5. heed of the flatteries of the Devil: Can he help it, thou shalt never find out the iniquity of thy heels. He will labour to blind thy mind, to harden thy heart, to put fuch ver tuous names upon thy fouleft vices, that thou shalt never, unless thou stoppest thine ear to him, after a godly fort, truly examin and try Lam.3.40. thy ways, according as thou art 2 Cor. 13. commanded. Wherefore take heed of him, for he will be ready at thy fide when thou goest about this work. Now for thy help in this matter, set God, the Holy God, the All-feeing God, the fin-revenging God, before thine eyes; for our Heb. 12. God is a consuming fire. And believe that he hath pitcht his eyes upon thy heart, also that he ponPro.5. 21. dereth all thy goings, and that thy chap. 21. judgment, as to thy faithfulness, or unfaithfulness, in this work, must proceed out of the mouth of God. This will be thy help in this thing, that is, if thou usest it faithfully; also this will be thy hindrance, if thou shalt neglect it, and fuffer thy felf to be abused by the Devil.... 29. 2. 3. It 2 Tim. 3. 1, 2, 3, 4, 3.It is urged from the dangerouf. nels of the latter days. Wouldest thou examin thy felf, then make not the lives of others any rule to thee in this matter. 'Tis prophefied long ago, by Chrift and by Paul, concern- Mat. 24. ing the latter times, that iniquity 12. shall abound, and be very high among profeffors. Therefore it will 5, 6. 7, 8. be a rare thing to find an exemplary life among profeffors. Wherefore cease from man, and learn of the word, try thy self by the word, receive conviction from the word; and to take off thy felf from taking of incouragemnt from others, fet the judgment before thine eyes, and that account that God will demand of thee then; and know that it will be but a poor excuse of thee to say, Lord such an one doth so, did so, would do so: and they professed, &c. Whether thou wilt hear me, or not, I know not, yet this I Prov.9.12. know, If thou be wise, thou shalt be wife for thy self: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. Let Let me then, to press this use farther upon thee, shew thee in a few particulars, the danger of not doing of it, that is of not departing from iniquity, since thou professest. First, The iniquity that cleaveth to men that profess, if they caftit not away, but countenance it, will all prove Nettles and Bryers to them: And I will afssure thee, yea, thou knowest, that Nettles and Thorns will sting and scratch but ill-favouredly. I went, faith Solo Pro, 24. mon, by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding. And lo, it was all grown over with Thorns, and Nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. 30, 31. Suppose a man were, after work all day, to be turned into a bed of Nettles at night: or after a man had been about such a business, should be rewarded with chastise ments of Bryers and Thorns : this would for work be but little help, relief, or comfort to him; why this is the reward of a wicked man, of a wicked professor, from God; Nettles Nettles and Thorns are to cover over the face of his Vineyard, his Field, his Profession, and that at the last of all; for this covering over the face of his Vineyard, with Nettles and Thorns, is to shew what fruit the slovenly, flothful, careless, profeffor will reap out of his profession, when reaping time shall come. Nor can he whose Vineyard, whose profession is covered over with these Nettles and Thorns of iniquity, escape being afflicted with them in his conscience: For look as they cover the face of his Vineyard through his floth now, fo will they cover the face of his confcience, in the day of judgment. For profession and conscience cannot be separated long: If a man then shall make profession without conscience of Gods honour in his conversation, his profession and conscience will meet in the day of his visitation. Nor will he, whose condition this shall be, beable to ward off the guilt, and sting of a flothful and bad conversation, from covering the face of his conscience, by retaining in his profef. fion the name of Jesus Chrift: Fot naming, and profeffing of the name of Chrift, will, instead of salving fuch a confcience, put venom, sting, and keenness into those Nettles, and Thorns, that then shall be spread over the face of fuch confciences. This will be worse than was that cold wet cloth that Hazael took and a King. 8: spread over the fate of Benhadad, that he died. This will sting worse, tear worse, torment worse, kill -worfe. Thereforelook to itak be 22. Nor may men shift this danger by their own neglect of inquiring in. to the truth of their separation from iniquity, for, that God himself will fearch them. I fearch the reins and the heart, faith he, to give unto Revel. 2. every one of you according to bis ways. |