loathe yourselves in your own sight," &c. like the Psalmist: His sin is ever before him." 2. Then he remembers how many fair opportunities of yielding to God he has basely lost: his spirit is like to faint when he remembers that, as is said in another "When I remember these things I pour out case, my soul in me.-O my God, my soul is cast down within me.-Deep calleth unto deep: all thy waves are gone over me." 3. He now thinks of many Christians whom he mocked and despised in his heart, persuading himself now that they are happy, as having chosen the better part; he thinks of the condition of those who wait on Christ, as the Queen of Sheba did of Solomon's servants: "Happy are thy servants," saith she, "who stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom :" "Blessed are they that dwell in thy house," &c. . He wishes to be one of the meanest who have any relation to God: as the prodigal son doth speak, he would be as one of his Father's hired servants." 4. Then he calls to mind the good report that is gone abroad of God, according to that testimony of the prophet, who knew that God was a gracious "God and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness," &c. The free and large promises and offers of grace come in here; and the glorious dealings which have past upon sinners of all sorts, according to the account of God in Scripture. 5. He thinks with himself, Why hath God spared me so long? and why have I got such a sight of my sin? and why hath he kept me from destroying myself with my own hand, in choosing some unhappy relief? why hath he made

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this strange change on me? It may be it is in his heart to do me good: O that it may be so!-Although all these thoughts be not in the preparatory work of every one, yet they are with many, and very promising where they are.

7. Upon all these thoughts and meditations the man, more seriously than ever before, resolves to pray, and to make some attempt with God, upon life and death; he concludes, "It can be no worse with him; for if he sit still he perisheth;" as the lepers speak. He considers, with the perishing prodigal son," that there is bread enough in his Father's house and to spare, whilst he perisheth for want:" so, he goes to God, for he knows not what else to make of his condition, as the prodigal son doth. And, it may be, he resolves what to speak; but things readily vary when he is sisted before God, as the prodigal son forgot some of his premeditated prayers: "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came unto his father, and said unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son."

And now, when he comes before God, more observably than ever before, 1. He begins, with the Publican, afar off; with many thorough confessions and self-condemnations, of which he is very liberal: "I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy," &c. 2. Now his thoughts

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are occupied concerning the hearing of his prayer, which he was not wont to question much: he now knows what those expressions of the saints, concerning the hearing of their prayers, do import. 3. It is observable in this address, that there are many broken sentences, like that of the Psalmist," But thou, O Lord, how long?" supplied with sighs and groanings which cannot be uttered;" and earnest looking upward, thereby speaking more than can be well expressed by words. 4. There is usually some interruptions, and, as it were, diversions; the man speaking sometimes to the enemy, sometimes to his own heart, sometimes to the multitude in the world, as David doth in other cases, "O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end.” ❝ Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance." ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame ?" 5. It is observable here, that sometimes the man will stop, and be silent, to hear some indistinct whispering of a joyful sound glancing on the mind, or some news in some broken word of Scripture, which, it may be, the man scarcely knows to be Scripture, or whether it is come from God, or whether an insinuation from Satan to delude him; yet this he hath resolved, only to "hear what God the Lord will speak," as upon another occasion. 6. More distinct promises come into the man's mind, upon which he attempteth to lay hold, but is beaten off with objections, as in another case the Psalmist is: "But thou art holy-but I am a worm. Now

it is about the dawning of the day with the man, and faith will stir as soon as the Lord imparteth" the joyful sound." This is the substance of the covenant, which may be shortly summed up in these words: "Christ Jesus is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him."

We can speak no further of the man's exercise as a preparatory work; for what follows is more than preparatory; yet, that the exercise may appear complete and full, we shall add here, that after all these things, the Lord, it may be, after many answers of divers sorts, powerfully conveys the knowledge of his covenant into the heart, and determines the heart to close with it; and God now draweth the heart so to Christ, and so layeth out the heart for him, that the work cannot miscarry; for now the heart is so enlarged for him, as that less cannot satisfy, and more is not desired; like that of the Psalmist, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? or whom have I desired on earth beside thee?" The soul now resolves to die if he command so, yet at his door, and facing towards him.

We have narrated this preparatory work at some length, not tying any man to such a work so particularized; only we say, the Lord deals so with some; and where he so convinces of sin, corruption, and self-emptiness, and makes a man take salvation to heart as the one thing necessary, and sets him to work in the use of the means which God hath appointed for relief; I say, such a work rarely shall be found to fail of a good issue and gracious result.

SECT. III.-The Difference betwixt that preparatory work of the Law which hath a gracious issue, and the Convictions of Hypocrites.

Object. HYPOCRITES and reprobates have great stirrings of conscience, and deep convictions about sin, setting them to work sometimes, and I do suspect any preparatory work of the law I ever had to be but such as they have.

Ans. It will be hard to give sure essential distinctions between the preparatory work in those in whom afterwards Christ is formed, and those legal stirrings which are sometimes in reprobates. If there were not some gracious result of these convictions and wakenings of conscience in the Lord's people, and other marks, of which we shall speak afterwards, it were hard to determine upon any difference that is clear in these legal stirrings. Yet, for answer to the objection, I shall offer some things, which rarely will be found in the stirrings of reprobates, and which are usually found in that work of the law which hath a gracious issue.

1. The convictions of hypocrites and reprobates are usually confined to some few very gross transgressions. Saul grants no more but the "persecuting of David." Judas grants only the " "betraying of innocent blood;" but usually those convictions, by which the Lord prepares his own way in the soul, although they may begin at one or more gross particular transgressions, yet they stop not; but the man is led on to see many violations of the law, and "innumerable evils compassing him," as David speaketh