Chapter III
That men unref/enerate are utterly destitute of that wisdom, and holy skill to do
qood, which men regenerate have. Wherein this wisdom or holy art consists. Proved that ungodly men want it.
Having thus discoursed of the first part of practical knowledge, which
influenceth men with affections to spiritual things, and having assigned ther
ClIAP. III.] IN EESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 191
difference of this knowledge in those who are unregenerate, from that which
a sanctified mind hath, let us now consider the other part, which guides men in the practice of holy duties, which is called wisdom to do good as
: Jer. iv. 22, For my people is foolish, they have not known me ; they are sottish children, and they have none under
well as to love what is good
standing: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. That we may the better understand this, we must in the general consider
that to new and holy obedience t\vo things are required.
1. That our wills, and affections, and the other powers in us, which are
as instruments and tools to be employed in it, be made fit for such a busi ness and work ; that they be made fit to pray, and to hear, and to sanctify the Sabbath, and God s name also in the worship of him, &c. : Rom.
vi. 13, Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin : but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the
dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Their
being instruments supposeth a fit disposition in them for such an use, and
this fitness, readiness, and preparedness to be used in such services is their
proper sanctification.
2. Besides this fitness in them, there is required in the mind or judg ment, wisdom, and skill to manage, turn, and wield these weapons right in the practice of holy duties, which is called wisdom to do good, and is neces
sary to direct us in the doing it. And by it we walk exactly, not as fools, but as wise: Eph. v. 14-17,
* Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the
will of the Lord is. There is a light which we are to receive from Christ, needful to instruct us how to take our steps in due order ; there is a wisdom
required to know how to guide our feet, and to walk : Eph. v. 8, For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord : walk as child ren of light. And this is called practical knowledge. I will make the
thing more clear by some easy example : if a man would fence aright, he must not only have fit weapons which are not too heavy for him, and which
are of a fit fashion to be used, but he must have skill also to know how to be able to wield them, wherein lies the main of that art. If a man should
go to piny on an instrument, it is not necessary only that he should have a hand which is nimble, and quick, and apt to move fast, and to fall readily on such stops, which readiness is gained by use and exercise, and to this answers the sanctification of the will and affections ; but he must have the
art and skill also imprinted on his fancy and understanding, which may still upon all occasions guide those fingers aright, else he can never play well. And the excellency too which men attain in their several trades comes from the excellency of their fancies. Thus, in sanctification there is a holy art, and skill implanted in the mind to direct the will and affections in all the
acts of obedience ; and this we call practical knowledge. Now to this skill two things concur.
1. To know all the rules, and fashion, and manner of doing things aright. As when a man takes an apprentice he gives him rules, and shews him how he should handle those instruments with which he is to work, but yet this
is not knowledge enough; for a scholar who skills not a stroke of the mecha nical work, and knows not how to turn his hand in it, may learn presently nil the rules, and yet be as far off the knowledge of the trades as any other.
Therefore,
2. There is required a practical skill, a sleight, and cunning in the fancy,
192 AN UNREGENERA.TE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK IV.
and in the exercise of the hands, which use makes perfect. There is neces
sary such a practised art to know the difference of wares at first sight, or to know how to guide the hand in such or such businesses, and to use tools
proper for the work.
That we may make application of all this to the purpose in hand. The
difference between the practical knowledge which is in a regenerate man, and one who is not so, lies in this,
1. That an unregenerate man wants the skill and holy art to perform reli
gious duties, though they may know all the rules of practice as fully as the
* Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doth
other : James iv. 17,
it not, to him it is sin. 2 Peter ii. 20, 21, For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end
is worse with him than the beginning. For it had been better for them not
to have known the way of righteousness, than after they have known it, to
turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. Rom. ii. 20, An
instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of know
* Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and for sook not the ordinance of their God : they ask of me the ordinances of jus tice : they take delight in approaching to God. But a godly man, besides the knowledge of the rules and ways of righteousness, knows how to walk in them ; he hath a particular skill and art of holiness (which an unregenerate man wants), as a farther art infused into him to guide his heart in all the
ledge and of the truth in the law. Isa. Iviii. 2,
parts of a godly behaviour, and in the several passages of duties. He hath a skill to discern the difference of good and evil, as he finds or meets with
either of them in his heart and life : Heb. v. 14, But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their
senses exercised to discern both good and evil. He can distinguish true and good wares from those which are false, real genuine holiness from what
is seemingly so, but counterfeit. Indeed, men as to all human faculties or
arts, get by use a skill in them, besides the rules which they have learned ; but this art of holiness is not acquired by custom or exercise, but God puts
it into a godly man s heart, as part of his stock, the first day that he con
verts him, though he may, and doth gain more of it afterward by exercise ; so that, though he learns not more rules of holy living than he knew
before ; yet his skill in praying, or in the performance of any other duty, in-
creaseth, and this proves it to be a distinct thing from the mere knowledge of the rules themselves. As for prayer, let a man have never so many rules
in his head, yet all these cannot help him to make an acceptable prayer ; but
there is a farther skill required, called a spirit of prayer, which God only can
infuse : Zech. xii. 10, And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him
as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one
* Likewise the Spirit
that is in bitterness for his first-born. Rom. viii. 26,
helpeth our infirmities ; for we know not what we should pray for as we
: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. We know not how to pray as we ought ; we cannot make a prayer, nor so much as frame one petition ; but it is the Spirit who
ought
teacheth and helps us, by giving us this skill, and he alone. And so for the
love of God too, though we may all know the rules about it, yet we are ig norant of the skill how to produce such an act of love, and turn the will in
it, and guide it aright, till it be taught us by God : 1 Thes. iv. 9, But as
CHAP. III.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 198
touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you ; for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And if we cannot love one another without being thus instructed, much less can we love God himself; and
therefore read through the Psalms, and you shall still find that David hath
recourse to God for this particular practical skill, though he knew rules
enough already ; and he asks of God to bestow this art upon him, as being the peculiar prerogative of God s people
: Ps. xxv. 4, 5, Shew me thy ways, Lord ; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me ; for thou art the God of my salvation : on thee do I wait all the day. He prays for instruction :
* Shew me thy ways, says he. Now, what teaching means he ? To have the rules of godly walking only revealed to him ? No ; but
to have a skill to walk, and to order his steps in his particular actions.
1 Lead me in thy truth (says he), in the way that I should choose, as thou
i The meek will he guide in judgment ; and the meek will he teach his way. What man is he that
teachest thy saints, and them only, to do : ver. 12,
feareth the Lord ? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. They only have this secret, and all others are ignorant of it : ver, 14, The
secret of the Lord is with them that fear him ; and he will shew them his
covenant. And their light is such as guides them in all their walking
: Luke
i. 78, 79, Through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness, and
in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. God doth
imprint this skill in every servant and apprentice which he takes, and he doth not so to any other. It is in our indentures that he should do so, for he hath bound himself by covenant : Jer. xxxi. S3, But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, saith
the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And it is a skill which
all the ministers can never teach you. Our preaching may read lectures to
you, and fill your heads with rules, which you may be able to teach others too ; but the right art of doing duties according to those rules, none can teach you but God. This particular skill, or wisdom to do (for as all practices of trades lie in a skill of the mind, so doth this also), all unregenerate men want : Jer. iv. 22, For my people is foolish, they have not known me, they are sottish children, and they have none understanding
: they are wise to do
evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. They are wise to do evil ;
they have working heads that way, and are perfect masters of that sleight and cunning, but to do good they have no practical knowledge at all ; and
* They profess that they know God ; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and
that I take to be the meaning of the phrase, Titus i. 16,
disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. They profess to know
God, and so how to fear him, but are to every good work adom/aoi ; that is,
* void of judgment, for so the word signifies, and in that meaning it is taken : Rom. i. 28, And even as they did not like to retain God in their know
ledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. E/ a&6xjfM9 vovv, or to a mind void of judgment, were
they abandoned. The apostle, in Titus i. 16, shews the variousness or dif
ference of their knowledge, from what is in a man godly, that though it be of practical things, yet it is not a practical knowledge, which is able to guide them. And it is the meaning of the Holy Ghost, in Rom. xii. 2, And be not conformed to this world ; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will
of God. Our minds must be renewed, I/, rb doyj/^d^nv, to prove and to make VOL. X. N
194 AN UNREGENERATE MAN S GUILTINESS BEFORE GOD, [BOOK IV.
trial of the will of God, and to try how well we can do it. And that a man may know the thing, and all that belongs to its nature and use, and yet be
ignorant to do it, we have a common instance ; for a man may have all direc
tions how to temper such a potion, and what drugs should go into it, but
to discern what drugs are good, and to have the skill to temper them
rightly together, is quite another thing, and there is more required to it, for
a physician, who can do the one, is unable to do the other, and therefore an
apothecary s business and work is very different from his. Thus now,
though you may know all the parts of a prayer, and what is to be put into
your petitions, or thanksgivings, to render them acceptable, yet to know how
to temper your prayers right, to discern true spiritual desires, which may be
put in, and to distinguish them from such as are carnal and unlawful in
your hearts, which, if mingled with the prayer, would spoil it, this is a dis
tinct art, and is a true Christian s skill. A man who never was at sea, nor saw a ship in his life, may know all the art of mariners, and rules of navi
gation, which may carry a man on any voyage, for he may learn them at home by his own chimney, and yet he would want that skill to guide a ship which a poor sailor hath, who knows not so many rules as he. Thus a man may be learned in divinity, and know all the rules of a Christian s duty and practice, in all conditions of life, and yet when he comes to put these
rules into action, he may be at a loss how to steer his course aright in any one of them.
Obj. But you will say, Do not unregenerate men know how to pray, &c. ? Whence is it, then, that they can pray with apparent fervency, and can so
freely speak their minds in prayer ? Why, they put me down quite (will many a poor soul say) in zeal, and readiness of expression, and therefore
they know how to make prayers, as well as to give rules.
: the inward work and
Ans. I answer, there are two things in every duty
outwork, the inside and outside of it, bodily exercise, as the apostle calls
it, and godliness, which is the carriage of the heart in the duty. The first is
but little available, it is the second that hath the force and virtue in it :
1 Tim. iv. 8, For bodily exercise profiteth little ; but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is
to come. There is in a duty, as in the law which commands it, the letter and the spirit. There is in the law the outward part of it, and the inward
spirit, and life, and form of it : Rom. vii. 6, But now we are delivered from
the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in new
ness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. And there is in a duty the external performance, which is the oldness of the letter, and the life and warmth of the heart, which is the newness of spirit. Now to have gifts and skill to perform the outwork, is nothing in comparison ; but the great and difficult art is to guide the heart aright in prayer in a spiritual manner, so as God, who is a Spirit, may accept it. This skill all unregenerate men
in the world want, for they have but a form of godliness, which is no more the
thing itself, than a picture is a man. Therefore the apostle says in Kom.
xii. 2, that we must be renewed to know that good, acceptable will of God ;
TO ayaQov, that good, to know it, i.e. to be able to make such an experiment, and trial in performance as to produce a prayer that shall be acceptable to
God, which no unregenerate man can do. They may put in materials, as
drugs, which are good, but they spoil all in the tempering, mingling no
spirits with them. Or, as a painter may have skill to draw the picture of a
man, but still it is but the outside ; the inward veins and nerves are not visible
in his piece; or though he may figure them, yet he cannot paint the spirits, much less the motions, turnings, and affections, the various postures and
CHAP. IV.] IN RESPECT OF SIN AND PUNISHMENT. 195
carriage of the soul in any action, for he wants that divine skill, that plas
tic or formative art, whereby God framed us in the womb, and drew and limned all these. Thus an unregenerate man may shadow out all the externally
appearing parts of a prayer, but the inward vital parts he cannot form ; the
life, and the heat, and the several motions of the soul praying in faith, he
cannot draw, for he wants the art of the Spirit of God, who doth all this in
a godly man s heart, when he prays. And therefore, to be able to produce such an acceptable piece of work is ascribed to knowledge and light in the
soul, which is made peculiar to believers, as being the work of the Spirit in them : Eph. v. 8, For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord : walk as children of light ; Heb. xii. 28,
* Wherefore we re
ceiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. The word
acceptably still is used, and this acceptable service chiefly lies in a holy skill
to manage the mind and heart of a man in the performance of every duty ; and this skill is a peculiar light which unregenerate men have not, and
therefore know not how to produce the spiritual secret motions of good
duties, or the carriages of a man s spirit in them.
It is not enough neither to play the holy lesson, and to strike all the
strokes with all the graces nimbly and quickly ; but it is requisite to have
skill to choose out good and true strings, suitable holy affections, and to have an ear to discern when they jar or are flat, being not wound up high enough (which God s ear regards and takes notice of), and accordingly to tune the
heart aright. This art is proper only to a holy soul, and one unregenerate is entirely defective in it.