The unbelievers preparing for Christ. By T.HThe vnbeleevers preparing for Christ. By T.H

EZECH. 11.19. I will take away their stony heart, and give them a heart of flesh.

According to our Order intended, and Course propounded, we have laid down five general circumstances, & have chosen several texts answerably: whereout we might observe the same, four of those five we have already handled, and now we are come to the last Circumstance, which is this, Howsoever a natural man cannot receive the Lord Jesus, yet the Lord will make all his that belong to the election of Grace willing to receive him, and then he will bestow Christ Jesus upon them, and grace and salvation by him: and for this purpose I have chosen this text, and as our course is, I will not meddle with every Doctrine in the text, which are six in number, but choose that only which fits best for our purpose. But before I can come to lay ⟨p. 127⟩down the point of Doctrine, two passages must be opened: first, what is meant by heart, secondly, what is meant by a stony heart, and what by a fleshy heart; and these two being opened, the Doctrine will be plain and lie fair: first for the first: a heart in Scripture, besides that which it signifieth naturally; is applied to the will of a man, or to that ability which is in a reasonable soul, whereby he willeth or rejecteth a thing, this is put for a heart in Scripture, together with love, delight, joy, hatred and grief, which are attendants upon this will; as a man will have such a thing, why? because beloves it, and delights in it; and he again refuseth such a thing and will not have it, why? because he hates it, and because it is displeasing unto him; and this is the meaning of that place, Mat. ¹15.19. Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemy. Secondly, the Will is put in phrase of Scripture, not only for ability of the soul whereby it wills, but for the same spiritual disposition, that is, in the will & affections of a man, in this kind the temper and frameablenesse of the Will to any action is termed by the name of heart in Scripture; for there is somewhat in the Will, whereby it is carried to any work: look as it is with a Bowl it runneth, because it is a round thing, but that it runneth at such and such a mark, is because it hath a Bias upon it, whereby it is swayed and carried to that mark;