ministry, he often heard the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth; he was day and night in his company, yet never the better; and why? Because he was the fan of perdition, that is, a man appointed to destruction and wrath.

(6.) And lastly, To add no more. It is fuch a stroke of God upon the fouls of men, as immediately fore-runs hell and damnation, Heb. vi. 3. "But that which beareth thorns and "briars is rejected, and is nigh unto curfing, whofe end is to "be burnt." So that look as fome faints, in this world, have had a prelibation or foretaste of heaven, which the scripture calls the earnest of the fpirit; fo this is a precursor of hell, a fign of wrath at the door. We may fay of it, as it is faid of the pale horfe in the Revelation, that hell follows it. "If a man abide not in me, (faith Chrift, John xv. 6) he is caft forth as a "branch, and withered;" which is the very state of thefe barren, curfed fouls. And what follows? Why, faith he, men gather them, and caft them into the fire, and they are burned. Lo, this is the vengeance which the gospel executes upon this barren ground.

REFLECTIONS.

1. Well then, bleffed be God that made The fincere foul's me feel the faving power of the gospel. O, reflection. let God be exalted for ever for this mercy! that how defective foever I am in common gifts, though I have a dull understanding, a leaking memory, a ftammering tongue; yet I have felt, and do feel the power of the gofpel upon my heart. I blefs thee (my God) that although I labour under many fpiritual infirmities, yet I am not fick of this incurable difeafe. I have given thee indeed just cause to inflict and execute this dreadful curfe upon me alfo, but thou hast not dealt with me after my deferts, but according to the riches of thy mercy. Some little fruit I bring forth, and what it is, is by virtue of my union with Jefus Chrift, Rom. vii. 4. And this hath more in it as to my comfort, than all the glittering gifts and splendid performances of the most glorious hypocrite can yield to him: if I might have my choice (faith one) I would chase and prefer the molt defpicable and fordid work of a ruftic Chriftian, before all the victories of Alexander, and triumphs of Caefar. Bleffed therefore be the Lord, who hath abounded unto me in all Spiritual bleffings, in beavenly places in Chrift Jefus,

I cannot remember a fermou as another can, but bleffed be God that I am able to favour it, and feel it; that I have an heart to love, and a will to obey all that God discovers to be my duty.

The formal profelor's reflection.

2. O, then how little cause have I to make my boaft of ordinances, and glory in my external pri vileges, who never bear spiritual fruit under them? If I well confider my condition, there is matter of trembling, and not of glorying in these things. It may be while I have been glorying in them, and lifting up my fecure heart upon them, the Lord hath been fecretly blafting my foul under them, and infenfibly executing this horrible curfe by them. Shall I boaft, with Capernaum, that I am lifted up to heaven, fince I may, with her, at last be caft down to hell? And if fo, Lord, what a hell will my hell be! It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for me. It drew tears from the eyes of Chrift, when he was looking upon Jerufalem, under the fame confideration that I doubt I have caufe to look upon my own foul, Luke xix. 41. " He wept over it, "faying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy "day, the things which belong to thy peace, but now they "are hid from thine eyes." So long have I been a hearer, a profeffor of the gofpel, fo many years I have enjoyed its diftioguishing ordinances, but have they not been all dry and empty things to me; hath not the fpirit of formality acted me in them? Have not felf-ends and worldly refpects lain at the bottom of any best duties? Have not my difcourfes, in communion with faints, been trade words, speaking what I have learnt, but not felt? Sad is my condition now, but it would be defperate and irrecoverable, shouldst thou execute this curfe upon me.

The lefs fruit. ful Chriftian's reflection.

3. And what may I think of my condition? Lord, I acknowledge my unprofitableness, under the means, hath been fhameful; and this hath made my condition doubtful. I have often trembled for fear, left my root had been blasted by fuch a curse; but if fo, whence is this trembling? Whence thefe fears and forrows about it? Doth fuch fruit grow in that foil which thou haft curfed? I am told but now, that on whom this judgment falls, to them thou giveft an heart that cannot repent. Lord, I bless thee for these evidences of freedom from the curfe; for the fruits of fear, forrow, and holy jealoufy. The laws of men fpare for the fruits fake, and wilt thou not fpare me alfo, my God, if there be found in me a bleffing in the bud, Ifa. lxv. 8.

4. To conclude, what a ferious reflection The gospel 'fhould this occafion in every difpenfer of the

* The Roman laws defer punishing a woman with child. Chryft.

preacher's reflections.

gofpel? How should he fay when he goes to preach the gospel, I am going to preach that word, which is to be a favour of life or death to these fouls; upon how many of my poor hearers may the curfe of perpetual barrenefs be executed this day! O how fhould fuch a thought melt his heart into compaffion over them, and make him beg hard, and plead earnestly with God for a better iffue of the gofpel than this upon them

The POE M.

OU that befides your pleafant fruitful fields,

YOU

Have ufelefs bogs, and rocky ground, that yields
You no advantage, nor doth quit your cost,

But all your pains and charges on them's loft:
Hearken to me, I'll teach you how to get
More profit by them, than if they were fet
At higher rents than what your tenants pay
For your molt fertile lards; and here's the way.
Think when you view them, why the Lord hath chofe
These, as the emblem to decipher those

That under gospel-grace grow worse and worse;
For means are fruitlefs when the Lord doth curfe.
Sweet fhowers defcend, the fun his beams reflects
On both alike, but not with like effects.
Obferve and fee how after the fweet showers
The grafs and corn revive; the fragrant flowers
Shoot forth their beauteous heads, the vallies fing,
All fresh and green, as in the verdant spring.
But rocks are barren ftill, and bogs are fo;
Where nought but flags, and worthless rushes grow.
Upon thefe marthy grounds there lies this curfe,
The more rain falls, by fo much more the worse.
Even fo the dews of grace, that fweetly fall,
From gospel-clouds, are not alike to all.
The gracious foul doth germinate and bud,
But to the reprobate it doth no good.
He's like the wither'd fig-tree, void of fruit;
A fearful curfe hath fmote his very root.

The heart's made fat, the eyes with blindness feal'd;

The piercing'st truths the gospel e'er reveal'd,
Shall be to him but as the fun and rain

Are to obdurate rocks, fruitless and vain.

Be this your meditation when you walk

By rocks and fenny-grounds, thus learn to talk
VOL. VI,

I:

With your own fouls; and let it make you fear
Left that's your cafe that is defcribed here.
This is the best improvement you can make
Of fuch bad ground; good foul, I pray thee take
Some pains about them; though they barren be,
Thou leeft how they may yield fweet fruits to thee.

CHAP. VII.

Upon the plowing of Corn-land.

The plowman guides his plow with care and skill:
So doth the Spirit in found conviction ftill.

OBSERVATION.

IT requires not only ftrength, but much fkill and judgment, to manage and guide the plow. The Hebrew word which we tanflate to plow, fignifies to be intent, as ao artificer is about fome curious piece of work. The plow must neither go too fhallow, nor too deep in the earth; it must not indent the ground, by making crooked furrows, nor leap, and make baulks in good ground; but be guided as to a juft depth of earth, fo to caft the furrow in a ftraight line, that the floor or furface of the field may be made plain, as it is Ifa. xxxviii. 25. And hence that expreffion, Luke ix. 62. "He that puts his "hand to the plow, and looks back, is not fit for the kingdom "of heaven." The meaning is, that as he that plows must have his eyes always forward, to guide and direct his hand in cafting the furrows ftraight and even; (for his hand will be quickly out when his eye is off;) fo he that heartily refolves for heaven, must addict himself wholly and intently, to the bufinefs of religion, and not have his mind entangled with the things of this world, which he hath left behind him; whereby it appears, that the right management of the plow requires as much skill as ftrength.

THIS

APPLICATIO N. HIS obfervation in nature, ferves excellently to fhadow forth this propofition in divinity; that the work of the Spirit in convincing and humbling the heart of a finner, is a work wherein much of the wildom, as well as power of God, is discovered. The work of repentance, and faving contriti on, is fet forth in fcripture by this metaphor of plowing*, Jer.

Gloffius Rhet, Sacra, p. 300.

iv. 3. Hof. x. 12. "Plow up your fallow ground;" that is, be convinced, humbled, and broken-hearted for fin. And the refemblance betwixt both thefe works, appears in the following particulars.

;

(1.) It is a hard and difficult work to plow, it is reckoned one of the painfullest manual labours; it is alfo a very hard thing to convince and humble the heart of a fecure, ftout, and proud finner, indulate in wickedness. What Luther faith of a dejected foul, That it is as eafy to raise the dead, as to comfort fuch ' a one.' The fame I may fay of the fecure, confident finner it is as easy to rend the rocks, as to work faving contrition upon fuch a heart, Citius ex pumice aquam; all the melting language, and earnest intreaties of the gospel, cannot urge such a heart to fhed a tear: Therefore it is called a heart of stone, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. a firm rock, Amos vi. 12. "Shall horfes run upon the rock? "Will one plow there with oxen ?" Yet when the Lord comes in the power of his Spirit, these rocks do rend, and yield to the power of the word.

(2.) The plow pierces deep into the bofom of the earth, makes (as it were) a deep gafh, or wound, in the heart of it. So doth the Spirit upon the hearts of finners, he pierces their very fouls by conviction. Acts ii. 37." When they heard this "they were pricked, (or * pierced point blank) to the heart. "Then the word divides the foul and fpirit," Heb. iv. 12. It comes upon the confcience with fuch piercing dilemmas, and tilts the fword of conviction fo deep into their fouls, that there is no ftanching the blood, no healing this wound, till Christ himself come, and undertake the cure. Haeret lateri lethalis arundo; this barbed arrow cannot be pulled out of their hearts by any, but the hand that hot it in. Difcourfe with fuch a foul about his troubles, and he will tell you, that all the forrows that ever he had in this world, lofs of cftate, health, children, or whatever elfe, are but flea-bitings to this; this fwallows up all other troubles. See how that Christian Niobe, Luke vii. 38. is diffolved into tears; "Now deep calleth unto deep "at the noise of his water-fpouts, when the waves and billows "of God go over the foul." Spiritual forrows are deep waters, in which the flouteft, and most magnanimous foul would fink and drown, did not Jefus Chrift, by a fecret and fupporting band, hold it up, and preferve it.

1

(3.) The plow rends the earth in parts and pieces, which before was united, and makes thofe parts hang loose, which for

*

Karevvyncav punetim cedo, pungendo penetro,