you shall find that he is above other men, taken up in earnest petitions for the conversion of the heathen and infidel world, and the undeceiving of Mahometans, Jews, and heretics, and the clearing of the church from those papal tyrannies, and fopperies and corruptions, which make Christianity hateful or contemptible, in the eyes of the heathen and Mahometan world, and hinder their conversion. No man so much lamenteth the pride and covetousness, and laziness and unfaithfulness of the pastors of the church: because of the doleful consequents to the Gospel and the souls of men, and yet with all possible honor to the sacred office, which they thus profane. No man so heartily lamenteth the contentions and divisions among Christians, and the doleful destruction of charity thereby. It grieveth him to see how much selfishness, pride, and malice, prevail with them that should shine as lights in a benighted world, and how obstinate and incurable they seem to be, against the plainest means, and humblest motions, for the church's edification and peace; Psal. cxx. 6, 7. cxxii. 6. Phil. ii. 1-4. Psal. cxix. 136. Zeph. iii. 18. Ezek. ix. 4. Psal. Ixix. 9. John ii. 17. He envieth not kings and great men their dominions, wealth or pleasure: nor is he at all ambitious to participate in their tremendous exaltation. But the thing that his heart is set upon is, "that the kingdoms of this world may all become the kingdoms of the Lord; Rev. xi. 15; and that the Gospel may every where "have free course and be glorified," and the preachers of it be encouraged, or at least "be delivered from unreasonable, wicked men; 2 Thes. iii. 1, 2. Little careth he who is uppermost or conquereth in the world, or who goeth away with the preferments or riches of the earth (supposing that he fail not of his duty to his rulers) so that it may go well with the affairs of the Gospel, and souls be but helped in the way to heaven. Let God be honored, and souls converted and edified, and he is satisfied. This is it that maketh the. times good in his account; he thinketh not as the proud and carnal church of Rome, that the times are best when the clergy are richest and greatest in the world, and overtop princes, and claim the secular power, and live in worldly pomp and pleasures; but when holiness most aboundeth, and the members of Christ are likest to their head, and when multitudes of sincere believers are daily added to

the church, and when the mercy and holiness of God shine forth in the numbers and purity of the saints. It is no riches or honor that can be heaped upon himself, or any others, that make the times seem good to him, if knowledge and godliness are discountenanced and hindered, and the way to heaven is made more difficult; if atheism, infidelity, ungodliness, pride and malignity do prevail, and truth and sincerity are driven into the dark; and when he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey." Psal. lix. 15. When "the godly man ceaseth and the faithful fail from among the children of men; when every man speaketh vanity to his neighbor, and the poor are oppressed, and the needy sigh, and the wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted." Psal. xii, 1, 2. 5. 8. The times are good when the men are good; and evil when the men are evil, be they never so great or prosperous. As Nehemiah, when he was cup-bearer to the king himself, yet wept and mourned for the desolations of Jerusalem; Nehem. i. 3, 4. ii. 2, 3. Whoever prospereth, the times are ill when there is a "famine of the word of the Lord, and when the chief of the priests and people do transgress and mock God's messengers, and despise his word, and misuse his prophets; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14. 16. Amos viii. 11, 12. When the apostles are "charged to speak no more in the name of Christ; Acts iv. 18. v. 40. It is a text enough to make one tremble, to think into what a desperate condition the Jews were carried by a partial, selfish zeal; "who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to all men; forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sin alway, for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost; 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16. When the interest of themselves and their own nation and priesthood, did so far blind and pervert them, that they durst persecute the preachers of the Gospel, and "forbid them to speak to the people that they may be saved;" it was a sign that "wrath was come upon them to the uttermost." A Christian indeed had rather be without Jeroboam's kingdom, than make Israel to sin,' and 'make the basest of the people priests,' and 'stretch out his hand against the prophet of the Lord' 1 Kings xii. 30, 31. xiii.

He had rather labor with his hands, as Paul, and live in poverty

and rags, so that the Gospel may be powerfully and plentifully preached, and holiness abound, than to live in all the prosperity of the world, with the hindrance of men's salvation. He had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God, than be a lord in the kingdom of satan. He cannot rise by the ruins of the church, nor feed upon those morsels that are the price of the blood of souls.

2. And the weakest Christian is in all this of the same mind, saving that private and selfish interest is not so fully overcome, not so easily and resolutely denied; Luke xiv. 26. 33.

3. But here the hypocrite sheweth the falseness of his heart. His own interest is it that chooseth his religion; and that he may not torment himself, by being wicked in the open light, he maketh himself believe, that whatsoever is most for his own interest is most pleasing unto God, and most for the good of souls and the interest of the Gospel; so that the carnal Romish clergy can persuade their consciences, that all the darkness and superstitions of their kingdom, and all the opposition of the light of the Gospel of Christ, do make for the honor of God and the good of souls; because they uphold their tyranny, wealth, and pomp, and pleasure. Or if they cannot persuade their consciences to believe so gross a lie, let church and souls speed how they will, they will favor nothing that favoreth not their interest and ends. And the interest of the flesh and Spirit, and of the world and Christ, are so repug nant, that commonly such worldlings take the serious practice of godliness for the most hateful thing, and the serious practisers of it for the most insufferable persons: Acts vii. 57. xxi. 36. xxii. 22, xxiv. 5, 6. John xix. 15. The enmity of interests, with the enmity of nature, between the woman's and the serpent's seed, will maintain that warfare to the end of the world; in which the prince of the powers of darkness shall seem to prevail, (as he did against our crucified Lord :) but he shall be overcome by his own successes, and the just shall conquer by patience, when they seem most conquered. The name, and form, and image of religion, the carnal hypocrite doth not only bear, but favor, and himself accept; but the life and serious practice he abhorreth, as inconsistent with his worldly interest and ends. For these he can find in his heart, with Ahab, to hate and imprison Micaiah, and prefer his four hundred flattering

prophets; 1 Kings xxii. 6. 8. 24. 27. If Luther will touch the pope's crown and the friars' bellies, they will not scruple to oppose and ruin, both him and all such preachers in the world, if they were able: John xi. 48. 50. Acts v. 28.

LVI. 1. A Christian indeed, is one whose holiness usually maketh him an eyesore to the ungodly world; and his charity and peaceableness, and moderation, maketh him to be censured as not strict enough, by the superstitious and dividing sects of Christians. For seeing the church hath suffered between these two sorts of opposers, ever since the suffering of Christ himself; it cannot be but the solid Christian offend them both, because he hath that which both dislike. All the ungodly hate him for his holiness, which is cross to their interest and way; and all the dividers will censure him for that universal charity and moderation, which is against their factious and destroying zeal (described, James iii.). Even Christ himself was not strict enough (in superstitious observances) for the ceremonious, zealous Pharisees. He transgressed, with his disciples, the tradition of the elders, in neglecting their observances, who transgressed the commandment of God by their tradition; Matt. xv. 2, 3. He was not strict enough in their uncharitable observation of the sabbath day; Matt. xii. 2. John, who was eminent for fasting, they said, had a devil. "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'behold a man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.' But wisdom is justified of her children;" Matt. xi. 18, 19. And the weak Christians; Rom. xiv. 1-3. did censure those that did eat those meats and do those things, which they conceived to be unlawful. They that err themselves, and make God a service which he never appointed, will censure all as lukewarm, or temporizers, or wide-conscienced men, that err not with them, and place not their religion in such superstitious observances, as "touch not, taste not, handle not," &c. Col. ii. 18. 21-23. And the raw, censorious Christians are offended with the charitable Christian, because he damneth not as many and as readily as they, and shutteth not enough out of the number of believers, and judgeth not rigorously enough of their ways. In a word, he is taken by one sort to be too strict, and by the other to be too compliant or indifferent in

religion; because he placeth not the kingdom of God in meats and days, and such like circumstances, but in "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;" Rom. xiv. 15-17. And as Paul withstood Peter to the face, for drawing men to make scruple or conscience of things lawful; Gal. ii. 11-13; so is the sound Christian withstood by the superstitious, for not making scruple of lawful things.

2. And the weak Christian is in the same case, so long as he folJoweth prudent, pious, charitable guides. But if he be taken in the snares of superstition, he pleaseth the superstitious party, though he displease the world.

3. And whereas the solid Christian will not stir an inch from truth and duty, to escape either the hatred of the wicked, or the bitterest censures of the sectary, or the weak; the hypocrite must needs have one party on his side: for if both condemn him, and neither applaud him, he looseth his peculiar reward: Matt. vi. 2. 5. xxiii. 5-8.

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LVII. 1. The confirmed Christian doth understand the necessity of a faithful ministry, for the safety of the weak, (as well as the conversion of the wicked) and for the preservation of the interest of religion upon earth! And therefore no personal unworthiness of ministers, nor any calumnies of enemies can make him think or speak dishonorably of that sacred office. But he reverenceth it as instituted by Christ; and though he loathe the sottishness and wickedness of those that run before they are sent, and are utterly insufficient or ungodly, and take it up for a living or trade only, as they would a common work; and are sons of Belial, that know not the Lord, and cause the offering of the Lord to be abhorred;" 1 Sam. ii. 2. 17. yet no so such temptation shall overthrow his reverence to the office, which is the ordinance of Christ; much less will he be unthankful to those who are able and faithful in their office, and labor instantly for the good of souls, as willing to spend and be spent for their salvation. When the world abuseth and derideth, and injureth them, he is one that honoreth them both for their work and master's sake, and the experience which he hath had of the blessing of God on their labors to himself. For he knoweth that the smiting of the shepherds, is but the devil's ancient way for the scattering of the flock; though he knoweth that "if the salt hath lost its saver, it is VOL. II.

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