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but as himself obferves, Eccl. ii. 26. God gives to a man that is good in his fight; wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the finner he giveth travel to gather and to beap up; to gather by hard labour, and much pains taking; but he hath no joy in it; but he referves it to give to the man that is upright in his fight. And this is another way, God's withdrawing his bleffings from mens endeavours: and can any one be profperous, when God's curfe is upon him? It is the bleffing of God makes rich, Prov. x. 22. If there be a crofs providence, a man may endeavour, and to little purpose.

5. God can do this by awakening the guilt of the finner upon his confcience; making that to fting and gall him; and then all the world is nothing. Many finners fin themselves into stupidity and senseleffness. Others relieve themselves by running into company, and other avocations: but if God do but quicken the guilt of fin upon mens confciences they are thrown out of all poffeffion. Now to do this, there needs no more, but to call men to advertency; no more but to hold men to thoughtfulness; there needs no more from God, but to fhut men up, and confine them, that they be not relieved by avocations and other employments. Where there is malignity, and guilt upon the confcience, unremoved by repentance, there God needs no more than to hold a man to converse with himself: and it is a marvel how this man ftays in his wits. A great offender being at ease, hath no better fettlement, and fecurity than this, that he is in a hurry, and hath not yet leisure to bethink himself.

6. This

6. This may be done when men through their own fear, fufpicion and jealoufy, have certain foretastes of Gods refusal and displeasure. We find by experience, that things are as we imagine. Now whether this be the truth of the cafe, or no, (defertion of God) yet it is all one to me, if I think so. Thus God may give men up to their own melancholy conceits. There is no fecurity to any mans peace or fatisfaction in this life; or substantial selfenjoyment, but two ways. ift, That he hath always retained his innocence. The 2d is, that he is reftored and recovered to his innocence, by his repentance, and Gods pardon, in, and through the blood of Christ. And if a man hath not one of these two, he is unfecure, and no man knows the condi tion he may be in, the next hour.

In these fix particulars, I have given you an account of these secret rebukes of God, which the finner cannot bear up under; but when he feels them, if he be not upheld by the hand of God, and that he be brought into reconciliation with God, upon the terms of the covenant of grace, he will melt away, and come to nothing. This for the first. The Second, Is the cafe wherein there is imminent danger of fuch judgments as these; and I will give you fix cafes.

1. The cafe of havocking confcience, by finning against the light of our own proper judgment; and in this cafe, a man doth himself inward hurt, he gives himself a wound at the heart: and the wounds of the mind are the torture of a man's foul; and all the world will not fecure that man, that is not in

reconci

reconciliation with the reafon of his own mind. Tobe fenfible of this, that a man hath contradicted his own proper light; in this cafe a man doth an act of violence upon himself; a man cannot do himself greater wrong than by this voluntary confenting to And this I account the true notion

known iniquity. of fin, voluntarily to confent to known iniquity, and this is that which feparates between us and our God. If a man once voluntarily confent to known fin, he parts with the trueft friend (next to God) that he hath in the world, his confcience of right; that bofom friend, his only adviser and counsellor, which will keep a man company when he hath no company elfe; that will give him content, and fatisfaction in all conditions, that will give testimony to him, though he be flandred, calumniated, and though all the mischiefs in the world fall upon him. This friend is never put away, but by that by which God is put away, viz. voluntary confenting to known iniquity, and this puts God away, and puts away this home-friend, confcience of right. If a man have no internal guilt, know no fault within himself, he will be able to bear up against all the world, and he will have fatisfaction in every condition; but if he parts with this, he parts with his best friend, gives God offence, and causes him to withdraw, 2 Cor. i. 12. Our rejoicing is this, the teftimony of our confcience, that in fimplicity and godly fincerity, we have had our conversation in the world. This is the first case of eminent danger of these judgments thefe rebukes in fecret.

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2. The fecond cafe that I reprefent as dangerous, is the cafe of hypocrify, diffimulation and falfhood; and this is equal to the other. The falfe-hearted hypocrite is neither true to God nor man, but ferves himself, and his own ends of God, of the world, of truth, of religion; and all these he subordinates to his own particular ends and purposes; only he pretends otherwife, and to cover a bad defign, he doth use foft words. But how restless must this man be in his own thoughts, when he comes to confider? For can he depend upon thefe, that these persons or things will do him any good at all, when he knoweth he hath abused the perfons, and misused the things? no certainly, this man cannot think that either God or man will be true to him, and fo can have no confidence in either. For whofoever is himself falfe, perfidious, and base, he doth not know whom he may truft: for he doth not think there may be a better man than himself, and being fenfible of his own internal baseness, that he doth not mean what he faith to others; he verily believes all others to be as he is; and fo finding himself unable to defend himself, he must be in fear of all the world. Therefore it is of neceffity, that a hypocrite be in no true ftate of fatisfaction, or felf-enjoyment.

3. The case of shameless apoftacy, represented Heb. x. 26, 27, 28. For, if we fin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more facrifice for fins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, &c. Where the fin is a wilful departure; and the finner doth despite to the spirit of grace, VOL. I, G

and

and he doth this knowingly, and confidering what he doth; the danger is, there is no hope of recovery, because he hath taken his choice, and contracted fenfeleffness of mind; that he is in a condition without hope. For thus will men think with themfelves; when these men come to confider, they cannot but think that God fhould do with them, as he finds caufe to do, fince they have done by God what they had a mind to do. Certainly, they who do worst by religion, shall fare the worst by irreligion. Ignorance and incapacity, on any terms whatsoever, hold no proportion in malignity, with this wicked aversation from God, and the ways of righteousness. The apoftle puts the cafe, 2 Pet. ii. 12. Do but confider : what do men in such a cafe as this? If one of great acquaintance and converfe prove an enemy and become perfidious; men had rather trust a ftranger than him; for it is the maxim of the world, (I confefs it is not chriftian) never truft a reconciled friend.

4. When men take up with the world, and leave God out, give themselves up to take delight and fa→ tisfaction in their worldly accommodations, and leave God out; this, though it be far fhort in malignity, of the other three, yet this hath in it the full spirit of irreligion, and 'tis a high provocation of God; for it comes to this, God is little in their thoughts, God is far from their reins. For is it not very fit that we have a lively fense of God, of the benefits we receive from him? Now for a man to sit down in the world, and enjoy his affluence and abundance, and make no acknowledgment of God, this is down

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