SO habitual uprightness is very hardly consistent with habitual presiunption ; if one act of a presumptuous sin, and as I may so say, one sip of this poisonous cup, doth so sadly infect the spirit of a gracious person, and change his com- plexion, that he is not like himself; how deadly must it needs be to all upright- ness to drink from day to day in it ! And therefore as ' Daniel purposed in his heart, that he would not defile himself with the poi-tion of the king's meat,' Dan. i. 8 ; so do thou daily put thyself under some such holy bond, that thou wilt not defile thyself with any presumptuous sin ; for, indeed, this is properly 'the king's meat,' I mean the devil's, that prince of darkness, who can himself commit none but presiunptuous sins, and chiefly labours to defile souls by eat- ing of this his dish : say, as Austin in another case, Errare possum, licBreticus esse nolo : I may err, but I am resolved not to be a heretic. I may have many failings, but, by the grace of God, I will labour that I be not a presumptuous sin- ner; and if thou wouldest not be in a presumptuous sin, take heed thou makest not light of less infirmities ; when David's heart smote him for rending the skirt of Saul, he stopped and made a happy retreat, his tender conscience giving him a private check for rending his skirt, would not suffer him to cut his throat, and take away his life, which was better than raiment. But at another time, when his conscience was more heavy-eyed, and did not do this friendly office to him, but let him shoot his amorous glances after Bathsheba, without giving him any alarmn of his danger ; the good man, like one whose senses are gone, and head dizzy at the first trip upon a steep hill, could not recover himself, but tumbled from one sin to anothei-, till at last he fell into the deep pit of murder. Wlien the river is frozen, a man will venture to walk and run where he durst not set his foot if the ice were but melted or broke. O when the heart of a godly man himself is so hardened that he can stand on an in- firmity though never so little, and his conscience not crack under him, how far may he go ! I tremble to think what sin he may fall into.
Section V. — Fifthly, Get above the love and fear of the world. The Christian's sincerity is not eclipsed without the interposition of earth betwixt God and his soul.
First, The love of the world : this is a fit i-oot for hypocrisy to grow upon ; if the heart be violently set on anything the world hath, and it comes to vote peremptorily for having it : I must be worth so much a yeai", have such honour; and the creature begins with Ahab, to be sick with longing after them ; then the man is in great danger to take the first ill counsel that Satan or the flesh gives him for the attaining his ends, though prejudicial to his uprightness. Hunters mind not the way they go in; over hedge aiad ditch they leap, so they may have the hare.
It is a wonder, I confess, that any saint should have so strong a scent after the creature, that hath the savour of Christ's ointment poured into his bosom. One w^ould tliink the sweet perfume, which comes so hot from those beds of spices, the promises, should spoil the Christian's hunting-game after the creature, and one scent should hinder the taking in the other ; the purer sweetnesses that breathe from Christ and heaven in them, should so fill the Christian's senses, that the other enjoyments, being of a more gross and earthy savour, should find no pleasing resentment in his nostrils ; which indeed is most time and certain, so long as the Christian hath his spiritual senses open, and in exercise : but alas, as upon some cold in the body, the head is stopped, and the senses bound up from doing their office, so through the Christian's negligence, a spiritual distemper is easily got, whereby those senses, graces, I mean, which should judge of things, are sadly obstructed ; and now, when the Christian is not in temper for enjoying these purer sweetnesses, the devil hath a fair advantage of starting some creature enjoyment, and presenting it before the Christian, which the flesh soon scents, and carries the poor Christian after it, till grace comes a little to its temper, and then he gives over the chase with shame and sorrow.
Secondly, Get above the fear of the world. The fear of man brings a snare. A coward will run into any hole, though ever so dishonom-able, so he may save himself from what he fears ; and when the holiest are under the power of this temptation, they are too like other men : Abraham, in a pang of fear, dissembles with Abimelcch ; yea, Peter, when not his life, but his reputation, seemed to be in little danger, did not walk uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, he
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