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ny attain to this kind of conviction, fit down and reft therein without ever coming to CHRIST for falvation.

Friendly. But what is the fupernatural operation of the HOLY GHOST?

Truth. It is nothing lefs than the Omnipotence of GOD, applied to the heart of a finner, by the ministration of the word, John xvi. 8. And when he is come he will reprove the world of fin Those that go to Heaven must begin under the influence of the spirit in the work of conviction; the three thousand must hear the word preaced before they be pricked to the heart, AƐts ii. 37. The LORD CHRIST is made wifdom in a convincing way, before he be made righteoufnefs and fanctification in a fenfible way. 1 Cor. i. 20. The fpirit of the LORD doth convince the judgment of fin, before he worketh any farther work in the foul.

This may be a little illuftrated, if you confider the nature of a process against a criminal in common law, first, accused, and then convicted, before he is condemned. The cafe is a little different with regard to the foul, in the hands of the Spirit, in the work of the law; as the HOLY GHOST firft convinceth, then accufeth, and, laftly, condemns for fin. However, this is an established truth, that conviction of fin is the Spirit's work, and firft gracious operation upon the foul.

Friendly. What doth the Spirit of the LORD convince the foul of? Doth he range all their fins in order before them, at the first beginning of his faving operation upon them?

Truth. What the HOLY GHOST may do in his extraordi nary operations cannot be determined, on which account, I fhall confine myfelf wholly to his ordinary difpenfations of grace, according to his holy word, and the experience of God's Saints, called by grace in an ufual way. The HOLY GHOST doth not fet all the finner's fins in order at once before his eyes, but first convinceth the foul of some heinous crime which he faftens upon the mind with fuch weight and power, that all the Angels in Heaven, or men on earth cannot remove; commonly fome enormous fin which has reigned predominant in the foul, and caufeth the conviction to come with double weight and power. When the fpirit of GoD doth make up his account of fin, and prefents it to the foul, He always begins with Imprimis, then follows an innumerable catalogue of Items; for inftance, when our LORD convinced the woman of Samaria, he began with her adultery; this was the beginning of her

account, thou haft well faid that thou haft no husband, for thou hast bad five hufbands, but he whom thou now haft is not thy husband. But after when the woman came to view her bill over at her leifure the found that it contained all the fins fhe had committed in her life. Come, fays the to her acquaintance and town's-people, and fee a Man that has told me whatever I did; is not this the Chrift? This feems evidently to be the case of the Apostle Paul; the HOLY GHOST, in the voice from Heaven, laid open his crime of perfecuting the Saints, Saul, Saul, why perfecuteft thou me? By this question he fo ftunned the vigorous perfecutor, that he neither eat nor drank for three days; in which ftate he had time to view over his other fins at leifure, efpecially pharifaical rotten righteousness.

Friendly. Doth the HOLY GHOST always make use of some enormous aggravating crime to awaken the finner at first?

Truth. As the HOLY GHOST is a fovereign agent, he is not confined to any measure or way, but usually, fets fome enormous tranfgreffion before the finner's eyes, as when the three thousand were convinced at once by the Apoftle's faying, Acts ii. 36, 37: Therefore let all the house of Ifrael know affuredly, that God has made that fame Jefus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Chrift. Now when they heard this they were pricked in their hearts. A conviction of this notorious crime, of crucifying the Lord of life and glory, ftuck like an arrow in their hearts; the HOLY GHOST does not charge minifterially every crime upon them, but this leading, aggravating, unnatural crime, that their,hearts and hands were red hot, though doubtlefs it opened the whole train of all their tranfgreffions to them. But when he founded this alarm, in the ears of the foul, he then proceedeth gradually, as his godly wisdom doth direct, to fhew all the evil that it hath committed, and that its whole life has been bad.

Friendly. What defcription doth the HOLY GHOST give the foul of fin at firft convictions?

Truth. They are as various as the conftitutions of the people upon whom he operates; but you will always find, that it is fome leading fin, or conftitutional evil. For instance, one man is naturally addicted to covetoufnefs more than any other fin, and in fuch cafe the LORD commonly convinceth the foul firft of this or any particular fin that may be predominant, and the chief delight of the carnal mind. Another is perhaps addicted to uncleanness, and this fin, it may be, is first laid home upon the confcience; whilst another is led away

with pride, arrogance, and oftentation; for which reigning fin the HOLY GHOST doth firft diftrefs the finner; fo there are others, who are brought up in a religious manner, that trust to their duties; and, it is usual for the HOLY GHOST first to convince fuch of the rottennefs and hypocrify of them.

Friendly. Doth the Holy Spirit thus convince the finner, by the miniftration of the word, or by the difpenfation of divine providence?

Truth. The HOLY GHOST makes ufe of both, but chiefly the miniftration of the word for conviction; by which means he lays open the finner's ftate, and fays, thou art the man. In confequence of which, the perfon replieth, I have finned against the Lord. And under this conviction (when the foul perceives itself to be in danger by fin) there is nothing more common, than to fly to duties for relief. The woman with her bloody iffue firft fpent all her fubftance upon home-bred phyficians. before the fo much as defired to touch the hem of CHRIST'S garment: It is natural, when a man fees his dangerous ftate, for him to cry out, what must I do to be faved? Lord, what good things fhall I do that I may inherit eternal life? But the HOLY GHOST pointeth out the deceits and hypocrify that attends the beft duties, the wanderings of the heart from Gor, &c. and what is more, the want of fatisfaction to give to GOD, for its innumerable offences.

Friendly. What is the fecond ftep the HOLY GHOST takes with a finner?

Truth. To convince the mind of unbelief, as CHRIST faith, be fhall convince the world of fin, because they believe not in me. And now let it be obferved, that it is a great degree of faving conviction, which brings a man to acknowledge himself to be an unbeliever. As there are thoufands who well know that they are finners, yet would be greatly offended to be called unbelievers; for the general opinion of mankind is, that they have always believed well all their days; and though their practice may not at all correfpond with it, yet they never queftion the truth of their faith in CHRIST. But, alas! all men have not faith! for faith is a virtue which naturally we are entirely deftitute of; and however forward we are in afferting our faith in a ftate of unregeneracy, we have no true faith at all, for this flower grows not in nature's garden; therefore it is, that before the fpirit of GoD maketh the man a believer, he maketh him know that he is an unbeliever; for CHRIST came not to call the righteous but finners to repentance; i. e. He came not to fave thofe who have believed themselves

felf-righteous, but fuch who fee that they have never believed at all; when the HOLY GHOST is about to give the foul the faith of God's elect, he firft taketh away their dead, carnal, hypocritical faith.

Friendly. What is the third ftep which the HOLY GHOST takes in his ufual operations upon the foul?

And

Truth. By thefe operations upon the mind, he convinceth the foul of the depravity of its nature. This is the touchstone to try convictions whether they be true or falfe; for the light of reafon, or natural confcience, will tell you what is in itfelf morally good, os morally evil, and the light of the law fhining upon the natural mind, may literally convince a person of the general depravity of mankind, but it is the HOLY GHOST, who can (by fupernatural operations) convince of perfonal depravity, and lead into the dark abyts of fin and mifery which is in the unbelieving heart. It is one thing to be literally and verbally convinced of original fin, but another thing to fay fenfibly and feelingly with David, Pfal. li. 5. Behold, I was hapen in iniquity, and in fin did my mother conceive me. with Jeremiah, that the heart is deceitful above all things, and defperately wicked. The hypocrite may confefs fin in word, but he feeth only the verbal fhadow of fin, either original or actual; but the foul, in the hands of the fpirit, fees and feels the depravity of its nature, and that in an unregenerate ftate it can do nothing but fin, that his whole heart, in thoughts, purpofes, and defires, is evil, and that continually; from whence, as from a corrupt fountain, proceed all actual tranfgreffions, as our LORD teacheth. And with this divine awakening the man, like the felf-condemned publican, ftands afar off, and fmiteth upon his breaft, faying, God be merciful to me a finner.

Friendly. What is the nature of conviction?

Truth. Conviction is threefold, viz. natural, legal, and Spiritual. Natural convictions (and indeed all convictions) arife from light, but this kind of conviction from the light of reafon; but as the underftanding is darkened by fin, therefore this light, however difpleafing it may be to foine, is only darkness itfelf, as our dear LORD faid to the Jews, if that light which is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness? And it is evident, that the Ephefians were men of reafon and understanding, yet the Apoftle roundly affirms that they were in a ftate of darknefs, Eph. v. 8. For ye were fometime darkness, &c. not only in the dark, having fome glimmering idea of their ftate and

condition, but darkness itself, having no true idea at all of their ftate by nature, notwithstanding they had the light of reafon, &c.

Legal conviction is nothing elfe but the holy moral law fhining in its purity and spirituality upon the foul of the finner, which at once difcovers to him the impurity and vileness of his actions, Rom. vii. 7, 9. Nay, I had not known fin but by the law; for I had not known luft except the law had faid, thou shalt not covet. For I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came fin revived and I died. And again he faith, Rom. iii. 20. For by the law is the knowledge of fin; which paffages make it manifeft, that conviction is by the application of the law of GOD to the foul, which law, though delivered in the midft of clouds, darkness, and tempeft, is in itself perfect light, and this is evident by its operations, which is to manifeft fin. Now the HOLY GHOST faith, Eph. v. 13. Whatfoever doth make manifeft is light; to which nature and reafon both agree to the truth thereof, that the discovery of any thing must be by light. Friendly. Wherein doth it appear that the law is light! Truth. From the Legiflator and Law-giver, who is ftiled the Father of Lights, &c. and it is alfo faid, that in him there is no darkness at all. Likewife the law appears to be light from the property of it, Rom. vii. 12. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy. Now darkness is a figure made ufe of to reprefent fin, and light to fet forth holiness. And as the appellation of the law is holy, the figure of light reprefents its nature, therefore all these confiderations prove the law to be light, and establish this likewise, that legal conviction must be by light.

Friendly. What is fpiritual conviction?

Truth. Evangelical, or fpiritual conviction, is the light of the gospel fhining upon our dark understandings, difcovering to us our natural darkness, fin, and depravity, which dif covery may be depended upon as certain and right. The natural conviction of the reasonable mind is frequently uncertain, it leaves the foul in an uncertainty about its ftate; it does now look well he thinks, and while conviction continues, he hopes it will be well, at leaft it will be no worse with him than with his neighbours; but all this light amounts to no fatisfaction at all. Whereas the light of fpiritual conviction is fo certain in its nature, that it leaveth no room for doubt, because the HOLY GHOST fheweth the foul its ftate in fuch a manner as he fees it to be bad; not only bad, but not to be remedied by an arm of flesh. Whilft a man hath any one objection unanswered,

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