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that agrees beft with felf: Rom. iii. 27. “Where is boafting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith."-Sinners are engaged in this labour,

4. Because they know no better. Christ is a hidden Chrift to men in their natural eftate; they fee not his glory, fulness, and excellency; they fay, as in Song, v. 9. "What is thy Beloved more than another beloved?" The fowl fcrapes by the jewels, and takes up a corn befide them, becaufe it knows not their worth: 1 Pet. ii. 7. "Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious, but unto them which be difobedient, the stone the difallowed, the fame is made the head of corner, and a ftone of ftumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them that stumble at the word, being difobedient."-Sinners continue this labour,

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Lafly, Becaufe men naturally are enemies to the way of falvation by Jefus Christ. I now

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V. To make fome practical improvement of the whole.

Allow me, then, to expoftulate with you in the moft earnest manner upon this fubject. Why fpend you your labour for that which fatisfieth not? Ifa. Iv. 2. Seeing you would labour, will you not change your work, and labour in God's way, that ye may enter into his reft? It is a wearifome labour that all out of Chrift are engaged in. I would have you, then, to give it over, and engage in the fervice of Chrift. I come in his name, to bid you, to befeech you, to cease from this labour. I have these things to fay, in regard to it.

1. It is a labour God never put in your hands, but it proceeds from the devil, and a corrupt heart, who yoked you to that work of feeking your hap

piness in the creatures; in lufts, or in the law, and not in God. To this fome may plead, Not guilty!

We know (fay fuch) the world is but a vain thing, and we place our chief happiness in God. God forbid we should be labouring in any fuch way!' For your conviction, however, I must speak a few things. You may be deceived; many are as bufy as their hands can be at that work, and yet fay that they are not: Prov. xxx. «There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthinefs."--I would inquire at you,

(1.) Who loofed you from this labour? Were you never at it? If you think fo, you miferably deceive yourselves, Eph. ii. 3. already quoted. Since Adam went from God, to pluck his happiness off the forbidden tree, all mankind have followed his steps, and abide at the work, till converting grace loofe them. What is converfion, but a turning to God, from whom we are naturally turned away? Alas! there are few converts !-'inquire,

(2.) Was you ever heartily wearied of this labour, feeing your folly in abiding fo long with it? Was it ever a heavy task, that you was made to groan out under? All are welcome to Chrift that will come, but none will ever give over their labour till they be brought to this. God must bring the foul to a holy defpair in this way, ere it be given over, Hof. ii. 6. 7. And then the foul, having run itself out of breath, can neither get fatisfaction in the creatures, nor go to God; thus it leaves the purfuit, and fits down with that, Jer. xxxi. 18. "Thou haft chaftifed me, and I was chaftifed, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke; turn thou me, and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God." John, vi. 44. "No man can come unto me, except the Father who fent me draw him."-I inquire,

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(3.) How

(3.) How are you kept from returning to this labour? If you have left it, it will not be without a ftruggle. There is a natural bias in the hearts of all men this way. Alas! the strong man keeps the house with the greater part; they have no ftruggle with the world, neither how to get it, nor how to keep it out of the heart. I inquire,

(4.) Whence is it your greatest diffatisfaction proceeds, from the world's mifgiving with you, or God's hiding his face from you? from your difappointments in the world, or at the throne of grace? Where the difappointment goes deepest, the expectations have been greatest: "Hope deferred makes the heart fick ;" an infallible evidence that most men are at this work. Men will not be diffatisfied for miffing a thing, where they were not to find it.-I inquire,

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(5.) Where do you find your greatest fatisfaction and pleasure, if we may call it fo? In the en◄ joyment of God, or of the world, or in getting the cravings of your lufts answered? Ah! there are not a few, from whom, if the world's joy was turned away, that would not have a blyth hour. They never found as much fweetnefs in the benefits of the covenant, as in thefe of the world.

(6.) If you be not labouring thus, what are you doing then? There is not, and there cannot be, an idle foul among us. If the devil has us not, God has us at work; one of the two muft. These things must bring convictions to our breasts.

ALLOW me still farther to expoftulate with you. Why spend you your labour for that which fatisfieth not? The labour you are engaged in is a thanklefs labour; God will not thank you for it; he fays, "Who hath required this at your hands ?” The devil pays you the wages which are due to it,

which are death, Rom. vi. 23. He hath no better to give. Befides this, the labour in which you are engaged, is a labouring against God: Jer, ii. 13. "Having forfaken the fountain of living wa ters, ye have hewed out for yourfelves cifterns,. broken cifterns that can hold no water." Ye are

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thus fetting the creature in the room of God, and accordingly God is against you in this labour, fo that you can never get what you are seeking from it. Oh! then be exhorted to ceafe from, to give up with this labour. To prevail with you in doing this, I would lay before you the following MOTIVES.

1. Why will ye toil so to bring out of the creatures what is not in them? Nothing but God himself is commenfurable to the defires of the foul; no man ever faw or will fee an end of his defires, till they are fwallowed up in God himself. When the creatures were at their best, there was the forbidden tree in paradife to teach man his happinefs was not in them. How much more now, when they are fo much worfe! Ifa. xxviii. 20. "For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it, and the covering narrower than that he can wrapt himself in it.”

2. How can ye think to find rest in that which is restless in itself? are not all things here unstable as water, and fo cannot excel? Unchangeableness is a neceffary property of that which makes truly happy, for otherwife the very fear of lofing it mars the conceived happiness. Will we feek our reft in vanity, fill our hands with the wind, fit eafy on the rolling waves, or on the top of a wheel that is in continual motion?

3. Did you ever meet with that among creature-enjoyments, that was every way as ye would

have had it? Diffatisfaction will proceed from any defect, however fmall, as it was with Haman, Efth. v. 13.; but fatisfaction requires an universal concurrence of all desirables in the thing that must fatisfy; fo it is, Song v. 16. "He is altogether. lovely." Let a man turn over the whole creation for fatisfaction, let all be caft into his lap, yet he will find, as in Job, xx. 22. " In the fulness of his fufficiency he fhall be in ftraits." Who ever got the rofe that wanted the prickles? the fweetnefs in any of them, that wanted a mixture of bitterness?

4. Do not the difappointment of hopes neceffary cleave to them all? They promise more when afar off, than they afford when they are come near. Mountains afar off become mole-hills when near; like a ball of fnow, the more closely it is held, it will grow the lefs,

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5. Has not the fap been fqueezed out of enjoyments to thee between the hand and the mouth? Hof. ix. 2. "The floor and the wine prefs fhall not feed them, and the new wine fhall fail in her." Have you not had fair profpects that have been blafted in a moment, ere you ever tafted of them? As if they had appeared for no other end, but to raife the appetite that was not to be laid with them.

6. Has not the lofs of them often brought greater forrow than ever the having of them gave joy; while God has taken away the defire of thine eyes, thy choice comforts. Wer't thou not more grieved then, than thou wer't happy before?

7 Has not that wherein thou haft expected the greateft comfort turned out to be the greatest crofs? This was the cafe with Rachel, who faid to Jacob, "Give me children, elfe I die," Gen. xxxi. compare Gen. xxxv, 16.-- 20. children, and death instantly followed.

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