our happiness. And if we have also done so without reserve, valuing, desiring, and delighting in other things only as they have reference to God, we may boldly say, we have loved him with all our hearts. Let us see now if any of us can be bold to say, we have done, or do this.

First.-Have you esteemed God as your chief good, your only sufficient happiness and portion? I appeal to your own conscience. Have you been always sensible in your heart, that the enjoyment of God's favour and presence would make you completely blessed; that, this enjoyed, nothing would be wanting; no circumstances would make you in the least unhappy? Have you always found, or do you now find, such a fulness in God, that God enjoyed, you could lack nothing? Is this really the fact? How low then your esteem of every thing beside; how incapable have you always seen every earthly thing to make you happy; how little value have you set on the esteem of men, the interest of the world, and the enjoyments of life! But hath this been your case? Have you not esteemed these too much and God too little? Whence is it otherwise that, to please men, you have so often made compliances dishonourable to God? that you have so continually conformed to the debauched manners of the times, and the humours of bad company? Whence is it otherwise that, when your worldly interest hath been at stake, your holy resolution hath so often failed you, you could not act and speak with that freedom you were wont, and you felt so much fear of disobliging? Whence otherwise, that in the enjoyments of life you have so often forgot yourself, abused your time and your talents in them, been so dull without them, and so happy with them? Whence all or any of this, but that your heart had conceived too much value for these earthly things, and too little for God; hath esteemed the praise, interest, and enjoyments of life, to a degree which evidently shows you have not esteemed God as your only all-sufficient happiness? It is plain your heart must have expected some undue happiness from them, since you have in this manner sinned against God for the sake of them. Or do you now esteem

God as your only portion? Can ye say this day with the Psalmist, Thou art my portion, O Lord ?' * What Can

6

* Psalm cxix. 57.

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the glutton and the drunkard, whose god is their belly, say this? Can the covetous person, whose god is mammon, say this? Can they who are in friendship with the world, timeservers, men-pleasers, sons and daughters of Pleasure, say so? Every one who hath set up his idol in his heart, whatever it be, can he say, The Lord is my portion? All such have evidently taken to themselves other gods to serve them, and that because they expect happiness from them; not one of those persons doth or can esteem God as a portion. And all of us, have we hewn to ourselves no broken cisterns? Are we got, as we ought, above the esteem and value of every earthly thing? Do we regard them all with an holy indifference, because of that satisfaction we have in God, as an alone and most sufficient happiness? Whence is it, then, that our hearts are so ready to care for the morrow; to meditate and plan schemes for earthly happiness; to be overpleased with prosperity; to be so anxious. about futurity; so fearful of every appearance of worldly inconvenience and loss? Whence, I say, is it that our wretched hearts are so apt to be careful about the morrow, and bring even on the most advanced Christians so much painful watchfulness and self-denial to keep them in any tolerable measure of content and mortifiedness concerning worldly things, unless it be that there lies lurking in the bottom of them a certain expectation of happiness from these things of the world, which at least shows we come very short of esteeming God as our allsufficient happiness?

Secondly. Have you always had, or have you now, a most ardent desire after God? That is, after his favour and presence, as alone capable to make you happy? Have you always desired God's favour? If so, you have ardently sought after it with the whole bent of your soul, and without intermission; your soul athirst for God, for the living God: but hath this been really the case, and always the case? the world never diverted your pursuit? sight of this blessed object? When you were young, did your heart experience no desires after pleasure and vanity, which, if they did not (as is most likely) render you entirely regardless of God's favour, did at least repress the ardour of your desire after it? Or, since that time, hath not the care of the world hindered

Have the things of Have you never lost

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you? Have all along used the world in such a manner, as that you have not abused it, so as to become forgetful thereby of the great design of your life? Should you even be able to say, that all along this hath been your aim, from your youth up until now, are you also able to add, you have been desiring God's favour with all your strength, with an ardour and earnestness suited to the importance of the thing to yourself, and the condescension of God in offering his favour to you? Alas! how cold-hearted, how lukewarm, how lifeless have you, sometimes, shall I say, or always, been? The lovers of this world, how have they left you behind in the eagerness of their pursuits! The lovers of pleasure, unweariedly intent upon vanity and folly, how have they reproved your remissness in seeking the divine favour! O! how much weariness and fainting, how much slumbering and sleeping, have you known? If you have run well a little, have you not been tired quickly, and out of breath, and ready to give over? And then what way have you taken to God's favour? Have you never run unlawfully in your own strength and righteousness? The way to God's favour is but one to us sinners, and that is, the Redeemer, who claims to himself the prerogative of being the Way: and insists, that no one cometh to the Father but by him. Have you therefore sought and desired God's favour, as always and ardently, so humbly, as a sinner should do? What! Did you always look upon yourself as a poor miserable sinner, who in yourself had not the least pretence to God's favour? Did you never conceit you were good enough to deserve something, and able enough to do something? Hath Jesus been always your strength and righteousness, while you have been seeking to be, or continue, in the favour of God? What! Hath it been by prayers, and watchings, and strivings, and self-denials, and constant perseverance and patience; and yet, by disclaiming all manner of merit in all this, leaning only upon Christ, that you have been desiring and seeking God's favour? And then, if you have been ardently desirous of a sense of God's favour, you will have taken all due care not to lose what you had attained of it. But have you been duly careful herein? Have you never grieved the Spirit, or neglected means, or slighted warnings, or ventured into needless temptations, or neglected known duties? Also

hath your desire and care to please God in all things been expressive of all desire of his favour? It is impossible you should be setting a high value on his favour, and yet regardless whether the things you do please him or not. Have you then been careful to please God only, whomsoever else you might displease? Hath it been always your study to do his will; and have you never consulted your own? Have you been continually waiting on God, in the spirit of converted Saul, asking, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?'* Have you never considered your own humour, inclination, ease, pleasure, or interest, saying at all times, and in all cases, in opposition to flesh and blood, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? I am content to do it.

Such as these are evident consequences of an earnest desire after God's favour as our happiness; and, as much as we have failed in any of these, we must allow ourselves to have come short in the love of God; and who can say that he hath not failed? or who that he doth not come short? What hath been hitherto advanced must be insisted on to have been, and to be, more or less, the case of those who can say with truth, in the generality of their conduct, "Our desire is to thee, O God, and to the glory of thy name." And what then must be the case of such as have no desire after God's favour at all? How must they be condemned as not lovers of God! The lovers of this world, whose desires rise no higher than this base earth, and whose views are all confined to this side the grave, how must these be condemned! And I fear, yea, I doubt not, it is the case of many among you. My friends! there are among you such as live without God in the world; and, what is the strangest thing in the world (if any thing in corrupt nature can be strange), have not the least desire after God's favour, though you know in your consciences you shall perish without it. You may indeed be ready to say, that you do desire his favour. as desiring he may not punish you will go. sire God's favour as your happiness, this you truth; for every day convinces of the contrary. The happiness you desire is merely a worldly one, and therefore you do not desire God for a portion. And since you will have your portion in this world, I cannot see how you can so much as expect the

* Acts ix. 6.

So you may, as far But to say you decannot say with any

favour of God, since you do not so much as desire it. O that you would consider how every moment you are living in a breach, and that an allowed one, of God's law; while, awake or asleep, at church or at home, you are found not to desire God's favour! And has it not been always thus with you? Have you not been always children of this world in the desires of your hearts? If this hath been and is your case, I beseech you deceive not yourselves by any appearances. Be you as liberal, chaste, sober, honest, exact in religious exercises, as you will, it is plain your heart is not in the way of God's commandments, for you desire not God's favour as your happiness. O! consider this, while yet there is time; while you may have God's favour, consider this, lest he pluck you away, and there be none to deliver you.

What I have been now saying, concerning the desire of God's favour, I might say over again with regard to the desire of a sense of God's gracious presence, for it is impossible to desire the one without the other. He that desires God's favour must needs desire his presence, wherein alone here and hereafter is found the actual enjoyment of his favour: and whoever desires God's presence-must needs desire his favour, without which his presence would be terrible. Nevertheless, I will suggest a short inquiry on this point, that you may see how far short you come in your desires after God. Hath your care to walk in the sense of God's presence manifested a due desire after it as your greatest present happiness? You have sadly forgotten God, you own; you are sadly apt to do so to this hour. But are you sure this is not owing to some carelessness on your part? Have you been enough diligent to obtain a sense of his presence with you? Or, when you have obtained that sacred communion, have you been diligent to maintain it by seasonable meditation, by frequent ejaculation, by constant employment of yourself in some appointed work? Have you not carelessly lost sight of God in vain conversation, in trifling levity, in abused recreations? If so, where then was your ardent desire of God's presence, when you could so easily miss it for want of a little reflection, or be content to part with it for vanity and amusement? It is well if some do not wilfully put God out of their minds, running purposely into company and riot to lose sight of him and themselves. It is well if others be not advised so to do, lest the thought of God should