soul strong in grace, bears up bravely against all winds and weather. That is a brave text, and worthy to be written in letters of gold, that you have in Gen. xlix. 23, 24.; Joseph's bow abode in strength, though the archers sorely grieved him, shot at him, and hated him, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. The archers that sorely grieved him, were his barbarous brethren that sold him; his adulterous mistress that, harlot-like, hunted for his precious life; his injurious master that, without any desert of his, imprisoned him; the tumultuating Egyptians that were pined with hunger, perhaps spake of stoning him; and the envious courtiers and enchanters spake evily of him before Pharaoh, to bring him out of favour. All these shot sorely at him. The word that is rendered archers, in the Hebrew is, arrow-masters, which term implies cunning and skilfulness in shooting. They were cunning and skilful to hit the mark, and they shot at him, as at a mark : but yet his bow abode in strength. When God in the midst of weakness makes a soul strong, that soul will not only face enemies and difficulties, but triumph over them. Those that are strong in grace, seldom want courage or counsel, when they are at the worst. They always find their hope to be an anchor at sea, and their faith a shield upon land; and therefore they triumph in all storms and dangers. They stand firm when they are under the greatest pressures. In labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft, 2 Cor. xi. 23. And yet he triumphs in 2 Cor. i. 12. Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-wards. Strong Paul rejoiced in his sufferings for Christ, and therefore often sings out, I Paul a prisoner of Jesus Christ; not I Paul, wrapt up into the third heaven. He preferred his crown of thorns before a crown of gold, his prison rags above all royal robes

4. A weak Christian thinks that little to be much, which he does or suffers for Christ.

Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Behold, we have

NO. XL.

forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore. Their worldly case in following Christ was little worse than when they only traded in fishing; and yet, We have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have? This their all was not worth speaking of; and yet for this they look for some great worldly reward and recompence. We have forsaken all; a great all sure; a few broken boats, and a few tattered and torn nets, and a little old household stuff; and Christ maintained them too upon his own cost and charge; and yet say they, We have forsaken all, and followed thee. Neither is it without an emphasis, that they begin with a behold; Behold, we have forsaken all, as if Christ were greatly beholden to them. Weak Christians are like children; they look for a great reward for a little work. Let their wills be but crossed a little by servants, children, friends; or let them but suffer a little in their names or estates; and presently you shall have them sighing out, No sorrow like our sorrow; no loss like our loss; no cross like our cross.' Whereas souls strong in grace, suffer much, and yet count that much but little. A soul strong in grace, can suffer much, and yet make nothing of it. I am heartily angry,' says Luther, who suffered very much, with those that speak of my sufferings, which, if compared with those which Christ suffered for me, are not once to be mentioned in the same day.'

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5. Those that are weak in grace dwell more upon what may discourage them in the ways of grace and holiness, than they do upon what may encourage them.

They dwell more upon their sins, than upon the Saviour; more upon their misery, than upon free grace and mercy; more upon that which may feed their fears, than upon that 'which may strengthen their faith; more upon the cross, than upon the crown; more upon those that are against them, than upon those that are for them. I, even I, am he that comforteth you. Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy Maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy; and where is the fury of the oppressor?

Isa. li. 12, 13. The same is intimated in Rom. iv. 19, 20; Abraham, being not weak in faith, considered not his own body now dead, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: mark; being not weak in faith; souls weak in faith are very apt to dwell upon discouragements, but strong Christians look above all discouragements. He considered not; the Greek is, he cared not for his own body; he did not mind that; but he considered him that had promised. Souls strong in grace dwell more upon their encouragements to holiness and believing, than upon their discouragements. He considered him that had promised; he had an eye fixed upon the faithfulness of God, and the sufficiency and almightiness of God; and this bore up his heart above all discouragements. So in 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18; Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not (mark; they are not doting upon their discouragements) at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. An eye fixed upon encouragements, makes heavy afflictions light, long afflictions short, and bitter afflictions sweet. Those blessed martyrs found it so, that were cast out in a cold frosty night, naked, and were to be burned the next day; who thus comforted themselves,' The winter is sharp, but Paradise is sweet; here we shiver for cold, but the bosom of Abraham will make amends for all.' Weak Christians have eyes to behold their discouragements, but none to see their encouragements; they look more upon their corruptions, than upon their sanctification; upon their disobedience, than their obedience; upon their distrust, than upon their faith; upon the old man, than upon the new; and this keeps them low and weak in spirituals, it causes a leanness in their souls.

6. The zeal of weak Christians usually out-strips their wisdom and knowledge.

Weak Christians are very zealous, but not according to knowledge. I bear them record, that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge, Rom. x. 2. They are very peevish, and pettish, and censorious; but they want wisdom and knowledge to manage their zeal to God's

glory and their brethren's good. Such zeal had those two rabbins that set upon Charles the fifth to persuade him to turn, Jew, as judging their religion to be the only religion in the world, and for which they were put to a cruel death, in the year 1530. A great zeal they had to the winning over of him to Judaism, but this zeal was their ruin. Zeal without knowledge is as wild fire in a fool's hand. It is like the devil in the demoniac, that sometimes cast him into the fire, and sometimes into the water. So the disciples of Christ were weak in their light, and furious in their zeal, Luke ix. 54. Let fire come down from heaven and consume them, say they; but mark what Christ says, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; that is, ' You know not what spirit actuates you; you think that you are influenced by such a spirit as actuated Elias of old, but you err. You have a zeal, but not according to knowledge; therefore it is a human affection, and not a divine motion,' Zeal is like fire; in the chimney it is one of the best servants; but out of the chimney, it is one of the worst masters. Zeal, kept by knowledge and wisdom in its proper place, is a choice servant to Christ and saints; but zeal not bounded by wisdom and knowledge, is the high way to undo all, and to make a hell for many at once.

Weak Christians are usually most zealous about circumstances and things that have least of God, and Christ, and the power of holiness, in them; and most cold about substances, as woeful experience doth evidence in these days. Zeal, ordered by wisdom, feeds upon the faults of offenders, not on their persons. It spends itself and its greatest heat principally upon those things that concern a man's self. It is most exercised about substantials, Titus ii. 14. But that which is rash, is most excercised about circumstantials, Gal. i. 14. Paul was, in the days of his ignorance, very zealous for the traditions of his fathers.

7. Among all saints, the weakest saints act most like carnal sinners.

No saint so like a sinner, as a weak saint. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ, I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able: for ye are yet

carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? for while one saith, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal? 1 Cor. iii. 1-4. They were advanced but very little above the imperfections, and passions, and sins, of mere men, of such as had nothing of the Spirit in them. Do wicked men quarrel with their teachers, as shallow, trivial teachers, when themselves are in fault, being not capable of more mysterious matter? So did these babes here. Do wicked men impute their not profiting to the minister, as he that, having a thorn in his foot, complains of the roughness of the way as the cause of his limping, whereas it is the thorn, and not the roughness of the way, that hurts him? or as she that, being struck with a sudden blindness, bids open the window, whereas it is not the want of light, but want of sight that troubles her? So did these babes in the text lay the fault of their non-proficiency upon their teachers, when the fault was wholly in themselves. Now he calls them carnal, partly because the flesh was strong in them, and because they followed and relished the things of the flesh, and partly because they did in their actions resemble carnal men. Do carnal and wicked men cry up one good man and cry down another? Do they lift up one and abase another? So did they. Are wicked men full of envy, strife, and divisions? So were they. And these overflowings of the gall and spleen come from a fulness of bad humours, from that abundance of carnality which was in them. But now souls strong in grace are higher than carnal men, as Saul was higher than the people by head and shoulders. Souls strong in grace have their feet where carnal men's heads are. The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath, Prov. xv. 24. Souls that are strong in grace do act like angels, rather than like carnal men. They as much resemble the Father of spirits, as carnal men do the father of lies.

8. Souls weak in grace are easily drawn aside out of the ways of holiness.

A man that has but a little bodily strength, is easily thrust out of the way; so it is with souls weak in grace. Little children, let no man deceive you he that doeth