your content; but when you have all done, you must return by sound repentance into the way of holiness, or you are lost for ever. When you have slighted grace, you must give up yourselves to the power of that grace. When you have set light by a life of holy love to God, and the fruition of him in glory, you must make it your treasure and delight, and your hearts must be upon it, or you are undone; Matt. vi. 21. When you have made a jest of a holy life, you must come about, and take yourselves that course that you jested at, though you be as much jested at by others; yea, and make it the principal business of your lives, or perish in hell under the vengeance of the Almighty, whose justice you provoked, and whose mercy you neglected. Choose you whether, but one of them will be your part. Even as Saul, that was "exceeding mad against believers, and persecuted them even to strange cities" (Acts xxv. 10, 11.), was glad to become one of them himself, though he suffered as much as he had caused them to suffer; and accounted it the greatest mercy of his life, that God vouchsafed him such a change, whatever it cost him.

IV. Quest. But is nothing necessary but this one? Are not other things also needful in their places?'

Answ. I told you that other things are not other, so far as they stand in due subordination to this one, or are the parts of it. He that saith to a sick man, 'You would do well if you had such a skilful man for your physician,' doth not by these words intend to exclude his apothecary, or his medicines, or the taking of them, or the instruments and means by which they are applied; but rather includeth and implieth all these in the one thing mentioned to which they do subserve. So all God's graces, and all the means of grace, and Christian duties, are contained or implied in the one thing necessary, or supposed to it. Because it is one thing that is necessary as the end, therefore many means are necessary to the obtaining of it. Though there be also a kind of unity (as hath been shewed) among those means.

Quest. But are not outward things also necessary? Must we not have food and raiment? and must we not labour and provide it, and take care for our families, and follow our callings? Must we not by lawful means avoid reproach and poverty in the world?'

Answ. In the way of duty it is as necessary that we labour in our callings, and provide things honest, and subserve God's providence for the maintenance of ourselves and others; and the things of this life are needful so far as life is needful, that we may have time and strength to do our works, and be supported while we seek the one thing needful. But that which is not necessary for itself, but for another thing, is not simply or principally necessary. So far as heaven may be obtained, and the work of Christianity done without the accommodations of the flesh, so far these worldly things are needless. There is no necessity that you be rich or honourable; or that you live in health or wealth; or that you escape the hatred, and reproach, and trouble of a malicious world! There is no necessity that you should save your lives when Christ requireth them. For he that so saveth his life shall lose it; Matt. xvi. 25. And that usefulness (which you may in a lower sense call necessity) that any of these things are of, is but in their respect to the one thing necessary, as they are sanctified means to the service of God and our salvation. If your daily bread be to be called necessary, it is not for itself, or for fleshly pleasure, nor ultimately for your life itself; but to sustain your life while you are seeking after life eternal, and serving him that is the Lord of life. Your credit, or honour, or pleasure in the world, are no further necessary or useful to you, than they promote this great end for yourselves or others. Nothing but God is simply necessary for himself, and nothing else is any way truly necessary but for him.

And therefore as by necessity of precept you must labour in your callings, and seek provision for yourselves and families, you must most carefully watch your hearts that your desires and labours be not carnal, as tending only to carnal ends; but that you sincerely subject the things desired, to the one thing necessary, for which you must desire them; and therefore that you desire but such measures and proportions, as are most suitable to that end which is only for itself desirable: even life itself must not be desired simply and ultimately for itself.

As you must pray but for your daily bread, and be content with food and raiment, so you must see, that these be but for better things; even in order to the doing of the will

of God, the promoting of his kingdom, and the hallowing of his name, which must be first and most desired. The order of your duty is, to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," and then other things are promised with it; Matt. vi. 33. And therefore for it, must be desired and sought.

And if your very food and life must be desired but for this everlasting end, then it is still but one thing that is necessary, and finally to be desired. For the means is willed but with an imperfect willing, because not for itself; and that only hath our full and perfect love, which is loved for itself. Even in the act of love unto the means, it is more properly the end that is loved than the means, and the means is chosen for that end. So that you see that for all the necessity of creatures, and of diligence in our callings, the truth is still clear, that it is only one thing that is truly necessary.

V. Use 1. The understanding is the subservient faculty, to let in that light, which may by direction and excitation, guide the will. Having shewed you the truth, I am next to shew you how you may improve it, and so to apply it, as may best help you to apply it to yourselves.

And if I should here fall upon things impertinent, or make it my work to tickle your ears, or exalt myself in your esteem, by an unseasonable ostentation of learning or eloquence, or carry on any such corrupt design, while I should faithfully do the work of God, my text itself would openly condemn me. If one thing be needful, it is that one that I must do myself, while I am exhorting you to do it. And woe be to me, if I should lay by that, to do any other unnecessary work, even to fish for the applause of carnal wits, while my very subject is the reproofs of Christ against a much more tolerable error.

And as to the manner of my admonition, if one thing be needful, I hope you will allow me to be as plain and serious I can, about this one. And my first address to you shall be for trial.

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And I shall make it now my earnest request to you, that you will bethink you how much you are concerned, to compare your hearts and lives with this passage, and judge yourselves by the word of God that is now before you. And for your own sakes do it seriously and faithfully, as passengers

that are hasting to the great assize. What say your consciences, sirs, to this question? Have you indeed lived in the world as men that believe that one thing is necessary? Hath this one had your chiefest care and labour, and have you chosen rather to neglect all other things than this? Look behind you, and judge of the course that you have taken by the light of this one text. I do not ask you, Whether you have heard that one thing is necessary; nor whether you have talked of it, and confessed it to be true; nor whether you have been called Christians by yourselves and others, and have come to church, and forborne those sins that would have most blemished your honour in the world. This is nothing to the question. Thus many thousands do, that were never acquainted with the one thing necessary. Nor do I ask you, Whether you have used to allow God half an hour's lip-service, or formal, drowsy prayer at night, when you have served the world and flesh all day? Nor whether you have been religious on the by, and given God some lean devotions which cost you little, and which your flesh can spare without any great diminution or detriment in its ease, and honour, and profit, and sensual delights. Nor whether you run to some kind of duties of religion, to make all whole, when you come from wilful reigning sin; and so make religion a fortress to your lusts, to quiet your consciences while you serve the flesh. I confess such a kind of religiousness as this, the world is acquainted with. But this is unanswerable to the rule before us.

But the question is, Whether this one thing hath been the treasure and jewel of your estimation; the darling of your affections; the prize of your most diligent endeavours, and the only felicity of your souls?

Sirs, as lightly as you hear this question now, you will one day find that your lives, yea your salvation, lieth upon your answer to it. Can you truly say, as before the Searcher of hearts, that it is he that hath had your hearts? That this one thing hath been more esteemed by you, than all the world besides? That other things have all stooped unto this one, and served under it? And that this hath had the stream of your most hearty affections, the drift of your endeavours, and hath been the matter that you have had first to do, and the thing for which you have lived in the world?

If this be not so, never talk of your Christianity for

shame. Your religion is vain, if this be not your religion. Alas, I know that we have all of us yet too much of the flesh, and are too cold in our affections, and too slow and uneven in our endeavours for our end. But yet for all that I must still tell you, (as I have often done because it is necessary) that here lieth the difference between the truly sanctified soul, and all the hypocrites and half-Christians in the world. Every true Christian is devoted unto God, and hath made a hearty and absolute resignation of himself and all that he hath unto him; and therefore loveth him with his superlative, most appretiative love, and serveth him with the best he hath, and thinks nothing too good or too dear for God, and for the attainment of his everlasting rest. Christ hath the chiefest room in his heart, and the bent and drift of his life is for him. He studieth how he may best serve and please him with his time, his interest, and all that he hath; and if he fall, as it is contrary to the habitual resolution of his soul, and contrary to the scope and current of his heart and life, so he riseth again by repentance with sorrow for his sin, and loathing of himself, and sincerely endeavours to amend, and goeth on resolvedly in his holy course. This is the state of every one that is in a state of life.

But for all hypocrites and half-Christians, their case is otherwise. The world and flesh is dearest to them, and highest in their practical estimation, though not in their speculative; and it hath their highest affections of love and delight, and the very bent and stream of heart and life, while God is served heartlessly on the by, for fear lest they be damned when they can enjoy the world and sin no longer, and is put off with the leavings of the flesh, and hath no more of their hearts, their tongues, their time, their wealth, than it can spare. They ask their flesh how far they shall be religious, and will go no further than will stand with their prosperity in the world. With the first and best they serve the flesh, and with the cheapest and the refuse they serve the Lord. When they go highest in their outside carnal religiousness, they go not beyond this hypocritical, reserved state; and usually, as Cain, they hate Abel for offering a more acceptable sacrifice. God must take up with this from them, or be without. They always serve him with this reserve, though it be not always explicit and discerned by them, 'Provided that it may go well with me in the world, and I