What! darest thou thus openly resist God to his face? What art thou? and what is thy word, that we should regard it before the word of God?

Quest. 27. Dost thou not know that by thy speaking against a diligent, holy life, thou gratifiest the devil, and openly servest him, and sayest the very things that he would have thee say?' What can more please him, and advance his kingdom, and suit his malicious ends, than to stop and cool men in the service of the Lord, and make them believe that holiness is but a needless thing? If the devil might have leave to walk visibly among men, and speak to them in their language, he would speak to them as thou dost, and say the same things, which he puts into thy mouth; and would do all that he could to keep men from a holy life. And darest thou thus openly play his part?

Quest. 28. Canst thou think (when eternal life is at the stake) that a man so weak in the midst of so many hindrances and enemies, hath cause to count his diligence unnecessary?" When satan, like a roaring lion, is seeking day and night to devour thee (1 Pet. v. 8.), when his malice, subtlety and diligence is so great, and so unwearied; when his instruments are so many, so subtle, and so powerful; when the world aboundeth round about thee with such dangerous enticing snares and baits; when thy traiterous flesh so near thee is thy most perilous enemy, incessantly drawing thee from God unto the creature; and when thou art so impotent to resist all these assaults; art thou then in a condition fit to cry out against the greatest diligence for thy soul? Should a man going up the steepest hill, when it is for his life, be afraid of going too fast? When thou hast done all thou canst, it is well for thee that ever thou wast born, if it suffice. If weaknesses and enemies cause such a difficulty that the righteous themselves are scarcely saved (that is, with much ado), is it then time for thee to ask, What needs so much ado.

Quest. 29. Dost thou not deal exceeding unthankfully and unequally with God? When he thinks not the sun and moon, and all the creatures too good to serve thee, nor all his mercies too great for thee; no, not the blood of his beloved Son, nor his Spirit, nor heaven itself if thou wilt accept them in his way; wilt thou think thy best too good for him? and thy most diligent service to be too much? When

thy all is next to nothing; and thy best doth not profit the Almighty, but thyself, and the gain will be thy own. If a man should think it too much to put off his hat and thank thee, when thou hast given him a thousand pounds; or to go a mile for thee, when thou hast saved his life; thou wouldst say he were not a man, but a monster of ingratitude. But thy unthankfulness is ten thousandfold worse to God, who would deliver thee from everlasting torments, and give thee everlasting glory, and save thee from satan and all thy sins, if thou wilt but take his safe remedies; and thou churlishly refusest, as if all were not worth so much ado.

Quest. 30. Dost thou know what a life it is that thou accountest an unnecessary toil?' It is a life of the greatest safety, commodity, honour, and delight, (besides the justice and honesty of it) of any in the world; and indeed thou canst not choose any other but at thy peril, and to thy greatest loss and ruin, and to thy present and everlasting shame and sorrow. It is the sweetest and most pleasant life on earth, that thou ignorantly accountest such a tedious toil. The manifestation of this shall be my work in the second part of this discourse.

And now I dare affirm, that when the dreadful God shall shortly judge thee who hast read or heard these words, it will be found indelibly written upon thy conscience, that thou hadst here such reasons laid before thee, to prove the necessity of a serious, diligent, holy life, as all the wit in earth or hell is not able solidly to confute; and that an ungodly, sensual life is most unreasonable; and that, if after this, thou continue in an unsanctified, fleshly state, thou shalt justly perish as one that wilfully refused salvation, as in dispute of God, his mercies, and his messengers, and of the plainest, undeniable truth and reason: and that in refusing to be a SAINT, thou madest thyself in the greatest matters no better than a BRUTE, wilfully subjecting thy reason to thy sensuality, and judging thyself unmeet for everlasting happiness.

But here I know the self-deceiving hypocrite will object, 'That all this that I am proving so diligently is confest, and nothing to the point in question: which is not, Whether one thing be needful, and holiness be of necessity to salvation? For who denieth this? But the question is, Whe

ther it be this puritanical, precise way of serving God which only deserves the name of holiness? and whether they be not as truly godly and sanctified that say their prayers morning and night, and go to church on Sundays, and follow their businesses the rest of the week, without any more ado?'

Answ. Either it is the substance of holy duties, or but the circumstances, which you quarrel at as puritanical and precise. If it be only the circumstances (as whether we should receive the Lord's supper standing, or kneeling, or sitting? whether we should pray publicly without book, or in the book? and whether a Scripture form or another be better? and whether a continued speech, or versicles, anthems, and oft-repeated words and sentences be better? What form of church government is best? by diocesan bishops, or by all the pastors? and the like), it is not such things as these that I am pleading with thee. Though some of them are matters of considerable moment for the helping or hindering men in godliness; yet it is greater matters than these that I am now contending for. Agree with us practically in the substance; in faith, repentance, love, obedience, mortification, heavenliness, humility, patience, and serious diligence and zeal in all, and then I am none of those that will condemn or censure you; but one that will rejoice in you, as those that I hope to rejoice with for ever.

But if it be the substantial duties of godliness that you resist, while you own but the name of godliness in the general, I must tell you that it is not names and generals that will save you; nor prove that you have yourselves one spark of grace. Nothing more easy and common than for the most ungodly to say, they are all for a godly life; and God forbid that any should be against it; when yet they hate and reject it indeed, when it comes to the practice of those particular duties in which it doth consist. It is not godliness that they hate and reproach, but it is fervent prayer, holy conference, meditation, self-denial, mortification of the desires of the flesh, heavenlymindedness, &c. In general, they will say that God's law must be obeyed, and his will preferred before their own. But when it comes to the particulars, they love him not above all, they take his name in vain, they keep not holy his day, they disobey superiors that would reform them, they are envious, malicious, covetous, lustful, and break all the commandments in particular, which

in general they profess to keep. As if your servant should promise to do your work; and when you set him to it, one thing is too hard, and another he is not used to, and so he hath his exceptions against the greatest part which he undertook. As if one should wound one of you in the head, and stab you to the heart, and cut off an arm or a leg, and say, 'I wish the man no harm. It is not the man that I hate or hurt, but only the head, the heart, the arm, &c.' Even so it is not holiness that these men hate, and speak against; but it is so much praying, and meditating, and reading the Scriptures, and making such a stir about religion when less ado may serve the turn.

But, wretched soul, if thou have not the wit to see the contradictions of thy deceitful tongue, and the venom of thy malignant heart, dost thou think that such sottish shifts as these will blind the eyes of heavenly justice, and save thee from the vengeance of a holy God, which he hath denounced against rebellious hypocrites? But come on; let us try whether the several parts of godliness which thou questionest, or callest Puritanism or preciseness, are not most expressly and peremptorily commanded in the word of God.

1. Is it so much preaching and hearing sermons that thou quarrellest with? Hear then how Christ and his apostles preached, and how they required men to hear: "And in the morning rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. And Simon, and they that were with him followed after him; and when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. And he said, Let us go unto the next towns, that I may preach there also; for therefore came. J forth and he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee;" Mark i. 35. 37-39. "And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them; no, not so much as about the door, and he preached the word unto them;" chap. ii. 2. "And they went into a house, and the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread: and when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him; for they said, He is beside himself;" chap. iii, 19-21. "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ;" Acts v. 42. 'They that were scattered went every where preaching the word;" chap. iv. 4. "I kept

back nothing that was profitable to you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house. -Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood Therefore watch, and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears;" chap. xx. 20.28.31. "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" Rom. x. 14, 15. Every way whether in pretence or in truth Christ is preached, and I do therein rejoice, yea and will rejoice;" Phil. i. 18. "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe;" 1 Cor. i. 21. "Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus," &c. Col. i. 28, 29. "I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word; be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine;" 2 Tim. iv. 1,2. "Necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe unto me if I preach not the Gospel ;" 1 Cor. ix. 16.

What say you now? do we not fall much short of those that we should imitate, rather than do too much in preaching? But what need we more than the text itself, where for hearing, Mary is so commended, and her sister blamed for neglecting it, though it was to make provision for Christ himself and those that were with him? "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached to them, being to depart on the morrow, and continued his speech until midnight;" Acts xx. 7. "Let every one be swift to hear," James i. 19. "He that hath an ear, let him hear;" Rev. ii. 7, &c. "Jesus said, My mother and my brethren are those which hear the word of God and do it;" Luke viii. 21. I hope you see this duty is past question.

2. Is it the reading of the Scripture that is the Puritanism, or too much ado that you blame? Or is it the frequent meditating on such high and holy things? Hear what the Spirit saith of this. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of