bare credit of their forefathers, and the common vote of the country they dwell in, most among us may have of the Gospel; but this faith is like the ground of it and will not serve to establish and renew the soul. Men are not soundly persuaded of the infallible truth of all the Word of God till converting grace doth bring them to believe it: they think it may be true, and it may be false for ought they know, they cannot tell: and therefore it is that when we come to those particulars that displease them, they will not believe them. When they do confess in general that the Scripture is true, yet when we tell them particularly of those passages that speak of the necessity of conversion, the difficulty of salvation, the fewness of the saved, and the multitude that shall perish, with many the like truths, they will plainly shew that they do not believe them. A word of such matters of heaven and hell, if it were well believed, would doubtless prevail against sensual allurements, and make them see that they have something else than this deceitful world to look after. Certainly all unconverted sinners are at best but such half believers as in Scripture are called rightly unbelievers. But when the Spirit by the Word doth illuminate their understanding, they see then that all this is most certainly true: that the talk of sin, and misery, and Christ, and grace, and glory, and of everlasting torments to the impenitent are no dreams or doubtful suppositions. God telleth them then to the very heart, that these are matters not to be questioned, but presently and seriously to be regarded for God will prove true when all men prove liars heaven and earth shall pass away, but a jot or tittle of his Word shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. Whatever unbelievers think of it now, nothing is more certain than that all men on earth shall shortly find themselves in heaven or hell. Now the soul perceiveth that this is true, as the God of heaven is true, and that it is madness to question the truth of his Word, who is truth itself, and to think that Word will shake or fail which beareth up heaven. and earth and is the best security that is possible to be had; and that he should deceive them who never deceived any; and doth so much to save them from being deceived by satan, and their own deceitful hearts. Before conversion

b Matt. v. 18.

you might have heard by his cold prayers, and carnal conference, and seen by his careless, sinful life, that he did not heartily believe the Word of God; but now you may hear, and see by him that he doth believe it. If you tell a man that a bear or a cut-throat thief is following after him, if you see him not stir any faster, nor mend his pace, you will say, sure he doth not believe it; but if you see him run as for his life, it is a sign that he believes it. When once a man is truly converted, you may see by his affection, and diligence, and self-denial, that he owneth and believeth the Word of God indeed: if you over-heard him in his prayers, his tears, or at least his hearty groans will tell you that he believeth if he talk with you of his former life, his sobs and sighs, and his deep self-accusings will tell you that he believeth it: his careful endeavours for the saving his soul, his earnest inquiries what he shall do to be saved, will tell you that he believeth. The change of his company, his talk, his life, his casting away those sins with hatred which were his delight, and taking up that holy life with delight which before he had no heart to; all this will shew that he is now a true believer. Because "Noah believed, he was

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moved with fear, and prepared the ark ." He that had seen him at work might perceive that he believed: he would never else have so laboured to escape the danger.

4. The fourth part wherein the change of the understanding doth consist, is, in the healing of men's errors, and turning them from those false conceits which they had about God and his ways, and the matters of salvation. While they were unconverted, satan had taught them, and the world had taught them, and the flesh had taught them many things against God and their own safety: they were persuaded that either there was no heaven and hell, or that God would save them though they did not much look after it themselves. They thought sin was better than holiness, and it was a more desirable life to please the flesh, and to be honourable, and eat and drink, and be merry, than to live in the thoughts of another world, and deny the flesh that pleasure it desireth, and to spend so much time in reading, hearing, praying and meditating. They thought this was a tedious, unnecessary life, and that all this was more ado

e Heb. xi. 7.

than needs; and that the wisest way was to follow their business in the world, and take their pleasure while they might have it, and only come to church, and forbear some heinous sins, and then believe that God will be merciful to them, and they shall do well enough without all this stir, and that they may take what they can get of the pleasure of the world, and when they have done, if there be any heaven, they may have it with a short repentance when they can keep the world no longer. Abundance more such errors as these are in the minds of unconverted sinners, through the seducements of the deceiver: indeed they live a life of error. Some heretics err in one particular, and some in another, but wicked men err in the very drift of their lives. But when God converteth, he changeth all these opinions. The man is then of another mind. He that thought sin so pleasant, would now fain spit it out; he that desired so to glut himself with the world and sinful delights, would now be rid of them: like a foolish person that will needs take poison, because it is sweet, and will not believe him that tells him it is deadly; but when he feeleth it begin to gripe him in the bowels, and to burn him at the heart, then he crieth out, 'Oh now I believe you that it is poison! Oh give me a vomit that I may cast it up quickly, or else I die.' Then, if you see him retching and straining himself to get it up again, and groaning, and crying out, Oh my heart, it burns me, it tears me; Oh that I could get it up!' you may see then that the man's opinion is changed. Sinners, believe it, if ever God will save you, it will be thus with you. You thought there was no great harm in taking now and then a cup with good fellows; in neglecting God and your souls, while you provide for your bodies; in dropping a curse or a small oath in the heat of your passion: you could ask, what harm is it to spend the Lord's day in idleness, or vain-talking, or recreations, when you had a God, and a soul, and an everlasting state to look after, which should have been the business of that day. Perhaps you let down now and then some sharper poison of covetousness, malice, fornication, &c. Oh, but if ever God convert you, all this must up again; you will groan and strain at it by the vomit of repentance, and cry out, Oh that I had never known it! Oh that I had never seen the faces of such un

godly companions! Oh that I could get up the very roots of this sin, I would never return to it again.' You that now think it so grievous a life to be godly, and that there needs not so much ado for your salvation; if ever God convert you, he will make you see that it is both necessary and delightful: you will then say, 'What, shall I sit still when my everlasting salvation is at stake? I have but a little time. to make sure of escaping eternal misery: I must very shortly be in heaven or hell; and now is the time that must turn the scales, for then I must be judged according to my works; and is this a time to loiter in? Or is this a matter to be forgotten or made light of? Oh sinners, if God open your eyes, you will marvel, I tell you, you will a thousand times marvel, that ever you should be so sottish, and in a manner besides yourselves, as to follow your business in the vain world, and eat and drink, and sleep so quietly, while you knew not what should become of you for ever. You will cry out of yourselves, 'Oh where was my wit, that I should make so light of that which was my only business? And that I should sleep out that short time of my life which was given me of purpose to work out my salvation in? And that I should forget that judgment that was told again and again was at the door?' Sinners, if God do once truly convert your souls, you will see, that if wife, children, friend, estate, life require your labour and care, your salvation requireth an hundred times more. You will then say, 'What, can I make too much haste to heaven? care or pains to make sure of it? Can much to obtain such a glory, or to escape the flames of everlasting misery? If I lose the world and my life, I may be a saver and a gainer in the life eternal; but if I lose that life, how shall I be a saver? Or which way shall I hope for a reparation of my loss? And what good will it then do me that I had pleasure, or credit, or riches in the world? Is it worth the labour of all my life to rake in this earth, and to live in more plenty of worldly vanity than other men a little while, till I drop into my grave? And is it not worth ten thousand times more care and pains to make sure that I live among the angels, and see the face of God in endless glory? Oh Lord, where is that man's brains that thinks he can pay too dear for heaven, and yet that all the stir of his life is not too dear a price for earth! To get him

Or be at too much any labour be too

a pleasant passage to his grave, when he might have as much pleasure upon other terms? Where is that man's reason that will be at all this trouble for nothing, and yet will cry out to God, or to his minister, What need all this ado to be saved? Ask a gasping man on his death-bed, whether this labour had not been better laid out for heaven? And whether heaven or earth will pay a man better for his care and pains? What! doth the Lord himself cry out to sinners, "Lay not up for yourselves a treasure on earth, where rust and moth doth corrupt, but lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, &c." "Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, &c." Labour not for the food which perisheth, but for that which endureth to everlasting lifed." And shall men that call themselves Christians say, that this is more ado than needs?

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Thus, sinners, will your minds be changed, if ever you be converted: you will then be quite of another mind concerning the world, and God, and the wicked, and the godly, than now you are. I tell you, God will unteach you again all these false opinions about these matters, which the devil, the world, and the flesh have been so long teaching you. It is his work to unteach you first, and then to teach you better things: this will be so. You that now say you will never believe but a man may be saved without so much ado; you will never believe that none shall be saved but those that are thus changed; you will never believe that God maketh so great a matter of sin as preachers talk of: if God will convert and save you, he will make you believe it. Even the most confident of these conceits will be changed. Be not too peremptory, man, God can yet shew thee so much mercy as to change thy mind: he hath changed as self-conceited men's minds as thine, and hath shaken as confident opinions as these: Paul thought himself as wise as you, before his conversion, and telleth us, "I verily thought myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus." But when God had struck him down, and amazed him with his glory, and then illuminated him with his saving light, he cried out, "Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?" Acts ix. 6. And this with trembling and astonishment. And Tit. iii. 3. He telleth you what John vi. 27.

d Matt. vi. 19, 20. 33.