in the eyes of God without faith, but if any man might have a changed and fanctified heart, and yet want faich, then one might be lovely in Gods eyes wanting faith, for as much as God loves and delights in an holy heart. So then this is moft evident, that if faith goes not without a change, and if every Beleever hath a change,and no unbeleever hath it,I fay this will follow, Therefore if a man can finde a change of his heart, he then bath the truth of faith.

Now then enquire;is there vertue gone from Chrift to make thy dark minde leeing,thy ftubborn judgement yeilding,and prizing thy proud heart, bumbling thy filthy heart, cleanfing thy hard hard, relenting and mourning, thy carnal affections to be heavenly, thy finful foul to be holy; be confident of this that it is found faith. Though there be yet remainders of corruption, yet if the inclination of the foul be changed by grace, doubt it not, thou haft faith: But for fuch as talk of a faith which ftands in oppofition to ho'ineffe, and please themselves in a graceleffe faith, in fuch a faith as bath no fociety or com→ pany of graces in the foule; O farre be fuch a faith from any one of us. An unboly beleever is as proper a phrafe as an boly devil. Prefumption is a moft confident work, but it is a very

Loofe

loofe quality, 1 Cor. 6.9. Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankinde, verfe 10. Nor theeves, nor covetous, nor drunkark!, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God. Ver. 11. And fuch were fome of you, but you are washed, but ye are fanctified, but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jefus, and by the Spirit of our God. Do not abuse thy foul with a conceit of faith and justification, if thou haft no change of heart by fanctification.

SECT. IV.

Hirdly, a third tryal of true faith in Chrift Jefus is this, It will floop to Chrift as well as rife to him; It enters the foul into a new service, it takes Chrift and bim only to be sts Lord. You read that there was a Marriage feaft, to which fome did come, and there was the Kings fon fent out to rule and reigne, but few yeilded unto him. Many men will come to Christ to finde a feaft, but few come to Chrift to bear his Scepter; they would come under the fafe-guard of his blood, who flie the Authority and dominion of his word; they like Chrift the Priest, but not Chrift the Lord.

I will briefly fhew you two things to clear this tryal. -Firft, no unbeliever will accept of Chrift to be his Lord only; because,

1. His heart hath another Lord; It hath fet up fome finne or other, or fome part of the world or other, to which it gives fervice as to his Lord. He is our Lord to whom we give fervice,and his fervants we are whom we do obey; Now the unbe leeving heart either ferves the world, or obeys finne in the lufts thereof. Let the commands of finne and Chrift come into an ordinary and ufual competition; let the commands of profit, or pleasure, and Chrift come into competition : Now you fhalf fee, that the unbelieving heart will go after its Lord, it will not hearken to Chrift, it prefers fin before him, it will eafily adventure Chrifts difpleasure to fulfil its own:

lufts

z, Things,

2.

21 Againe, his heart cannot choofe Chrift, it cannot like him for a Lord, Why? becaufe the dominion of Chrift is holy and beavenly, and directly oppofite to the fordid principles and affections and wayes of an unbeleeving heart: It is a burden, yea, a very vexation to fuch a heart, to heare but the report of the holy Laws of Chrift, and of their power and authority to oblige the inward man, and the outward converfation Pfal.2.3. They take counsel against the Lord, and against bis as nointed, Sayare, ver.3. Let us break their bands asunder,and caft away their cords from us.

Fis true, whether wicked men will stoop or no, Chrift is a Lord in respect of defignation, but he is not their Lord in refpect of approbation; They will not have this man to rule over them.

Secondly, Every Beleever admits of Christ to be his Lord; as Thomas faid, My Lord and My God, John 20. 28. fee &c. and fo

1. Faith fet's up the Scepter of Chrift, and fweetly frames the foul to a willing subjection.

2. Again, faith takes whole Chrift, and therefore Chrift is the only King and Lord to faith.

3. Again, faith knows that the whole per fow is Chrifts purchafe, his blood hath bought us,and fo paffed us into the entire dominion of Chrift; ye are bought with a price,je are not your own, said the Apostle, Cor.6.19,20.

Now then try your felves in this, who is your Lord why brethren? Thus it is, faith gives the propriety, and title, and difpofition of our hearts and wayes to Chrift.

Obj. 'Tis true, before we were called to faith in Chrift, we were disobedient, we ferved divers lufts, we fet up our fins and the world.

Sol. But now being made partakers of rich mercy and grace in Chrift, we fhall furely rebel against other Lords but Chrift, (that is) against all other Lords whofe commands are contrary to Jefus Chrift; Our hearts are his, and our affections his, and our frength his, and our service and submission

his.

Obj. I deny not but finne will be stirring, even in a be leeving heart, it will be affaulting, it will now and then uforp

upon

upon the foul, and vex, and captivate,

Sol, Butthe rebellion of a finfal nature is one thing, and the dominion of it is another thing: Sinne will stir as an enemy where Chrift doth reign as a Lord: But it is one thing for thee to be a combitant with finne, another thing for thee to be a fervant of fin. Not who affaults me, but whom I love and fervé, he is my Lord. When the heart goes off from Chrift to the approbation, and love, and habitual obedience of fin; now fin is thy Lord:But if by faith thou haft fworne fealty to Chrift,then though all temptations begirt thee, though the infolencies of corrupt nature break in upon thee, to captivate, or to alienate thy heart from service to Christ, yet amidst all oppreffions, yea under all the knocksand buffettings, and interruptions by finne, the heart cries out, I acknowledge no Lord but Chrift, himl would obey, him I'honour, I love,his I am, and I yet hate those fins which yet I cannot conquer.

SECT. V.

Ourthly, a fourth tryal of true faith is this, It makes the heart bumble and lowly. Every unbeleeving heart is proud, and hath high imaginations, and ftands upon its own bottom; It bath no found experience, either of God or of it felf. But true faith cafts a man quite out of himselfe, it fees no ground of confidence and excellency from any thing in our felves.

Faith hath a double aspect, 1. One is upon us. 2. Another A double afpect is upon God and Chrift: When faith looks down upon us, alas of faith. it findes no matter of boafting in the world, for either it findes finnes,which should abafe our hearts, or elle imperfellions, which fhould curb our pride, or wants, which should fhew unto us our indigence and dependance. The Evil which it findes may confound us, and the good which it findes may make us ashamed; not only because it is fo fhort, and defective in what we ought to have, but also because we have not answered the giving of that good with juft thanks, or we have not improved that good to the advantage as we might have done.

When

When faith Looks upward to God and Chrift, there it fees all the causes of all our mercy, and of all our happineffe; have we pardon of finnes ? why, faith Faith, the cause of this is in Gods Lave. Have we righteoufneffe? why, faith Faith, the cause of this is in Chrifts merits. Have we any gifts, any acceptance,any remembrance from heaven? why, faith faith, the cause of this is only in Chrifts blood. All that I have is given me, and the caufe of all that giving,is utterly out of my felf,fo that the foul fits down now, and fayes, O Lord in my felfe I am nothing; nay, of my felf wore then nothing, but what I am, I am that by thy grace. All I have is thine, my bread, my health, my life, my body, my foul, all thine; If any love, if any mercy, if any Chrift, if any grace,if any comfort, if any strength, if any stedfastnefle, if any performances, if a good work, if a good word, if a good affection, if a good thought,why, all is thine, thou only art the cause, I am leffe then the leaft of thy mercies, and what is thy fervant that thou shouldest look on fuch a one as I am? Thou madeft me, and thou boughteft me, and thou calledst me, and thou justifieft me, and thou faveft me. Though faith makes thy condition high, yet it makes thy perfon low: Thon Shouldft by faith, be not bigh minded,but feare,Rom.11.20. why, not bigh minded, because standing by faith: Because this ftanding of faith is not of our felves, but in God, but in Chrift, Faith is the foot of the foul,but heaven, the grace of heaven, the ftrength of heaven is the ground upon which the foot doth Stand.

SECT. VI.

Fifthly, true faith is fruitful, James 2. 18. I will fhew thee my

faith by my works, ver.21.Was not our father Abraham jufti. fied by works? verle 22. (eeft thou how faith wrought by his works and by works was faith made perfe? The Apostle in A double faith, that Chapter Speaks of a double faith.

One was a counterfeit faith, a shadow as it were, which had the looks, but not the substance; it was a dead faith,which hath the limbs, but not the foul and life.

But