none but presumptuous sins, and chiefly labours to defile souls by eating of this his dish; say as Austin in another case, errare possum, Hæreticus esse nolo, I may err, but I am resolved not to be a heretic. I may have many failings, but by the grace of God I will labour that I be not a presumptuous sinner; and if thou wouldest not be in a presumptuous sin, take heed thou makest not light of less infirmities. When David's heart smote him for rending the skirt of Saul, he stopped and made a happy retreat, his tender conscience giving him a privy check for rending his skirt, would not suffer him to cut his throat, and take away his life, which was better than raiment; but at another time, when his conscience was more heavy-eyed, and did not do this friendly office to him, but let him shoot his amorous glances after Bathsheba, without giving him any alarm of his danger, the good man, like one whose senses are gone, and head dizzy at the first trip upon a steep hill, could not recover himself, but tumbled from one sin to another, till at last he fell into the deep pit of murder. When the river is frozen, a man will venture to walk and run where he durst not set his foot if the ice were but melted or broke. O when the heart of a godly man himself is so hardened that he can stand on an infirmity though never so little, and his conscience not crack under him, how far may he go? I tremble to think what sin he may fall into.

SECT. V.

Fifthly, Get above the love and fear of the world. The Christian's sincerity is not eclipsed without the interposition of the earth betwixt God and his soul.

First, The love of the world: this is a fit root for hypocrisy to grow upon; if the heart be violently set on any thing the world hath, and it comes to vote peremptorily for having it, I must be worth so much a year, have such honour, and the creature begins, with Ahab, to be sick with longing after them; then the man is in great danger to take the first ill counsel that Satan or the flesh gives him for the attaining his ends, though prejudicial to his

uprightness. Hunters mind not the way they go in, over hedge and ditch they leap, so they may have the hare.

It is a wonder, I confess, that any saint should have so strong a scent after the creature that hath the savour of Christ's ointments poured into his bosom. One would think the sweet perfume, which comes so hot from those beds of spices, the promises, should spoil the Christian's hunting game after the creature, and one scent should hinder the taking in the other; the purer sweetnesses that breathe from Christ and Heaven in them should so fill the Christian's senses, that the other enjoyments, being of a more gross and earthly savour, could find no pleasing scent in his nostrils; which indeed is most true and certain, so long as the Christian hath his spiritual senses open and in exercise: but, alas! as upon some cold in the body, the head is stopped, and the senses bound up from doing their office; so, through the Christian's negligence, a spiritual distemper is easily got, whereby those senses (graces I mean) which should judge of things, are sadly obstructed; and now when the Christian is not in temper for enjoying these purer sweetnesses, the devil hath a fair advantage of starting some creature-enjoyment, and presenting it before the Christian, which the flesh soon scents, and carries the poor Christian after it, till grace comes a little to its temper, and then he gives over the chase with shame and sorrow.

Secondly, Get above the fear of the world. The fear of man brings a snare. A coward will run into any hole (though never so dishonourable) so he may save himself from what he fears, and when the holiest are under the power of this temptation, they too are like other men. Abraham in a pang of fear dissembles with Abimelech ; yea Peter, when not his life but his reputation seemed to be in a little danger, did not walk uprightly, according to the truth of the Gospel; he did not foot it right, as became so holy a man to do, but took one step forward, and another back again, as if he had not liked his way;. now he will eat with the Gentiles, and anon he withdraws. Now, what made him dissemble, and his feet thus double in his going? nothing but a qualm of fear that came over

his heart, as you may see, Gal. ii. 12. compared with ver. 14. “fearing them which were of the circumcision," he dissembled, and drew others into a party with him.

SECT. VI.

Sixthly, and lastly. Keep a strict eye over thy own heart in thy daily walking; hypocrisy is a weed with which the best soil is so tainted that it needs daily care and dressing to keep it under. He that rides on a stumbler, had need have his eye on his way, and hand on his bridle; such is thy heart, Christian, yea it oft stumbles in the fairest way, when thou least fearest it; look to it therefore, and keep a strict rein over it, "above all keeping, keep thy heart." Prov. iv. 23. The servant keeps his way when he travels in his master's company, but when sent of an errand alone then he hath his vagaries; many a wry step may be prevented, and extravagancies in thy daily walking, didst thou walk in company with thyself, I mean observe thyself and way. In this sense, most in the world are besides themselves, strangers to their own walking as much as to their own faces; every one that lives with them knows them better than themselves, which is a horrible shame. And let not so vain an opinion find place with thee, that, because sincere, thou needest not keep so strict an eye over thy heart; as if thy heart which is gracious could not play false with God and thee too; doth not Solomon brand him on the forehead for a fool, "that trusts his own heart?" if thou art, as thou sayest, sincere, I cannot believe selflove should so far prevail with thee. They are the ignorant and profane, whose hearts are stark naught, that cry them. up for good; but it is one part of the goodness of a heart, made truly good by grace, to see more into and complain more of its own naughtiness. Bring thy heart therefore often upon the review, and take its accounts solemnly; he takes the way to make his servant a thief that doth not ask him now and then what money he hath in his hand. I read indeed of some in good Jehoida's days that were trusted with the money for the repair of the Temple, with whom they did not so much as reckon

how they laid it out; "for they dealt faithfully," 2 Kings xii. 15. but thou hadst not best to do so with thy heart, lest it set thee in debt with God and thy own conscience more than thou wilt get wiped out in haste. Many talents God puts into thy hand, health, liberty, sabbaths, ordinances, communion of saints, and the like, for the repair of thy spiritual temple, the work of grace in thee: ask now thy soul, how every one of these are laid out; may be thou wilt find some of this money spent, and the work never a whit the more forward. It stands thee in hand to look to it, for God will have an account, though thou art so favourable to thy deceitful heart to call for

none.

CHAP. XV.

COUNSEL AND COMFORT TO THOSE WHO ARE SINCERE BUT DROOPING DOUBTING SOULS; WHO NEITHER ARE CONDEMNED ABSOLUTELY in theIR CONSCIENCES FOR HYPOCRITES, NOR FULLY ABSOLVED FROM THE SUSPICION OF IT IN THEIR OWN THOUGHTS.

WE We have done with the second sort of persons; those who upon search find their consciences bearing witness for their uprightness.

There is a third sort remains yet to be spoken to, and they are doubting souls, who are indeed sincere, but dare not be persuaded to think so well of themselves. They come from the trial which they were desired to put themselves upon, and bring in an ignoramus, we know not whether we be sincere or no. Now to these I would give these few words of counsel, and the Lord give his blessing with them.

SECT. I.

Take heed Satan doth not draw you to conclude you are hypocrites, because you are without the present

evidence of your sincerity. To say so were to offend against the generation of God's dear children, many of whom must (if this were a true inference from such premises) pass the same sentence upon themselves; for such precious souls there are, from whose eyes the truth of their grace and sincerity of their hearts is at this day hid, and yet are not without either. The Patriarchs had their money all day bound up in their sacks as they travelled, though they did not know this till they came to their inn and opened them: thus there is a treasure of sincerity hid in many a soul, but the time to open the sack and let the soul know its riches is not come. Many, that are now in Heaven, have shot the gulf, and are safely landed, who were sadly tossed with fears all along their voyage about the truth of grace in them. Faith unfeigned puts a soul into the ark Christ; but it doth not hinder but such a one may be sea-sick in the ship: it is Christ's work, not grace's, to evidence itself to our eye so demonstratively as to enable us to own it. Besides an organ fitly dis posed, there is required a light to irradiate the medium: so, besides truth of grace, it is necessary that the Spirit bring another light, for want of which the soul is benighted in its thoughts, and must cry for another, and he no other than the Holy Spirit, to lead him into the light. This is the great messenger which alone is able "to shew a man his uprightness;" but as the eye may be a seeing eye in the dark when it doth not see any thing, so there may be truih of grace, where there is not present sense of that truth; yea the creature may be passionately hunting from ordinance to ordinance to get that since rity which it already hath: as sometimes you may have seen one seek very earnestly all about the house for his hat, when at the same time he hath it on his head. Well, lay down this, as a real truth, in thy soul: I may be upright, though at present I am not able to see it clearly; this, though it will not bring in a full comfort, yet it may be some support till that come, as a shore to thy weak house, though it doth not mend it, yet it will underprop and keep it standing till the master-work man comes, the Holy Spirit, who with one kind word to thy soul is able to set thee right in thy own thoughts, and make thee