jamm go too ? Must I part with this de- lightful sin ? That goes to the heart. As it is with a castle that hath several forts a- bout it ; the first and second forts are yield- ed, but when it comes to the main castle, the governor will rather fight and die than yield that ; so a man may suff"er many ot his sins to be demolished, but when it comes to one, that is like the taking of the castle, he will never yield to part with that ; surely that is the master-sin. Take heed especial- ly of this sin ; the strength of sin lies in the beloved sin ; that is like an humour striking to the heart, which brings death. I have read of a monarch, that being pursued by the enemy, he threw away the crown of gold on his head, that he might run the faster ; so that sin, which thou didst wear as a crown of gold, throw it away, that thou mayest run the faster to the kingdom of heaven. O, if you would not lose glory, mortify the beloved sin ; set it, as Uriah, in the forefront of the battle to be slain ; by plucking out this right-eye you shall see the better to go to heaven !
A. 10. If you would not fall short of the kingdom of heaven, take heed of inordinate passion ; many a ship hath been lost in a storm, and many a soul hath been lost in a storm of unruly passions. Every member of the body is infected with sin, as every branch of wormwood is bitter ; but ' the tongue is full of deadly poison,' James iii. 8. Some care not what they say in their passion ; they will censure, slander, wish evil to others ; how can Christ be in the heart, when the devil hath taken possession of the tongue ? Passion disturbs reason, it is brevis insania, a short frenzy. Jonah in a passion flies out against God, Jon. iv. 9., " I do well to be angry even unto death." What ! to be angry with God, and to justi- fy it? "I do well to be angry;" the man was not well in his wits. Passion unfits for prayer, 1 Tim. ii. 8., " I will, therefore, that men pray, lifting up holy hands, with- out wrath." He that jnays in wrath may lift up his hands in prayer, but he doth not lift up holy hands. Water, when it is hot, soon boils over; so, when the heart is heat- ed with anger, it soon VK)ils over in fiery passionate speeches. Some curse others in their passion ; they whose tongues are set
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on fire, let them take heed that they do not one day in hell desire a drop of water to cool their tongue. O, if you would not miss of the heavenly kingdom, beware of giving way to your unbridled passions ! Some say, words are but wind ; but thoy are such a wind as may blow them to hell. ^.11. If you would not fall short of the heavenly kingdom, beware of too much in- dulging the sensual appetite, Rom, xiii. 14., " Make no provision for the flesh." The Greek word, pronoian poicin, ' to make pro - vision,' signifies to be caterers for the flesh, Phil. iii. 19., « Whose god is their belly." The throat is a slippery place ; Judas re- ceived the devil in the sop ; and often the devil slides down in the liquor ; excess in meat and drink clouds the mind, chokes good affections, provokes lust; many a man digs his own grave with his teeth ; the hea- thens could say, magnus sum et mojora natus </uam id Sim corporis niei mimcipium. Sen. He was higher born than to be a slave to his body. To pamper the body, and neglect the soul, is to feed the slave and to starve the wife. Take such a proportion of food as may recruit nature, not surfeit it ; excess in things lawful hath lost many the king- dom of heaven. A bee may suck a little honey from the leaf, but put it in a barrel of honey, and it is drowned : to suck tem- perately from the creature, God allows, but excess ingulphs men in perdition.
A. 12. If you would not fall short of the kingdom of heaven, take heed of injustice in your dealings ; defrauding lies in two things, \st. Mixing commodities: as if one mix bad wheat with good, and sell it for pure wheat, this is to defraud, Isa. i. 22., *' Thy wine is mixed with water." 2d. Giving scant measure, Amos viii. 5., " Mak- ing the ephah small." The ephah was a measure wliich the Jews used in selling ; they made the ephah small, they scarce gave measure. I wish this be not the sin of many, Hos. xii. 7., " lie is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand." Can they be holy, which are not just? INli- cah vi. 1 1., " Shall I count them pure with the Avicked balances ?" Is his heart sincere, who hath false weights ? This hath made many they could not reach heaven, because of their over-reaching.