commanded, he did reward it; yet, as the execution thereof was otherwise than he required, so he threateneth " to revenge it: "I will avenge the blood of Jezebel upon the house of Jehu." What, then, is Jehu to commit murder? God forbid: And yet is he to do that, in doing whereof he is to commit murder? Yes; for God requires it. So then he was to perform God's command, but he was not thereby to work out his own projects: God commanded him to execute his justice, but not his own revenge, When the prophet Jeremiah foretold the captivity of the Jews, if he had preached judgment with such an affection as Jehu did execute it, with aims at his own credit in the truth of his message, with delight in the ruin and desolation of the Church, with expectation and desire to see the lamentable accomplishment of his own preaching, (as Jonah • did at Nineveh); though he had done that which God required, yet had he greatly sinned in corrupting his message with his own lust: but herein was the faithfulness of that holy man seen, that though he did proclaim the woeful day, yet he did not desire it, but said Amen' P to the words of those false prophets, that preached peace and restitution again. So then, to conclude this case, when an action hath evil in its own substance, it is to be omitted; but when the action is of itself the matter of a precept, and so hath evil only externally cast upon it by the agent that doth it, here the action is not to be omitted, but the agent is to be reformed.

But you will say, If I may not do evil that good may come of it, then I may not do good when evil will come of it; upon the same reason, because evil is altogether to be prevented and avoided.-To this I answer, That the argument follows clean contrary; I may not do evil, though good would come of it; I must do good, though evil should come of it. For when a command is absolute and peremptory, we must not observe it with respect to consequences, nor foist in conditions or relations of our own to over-rule the duty, lest we make ourselves lords of the law. Now the commandment for doing good, notwithstanding any consequences which may attend it, is as absolute and peremptory, as the command for not doing evil; and therefore we must

" Hos. i. 4. o Jonah iv. 1, 5. P Jer. xvii. 16, xxviii. 36.

not observe or forbear it, with respect unto any consequences. For God will have us to measure our duty by his command, which requires to abstain from evil, and to do good, not by the events, that are incidental and external to the duty done. So then that which is good materially of itself, is to be done, though evil follow; First, because God requires it, and his will must stand against all consequences. Secondly, because the evil that comes along in the doing of it, is not any way belonging or naturally appendant upon the duty, but is foisted into it by our wicked nature and the wickedness of man must not either annihilate the commands of God, or void and evacuate his own duty; or lastly, justify or privilege his presumptions. Thirdly, because so to do is not to prevent evil, but to multiply it not to escape sin, but to double it. We must observe God's way of breaking off sin, and not our own: it was never known that one sin was the way to prevent or cure another. Besides, there is less sinfulness in a defect which attendeth a duty done, than in a total omission of it: for that comes in by way of consequence; the other is against the very substance and whole body of the command :—that proceedeth from natural and unavoidable impotency; this from a wilfulness, which might have been prevented.

Now since the wicked have such a total disability, as that whatever they do, is altogether sinful,-hath not a dram of holiness in it,-the principles, the ends, the ways, all carnal; here then we might observe the foulness of those reliques of Pelagianism, in the doctrine of the Papists, who flatter and comply with nature against the grace of Christ, in their doctrines of merit, of congruity and preparations for grace, the acceptableness of heathen virtues in the sight of God, the infallible attendance of grace upon natural endeavours; as if things totally evil, and deserving wrath, could prepare for grace. But I rather choose to speak to the conscience it should serve, therefore, to amaze natural men in the sight of this state of sin, and to throw them down under God's mighty hand, when they shall consider, that their best works are totally evil, that, do what they will, it is altogether abominable in God's sight. What a woeful thing is it for a man to be debtor to the whole law, one jot or tittle whereof shall not pass away,-and to be utterly unable to do any

thing which beareth proportion to the least tittle of that law, because that law is all over spiritual, and he all over carnal! It would be an insupportable burden to perish everlastingly for but one sin: how infinitely more to be answerable for all those infinite trespasses, not one whereof can be remitted without all! This one point of the disability of nature to please God in any thing, if it were duly considered, would compel men to go unto Christ, by whom they may have access, and for whom their services shall have acceptance before God; till which time they are all but dung, and God will throw them in the faces of men again. And the reason is, till a man takes Christ, by faith, along with him, these sacrifices have no golden censer to perfume them, no altar to sanctify them, nothing but a man's own evil heart to consecrate them upon which makes them to be our own, and not God's offerings. When the prodigal came unto himself, and considered, 'I have nothing; I can do nothing; all that I eat is dirt and filth; I am an unprofitable creature in this state;'-these thoughts made him resolve to go unto his father. When St. Paul considered, that whatever, before his conversion, he thought of himself, yet indeed all his zeal was but blasphemy and persecution, all his morality but "dung and dog's meat," all his unblameableness and presumptions but loss unto him, then he began to set an infinite value upon the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and to suffer the loss of all, that he might be found in him. Sin must be very sinful, that grace may be very welcome.

Secondly, This impotency and disability is partial, even in the most regenerate; so much flesh as they have in them, so much deadness and unserviceableness still. And this may be seen in two points: First, there is a great disability in the best to work and go on with patience and comfort in God's service. How apt are we still to quench and grieve the Spirit! How doth every man's experience constrain him to cry out, "In me dwelleth no good thing; to will is present with me, but I cannot perform the things which I would; Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief!" How do we faint and wax weary of well-doing! How are we led captive to the law of sin, which is in our members, "so that we can

9 Amos v. 21, 22.

1 Tim. i. 13. Phil. iii. 6, 7, 8.

not do the things which we would!" for though the Scripture callsaints perfect,' and testify of some that they served God with their whole heart, yet that is only in opposition to cordi duplici,' a double heart, denoting such an integrity only, as doth not admit a purposed division of the heart between God and sin. Therefore we meet still with exhortations to grow and abound, and with promises of bringing forth more fruit, and mention of proceeding from faith to faith, and from glory to glory, and of supplies of the Spirit, and growing to the measure of the stature of Christ, and the like expressions, all which denote the admixture of impotency in the best. And this impotency is so great, that, of themselves, they can never do any thing, but return to their wonted coldness and dulness again: for it is not their having of grace in them barely which makes them strong, but their communion and fellowship with Christ's fulness; "I am able to do all things through Christ that strengthens me." The branch can bear no fruit, nor preserve or ripen that which it hath, but by its unity with the root light continues not in the house, but by its dependance on the sun; shut out that, all the light is presently gone. Take water away from the fire, and its nature will be presently stronger than the heat it borrowed, and suddenly reduce it to its wonted coldness. So we can do nothing but by the constant supplies of the Spirit of Christ; he that begins, must finish every good work in us."t He that is the author, must be the finisher of our faith too." "Without him, we cannot will nor do any good." "Without him, when we have done both, we cannot continue, but shall faint in the way. His Spirit must lead us."y "His arm must heal and strengthen us.' "As we have received him, so we must walk in him; without him we cannot walk." a "God is the God of all grace; to him it belongeth, not only to call, but to perfect; not only to perfect, but to strengthen, stablish, settle us."b

66

"u

Secondly, This impotency is seen in this,-that the good things they do, cannot fully please God by themselves, but stand in need of further purification from Christ, and pardon

from God. Even when we are children, we must be spared, and borne withal.c

The use which we should make of this point, is, first, to keep us humble, in regard of this thorn in our flesh, which disables us to do any good, and when we have done our uttermost, yet still makes us unprofitable servants. Lay together these considerations :

First, Remember the long time that thou wert utterly barren, and didst live nothing but a life of sin; how much of the flower of thine age hath been dedicated unto Satan and thine own lusts; how thy childhood and youth hath been all vanity. And why, think we, did God require the firstfruits in the law, but to shew that we were all his; and therefore that he ought to have the first and best of our life devoted unto him, and submitted unto his yoke?

Secondly, Consider, even now when thou art at best, that thou art not sufficient of thyself to think a good thought; "that in thee, that is, in thy flesh," in thee, from thyself, "dwelleth no good thing." The original of all the good thou dost, is without thee,-" By the grace of God thou art what thou art, and all thy sufficiency is in his grace."

Thirdly, When this grace doth call, knock, quicken, put thee on to any good, how averse and froward,-how dull, indirigible, undocile is thy evil heart! like a silly lamb, never finds the way itself: and when it is led, is every step ready to stop and start aside.

Fourthly, When it prevails to set thee indeed a-work, how exceedingly dost thou fail in the measure of thy duties! How little growth in strength! How little improvement in spiritual knowledge or experience! How much weariness and revolting of heart! How evil and unprofitable hath thy life been, in comparison of those worthies whom thou shouldest have followed, and in proportion to those means of grace which thou hast had!

Fifthly, In thy progress, how often hast thou stumbled ! How many notorious and visible sins, even in great characters, have oftentimes stained, if not thy profession by a public scandal, yet thy soul in private by a consciousness unto them! And how, think we, did David's murder and adul

c Mal. iii. 17. Deut. i. 31.