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the world, did hate his own brother till he had proceeded to murder him, because he served God better than himself, "because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous '.' And how constantly this horrid, unnatural madness hath succeeded and raged in the world from Cain until this day! It is not in vain that the Holy Ghost addeth, in the next words, "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you implying that we are apt to marvel at it, as I confess I have oft and greatly done. Methinks, it is so wonderful a plague and stain in nature, that it doth very much to confirm me of the truth of Scripture; of the doctrine of man's fall and original sin, and the necessity of a Reconciler, and of renewing grace.

Distracted, miserable souls! Is it not enough for you to refuse your own salvation, but you must be angry with all that will not imitate you! Is it not mad enough, and bad enough to choose damnation, but you must be offended with all that are not of your mind? If you will not believe God, that without regeneration, conversion, holiness, and a heavenly, spiritual life, there is no salvation to be hoped for1, must we all be unbelievers with you? If you will laugh at hell till you are in it, must we do so too? If God and glory seem less worth to you than your fleshly pleasure for a time, must we renounce our Christianity, and our reason, for fear of differing from you? If you dare differ from your Maker, and the Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost, and all the prophets, apostles, and evangelists, and all that ever came to heaven, might not we be bold to differ from you? If you will needs be ungodly, and choose your everlasting woe, be patient with them that have more understanding, and dare not be so hardy as to leap after you into the unquenchable fire: mock not at holiness if you have no mind of it. Hinder not them that "strive to enter in at the strait gate," if you refrain yourselves. Be not so desirous of company to hell. It will prove no comfort to you, or abatement of your pain.

But because you have the faces to contradict the God of truth, and to reproach that work which he commandeth, and to say, 'What needs so much ado?' when he bids us do it with all our might; I will briefly tell you what you are doing,

i 1 John iii. 12.

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k 1 John iii. 13.

1 John iii. 3. 5, 6. Matt. xviii. 3. Heb. xii. 14. Rom. viii. 9--13.

and shew you the ugly face of the scorner, and the filthy hearts of the enemies of holiness, that if it may be, you may loathe yourselves.

m

1. These enemies of holy diligence, deny God with their works and lives, and are practical atheists; and it seems are so near of kin to "that wicked one "," that they would have all others to do so too. And then how soon would earth be turned into hell! The case is plain: if God deserve not to be loved and served with all the heart, and soul, and might, he is not God. And if thy wealth, or honour, or flesh, or friend deserveth more of thy love, and care, and diligence than God, then that is thy God that deserveth best. See now what these deriders of purity and obedience do think of God, and of the world.

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2. These Cainites do blaspheme the governor of the world when he hath given laws to the creatures that he made of nothing, these wretches deride and hate men for obeying them. If God have not commanded that which you oppose, contradict it, and spare not: I would you were much more against that pretended religion which he commandeth not. But if he have commanded it, and yet you dare revile them as too pure and precise that would obey it, what do you but charge the King of saints with making laws that are not to be obeyed? which must needs imply that they are foolish, or bad, though made by the most Wise and Good.

3. These enemies of holiness oppose the practice of the very first principles of all religion: for "He that cometh to God, must believe that God is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him "." And it is diligent seeking him that they hate and set themselves against.

4. Do not they judge heaven to be less worth than earth; when they will do less for it, and would have others to do so too?

5. They would have us all unchristian and unman ourselves, as if there were no life to come; as if our reason and all our faculties were given us in vain. For if they are not given us for greater matters than all the honours and pleasures of the world, they are in vain, or worse; and the life of man is but a dream and misery. Were not a beast less miserable, if this were all?

m See 1 John iii. 12.

" Heb. xi. 6.

VOL. VII.

L L

6. How base a price do these Cainites set on the immortal soul of man, that think it not worth so much ado, as the careful obedience of the laws of Christ? Not worth so much as they do themselves for their filthy sins and perishing flesh? But would have us so mad as to sell heaven and our souls for a little sinful sloth and ease.

7. These enemies of holiness would have men take their mercies for their hurt, and their greatest blessings for a burden or a plague, and to run into hell to be delivered from them. Why man, dost thou know what holiness is? and what it is to have access to God? I tell thee it is the foretaste of heaven on earth. It is the highest glory, and sweetest delight, and chiefest commodity to the soul. And art thou afraid of having too much of this? What, thou that hast none (which should make thee tremble), art thou afraid of having too much? Thou that never fearest too much money, nor too much honour, nor too much health, art thou afraid of too much spiritual health and holiness? What shall be thy desire, if thou loathe and fly from thy felicity?

8. You that are loyal subjects, take heed of these ungodly scorners; for by consequence they would tempt you to despise your king, and make a mock at the obeying of his commands and laws. For if a man persuade you to despise a judge, he implieth that you may despise a constable. No king is so great in comparison of God, as a fly or worm is to that king. He therefore that would relax the laws of God, and make it seem a needless thing to obey him diligently and exactly, implieth that obedience to any of the sons of men, is much more needless.

And you that are children or servants, take heed of the doctrine of these men. Masters, admit it not into your families. If he be worthy to be scorned as a Puritan or Precisian that is careful to please and obey the Lord; what scorn do your children or servants deserve, if they will be obedient and pleasing to such as you?

9. All you that are poor tradesmen, take heed of the consequences of the Cainites' scorns, lest it make you give over the labours of your calling, and turn yourselves and families into beggary. For if heaven be not worth your greatest labour, your bodies are not worth the least.

10. These Cainites speak against the awakened con

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sciences, and the confessions of all the world. they may say in the dream of their blind presumption and security, at last, when death hath opened their eyes, they all cry, O that we had been saints! "O that we might die the death of the righteous, and that our last end might be as his!" O that we had spent that time, and care, and labour for our souls, which we spent on that which now is gall to our remembrance! And yet these men will take no warning, but now oppose and deride that course that all the world do wish at last they had been as zealous for as any.

11. The enemy himself hath a conscience within him, that either grudgeth against his malicious impiety, and witnesseth that he abuseth them that are far better than himself, or at least will shortly call him to a reckoning, and tell him better what he did, and make him change his face and tune, and wish himself in the case of those that he did

oppose. 12. To conclude, the Cainite is of that wicked one, of his father the devil P; and is his walking, speaking instrument on earth, saying what he himself would say: he is the open enemy of God: for who are his enemies, but the enemies of holiness, of his laws, of our obedience, of his image, and of his saints? And how will Christ deal at last with his enemies? O that they knew, that foreseeing, they might escape! This is the true, the ugly picture of a Cainite, or enemy of a holy life, that reproacheth serious diligence as a precise and needless thing, when God commandeth us, and death, and the grave, and eternity admonish us to do his work with all our might. "Now consider this ye that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you *."

But of all the opposers of serious holiness in the world, there are none more inexcusable and deplorably miserable, than those that profess themselves Ministers of Christ. Would one believe that had not known them, that there are such men in the world? Alas, there are too many. Though education, and the laws of the land engage them to preach true doctrine, yet are they false teachers in the application. For they never well learned the holy and heavenly doctrine which they preach, nor digested it, or received the power and impress of it upon their hearts; and therefore, retaining their

1 John iii. 12. P John viii. 42. 44. 4 Luke xix. 27. r. Psal. 1. 22.

natural corruptions, impiety, and enmity to the life, and power, and practice of that doctrine, they indirectly destroy what directly they would seem to build; and preach both for God, and against him, for Christ and the Holy Spirit, and against them; for godliness, and against it, both in the same sermon. In general, they must needs speak for the word of God, and a holy life; but when they come to the particulars, they secretly reproach it, and condemn the parts, while they commend the whole. In general, they speak well of religious, godly, holy people; but when they meet with them, they hate them, and make them Precisians, "a sect that is every where spoken against, pestilent fellows, and movers of sedition," as the apostles were accused; and any thing that malice can invent to make them odious. And what they cannot prove, they will closely intimate, in the false application of their doctrines, describing them so as may induce the hearers to believe that they are a company of self-conceited hypocrites, factious, proud, disobedient, turbulent, peevish, affecting singularity, desiring to engross the reputation of godliness to themselves, but secretly as bad as others. And when they have thus represented them to the ignorant sort of people, they have made the way of godliness odious, and sufficiently furnished miserable souls with prejudice and dislike; so that because the persons are thus made hateful to them, all serious diligence for heaven, all tenderness of conscience, and fear of sinning, all heavenly discourse, and serious preaching, reading, or praying, are also made odious for their sakes; for hearing so ill of the persons, and seeing that these are the things wherein they differ from others, they reduce their judgment of their tices to their foresettled judgment of the persons. When their diligence in their families, in prayer and instructions, in reading and fruitful improvement of the Lord's-day, or any other actions of strictness and holy industry are mentioned, these ungodly ministers are ready to blot them with some open calumnies, or secret reproaches, or words of suspicion, to vindicate their own unholy lives, and make people believe that serious piety is faction and hypocrisy. The black tincture of their minds, and the design and drift of their preaching may be perceived in the jeers, girds, and slanderous in

$ Acts xxiv. 5. xxviii. 22.

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