Opinion and Conceit, of any Worth or Excellency, and fo diminished in their own Eyes, that they may go through this Needle's Eye without crushing.

Right to us and our Affections; as willing to bestow himself upon us; and notwithstanding of all the Distance between him and wretched Sinners, yet filling it The Stream of Enmity runs under up with his infinite Love, and wonderful Ground often, and fo hides it felf under Condefcendency, dimitting himself to the fome other Notion, till at length it burft Form of a Servant, out of Love, that fo forth openly. I find it commonly runs in he might take us up to be his chaft the fecret Channel of Amity or Friendship Spouse, and adorn us with his Beauty. to fome other Thing oppofite to God: This he challengeth of us, whoever hear So Fames iv. 4. The Amity of the World and profefs the Gofpel. This is your is Enmity with God; and 1 Joh. ii. 15. Profeffion (if ye understood it ) That He that loveth the World, the Love Jefus Chrift fball be your Well-beloved, of the Father is not in him. There are and ye bis; that you fhall feparate your two dark and under-ground Conduits, to felf to him, and admit no Stranger in his convey this Enmity against God, Amity Place; that the choife and Marrow of to the World, and Amity to our felves, your Joy, Love and Delight, fhall be Self-love, and Creature-love. We can bestowed on him. Now, this Bond and not denounce War openly against Heaven, Tye of a profeffed Relation to that but this is the next Courfe, to join to, glorious Husband, is foully broken by the or affociate with any Party that is contrary moft Part, by efpouling their Affections to God; and thus, under the Covert of to this bafe World. Your Hearts are Friendship to our felves, and Love to the turned off him unto Strangers, that is, preWorld, we war againft God, and def fent perishing Things: Whereas the Introy our own Souls. I fay, First, Ami- tendment of the Gofpel is, To prefent ty to the World carries Enmity to God you to Chrift as pure Virgins, 2 Cor. in the Bofom of it: And if you believe xi. 2. Truly your Hearts are gone a not this, hear the Apoftle's fharp and whoring after other Things; the Love pungent Queftion, You Adulterers and of the World hath withdrawn you, or Adulterelles, know you not that the kept you in Chains; these prefent Things Amity of the World is Enmity with are as Snares, Nets and Bands; as an God? He doth not fpeak only to Per- Harlot's Hands and Heart, Eccl. vii. fons guilty of that Crime, but to all na- 26. they are powerful Inchantments over tural Men, who are guilty of Adul-you, which bewitch you to a base Love, tery or Whoredom of a more fpiritual from an honourable and glorious Love." Nature, but as abominable and more dan-O that you would confiderit, my Be gerous. There is a Bond and fpecial Tye betwixt all Men and God their Maker, which obligeth to confecrate and devout themselves, their Affections and Endeavours to his Honour, efpecially when the Covenant of the Gofpel is fuperadded unto that, in which Jefus Chrift our Lord reveals himself, as having only

loved, what Oppofition there is betwixt the Love of the World, and the Love of the Father; betwixt Amity to that which hath nothing in it, but fome prefent Bait to your deceitful Lufts, and Amity to God, your only lawful Husband. Af fection is a transforming and conforming. Thing. Si terram amas terra es; the M m 2

Love

fordid and base: But the Enmity gets, into this strong and invisible Tower of Darknefs, Self-love and Pride; and therefore the Apoftle John makes this the laft and chiefeft, the Pride of Life, Joh. ii. 16. When the Lufts of the Eyes and Flesh are in fome Measure abated, this is but growing; and what de

Love of God would purify thy Heart, and lift it up to more Similitude to him whom thou loves; but the Love of the World affimilates it unto the World, makes it such a bafe and ignoble Piece, as the Earth is. Do you think Marriageaffection can be parted? My Well-be loved is mine; therefore the Church is the Turtle, the Dove to Chrift, of won-creaseth of thefe, seems to accrefce unto derful Chastity: It never joins but to one, and after the Death of its Marrow, it fighs and mourns ever after, and fits folitarily. You must retire, my Beloved, and difingage from the Love of other Things, or you cannot love Chrift; and if you love not Chrift, you cannot have Peace with the Father: And if you have not that Peace, you cannot have Life. This is the Chain of Life; the first Link begins at the Divorcement of all Manner of Loves and beloved Idols: Once the Soul muft be loofed in Deure and Delight, and that Link must be faftned upon the most lovely and defirable Object, Chrift, the Defire of the Nations: And this draws alongs another Link of Peace and Life with it. Do not mistake it, Religion would not hinder or prejudge your lawful Bufinefs in this World: O, it were the most compendious Way to advance it, with more Eafe to your Souls! But certainly ita Man is feparated from many Things, will teach you to exchange the Love of thefe Things for a better and more heartcontenting Love.

this: As if Self-love and Pride did feed and nourish it felf upon the Ashes or Confumption of other Vices. Yea, it draws Sap from Graces and Virtues, and grows thereby, till at length it kill that which nourished it: And indeed the Apoftle James feems to proceed to this, Ver. 5, 6. when he minds us that God refifteth the proud, and giveth Grace to the bumble. Dotb the Scripture fay this in vain? faith he. Is not Self-amity, as well Enmity as the Amity of the World? and therefore God opposes himfelf unto it, as the very grand Enmity. Self is the great Lord, the Arcb-rebel, the Head of all the Oppofition, that in which they do all center; and when all the inferior Soldiers are Captives, or killed, this is laft in the Field, it lives firft in oppofition, and dies last, primum vivens, & ultimum moriens. When

yet he may be but more conjoyned to bim/elf, and fo the further disjoyned from God. Of all the vile Rags of the old Then, Amity to our felves is Enmity Man, this is neareft the Skin, and laft to God; and truly this is the laft put off: Of all the Members, Self is the ftrong Hold that holds out longeft againft Heart, firft alive, and laft alive. When God, when others may be beaten down, Enmity is conftrained to render up the or furrendered. Poffibly a Man may at outward Members of the Body, to yield tain to this, to defpife thefe lower Things, them to a more smooth and fair Carriage, as below his natural Dignity and the Ex-to a civil Behaviour; when the Mind itcellency of his Spirit; fome may renounce much of that Friendship with worldly and temporal Things, as being

felf is forced to yield unto some Light of Truth, and Knowledge of the Gofpel; yet the Enmity retires into the Heart,

and

and fortifies it the ftronger, by Self-love, | be an Emblem of a Chriftian's Motion, be and Self-eftimation; as in Winter, the returns not as be goes, he makes a encompaffing Cold makes the Heat to ftraight Line to God, whitherfoever he combine it felf together in the Bowels of turn him; but Nature makes all crookthe Earth, and by this Means the Springs ed Lines, they feem to go forth in Obeare hotter than in Summer; fo the fur- dience to God, but they have a Secret unrounding Light of the Gospel, or Educa- feen Reflection into its own Bofon. And tion, or natural Honefty, drives the Heat this is the greatest At of Enmity, to idoand Strength of Enmity inward, where lize God, and deifie our felves: We it fortifies it felf more: This is that ac- make him a Cypher, and facrifice to our curfed Antiperiftafis, that is made by felves: His peculiar incommunicable Prothe Concurrence of fome Advantages of perty, of Alpha and Omega, that we do Knowledge and Civility, and fuch like. facrilegioufly attribute to our felves, the The Blood of Enmity against God gets Beginning of our Notions, and End of in about the Heart when it is chafed for them too. This is the crooked Line, Fear out of the outward Man: There-that Nature cannot poffibly move out of, fore, the very firft and fundamental Printill a higher Spirit come, and reftore ber ciple of Chriftianity, is, Let a Man de- that balted, and make plain ber Paths. ny bimfelf, and fo be fhall be my Dif ciple; he muft become a Fool in his ●wn Eyes, though he be wife, that he may be wife, 1 Cor. iii. 18. he must become as ungodly, though godly, that he may be juftified by Faith, Rom. iv. 5. he muft forfake himself, that he may indeed find himself, or get a better felf in another; he must not eat much Honey, that is not good, it would fwell him tho' it be pleasant: He must not Search bis own Glory, or reflect much upon it, if he would be a Follower and Friend of Chrift. Look, how much foever you engage to your felves Efteem, or defire to be efteemed of others, to reflect with Complacency on your felves, to mind your own Satisfaction and Estimation in what you do, fo much you difingage from Jefus Chrift, for thefe are contrary Points: 'Tis a direct Motion towards Chrift, 'tis an inverfe and backward Motion towards our felves; and fo much as we move that Way, we promove not, but lofe of our way, and are further from the true End. Ezekiel's living Creatures, may

That which is added, as a Reason, explains this Enmity more clearly; Because it cannot be subject, &c. Truly these two forementioned Amities of the World and of our felves, do withdraw Men wholly from the orderly Subjection, that they owe to the Law of God. Order is the Beauty of every Thing, of Nature, of Art, of the whole Universe, and of the feveral Parts, Kingdoms and Republicks of it. This indeed is the very Beauty of the World, all Things fubordinate to him that made them; only miserable Man hath broken this Order, and mar ried this Beauty, and be cannot be fubject rá, cannot come againinto that orderly Station and Subordination he was once into. This is the only Gap or Breach of the Creation. And it is fome other Engagements that draw him thus far out of Course, the bafe Love of the World and the inordinate Love of himself, O these make his Neck ftiff, that cannot bow to the Yoke of Obedience : Thefe have oppofite and contrary Com mands, and no Man can ferve two

Mafters:

Mafters. When the Commands of the great Lord, Self, comes in oppofition with the Commands of God, then he cannot be fubject to the Law of God. For a Time, in fome Things, he may refemble a Subjection, when the Will of Self, and the Will of God commands in one Point, as fometimes they do by Accident; but that is neither frequent nor conftant.

to God's Law, and it cannot be better, neither can it be fubject. Refolution, Industry, Vows and Covenants will not effect this, till the moft High break and bow the Heart. And not only is this Enmity against the old Law of Commandments an Antipathy at them, as crossing our Lufts, but even against the new and living Law of the Spirit of Life in Chrift.

Here is your Mifery, you can neither be fubject to the Law as commanding to obey it, of threatning for Difobedience to it, nor to the Gofpel as promifing to believe and receive it. The Law commands, but your Law countermands within; the Law threatens and fentences you with Condemnation, but you have fome felf-pleafing Delufion and Dream in your Heads, and blefs your felves in your own Hearts, even though ye walk in the Imagination of your Hearts, contrary to the Law, Deut. xxix. It is ftrange that you do not fore-apprehend and fear Hell!" But 'tis this Delufion poffeffes the Heart, you shall not die: It was the firft Act of Enmity, not only the, Tranfgreffion of the Command, but Unbelief of the Truth of the Curfe: And that which firft en couraged Man to Sin, encourages you all to ly into it, and continue in it, a Fancy of efcaping Wrath. This Noife fills the Heart: Satan whifpers it in the Ear, Go on, you fball not die. Thus it appears, that the natural Mind cannot be fubject to the Law of God, no Perfua

Not only, he is not fubject, but there is worfe in it, be cannot be fubject to the Law of God. This is certainly to throw down the natural Pride of Man, that always apprehends fome remanent Ability in himself. You think ftill to make your felves better, and when convinced or challenged for Sins, to make amends, and reform your Lives. You ufe to promife thefe Things as lightly and eafily, as if they were wholly in your Power, and as if you did only delay them for Advantage; and truly it seems, this Principle of Self-Sufficiency is engraven on Mens Hearts, when they procraftinate and delay Repentance, and earneft minding of ReLigion to fome other fitter Seafon, as if it, were in their Liberty, to apply to it when they please: And when you are urged and perfuaded to fome Reformation, you take in Hand, even as that People, Jer. xlii. 6, 20. Who faid, all that the Lord hath faid, we will do: You can ftrike Hands, and engage to ferve the Lord, as eafily, as that People in Fofbua xxiv. 18, 19. But we may fay, Oh that there were fuch a Heart in you! But alas, fuch a Heartfion, no Inftruction, can inforce this Beis not in you! You cannot ferve the lief of your damnable Condition upon Lord, for be is boly and jealous, and you. ye are not only weak, but wicked. I be feech you then, believe this one Teftimony that God hath given of Man, even the choiceft Thing in Man, the very Wijdom of a natural Man, It is not fubject

But then, when the Enmity is beaten out of this Fort, and a Soul is really convinced of its defperate and loft Eftate, when the Heart is brought down to Subjection, to take with that dreadful Sen

tence;

SERMON XXII.

Verfe 8. So then they that are in the Flesh, cannot please God.