Eighteen sermons preached in Oxford 1640 of conversion, unto God. Of redemption, & justification,…

2. Take this for another difference: That Gods children can as earnestly desire grace as mercy; The temporary desire mercy, but never desire grace. The believer desires grace to have his nature healed, to hate his former conversation. The temporary never had, nor never will have this desire; should one come to the temporary believer, and tell him God will be merciful unto him, you may go on and take your fit of sin, you shall be sure of mercy; he would like this well, and think it the welcomest news as could be, because he only fears damnation, & self-love makes him ⟨p. 395⟩only desire freedom from that; but now the child of God hates sin, though there were no Hell, Judge nor Tormentor; he begs as hard of God for grace, as for mercy, and would do so, were there no punishment. His nature being changed, he desireth grace as well as mercy, which the temporary never does.

2. Take this for another difference: That Gods children can as earnestly desire grace as mercy; The temporary desire mercy, but never desire grace. The believer desires grace to have his nature healed, to hate his former conversation. The temporary never had, nor never will have this desire; should one come to the temporary believer, and tell him God will be merciful unto him, you may go on and take your fit of sinne, you shall be sure of mercy; he would like this well, and think it the welcomest news as could be, because he only fears damnation, & self-love makes him ⟨p. 395⟩only desire freedome from that; but now the childe of God hates sinne, though there were no Hell, Judge nor Tormentor; he begs as hard of God for grace, as for mercy, and would do so, were there no punishment. His nature being chang'd, he desireth grace as well as mercy, which the temporary never does.

3. The last mark is from the words of the Apostle, Neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love. Love and the new creature puts Gods children on work; their hearts are first altered and changed by being made new creatures. As the Scripture saith, his flesh is circumcised, he is a dead man; deadness argueth impotency of doing those things which a living man doth; he cannot walk, &c. The temporary will not sin for fear of after-claps,; but this man cannot sin, his heart is changed, he is dead to sin; we see how both abstain from sin, but the perusal and disposition is not alike. The temporary sinner perchance commits not the sin, but he could find in his heart to do it; he saith not with Joseph, How can I do this great wickedness and sin against my God? the other saith, I could do this evil well enough, but I will not. Thou canst not bear those that are evil, as in the Revel. Now he that is born of God cannot sin, there is that seed, that spring in him, that for his life he cannot sin, but it turns his heart from it; for his life he cannot tell how to swear, lye, &c. or join with others in wickedness; but this must be understood of the constant course of their lives; I speak not what they may do in afflictions, when they are surprised, but in the course of their lives, they commit sin as if they knew not how to do it; the