him. But "they serve their graven images," silver and gold, the work of men's hands. Money, pleasure, and praise, the goods of this world, more than divide their serIvice with the God of Israel. This is the manner both of "their children and their children's children; as did their fathers, so do they unto this day."

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2. But altho', speaking in a loose way, after the common manner of men, those poor heathens were said to "fear the Lord," yet we may observe the Holy Ghost immediately adds, speaking according to the truth and real nature of things, "They fear not the Lord, neither do after the law and commandment, which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob: with whom the Lord made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor serve them. But the Lord your God ye shall fear, and he shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies."¡

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The same judgment is past, by the unerring Spirit of God, and indeed by all, the eyes of whose understanding he hath opened, to discern the things of God, upon these poor Christians, commonly so called. If we speak according to the truth and real nature of things, "they fear not the Lord, neither do they serve him." For they do not "after the covenant the Lord hath made with them, neither after the law and commandment which he hath commanded them, saying, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." "They serve other gods unto this day." And no man can serve two masters.

3. How vain it is for any man to aim at this!-To attempt the serving of two masters. Is it not easy to foresee, what must be the unavoidable consequences of such an attempt ? "Either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other." The two parts of this sentence, although separately proposed, are to be understood in connexion with each other. For the latter part is a consequence of the former. He will naturally hold to him whom he loves. He will so cleave to him, as to perform to him a willing, faithful, and diligent service. And in the mean time, he will so far, at least, despise the

master he hates, as to have little regard to his commands, and to obey them, if at all, in a slight and careless manner. Therefore, whatsoever the wise men of the world may sup "Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

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4. Mammon was the name of one of the heathen gods, who was supposed to preside over riches. It is here understood of riches themselves; gold or silver, or, in general, money: and by a common figure of speech, of all that may be purchased thereby; such as ease, honour, and sensual pleasure. But what are we here to understand, by serving God? And what, by serving mammon?

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We cannot serve God, unless we believe in him. This is the only true foundation of serving him. Therefore, the believing in God, as "reconciling the world to himself thro', Christ Jesus," the believing in him, as a loving, pardoning God, is the first great branch of his service.

And thus to believe in God implies, to trust in him as our strength, without whom we can do nothing, who every moment endues us with power from on high, without which, it is impossible to please him: as our help, our only help in time of trouble, who compasseth us about with songs of deliverance; as our shield, our defender, and the lifter up of our head above all our enemies that are round about us.

It implies, to trust in God as our happiness; as the cen tre of spirits, the only rest of our souls; the only good that is adequate to all our capacities, and sufficient to satisfy all the desires he hath given us.

It implies (what is nearly allied to the other) to trust in God, as our end; to have an eye to him in all things; to use all things only as a mean of enjoying him; wheresoever we are, or whatsoever we do, to see Him that is invisible, looking on us well pleased, and to refer all things to him in Christ Jesus.

5. Thus to believe, is the first thing we are to understand by serving God. The second is, To love him.

Now, to love God in the manner the Scripture describes, in the manner God himself requires of us, and by requiring engages to work in us, is to love him as the ONE GOD; that

is, "with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength :" it is to desire God alone for his own sake; and nothing else, but with reference to him to rejoice in God; to delight in the Lord; not only to seek but find happiness in him: to enjoy God as the chief among ten thousand; to rest in him, as our God and our all. In a word, to have such a possession of God, as makes us always happy.

6. A third thing we are to understand by serving God, is, To resemble, or imitate him. ›

So the ancient Father. Optimus Dei cultus, imitari quem colis: It is the best worship or service of God, to imi tate him you worship.

We here speak, of imitating or resembling him in the spirit of our minds. For here the true Christian imitation of God begins. God is a Spirit; and they that imitate or resemble him, must do it in spirit and in truth.) znali od}

Now, God is Love. Therefore they who resemble him in the spirit of their minds, are transformed into the same image. They are merciful, even as he is merciful. Their soul is all love. They are kind, benevolent, compassionate, tender-hearted: and that not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. Yea, they are, like him, loving unto every man, and their mercy extends to all his works.

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7. One thing more we are to understand by serving God, and that is, the obeying him; the glorifying him with our bodies, as well as our spirits; the keeping his outward commandments; the zealously doing whatever he hath enjoined, the carefully avoiding whatever he hath forbidden; the performing all the ordinary actions of life, with a single eye and a pure heart; offering them in all holy, fervent love, as sa crifices to God, through Jesus Christ.

8. Let us consider now, what we are to understand on the other hand, by serving mammon. And, first, it implies, the trusting in riches, in money, or the things purchaseable thereby, as our strength, the mean whereby we shall perform, whatever cause we have in hand: the trusting in them VOL. VIII.

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as our help, by which we look to be comforted in, or delivered out of trouble.

It implies, the trusting in the world for happiness; the supposing that "a man's life consisteth" (the comfort of his life) "in the abundance of the things which he possesseth:" the looking for rest in the things that are seen; for content in outward plenty; the expecting that satisfaction in the things of the world, which can never be found out of God.

And if we do this, we cannot but make the world our end; the ultimate end, if not of all, at least of many of our undertakings, many of our actions and designs: in which we shall aim only at an increase of wealth; at the obtaining pleasure or praise; at the gaining a larger measure of temporal things, without any reference to things eternal.

19. The serving mammon implies, secondly, Loving the world: desiring it for its own sake; the placing our joy in the things thereof, and setting our hearts upon them: the seeking (what indeed it is impossible we should find) our happiness therein; the resting with the whole weight of our souls, upon the staff of this broken reed; although daily experience shews it cannot support, but will only "enter into our hand and pierce it."

{ 10. To resemble, to be conformed to the world, is a third thing we are to understand by serving mammon: to have not only designs, but desires, tempers, affections, suitable to those of the world: to be of an earthly, sensual mind, chained down to the things of earth: to be self-willed, inordinate lovers of ourselves; to think highly of our own attainments; to desire and delight in the praise of men; to fear, shun, and abhor reproach; to be impatient of reproof, easy to be provoked, and swift to return evil for evil.

11. To serve mammon, is, lastly, to obey the world, by outwardly conforming to its maxims and customs; to walk as other men walk, in the common road, in the broad, smooth, beaten path; to be in the fashion, to follow a multitude; to do like the rest of our neighbours; that is, to do the will of the flesh and the mind, to gratify our appetites

and inclinations; to sacrifice to ourselves; aim at our own ease and pleasure, in the general course both of our words and actions.

Now what can be more undeniably clear, than that we cannot thus serve God and mammon?

12. Does not every man see, that he cannot comfortably serve both? That to trim between God and the world, is the sure way to be disappointed in both, and to have no rest either in one or the other? How uncomfortable a condition must he be in, who having the fear, but not the love of God, who serving him, but not with all his heart, has only the toils and not the joys of religion? He has religion enough to make him miserable, but not enough to make him happy: his religion will not let him enjoy the world; and the world will not let him enjoy God. So that by halting between both he loses both, and has no peace either in God or the world.

13. Does not every man see, that he cannot serve both, consistently with himself? What more glaring inconsistency can be conceived, than must continually appear in his whole behaviour, who is endeavouring to obey both these masters, striving to serve God and mammon? He is indeed "a sinner that goeth two ways;" one step forward and another backward. He is continually building up with one hand, and pulling down with the other. He loves sin, and he hates it: he is always seeking, and yet always fleeing from God. He would and he would not. He is not the same man, for one day, no, not for an hour together. He is a motley mixture of all sorts of contrarieties; a heap of contradictions jumbled in one. O! be consistent with thyself one way or the other. Turn to the right hand or to the left. If mammon be God, serve thou him; if the LORD, then serve him. But never think of serving either at all, unless it be with thy whole heart.

14. Does not every reasonable, every thinking man see, that he cannot possibly serve God and mammon? Because there is the most absolute contrariety, the most irreconcileable enmity between them. The contrariety between the