that once were wolves and serpents, to be now converted, without any remarkable change in the spirit of their mind. The change made by true conversion is wont to be most remarkable and sensible, with respect to what before was the wickedness of which the person was most notoriously guilty. Grace has as great a tendency to restrain and mortify such sins, as are contrary to the spirit that has been spoken of, as it has to mortify drunkenness and lasciviousness. Yea, the Scripture represents the change wrought by gospel-grace, as especially appearing in an alteration of the former sort: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." And to the same purpose is Isa. lxv. 25. Accordingly, we find, that in the primitive times of the Christian church, converts were remarkably changed in this respect: Tit. iii. 3. "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." And Col. iii. 7. “ In the which also walked some

ye

But now ye

also put

time, when ye lived in them.

off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.”

CHAPTER IX.

Gracious Affections soften the heart, and are attended and followed with a Christian tenderness of spirit.

FALSE affections, however persons may seem to be melted by them while they are new, yet have a tendency in the end to harden the heart. A disposition to some kind of passions may be established; such as imply self-seeking, self-exaltation, and opposition to others. But false affections with the delusion that attends them, finally tend to stupify the mind, and shut it up against those affections wherein tenderness of heart consists: and the effect of them at last is, that persons in the settled frame of their minds become less affected with their present and past sins, and less conscientious with respect to future sins, less moved with the warnings and cautions of God's words, or God's chastisements in his providence, more careless of the frame of their hearts, and the manner and tendency of their behaviour, less quick-sighted to discern what is sinful, less afraid of the appearance of evil, than they were under legal awakenings and fears of hell. Now that they have been the subjects of such and such impressions and affections, and have a high opinion of themselves, and look on their state to be safe, they can be much

more easy than before, in living in the neglect of duties that are troublesome and inconvenient; and are much more slow and partial in complying with difficult commands; are in no measure so alarmed at the appearance of their own defects and transgressions; are emboldened to favour themselves more, with respect to the labour, and painful care and exactness in their walk, and more easily yield to temptations, and the solicitations of their lust; and have far less care of their behaviour, when they come into the holy presence of God, in the time of public or private worship. Formerly, it may be, under legal convictions, they took much pains in religion, and denied themselves in many things; but now that they think themselves out of danger of hell, they very much put off the burden of the cross, and save themselves the trouble of difficult duties, and allow themselves more of the comfort of the enjoyment of their ease and their lusts.

Such persons as these, instead of embracing Christ as their Saviour from sin, they trust in him as the Saviour of their sins; instead of flying to him as their refuge from their spiritual enemies, they make use of him as the defence of their spiritual enemies, from God, and to strengthen them against him. They make Christ the minister of sin, and great officer and vicegerent of the devil, to strengthen his interest, and make him above all things in the world strong against Jehovah; so that they may sin against him with courage, and without any fear, being effectually secured from restraints, by his most solemn warnings and most awful threatenings. They trust in Christ to preserve to them the quiet enjoyment of their sins,

and to be their shield to defend them from God's displeasure; while they come close to him, even to his bosom, the place of his children, to fight against him, with their mortal weapons hid under their skirts.*

"These are hypocrites that believe, but fail in regard of the use of the gospel, and of the Lord Jesus. And these we read of, Jude 3. namely, of some men that did turn grace into wantonness. For therein appears the exceeding evil of a man's heart, that not only the law, but also the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus, works in him all manner of unrighteousness. And it is too common for men at the first work of conversion, then to cry, Oh, for grace and Christ, and afterwards grow licentious, live and die in the breach of the law, and take their warrant for their course from the gospel."-Shepard's Parable, Part. I. p. 120.

Again, p. 232. Mr. Shepard speaks of such hypocrites as those, "who like strange eggs, being put into the same nest, where honest men have lived, they have been hatched up; and when they are young, keep their nest, and live by crying and opening their mouths wide after the Lord, and the food of his word; but when their wings are grown, and they have got some affections, some knowledge, some hope of mercy, are hardened thereby to fly from God." And adds, "Can that man be good, whom God's grace makes worse?"

Again, Part II. p. 167. "When men fly to Christ in times of peace, that so they may preserve their sins with greater peace of conscience; so that sin makes them fly to Christ, as well as misery, not that they may destroy and abolish sin, but that they may be preserved in their sins with peace; then men may be said to apprehend Christ only by a seeming faith.—Many a heart secretly saith this, If I can have my sin, and peace, and conscience quiet for the present, and God merciful to pardon it afterwards; hence he doth rely (as he saith) only on the mercy of God in Christ: and now this hardens and blinds him, and makes him secure, and his faith is sermon-proof, nothing stirs him.And were it not for their faith they should despair, but that keeps them up. And now they think, if they have any trouble of mind, the devil troubles them; and so make Christ and faith protectors of sin, not purifiers from sin; which is most dreadful; turning grace to wantonness, as they did sacrifice. So these would sin under the shadow of Christ, because the shadow is good and sweet, Micah iii. 11. They had subtle sly ends in good duties; for therein may lie a man's sin: yet they lean upon the Lord.-When moneychangers came into the temple, You have made it a den of thieves.' Thieves when hunted fly to their den or cave, and there they are secure against all searchers, and hue-and-cries: so

However, some of these, at the same time, make a great profession of love to God, and assurance of his favour, and great joy in tasting the sweetness of his love.

After this manner they trusted in Christ that the apostle Jude speaks of, who crept in among the saints unknown; but were really ungodly men, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. These are they that trust in their being righteous; and because God has promised that the righteous shall surely live, or certainly be saved, are therefore emboldened to commit iniquity, whom God threatens, Ezek. xxxiii. 13. "When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it."

Gracious affections are of a quite contrary tendency; they turn a heart of stone more and more into a heart of flesh. A holy love and hope are principles that are vastly more efficacious upon the heart, to make it tender, and to fill it with a dread of sin, or whatever might displease and offend God, and to engage it to watchfulness, and care, and strictness, than a slavish fear of hell. Gracious affections, as was observed before, flow out of a contrite heart, or (as the word signifies) a bruised heart, bruised and broken with godly sorrow; which makes the heart

here. But Christ whipped them out. So when men are pursued with cries and fears of conscience, away to Christ they go as to their den, not as saints to pray and lament out the life of their sin there, but to preserve their sin. This is vile; will the Lord receive such?"