with Job, can walk uprightly in the land of Uz, where the people were profane in their lives, and superstitious in their worship; and, with Daniel, be holy in Babylon; and, with Abraham, righteous in Chaldea; and, with Nehemiah, zealous in Damascus. Many a wicked man is big and full of corruption, but shews it not for want of occasion; but that man is surely good, who in his course will not be bad, though tempted by occasions. A Christless soul is so far from refusing occasions when they come in his way, that he looks and longs after them; and rather than he will go without them he will buy them, not only with love or money, but also with the loss of his soul. Nothing but grace can fence a man against the occasions of sin, when he is strongly tempted thereunto. Therefore as you would cherish a precious evidence in your own bosoms of the truth and strength of your graces, shun al! sinful occasions.

Dev. 8. The eighth device that Satan has to draw the soul to sin, is by representing to the soul the outward mercies that vain men enjoy, and the outward miseries that they are freed from, whilst they walk in the ways of sin. Says Satan, Dost thou see, O soul, the many mercies that such and such enjoy, who walk in those very ways that thy soul startles to think of; and the many crosses that they are delivered from, even such as make other men, (who say they dare not walk in such ways,) to spend their days in sighing, weeping, and mourning?' And therefore,' says

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Satan, if ever thou wouldst be freed from the dark night of adversity and enjoy the sunshine of prosperity, thou must walk in their ways.' By this stratagem the Devil took those in Jer. xliv. 16-18; As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee; but we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well,

and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. This is just the language of a world of ignorant, profane, and superstitious souls in London, and England, that would have made them a captain. to return to bondage, yea, to that bondage that was worse than that the Israelites groaned under. O,' say they, since such and such persons have been put down and left off, we have had nothing but plundering, and taxing, and butchering of men; and therefore we will do as we and our kings, and nobles, and fathers have formerly done, for then had we plenty at home, and peace abroad, and there was none to make us afraid.'

Now the remedies against this device of Satan, are these that follow

Rem. 1. The first remedy is, solemnly to consider that no man knows how the heart of God stands by his hand. His hand of mercy may be towards a man, when his heart may be against that man, as you may see in Saul and others. And the hand of God may be set against a man, when the heart of God is dearly set upon a man, as you may see in Job and Ephraim the hand of God was sorely set against them, and yet the heart and bowels of God were strongly working towards them. No man knows either love or hatred by outward mercy or misery; for all things come alike to all, to the righteous and to the unrighteous, to the good. and to the bad, to the clean and to the unclean. The sun of prosperity shines as well upon brambles of the wilderness, as fruit-trees of the orchard; the snow and hail of adversity light upon the best garden, as well as the stinking dunghill or the wild waste. Ahab's and Josiah's ends concur in the very circumstances. Saul and Jonathan, though different in their natures, deserts, and deportments, yet in their deaths they were not divided. Health, wealth, honours, crosses, sicknesses, losses, are cast upon good men and bad men promiscuously. The whole Turkish

empire,' says Luther, ، is nothing else but a crust, cast by heaven's great house-keeper to his dogs.' Moses dies in the Wilderness as well as those that murmured. Nabal is rich as well as Abraham; Ahithophel wise as well as

Solomon and Doeg is honoured by Saul, as well as Joseph by Pharaoh. Usually the worst of men have most of these outward things; and the best of men have least of earth, though most of heaven.

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Rem. 2. Seriously consider that there is nothing in the world that does so provoke God to be wroth and angry, as men's taking encouragement from God's goodness and mercy to do wickedly. This you may see by that wrath which fell upon the old world, and by God's raining hell out of heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah. This is clear in Jer. xliv. 20-28. The words are worthy of your best meditation. O that they were engraven in all your hearts, and constant in all your thoughts! Though they are too large for me to transcribe them, yet they are not too large for me to remember them. To argue from mercy to sinful liberty, is the devil's logic; and such logicians do ever walk as upon a mine of gunpowder, ready to be blown up; no such soul can ever avert or avoid the wrath of God. This is wickedness at the height, for a man to be very bad, because God is very good; a worse spirit than this is not in hell. Ah, Lord, does not wrath, yea, the greatest wrath lie at this man's door? Are not the strongest chains of darkness prepared for such a soul? To sin against mercy is to sin against humanity; it is bestial, nay, it is worse. To render good for evil is divine, to render good for good is human, to render evil for evil is brutish; but to render evil for good is devilish; and from this evil deliver my soul, O God.

Rem. 3. Solemnly consider that there is no greater misery in this life, than not to be in misery; no greater affliction, than not to be afflicted. Woe, woe to that soul that God will not spend a rod upon. This is the saddest stroke of all, when God refuses to strike at all. Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. Why should you be smitten any more? You will revolt more and more.. When the physician gives over the patient, you say, Ring out his knell, the man is dead: so when God gives over a soul to sin without controul, you may truly say,‘The soul is lost; you may ring out his knell, for he is twice dead, and plucked up by the roots. Freedom from punishment is the mother of security, the step-mother of

virtue, the poison of religion, the moth of holiness, and the introducer of wickedness. 6 Nothing,' said one, seems more unhappy to me, than he to whom no adversity has happened.' Outward mercies ofttimes prove a snare to our souls. I will lay a stumbling-block. Vatablus's note there is, I will prosper him in all things, and not by affliction restrain him from sin.' Prosperity has been a stumbling-block, at which millions have stumbled and fallen, and broke the neck of their souls for ever.

Rem. 4. Seriously consider that the wants of wicked men, under all their outward mercy and freedom from adversity, are far greater than all their outward enjoyments. They have many mercies, yet they want more than they enjoy; the mercies which they enjoy, are nothing to the mercies they want. It is true, they have honour, and riches, and pleasures, and friends, and are mighty in power; their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes; their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them; they send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance; they take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ; they spend their days in wealth, their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart can wish; and they have no bands in their death, but their strength is firm; they are not in trouble as other men; as David and Job speak: yet all this is nothing to what they want. They want interest in God, Christ, the Spirit, the promises, the covenant of grace, and everlasting glory; they want acceptation and reconciliation with God; they want righteousness, justification, sanctification, adoption, and redemption; they want the pardon of sin, and power against sin, and freedom from the dominion of sin; they want that favour which is better than life, and that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory, and that peace which passeth understanding, and that grace, the least spark of which is more worth than heaven and earth; they want a house that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God; they want those riches that perish not, the glory that fades not, that kingdom that shakes not. Wicked men are the most needy men in the world, yea, they want those two things that should render their mercies

sweet, the blessing of God, and content with their condition; and without which their heaven is but hell on this side hell. When their hearts are lifted up, and grown big upon the thoughts of their abundance, if conscience does but put in a word, and say, 'It is true, here is this and that outward mercy; O, but where is an interest in Christ? Where is the favour of God? Where are the comforts of the Holy Ghost? Where are thy evidences for heaven?' This word from conscience makes the man's countenance to change, his thoughts to be troubled, his heart to be amazed, and all his mercies on the right hand and left, to be as dead and withered. Ah, were but the eyes of wicked men open to see their wants under their abundance, they would cry out and say, as Absalom did, What are all these to me, so long as I cannot see the king's face? What are honour and riches, and the favour of creatures, so long as I want the favour of God, the pardon of my sins, an interest in Christ, and the hopes of glory? O Lord, give me these, or I die. Give me these, or else I shall eternally die.

Rem. 5. Solemnly consider that outward things are not as they seem, and are esteemed. They have indeed a glorious outside, but if you view their insides, you will easily find, that they fill the head full of cares, and the heart full of fears. What if the fire should consume one part of my estate? and the sea should be a grave to swallow up another part of my estate? What if my servant should be unfaithful abroad, and my children should be deceitful at home? Ah, the secret fretting, vexing, and gnawing, that daily, yea hourly attend those men's souls, whose hands are full of worldly good!

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It was a good speech of an emperor; You gaze on my purple robe and golden, crown; but did you know what cares are under it, you would not take it up from the ground to have it.' It was a saying of Augustine on Psalm xxvi; Many are miserable by loving hurtful things; but they are more miserable by having them.' It is not what men enjoy, but the principle from whence it comes, that makes men happy. Much of these outward things does usually cause great distraction, great vexation, and great condemnation at last, to the possessors of them.