but how rich you are in grace: which should provoke your souls to strive, in the face of all discouragements, to be rich in grace. What will not the merchant do, and the mariner do, for temporal riches? O the dangers, the hazards, the tempests, the storms, the deaths, which they run through for earthly riches, which are never without their sting! And shall not Christians labour, in the face of all oppositions, after spiritual riches? It is reported of Nevessan the lawyer, that he should say, He who will not venture his body, can never be valiant; and he who will not venture his soul, will never be rich.' I am sure that man who will not venture, and venture hard, in the face of all discouragements, to be spiritually rich, will never be rich. He may be good in the main, and may go to heaven in a storm, but he will never be rich in spirituals, who will not venture himself to the uttermost for the gain of spiritual riches.

Secondly; be fixed under a Christ-exalting and a soulenriching ministry; under that man's ministry, who makes it his business, not a thing by the bye, but his business, his work, not to tickle the ear, to please the fancy, but to enrich the soul, to win the soul, and to build up the soul. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, 2 Tim. iv. 3. This age, yea, this city is full of such slight, light, mad souls, that love or like nothing but what is empty and airy. Junius confesses, that in his time there was one confessed, that he had spent above twenty years in trying religions, pretending that scripture, Prove all things, hold fast that which is good. It is sad to see how many in our days, under pretences of angelical attainments, make it their business to enrich men's hearts with high, empty, airy notions, instead of enriching their souls with saving truths. If these are not strangers to that wisdom that is from above, I know nothing. He is the best preacher, not who tickles the ear, but who breaks the heart. He that winneth souls is wise. The Hebrew word signifies to catch souls by using art and industry, as fowlers do to take birds. No wisdom to be compared to that which wins souls from sin and the world, and which wins souls to Christ and holiness;

no teaching like this. Remember this you will never be rich in grace, if you care not whom you hear, nor what you hear. That Christ who commands you to take heed how you hear, commands you also to take heed whom you

hear.

And every soul won to God, is a new pearl added to a minister's crown.

But you will say to me, How should we know which is a soul-enriching ministry, that so we may wait on it?' Take these three rules;

1. Judge not of a soul-enriching ministry, by the voice of the minister, nor by the multitude of hearers who follow him, nor by his affected tone, nor by his rhetoric and flashes of wit; but by the holiness, heavenliness, and spiritualness of the matter.

Some preachers affect rhetorical strains; they seek abstrusities, and love to hover and soar aloft in dark and cloudy expressions, and so shoot their arrows over their hearers' heads, instead of bettering their hearers' hearts. Gay things in a sermon are only for men to gaze upon and admire. What are high strains and flashes of wit, new-minted words and phrases, but like gay weeds and blue bottles to the good corn? Truth is like Solomon's spouse, all glorious within. She is most beautiful, when most naked, as Adam was in innocency.

The oracle would have Philip of Macedon use silver lances in winning an impregnable fort; but ministers must not use golden sentences, strong lines, froth of wit. It is iron, and not gold, that kills in the encounter. It is the steel sword, not the golden, that wins the field.

2. Judge of it by its revealing the whole counsel of God, the whole will of God revealed in his word. I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God. Some there are who make it their business only to advance the glory of Christ, and to darken the glory of the Father; and some cry up the glory of the Father, and yet cast clouds and darkness upon the glory of the Son; and what dirt and scorn is cast upon the Spirit, by many vain, blasphemous persons, in these times, is notoriously known; and if these men are not far from declaring the whole counsel and will of God, I know nothing. Christ must be held out in all his offices, for they all tend to the

enriching of poor souls, to the adding of pearls to a Christian's crown. And clearly it is sad to consider how many there are who cry up one office, and cry down another. Some cry up the kingly office of Christ, but mind not his prophetical office; and some cry up his prophetical office, but trample upon his kingly office; and some cry up both his kingly and prophetical office, and yet make light of his priestly office. Christians, fix yourselves under his ministry, who gives the Father his due, the Son his due, and the Spirit his due; who makes it his business to open the treasures and the riches both of the one and the other, and to declare to you the whole will of God; for many there are who withhold the word in unrighteousness, and who will only acquaint you with some parts of the will of God, and keep you ignorant of other parts; whose condemnation will be great, as well as just.

3. You may judge of it by its coming nearest to the ministry of Christ and his apostles. There was no ministry so soul-enriching and soul-winning, as the ministry of Christ and his apostles. O the thousands who were brought in by one exercise! Let men of frothy wits say what they will, there are no preachers like those that come nearest in the ministry to Christ and his apostles. 'Let us speak,' said that incomparable man Peter Hamus, 'the very words of scripture, for so did Christ, the prophets, and apostles; let us make use of the language of the Holy Ghost, and for ever abominate those who profanely disdain the stately plainness of God's blessed book, and who think to correct the divine wisdom and eloquence with their own infancy and sophistry.' God's holy things ought to be handled with fear and reverence, rather than with wit and dalliance. Spiritual niceness is the next degree to unfaithfulness. No ministry like that which comes nearest to Christ.

The third direction is this—if ever you would be rich in grace, rich in spirituals, then keep humble.

The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way, Psalm xxv. 9. God resisteth the_proud, but giveth grace unto the humble, James iv. 6. He sets himself in battle array against the proud, as the Greek has it, but he giveth grace unto the humble. He pours

grace into a humble soul, as men do water or wine into an empty vessel. Of all souls, humble souls do most prize spiritual riches; of all souls they most improve spiritual riches; of all souls they are most fearful of losing spiritual riches. Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, With him will I dwell that is of an humble and contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word. The word here rendered dwell, is a Hebrew participle, and signifies dwelling. Thus saith the high and lofty One, dwelling with him that is of an humble and a contrite spirit. The word denotes to us thus much, that God will not dwell with an humble man, as a wayfaring man dwells with his relations, a few nights and away: dwelling denotes a constant, and not a transient act of God. God will for ever keep house with the humble soul; when once they meet, they never part. There is no such way to be rich, as to be poor and low in our own eyes. This is the way to enjoy his company in whom all treasures are. Fourthly; improve the riches that you have. Improve that knowledge, that faith, that light, that love which you have. Those who had two talents, did, by the improvement of them, gain other two; and those who had five, did, by the improvement of them, gain ten.

The diligent hand maketh rich. Take hold of all opportunities to enrich your souls with spiritual riches. Men will easily, readily, greedily, and unweariedly close with all opportunities, wherein they may get earthly riches; and why should not you be as diligent in taking hold of all opportunities to enrich your precious souls? Is not the soul more than raiment, more than friends, more than relations, more than life, yea, more than all? And why then do you not labour to enrich your souls? Thou wert better have a rich soul under a threadbare coat, than a threadbare soul under a silk or golden coat. If he be a monster among men, who makes liberal provision for his servant or his slave, and starves his wife, what a monster is he who makes much provision for his baser part, but none for his nobler part? A slothful heart in the things of God, is a heavy judgment. I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding, or as the Hebrew has it, the man that had

no heart, that is, to make use of his vineyard, and lo, it was all grown over with thorns and nettles, Prov. xxiv. 30, 31. O the lusts, the wickednesses, that will overgrow slothful, sluggish souls! Spiritual sluggards are subject to the saddest strokes. O the deadly sins, the deadly temptations, the deadly judgments, that spiritual sluggards will unavoidably fall under! None such an enemy to himself, none such a friend to Satan, as the spiritual sluggard. It is sad to think how the riches of Christ, the riches of consolation, the riches of justification, the riches of glorification, are brought to many men's doors, and yet they have no hearts to embrace them, no judgment to this. Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it? Prov. xvii. 16. Well, spiritual sluggards, remember this-when your consciences are awakened, this will be a sword in your souls, that you might have been saved, you might have been spiritually and eternally enriched, but that you have trifled and fooled away golden opportunities and your own salvation.

Fifthly; walk uprightly, holily, and obediently. If ever you would be spiritually rich, look to your walking. It is not the knowing soul, nor the talking soul, but the closely walking soul, the obedient soul, that is in spirituals the richest soul. Others may be rich in notions, but none so rich in spiritual experiences, and in all holy and heavenly grace as close-walking Christians; The Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly, Psalm lxxxiv. 11. The upright walker shall be both of his court and council; he shall know any thing, and have any thing. If any man love me, he will keep my commandments, and I will love him, and my Father will love him; what then? we will make our abode with him, and will manifest ourselves to him, John xiv. 21, 23. Certainly they cannot be poor, who enjoy such guests as these; they must needs be full, who enjoy them that are fulness itself. God and Christ are overflowing fountains, and holy souls find it so. • When my heart is coldest and highest, I present God to my soul under the notions of his greatness! but when my heart is loose and fearing, then I present God to my soul under the notion of his goodness,' says Luther.