their leopard's fpots and Ethiopian's fkin; yea,' change their very nature and whole frame, and raise up even the corpfe from death to life; which is, indeed, only to be done by the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and by his quickening power, who is the great Lord and Giver of life: for believers are not born of blood, nor of the

will of the flefh, nor of the will of man, but of "God," John i. 13. "That which is born of the "flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the "Spirit, is fpirit," John iii. 6. The ftream will not rife higher than the fountain: nature can produce no more than the terrene, animal life; and they that are defiled themfelves, what better can they beget than like themselves? we are "born again, not of "corruptible feed, but of incorruptible, by the "Word of God, which lives and abides for ever,' 1 Pet. i. 23. Of his own will begat he us, with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firfl"fruits of his creatures," James i. 18. There must be a principle of life, and the feed of God, before ever we can be alive unto God, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. And alas, what but dead fruits, till fuch time as there is a living root, upon which they may grow though the ruler of Ifrael knew not how thefe things fhould be, yet our bleffed Saviour for bid him fo to wonder at the matter, John iii. 7, 9. "Marvel not, that I faid, ye must be born again; and for that new birth, which fo perplexed his thoughts, was pofitive in it, that there is an abfolutê neceflity of it.

And confider it, my foul; does not our natural depravation, fpeak the extreme need of our spiritual regeneration! that we muft have another and a bet ter life, than what we drew with our firft birth? when the first birth brings us into the world, children of wrath, O what but the fecond, can fet us up in the church, children of God? no appearing before

before the juft and holy God, in the old rags of finful nature; nothing pleafing to his infinite purity can be wrought out of fuch polluted ftuff; no patching or palliating, that here will ferve the turn; but we must be new-made, yea, "created in Chrift "Jefus, to good works," Eph. ii. 1o. And nothing will avail, but the new creature, Gal. vi. 15. No, the most fair, and civil, and honeft of the unrégenerate fort, what are they, but whited tombs, washed fwine,fine coloured fnakes, corrupt trees,ftrangers and enemies? nay, even the moral goodnefs itfelf, may but ferve to hinder fome from feeking after better things that accompany falvation, when fo well they are to país, and have fuch a fair reputation; what matter then, may they think, for repentance and regeneration? but can they be heirs of glory before they are children of grace? and can they be children before they are born, or grow up to eternal life, before they pass the gate of the new birth? alas, even the beft natured perfons must have their nature healed; and have as much need to be converted as they have to be faved, Matt. xviii. 3. "Except ye "be converted, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven: for grapes will not grow upon thorns, nor figs upon thiftles." Glory is not a fudden new production, but grace grown up to full maturity and perfection. Only the new man fhall dwell in the new Jerufalem. The heart of stone must be turned into a heart of flesh. And is not that the work of God, and the Lord's own doing? O who elfe is fufficient for it but he alone, that can raise children to Abraham even out of ftones, light out of darkness, beauty out of deformity; and change wolves into lambs, yea, dead finners into living faints?

O may this change, my foul, be ever marvellous in my eyes; and do thou fear and tremble before the Almighty Potter, when thou art but as clay in

nour.

his hands, to be made a veffel to honour or difho And whatever thou haft better than any others, own it for a plant of thy heavenly Father's planting; and walk humbly before him, and give all the glory to him. O admire and magnify his free grace and diftinguishing love, and wait upon thy God continually, to perfect the work of his own hands upon thee. thee. Yea, even in the worst case defpair not of his help, who plucks brands out of the fire, and brings even publicans and harlots to the kingdom of heaven. When the great work is his work; mountains then are levelled, and difficulties removed, and all is made plain and easy before him. It is to fome purpose therefore, even for the very chief of finners to bemoan their cafe to him, and beg for his faving mercy from him. For though they cannot be faved till renewed, yet how foon can he make them quite other things? and ftill is there hope for them, if they cry mournfully and mightily to him, to fhew them his mercy, and grant them his falvation. But thou, my foul, extol his grace, and praife his name, that brings fuch good out of evil, as fince the fall of man, to fet up upon furer terms, and in better hands. For where Adam could not keep that wherewith he was intrufted; I may fay, as the Apostle, 2 Tim. i. 12,

I know whom I have believed; and I am per "fuaded, that he is able to keep that which I have "committed to him, against that day." And in his good work begun upon me, he has given me a pledge of his everlasting love to me; making me confident, that now my new life spiritual shall grow up to the bleffed life eternal.

THE

66

Righteous GOD! I am, by nature, unclean; lying in my blood, and not only "far gone, but dead in my fins. So that I need "not only to be a little cleanfed and repaired, but "to be wholly changed, and quite renewed. O give me a new life, a new heart and a new spirit; "and fo make me, every way, a new creature. "New frame and fashion me, by the powerful ope"ration of thy Spirit; that I may not only make "a fair appearance to the world, but may be fuch "as is approved of by the Lord. Yea, let my inner man be renewed, not only for once, but day by "day, till I become perfect in Christ Jesus. Amen."

of

MEDITATION LXXII.
Of Choofing our Religion.

MY foul, how graciously has the good God prevented me, to make his holy religion even my birth-right, as being the profeffed religion my nation! yet am 1 not only upon that score, to take it for true; when even the moft erroneous and abfurd, may have as much as that to fay for themfelves. But I must enquire into the grounds of it, and be ready always to give an answer, to every 66 one that afks me a reason of the hope that is in me," 1 Pet. iii. 15. It is not, (out of a religious vertigo) to run the round of various opinions: and to be of all, that I may fo know where to fix. No,

but,

but, (according to the best means, and difcerning, which God has given me,) fo to ventilate, as to feparate the chaff from the wheat; and fee that I be found in the faith: not only hitting upon it by chance, but fettling in it, out of deliberate choice. For thus every one that has a foul to fave is concern. ed, to be fully perfuaded in his own mind," Rom. xv. 5. Not taking all upon truft, but judging as well as he can for himself, because he must at last anfwer for himself, and fo growing established in the truth, and holding faft that which is good; that fe ducers may not fraudulently wreft it out of his hands. Though all have not the parts and quicknefs, to filence every objector; yet mut they have that understanding and belief, and love of the truth, as to fatisfy them of its availablenefs to the faving of the foul. That they may not be carried away with every wind of doctrine, but have that in them, which may make them proof against all that would impofe upon them.

And where the fticklers for fome other religions, will not allow their votaries fo much as a judgment of difcretion; nor give them leave to enquire for themselves; our Lord, and our church, do put all upon fearching the feriptures, and trying the doc trines, by that infallible teft. And indeed fo merciful has the gracious God provided, that the great things neceffary to falvation, which every one ought to know and believe, fhould lie plain and open to all. As that which is needful to preferve the life of the body, is common, and cheap to be had; fo what is needful to preferve the foul to life eternal, he would not have to be hid in the dark, nor far to seek, but obvious to every humble and honeft inquirer into his holy word? which is the eternal ftandard of all faving truth, from whence there is no appeal. And it is not what this man, or that company of men fays, but what the great Lord of all has faid, that I ought