might purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works; 1 Pet. ii. 12. Heb. x. 24. "Let us consider one another, to provoke unto love, and to good works." What a multitude of such passages may you find in Scripture!

You see, then, how great a part of your calling and religion consisteth in doing good. Now, it is not enough to make this your care now and then, or do good when it falls in your way; but you must study which are good works, and which are they that you are called to; and which are the best works, and to be preferred, that you choose not a less instead of a greater. God looks to be served with the best. You must study for opportunities of doing good, and of the means of succeeding and accomplishing it; and for the removing of impediments, and for the overcoming of dissuasives, and withdrawing temptations. You must know what talents God hath intrusted you with, and those you must study to do good with; whether it be time, or interest in men, or opportunity, or riches, or credit, or authority, or gifts of mind, or of body: if you have not one, you have another; and some have all.

This, therefore, is the thing that I would persuade you to; take yourself for God's steward, remember the time when it will be said to you, "Give account of thy stewardship; thou shalt be no longer steward." Let it be your every day's contrivance, how to lay out your gifts, time, strength, riches, or interest, to your Master's use. Think which way you may do most, first to promote the gospel and the public good of the church; and then, which way you may help towards the saving of particular men's souls; and then, which way you may better the commonwealth, and how you may do good to men's bodies, beginning with your own and those of your family, but extending your help as much further as you are able. Ask yourself every morning, Which way may I this day most further my Master's business, and the good of men?' Ask yourself every night, 'What good have I done to-day?' And labor as much as may be to be instruments of some great and standing good, and of some public and universal good, that you may look behind you at the year's end, and at your lives' end, and see the good that you have done. A piece of bread is soon eaten, and a penny or a shilling is soon spent; but if you could win a soul to God from sin, that would be a visible, everlasting good. If you could be instruments of setting up a godly minister in a congregation that want, the everlasting good of many souls might, in part, be ascribed to you. If you could help to heal and unite a divided church, you might more rejoice to look back on the fruits of your labor, than any physician might rejoice to see his poor patient recovered to health. I have told rich men, in another book, what opportunities they have to do good, if they had hearts.

How easy were it with them to refresh men's bodies, and to do very much for the saving souls; to relieve the poor; to set their children to trades; to ease the oppressed! How easy to maintain two or three poor scholars at the universities, for the service of the church! But I hear but a few that do ever the more in it, except three or four of my friends in these parts. Let me further tell you, God doth not leave it to them as an indifferent thing; Matt. xxv. They must feed Christ in the poor, or else starve in hell themselves; they must clothe naked Christ in the poor, or be laid naked in his fiery indignation forever. How much more diligently, then, must they help men's souls, and the church of Christ, as the need is greater, and the work better! O, the blinding power of riches!

O, the easiness of man's heart to be deluded! Do rich men never think to lie rotting in the dust? Do they never think that they must be accountable for all their riches, and for all their time, and power, and interests? Do they not know that it will comfort them at death and judgment, to hear in their reckoning, Item, so much given to such and such poor; so much to promote the gospel; so much to maintain poor scholars, while they study to prepare themselves for the ministry? &c. than to hear, So much in such a feast; to entertain such gallants; to please such noble friends; so much at dice, at cards, at horse-races, at cock-fights; so much in excess of apparel; and the rest to leave my posterity in the like pomp? Do they not know that it will comfort them more to hear, then, of their time spent in reading Scripture, secret and open prayer, instructing and examining their children and servants; going to their poor neighbors' houses to see what they want, and to persuade them to godliness; and in being examples of eminent holiness to all; and in suppressing vice, and doing justice, than to hear of so much time spent in vain recreations, visits, luxuries, and idleness? O, deep unbelief and hardness of heart, that makes gentlemen that they tremble not to think of this reckoning! Well, let me tell both them and all men, that if they knew but either their indispensable duty of doing good, that lieth on them, or how necessary and sure a way (in subordination to Christ) this act of doing good is for the soul's peace and consolation, they would study it better, and practice, it more faithfully than now they do: they would then be glad of an opportunity to do good, for their own gain, as well as for God's honor, and for the love of good itself. They would know, that lending to the Lord is the only thriving usury; and that no part of all their time, riches, interest in men, power, or honors, will be then comfortable to them, but that which was laid out for God; and they will one day find, that God will not take up with the scraps of their time and riches, which their flesh can

spare; but he will be first served, even before all comers, and that with the best, or he will take them for no servants of his. This is true, and you will find it so, whether you will now believe it or no. And because it is possible these lines may fall into the hands of some of the rulers of this commonwealth, let me here mind them of two weighty things:

1. What opportunities of doing very great good hath been long in their hands, and how great an account of it they have to make. It hath been long in their power to have done much to the reconciling of our differences, and healing our divisions, by setting divines a work of different judgments, to find out a temperament for accom modation. It hath long been in their power to have done much towards the supply of all the dark congregations in England and Wales, with competently able, sound and faithful teachers. We have many congregations that do contain three thousand, five thousand, or ten thousand souls, that have but one or two ministers, that cannot possibly do the tenth part of the ministerial work of private oversight; and so poor souls must be neglected, let ministers be never so able or painful. We have divers godly, private Christians, of so much understanding, as to be capable of helping us, as officers in our churches; but they are all so poor, that they are not able to spare one hour in a day or two from their labor, much less to give up themselves to the work. How many a congrega tion is in the same case! Nothing almost is wanting to us, to have set our congregations in the order of Christ, and done this great work of reformation which there is so much talking of, so much as want of maintenance for a competent number of ministers or elders to attend the work. I am sure, in great congregations this is the case, and a sore that no other means will remedy. Was it never in the power of our rulers to have helped us here? Was nothing sold for other uses, that was once devoted and dedicated to God, and might have helped us in this our miserable distress? Were our churches able to maintain their own officers, our case were more tolerable; but when a congregation that wants six, or seven, or ten, is not able to maintain one, it is hard.

2. The second thing that I would mind our rulers of, is, what mortal enemies those men are to their souls, that would persuade them that they must not, as rulers, do good to the souls of men, and to the church as such; nor further the reformation, nor propagate the gospel, nor establish Christ's order in the churches of their country, any otherwise than by a common maintaining the peace and liberties of all. What doctrine could more desperately undo you, if entertained? If you be once persuaded that it belongs not to you to do good, and the greatest good, to which all your successes have made way, then all the comfort, the blessing and

reward is lost; and consequently all the glorious preparative successes, as to you, are lost. If once you take yourselves to have nothing to do as rulers for Christ, you cannot promise yourselves that Christ will have any thing to do for you, as rulers, in a way of mercy. This, Mr. Owen hath lately told you in his sermon, October 13, "The God of heaven forbid, that ever all the devils in hell, the Jesuits at Rome, or the seduced souls in England, should be able to persuade the rulers of this land, who are so deeply bound to God by vows, mercies, professions, and high expenses of treasure and blood, to reform his church, and propagate his gospel; that now, after all this, it belongeth not to them, but they must, as rulers, be no more for Christ than for Mahomet. But if ever it should prove the sad case of England to have such rulers, (which I strongly hope will never be,) if my prognostics fail not, this will be their fate: the Lord Jesus will forsake them, as they have forsaken him, and the prayers of his saints will be fully turned against them; and his elect shall cry to him night and day, till he avenge them speedily, by making these his enemies to lick the dust, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel, because they would not that he should reign over them: and then they shall know whether Christ be not King of kings and Lord of lords."

Perhaps you may think I digress from the matter in hand; but as long as I speak but for my Lord Christ, and for doing good, I cannot think that I am quite out of my way. But to return nearer to those for whose sakes I chiefly write, this is that sum of my advice; Study, with all the understanding you have, how to do as much good, while you have time, as possibly you can, and you shall find that (without any Popish or Pharisaical self-confidence) to be the most excellent art for obtaining spiritual peace, and a large measure of comfort from Christ.

To that end use seriously and daily to bethink yourself, what way of expending your time and wealth, and all your talents, will be most comfortable for you to hear of, and review at judgment. And take that as the way most comfortable now. Only consult not with flesh and blood; make not your flesh of the council in this work, but take it for your enemy; expect its violent, unwearied opposition; but regard not any of its clamors or repinings. But know, as I said before, that your most true, spiritual comforts are a prize that must be won upon the conquest of the flesh. I will only add to this the words of the blessed Dr. Sibbs, (a man that was no enemy to free grace, nor unjust patron of man's works,) in his preface to his "Soul's Conflict:" "Christ is first a King of righteousness, and then of peace. The righteousness that works by his Spirit brings a peace of sanctification; whereby though

we are not freed from sin, yet we are enabled to combat with it, and to get the victory over it. Some degree of comfort follows every good action, as heat accompanies fire, and as beams and influences issue from the sun. Which is so true, that very heathens, upon the discharge of a good conscience, have found comfort and peace answerable; this is a reward before our reward." Again, "In watchfulness and diligence we sooner meet with comfort, than in idle complaining." Again, pp. 44, 45. "An unemployed life is a burden to itself. God is a pure Act; always working; always doing. And the nearer our soul comes to God, the more it is in action, and the freer from disquiet. Men experimentally feel that comfort in doing that which belongs unto them, which before they longed for and went without." And in his preface to the "Bruised Reed:" "There is no more comfort to be expected from Christ than there is care to please him. Otherwise, to make him an abettor of a lawless and loose life, is to transform him into a fancy; nay, into the likeness of him whose works he came to destroy; which is the most detestable idolatry of all. One way whereby the Spirit of Christ prevaileth in his, is to preserve them from such thoughts: yet we see people will frame a divinity to themselves, pleasing to the flesh, suitable to their own ends; which, being vain in the substance, will prove likewise vain in the fruit, and a building upon the sands. So far Dr. Sibbs. It seems there were libertines and Antinomians then, and will be as long as there are any carnal, unsanctified professors.

Direct. XXVI. Having led you thus far towards a settled peace, my next Direction shall contain a necessary caution, lest you run ́as far into the contrary extreme, viz. Take heed that you neither trouble your own soul with needless scruples about matters of doctrine, of duty, or of sin, or about your own condition. Nor yet that you do not make yourself more work than God hath made you, by feigning things unlawful, which God hath not forbidden; or by placing your religion in will-worship, or in an over-curious insisting on circumstantials, or an over-rigorous dealing with your body.'

This is but the exposition of Solomon; "Be not over-wise, and be not righteous overmuch;" Eccles. vii. 16. A man cannot serve God too much, formally and strictly considering his service; much less love him too much. But we may do too much materially, intending thereby to serve God, which though it be not true righteousness, yet, being intended for righteousness, and done as a service of God, or obedience to him, is here called overmuch righteousness. I know it is stark madness in the profane, secure world, to think that the doing of no more than God hath commanded us, is doing too much, or more than needs; as if God had bid