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makes out things. Pearls are no lumber; silver and gold no lumber, but treasure, pure treasure; I would I had my house full of these, saith he. Reason hath found out, and pitched upon worth, and this makes desire mighty vast; the man would have all, it is so good, it is so precious, such mere treasure. The new man is of the clearest reason of all men; he discourses of worth at a greater height than any man besides, and so makes out things. He looks with a very piercing eye upon every thing; through pearls and through gold, through the hardest things to be pierced, and finds out exactly what they are, and calls them exactly as they are, corruptible things. Grace only goes for jewels with the new man; in these only no loss, no lumber; in these only no vanity, no vexation; in these, God; so much of these, so much of God; all these jewels in my bosom, and all Christ, all heaven there. Thus the new man discourses of worth at a mighty height, and makes a very exact judgment go before, and then a very vast desire and endeavour, answerably to follow after. Give all, of that which is above all; of that which will make me above all, in the lowest state. Give me all might, all patience, all joy.

Things have their rule, and so must be prosecuted. Things earthly have their bounds: things heavenly, none-neither poverty nor riches, when one prays for earthly things; no poverty but riches; not some but all, when one prays for Christ-this is the rule. The measure is no measure; the stint is all, all might, all patience, &c. All pains, all prayers, must all run out at this height, for all grace, or they will run all too low, below their rule here in my text.

The world is extremely beside this rule. Examine

your reach, what do you grasp after? After what do you open your hands, and your mouths wide? Which way lies your ambition? your covetousness? To have all the world, or all Christ? To have much honour, much wealth, or much grace ? To be an all within yourselves, or to be an all in and unto Christ?

Fallen man is a greedy creature, as bankrupts usually are. He has lost all, and he is grasping for an all again. Know your state: it is wrong: it is wretched. Observe the greediness of your hearts, and which way it lies, or your souls will be lost in an evil covetousness. Two things make up an evil covetousness, when a man desires unlawful things themselves, or lawful things in an unlawful manner; things forbidden in themselves, or things forbidden so; making nothing all; vanity chief. You seek great things to yourselves, do you seek great things for your souls? Every man is grasping after much, after a little all. Tell me, What is that all?

He is a lost man, that observes not which way the strength of his soul works, and spends itself. It is horrible to let his precious soul spend itself in vanities. A man's soul wastes itself unnaturally, when it works greedily towards any thing but Christ and grace. There is more done to this man than he will believe. It is a man let loose to the creature for not taking pleasure in God. When a man cannot find enough in God to make him his all, God gives up that man to some lust, to make nothing all. Affection now flies out strongly, fearfully. Behold a man sick of love to a lie; a man that will kill himself with love to a harlot !

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It is one that bears his judgment already. science wounds, kills this man daily, for prostituting

his glory to base earth. God vexes this heart, as the expression is, "I will also vex the hearts of many people," &c. Ezek. xxxii. 9. God is a vexing God to the heart of an earthly man; he wakes, sleeps, eats, talks, laughs, with a sad, restless soul. He

sleeps, but his conscience wakes. He rises, but his heart is down. It would be loaded with thick clay, and it is loaded with a witness. Ah Lord! has not the earth enough which cannot bear up his earthly heart, it is so heavy?

This soul is in a deep consumption, far gone from God. If any thing will fetch him back, it will be to consider his folly, and how favour still waits to be gracious to him. All earthen cisterns are cracked: what folly is it to seek for all, in that which will drop out all! Things cannot hold much, things shall not hold much, which you too much bend after. All is lost, when the world is made all. Death is in the pot, when you are taken with the broth. The birth-right is as good as actually gone, when affection is so strong to pottage. Ah wretch! thou hast lost thy soul to gain the world.

If this will not fetch back the prodigal, this added will, or nothing. Favour yet waits. A soul that hath been a great traveller in the world, that hath gone through the vanity of the creature, through. strength of desire and curiosity, may return to Christ and be welcome. It was the prodigal's case; he had spent all, wasted prime love, prime strength, and then returned, and God accepted. It was likewise Solomon's case. Love turned at a low ebb, it met with love. Inclinations of heart are dear to Christ. Smoking flax is not troublesome to his eyes; he will stoop and blow it, to make it flame. Christ is taken with a sinner, whensoever he begins

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to desire after him. Bestow love upon Christ when you will, he will meet you; or what love you will, he will out-love you. Promise to yourselves what you will in Christ, you shall find it and more. Make a God of Christ, you shall find him so; make him all, and you shall find him all; more than all the world beside.

But take this along with you-a soul in extremnities cannot last long. Passion strong to the creature, will provoke much, and consume speedily. What is done therefore in point of remedy, must be done speedily, or the soul is lost. A soul on fire to the creature, must be snatched as a brand out of the fire, else it will suddenly be consumed. A soul posting to hell, will quickly be there. Greediness surfeits; surfeits make quick dispatch: death is at the door, when the soul is exorbitant; the creature is now made a God, God will not now endure nor forbear longer. Let exorbitant souls think of this, and think what they have to do, and do it.

THE END OF THE ELEVENTH VERSE.

SERMON XIII.

COLOSSIANS I. 11, 12.

-LONG SUFFERING

WITH JOYFULNESS; GIVING THANKS UNTO THE FATHER, &c.

STAND at the end of one verse, and look to the beginning of another, and you will see what is the property of divine joy. It sets out the soul for heaven. It makes a very ascending frame of heart; it tunes and winds up every string to praise God. "With joyfulness, "Giving thanks to the Father," &c.

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As the soul has its divine advantages, so it mounts: as the body hath its advantages, so, you know, with facility it vaults and leaps. Joy is a soul lifted up by God, it is the soul upon eagle's wings; the soul easily mounts heaven-ward, when God lifts it. As sorrow is God's casting down the soul; Why art thou cast down, O my soul?" &c. and then the soul is fit for no duty, disadvantage is so strong upon it; so joy is God's lifting up the soul. Upon this ad vantage it can do any thing, go up hill with ease, mount to heaven readily. Joy is God's giving wings to the soul, to fly after him. A soul winged by God, will mount as high as God, as high as the highest heaven, where God is. It will follow after God from favour to favour; from bush to bush, as young birds do after the old one, when they are by the warmth of the old one fledged, and can flee. As

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