ing; till they tempt the poor enflaved wretches to believe, that there is no religion, but only in gathering up fragments, and making confcience of fpilling a drop of any the preparations, which are even as their hearts blood. Thus the world's good has them, when they are thought to have it, and the mifers and churls are really no mafters of it; but mere vaffals and drudges to it. And yet do they part with God and run into all contempt of him, and rebellion against him, for the fake of it: till they have it, as the Ifraelites had their quails, with his wrath; and all the bleflings turn to curfes: when inftead of honouring the Lord with them, he is rejected and fet at naught, for them. Thus do they provoke the Lord to jealoufy; and engage God himself for their enemy. And then, whoever make light of fuch impiety, good Lord deliver me from the damnable iniquity.

O my foul, am not I a Chriftian? and what is the great note of diflinction between a Christian, and a worldling; but that the one fets his heart upon God, and the things above; and the other fets his heart upon the world, and things below? nay his mammon is the worldling's god, which he admires and ferves: and fo lives without God in the world; to excufe then for the fordid creature, and fay, He is a good man; but only hard: It is as much as to fay, He is a good man, but no Christian. For worldlinefs and Christianity are fire and water: there is no reconciling them together: But Chriftianity wherever it prevails, takes us off the world; and crucifies us to it, and it to us: and where it does not fo; we have only a name, and not the thing.

But though fins more grofs and fenfual are easier discovered; and fuch finners may be fooner convinced and reclaimed; yet this fecret venom, that lurks and works in the foul, and will not be brought to confeffion and amendment, quite turns

away

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away the heart from God; and is indeed more inexcufeable than other fins, that are rooted in the temper of the body; because it arifes from an ill habit of the mind, an ungodly difpofition of the foul; to fet up fomewhat elfe inftead of God; worthless drofs, above the chiefeft good; and when other fins decay, this is ftill growing, as an incurable dropfy; for which even old age brings no renedy, but the evil difeafe cleaves fafter to them, that have the leaft hold of the world, and are just ready to be out of all. Therefore has our Saviour pronounced it impoffible for fuch "to enter into "the kingdom of God." Matt. xix. 26. That is, fuch as will be rich, and truft to that, and make them a god of it. It is a changing their God, for an idol, that cannot fave them; nor, in the day of wrath, any thing profit them.

Let men then put falfe gloffes upon real wickednefs; let fuch as have a kindness for it, fhew their good-will, to paint over (in a fine appearance) whoring, and worshipping of idols, and robbing God of the love and truft, which is his right and due; the thing that is fo ftark naught, they may thus betray their favour to it; but never can they alter the nature of it. And however others go to flourish it off; O my foul, fee the hainous guilt, and dread the fearful danger. For when our Lord gives a double caution, fure it is not without reafon, Luke xii. 19. "Take heed, and beware of co"vetoufnefs." Look to it, and keep yourselves from it; obferve its encroachments, and check them, as the bane of all ferious religion, and deftructive of everlafting falvation. Take heed and beware, for they may be moft under the power and peril of this fin, that never felt nor bewailed it; but are rather of opinion, that they have still been free from it; and no more fparing, nor fcraping, nor pursuing the world, than what they had

very good reason for, and were even obliged to; and think they should have been to blame, had they lefs minded and plied it than they did. So does that, which our Lord calls the deceitfulness of riches, blind the covetous; that they are licking themselves whole, when the fin has even eaten them up: they will not fee, what they are fo loth to leave, but take the pains to defend themselves in it, which they should lay out, to break themselves off it; when they find it too fweet and gainful, fo to part with it. Though the fymptoms are evident and notorious upon them, in their pinching and narrow living, and their chafing at any damages and loffes, in their trouble of felling goods cheaper than ordinary, and their joy and transport at dear markets, and increase of wealth, and their aversenefs to part with any thing that they can make shift to keep, not at all believing the words of our Lord Jefus, Acts xx. 35. " that it is more bleffed to give "than to receive." But as they grow richer, fo harder; and for all that they have, neither themfelves or others ufe to be much the better as long as they live. Yet ftill they will find fome argument, fome diftinction or other, to falve the matter, to make you think there is duty, yea, neceffity, to be fo worldly that carking and keennefs for the world, are the briers and thorns that choke the Word; nor will they hearken to any preacher or Saviour, that is against their lucre: they think they muft needs be happy, when they have the world at will; though their thus getting things worldly, fo often runs them out of all true felicity, and makes them miserable eternally.

my foul, let me be warned by the miscarriage and ruin of fo many, that are fwallowed up and loft in this open gulph. Let me not be carried away by the courfe of this world; but endeavour to fhew the world a more excellent way, than the

common

common way of the world. Remembering how I stand engaged, whither I am going, how foon 1 fhall for ever have done with this world, and how infignificant to my fatisfaction it is, even while I have it at the fulleft: O may I be as vehement and paffionate for grace and glory, as worldlings are for their pelf, and things tranfitory; may I feek and afpire after the glorious heaven, as much as they long and pant after this wretched earth. And when I take not root here, but fo defire a better heavenly country, God will not be "afhamed to be called e my God," Heb. xi. 16. But will own me for one of the right breed, born of him, and tending to him. May I fit loose to this world, ready ftill for a removal from it, and so ascend, and converse above; that I may look down with contempt and difdain, even upon the most famed things here below, and not hang upon this miferable world for my blifs; when I have meat to eat, which the world knows not of; too good for the world to furnish me with, and too high for the world to deprive me of; even that foul-fatisfying and heartrefreshing meat, which endures to everlasting life; upon which I fhall live, with my Lord and my God, world without end.

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THE PRAYER.

LORD! what power and command, has this vain tranfitory world had over me, to eclipse my profpect of the eternal heavenly things "before me; and to damp my love of God, infi"nitely good, and blessed for ever. I have minded " and loved it too much, to the neglect of thee my "God, and the infinitely better things of thy king. "dom. Lord, forgive my vile affections, and mor "tify my worldly inclinations, that I may not fet

my heart upon this world, but dread to have my portion in it. O raise up my grovelling foul, to "converse in heaven, to seek thofe things above, "and to live, by faith, uponthofe unfeen glories, "that are everlafting. O buy me, and pluck me, "Lord, away from hence; that here I may not be "entangled and loft; but let me find him that is "in me, greater than he that is in the world; to engage my heart another, and more excellent way, and to fecure my affections to the fruitions incomparably better; that will endure the fame, "without ever growing worse, world without end. "Amen,"

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MEDITATION LXVI.

Of Self-examination.

My Soul, how curious and inquifitive are men after things abroad? and the while, what unconcerned perfons and ftrangers are the moft at home? letting things within them lie neglected; as if they were nothing to them; and in care to know every thing in the world, rather than to know themselves and in what cafe are their fouls, and how they ftand for another world. That which hould be the grand inqueft, as the most material point, wherein they ought to be beft informed; O how is it thrown off as impertinent, or taken upon truft, or left to hazard, and all adventures! and their own fouls are the part about them, that they can give no account of. How confident do they feem to be, that all is well, though never so much ;

amifs