But it may be said, " That if not only the working of grace in us, but also the effects and fruits of it, in all its variety of degrees, is to be ascribed unto the Holy Spirit and his operations in us according to his own will, then do we signify nothing ourselves; nor is there any need that we should either use our endeavours and diligence, or at all take any care about the furtherance or growth of holiness in us, or attend unto any duties of obedience. To what end and purpose, then, serve all the commands, threatenings, promises, and exhorta- tions of the Scripture, which are openly designed to excite and draw forth our own endeavours?" And this is indeed the principal diffi- culty wherewith some men seek to entangle and perplex the grace of God. But I answer, —
1. Let men imagine what absurd consequences they please thereon, yet that the Spirit of God is the author and worker of all grace in us, and of all the degrees of it, of all that is spi7'itually good in us, is a truth which we must not forego, unless we intend to part with our Bibles also: for in them we are taught "that in us, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth no good thing," Rom. vii. 18; that "we are not sufiicient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufiicieucy is of God," 2 Cor. iii. 5, " who is able to make all grace abound toward us, that we may always have all sufficiency in all things, cibounding to every good work," chap. ix. 8; that "with- out Christ we can do nothing," John xv. 5, " for it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure," Phil. ii. 13. To grant, therefore, that there is any spiritual good in us, or any degi-ee of it, that is not wrought in us by the Spirit of God, both overthrows the grace of the gospel and denies God to be the only, first, supreme, and chiefest good, as also the immediate cause of what is so ; which is to deny his very being. It is therefore certain, whatever any pretend, that nothing can hence ensue but what is true and good, and useful to the souls of men ; for from truth, espe- cially such great and important truths, nothing else will follow.
2. It is brutish ignorance in any to argue in the things of God, from the effectual operations of the Spirit, unto a sloth and negli- gence of our own duty. He that doth not know that God hath
204 THE GENEEAL WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT [BOOK II.
promised to " work in us" in a way of grace what he requires from us in a way of duty, hath either never read tlie Bible or doth not beheve it, either never prayed or never took notice of what he prayed for. He is a heathen, he hath nothing of the Christian in him, who doth not pray that God would work in him what he requires of him. This we know, that what God commands and j^rescribes unto us, what he encourageth us unto, we ought with all diligence and earnestness, as we value our souls and their eternal welfare, to at- tend unto and comply withal. And we do know that whatever God hath promised he Avill do himself in us, towards us, and upon us, it is our duty to believe that he will so do. And to fancy an incon- sistency between these things is to charge God foolishly.
8. If there be an opposition between these things, it is either be- cause the nature of man is not meet to he commanded, or because it needs not to he assisted. But that both these are false and vain suppositions shall be afterward declared. The Holy Spirit so worketh in us as that he worketh hy us, and what he doth in us is done by us. Our duty it is to apply ourselves unto his commands, according to the conviction of our minds; and his work it is to enable us to perform them.
4. He that will indulge, or can do so, unto sloth and negligence in himself, on the account of the promised working of the Spirit of grace, may look upon it as an evidence that he hath no interest or concern therein ; for he ordinarily giveth not out his aids and assist- ances anywhere but where he prepares the soul with diligence in duty. And whereas he acts us no otherwise but in and by the facul- ties of our own minds, it is ridiculous, and implies a contradiction, for a man to say he will do nothing, because the Spirit of God doth all ; for where he doth nothing, the Spirit of God doth nothing, un- less it be merely in the infusion of the first habit or principle of grace, whereof we shall treat afterward.
5. For degrees of grace and holiness which are inquired after, they are peculiar unto believers. Now, these are furnished with an ability and power to attend unto and perform those duties whereon the increase of grace and holiness doth depend ; for although there is no grace nor degree ot grace or holiness in believers but Avhat is wrought in them by the Spirit of God, yet, ordinarily and regularly, the increase and growth of grace, and their thriving in holiness and righteousness, depend upon the use and improvement of grace re- ceived, in a diligent attendance unto all those duties of obedience which are required of us, 2 Pet. i. 5-7. And methinks it is the most unreasonable and sottish thing in the world, for a man to be slothful and nedio-ent in attending unto those duties which God re- quireth of him, which all his spiritual growth depends upon, which