Grace: the truth and growth and different degrees thereof. The sum and substance of…Grace: the truth and growth and different degrees thereof. The summe and substance of…

1. If thou art one of the tender Plants in Christs Orchard, a weak ⟨image 5⟩Lamb in his Flock, a Babe in his Family, yet Oh, despise not the day of small things in thy soul; though thy gifts be few, & thy comforts fewer, yet tread not out thy self the smoking flax; stay thy self upon his name who is a rock of Ages, and whose work is perfect, and his grace unchangeable, who will bring forth judgement unto victory. Sleight not the least measure of grace: though the first and ruder draught be but drawn on thy soul, yet be comforted in this, that the image of Christ is begun to be renewed there. But be sure thy grace be right. Temporary faith, partial obedience, mercenary love, pretended zeal, legal sorrow, feigned humility, may make up a lifeless picture of a professor, who hath the form without the power of Godliness: but it is true Grace that makes a true Christian. Common gifts and graces may bring a man near heaven, but they will never bring a man into heaven. This Treatise therefore will teach thee to bring thy grace to the true touch-stone. It is one of the saddest ⟨image 6⟩considerations that can settle on the heart of a Christian, to think how high a formal hypocrite may go towards Heaven with his seeming grace, and how low a true child of God may fall by sin towards Hell, and yet have real Grace. It is a dreadful thing to think how many Professors in our age rest in duties performed, and parts acquired, and never examine themselves whether they are in the faith, and have attained that true Grace which Reprobates and hypocrites can never have. When we find in Scripture, ^aCain sacrificing, ^bPharaoh confessing his sin, ^cAhab fasting, ^dSaul weeping, ^eJehu reforming, ^fJudas repenting and restoring,