enjoyment of God. And there must be falvation of grace, as antecedent to that of glory. For happiness hath its foundation in holiness, and there must be either a confcience void of offence, by abfolute innocence; or ease of guilt, by our repentance, and God's pardon otherwise there is no falvation; for, a guilty confcience hath hell within itself. There are many that would be faved in a negative fenfe, that is, they would not be damned; but this is not a juft explication of falvation for heaven and falvation is begun here, and therefore the apoftle faith, who hath faved us and called us, 2 Tim. i. 9. And fo much for the first particular, the time when the wicked turneth away from his wickedness.

II. The quality of the perfon; wicked. And here I must acquaint you, that fcripture doth not denominate persons wicked, or finners, or workers of iniquity, from weakneffes, failings, or from error of judgment, or from indifpofition at times, from fudden paffion, or furprifal; nor from the irregularity of the first motion, that is fo troublesome and grievous unto us all. But they are called finners and wicked perfons, who voluntarily confent to known iniquity; who while they have knowledge and judgment of that which is right, for base ends and purposes act contrary thereunto, and continue in fin and apoftacy from the truth. Sins of the former fort, fuch as weakness and failings, through temptation or fudden furprize, require our modefty and asking God forgiveness: as alfo our greater care and diligence, and conftant application to God and committing ourselves into his hand; and in so de

ing, God doth readily forgive. For he remember$ our frame, and confiders and makes allowance for our weakness, Pf. ciii. 13. and Mal, iii 17. As a father pitieth his children, fo the Lord pitieth those that fear him; and he will fpare them as a man spareth kis own fon that ferveth him.

III. I now proceed to the third, to shew when a man may be faid to turn from his wickedness ; to which enquiry I fhall answer by three negative, and three affirmative propofitions. The negatives

are these.

Ift. A man is not faid to turn away from his iniquities when his fin rather leaves him than he leaves it either through age and disability of body; or through weakness and infirmity; so that he cannot bear to do as he has formerly done. Now, this is the case many times of the riotous and intemperate, who use to rise up early in the morning, that they might. Follow ftrong drink; that continue until night," till wine inflame them, Ifa. v. 11. But this they cannot do always., Then for the prodigal, that profusely, spends all that he hath, and is brought to a morsel of bread, and like him that we read of, Luke xv.. 14. made to feed with the fwine upon husks; fuch. a man's fin hath rather left him, than he it. The like may be faid of wanton lafcivious perfons, that have quite spoiled and disabled. their bodies. And alfo of falfe dealers, who have been so often found out, that no body will trust them, or have to do with them; you cannot say that fuch men as these, have turned from their wickedness.

2. Such men as are not at their own liberty ; but under tutors and governors, whom they dare not disobey; who are as it were shut up, and not fuffered to ramble abroad. These men cannot be faid to have turned from their wickedness.

3. Nor when fin is made bitter to men, by suffering the bad confequences that follow upon it. Sometimes men fuffer in their names, or in their eftates, or in their bodies. Guilt doth always prophesy evil things, and fin is a fhame and reproach to any perfon that commits it, Pro. xxiii. 29. Who hath wo, who hath forrow, who hath contentions, who hath babblings, who hath wounds without cause, who hath redness of eyes? they that tarry long at the wine; they that go to feek new wine. It is faid of laziness, idleness and sluggishness, that it is more painful than industry and diligence; and to be employed, is easier than to be idle. So it may be said of other vices; the mifchiefs and inconveniencies that follow upon diffoJute living, and naughty practices, are not ballanced by the pleasure that they bring, but are dearly paid for. Whereas ways of goodness and virtue are delightful, and end in peace; as you read, Pro. iii. 17. All her ways are pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. For the feveral virtues, they are fuitable and connatural; every virtue is according to the nature of man, and agrees with the reason of his mind which is the fuperior and governing principle. As to inftance, by comparing some virtues and vices together. Pride, infolence, envy, malice, these are troublesome and unnatural: there is no greater torment, or worse rack, than for a man to live in

malice, and bear envy and ill-will. Thofe that are arrogant and proud, create to themselves a world of difficulty, befides much ill-will and displeasure : whereas modefty, gentleness, loving-kindness, quietness, is according to the nature of man, and creates no trouble or difficulty to a man. But to return to the matter in hand. There is much difference between these two; between our leaving of fin, and its leaving of us; when we do not act from our own principle; but the bitterness of fin appears by its sufferings, and by this, we are made to defift; in these cafes a man cannot be faid to return from his wickedness. But then affirmatively, in three particulars.

ift. When we leave fin out of sense and judg ment of its vileness, and impurity. For all fin is fuch in its own nature; and therefore we read, that the fons of Eli made themselves vile by their wickadness, 1 Sam. iii. 13. and Fer. ii. 19. we read that it is an evil, and a bitter thing to forfake the Lord our God. For in morals you must know that the ground, motive and reafon of the action, doth fpecificate the action, rather than the matter of it. For two perfons may do one and the fame action; the fame thing materially may be done; and yet the action may be very different, because of the ground, principle and motive, upon which it was done. This for certain you must know, that it is not a virtuous action, if be not done because the thing is good, and avoided because it is evil. That is the firft, when we leave fin, out of fense and judgment of its vilenefs, badness and iniquity.

2. When

2. When we leave fin out of respect to God, in obedience unto his laws, and love to him. This was the temper found in Jofeph; who when fin was prefented to him, faid, how can I do this wickedness, and fin against God, Gen. xxxix. 9. When it is more to us, to give God an offence, than to expose our own lives and liberties. When a man will not deftroy the cause of God, to fave his own life. Now if it be fuggefted, that this is a notion not practicable becaufe God is, at fo great a diftance, I anfwer, it is done out of refpect to God, when we do a thing because it is juft, fit and right; because it is good and ought to be. And this is intelligible; for every man knows what is the ground and reafon of his action; he knows whether he doth it out of a fenfe of the goodnefs of the thing itfelf; or out of any other reafon. Forman, as a moral agent, is only confiderable, as to his end and principle. For God is best known to us, by being good, as being the first and chiefeft goodnefs. To do a thing therefore because it is good, is to do it out of love to God, and to avoid a thing because it is evil, is the fame as not to do it, because it will give God an offence. And this is an explication of doing a thing out of love to God, and out of refpect to him. And I have found this among the philofophers, that never had the advantage of a bible, who tell us, "That if a"ny thing be without refpect to God, it is not an

action of virtue, 1 Cor. x. 31, 32. There is nothing in the world better known to us, if we fink not down by fenfuality into brutishness, or by ma lice into devilifness, than that there is a God, and

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