tions, and the light, and testimony, and law within us, better than they do. This is the most effectual way of settling your people against seduction. So if you be assaulted by the Pelagians, if they make a long story to prove that God is not the author of sin, do you fall upon the proof of it too. If they plead for freewill, do you plead for that freewill which we have, (the natural liberty, which none deny, consisting in a self-determining power, and supposing actual indetermination,) and deny only that liberty which the will hath not; that is, either a freedom from God's government, or from the necessary guidance of the intellect, and moral force of the object; or that true spiritual, ethical freedom from various inclinations, which consisteth in the right disposition of the will: though the Sanctified indeed have this in part, and that predominantly. So if any Pelagian or Semi-Pelagian will go about industriously to prove man's power, or rather impotency, to will or do evil; do it as effectually as he for this is indeed but to prove a man a sinner, under pretence of proving him free, or at least to prove him defectible, if it be not the ill inclination, but the possibility of sinning that they defend in which case we can say more than they. So if they go about laboriously to prove that Christ died for all, I would endeavour to do it as effectually as they, that it might appear to the people, that the difference between us is not in this, That they would magnify the riches of grace above me, or that I would leave sinners hopeless and remediless, and without an object for faith, any more than they; nor that I abase or reject express Scriptures, when they own them in their proper sense : but I would let them know, that the controversy lieth elsewhere; viz. Whether Christ, in offering himself a Sacrifice for sin, had not a special intention or resolution, in compliance with his Father's predestinating will, infallibly and effectually to save his Chosen, even such and such by name, in making his blood applied, effectually to the pardon of all their sins, and to give them his Spirit to seal them unto glory; having no such will, intention, resolution, in dying (no more than his Father had in predestinating) as to the rest of the world. So if one that is for private men's preaching, come and inveigh against Ministers for inhibiting them to use the gifts of God for the edification of the Church, I would not presently set to thwart him; but I would rather fall a persuading private men to use their gifts

in all the ways that I even now mentioned: and sharply chide them for using them no more; and then among my cautions or reprehensions meet with his desired abuse in the end. And what I have said by way of instance in these few points, I mean in all others. Preaching Truth is the most successful way of confuting Error; and I would have no seducer to have the glory of outgoing us in any good, and so not in befriending or defending any truth. Once more: If a Socinian should fall a pleading for the Church's peace, and for Unity upon the ancient simplicity of faith, I would labour to outgo him in it and then would shew that the ancient simple faith condemned him. If he would plead reason for Scripture, or the Christian religion, I would endeavour to outgo him in it, and he should not have opportunity to glory that he only had reason for what he held, and I had none. But I would shew, that as I have reason to believe the Scriptures, so that Scripture condemneth his errors. If a Separatist will plead for the necessity of Church-order and Discipline, so would I as well as he and shew him that it is only disorder, and confusion inconsistent with right Order and Discipline that I dislike in him or those of his way. And so would I do by others in this case.

And you should be as loath that they should outgo you in the practice of a holy and righteous life, any more than in sound, diligent teaching. Do any of them express a hatred of sin, and desire of Church-reformation? so must we do more. Do any of them use to spend their time when they meet together in holy discourse, and not in vain janglings? Let us do so much more. Are they unwearied in propagating their opinions? Let us be more so in propagating the truth : Do they condescend to the meanest, and creep into houses to lead captive the silliest of the flock? Let us stoop as low, and be as diligent to do them good. Are they loving to their party, and contemners of the world? Let us be lovers of all, and especially of all saints, and do good to all, as we have power; and especially to all the household of faith; and love an enemy, as well as they can do a friend. Let us be more just than they, more merciful, more humble, more meek and patient; "for this is the will of God, that by well-doing we may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men." Let us excel them in a holy, harmless, righteous, merciful, fruitful, heavenly life, as we do in soundness of doctrine; that

just than they, more merciful, humble, meek and patient; that by our fruits we may be known, and the weaker sort of our people may see the truth in this reflection, that cannot see it in itself; and that our light may so shine before men, that they may see our conversation, and glorify our Father which is in heaven; and even they that obey not the word, may without the word be won by the conversation of their Teachers. (1 Pet. iii. 1, 2.) O how happy had England been-how happy had all the Church been, if the Ministers of the Gospel had taken these courses! It would have done more against errors and schism, than all our chiding at them hath done, or than all the force can do which we desire from the Magistrate.

Three sorts of Persons that we may meet with in our conference, are now over:-(1.) The grossly ignorant and unconverted.-(2.) The doubting, troubled believer.-(3.) The cavilling questionist, or seduced schismatic. The fourth sort that I should speak of in this direction are, those that by a professed willingness to learn and obey, and by other signs, do give us some probability, that they may have true repentance and faith, and yet by their ignorance, or lukewarmness (being not noted for any special profession of godliness), or by some uneven walking, do make our fears to be as great or greater than our hopes: so that we are between hope and fear of them, doubting the worst of their present safety, though we have not ground to charge them to be unconverted, impenitent, unsanctified persons. I think half that come to me are of this sort, and ten of this sort, if not forty, for one that I dare flatly say are unregenerate. Now it may be a great difficulty with some younger Ministers what you should do with this sort of people, where they have no sufficient ground to determine of them as godly or ungodly, whatever their fears or hopes may be. Of these I shall only briefly say this :-

1. The first Directions may suffice in the main, for dealing with these, and are as much fitted to these as to the worst: for as we may tell a notorious, ungodly man, Your case is miserable, you are a child of death;' so may we tell, these, I much fear your case is sad-these are ill signs-I wonder how you dare so hazard your salvation;' and so abating of the several degrees of the hopeful good that appeareth in them, we may see in the first case, how to deal in this.

2. I would advise you to be very cautious how you pass too hasty or absolute censures on any that you have to do with; because it is not so easy a matter to discern a man to be certainly graceless that professeth himself a Christian, as many do imagine it to be: and you may do the work in hand as well without such an absolute conclusion as with it, as the former examples, which will serve all with a little alteration, do shew.

3. The general Description of the Ministerial work may supply the rest. I shall therefore only add:-(1.) Keep them close to the use of private and public means.-(2.) Be often with the lukewarm, to awaken them, and with the careless to admonish them.-(3.) Take the opportunity of sickness, which will bow their hearts and open their ears.-(4.) See that they spend the Lord's-day, and order their families aright.-(5.) Draw them from temptations, and occasions of sin.-(6.) Charge them to come and seek help in all great straits, and open their temptations and dangers before they are swallowed up.-(7.) Strike at the great radical sins: selfseeking, fleshly-mindedness, sensuality, pride, worldliness, and infidelity. Keep them to the reading of Scripture and good books, and direct them to those that are most likely to awaken them.-(8.) Engage their godly neighbours to have an eye upon them.-(9.) Keep up discipline to awe them.-(10.) Maintain the life of grace in yourselves, that it may appear in all your sermons to them; that every one that comes cold to the assembly may have warming helps before he departs.

I have done my Advice, and leave you to the practice. Though the proud may receive it with scorn, and the selfish and slothful with some distaste and indignation, I doubt not but God will use it, in despite of the oppositions of sin and Satan, to the awakening of many of his servants to their duty, and promoting the work of a right Reformation: and that his much greater blessing shall accompany the present undertaking for the saving of many a soul, the peace of you that undertake and perform it, the exciting of his servants through the Nation to second you, and to increase purity and the unity of his Churches,-Amen.

December 25, 1655.

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APPENDIX :

In Answer to some Objections which I have heard of, since the former Edition.

IT is a hard case, that either so good a Master and work should have servants so bad, as will plead against their duty when they practise it; or that good men themselves should be so backward, and need so many words to draw them to so needful an employment! There is no sanctified man but hath virtually in him a love to the main work that is urged in this Treatise and it is hard that men should oppose, or stiffly refuse the duties which as Christians they love, and by their nature are inclined to! And it is harder, that those should be Ministers of the Gospel that have no such sanctified natures and inclinations! (Though I am thankful to God that useth even such for the service of his Church.) If we are sanctified, we are devoted, separated and resigned up to God as being wholly his. And if indeed we are absolutely resigned up to God, we shall have no time or labour that will seem too much and too good for his service. It is one of the clearest, surest differences between a damnable hypocrite, and a truly sanctified man, that the hypocrite hath something, but the sanctified hath nothing so dear to him that he cannot spare it for God. If we love not our work for the end, and therefore the end more than the work, we are deceitful workmen and if we do but value the success of our labour, methinks we should be willing of that sort of labour in which we have greatest probability of success; though it may be somewhat troublesome in the performance! If we are faithful servants, the work of God will be pleasant to us and if it were pleasant, methinks we should not be drawn to it, as a bear to the stake; much less should we fly from it, and oppose it like enemies! Whatever a Jonas may do in a temptation against one particular act, methinks the ordinary discharge of such duties should neither be opposed