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not restrained or purified; the heat of their zeal appears chiefly, if not only, in their words, but the heart is cold enough; they take up the easy, cheap, and safest part of duty, but the difficult, dangerous, or costly part they meddle not with; they worship that God in public whom they regard not in the closet; they do no religious duty without witness; they are saints abroad and devils at home, and usually more dangerous when they appear like saints than when they show themselves in their true colours, and act the devil's part openly.

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But doubtless these are not the men whom God will accept, nor is this the service he requires; he is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth," yea," the Father seeketh such to worship him," John iv. 23, 24. He calls for the heart: My son," saith he, "give me thine heart," Prov. xxiii. 26; not thy tongue, or hands, but the heart; for if he have that, the rest will follow; and till the heart be renewed and given to the Lord, he will accept of nothing that comes from

us.

"Be not deceived," says the apostle, "God is not mocked," Gal. vi. 7; there are none can steal to heaven in a disguise, or without the ticket of holiness; this is Christ's sheep-mark, and those, and those alone that have it, shall stand upon his right hand at judgment. When he

comes to seek fruit and finds none, he will take up his axe; he has long spared, and may for awhile spare the tree for the vine-dresser's sake, but his patience will not always last; he will say, Pray not for this people, for they are ripe for

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destruction. When the sins of the Amorites were full, their destruction drew near. The lamp of profession may light a man to death, never to heaven.

O my soul, thou hast made profession of religion a long time; what fruit dost thou bring forth? If thou hast nothing but profession, thou mayest expect that Christ shall say to thee as to the fruitless fig tree, "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever," Matt. xxi. 19; or if thy fruit be bad, it will not be long before thou art cut down. Up then and be doing, that thy last days may be thy best days, and thy best wine last.

O my good God, though hypocrisy lodge in me, let it not reign in me give me truth in the inward parts, keep my heart sound in thy testimonies, and I shall be safe.

A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not, Matt. xxi. 28-30.

They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them, Matt. xxv. 3.

Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, Rev. iii. 17.

XLIV. UPON A GREAT TREE TOSSED WITH

THE WIND.

WHEN I observed some tall spreading trees stretching forth their branches on every side, but tossed and shaken with the wind and storms, whereas smaller shrubs and lesser trees were more free and secure,-I noticed that it often came to pass, that if these great trees bare any fruit, it was blown down before it came to maturity, and seldom came to good; nay, not only the fruit, but the leaves also were forced off by the violent gusts, and winds, and storms, and sometimes the boughs and branches also; yea, the tree itself was often torn down by the tempest, when those that were less and lower were more secure, and brought their fruit to maturity with less danger and hazard. This observation made me think that these trees fitly resembled great men, who seldom bring fruit to maturity, because they lie more open to temptations, and are more liable to dangers than others are. We may easily believe that the evil one is more watchful against their souls than those of others; because they may do him more mischief. Hence it was, that Elymas the sorcerer sought to turn away Sergius Paulus the deputy from the faith, Acts xiii. 7, 8. If great men have but leaves, they are envied for the leaves' sake, and few of them ever bring forth

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fruit to maturity; yea, the leaves themselves, their very profession, are ofttimes borne down by the storm.

This has given me occasion sometimes to bless God that he has freed me from some of those temptations that others lie under, and given me Águr's petition, "neither poverty nor riches," but food convenient, Prov. xxx. 8, and kept me almost all my days in a suffering condition. I considered, I have the same nature as other men have, and had I but the same temptations, I know not but I might have been as bad. I might, like that young man mentioned Matt. xix. 16-22, have parted with Christ for a trifle had he possessed but a small estate, who knows but he might have proved a true convert; he coveted heaven, but was displeased at the price of it. This occasioned Christ to tell us, how hard a thing it was for a rich man to be saved; " It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God," ver. 24. All men would have the crown, but they love not the cross that leads to it; and he is rich indeed that thinks himself never the greater, or never the better for his wealth. O world, how hast thou deceived those that trust in thee, and how hast thou bought their profession out of their hands for a trifle: poor Spira was betrayed by thee, to the shipwreck of faith and a good conscience; so were Judas, Demas, Ananias, and Sapphira, and a thousand more who knew not the worth of the soul, nor the vanity of the world: they grasped so greedily after gold that they lost their God,

TOSSED WITH THE WIND.

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and loved their sin more than their souls; but what good will it do them when they want a drop of water to cool their tongues? Luke xvi. 24.

O my soul, bless God who has freed thee from many temptations which others are overcome by. Covet not overmuch a prosperous condition, lest God give it thee for thy portion; undervalue not thyself so much as to entertain so poor a suitor as the world is, when the Son of God offers himself to thee. Thou canst not buy this gold too dear, but the world thou mayest, and most do when they purchase it with their souls. Thou canst not overvalue this jewel, it is ten thousand times better than thou canst estimate it.

O my God, give me Christ, and it sufficeth. I need no other portion, I desire no other happiness; let me have him at any rate.

Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not, Jer. xlv. 5.

Mind not high things, Rom. xii. 16.

What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, Phil. iii. 7, 8.

They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition, 1 Tim. vi. 9.