Varus, that for certain months together he let the hair of his head and beard grow still, and wore it long yea, and other whiles would run his head against the doors, crying out, Quintillius Varus, deliver up my legions again. By all which it is most apparent, that sin is the greatest thief in the world.

Oh then, who would not break league and covenant with it, and be still pressing God to do justice on it.

5. If you would break with sin, and arm and fence yourselves against it, then look on sin under the notion of a burden.

And indeed, sin of all burdens is the heaviest burden in all the world, Psal. xl. 12. "Innumerable evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart faileth me." And again, Psal. Xxxviii. 4. "Mine iniquities are gone over mine head, as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me to bear." Sin is a weight that easily besets poor souls, it is a burden that so troubles them, and puzzles them, that so curbs them, and girds them, that so presses and oppresses them, as that it wrings many bitter tears from their eyes, and many sad and grievous sighs and groans from their hearts.

Again, as sin is as a burden to christians; so it is a burden to heaven, it made heaven weary to bear the angels that fell; no sooner had they sinned but heaven groans to be eased of them, and it never left.groaning till justice had turned them agroaning to hell.

Again, as sin is a burden to heaven, so sin is a

burden to the earth; witness her swallowing up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, their wives, children, goods, servants, &c. Ah, sinners! your sins make the very earth to groan; they make the earth weary of bearing you. Oh! how doth the earth groan and longo swallow up these earthly wretches, whose hopes, whose hearts are buried in the earth these shall have little of heaven, but enough of earth when they come to die.

Cornelius a Lapide, tells a story, that he heard of a famous preacher, who, showing the heavy bondage of the creature, brings in the creatures complaining thus: Oh! that we could serve such as are godly! Oh! that our substance and our flesh might be incorporated into godly people, that so we might rise into glory with them! Oh! that our flesh might not be incorporated into the flesh of sinners; for if it be, we shall go to hell, and would any creature go to hell? Oh! we are weary of bearing sinners, we are weary of serving of sinners, Thus the creatures groan, thus the creatures complain, the sinner's sins forcing them to it.

Again, sin is a burden to God: Amos ii. 1. "Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves." By this plain, pithy, country comparison, God shows how sadly he is pressed and oppressed, how sorely he is wearied and tired with those people's sins. Divine patience is even worn out; justice hath lift up her hand, and will bear with them no longer. God seems to groan under the pressure of their sins, as a cart seems to do under a heavy load; of this, God complains by the prophet, Isa. xliii. 24. "Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou

hast wearied me with thine iniquities." I am as weary of your sins, as a travailing woman is weary of her pains, saith God. Sin was such a burden to God, that he sweeps it off with a sweeping flood, Gen. vii.

Again, sin is a burden to Christ, it made him sweat, as never man sweat: it made him sweat great drops of clotted or congealed blood. Sin put Christ's whole body into a bloody sweat, it made him groan piteously when he bare our sins on his body on the tree. Sin made his soul heavy even to the death; and had he not been one that was mighty, yea, that was almighty, he had fainted and failed under his burden. And thus you see what a burden sin is to man, to the creatures, to heaven, to earth, to God, to Christ, and therefore as you would break with sin, look always on it as a burden, yea as the greatest burden in the world.

6. If you would break covenant with sin, and arm and fence yourselves against it, then you must look on it under the notion of a tyrant.

And indeed, sin is the worst and greatest tyrant in the world. Other tyrants can but tyrannise over our bodies, but sin is a tyrant that tyrannises over both body and soul, as you may see in Rom. vi. Sin is a tyrant that hath a kind of jurisdiction in most men's hearts, it sets up the law of pride, the law of passion, the law of oppression, the law of formality, the law of hypocrisy, the law of carnali. ty, the law of self love, the law of carnal reason, the law of unbelief, and strictly commands subjection to them, and proclaims fire and sword to all that stand out: this, saints and sinners, good men and bad men, do sufficiently experience.

Sin is a tyrant, of many thousand years standing, and though it had many a wound, and many a foil, and received much opposition, yet still it plays the tyrant all the world over. Oh, the hearts that this tyrant makes to ache, the souls that this tyrant makes to bleed.

Pharaoh's tyranny was nothing to sin's tyranny, this tyrant will not so much as suffer his slaves to sleep they sleep not except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall. The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. "There is no peace to the wicked, saith my God," " Prov. vi. 4, '16. Isa. lvii. 20, 21. Other tyrants have been brought down, and brought under by human power, but this cannot but by a Divine; the power of man hath brought down many of the tyrants of this world, but it is only the power of Christ that can bring down this tyrant, that can cast down his strong holds, 2 Cor. x. 3, 4, 5, 6, &c. therefore engage Christ in the conflict, draw him into the battle, and in the end the conquest will be yours.

Vitellus, who had been emperor of all the world, yet was driven through the streets of Rome stark naked, and thrown into the river Tyber.

Andronicus, the emperor, for his cruelty towards his people, was by them at last shamefully deposed, and after many contumelies, hanged up by the heels.

Ptolemy was put on a cross, Bajazet in an iron cage, Phocas broken on the wheel, Lycaon cast to the dogs, as well as Jezabel, Attalus thrust into a forge, King Gath into a beer barrel. But none of

these that have tamed these tyrants, that have = brought down these mighty Nimrods, have been able to tame, to bring under the tyrants, the sins, the lusts, that have been in their bosoms; many a man hath had a hand in bringing down worldly tyrants; who notwithstanding have died for ever from the hand of a tyrant within.

CHAPTER VIII.

AND thus much for the directions that young men must follow, if they would be good betimes, if they would seek and serve the Lord in the spring and morning of their days.

I shall now give some brief answers to the young man's objections, and the old man's scruples, and so close up this discourse.

1. But some young men may object and say, you would have us to be good betimes, and to seek and serve the Lord in the primrose of our days, but it may be time enough hereafter to follow this counsel; we are young, and it may be time enough for us to mind these things hereafter, when we have satisfied the flesh so and so; or when we have got enough for the world, and laid up something that will stand us instead, and that may oil our joints when we are old.

To this objection I answer,

1. That it is the greatest folly and madness in the world, to put off God and the great things of eternity with may-be's, what tradesman, what mere chant, what mariner, so mad, so foolish, so block

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