as much by filth and foolery, and as little by God and glory as they! Like the nobleman that was lunatic, or mad by fits, and whenever he was mad, he would swear all were mad that said not as he said, and would make all his servants be sent to Bedlam that would not imitate him, and there they must lie as madmen till their lord was recovered from his madness. So are God's servants used and talked of in the world, as if they were besides themselves, as long as the world is uncured of its madness. As the man is, so is his judgment, and such is his relish, and desire, and delight. When I was a child, I had far more desire to fill my pin-box, than now I have to fill my purse, and accounted it a greater treasure, and had much more delight and contentment in it. And, alas, we may remember since we were strangers to the relish of heavenly things, that we found more pleasure in that of which we are now ashamed, than we did in the most high and excellent things. Let us therefore pity and pray for those that are distempered with the same disease.

I have been longer on this than I thought to have been, because men think that we call them from all mirth, and joy, and pleasure, to a sour, heavy, melancholy life, when we call them to a serious diligence for their salvation. As if levity and folly were the only friends to pleasure, and it were only to be found in childish, worthless, transitory things. And as if the greatest everlasting happiness were no matter of true delight; nor seriousness, nor diligence, a friend to joy.

9. Moreover, as to the manner; God will be served with absolute self-resignation, without exceptions, limitations or reserves: not with the leavings of the flesh, nor with a proviso that you may not suffer by your religion, or be poor, or despised, or abused by the world: but with self-denial you must lay down all the flesh's interest at his feet; and you must take up your cross, and follow a suffering Christ to glory. You must serve him as those that are wholly his, and not your own, and have nothing but what is his, and therefore nothing to be excepted, reserved, or saved from him; but must be content that you and all your interest be in his hands, and saved by him, if saved at all. I know these terms seem hard to flesh and blood, (and should heaven be the crown and reward to them that have undergone

no trial for it?) But here is nothing but what is past all controversy, and all Christians do confess is the word of Christ.

10. Lastly, God will be served resolvedly and constantly if you will reign, you must conquer and endure to the end. Opposition you must expect; and overcome it, if you would not be overcome. It is not good beginnings that will serve turn, unless you also persevere, and fight out the good fight of faith, and finish your course, and patiently wait out the last breath, for the crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge will give the conquerors, when the unbelieving world shall say of all their delight and hope, 'It is past and gone, we shall never see or taste it more, but must now taste of that endless wrath of God which we were treasuring up, when we should have worked out our salvation.'

Well sirs, I have all this while been describing to you, both as to the Principles, the Matter and the Manner, what that religion, and service of God is, in which you must labour with all your might; that you may see that it is no factious or private opinions or practices that we call you to do; and that your consciences may no longer be deluded with the pretences of men's different opinions in religion; and that the names of Prelatical, Presbyterian, Puritan, Papist, or any other sounding in your ears, may not so distract or doat you, as to make you forget the name of Christian, which you have all undertaken, nor what the Christian religion is. You see now that it is nothing (no, not a syllable or tittle) which all sober Christians are not agreed in, that we persuade you to do as the work of your religion; and therefore I tell you again here, before that God that shall be your Judge, and that conscience that shall be as a thousand witnesses, that if you will go on in ungodly, worldly lives, and refuse the serious diligence of Christians in this religion which yourselves profess, it shall be so far from being any excuse or ease to you, that there were hypocrites, or heretics, or schismatics, or different opinions in religion in the world, that this very thing shall aggravate your sin and condemnation, that all these hypocrites, schismatics, or different parties in the church, did agree in the confession of all these things, and yet for all that you would not practise

them; no, nor practise what yourselves confessed: all these parties or sects shall rise up against the sensual and profane, ungodly sinner, and say, 'Though we are ignorant or doubtful of many other things, yet we are all agreed in these; we gave our concurrent testimony of them; we tempted no man to doubt of these, or to deny them.' If you will err more than an hypocrite or a schismatic, and be far worse than those that are such, or you account such, and think to excuse it, because they erred in lesser things, it is as if the devil should excuse his sin, by saying, Lord, thy saints did none of them love thee as they should, and hypocrites did but seem to love thee, and therefore I thought I might hate thee and set against thy ways.'

'But (saith the ungodly sensualist) I will never believe that God delighteth in long and earnest prayers; or that he is moved by the passions or the words of men; and therefore I take this but for babbling, which you call the serious diligence of believers, in their serving God.'

To this impious objection, I return these several answers. 1. Suppose this were true as you imagine, what is this to you that serve God no way at all with any serious diligence? that live in sensuality, and wilful disobedience to his laws, and do more for your bodies than for your souls, and for temporal things than for eternal?

2. Who do you think is most like to understand God's mind, and what is pleasing to him? Himself or you? Is any thing more plainly commanded in God's word, than praying with frequency, fervency and importunity? And will you tell God that he hath but dissembled with you, and told you that he is pleased with that which is not pleasing to him?

3. And what is the reason of your unbelief? Forsooth, because God is not moved with human words or passions? I grant he is not. But what of that? Hath But what of that? Hath prayer no other use but to move God? It is enough, 1. That it moveth us, and fitteth us to receive his mercies. 2. And that God hath made it necessary to the effect, and a means or condition without which he will not give the blessing. Do you think (if you judge but by natural reason) that a person is as fit for

k Luke xviii. 1—7. 1 Thess. v. 17. James v. 16.

a mercy that knoweth not the want or worth of it, and would not be thankful for it if he had it, as one that valueth it, and is disposed to thankfulness and improvement? And do not you know that holy prayer is nothing but the actuating of holy desires, and the exercise of all those graces which are suited to the due estimation and improvement of the mercy? And is it not the way when we would draw the boat to the bank, to lay hold of the bank and pull, as if we would draw it to the boat? If God be not moved and drawn to us, it is enough that we are moved and drawn to God: and withal that God may give us his own blessings, to whom and upon what terms he please, and that he hath assured us he will give them but to those that value, desire, and seek them, and that with faith, and fervency, and importunity.

And yet I may add, that God is so far above us, as that his incomprehensible essence, and blessed nature is very little known to us; and therefore though we know and confess that he hath no human passions nor imperfections, yet if he assume to himself the title of such a thing as love, desire, joy or wrath, we must in reason believe, that though these are not in God as they are in man with any imperfection; yet there is something in God that cannot more fitly be represented to man, nor be understood by man, than by the images of such expressions as God himself is pleased to use.

3. But I beseech you hearken to nature itself. Doth it not teach all rational creatures in necessity to pray to God? A storm will teach the profanest seaman to pray, and that with continuance and fervency. The mariners could say to Jonah in their danger, "What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God; if so be, that God will think upon us, that we perish not." And they themselves "cried every man unto his God." When thou comest to die, and seest there is no more delay, nor any more hope from the pleasures of sin, or from any of thy old companions or old deceits, then tell me whether nature teach thee not to cry, and cry mightily for pardon, and mercy, and help to God? Then we shall hear thee crying, 'O mercy, mercy, Lord, upon a miserable sinner,' though now thou wilt not believe that prayer doth any good.

1 Jon. i. 5, 6.

I will say no more to thee of this; if nature be not conquered, and grace have not forsaken thee, thou wilt be taught at home to answer this objection. Sure thou canst not easily so far conquer reason, as to believe that there is no God, And if thou believe that there is a God, thou canst not believe that he is not to be worshipped, and that with the greatest seriousness and diligence. Nor that he is not the giver of all that thou dost want. Or that the Governor of the world regardeth not the dispositions and actions of his subjects, but will equally reward the good and bad, and give to all alike, and have no respect to men's preparations for his reward. What heathen that believeth that there is a God, doth not believe that prayer to him is a necessary part of his worship?

Object.But is not your strict observation of the Lord's day, a controverted thing?'

Answ. In this also I will strip thee of this excuse. 1. Spend the Lord's day but according to the common principles of Christianity and reason, and it shall suffice: spend it but as one that loveth God better than any thing in the world, and that taketh more pleasure in his service than in sin and vanity: spend it but as the necessities of thy own soul, and thy families require; as one that is glad of so honourable, gainful and delightful an employment, as the public and private worshipping of God, and the serious contemplation of the life to come: as one that knoweth the need and benefit of having stated times for the service of God: and what would come of all religion, if the time were left to each one's will? Spend it as men that put a just difference between the common business of this world, and things that concern your endless state; and that have considered the proportion of one day in seven, in reference to this different consequence of the work: spend it as men that have lost as much time as you have done, and have need to make the best of the little that is left; and that are behindhand so far in the matters of your salvation, and have need to work with all your might, and should be more glad of the helps of such a day, than of thousands of gold and silver: spend it as those that believe that we owe God as much service as the Jews did: spend it as the ancient Christians spent it,