thing here below. A man may have enough of the world to sink him, but he can never have enough to satisfy him.

Rem. 8. Solemnly consider the dignity of the soul. O the soul of man is more worth than a thousand worlds. It is the greatest abasing of it that can be, to let it dote upon a little shining earth, upon a little painted beauty and fading glory, when it is capable of union with Christ, of communion with God, and of enjoying the eternal vision of God. Seneca could say, I am too great, and born to greater things, than that I should be a slave to my body.' O do you say, 'My soul is too great, and born to greater things, than that I should confine it to a heap of white and yellow earth.'

I have been the longer upon the Remedies that may help us against this dangerous device of Satan, because he does usually more hurt to the souls of men by this device, than he does by all other devices. For a close, I wish, as once Chrysostome did, that this sentence, Eccles. ii. 11. (Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I laboured to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit; and there was no profit under the sun,) were engraven on the door posts into which you enter, on the tables where you sit, on the dishes out of which you eat, on the cups out of which you drink, on the bedsteads where you lie, on the walls of the house where you dwell, on the garments which you wear, on the heads of the horses on which you ride, and on the foreheads of all them whom you meet; that your souls may not by the beauty and bravery of the world be kept off from those holy and heavenly services, which may render you blessed while you live, and happy when you die; that you may breathe out your last into his bosom who lives for ever, and who will make them happy for ever, who prefer Christ's spirituals and eternals, above all temporal, transitory things.

Dev. 2. The second device that Satan has to draw the soul from holy duties, and to keep it off from religious services, is by presenting to it the danger, the losses, and

the sufferings, that attend the performance of such and such religious services. By this device Satan kept close those that believed on Christ, from confessing Christ. Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also, many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue, John xii. 42. I would walk in all the ways of God, I would give up myself to the strictest way of holiness; but I am afraid dangers will attend me on the one hand, and losses, and haply, such and such sufferings, on the other hand,' says many a man. O how should we help ourselves against this temptation and device of Satan?

The remedies against this device, are these that followRem. 1. Consider that all the troubles and afflictions that you meet with in a way of righteousness, shall never hurt you, shall never harm you, And who is he that shall harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? şays the apostle; none shall harm you. Natural conscience cannot but do homage to the image of God, stamped upon the nature, words, works, and lives of the godly; as we may see in the carriage of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius towards Daniel, All afflictions and troubles that attend men in a way of righteousness, can never rob them of their treasure, of their jewels. They may rob them of some light slight things, as the sword that is by their side, or the stick in their hand, or the flowers or ribbons that are in their hats. The treasures of a saint are the presence of God, the favour of God, union and communion with God, the pardon of sin, the joy of the spirit, peace of conscience; which are jewels that none can give but Christ, and none can take away but Christ. Now why should a gracious soul keep off from a way of holiness because of afflictions, when no afflictions can strip a man of his heavenly jewels, which are his ornaments and his safety here, and will be his happiness and glory hereafter? Why should that man be afraid or troubled for storms at sea, whose treasures are sure in a friend's hand upon land? Why, a believer's treasure is always safe in the hands of Christ; his life is safe, his soul is safe, his grace is safe, his comfort is safe, and his crown is safe, in the hand of Christ. I know in whom I have believed, and

am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him, against that day, says the apostle, 2 Tim. i. 12. The child's most precious things are most şecure in his father's hands; so are our souls, our graces, and our comforts, in the hand of Christ.

Rem. 2. Consider that other precious saints who were shining lights on earth and are now triumphing in heaven, have held on in religious services, notwithstanding all the troubles and dangers that have surrounded them. Nehemiah and Ezra were surrounded with dangers on the left hand and on the right, and yet in the face of all they hold on building the temple and the wall of Jerusalem, So Daniel, and those precious worthies in Psalm xliv, under the want of outward encouragements and in the face of a world of very great discouragements, their souls clave to God and his ways. Though they were sore broken in the place of dragons, and covered with the shadow of death; yea, though they were all the day long counted as sheep for the slaughters yet their hearts were not turned back, neither did their steps decline from his ways. Though bonds and imprisonments did attend Paul and the rest of the apostles in every place, yet they held on in the work and service of the Lord. And why then should you degenerate from their worthy examples, which it is your duty and your glory to follow ?

Rem. 3. Solemnly consider that all the troubles and dangers which attend the performance of holy duties and heavenly services, are but temporal and momentary; but the neglect of them may lay thee open to all temporal, spiritual, and eternal dangers. How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? He says not, if we reject or renounce 30 great salvation; no; but, if we neglect or shift off, so great salvation, how shall we escape? that is, we cannot by any way, or means, or device in the world, escape; divine justice will be above us, in spite of our very souls. The doing of such and such heavenly services may lay you open to the frowns of men, but the neglect of them will lay you open to the frowns of God; the doing of them may render you contemptible in the eyes of men, but the neglect of them may render you contemptible in the eyes of God; the doing of them may be

the loss of thy estate, but the neglect of them may be the loss of God, Christ, heaven, and thy soul, for ever; the doing of them may shut thee out from some outward temporal contents, the neglect of them may shut thee out from that excellent, matchless glory, that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive. Remember this-there is no man that breathes but shall suffer more by neglecting those holy and heavenly services that God commands, commends, and rewards, than possibly he can suffer by doing them.

Rem. 4. Consider that God knows how to deliver from troubles, by troubles; from afflictions, by afflictions; from dangers, by dangers. God, by less troubles and afflictions, does oftentimes deliver his people from greater, so that they shall say, We had perished, if we had not perished; we had been undone, if we had not been undone; we had been in danger, if we had not been in danger.' God will so order the afflictions that befal you in the way of righteousness, that your souls shall say, 'We would not for all the world but have met with such and such troubles and afflictions; for, surely, had not these befallen us, it would have been worse and worse with us.' O the carnal security, pride, formality, dead-heartedness, lukewarmness, censoriousness, and earthliness, that God has cured us of by the troubles and dangers that we have met with in the ways and services of the Lord.

I remember a story of a godly man, who, as he was going to take shipping for France, broke his leg; and it pleased Providence so to order it, that the ship that he should have gone in at that very instant, was cast away, and not a man saved: so by breaking a bone, his life was saved. So the Lord many times breaks our bones, but it is in order to the saving of our lives and our souls for ever; he gives us a potion, that makes us heart-sick; but it is in order to the making of us perfectly well, and to the purging of us from those ill humours that have made our heads ache, and God's heart ache, and our souls sick and heavy to death. O therefore let no danger or misery hinder thee from thy duty.

Rem. 5. Solemnly consider that you will gain more in the service of God, and by walking in righteous and holy

ways, though troubles and afflictions should attend you, than you can possibly suffer or lose by your being found in the service of God. Godliness is great gain, O the joy, the peace, the comfort, the rest, that saints meet with in the ways and service of God. They find that religious services are not empty things, but things in which God is pleased to discover his beauty and glory to their souls. My soul thirsteth for God, says David, that I might see thy beauty, and thy glory, as I have seen them in the sanctuary. O the sweet looks, the sweet words, the sweet hints, the sweet joggings, the sweet influences, the sweet love-tokens, that gracious souls have from heaven, when they wait upon God in holy and heavenly services, the least of which will darken, and outweigh all the bravery and glory of this world, and richly recompense the soul for all the troubles, afflictions, and dangers that have attended it in the service of God. O the saints can say, under all their troubles and afflictions, that they have meat to eat, and drink to drink, that the world knows not of; that they have such incomes, such refreshments, such warmings, as they would not exchange for all the honours, riches, and dainties of this world. Ah, let but a Christian compare his external losses with his spiritual, internal, and eternal gain, and he will find that for every penny that he loses in the service of God, he gains a pound; and for every pound that he loses, he gains a hundred; for every hundred lost, he gains a thousand. We lose pins in his service, and find pearls; we lose the favour of the creature, and peace with the creature, and haply the comforts and contents of the creature, and we gain the favour of God, peace with conscience, and the comfort and contents of a better life, O did the men of this world know the sweet that saints enjoy in afflictions, they would rather choose Manasseh's iron chain, than his golden crown; they would rather be Paul a prisoner, than Paul wrapt up into the third heaven. For light afflictions, they shall have a weight of glory; for a few afflictions, they shall have those joys, pleasures, and contents, that are as the stars of heaven, or as the sand of the sea that cannot be numbered; for momentary afflictions, they shall have an eternal crown of glory. It is but winking, and thou shalt be in heaven