the many mercies that such persons enjoy, who walk in those very ways that thy soul startles to think of, and the many crosses they are delivered from, even such as make other men (who dare not walk in such ways) spend their days in sighing and mourning; and therefore, saith Satan; if thou will be freed from the dark night of adversity, and enjoy the sun-shine of prosperity, thou must walk in their ways.*

By this stratagem the devil took those in Jer. xliv. 16, 17, 18. As for the world that thou has spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee; but we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of hea ven, and to pour drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings, and our princes in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword, and by the famine.'t This is the language of a world of ignorant, profane, and superstitious persons, that would

*It was a weighty saying of Seneca, "There is no one more unhappy than he who never felt adversity."

+ Some of the Heathens would be as wicked as their gods were, counting it as a dishonour to their god to be unlike him.-LACTANTIUS.

have made them a captain to return to bondage, yea, to that bondage that is worse than that the Israelites groaned under. Now the remedies against this device of Satan, are these that follow:

Remedy 1. Solemnly consider, that no man knows how the heart of God stands by his hand; his hand of mercy may be towards a man, when his heart may be against him, as you may see in Saul and others.* And the hand of God may be set against a man, when his heart is dearly set upon him, as you may see in Job and Ephraim; the hand of God was sorely set against them, and yet the heart and bowels of God were strongly working towards them; No mau knoweth either love or hatred by outward inercy or misery; for all things come alike to all, to the righteous and the unrighteous, to the good and to the bad, to the clean and to the unclean,' &c. The sun of prosperity shines as well upon brambles as fruit-trees; the snow and hail of adversity lights upon the best garden, as well as dunghills, or the wild waste. Ahab's and Josiah's ends concur in these very circumstances.

* Tully judged the Jews' religion to be naught, because they were so often overcome, impoverished. and afflicted; and the religion of Rome to be right, because the Romans prospered and became lords of the world; and yet, though the Romans had his hand, yet the Jews had his heart; for they were dearly beloved, though sorely afflicted.

Saul and Jonathan, though different in their natures, deserts, and deportments, yet in their deaths they were not divided. Health, wealth, honour, &c. crosse, sicknesses, losses, &c. are cast upon good and bad men promiscuously. The whole Turkish empire is nothing else but a crust, cast by heaven's great housekeeper to his dogs."* Moses dies in the wilderness as well as those that murmured. Nabal is rich as well as Abraham: Ahithophel wise as well as Solomon; and Doeg honoured by Saul, as well as Joseph was by Pharaoh. Usually the worst of men have most of these outward things; and the best of men have least of earth, though most of heaven.

Rem. 2. Consider likewise, there is nothing that doth so provoke God to be angry, as when men take encouragement from God's goodness and mercy to do wickedly. This you may see by the wrath that fell upon the old world, and by God's raining fire from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah. This is clear in Jer. xliv. from ver. 20, to ver. 28. the words are worthy your best meditation; oh, that they were engraven in your hearts, and constant in all our thoughts! Though they are too large for me to transcribe them, yet they are not too large for me to remember them To argue from mercy to sinful liberty, is the devil's logic, and such logicians

* "Nothing more than a bit of bread."-LUTHER.

ever walk as upon a mine of gunpowder, ready to be blown up; such persons can never avert or avoid the wrath of God. It is the highest wickedness for a man to be very bad, because God is very good; a worse spirit than this is not in hell.' Ah, Lord, doth not wrath, yea, the greatest wrath, lie at this man's door? Are not the strongest chains of darkness prepared for such a soul? To sin against mercy is to sin against humanity; it is bestial, nay, it is worse. To render good for evil is divine, to render good for good is human; to render evil for evil is brutish, but to render evil for good is devilish; and from this evil deliver my soul O God.

Rem. 3. Solemnly consider, that there is no greater misery in this life, than not to be in misery; no greater affliction, than not to be afflicted; wo! wo! to that soul that God will not spend a rod upon; this is the most awful stroke, when God refuses to strike! Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. Why should you be smitten any more? You will revolt more and more.' When the physician gives over the patient, you say, 'Ring his knell, the man is dead:' so when God gives up a soul to sin without controul, you may truly say,This soul is lost,

† Such souls make God a God of clouts, one that will not do as he saith, but they shall find God to be as severe in punishing, as he is to others gracious in pardoning. Good turns aggravate unkindnesses, and our guilt is increased by our obligations.

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you may ring his knell, for he is twice dead, and plucked up by the roots.' Freedom from punishment is the mother of security,* the stepmother of virtue, the poison of religion, the moth of holiness, and the introducer of wickededness: Nothing (said one) seems more unhappy to me, than he to whom no adversity hath happened.' Outward mercies oft-times prove a snare to our souls. I will lay a stumblingblock,' Ezek. iii. 20. Vatublus's note there is, 'I will prosper him in all things; and not by affliction restrain him from sin.' Prosperity hath been a stumbling-block, at which millions have stumbled and fallen, and destroyed their souls for ever.

Rem. 4. Seriously consider, that the wants of wicked men, under all their outward mercy and freedom from adversity, is far greater than all their outward enjoyments. They have many mercies, yet they want more than they enjoy, the mercies which they enjoy, are nothing to the mercies they want. It is true, they have honours and riches, and pleasures, and friends, and are mighty in power; their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes; 'Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them; they send forth their little ones like a flock, and their

"Religion brought forth riches, and the daughter soon Revoured the mother," saith Augustine.