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 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 "But thou art holy-but I am a worm.”

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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

in the sight of his sin. And withal, that universal conviction, if I may call it so, is not general, as usually we hear senseless men saying, "that in all things they sin;" but it is particular and condescending, as Paul afterwards spake of himself; he not only is the "chief of sinners," but particularly, he was a "blasphemer, a persecutor.”

2. The convictions which hypocrites have, do seldom reach their corruption, and that body of death, which works an aversion to what is good, and strongly inclines to what is evil. Generally where we find hypocrites speaking of themselves in Scripture, they speak loftily, and with some self-conceit, as to their freedom from corruption. The Pharisees say to the poor man, "Thou wast altogether born in sin, and dost thou teach us?" as if they themselves were not as corrupt by nature as he: they speak of great sins, as Hazael did, "Am I a dog, that I should do this great thing?" and also in their undertakings of duty, as that scribe spake, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." See how the people do speak: "Then they said to Jeremiah, The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God." They undertake to do all that God will command them; so that they still "go about," in any case, "to establish their own righteousness,

not submitting unto the righteousness of God." But In I may say, that convictions and exercise about corruption, and that body of death, inclining them to evil, and disenabling them for good, is not the least part of the work where the Lord is preparing his own way. They use to judge themselves very wretched because of a body of sin, and are at their wits end how to be delivered, as Paul speaketh, when he is under the exercise of it afterwards: "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

3. It will generally be found, that the convictions which are in hypocrites either are not so serious, as that some other business will not put them out of mind before any satisfaction is gotten; as in Cain, who went and built a city, and we hear no more of his convictions. Felix went away until a more convenient time, and we hear no more of his trembling. Or, if that work become very serious, then it runs to the other extremity, and despair of relief, leaving no room for escape. So we find Judas very serious in his convictions, yet he grew desperate, and hanged himself. But where the Lord prepares his own way, the work is both so serious as the person cannot be put off it, until he find some satisfaction, and yet under that very seriousness he lies open for relief: both which are clear from the jailer's words, "What must I do to be saved?” This serious inquiry after relief is a very observable thing in the preparatory work which leadeth on to Christ. Yet we desire none to lay too much weight on these things, since God hath allowed clear differences between the precious and the vile.