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go to the church, rather than to a meeting, to call yourselves protestants rather than catholics, and then to suffer some slight inconvenience, it may be, for sticking to that party to which you belong? And yet it may not be imagined that many have not been in the hotter days of party zeal, deceived this way; and that many this day have no better thing to say of themselves, than that they are of this or that sect or party. So it was of old between the Jews and the Samaritans; while neither of them had the least degree of brotherly affection, yet both of them rested much upon their place of worship. Now, although sincerity hath little to do in comparison, in such matters of opinion as make divisions among Christians, yet from these very divisions, unhumbled men are apt to conceit well of themselves, and to imagine they are marvellously well affected to God. One judges well of himself for no other reason than because he is of the establishment; and another because he is not of it. One because those with whom he is numbered suffer reproach, and another because of the supposed greater purity there is in that body of Christians he is united with. Thus resting upon things which are not essential to godliness, and being of a party spirit, they deceive their own souls.

3. Another mistaken mark of sincerity, may be the resting upon some particular actions. Such may be that which in this age deserves particular notice, because it is so nobly practised, liberality. It is possible a man may be deceived this way. He hears charity greatly commended as the very end and crownwork of religion. He imagines that this is nothing

more than giving of his substance to the distressed. He opens his hand and pours out largely, and it is no great inconvenience it puts him to, and hereupon he applauds and approves himself for his simplicity and sincerity before God. In this sense he conceits that charity covers a multitude of sins; that by such acts he wipes them all out, or makes a kind of composition with God, for many bad practices he lives in, or at least for an entire want of a hearty and real godliness. What I have said of this may be observed of many other things. One man rests upon his honesty, another upon his sobriety and temperance, a third upon his easy and forgiving temper, a fourth upon his withdrawing himself from the world, and retiring, as he calls it, to sit down easy, a fifth upon his constancy at church and sacraments, and thinking of another life. Some how or other, multitudes do deceive themselves by dwelling upon one action and part of their conduct, which they look at till it dazzles their eyes with its seeming brightness, and makes them unable to see that darkness which there is in many other parts of their conversation.

4. Men may be mistaken about their sincerity by resting upon some former action. We too fondly think well of ourselves, and it is not to be imagined how ingenious we are in hiding our sins from our own notice. And this we are extremely apt to do in the instance I am now speaking of. When any one, from a principle of conscience, hath refused some offered advantage, or restored that which he had before unjustly taken away, or undergone some severe trial for righteousness' sake-I say, when a man hath once

made some considerable sacrifice to a pure conscience, and from thence very hastily drawn a comfortable conclusion about his sincerity, how exceedingly apt is he to rest upon it afterwards, to be continually flying back to it for many years, when perhaps he hath no present evidence to produce, and it may be, is fallen away from God? I do not say that the remembrance of such a thing may not be a matter of comfort, but then it can only be so if the state he is now in be that of sincerity. But as if sincerity consisted in one great stroke, and no more were to be done, we are very ready to sit afterwards like conquerors in triumph, even when we are carried away by the devices of our lusts, and Satan is leading us captive. He is willing enough we should amuse ourselves in this manner; it hides from us our decays and sinfulness. Wherefore the apostle's own conduct must be imitated here. He had need to glory, if any mere man had, yet he says, "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching into those things which are before, I press forward unto the prize of the high calling." I have done now with what I proposed, and shall end with a remark or two.

The first of them is, that sincerity is the fruit of a true faith, and in that regard indispensably necessary to salvation. This we find from the whole gospel, but especially from that great commandment of all, "thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy mind, and all thy soul, and all thy strength." Surely unless we love God he cannot be pleased with us; and sincerity is the work of love. What would any one do about God's throne who was not pleased

with him, nor had any willingness to serve him? He would be unfit for heaven. If we will believe God's own word, there is another place allotted for such a one. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them who know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Christ will pronounce upon them, " depart from me all ye workers of iniquity." Indeed, where the love of God is shed abroad in the heart, there a hearty willing service will always follow; and where the love of God and of Christ doth not so far prevail as to lead us to give up our earthly things for God's sake, I shall leave common sense to judge if a man must not be content to have his portion in this life; if he be not utterly unfit for the joys above, where there is no other happiness to be had but a spiritual one, in fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, and the holy saints; and if sincerity be so needful to our eternal acceptance with God, it will behove us,

2. To search out our hearts and spirits, if there be this sincerity, truth, and integrity in us. The subject, as you have heard it handled, may serve to contribute thereto, whether you consider the true or the false marks of sincerity. And shall I seem to require a needless or unimportant thing in calling you all to this exercise? If you have found the true marks of sincerity to belong to you, I shall not need tell you what a well grounded confidence you have that your faith is not in vain, that you have that faith which worketh by love, since this sincerity is but love in action.

SERMON VIII.

THE POWER OF GOD.

Lo, these are parts of his ways; but how little a portion is heard of him; but the thunder of his power who can understand? Job xxvi, 14.

In this chapter Job is replying to what Bildad had said in the former, concerning the dominion and power of God. He remarks several instances of God's power, and then draws the conclusion in the text. I will give you some little illustration of what Job says here of God's power, by way of introduction to a practical consideration of that awful subject. But Job answered and said, how hast thou helped him that is without power; how savest thou the arm that hath no strength; thou hast advanced nothing to support and strengthen me! How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? I can get no wisdom or instruction from what thou hast spoken, and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is? Truly thou hast given a very scanty account of the power of God. To whom hast thou uttered words; was it to me thou didst speak as if I were ignorant herein; and whose spirit came from thee? What troubled

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