destroyer of souls, for want of this piece to defend their naked breasts against his murdering shot. Had God made thee rich and great in the world, but not holy, he had but given thee stock to trade with for Hell. These would have made a greater booty for Satan, and only procured in the end a deeper damnation. When an enemy comes before a city that hath no walls nor arms to defend it, truly the richer it is the worse it fares; when Satan comes to a man that hath much of the world about him, but nothing of God in his soul to defend him, O what miserable work doth he make with such? He takes what he pleaseth, and doth what he will, purse and all the poor wretch hath is at his command: let a lust ask ever so unreasonably, he hath not a heart to deny it; though he knows what the gratifying of it will cost him in another world, yet he will damn his soul rather than displease his lust. Herod throws half his kingdom at the foot of a wanton wench, if she will ask it; and because that was thought too little by her, he will sacrifice his whole kingdom to his lust, for so much the blood of John the Baptist may be judged to have cost him in this life, being (so wakeful was divine providence) shortly after turned out of his throne, besides what he pays in the other. But when God made thee a holy man or woman, then he gave thee gates and bars to thy city; thou art now able, through his grace, to stand on thy defence, and with the continual succours heaven sends thee to withstand all his power. Thou wert once indeed a tame slave to him, but now he is a servant to thee; that day thou becamest holy, God did set thy foot on the serpent's head; thy lusts were once his strong holds with which he kept thee in awe, and out of which he did come and do thee so much hurt; but now these are out of his hand. O what joy is there in a town when the castle that commanded it is taken from the enemy! Now, poor soul, Satan is dislodged and unkennelled; never more shall he play Rex in thy soul, as he hath done; in a word, when thou wert made a holy righteous person, then did God begin heaven in thy soul, that day thou wert born again, an heir to heaven was born. And if such acclamations be at the birth of a young prince,

heir to some petty territories, hast not thou more cause that then hadst heaven's glory settled on thee in reversion? especially if thou considerest where all thy inheritance lay a little before that thou couldest lay claim to. Paul joins both together to make his doxology full: "giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." 1 Col. xii. 13. O blessed change! to step out of the devil's dark dungeon, where thou wert kept in chains of sin and unrighteousness, prisoner for Hell, into the kingdom of Christ's grace, where thou hast the gold chain of holiness and righteousness put about thy neck, as heirsapparent to Heaven: "such honour have all his saints."

Secondly, Look thou keepest thy breast-plate on, Christian. Need we bid the soldier be careful of his armour? when he goes into the field, can he easily forget to take that with him, or be persuaded to leave it behind him? Yet some have done so, and paid dear for their boldness. Better thou endure the weight of thy plate, though a little cumbersome to the flesh, than receive a wound in thy breast for want of it: let this piece fall off, and thou canst keep none of the other on. If thou allowest thyself in any unholiness, thy sincerity will presently be called into question in thy conscience. I confess we find that Peter, a little after his sad fall in denying his master, had the testimony of his uprightness: "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee." John xx. 17. After Christ had thrice put it to the question, he could confidently vouch his sincerity; but we must know, first, that sin was not a deliberate sin; the poor man was surprised on a sudden; and, secondly, there had intervened his bitter sorrow between his sin and this his profession; and the renewing of his repentance so speedily conduced much to the clearing of his sincerity to his conscience. But David found it harder

work, who sinned more deliberately, and lay longer soaking in his guilt, as you may perceive, Psal. li. 10. where he pleads so earnestly that God would "renew a right spirit in him."

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Again, the Gospel shoe will not come on thy foot so long as swelled with any sinful humour (I mean any unrighteous or unholy practice), till assuaged and purged out by repentance. Consider the Gospel in its preparation. Art thou in a fit case to suffer cheerfully for God, or patiently from God, as thou art? No more than a soldier in a disease, sick in bed, is to take a hard march; unholiness tenders the soul as much as sickness doth the body, and indisposeth it to endure any hardship. "O spare me a little, that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more." Psal. xxxix. 13. David was not yet recovered out of that sin which had brought him exceeding low, as you may perceive, ver. 10, 11. And the good man cannot think of dying with any willingness till his heart be in a holy frame; and for the "peace of the Gospel," serenity of conscience and inward joy, alas! all unholiness is to it as poison is to the spirits, which drinks them up; throw a stone into a brook, and, though clear before, it presently is disturbed and muddy. "He will speak peace unto his people, but let them not turn again to folly." Psal. lxxxv. 8. Mark here what an item he gives, "but let them not turn;" as if he had said, Upon their peril be it; if they turn from holy walking to folly, I will turn from speaking peace to speak terror.

Again, by thy negligence in thy holy walking thou endangerest thy faith, which is kept in a good conscience, as the jewel in the cabinet. Faith is an eye; all sin and unholiness casts a mist before this eye. A holy life to faith is as a clear air and medium to the eye. We can see furthest in a clear day; thus faith sees furthest into the promise, when it looks through a holy well ordered conversation. Faith is a shield, and when does the soldier drop that out of his hand, but when dangerously wounded? and if faith fail, what will become of hope, which hangs upon faith and draws all her nourishment from her, as the sucking child doth from the nurse? If faith cannot see a pardon in the promise, then hope cannot look for salvation; if faith cannot lay claim to sonship, then hope will not wait for the inheritance. Faith tells the soul it hath "peace with God," then the soul

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rejoiceth in the hope of glory," Rom. v. And now, Christian, what hast thou yet left for thy help? wilt thou betake thyself to the sword of the Spirit? alas! how canst thou wield it, when by thy unholy walking thou hast lamed thy hand of faith that should hold it? This sword hath two edges: with one it heals, the other it wounds; with one it saves, with the other it damns. O it is a dreadful weapon when it strikes with its wounding damning side; and for the other side, thou hast nothing to do with it, while in any way of unholiness. Not a kind word in the whole Bible spoken to one sinning. Now, poor creature, think and think again, is there any sin worth hazarding all this confusion and mischief, which, if thou art resolved to have it, will inevitably befal thy soul?

Thirdly, Be humble when thou art most holy; which way soever pride works (as thou shalt find it like the wind, sometimes at one door, sometimes at another) resist it. Nothing more baneful to thy holiness; it turns righteousness into hemlock, holiness into sin. Never art thou less holy than when puffed up with the conceit of it. When we see a man blown up and swelled with the dropsy, we can tell his blood is naught and waterish, without opening a vein for the trial: the more pride puffs thee, the less pure blood of holiuess thou hast running in the veins of thy soul. "Behold his soul which is lifted up, is not upright." Hab. ii. 4. See an ecce, like a sign, is set up at the proud man's door, that all passengers may know a naughty man dwells there. As thou wouldest not therefore not only enfeeble the power of holiness, but also call in question the truth of thy holiness, take heed of pride. Sometimes possibly thou wilt be ready to despise others, and bid them in thy thoughts stand off, as not so holy as thyself; this smells of the Pharisee, beware of it. It is the nature of holiness to depress ourselves, and to give our brethren the advantage in measuring their gifts or graces with our own. "Iu lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves." Phil. ii. 3. At another time possibly thou mayest find a spice of the justiciaries disease hanging about thee, thy heart leaning on thy righteousness, and

lifting up thyself into confidence of it, so as to expect thy acceptation with and salvation from God for that. O take heed of this, as thou lovest thy life. I may say to thee, as Constantine did to Acetius the Novatian: "Set then up thy ladder, and go to heaven by thyself;" for never any went this way thither; and dost thou think to be the only man that shall appear in Heaven purchaser of his own happiness? go first, poor creature, and measure the length of thy ladder by the extent of the holy law, and if thou findest it but one round short of that, thou mayest certainly conclude it will leave thee short of Heaven. If therefore thou hast beheld (to allude to that in Job xxxi. 27.) thy righteousness when it hath shined, and thy holiness walking in its brightness, and thy heart thereby hath been enticed secretly, or thy mouth hath kissed thy hand, know this is a great wickedness, and in this thou hast denied the God above. Thou hast given the highest part of divine worship unto a creature, the created son of thy inherent holiness, which God hath appointed should be given alone to the uncreated Sun of righteousness, the Lord Jesus, the "Lord our righteousness." Renounce thy plea (as now thou hast laid it) for life and salvation, or else give thy cause as lost. Now, the more effectually to keep down any insurrection of pride from the conceit of thy holiness, be pleased to take often these soul-humbling considerations into thy serious thoughts.

First, Think frequently of the infinite holiness of God. When men stand high, their heads do uot grow dizzy till they look down; when men look down upon those that are worse than themselves, or less holy than themselves, then their heads turn round; looking up would cure this disease. The most holy men, when once they have fixed their eyes awhile upon God's holiness, and then looked upon themselves, they have been quite out of love with themselves, and could see nothing but unholiness in themselves. After the vision the prophet had of God sitting on his throne, and his heavenly ministers of state, the seraphims, about him, covering their faces, and crying, "Holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts;" how was this gracious man presently smitten with the sense of his