A second volume of discourses or sermons on several scriptures

¹Thirdly, Sanctifying Grace when it keeps a Soul from sin, it always engageth the will against it, but common and restraining Grace only awakens and rouseth up the Conscience against it; the Will and the Conscience are two leading faculties of the Soul; the one commands what shall be done, and the other informs what ought to be done, and all the rest of the faculties and affections of ⟨p. 291⟩the Soul take part and side with these two; now in a Godly Man these two are at an agreement, what Conscience prompts, the Will commands; and the inferior faculties are already to execute: Sanctifying Grace, that works immediately, and specially upon the Will, and makes a mighty change there; that, whereas before Conversion Man's Will is so utterly depraved, that it can like nothing but sin, after Grace hath touched it, and mightily turned it about, it cannot now any longer give its full and free consent to the commission of any sin; if such a one sins he doth it truly and properly against his Will, as the Apostle speaks in the Romans 7.15.² What I do I allow not; now a wicked Man may sin against his Conscience, but it is impossible, that he should ever sin against his Will, that is continually set upon sin; and were it not, that God sometimes raiseth up natural Conscience in him to oppose his corrupt Will, he would every moment rush into the most damning impieties without any of the least regret or sense of it; when the Devil presents a sin to the embraces of the Will, and when the Will closeth with it, and all ⟨p. 292⟩the faculties of the Soul are ready to commit it, God sends in Conscience among them, what Conscience art thou asleep! seest thou not how the Devil and thine own devilish heart are now plotting and contriving thine Eternal ruin? Now this rouseth Conscience, and makes it storm and threaten, and hurl Fire-brands into the face of sin, while it lies in the very embraces of the Will, and though it cannot change the Will from loving of it, yet it frights the Will from committing of it; this is the most usual way restraining Grace takes for the prevention of sin, by sending in Conscience to make strong and vigorous oppositions against it; there are none of us here, but through Divine Grace, have been kept from many sins, that we were in great danger through the corruptions of our own hearts to have committed;