rience, that as a plague, when it gets into a city that stands in the purest air, oft rageth more than in another place, so when a spirit of delusion falls upon a people that have enjoyed most of the gospel, it grows most prodigious. It makes me even tremble to think what a place of nettles England, that hath so long continued, without wrong to any other church Christ hath in the world, one of his fairest, fruitfullest garden-plots, may at last become; when I see what weeds have sprung up in our days. I have heard that reverend and holy Master Greenham should say, he feared rather atheism than popery would be England's ruin. Had he lived in our dismal days, he would have had his fears much encreased. Were there ever more atheists, made and making in England, since it was acquainted with the Gospel, than in the compass of a dozen years last past? I have reason to think there were not. When men shall fall so far from profession of the Gospel, and be so blinded that they cannot know light from darkness, righteousness from unrighteousness, are they not gone far in atheism? This is not natural blindness, for the Heathen could tell when they did good and evil, and see holiness from sin, without Scripture light to shew them, Rom. ii. 14, 15. No: this blindness is a plague of God fallen on them, for rebelling against the light when they could see it. And if this plague should grow more common, which God forbid, woe then to England.

Secondly, If we be to maintain the power of holiness, then, surely, it is possible. God would not command what he doth not enable his own peculiar people to do; only here you must remember carefully the distinction promised in the opening of the text, between a legal righteousness and an evangelical righteousness. The latter of which is so far from being unattainable, that there is not a sincere Christian in the world but is truly holy in this sense; that is, he doth truly desire, conscientiously endeavour, with some success of his endeavour, through divine grace assisting, to walk according to the rule of God's Word. I confess all Christ's scholars are not of the same form; all his children are not of the same stature and strength; some foot it more nimbly in the

ways of holiness than others; yet not a saint but is endued with a principle of life that sets him at work for God, and to desire to do more than he is able. As the seed, though little in itself, yet hath in it virtually the bigness and height of a grown tree, towards which it is putting forth with more and more strength of nature as it grows; so, in the very first principle of grace planted at conversion, there is perfection of grace contained in a sense; that is a disposition putting the creature forth in desires and endeavours after that perfection to which God hath appointed him in Christ Jesus. And therefore, Christian, whenever such thoughts of the impossibility of obtaining this holiness here on earth are suggested to thee, reject them as sent in from Satan, and that on a design to feed thy own distrustful humour, which he knows they will suit too well, as the news of giants and high walls, that the spies brought to the unbelieving Israelites, did them; and all to weaken thy endeavours after holiness, which he knows will surely prove him a liar. Do but strongly resolve to be conscientious in thy endeavours, with an eye upon the promise of help, and the work will go on, thou needest not fear it. "For the Lord God is a sun and a shield, he will give grace and glory, and no good thing will be with-hold from them that walk uprightly." Psalm lxxxiv. 11. Mark that, grace and glory, that is, grace unto glory; he will still be adding more grace to that thou hast, till thy grace on earth commenceth glory in Heaven.

SECT. II.

Use 2. Secondly, For reproof of several sorts of per

sons.

First, All those who content themselves with their unholy state wherein they are; such is the state of every one by nature. These, alas! are so far from maintaining the power of holiness, that they are under the power of their lusts; they give law to them, and cut out all their work for them, which they bestow all their time to make up. And is not that a sad life, sirs, which is spent about such filthy beastly work as sin and unrighteousness is? Well may the "bond of iniquity and the gall of bitterness" be

joined together." Acts viii. 23. The Apostle is thought to allude to Deut. xxix. 18. where all sin and unrighteousness is called, "a root that beareth gall and wormwood." He that plants sin and unholiness, and then thinks to gather any other than bitter fruit for all his labour, pretends to a knowledge beyond God himself, who tells that the natural fruit, which grows from this root, is gall and wormwood. Who would look for musk in a dog's kennel? that thou mayest sooner find there, than any true sweetness and comfort in unholiness. The devil may possibly for a time sophisticate with his cookery and art this bitter morsel, so that thou shalt not have the natural taste of it upon thy palate; but, as Abner said to Joab, "knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end?" 2 Sam. ii. 26. In Hell all the sugar will be melted wherein this bitter pill was wrapt; then, if not before, thou wilt have the true relish of that which goes down now so sweetly. O how many are there now in Hell cursing their feast and feast-maker too? Do you think it gives any ease to the damned to think what they had for their money? I mean what pleasures, profits, and carnal enjoyments they once had on earth, for which they now pay those unspeakable torments that are upon them, and shall continue for ever without any hope or help? No: it encreaseth their pain beyond all our conceit, that they should sell their precious souls so cheap, in a manner for a song, and lose Heaven and blessedness, because they would not be holy, which now they learn too late was itself (however they once thought otherwise) a great part of that blessedness, and now torments them to consider they put it from them under the notion of a burden and a bondage. But, alas! alas! how few thoughts do unholy wretches spend with themselves, in considering what is doing in another world? They see sinners die daily in the prosecution of their lust, but do no more think what is become of them (that they are in Hell burning and roaring for their sin) than the fish in the river do think what is become of their fellows that were twitched up by their gills from them even now with the angler's hook, and cast into the seething pot or fryingpan alive: no, as those silly creatures are ready still to

nibble and bite at the same hook that struck their fellows, even so are men and women forward to catch at those baits still of sinful pleasures, and wages of unrighteousness, by which so many millions of souls before them have been hooked into Hell and damnation.

Secondly, Those who are as unholy as others, naked to God's eye, and Satan's malice, but, to save their credit in the world, wear something like a breast-plate, a counterfeit holiness, which does them this service for the present, they are thought to be what they are not. Verily they have their reward, and a poor one it is. For the Lord's sake, consider what you do, and tremble at it; you do the devil, God's great enemy, double service, and God double disservice. As he that comes into the field, and brings deceitful arms with him; he draws his prince's expectation towards him, as one that would do some exploit for him, but means nothing so; yea he hinders some other, that would be faithful to his prince in that place where he, a traitor, now stands; such a one may do his prince more mischief than many who cowardly stay at home, or rebelliously run over to the enemy's side, and tell him plainly what they mean to do. O friends, be serious; if you will trade for holiness, let it be for true holiness, as it is phrased, "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness;" Ephes. iv. 24. wherein two phrases are observable; it is called the new man after God, that is, according to the likeness of God; such a sculpture on the soul or image, as is drawn after God, as the picture after the face of the man. Again, true holiness, or holiness of truth; either respecting the Word, which is the rule of holiness, and then it means a Scripture holiness, not pharisaical and traditional; or else it respects the heart, which is the seat of truth or falsehood; true holiness in this sense is holiness and righteousness in the heart, there must be truth of holiness in the inner parts; many a man's beauty of holiness is but like the beauty of his body, skin-deep, all on the outside. Rip the most beautiful body, and that which was so fair without, will be found within, when opened, to have little besides blood, filth, and stench; so this counterfeit holiness, when unbowelled,

and inside exposed to view, will appear to have hid within it nothing but abundance of spiritual impurities and abominations. God," saith Paul, to the high priest, "shall smite thee, thou whited wall." Acts xxiii. 3. Thus say I to thee, O hypocrite, God shall so smite thee, thou whited wall, or rather painted sepulchre, that thy paint without in thy profession doth not now more dazzle the eyes of others into admiration of thy sanctity, than thy rottenness within, which then shall appear without, will make thee abhorred and loathed of all that see thee.

Thirdly, Those who are so far from being holy themselves, that they mock and jeer others for being so. This breast-plate of righteousness is of so base an account with them, that they who wear it in their daily conversation do make themselves no less ridiculous to them than if they came forth in a fool's-coat, or were clad in a dress contrived on purpose to move laughter. When some wretches would set a saint most at naught, and represent him as an object of greatest scorn, what is the language he wraps him up in, but There goes a holy brother, one of the pure ones? His very holiness is that which he thinks to disgrace him with this shews a heart extremely wicked. There is a further degree of wickedness appears in mocking holiness in another than harbouring unholiness in a man's own bosom. That man hath a great antipathy indeed against a dish of meat, who not only himself refuseth to eat of it, but cannot bear the sight of it on another's plate without vomiting: O how desperately wicked is that man, with whom the very scent and sight of holiness at such a distance works so strange an effect as to make him cast up the gall and bitterness of his spirit against it? The Spirit of God bestows the chair upon this sort of sinners, and sets them above all their brethren in iniquity, as most deserving the place: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." Psalm i. 1. The scorner here is set as chairman at the council-table of sinners. Some read the word for scornful, rhetorical mockers. There is indeed a devilish wit, that some shew in their