Jehovah, in an affectation of an holy boldness, and ostentation of eminent nearness and familiarity; the very thoughts of which would make them shrink into nothing, with horror and confusion, if they saw the distance that is between God and them. They are like the Pharisee, that boldly came up near, in a confidence of his own eminency in holiness. Whereas, if they saw their vileness, they would be more like the publican, that "stood afar off, and durst not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven; but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." It becomes such sinful creatures as we, to approach a holy God (although with faith, and without terror, yet) with contrition, and penitent shame and confusion of face. It is foretold that this should be the disposition of the church, in the time of her highest privileges on earth in her latter day of glory, when God should remarkably comfort her, by revealing his covenant mercy to her, Ezek. xvi. 60, to the end. "I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways and be ashamed........And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; that thou mayst remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God." The woman that we read of in the 7th chapter of Luke, that was an eminent saint, and had much of that true love which casts out fear, by Christ's own testimony, ver. 47, she approached Christ in an amiable and acceptable manner, when she came with that humble modesty, reverence and shame, when she stood at his feet, weeping behind him, as not being fit to appear before his face, and washed his feet with her tears.

One reason why gracious affections are attended with this tenderness of spirit which has been spoken of, ie, that true grace tends to promote convictions of conscience. Persons are wont to have convictions of conscience before they have any grace: And if afterwards they are truly converted, and have true repentance, and joy, and peace in believing; this has a tendency to put an end to terrors, but has no tendency to put an end to convictions of sin but to increase them. It

does not stupify a man's conscience; but makes it more sensible, more easily and thoroughly discerning the sinful ness of that which is sinful, and receiving a greater conviction of the heinous and dreadful nature of sin, susceptive of a quicker and deeper sense of it, and more convinced of his own sinfulness, and wickedness of his heart; and consequently it has a tendency to make him more jealous of his heart. Grace tends to give the soul a further and better conviction of the same things concerning sin, that it was convinced of, under a legal work of the Spirit of God; viz. its great contrariety to the will, and law, and honor of God, the greatness of God's hatred of it, and displeasure against it, and the dreadful punishment it exposes to and deserves. And not only so, but it convinces the soul of something further concerning sin, that it saw nothing of, while only under legal convictions; and that is the infinitely hateful nature of sin, and its dreadfulness upon that account. And this makes the heart tender with respect to sin; like David's heart, that smote him when he had cut off Saul's skirt. The heart of a true penitent is like a burnt child that dreads the fire. Whereas, on the contrary, he that has had a counterfeit repentance, and false comforts and joys, is like iron that has been suddenly heat and quenched; it becomes much harder than before. A false conver sion puts an end to convictions of conscience; and so either takes away, or much diminishes that conscientiousness, which was manifested under a work of the law.

All gracious affections have a tendency to promote this Christian tenderness of heart, that has been spoken of; not only a godly sorrow, but also a gracious joy, Psal. ii. 11. "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling." As also a gracious hope, Psal. xxxiii. 18. " Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him; upon them that hope in his mercy." And Psal. cxlvii. 11. «The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." Yea, the most confident and assured hope, that is truly gracious, has this tendency. The higher an holy hope is raised, the more there is of this Christian tenderness. The banishing of a servile fear, by a holy assurance, is attended with a propor VOL. IV.

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tionable increase of a reverential fear. The diminishing of the fear of the fruits of God's displeasure in future punishment, is attended with a proportionable increase of fear of his displeasure itself; the diminishing of the fear of hell, with an increase of the fear of sin. The vanishing of jealousies of the person's state, is attended with a proportional increase of jealousy of his heart, in a distrust of its strength, wisdom, sta bility, faithfulness, &c. The less apt he is to be afraid of nat ural evil, having his heart fixed, trusting in God, and so not afraid of evil tidings; the more apt he is to be alarmed with the appearance of moral evil, or the evil of sin. As he has more holy boldness, so he has less of selfconfidence, and a forward assuming boldness, and more modesty. As he is more sure than others of deliverance from hell, so he has more of a sense of the desert of it. He is less apt than others to be shaken in faith; but more apt than others to be moved with solemn warnings, and with God's frowns, and with the calamities of others. He has the firmest comfort, but the softest heart Richer than others, but poorest of all in spirit: The tallest and strongest saint, but the least and tenderest child among them.

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X. Another thing wherein those affections that are truly gracious and holy, differ from those that are false, is beautiful symmetry and proportion:

Not that the symmetry of the virtues, and gracious affections of the saints, in this life is perfect: It oftentimes is in many things defective, through the imperfection of grace, for want of proper instructions, through errors in judgment, or some particular unhappiness of natural temper, or defects in education, and many other disadvantages that might be mentioned. But yet there is, in no wise, that monstrous disproportion in gracious affections, and the various parts of true religion in the saints, that is very commonly to be observed, in the false religion, and counterfeit graces, of hypocrites.

In the truly holy affections of the saints is found that proportion, which is the natural consequence of the universality of their sanctification. They have the whole image of Christ upon them: They have put off the old man, and have put on

the new man entire in all its parts and members. It hath pleased the Father that in Christ all fullness should dwell: There is in him every grace; he is full of grace and truth : And they that are Christ's, do, "of his fullness receive grace for grace; (John i. 14. 16.) i. e. there is every grace in them which is in Christ; grace for grace; that is, grace answerable to grace: There is no grace in Christ, but there is its image in believers to answer it: The image is a true image; and there is something of the same beautiful proportion in the image, which is in the original; there is feature for feature, and member for member. There is symmetry and beauty in God's workmanship. The natural body, which God hath made, consists of many members; and all are in a beautiful proportion: So it is in the new man, consisting of various graces and affections. The body of one that was born a perfect child, may fail of exact proportion through distemper, and the weakness and wounds of some of its members; yet the disproportion is in no measure like that of those that are born monsters.

It is with hypocrites, as it was with Ephraim of old, at a time when God greatly complains of their hypocrisy, Hos. vii. "Ephraim is a cake not turned," half roasted and half raw : There is commonly no manner of uniformity in their affections.

There is in many of them a great partiality with regard to the several kinds of religious affections; great affections in some things, and no manner of proportion in others. An holy hope and holy fear go together in the saints, as has been observed from Psal. xxxiii. 18, and cxlvii. 11. But in some of these is the most confident hope, while they are void of reverence, selfjealousy and caution, to a great degree cast off fear. In the saints, joy and holy fear go together, though the joy be never so great: As it was with the disciples, in that joyful morning of Christ's resurrection, Matth. xxviii. 8. "And they departed quickly from the sepulchre, with fear and great joy."* But many of these rejoice without tremb

"Renewed care and diligence follows the sealings of the Spirit. Now is the soul at the foot of Christ, as Mary was at the sepulchre, with fear and

ling: Their joy is of that sort, that it is truly opposite to god. ly fear.

But particularly, one great difference between saints and hypocrites is this, that the joy and comfort of the former is attended with godly sorrow and mourning for sin. They have not only sorrow to prepare them for their first comfort, but after they are comforted, and their joy established. As it is foretold of the church of God, that they should mourn and loath themselves for their sins, after they were returned from the captivity, and were settled in the land of Canaan, the land of rest, and the land that flows with milk and honey, Ezek. XX. 42, 43. "And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled, and ye shall loath yourselves in your own sight, for all your evils that ye have committed." As also in Ezek. xvi. 61, 62, 63. A true saint is like a little child in this respect; he never had any godly sorrow before he was born again; but since has it often in exercise: As a little child, before it is born, and while it remains in darkness, never cries; but as soon as it sees the light, it begins to cry; and thenceforward is often crying, Although Christ hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows, so that we are freed from the sorrow of punishment, and may now sweetly feed upon the comforts Christ hath purchased for us; yet that hinders not but that our feeding on these comforts should be attended with the sorrow of repentance. As of old, the chilren of Israel were commanded, evermore to feed upon the paschal lamb, with bitter herbs. True saints are spoken of in scripture, not only as those that have mourned for sin, but as those that do mourn, whose manner it is still to mourn, Matth. v. 4. "Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted."

Not only is there often in hypocrites an essential deficiency as to the various kinds of religious affections, but also a

great joy. He that travels the road with a rich treasure about him, is afraid of a thief in every bush," Flavel's Sacramental Meditations, Med. 4.