right irreligion: and this is, to make him, that is all in all to us, and better than all ; nothing at all to us, and lower than all; and thefe men cannot but think if ever they come to a strait, that this may be God's anfwer, what come you now to me for, in your neceffity? as it is faid in Judges x. 14. Go and cry unto the God which ye have chofen. Relieve yourselves by these things you take delight in ; you thought not at all of me; you thought yourselves fufficiently provided for, and wherefore come you now to me? go to the idols you have chosen, let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. So here I have represented to you four desperate states. But,

5. There is the case of priviledge and exemption from outward punishment. A man that is an evil doer, and a constant practiser of fin, hath cause to fear, if through his power, or the advantage of the times he is not in fear of any ones ftroke; undoubtedly that man is more in danger in refpect of God, and these internal strokes of God difpoffeffing him of what he hath. This you must know, that it fometimes comes to pafs, that the all-gracious God will not, (notwithstanding the high provocations of fome irreligious perfons) he will not difturb the outward peace, for fuch reasons as these ; sometimes for his infinite patience, and no man knows the length of God's patience; fometimes he will forbear, for the fake of those that worship him. God hath special regard to the multitude of innocent, harmless creatures, fuch as are perfons of mean eftates, but harmless; and children, yea, for the beafts themselves as in the cafe of Nineveh, Jonah iv, 11. Now in fuch cafes

G 2

cafes as these, that God will extend his patience, beyond what in reason we can imagine; and that he will specially gratify the number of his worshipers, and that he will suspend judgments in respect of harmless people, and children; then in this case, great finners have caufe to fear God's dealing with them in private. For God hath ways to deal with men in private, by letting them fink down into darkness of mind, &c. And therefore if any man knows he is deeply obnoxious to God, and yet profpers in the world, he hath great cause to fear that he shall hear from God, by fecret rebukes, whereby he shall melt away and come to nothing. The

6th, And last case is, the case of high spiritual,advantages, where there is powerful, and effectual means; but through a contracted hardness, they prove altogether inoperative, and without effect. and this was the condemnation of Capernaum, Corai zin and Bethfaida, Luke x. 13, 15. But of this I shall give you a further account, the next opportu nity.

And thus have I reprefented to you, as the ways whereby these fecret rebukes of God are brought about; fo alfo the eminent cafes of danger.

DISCOURSE VII.

The fecret BLASTING of MEN.

PSALM Xxxix. II.

When thou with rebukes doft correct man for iniquity, thou makeft his beauty to confume away like a moth; furely, every man is vanity. Selah...

WH

:

HENI took this scripture in hand, I thought I had but little to offer to your confideration, and thought, at once, to have dispatched all but well weighing and confidering the confequence and import of the matter of these words, (than which, nothing more in all the world, tends to the laying a folid foundation of conscience, and engaging of men in respect of the secret sense of their minds, to ftand aright in the fight of God). I therefore cannot take my hands off; and though I have offered many things, yet fome few more re

main.

I have given you an account why I have explicated these words of those things that pass immediately between God, and the fpirit of man, whereof byftanders know but little.. They may difcern the effects, fee men wither, and come to nothing; but the cause (which is in fecret between God and them) they feel not, they know not. The last day, I gave you an account how the Hebrew words in G 3

the

of

the text led me to this notion of those impreffions that God makes upon the minds of men by way reason and argument, when he comes to challenge, convince and reprove them; the reafon of their own mind fails them, they cannot justify themselves, or bear up against God. And therefore I read the words, when thou with fecret rebukes, doft charge a perfon for his fecret iniquities, thou makest his beauty, viz. his reafon and understanding; his wit and parts, thofe things that he values himself by, to confume away like a moth, &c.

I have fhewed in fix inftances, whereby this comes to pafs.

I have alfo fhewed you in part the great provocation of God to deal thus with men ; to confound them in their inward parts, to beat them out of the fense of their own reafon; and leave them felf-condemned, so that they retain no priviledge of selfenjoyment. And I have instanced in fix cafes, which do properly lead men into this condition.

1. The cafe of havocking confcience, by finning against the sense of their own judgment.

2. The cafe of bypocrify, diffimulation, and falsehood: when men do not honestly mean, or really intend.

3. The cafe of shameless apostacy.

4. (Which is yet inferior to the other three, but yet bad enough) The cafe of irreligion, when men give God no place, are taken up with their own outward accommodations, and have no fenfe of God; when he is not, by thofe good things, endeared or recommended to them; this is downright irreligion.

5. The cafe of exemption from outward punishanent: as whenfoever it pleaseth God (as fometimes it doth) to make use of his infinite patience : for who amongft us knows the length of Gods patience? and upon that confideration, he will forbear the world, notwithstanding profaneness and declared atheism.

Or whenfoever God is pleafed out of respect to his worshippers, or out of his compaffion towards innocent infants, and harmless creatures, to keep off judgments; then is it to be thought that those perfons that are wilful finners, &c. fhall hear from God in private; to abate their confidence, and to fhew how exorbitant they are, in their ways. This God can do, by letting them fink down into mental diftraction, &c. For God can difpoffefs a man of all his comforts, by not giving him power of self-enjoy ment, and taking content. For this of the two, is a far greater mercy of God, for a man to have less, and a contented mind; than to have much more, and not have fatisfaction. For power of self-enjoyment is a far greater thing than right and title.

It comes to pafs fometimes, that great offenders do avoid the hands of men, either through the undue favour of partial judges, or sometimes by great friends, or fome worldly intereft, or craft, or cunning; or fometimes a thing is acted in secret, and cannot be legally proved (as what more ordinary than fecret murders ?) when it cannot at all be proved at a distance of time, the guilty cannot be at peace, and their own mouths must betray them. In these cafes, it is most likely, these perfons will hear from God.

6. In