Section IV. — Fourthly, The sincere Christian is progressive, never at his journey's end till he gets to heaven ; this keeps him always in motion, ad- vancing in his desires and endeavours forward ; he is thankful for little grace, but not content with great measures of grace : ' When I awake,' saith David, ' I shall be satisfied with thy likeness,' Psa. xvii. 15. He had many a sweet entertainment at the house of God in his ordinances. The Spirit of Clod was the messenger that brought him many a covered dish from Clod's table, inward consolations, which the world knew not of. Yet David has not enough, it is heaven alone that can give him his full draught. They say the Gauls, when they first tasted of the wines of Italy, were so taken with their lusciousness and sweetness, that they could not be "content to trade thither for this wine, but resolved they would conquer the laud where they grew. Thus the sincere soul thinks it not enough to receive a little now and then of grace and comfort from heaven, by trading and holding conunerce at a distance with God in his ordi- nances here below, but projects and meditates a conquest of that holy land and blessed place from which such rich conunodities come, that he nuiy drink the wine of that kingdom in that kingdom. This raiseth the soul to high and noble enterprises, how it nuiy attain to further degrees of grace every day than other, and so climb nearer and nearer heaven. He that aims at the sky, shoots higher than he that means only to hit a tree. ' I press,' saith Paul, ' toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Clmst Jesus,' Phil. iii. 14. Others admired Paul's attainments. O that they had Paul's grace, and then they should bo happy ! But he woidd count himself very unhappy if he might have no more ; he professeth he hath not apprehended what he runs for ; the prize stands not in the nudway, but at the end of the race, and therefore ho puts on with full speed, yea, niakes it the trial of uprightness in all, ver. 15 : ' Let us therefore, as many as be perfect,' that is, sincere, 'be thus minded.' It is the hyjwcrite that stints himself in the things of God. A little knowledge he would have, that may help him to discourse of religion among the religious ; and for more, he leaves it as more fitting for the preacher himself. Some outward formalities he likes, and makes use of in profession, as attendance on public ordinances, and sins which would make him stink among his neighbours he forbears ; but as for pressing into more inward and nearer connnunion with God in ordinances, labouring to get his heart more spiritual, the whole body of sin more and more mortified, this was never his design. Like some slighty tradesman, that never durst look so high as to think of being rich, but thinks it well enough if he can but hold his shop-doors open, and keep himself out of the jail, though with a thousand shifting tricks.
CHAPTER XIII.
A WORD OF DIRECTION TO THOSE WHO, UPON TRIAL, ARK FOUND UNSOUND AND FALSE-HEARTED.
Having laid down characters of the sincere heart, it will be necessary to make some improvement of them, as the report shall be that c(mscience makes in your bosoms, upon putting yourselves to the trial of your spiritual states by the same. Now the report that conscience makes, after examination of your- selves, by those notes prefixed, will amount to one of these three inferences. Either it will condemn thee for a hypocrite, or pronounce thee a sincere Christian; or, thirdly, bring in an ignoramus, and leave thee in doubt whether thou art sincere or not. That I may therefore find thee, reader, at one door, if I miss thee at anolhei-, I shall speak severally to all three. ^
First, To such who upon trial are cast : evidence comes in so clear and strong against them that their conscience cannot hold, but tells them plainly, if these be the marks of sincerity, then they are hypocrites. The improvement I would make of this trial, for your sakes, is to give a word of counsel what in this case you are to do that you may become sincere.
First, Get thy heart deeply afl'ected with thy present dismal state. No hope of cure till thou art chafed into some sense of feeling of thy dejjlored condition. Phvsic cannot be given so long as the patient is asleep ; and it is the nature of this disease to make the soul heavy-eyed, and dispose it to a kind of slumber of conscience, by reason of the flattering thoughts the hypocrite hath of himself
2(j^ HAVING VOUR LOINS