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 Seeker, William, d. 1681? 
 The nonsuch professor in hi 
 meridian splendor 
 
THE 
 
 NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 IN HIS 
 
 MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 
 
'y^ ^t^^ 
 
Q//mi/:MMr: 
 
 THE 
 
 NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR; 
 
 OR, THE SINGULAR 
 
 ACTIONS OF SANCTIFIED CHRISTIANS. 
 
 LAID OPEN 
 
 h\ ^thtn ^ermonig, 
 
 AT ALL-HALLOW'S CHURCH, LQKDON-WALL. 
 
 3H, LQKl 
 
 BY WILLIAM SECKER 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDBD 
 
 THE WEDDING-RING, A SERMON, 
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 REVISED BY THE REVEREND MATTHEW WILKS : 
 
 AND RECOMMENDED BT THE 
 REV. J. COCKIN, AND THE REV. E. PARSONS. 
 
 Hear, for I will speak of excellent Things. Prov. viii. 6. 
 
 Wherefore, by their Fruits ye shall know them. Matt. vii. 20. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR RICHARD BAYNES, 
 
 28, PATERNOSTER. ROW. 
 
 1829. 
 
THE 
 
 EPISTLE DEDICATORY, 
 
 To Sir Edward Barkham, Knight and Baronet ^ and 
 his religious Lady, Frances Barkham, 
 
 OF TOTTENHAM. 
 
 Honoured Worthies, 
 
 You have tied me in so many silken cords of kind- 
 ness, that I must live and die in these pleasant 
 bonds. The only return I can make you is by pen 
 and ink, to acknowledge myself your debtor 3 per- 
 suaded that your noble minds are like that of Ar- 
 taxerxes, as condescending to receive small things 
 from others, as to grant great things himself. 
 
 I am sensible what prejudices are conceived 
 against recommendatoiy epistles. I presume I 
 shall not kindle strange fire upon your altar, by 
 informing you, that I believe you take more plea- 
 sure in godliness than in greatness. You have 
 learned, that piety is the best parentage j and that 
 to be new horn is better than to be high horn. 
 
VI 
 
 It is reported, that '4n some great personages' 
 houses, there are more oaths heard in one day, than 
 prayers in one year :" but in your house, there are 
 more prayers heard in one day, than oaths in one 
 year. God has ornamented your terrestrial crowns 
 with many choice jewels. He has given you of 
 the fatness of the earth, as well as of the dew of 
 heaven : Esau's venison, as well as Jacob's bless- 
 ing : the nether springs of common bounty, as 
 well as the upper springs of special mercy. There 
 are four showers which have watered your garden : 
 — a fruitful posterity, an inward tranquillity, a 
 faithful society, and a grateful memory. Ah, how 
 liberal has God's hand been towards you : and 
 how lively should your hearts be towards him ! 
 You have a large room in many godly bosoms ; 
 but, alas, the best man's confidence on earth is 
 insufficient to carry you to heaven. A crack in the 
 greatest pebble is not equal to a flaw in the small- 
 est diamond. 
 
 I here present you with a piece, which is more 
 practical than notional 5 more fit for a Christian to 
 live upon, than for a critic to look upon. I hope 
 the dregs do not lie so thick in it as to prevent 
 your drawing clear wine from it. 
 
 I have attempted from this scripture to draw a 
 believer's picture, and hope you will view it with 
 
Vll 
 
 an attentive eye. May you remember, that by 
 how much you are made greater than others, by 
 so much better you should be than others ! On 
 earth it is your chief business to seek God, and in 
 heaven it will be your chief blessedness to see 
 God. While some look with envy on the rich 
 man's estate, may you look with trembling on the 
 rich man's accounts ! 
 
 You know you should not only be pictures of 
 piety, but also patterns of piety : then, while you 
 are descending the hill of nature, you will also be 
 ascending the hill of grace j you will prove your- 
 selves such jewels of mercy, as shall be locked up 
 in the cabinet of glory. — Now that your happiness 
 may exceed your hope, that your little family be- 
 low may compose a part of the family above, that 
 it may live holily with you on earth, and eternally 
 with God in heaven, is the earnest prayer of. 
 
 Most worthy Patrons, 
 
 Your humble Servant, 
 
 WILLIAM SECKER. 
 
Vlll 
 
 THE AUTHOR TO THE READER. 
 
 Christian Reader, 
 
 To serve man's necessity, is charitable j to serve 
 his conveniency, is warrantable j to serve his in- 
 iquity, is blameable ; but to serve his purity, is 
 honourable. 
 
 The design of this piece is not the ostentation 
 of the author, but the edification of the reader. 
 In this subject you have a breviary of religion : 
 the works enjoined in it are weighty, and the 
 blessings annexed to it are many. Christianity is 
 here dressed in the white linen of purity. As 
 grace begins in God's love to us, so it ends in our 
 love to him. It both makes our comforts greater, 
 and Our crowns brighter. Those children who 
 are found moving in the orbits of obedience, 
 shall enjoy the clearest sunshine of their father's 
 countenance. 
 
 Beloved, be sure to raise your superstructure 
 upon an immoveable foundation j and enter into 
 such a business, as hath an immediate tendency 
 to blessedness. It is an unparalleled mercy, to 
 be preserved from corruption in the midst of 
 general infection. It is far better to be innocent, 
 than penitent j to prevent the malady, than invent 
 the remedy. 
 
 Remember, Reader, that we can call no time 
 our own, but the present. How carefully should 
 
IX 
 
 we shoot, who have but one arrow to direct at the 
 mark ! The more you enjoy the smiles of God, 
 the more you will shine in the eyes of those saints, 
 who judge of the trees of righteousness by the 
 fruits of righteousness. The enjoyment of the 
 world is neither an evidence of the divine favour 
 or anger. Judge not yourself, therefore, by the 
 gold in your bags, but by the grace of God in your 
 heart- not by your wealth, but by your works. 
 If religion be your vineyard to labour in, eternity 
 shall be your bed to rest upon. Every grace that 
 is here exercised, shall there be glorified. 
 
 It is an unseemly thing to put on the fair suit 
 of profession, to do the foul work of corruption. 
 The time is approaching, when God will burn up 
 those vines which bear only sour grapes. The 
 gospel not only requires diligence, but it also re- 
 quires excellence ; that by the singularity of your 
 actions, you may prove the sincerity of your dis- 
 position. 
 
 Christian, the race is short in which you run ; 
 but the prize is great for which you run. I wish 
 this gale of divinity may speed your vessel to the 
 haven of felicity : and when God gives in more to 
 me, I shall give out more to you. In the mean 
 time, I shall deem it my highest honour to be 
 instrumental to others' conversion j and in this 
 relation I beg to subscribe myself. 
 
 Christian Reader, 
 
 Yours in the Lord, 
 
 WILLIAM SECKER. 
 
PREFACE BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 Courteous Reader, 
 
 The work in your hand speaks so powerfully for 
 itself, that it requires no advocate to plead its 
 cause. Its author, the Rev. W. Secker, seems 
 to have been a person of a peculiar genius and 
 original talents. He lived in the last century, 
 was minister of All-Hallows Church, London- 
 wall, where he delivered the substance of this 
 publication in seven Sermons. 
 
 The editor has taken the liberty to expunge 
 some parts, to supply others, and so to dispose of 
 the order of the whole work, as he has judged 
 most conducive to good : and though it be now 
 far from the highest literary polish, yet he flatters 
 himself that it will be found a real jewel in the 
 memory, a reviving cordial to the mind, and a 
 choice directory to the steps of every Christian 
 reader. With this hope, he humbly recommends 
 it to you, and you to that great God, who only can 
 bless, and who alone is worthy to be blessed. 
 
 MATTHEW WILKS. 
 
XI 
 
 TO THE REV. G. WILSON. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The " Nonsuch Professor," which you propose to 
 reprint, is certainly a book of great worth. I have 
 read it formerly with peculiar pleasure and profit. 
 The style of this book is very perspicuous 3 and if 
 the time in which it was written is taken into 
 consideration, it is eminently good. But its chief 
 excellency is the admirable strain of holiness which 
 runs through the whole, and the singular argu- 
 ments with which it is enforced. I am happy to 
 find that it is going forth again into the world in 
 a new edition. To bring forward such works of 
 former and better days as are likely to stop the 
 progress of infidelity and licentiousness is perform- 
 ing an important service to the cause of religion. 
 If my name can be of any use in the recommenda- 
 tion of this good work, it is at your service. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Your's, &c. 
 
 J. COCKIN. 
 
 TO THE REV. G. WILSON. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 There are but few books, of the kind, which de- 
 serve to be held in greater esteem than Secker's 
 
Xll 
 
 '' Nonsuch Professor." Although it is now many 
 years since I first read it, I have not forgotten the 
 satisfaction and pleasure it aflforded mej and I 
 have often wished to see it more extensively 
 circulated among the class of readers for whose re- 
 ligious instruction it appears peculiarly calculated. 
 To the Christian who can devote but little time 
 to mental improvement, and whose pecuniary cir- 
 cumstances render him inadequate to the purchase 
 of larger works, the re-publication of Secker 
 must be highly acceptable. A book so rich in 
 sentiment, and written in a style so likely to en- 
 gage and fix attention, cannot fail to enlighten 
 and animate the devout mind. If applied to the 
 various subjects of self-examination, and if the 
 solemn truths it investigates, as essential to ex- 
 perimental religion, are pressed home upon the 
 conscience, it will be "^ like a mirror held close to 
 the lips : if there be the least breath of spiritual 
 life J it will catch it and shew it." I was therefore 
 happy to be informed of your design to publish a 
 neat and cheap edition of this valuable book ; and 
 I hope it will be honoured with a circulation 
 answerable to its intrinsic merit, and far exceed- 
 ing your own well-founded expectations. In aid 
 of this undertaking, my name, and any little 
 influence I possess, are at your command. 
 
 I am your's affectionately, 
 
 E. PARSONS. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 TEXT opened — Doctrine raised. That singular Chris- 
 tians will perform singular actions. ..... 4 
 
 I. Why a Christian should do more than others — 
 
 1. Because more is done for him than for others . . 8 
 
 2. Because he is more nearly related to God than others 11 
 
 3. Because he professes more than others .... 14 
 
 4. Because he is inwardly conformed to the Redeemer 
 more than others 16 
 
 5. Because he is looked upon more than others ... 19 
 
 6. Because if he does no more than others, it will ap- 
 pear that he is no more than others 21 
 
 7. Because he is appointed to be a judge of others . . 23 
 
 8. Because he expects more than others 25 
 
 II. What the Christian does more than others — 
 
 1. He does much good, and makes but little noise . . 28 
 
 2. He brings up the bottom of his life to the top of his 
 light 34 
 
 3. He prefers the duty he owes to God, to the danger 
 
 he fears from man 38 
 
 4. He seeks the public good of others above the private 
 good of himself 44 
 
 5. He has the most beautiful conversation among the 
 blackest persons 51 
 
 6. He chooses the worst of sorrows, rather than commit 
 
 the least sin 56 
 
 7. He becomes a father to all in charity, and a servant 
 
 to all in humility 65 
 
 8. He mourns most before God for those lusts which ap- 
 pear least before men 73 
 
XIV 
 
 Page 
 
 9. He keeps his heart lowest, when God raises his es- 
 tate highest 79 
 
 10. He seeks to be better inwardly in his substance than 
 outwardly in appearance 84 
 
 11. He is grieved more at the distresses of the church than 
 affected at his own happiness 88 
 
 12. He renders the greatest good for the greatest evil . 93 
 
 13. He takes those reproofs best which he needs most . 97 
 
 14. He takes up duty in point of performance, and lays it 
 down in point of dependance 102 
 
 15. He takes up his contentment in God's appointment 106 
 
 16. He is more in love with the employment of holiness 
 than with the enjoyment of happiness Ill 
 
 17. He is more employed in searching his own heart than 
 
 in censuring other men's states 117 
 
 18. He sets out for God at his beginning, and holds out 
 with him to the end 120 
 
 19- He takes all the shame of his sins to himself, and 
 
 gives all the glory of his services to Christ . . .127 
 20. He values an heavenly reversion above an earthly 
 
 >•••••••••••• 133 
 
 APPLICATION. 
 
 I. For the erection of singular principles — 
 
 1. The believer will walk by this principle : That what- 
 soever is transacted by men on earth, is eyed by the 
 Lord in heaven 139 
 
 2. That after all his present receivings he vnll be brought 
 
 to his future reckonings 142 
 
 3. That God bears a greater respect to his heart than 
 
 to his works 151 
 
 4. That there is more final bitterness in reflecting on 
 sin, than there can be present sweetness in the 
 commission of sin 155 
 
 5. That there is the greatest vanity in all created ex- 
 cellency 159 
 
 6. That duties can never have too much attention paid 
 
 to them, nor too little confidence placed in them . 167 
 
XV 
 
 Page 
 
 7. That those precious promises, which are given to 
 insure his happiness, do not supersede those direc- 
 tions which are laid down for him . to seek after 
 happiness 173 
 
 8. That it is dangerous to dress himself for another 
 world at the looking-glass of this world .... 177 
 
 9. That where sin proves hateful, it shall not prove 
 hurtful . . . .' 182 
 
 10. That inward purity is the ready road to outward 
 plenty 186 
 
 11. That all the time which God allows him, is but 
 enough for the work which he allots him . . . 191 
 
 12. That there can never be too great an estrangement 
 from defilement 196 
 
 13. That whatsoever is temporally enjoyed should be 
 spiritually improved 200 
 
 14. That he should speak well of God, whatsoever evil 
 
 he receives from God 205 
 
 15. That the longer God forbears with the unrelenting 
 sinner in life, the sorei he strikes him in the judg- 
 ment-day 208 
 
 16. That there is no judging of the inward conditions of 
 men by the outward dispensations of God . . .213 
 
 17. That it is safest to cleave to that good which is the 
 choicest 217 
 
 18. That no present worldly business should interrupt 
 
 his pursuit of future blessedness 220 
 
 19. That gospel integrity towards God is the best secu- 
 rity against wicked men 222 
 
 20. That the richness of the crown that shall be received, 
 shall more than compensate for the bitterness of the 
 cross which may here be endured 225 
 
 II. Directio7is to those who wish to do more than others — 
 
 1 . Would they do more than others 1 then they must 
 deny themselves more than others 230 
 
 2. Would they deny themselves more than others? 
 then they should pray more than others . . . . ib. 
 
 3. Would they pray more than others'? then they 
 should resolve more than others 234 
 
XVI 
 
 Page 
 
 4. Would they resolve more than others? then they 
 should love more than others 235 
 
 5. Would they love more than others 1 then they 
 should believe more than others 238 
 
 6. Would they believe more than others? then they 
 should know more than others 241 
 
 7. Would they knovi^ more than others? then God 
 must reveal himself more to them than he does to 
 others 243 
 
 The Wedding-Ring, a Sermon, 247 
 
TUE 
 
 NONSUCH PROFESSOR. 
 
 Matt. v. 47. 
 IVJiat do ye more than others ? 
 
 In a mountain the law was propounded to Moses, 
 in a mountain the law was expounded by Jesus ; 
 the former to a man of God, the latter by the Sou 
 of God : the one to a prophet of the Lord, the 
 other by the Lord of the prophets. 
 
 As the works of Christ were miraculous, so the 
 words of Christ were mysterious j they were such 
 a depth which none could sound, but those whom 
 God had furnished with the plummet of an en- 
 lightened understanding. Before any one can 
 peruse the scriptures to profit, the Lamb of God 
 must open the seven seals. 
 
 In this chapter, the soul-justifying Saviour con- 
 demns the self -justifying scribes and pharisees. 
 Never did men make more boast in the law, but 
 never had men less cause. They knew but little 
 as to the letter, but less of its spirit. They were 
 better acquainted with the customs of nature, than 
 the canons of scripture. Alas, how shall the blind 
 see, when the seers are blind ? They who should 
 have put the eyes of others in, had put their own 
 out. 
 
2 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The righteous laws of God cannot connive at 
 the unrighteous lives of men ; they not only re- 
 quire truth without, but within also. The rays of 
 this sun enter the most secret chambers of the 
 heart : therefore he that lusteth after, and he that 
 lieth with a woman, are both adulterers. He is 
 a murderer whose heart is full of hatred, though 
 his hands be free from violence. Thus the lusts 
 of men may be predominant, when the lives of men 
 are not inordinate ; as guests may be in the house, 
 when they look not out of the windows. He who 
 begins religion where it should end, will end re- 
 ligion where it should be begun. 
 
 But as the suburbs direct to the city, and the 
 portal leads to the palace, so the context will 
 guide us to the text. 
 
 'If ye love them that love you, what reward 
 have you ? do not the publicans the same V 
 
 As an echo returns the voice it receives, so many 
 will shew kindness where kindness is shewn : but 
 shall publicans be as godly as the Lord's disciples ? 
 Shall the sons of men equalize the sons of God ? 
 Shall the law of nature swell to so high a tide as 
 the law of grace ? This were for the dribbling ri- 
 vulet to vie with the drowning ocean ; this were' 
 for royalty to degenerate into beggary ; and for the 
 meridian sun to yield no more light than midnight 
 shades. 
 
 ' If you salute your brethren only, what do ye 
 more than others ?' 
 
 I shall not curiously dissect these words, lest I 
 should present to your view a frightful skeleton ; 
 nor shall I lavishly paint these windows, lest my 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 3 
 
 deep colours should shut out the light. The native 
 comeliness of scripture scorns the unnatural colour 
 of a bewitching Jezebel. One rough diamond is 
 of more value than many smooth counterfeits. 
 
 My subject treats not of oratory, but divinity- 
 and my design in it is rather to express aflfections, 
 than to aft'ect expressions. Though the sweetness 
 of the sauce may yield pleasure to the palate, yet 
 it is only the soundness of the meat that can ad- 
 minister nourishment to the blood. 
 
 This text is like a precious jewel, small in 
 quantity, but great in quality. The words con- 
 tain two parts : 
 
 I. An action propounded. 
 
 II. A question proposed. 
 
 1 . An action propounded, touching that which 
 is lawful : because salutation is only a pledge of 
 aft'ection, it is the overflowing of the heart at the 
 lips. There is a kiss of subjection and obedience, 
 that is the subject's kiss 5 there is a kiss of wanton- 
 ness and temptation, that is the harlot's kiss j there 
 is a kiss of dissimulation, that is the traitor's kiss j 
 there is also a kiss of tenderness and aflfection, and 
 that is the brother's kiss. 
 
 Now this scripture enjoins you not only to sa- 
 lute your friends, but your enemies also. Party 
 esteem is but withered fruit, and falls rather from 
 Sodom's than Sion's trees. There is therefore a 
 kiss of pity and forgiveness, and that is the Chris- 
 tian's kiss : if this be wanting, the others are vain. 
 For, if ije salute your brethren only, then observe 
 what follows 5 which is, 
 
 2. A question proposed, 'What do ye more 
 than others V 
 
4 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Doctrine ; — that singular Christians wilt perform 
 singular actions. 
 
 This is the well from which I shall draw the 
 water, and the foundation upon which I shall raise 
 the superstructure. You cannot rationally ima- 
 gine that you will be supplied with bitter streams 
 from so sweet a spring, or that I should make a 
 bowing wall or tottering fence with such choice 
 materials. Those who collect pearls from this 
 spot, will leave as many behind them as they carry 
 with them. 
 
 As the disciples of Christ are more than others, 
 so the disciples of Christ do more than others. A 
 hypocrite may move beyond a sodomite 5 but a 
 Christian moves beyond them both. Though the 
 naturally dead can do nothing, yet the spiritually 
 dead may do something. Though they can do no- 
 thing to merit the grace of life, yet they may do 
 something as to using the means of life. 
 
 Cicero complains of Homer, " that he taught the 
 gods to live like men :" but grace teaches men to 
 live like gods. It is lamentable that we should live 
 so long in the world, and do so little for God j or 
 that we should live so short a time in the world, 
 and do so much for Satan. Other creatures are not 
 more below a sinner, than a saint is above a sinner. 
 Man is the excellency of the creature, the saint is 
 the excellency of man ; grace is the excellency of 
 the saint, and glory is the excellency of grace. 
 
 Believers are among others, as Saul was among 
 the Israelites, the tallest by the head and shoulders. 
 Their birth is truly low, who are not born from 
 above. What are such earthly shrubs, compared 
 with heavenly cedars ; or such thorns of the world's 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 5 
 
 brake, to the willows of God's brook ? Those trees 
 which have their top branches of hope in heaven, 
 will have their lower boughs of activity on earth. 
 Those who look for a heaven made ready, will live 
 as though they were already in heaven. 
 
 Grace not only makes a man more a man, but it 
 also makes him more than a man. The primitive 
 Christians were the best of men. None were more 
 lowly in their dispositions, or more lovely in their 
 conversation. Noah was a just man, and perfect 
 in his generation. He was not a sinner among 
 saints, but he was a saint among sinners. Who 
 would have looked for so fair a bird in so foul a 
 nest ? Though he once acted as the sons of men 
 do, yet he was numbered with the sons of God. 
 A field of wheat may be good, and yet have a weed 
 in it. A saint is not free from sin, that is his bur- 
 den ■ a saint is not free to sin, that is his blessing. 
 Sin is in him, that is his lamentation 5 his soul is 
 not in sin, that is his consolation. 
 
 Mark how an immaculate Saviour glories in one 
 of these singular saints : And the Lord said unto 
 Satan, hast thou considered my servant Job 9 Why, 
 what is there in him so considerable? There is 
 none like him in all the earth. Though there were 
 none in heaven so bad as Job, yet there were none 
 on earth so good as Job. He was a man so like 
 unto God, that there was no man like him. 
 
 A gracious person once hearing how far an hy- 
 pocrite might go, said, ' Let hypocrites proceed as 
 far as they can in that which is laudable; and 
 when they can advance no further, I will go be- 
 yond them.' A true Christian not only does more 
 b3 
 
THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 than others icill do, but he also tloes more than 
 others can do. Whatsoever is not above the top 
 of nature, is below the bottom of grace. There are 
 some who pretend to believe, but work not ; there 
 are others who vv^ork, but believe not : but a saint 
 does both j he so obeys the law, as if there were 
 no gospel to be believed j and so believes the gos- 
 pel, as though there were no law to be obeyed. 
 Religion consists not singly in believing, or doing, 
 but in both. 
 
 There are four sorts of things in the world : 
 
 1 . There are some things which are neither good 
 nor pleasant ; as envy and detraction. The eclips- 
 ing of another's sun will not make thine own shine 
 with brighter beams. O pare ofl those envious 
 nails, which are ever disfiguring that face which is 
 fairer than thine own. Why do you wound your- 
 self with that plaster, which is laid upon your bi"o- 
 ther's sore ; or weep at every shower, which falls 
 beside your own inclosure ? Who would envy an 
 ox that pasture, which only fits it for the slaughter ; 
 or the malefactor that carriage, which only conveys 
 him to the place of execution ? You have no less, 
 because others have much -, nor have they much, 
 because you have little. Another's wealth is no 
 more the cause of your want, than Leah's fruit- 
 fulness was the cause of Rachel's barrenness. O 
 never pine at your neighbour's prosperity, and you 
 shall never pine away through your own scarcity. 
 He enjoys much who is thankful for a little. A 
 grateful mind, is a great mind. 
 
 2. There are some things which are pleasant, 
 but not good, as youthful lusts and worldly de- 
 
IS! HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 7 
 
 lights. These bees carry honey in their mouths, 
 but they have a sting in their tails. When this 
 Jael brings forth her milk and her butter, then 
 beware of the nail and the hammer^ Death is in 
 the pot while you are tasting the soup. The world 
 always presents a deadly potion in the gilded cup 
 of worldly pleasure. If the cup be sinful, do not 
 taste it ; if it be lawful, carouse not over it. Rea- 
 son forbids you, either to taste known poison, or 
 to be intoxicated with pleasant wine. The fish is 
 caught upon the hook, by leaping at the bait. Sin 
 is like a river, which begins in a quiet spring, but 
 ends in a tumultuous sea. 
 
 3. There are some things good, but not plea- 
 sant, as sorrow and affiiction. Sin is pleasant, but 
 unprofitable ; and sorrow is profitable, but unplea- 
 sant. By affliction, the Lord separates the sin that 
 he hates, from the soul that he loves. He does 
 not always ordain it, to take your spirit out of 
 your flesh, but your flesh out of your spirit. It is 
 not sent to take down the tabernacle of nature ; 
 but to rear up the temple of grace within you. 
 As waters are purest when they are in motion, so 
 saints are generally holiest when in affliction. A 
 foul fescue frequently points to a fair lesson. Some 
 Christians resemble those children, who will learn 
 their books no longer than while the rod is on 
 their backs. It is well known, that by the greatest 
 affliction the Lord has sealed the sweetest instruc- 
 tion. Many are not bettered by the judgments 
 they see, when they have by the judgments they 
 have felt. The purest gold is the most pliable. 
 That is the best blade, which bends well, without 
 retaining its crooked figure. 
 
8 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 4. There are some things both good and plea- 
 sant, and those are, gracious operations on the soul, 
 A behever's bed of graces is more fragrant than 
 the most precious bed of spices. He who freely 
 gives his image to us, must of necessity love his 
 image in us. How illustrious do the heavens ap- 
 pear, while the sun is radiating them with his 
 beams ! Now, my brethren, ' Whatsoever things 
 are true, honest, just, lovely, and of good report, 
 if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think 
 on these things.' 
 
 But, as you cannot see so well by a candle un- 
 der a bushel as upon a table, I shall therefore hold 
 up the subject to your view in the following light : 
 First, I shall touch upon the explanation of that 
 which is doctrinal. 
 
 Secondly, Upon the application of that which 
 is practical. 
 
 The former is like cutting the garment outj 
 the latter is like putting the garment on. 
 
 I am first to treat of that which is doctrinal. 
 And here I shall shew, first, why a believer does 
 more than others • and, secondly, what he does 
 more than others. 
 
 I begin with the first. Why do Christians do 
 more than others ? 
 
 ] . Because more is done for them, than is done 
 for others. 
 
 There is that done for them, which none but he 
 who made them could do. They are loved, they 
 are atoned for, they are prayed for, and they are 
 provided for, more than others. Now where there 
 is a superaddition of privilege, there should be a 
 superaddition of practice. We naturally expect 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 9 
 
 'more splendour from the beaming of the sun, than 
 from the burning of a candle ; and we look for 
 more moisture from the dissolving of a cloud, than 
 from the dropping of a bucket. The same heat 
 that melts the wax, will harden the clay. The 
 juice which distils into a rose, is returned in a 
 sweet perfume ; but that which drops upon a net- 
 tle, is returned in an ill savour. If the mercies of 
 God be not load-stones to draw us to heaven, they 
 will be mill-stones to draw or sink us in perdition. 
 
 *^To whom much is given, of them much shall 
 be required.' The blessings we enjoy are not the 
 fruit of our merit, but the fruit of God's mercy. 
 By how much the more grace we have received, 
 by so much the more glory we are obliged to re- 
 turn to the giver. He does not exact much, where 
 little is bestowed ; nor accept little, where much 
 is received. A drop of praise is an unsuitable ac- 
 knowledgement for an ocean of mercy. 'Hear 
 this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, 
 O children of Israel — You only have I known of 
 all the families of the earth.' But was their return 
 according to the benefit ? No, surely ; otherwise 
 he would not have added, ' Therefore I will punish 
 you for all your iniquities.' They were more 
 known to God than others, therefore they should 
 have acknowledged him more than others. 
 
 Those who have tasted the goodness of God, can 
 never speak good enough of God. Reason teaches, 
 that those should bless most, who are most blessed. 
 What are carnal men to Christian men ? The pow- 
 er of God appears in the formation of one ; but 
 the stupendous grace of God shines illustriously in 
 
10 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 the transformation of the other. In creation, God 
 has given the productions of the earth for our bo- 
 dies : but in redemption he has given himself for 
 our souls. Thus, it appears to be a greater favour 
 to be converted than to be created j yea, it were 
 better for us to have no being, than not to have a 
 new being. 
 
 When you were sailing to destruction, before 
 sin's dangerous blast, then the most blessed gales of 
 mercy sprang up, and changed your course. When 
 you lay in the blood of transgression, then God be- 
 held you with bowels of compassion. His heart 
 pitied you, and his hand helped you. Now, where 
 there is distinguishing mercy, there ought to be dis- 
 tinguishing duty. The husbandman who holds the 
 largest farms, will pay the greatest rent : and he 
 who sows the most precious seed, will expect the 
 choicest crop. Now read the great husbandman's 
 complaint against his vineyard : Now will I sing 
 to my beloved, a song of my beloved, touching his 
 vineyard : my well-beloved hath a vineyard on a 
 very fruitful hill ; and he fenced it, and gathered 
 out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choi- 
 cest vine ; and built a tower in the midst, and also 
 made a wine-press therein. Here is an inventory 
 of God's goodness to his vineyard. Now, what 
 follows } He looked that it should bring forth 
 grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. He look- 
 ed that they should be better to him than others, 
 because he had been better to them than he had 
 been to others. 
 
 God had made them flowers of paradise, while 
 others were left as the weeds of the wilderness. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 1 1 
 
 While others were Satan's thoroughfare, they were 
 God's choice inclosure. 
 
 How has God embraced you, who are believers, 
 over many shoulders ! He has made you his own 
 dials, on which the beams of the sun of righteous- 
 ness do shine ! He has made you studs for his 
 crown, while others are stools for his feet ! Lord, 
 how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and 
 not unto the world ? As if he had said. Lord, what 
 are we more than others, that thou shouldest show 
 thyself to us ; when thou mightest have shewn thy- 
 self to them and not to us ? 
 
 Reader ! has God made you a vessel to honour 
 out of the same lump ? Has he shewn himself to 
 you, and not unto the world ? And will you not 
 shew yourself for God, and not for the world? 
 Remember, that it lay as a great blotch on Heze- 
 kiah's escutcheon. That he rendered not unto the 
 Lord according to the benefit done unto him. 
 
 2. Another reason why Christians do more than 
 others, is. Because they stand in a nearer relation 
 to God than others. 
 
 The nearer the relation, the stronger are the ties 
 of obligation. In this view, believers on earth are 
 superior to angels in heaven. Christ is related to 
 them as a lord to his servants : but he is united to 
 these as a head to its members. In this head there 
 are no glazed eyes, nor are there any withered or 
 dead members in this body. While others are 
 made of God, these are born of God. While others 
 stand before him as prisoners before their judge, 
 these appear before him as children before a father, 
 and as a bride before a bridegroom. There are no 
 
12 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOK 
 
 still-born children in the family of grace. God is 
 the living- father, and therefore all his children live 
 by him.; he is also the everlasting Father, and there- 
 fore he will have due honour paid him. For a son 
 honoureth his father, and a servant his master : if 
 then I be a father, where is mine honour ? and if I 
 he a master, where is my fear ? As a father, he will 
 be revered for his goodness : and as a master, he 
 will be feared for his greatness. 
 
 If honour be not the Lord's due, let him not have 
 it : if it be his due, let him not be denied it. As 
 man was born to serve God, he had better never 
 have been born, than to refuse him that service. 
 
 When the son of Fluvius was found in the con- 
 spiracy of Catiline, the displeased Father reprehend- 
 ed him sharply, saying, Non ego te CatiliniE, genui 
 sedpatrice. *I did not beget you for Catihne, but 
 for your country.' This is the language of God to 
 his children. I gave you not bodies and souls to 
 serve sin with, but to serve me with. Our bodies 
 were not formed to be the instruments of unright- 
 eous actions, nor our souls the gloomy abodes of 
 foul spirits. 
 
 The everlasting Father cannot brook the un- 
 grateful behaviour of his own children. There- 
 fore, attend to the great complaint he prefers 
 against them : Hear, heavens, and give ear, O 
 earth, for my children refuse to hear ; I have nou- 
 rished and brought up children, and they have re- 
 belled against me! — Where the relation is the 
 nearest, there the provocation is the greatest. It 
 is far more pleasing to behold rebels becoming 
 children, than to behold children becoming rebels. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUIl. J 3 
 
 When Caesar was wounded by the senators of 
 Rome, Brutus, a Roman of an illustrious family, 
 also made a pass at him. With that, Caesar gave 
 him a wishful look, saying, ' What thou, my son 
 Brutus !' How can that tender mother endure to 
 feel those lips sucking her blood, which were wont 
 to draw her maternal breast ? The unkindness of 
 a friend is more sensibly felt than that of an 
 enemy. 
 
 The Roman censors took such an utter dislike to 
 the debauched son of Africanus, that they refused 
 to let him wear a ring on Avhich his father's like- 
 ness was engraven j alleging, ' that he who was so 
 unlike the father's person, was unworthy to wear 
 the father's picture.' Thus God will never grant 
 any to enjoy the love of Christ in heaven, who are 
 destitute of the likeness of Christ on earth. 
 
 Alexander, who is reported to have been an ex- 
 ceedingly swift runner, was once solicited to run 
 in the Olympic games. He answered, * I will, if 
 kings are mine antagonists.' Give me such a saint 
 who will pursue nothing on earth, which may be 
 unsuitable to his birth from heaven. What, shall 
 he walk in darkness, whose father is light ? Shall 
 those lips be found broaching falsehood, which Were 
 found breathing out prayers ? Shall those eyes be 
 found gazing on unseemly objects, which were 
 found reading the lively oracles of God ? 
 
 The remembrance of our dignity should engage 
 us to our heavenly duty. It is not for kings, 
 Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine and strong 
 drink. Such a sin is detestable in a sovereign, who 
 has the eyes of his subjects upon him j but it is ag- 
 
14 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 gravated in a saint, who has the eyes of his Sa- 
 viour upon him. A spot in scarlet, is worse than 
 a stain in russet. 
 
 3. Another reason why Christians do more than 
 others, is. Because they profess more than others. 
 
 Though there be many professors who are not 
 true believers -, yet there are no tine believers but 
 what are professors. As trees are known by their 
 fruits, so believers are known by their works. Such 
 as have received Christ's bounty, are unwilling to 
 fight under Satan's banner. 
 
 There are many who profess to know God, but 
 in works deny him ; being abominable, disobedient, 
 and to every good work reprobate. Man is not 
 what he says, but what he does. For a man to 
 say what he does, and not to do what he says, is 
 to resemble those trees which are full of leaves 
 but void of fruits — those barns, wherein there is 
 much chaff, but no grain. What is the chaff to 
 the wheat ? saith the Lord. 
 
 Ah, how intolerable will the punishment of 
 those professors be, who have appeared as burn- 
 ished gold to men, and are found only base metal 
 in the sight of God ! What will it profit, to put 
 off the old manners, and not put off the old man ? 
 A snake may change its skin, and yet preserve its 
 sting. The gospel professed, may lift a man unto 
 heaven 3 but it is only the gospel possessed, that 
 brings a man into heaven. To profess piety, and 
 yet to practise impiety, will be so far from ad- 
 vancing a man's commendation, that it will assur- 
 edly heighten his condemnation. 
 
 And why call ye me. Lord, Lord, and do not the 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 15 
 
 things that I say 9 As if he had said. Either keep 
 my words more, or else call me Lord no more ^ 
 either take me into your lives, or cast me out of 
 your lips. — As princes disdain to have their im- 
 ages on base counterfeits, so the Lord Jesus can- 
 not delight to see his name on rotten hypocrites. 
 Therefore he saith. Let every one that nameth the 
 name of Christ, depart from all iniquity. If god- 
 liness be evil, why is it so much professed ? if it 
 be good, why is it so little practised ? 
 
 Who hath saved, and called us with an holy call- 
 ing. Now a holy calling will be attended with 
 a holy carriage. Many may be found who can 
 talk of grace, but very few can be found who taste 
 of grace. It is not eveiy one who looks like a 
 Christian, that lives like a Christian. For there 
 are some who make their boast of the law j and 
 yet through breaking of the law they dishonour 
 God. It is a greater glory to us that we are al- 
 lowed to serve God, than it is to him that we of- 
 fer him that service. He is not rendered happy 
 by us • but we are made happy by him. He can 
 do without such earthly servants ; but we cannot 
 do without such a heavenly master. 
 
 It is unnatural for a Christian's tongue to be 
 larger than his hand. It is lamentable for him to 
 hold a lamp to others, and yet to walk in darkness 
 himself. There are generally more infected by the 
 undue conduct of some, than there are instructed 
 by the righteous doctrines of others. He that 
 gives proper precepts, and then sets improper ex- 
 amples, resembles that foolish person who labours 
 hard to kindle a fire, and when he has done it. 
 
16 
 
 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 throws cold water upon it to quench it. Though 
 such a physician may administer the reviving cor- 
 dial to some fainting disciple, yet he is in danger 
 himself of dying in a swoon. I may say of such 
 professors as was once said of a certain preacher, 
 'That when he was in the pulpit, it was a pity 
 he should ever leave it, he was so excellent an in- 
 structor J but when he was outof it, it was a pity 
 he should ever ascend it again, he was so wretch- 
 ed a liver.' 
 
 Many people are offended with the profession 
 of religion, because all are not religious who make 
 a profession. A little consideration will correct 
 this error. Does the sheep despise its fleece, be- 
 cause the wolf has worn it ? Who blames a 
 crystal river, because some melancholy men have 
 drowned themselves in its streams? The best 
 drugs have their adultrates. And will you re- 
 fuse opiate, because some have wantonly poisoned 
 themselves with it ? Though you have been co- 
 zened with false colours, yet you should not dis- 
 esteem that which is dyed in grain. He is a bad 
 economist who, having a spot in his garment, cuts 
 off the cloth, instead of rubbing off the dirt. God 
 rejects all religion, but his own. 
 
 4. Another reason why Christians do more than 
 others, is. Because they are inwardly conformed to 
 the image of their Redeemer more than others. 
 
 As Jesus Christ is the fountain of all excellency, 
 to which all must come j so he is the pattern of 
 excellency, to which all must conform. As he is 
 the root on which a saint grows ; so he is the rule 
 by which a saint walks. God has made one Son 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 17 
 
 ill the image of us all, that he might make all his 
 sons in the image of that one. Jesus Christ lived 
 to teach us how to live, and died to teach us how 
 to die. Therefore he commands us, saying. Learn 
 of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart j and ye 
 shall find rest unto your souls. O reader ! if the 
 life of Christ be not your pattern, the death of 
 Christ will never be your pardon ! Though the 
 Lord Jesus was a man of many sorrows, yet he 
 was not a man of the least sin. No man can 
 equalize him in holiness 3 yet every man ought to 
 imitate him in holiness. 
 
 As the sun is the glory of creation, so is Christ 
 the glory of redemption. The summit of moral 
 religion consists in imitating God : without this, 
 your religion will be found a Tekel : when it is 
 weighed in the balance, it will be wanting. It 
 would be well if there were as great a similarity 
 between the life of Christ and the life of Chris- 
 tians, as there is between a just copy and the ori- 
 ginal. What he was by nature, that we should be 
 by grace. As face answereth to face in water, so 
 should life answer to life in scripture. He that 
 was a way to others, never went out of the way 
 himself. 
 
 A truly religious life, is a crystal glass ; where- 
 in Christ sees his own likeness. In our sacra- 
 mental participations, we shew forth the death of 
 Christ • but in our evangelical conversation, we 
 shew forth the life of Christ. An excellent Christ 
 calls for excellent Christians. As he was never 
 unemployed, so he was never ill-employed. For, 
 he went about doing good. As our happiness lay 
 c3 
 
18 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 near his heart, so his honour should lie near our 
 hearts. 
 
 Jesus Christ even submits his person to be judg- 
 ed by his actions. If I do not the works of my 
 Father, believe me not. As if he had said. Never 
 take me for a Saviour, if I act contrary to a Sa- 
 viour. Thus should it be with a professor : Never 
 take me for a Christian, if I live contrary to the 
 life of a Christian. If professors do more than 
 others, it might be said, ' Those are men and pro- 
 fessors - but not men and Christians.' 
 
 Man is naturally an aspiring being, and loves to 
 be nearest to those who are highest. Why does 
 he not therefore take as much delight in those 
 precepts which enjoin holiness, as in those pro- 
 mises which ensure happiness ? 
 
 All those who are conformed to the image of the 
 Redeemer, are as willing to be ruled by Christ, as 
 they are to be esteemed by him. He that deems 
 his yoke heavy, will not find his crown easy. 
 
 By David's language, there were many singular 
 saints in his day : To the saints that are in the earth, 
 and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. 
 Was it so then ? and should it not be so now ? 
 We know the New Testament outshines the Old, 
 as much as the sun outshines the moon. If we 
 then live in a more glorious dispensation, should 
 we not maintain a more glorious conversation ? 
 
 How blessed would it he for us, to have that 
 blessed scripture fulfilled in us, Js he was, so are 
 we in this world. Now if we are in this Avorld as 
 he was, we shall be in heaven as he is. If there 
 be no likeness between Christ and you on earth. 
 
IN' HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 19 
 
 there can be no friendship between Christ and you 
 in heaven. 
 
 5. Another reason why Christians should do 
 more than others, is. Because they are looked upon 
 more than others. 
 
 If once a man commence a professor, the eyes 
 of all are upon him ; and well they may, for his 
 profession in the world is a separation from the 
 world. Believers condemn those by their lives, 
 who condemn them by their lips. Righteous Da- 
 vid saw many who were waiting to triumph in his 
 mistakes. Hence the more they watched, the 
 more he prayed. Teach me thy way, Lord, and 
 lead vie in a plain path, because of mine enemies. 
 It may be rendered, because of mine observers. 
 
 Christian ! if you dwell in the open tent of li- 
 centiousness, the wicked will not walk backward, 
 like modest Shem and Japheth, to cover your 
 shame 5 but they will walk forward, like cui-sed 
 Ham, to publish it. Thus they make use of your 
 weakness as a plea for their wickedness. 
 
 Men are merciless in their censures of Chris- 
 tians ; they have no sympathy for their infirmity : 
 while God weighs them in more equal scales, and 
 says. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 
 While the saint is a dove in the eyes of God, he is 
 only a raven in the estimation of sinners. 
 
 Consider, Christian, that an unholy conversation 
 strips off the rich ornamental jewels from the neck 
 of the bride, the Lamb's wife. Sin indulged in a 
 believer, is like a rent in a richly-embroidered gar- 
 ment j or like a crack in a silver bell. A foul 
 spot is soonest discerned in the fairest cloth. The 
 
20 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 world will sooner make an excuse for its own en- 
 ormities, than for your infirmities. 
 
 The behaviour of some professors has often given 
 the wicked an opportunity to reproach religion. — 
 Lactantius reports, that the heathens were wont to 
 say, ' The master could not be good, when his dis- 
 ciples were so bad.' The malice of sinners is such, 
 that they will reproach the rectitude of the law, 
 for the obliquity of their lives who swerve from it. 
 O that your pure life did but hang a padlock upon 
 their impure lips ! Such will ever be throwing the 
 dirt of professors upon the face of profession. 
 
 If the sun be eclipsed one day, it attracts more 
 spectators than if it shone a whole year. So if you 
 commit one sin, it will cause you many sorrows, and 
 the world many triumphs. Dr. Whitaker, on read- 
 ing the fifth of Matthew, brake out saying, Aut hoc 
 non est evangelium, aut nos non sumus evangelici, 
 * Either this is not the gospel, or we are not of the 
 gospel.' The cruelty of the Spaniards to the In- 
 dians made them refuse Christian baptism ; 'For,' 
 said they, 'he must be a wicked God, who has such 
 wicked servants.* O that God's jewels did but 
 sparkle more in this benighted world ! 
 
 That was a glorious encomium given to Za- 
 charias and Elizabeth : And they were both righ- 
 teous before God, walking in all the commandments 
 and ordinances of the Lord blameless. God made 
 them both righteous, and then men saw them righ- 
 teous. Their religion was undefiled before God 
 and the Father j and their lives unspotted from 
 the world. 
 
 Reader, would you be righteous in God's sight ? 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 21 
 
 then you must be righteous in God's Son. Would 
 you be unspotted from the world? then remember, 
 you arc not of the world. When the godly are left 
 to fall, then the envious sinner will exclaim, 'There 
 is your religion !' No wonder if a barbarian gives 
 the alarm, when the leprosy is in an Israelitish 
 house. 
 
 6. Another reason why believers should do more 
 than others, is. Because if they do no more, it will 
 appear that they are no more than others. 
 
 As there is no man so vicious, but some relative 
 good may be performed by him to man j so there 
 is no one so religious, but some evil may be com- 
 mitted by him against God. As one sw allow does 
 not prove the approach of summer, neither does 
 one good action prove a man a believer. There is 
 in every being a natural tendency to some centre. 
 God is the centre of the saints, and glory is the 
 centre of grace. Now where we do not discover 
 that bias, w^e may deny the being. 
 
 Reader, would you be thought more than publi- 
 cans and sinners ? then beware of living as publi- 
 cans and sinners. Jesus Christ gives you an ex- 
 cellent mirror in his memorable sermon upon the 
 mount, for you to behold your own likeness in : 
 Ye shall know them by their fruits. There is no 
 ascertaining the quality of a tree, but by its fruits. 
 When the wheels of a clock move within, the hand 
 on the dial will move without. When the heart 
 of a man is sound in conversion, then the life will 
 be fair in profession. When the conduit is walled 
 in, how shall we judge of the spring, but by the 
 waters which run through the pipes ? 
 
22 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 As a sinner will discover the good he wants • so 
 a saint will shew the good he enjoys. When the 
 sun dawns upon the earth, it is presently known ; 
 and when the Sun of righteousness arises upon the 
 heart, it cannot be hid. It is said of the Saviour, 
 that he could not he hid. As it is with the head, 
 so it is with the members. Ye are the light of the 
 world. Let your light so shine among men, that 
 they may see your good works. 
 
 When Saul was made a sovereign, he had an- 
 other spirit poured out upon him 3 a spirit of go- 
 vernment, for a place of government : and when 
 a sinner is made a saint, he has also another spirit 
 poured out upon him. As he is what he was not, 
 so he does what he did not. 
 
 It is reported of an harlot, that when she saw a 
 certain person with whom she had committed folly, 
 she renewed her enticements j to whom he replied, 
 *I am not now what I once was.' Though she 
 was the same woman that she was before j yet he 
 was not the same man he was before. 
 
 Were the sun to give no more light than a star, 
 you could not believe he was the regent of the day j 
 were he to transmit no more heat than a glow- 
 worm, you would question his being the source of 
 elementaiy heat. Were God to do no more than a 
 creature, where would his Godhead be ? Were a 
 man to do no more than a brute, where would his 
 manhood be ? Were not a saint to excel a sinner, 
 where would his sanctity be ? 
 
 Professor, if you live and walk as a worldling, 
 you subject yourself to that apostolic rebuke. Are 
 ye not carnal, and walk as men ? If men debase 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 23 
 
 themselves as beasts, the Lord will nominate them 
 beasts ; and if Christians walk as men, God will 
 call them men. There is no passing for current 
 coin in heaven_, without the stamp and signature 
 of heaven. 
 
 7. The disciples of Christ do more than others. 
 Because they are appointed to be judges of others. 
 
 If you consult the holy scriptures, you will find 
 that both the Father, the Son, and the saints are 
 to judge the world. The ordination is the Fa- 
 ther's, the execution is the Son's, and the appro- 
 bation is the saints'. This shall no more derogate 
 from the honour of Christ, than the sessions of the 
 justices derogates from the authority of the judges. 
 
 When the apostle Paul would quash the sinful 
 suits among the believing Corinthians, he inform- 
 ed them that they did not so much require men of 
 eminence to terminate their controversy, as men of 
 godliness. Do ye not know that the saints shall 
 judge the world ? and if the world shall be judged 
 by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest mat- 
 ters ? If you are to judge in causes between God 
 and man, how much more in controversies between 
 man and man ? If about matters that are eternal, 
 why not in affairs that are temporal r 
 
 Felons may be jovial in the prison, and bold at 
 the bar j but they will tremble at the tree. When 
 wicked men come like miserable captives out of 
 their holes, the godly shall rise like an unclouded 
 sun above the horizon of the grave. 
 
 There is a cloud of witnesses to prove the Chris- 
 tian's judicial process : — Enoch, the seventh from 
 Adam, prophesied of these, saying. Behold the 
 
24 
 
 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to ex- 
 ecute judgement upon all. Again he saith, When 
 the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, 
 ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the 
 twelve tribes of Israel. Now the world judges the 
 godly, but then the godly shall judge the world. 
 The act of the head is imputed to the members, and 
 the act of the members is acknowledged by the 
 head. 
 
 Reader, in the great day there will be no distinc- 
 tion made between him who now sitteth on the 
 bench, and him who standeth at the bar. Tell me, 
 how will you be capable of passing a righteous sen- 
 tence on others, for those evils which you have 
 lived in the constant commission of? The true 
 Christian can cordially subscribe to that ancient 
 maxim, ' Because I enjoy the greatest share of re- 
 ligious majesty, I am therefore in titled to the least 
 share of licentious liberty.' It was once said to 
 Caesar, ' Seeing all things are lawful to Caesar, 
 therefore it is the less lawful for Caesar to do them.' 
 
 By faith, Noah, being warned of God, prepared 
 an ark, — by which he condemned the world. Noah's 
 believing set him to prosecute his building. Thus 
 the sanctified Christian judges the world both by 
 his faith and his practice. 
 
 Christian reader, remember, that the gospel pu- 
 rity of your life shows to worldlings the impurity 
 of their's. The usual prejudice which the world 
 has against religion, is, that it makes no man bet- 
 ter, though it may make some men stricter. 
 
 We too frequently behold that those who ex- 
 claim against the pride of others, are as proud as 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 25 
 
 Others. As they so constantly meet together, they 
 lire expected to be more godly 3 but they are not 
 more ^odly for their meeting together. Take 
 away their profession, and yon take away their 
 reh'gion. They have nothing belonging to the 
 sheep, but its skin. 
 
 Mark, how the God of Israel expostulates with 
 the professing Israel of God : Hath a nation chang- 
 ed their Gods ? which are yet no gods ; but my peo- 
 ple have changed their glory for that which doth 
 not pro/it. Here is a professing people out-done 
 by a people who made no profession. If heathens 
 take up their gods, they will zealously keep up their 
 gods. They were true to the false gods, while 
 Israel was false to the true God. 
 
 Hear, O heavens, and be astonished, earth ! 
 Why, what is the matter? The ox knoweth his 
 owner, and the ass his master s crib ; but Israel doth 
 not know, my people doth not consider, God does 
 not call in a jury of angels to condemn them j but 
 he empannels a jury of oxen and asses to pass sen- 
 tence upon them. Alas, that oxen and asses should 
 be more religious than men who professed religion ! 
 In their kind they are more kind. If their own- 
 ers feed them, they readily own their owners. 
 
 8. And, lastly, the disciples of Christ do more 
 than others. Because they expect more than others. 
 
 A true hope of heaven excites an utter dislike 
 to the earth. And every man that hath this hope 
 in him, purifies himself, even as he is pure. Hope 
 is too pure a plant to flourish or grow in an im- 
 pure soil. 
 
 Reader, you must not look to toil for the priace 
 
 D 
 
26 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 of darkness all the long day of your life • and then 
 sup with the Prince of light at the evening of 
 death. There is no going from Delilah's lap to 
 Abraham's bosom. It is not the tyrannic reign of 
 sin in your mortal body, which makes way for the 
 triumphant reign of your soul in eternal glory. 
 Grace is such a pilot, as, without its steerage, you 
 will certainly suffer shipwreck in your voyage to 
 everlasting tranquillity. 
 
 There is no gaining admittance into the King of 
 heaven's privy chamber of felicity, without pass- 
 ing through the strait gate of purity. Blessed are 
 the pure in heart, for they shall see God, A dusty 
 glass will not distinctly represent the face. To 
 look for a Turkish paradise, is to conceive of the 
 heaven of purity, as a house of impurity 5 but while 
 they expect to bathe themselves in carnal plea- 
 sures, you should look to be the chaste and happy 
 consort of the Lamb. 
 
 The Lord's gratuitous bestowinents on saints 
 awaken the grateful sentiments of saints. Giving 
 thanks to the Father, who hath made us meet to be 
 partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. 
 — Men commonly season the vessel with water, 
 before they trust it with costly wine. Thus God 
 will season the vessel of your heart with his gi*ace, 
 before he pours into it the wine of his glory. It 
 is hard to say, whether God discovers more love in 
 preparing heavenly mansions for the soul, than in 
 preparing the soul for heavenly mansions. 
 
 Reader, if the Lord has made you a ti-ue believ- 
 er^ you earnestly desire that your present deport- 
 ment may be suitable to your future preferment. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR- 27 
 
 You know there is no living a vicious life, and 
 dying a righteous death. As divine justice crushes 
 none on earth before they are corrupted, so divine 
 mercy crowns none in heaven before they are 
 converted. 
 
 Holiness and happiness are so wisely joined to- 
 gether, that God will never suffer them to be put 
 asunder : Follow peace with all men, and holiness, 
 without which no man shall see the Lord. Though 
 holiness be that which a sinner scorns ; yet it is 
 that which a Saviour crowns. 
 
 The soul of man is the Lord's casket, and grace 
 the jewel : now, wherever the jewel is not found, 
 the casket will be thrown away. Though the 
 wheat be for a garner j yet the chaff is for the fire. 
 The scripture presents you not only with an ac- 
 count of what God will do for a Christian ■ but 
 also what a Christian will do for God. 
 
 The high prize of heavenly bliss is at the end of 
 the gospel race : So run that you may obtain. To 
 neglect the race of holiness, is to reject the prize of 
 happiness. He that made you without your as- 
 sistance, will not crown you till he has saved you 
 from your disobedience. 
 
 It would be well for fruitless sinners, were they 
 seriously to consider that fearful scripture : Every 
 tree that hringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down 
 and cast into the fire. If you be not fruit-bear- 
 ing plants, you must be burning brands. There 
 is no making out your salvation, where there is no 
 working out your salvation. Men are condemned, 
 not only for their profaneness, but also for their 
 slothfulness. Men may perish for being unpro- 
 
28 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 fitable servants, as well as for being abominable 
 servants. 
 
 The Lord binds none in the bundle of life, but 
 such as are heirs of life. Therefore, my beloved 
 brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abound- 
 ing in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know 
 that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. How 
 cheerfully should those cast in their net, who are 
 sure to inclose so excellent a draught of fishes ! 
 
 Reader, why do you expect more than others in 
 heaven, if grace has not made you more than others 
 on earth ? If you love them that love you, what re- 
 ward have you ? It is but natural that love should 
 be returned to those from whom it has been re- 
 ceived. Now natural works shall have only natu- 
 ral wages. If you would not have God put you oiF 
 with a Pharisee's portion, how can you put him oft' 
 with a Pharisee's performance ? 
 
 The Lord hangs the bait of duty upon the hook 
 of mercy. He sets the promises of the gospel in 
 the galleries of his ordinances. The hardy soldier 
 will undergo a bloody seed time, to enjoy a happy 
 harvest. He has nothing more than earthly mam- 
 mon in his pursuit j but the saint has nothing less 
 than heavenly mansions in his pursuit. 
 
 Thus have I dispatched the first general head ; 
 namely. Why the disciples of Christ do more than 
 others. I therefore come secondly to consider, 
 TVliat the disciples of Christ do more than others. 
 — And here I shall form a golden chain of twenty 
 links, for believers to wear about their necks. 
 
 Thefrst singular action of sanctified Christians, 
 is. To do much good, and make but little noise. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 29 
 
 Some people say much, and do nothing • but 
 Christians do much_, and say nothing. To deserve 
 praise where none is obtained, is better than to 
 obtain it where none is deserved. The old max- 
 im is worthy to be revived 3 he that desires hon- 
 our, is not worthy of honour. 
 
 Take heed that you do not your alms before men, 
 to be seen of men ; otherwise you have no reward of 
 your Father which is in heaven, A saint may be 
 seen doing more works than any • and yet he does 
 not desire to do any of the works, to be seen. An 
 alms which is seen, is by no means unpleasant to 
 God, provided it be not given with a design to 
 have it seen. Though good ends make not bad 
 actions lawful 3 yet bad ends make good actions 
 sinful. — The harp sounds sweetly 5 yet it hears 
 not its own melody. Moses had more glory by 
 his veil than he had by his face. It is truly 
 pleasant to behold those living in the dust of hu- 
 miUty, who have raised others from the dust by 
 their liberality. 
 
 That ancient caution of our Saviour is very suit- 
 able to modern times : Therefore, when thou dost 
 thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee as 
 the hypocrites do in the synagogues, and in the 
 street, that they may have glory from men. What 
 the first verse calls doing to be seen of men, this 
 calls doing to receive glory from men. 
 
 Hypocrites would never be anxious for men to 
 see them ; but that by seeing them, men should 
 praise them. The indigent are more indebted to 
 their vanity than their charity. They give alms, 
 not so much for the poor to live upon, as for the 
 d3 
 
30 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 rich to look upon. This is employing the master's 
 coin for the servants' gain. Hypocrites are more 
 zealous for the market, than for the closet. They 
 can pray better in the corners of the streets, than 
 in the corners of their houses. 
 
 It is both meat and drink to a formalist to fast, 
 if others do but see it. It is reported, that the 
 nightingale never sings so sweetly, as vrhen others 
 stand by to hear its melody. Cmne, see my zeal 
 for the Lord of hosts ; when there was no zeal for 
 the Lord of hosts to be seen. Jehu only made 
 religion a stirrup, to mount upon the saddle of po- 
 pularity. — Sounding souls are seldom souls that are 
 sound. The vote of a Jehu is always linked to 
 the heart of a Judas. Some persons are like hens, 
 which no sooner drop their eggs, than they begin 
 to chatter. If such bestow a little money on a 
 church's repairs, it must be recorded upon glazed 
 windows. 
 
 How frequently do the enemies of grace lurk 
 under the praises of nature ! While an hypocrite 
 is extolled, grace is injured. By how much we 
 arrogate to ourselves, we derogate from God's hon- 
 our. Vain-glory is like Naamans leprosy ; a foul 
 spot upon a fair paper. What are the acclama- 
 tions of man, to the approbation of God? Of 
 what real advantage is it to be cried up on earth 
 by those about us, and cried down in heaven by 
 him who is above us? One flaw in a diamond 
 diminishes both its splendour and value. Where 
 self is the end of our actions, there Satan is the 
 rewarder of them. 
 
 When thou dost thine alms, let not thy left hand 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 31 
 
 know what thy right hand cloth. Acts of mercy 
 are right-hand acts ; but the left hand must not 
 know them, because it will make them known. 
 It is a singular thing for Christians to do much 
 in secret, and to keep it secret when it is done. 
 God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves. We 
 need not sound a trumpet for any thing that is be- 
 stowed : for when the great trumpet shall sound, 
 every work shall be revealed. 
 
 Where the river is the deepest, the water glides 
 the smoothest. Empty casks sound most j where- 
 as the well-fraught vessel silences its own sound. 
 As the shadow of the sun is largest when his beams 
 are lowest j so we are always least, when we make 
 ourselves the greatest. Wicked Saul would rather 
 resign his crown than his honour. Honour me he- 
 fore the people. There is little worth in outward 
 splendour, if grace yield it not an inward lustre. 
 
 When the sun of worldly grandeur is in its me- 
 ridian, it may be masked with a cloud. By climb- 
 ing too high on the bough of honour, you may hang 
 yourselves on the tree of dishonour. Some would 
 rather suffer the o.gony of the cross, than the infa- 
 my of the cross. It is worse, in their esteem, to 
 be dispraised, than it is to be destroyed. Thus 
 Abimeleck the fratricide conceived of it. 'A cer- 
 tain woman cast a piece of mill-stone upon Abim- 
 eleck's head, and broke his scull ; then he called 
 hastily to the young man, his armour bearer, and 
 said unto him. Draw thy sword and slay me, that 
 men may not say, a woman slew me.' Poor man, 
 he dies, but his pride does not die ! 
 
 How frequently does God reject those as repro- 
 
32 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 bate silver, whom men esteem as fine gold ! He 
 is a Jew, who is one inwardly ; and circumcision is 
 that of the hearty in the spirit, whose praise is not 
 of many but of God. The praise of an hypocrite 
 is not of God, but of man ; the praise of an Isra- 
 elite is not of man, but of God. The former de- 
 sires to seem good, that he may be admired 3 the 
 latter to be good, that God may be honoured. 
 The self-abased saint on earth imitates the angels 
 in heaven j while the self- admired sinner on earth 
 imitates the fallen angels in hell. 
 
 The cherubims in Ezekiel's \dsion had the hands 
 of a man under their wings. They had not their 
 wings under their hands 3 but their hands under 
 their wings. Their hands denoted skill, their 
 wings celerity 3 and their hands under their wings, 
 the secresy of their actions. They would not have 
 others fall down and worship them, who were only 
 round the throne 5 but they fell down themselves 
 to worship him who is upon the throne. 
 
 It was foretold of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 did the most excellent works that ever were done, 
 that he should not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his 
 voice to he heard in the streets. He should not 
 cry ; that is, he should not be contentious : he 
 should not lift up his voice in the streets ^ that is, 
 he should not be vain-glorious. 
 
 How repugnant to this was the conduct of the 
 boasting pharisee ! The pharisee stood, and pray- 
 ed with himself: Godj I thank thee that I am not 
 as other men are ^ extortioners, unjust, adulterers, 
 or even as this publican. Hypocrites are better in 
 setting forth their own worth, than their own 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 33 
 
 wants ; in displaying the banners of their perfec- 
 tions, than in discovering the heinousness of their 
 own transgressions. I am not as other men are ! 
 As if he had been such a fellow, as had had no fel- 
 low. Because he was not so bad as most, he 
 thought himself as good as the best. Ambition 
 is so great a planet, that it must have a whole or- 
 bit to move in • and is envious at its equals. 
 
 A sun-burnt face seems fair, compared with an 
 Ethiopian ; but cyphers can never constitute a 
 sum. This pharisee was as far from being religi- 
 ous, as he was from being scandalous. But upon 
 what foundation did he rear his superstructure? 
 I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all I possess. 
 He proclaims out of doors, all which was done 
 within. He forgot that he was like the sea, which 
 loses as much on one shore as it gains on another. 
 He hid his sins, which he should have confessed ; 
 and published his good deeds, which he should 
 have concealed. 
 
 What \actory a formalist seemingly obtains over 
 one lust, he loses by being overcome of another. 
 He trades not for God's glory, but for his own. 
 If a tear be shed, or a prayer be made, as it is 
 perfonned by him, so it is divulged by him. He 
 who trafficks in God's service, to freight himself 
 with man's praises, shall suffer shipwreck in the 
 haven. 
 
 It is reported of Alexander's footman, that he 
 ran so swift upon the sand, that the prints of his 
 footsteps were not to be seen. Thus may it be 
 witb Christians. Nothing is more pleasing to 
 God, than a hand liberally opened, and a tongue 
 strictly silent. 
 
34 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Most persons are like Themistocles, who never 
 found himself so much contented, as when he 
 heard himself praised. I will not say a gracious 
 heart never lifts up itself j but I will say, that 
 grace in the heart never lifts it up. Grace in the 
 heart constantly acts like itself j but a gracious 
 heart does not always do so. 
 
 Saints should resemble a spire steeple ; which 
 is minimus in summo, smallest where it is highest : 
 or those orient stars, which the higher they are 
 seated the less they are viewed. Usually, the 
 greatest boasters are the smallest workers. The 
 deep rivers pay a larger tribute to the sea than 
 shallow brooks, and yet empty themselves with 
 less noise. I have read of an harlot, who ofifered 
 to rebuild the walls of a city, which Alexander 
 had demolished, so that she might but set her own 
 arms upon them. What will not a hypocrite do, 
 so he might but see his own signet upon it when 
 it is done ! 
 
 2. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To brbig up the bottom of his life to the 
 top of his light. 
 
 By how far our hearts are set from God's pre- 
 cepts, to love them 3 by so far are his ears set 
 from our prayers, to answer them. David knew 
 this when he said. If I regard iniguitij in my heart, 
 the Lord will not hear me. Since the tree of know- 
 ledge hath been tasted, the key of knowledge hath 
 been rusted. Therefore, the natural man receiv- 
 eth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they 
 are foolishness to him ; neither can he know them, 
 because they are spiritually discerned. Spiritual 
 truths oppose the wickedness of human reason. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 35 
 
 because tliey are against it • therefore it cannot 
 receive them : they also exceed the weakness of 
 human reason, because they are above it ; there- 
 fore it cannot perceive them. It is better to be a 
 toe in the foot, and that be sound, than to be an 
 eye in the head, and that be blind. 
 
 There is a great propriety in the exhortation of 
 St. Peter : But grow in grace, and in the know- 
 ledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. No 
 knowledge can equal that of Christ • no growth 
 can equal that of grace. Without grace, there 
 may be seeming knowledge j but without grace, 
 there can be no saving knowledge. 
 
 There were more enlightened, than enlivened, 
 in the days of Christ 3 hence he said. If ye know 
 these things, happy are ye, if ye do them. To obey 
 the truth, and not to know it, is impossible; to 
 know the truth, and not obey it, is unprofitable. 
 For, not every one that saith unto me. Lord, Lord, 
 shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that 
 doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. 
 Divine knowledge is not as the light of the moon, 
 to sleep by ; but as the light of the sun, to work 
 by. It is not a loiterer in the market-place, but a 
 labourer in the vineyard. 
 
 A man may be a great scholar, and yet be a great 
 sinner. Judas the traitor was Judas the preacher. 
 The toad that has a pearl in its head, has poison in 
 its bowels. The tree of knowledge has often been 
 planted, and flourished, where the tree of life never 
 grew. A man may be acquainted with the grace 
 of truth, and yet not know the truth of grace. 
 Parts, and even all gifts, without grace and holi- 
 
36 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 ness, are but like Uriah's letters, which were the 
 death-warrants of him who carried them. 
 
 Naked knowledge will be as unserviceable to 
 the soul in a dying day, as a painted fire would 
 be to the frozen body in a cold day. As some 
 articles are tanned by the same sun in which others 
 are whitened, so are some professors hardened un- 
 der the same gospel by which others are softened. 
 
 I would never have that the brand of ChristianSy 
 which was the bane of heathens. Because when 
 they knew God, they glorified him not as God. As 
 it is lost labour to smite the flint, if it propagate 
 no sparks ; so it is fruitless toil to furnish our heads 
 ^vith light, if it refine not our hearts. Satan may 
 as well put out our eyes, that we should not see the 
 truth ; as cut off our feet, that we should not walk in 
 the truth. Naked knowledge may make the head 
 giddy J but it will never make the heart holy. 
 
 Who would wait for such a gale, as would drive 
 them farther from the desired haven ? or freight 
 their vessels with such a cargo, as would ruin the 
 owner ? Shall we hold the candle of the gospel in 
 one hand, and the sword of rebellion in the other? 
 How many professors are there, who have light 
 enough to know what should be done ; but have 
 not love enough to do what they know ! Such 
 people have no advantage from carrying a bright 
 candle in a dark lanthorn. Give me the professor 
 who perfectly sees the way he should go, and rea- 
 dily goes the way he sees. 
 
 That is barren ground, Avhich brings forth no- 
 thing except it be forced. To hhn that knoweth to 
 do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. The sins 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 37 
 
 of ignorance are most numerous; but the sins of 
 knowledge are most dangerous. That sinner's 
 darkness will be the greatest in hell, whose light 
 was the clearest on earth. 
 
 Pharnaces, the son of Mithridates the king of 
 PontuSj sending a crown to Caesar, at the time he 
 was in rebellion against him, he refused the pre- 
 sent, saying, ' Let him first lay down his rebellion, 
 and then I will receive his crown.' There are 
 many who set a crown of glory upon the head of 
 Christ by a good profession 3 and yet plat a crown 
 of thorns upon his head by an evil conversation. 
 By the words of our mouth we may aflfect to adore 
 religion 3 but it is by the works of our lives that 
 we adorn religion. 
 
 It was a just saying of one, ' that in the best 
 reformed churches there were the most deformed 
 professors.' Look to this, reader, that all will be 
 pulled down without you, if there be nothing set 
 up within you. As trees without fruits are unpro- 
 fitable J so knowledge without good works is 
 abominable. Leah and Rachel are fit emblems m 
 of knowledge and obedience : knowledge, like f 
 Rachel, is beautiful ; but obedience, like Leah, is ' 
 fruitful. He that dislikes to do what he knows, ! 
 will one day not know what to do. 
 
 Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 
 Wise as serpents, to guard against the wolf's ra- 
 pacity; and harmless as doves, that you may do 
 no man any injury. Thus, the serpent's eye is an 
 ornament, when placed in the dove's head. The 
 lives of many professors are awfully unlike their 
 lights. They have the light of the sun, for wis- 
 
 £ 
 
38 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 dom ; but want the heat of a candle for grace 
 and holiness. 
 
 I have read of a painter, who being warmly re- 
 prehended by a cardinal for putting too much red 
 in the faces of St. Paul and St. Peter, answered, 
 ' It is to shew how much they blush at the conduct 
 of many, who style themselves their successors.*— 
 Were Abraham, the father of the faithful, now on 
 earth, how would he disclaim all relation to many 
 who call themselves his offspring ! Though there 
 was less grace discovered to the saints of old ; yet 
 there was more grace discovered by them. They 
 knew little, and did much^ we know much, and do 
 little. 
 
 John the Baptist was a burning and a shining 
 light. To shine is not enough j a glow-worm will 
 do so : to burn is not enough -, a firebrand will 
 do so. Light without heat does but little good ; 
 and heat without light does much harm. Give 
 me those Christians who are burning lamps, as 
 well as shining lights. 
 
 The sun is as vigorous in his moving, as he is 
 illustrious in his shining. I know the light of na- 
 ture requires grace to repel the lusts of nature. — 
 Will any say, 'The day of hope is dawning within 
 them, when the powers of darkness are ruling over 
 them ? How monstrous is it, to see a Christian's 
 tongue larger than his hand ! To speak so much 
 of God to others, and act so little for God himself ! 
 
 3. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To 'prefer the duty he owes to God, to the 
 danger he fears from man. 
 
 Christians, in all ages, have prized their services 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 39 
 
 above their safety. The wicked Jlee, when no man 
 pursucth; but the righteous are bold as a lion. The 
 fearful hare trembles at every cry j but the coura- 
 geous lion is unmoved by the greatest clamours. 
 Were believers to shrink back at every contrary 
 wind that blows, they would never make their 
 voyage to heaven. 
 
 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it 
 go. Poor Job could hold nothing fast but his in- 
 tegrity : Grace kept his heart, when he could not 
 keep his gold. Uprightness is so fair a complex- 
 ion, as not to be subject to any alteration by the 
 scorching beams of persecution. The laurel pre- 
 serves its verdure amidst the severest blasts of win- 
 ter. Times of trouble have often been times of 
 triumph to a believer. Suffering seasons have gen- 
 erally been sifting seasons, in which the Christian 
 has lost his chaft^ and the hypocrite his courage. 
 
 Dangers have frequently made the worldling 
 leave his duties. The scythe of persecution cuts 
 down the tender grass of his devotion. Those 
 who always refuse to carry the yoke of Christ up- 
 on their necks, will also refuse to carry the cross 
 of Christ upon their backs. Nothing less than 
 the enjoyment of God, who is altogether good, can 
 permanently support us under the suffering of that 
 which is evil. The Jiesh is an enemy to suffering ; 
 because suffering is an enemy to the /iesh. The 
 fesh may make a man an earthly courtier ; but it 
 will never make a man a Christian martyr. 
 
 Wicked men stumble at every straw in the way 
 to heaven ; but they climb over hills in the way 
 to destruction. Hang heavy weights on rotten 
 boughs, and tbey will suddenly break. If sinners 
 
40 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOK 
 
 take up religion in a fair day, they will eagerly lay 
 it down in a foul one. The language of such is, 
 ' Lord, we are willing to serve thee, but unwilling 
 to suffer for thee. We will go to sea with thee, 
 but on condition we have no storms. We have 
 no objections to enter into the war ■ but upon this 
 promise, that we have no blows.' Such would 
 fain be wafted to the port of felicity, in such ves- 
 sels as would not be tossed in the sea of calamity. 
 They think too much of wearing a thorn, though 
 it be borrowed from Christ's crown. 
 
 There are some who would sacrifice a stout heart 
 to a stubborn will 5 and would rather die martyrs for 
 5m, than servants to truth. How shall those stand 
 for Christ, who never stood in Christ ? True believ- 
 ers are more studious how to adorn the cross, than 
 how to avoid the cross. They deem it better to be 
 saved in troubled water, than to be drowned in a 
 calm ocean. 
 
 Temporary professors are like hedge-hogs, which 
 have two holes -, one to the north, and another to 
 the south : when the south wind fans them, they 
 turn to the north j and when the north wind chills 
 them, they turn to the south. Thus they lose their 
 activity, to preserve their security. — That was a 
 beggarly saying, which fell from a prince's lips, — 
 ' I will sail no farther in the cause of Christ, than 
 while I can preserve my retreat with safety to land.' 
 Man is a short-sighted creature ; he is afraid to 
 follow too far upon the heels of truth, lest it should 
 lead him into danger. Weak grace may do for God, 
 but it must be strong grace that will die for God. 
 A true Christian will lay down his lusts at the 
 command of Christ j and his life, for the cause of 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 41 
 
 Christ. The more a tree of righteousness is sha- 
 ken by the wind, the more it is rooted in the 
 groun(l. What, art thou a member of Christ, and 
 afraid to be a martyr for Christ? If those be 
 blessed who die in Christ, what must they be who 
 die /or Christ ! 
 
 What, though the flesh do return to dust, so the 
 spirit return to rest ? What is the body of a man 
 for a soul to live in, compared with the bosom of 
 Abraham for a soul to lie in? Righteous Abel, 
 the first soldier in the church militant, was the 
 first saint in the church triumphant. He oft'ered 
 up a sacrifice when the altar was sprinkled with 
 his own blood. As his body was the first that ever 
 took possession of the earth • so his soul was the 
 first that ever had a translation to heaven. 
 
 Should such a man as IJlee ? saith Nehemiah :— 
 a man so much owned and honoured of God ? It 
 is better to die a conqueror in religion, than to live 
 a coward in religion. Those who are willing to be 
 combatants ybr God, shall also be more than con- 
 querors through God. None are so truly courage- 
 ous, as those who are truly religious. If a Christian 
 live, he knows by whose might he stands j and if 
 he die, he knows for whose sake he falls. Where 
 there is no confidence in God, there will be no 
 continuance with God. When the wind of faith 
 ceases to fill the sails, the ship of obedience ceases 
 to plough the seas. The taunts of Ishmael shall 
 never make an Isaac disesteem his inheritance. 
 
 Reader, if a righteous cause bring you into 
 sufferings, a righteous God will bring you out of 
 sufferings. A Christian is as much indebted to 
 e3 
 
42 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 his enemies as to his friends. The malicious cru- 
 cifixion of Christ wrought out the glorious exal- 
 tation of Christ. The worst that men can do 
 against believers, is the best they can do for 
 believers. The worst they can do them, is to 
 send them out of the earthy and the best tliey can 
 do for them, is to send them into heaven. 
 
 That was a Christian expression of one of the 
 martyrs to his persecutors : " You take a life from 
 me that I cannot keep, and bestow a life upon me 
 that I cannot lose j which is, as if you should rob 
 me of counters, and furnish me with gold." He 
 that is assured of a life that has no end, need not 
 care how soon this life shall end. 
 
 Neither the persecuting hand of men, nor the 
 chastising hand of God, relaxed ancient singular 
 saints. Jll this is come upon us, yet have we not 
 forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy 
 covenant. Our heart is not turned back, neither 
 have our steps declined from thy way ; though thou 
 hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and 
 covered us with the shadow of death. Believers 
 resemble the moon, which emerges from her eclipse 
 by keeping her motion 3 and ceases not to shine, 
 because the dogs bark at her. Shall we cease to 
 be professors, because others will not cease to be 
 persecutors } 
 
 By the seed of the serpent the heel of the woman 
 may be bruised ■ but by the seed of the woman the 
 head of the serpent shall be broken. A Christian 
 may enjoy a calm of inward peace, while he sus- 
 tains the storms of outward trouble. If he enjoy 
 the former, he may expect the latter ; if he suffer 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 43 
 
 the latter, he may expect the former. There is 
 no spring without its fall 3 no summer without 
 its winter. 
 
 " Many waters" (may drown the world, but) 
 " cannot quench love." The water of affliction 
 cannot extinguish the fire of affection. If the 
 calling of religion cannot be peaceably maintain- 
 ed, formalists will quickly shut up their windows. 
 They will rather tarry out of the land of Canaan_, 
 than swim to it through the Red Sea. A man 
 will never sustain trouble for Jesus, till he find 
 rest in Jesus. 
 
 Adventurous Peter could ciy. Lord, if it be thou, 
 hid me come to thee on the water. Love to Christ 
 can walk on the water without drowning, and lie 
 in the fire without burning. It is said of the ser- 
 pent, " That it cares not to what danger it exposes 
 its body, so it can but secure its head." Thus a 
 Christian cares not to what danger he is liable, so 
 Jesus is but honoured thereby. 
 
 Paul, who turned the world upside-down, could 
 not be turned upside-down by the world. None 
 of these things move me, neither count I my life dear 
 unto myself; so that I might finish my course with 
 joy. A saint is inwardly pious, when he is not out- 
 wardly prosperous. The sharper the medicine is, 
 the sounder the patient is for its operation. The 
 higher the flood swells on earth, the nearer the ark 
 mounts to heaven. 
 
 God can strike straight strokes with crooked 
 sticks ; and make Satan's dross burnish his choice 
 vessels. Christians are crucified hy the world, that 
 they might be crucified to the world. God makes 
 
44 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 it their enemy, that he might make them enemies 
 to it. Religion is that phoenix, which has always 
 flourished in its own ashes. While magistrates de- 
 fend the truth with their sword, martyrs defend it 
 with their blood. The loss of their heads hastens 
 the reception of their crowns. 
 
 We should never land in triumph at the haven of 
 rest, if we were not tossed upon the sea of trouble. 
 If Joseph had not been Egypt's prisoner, he had 
 never been Egypt's governor. The iron chains 
 about his feet ushered in the golden chains about 
 his neck. Temporal losses are only gentle breezes 3 
 but eternal losses are insupportable storms. 
 
 Reader, tell me, is not Christ, with his cross, 
 for a few years, better than Dives, with his dain- 
 ties, for a few days ? What comparison is there 
 between the short-lived happiness of the wicked, 
 attended with everlasting misery j and the short- 
 lived misery of the righteous, attended with ever- 
 lasting happiness ? 
 
 4. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To seek the public good of others above the 
 private good of himself. 
 
 The sentiment of Plato, an heathen, is worthy 
 to be adopted by every Christian : " I was not born 
 for myself alone ; for my country claims a part, 
 my relations claim a part, and my friends claim a 
 part in me." As we are not born by ourselves, so 
 we are not born /or ourselves. 
 
 Baruch, the man of God, was forbid to make self 
 the centre of his wishes : Seekest thou great things 
 for thyself? seek them not. For saints to set their 
 hearts upon that whereon beasts set their feet, is 
 
IX HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 45 
 
 as if a king should abdicate his throne, to follow 
 the plough 5 or, as if a man should desert a golden 
 mine, to dig in a pit of gravel. When we search 
 ourselves, it denotes that we are virtuous ; but when 
 we seek ourselves, it denotes that we are covetous. 
 
 I am unwilling to draw a defective feature in 
 any man's picture ; yet how many are there, who 
 have occupied public places with private spirits ! 
 While they pretended to undertake every thing for 
 the good of others j it has appeared, that they un- 
 dertook nothing, but for the good of themselves. 
 Such suckers at the roots have drawn away the sap 
 and nourishment from the tree. They have set 
 kingdoms on fire, that they might roast their own 
 venison at the flames. These drones stealing into 
 the hive, have fed upon the honey j while the 
 labouring bees have been famished. 
 
 Too many resemble ravenous birds, which at 
 first seem to bewail the dying sheep ; but at last, 
 are found picking out their eyes. These people 
 never want fire, so long as any yard affords fuel. 
 They enrich their own side-board with other 
 men's plate. 
 
 There is a proverb, but none of Solomon's, 
 ' Every man for himself, and God for us all.' But 
 where every man is for himself, the devil will 
 have all. Whosoever is a seeker of himself, is 
 not found of God. Though he may find himself 
 in this life, he will lose himself in death. 
 
 The public spirit of Seneca is a sharp censure 
 to many private-spirited Christians : ' I would so 
 live,' said he, 'as if I knew I received my being 
 only for the benefit of others.' 
 
46 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 How justly might that complaint be taken up, 
 which was so sadly laid down by Paul : For all 
 men seek their own, not the things that are Jesus 
 Chris fs ! If some heathens excel Christians, it is 
 not because Christianity does not surpass heathen- 
 ism. A selfish man will not sow his seed, except 
 he reap the whole harvest - nor plant the vines, 
 except he press all the grapes into his own vessel. 
 The wheel of his diligence will not move, except 
 the oil of profit be in it. It may be said to many, 
 as a great personage once said to his servant} 
 ' Your rise, has been my fall.' 
 
 If Dives be tormented because he refused to im- 
 part his own • what shall their torment be, who 
 avidiously take that which is another's ! If those 
 fingers be cut off which so closely clap their own 
 property 3 what will become of those hands, which 
 are always open to grasp at other men's ! 
 
 It was Israel's lamentation. That those who were 
 once clad in scarlet, embraced the dunghill. It 
 may now be England's lamentation. That many 
 who once embraced the dunghill, are now, by in- 
 justice, clothed in scarlet. Eveiy man's private 
 interest is best secured in the public good. A drop 
 of water will soon be dried up if alone ; but, in 
 the ocean, it will retain its moisture. A single 
 beam of light is suddenly obscured j but in the 
 body of the sun, it retains its splendour. 
 
 Too many, in all ages, have turned a common 
 weal into a common woe. They have spun them- 
 selves superfine suits, out of the nation's fleece. 
 Many noble birds have been deplumed, that their 
 wings might be richly feathered. When any 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 47 
 
 Springs have been opened, they have laid pipes to 
 convey the water into their o^vn cisterns. Such 
 pretended pilots have steered the ship of plenty 
 into their own haven 3 but justice will certainly 
 squeeze such spunges, and leave them as dry at last 
 as they were at first. All those moths shall be 
 destroyed, which eat into other men's garments. 
 
 For a man to advance his interest out of another's 
 property, is to keep all the meat in his mouth, and 
 starve all the body beside. Naturally every man is 
 his own Alpha and his own Omega. He has his 
 beginning /rowi himself, and his ending in himself. 
 
 That was a morose speech of Cain to the Al- 
 mighty J /Im I my brother s keeper ? He thought 
 it was not his duty to be his brother's keeper, but 
 did not consider that it was against his duty to be 
 his brother's assassin. There are many who will 
 not be their brother's keepers, and yet will be their 
 butchers. They have riveted themselves to their 
 possessions by the bones of their murdered bre- 
 thren ; and paved causeways to honour with the 
 sculls of hone;st men. 
 
 Self-seeking has been so long pulling the ropes, 
 that it has rung the passing-bell of many nations. 
 It is sad to see the house in flames, while the cham- 
 ber is being furnished 3 the ship sinking, while 
 the cabin is filling ; or the tree falling, while the 
 nest is a building. But better fruit cannot grow 
 upon the trees of cruelty, than wantonness and 
 oppression. God will compel them to drink the 
 \dregs of that cup, which they have so unjustly 
 mingled for others. 
 
 Queen Esther was a singular saint 3 for she pre- 
 
48 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 ferred the public to her private good. If I perish, 
 I perish. For how can I endure to see the evil which 
 shall come upon my people ? This Israelitess was 
 not more comely in appearance than benevolent 
 in her disposition. She did not prefer her own 
 life to her people's, but her people's to her own. 
 
 When Theodosius lay on his dying pillow, he 
 was more studious how to do his kingdom good, 
 than how to sustain his torturing pains j as appears 
 by his counsel to his sons, to whom he left it. ' I 
 counsel you to be deeply concerned for the pro- 
 motion of religion, and the good of man ; for by 
 this (said he) peace will be preserved, and wars 
 no more known.' 
 
 Though the eagle be the queen of birds, as the 
 lion is the king of beasts ; yet she was not offered 
 up in sacrifice, because she lived upon the spoil of 
 others. Grace teaches a Christian not only to act 
 like a man to God, but also like a God to man. 
 
 Our Lord Jesus Christ pleased not himself j that 
 thereby, he might eternally profit us. ¥or ye 
 know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
 though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became 
 poor; that ye through his poverty might be rich. 
 A drop of his blood is worth more than a sea of 
 ours ', and yet he died our death, that we might 
 live his life ; and suffered our hell, to bring us 
 to his heaven. He lay in the feeble arms of his 
 mother, that we might lie in the tender bosom of 
 his Father. His love began in his eternal pur- 
 poses of grace 3 and ends in our eternal possession 
 of glory. 
 
 Why was the bread of life an hungred, but to feed 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 49 
 
 the hungry with the bread of life ? Why was rest 
 itself weary, but to give the weary rest? Why 
 did he bang upon the cross on Mount Calvary, 
 but that we might sit upon the throne on Mount 
 Sion ? His shining face was covered with spittle, 
 that our disfigured faces might be enamelled with 
 glory ! Why did this Jonah cast himself into the 
 sea of his father's wrath, but to save the ship of 
 his church from sinking ? Christ is not only the 
 vessel in which the waters of life are contained j 
 but he is also the pipes through which they are 
 conveyed. 
 
 If the mountains overflow with moisture, the 
 valleys are the richer : but if the head be full of ill 
 humours, the whole body is the worse. Happy 
 are those persons, whom God will use as besoms, 
 to sweep out the dust from his temple ; or who 
 shall tug at an oar, in the boat where Christ and 
 his church are embarked. 
 
 David was a king that ruled in righteousness, 
 and studied not so much to make himself great, as 
 to make his people happy. For David, after he 
 had served his own generation, by the will of God, 
 fell asleep. His royal services were not swallowed 
 up in the narrow gulf of self. He did not draw 
 all his lines to the ignoble centre of his own ends. 
 Such birds are bad in the nest 3 but worse when 
 their wings are fledged, to fly abroad. He served 
 his own generation, not the preceding j for that 
 was dead before he was alive 3 nor the succeeding, 
 for he was dead before that was alive. 
 
 Every gracious spirit is public j but every pub- 
 lic spirit is not gracious. God may use the mid- 
 
50 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 wifery of the Egyptians to bring forth the children 
 of Israelites. An iron key may open a golden 
 treasury 3 and leaden pipes convey pleasant waters. 
 Though earthly blessings may be communicated to 
 a spiritual man, yet spiritual blessings will not be 
 communicated to a carnal man. 
 
 While meteors keep above in the firmament, they 
 yield a pleasing lustre j but when they decline, and 
 fall to the earth, they come to nothing. 
 
 Though the name of the author of Psal. cxxxvii. 
 be not recorded j yet his generous disposition 
 should ever be admired. If I do not remember thee, 
 let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; if 
 I do not prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy. Good 
 old Eli mourned more for the loss of religion, than 
 for the loss of his relations. His heart was bro- 
 ken before his neck. If the church be lost. Chris- 
 tians cannot be saved 3 if the church be saved. 
 Christians cannot be lost. 
 
 Augustus Caesar possessed such an entire attach- 
 ment to his country, that he called it his own 
 daughter, and refused to be called its master ; be- 
 cause he ruled it, not by fear, but by love. After 
 his decease, his disconsolate people lamented over 
 him, saying, ' O would to God that he had never 
 lived, or that he had never died!' Those whose 
 lives deserve no praises, their death deserves no 
 tears. 
 
 A self-seeker lives unrespected, and dies unla- 
 mented. When once a man becomes a God to 
 himself, he then becomes a devil to others. Such 
 an one cares not who sinks, so he does but arrive 
 safe at shore. Those execrable wretches, whose 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 61 
 
 conduct is recorded in the Acts, cared not whether 
 a whole city lost their souls^ so that a few shrine- 
 makers might but preserve their gain. 
 
 It is reported of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, 
 who being told, ' that if ever her son came to be 
 an Emperor, he would be her murderer,' she made 
 this reply, ' I am content to perish, if he may be 
 Emperor.' What she expressed vain-gloriously, 
 that we should do religiously : ' Let us perish, so 
 our neighbours, our relations, and our country be 
 bettered J or the gospel, or the Saviour, be honour- 
 ed.' But there are many -who entirely reverse this 
 language 3 if not in words, yet in heart they say, 
 * Let relations, neighbours, country, and religion 
 perish, so we are benefited thereby.' 
 
 Such was the public spirit of Moses, that when 
 the Lord proposed to him to destroy Israel, and to 
 make a great nation of him, he became intercessor 
 for them; yea, even when they were ready to 
 stone him. His affection, as a ruler, was stronger 
 than his affection as a father. Thus Joshua, his 
 honourable successor, so far imitated him, that he 
 first divided Canaan into several allotments and 
 portions for the tribes of Israel, before he made 
 any provision for his own family. Give me such 
 carvers as lay not all the meat upon their own 
 dishes. 
 
 5. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To have the most beautiful conversation 
 among the blackest persons. 
 
 As an ungodly man poisons the air in which he 
 breathes ; so he pollutes the age in which he lives. 
 The putrid grape corrupts the sound cluster. Pious 
 
52 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Joseph, by living in the court of Pharaoh, had 
 learned to swear by the Hfe of Pharaoh. A high- 
 priest's hall instructed Peter how to disclaim his 
 suft'ering master. Fresh waters lose their sweet- 
 ness, by gliding into the salt sea. Those who sail 
 among the rocks, are in danger of splitting their 
 ships. 
 
 When vice runs in a single stream, it is then a 
 fordable shallow j but when many of these meet 
 together, they then swell a deeper channel. The 
 Lord has appointed from the beginning, that en- 
 mity shall subsist between the righteous seed of the 
 woman and the unrighteous seed of the serpent. — 
 There must be no harmony, where the chief mu- 
 sician will have a jar. It is far better to have the 
 ungodly man's enmity, than his society. By the 
 former, he is most hateful j but by the latter, he is 
 most hurtful. A religious man in the company of 
 wicked men, is hke a gi-een branch among dry and 
 burning brands ; they can sooner kindle him, than 
 he can quench them. 
 
 As sheep among the thorns injure their fleeces j 
 so saints among sinners do an injury to their graces. 
 Hence it is said. Be ye not unequally yoked together 
 with unbelievers ; for what fellowship hath righte- 
 ousness with unrighteousness ? and what communion 
 hath light with darkness 9 and what concord hath 
 Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that 
 believeth with an infidel ? To see a saint and a 
 sinner maintaining familiar intercourse with each 
 other, is to behold the living and the dead keeping 
 house together. The godly are more frequently 
 corrupted by the evil deportment of the worldling, 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 5^ 
 
 than the worldling is refined by the chaste con- 
 versation of the godly. 
 
 The impious lives of the wicked are as contagi- 
 ous as the most fearful- plague that infects the air. 
 When the doves of Christ lie among such pots, 
 their yellow feathers are sullied. You may observe, 
 that in the oven the fine bread frequently hangs 
 upon the coarse ; but the coarse very seldom ad- 
 heres to the fine. If you mix an equal portion of 
 sour vinegar and sweet wine together ; you will 
 find that the vinegar will sooner sour the wine, 
 than the wine sweeten the vinegar. 
 
 That is a sound body that continues healthful in 
 a pest-house. It is a far greater wonder to see a 
 saint maintain his purity among sinners_, than it is 
 to behold a sinner becoming pure among saints. 
 Christians are not always like fish, which retain 
 their freshness in the salt sea ; or like the rose, 
 which preserves its sweetness among the most 
 noisome weeds ; or like the fire, which burns the 
 hottest when the season is coldest. 
 
 A good man was once heard to lament, ' that as 
 often as he went into the company of the wicked, 
 he returned less a man from them, than he was be- 
 fore he joined with them.* As it is a singular thing 
 to touch melting pitch, and not be defiled j so it is 
 for saints so to act toward sinners as to do much 
 good for them, and receive no injury from them. If 
 we cannot help them, it is their unholiness 3 if they 
 hurt us, it is our unhappiness. The Lord's people, 
 by keeping evil company, are like persons who are 
 much exposed to the sun, insensibly tanned. 
 
 Every Christian is a light in the world j though 
 f3 
 
54 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 he be not, the light of the world. Let your light 
 so shine before men, that they, seeing your good 
 works, may glorify your Father which is in heaven* 
 O that Christians were more like the light, which 
 abides pure, though the air be corrupted in which 
 it dwells ! Men may defile themselves in the light j 
 but they cannot defile the light itself. The sun 
 shines throughout an impure world, and yet knows 
 no impurity. Ah, how many resemble swine in 
 the fairest meadow ; which would break every 
 mound to find the mire ! They remind me of im- 
 pious Judas, who, instead of being a disciple 
 amongst devils, was a devil amongst disciples. 
 Poor man, he was all precept, and no example. 
 He could attempt to reprove one, who was inno- 
 cence itself 5 and encourage one, who was sin itself. 
 
 Religious company brings fire to our graces, to 
 kindle them when they are freezing ■ but irreligious 
 company brings water to quench them, when they 
 are flaming. 
 
 It is observed by some, ' that the sweetest flow- 
 ers may be found among the most offensive herbs.' 
 The poets aflirm, that ^ Venus never appeared so 
 beautiful, as when she sat by black Vulcan's side.' 
 This we are beyond a doubt concerning, that Ste- 
 phen's face never shone so gloriously in the church, 
 where he was admired j as in the council, where 
 he was abhorred. Had he been like them, they 
 had not disliked him. Had not God given him 
 spiritual life, they would never have put him to an 
 ignominious death. How will the fire consume dry 
 fuel, when it prevailed to such a degree over the 
 green ! 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 55 
 
 That jewel must needs be glorious in the sun, 
 which glitters in the shade. There are certainly 
 many men, who can suit with any men. They can 
 be professors with professors, and scorners amongst 
 scorners. One day, they can join the multitude in 
 shouting Hosannah ! In another day, they can join 
 the pharisees in crying. Crucify him, cruc^y him ! — 
 Thus they are like the planet Mercury, in the ho- 
 roscope of man's nativity j good, in conjunction 
 with those who are good • and evil, in conjunction 
 with those who are evil. 
 
 Every man loves to be admired • and is too apt 
 to take pleasure in none but those who take plea- 
 sure in him. It is no honourable appearance, when 
 we cease to be exemplary Christians, that others 
 may think us good companions. It is impossible 
 to be conformed to the world in our outward 
 man • and transformed to God in our inward 
 man. There is no such a thing as being an out- 
 ward heathen, and an inward Christian. There is 
 but little difficulty in Englishing the Spanish pro- 
 verb : ' Tell me where you go, and I will tell you 
 what you do.' We say, ' that birds of a feather 
 will flock together.' To be too intimate with 
 sinners, is to intimate, that we are sinners. 
 
 As soon as the disciples were let go, they returned 
 to their own company. With whom should believ- 
 ers join, but with believers ? There is no trusting 
 the tamest nature with the savage monster without 
 manifest danger. It is running a great risk, to be 
 found cohabiting in that house, where God is not 
 found dwelling. There is no sleeping with dogs, 
 without swarming with vermin. 
 
56 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 That is a royal diadem, which Christ places upon 
 the head of his spouse : As a lily among thorns; so 
 is my beloved among the daughters. There are 
 many thorns among the lilies ; but there are not 
 many lilies among the thorns. It is a choice spec- 
 tacle to behold, when a believer preserves his 
 spiritual beauty amidst the tents of Kedarj or 
 when he is like Noah, a new man in an old world. 
 Had Lot been polluted with Sodom's sin, he might 
 have been consumed in Sodom's flames. 
 
 It is ill breathing in an infectious air. Satan's 
 progeny love not to go to hell without society. It 
 is far better to be with Phiipot in a coal-house, 
 than with a Bonner in a palace. A man may pass 
 through Ethiopia, and yet be unchanged 3 but he 
 cannot take up his residence there, without being 
 changed. 
 
 Ecclesiastical history reports of Valens, the em- 
 peror, that he, by marrying an Arian lady, was 
 corrupted with that error. ' Come out of her, my 
 people ; that you be not partakers of her sins, and 
 that ye receive not of her plagues.' If Rome leave 
 us in the foundation 3 let us leave her in the su- 
 perstructure. Where she departs from God, there 
 let us depart from her. For when such worms 
 breed in the body of a nation, they will soon eat 
 out the bowels of religion. Not to guard against 
 such wasps, is to expose ourselves to the venom 
 of their stings. 
 
 6. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To chuse the worst of sorrows, before he 
 will commit the least of sins. 
 
 The wicked entirely reverse this j for they will 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 57 
 
 prefer the greatest sin to the least sufferings. This 
 is to leap out of the burning pan into the consuming 
 flame. By seeking to shun an external calamity, 
 they rush into eternal misery. Spira, by labouring 
 to preserve his outward estate, exposed himself to 
 the most bitter reproaches of conscience. This 
 is as if a man should lose his head to preserve his 
 hat ; or, as if the mariner should sink the sailing 
 vessel to avoid the rising storm. 
 
 Above every evil, we should consider sin as the 
 greatest evil. Sin is the only butt at which all the 
 arrows of divine vengeance are shot. Sinners are 
 those spiders which weave their own webs, and 
 are afterward entangled in them. Our own de- 
 stniction is but the fruit of our own transgression. 
 
 Sin has every evil subjoined to it; it is the foun- 
 tain and origin of them all. Thus the prophet 
 viewed it : Wherefore doth a living man complain, 
 a man for the punishment of his sins ? When man 
 had no evil within him, he had no evil upon him. 
 He began to be sorrowful, when he began to be 
 sinful. When the soul shall be fully released from 
 the guilt of iniquity, the body shall be wholly de- 
 livered from the burthen of infirmity. Sorrow shall 
 never be a visitant, where sin is not an inhabitant. 
 The former would be a foreigner, if the latter were 
 not a sojourner. 
 
 God is as far from beating his children for no- 
 thing, as he is from beating them to nothing. A 
 hole in the ship will sink it to the bottom. A small 
 bite from a serpent will affect the whole body. 
 There is no way to calm the sea, but by excom- 
 municating Jonah from the ship. If the root be 
 
58 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 killed, the branches will soon be withered. If 
 the spring be diminished, there is no doubt but 
 the streams will soon fail. Where the fuel of 
 corruption is removed, there the fire of affliction 
 is extinguished. 
 
 The wages of sin is death. As the works of sin 
 are dishonourable j so the wages of sin are mortal. 
 The corruption of nature is the cause of the disso- 
 lution of nature. The candle of our lives is blovni 
 out by the wind of our lusts. Sin is that noxious 
 weed, which overtops the choicest corn 3 — that 
 offensive smoke, which depresses the rising flame -, 
 — and that dismal cloud, which overshadows the 
 beaming sun. 
 
 Were it not for sin, death would never have had 
 a beginning : were it not for death, sin would never 
 have an ending. Man, as a creature, is a debtor 
 to the commands of God, as a sovereign -, but as a 
 sinner, he is a debtor to the severity of God, as a 
 judge. 
 
 What is so sweet a good as Christ ? and what is 
 so great an evil as lust ? Sin has brought many a 
 believer into suffering ; and suffering has instru- 
 mentally kept many a believer out of sin. It is 
 better to be preserved in brine, than to rot in honey. 
 The bitterest medicine is to be preferred by all wise 
 men, before the sweetest poison. In the same fire 
 wherein the dross is consumed, the precious gold 
 is refined. 
 
 There are many thousands of souls, who had 
 never obtained the hopes of heaven, if they had not 
 been brought thither by the gates of hell. As every 
 mercy is a drop derived from the ocean of God's 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 59 
 
 goodness ; so every misery is a dram weighed out 
 by the supreme wisdom of God's providence. 
 
 When Exdoxia angrily threatened St. Chrysos- 
 tom with banishment, he calmly replied j ' Go tell 
 her, I fear nothing but sin.' He who serves God, 
 need fear nothing so much as sin. 
 
 Those who launch out into any undertaking, 
 should always previously look well to their tack- 
 ling, lest a destructive storm should overtake them 
 in their voyage. A bad conscience imbitters the 
 sweetest comforts ; but a good conscience sweet- 
 ens the bitterest crosses. How great a wound do 
 vices make in the conscience 3 yea, even in our in- 
 fant years ! Though the hardened sinner be not 
 afraid to do evil 5 yet he will be afraid to suffer 
 evil. What need those fear a cross on the hack, 
 who feel a Christ in their heart? 
 
 The water without the ship may toss it ; but it 
 is the water within the ship which sinks it. It is 
 better to have the body consumed to ashes for the 
 sake of Christy than to have the soul dwell in 
 everlasting burnings, through being ashamed of 
 Christ. Though Christians have no warrant to 
 expect that they shall live here without afflictions j 
 yet in the exercise of them, faith will teach them 
 to live above afflictions. 
 
 That noble servant of Christ, Ignatius, gloried 
 in reproaches for his Lord. 7 verily delight to suf- 
 fer for Christ } hut I know not whether I am wor- 
 thy to suffer. Every Christian's Patmos is his way 
 to paradise. 
 
 Suppose tLw furnace be heated seven times hot- 
 ter } yet God can make the sufferer seventy times 
 
60 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 happier. Those who are here crossed for well-do' 
 ing, shall hereafter be crowned with the, well-dying. 
 There are none more welcome to the spiritual Ca- 
 naan, than those who swim to it through the red 
 sea of their own blood. 
 
 Christian Reader, when yon come into the world, 
 you do but live to die again : and when you leave 
 the world, you do but die to live again. What 
 is the grain the worse, for the fan by which it is 
 winnowed ? or the gold, for the fire by which it 
 is refined? 
 
 Pendleton, a self-confident professor, promised 
 to fry out his fat body in the flames of martyrdom, 
 rather than betray religion ; but when the trial ap- 
 proached, he changed his note, and said, 'I came 
 not into the world burning, neither will I go out 
 of the world flaming.' 
 
 Those who refuse to give up their lusts for 
 Christ, will never be inclined to give up their lives 
 for Christ. Paul and Silas had their prison songs 
 in their prison sufferings. Those caged birds sang 
 with as much melody, as any which have sky liber- 
 ty. Thus Ignatius, in his epistle to the persecu- 
 tors of the church, gloried, saying. The wild beasts 
 may grind me, as corn between their teeth : but I 
 shall by that become as choice bread, in the hand of 
 my God. 
 
 I have read an account of a woman^ who was 
 imprisoned for her religion ; and being in travail, 
 she cried out with pain. The keeper derided her, 
 saying, ' How can you endure the fire, seeing you 
 make so much noise in bringing forth a child V 
 ' Very well,' said she, * for now I suffer as a sin- 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 61 
 
 ner, but then I shall suffer for my Saviour.' There 
 is more real evil in a particle of corruption, than 
 in an ocean of tribulation. In suffering, the of- 
 fence is offered to us ; in sinning, the offence is 
 committed against God. 
 
 In suffering, there is an infringement of man's 
 liberty • in sinning, there is a denial of God's au- 
 thority. The evil of suffering is transient ; but the 
 evil of sin is permanent. In suffering, we lose the 
 favour of men 3 but in sinning, we hazard the fa- 
 vour of God. 
 
 The rose is sweeter under the still where it 
 drops, than upon the stalk whereon it grows. The 
 face of godliness is never so beautiful as when it is 
 spit upon. The best of wheat is that which sus- 
 tains all the drifts of wintry snow. 
 
 That was an heroic saying of Vincentius, to his 
 hardened persecutors : * You may rage and do 
 your worst : but you shall find the spirit of God 
 administering more strength to the tormented, 
 than the spirit of the devil affording strength to 
 my tormentors.' Where professors chuse that 
 which is truly best j there let malicious persecu- 
 tors do their worst. Though you may feel their 
 might, yet you need not feel their mahce. They 
 can have no just grounds of fear, whose confidence 
 is in God. Life is only to be desired, by those 
 to whom death would be no gain. 
 
 It is reported of Hooper the martyr, that when 
 he was going to suffer, a certain person addressed 
 him, saying, ' O Sir, take care of yourself, for life 
 is sweet, and death is bitter.' 'Ah, I know that,' 
 replied he ; * but the life to come is full of more 
 
 G 
 
62 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 sweetness than this mortal life j and the death to 
 come is full of more bitterness than this uncommon 
 death.' A man may suffer without sinning ; but 
 he cannot sin without suffering. 
 
 When Philip inquired of Demosthenes, whether 
 he was afraid to lose his head ; he answered, 'No ^ 
 for if I do lose it, the Athenians will bestow an 
 immortal one upon me.' 
 
 That was animating language which dropped 
 from the lips of the three children, or rather of the 
 three champions : Nebuchadnezzar, we are not 
 careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, 
 our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from 
 the burning fery furnace, and he will deliver us out 
 of thine hand, king. But if not, be it known 
 unto thee, king, that we will not serve thy gods, 
 nor worship the golden image, that thou hast set up. 
 Either they must sin foully, or suffer sadly. They 
 must either bow to a golden image, or burn in a 
 flaming furnace. But they were as far from wor- 
 shipping his gods, as he was from worshipping 
 their God. 
 
 The beloved Daniel chose rather to lie in the 
 den of lions, than shamefully desert the cause of the 
 Lamb. Shall not we, for his sake, bear the wrath 
 of man, who for our sakes bore the wrath of God } 
 Though obedience be better than sacrifice, yet 
 sometimes for a man to sacrifice himself is the best 
 obedience. He that loses a base life for Christ, 
 shall hereafter find a better life in Christ. 
 
 When Herod and Nicetes attempted to turn 
 Polycarp from the faith, by insinuating that ' there 
 was no evil in calling Caesar, Lord, and offering 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 63 
 
 sacrifices to hira ,' he replied, that * He had served 
 Jesus Christ for many years, and had always found 
 him a good master ; that he should therefore sub- 
 mit himself to all the tortures they should inflict, 
 rather than deny him.' 
 
 Moses, that memorable worthy, chose rather to 
 suffer affliction with the people of God, than enjoy 
 the pleasures of sin for a season. What is a cup 
 of physic, which removes a disease, compared with 
 a cup of poison, which takes away the life ? Those 
 who live upon God in the use of the creature, can 
 also live upon him in the loss of the creature. That 
 was a noble expression of a noble Christian : 
 'Whatsoever I thankfully receive, as a token of 
 God's love to me ; I part with contentedly, as a 
 token of my love to him.' 
 
 For a righteous man, scarcely will one die; yet 
 per adventure, for a good man, some would even dare 
 to die. Shall one even dare to die for a good man ? 
 and shall we refuse to die for a good God ? 
 
 Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance ; 
 that they might obtain a better resurrection. Some 
 would have used any picklock, to have opened a 
 passage to their liberty ; but they knew too much 
 of another world, to bid at so high a rate for the 
 present. 
 
 It is reported of Hormisdas, a nobleman of Persia, 
 who being degraded of all his promotions, because 
 he would not change his profession ■ that after- 
 ward his persecutors restored them all again, and 
 solicited hira to deny Christ : but he rent his pur- 
 ple robe, and laid all his honours at the feet of the 
 Emperor, saying, 'If you restore these honours. 
 
64 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 with an intention to make me desert my Saviour ; 
 I beg leave to decline accepting them, upon such 
 conditions.' — Good man ! he thought, and that 
 justly too, that Christ without woHdly honour was 
 better, than worldly honour without Christ. 
 
 It is recorded concerning one of the martyrs, 
 that when he was going to the stake, a nobleman 
 besought him, in a compassionate manner, to take 
 care of his soul. 'So I will,' he rephed, 'for I 
 give my body to be burnt, rather than have my 
 soul defiled.' How many professors are there, 
 who would rather have sinful self satisfied, than 
 crucified ! 
 
 As the power of grace comes in at one door, the 
 love of vice will go out at another. The only way 
 to have the house of Saul weakened, is to get the 
 house of David strengthened. Those Philistines, 
 who wanted fortitude to meet Samson when he 
 was in vigour, could insultingly dance round him 
 when he was in affliction. 
 
 Reader, consider seriously, that it is sin which in 
 this life debases a person, and in the next life de- 
 stroys him. Their state must be awful, whose end 
 is damnation ■ because their damnation is without 
 end. No condition can be so intolerably doleful, 
 as that which is unalterably painful. 
 
 A certain person, on seeing a Christian woman 
 go cheerfully to prison, said to her, ' O you have 
 not yet tasted of the bitterness of death.' She as 
 cheerfully answered, ' No, nor never shall • for 
 Christ hath promised that those who keep his say- 
 ings shall never see death.' A believer may feel 
 the stroke of death ; but he shall never feel the 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 65 
 
 Sting of death. The first death may bring his 
 body to corruption ; but the second death shall 
 never bring his soul to destruction. Though he 
 may endure the cross j yet he shall not endure the 
 curse. There can be no condemnation to those 
 Christians, who belong to Christ. 
 
 ^. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To he a father to all in charity, and yet a 
 servant to all in humility. 
 
 First, To be a father to all in charity. That 
 crop that is sown in mercy, shall be reaped in 
 glory. In heaven there are riches enough j but 
 no poor to receive them. In hell there are poor 
 enough 5 but no rich to relieve them. How many 
 of the most wealthy are deaf to the most importu- 
 nate requests for mercy ! They will do no good in 
 the world, with the goods q/'the world. They too 
 much resemble spunges ; which greedily suck up 
 the waters, but will not yield a return of them 
 again, till they are well squeezed. 
 
 Necessity is not likely to be supplied by the 
 hand of misery; while there are so many, that 
 would help, cannot, for want of ability 5 and so 
 many, who may help, will not, for want of charity. 
 There is not a drop of water for such a Dives in 
 hell, who has not a crumb of bread for a poor dis- 
 tressed Lazarus upon earth. Every act of charity 
 is but an act of equity. It is not the bestowment 
 of our gifts 5 but the payment of our debts. 
 
 The rich man's superfluity was ordained to re- 
 lieve the poor man's necessity. A lady, on giving 
 sixpence to a beggar, accosted him thus : ' I have 
 now given you more than ever God gave me.' To 
 g3 
 
66 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 whom he replied^ ' No, madam j God hath given 
 you all your abundance.' ' That is your mistake/ 
 said she, 'for he hath but lent it me, that I might 
 bestow it on such as you.' 
 
 John, the beloved disciple of Christ, inculcates 
 the doctrine of love to the disciples of Christ : 
 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born 
 of God ; and every one that loveth him that begat, 
 loveth him also that is begotten of him. As holi- 
 ness works a likeness to him that begets it ; so it 
 works a love to those who enjoy it. It is impos- 
 sible for any one to love the person of Christ, who 
 does not delight in the picture of Christ. He that 
 loves himself, will not hate his brother. While he 
 is out of charity with his brother, he shews that 
 God is out of charity with him ; and we lose more 
 for want of God's love, than our brethren lose for 
 want of our love. 
 
 He is not a covetous man, who lays up some- 
 thing providentially ; but he is a covetous man, 
 who gives out nothing willingly. He is as prudent 
 a man, who sometimes distributes discreetly, as he 
 who accumulates hastily. Men frequently disco- 
 ver more wisdom in laying out, than in laying up. 
 
 Reader, the hope of living long on earth should 
 not make you covetous j but the prospect of liv- 
 ing long in heaven should make you bounteous. 
 Though the sun of charity rise at home j yet it 
 should always set abroad. 
 
 Seneca, the heathen, inculcates a principle wor- 
 thy the credence of every Christian : ' I believe, 
 I truly enjoy no more of the world's affluence, 
 than what I willingly distribute to the necessit- 
 
m HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 67 
 
 ous.' Without your mercy, the poor cannot live 
 on earth ; and without God's mercy, you shall not 
 live in heaven. Some men's churlishness entirely 
 swallovrs up their charitableness. Instead of pray- 
 ing one for another, they are making a prey one 
 of another. 
 
 When I consider that our hearts are no softer, 
 I wonder that the times are no harder. It is a 
 reproach to many rich men, that God should give 
 them so much, and that they should give the poor 
 so little. 
 
 Some observe that the most barren grounds are 
 nearest to the richest mines. It is too often true 
 in a spiritual sense, that those, whom God hath 
 made the most fruitful in estates, are most barren 
 in good works. It is too generally true, that the 
 rich spend their substance wantonly, while the 
 poor give their alms willingly. A penny comes 
 with more difficulty out of a bag that is pressing 
 full 3 than a shilling out of a purse that is half 
 empty. 
 
 Wherefore doth the Lord make your cup run 
 over, but that other men's lips might taste the 
 liquor ? The showers that fall upon the highest 
 mountains, should glide into the lowest valleys. 
 Give, and it shall be given you, is a maxim little 
 believed. 
 
 It is infidelity which is the spring of all cruelty j 
 so that, wheresoever you can discover the face of 
 one, you may also hear the sound of the other's 
 feet. If you deny relief to those who are virtuous, 
 you kill laborious bees -, if you bestow your gifts on 
 those who are vicious, you do but support drones : 
 
68 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 but it is better to favour a bastard_, than to murder 
 a legitimate child. God looks not so much on 
 the merits of the beggar,, as upon the mercy of 
 the giver. 
 
 He hath shewed thee, man, what is good ; and 
 what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, 
 and love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? 
 Here is a trinity of precepts, from a trinity of per- 
 sons. Pharisees delight more to plead this precept, 
 than to practise it 3 M^hich is, as if a man should 
 cry up the kindness of his king, and at the same 
 time join in rebellion against him. If all were 
 rich, no alms need be received 3 if all were poor, 
 no alms could be bestowed. 
 
 God, who could have made all men wealthy, 
 hath made most men poor 5 that the poor might 
 have Christ for an example of patience, and the 
 rich for an example of goodness. Cruelty is one of 
 the highest scandals to piety 5 for instead of turn- 
 ing lions into lambs, it turns lambs into lions. 
 
 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is 
 merciful. Clemency is one of the brightest dia- 
 monds in the crown of majesty. How cheerfully 
 should we take off the copy, when we consider who 
 has set us the example ! Be ye therefore perfect, 
 even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. 
 What one scripture calls mercy, the other styles 
 perfection ^ as if this one perfection of mercy in- 
 cluded all. He that sheweth mercy when it may 
 be best spared, will receive mercy when it shall 
 most be needed. 
 
 It is reported of one of the Dukes of Savoy, that, 
 being asked by certain ambassadors at his court 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 69 
 
 what hounds he kept ; he conducted them into a 
 large room, where there were a number of poor 
 people sitting at table. ' These/ said he, ' are all 
 the hounds I have upon earth j and with whom I 
 am in pursuit of the kingdom of heaven.' It is 
 counted an honour to live like princes j but it is a 
 greater honour to give like princes. 
 
 Pure religion, and undejiled before God and the 
 Father, is this; to visit the fatherless and widows in 
 their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from 
 the world. The flames of piety towards God must 
 be accompanied with the incense of charity towards 
 man. Mercy is so good a servant, that it will never 
 suflfer its master to die a beggar. 
 
 Those who have drained their own wells dry, 
 in order to fill the poor man's cistern, shall never 
 perish for want of water to quench their thirst. 
 Those who have blessed others, shall be blessed 
 themselves. 
 
 Then shall the King say unto them on his right 
 hand. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
 the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me 
 meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. Mercy 
 is the queen of beauty, and the blessed offspring of 
 the King of glory. 
 
 Scarce any virtue in the whole scripture has been 
 returned with greater interest than the love of mer- 
 cy. Though charity may make your purse lighter 
 one day j yet it will make it heavier another. All 
 who have their names registered in the book of 
 eternity, will have the poor man's distresses re- 
 corded upon the heart of sympathy : for though 
 
 / 
 
70 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 they be so poor as to be unable to relieve him j yet 
 they are so tender as to pity him. I know no bet- 
 ter way to preserve your meal, than by parting 
 with your cake. Methinks, full breasts should 
 milk themselves without drawing j and large 
 springs should send forth their waters without 
 pumping. Your benevolence should seek the poor, 
 before the poor seek your benevolence. 
 
 PiU on, therefore, {as the elect of God) bowels of 
 mercy. He that hath put oft" the bowels of com- 
 passion, hath put off the badge of election. Many 
 can love at their tongue's end ; but the godly love 
 at iheiY finger s end. If a man be naked^ it is easy 
 for the miser to bid him be clothed j or if he be 
 empty, he can easily bid him be filled ; as if poor 
 Christians were like chameleons, able to live upon 
 the air. Liberality does not consist in good words, 
 but in good works. The doubtful are to be re- 
 solved by our counsels; but the necessitous are to 
 be relieved by our morsels. Methinks it is ex- 
 ceedingly lovely to behold the pictures of purity, 
 though they be hung in the frames of poverty. 
 
 Reader, would you be covetous of any thing ? 
 let it be rather to lay out on necessity, than to lay 
 up for posterity. Hospitality is seed; and the 
 husbandman does not become wealthy by saving, 
 but by sowing of his seed. 
 
 Secondly, A servant to all in humility. 
 
 Our first fall was by rising against God ; but 
 our best rise, is by falling down before him. The 
 acknowledgement of our own impotence, is the 
 only stock upon which the Lord ingrafts divine as- 
 sistance. 
 
IX HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 71 
 
 A humble saint looks most like a citizen of hea- 
 ven. Whosoever will be chief among you, let him 
 be your servant. He is the most lovely professor, 
 who is the most lowly professor. As incense smells 
 the sweetest when it is beaten smallest j so saints 
 look fairest when they lie lowest. Arrogance in 
 the soul resembles the spleen in the body j which 
 grows most, while other parts are decaying. God 
 will not suffer such a weed to grow in his garden, 
 without taking some course to root it up. A be- 
 liever is like a vessel cast into the sea 3 the more 
 it fills, the more it sinks. 
 
 Pride goeth before destruction ; and an haughty 
 spirit before a fall. The flowing river quickly 
 turns to an ebbing water. It is not all the world 
 that can pull a humble man down, because God 
 will exalt him j nor is it all the world that can keep 
 a proud man up, because God will debase him. 
 
 Do but mark how one of the best of saints views 
 himself as one of the least of saints : For I am the 
 least of the apostles ; that am not meet to be called 
 an apostle. In the highest heavens, the beams of 
 majesty are displayed ; but to the lowest hearts, the 
 bowels of mercy are discovered. Be ye clothed with, 
 humility. Pride is a sinner's torment, but humility 
 is a saint's ornament. The cloth of humility should 
 always be worn on the back of Christianity. 
 
 God many times places a thorn in the flesh, to 
 pierce the bladder of pride. He makes us feel a 
 sense of our misery, that we may sue for his un- 
 merited mercy. The frst Adam was for self-ad- 
 vancement J but the second Adam is for self-abase- 
 ment : the foiTiier was for having self deified ; the 
 latter is for having self cruciHed. 
 
72 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Though there may be something left by self-de- 
 nial ; yet there can be nothing lost by self-denial : 
 nay, a man can never enjoy himself till he be 
 brought to deny himself. We live, by dying to 
 ourselves ; and die, by living to ourselves. There 
 is no proud man, but what is foolish 3 and scarce- 
 ly any foolish man, but what is proud. It is the 
 night-owl of ignorance, which broods and hatches 
 the peacock of pride. 
 
 God abhors them worst, who adore themselves 
 most. Pride is not a Bethel, that is, a house where 
 God dwells ; but a Babel, that is, a noisome dun- 
 geon in which satan abides. It is not only a most 
 hateful evil j but it is a radical evil. As all other 
 lusts are found lodging in it ; so they are found 
 springing from it. It is a foul leprosy, in the 
 face of morality j and a hurtful worm, gnawing 
 at the root of humility. It is a swelling dropsy 
 within, and a spreading plague without. 
 
 Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud; hut 
 giveth grace unto the humble. Give me the homely 
 vessel of humility, which God shall preserve, and 
 fill with the wine of his grace ; rather than the 
 varnished cup of pride, which he will dash in 
 pieces, like a potter's vessel. Where humility is 
 the corner-stone, there glory shall be the top- 
 stone. 
 
 It is impossible to have true thoughts of our- 
 selves, while we entertain high thoughts of our- 
 selves. Though all men forsake thee, yet will not 
 J. Poor Peter, he was the most impotent, when 
 he was the most arrogant. He had no doubt of 
 standing, while others were falling j but it prov- 
 ed at last, that he fell while others stood. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 73 
 
 That was an excellent saying of one : ' Where 
 u gracious person would sit below me, I will ac- 
 knowledge his dignity ; but where a proud person 
 would move above me, I Avould abhor his vanity.' 
 An humble heart may meet with opposition from 
 man J but it shall meet with approbation from 
 God. As humihty is a grace very excellent in 
 itself; so it is very pleasing to God. He who is 
 a subject of the former, shall hereafter be an in- 
 heriter with the latter. 
 
 8. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To mourn most before God, for those lusts 
 which appear least before men. 
 
 Others cannot mourn in secret for public sins, 
 but we should mourn in public for our secret sins. 
 That must be sought with repentance, which has 
 been so long lost by disobedience. Outward acts 
 are most scandalous among men, but inward lusts 
 are most dangerous before God. Reader, if you 
 would know the heart of your sin, then you must 
 know the sins of your heart ; for, out of the heart 
 proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornica- 
 tions, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These 
 streams of defilement which appear in your life, 
 do but shew what a fountain of wickedness there 
 is in your heart. Even the thought of foolishness 
 is sin. When sin hath conceived, it bringeth forth 
 death. There is no sin so little as not to kindle 
 an eternal fire : its first-born is death, and its 
 last-born is hell. 
 
 Though repentance be the act of man, yet it is 
 the gift of God : it requires the same power to melt 
 the heart, as to make it. As we are deeply fallen 
 
74 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 from a state of innocence, so we should rise to a 
 state of penitence. Those sins shall never make 
 a hell for us, which are a hell to us. Some people 
 do nothing more than make work for repentance, 
 and yet do nothing less than repent of their works. 
 They have sin enough for all their sorrows, but not 
 sorrow enough for all their sins. Their eyes are 
 casements to let in lusts, when they should be 
 flood-gates to pour out tears. 
 
 When godly sorrow takes possession of the 
 house, it will quickly shut sin out of doors. There 
 must be a falling out with our lust, before there 
 can be a genuine falling off from our lusts : a 
 loathing of sin in our affections, before a true 
 leaving of sin in our actions. It is an hearty 
 mourning for our transgressions, which makes 
 way for a happy funeral of our corruptions. 
 
 O sinner, you have filled the hook of God with 
 your sins ,- and will you not fill the hottle of God 
 with your tears ? Remember, that when Christ 
 draws the likeness of the new creature, his first 
 pencil is dipped in water. Except ye repent, ye 
 shall all likewise perish. Is it not better to repent 
 without perishing, than to perish without repent- 
 ing ? Godly sorrow is such a grace, as without it, 
 not a soul shall be saved, and with it, not a soul 
 shall be lost. Is it not therefore better to swim in 
 the water-works of repentance, than to burn in the 
 Jire-works of vengeance ? Think not that the 
 tears which in hell are offered, will in the least 
 abate the torments which in hell are suffered. 
 
 Repentance is an invaluable grace, for it is the 
 bestowment of an invaluable Saviour. Him hath 
 
Ix\ HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 75 
 
 God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour , to give 
 repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. As a 
 Prince he gives repentance, and as a Priest he 
 gives pardon. Our humiliation is the fruit of his 
 exaltation : as he was abased for the creature's 
 advancement, so he was exalted for the creature's 
 abasement. Remember, sinner, if your heart be 
 not broken in you, your guilt is not broken from 
 you. If you lay not your sins to heart, that you 
 may be humbled ,• God will lay your sins to your 
 charge, that you may be damned. Though repen- 
 tance be not a pardon's obtainer ; yet it is a par- 
 don' s/ore-rwwwer. 
 
 He that lives in sin, without repentance 3 shall 
 die in sin, without forgiveness. There is no com- 
 ing to the fair haven of glory, without sailing 
 through the narrow strait of repentance. Christ 
 Jesus rejoices over those as blessed, who mourn 
 over themselves as cursed. Blessed are they that 
 mourn, for they shall be comforted. Out of the 
 saltest water, God can brew the sweetest liquor. 
 The skilful bee gathers the best honey from the 
 bitterest herbs. When the cloud has been dissolv- 
 ed into a shower, there presently follows a glorious 
 sunshine. The more a stone is wounded by the 
 hand of the engraver, the greater beauty is superin- 
 duced thereon. By groans unutterable, the Lord 
 ushers in joys unspeakable. 
 
 None do more sing in the possession of Christ, 
 than such as most lament the departure of Christy 
 usually their joys are commensurate to their sor- 
 rows. A tender heart is like melting wax : ah, 
 what choice impressions are made upon such dis- 
 positions ! 
 
76 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 A Christian should mourn more for the lusts of 
 the flesh, than for the works of the flesh : for the 
 sin of our nature transcends the nature of all our 
 outward sins. Carnal sins defile the soul % the 
 body ; but spiritual sins defile the soul in the body. 
 Many people can mourn over a body from which 
 a soul is departed, but they cannot mourn over a 
 soul whom God has deserted : alas ! what is the 
 bite of a fly, to the stinging of a scorpion ? or a 
 spot in the face, to a stab in the heart ? Inward 
 diseases are least visible, and yet most fatal. A 
 man may die of the plague, although his spots 
 never appear. 
 
 Sin in the soul, is like Jonah in the ship j it 
 turns the smoothest water into a troubled ocean. 
 We must mourn for sin on earth, or burn for sin 
 in hell. It is the coldness of our hearts, which 
 kindles the fire of God's anger. They shall look 
 upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn for 
 him, as one that mourneth for his only son; and 
 shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bit- 
 terness for his first born. — Christians! th^ nails 
 that pierced his hands, should now pierce your 
 hearts : you should now be deeply wounded w ith 
 godly sorrow, for having so deeply wounded him 
 with your deadly sins. It should grieve your 
 spirits, to remember how much you have grieved 
 his Spirit. 
 
 A believer puts on the sackcloth of contrition, 
 for having put oft" the garment of perfection. As 
 the sugar-loaf is dissolved, and weeps itself away, 
 when dipped in wine 5 so do our hearts melt un- 
 der a sense of divine love. Our language at such 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 11 
 
 a season is, O that we should be such base children 
 to so blessed a Father ! 
 
 Man must be convinced of sin, before he can 
 truly repent of sin : unbelief in the heart is like 
 the worm in Jonah's gourd, an unseen adversaiy j 
 it is least visible, but most hurtful. Infidelity is 
 the worst of robbers j it both plunders and wounds 
 the soul : Christ may dwell in the heart where it 
 lurks, but not where it reigns. If Christ destroy 
 its armour, it becomes weak as other men. Its 
 chief strength wherein it trusteth, is ignorance j 
 and no wonder why men sigh so little for sin, 
 when they see so little of sin. They have tears 
 enough for their outward losses, but none for their 
 inward lusts : they can mourn for the evil which 
 sin brings, but not for sin which brings the evil. 
 
 Pharaoh more lamented the hard strokes that 
 were upon him, than the hard heart which was 
 within him. Esau mourned not ^because he sold 
 the birth-right, which was his sin 5 but because 
 he lost the blessing, which was his punishment. 
 This is like weeping with an onion j the eye sheds 
 tears, because it smarts. A mariner casts over- 
 board that cargo in a tempest, which he courts the 
 return of when the winds are silenced. Many 
 complain more of the sorrows to which they are 
 born, than of the sins with which they were born : 
 they tremble more at the vengeance of sin, than at 
 the venom of sin 3 one delights them, the other 
 affrights them. 
 
 The sinners in Sion are afraid, fearfulness hath 
 surprised the hypocrites. Why, what is the mat- 
 ter? Who amongst us shall dwell in everlasting 
 h3 
 
78 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 burnings ? They feared corruption, not as it was a 
 coal that defiled, but as it was a fire that burned 
 them. A stroke from justice brake the heart of 
 Judas into despair ; while a look from mercy melt- 
 ed Peter's heart into tears. 
 
 There are two things in our sins ; the devilish- 
 ness of them, and the dangerousness of them. 
 Now take a saint and a sinner ; the first says, 
 ' What have I done ?' the last says, ' What must 
 I suffer V One mourns for the active evil j the 
 other for the passive evil. The former grieves be- 
 cause his soul is defiled ; the latter, because his 
 soul is condemned. Water may gush from a rock 
 when it is smitten with a rod • but all such streams 
 are lostj for they neither quench the flames of 
 hell, nor fill God's bottles in heaven. 
 
 Our whole life should be a life of repentance j 
 and such as needeth not to be repented of. While 
 the vessel is leaking, the pump may be going. 
 Reader, it is an unfavourable symptom, if you can 
 wipe away tears from your eyes before God has 
 washed away guilt from your conscience. Is it 
 not better travelling to heaven sadly, than to hell 
 securely 9 Give me a sorrowful saint, rather than 
 a merry sinner. 
 
 Did the rocks rend when Christ died for sin ? 
 and shall not our hearts rend for having lived in 
 sin? If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just 
 to forgive us our sin ; ajid to cleanse us from all 
 unrighteousness. Did ever words like these drop 
 from the lips of any being, except God's? Here, 
 the sinner is desired only to acknowledge the debt, 
 and the bond shall be cancelled. Is it not there- 
 
IS HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 70 
 
 fore better to be saved by divine mercy, than to be 
 sued by divine justice ? As soon as we are oppress- 
 ed, and groan under our own burdens, we are sure 
 to be eased by Christ's shoulders. If we remember 
 our offences with unfeigned grief, the offended 
 Lord joyfully forgives and forgets them all. 
 
 Where misery passes undiscerned, there mercy 
 passes undesired. Christ may knock long at such 
 doors, before he gains admittance. He only enters 
 into those, who enter into themselves. Behold, I 
 stand at the door and knock. Christ oftener comes 
 to the door, than he enters the house. As we knock 
 at his door for audience, so he does at our's for 
 entrance. If his person be shut out, our prayers 
 will be shut out. Why should God shew him 
 mercy, who never acknowledged himself guilty? 
 A saint's tears are better than a sinner's triumphs. 
 Bernard saith, Lachrymce pcEnitentium sunt vinum 
 angelorum. ' The tears of penitents are the wine 
 of angels.' 
 
 When a sinner repents, the angels rejoice : and 
 give me such a mourning on earth, as creates music 
 in heaven. Many are battered as lead by the 
 hammer, who were never bettered as gold by the 
 fire. Sometimes, that repentance which begins in 
 the fears of hell, ends in the flames of hell. 
 
 9. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To keep his heart the lowest, when God 
 raises his estates the highest. 
 
 St. Paul saw the need of this, when he enjoined 
 Timothy to charge those that were rich in this 
 world not to be high-minded, nor trust in uncertain 
 riches. Sinful arrogance usually attends creature 
 
80 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 confidence. Worldly wealthiness is a quill to swell 
 the bladder of high mindedness : for when men's 
 estates are lifted np, it is but too common for men's 
 hearts to be puffed up. Oh ! how fond is thin 
 dust of thick clay ! Pride breeds in great estates, 
 as worms do in sweet fruits. 
 
 Remember, Christian, if you be poor in the 
 world, you should be rich in faith j and if you be 
 rich in this world, you should be poor in spirit. 
 The way to ascend, is to descend j the deeper a 
 tree roots, the wider do its branches spread. The 
 sun of prosperity shines the clearest in the sphere 
 of humility. The true nobility of the mind consists 
 in the humbleness of the mind. Consider, that as 
 none have so little, but they have great cause to 
 bless God ; so none have so much, as to have the 
 least cause to boast before God. 
 
 Shall the theatrical vagrant be proud of his bor- 
 rowed robes, or the mud wall swell because the 
 beams of a beautiful sun shine upon it ? Gold in 
 your bags may make you great ■ but it is grace 
 in your hearts which makes you good. Good- 
 ness, without greatness, shall be esteemed j when 
 greatness, without goodness, shall be confounded. 
 Proud sinners are the fittest companions for proud 
 devils. The more prosperity man enjoys, the more 
 humility God enjoins. 
 
 Nature teaches us, that those trees bend the 
 most freely, which bear the most fully. As a 
 proud heart loves none but itself j so it is beloved 
 by none but itself. Who would attempt to gain 
 those pinnacles, that none have ascended without 
 fears, or descended without falls ? It is recorded of 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 81 
 
 Timotheus the Athenian, that when he was giving 
 an account of his government and successes to the 
 state, he frequently asserted with a vaunting air, 
 ' in this fortune had no hand.' After this he never 
 prospered, was quickly after disgraced, and died in 
 exile. When men through daring pride cast oft 
 all allegiance to God, he in just derision casts them 
 out from the inheritance of God. If we refuse 
 to acknowledge him, he will refuse to acknow- 
 ledge us. 
 
 It is reported of Philip of Macedon, that after 
 having obtained the honour of an unexpected vic- 
 tory, he was observed to look very much dejected j 
 on being asked the reason, he replied, ' that the 
 honours which were obtained by the sword, might 
 also be lost by the sword.' Was he pensive, when 
 providence crowned him with victory ? and shall 
 we be vainly elated, when providence makes us 
 wealthy ? The Supreme Majesty cannot suff"er us 
 to glory in any but Himself j therefore, when we 
 glory in our pride, he stains the pride of our glory. 
 It is a difficult matter to be grand in the estima- 
 tion of others, and base in our own. The face of 
 no mere man ever shone so illustriously as that of 
 the ancient Jewish lawgiver's -, and yet it is affirm- 
 ed that no man's heart was ever so meek : but 
 most men resemble chameleons • which no sooner 
 take in the air, than they begin to swell. 
 
 As that is a rebellious heart, in which sin is 
 allowed to reign ; so that is not a very enlarg- 
 ed heart, which the world can fill. Alas, what 
 will it profit us to sail before the pleasing gales of 
 prosperity, if we be afterwards overset by the gusts 
 
82 
 
 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 of vanity ? Your bags of gold should be ballast in 
 your vessel to keep her always steady, instead of 
 being topsails to your masts to make your vessel 
 giddy. Give me that distinguished person, vrho is 
 rather pressed down under the weight of all his 
 honours, than puffed up with the blast thereof. 
 
 It has been observed by those who are experi- 
 enced in the sport of angling, that the smallest 
 fishes bite the fastest. Oh, how few great men do 
 we find so much as nibbling at the gospel hook ! 
 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak 
 unto them, for they have known the way of the 
 Lord, and the judgment of their God : but these 
 have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the 
 bonds. Mercy favoured them, but gratitude could 
 not bind them. 
 
 When King James's tutor lay upon his expiring 
 pillow, his Majesty sent to enquire how he did : — 
 * Go tell,' saith he, * my royal sovereign, that I am 
 going where few kings go.' The tree of life is 
 not often planted in a terrestrial paradise. Under 
 the Levitical law, the lamb and the dove were of- 
 fered in sacrifice, when the lion and the eagle were 
 rejected. The shining diamond of a great estate, 
 may frequently be found upon an unsound and 
 idolatrous heart. Prosperity is not to be deemed 
 the greatest security. The lofty unbending cedar 
 is more exposed to the injurious blast, than the 
 lowly shrub. The little pinnace rides safely along 
 the shore, while the gallant ship advancing is 
 wrecked. Those sheep which have the most wool, 
 are generally the soonest fleeced. Poverty is its 
 own defence against robbery. A fawning world 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 83 
 
 is worse than a frowning world. Who would 
 shake those trees upon which there is no fruit ? 
 
 Many think to be saved^ because they are poor j 
 and others, because they are rich 3 but these are 
 all capitally mistaken j for numbers of the former 
 are not saved, and not many of the latter will be 
 saved. Not many wise men after the Jtesh, not 
 many mighty, not many noble, are called. You 
 nobles, I call you to see, that not many nobles are 
 called. He does not say, not any, but not many. 
 Blessed be God, we can say of them, as Luther 
 once said of Elizabeth, a pious queen of Denmark, 
 ' Christ will sometimes carry a queen to heaven.' 
 Rich men are choice dishes at God's table. 
 
 Some people, when their estates are low, their 
 hearts are high : but true believers, when their 
 estates are high, their hearts are low. What an 
 excellent commendation does the beloved Prophet 
 of Israel give the beloved Prince of Israel : Then 
 went King David in, and sat before the Lord, and 
 said. Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house, 
 that thou hast brought me hitherto ? The weighty 
 clusters of mercy completely bowed the branches 
 of this royal vine. He does not contend with God 
 for mercies denied ; but he adores him for mercies 
 granted. The eye of his humility views the grace 
 of God, and then he is thankful : it also views the 
 folly of his heart, and this makes him mournful. 
 
 Theodosius deemed it more honourable to be a 
 member of the church, than a monarch of the 
 world ; and so did King David. Ah ! what wilt 
 thou set thy heart upon that which is not ? For 
 every thing will come to nothing, but He who 
 
84 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 formed all things out of nothing. Many think it 
 must go well with them hereafter, because it is so 
 well with them here : as if silver and gold, which 
 came out of the bowels of the earth, would carry 
 them to the bosom of the God of heaven. Though 
 the gates of heaven will open to admit the heaven- 
 born soul 3 yet they are not unlocked with a golden 
 key. A man may bask in the beams of prosperity 
 now, and yet burn in the flames of eternity with 
 infidels hereafter. 
 
 The worm of pride is always injurious to celes- 
 tial plants : either this vice must be shut out on 
 earth, or we shall be shut out in heaven. The 
 bowing reed of an humble mind shall be preserved 
 entire ; while the sturdy oak of a proud lofty mind 
 shall be broken to shivers. A proud person thinks 
 every thing too much that is done by him, and 
 every thing too little that is done for him. God 
 is as far from pleasing him with his gifts, as he is 
 from pleasing God with his works. Remember 
 what the observant prophet Habakkuk declares : 
 Behold, his soul which is lifted up in him is not up- 
 right. Observe, he introduces the subject with a 
 Behold: he that lifts up himself, is not lifted up of 
 God. I will not say, a good man is never proud j 
 but I will say, a proud man is never good. 
 
 10. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To seek to be better inwardly in his sub- 
 stance, than outwardly in appearance. 
 
 This is a business which no hypocrite chooses to 
 be employed in : he prefers varnish to massy gold. 
 It little concerns him how much the house be in- 
 fected with the leprosy, so it be but outwardly 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 85 
 
 fail* to human inspection. He forgets that, he is 
 not a Jew who is one outwardly ; neither is that 
 circumcision which is outward in the Jlesh ; but he 
 is a Jew who is one inwardhj ; and circumcision is 
 that of the heart, in the spirit. 
 
 Formality frequently takes its dwelling near the 
 chambers of integrity, and so assumes its name j 
 the soul not suspecting that hell should make so 
 near an approach to heaven. A rotten post, though 
 covered with gold, is more fit to be burned in the 
 fire, than for the building of a fabric. Where there 
 is a pure conscience, there will be a pure conversa- 
 tion. The dial of our faces does not infallibly shew 
 the time of day in our hearts. The humblest looks 
 may enamel the former, while unbounded pride go- 
 verns the latter. Unclean spirits may inhabit the 
 chamber, when they look not out at the window. 
 
 An hypocrite may be both the fairest and the 
 foulest creature in the world- he may be fairest 
 outwardly in the eyes of man, and foulest inwardly 
 in the sight of God. How commonly do such 
 unclean swans cover their black jlesh with their 
 white feathers ! Though such wear the mantle of 
 Samuel, they should bear the name of Satan. 
 
 Many appear righteous, who are only righteous 
 in appearance : but while they are deceiving others 
 with the false shews of holiness, they are also 
 deceiving themselves with the false hopes of hap- 
 piness. The hypocrite would not willingly seem 
 evil, and yet would inwardly be soj he would fain 
 be accounted good, and yet would not be so. O 
 man, either appear what you are, or be what you 
 appear. What will the form of godliness do for 
 
86 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOK 
 
 you, if you deny the power thereof? Ovm tJiiSy or 
 God will disown thee. Those who have the power 
 of godliness, cannot deny the form j while those 
 who have the form, may deny the power. 
 
 Hypocrites resemble looking-glasses, which pre- 
 sent the faces that are not in them. Oh, how 
 desirous are men to put the fairest gloves upon 
 the foulest hands ; and the finest paint upon the 
 rottenest posts ! To counterfeit the coin of hea- 
 ven, is to commit treason against the King of 
 heaven. AVho would spread a curious cloth upon 
 a dusty table ? 
 
 If a mariner set sail in an unsound bottom, he 
 may reasonably expect to lose his voyage. No 
 wise virgin would carry a lamp without light. O 
 professor, either get the latter, or part with the 
 former. None are so black in the eyes of the De- 
 ity, as those who paint for spirit spiritual beauty. 
 
 Some persons are better in show than in sub- 
 stance ; but not so with true Christians : they are 
 not like painted tombs, which inclose decayed 
 bones. The king's daughter is all glorious within^ 
 She is all glorious within • though within is not 
 all her glory. That is a sad charge, which the 
 God of truth brings against certain false profes- 
 sors : I know the blaspJiemy of them who say they 
 are Jews, and, are not ; hut are the synagogue of 
 Satan, A false friend is worse than an open ene- 
 my. A painted harlot is less dangerous than a 
 painted hypocrite. A treacherous Judas is more 
 abhorred of God than a bloody Pilate. 
 
 Christians ! remember the sheep's cloathing will 
 soon be stripped from the wolfs back. The velvet 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 87 
 
 plaster of profession shall not always conceal the 
 oftensive ulcer of corruption. Neither the ship of 
 formality nor hypocrisy will carry one person to the 
 harbour of felicity. The blazing lamps of foolish 
 virgins may light them to the bridegroom's gate, 
 but not into his chamber. Either get the nature 
 of Christ within you, or take not the honours of 
 Christians upon you. 
 
 Oh, what vanity is it to lop off the boughs, and 
 leave the roots which can send forth more 3 or to 
 empty the cistern, and leave the fountain running 
 which can soon fill it again ! Such may swim in 
 the water as the visible church ; but when the net 
 is drawn to shore, they must be thrown away as 
 bad fishes. Though the tares and the wheat may 
 grow in the field together, yet they will not be 
 housed in the granary together. 
 
 How pious and devout did the pliarisees appear 
 before men 1 They concluded them to be the only 
 saints upon earth. They judged the inward man 
 by the outward : but not so with the heart-search- 
 ing God J for. He said unto them, Ye are they 
 which justify yourselves before men, but God knoW' 
 eth your hearts : for that which is highly esteemed 
 among men, is abomination in the sight of God. 
 That sepulchre is not always the repository of 
 gold, which is outwardly garnished. Herod was 
 a God in the esteem of the people, when he was 
 but a fiend in the sight of the Lord 5 they adored 
 him, he destroyed him. 
 
 A man's conversation may be civilized, when 
 his heart is not evangelized. There is as much 
 dift'erence between nature restrained and nature 
 
88 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 renewed, as between the glimmering of a glow- 
 worm and tlie splendour of the noonday sun. A 
 bad man is certainly worst, when he is seemingly 
 best. We must not account every one a soldier, 
 who swaggers with a sword. A rusty scymitar 
 may frequently be found in a highly-trimmed scab- 
 bard. What is it to have our hands as white as 
 snow, if our hearts be as black as the bottomless 
 pit? Such professors resemble curious bubbles, 
 smooth and clear without, yet only filled with air. 
 
 A man may wear the Saviour's livery, and yet 
 be busied in Satan's drudgery. The skin of an 
 apple may be fair, when it is rotten at the core. 
 Though all gold may glitter, yet all is not gold 
 that glitters. The errantest hypocrite may have 
 the colour of gold, but not the value of gold. 
 What comparison is there between the gilt tun 
 filled with air, and the homely vessel filled with 
 generous wine ? 
 
 ^^ery few deceivers duly weigh that notable say- 
 ing of the wise man : He that ivalketh uprightly, 
 walketh surely : but he that perverteth his ways 
 shall be known. He that promises to cover the 
 Christian's infirmities, threatens also to disclose the 
 antichristian's impieties. Well would it be for 
 such to remember that arch-traitor Judas, who 
 purchased nothing by his deceitful dealings, but a 
 halter for his body, in which he w^as hanged j and 
 fire for his soul, in which he is burning. 
 
 1 1 . Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To be more abided at the distresses of the 
 church, than affected at his own happiiiess. 
 
 When we sufter not from the enemies of Christ 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 89 
 
 by persecution, we should then siiflfer for the friends 
 of Christ by compassion. Let not Sion's sons be 
 rejoicing, while their mother is mourning : Are not 
 her breaches like the sea, and there is none to heal 
 her ? If her breaches be irreparable, our hearts 
 should be inconsolable. It is observed of doves, 
 that if one be sick, the other laments : yea, the 
 savage beasts will mourn over the afflicted crea- 
 tures of their own species : and shall that be lost 
 among men, which is found among beasts? 
 
 Christianity never was designed to strip men of 
 humanity. Reader, can you see the church bleed- 
 ing, and never ask balm for her wounds ? How 
 can you rejoice when she stands, if you do not 
 mourn when she falls ? It rejoiced impious Nero 
 to see the Christians burning ; but it should wound 
 us to hear of it. The cruel massacre of the Judean 
 infants was a pleasant sight to bloody Herod. 
 
 We may justly prefer that charge against many 
 nominal Christians, Avhich God did against nominal 
 Israel : They drink wine in bowls, and anoint them- 
 selves with the chief ointment; but they are not 
 grieved for the affliction of Joseph. 
 
 Many can weep a flood for the groans of a child 3 
 but they cannot drop a tear for the groans of the 
 church. Their love to relations transcends their 
 love to religion. He that has property on board 
 the church's ship, cannot but be alarmed at every 
 storm. I conclude that to be a silver eye in the 
 spiritual head, and a wooden leg in the spiritual 
 body, that is insensible to all its sorrows. That 
 man who has no compassion for afflicted Chris- 
 tians, may rest persuaded that God will have no 
 I 3 
 
90 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 compassion on him. His language will be, De' 
 part, ye cursed : for I was hungry, and ye fed me 
 not ; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 
 
 The enemies of the church may toss her as 
 waves J but they shall not split her as rocks. She 
 may be dipped in water as n. feather ; but shall not 
 sink therein as lead. He that is a well of water 
 within her, to keep her from fainting, will also 
 prove a wall of fire about her, to preserve her from 
 falling. Tried she may be j but destroyed she can- 
 not be. Her foundation is the Rock of Ages, and 
 her defence the everlasting Arms. It is only such 
 fabrics as are bottomed upon the sand, that are 
 overthrown by the wind. The adversaries of God's 
 people will push at them as far as their horns will 
 go J but when they have scoured them by prosecu- 
 tion as tarnished vessels, then God will throw such 
 whisps into the fire. 
 
 Many w^ould rather see the church's expiration, 
 than her reformation : it would afford them more 
 pleasure to find her nullified, than purified 3 for 
 they suppose that happiness increases, in proportion 
 as holiness decreases. Christian ! when persecutors 
 make long furrows upon the saint's back, then we 
 should cast in the seed of sympathetic tears. Saul 
 made the Saviour feel, before he opened his com- 
 mission to apprehend his members at Damascus. 
 Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? Thus the 
 head cries out in heaven, while the toe is trod 
 upon on earth. 
 
 Though Jesus Christ has altered his condition, 
 yet he hath not changed his affection. Death took 
 away his life for us 5 but not his love from us. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 91 
 
 He that washed away the blood of guilt from 
 our hearts, will soon wipe away those briny tears 
 that disfigure our cheeks. He who paid so great 
 a price for our redemption, will not resign us into 
 the hands of our cruel tormentors. Comfort ye, 
 comfort ye my people, saith your God : speak ye 
 comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that 
 her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is 
 pardoned. If the Father of mercies thus proclaim 
 pardon to returning prodigals, we may expect 
 soon to hear of music and rejoicing among all the 
 heavenly harpers. 
 
 When we see the church pledging her beloved 
 in the cup of affliction, we should then drink to 
 her in the cup of consolation. A heavy burden 
 may easily be borne by the assistance of many 
 shoulders. Some are like Gallic j they care for 
 none of those things ; nay, when they should be 
 sympathizers, they are censurers. They conclude 
 that the gold is not good, because it is tried j and 
 that the ground is naught, because it is ploughed. 
 They wound those with the arrows of reproach, 
 whom God has only corrected with the rod of 
 reproof. 
 
 It is dangerous to smite those with our tongues, 
 whom God has smitten with his hand. His right 
 to correct is not our's. Because Christ sufl'ered 
 for transgressors, many numbered him with trans- 
 gressors : but that was to give him the sharpest 
 vinegar, when they should have given him the 
 sweetest wine. Pour out thine indignation upon 
 them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. 
 Why, David ? For they persecute them whom thou 
 
92 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 hast smitten ; and they talk to the grief of those 
 whom thou hast wounded. 
 
 Sympathy is a debt we owe to sufferers. For 
 Christians to be rejoicing when their brethren are 
 weeping, is like putting silver-lace upon a mourn- 
 ing suit. Our own particular losses and distresses 
 resemble the extinguishing of a candle, which only 
 occasions darkness in one room : but the general 
 distresses of the church are like the eclipsing of the 
 sun, which overshadows the whole hemisphere. 
 Pliny informs us of two goats meeting together on 
 a narrow bridge, where neither of them could 
 either proceed or recede ; at last one of them lay 
 down, that the other might go over him. How 
 much of the man Avas there in those beasts ; and 
 how much of the beast is there in some men ! 
 
 It is certainly better to be in the humble posture 
 of a mourner, than in the proud gesture of a scorn- 
 er. The woman of Canaan could not rest, while 
 her daughter was restless : the torture of one, was 
 the torment of the other : but a word from Jesus 
 relieved them both. Sympathy renders a doleful 
 state more joyful. Alexander refused water in a 
 time of great scarcity, because there was not 
 enough for his whole army. 
 
 It should be among Christians, as among hite- 
 strings, when one is touched the others tremble. 
 Believers should be neither proud flesh, nor dead 
 flesh. Fellow" members should ever have fellow 
 feelings. Other men's woes are our warnings : — 
 their desolation should be our information. 
 
 Jeremiah suffered not in his own person, being 
 under the protection of the Divine Being : but 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 93 
 
 though he dwelt securely from the hand of mor- 
 tality, yet he was filled with the bowels of sympa- 
 thy. Though he wrote of the Jews desolations, 
 yet he named them Jeremialis Lamentations. 
 
 J 2. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To render the greatest good for the greatest 
 evil. 
 
 Mariners look for a storm at sea, when the wa- 
 ters begin to utter a murmuring noise. Theodo- 
 sius the emperor, being urged to execute one who 
 had reviled him, answered, * So far from gratifying 
 your wish 5 were it in my power, if he were dead, 
 I would raise him to life again • rather than, being 
 alive, to put him to death.' 
 
 He makes a good market of bad commodities, 
 who with kindnesses overcomes injuries. For a 
 man to conquer another's person, and be captivated 
 by his own passions, is but to lose the palace of a 
 prince to gain the cottage of a peasant. A spark 
 of fire falling in the ocean, expires immediately : 
 but dropping upon combustibles, burns furiously. 
 God has bound eveiy believer in gospel cords to 
 his good behaviour. 
 
 A carnal man may love his friends, but it is a 
 Christian man that loves his enemies. But I say 
 unto you, love your enemies ; bless them that curse 
 you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
 them that despitefully use you and persecute you. 
 He calls to patience, who is patience itself ; and he 
 that gives the precept, enforces it by his own ex- 
 ample. It is unnatural to hate them that love us : 
 and it is supernatural to love them that hate us. 
 A sinner can do much evil, but he can suffer none ; 
 a saint can suffer much evil, but he will do none. 
 
94 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 He that takes up fire to throw at his adversaries, 
 is in great danger of burning his own fingers. A 
 gun ill charged, instead of hitting the mark, does 
 but recoil on him that discharges it. He who glo- 
 ries in wounding others, will finally wound himself. 
 If injuries be our enemies' weapons, forgiveness 
 should be ours. How many have had their blood 
 seen, because they would not have their backs seen. 
 Men's actions towards others, are generally excus- 
 ed by others' actions towards them. There is a 
 two-fold frenzy 3 that of the head, w^hich deprives 
 men of prudence ; and that of the heart, which 
 deprives them of their patience. To forget an in- 
 jury, is more than nature can promise ; but to for- 
 give it, is what grace can perform. Patience affords 
 us a shield to defend ourselves 3 but innocence de- 
 nies us a sword to offend others. If ever you hope 
 that your charity should live after you, then let 
 resentment die before you. 
 
 It is written in the law of Mahomet, that God 
 made angels of light, and devils of flame. Sure I 
 am, that they are of hellish constitutions, who play 
 off the^re-works of contention. Be ye angry, and 
 sin not. Anger should not be a burning coal from 
 Satan s furnace ; but a blazing coal from God's 
 altar. It should resemble fire in straw 3 which is 
 as easily quenched, as suddenly kindled. He that 
 would be angry and not sin, must be angry at no- 
 thing but sin. Let not the sun go down upon your 
 wrath, neither give place to the devil. He that 
 carries passions to bed with him, will find the de- 
 vil creep between the sheets : and why should we 
 give place to him, who crowds in so fast himself? 
 
 O man, shall thy life be mortal, and thy wrath 
 
IX HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 95 
 
 immortal ? Should we not give place to an offend- 
 ing brother, rather than to a designing murderer? 
 How many are there who profess to forgive, but 
 cannot forget, an injuiy ! Such are like persons 
 who sweep the chamber, but leave the dust behind 
 the door. Whenever we grant our offending 
 brethren a discharge, our hearts also should set 
 their hands to the acquittance. 
 
 We should not only break the teeth of malice 
 hy forgiveness, but pluck out its sting hy forgetful- 
 ness. To store our memories with a sense of in- 
 juries, is to fill that chest with rusty iron, which 
 was made for refined gold. The pot of malice 
 should not stand upon the fire till it boils over. 
 Christian, can you expect better treatment in the 
 world, than he who was better than the world ? 
 
 When Aristides, the Athenian general, sat to 
 arbitrate a difference between two persons, one of 
 them said, ' This fellow accused thee at such a 
 time.' To whom Aristides answered, ' I sit, not 
 to hear what he has done against me, but against 
 thee.' How should a Christian shine, if an hea- 
 then give such light! Jf therefore thine enemy 
 hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink ; for 
 in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 
 Not the coals of vengeance to consume him, but 
 the coals of kindness to soften him. 
 
 Jesus was an intercessor both in his life and 
 death j his dying breath was praying breath, and 
 that not only for his sorrowful disciples, but for 
 his enraged murderers also. Father, forgive them, 
 for they know not what they do. Thus he gave 
 them the best wine for the bitterest gall. The 
 Lord Jesus spreads a large table every day, and 
 
96 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 the major part who feed thereat are his eneniiea. 
 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the 
 leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the calf, 
 and the young lion, and the falling together, and a 
 little child shall lead them. The Lord Jesus can 
 both tame the most cruel beast, and quench the 
 most raging lust. 
 
 None but a patient Christ can make us patient 
 Christians. As our passions were the cause of his, 
 so his passion is the cure of ours. Reader, if you 
 cannot forgive others, God will not forgive you. 
 You have his own authority for this : For if ye 
 forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father 
 will forgive you ; but if ye forgive not men their 
 trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father for- 
 give your trespasses. In vain do we ask God to be 
 pacified to us^ while we live at variance with others. 
 How can we expect to have pounds remitted to us, 
 if pence are not remitted by us ? 
 
 I have read of a person who imbrued his hands 
 in his own blood, because they were too short to 
 reach his enemy's. Poor revenge ! How repug- 
 nant was this to the apostolic advice : Dearly be- 
 loved, avenge not yourselves, hut rather give place 
 unto wrath. This was the conduct of dying Ste- 
 phen : Jnd he kneeled down and prayed with a loud 
 voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Could 
 living men do worse to a dying man, or a dying 
 man pray better for living men ? 
 
 To do evil for good, is human corruption -, to 
 do good for good, is civil retribution ; but to do 
 good for evil, is Christian perfection. Though this 
 be not the grace of nature, yet it is the nature of 
 grace. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 97 
 
 ^V^len Shiniei cursed David in his distress, Abis- 
 hai was for an immediate retaliation. Shall I take 
 off the head of this dead dog ; for why should he 
 curse mij Lord the King ? What was David's an- 
 swer ? So let him curse, because the Lord hath said 
 unto him, Curse David. He was so far from tak- 
 ing off his head, that he does not even attempt to 
 shut his mouth. The shoulders of charity are able 
 to carry the burden of injury, without either being 
 moved with violence, or removed from patience. 
 
 Though God suffer not his people to sin in 
 avenging their enemies, yet he suffers not the sin 
 of their enemies to go unavenged. Vengeance is 
 mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. * Anger rest- 
 eth in the bosom of fools.' Where there is the 
 most indignation, there is the least discretion. No 
 men do more readily brook insults from others, 
 than such as have learned to despise themselves. 
 Make not an enemy of your friend, by returning 
 evil for good ; but make a friend of your enemy, 
 by returning him good for evil. 
 
 1 2 . Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is, To take those reproofs best which he needs 
 most. 
 
 It was the saying of an heathen, though no hea- 
 thenish saying, ' That he who would be good, must 
 either have a faithful friend to instruct him, or a 
 watchful enemy to correct him.' Should we mur- 
 der a physician, because he comes to cure us ; or 
 like him worse, because he would make us better ? 
 
 The flaming sword of reprehension is but to keep 
 us from the forbidden fruit of transgression. Let 
 the righteous smite me, and it shall be a kindness ; 
 
98 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil, 
 which shall not break my head. Let him smite me 
 as with a hammer, for so the word signifies. A 
 Boanerges is as necessary as a Barnabas. 
 
 /4m I become your enemy, because I tell you the 
 truth ? Truth is not always relished, where sin is 
 nourished. Light is pleasant ; yet it may be of- 
 fensive to sore eyes. Honey is sweet, though it 
 cause the M^ound to smart : but we must not neg- 
 lect the actions of friends, for fear of drawing up- 
 on ourselves the suspicions of being enemies. It 
 is better to lose the smiles of men, than the souls 
 of men. Thou shall not hate thy brother in thy 
 heart, nor suffer sin to lie upon him. He who 
 loves a garment, hates the moths which fret it. 
 
 Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee ; but 
 rebuke a scorner, and he will hate thee. Reproof 
 slides from a scorner's breast, as water from an 
 oiled post. Instead of loving a man amidst all his 
 injuries, he will hate him for all bis civilities. 
 Most people are like restive horses, which no soon- 
 er feel the rowel, than they strike with their heels j 
 or like bees, which no sooner are angered, than 
 they put out their stings. 
 
 There is much discretion to be observed in re- 
 prehension : a word will do more with some, than 
 a blow with others. A Venice glass is not to be 
 rubbed so hard as a brazen kettle. The tender reed 
 is more easily bowed than the sturdy oak. Christ's 
 warfare requires no carnal weapons. Dashing 
 storms do but destroy the seed, while gentle show- 
 ers nourish it. Chariots too furiously driven, may 
 be overturned by their own violence. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLliNDOUR. 99 
 
 How many are there, who check passion with 
 passion ; and are very angry in reproving anger ! 
 Thus, to lay one devil, they raise another; and 
 leave more work to be undone, than they found to 
 be done. Such a reproof of vice, is a vice to be 
 reproved. In reprehension, we should always be- 
 ware of carrying our teeth in our tongues ; and of 
 biting while we are speaking. A surgeon would 
 not be justifiable in dismembering a body, if he 
 could effect a cure without it. 
 
 Brethren, if any man be overtaken in a fault, you 
 that are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit 
 of meekness. The word signifies, to set him in 
 joint again 3 and to set a dislocated bone, requires 
 the lady's hand 3 tenderness, as well as skilfulness. 
 Reprehension is not an act of butchery, but an 
 act of surgery. Take heed of blunting the instru- 
 ment, by putting too keen an edge upon it. Mark 
 the reason which the apostle assigns for gentle 
 reproof : Considering thyself, lest thou also be 
 tempted. 
 
 If thy neighbour's house be on fire, thine own 
 may be in danger. We should be willing to lend 
 mercy at one time, as we may have occasion to 
 borrow it at another. We should do with other's 
 sins, as we do with our own sores -, which, if a 
 gentle scar will produce a sufficient discharge, we 
 avoid cutting and slashing. If ravenous birds can 
 be frayed away by a look, we need not expend 
 powder and shot. 
 
 It is true, open sinners deserve open censures j 
 but private admonitions will best suit private of- 
 fences. VVhile we seek to heal a wound in our 
 
100 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOU 
 
 brother's actions, we should be careful not to leave 
 a scar upon his person. We give grains of allow- 
 ance in all current coin. That is a choice friend, 
 who conceals our faults from the view of others, 
 and yet discovers them to our own. That tiiedicine 
 which rouses the evil humours of the body, and 
 does not carry them off, only leaves it in a worse 
 condition than it found it. 
 
 It must be lamented, that many are as lost to 
 the softest tongue of reproof, as the deaf adder is 
 ^ to the sweet voice of the charmer: they are always 
 administering the bitter pills of calumny, for the 
 sweet cordials of charity. Men love to be adored, 
 yet hate to be reproved. But how can we praise 
 what they do, when they are so far from doing 
 what is worthy to be praised ? 
 
 How securely would David have slept, if Nathan 
 had not been sent to rouse him ! How far do 
 many travel in the downward road, for want of a 
 wholesome friend to stop them in their journey ! 
 Private admonition is rather a proof of benevo- 
 lence, than of malevolence. It was the saying of 
 Austin, when his hearers resented bis frequent 
 reproofs, * Change your conduct, and I will change 
 my conversation.' The more a serpent is stirred, 
 the more he gathers up his poison. 
 
 Some are to reproof, as tygers are to drums j 
 because they cannot stop them, they will tear their 
 own flesh. Man is a cross creature, and cannot 
 endure to be checked j he would have a Touch me 
 not, written upon himself : but who would chide 
 the dog for barking, when the thief is approach- 
 ing? — Sin is like a nettle, which stings when it is 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 101 
 
 gently touched, but hurts not when it is roughly 
 handled. Beloved, this rough hewing of reproof 
 is but to square us for the celestial building. As 
 for flatterers, they may be named the deviCs up- 
 holsterers ; who no sooner see men troubled at 
 their lusts, than they are for laying pillows under 
 their elbows : but let such know, that their want 
 of the fire of zeal will be punished with the fire 
 of hell. He is an unskilful limner, who paints 
 deformities in the fairest of colours. 
 
 Reprehension should tread upon the heels of 
 transgression. The plaster should be applied as 
 soon as the wound is received. It is easier to ex- 
 tinguish a fioming torch, than a burning house. 
 Gentle medicine will serve for a recent distemper, 
 but chronical diseases require powerful recipes. 
 
 The sword of reproof should be drawn against 
 the offence, and not against the offender. Man 
 thinks this cup is not sufficiently bitter, except he 
 mingle it with his wormwood and gall. But the 
 wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 
 The severest sentences of the church are not mor- 
 tal, but medicinal. They are to raise the dead to 
 life, and not to put the living to death. 
 
 Who knows how much the majesty of a reprov- 
 er may tame the insolence of an offender? He 
 that hates reproof is brutish. He is brutish, like 
 an angry dog, that snarles and bites while the fes- 
 tering thorn is being taken out of bis foot j or like 
 a vicious horse, that strikes the groom while he is 
 rubbing off the dirt. 
 
 If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and 
 tell him his fault between thee and him alone} if 
 k3 
 
102 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 
 The spaniel loses the prey, by barking at the game. 
 The presence of a multitude makes a man take 
 up an unjust defence, rather than lie down under 
 a just shame. It is better to censure a man in 
 private, than to spread his guilt by proclamation. 
 How many do that in the market, which they should 
 do in the closet ! Sin is a miry depth ; if we at- 
 tempt to help others out, and do not, we sink them 
 the deeper. Remember, tender lambs, though 
 straying, must be gently reduced to the fold. 
 
 1 4. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To take up every duty in point of perfor- 
 mance, and lay it down in point of dependance. 
 
 When the purest duties have been performed, 
 the purest mercies should be implored. Many have 
 passed the rocks of gross sins, who have suffered 
 shipwreck upon the sands of self-righteousness. 
 Some people live more upon their customs, than 
 they do upon Christ • more upon the prayers they 
 make to God, than upon the God to whom they 
 make their prayers. This is, for the redeemed 
 captive to reverence the sword, instead of the 
 hand which wrought his rescue. 
 
 The Name of God with a sling and a stone, 
 will do more than Goliah with all his armour. 
 Duties are but dry pits, though never so curiously 
 wrought, till Christ fill them. Reader, I would 
 neither have you be idle in the means, nor make 
 an idol of the means. Though it be the mariner's 
 duty to weigh his anchor, and spread his sails ; yet 
 he cannot make his voyage until the winds blow. 
 The pipes will yield no conveyance, unless tlie 
 springs yield their concurrence. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR, 103 
 
 What is hearing without Christ, but like a cabi- 
 net without a jewel ? or what is receiving without 
 Christ, but like a glass without a cordial? We 
 can only ascend to heaven upon that ladder which 
 was let down from heaven. The most diligent 
 saint has been the most self-diffident saint. And 
 be found in him, not having on my own righteous- 
 ness, which is of the laiv, but that which is through 
 the faith of Christ ; the righteousness which is of 
 God by faith. If you be found in your own righ- 
 teousness, you will be lost by your own righteous- 
 ness. That garment which was worn to shreds 
 on Adam's back, will never make a complete cov- 
 ering for mine. 
 
 Duties may be good crutches to go upon, but 
 they are bad Christs to lean upon. When Agus- 
 tus Caesar desired the senate to join some person 
 with him in the consulship, they replied, *They 
 held it as a great dishonour to him to have any 
 one joined with him, who was so capable himself.' 
 It is the greatest disparagement that Christians 
 can offer to Christ, to put their services in equi- 
 page with his suft'erings. The beggarly rags of 
 the first Adam, must never be put on with the 
 princely robe of the second Adam, 
 
 Man is a creature too much inclined to warm 
 himself by the sparks of his own fire, though he 
 lie down in eternal flames for kindling them. 
 Though Noah's dove made use of her wings, yet 
 she found no rest but in the ark. Duties can 
 never have too much of our diligence, or too 
 little of our confidence. For he that is entered in- 
 to rest, hath ceased from his own works, as God 
 
104 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 did from his. A believer doth not, perform good 
 works to live, but he lives to perform good works. 
 
 It was an haughty saying of one, Ccelum gratis 
 non accipiam : ' I will not accept of heaven gratis.' 
 But he shall have hell as a debt, who will not take 
 heaven as a gift. For we are the circumcision, who 
 worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Je- 
 sus, and have no confidence in the fesh. A true 
 Christian stands at a great distance from trusting 
 in the best of his services, as in the worst of his 
 sins. He knows that the greatest part of his ho- 
 liness will not make the least part of his justifying 
 righteousness. He has unreservedly subscribed to 
 that sentiment, ' That when we have done all, we 
 are unprofitable servants.' 
 
 When we have kept all the commandments, there 
 is one commandment above all to be kept -, that is. 
 To trust not in an arm of flesh. In most of our 
 works Ave are abominable sinners, and in the best 
 of our works we are unprofitable servants. Our 
 doings are not like the crystal streams of a living 
 fountain, but like the impure overflowings of an 
 unruly torrent. I tvill go in the strength of the 
 Lord God; I will make mention of thy righteous- 
 ness, even of thine only. You see, beloved, the 
 righteousness of Christ is to be magnified, when 
 the righteousness of a Christian is not to be men- 
 tioned. 
 
 It is hard for us to be nothing in ourselves, a- 
 midst all our watchfulness ; and to be all things in 
 Christ, amidst all our weakness. To undertake 
 every duty, and yet to overlook every duty, is a 
 lesson which none can learn, but Christ's scholars. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR, 105 
 
 Our obedience, at best, is like good wine, which 
 rehshes of a bad cask. The law of God will not 
 take ninety-nine for an hundred. It will not ac- 
 cept the coin of our obedience, either short in 
 quantity, or base in quality. The duty it exacts, 
 is as impossible to be performed in this our fallen 
 state, as the penalty it inflicts is intolerable to be 
 endured in our eternal state. 
 
 We do not sail to glory in the salt sea of our own 
 tears, but in the red sea of a Redeemer's blood. 
 Crux Christi est clavis paradisi. 'The cross of 
 Christ is the key of paradise.' We owe the life of 
 our souls to the death of our Saviour. It was his 
 going into the furnace which keeps us from the 
 flames. Man lives by death j his natural life is 
 preserved by the death of the creature, and his 
 spiritual life by the death of the Redeemer. 
 
 Moses must lead the children of Israel through 
 the wilderness, but Joshua must conduct them into 
 Canaan. While we are in the wilderness of this 
 world, we walk under the guidance of Moses ; but 
 when we enter the spiritual Canaan, it must be 
 under the leadings of Jesus. The same hand 
 which shut the doors of hell, to keep us out of 
 perdition ; has opened the gates of heaven, to 
 admit us to its eternal fruition. 
 
 Those who carry the vessel of hope to the pud- 
 dle of their own merit, will never draw the water 
 of comfort from the fountain of God's mercy. 
 Luther compares the law and gospel to earth and 
 heaven ; we sliould walk in the earth of the law, 
 in point of obeying, and in the heaven of the gos- 
 pel, in point of believing. It was the saying of 
 one, ' I'hat he would swim through a sea of brim- 
 
106 THK NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 stone, so he might but arrive safe at heaven.' Ah, 
 how would natural men sing, if they could but 
 soar to heaven upon the pinions of their own 
 merit ! The sun-beams of justice will soon melt 
 such weak and waxen wings. 
 
 He that has no better righteousness than what 
 is of his own providing, shall meet with no higher 
 happiness than what is of his own deserving. For 
 they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and 
 going about to establish their own righteousness, 
 have not submitted themselves to the righteousness 
 of God, If such people rest not from duty, then 
 they rest in duty. They are determined to sail in 
 their own bottom, though they sink in the ocean. 
 I would that all such did but know, that though 
 good works are not destroyed by Christ, yet they 
 must be denied for Christ. 
 
 When a glass reflects the brightness of the sun, 
 there is but an acknowledgement of what was, 
 not an addition of what was not. A curious picture 
 praises a beautiful facej not by communicating 
 what it wants, but by presenting what it enjoys. 
 As God has none the less, for the mercy he gives, 
 so he has none the more, for the duty he receives, 
 Man is such a debtor to God, that he can never 
 pay his due to God ; yea, the more we pay him, 
 the more we owe him for our payments. 
 
 It is Christ only, who is the righteousness of 
 God to man, and man to God. We are so far 
 from paying the utmost farthing, that at the ut- 
 most we have not a farthing to pay. That man 
 will be a miserable spectacle of vanity, who stands 
 upon the lame feet of his ovvn ability. 
 
 15. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 10/ 
 
 tlan, is. To take up his atonement in God's appoint- 
 ment. 
 
 As many do the things which God dislikes^ so 
 they disHke the things which God does. If the 
 children of Israel obtain no meat for their lusts, 
 then they are weary of their lives. They are de- 
 lighted with their burning corruptions, but are 
 enraged with their trying conditions ; which is 
 nothing less than to be in love with their malady, 
 and out of love with their remedy. They studied 
 more how to gratify their humour, than to satisfy 
 their hunger. They complained of the shoe, but 
 the disease lay in the foot. 
 
 Those who think too highly of their own de- 
 serts, will think too meanly of their estates. It is 
 even the task of God, to satisfy the desires of men. 
 He can do every thing, but they are not pleased 
 with any thing. 
 
 There is no man but what has received more 
 good than he has deserved, and done more evil 
 than has been inflicted : he should therefore be 
 contented, though he see but little good ; and not 
 discontented, though he suft'er much evil. Let 
 your conversation be without covetousness -, for he 
 hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. 
 Where the seal of faith hath been set to the bond 
 of truth, he who hath said it will maintain thee in 
 the want of maintenance. 
 
 When a wicked man's purse grows light, his 
 heart grows heavy. When he has something 
 without to afflict him, he has nothing within to 
 support him. That well-known scripture is un- 
 known to him ; I know how to be abased, and how 
 
108 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 to ahonnd ; every where and in all things I am in- 
 structed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to 
 abound and suffer need. It is hard to carry a full 
 cup without shedding ; or to stand under a heavy 
 load without bowing. It is difficult to walk in the 
 clear day of prosperity, without wandering ; or in 
 the dark night of adversity, without stumbling : 
 but from whatever point the wind blows, the skil- 
 ful mariner knows how to meet it with his sails. 
 
 Repenting is the act of Christian men, but repin- 
 ing is the act of carnal men. Though their estates 
 be like a fruitful paradise, yet their hearts are like 
 a barren wilderness. Such people are like spiders, 
 which suck poison out of ihe sweetest flowers, and 
 by an infernal chemistry extract dross from the 
 purest gold. 
 
 Outward prosperity cannot create inward tran- 
 quillity. Heart s-ease is a flower that never grew 
 in the world's garden. The ground of a wicked 
 man's trouble is not because he has not enough of 
 the creature, but because he cannot find enough in 
 the creature. His possession is great enough, but 
 his disposition is not good enough. Some are sa- 
 tisfied under the hand of God, because they are not 
 sensible of the hand of God. They never fret, be- 
 cause they never feel. 
 
 We are not to be troubled that we have no more 
 from God, but we are to be troubled that we do 
 no more /or God. Christians, if the Lord be well 
 pleased with your persons, should not you be well 
 pleased with your conditions ? There is more rea- 
 son that you should be pleased with them, than 
 that he should be pleased with you. Believers 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 109 
 
 should be like sheep, which change their pastures 
 at the will of the shepherd ; or like vessels in a 
 house, which stand to be filled or emptied at the 
 pleasine of their owner. He that sails upon the 
 sea of this world in his own bottom, will sink at 
 last into a bottomless ocean. Never were any 
 their own carvers, but they were sure to cut their 
 own fingers. 
 
 A covetous man is fretful, because he has not so 
 much as he desires ; but a gracious man is thankful, 
 because he has more than he deserves. It is true, I 
 have not the sauce j but then I merit not the meat. 
 I have not the lace ; but then I deserve not the 
 coat. I want that which may support my dignity 3 
 but I have that which supplies my necessity. Hav- 
 ing food and raiment, let us therewith be content. — 
 Here is the Jlesh of the creature to Jill us, and the 
 fleece of the creature to cover us. 
 
 It is reported of a woman who, being sick, was 
 asked whether she was willing to live or die ; she 
 answered, ' Which God pleases.' But, said one, 
 if God should refer it to you, which would you 
 choose? *^ Truly,' replied she^ 'I would refer it 
 to him again.' Thus, that man obtains his will of 
 God, whose will is subjected to God. 
 
 A contented heart is an even sea in the midst 
 of all storms. It is like a tree in autumn, which 
 secures its life, when it has lost its leaves. When 
 worthy Mr. Hern lay upon his death-bed, his wife, 
 with great concern, asked him what was to become 
 of her and her large family ? he answered, ' Peace, 
 sweet heart 3 that God who feeds the ravens, will 
 not starve the Herns.' If the child be jealous of 
 
 L 
 
110 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 his father's aiFection, he will soon be dubious of 
 his father's provision. 
 
 Our most golden conditions in this life are set 
 in brazen frames. There is no gathering a rose 
 without a thorn, till we come to Immanuel's land. 
 If there were nothing but showers, we should con- 
 clude the world would be drowned ■ if nothing but 
 sunshine, we should fear the earth would be burn- 
 ed. Our worldly comforts would be a sea to drown 
 us, if our crosses were not a plank to save us. By 
 the fairest gales, a sinner may sail to destruction ; 
 and by the fiercest winds, a saint may sail to glory. 
 When our circumstances become necessitous, our 
 corruptions become impetuous j they rage the 
 more, because stopped by the dam of poverty. If 
 God withhold the hand of providence, we employ 
 the tongue of insolence. We too frequently bite 
 at the stone, till we break our teeth. We mur- 
 mur because we are in want, and therefore want 
 because we murmur. 
 
 A skilful pilot knows what winds tend to blow 
 us into our harbour. An unquiet mind makes but 
 a slow recovery. Contentment is the best food 
 to preserve a sound man, and the best medicine 
 to restore a sick man. It resembles the gilt on 
 nauseous pills, which makes a man take them 
 without tasting their bitterness. Contentment 
 will make a cottage look as fair as a palace. He 
 is not a poor man that hath but little, but he is a 
 poor man that wants much. In this sense, the 
 poorest are often the richest, and the richest the 
 poorest. 
 
 Godliness with contentment is s^reat ^ain. This is 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 11] 
 
 too precious a seed to grow in every soil. Though 
 every godly man may not always be contented, yet 
 every truly contented man is godly. The Lord is 
 my Shepherd, I shall not want. Such a scripture 
 will bring us plenty in scarcity — fulness out of 
 emptiaess. The water in a cloud soon ceases, but 
 the water of a fountain continues. 
 
 As Seneca said to Polybius, ' Never complain of 
 thy hard fortune so long as Caesar is thy friend j' so 
 say I to thee, never complain of thy hard fortune. 
 Christian, so long as Jesus is thy friend. 
 
 Let your condition be never so flourishing, it is 
 a hell without him j let it be never so fluctuating, 
 it is a heaven with him. Can that man want any 
 thing who enjoys Christ ? or can he be said to en- 
 joy any thing who is without Christ ? Why should 
 Hagar lament the loss of the water in her bottle, 
 while there is a well so near ? 
 
 1 6. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To be more in love with the employment of 
 holiness, than with the enjoyment of happiness. 
 
 Thousands of professors prize the wages of reli- 
 gion above its works ; but a Christian will prize 
 its works above its wages. Give me that singular 
 preacher, who prefers his labour to his lucre ; and 
 the flock h: attends, to the fleece he obtains. 
 
 Some men serve God, that they may serve them- 
 selves upon God. He loves not religion sincerely , 
 who does not love it superlatively. 
 
 Israel is an empty vine ; he brings forth unto 
 himself. Empty, and yet fruitful j fruitful, and 
 yet empty. Thus that fertility which springs up 
 from the bitter roots of self has nothing but vacu- 
 ity in the account of God. 
 
112 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Such professors do not make gain stoop to god- 
 liness, but godliness to gain • which is, as if a man 
 should fit his foot to the shoe, when he should fife 
 the shoe to his foot. 
 
 That tradesman is poor and needy, who must 
 have ready money for all he sells. In all the good 
 a carnal man doth for God, he seeks himself more 
 than God. The clock of his heart will stand still, 
 unless its wheels of profit be oiled. 
 
 If the virgin should only give her hand in matri- 
 mony for her bridegroom's riches, she would not 
 espouse herself unto his person, but unto his por- 
 tion. This were not properly to make a marriage 
 with him, but a merchandize of him. Saint Austin 
 hath an excellent saying : ^ He loves not Christ at 
 all, who does not love Christ above all.' 
 
 Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but 
 because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 
 Christ was the object of their actions, but self was 
 the end of their actions. They came to Christ to 
 serve their own turns ; and when their turns were 
 served, they then turned away their service. They 
 were cupboard disciples — more than men at their 
 meat, but less than women at their work. When 
 the loaves were gone, the disciples were gone 5 
 when he left off feeding them, they left oft' follow- 
 ing him. 
 
 Reader, till you can love the naked truth, you 
 will never love to go naked for the truth. Most 
 persons are mercenary in those works, wherein 
 they should be flial and free. They look more 
 after the streams, than upon the spring from 
 whence they constantly run 3 and admire the 
 beams more than the sun from whence they are 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 113 
 
 emitted. The want of pardoiij is the only spring 
 of a servile man's duty ; he plies his prayers, as 
 sailors do their pumps, only in a storm, or when 
 fearful of sinking. 
 
 And now, Father , glorify thy Son^ that thy Son 
 also may glorify thee. Christ prayed for glory, 
 more for the Father's sake, who bestowed it, than 
 for his own sake, who received it. A true Chris- 
 tian not only desires grace that God may glorify 
 him, but that lie also may glorify God. 
 
 Could many men find the mercies of God, they 
 would never seek the God of mercies. Could they 
 tell how to be well without him, they would never 
 desire to come to him. God hath but little of 
 their society, except when they can find no other 
 company. 
 
 Worldlings, instead of looking upon godliness 
 as their greatest gain, will look upon gain as their 
 greatest godliness. They love religion, not for the 
 beauty existing in it, but for the dowiy annexed to 
 it. They are like the fox, that follows the lion for 
 the prey that is falling from him. If there be no 
 honey in the pot, such wasps will hover no longer 
 about it. 
 
 Mark how the long-sufifering God expostulates 
 with self-seeking Israel : When ye fasted and 
 mourned in theffth and seventh month, even those 
 seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me ? And 
 when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye 
 eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves ? In - 
 fasting and in feasting, their eyes were not cast 
 upon God, but upon themselves. They forgat not 
 to eat when they were hungry, but they forgat to 
 l3 
 
114 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 praise God when they were full. Their greediness 
 swallowed up all their thankfulness. 
 
 Reader, remember that God will shut your du- 
 ties out of heaven, if they shut him out on earth. 
 I have heard a pleasing account of a woman, who 
 being met with fire in one hand and water in the 
 other, was asked what she was going to do with 
 them ; she answered, " With this fire I am going 
 to burn up all the joys of heaven j and with this 
 water I am going to quench all the flames of hell ; 
 that my services to my God might neither arise 
 from the fear of punishment, nor hope of reward." 
 
 The less emphasis you lay upon your own works, 
 the more will God lay upon them. Those who are 
 most righteous in themselves, are least righteous 
 to God. God has three sorts of servants in the 
 world : some are slaves, and serve him from a 
 principle of fear ; others are hirelings, and serve 
 him for the sake of wages 3 and the last are sons, 
 and serve him under the influence of love. 
 
 Now a hireling will be a changeling. He that 
 will not serve God except something be given 
 him, would serve the devil, if he would give him 
 more. Any one shall have his works, who will 
 but augment his wages. 
 
 He had respect to the recompense of reward. This 
 might be a good glass to look through, but it is a 
 bad object to look to. The poets report, that many 
 who at first paid their suits to the famous Penelope, 
 were afterwards married to the maidens who at- 
 tended her. The ass w^hich carried the Egyptian 
 goddess, had many bare heads and bended knees 
 before it; but they were all to the burden, and 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 115 
 
 none to the beast. I'hus many are advocates for 
 the enjoyment of happiness, and enemies to the 
 employment of holiness. 
 
 Demetrius cries up the goddess Diana ; yet it was 
 not her temple, but her silver shrines, he so much 
 adored. He was more in love with her wealth, 
 than wuth her worship. ' Sirs, ye know that by 
 this craft we have our wealth.' If her temple had 
 been demolished, their trade would have been di- 
 minished. Doth Job serve God for naught ? Yes, 
 for Job served God when he had naught. He was 
 as religious in his poverty as in his plenty. In 
 this sense, that man who will not serve God for 
 nothing, is nothing in his services. 
 
 Love trades not for home returns, it amply pays 
 itself in serving its beloved. It is reported of one, 
 who, being asked for whom he laboured most, he 
 answered, 'For my friends.' And being asked 
 again for whom he laboured least, he answered, 
 ' For my friends.' Love doth most, and yet thinks 
 least of what it does. 
 
 Hypocrites are more in love with the gold of the 
 altar, than with the God of the altar. Woe unto 
 you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites; for ye de- 
 vour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long 
 prayers ; therefore ye shall receive the greater dam- 
 nation. They painted their avarice in religious 
 colours, and put the arms of Christ upon the devil^ 
 that iniquity might by that means be esteemed 
 under the garb of religion. They fasted all the 
 day, that they might feed upon the widows' houses 
 at night. They hatched the birds of oppression in 
 the nests of devotion. These spiders weaved the 
 
116 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 web of their oAvn works, to catch the flics of other 
 men's wealth. 
 
 The observation of Augustine is founded on too 
 much truth : ' There is often a vast difference be- 
 tween the face of the work, and the heart of the 
 workman.' But a man influenced by the Lord in his 
 services, though he may find self in them as an in- 
 truder, yet he cannot suft'er self in them as a leader, 
 
 A Christian is more in love with his present 
 duty, than he is with his future glory. St. Paul 
 was contented to stay a while out of heaven, that 
 he might be the instrument of bringing other souls 
 into heaven. To me, to live, is Christ, and to die, 
 is gain. His life to them was most useful, but his 
 death to himself was most profitable. By dying, 
 he might have enjoyed his inheritance sooner j but 
 by living, God made his usefulness greater. 
 
 Were it possible to put those things asunder 
 which God himself hath joined together, a Chris- 
 tian would rather be holy without any happiness, 
 than happy without any holiness. 
 
 Luther had this expression : ' I had rather be in 
 hell with Christ, than in heaven without Christ.' 
 Indeed, hell itself would be a heaven, if God were in 
 it -J and heaven would be a hell, if God were from 
 it. These are hard sayings to an uncircumcised 
 ear ; but the real choice of eveiy renewed heart. 
 
 A gracious man makes this request for his soul : 
 ' Lord, let me rather have a gracious heart, than a 
 great estate ; let me rather be pious without pros- 
 perity, than prosperous without piety.' Though 
 he may love many things beside religion, yet he 
 would not love any thing above religion. 
 
 The earth is our work-house ; but heaveii is our 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 117 
 
 store-house. This is a place to run in, and that is 
 a place to rest in. 
 
 1 7'. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To he more employed in searching his own 
 heart, than he is in censuring other mens states. 
 
 Those bishops are too busily employed, who lord 
 it over another man's diocese. We are to allow 
 believers for their failings, though we are not to 
 allow them in their failings. Be thou diligent to 
 know the state of thy Jiocks, and look well to thy 
 herds. It is a matter of greater moment to know 
 the state of our hearts, than the state of our Jiocks. 
 
 Censorious men commonly take up magnifying 
 glasses, to look at other person's imperfections ; 
 and diminishing glasses, to look at their own 
 enormities.^ 
 
 Plato entertaining a few friends at an elegantly 
 spread table, Diogenes, a famous cynic philosopher, 
 coming in at the same time, trampled upon it, say- 
 ing, 'I trample upon the pride of Plato I' To 
 whom Plato immediately replied, ' Yea, but with 
 greater pride in Diogenes.' 
 
 They are fittest to find fault, in whom there is 
 no fault to be found. There is no removing blots 
 from the paper, by laying upon them a blurred fin- 
 ger. Thou hypocrite, Jirst cast out the beam out of 
 thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to 
 cast out the mote out of thy brother s eye. Reader, 
 what do you get by throwing stones at your ene- 
 my's windows, while your own children look out 
 at the casements ? He that blows into a heap of 
 dust, is in danger of putting out his own eyes. 
 
 Reader, are there not the same lusts lodging in 
 
118 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 your heart, that are reigning in other men's lives ? 
 The reason why there is so little self-condemnation, 
 is because there is so httle self-examination. For 
 want of this, many persons are like travellers, skill- 
 ed in other countries, but ignorant of their own. 
 
 As it is an evidence that those tradesmen are 
 embarrassed in their estates, who are afraid to look 
 into their books ; so it is plain that there is some- 
 thing wrong within, among all those who are afraid 
 to look within. The trial of ourselves, is the ready 
 road to the knowledge of ourselves. He that buys 
 a jewel in a case, deserves to be cozened with a 
 Bristol stone. 
 
 Reader, would you see God ? then cast your eyes 
 upwards : would you see yourself ? then cast your 
 eyes inward. Contemplation is a perspective glass 
 to see our Saviour in • but examination is a look- 
 ing-glass to view ourselves in. Are we then in the 
 narrow way that leads to life, or in the broad way 
 that leads to death ? are we Christ's bride, or 
 Satan's harlots ? are our spirits chairs for vice to 
 sit in, or thrones for grace to rule in ? 
 
 Nero thought no person chaste, because he was 
 so unchaste himself. Such as are troubled with 
 the jaundice, see all things yellow. Those who 
 are most religious, are least censorious. Who art 
 thou that judgeth another mans servant ? Those 
 who are fellow- creatures with men, should not be 
 fellow-judges with God. 
 
 Reader, why will you search another man's 
 wound, while your own is bleeding ? Take heed 
 that your own vesture be not full of dust, when 
 you are brushing your neighbour's. Complain not 
 
IN IIIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 119 
 
 of dirty streets, when heaps lie at your own doors. 
 Many people are no longer well, than while they 
 are holding their fingers upon another person's 
 sores : such are no better in their conduct than 
 crows, which prey only upon carrion. But let 
 every man prove his own work ; and then shall he 
 have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 
 
 For want of self-examination, men have their 
 accounts to cast up, when they should have them 
 to deliver up. They have their evidences of grace 
 to seek, when they should have them to shew. 
 They lie down with such hopes in their beds of 
 resty with which they dare not lie down in their 
 bed of dust. Conversion begins in consideration. 
 The hasty shower falls fastest, but the soft snow 
 sinks the deepest. 
 
 As that mariner who is inattentive to his helm 
 is in danger of wrecking his vessel ; so he who 
 knows not himself, is likely to lose himself. Ex- 
 amine yourselves whether ye be in the faith. If 
 your heart be not the cabinet of such a jewel, your 
 head w^ill never be graced with a diadem in glory. 
 
 If you must needs be a judge, then pray sit upon 
 your own bench. I shall ever esteem such to be 
 but religious lepers, who care not for scripture 
 looking-glasses. He that never cries out. Woe is 
 me, for I am undone ; will never hear Christ say. 
 Go in peace. Self-examination is the beating path 
 to perfection 5 it is like fire, which not only tries 
 the gold, but purifies it also. 
 
 The heathens tell us, that nosce teipsum (know 
 thyself) was an oracle that came down from hea- 
 ven. Sure I am, it is this oracle, that will lead us 
 
120 
 
 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 to the God of heaven. The sight of yourself in 
 grace, \vill bring you to the sight of God in glory. 
 The plague of the body is not every man's plague, 
 but the plague of the soul is. If the latter were 
 known more, the former would be feared less : 
 though there may be a more pleasant, yet there is 
 not a more profitable sight. Till you know how 
 deep the pit is into which you are fallen, you will 
 never properly praise that hand which raises you 
 out of it. 
 
 The bottom of our diseases lies in not searching 
 our diseases to the bottom. So we have but some 
 rags to cover our nakedness, we then wickedly de- 
 spise the Saviour's righteousness. 
 
 He that trusts his own heart, is a fool : and yet 
 such fools are we, as to trust our own hearts. 
 The Lord searches all hearts by his omnisciency ; 
 but he searches his people's hearts by the eye of 
 his mercy. If a man would know whether the sun 
 shines, it is better to view its beams on the pave- 
 ment, than its body in the firmament. The readi- 
 est way to know whether you are in Christ, is to 
 know Avhether Christ be in you : for the fruit on 
 the tree is more visible than the root of the tree. 
 
 1 8. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is, To set out for God at our beginning, and to 
 hold out with God unto the end. 
 
 First, To set out for God at our beginning. Re- 
 member now thy Creator in the days of thy youth ; 
 while the evil days come not, nor the years draw 
 nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in 
 them. In the distillation of strong waters, the 
 first drawn is fullest of spirits. The first of the 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 121 
 
 first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the 
 house of the Lord thy God. God prizes a Christian 
 in the bud ; and delights in the blossoms of youth^ 
 above the sheddings of old age. 
 
 Is it not a pity that those plants should be found 
 in Egypt, that will thrive so well in Canaan? 
 
 Naturalists inform us, that the most oriental 
 pearls are generated of the morning dew. Had 
 any of the children of Israel stayed to pass through 
 the Red Sea with the Egyptians, they would pro- 
 bably have perished with them. That field is full 
 of the richest corn, which is cleansed from its 
 noxious weeds in the spring. 
 
 How pleasant is it to see the thousands of Israel 
 seeking the heavenly manna in the morning of 
 their lives ! Is it not better to cry for mercy on 
 earth with the publican, than to call for water in 
 hell with Dives ? To discover grace in an old 
 sinner, is well ; but to view it in vigorous youth, 
 is better. All the beasts of sacrifice were offered 
 to God in their prime. Jesus was carried in tri- 
 umph upon a colt, the foal of an ass. 
 
 No music could ever equalize the heaven-born 
 cries of new-born babes. When the snow-drops 
 of youth appear in the garden of the church, it evin- 
 ces that there is a glorious summer approaching. 
 
 If youth be sick of the will-nots, old age is in 
 danger of dying of the shall-nots. It is hard to 
 cast off the devil's yoke, when we have worn it 
 long upon our necks. Can a man he born again 
 when he is old ? Grace seldom grafts upon such 
 withered stocks. — An old sinner is nearer to the 
 second death, than he is to the second birth. It 
 
122 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 is more likely to see him taken out of the flesh, 
 than the flesh taken out of him. His body is 
 nearer to corruption, than his soul is to salvation. 
 
 Where the enemy is the strongest, there the 
 victory is the hardest. Usually, where the devil 
 pleads antiquity, he keeps propriety. As there are 
 none so old, as that they should despair of mercy j 
 so there are none so young, as that they should 
 presume on mercy. If God's to-day be too soon 
 for thy repentance, thy to-morrow may be too 
 late for his acceptance. Mercy's clock does not 
 always strike at our back. The longer poison 
 stays in the stomach, so much the more dangerous 
 are its effects. O how amiable are tbe golden ap- 
 ples of grace, in the silver pictures of blooming 
 youth ! God prizes a young fri.end, but punishes 
 an old enemy. Old sinners are much like old ser- 
 pents, the fullest of poison. 
 
 It is singularly pleasant to view the Ancient of 
 dmjs, in infants in clays ; and to see green pieces 
 of timber being squared for the celestial building. 
 Blessed are those, in whom grace is in its pros- 
 perity, while their nature is in its minority. / 
 have more understanding than mij teachers. His 
 youth was wiser than their age. His dawning 
 was brighter than their noon-tide : and this was 
 the more admirable, because it was in his youth j 
 for when our lives are the most vigorous, our lusts 
 are the most boisterous. 
 
 You teach a cur while he is a whelp, and break 
 a horse while he is a colt. A plentiful harvest is 
 the issue of an early seed-time. 
 
 Young reader, remember that your youthful sins 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 123 
 
 lay a foundation for aged sorrows. You have but 
 one arrow to shoot at the mark ; and if that be 
 shot at random, God may never put another into 
 your bow. 
 
 / am Alpha and Omega ; the beginning and the 
 ending ; the first and the last. He that is the first 
 and the last, should be served from the first to the 
 last. You can never come too soon to him who is 
 your beginning ; and you can never stay too long 
 with him who is your ending. The flower of life 
 is of Christ's setting ; and shall it be of the devil's 
 cropping? 
 
 But what is setting out, without holding out? 
 Mutability is at best but the badge of infirmity. It 
 can only be those trees which are unsound at their 
 roots, that cease from putting forth leaves in their 
 season. Those who at present are inwardly cor- 
 rupt, will in futurity be openly profane. False 
 grace is always declining, till it be wholly lost 3 
 but true grace goes from a morning's dawn unto 
 a meridian splendour. The wool on the sheep's 
 back, if it be shorn, will grow again j but the 
 wool on the sheep's skin, clip that, and there will 
 come no more in its room. 
 
 Nature teaches us that there is nothing perma- 
 nent that is violent. A stone that is mounted up- 
 wards, when it loses its impress, sinks downwards. 
 It is just to be cast off from God, for casting oft' 
 the ways and work of God. A finger divorced 
 from the hand receives no influence from the 
 head. He that deserts his colours, deserves to be 
 cashiered the camp. 
 
 Many have gone from one religion unto all, till 
 at last they are come from all religions unto none. 
 
124 
 
 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 — Eveiy variation from unity, is but a progression 
 towards nullity. Be thou faithful unto death, and 
 I will give thee a crown of life. He hath a crown 
 for the runner^ but a curse for the run-away. God 
 accounts not himself served at all, if he be not al- 
 ways served. It is not enough to begin our course 
 well, unless it be crowned with perseverance. 
 . We live in the fall of the leaf; divers trees did 
 put forth fair blossoms, but their flattering spring 
 is turned into an unfruitful winter 3 and their clear 
 mornings have been overcast with the thickest 
 clouds. The corn which promised a large harvest 
 in the blade of profession, is blasted in the ear. 
 The light remains no longer than while the sun 
 shines. When God ceases to be gracious, man 
 ceases to be righteous. 
 
 The flowers of paradise would quickly wither on 
 earth, if they were not watered w^ith drops from 
 heaven. How have the mighty fallen, when the 
 Almighty hath not stood by them ! The devil 
 would soon put out our candles, if Christ did not 
 carry them in his lantern. Be not weary in well 
 doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint 
 not. To see a ship sink in the harbour of profes- 
 sion, is more grievous than if it had perished in 
 the open sea of profaneness. 
 
 There goes the same power to strengthen a saint 
 as to quicken a sinner. He who sets us up and 
 makes us holy, must keep us up and make us 
 steady. How many professors have seemed to be 
 just ready to cast an eternal anchor, when a con- 
 trary wind has drove them to sea, and they have 
 perished for ever ! Ephraim, what shall I do 
 unto thee ? and, Judah, what shall I do unto thee ? 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 125 
 
 Why, what is the matter ? Your goodness is as a 
 mormng cloud, and as the early dew it goeth awaij. 
 
 Some have beat Jebn's march ; they have driven 
 furiously in religion, but within a few years they 
 have knocked oft" their chariot wheels. After they 
 have Hfted up their hands to God, they have lifted 
 up their heels against him. That man's beginning 
 was in hypocrisy, whose ending is in apostacy. — 
 Reader, you look for happiness as long as God 
 hath a being in heaven, and God looks for holiness 
 as long as you have a being on earth. He that 
 endures to the end shall be saved. 
 
 If amj man draiv back, my soul shall have no 
 pleasure in him. He that draws back from his 
 profession on earth, shall be kept back from any 
 possession in heaven. He that departs in the 
 faith, shall be saved ; but he that departs yVom the 
 faith, shall be damned. 
 
 That mariner has no praise, who sinks his ship 
 before he comes to the harbour 3 that soldier ob- 
 tains no glory, who lays down his arms in the 
 heat of the battle. Some say, that the chrysolite, 
 which is of a golden colour in the morning, loses 
 its splendour before the evening : such are the 
 glittering shews of hypocrites. Though fiery me- 
 teors fall to the earth, yet fixed stars remain in 
 heaven. 
 
 When once that fire which is laid on God's altar 
 is kindled, it shall no more be quenched. Grace 
 may be shaken in the soul, but it cannot be shaken 
 out of the soul. It may be a bruised reed, but it 
 shall never be a broken reed. 
 
 Christ is more tender of his body mystical, than 
 M 3 . 
 
126 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 he was of his body natural. Though a believer 
 may fall foully, yet he shall never fall finally. 
 The gates of hell shall not prevail against the 
 heirs of heaven. 
 
 The fiery darts of the devil, which in themselves 
 are intentionally mortal, shall be to saints even- 
 tually medicinal : these bees may sting him, but 
 their venom shall not destroy him. His light may 
 be eclipse}! for a time 3 but the sun will break 
 forth again. 
 
 Under the law, the Lord had his evening as well 
 as his morning sacrifice. No man that puts his 
 hand to the plough, and looks back, is Jit for the 
 kingdom of God. Our labours are never fulfilled, 
 till our days are fulfilled. There is nothing con- 
 stant, but what is pleasant. Though a saint may 
 sometimes be weary in doing the work of the Lord, 
 yet he is at no time weary of doing the work of the 
 Lord. There may be a suspension of the operation 
 of grace j but there cannot be a destruction of the 
 being of grace. This babe may lie upon a sick- 
 bed ; but it shall never lie upon a death-bed. 
 
 Christ is stiled the finisher of our faith, as well 
 as the author of our faith. There is as much ne- 
 cessity for the Spirit to keep up our graces, as 
 there is to bring forth our graces. 
 
 Indifference in religion, is the first step to apos- 
 tacy from religion. Though Christians be not kept 
 altogether from falling ; yet they are kept from fall- 
 ing altogether. They may shew an indifference 
 toward Christ for a time 5 but they shall not de- 
 part from Christ for ever. The trees of righteous- 
 ness may have their autumn 3 but they shall also 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 127 
 
 have their spring. There is never so low an ebb, 
 but there is also as high a tide. 
 
 Christians are like crocodiles, which grow till 
 they die : or like the moon, which increases her 
 beauty till she is at the full. They have no desire 
 of putting off the robes of purity, while they are 
 on this side eternity. They wish to hold the sword 
 of religion in their hands, till God sets the crown 
 of glory upon their heads. 
 
 Professing reader, if the service of God be not 
 the way of safety to you, why do you set forth in 
 it ? but if it be, why do you shrink back from it ? 
 Usually, they who ride fastest at the beginning of 
 their journey, are the first who talk of halting on 
 the road. — See what a sparkling diamond there is 
 set in the Apostle's crown : I have fought a good 
 Jight, I have finished my course, I have kept the 
 faith ; henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown 
 of glory. Paul the warrior, was Paul the coU' 
 queror ; and Paul the conqueror, was Paul the 
 crowned. 
 
 Jesus Christ is never a father to abortive chil- 
 dren. Where he gives strength to conceive, he 
 gives strength to bring forth. He turns the bruis- 
 ed reed into a brazen pillar, and the smoking flax 
 into a prevailing flame. 
 
 1 9. Another singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To take all the shame of his sins unto him- 
 self, and to give all the glory of his services unto 
 Christ. 
 
 Many people take all the glory of their services 
 to themselves, and lay all the shame of their sins 
 on him j as if he who died on earth to redeem us 
 
128 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOK 
 
 from them, shall live in heaven to confirm us in 
 them. 
 
 The devil may flatter us, but he cannot force us 5 
 he may tempt us to sin, but he cannot compel us 
 to sin. He could never come oft" a conqueror, 
 were he not joined by our forces. They're is his, 
 but the tinder is ours. He could never enter into 
 our houses, if we did not set open our doors. 
 
 Many complain for want of liberty, who thrust 
 their feet in satan's fetters. The woman thou gav- 
 est me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. As 
 if he had said, I took that as a gift from her, whom 
 thou gavest as a gift to me. It is the worst of sins 
 to charge God with our sins. They may receive 
 their punishment from him, but they shall never 
 receive their nourishment from him. He cannot 
 be the unrighteous upholder of what he is the righ- 
 teous avenger. 
 
 O blasphemy, to charge that sun with darkness, 
 by which the heavens are enlightened j or that sea 
 with a want of moisture, by which the whole earth 
 is watered ! Our impiety is as truly the offspring 
 of our souls, as our posterity is the issue of our 
 bodies. Evenj good and perfect gift cometh from 
 above, from the Father of light, with whom is no 
 variableness, neither shadow of turning. Whatso- 
 ever is truly good, hath its origin in God. Now 
 the same spring cannot send forth both sweet and 
 bitter waters. It is a known rule, that contraries 
 destroy each other. 
 
 Many have more leaves to cover their wicked- 
 ness, than they have garments to cover their na- 
 kedness. They lay their heresy at the door of the 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 129 
 
 sanctuary ; and call their diabolical seductions, 
 evangelical revelations ; as if the Father of light 
 could bring forth the issues of darkness. What 
 is this, but to set a crown of lead upon a head of 
 gold ? 
 
 We can defile ourselves, but we cannot cleanse 
 oui'selves. The sheep can go astray alone, but can 
 never return to the fold without the assistance of 
 the shepherd. Till we taste the bitterness of our 
 own misery, we shall never relish the sweetness of 
 God's mercy. Till we see how foul our sins have 
 made us, we shall never pay our tribute of praise 
 to Christ for washing us. 
 
 If we were left to ourselves but for a moment, 
 we should destroy ourselves in that moment. We 
 are like glasses without a bottom, Avhich are no 
 sooner loosed than they fall. Many advance them- 
 selves to depreciate Christy but we should look' 
 upon ourselves as nothing, and Christ as every 
 thing. Nevertheless I live ,• yet not I, hut Christ 
 livetli in me. Paul was wiUing to be esteemed a 
 cypher, so that Christ might stand for a figure. 
 Well may we abase ourselves for his advancement, 
 who abased himself for our establishment. Let 
 Luther be accounted a devil, so Christ may he exalt- 
 ed as a God ; said that flaming seraph of himself. 
 
 Without me, ye can do nothing. The pen may 
 as soon write without the hand that holds it, as our 
 hearts work except the Spirit move them. Not 
 only the enjoyment of our talents is from God 3 
 but the improvement of them is from him. Lord, 
 thy 'pound hath gained ten pounds. It is not my 
 pains, but thy pound, that hath done it. 
 
130 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The children of God arc like a clock, which soon 
 stands still, if it be not wound up. Did not our 
 hearts burn within us P But how long did the 
 flame last? All the time he talked with them. 
 When he gave over breathing on them, their fuel 
 gave over burning. 
 
 Gracious hearts are like stars in the heavens, 
 which shine not by their own splendour. He that 
 takes the brick, must give the straw to make it. 
 There is no water except he smite the rock, nor 
 fire except he strike the flint. 
 
 If he call us to the work of angels, he will supply 
 us with the strength of angels. For when we were 
 without strength, in due time Christ died for the un- 
 godly. A Christless soul is also a strengthless soul. 
 Man is indebted to God for what he has, but God 
 is not beholden to man for what he does. For of 
 him, and through him, and to him, are all things ; 
 to whom he glory for ever, Amen ! The humble 
 heart knows no foundation but God's grace ; and 
 tlie upright man knows no end but God's glory. 
 
 Waters may rise as high as they fall. Whatso- 
 ever action hath God for its author, hath God for 
 its centre. A circular line makes its ending where 
 it had its beginning. 
 
 Reader, take heed of turning a sacred privilege 
 into a privy sacrilege. If God give that grace 
 which is not due to you, will you deny the praise 
 which is due to him ? 
 
 The wicked make their end their God 3 but we 
 make God our end. The Armament is made more 
 glorious by one sun, than by all the stars that stud 
 the heavens. Thus Jesus Christ hath more glory 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 131 
 
 given to him from one saint, than from all the 
 world beside. He takes more pleasure in their 
 prayers, and is more honoured by their praise. 
 
 Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do 
 all to the glory of God. From the lowest act of 
 nature, to the highest act of grace, there is no argu- 
 ment for the pride of man ; but every consideration 
 for the praise of God. If he make our nature gra- 
 cious, we should make his name glorious. He that 
 would be fingering the honour of God, is not wor- 
 thy to receive the honour of a man. Caesar once 
 said to his opponent, ' Either I will be Caesar, or 
 nobody.' So the Lord saith. Either I will be a 
 great God, or no God. That man disparages the 
 beauty of the sun, who sets it upon a level with 
 the twinkling stars. 
 
 The glory of God is the golden butt at which 
 all the arrows of obedience are shot, otherwise 
 they fall short of their mark. 
 
 The body has two eyes, but the soul must have 
 but one ; and that so firmly fixed upon Christ, as 
 never once to glance beside him. A single eye is 
 fittest for a single object. 
 
 When the people saw what Paul had done, they 
 lifted up their voices, saying. The Gods are come 
 down to us in the likeness of men. But do they 
 take that glory to themselves, which is idolatrous- 
 ly given to them from others ? No. Why do you 
 these things ? we also are men of like passions with 
 you. As if they had said. We are so far from pos- 
 sessing the glorious perfections of God, that we a.re 
 clothed with all the weaknesses and passions of men. 
 
 Ungodly Herod was not like Paul and Silas, 
 
132 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The people gave a shout, saying. It is the voice of 
 a God, and not of a mail ! What the people gave 
 foolishly, he took fearlessly . And immediately the 
 angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not 
 God the glory. Ah, how soon this worm-eaten 
 wretch was a wretch eaten up of worms I Every 
 little river pays its tribute to the great sea ; and 
 shall we refuse ours to the great God ? 
 
 As there is no time in which God is not blessing 
 his children 3 so there should be no time in which 
 his people are not blessing him. As he designs 
 our happiness in all he does j so it is but reason- 
 able that we should seek his honour in all we do. 
 We have no way to turn the streams unto God, 
 the ocean of all bounty, but through the pipes of 
 gratitude. 
 
 Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made 
 us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the 
 saints in light. It is very meet that he should be 
 magnified by us, when he makes us meet to be glo- 
 rified with him. The whisperings of the voice 
 are echoed back in an exact concave. 
 
 The body of man can stoop for a pin, as well 
 as for a pound. As the best of means should make 
 us fruitful, so the least of mercies should make us 
 thankful. The four and twenty elders fall down 
 before him that sitteth on the throne, and worship 
 him that liveth for ever. Whatsoever ointment is 
 poured out upon Christ's head, will run down to 
 the skirts of his garment. What a saint gives to 
 Christ in copper, shall be returned to him in sil- 
 ver : yea, the only way to keep our crowns on our 
 heads, is to cast them down at his feet, 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 133 
 
 20. The last singular action of a sanctified Chris- 
 tian, is. To value a heavenly reversion above an 
 earthly possession. 
 
 Some say, that a bird in the hand is worth two 
 in the bush ; but surely such a bird in the bush is 
 worth two in the hand. If others dote upon the 
 streams, let us admire the fountain. 
 
 Socrates being asked what countryman he was ; 
 answered, ' I am a citizen of the whole world.' 
 But ask a Christian what countiyman he is ; and 
 he will answer, ' I am a citizen of all heaven.* 
 Believers build their tombs where others build their 
 tabernacles. The men of the world fix upon the 
 things of the world ; that is the cabinet wherein 
 they lock up all their jewels. Though God has 
 given the earth to beasts, yet such beasts are men, 
 as to give themselves to the earth. 
 
 It was the saying of a cursed cardinal, 'I prefer 
 a part in the honours of Paris, to a part in the 
 happiness of paradise.' What is the glimmering 
 of a candle, to the shining of the sun ? or the va- 
 lue of brass, compared with gold ? Thoughtless 
 children are taken up more with present counters, 
 than with future crowns. Thus, while the sha- 
 dow is embraced, the substance is neglected j and 
 short-sighted man courts the veil, when he should 
 admire the face. 
 
 That man who is a labouring bee for earthly 
 prosperity, will be but an idle drone for heavenly 
 felicity. If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things 
 which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right 
 hand of God. 
 
 There is no need of blotting out the characters 
 
134 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 of our affections, but of writing them on fairer pa- 
 per. There is no necessity for drying up these 
 running waters, but for diverting them into their 
 proper channels. Why should we wholly destroy 
 these valuable plants, when they might thrive so 
 well in a better soil ? He who looks upon heaven 
 with desire, will look upon earth with disdain. 
 Our affections were made for the things which 
 are above us, and not for the things which are 
 about us. 
 
 What is an earthly manor, compared to an hea- 
 venly mansion ? As carnal things seem small to 
 a spiritual man, so spiritual things appear small to 
 a carnal man. There is no moving after things 
 beyond the sphere of our own knowledge. Hea- 
 ven is to the worldling as a mine of gold covered 
 with earth and rubbish ; or as a bed of pearl en- 
 closed in a heap of sand. But if he had the eyes 
 of an eagle to see it, he would wish for the wings 
 of an eagle to soar unto it. 
 
 How little would the great world seem to us, if 
 the great God were not so little in us. Either men 
 have no thoughts of a future state, or else they 
 have low thoughts of a future state. If we had 
 souls without any bodies, then there would be no 
 need of the earth to keep us ; if we had bodies 
 without any souls, there would be no need of hea- 
 ven to crown us. 
 
 Such as have no present holiness, are for a pre- 
 sent happiness. There he 7nany that say. Who 
 will shew us any good ? Any good will serve the 
 turns of those who know not the chief good. But 
 David adds^ Lord, lift thou up the light of thy 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 135 
 
 countenance upon us. O how sordid is it for men 
 to prefer the garlic and onions of Egypt, to the 
 milk and honey of Canaan ! Visible things to 
 them, are better than invisible. They mind the 
 world that is come so much, as if it would never 
 have an end • and the world to come so little, as 
 if it would never have a beginning. 
 
 Reader, why should you be so taken up with 
 your riches, when you will be so soon taken from 
 your riches ? Why do you dote upon a flower, 
 which a day may wither r As you are travelling 
 beyond the world, so also it would be your wisdom 
 to be trading above the world. But, alas, such 
 are not easily awaked, who fall so fast asleep on 
 the world's pillow. 
 
 When the Gauls had tasted the wine of Italy, 
 they asked where the grapes grew j and would 
 never be quiet till they came there. Thus may 
 you cry, that I had the wings of a dove, that I 
 might Jtij away and be at rest ! A believer is will- 
 ing to lose the world, for the enjoyment of grace ; 
 and he is willing to leave the world, for the frui- 
 tion of glory. 
 
 As the worst on this side eternity, compared 
 with hell, is mercy ; so the best on this side eter- 
 nity, compared with heaven, is misery. There is 
 no more comparison to be made between heaven 
 and earth, than there is between a piece of rusty 
 iron and refined gold. St. Austin saith, * The hope 
 of life immortal, is the life of our mortal lives.' 
 It is the expectation of a future glorious heritage, 
 which is the Jacob's-staff of saints, with which 
 they walk through this dark pilgrimage. 
 
136 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are 
 of all men the most miserable ; but because we 
 have hope in Christ after this Hfe, we may be of 
 all men the most comfortable. Though we have 
 desires in the world, yet we have no desires after 
 the world. For in this we groan earnestly, desir- 
 ing to be clothed upon with our house which is 
 from heaven. A believer longs most for that place 
 where he shall be best. He not only grows in 
 grace, but groans for glory. 
 
 Perfection is the boundary of the strongest ex- 
 pectation. As it is satisfied with nothing less, so 
 it looks for nothing more. Every thing in eterni- 
 ty is wound up to its highest capacity. It is in 
 heaven that mercy will be received unmixed, and 
 majesty viewed unveiled. What is a worthless 
 pebble, compared with a matchless pearl ? 
 
 What a sweet salutation is that of the Saviour 
 to his servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord ! 
 O, what joy shall enter into the believer, when he 
 shall enter into the joy of his Redeemer ! Then 
 the vessels of mercy shall have sea-room enough 
 in the ocean of glory. 
 
 Those whom love has closely united together, 
 cannot contentedly dwell for ever asunder. Co7ne, 
 ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
 pared for you, before the foundation of the world. 
 That which makes hell so full of horror, is, that 
 it is below all hopes ; and that which makes hea- 
 ven so full of splendour, is, that it is above all 
 fears. The one is a night without the return of 
 day 3 the other is a day free from the approach 
 of night. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 137 
 
 Who would not seek after glory with the great- 
 est diligence, and wait for glory with the greatest 
 patience ? seeing we advance the interest, while 
 we stay for the principal. 
 
 There are some deluded professors, who aspire 
 after earthly grandeur 3 as if the place where saints 
 are crucified were the place whei^e they are glori- 
 ed. This were to consider the church in a trium- 
 phant, rather than in a militant condition. The 
 ark of the church, which is now tossed upon a tu- 
 multuous sea, shall then rest in the harbour of 
 eternal tranquillity. 
 
 In my Father s house are mamj mansions : I go 
 to prepare a place for you. Our Redeemer is our 
 forerunner. He that takes possession of us on 
 earth, takes possession for us in heaven. As we 
 are not long here without him, so he will not be 
 long there without us. Here all the earth is not 
 enough for one carnal man, but there one heaven 
 shall be enough for all Christian men. In this 
 life there are showers of tears fall from the saint's 
 eyes, but in that life there shall be a sunshine of 
 glory in the saint's heart. 
 
 Many temptations may withstand a heaven-born 
 soul, but no temptation shall finally prevail against 
 him. Flying birds are never taken in a fowler's 
 snare. What is all that M'e enjoy here, but as a 
 dying spark of that living flame ? as a languishing 
 ray of that illustrious sun ? or as a small drop of 
 that overflowing spring ? 
 
 In whom, though now ye see him not, yet believ- 
 ing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glo- 
 ry. If there be so much delight in believing, oh, 
 n3 
 
138 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 how much is there in beholding ! What is the 
 wooing day, to the wedding day? What is the 
 seaUngof the conveyance, to the enjoyment of the 
 inheritance ? or the fore-tastes of glory, to the ful- 
 ness of glory? The good things of that life are 
 so great, as not to be measured ; so many, as not 
 to be enumerated ; and so precious, as not to be 
 estimated. 
 
 If the picture of holiness be so comely in its 
 rough draught, how lovely a piece will it be in all 
 its perfections ! Every grace which is here seen 
 in its minority, shall be seen there in its maturitij. 
 
 APPLICATION. 
 
 Having dispatched that which is doctrinal, I now 
 come to the discussion of that which is practical. 
 And I shall here propose two considerations : 
 
 First, For the erection of singular principles. 
 
 Secondly, The direction of singular practices. 
 
 I. For the erection of singular principles. 
 
 Natural men obey natural principles, and spirit- 
 ual men obey spiritual principles. No man can ex- 
 pect that bitter roots should produce sweet fruits. 
 Though civil principles may be kindled at the 
 torch of nature, yet sacred principles are lighted 
 at the blaze of scripture. 
 
 Now there are twenty singular principles, which 
 I shall consider as the rise and spring of singular 
 practices. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 139 
 
 ]. The first principle that believers walk by, 
 is this : That whatsoever is transacted by men on 
 earth, is eyed by the Lord in heaven. 
 
 A man may hide God from himself, and yet he 
 cannot hide himself from God. This, even a pro- 
 digal could acknowledge : I have sinned against 
 heaven, and in thy sight. When a man wishes God 
 to be like himself, it argues that he is vicious ; but 
 when he desires to be like God, it indicates that 
 he is virtuous. 
 
 A false God would be most acceptable to a false 
 heart. For, their idols are silver and gold, the 
 work of mens hands. They have mouths, but they 
 speak not for our direction ; eyes have they, but 
 they see not our condition 3 they have ears, but 
 they hear not our supplication 3 they have hands, 
 but they work not our redemption. These were 
 not the gods that made men 3 but the' gods that 
 men made. 
 
 But all things are naked and open before the eyes 
 of him with whom we have to do. We cannot al- 
 ways see his will in his works, but he can always 
 discover our works in our will. To him the most 
 hidden roots are as visible as the uppermost bran- 
 ches. Though the place where we sin be to men 
 as dark as Egypt, yet to God it is as light as Go- 
 shen. 
 
 That advice which one gave to his friend pri- 
 vately, is worthy to be adopted publicly. ^ So act 
 towards men, as in the sight of God : and so pray 
 to God, as in the sight of men.' He is a bold 
 thief who will cut your purse while you look in 
 his face. 
 
140 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes ; 
 hut the Lord weigheth the spirits. The Lord sees 
 faults where men see none. Atoms, which are in- 
 visible in the candle-light of reason, are all made 
 to dance naked in the sun-shine of omniscience. 
 
 Cato was so grave and so good a man, that none 
 TTOuld behave unseemly in his presence : whence 
 it grew to a proverbial caveat, ' Take heed what 
 you do_, for Cato sees you I' How reproachful is 
 it to us, that the eyes of a man should have more 
 eflfect upon our manners, than the penetrating 
 eyes of God ! 
 
 Mom us, one of the heathen gods, is said to have 
 complained of Vulcan, that he had not set a grate 
 at every man's breast. God hath a glazed win- 
 dow in the darkest houses of clay : he sees what 
 is done in them, when none other can. To God's 
 omnipotence there is nothing impossible ; and to 
 God's omniscience there is nothing invisible, I 
 never look for those persons to strain at gnats, who 
 ■will easily and greedily swallow camels. 
 
 What is the reason that men do the works of 
 darkness, but that they think they do their works 
 in gross darkness ? They suppose that no eye sees 
 them, no not his eye, that doth nothing else but see. 
 yind thou say est, how doth God know ? can he judge 
 through the dark cloud ? Thick clouds are a cov- 
 ering to him, that he seeth not. Ah, how fain 
 would the hand of man draw a veil over the face 
 of God. 
 
 An unsound creature would be an unseen crea- 
 ture. Understand, ye brutish among the people; 
 and, ye fools, when will ye be wise ? He that 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 141 
 
 planted the ear, shall he not hear ? he that formed 
 the eye, shall he not see ? What, will you make 
 him deaf, who gives you ears ? and him blind, 
 who gives you eyes ? This is acting like a beast 
 among men, and not as a man among beasts. But, 
 the Lord knoiveth the thoughts of men, that they 
 are vanity. And this is the vainest thought of 
 tbem all, that he knows not the vanity of their 
 thoughts. 
 
 Reader, you cannot set down your lusts in such 
 characters, but that the eyes of God can read them. 
 As he can save in the greatest extremity, so he can 
 see in the deepest obscurity. 
 
 Plato saith of the king of Lydia, that he had a 
 ring, with which, when he turned the head to the 
 palm of his hand, he could see every person 3 and 
 yet he himself remain invisible. Though we can- 
 not see God while we live, yet he can see how we 
 live. For his eyes are upon the ways of man ; and 
 he seeth all his goings. Man may gild over the 
 leaves of a blurred life with^the profession of holi- 
 ness J but God can unmask the painted Jezebel of 
 hypocrisy, and lay her naked to her own shame. 
 
 Because sin has put out our eyes, we vainly im- 
 agine that it hath put out God's. Because we be- 
 hold not what he does in heaven for us, we think 
 that he sees not what we do on earth against him. 
 
 Men care not what they do, when they believe 
 that God sees not what is done. They slay the 
 widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. 
 They say, the Lord shall not see, neither shall the 
 God of Jacob regard it. The adulterer waits for 
 the twilight. His sin gets up, when the sun goes 
 
142 
 
 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 down. The time of darkness pays most tribute to 
 the prince of darkness. There are many that blush 
 to confess their faults, who never blush to commit 
 them. 
 
 When poor Adam had sinned, he sought not the 
 fairest fruits to satisfy his hunger, but the broadest 
 leaves to cover his nakedness. It is God's graci- 
 ous eye placed upon us, that makes us religious j 
 and it is our believing eye fixed on him, that keeps 
 us prosperous. What servant is there, who would 
 sleep under the view of his master ? or what sol- 
 dier would appear a coward in the presence of his 
 prince ? 
 
 2. Another principle by which a Christian should 
 walk, is this : That after all his present receivings, 
 he will be brought to his future reckonings. 
 
 Thus the certain rich man dealt with his stew- 
 ard : Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou 
 mayest be no longer steward. Man's enjoyment of 
 outward blessings, is not a lordship, but a steward- 
 ship. God communicaf-es those good things of life 
 to men, not that they should lay them up for their 
 own vanity j but that they should lay them out for 
 his glory. The richest man had as poor a begin- 
 ning as the meanest • and the poorest will have as 
 rich an end as the wealthiest. 
 
 So teach us to number our days, that we may ap- 
 ply our hearts unto wisdom, St. Austin says, ' We 
 can never do that, except vt^e number every day as 
 our last day.' Many put far the evil day. They 
 refuse to leave the earth, when the earth is about 
 to take its leave of them. 
 
 Persons of the greatest eminence have anciently 
 
IX HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 143 
 
 had their monitors. Agathocles, a Sicilian prince, 
 had his earthen plate set before him, to remind 
 him that he had been a putter. The Roman tri- 
 umphers, in the meridian of their splendour, had 
 a servant behind them, crying to each. Memento te 
 esse hominenu That is, ' Remember that you are 
 only a man.' 
 
 Men, who are gods in office, are too apt to think 
 themselves gods in essence: but the change of the 
 name can make no change in the man. The roy- 
 al psalmist, who was raised to princely dignity, 
 ridicules such an haughty prince's vanity : I have 
 said, ye are gods, but ye shall die like men. All 
 human divinity will soon be shrouded in mortali- 
 ty j and those who would appear as gods before 
 men, shall soon appear as men before God. 
 
 Death levels the highest mountains with the 
 lowest valleys. He mows down the fairest lilies, 
 as well as the foulest thistles. The robes of illus- 
 trious princes, and the rags of homely peasants, are 
 both laid aside in the wardrobe of the grave. 
 
 As the cloud and the pillar which led Israel 
 through the wilderness, left them on the brink of 
 Jordan j so shall all the glittering shows of life be 
 forgotten in the solemn article of death. Then 
 those ungodly mortals, who were determined not 
 to approach a throne of grace, shall be obliged to 
 appear before a throne of judgment. For we must 
 all appear before the judgment- seat of Christ; that 
 every one may receive the things done in his body, 
 according to that he hath done, whether it be good 
 or bad. 
 
 At the shrill voice of the last trumpet, every 
 
144 THE- NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 gaoler shall deliver up all his prisoners. Now w - 
 see the living fall into the arms of death j but then 
 we shall behold the dead awake, and rise to an 
 unchanging life. Then the scattered dust of all 
 Adam's children shall ride upon the wings of the 
 wind, till it meet together in its own bodies. 
 
 Then the purchased bodies of saints shall be 
 claimed by their heavenly owner. Thy dead men 
 shall live ; together with my dead body shall they 
 arise; awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust. 
 All the various animals which have feasted on 
 human flesh, shall then find that their food was 
 too rich for digestion. The bellies of beasts and 
 whales are not always to be the bed of God's Jo- 
 nahs. Death will cut us down • but he shall not 
 eternally keep us down. 
 
 Now the same glorious person who shall come 
 t^o raise the dead, will also come to judge the dead. 
 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men 
 by Jesus^ Christ, according to my gospel. The same 
 rule which God has given the world to act by, the 
 same rule has he taken to himself to judge by. 
 
 Reader, if you obstinately and finally disobey the 
 precious truth of God, revealed from heaven to 
 you J you must sufl'er the eternal wrath of God, 
 revealed from heaven against you. Though you 
 may now hardenedly resist the judgments which 
 he sets before your eyes; yet you cannot then 
 resist those which he will angrily pour out upon 
 your soul. 
 
 Poor sinner ! will you yet so wilfully embrace 
 those poisonous vipers, your lusts, which will so 
 assuredly sting you with the pains of eternal death ? 
 
IS HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 145 
 
 Why will you rashly pursue any thing in this 
 world, which will subject you to the intolerable 
 curse of God in another ? 
 
 God hath appointed a day in which he will judge 
 the world in righteousness,, by that man whom he 
 hath ordained. It is the Son of man, by whom 
 the believing world was redeemed; and it will be 
 by the same Son of man, that the whole world 
 shall be judged. He who was guarded to the cross 
 by a band of soldiers, shall soon be attended to the 
 bench by a shining company of angels. 
 
 The ancient Thebans pictured their judges with- 
 out eyes, that they might not respect persons 3 and 
 without Bands, to denote that no bribes should be 
 received. But the Judge of all the earth shall do 
 right. The wills of human judges are to be regu- 
 lated by the laws of righteousness j but so glorious 
 is the heavenly Judge, that even the laws of righte- 
 ousness are regulated by his will. As all his works 
 are great and marvellous, so are all his ways just 
 and righteous. 
 
 Reader, there will be no possibility of standing 
 before Christ, but by standing in Christ. What 
 hopes can you entertain of an acquittal at the 
 general assize, if your conscience condemn you 
 before you appear at the bar ? 
 
 Those who freight their minds with carnal plea- 
 sures, will one day be condemned for carrying con- 
 traband commodities. Rejoice , young man, in 
 thy youth, and let thine heart cheer thee in the day& 
 of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine oiun 
 heart, and in the sight of thine own eyes. This 
 were brave indeed, if it could but be secured for 
 
146 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 ever : but, alas, after the flash of lightning, then 
 comes the dreadful clap of thunder : But know 
 thou, that for all these things God will bring thee 
 into judgment. This is just as if God had said, 
 ' Well, poor sinner, run down the hill as fast as 
 you please J but know, that you will be sure to 
 break your neck at last.' 
 
 This is the day of God's long-suffering, but the 
 judgment-day will be the day of the sinner's long- 
 suffering. Here the cords of patience do, as it 
 were, tie the hands of vengeance ; but our Sampson 
 may at last be roused, and break all these cords, 
 and then woe be to the Philistines ! Sinners may 
 have sparing patience exercised towards them ; and 
 yet, not have converting grace revealed in them. 
 All such, at the world's end, will be at their wit's 
 end. 
 
 He who now shakes his sword over the hardened 
 sinner's head, will in the great day sheath it in his 
 heart. In the awful storm of death, if his vessel be 
 wrecked, there will be no plank to swim to shore 
 upon. 
 
 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, 
 and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the 
 mighty men, and every bondman, and every free- 
 man, said to the mountains and rocks. Fall on us, 
 and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon 
 the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. Thus, 
 all who refuse and reject him as a refining fire_, 
 must be obliged to meet and feel him as a consum- 
 ing fire. How can they endure the wrath of the 
 Lamb, who have uniformly disregarded the death of 
 the Lamb r If the night of death find them grace- 
 less, the day of judgment will find them speechless. 
 
IX HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 147 
 
 St. Peter informs us of some, who deridingly 
 challenged God to come to judgment : There shall 
 come in the last days scoffers, walking after their 
 own lusts : and saying, Where is the promise of his 
 coming ? These cowards may boast and discharge 
 the artilleiy of their venom, and appear as conquer- 
 ing heroes at a distance ; but when he appears with 
 his naked sword, they will wish for the wings of 
 the wind, wherewith to make their escape. As a 
 d)ring man has generally a short revival before his 
 departure, and as an expiring candle gives a bright- 
 er glare when just going out 5 so these, in their 
 boasted security, will be surprised with eternal 
 misery. 
 
 As mercy lets no service pass unregarded, so jus- 
 tice lets no sin pass unrevenged. He who now 
 makes no account of his coming, will have a sad 
 account to give at his coming. 
 
 One observes, that the resurrection of the body 
 is placed between the forgiveness of sins and ever- 
 lasting glory J to shew, that then only can the 
 resurrection of the body be a benefit, when remis- 
 sion of sin precedes it, and eternal life succeeds it. 
 
 It is reported of an Hungarian king, who being 
 on a time extremely dejected, was asked the cause 
 of it by his brother : ' Oh ! I have been a great 
 sinner against God,' said he, ' and know not how 
 I shall appear before him in judgment !' His bro- 
 ther ridiculed these his thoughts as too melancholy, 
 and as unworthy of a moment's place in the breast 
 of a king. The king then made no further reply 3 
 but it was customary in that country, that if the 
 executioner sounded a trumpet at any man's door, 
 he was presently to be had forth to execution. 
 
148 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The king, at midnight, sent the trumpeter to 
 sound an alarm at his brother's door 5 which so 
 terrified him, that he ran to the king with a trem- 
 bling heart, a pale and frightful countenance, and 
 besought him to make known wherein he had of- 
 fended him. ' O brother,' said the king, ' you 
 have never displeased me : but if the sight of mine 
 executioner be so dreadful in your eyes, what must 
 the sight of God's be in mine V 
 
 Reader, if you have uniforaily lifted up your re- 
 bellious hand against Christ, how will you be able 
 to lift up your guilty head before Christ ? For God 
 shall bring every work into judgment, with every 
 secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be bad. 
 If men were to be their own judges, they would 
 never be just judges. But God shall bring every 
 work into judgment. As he is too merciful to 
 condemn the innocent, so he is too just to acquit 
 the guilty. 
 
 For by thy words thou shall be justified, and by 
 thy words thou shall be condemned. Though the 
 arrows of idle words may be shot out of sight for 
 a season- yet they will certainly hereafter fall 
 down upon the heads of those Avho discharged 
 them. Reader, if your servant be capable of of- 
 fending you by his words, is it not as reasonable 
 to suppose that you are capable of offending God 
 with your's ? 
 
 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and 
 cursing. Than a good tongue, there is nothing 
 better ; than an evil tongue, there is nothing worse. 
 Jesus Christ will in the great day pass a sentence 
 upon every sentence that has passed. There is in 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 149 
 
 the same rose, honey for the bee_, and poison for 
 the spider. 
 
 The same person who shall say, 'Come, ye bless- 
 ed,' will also say, *Go, ye cursed.' As blessing 
 and cursing proceed out of the mouth of the same 
 man, so they will out of the mouth of Christ. 
 Man's is a curse of wicked execration, but Christ's 
 is a curse of righteous execution. As the same 
 wind may send one vessel into the haven, and 
 sink another in the ocean ; so shall the same 
 voice of Christ doom the sinner to eternal death, 
 and welcome the saint to eternal life. That gate 
 which is opened for a citizen to go abroad for 
 recreation, may also be opened for a malefactor 
 to go out to execution. 
 
 Reader, how sad is that tragedy which shall 
 never be ended! On the stage of eternity, the 
 rich man's bags will be emptied, to see how the 
 poor man's box has been filled. Then the charge 
 of the pilgrim's journey will be examined in the 
 steward's accounts. Ah, how can you hear the 
 doleful knell of an everlasting funeral ! Will 
 those transient glances of former prosperity lessen 
 the intolerable weight of future calamity ? 
 
 The wheat and the chaff may grow together, but 
 they shall not always lie together. There may be 
 but the breathing of a few moments between the 
 sinner and everlasting burning. The day of re- 
 tribution will prove to him a day of separation. 
 While the wheat is secured in the garner, the 
 tares are consumed in the fire. 
 
 Sinner, if you now hold the righteous in derision, 
 you would then give a thousand worlds to be their 
 o3 
 
150 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 companion. Then their enjoyments will be in- 
 comparably pleasant, while your torments shall be 
 intolerably painful. The sea of damnation will 
 not be sweetened with a drop of compassion. If 
 once you fall into hell, you will, after millions of 
 ages are elapsed, be as far from coming out, as you 
 were at going in. 
 
 There will not be a sinner in heaven to interrupt 
 the joys of saints, nor a saint in hell to soften or 
 soothe the anguish of sinners. Those who have 
 the ear-mark of election, and those who have the 
 hand-mark of transgression, shall be put into se- 
 parate folds. 
 
 How will those magistrates appear, who have 
 stained the sword of authority with the blood of 
 innocency ? They have turned its back against the 
 vicious, and whet its edge against the righteous. 
 Many an unjust judge, who now sits confidently on 
 the bench, will then stand trembling at the bar. 
 
 How will those ministers appear, who, like the 
 dog and wolf, combine to macerate the flock? 
 who, instead of treading out the corn, tread it 
 down ? and instead of furthering the birth, have 
 strangled the child ? 
 
 How will fair-faced, gilded professors appear, 
 when they shall be found no better than hell's 
 freeholders? How will they appear, when the 
 painted sepulchre shall be opened, and the dead 
 men's bones disclosed ? They will not be judged 
 by the whiteness of their hands, but by the black- 
 ness of their consciences. The black hand must 
 then part with its white glove. That solemn day 
 will be too critical for the hypocritical. All those 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 151 
 
 who now colour for shew, will then be shewn in 
 their own colours. 
 
 3. Another principle that believers should walk 
 by, is this : That God bears a greater respect to 
 their hearts, than he doth to their works. 
 
 God looks most, where man looks least. My 
 Son, give me thine heart. We cannot trust God 
 with too much, or ourselves with too little. The 
 Jirst is our merciful keeper -, the last is our bar- 
 barous traitor. Here you have the dignity with 
 which a believer is invested, and the duty to which 
 he is invited. 
 
 The God of heaven and earth sues from heaven 
 to earth. He who is all in all to us, calls for that 
 which is all in all in us. We may commit our 
 estates into the hands of men, but we must not 
 commit our hearts into the hands of any but God. 
 There are none of our spirits so good, but he de- 
 serves them 5 or so bad, that he cannot refine them. 
 
 On whom do parents bestow their hearts, but 
 upon their children ? and on whom should children 
 bestow their' s, but upon their parents ? 
 
 Ah, how unwilling is man to give what he has 
 no right to keep ! As God prefers the heart to 
 every thing, such is the wickedness of man, that 
 he will give God any thing but the heart. This 
 people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and 
 honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far 
 from me. Heartless operations are but hearty dis- 
 simulation. Men may keep their works to them- 
 selves, if they refuse to yield their hearts to Jesus 
 Christ. He that regards the heart, without any 
 thing J he also will not regard any thing, without 
 the heart. 
 
152 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 / beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mer- 
 cies of God, that ye present your bodies a living 
 sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. He who 
 makes all he hath, has a right to have all he makes. 
 The formalist is all for outward activity, and the 
 sensualist is all for inward sincerity. The first 
 hath nothing within him, therefore he is for that 
 which is outward ; the second hath nothing with- 
 out, therefore he is for that which is inward. But 
 it is not the pretence of inward sincerity, that can 
 justify outward impiety ; nor a shew of outward 
 piety, that will excuse for inward hypocrisy. 
 
 Though the brain be the spring of sensitive mo- 
 tion, yet the heart is the original spring of vital 
 motion. The heart is the first that lives, and the 
 last that dies. O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from 
 wickedness : how long shall vain thoughts lodge 
 within thee ? Vain thoughts defile the heart, as 
 well as vile thoughts. Snails leave their slime 
 behind them, as well as serpents. 
 
 If the leprosy take hold of a single thread, it will 
 soon spread over the whole piece. Though sin- 
 ful thoughts will rise, yet they should not reign. 
 Though these birds may hover over the Christian's 
 heart, yet he cannot wish them to build their nests 
 in it. 
 
 The devil knows, that if there be any good trea- 
 sure, it is in our hearts ; and he would gladly have 
 the key of these cabinets, that he might rob us of 
 our jewels. A heart which is sanctified, is better 
 than a tongue that is silvered. He that gives only 
 the skin of worship to God, receives only the shell 
 of comfort from God. 
 
 It is not the bare touching of the strings, that 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 153 
 
 makes an harmonious tune. A spiritual man 
 may pray carnally, but a carnal man cannot pray 
 spiritually. If God's mercies do not eat out the 
 heart of our sins, our sins will soon eat out the 
 heart of our duties. A work that is heartless, is 
 a work that is fruitless. God cares not for the 
 crazy cabinet, but for the precious jewel. 
 
 It is said of Hannibal, the great Carthagenian 
 commander, that he was the first that went into 
 the field of battle, and the last that came out of it. 
 Thus should it be in all the operations of a Chris- 
 tian ; the heart should be the first that comes into 
 the house of God, and the last that goes out of it. 
 In prayer, the heart should first speak the words, 
 and then the words should speak the sentiments 
 of the heart. If the heart be inditing a good mat- 
 ter, the tongue then will be as the pen of a ready 
 writer. 
 
 It is observed of the spider, that in the morning, 
 before she seeks her prey, she mends her broken 
 web ; and in doing this, she always begins in the 
 middle. And shall those who call themselves 
 Christians, rise and pursue the callings and pro- 
 fits of the world, and yet be unconcerned about 
 the broken webs of their lives, and especially of 
 their hearts ? 
 
 Those who would have the cocks run with 
 wholesome water, should look well to the springs 
 that supply them. The heart is the presence 
 chamber, where the King of glory takes up his 
 residence. That which is most worthy in us, 
 should be resigned to him who is most worthy 
 of us. 
 
154 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Good words, without the heart, are but flattery; 
 and good works, without the heart, are but hypo- 
 crisy. Though God pities stumbling Israelites, yet 
 he punishes halting hypocrites. 
 
 It is reported of Bishop Cranmer, that after his 
 flesh and bones were consumed in the flames, his 
 heart was found whole. A gracious man is clothed 
 with sincerity in the midst of his infirmities. 
 
 God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must 
 worship him in spirit and in truth. None can ever 
 give him the heart of their services, unless they 
 are enabled to give him their hearts in their ser- 
 vices. The sorrowful sighing of the heart in 
 worship, is preferable to the most elevated and 
 harmonious voice. One is the exertion of nature, 
 the other is the production of grace. Pride may 
 be at the root of one, but God is the foundation 
 of the other. One may ravish our ears, but the 
 other ravishes God's heart. 
 
 It is said of the Lacedaemonians, who were a 
 poor and homely people, that they offered lean 
 sacrifices to their gods ; and that the Athenians, 
 who were a wise and wealthy people, offered fat 
 and costly sacrifices ; and yet in their wars the 
 former had always the mastery of the latter. 
 Whereupon, they went to the oracle to know the 
 reason why those should speed worst, who gave 
 most. The oracle returned this answer to them : 
 ' That the Lacedaemonians were a people who 
 gave their hearts to their gods, but that the Athe- 
 nians only gave their gifts to their gods.' Thus 
 a heart without a gift is better than a gift without 
 a heart. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 155 
 
 Religion is a sacrifice j but, the heart is the altar 
 upon which it must be offered. As the body is at 
 the command of the head who rules it • so should 
 the soul be at the command of God who gives it. 
 For a man to take his body to the service of God, 
 and leave his soul behind him, is as if a person 
 should send his garments stuffed with straw, in- 
 stead of making a personal appearance. 
 
 4. Another principle by which believers will 
 walk, is this : That there is more final bitterness in 
 rejecting upon sin, than there can he present sweets 
 ness in the commission of sin. 
 
 The ways of sin may have popular approbation j 
 but they shall also have divine odium marked upon 
 them. This Delilah may please us for a time, but 
 she will betray us at last. Though Satan's apples 
 may have a fair skin, yet they certainly have a 
 bitter core. 
 
 Methinks the flaming sword in one hand, and 
 the golden sceptre in the other, should guard us 
 from the forbidden tree j and make our hearts like 
 wet tinder to all the sparks of Satan. 
 
 Reader, if you behold nothing but pleasure in 
 the commission of sin, you will experience nothing 
 but the most cutting pain in its conclusion. The 
 wages of sin is death. All workmen should have 
 their wages 3 and those who employ you, it is but 
 reasonable that they should pay you. But how- 
 ever you may delight in the works of sin, you will 
 by no means relish the wages of sin. Ah, what 
 wise man would toil so long in sin's drudgery, 
 whose wages are no better than eternal misery ! 
 
 Though all sins are not equal in their nature. 
 
156 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 yet all sins are in their very nature mori-al. The 
 candle of man's life is blown out by the wind of 
 his lusts. The corruption of nature tends to the 
 dissolution of nature. When the plague was in 
 the Jewish houses, they were forthwith to be de- 
 molished. It is at that enemy sin, that God shoots 
 all his arrows. 
 
 Reader, you began to be mortal, when you be- 
 gan to be sinful. If you had never had any thing 
 to do with sin, death could never have had any 
 thing to do with you. It can only be your im- 
 piety, which divests you of the chartered blessings 
 of immortality. 
 
 Sin is like a serpent in the bosom, which stings 
 you • or like a thief in your closet, who plunders 
 you. It resembles poison in the stomach, or a 
 sword in the bowels ; both of which tend to death. 
 Like St. John's book, it may be sweet in your 
 mouth, but it will be bitter in your belly. How- 
 ever fair iniquity might appear to some, it will 
 only be found like a blear-eyed Leah to God. 
 
 The foul dregs lie at the bottom of the vessel. 
 Who does not know that the golden cup of sin is 
 filled with the most nauseous ingredients ? Sin- 
 ner ! that which is now like a rose flourishing in 
 your bosom, will in a very little time be like a 
 poisoned dagger at your breast. Poor soul, be- 
 ware of those embraces which are but signals of 
 destruction. While such a Judas kisses, he kiUs. 
 While the ivy twines round the oak, it eats out 
 its sap. 
 
 If sin were not so deceitful, it would not be so 
 delightful. Like an angler, it shews the bait, but 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 157 
 
 conceals the hook. Now it represents its present 
 painted beauty, but casts a covering over its future 
 obliquity. Wickedness is certainly like a river, 
 which begins in a quiet spring, but ends in a tu- 
 multuous sea. 
 
 Every being produces its own likeness. ' Do 
 men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles V 
 The grapes of tranquillity cannot grow upon the 
 thorns of impiety. Inward peace can only be 
 espoused to inward purity. A good way to have 
 conscience untormented, is to have it undefiled. 
 He who made you clean within, will also keep 
 you calm within. 
 
 A saint cannot so sin, as to destroy his grace j 
 but he may so sin, as to disturb his peace. The 
 spider cannot destroy the bee-hive, but it may get 
 in and spoil the honey. If you, O man, be found 
 nibbling at the bait, you may justly expect the 
 hook to enter into your bowels ! 
 
 O think, you who now glory in nothing so much 
 as sin, that there is a time approaching, when you 
 will be ashamed of nothing but sin. You may be 
 eternally sinful, but you cannot be eternally joyful. 
 In hell, all that sugar will be melted, in which the 
 bitter pill was wrapped. This is too hot a climate 
 for wanton delights to live in. 
 
 The pleasures of sin are but for a season ; but 
 the torments of unpardoned sin are of an eternal 
 duration. Our first parents soon ate of the for- 
 bidden fruit 3 but the world to this day feels that 
 it is not freed from the miserable consequence of 
 that sudden banquet. 
 
 Solomon exactly describes bin's rise and fall : 
 
158 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful ; and the 
 end of that mirth is heaviness. Death will turn 
 all the waters of pleasure into blood. The serpent 
 of sensual delight always carries a deadly sting in 
 its tail. All the meridian glare of worldly pomp 
 will soon end in midnight darkness and horror. 
 
 Sinner ! will gall and wormwood ever make you 
 pleasant wine? Will thick and poisonous vapours 
 ever yield you sweet and wholesome showers ? If 
 you pursue sin for profit, you will never profit by 
 your sin. 
 
 O that England did but look with scripture 
 glasses upon all its departing glories, and solemnly 
 say, ' If sin had not been here, they would never 
 have been there.' It is better to take up our lodg- 
 ings in a bed of snakes, than in a forbidden bed 
 of prevailing lusts. Who would spread the silken 
 sails of the mind upon the piratical ship of wan- 
 tonness ? 
 
 When the pale horse of death goes before, the 
 red horse of wrath follows after. When the sin-* 
 ner's body goes to the worms to be consumed, 
 then his soul goes to hell to be tormented. A 
 wuse man knows that it is far better to forego the 
 pleasures of sin here, than to undergo the pains of 
 sin hereafter. 
 
 Reader, if you delight in sin, I wish you to re- 
 member that your ill-doing will shortly be your 
 undoing. What fruit had ye then in those things 
 whereof ye are now ashamed ? What advantage 
 does Dives now reap in hell, from all the delicate 
 banquets he sat down to on earth r What taste 
 has Cleopatra now, from her draught of dissolved 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 159 
 
 pearls ? The stench and torment of everlasting 
 burnings will take away the sweetest perfumes 
 that ever sin was covered with. 
 
 Young Joseph chose rather to be a close prison- 
 er for Christ, than to be an open slave to his lusts. 
 How can I do this wickedness, and sin against God? 
 It does not only grieve a saint that God is displeas- 
 ed at what he does, but that he is dishonoured by 
 what he does. He is more distressed for sin which 
 brings evil, than for the evil which sin brings. 
 
 When the dumb son of Croesus saw his father's 
 life in danger, it is said, that he cried out so loud 
 in his fright, that his tongue-strings broke, and he 
 exclaimed, ^ O kill not king Croesus !' Did Christ 
 open his veins for our redemption, and shall not 
 we open our mouths for his vindication ? 
 
 The crown is fallen from our heads: woe unto 
 us that we have sinned ! Sin is not only a mon- 
 ster that unmans us ; but it is also a tyrant that 
 uncrowns us. Nay, it? not only takes the crown 
 from oft" the sinner's head, but it also entails the 
 curse upon the sinner's soul. 
 
 There are many who vainly suppose that the 
 fountain of their sin is quite dried up, when, alas ! 
 the streams are only turned into another channel. 
 A hand taken off^ from sinful practices, without an 
 heart taken off from sinful principles ; is only like 
 a field which, having for a time lain fallow, after- 
 wards springs up with greater increase : or it is 
 like a stream which, having been dammed for a 
 while, at last runs with greater violence, when the 
 sluices are opened. 
 
 5. Another singular principle for believers to 
 
160 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 walk by, is this : That there is the greatest vanity 
 in all created excellency. 
 
 If this truth were more believed, this world 
 would he less adored. 
 
 A lady being once told that the world in all its 
 gloiy was but vanity j returned for answer, ' True, 
 I have heard that Solomon said so j but he tried 
 it before he said it, and so will I.' Thus, many 
 believe not a toad to be poisonous, till they are en- 
 venomed with it J but they forget that it is not 
 only vanity, but also vexation of spirit j and all 
 who are resolved to try the former, must also feel 
 the latter. 
 
 He that knocks at the creature's door for sup- 
 plies, will find an empty house kept there. ' All 
 the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full.' 
 Though all the rising streams of worldly profits 
 may run into the hearts of men • yet they cannot 
 fill up the hearts of men. 
 
 Reader, did you never htar a rich man complain 
 of the want of riches ? Though he has enough to 
 support him, yet he has not enough to content him. 
 Were it possible for the eye to see all that is to be 
 seen, yet it would not be satisfied with seeing. If 
 there be not enough in the world to satisfy the 
 senses of men, how should there be enough in it 
 to satisfy the souls of men ? 
 
 The earth is not a satisfying substance, but a 
 fleeting shadow. For the fasliion of this world 
 passeth away. The most excellent and flourishing 
 appearances in the whole creation are continually 
 hastening to dissolution. We are commanded to 
 use the world, as though we used it not 3 because 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 161 
 
 M'liile we use the world, it is not. The tide of 
 worldly grandeur^ which brings the gallant ship 
 into the haven, may suddenly leave her in the mud. 
 The higher the sun of prosperity approaches on its 
 meridian, the nearer it is to its setting. 
 
 O all ye who caress the world, have ye not seen 
 some who have begun their lives in a palace, end 
 them in a prison } The golden chains about their 
 necks have been turned into iron fetters about their 
 feet. The substance of this life is but for the sea- 
 son of this life. All creature felicity will become 
 a prize to mortality. 
 
 Ye who feed upon golden dust, must have all 
 your gold turned to dust ; and the short summer 
 of your prosperity will usher in the long winter of 
 adversity. Those who now rejoice in the world, 
 will, before it be long, have no world wherein to 
 rejoice. Arise ye, and depart : for this is not ijour 
 rest, because it is polluted; it shall destroy you, 
 even with a sore destruction. Heart's-ease is a 
 flower that grows not in the world's garden. 
 
 Where does that fish swim, that will not nibble 
 at that hook on which there hangs a golden bait ? 
 How many perish for trusting to that which pe- 
 rishes in the using ! 
 
 Poor worldling, why do you seek for wealth 
 with such incessant anxiety, seeing the greatest 
 misers are laid as naked on their dusty pillow as 
 the poorest beggars? The faster you grasp the 
 world in your bands, the sooner it slides between 
 your fingers. 
 
 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the 
 world, and lose his own soul? He that bought 
 p3 
 
162 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 this ware, knew its worth. If the world be gain- 
 ed, it may be lost again : but if the soul be lost at 
 death, it can never be recovered. There is a way 
 to keep a man out of hell, but no way to get a man 
 out of hell. It is as easy for a stone to lodge in 
 the air, as for a man to rest in the earth. 
 
 The greatest glory of this world is like a rotten 
 post, which never shows its brightness, but in the 
 dark. How few are there who have resolved to 
 ascend the pinnacle of honour, but what have left 
 a good conscience at the bottom of the ladder ! 
 Believers themselves would be surfeited with the 
 world's sweet-meat, if a gracious God were not to 
 call them away from the banquet. 
 
 Creature comforts are like the soft morning 
 dews, which, while they water the branches of the 
 tree, leave the roots dry. Why should the profes- 
 sors of Christianity be found eagerly pursuing 
 those trifles, which even heathens have been found 
 flying from ? The world is rather a sharp brier to 
 wound us, than a sweet flower to delight us. 
 
 As poison works more furiously in wine than in 
 water, so corruptions betray themselves more in a 
 state of plenty than they do in a state of poverty. 
 
 Gerhard compares this life to a beautiful nut, 
 which, however fair it may seem, is full of nothing 
 but worms and rottenness. The earth is for a 
 saint's passage ; but heaven is prepared for him as 
 his portion. The former is for a believer's use, 
 the latter only is a believer's choice. 
 
 Every thing below is too base for the soul's no- 
 hility, and too brittle for the soul's stability . Who 
 would set that vessel under the droppings of a cis- 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 163 
 
 tern, which is able to contain all the waters of the 
 ocean ? 
 
 A professor boasting of the world, is but like a 
 bladder filled with wind. Those who set out at 
 first like .Tudas, for the world, may be put off at 
 last like Demas, with the world. ' Son, remem- 
 ber, that thou in thy life time receivedst thy good 
 things.' These blossoms will fall off from all such 
 spreading trees, when death comes to shake the 
 boughs. 
 
 The world is too frequently got with anxious 
 cares, kept with alarming fears, and lost with 
 rending groans. We see the outside of the great 
 estate, but not the inside of it. We behold the 
 field of corn, but not the tares that are mixed with 
 it. We do not always see the worldling's clouds 
 and dark nights, but his clear day and sunshine. 
 The riches, honours, and pleasures of the world, 
 are like spreading but poisonous trees ; and the 
 devil shews us the fair leaves, and offers us the 
 pleasant fruits, but conceals from us their deadly 
 nature. 
 
 The world pretends to be a nurse j but those 
 who draw her breasts will find in one the water of 
 vanity, and in the other the wind of vexation. It 
 is counted miraculous to find a diamond in a vein 
 of gold ; but it is more miraculous to find a pure 
 and precious Christ in the bosom of an earthly 
 Christian. 
 
 When we have the least of creature enjoyments, 
 it is then our duty to bless God for them ; when 
 we have most of creature enjoyments, it is then 
 our distinguished privilege not to bless ourselves 
 in them. 
 
164 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The world does us infinitely more hurt by lov- 
 ing it, than it can possibly do us good by having it. 
 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for 
 that which endureth to everlasting life. Ah, what 
 a fool is be who would hazard a glorious crown 
 above, for a single crumb below ! 
 
 By how much the higher the morning larks are 
 in their flight, by so much the sweeter are their 
 notes. The higher a Christian is raised above 
 the things of the earth, the more he is ravished 
 with the joys of heaven. The least portion of 
 grace is preferable to a mountain of gold. One 
 ray of mercy is better than a sun of pleasure. 
 One whisper of love from Christ's voice is worth 
 more than all the symphony of nature. Give me 
 that friend who lives for ever, and that wealth 
 which lasts for ever. — May I make choice of those 
 blessings which come freely, satisfy fully, and con- 
 tinue eternally ! 
 
 Surely, every man walketh in a vain shew ; sure- 
 ly they are disquieted in vain ; he heapeth up riches, 
 and knoweth not who shall gather them. Every 
 carnal man walks in a vain shew, and yet how 
 vain is he of his shew of vanity ! 
 
 He is disquieted in vain, and it is only vanity 
 which disquiets him. He labours all his life for 
 the profit of riches, and yet in death his riches 
 will not profit him. He that views an ox grazing 
 in a fat pasture, concludes that he is but prepar- 
 ing for the day of slaughter. 
 
 Worldly enjoyments are but like hot waters, 
 which, as some affirm, are soonest congealed in 
 frosty weather. The greatest happiness of the 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 165 
 
 creature, is not to have the creature for his hap- 
 piness. It is far better not to have the world at 
 all, than to have our all in the world. Who would 
 be like the raven, to feed upon the carrion of this 
 execrated world, while there is a much whole- 
 somer food for doves in the ark ? 
 
 The world at best is but a looking-glass -, there 
 is a face presented by it, but there is no face seat- 
 ed in it. When you have sifted out its finest 
 flour, it turns to bran. 
 
 Labour not to be rich. A strange paradox ! If 
 it were not for labour, who would be rich ? and 
 if it were not for riches, who would labour ? But 
 see what follows : Wilt thou set thine eyes upon 
 that which is not ? While riches are, they are not. 
 They are not what they look like 3 they have not 
 in them what we look for. But what are they 
 not ? They are not durables, but moveables. For 
 riches certainly make themselves wings and fly away, 
 as an eagle towards heaven. The gourd may flour- 
 ish in the day, but it will wither at night. 
 
 The cup that now overflows with wine, may be 
 filled up to the brim with water. When the sun 
 of earthly happiness is in its meridian rays, it may 
 be eclipsed. A man rejoices in health, and an ague 
 shakes him ; in honour, and a cloud shadows him ; 
 in riches, and a thief robs him ; in peace, and a 
 rumour disturbs him ; in life, and death disappoints 
 him. 
 
 The heavens at first had their dropsy, and then 
 the old world was drowned. The heavens at last 
 shall have their fever, and then the new world shall 
 be burned. 
 
166 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The earth is big in our hopes, but little in our 
 hands. It is lii^e Sodom's apples, beautiful to the 
 eye at a distance j but when they are touched, they 
 crumble into ashes. Riches avail not in the day of 
 wrath. Not in the day of man's wrath, to preserve 
 him from plundering ; nor in the day of God's 
 wrath, to keep him from punishment. 
 
 Pleasures are but a shield of melting wax, against 
 a sword of power : they can no more keep an evil 
 conscience from tormenting, than a velvet sleeve 
 can keep a broken arm from aching. 
 
 Fire, some people say, came down from heaven, 
 therefore restlessly works itself through all com- 
 bustibles, till it return thither again. He that 
 cometh from above, is above all. Shall those who 
 are so nobly descended, be so ignobly minded ? 
 
 Do but see how the men of the world toil upon 
 their hands and knees for the things of the world ! 
 There be many that say, Who will shew us any 
 good ? As if they could find a heaven in the trifles 
 of earth. 
 
 That was a hard expression of a hardened world- 
 ling, 'Let God but give me enough of the earth, 
 and I will never complain of the want of heaven.' 
 Thus we see the curse of the serpent entailed upon 
 the seed of the serpent. What God pronounces 
 as a malediction, they take as a benediction. 
 
 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding 
 high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms 
 of the world, and the glory of them ; and saith un- 
 to him. All these things will J give thee, if thou 
 wilt fall down and worship me. If a covetous man 
 had been there, O how would he have catched the 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 167 
 
 promise out of the devil's lips, lest he should have 
 gone back from his word ! 
 
 Some are so enchanted with their golden bags, 
 that they will ride post to hell, if they might but 
 be well paid with golden wedges for their pains. 
 All such covetous Balaams must fall by then* own 
 devices. 
 
 Covetousness is incompatible with the love of 
 holiness. The excellent of the earth can see no 
 excellency in the earth. This world is no bet- 
 ter than a loathsome dunghill 3 upon which the 
 wealthy stand crowing, and about which the poor 
 are scraping : but if he alone be blessed who lives 
 above the world, then those cannot be blessed who 
 live in conformity to the world. 
 
 6. Another singular principle by which a Chris- 
 tian should walk, is this : That duties can never 
 have too much attention paid to them, or too little 
 confidence placed in them. 
 
 The Christian owes nothing to his corruptions, 
 but their crucifixion. * Therefore, brethren, we 
 are debtors ; not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.' 
 Where God becomes a donor, man becomes a debt- 
 or. The debt of sin is mercifully discharged for 
 him, that the debt of service might be willingly 
 discharged by him. 
 
 Every created thing has its bounds ; but grace 
 has none. In true godliness there is no excess. 
 Those wells which are of God's digging, can never 
 be too full of water. He delights to see the trees 
 of righteousness laden with the fruits of righte- 
 ousness. 
 
 Though faith alone justifies the soul, yet that 
 
168 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 faith which justifies the soul is not alone. What- 
 soever trees are without their fruits, that also is 
 faith without good works. In proof of sanctifica- 
 tion, good works cannot be sufficiently magnified j 
 but in point of justification, good works cannot be 
 sufficiently nullified. The lamp of duty can only 
 shine clearly as it is trimmed with the oil of mercy. 
 The most famous Roman pilots, when they have 
 approached the shore, have quitted the bottom of 
 merit, to sail in the bark of mercy ; crying out, 
 ' Our greatest safety is to rest only in the mercy 
 of God.' The law of God is such a master, as to 
 require the whole task of duty without mitigation j 
 and the mercy of God is so good a benefactor, as 
 to be capable of pardoning every transgression 
 without limitation. He who ignorantly trusts in 
 the former, will feel his angry sword j and he 
 who, as lost and helpless, trusts in the latter, shall 
 be enabled to touch the golden sceptre. 
 
 Most that perish, it is not their disease which 
 kills them, but their physician. They think to 
 cure themselves, and this leaves thera incurable. 
 Good works are so indigent, that no man can be 
 saved by them ; and yet so excellent, that no man 
 can go to heaven without them. 
 
 It would be well for Christ's members, if it were 
 with them as it is with skilful mariners, who have 
 their eyes on the stars, and their hands at the 
 stern. The self-righteous man is too prone to 
 wrap himself in his religious duties : but this is 
 making bad worse -, for he who vainly thinks to 
 wipe ofi* old scores by his merit, does but increase 
 his enormous debt. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 169 
 
 ' Now, we know that what things soever the 
 law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, 
 that every mouth may be stopped.' How shall 
 any mouth be opened to plead guiltless, when God 
 has stopped every mouth with its own guilt ? It 
 is in vain to stand up and plead innocence before 
 him who is all eye ; to see the blackest flesh under 
 the whitest feathers -, and the foulest heart under 
 the fairest act. 
 
 Reader, though good works may be our Jacob's 
 staff to walk with on earth, yet they cannot be our 
 Jacob's ladder to climb to heaven with. To lay 
 the salve of our services upon the wound of our 
 sins, is as if a man who is stung by a wasp should 
 wipe his face with a nettle 3 or as if a person 
 should busy himself in supporting a tottering fa- 
 bric with a burning fire-brand. 
 
 It is the greatest folly to expect profit from that 
 which is unprofitable. Could we have done all 
 that was commanded us, yet, without the mercy 
 of God, all that we could have done would cer- 
 tainly undo us. 
 
 When the river fails us in its supplies of water, 
 we then look up to the clouds for moisture. If 
 Christ breathe not into our religious services, it is 
 impossible to grow under them. That which is 
 true in philosophy, is not always true in divinity. 
 One says, ' That the purest elements have the 
 least nourishment.' But by the doctrines of the 
 other, the reverse is true. 
 
 It was not the tempered clay that cured the blind 
 man, but Christ's anointing his eyes therewith. 
 That was more likely, without him, to make a 
 Q 
 
170 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 seeing man blind, than a blind man see. Thus, 
 though we may receive our spiritual sight in the 
 ordinances, yet it is not the ordinances which give 
 us sight. 
 
 It was not the troubling of the pool in Bethesda, 
 that made it healing • but the coming down of the 
 angel into it. That man must famish at last, who 
 always feeds upon the dish instead of the meat. — 
 There is no instruction to be got from the sun- 
 dial of duty, except the Sun of Righteousness 
 shine upon it. 
 
 Reader, it is dangerous for you to take shelter 
 in your own righteousness • for the lightning of 
 divine vengeance which flashes before you, and 
 the curses of the law which thunder around you, 
 may suddenly shake your house about you. As 
 fast as you lay on your own plasters, a convinced 
 and spiritual conscience will rub them off again. 
 Nothing but the grace of the gospel can perfectly 
 heal the wounds which a broken law has made. 
 Though at the command of Christ you may let 
 down the net • yet it is only by the blessing of 
 Christ that you can enclose a profitable draught. 
 
 Carnal people walk by this principle : That 
 much is too little for them, and that little is too 
 much for God : but Christian people judge, that 
 as they can never see God according to the great- 
 ness of majesty, so they can never serve him ac- 
 cording to the greatness of his mercy. 
 
 When St. Paul wrote to Philemon, concerning 
 his receiving his servant Onesimus again, he used 
 this argument to prevail with him : * Thou owest 
 unto me even thine own self.' Thus man not 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 171 
 
 only owes his services, but also himself, to God. 
 No man can merit a reward by paying his debts, 
 much less can a sinner merit mercy by being an 
 insolvent debtor. 
 
 The body of a man can as soon labour inces- 
 santly without food, as the soul of a Christian can 
 live continually without ordinances. 
 
 St. Paul's religion was dearer to him than his 
 life. Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so 
 that I might finish my course with joy, Jesus 
 Christ laid down his precious life, to secure the 
 possession of heaven for man 3 and shall man re- 
 fuse to lay out his life, in pursuing the glories of 
 heaven? Was heaven worth his passion j and 
 shall it not be worth our seeking ? Alas, what is 
 our sweat J to his blood I 
 
 What could Jesus do more than die for us 5 and 
 what can we do less than live to him ? To whom 
 much is given, of them much shall be required. 
 
 Can ye who are Christians find out all the good 
 which has been bestowed upon you, or all the evil 
 that has been forgiven in you ? Such is his good- 
 ness, that he deserves infinitely more from you 
 than he demands of you. 
 
 If heaven could be obtained by human endeav- 
 ours, then it must either be of little worth, or they 
 must be of great value. But he who puts an esti- 
 mate upon all things according to their true value, 
 has said. When ye have done all those things which 
 are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable ser- 
 vants ', we have done that which was our duty to 
 do. We are not only unprofitable when all is to 
 be done, but when all has been done. We are 
 unprofitable to God, because he is necessarily and 
 
172 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 eternally blessed without us ; we are not profitable 
 to ourselves, because without him we shall be 
 everlastingly cursed in ourselves. 
 
 It is our bounden duty to live in obedience, but 
 it will prove our utter ruin to live on obedience. 
 Heaven is either the gift of mercy, or the reward 
 of duty ; if the latter, Christ is dead in vain 5 but 
 if the former, we boast in vain. Fear not, little 
 Jlock ; for it is your Father s good pleasure to give 
 you the kingdom. Thus we see, that heaven is 
 not the product of man's labour, but the token of 
 God's good pleasure. 
 
 Many proud sinners will labour hard in the 
 storms of life and hurricanes of death, rather than 
 cry with Peter, Lord, save ^ I perish! But God 
 is determined that every one shall die a malefactor, 
 who dies without a mediator. 
 
 The dignity of good works does not lie in their 
 merit, but in God's grace alone j for were he to 
 examine and estimate them according to the rigour 
 of the law, and separate fiom Christ, instead of 
 their being valuable as refined gold, they would 
 be as despicable as worthless tinsel. Our highest 
 perfections are darkened with the blackest shades 
 of imperfection. If Christ be not the foundation 
 of our perfection on earth, he will not be the top- 
 stone of our salvation in heaven. 
 
 Reader, what person would thank you for hold- 
 ing a candle to assist the light of the sun ■ or what 
 prince would praise you for setting a rough pebble 
 in his crown of precious diamonds ? How then can 
 it be supposed that those works which are pregnant 
 with mischief, can be pleasing to God ? 
 
 If man lay too much weight upon the pillars 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 173 
 
 raised by his own hands, he will pull the building 
 upon his own head. God, who cannot lie, hath 
 said. So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of 
 him that runneth, hut of God who sheweth mercy. 
 It is not of him that willeth, though it be never so 
 heartily j nor of him that runneth, though it be 
 never so hastily. Man's crown of glory is only 
 made by the hand of God's mercy. 
 
 Man's working is not the cause of God's grace, 
 but God's grace is the cause of his working : the 
 creature may do something against grace, but he 
 can do nothing without it. It is dangerous to 
 hang the weight of eternity upon the slender wires 
 of activity. The boundless life of felicity flows 
 only from the bottomless love of the Deity. 
 
 7. Another principle by which a believer should 
 walk, is this : That those precious promises, which 
 are given to insure his happiness, do not supersede 
 those directions which are laid down for him to seek 
 after happiness. 
 
 Thus saith the Lord., I will yet for this he in- 
 quired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them. 
 As those under the law were not without a gospel 
 to save them - so those who are under the gospel 
 are not without a law to rule them. There is the 
 same impropriety in divorcing those who are unit- 
 ed, as in uniting those who are divorced. 
 
 ^sk, and it shall he given you ; seek, and ye shall 
 find} knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Con- 
 tinued gospel importunity, is the most powerful 
 oratory. Man's importunity has no meritorious 
 claim upon God • God has a right to the former, 
 but we have no right to the latter. He who 
 q3 
 
174 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 enables us to find him, enjoins us to seek him. The 
 Lord delights neither to see us slothful seekers, 
 nor doubtful seekers. 
 
 He who refuses to hear the voice of Christ, shall 
 never see the face of Christ. He that saith, he 
 abideth in him ; ought himself also so to walk, even 
 as he walked. Then only does the watch of our 
 lives move regularly, when the hand of mercy 
 winds it up. The law condemns those as crimi- 
 nals, who lay claim to the crown royal, when they 
 are not of the blood royal. Many would be like 
 Christ in bliss, who would not be like him by grace. 
 They are willing to have those promises which 
 confirm them in happiness, but dislike those pre- 
 cepts which are to regulate their conduct. 
 
 The Lord is our Judge ; the Lord is our Law- 
 giver ; the Lord is our King ; he will save us. 
 Wheresoever the Lord is a Priest for pardon, he 
 is a Prince for dominion. He is always a Ruler, 
 where he is a Saviour. As Jesus Christ is the 
 foundation of our happiness, so is he the fountain 
 of all our holiness. 
 
 Reader, remember, if Christ be not a refiners 
 fire in you, he will be a consuming fire to you. 
 Those mine enemies, who would not that I should 
 reign over them, bring them hither, and slay thetn 
 before me. Thus, if you refuse him to reign over 
 you, he will refuse you to reign with him. 
 
 As 7nany as walk according to this rule, peace be 
 on them. To tread in any other path on earth, is 
 to miss your way to heaven. If the golden chains 
 of love to God do not bind you to duty, the iron 
 chain of darkness will bind you eternally. He 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 175 
 
 who abuses his liberty in one world, will for ever 
 lose it in another. 
 
 Blessed are they who do his commandments, that 
 they may have right to the tree of life. To look 
 upon a promise without a precept^ is the high road 
 to presumption ; to look upon a precept without a 
 promise, is the high road to desperation. One is 
 like the cork in the net, to preserve it from sink- 
 ing 3 and the other is like lead to the net, to keep 
 it from floating. 
 
 A believer is like the mariner's compass ; which 
 is governed by the constant heavens, and not by 
 the variable winds. Reader, will you make him 
 a stone of stumbling, whom God has made a stone 
 to build upon ? Remember, the fire can consume 
 the dross, as well as refine the gold. The strength 
 of a rock is seen not only in supporting the house 
 which is built upon it, but in breaking the ships 
 which dash against it. The pillar of a cloud was 
 as terrible in the darkness it occasioned to the 
 Egyptians, as it was glorious in the light it gave 
 to the Israelites. 
 
 Whenever Christ takes the burden of guilt from 
 a sinner's shoulders, he then lays a yoke of obedi- 
 ence upon his neck. Though God can give a 
 pardon to the greatest sin, yet he cannot grant a 
 patronage to the least sin. To be lascivious, be- 
 cause God is gracious ; what is this, but to drown 
 yourself in that river, in which you should wash 
 yourself? To live a life of gospel obedience, is 
 the liberty of God's children; but to give your 
 licentious appetite the reins, is the bondage of 
 Satan's slaves. 
 
176 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 That, soul was never related to Christ, who was 
 never devoted to Christ. Not every one that saith 
 unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom 
 of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father, 
 who is in heaven. Subjection to the will of God is 
 not only a test of our present duty, but it is also 
 an evidence of our future glory. To expect to see 
 God in heaven, and not to seek him on earth, is as 
 foolish as if a husbandman should throw his plough 
 into the hedge, and then look for a rich harvest. 
 
 Sitting birds are the fowler's marks ; while those 
 which soar as the eagle are in safety. When men 
 are out of the way of their worldly callings, it is 
 easy to call them out of their heavenly way. God 
 works with and without means. With, that man 
 should not be indolent; and without, that he should 
 not be self-confident. Jacob makes his prayers to 
 an heavenly Father, and yet presents his gifts to 
 an angry brother. David went out against Goliah 
 in the name of the God of Israel, and yet repaired 
 to the brook for his smooth stones. 
 
 The sword of Joshua must go with the prayers 
 of Moses, and the prayers of Moses accompany the 
 sword of Joshua. Had they fought and not pray- 
 ed, they would have obtained no victory, because 
 God will not be neglected : had they prayed and 
 not fought, they would have obtained no victory, 
 because he will not be tempted. 
 
 This is he who came by water and blood, even 
 Jesus Christ, He did not come by water without 
 any blood, or by blood without any water. He 
 came not to pardon and to leave the soul unpurged ; 
 or to purge and to leave it unpardoned. Where- 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 177 
 
 soever the death of Christ clears a soul from guilt, 
 the spirit of Christ cleanses that soul from filth. 
 A man may be justified without immediate glori- 
 fication ; but not without concomitant sanctifica- 
 tion. The law by which God rules us, is as dear 
 to him as the gospel by which he saves us. 
 
 Many would use faith as an eye to see with, but 
 not as a foot to walk with. They look for the 
 crown of victory, but are unwilling to fight the 
 good fight of faith. That faith which sets men to 
 oppose their internal enemies, sets God also to 
 oppose their external adversaries. Prayer is the 
 midwife of the promises. The promises are wells 
 of comfort to the church, and believing prayer is 
 the vessel to draw the water out of the wells. 
 
 8. Another principle by which a behever should 
 walk, is this : That it is dangerous dressing him- 
 self for another world, by the looking-glass of this 
 world. 
 
 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil. 
 Let them be never so mighty, they are not to be 
 feared : let them be never so many, they are not 
 to be followed. 
 
 Satan's herd of swine is larger than Christ's 
 flock of sheep. To infer that way to be the truest 
 which is the largest, is to conclude upon the fine- 
 ness of the cloth by the broadness of the list. 
 
 The innumerable crowds of people are too much 
 like the droves of cattle which go to the slaughter. 
 Though the number of the children of Israel be as 
 the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. The 
 whole piece belongs to the devil ; but God cuts oft' 
 a remnant for himself. There are many birds of 
 prey, to one bird of paradise. Pebbles lie abun- 
 
178 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 dantly in the streets, when pearls are difficult to be 
 found. 
 
 The scripture not only presents us with an ac- 
 count of the purity of those who shall be saved, 
 but also with the smallness of their number. 
 Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which 
 leadeth unto life, and few there he that find it. The 
 Persians thought a crooked nose a great ornament, 
 because seated on the face of their emperor : and 
 the whole court would go awry, because such a 
 neck was upon the shoulders of Alexander. 
 
 Great men's vices are more imitated than poor 
 men's graces. The ill humours of the head may 
 consume the vital parts of the body. Inferiors 
 love to go the way which superiors are wont to go. 
 The actions of their rulers, are too much the rule 
 of their actions. Such people conceive by the eye, 
 like Jacob's sheep, which brought forth their 
 lambs suitable to the colour of the rods. 
 
 Those who follow after others in sinning, are 
 in danger of following them in suffering. Alas, 
 then the greatness of the multitude will not extin- 
 guish the flame. The number of those immortal 
 faggots will but magnify the fuiy of the fire. 
 * Many are called, but few are chosen.* It is not, 
 many are chosen and few called, but many are 
 called and few are chosen. 
 
 Sinners are certainly the greatest company, but 
 they are also the worst company. Though the 
 nature of believers be the greatest, yet their num- 
 bers are the smallest. 
 
 Flavus Vopiscus said, 'That all the names of 
 the good emperors might be engraven on a little 
 ring.' I will not say there are not any good men 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 179 
 
 who are great^ but I will say, that there are not 
 many great men who are good. 
 
 The trees of righteousness are thinly planted in 
 the world's orchard. As in one righteous man 
 there are many sins, so to one righteous man there 
 are many sinners. ' Our fathers have eaten sour 
 grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' 
 The generality of persons will rather walk in the 
 way that most people go, than in the way that the 
 best go. They are like dead fish, which swim down 
 the stream withersoever it runs j or like the wa- 
 ter, which takes the figure of the vessel in which 
 it is contained. But, Vox populi is sometimes Vox 
 diaboli ; that is, ' The voice of the people is some- 
 times the voice of the devil.' Whatsoever is en- 
 graven upon the seal, is imprinted upon the wax. 
 
 If we would not have the people of the world to 
 be our leaders, we shall be sure to have them our 
 troublers. If they cannot seduce us into an evil 
 way, they will oppose us in a good way. If they 
 cannot scorch us with their fire, they will try to 
 blacken us with their smoke. They will speak 
 evil of us, because we run not to the same excess 
 of riot with them. Because we refuse to play the 
 fool with them, they will say we are mad. Those 
 who would arrive where the righteous now are, 
 should be found in the road in which they once 
 were. ' Be ye followers of them, who through 
 faith and patience inherit the promises.' What is 
 the reason that there are so many scribbling pro- 
 fessors in the world, but that they write after such 
 imperfect copies ? 
 
 The best of men are but men at the best. It is 
 
380 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 better to imitate an evil man in that which is good, 
 than a good man in that which is evil. St. Paul 
 said, * Be ye followers of me,' (but this exhorta- 
 tion hath its limitation) ' even as I am of Christ,' 
 Where he follows Christ, there we must follow 
 him : but if a Paul forsake Christ, we may forsake 
 even Paul. 
 
 That was a good saying of Sir Thomas More : 
 ' I will not pin my faith upon any man's sleeve, 
 because I know not whither he will carry it.* 
 Believers have not only infirmities which are na- 
 tural, but they have also such as are sinful. Noah 
 was no sooner delivered from a deluge of water, 
 than he was drowned in a deluge of wine. 
 
 The failings of Christians do not flow from a 
 want of grace, but from a weakness in grace 5 not 
 from their depravity of spirit, but from the cor- 
 ruptions of the flesh. As they are not what they 
 have been, so they are not altogether what they 
 would be. Those roses which are now in blos- 
 som, shall hereafter be fully blown j and the stars 
 which are yet concealed under a cloud, shall be 
 seen in a clear sky. 
 
 Those are but suspicious Christians, who will 
 take in all that believers do, upon the authority 
 of believers. The comment must be followed no 
 further than while it agrees with the text. 
 
 He is a rotten professor, who says in his heart, 
 ^ Why may not I be drunk as well as Noah, and 
 commit adulteiy as well as David ?' Did you ever 
 liear of any who put out their eyes, because others 
 were smitten with blindness ? Or of any who cut 
 off their legs, because others went on crutches ? 
 
IN UIS M£RIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 181 
 
 But it" you have sinned as David and Noah did, 
 you should also mourn as they did. Their acts arc 
 not for our imitation, but for our caution. They 
 are not land-marks to direct travellers^ but sea- 
 marks to warn mariners. If a man find a piece of 
 gold covered with dust, will he preserve the dirt, 
 and throw away the gold ? 
 
 * You have heard of the patience of Job.' Yes, 
 and of his impatience also. Instead of cursing the 
 sin with which he was born, he cursed the day in 
 which he was born. 
 
 You have heard of the meekness of Moses, and 
 yet this even thread was not without its knots. 
 While he is bringing water out of the rock, he is 
 also fetching fire out of his own heart. 
 
 Peter not only forsook his Lord, but also for- 
 swore him. Who would ever have suspected, that 
 he who had his name from an immoveable rock, 
 should have proved such a shaken reed ! Holy 
 men may be good witnesses at the bar, but they 
 are not always good judges on the bench. 
 
 Reader, if you turn not your back on Egypt, 
 you may fall short of the land of Canaan. 
 
 It was formerly the complaint of a certain per- 
 son, *^That the greatest thieves did execution 
 upon the least.' But when God comes to pass 
 sentence, he will bring every sinner to the bar. 
 His laws are not like spiders' webs, that keep the 
 little flies prisoners, but which the greater will 
 break with smaller struggles. Then he will set the 
 saddle upon the back of the right horse. 
 
 Though man may have many under him upon 
 earth, yet he has one in heaven who is above him. 
 
182 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto 
 him. Where art thou ? Not, Where wast thou ? 
 but, where art thou? Oh how quickly hast thou 
 mortgaged that inheritance, which I so lately set- 
 tled on thee in paradise ! The woman whom thou 
 gavest to he with me, she gave me of the tree, and 
 I did eat. Because she put it into his hands, was 
 that any reason why he should put it into his 
 mouth ? 
 
 The monsters of sin are so hateful when they 
 are brought forth, that we are unwilling to own 
 them ourselves j therefore we lay them at the doors 
 of others. 
 
 The stable mountains are not so firm, but that 
 they may be removed by fearful earthquakes. 
 Those saints who have been as the greatest stars 
 or suns, have at times had their sad eclipses. 
 
 9. Another principle by which a believer should 
 walk, is this : That wheresoever sin proves hateful, 
 it shall not prove hurtful. 
 
 What an apology doth a sorrowful Saviour make 
 for his sleeping saints ! The spirit is witling, but 
 the flesh is weak. Take a carnal man, and what 
 he can do, that he will not; take a Christian man, 
 and what he would do, that he cannot. 
 
 Now impotency shall be pitied, when obstinacy 
 shall be punished. God has mercy for his own can- 
 nots, but none for the devil's will-nots. Adam's 
 want was rather in his will than in his power ; but a 
 saint's want is rather in his power than in his will. 
 that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes ! 
 — A saint's will begins, where his work ends. 
 
 Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief Lord, 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 183 
 
 I see, enlighten my darkness ; I hear, but cure 
 my deafness -, I move, but quicken my dullness ; 
 I desire, but help ray unwillingness ; I remember, 
 but remove my forgetfulness. 
 
 In playing over a tune upon an instrument, a 
 single string may jar and slip, and yet the main 
 be musical. It would be folly, indeed, to think 
 our fields had no corn in them, because there is 
 cbaflf about the wheat j or that the ore had no gold 
 in it, because there is dross among it. In heaven 
 there is service alone without any sin, in hell there 
 is sin alone without service : but on earth, there is 
 sin and service in the same man, as there is light 
 and shade in the same picture. 
 
 Christian reader, to condemn your evil, is good j 
 but to condemn your good, is evil. Here believers 
 are like the Israelites, who in their darkest night 
 had a pillar of fire j and in their clearest day, a 
 pillar of a cloud. Above us there is light without 
 any darkness • below us there is darkness without 
 any light • but in this world, it is neither day nor 
 night, but in the evening time it shall be light. 
 
 Though the lowest believer be above the power 
 of sin, yet the highest believer is not above the 
 presence of sin. It is in a living Christian that 
 lust is to be mortified, but it is only in a d5ring 
 Christian that it is to be destroyed. 
 
 When the body and the soul are separated by 
 mortality, sin and the soul will be separated to 
 eternity. Though a forced subjection be sufficient 
 to satisfy a tyrant -, yet it is only a ready obedi- 
 ence that proves homage to a king. 
 
 Sin never ruins, but where it reigns. It is not 
 
184 TIIK NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 destroying, where it is disturbing. The more evil 
 it receives from us, the less evil it does to us. It 
 is only a murderer, where it is a governor. 
 
 The rose is a fragrant flower, though it be sur- 
 rounded with piercing thorns. The passover was a 
 feast, though the Israelites ate it with bitter herbs. 
 
 There is always too much of the wild olive in 
 those who are ingrafted into the true olive. Our 
 graces are our best jewels, but they do not yield 
 their brightest lustre in this world. The moon, 
 when she shines brightest, has her spots ; and the 
 fire, when it burns the hottest, hath its smoke. 
 
 / said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine 
 eyes; nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my sup- 
 plication. Who would have thought those prayers 
 should ever have had any prevalency in God's ear, 
 which were mixed with so much infidelity in the 
 petitioner's heart ? 
 
 Sin is an enemy at the Christian's back, but not 
 a friend in his bosom. Although believers should 
 be mournful, because they have infirmities ; yet 
 they should be thankful, because they are but in- 
 firmities. It is true, they have sin in them, and 
 that should make them sorrowful • but it] is as 
 true, that they have a Saviour for them, and that 
 should make them joyful. It is not the interpo- 
 sition of a cloud, but the departure of the sun, 
 which constitutes a night. 
 
 Take the purest believer in the world, and you 
 will find him fuller of sin than he is of prayer. 
 There is too much of the earth in his most heaven- 
 ly employments. But as Alexander's painter could 
 find a finger to conceal the scar on his master's 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 185 
 
 face 3 so when Jesus Christ draws the picture of 
 the saint's excellency, he can find a covering for 
 all the scars of his infirmities. 
 
 The Saviour looks over that which is his own, 
 and overlooks that which is his people's. Where 
 there is no sin allowed by them, there shall be 
 grains of allowance to them. He will not throw 
 away his pearls, for every speck of dirt which may 
 be on them. 
 
 Though Christ honours grace in its maturity, yet 
 he owns it in its minority. thou of little faith, 
 wherefore didst thou doubt ? Poor Peter had faith 
 enough to keep him from drowning, but not enough 
 to keep him from doubting. The least buds draw 
 sap from the root, as well as the greatest branches. 
 Though one star exceeds another in magnitude, yet 
 both are alike seated in the heavens. Though one 
 member of the body be larger than another, yet 
 each hath an equal conjunction with the head. 
 
 The conduct of a Christian may sometimes be 
 spotted with infirmity, when the heart is sound in 
 the love of sanctity. Jacob halted, and yet was 
 blessed. As his blessing did not take away his 
 halting, so his halting did not keep away his 
 blessing. 
 
 Hagar wuU have a room in Sarah's house, till 
 death turns her out of doors. As death leaves the 
 body soulless, so it leaves the soul sinless. For if 
 there he first a willing mind, it is accepted according 
 to that a man hath, and not according to that he 
 hath not. God doth not expect the cock to run 
 with pleasant water, when there is none put into 
 the cistern. 
 
 r3 
 
1,86 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The heavenly Bridegroom will not put out a 
 believer's candle, because of the dimness of its 
 burning j nor overshadow a believer's sun, because 
 of the weakness of its shining. 
 
 Though that vice may be found in us, for which 
 he might justly damn us 3 yet that grace is to be 
 found in him, by which he can easily save us. He 
 comes not with water to extinguish the fire_, but 
 with wind to disperse the smoke. 
 
 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination 
 unto the Lord : because the incense savours of the 
 hand that offers it. Not only the wicked man's, 
 designs against the godly are sinful ; but all his 
 prayers to God are also hateful. Not so for the 
 righteous ; for, the prayer of the upright is his de- 
 light. If the vessel of the heart be clean, he will 
 taste of the sweet wine which is drawui from it. 
 my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the 
 secret places of the stairs ; let me see thy counte- 
 nance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice, 
 and thy countenance is comely. 
 
 10. Another principle that a Christian should 
 walk by, is this : That inward purity is the ready 
 road to outward plenty. 
 
 That is but a hell-made proverb : Plain dealing 
 is a jewel; hut he who adheres to it shall die a 
 beggar. 
 
 Though religion be against our ease, yet it is 
 not against our interest. O what rich clusters of 
 grapes hang all along our way to Canaan ! Re- 
 ligion is so bountiful a master, that none need be 
 afraid of becoming its servant. But seek ye first 
 the kingdom of God, and his righteousness ; and all 
 
IM HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 187 
 
 these things shall he added unto you. Our work 
 below is the best done, when our work for above 
 is the first done. He who has most of heaven in 
 his heart, has not always the least of earth in his 
 hand. 
 
 The young lions lack and suffer hunger. The 
 old Hons will have it for them, if it be to be had. 
 But they that seek the Lord shall not want any 
 good thing. As they would feel no evil thing 
 within, so they shall want no good thing without. 
 
 He that freely opens the upper, will never wholly 
 close the nether springs. There shall be no silver 
 lacking in Benjamin's sack, while Joseph has it to 
 throw in. Grace is not such a beggarly visitant, 
 as will not pay its own way. When the best of 
 beings is adored, the best of blessings are enjoyed. 
 
 While the rough Esau of this world hunts after 
 the venison, the smooth Jacob shall cany away the 
 blessing. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; 
 the Lord will give grace and glory ; and no good 
 thing will he icithholdfroni them that walk upright- 
 ly. Why need a saint fear darkness, when he has 
 such a sun to guide him ? Or dread dangers, when 
 he has such a shield to guard him ? 
 
 O Christian, the God whom you serve is so ex- 
 cellent, that no good can be added to him ; and so 
 infinite, that no good can be diminished in him ! 
 He makes happy, and yet is not the less happy y 
 he shews mercy to the full, and yet remains full 
 of mercy. 
 
 Sinners look upon times of obedience as times of 
 hindrance. They trust to their own toiUng, and 
 not to God's undertaking. They carry on such a 
 
188 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 trade for the earth, as makes them miscarry in their 
 merchandise for heaven. Though every rich man 
 be not truly godly, yet every godly man is truly 
 rich. 
 
 The sun can as easily diiFuse its beams over the 
 vrhole world, as upon a single field. What God 
 receives from man, makes him no richer ; and 
 what man receives from God, makes him none 
 the poorer. His goodness may be imparted, but 
 cannot be impaired. 
 
 Christian reader, if the fountain be still running, 
 why should you fear to fill your vessel ? The Lord 
 is my shepherd, I shall not want. The sheep of 
 Christ may change their pasture, but they shall 
 never want a pasture. Is not the life more than 
 the meat, and the body than raiment ? If he grant 
 unto us great things, shall we distrust him for small 
 things ? He who has given us heavenly beings, 
 will also give us earthly blessings. The great 
 husbandman never overstocked his own commons. 
 
 Jehu, who only served God in hypocrisy, had an 
 external kingdom 3 and shall those who serve him 
 from a principle of inward purity, be put off with- 
 out a heavenly kingdom ? If God valued counter- 
 feit coin so much, how highly will he esteem the 
 true gold ! If he drop so much into a vessel of 
 wrath, what will he do into a vessel of mercy ! If 
 he give so much to a bond-slave of hell, what will 
 he do for a free-born child of heaven ! Have I 
 been a wilderness unto Israel, a land of darkness ? 
 God was not a wilderness to them when they were 
 in the wilderness. When they wanted bread, he 
 gave them manna j when they wanted water, he 
 
IX HIS MERIDIAN SVLENUOUR. 189 
 
 opened a rock 3 and though they^iad no new ap- 
 parel, yet their old garments wore not out, but as 
 their bodies grew, so their clothes grew. Thus 
 they were never better off, than when they were 
 ready to give up all as lost. 
 
 O how good is the believer's God, who not only 
 shortens his pilgrimage for him, but also sweetens 
 it to him ! Had Christians too much of temporal 
 things, they might care too little for spiritual 
 things. Daniel appeared better with his homely 
 pulse, than the Babylonians with all their royal 
 diet. Some have rowed safely in a narrow river, 
 and been drowned aftervi-ard in a large sea. A 
 little is sufficient to him who with it enjoys God's 
 all-sufficiency. 
 
 Naked godliness is so full a spring, that it will 
 not let the Christian perish for w^ant of water. 
 Let the people praise thee, God, let all the people 
 praise thee ! (What then ?) Then shall the earth 
 yield her increase, and God, even our own God, 
 shall bless us. Our unthankfulness is the cause of 
 the earth's unfruitfulness. While man is blessing 
 God for his mercies, he is blessing man with his 
 mercies. 
 
 Some are afraid of religion, because they sup- 
 pose they shall lose all their earthly mammon while 
 they are seeking heavenly manna. They think that 
 piety is the greatest enemy to prosperity. Could 
 they but reap profit by praying, they would be 
 found more at prayer. Ignorant worldlings look 
 upon gain as their greatest godliness, and not on 
 godliness as their greatest gain. But a golden 
 plaster is a poor application for a wounded con- 
 
190 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 science. When the worm of carnality is gnawing 
 at the root of religious performances, all the for- 
 malist's blooming hopes will fade, and die away 
 at last. 
 
 Godliness is profitable to all things ; having the 
 promise of the life that now is, and of that which is 
 to come. Who knows how many rich productions 
 there are in the pleasure-garden of religion ! There 
 is mellow fruit in it for every day in the year. 
 
 Blessed is the man that feareih the Lord, and 
 delighteth greatly in his commandments : wealth 
 and riches shall he in his house ; and his righteous- 
 ness endureth for ever. All worldly gain, while 
 we live, we may lose it ■ and when we die, we 
 must leave it : but in keeping God's commandments 
 there is great reward. There is a reward of God's 
 approbation in life ; of his confirmation in death j 
 and of his complete salvation in glory. 
 
 In earthly services the master enjoys the profit; 
 but in religious services the servant enjoys it. And 
 the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed- 
 Edom, the Gitite, three months: and the Lord bless- 
 ed Obed-Edom, and all his household. The ark 
 was not blessed for the sake of his household, but 
 his household was blessed for the sake of the ark. 
 The ark of God always pays for its entertainment, 
 wheresoever it dwells. 
 
 Many will side with religion, while they can 
 live upon it 3 and desert it when it must live upon 
 them. But that saying is yet true ; ' Godliness 
 with contentment is great gain.' It is only the 
 Christian man, who is the truly contented man ; 
 and what are our enjoyments without content- 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR- 191 
 
 ment ? What is a great possession, if wedded to 
 great vexation? Wicked men make this world 
 their treasure, and God makes it their torment. 
 When they want estates, they are troubled for 
 them ; when they have estates, they are troubled 
 with them ; and when they would drink of the 
 river, God disturbs the water. 
 
 Reader, if you know nothing of Christ, I wish 
 you to remember, that when you come to die you 
 will find religion necessary ; and while you live, 
 you will find it profitable. The purest honey is 
 gathered out of the hive of holiness. The ways 
 of iniquity are the ways of beggary. It is but 
 reasonable that God should fall out with those in 
 the course of his providence, who fall oft' from him 
 in the course of their obedience. 
 
 In wisdom's right hand is length of days ; and 
 in her left hand riches and honour. Look to which 
 hand you will, and you will find it full. 
 
 11. Another principle that a believer should 
 walk by, is this : That all the time which God 
 allows him, is but enough for the work which he 
 allots him. 
 
 Man that is born of a woman, is of few days, and 
 full of trouble. Nature's womb sometimes prove9 
 nature's tomb. 
 
 With many it is ebb water, before the tide be 
 at, the full. The lamps of their lives are wasted 
 almost as soon as they are lighted. The sand of 
 their hour-glass is run out, when they think it is 
 but newly turned. 
 
 When men feel sickness arresting, then they 
 fear death is approaching. But we begin to die. 
 
192 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOK 
 
 as soon as ever we begin to live. Every man's 
 passing-bell hangs in his own steeple. Take him 
 in his four elements, of earth, air, fire, and water. 
 In the earth, he is as fleeting dust ; in the air, he 
 is as a disappearing vapour j in the water, he is as 
 a breaking bubble ; and in the y?re, he is as con- 
 suming smoke. — Many think not of living any 
 holier, till they can live no longer : but one to-day 
 is worth two to-morrows. 
 
 Reader, you know not how soon the sails of 
 your life may be rolled up, or how nigh you are 
 to your eternal haven 3 and if you have not Jesus 
 as your pilot within you, you will sufler an eternal 
 shipwreck. 
 
 Poor soul, what will you do, if you begin to die 
 naturally, before you begin to live spiritually! 
 How will you look, if the tabernacle of nature be 
 taken down, before the temple of grace be raised 
 up ! What must you feel, if your paradise be laid 
 waste, before the tree of hfe be set in it ! How 
 can you bear to give up the ghost, before you have 
 received the Holy Ghost ? Eternal will be your 
 darkness, if the sun of your life set within you 
 before the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you. 
 Woe be to you, if your body be turned into the 
 earth, before your soul be fit to be taken into hea- 
 ven. If the second birth have no place in you, the 
 second death will assuredly have power over you. 
 
 One excellently compares our life to a day. In- 
 fancy is the day dawn ; youth is the sun rising j 
 full growth is the sun's meridian ; and old age is 
 the setting sun. By the light of the day, the Lord 
 helps us to do the work of the day. that thou 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 193 
 
 licuht known in this thy day, the things that belong 
 to thy peace; but now they are hidjroni thine eyes ! 
 O how just is it, that they should miss of heaven 
 at last, who never seek for heaven till the last ! 
 How reasonable is it, that God should deny them 
 his grace to repent, who abuse his grace to sin ! 
 
 It is a maxim, that every thing hath a principle 
 to return to its own source. The rivers which 
 have their eflux from the sea, have their reflux to 
 the sea. Out of the dust man was formed, and 
 therefore into the dust man will be turned. Aged 
 reader, how much of your life is gone, and yet 
 how little of God is known ! How can you ap- 
 pear before God, if you are not found in God? 
 Your being ancient in days, will be no plea for 
 you before the Ancient of Days. If you have not 
 Christ the hope of glory in you, you must have 
 Christ the God of glory against you. If you 
 partake not of what Christ has done, you will be 
 eternally undone. 
 
 O you fresh picture of youth, how lovely will 
 you appear, if hung up in heaven's palace ! And 
 will you spend your youthful life in following 
 youthful lusts } Do you not know that the blos- 
 som is as subject to be nipped, as the flower to be 
 withered 3 and the spark to be extinguished, as 
 the flame to be consumed ? Veins full of blood 
 may be emptied by an accident, as soon as those 
 that are leakish with old age. As there are none 
 too old for eternity, so there are none too young 
 for mortality. In Golgotha there are skulls of all 
 sizes. Tell me, how will you hve when you die, 
 if you are dead while you live ? Every step that 
 
194 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 your body takes, is towards the earth : O that every 
 step your soul takes may be towards heaven ! 
 
 The vine that bringeth forth no grapes, shall be 
 cut down as well as that which bringeth forth wild 
 grapes. O how sad is it, to be taken out of the 
 world before we are taken oft from the world I 
 To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your 
 hearts. We have but a day wherein we are called 
 to repent J and therefore, should repent while it is 
 called to-day. He is the deafest adder, who stops 
 his ears to the voice of the sweetest charmer. The 
 Lord hath made a promise to late repentance, but 
 he hath not made a promise of late repentance. If 
 the heart of man be not now thawed, it may be 
 for ever frozen. 
 
 A pardon is sometimes given to a thief at the 
 gallows ; but he who trusts to that, sometimes hath 
 a rope for his wages. Boast not thyself of to-mor- 
 row ; for thou knowest not what a day may bring 
 forth. Man is such a purblind creature, that he 
 cannot unerringly see a day before him. O see the 
 end of one day, before you glory in the beginning 
 of another ! 
 
 Many man's days deceive him • they pass away 
 like a shadow by moonshine, which appears long- 
 est when the moon is lowest. You may not have 
 half a day to live, when you think that you have 
 not lived out half your days. 
 
 The night cometh, wherein no man can work. 
 The grave is a bed to rest in, but not a shop to 
 trade in. There is no setting up under ground, 
 for those who have neglected their souls above 
 ground. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 195 
 
 When the soul takes her flight from her loving 
 mate the body, they shall meet no more till the 
 great day of retribution. Behold, now is the ac- 
 cepted time ; behold, now is the day of salvation ! 
 Opportunities are for eternity, but not to eternity. 
 Mercy's clock does not strike at the sinner's back. 
 Where the means of grace are greatest, there they 
 are often the shortest. You may be unhappy all 
 your days, for despising the happiness of these 
 days. 
 
 That was a sad cry of one : ' My life is done, but 
 my work is undone.' Go to the ant, thou slug- 
 gard; consider her ivays, and be wise. Though 
 the summer of life be but just opening, yet the 
 winter of death is approaching : and how can you 
 live in that winter, if there be no honey in your 
 hive in this summer ? 
 
 Seek ije the Lord while he may be found, call ye 
 upon him while he is near. O young person, the 
 sufferings of eternal death are but the consequence 
 of your wilful contempt of eternal life. Methinks 
 the worth of such a heavenly pearl as Christ should 
 sparkle in your eyes. O that you may walk in the 
 light of that sun, by the beams of which you may 
 see your way to heaven ! No disease is more fa- 
 tal, than that Avhich stimulates you to reject the 
 restoring medicine. What a sad thing is it, that 
 such mines of grace should be opened, and not a 
 penny of this treasure fall to your share ! Come, 
 I trust you are are not gone so far in sin as to be 
 beyond all hope of returning. A returning prodi- 
 gal may yet meet with a welcome reception. The 
 eternal Father is yet a tender father. He delights 
 
196 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 to see a repenting prodigal j to hear a mourning 
 Ephraim ; and help a sinking Peter. 
 
 How much time has God bestowed upon man, 
 before ever he has returned any of it to him again ! 
 It is good to have an ark prepared^ before that 
 deluge come in which you may be overwhelmed. 
 Remember that God can as easily turn you into 
 dust, as he could take you out of the dust. Delays 
 are no more numerous, than they are dangerous. 
 Before you can do good, you must be made good. 
 For who will look for water from a drained liver • 
 or that sweet grapes should grow upon a withered 
 vine ? 
 
 For a man to make his soul's concern his last 
 concern ; what is this, but as if a husbandman 
 should be putting in his plough, when he should be 
 thrusting in his sickle ? Know, O man, that there 
 is but one heaven ; miss of that, and where will 
 you take up your lodging, but in hell ! A vicious 
 man's life expires like a tallow candle, leaving an 
 ungrateful savour behind it ; but a gracious man's 
 life expires like a wax candle_, that leaves a sweet 
 perfume behind it. 
 
 12. Another principle that a Christian will walk 
 by, is this : That there can never he too great an es- 
 trangement from defilement. 
 
 He who now gives way to the least sin, may be 
 given up to the greatest sins. We are never far 
 enough from lust, while we are on earth j or near 
 enough to Christ, while we are out of heaven. A 
 sound eye cannot endure the least spot. O, stand 
 off from the devil's mark, unless you ^vould be hit 
 by his arrows. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 197 
 
 Abstain from all appearance of evil. The clo- 
 sing in with the appearance of evil, is the first step 
 to the accomplishment of the most enormous evil. 
 A spark of fire will easily catch in a box of tinder, 
 A picture in the glass may inflame, as well as the 
 picture in the face. Little streams will find a 
 passage to the great sea. Christian reader, re- 
 striction is a good chain to transgression. Why 
 should you venture on slippery places, who can 
 scarcely stand upon the firmest ground ? 
 
 As faith is a grace that feeds all the rest, so fear 
 is a grace that guards all the rest. That man who 
 is the most watchful, is the least sinful. He may 
 quickly be cast down by a sinful temptation, who 
 is already prepared for it by a sinful occasion. 
 Who will pity that man whose house is blown up 
 with powder, if he keep his barrels in the chim- 
 ney corner ? 
 
 Such is the monstrous wickedness of men, that 
 they use spurs and whips to that horse, which ot 
 itself rushes too fast into the battle. Though the 
 streams and currents of their own lusts carry them 
 too swiftly already, yet they hoist up sails to en- 
 tertain the devil's winds. But such have a title 
 good enough for hell, without so much trouble to 
 make it surer. 
 
 The fowler spreads his net, but the wings of the 
 bird carry her into it. Do you murmur for want 
 of liberty, and yet surrender yourself to slavery ? 
 If you would not step into the harlot's house, you 
 should not go by the harlot's door. If you would 
 not gather the forbidden fruit, then beware how 
 you look on the tree where it grows. 
 s3 
 
198 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 To pray against temptations, and yet to rush into 
 occasions^ is to thrust your fingers into the fire, and 
 then pray that they might not be burnt. The fable 
 saith, ' That the butterfly enquired of the owl, how 
 she should do with the candle which had singed her 
 wings ? The owl counselled her, not so much as 
 to behold the smoke.' If you hold the stirrup, no 
 wonder satan get into the saddle. 
 
 The fort- royal of your souls is in danger of a 
 surprise, while the out-works of your senses are 
 unguarded. Your eyes, which may be floodgates 
 to pour out tears, should not be casements to let 
 in lusts. A careless eye is an index to a graceless 
 heart. Remember the whole world died by a 
 wound in the eye. The eyes of a Christian should 
 be like sun-flowers, which are opened to no blaze 
 but that of the sun. 
 
 To keep the eyes and not regard the ears, is as if 
 a man should shut the casements of his house, and 
 leave the doors open to the thief. I'he ear is an 
 instrument that the devil loves to play upon. As 
 your ears are joined to your head on earth, so they 
 should be fastened to your head in heaven. 
 
 Your tongue, which should be tuned for God's 
 glory, should not be turned to your own shame. 
 By the striking of those clappers, we guess at the 
 metal of the bell. Thou art a Galilean; thy speech 
 bewrayeth thee. A soul without its watch is like 
 a city without its wall, exposed to the inroad of all 
 its enemies. We need a sun to dispel our dark- 
 ness, and a shield to repel our dangers. The earth 
 is not so apt to be over-run with thorns, as the 
 mind would with sins, did not our great Gardener 
 prevent their growth. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 199 
 
 Those who would not fall into the river, should 
 beware how they approach too near to its banks* 
 He that crashes the egg, need not fear the flight 
 of the bird. He who would not drink of the wine 
 of wrath, let him not touch the cup of pleasure. 
 He who would not hear the passing-bell of eternal 
 death, should not finger the rope of sin. A person 
 who carries gunpowder about him, can never stand 
 too far from the fire. If we accompany sin one 
 mile, it will compel us to go twain. It swells like 
 Elijah's cloud, from the size of a man's hand to 
 such an expansion, as to cover the whole sky. 
 
 Let him that thinketh he stands, take heed lest he 
 fall. You will quickly lose your standing, if you 
 are fearless of falling. He that abstains from no 
 lawful thing, may soon be brought to commit 
 something that is sinful. Many a man hath been 
 thrown out of the saddle of profession, by riding 
 with too slack a rein of circumspection. 
 
 Little sins are not like an inch of candle, which 
 soon expires • but they resemble a train of powder, 
 which takes fire from corn to corn, till at last the 
 barrel be burst asunder. An honest matron will 
 blush to be found in the dress of a wanton woman. 
 Reader, will you invite that into the chamber of 
 your heart, which brought Christ into the manger? 
 Is your house so largely built, that you can afford 
 that an harbour, which you know to be a traitor ? 
 
 Having even the garment spotted hij the Jlesh. 
 Those garments which are defiled with the leprosy 
 of sin, must either be cleansed by the priest, or 
 burnt without the camp. If a sick man dislike 
 the cup out of which he took his nauseous physic. 
 
200 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 how shonld he refuse and abhor that which is fill- 
 ed with deadly poison ! A behever disbands those 
 auxiliaries, who have assisted his adversaries. 
 
 If Achan handle the golden wedge, his next 
 work will be to steal it. If Ruth lie at the feet of 
 Boaz, her next remove may be into his bed. If 
 you take the devil's cup into your hand, it is to be 
 feared that you will quickly lift it to your head. 
 
 13. Another principle by which a believer should 
 walk, is this : That whatsoever is temporally enjoy- 
 ed^ should be spiritually improved. 
 
 All that a believer receives, is from the hand of 
 divine bounty j and employed to the end of the 
 divine glory. Others make an earthly use of 
 heavenly things 5 but he makes a heavenly use of 
 earthly things. God can put a golden bias into a 
 leaden bowl, that it may run true to him who made 
 it. The more he oils our wheels on earth, the 
 swifter our chariots move to heaven. Grace can 
 teach how to plume the wings of riches, and in- 
 struct us how to lay up that treasure in heaven^ 
 which comes out of the bowels of this earth. 
 
 There is a divine chemistry, which can extract 
 the purest spirits out of the most gross and feculent 
 matter. The beast on the altar differs not in kind 
 from the beast at the slaughter. There is a lawful 
 craft of coining our money over again, and adding 
 the image and superscription of God to that which 
 is Caesar's. It is said of the philosopher's stone, 
 that it turns whatsoever it touches into gold. 
 
 Whatever mill a saint has going in the world, 
 he will spread the sails of it for the wind of divine 
 approbation, that it may move round for God's 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 201 
 
 glory. When God sets him up above the world, 
 then he holds up God to the world. 
 
 It is unequal, to be hot in our prayers, and cold 
 in our praises. Many will cry aloud. Give us this 
 day our daily bread- and whisper out. Hallowed be 
 thy name ! This is like opening our windows to 
 admit the light, and then shutting them closely to 
 keep out the sun. We too frequently lay our pipes 
 to convey the water into our cisterns, and then 
 turn the cock against the spring. 
 
 It cannot be praise-worthy to remember God in 
 our necessities, and then forget him in our pros- 
 perity. His kindness is as proper a ground for 
 praising him, as his promise is for praying to him. 
 If under our miseries we can seek God with dili- 
 gence ; then under the weight of his mercies we 
 should praise him with cheerfulness. Mercies are 
 such gifts as advance our debts. It is as unpleasant 
 to see a Christian in an ungrateful temper, as it 
 is unnatural to see Pharaoh's lean kine in a fat 
 pasture. 
 
 If God give us any enjoyment, it is for his own 
 entertainment. Well may those hands reap the 
 fruits, which set the plants. Is he not worthy to 
 feed at that table, which his own hands have 
 spread ? — Where former blessings have been ac- 
 knowledged, there future blessings shall be en- 
 joyed. He shall never want mercy, who does not 
 wanton with mercy. When man fights against 
 God with his gifts, he fights against himself with 
 his own sins. 
 
 Take a wicked man, and you will not find him 
 led to God, by that which comes from God. He, 
 
202 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 like the sea, turns the sweetest showers into the 
 saltest waters. The greater substance he has from 
 God, the less service has God from him. Like the 
 moon, he is furthest from the sun when he shines 
 with the greatest splendour. The more a dunghill 
 has the sun-beams upon it, the more noisome is 
 the effluvia arising from it. 
 
 Sinners, instead of having vials full of odours, 
 have hearts full of evils. How many are there, 
 who are highly above others m false greatness, and 
 yet are greatly below them in real goodness ! To 
 turn from God while he is blessing them, is worse 
 than to turn from him when he is smiting them. 
 
 Jesus answered. Many good works have I shewed 
 you from my Father: for which of these good works 
 do ye stone me ? He shewed them his Father's 
 goodness, and they stoned him for the goodness he 
 had shewed. They were like ^sop's snake, which 
 lay still in the frost, but stung him who laid it in 
 his bosom. If it be a sin to return unto man evil 
 for evil ; what must it be to return unto God evil 
 for good ? 
 
 When we taste the generous wine, we should not 
 forget the tree whereon the grapes grew. When 
 we are refreshed by the rolling streams, it would 
 be well to remember the spring from whence they 
 arose. — A load of earth has crushed many a man 
 to death. The richer some professors have been 
 without, the poorer they have been within. 
 
 Notwithstanding the pious pretences of the Ro- 
 mish conclave, the Indians have brought more of 
 the Spaniards to worship their gold, than ever the 
 Spaniards brought of the Indians to worship their 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 203 
 
 God. The former have made more infidels than 
 the latter have Christians. 
 
 Outward mercies to our bodies are divine baits, 
 which are sometimes laid to catch our souls. God 
 tries the vessel with water, that he may fill it with 
 generous wine. Every stream leads an observant 
 believer to the fountain-head. The more God's 
 hand is enlarged in blessing him, the more his 
 heart is enlivened in blessing God. 
 
 Where the sun of mercy shines hottest, there the 
 fruits of grace grow fastest. In the book of nature, 
 we may read the God of nature. The creature is 
 like a tuned instrument, and the Christian's hand 
 can strike it to the Redeemer's praise. 
 
 As a saint has an heart to seek God in what he 
 has promised, so he has a hand to serve him with 
 Avhat he possesses. The greater the wages are 
 which he previously receives, the better is the 
 work which he performs. If he has five talents 
 committed to him, he gets five more. If he has 
 one, he improves none. The more a merchant 
 adventures at sea, the greater are the returns ex- 
 pected at land. The tallest vines should always 
 bear the sweetest grapes, because they lie most 
 open to the sun. It is sacrilege to possess the 
 largest crops, and return to God the smallest 
 tythes of gratitude. 
 
 There is a requital of evil for evil, this is blame- 
 able 3 — of good for good, this is laudable ; — of evil 
 for good, this is abominable- — of good for evil, 
 and this is admirable. 
 
 The April showers which invigorate the herbage 
 and beautify the spring, do likewise bring forth 
 many offensive croaking frogs. 
 
204 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Man should resemble the rivers, which, as they 
 receive their rise from the sea, are restlessly re- 
 turning to their source. Who is so unworthy of 
 God's blessing as man ? and who is so worthy of 
 man's praises as God? 
 
 Beloved, we have not longer enjoyed the bless- 
 ings of the earth, than we have abused them ; 
 which gives too much cause to fear, that though 
 the child of mercy, like Jacob, has put forth his 
 hand, yet the child of judgment, like Esau, may 
 supersede him. 
 
 The devout Bernard observes, 'That ingratitude 
 is a parching wind, which will dry up the springs 
 of bounty, and dews of clemency.' 
 
 Man was formed the last of the creation, that 
 he might contemplate upon God through every 
 creature. Beloved, when you survey the spacious 
 firmament, and behold it hung with such resplen- 
 dent bodies 3 then think, that if the suburbs be so 
 beautiful, what must the city be I What is the 
 footstool he makes, to the throne whereon he sits ! 
 W^hen you view the evening star above you, then 
 reflect upon the morning star within you. 
 
 When you sit down at your table to meat, let 
 this be your first course j how happy are all those 
 who shall eat bread in the kingdom of Christ ! 
 Those are the rarest feasts, which are graced with 
 the most royal guests. 
 
 When you see the winged travellers swiftly part 
 the yielding elements, or the winding rivers hast- 
 ening to their origin 3 then consider, how rapidly 
 the little rivers of opportunity are pushing their 
 way to the great ocean of eternity. 
 
 When you are decorating your body with the 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 205 
 
 varieties of art, then reflect how the eternal Word 
 put on the rough suit of humanity. Think how 
 Mercy undressed itself, to cover you with its gar- 
 ments ! 
 
 When you take off your apparel, then remember, 
 that you must put off this tabernacle. Be going 
 to your bed, as if you were going to your grave j 
 and so close your eyes in one world, as if you were 
 immediately to open them in another. 
 
 When you behold your garden stored with trees, 
 and richly laden with fruit, then contemplate upon 
 the great Husbandman the true vine, and his believ- 
 ing branches. It cannot be so pleasant to see our 
 orchards bearing fruits for us, as it is to God to see 
 us bring forth fruit to him. 
 
 When you gaze upon the stately buildings, the 
 shady groves, the crystal streams, the pleasant 
 meadows, and all the pomp of wicked men • then 
 think, if sinners go away with such large messes, 
 what shall Benjamin's portion be ! If the chil- 
 dren of the concubines have such possessions, what 
 shall be the inheritance of the children of promise ! 
 If the dogs fare so well beneath the table, how 
 must the children fare at it ! Give me that eye 
 which can see God in all ; that hand which can 
 serve God with all -, and that heart that can bless 
 him /or all. 
 
 14. Another principle that a Christian is to walk 
 by, is this : That he should speak well of God, 
 whatsoever evil he receives from God. 
 
 While the water is quiet, the mud lies at the 
 bottom ; but when it is disturbed, it rises to the 
 top. Every cock-boat can swim in a shallow river 3 
 
 T 
 
206 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 but it must be a strong vessel that ploughs the 
 troubled ocean. Tlie Lord giveth and the Lord 
 taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord, 
 He gives before he takes, and takes but what he 
 gives. The hour-glass of outward happiness soon 
 runs out. To-day Job is the richest man in all 
 the east, to-morrow Job is the poorest man in all 
 the world 3 yet his heart was like a fruitful para- 
 dise, when his estate was like a barren wilderness. 
 Though God burnt up his out-house, yet his palace 
 was left standing. 
 
 Outward mercies are like the tide, which ebbs 
 as well as flows ; — like the sky, which sometimes 
 is clear, and at another time clouded ; — or like a 
 budding flower, which a warm day opens, and a 
 cold day shuts again. If God bless us in taking 
 as well as in giving, let us bless him for taking as 
 well as for giving. 
 
 That is a choice artist, who can play well upon 
 a broken instmment. To be impatient with our 
 affliction, and patient with our corruption, is to 
 be angry with the medicine which heals us, and in 
 love with the poison which kills us. 
 
 Beloved, it is sometimes in mercy to us that 
 God removes outward mercies from us. He never 
 wounds a saint to kill him, but to heal him. A 
 gracious person once said, ' Though I am some- 
 times full of pains, yet I am at all times full of pa- 
 tience : I often mourn under my corruption, but 
 I never murmur under my affliction.' Some can 
 rejoice in any thing but Christ, and grieve for any 
 thing but lust. 
 
 Too many think that God is cutting down the 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 207 
 
 tree, when he is but lopping oft* its luxuriant 
 branches. They imagine that he is demolishing 
 the superstructure, when he is only laying a right 
 foundation. Poor souls, he is not nipping the 
 flowers, but plucking up the weeds -, he is not lay- 
 ing your land fallow, but ploughing the field j he 
 is not putting out the light, but snuffing the can- 
 dle. Providence hath a beautiful face under a 
 black mask. God has the fairest ends in the foul- 
 est ways. The sheep may be dipped in the water 
 to wash it, when there is no design in the good 
 shepherd to drown it. 
 
 Christian reader, you may read the marks of a 
 father in the stripes of his children. Every twig 
 of the black rod, is but to draw his image upon 
 you. — Could we but bury our friends alive, we 
 should not mourn so much for them when they are 
 dead. Did not the possession of the riches some- 
 times draw away our hearts, then the loss of them 
 Avould not break our hearts. 
 
 Son of man, behold I take away the desire of 
 thine eyes with a stroke. What, though he take a 
 wife out of your bosom, so he take her into his 
 own ? You may embrace a creature till you kill 
 it with kindness j and wither the sweetest flowers 
 by smelling them too often. God doth but take 
 that out of your hands, which would thrust him 
 out of your heart. 
 
 He that mingles his passions with his afflictions, 
 is like a foolish patient, who chews the pills he 
 should swallow whole. He that carnally disturbs 
 his soul for the loss of his substance, casts away 
 the kernel because God hath taken away the shell. 
 
208 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 If the tree yield us good fruit, it will be no very 
 great loss, though the wind blow away the leaves. 
 To bless God for mercies, is the way to increase 
 them J to bless God for miseries, is the way to re- 
 move them. No good lives so long, as that which 
 is thankfully improved 3 no evil dies so soon, as 
 that which is patiently sustained. 
 
 God can make a plaster of a disease, and bring 
 soundness to the inward man by the sickness of the 
 outward man. If he stop up all your light, it is 
 but to make you fairer windows. When the stars 
 do not shine, the sun appears, repairing the loss 
 of the smaller lights with brighter beams. In the 
 loss of withered nosegays, you may smell at flow- 
 ers fresh on the stalk. When Christians have 
 their candles put out, they may fetch their light 
 from the sun • and when they have their streams 
 cut off, they may drink at the spring head. 
 
 The birds of paradise make the swiftest flight 
 when they have the smallest feathers. These night- 
 ingales warble the most sweetly, when they set 
 their breasts against the thorns. The creature 
 often interrupts the respects which we owe to our 
 Creator • and then no w^onder if he break the cis- 
 tern to bring us unto the fountain. Those who are 
 found blessing God under all their losses, shall find 
 God blessing them after all their losses. 
 
 15. Another principle by which a Christian 
 should walk, is this : That the longer God forbears 
 with the unrelenting sinner in life, the sorer he 
 strikes him in the judgment-day. 
 
 Divine patience is to be adored by all, and 
 abused by none. Sinners usually take God's for- 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 209 
 
 bearance for their acquittance. Because they sin 
 unpunished for a time, they imagine there is no 
 punishment for sin in eternity. They forget that 
 it is one thing to forbear the debtor, and another 
 to forgive the debt. 
 
 Because sentence against an evil work is not exe- 
 cuted speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men 
 is fully set in them to do evil. Because the Lord 
 continues to spare them, therefore they go on to 
 provoke him. As he adds to their lives, so they 
 add to their lusts. What is this, but as if a man 
 should break all his bones, because there is a sur- 
 geon who is able to set them again ? 
 
 Christian reader, you are greatly in debt to Di- 
 vine Justice • but mercy stopped the awful arrest 
 of vengeance. Many others have been taken from 
 the earth by a sudden arrow darted from heaven. 
 Adultrous Zimri and Cozbi unloaded their lives 
 and their lusts at the same time. 
 
 Because justice seems to wink, men suppose her 
 blind} because she delays punishment, they ima- 
 gine she denies to punish them ; because she does 
 not always reprove them for their sins, they sup- 
 pose she always approves of their sins. But let 
 such know, that the silent arrow can destroy as 
 well as the roaring cannon. Though the patience 
 of God be lasting, yet it is not everlasting. 
 
 Believer, the sword of justice is dipped in the 
 oil of mercy for your sake j and it dismembers 
 some parts of your body, that the whole might not 
 be destroyed. 
 
 He that being often reproved hardens his neck, 
 shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without re- 
 t3 
 
210 THE NONSUCH PROPESSOK 
 
 medy. God loves all men so as io feed and forbear 
 them 5 yet he loves but few men so as to forgive 
 them. He M^as six days in making the whole 
 world, and seveji days in destroying one city. Our 
 garrisons are fairly summoned, before they are fu- 
 riously stormed. If God's warnings are not sanc- 
 tified to us, his vengeance will be executed upon 
 us. It is sad for the iron to gather rust under 
 the file. 
 
 Reader, remember, that if you be corrected, the 
 Lord takes the scourge out of your own house. I 
 gave her space to repent of her fornication, but she 
 repented not. Many have the space of repentance, 
 who have not the grace of repentance. But what 
 follows ? Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and 
 them that commit adultery with her into great tri- 
 bulation, except they repent of their deeds. Sinners 
 may cast themselves upon a bed of fake hope; but 
 justice will cast them into a bed of real torment. 
 
 Mark how the long-slumbering arm of Deity 
 awakes to the prey : I have a long time holden my 
 peace, I have been still and refrained, myself; now 
 will I cry like a travailing woman ; I will destroy 
 and devour at once. The longer God is in fetch- 
 ing about his hand, the heavier will the blow be 
 when it falls. 
 
 Security resembles a flash of lightning, which 
 ushers in a clap of thunder j or it is like a pro- 
 found calm at sea, which is generally succeeded 
 by a dreadful storm. 
 
 Know, sinner, that God can dip his hand in 
 your blood, and yet fetch out the stains. 
 
 He is pleased sometimes to shake your feeble 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 211 
 
 cottage before he throws it down • he often makes 
 it totter before it tumbles. It may be a fair sun- 
 shiny season with you iiow^ but a whirlwind may 
 soon arise and dash you to pieces. 
 
 We pity a body that is going to the block ; and 
 shall we not pity a soul that is hastening to the bot- 
 tomless pit ? He dies the most comfortably, who 
 lives the most heavenly. It is easier for a bird to 
 avoid the snare, than to break the snare. The very 
 beasts will shun the places where their own species 
 have miscarried. 
 
 The rising sun in the morning was no proof 
 that Sodom should not be entombed in its own 
 ashes before the evening. That day which begins 
 in prosperity, may end in adversity. 
 
 Attend to the charge which the King of heaven 
 brings against the priests of Israel : These things 
 hast thou done, and I kept silence ; thou thoughtest 
 that J was altogether such an one as thyself ^ but I 
 will reprove thee, and set them in order before thee. 
 But what is the application of this? Consider 
 this, ye thai forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, 
 and there be none to deliver you. Justice propor- 
 tions the sinner's smart to his fault 5 so that we 
 may behold the greatness of the offence in the fit- 
 ness of the punishment. 
 
 If the wicked turn not, he hath whet his sword • 
 he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. The 
 whetting of the sword is but to give a keener edge 
 that it may cut the deeper. God is silent as long 
 as the sinner will let him ; but when the sword is 
 whet, it is to cut • and when the bow is bent, it is 
 to kill j and woe be to that man who is the butt. 
 
212 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Enraged justice will avenge the quarrel of abus- 
 ed mercy -, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the 
 hands of the living God. It is a good thing to fall 
 at his feet, but a fearful thing to fall into his hands. 
 The stronger the enemy's arm is, the stronger will 
 bis blow be. Never did a weary traveller complain 
 of being at his journey's end too soon. But a sin- 
 ner, if he die soon, it does but hasten his torment 3 
 and if he live long, it does but heighten his tor- 
 ment. 
 
 Ah, what a sad vision is that, where the black 
 horse of death precedes, and the red horse of wrath 
 follows after ! Needs must one fear come upon 
 the back of another, when one death comes upon 
 the neck of another. 
 
 Sinner, how fearful is it to be preserved from 
 small, and reserved for great evils ! The higher 
 you are raised, the greater will be your fall. You 
 may wonder more at the divine indulgence which 
 has so long reprieved you, than at the Almighty 
 vengeance w^hich so soon overtakes you. You 
 were dry enough for eternal flames, when you 
 were wrapped in your swaddling bands : for you 
 were by nature a child of wrath, even as others. 
 All who draw their first breath in corruption, de- 
 serve to draw their second in destmction. It is a 
 wonder that he should add to our days, when we 
 are adding to our sins. 
 
 God has his vials of wrath filled with indigna- 
 tion, for those who are vessels of wrath fitted for 
 destruction. If his long-suffering does not draw 
 the sinner to repentance, his severity will drown 
 him, in desperation. O sinner, either seek a Sa- 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 213 
 
 vioiir to deliver you from the wrath of God, or 
 else find a shoulder to bear you up under the 
 wrath of God. 
 
 16. Another principle by which a Christian 
 should walk, is this : That there is no judging of 
 the inward conditions of men by the outward dis- 
 pensations of God. 
 
 The greatness of our estates is no argument of 
 the goodness of our hearts. To prize ourselves by 
 what we have, and not by what we are, is to es- 
 timate the value of the jewel by the golden frame 
 which contains it. Grace and gold can live to- 
 gether J but the smallest degree of the former in 
 the heart, is preferable to a chain of the latter 
 about the neck. 
 
 That old complaint may justly be revived : Bo- 
 nis male, malis bene. Here it is sometimes evil with 
 the righteous, and well with the Avicked. Those 
 who live most upon God, fare worst from the 
 ^vorld. 
 
 Under the law, the dove was preferred in sacri- 
 fice to the swine. Riches are called thick clay. 
 They are more likely to weaken the back than 
 strengthen the heart. 
 
 No man can know love or hatred by any thing 
 that is before him. You cannot read the wrath of 
 God in the black lines of adversity, or the love of 
 God in the white lines of prosperity. 
 
 God often wrings out the waters of a full cup 
 to wicked men, though there be dregs at the bot- 
 tom. They may be fruitful vines, and yet only 
 laden with sour grapes. It is seldom that the 
 sparkling diamond of a great estate is set in the 
 golden ring of a converted heart. 
 
214 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Riches have made many good men worse, but 
 they never made any bad men better. Thus if we 
 discern but a spark of grace in a nobleman, we cry 
 it up as a blazing comet, and speak of it in the su- 
 perlative degree. 
 
 Though a Christian be made happy in the world, 
 yet he is not made happy by the world. Give me 
 those judgments which give birth to mercy, rather 
 than those outward mercies which give birth to 
 judgments. There are many who are temporally 
 happy, who will be eternally miserable ; and many 
 are now temporally miserable, who will be eternally 
 happy. 
 
 If indigence could procure heaven, how many 
 poor people would then be saved • and if wealth 
 could free a man from hell, how very few of the 
 rich would be damned ! The kingdom of Christ 
 is the kingdom of the cross. Those who attempt 
 to take the cross from the Christian's shoulders, do 
 in effect aim to remove the crown from his head. 
 
 He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the 
 good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 
 The sun of prosperity shines upon the dunghill as 
 well as upon beds of spices. The rain of adversity 
 falls upon the fruitful garden as well as upon the 
 barren wilderness. The abundance of the infidel 
 is as a golden chain to bind him to the earth, and 
 the apparent miseries of the believer are as fiery 
 chariots to convey him to heaven. 
 
 And now we call the proud happy : yea, they 
 that work wickedness are set up : yea, they that 
 tempt God are even delivered, God's jewels may 
 here be trodden under foot, but hereafter they wiU 
 be fixed in the royal diadem. If we look for a 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 215 
 
 saint, he is not always to be found upon a bed of 
 down, but sometimes he has been seen upon a heap 
 of dust. Poor Lazarus rises to heaven, and rich 
 Dives sinks to hell. 
 
 Benjamin was not the less regarded by Joseph, 
 because the silver cup was discovered in his sack. 
 We must not i^fer the absence of God's affections 
 from the presence of numerous afflictions. Though 
 the north wind may chill us, yet the beams of sum- 
 mer can soon revive us. Those stones which are 
 designed for the building, are frequently wounded 
 by the chisel 3 while those which are neglected, 
 lie in ruinous heaps. 
 
 A saint is glorious in his misery, but a sinner is 
 miserable amidst all his glory. We must not 
 therefore think evil of religion, though we should 
 behold a Joseph in the prison, while a Pharaoh is 
 in a palace ^ or a Job on the ground, while a Ju- 
 lian is on a throne. The most curious pearls are 
 often enclosed in the most rugged shells. Judge 
 not according to appearance, but judge righteous 
 judgment. Those who judge of a man's real great- 
 ness by his apparent grandeur, are unfit to sit up- 
 on the bench. That apple has not always the 
 soundest core, which has the fairest skin. 
 
 The tinsel glare upon a sinner is too apt to of- 
 fend the weak eyes of a saint. Alas, why should 
 he envy him a little light, who is to be shrouded 
 in everlasting darkness ? Why should we throw 
 bludgeons at those boughs, which are only laden 
 with poisonous fruits ? 
 
 Deliver my soul from the wicked, who have their 
 portion in this life ; whose belly thoufillest with thy 
 
216 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 hid treasure. The things of the world are the only 
 happiness of the men of the world. None of their 
 flowers grow in paradise. They are anxious for 
 the creature, and indifferent about the Redeemer. 
 
 A man's estate in this world may be great, and 
 yet his state for another world may be fearful. 
 God may say to him as to Pharaoh, For this pur- 
 pose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my 
 power upon thee. The same hand which now 
 pours abundance on ungodly men like oil, will 
 soon pour down wrath upon them like water. 
 Under all their wealth, their hearts are sinful; 
 and after all their riches are fled, their situation 
 will be doleful. It is far better to pass through 
 the valley of Baca to Zion, than to pitch our tents 
 in the plains of Sodom. 
 
 Luther's expression was not the less true be- 
 cause it was homely : ' The whole Turkish empire 
 is but a crust, which God threw to the dogs.' One 
 said, 'I would rather have Paul's coat, with his 
 heavenly graces, than the purple robes of princes, 
 with all their kingdoms.' 
 
 Lest riches should be accounted evil in them- 
 selves, God sometimes gives them to the righteous j 
 and lest they should be considered as the chief 
 good, he frequently bestows them on the wicked. 
 But they are more generally the portion of his en- 
 emies, than his friends. 
 
 Alas, what is it to receive, and not to be receiv- 
 ed? to have none other dews of blessing, than 
 such as shall be followed with showers of brim- 
 stone? We may compass ourselves with sparks 
 of security, and afterward be secured in eternal 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 217 
 
 misery. This world is a floating island, and so 
 sure as we cast anchor upon it, we shall be carried 
 away by it. 
 
 God, and all that he has made, is not more than 
 God without any thing that he has made. He can 
 never want treasure, who has such a golden mine. 
 He is enough without the creature, but the creature 
 is not any thing without him. It is therefore bet- 
 ter to enjoy him without any thing else, than to 
 enjoy every thing else without him. It is better to 
 be a wooden vessel filled with wine, than a golden 
 one filled with water. 
 
 17. Another principle by which a Christian 
 should walk, is this : That it is safest to cleave to 
 that good which is the choicest. 
 
 There never was one who thought he had made 
 a bad market, by selling all for the pearl of great 
 price. 
 
 Lord, to whom shall we go ? for thou hast the 
 words of eternal life. Peter knew that a soul who 
 was changed, was not for changing. There cannot 
 be a better being for us, than for us to be with the 
 Lord : and shall those who have forsaken all to 
 follow him, forsake him again to follow nothing? 
 
 Reader, you cannot tread in the steps of Christ, 
 without drinking of the cup of Christ. The near- 
 er you are to such a spring, the clearer will your 
 streams be. When every other gourd is withered, 
 he will prove a refreshing shelter. 
 
 How precious are thy thoughts unto me, Godj 
 how great is the sum of them I If I should count 
 them, they are more in number than the sand : when 
 I awake, I am still with thee. David was least 
 
218 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 alone, when he was most alone. His heart was 
 like the needle in the compass, which always in- 
 clines to the northern pole. Believers are desir- 
 ous of leaving their hearts with God one day, that 
 they may find them with him another day. 
 
 Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is 
 none upon earth that I desire besides thee. Let a 
 believer search heaven and earth, yet he can find 
 nothing comparable to God : and indeed he must 
 be a conjuror at discovery if he could. As Judah 
 said of Jacob, ' His life is bound up in the life of 
 the lad j' so say I of a Christian, his life is bound 
 up in the life of God. To be near to him in hap- 
 piness, is to draw near to him in holiness. 
 
 Many unstable professors may justly be reflected 
 upon. They will readily attend an applauded 
 Christ, but will hastily desert a crucified Christ j 
 but a true Christian is as willing to follow him to 
 the cross, as to the throne. He has no desire to 
 turn like a shadow from him, in whom there is no 
 shadow of turning. 
 
 As there is no natural good in us to lead us to 
 God, so there is no evil without us that shall final- 
 ly draw us from him. Who but an idiot would 
 address a picture instead of a person -, or prefer a 
 shadow to a substance ? There is nothing can do 
 us so much good as God's presence, or so much 
 evil as his absence. 
 
 It is far better to part with a thousand worlds 
 for one Christ, than with one Christ for a thousand 
 worlds. How dreadful is their darkness who live 
 in the absence of such a sun ! 
 
 Reader, every step you take to Christ, is a step 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 219 
 
 towards heaven ; and every step you take from 
 him, is a mortal step towards hell. 
 
 And he was sorrowful at that saying, and went 
 away grieved, for he had great possessions. This 
 poor rich man, or rather, this rich poor man, came 
 hastily to Jesus, and ran heavily from him. If he 
 may not enjoy God and mammon, he will leave 
 God for mammon. One was for selling all, but 
 the other for saving all. Ah, what false balances 
 are those, which will make corruptible silver out- 
 weigh an incorruptible Saviour ! 
 
 The prince of darkness employs the men of the 
 world to draw us from God, and the things of the 
 world to keep us from God. Truly that good was 
 never worth seeking, that is not worth keeping. 
 
 Reader, is it not a fault to depart from that God, 
 in whom there is no fault ? As Saul said to his 
 servants. Hear now, ye Benjamites ; will the son of 
 Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and 
 make you all captains of thousands, and captains 
 of hundreds ? So say I to sinners : Can sin, satan, 
 or the world, do that for you, which God can ? It 
 is only the best of beings, who can convey the best 
 of blessings. None but that God who has the keys 
 of heaven, can open the gates of heaven. By him 
 we obtain admittance into the celestial inheritance. 
 
 What is our life but a warfare 3 and what is the 
 world but a thoroughfare ? Know, sinner, if you 
 reject the Saviour, you despise grace, which is the 
 fairest jewel on earth • and glory, which is the 
 brightest sun beyond this life. 
 
 No set of men are in greater danger of losing 
 the life to come, than those who are contented with 
 the present. A drop is more easily dried up than 
 
220 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 a river -, and a spark sooner extinguished than a 
 flame. 
 
 What powerful constraints does our God lay 
 upon us to seek his friendship I / will never leave 
 thee, nor forsake thee. It would be better for us 
 to leave all behind, than that he should leave us 
 behind. It is not the brightest star that can con- 
 stitute day, when the sun is set ; nor the thickest 
 cloud that can make a night, if it be risen. 
 
 18. Another principle by which a Christian 
 should walk, is this : That no present worldly bu- 
 siness should interrupt his pursuit of future blessed- 
 ness, 
 
 Solomon says, j^ll the labour of man is for his 
 mouth. Though he says it is so, yet he does not 
 say it should be so. This w^ould not be for a hea- 
 then to commence Christian, but for a Christian to 
 become a glutton. 
 
 That hawk which follows the world's prey, is 
 in danger of falling into God's snare. Why should 
 I lay out that time in seeking pebbles, which may 
 be better employed in search oi jewels ? What 
 God bestows on some men as a temporary pension, 
 they embrace as their only portion. Such foolish 
 travellers are so taken up with the inn, as to for- 
 get the end of their journey. They may indeed 
 sow this seed, but it will produce nothing but 
 wormwood. 
 
 Outward mercies are not so mean as to be total- 
 ly neglected ; nor so great as to be primarily desir- 
 ed. If they be seducements from the mercy-seat, 
 they will prove indictments at the judgment-seat. 
 
 I may say of the earth, as a philosopher said of 
 Athens, ' It may serve for a transient lodging, but 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 221 
 
 not for a constant dwelling.' Outward plenty 
 may be a comfortable ship for indigence to sail in j 
 but it is a dangerous rock for confidence to build 
 upon. Give some people the earth in their hands, 
 and they care not who has heaven in his heart. 
 
 When Crates threw his gold into the sea, he 
 cried out. Ego perdam te, ne tu perdas me. That 
 is, * I will destroy you, lest you should destroy me.' 
 Thus, if the world be not put to death here, it will 
 put us to death hereafter. Then we shall say, as 
 Cardinal Wolsey, when discarded by his prince, 
 and abandoned to the fury of his enemies : ' If I 
 had served my God as faithfully as ray king, he 
 would not have thus forsaken me.* Poor man, all 
 the perfumes on earth are unable to prevail over 
 the stench of hell. 
 
 It would be well for Christians, could they say, 
 as Erasmus : ' I desire riches no more than a feeble 
 beast wishes for a heavy burden.' Cares are bound 
 to crowns. Anxiety disfigures the face of prosperity, 
 and renders it like a crystal glass blown up by im- 
 pure breath. A body laden with cares, and a soul 
 laden with spiritual fruits, cannot well unite togeth- 
 er. Those who die trifling with salvation, will after 
 death tremble under the pains of damnation. 
 
 I have heard of a woman who, being busied to 
 save her goods when her house was in flames, for- 
 got her child ; but the child being soon after in- 
 quired for, she cried out, 'O my child, my child'.' 
 Thus will many thoughtless sinners, in a worse fire, 
 cry out, ' O our souls, our souls !' Poor Sisera was 
 not much better for the milk and butter, when he 
 so soon after felt the nail and the hammer. 
 u3 
 
222 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 Ah ! how careful are men of their outward, and 
 how careless about their inward concerns ! In a 
 vigourous body there is a vicious soul. The evil 
 disposition of the latter spoils the good composi- 
 tion of the former. 
 
 For a man to be attentive to his flesh, and inat- 
 tentive to his spirit ; what is this, but as if a hus- 
 bandman should gather in his stubble, and leave his 
 corn behind ? or as if a goldsmith should weigh 
 his dross, and cast away his gold ? 
 
 Reader, will you curiously trim your scabbard, 
 and let the costly sword decay with rust ? This 
 would be like Jacob, to lay the right hand upon 
 the younger, and the left hand upon the elder. If 
 there be nothing done in your soul on earth, there 
 will be nothing done /or it in heaven. 
 
 It is truly lamentable that the soul, which re- 
 ceived its being /ro»i God, should be excluded from 
 a being with God. 
 
 19. Another principle that a believer should 
 walk by, is this : That gospel integritij towards 
 God is the best security against wicked men. 
 
 Surly mastiffs, which have no teeth, may bark, 
 but they cannot bite. Who would fear the hiss- 
 ing serpent, if he knew it had no sting ? A naked 
 man with innocence, is preferable to Goliah with 
 his coat of mail. 
 
 And who is he that shall harm you, if ye be fol- 
 lowers of that which is good ? As no flattery can 
 heal a bad conscience, so no cruelty can wound a 
 good one. As the ways of God have happiness 
 connected, with them, so suft'erings for the sake of 
 God have honour annexed to them. A pious mar- 
 tyr has more renown than a bloody persecutor. 
 
IN ins MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 223 
 
 Integrity may not keep us from supposed infamy. 
 The choicest professors have had their black marks 
 in the world's calendars. But though it may not 
 keep us from being shot at, yet it will preserve us 
 from injury. The Lord taketh my part with them 
 that help me ; therefore shall I see mij desire upon 
 them that hate me. God will either find a shield 
 to ward q^ suft'erings, or a ha7id to sustain us under 
 them. Though the Christian be as a sheep among 
 wolves, God can save him from being rent by 
 them J or as a ship amidst waves, he can keep him 
 from being overwhelmed by them. Let us not, 
 therefore, bury a church before she is dead. It is 
 time enough to put on mourning, when God in- 
 vites us to her funeral. 
 
 For I am the Lord thy God, the holy one of Is- 
 rael, thy Saviour ; I gave Egypt for thy ransom, 
 Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Thus, whether he 
 pluck up the tares, or let them stand, it is only for 
 the sake of his people. Noah was sound in the 
 faith, when all the earth was polluted 3 and he 
 was saved in the ark, while it was deluged. 
 
 Upon all the glory shall be a defence. There is 
 nothing but the glory worth keeping ; and there 
 is none of the glory that shall be wanting. The 
 shields of salvation are not hung up in the way of 
 transgression. All the wiles of hell cannot con- 
 quer a single soldier in Christ's camp, much less 
 rout his whole army. 
 
 The Name of the Lord is a strong tower ; the 
 righteous runneth into it, and is safe. The Name 
 of the Lord is a strong tower, both for sublimity 
 and security. When Christ is our harbour, we 
 
224 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 may safely run our vessels into so desirable a 
 retreat. 
 
 A garden enclosed, is my sister, my spouse; a 
 spring shut up, a fountain sealed. As God num- 
 bers the hairs of bis people, be must needs pre- 
 serve tbeir heads. He bas a strong bedge of pro- 
 tection for tbem, wben their enemies would break 
 in upon tbem. 
 
 When thou passest through the waters, I will be 
 with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not 
 overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire, 
 thou shalt not he burnt ; neither shall the flame kin- 
 dle upon thee. Here is a dangerous voyage^ but a 
 safe convoy. God never deals vi^itb his friends as 
 we do with ours. We serve tbem too often as we 
 do dials ; which we only look upon when the sun 
 of prosperity shines j or as ladies do with flowers, 
 who, while they are gay, place them in their bo- 
 soms ', but wben they fade, cast them away. But 
 when our want is greatest, God's help is nearest. 
 The more grievous our oppression, the more glo- 
 rious is our deliverance. 
 
 Wben our misery is most powerful, then the 
 Lord's mercy is most visible. When our night is 
 the darkest, our day is the clearest. Wben our 
 ebb is the lowest, our flood is the highest. As our 
 tribulations abound, so our consolations much more 
 abound. 
 
 When God's benignity is most admired, our 
 calamity is more easy endured. Israel often slum- 
 bers and sleeps j but He that keepeth Israel does 
 neither. Thus we may boldly say, ' If God be for 
 us, who shall be against us?' Against us they 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 225 
 
 may be, to hate us ; but against us they shall not 
 be, to hurt us. 
 
 Noah rides safely in a well-pitched ark, while 
 the old world is drowned. When Israel is led 
 captive, Jeremiah is set at liberty. The prophet 
 found more favour from the princes of Babel, than 
 from the people of Israel. Gideon's fleece was 
 wet, while all the earth was dry. Thus will God 
 always preserve integrity, and punish vanity. His 
 grain is often gathered into the garner, before he 
 comes to burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 
 
 20. And lastly, a Christian will walk by this 
 principle : That the richness of the crown that shall 
 be received, shall more than compensate for the bit- 
 terness of the cross which may here be endured. 
 
 The last wine that Christ draws, is the best wine 
 that Christians drink. When the waters cover 
 the earth, whither should dove-hke spirits fly, but 
 to the ark of Christ? He who left heaven to 
 make them righteous, will come from heaven to 
 make them glorious. 
 
 For ye had compassion on me in my bonds, and 
 took joyfully the spoiling of your goods ; knowing 
 in yourselves, that ye have in heaven a better and 
 more enduring substance. O how did the gloiy of 
 their heavenly mansions outshine all the glare of 
 their earthly possessions ! 
 
 Christian, you are now on a troubled sea ; do 
 not say that you shall never arrive at your sure 
 resting-place. What, has God plucked you out of 
 the fre of destruction, and will he leave you in 
 the water of affliction ? In a small moment you 
 will cheerfully sing, ' Lo, the winter is past, the 
 rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the 
 
226 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 earth, and the time of the singing of birds is 
 come.* The blessed Sun of righteousness will 
 shine clearer, when these clouds are blown over. 
 If there be so much liquor in a single grape, what 
 must there be in the whole cluster ! 
 
 Take a believer while he lives, and God has a 
 servant the more on earth j — take him when he 
 dies, and God has a servant more in heaven. 
 
 Christian ! you must never look for an end to 
 your sorrows, till you see an end to your sins. As 
 the former came not a day before the latter, so they 
 stay not a day behind them. As many as I love, 
 I rebuke and chasten. Well may you bear the 
 rod, when infinite love makes it up, and lays it on. 
 When you lie under his afflicting hand, you then 
 lie near his affected heart. Rake a dunghill, and 
 its effluvia will be offensive ; but beat perfume, and 
 its scent will be grateful. 
 
 I have read of a« fountain that is cold at mid-day, 
 and warm at midnight. Thus are saints frequently 
 cold in the mid-day of prosperity, and warm in the 
 midnight of adversity. Afflictions are not a con- 
 suming, but a refining fire to the godly. They are 
 like the thorn at the nightingale's breast, which 
 rouses and puts her upon her delightful notes. 
 
 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present life 
 are not worthy to he compared with the glory which 
 shall he revealed by us. These fall as far short of 
 glory as the smallest fraction does of the largest 
 sum ; or as the least filings of gold do of all the 
 riches of India. If the faint glimmerings of Christ's 
 face overpower the pains of the cross ; what must 
 the full meridian of his glorious light do ! 
 
 For our light afflictions, which are but for a 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 227 
 
 moment, work for us a far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory. k\\, how light is a dram 
 of reproach to a weight of glory 5 and how short 
 a moment's pain, to an eternity of pleasure ! 
 
 He should not be weary of the cross, who is sure 
 of the croivn. After the cup of affliction, then 
 comes the cup of salvation. The wine-press pre- 
 pares for the wine-cellar. The painful throes of 
 travail are soon forgotten in the fond embraces of 
 a tender babe. 
 
 Sour fruits require something to sweeten them. 
 Death is grateful to no creature, but it is profitable 
 to every Christian. Our good physician will not 
 continue us a moment longer in his infirmary than 
 is necessary. Our refiner regards his choice gold 
 too much to consume it in the flames. 
 
 Those who are patient in the seed-time of sor- 
 row, shall soon reap the glorious harvest of unfa- 
 ding joy. We may converse concerning our future 
 greatness, but we shall never know the weight of 
 the crown, till it be placed on our heads. 
 
 Come, O Christian, be of good comfort 3 though 
 the cloth be cut, it is only to make it up into a 
 curious garment. The hewing of the timber is 
 only to prepare it for the structure. The new 
 corn that lives in summer, is produced from the 
 old corn that died in the winter. It is neither 
 commendable to rush into the arms of death, con- 
 trary to the dictates of reason j nor to fly from 
 them when God calls us to them. 
 
 Shall Jesus come down from heaven to die for 
 you, and will you be unwilling to ascend from earth 
 to heaven to live with him ? A saint's reluctancy 
 
228 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 to meet death arises from bis apprehension of un- 
 readiness to meet him. A pardon may have passed 
 the prince's seal, that is not put into the prisoner's 
 hand. The edge of this sword has been blunted 
 ever since it was sheathed in Christ's side. 
 
 After the vessel has endured the storms, it will 
 arrive at the haven. Though the Christian's tri- 
 umphs never end, yet, blessed be God, his trials 
 shall soon end. When his body and soul shall 
 part asunder, then God and his soul shall meet 
 together. 
 
 Though ye have tain among the pots, yet shall ye 
 be as the wings of a dove, covered with silver, and 
 her feathers with yellow gold. Suppose the lancet 
 make a deep incision, it is only to reach the depth 
 of your wound, and render the cure more complete. 
 Health is most acceptable, after sharp sickness j 
 and liberty, after the most rigorous bondage. 
 Sailors always triumph at the appearance of land, 
 after a long and tedious voyage. All the grapes 
 in Christ's vineyard must pass through the wine- 
 press. 
 
 However pleasant a sinner's beginning may be, 
 his end is destruction j and however troublesome a 
 saint's beginning may be, his end shall be honour- 
 able. The fresh rivers of carnal pleasures run into 
 the salt sea of desperation ; but the wet seed-time 
 of a religious life ends in the blessed harvest of a 
 peaceable death. 
 
 When Croesus inquired of Solon who the hap- 
 piest man was, he answered, ' One Tellus, who 
 lived a sober hife, and died at last fighting for his 
 country.' Christian, was he happy in living and 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 229 
 
 dying for his country? and shall you be miserable, 
 who live and die for your Christ ? 
 
 When Adrianus asked how the Christians could 
 so patiently endure the tortures he had inflicted ? 
 they answered, ' The love of Christ constraineth 
 us, and the love of heaven encourages us.' Those 
 who are born blind cannot judge of the glories 
 that dazzle the eyes of angels. One smile from 
 God's face will for ever dry up all the tears from 
 the saint's eyes. 
 
 As fishes dropping out of a narrow brook into the 
 large ocean do not lose, but enlarge their element • 
 so when the godly leave the church militant, they 
 do not forsake, but increase their blessedness. As 
 the flames of a burnt-offering ascend to heaven, 
 while its ashes fall to the ground ; so the soul ojf 
 a saint rises to glory, while his body falls into the 
 dusty grave. 
 
 Having thus digested the twenty singular prin- 
 ciples by which a believer walks ; 1 lastly come to 
 give directions to those who wish to do more than 
 others. And here I shall stud your golden ring 
 with seven precious diamonds. Would you, there- 
 fore, do more than others ? then deny yourselves 
 more than others 5 — would you deny yourselves 
 more than others ? then you must pray more 
 than others j — would you pray more than others ? 
 then you must resolve more than others ; — would 
 you resolve more than others ? then you must love 
 
 X 
 
THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 more than others ; — would you love more than 
 others ? then you must believe more than others j 
 — would you believe more than others ? then you 
 must know more than others 3 — and would you 
 know more than others? then God must reveal 
 himself more to you than he does to others. 
 
 1 . Would you do more than others : then deny 
 yourselves more than others. 
 
 Either self mnst be laid aside, or God will lay us 
 aside. What can any true Israelite behold in this 
 Dagon, that the ark of God should bow before it ? 
 
 Though self-seeking had its birth in heaven, yet 
 being justly cast out, it can never find its way 
 thither again. 
 
 If any man will come after me, let him deny him- 
 self, and take up his cross and follow me. This is 
 the very basis of our profession. Sinful self is to 
 be destroyed, and natural self is to be denied. 
 
 A little will serve a man who is strong in grace ; 
 much will but serve him who is weak in grace ; but 
 nothing will do for him who is void of grace. As 
 we are called to lay out all in the cause of God, so 
 we are to lay down all at the call of God. 
 
 2. Would you deny yourselves more than others? 
 then you should pray more than others. 
 
 Our daily bread calls for our daily prayers j 
 because one want is created, while another is sup- 
 plied. Are we called by the name of Christ ; and 
 shall we not call upon the name of Christ ? Take 
 away spiritual breath, and you take away spiritual 
 life. There never was one new-born, who was 
 still-born. 
 
 Who would not stretch out a beggar's hand, to 
 receive a jewel of infinite value ? With what bold- 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 231 
 
 ness should those appear at court, who are sure of 
 the king's ear ! 
 
 Spiritual prayer resembles Noah's dove, which 
 returned with an olive branch. Prayers were never 
 rightly oflfered to God, but they were quickly an- 
 swered. We are as much bound to pray while on 
 earth, as angels are to praise while in heaven. 
 
 He who would speed in his enjoyment, should 
 plead for the attainment. The prayerless soul is 
 a fruitless soul. The waters of life are sweet j 
 and it is blessed to bring the vessels of prayer to 
 these wells. Throw a dry spunge into the river, 
 and it will soon fill itself with water. 
 
 Many will cast off this duty, because they are 
 ashamed to go to it with crutches : but these wants 
 of accomplishment should not be a discourage- 
 ment ; for many dumb beggars have been relieved 
 at Christ's gate, by making signs. 
 
 ^nd as he prarjed, the fashion of his countenance 
 was altered, and his raiment was white and glitter- 
 ing. Christ had the bright sunshine of his Father's 
 affection, when he was moving in the orbit of 
 supphcation. 
 
 Reader, is not that mercy worth your breath, 
 which was worth a Saviour's blood ? Why should 
 we cease petitioning, while God continues grant- 
 ing? 
 
 Lord, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go child- 
 less ? Thus may you pray : Lord, what wilt thou 
 give me, seeing I go comfortless P Believing prayer 
 is a traffic for those commodities which are only 
 locked up in heaven's storehouse. Why should 
 we be dumb, seeing God is not deaf? 
 
232 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 By fasting, the body learns to obey the soul j by 
 praying, the soul learns to command the body. 
 
 No Christian has so little from Christ, but there 
 is ground for praise; and no Christian has so 
 much, but he has need of prayer. Every day we 
 find it is a great work to accomplish a little work. 
 Every new act of obedience requires fresh assist- 
 ance. 
 
 Ask, and receive, that your joy may he full. 
 Spiritual supplication is a channel to consolation. 
 Now none are more fruitful in divine labour, than 
 those who are most joyful under a sense of the 
 divine favour. Death shortens our way to heaven, 
 but that sweetejis our way to heaven. 
 
 A neglect to nip the flowers, does but increase 
 the growth of the weeds. A small vessel with 
 smart gales, will sail faster than a large ship with 
 small winds. I never expect that branch to bear 
 any fruit, which receives no sap from the vine. 
 When prayer mounts upon the wing of fervour 
 to God, then answers come down like lightning 
 from God. 
 
 The gift of prayer may have praise from men, 
 but it is the grace of prayer which has power with 
 God. A few grapes prove the plant to be a vine, 
 and not a thorn. Though prayer be God's due, as 
 a Creator ; yet it is more truly performed, when 
 offered to him as a Father. Though none can pray 
 aright but new creatures, yet all ought to pray be- 
 cause they are creatures. 
 
 Christians can never want a praying time, if they 
 possess a praying frame. In the morning, this is a 
 golden key to open the heart for God's service 3 and 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 233 
 
 in the evening, it is an iron lock to guard the heart 
 against sin. 
 
 Peter was therefore kept in prison ; but prayer 
 was made without ceasing of the church unto God 
 for him. This fetched an angel out of heaven, to 
 fetch him out of prison. Their prayer went up 
 like fire, and brought down blessings like water. 
 It is not always that hound which opens the loud- 
 est, that catches the hare 3 but that which follows 
 closest in the chase. 
 
 Believers should not only pray one with another, 
 but one for another. Next to tbe breach of piety 
 in religion, we should abominate the breach of 
 charity in communion. 
 
 Reader, when the vessel of your soul has given 
 over sailing, we may conclude the divine winds 
 have given over bloAving. He who is omniscient 
 to know your wants, is also omnipotent to grant 
 your request. Are you made a spiritual priest, 
 and will you refuse to offer up spiritual sacrifices ? 
 Your affections should soar like an eagle, when 
 your lips cannot move faster than a snail. 
 
 Pray without ceasing. We may pray continual- 
 ly, and yet be not continually at prayer. Though 
 the lesson is not always being played, yet it is well 
 to have the instrument in tune. 
 
 And this is the confidence that we have in him, 
 that if we ask any thing according to his will, he 
 heareth us. That soul shall have his will of God, 
 who desires nothing but what God wills. Why 
 should our petitions be dying, when our Interces- 
 sor ever liveth ? Is it of any consequence how often 
 we carry our empty vessels to such a well ? 
 x3 
 
234 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The intercession of Christ is a gohlcn censor j 
 but he will not admit our prayers to be incense. 
 Luther once said in prayer, * Our Father, let my 
 will be done on earth, as in heaven • for thy will 
 is mine.' The covenant of grace turns precepts 
 into promises -, and the spirit of grace converts 
 promises into prayers. 
 
 Take with you words, and turn unto the Lord ; 
 and say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and re- 
 ceive us graciously. 
 
 God is always willing for us to hit the mark, 
 when he directs our arrows. When he teaches 
 us to wrestle, he then intends we should prevail. 
 Spiritual breathings are attended with spiritual 
 blessings. Nothing will ascend to heaven, but 
 what came down from heaven. That prayer 
 meets with no answer, which is not offered up in 
 faith. 
 
 3. Would you pray more than others ? then re- 
 solve more than others. 
 
 God looks more at our wills, than at our works. 
 The first-fruits of conversion hang upon the trees 
 of holiness. I will arise, and go to my Father. 
 Arrows weakly shot, fall short of the mark. 
 
 Shame is that which ambitious nature abhors, 
 and danger is what timorous nature declines. 
 Reformation is an icy path, and coAvardly spirits 
 love to have it well beaten by others, before they 
 will venture to tread it. 
 
 As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 
 Firm resolutions are like rocks, which the waves 
 cannot move. By our prayers we shew what we 
 wish God to do for us 3 and by our purposes we 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 235 
 
 manifest what we desire to do for God. By the 
 illumination of God the Spirit, the understanding 
 conceives holiness ; the will resolves on holiness j 
 and the life produces holiness. 
 
 / am determined to know nothing among you, save 
 Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Till we attain to 
 strong resolutions, we shall not be conquerors of 
 Satan's strong temptations. As diseases resort most 
 to that part of the body which is weakest, so the 
 devil's attacks will be most frequent where he is 
 likely to be most prevalent. The law's curse is 
 only the press-money of a servile spirit, but the 
 love of God is the bias of a volunteer. 
 
 The resolutions of a Christian are like the water 
 of a fountain that flows of itself j but the resolu- 
 tions of a sinner resemble the water of a pit which 
 must be forced up by artificial engines. Some 
 never form resolutions, but under heavy afflictions : 
 such are like goats, which never yield any milk till 
 they are stung j or like children under the rod, full 
 of promises, but empty of performances. 
 
 The sinner's determinations are like ice, which 
 thaws in the sun, but freezes again in the shade. 
 What, shall we vow against our sins, and then sin 
 against our vows ? This were to take the wages 
 from one master, and do the work for another ; to 
 make our promises to God^ and our performances 
 to the devil. 
 
 Sacred vows bind us to obedience, and sinful 
 vows to repentance. Reader, say not that you 
 have noble blood running in your veins, except 
 you can prove it by heroic actions. 
 
 4. Would you resolve more than others ? then 
 you should love more than others. 
 
236 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 There is no sin so sweet, but the love of Christ 
 will restrain you from it 5 nor service so great, but 
 his love can constrain you to it. Should this af- 
 fection once take fire, then the room will be too 
 hot for sin to reign there. 
 
 The Christian's heart is not a harbour for lust, 
 but a chamber for Christ. Love never shakes the 
 boughs, but for Christ to eat the fruits. Many 
 pay the performance of duty as oppressed subjects 
 do their taxes, with heavy complaints : but the 
 spouse of Jesus looks upon herself as not worthy 
 of his remembrance, and upon her service, as un- 
 worthy of his acceptance. Had she any thing a 
 thousand times better than herself, she would 
 willingly dispose of it for him. 
 
 When Achilles was asked, what enterprizes he 
 found the most easy ; he answered, * Those which 
 I undertake for my friends.' Jacob's seven years' 
 service seemed as nothing, because it was for a 
 woman he loved so much. St. Austin says, ' All 
 things are easy to love.' 
 
 If ye love me, keep my commandments. The 
 mortal streams of divine actions flow only from the 
 pure springs of divine affections. Though there be 
 many things for which we should not love man, 
 yet there is not any thing for which we should 
 not love God. 
 
 In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth any 
 thing, nor uncircumcision ,• but faith that worketh 
 by love. As the heat of the day keeps pace with 
 the shining of the sun, so does faith with love, 
 taith, like Mary, sits at the feet of Christ, to hear 
 his sermons; while love, like Martha, encompasses 
 him with service. Faith is the great receiver, and 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 237 
 
 love the great disburser. We take all in by be- 
 lieving, and lay all out by loving. Faith first 
 works love, and then works by love. 
 
 Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy 
 hearty and thy neighbour as thyself. Christ brings 
 ten commandments into two, and Paul reduces them 
 into one word ; For all the law is fulfilled in one 
 word; Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself — 
 Love is called an old and a new commandment : 
 it is as old as the law of Moses, and as new as the 
 gospel of Christ. 
 
 Faith first seals the conveyance, and love then 
 claims the inheritance. As hatred increases, love 
 decreases. It were well if the child of dissension 
 were never born, or that it died as soon as born. — 
 When the ship of Christian society spiings a leak, 
 love will use her best endeavours to stop it imme- 
 diately. The nearer the union, the more danger- 
 ous the breach of it. Bodies glued together, 
 might, if severed, be as strongly and beautifully 
 joined as before : but wounded members cannot 
 be healed without leaving a scar. 
 
 The love of an hypocrite, like the Israeli tish 
 bush, is not burning while it is blazing. He not 
 only admits the world into the suburbs of his 
 senses, but into the city of his soul. The love of 
 Jesus, in a believer, resembles oil with water, 
 which, however shaken together, is always upper- 
 most. When this sun of religious aflfection arises, 
 it immediately overpowers all other lights. 
 
 The expression of Absalom is also the language 
 of God's people : ^ Now, therefore, let me see the 
 king's face.' It is heaven on earth, for his children 
 
238 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 to see him j and it is heaven in heaven, for his 
 children to dwell with him. 
 
 Love puts not off the pursuit of duty, till it at- 
 tain the possession of glory. There is no rocking 
 this babe to sleep, but in the cradle of the grave. 
 A soul that loves much, will work much. The 
 injunctions of love are not grievous, but precious. 
 
 God is not so much displeased at our having, as 
 at our loving sin. He is more pleased at our loving 
 than at our performing his service. None can 
 serve God like a believer, because none can love 
 him as a believer ; for the obedience of the heart 
 is the heart of obedience. 
 
 5. Would you love more than others ? then it is 
 necessary to believe more than others ? 
 
 If there be life in the body, the pulse wiU beat j 
 and if there be faith in the heart, it will work. 
 What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he 
 hath faith, and hath no works ? Can faith save 
 him ? An idle faith is an evil faith ; for the faith 
 which works not, saves not. 
 
 Perceiving of Christ, bespeaks our knowledge; 
 but receiving him, bespeaks out faith. To as many 
 as received him, to them gave he power to become 
 the Sons of God, even to them that believe on his 
 Name. Faith not only looks upon Christ as a 
 fountain, but it also lays pipes to convey the water 
 into its own cistern. 
 
 The window only radiates the room as a medium 
 by which the rays of light are let in. As faith can 
 do nothing without Christ, so it will do nothing 
 against Christ. A true affiance resembles the 
 spring in a watch, which moves all the golden 
 wheels, and that only as it is wound up. 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 239 
 
 The father of the child cried out with tears. Lord, 
 I believe ; help thou mine unbelief! Though his tears 
 dropped to the earth, yet his faith reached up to 
 heaven. Divine confidence can swim upon those 
 seas, which feeble reason cannot fathom. Strong 
 diffidence begets weak obedience. The cords of 
 unbelief oyice tied the hands of Christ, but not so 
 strongly but he could have broken them. Now if 
 they bound this greater than Sampson, what must 
 they do to feeble Israelites ? 
 
 It is as natural for a believing man to be a work- 
 ing man, as it is for the sun to shine, or the fire to 
 burn. Other graces, like the common people of 
 Israel, stand in the outward court j but faith, like 
 the high-priest, enters within the vail. If Satan 
 can undermine the foundation, the superstructure 
 will soon totter and fall. 
 
 The great Bernard said, Increduli timen diabol- 
 um quasi lionem ; ai qui in Jide fortes, despiciunt 
 cum quasi vermiculum ; that is, ^Infidels fear the 
 devil as a lion, but those who are strong in the 
 faith despise him as a very little worm.' As there 
 is no grace that glorifies God so much as faith, so 
 there is no grace that he glorifies so much as faith. 
 
 Martha and Mary both said. Lord, if thou hadst 
 been here, our brother had not died. What then, 
 could he not have saved him while absent, as well 
 as present ? could he not as easily have sent him 
 health, as brought it ? But does their unbelief 
 stop here ? No : Lord, by this time he stinketh. 
 True, but their unbelief stank more in Christ's 
 nostrils, than Lazarus's body did in theirs. 
 
 And being not weak in faith, he considered not 
 
240 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 his own body now dead, when he was about an hun- 
 dred years old, — but he was strong in faith, giving 
 glory to God. Skilful swimmers are not afraid to 
 venture beyond their depth j while learners paddle 
 on the bank-side. 
 
 As faith receives the righteousness of Christ for 
 justification, so it receives the holiness of Christ for 
 sanctification. It is the hand, the mouth, and the 
 eye, of the child of God. It is the ring by which 
 the soul is united to God the chief good. 
 
 He that believeth, out of his belly shall ^ow rivers 
 of living waters. When saints would advance to an 
 high degree in other virtues, then they generally 
 pray for an increase of this. Lord, increase our 
 faith, is no uncommon prayer. What the root 
 sucks from the earth, it soon disperses through the 
 branches. 
 
 Lusts may struggle like wounded soldiers on 
 their stumps, and rally like broken troops 5 but 
 they shall never be masters of that field where 
 faith is fighting. As lusts would not let Christ 
 live without us, so Christ will not let them live 
 within us. Holding the mystery of the faith in a 
 pure conscience. If faith be a precious pearl, a 
 good conscience is the cabinet that contains it. 
 This heavenly manna must be laid up in a golden 
 pot. 
 
 When fear is foiled, and taken prisoner, then 
 faith comes out of the battle a glorious conqueror. 
 It is as able to keep us from falling into tempta- 
 tions, as from fainting under afflictions. 
 
 A man in the exercise of faith, is like Joseph j 
 the archers may hit him, but his bow shall abide 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 241 
 
 in strength. He is a rich man who lives upon his 
 wealth, and he is a righteous man who lives by 
 faith. Christians are far from wrapping up the 
 talent of faithfulness in the napkin of idleness. 
 
 Unbelief not only blinds the eyes to the purity 
 of the law, but deafens the ears to the music of the 
 gospel, and deadens the aft'ections to the glories of 
 heaven. Every appeal to an unbeliever is like a 
 spark of fire falling into the water, which is no 
 sooner in than it is out. 
 
 6. Would you believe more than others ? tJien 
 you should know more than others. 
 
 Wisdom makes the face to shine. I may say of 
 Divine Wisdom, as was said of a Grecian lady. 
 That no man ever saw her but what loved her. 
 That Christian is most excellent, who is the most 
 intelligent. 
 
 What the papists cry up as the mother of devo- 
 tion, that we cry down as the father of superstition. 
 
 Satan binds all his captives down in the dark 
 dungeon of ignorance : like falconers, he blind- 
 folds his birds, that he may carry them to hell 
 more securely. The father of light takes no plea- 
 sure in the children of darkness. He is not ac- 
 customed to carry souls to heaven, as mariners do 
 their passengers to their port, who shut them un- 
 der the hatches, so that they cannot see whither 
 they go. 
 
 It is no wonder that Christ should be so much 
 undesired, when he is so much undiscerned. An 
 understanding without understanding, is but the 
 soul of a beast imprisoned in the body of a man. 
 Jf ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them, 
 y 
 
242 THE NONSUCH PROFESSOR 
 
 The will of God must be known on earth as it is 
 in heaven, before it can be done on earth as it is 
 in heaven. Utter darkness is the recompense of 
 inward darkness. 
 
 None will ever be coloured by walking in the 
 beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Where there 
 is a veil upon the eye of knowledge, there will be 
 a chain upon the hand of diligence. An ignorant 
 man neither cares what he does, nor knows whither 
 he is going. When such an one is taken oflf the 
 earth, he cannot be taken into heaven. 
 
 Wheresoever there is a trade carried on for hea- 
 ven, the Spirit of God must first open the shop 
 windows. I must work the works of him that 
 sent me, while it is day ; the night cometh, when no 
 man can work* There is no doing the work of 
 the day, but by the light of the day. Darkness is 
 the devil's element, and the sinner's punishment. 
 My people perish for lack of knowledge. When 
 the candle of the soul is extinguished, it must needs 
 sit in darkness. 
 
 Taking vengeance on them that know not God. 
 The infidel's want of judgment is a sin against 
 which Christ will come to judgment. Ah, how 
 do blind men take that for devotion, which is only 
 superstition ; and that for a Bethel, which is no 
 better than a Babel ! To preserve the understand- 
 ing as a Goshen from the darkness of Egypt, is 
 the way to avoid the plagues of Egypt. 
 
 I send thee to open blind eyes ; to turn them from 
 darkness to light. Spiritual acts require spiritual 
 eyes ; and the clearer we see them, the better we 
 perform them. He who desires to see the face of 
 
IN HIS MERIDIAN SPLENDOUR. 243 
 
 holiness in its native lustre, must not set his car- 
 nal judgment to draw the picture. 
 
 7. Would you know more than others ? then you 
 must have God reveal himself more to you than he 
 does to others. 
 
 Man does not first come to God that he might 
 be taught ; but he is first taught, that he might 
 come to God. Unto you it is given to know the 
 mysteries of the kingdom. God gives, and then we 
 know. When he opens our eyes, then we can 
 see 5 — when he loosens our tongues, we can speak j 
 —when he says. Come forth, we live j — and when 
 he commands us to be of good comfort, we can 
 rejoice. 
 
 God is first in all the works of creation and pro- 
 vidence. He is all in nature, all in grace, and all 
 in glory. Without me, ye can do nothing. 
 
 Thus — if you would deny yourselves, pray, re- 
 solve, love, believe, or know more than others — 
 it can only be by the gracious revelation of God to 
 your mental powers. All the difference that exists 
 between man and man, is only from the Lord of 
 hosts, who is wonderful in counsel. You may cast 
 the net on any side of the ship of eminence or re- 
 ligious excellence, but he only can enclose it with 
 blessings. 
 
 Thus you may be taught to acknowledge who 
 he is, rest on what he does, and finally be with 
 him where he is j and though your journey be at- 
 tended with bitterness, yet he shall soon crown 
 you with eternal blessedness. 
 
A SERMON, 
 
 ENTITLED 
 
 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 FOR THE FINGER. 
 
 lylf. Se.ckc.r. 
 
 y3 
 
 41 
 
A SERMON. 
 
 Genesis ii. 18. 
 
 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the 
 Man should be alone ; I will make him a Help 
 meet for him. 
 
 Human miseiy is to divine mercy, as a black foil 
 to a sparkling diamond, or as a sable cloud to the 
 sun-beams. Psal. 84, Lord, what is man, that 
 thou art mindful of him ! Man is. 
 
 In his creation, angelical j in his corruption, 
 diabolical ; in his renovation, theological 3 in his 
 translation, majestical. 
 
 1 . An Angei in Eden. 
 
 2. A Devil in the World. 
 
 3. A Saint in the Church. 
 
 4. A King in Heaven. 
 
 There were four silver channels in which the 
 ciystal streams of God's affection ran to man in 
 his creation. 
 
 1. In his Preparation. 
 
 2. In his Assimilation. 
 
 3. In his Coronation. 
 
 4. In his Association. 
 
248 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 1 . In bis Preparation : Other creatures received 
 the charter of their beings by a simple ^ai; but 
 there was a consultation at his forming, not for 
 the difficulty^ but for the dignitij of the work. 
 The painter is more studious about his master- 
 piece. The four elements were taken out of their 
 elements^ to make up the perfection of man's com- 
 plexion ; the fire was purified^ the air was clarified, 
 the water was purged, the earth was refined : when 
 man was moulded, heaven and earth were married j 
 a body from the one was espoused to a soul from 
 the other. 
 
 2. In his Assimilation : Other creatures were 
 made like themselves, but man was made like God, 
 as the wax hath the impression of the seal upon it. 
 It is admirable to behold so fair a picture on such 
 coarse canvas, and so bright a character on such 
 brown paper. 
 
 3. In his Coronation : He that made man and 
 all the rest, made man over all the rest j quantil- 
 lum dominum posuit Deus in tantum dominum. He 
 was a little lord of great lordship 3 this king was 
 crowned in his cradle. 
 
 4. In his Association : Society is the solace of 
 humanity : the world would be a desert without a 
 consort. 
 
 Most of men's parts are made of pairs -, now he 
 that was double in his perfection, must not be 
 single in his condition : And the Lord God said, 8fc, 
 
 These words are like the iron-gate that opened 
 to Peter of its own accord, dividing themselves in- 
 to three parts. 
 
 1. An instruction. And the Lord God said. 
 
FOR THE FINGER. 249 
 
 2. An assertion, *Tis not good that man should 
 be alone. 
 
 3. A determination, / will make an help meet 
 for him. 
 
 In the first, there is a majesty proposed. 
 In the second, there is a malady presented. 
 In the third, there is a remedy provided. 
 Once more let me put these grapes into the press. 
 
 1. The sovereignness of the expression. And the 
 Lord God said. 
 
 2. The solitariness of the condition. It is not 
 good, 5fc. 
 
 3. The suitableness of the provision, I will 
 make, 5fc. 
 
 In the first, there is the worth of Veracity. 
 
 In the second, there is the want of Society. 
 
 In the third, there is the work of Divinity. 
 
 Of these in their order. And first of the first. 
 
 First, The sovereignness of the expression. And 
 the Lord God said, 
 
 Luke i. 70, As he spake by the mouth of his 
 prophets. In other scriptures he used their mouths, 
 but in this he made use of his own : they were the 
 organs, and he the breath 5 they were the streams, 
 and he the fountain. How he spake, it is hard to 
 be spoken, whether eternally, or internally, or ex- 
 ternally, Quomodo non est quod quceremus, sed po- 
 tius quid dixerit intelligamus : we are not to in- 
 quire into the manner of speaking, but into the 
 matter that is spoken j which leads me like a di- 
 recting-star from the suburbs to the city, from the 
 porch to the palace, from the founder of the mine 
 to the treasure that is in it. It is not good, 8iC. 
 
250 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 In which you have two things : 
 
 1. The Subject. 
 
 2. The Predicate. 
 The subject, Man alone. 
 
 The predicate. It is not good, 8ic. 
 1. The subject, Man alone ^ take this in two 
 branches. 
 
 1. As it is limited to one man. 
 
 2. As it is lengthened to all men. 
 
 First, As it is limited to one man, and so it is 
 taken particularly 3 man for the first man. When 
 all other creatures had their mates, Adam wanted 
 his : though he was the emperor of the earth, and 
 the admiral of the seas, yet in Paradise without a 
 companion • though he was truly happy, yet he 
 was not fully happy ; though he had enough for 
 his board, yet he had not enough for his bed; 
 though he had many creatures to serve him, yet he 
 wanted a creature to solace him; when he was 
 compounded in creation, he must be completed by 
 conjunction ; when he had no sin to hurt him, 
 then he must have a wife to help him : It is not 
 good that man should be alone. 
 
 Secondly, As it is lengthened to all men, and so 
 it is taken universally. Heb. xiii. 4, Marriage is 
 honourable unto all. It is not only warrantable, 
 but honourable. The whole Trinity hath conspir- 
 ed together to set a crown of glory upon the head 
 of Matrimony. 
 
 1. God the Father: Marriage was a tree plant- 
 ed within the walls of Paradise ; this flower first 
 grew in God's garden. 
 
 2. The Son : Marriage is a crystal-glass, where- 
 in Christ and the saints do see each others' faces. 
 
FOR THE FINGER. 251 
 
 3. The Holy Ghost : by his over-shadowing of 
 the blessed Virgin. Well might the world, when 
 it saw her pregnancy, suspect her virginity j but 
 her matrimonial condition was a grave to that sus- 
 picion : without this, her innocency had not pre- 
 vented her infamy ; she needed a shield to defend 
 that chastity abroad, which was kept inviolable at 
 home. 
 
 Too many that have not worth enough to pre- 
 serve that virginity, have yet will enough to cover 
 their unchastity j turning the medicine of frailty 
 into the mantle of filthiness. Certainly she is mad 
 that cuts oflf her leg to get her a crutch, or that 
 venoms her face to wear a mask. 
 
 St. Paul makes it one of the characters of those 
 that should cashier the faith, 1 Tim. iv. 3. Not 
 to forbear marriage, which maybe lawful j but to 
 forbid it, which is sinful. 
 
 One of the Popes of Rome sprinkles this unholy 
 drop upon it, Carnis pollutionem 8^ immunditiem. 
 
 It is strange that should be a 'pollution, which 
 was instituted before corruption; or that impurity, 
 which was ordained in the state of innocency : or 
 that they should make that to be a sin, which 
 they make to be a sacrament. 
 
 But a bastard may be laid at the door of chasti- 
 ty, and a leaden crown set upon a golden head. 
 
 Bellarmine, that mighty Atlas of the Papal 
 power, blows his stinking breath upon it, saying. 
 Better were it for a priest to defile himself with 
 many harlots, than to be married to one wife. 
 These children of the purple-whore prefer their 
 monasteries before our marriages ; a concubine be- 
 fore a companion. They use too many for their 
 
252 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 lusts to chuse any for their love. Their tables are 
 so largely spread, that they cannot feed upon one 
 dish. 
 
 As for their exalting of a virgin-state, it is like 
 him that commended fasting when he had filled 
 his belly. 
 
 Who knows not that virginity is a pearl of 
 sparkling lustre ? But cannot the one he set up 
 without the other be thrown down ? will no obla- 
 tion pacify the former, but the demolishing of the 
 latter? Though we find many enemies to the 
 choice of marriage, yet it is rare to find any ene- 
 mies to the use of marriage. They would pick 
 the lock that want the key, and pluck the fruit 
 that do not plant the tree. 
 
 The Hebrews have a saying. He is not a man 
 that hath not a woman. 
 
 Though they climb too high a bough, yet it is 
 to be feared that such flesh is full of imperfection, 
 that is not tending to propagation : though man 
 alone may be good, yet it is not good that man 
 should be alone : which leads me from the subject 
 lo the predicate, It is not good, ^c. 
 
 Non bonum is not in this place as malum ^ but 
 bonum est, honestum, utile, jucundum. 
 
 Now it is not good that man should be in a 
 single condition, upon a threefold consideration. 
 
 1. In respect of sin, which would not else be 
 prevented. Marriage is like water, to quench the 
 sparks of lust's fire. 1 Cor. vii. 2, Nevertheless, to 
 avoid fornication, let every one have his own wife, 
 8fC. Man needed no such physic when he was in 
 perfect health. Temptations may break nature's 
 
FOR THB FINGER. 253 
 
 best fence, and lay its paradise waste ; but a single 
 life is a prison of unruly desires, which is daily 
 attempted to be broken open. 
 
 Some indeed force themselves to a single life, 
 merely to avoid the charges of a married state j 
 they had rather fry in the grease of their own 
 sensuality, than extinguish those flames with an 
 allowed remedy : It is better to marry, than to 
 burn } to be lawfully coupled, than to be lustfully 
 scorched. It is better feeding these flames with 
 ordinary fuel. 
 
 2. It is not good in respect of mankind, which 
 then would not be propagated. The Roman his- 
 torian relating the ravishing of the Sabine women, 
 excused it thus. Res erat unius cetatis populus vi- 
 rorum : without them mankind would fall from the 
 earth and perish. Marriages do turn mutability 
 into the image of eternity : it springs up new 
 buds, when the old are withered. It is a greater 
 honour for a man to be the father of one son, than 
 to be the master of many servants. Without a 
 wife, children cannot be had lawfully -, without a 
 good wife, children cannot be had comfortably. 
 Man and woman, as the stock and the scion, 
 being grafted by marriage, are trees bearing fruit 
 to the world. 
 
 St. Augustine says, this pair is, primum par 8i 
 fundamentum omnium, S^c. 
 
 They are the first link of human society, to 
 which all the rest are joined. Mankind had long 
 ago decayed and been like a taper fallen into the 
 socket, if those breaches which are made by mor- 
 tality, were not repaired by matrimony. 
 z 
 
254 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 3. It is not good in regard of the church, which 
 could not then have been expiated. Where there 
 is no generation, there can be no regeneration. 
 
 Nature makes us creatures, before grace makes 
 us Christians. 
 
 If the loins of men had been less fruitful, the 
 death of Christ would have been less successful. 
 
 It was a witty question that one put to him that 
 said. Marriage fills the earth, but virginity fills the 
 heavens : how can the heavens be full, if the earth 
 be empty? 
 
 Had Adam lived in innocency without matri- 
 mony, there would have been no servants of God 
 in the church militant, nor no saints with God in 
 the church triumphant. But I will not sink this 
 vessel by the over-burthening of it, nor press this 
 truth to death, by laying too great a load upon its 
 shoulders. 
 
 There is one knot which I must untie before I 
 make a further progress : 1 Cor. 1 , It is good for 
 a man not to touch a woman. 
 
 Do all the scriptures proceed out of the same 
 mouth, and do they not all speak the same truth ? 
 The God of unity will not indite discord • and the 
 God of verity cannot assert falsehood. If good 
 and evil be contraries, how contrary then are these 
 scriptures ! Either Moses mistakes God, or Paul 
 mistakes Moses about the point of marriage. To 
 which I shall give a double answer. 
 
 1. There is a public and a private good. In res- 
 pect of one man, it may be good not to touch a 
 w^oman -, but in respect of all, so it is not good 
 that 711 an should he alone. 
 
FOR THE FINGEK. 255 
 
 Moses speaks of the state of man created, Paul 
 of the state of man corrupted : now that which by 
 institution was a mercy, may by corruption become 
 a misery; as pure water is tainted by running 
 through a miry channel, or as the sun's beams 
 receive a tincture by shining through a coloured 
 glass. There is no print of evil in the world, but 
 sin was the stamp that made it. They that seek 
 nothing but weal in its commission, will find no- 
 thing but woe in the conclusion. Which leads me 
 from the solitariness of the condition, Man alone, 
 to the suitableness of the provision, I will make an 
 help meet for him. 
 
 In which you have two parts : 
 
 1. The agent, I will make. 
 
 2. The object, A help. 
 First, The agent, I will make. 
 
 We cannot build a house without tools. But 
 the Trinity is at liberty 3 Die verbum tantum. 
 
 To God's omniscience there is nothing invisible, 
 and to God's omnipotence there is nothing im- 
 possible. 
 
 We work by hands without, but he works with- 
 out hands. He that made man meet for help, 
 makes a meet help for man. 
 
 Marriages are consented above, but consummated 
 below. Prov. xvii. 22., Though man wants sup- 
 ply, yet man cannot supply his Avants. James i. 
 17., Every good and perfect gift comes from above, 
 &;c. A wife, though she be not a perfect gift, yet 
 she is a good gift. These beams are darted from 
 the Sun of Righteousness. 
 
 Hast thou a soft heart ? It is of God's break- 
 
256 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 ing : Hast thou a sweet wife ? She is of God's 
 making. 
 
 Let me draw up this expression with a double 
 application. 
 
 When thou layest out for such a goodion earth, 
 look up to the God of heaven. Let him make 
 thy choice for thee, who hath made his choice of 
 thee. Look above you, before you look about you. 
 Nothing makes up the happiness of a married con- 
 dition, like the holiness of a mortified disposition. 
 Account not those the most worthy that are the 
 most wealthy. Art thou matched to the Lord? 
 match in the Lord. How happy are such marri- 
 ages, where Christ is at the wedding ! Let none 
 but those who have found favour in God's eyes, 
 find favour in yours. 
 
 2. Give God the tribute of your gratulation for 
 your good companion. Take heed of paying your 
 rent to a wrong landlord. When you taste of the 
 stream, reflect on the spring that feeds it. Now 
 thou hast four eyes for thy speculation, four hands 
 for thy operation, four feet for thy ambulation, 
 and four shoulders for thy sustenation. What the 
 sin against the Holy Ghost is in point of divinity, 
 that is unthankfulness in point of morality; an 
 offence unpardonable. Pity it is but that moon 
 should ever be in an eclipse, that will not acknow- 
 ledge her beams to be borrowed from the sun. He 
 that praises not the giver, prizes not the gift ; and 
 so I pass from the agent to the object, A Help. 
 
 She must be so much, and no less; and so 
 much, and no more. Our ribs were not ordained 
 to be our rulers. They are not made of the head. 
 
FOR THE FINGER. 257 
 
 to claim superiority ; but out of the side, to be con- 
 tent with equality. They desert the Author of na- 
 ture, that invert the order of nature. The woman 
 was made for the mans comfort, but the man 
 was not made for the woman" s command. Those 
 shoulders aspire too high, that content not them- 
 selves with a room below their head. Tt is be- 
 tween a man and his wife in the house, as it is 
 between the sun and the moon in the heavens : 
 when the greater light goes down, the lesser light 
 gets up ; when the one ends in setting, the other 
 begins in shining. The wife may be a sovereign 
 in her husband's absence, but she must be subject 
 in her husband's presence. As Pharaoh said to 
 Joseph, so should the husband say to his wife : 
 Gen. xli. 40, Thou shalt be over my house, and ac- 
 cording to thy word shall all my people he ruled; 
 only in the throne will I he greater than thou. 
 The body of that household can never make any 
 good motion, whose bones are out of place. The 
 woman must be a help to the man in these four 
 things : 
 
 1. To his Piety, 
 
 2. To his Society. 
 
 3. To his Progeny. 
 
 4. To his Prosperity. 
 
 To his piety, by the ferventness of her excita- 
 tion. To his society, by the fragrantness of her 
 conversation. To his progeny, by the fruitfulness 
 of her education. To his prosperity, by the faith- 
 fulness of her preservation. 
 
 1. To his piety, by the ferventness of her exci- 
 tation, 1 Peter, ii. 7. 
 
 z3 
 
258 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 Husband and wife should be as the milch-kine, 
 which were coupled together to carry the ark of 
 God ; or as the two Cherubims, that looked one 
 upon another, and both upon the mercy-seat ; or 
 as the two tables of stone, on each of which were 
 engraven the laws of God. In some families mar- 
 ried persons are like Jeremiah's two baskets of 
 figs, the one very good, the other very evil ; or 
 like fire and water, whilst the one is flaming in 
 devotion, the other is freezing in corruption. 
 There is a two-fold hindrance in holiness : First, 
 on the right side : Secondly, on the left. On the 
 right side : when the wife would run in God's 
 way, the husband will not let her go : when the 
 fore-horse in a team will not draw, he wrongs all 
 the rest : when the general of an army forbids a 
 march, all the soldiers stand still. Sometimes on 
 the left : how did Solomon's idolatrous wives draw 
 away his heart from Heaven ! A sinning wife 
 was Satan's first ladder, by which he scaled the 
 walls of Paradise, and took away the fort-royal of 
 Adam's heart from him. Thus she that should 
 have been the help of his flesh, was the hurt of his 
 faith : his nature s under -propper, becomes his 
 graces under -miner -, and she that should be a 
 crown on the head, is a cross on the shoulders* 
 The wife is often to the husband, as the ivy is to 
 the oak, which draws away his sap from him. 
 
 2. A help to his society, by the fragrantness of 
 her conversation. 
 
 Man is an affectionate creature. Now the wo- 
 man's behaviour should be such towards the man, 
 as to require his affection, by increasing his de- 
 
FOR THE FINGER. 259 
 
 lectation j that the new-born love may not be 
 blasted as soon as it is blossomed j that it may not 
 be ruined, before it be rooted. A spouse should 
 carry herself so to her husband, as not to disturb 
 his love by her contention, nor to destroy his love 
 by her alienation. Husband and wife should be 
 like two candles burning together, which make 
 the house more lightsome ; or like two fragrant 
 flowers bound up in one nosegay, that augments 
 its sweetness 5 or like two well-tuned instruments, 
 which sounding together, make the more melodi- 
 ous music. Husband and wife, what are they 
 but as two springs meeting, and so joining their 
 streams that they may make but one current ? It 
 is an unpleasing spectacle to view any contention 
 in this conjunction. 
 
 3. To his progeny, by the fruitfulness of her 
 education j that so her children in the flesh may 
 be God's children in the spirit, 1 Sam. i. 11. 
 Hannah vows, if the Lord will give her a son, 
 by bearing him, she will return that son to the 
 Lord by serving him. A spouse should be more 
 careful of her children's breeding, than she should 
 be fearful of her children's bearing. Take heed 
 lest these flowers grow in the devil's garden. 
 Though you bring them out in corniption, yet do 
 not bring them up to damnation. Those are not 
 mothers, but monsters 3 that whilst they should 
 be teaching their children the way to heaven with 
 their lips, are leading them the way to hell with 
 their lives. Good education is the best livery you 
 can give them living ; and it is the best legacy you 
 can leave them dying. You let out your cares to 
 make them great : O lift up your prayers to make 
 
260 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 them good ; that before you die from them, you 
 may see Christ live in them. Whilst these twigs 
 are green and tender, they should be bowed to- 
 wards God. Children and servants are in a family, 
 as passengers are in a boat j husband and wife, 
 they are as a pair of oars to row them to their 
 desired haven. Let these small pieces of timber 
 be hewed and squared for the celestial building : 
 by putting a sceptre of grace into their hands, you 
 will set a crown of glory upon their heads, 
 
 4. A help to his prosperity by her faithful 
 preservation, being not a wanderer abroad, but a 
 worker at home. 
 
 One of the ancients speaks excellently: she 
 must not be a field-wife, like Dinah j nor a 
 street-wife, like Thamar3 nor a window-wife, 
 like Jezabel. 
 
 Phidias, when he drew a woman, painted her 
 sitting under a snail-shell, that she might imitate 
 that little creature, that goes no farther than it 
 can carry its house upon its head. 
 
 How many women are there, that are not 
 labouring bees, but idle drones 5 that take up a 
 room in the hive, but bring no honey to it • that 
 are moths to their husband's estates, spending 
 when they should be sparing ! As the man's part 
 is to provide industriously, so the woman's is to 
 preserve discreetly ; the one must not be carelessly 
 ivanting, the other must not be causelessly wast- 
 ing ; the man must be seeking with diligence, the 
 woman must be saving with providence. The cock 
 and hen both scrape together in the dust-heap, to 
 pick up something for their little chickens. 
 
FOR THE FINGER. 261 
 
 To wind up this on a short bottom. 
 
 1 . If the woman be a help to the man, then let 
 not the man cast dirt on the woman. 
 
 Secundus, being asked his opinion of a woman, 
 speaks thus, Viri naufragium, domds tenipestas, 
 quktis impedimentum, 5fC. But surely he was a 
 monster, and not a man j fitter for a tomb to 
 bury him, than a womb to bear him. 
 
 Some have stiled them to be like clouds in the 
 sky : like motes in the sun : like snuffs in the 
 candle : like weeds in the garden. 
 
 It is not good to play the butcher with that 
 naked sex, that hath no arms but for embraces. A 
 preacher should not be silent for those, who are 
 silenced from preaching ; because they are the 
 weaker vessels, shall they be broken all to pieces? 
 Thou that sayest Women are evil, it may be thy 
 expression flows from thy experience ■ but I shall 
 never take that mariner for my pilot, that hath no 
 better knowledge than the splitting of his own 
 ship. Wilt thou condemn the frame of all, for the 
 fault of one ? As if it were true logic ; because 
 some are evil, therefore none are good. He hath 
 ill eyes that disdains all objects. To blast thy 
 helper, is to blame thy Maker. In a word, we 
 took our rise from their bowels, and may take our 
 rest in their bosoms. 
 
 2. Is the woman to be a help to the man ? 
 Then let the man be a help to the woman. What 
 makes these debtors be such ill pay-masters, but 
 because they look at what is owing them, but not 
 at what is owing by them ? If thou wouldst have 
 thy wife's reverence, let her have thy respect. 
 
262 
 
 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 To force a fear from this relation, is that which 
 neither befits the husband's authority to enjoin, nor 
 the wife's duty to perform. A wife must not be 
 sharply driven, but sweetly drawn. Compassion 
 may bend her, but compulsion will break her. 
 Husband and wife should act towards each other 
 with consent, not by constraint. 
 
 There are four things wherein the husband is a 
 meet help to the wife. 
 
 First, In his protecting of her from injuries. It 
 is well observed by one, that the rib of which wo- 
 man was made, was taken from under the man's 
 arm : as the use of the arm is to keep oif blows 
 from the body, so the office of the husband is to 
 ward off' blows from the wife. The wife is the 
 husband's treasury, and the husband should be the 
 wife's armoury. In darkness, he should be her 
 sun for direction • in danger, he should be her 
 shield for protection. 
 
 2. In his providing for her necessities. The 
 husband must communicate maintenance to the 
 wife, as the head conveys influence to the mem- 
 bers 3 thou must not be a drone, and she a drudge. 
 A man in a married estate is like a chamberlain in 
 an inn -, there is knocking for him in every room. 
 Many persons in this condition waste that estate 
 in luxury, which should supply their wives' neces- 
 sity. Nee amor viget mariti, nee fides Christiani • 
 they have neither the faith of a Christian, nor the 
 love of a husband. It is a sad spectacle to see 
 a virgin sold with her own money unto slavery, 
 when services are better than marriages ; the one 
 receives wages, whilst the other buy their fetters. 
 
FOR THE FINGER. 263 
 
 3. In his covering her infirmities. Who would 
 trample upon a jewel, because it is fallen in the 
 dirt } or throw away a heap of wheat for a little 
 chaff? or despise a golden wedge_, because it re- 
 tains some dross ? These roses have some prickles. 
 Now husbands should spread a mantle of charity 
 over their wives' infirmities. It is a great deal 
 better you should fast, than feast yourselves upon 
 their faihngs. Some husbands are never well, 
 longer than they are holding their fingers in their 
 wives' sores. Such are like crows, that fasten 
 only upon carrion. Do not put out the candle, 
 because of the snuflF. If the gold be good, allow 
 it grains. Husbands and wives should provoke 
 one another to love 5 and they should love one 
 another notwithstanding of provocation. Take 
 heed of poisoning those springs from whence the 
 streams of your pleasure flow. 
 
 4. By his dehghting in her society. A wife 
 takes sanctuary, not only in her husband's house, 
 but in his heart. The tree of love should grow 
 up in the family, as the tree of life grew up in the 
 garden. They that chuse their love, should love 
 their choice. They that marry where they affect 
 not, will affect where they marry not. Two joined 
 together without love, are but two tied together 
 to make one another miserable. And so I pass to 
 the last stage of the text, A help meet, 
 
 A help, there is her fulness ; a meet help, there 
 is her fitness. 
 
 The angels were too much above him; the 
 creatures were too much below him ; he could 
 not step up to the former, nor could he stoop 
 
264 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 down to the latter : the one was out of his reach, 
 the other was out of his race -, but the woman is 
 a parallel-line drawn equal with him : meet she 
 must be in three things. 
 
 1. In the harmony of her disposition. Husband 
 and wife should be like the image in a looking- 
 glass, that answers in all properties to the face 
 that stands before it • or like an echo, that return- 
 eth the voice it receiveth. Many marriages are like 
 putting new wine into old bottles. An old man 
 is not a meet help for a young woman. He that 
 sets a grey head upon green shoulders, hath one 
 foot in the grave, and another in the cradle. Yet 
 how many times do you see the spring of youth 
 wedded to the winter of old age ! A young person 
 is not a meet help for an old woman j raw flesh 
 is but an ill plaster for rotten bones. He that in 
 his non-age marries another in her dotage, his lust 
 hath one wife in possession, but his love another in 
 reversion. 
 
 2. In the heraldry of her condition. Some 
 of our European notions are so strict in their 
 junctions, that it is against their laws for the 
 commonalty to couple with the gentry. 
 
 It was well said by one : if the wife be too 
 much above her husband, she either ruins him by 
 vast expenses, or reviles him with her base re- 
 proaches. If she be too much below her husband, 
 either her former condition makes her too generous, 
 or her present mutation makes her too imperious. 
 
 Marriages are stiled matches; yet amongst those 
 many that are married, how few are there that are 
 matched ! Husbands and wives are like locks and 
 
FOR THE FINGER. 265 
 
 keys, that rather break than open, except the wards 
 be answerable. 
 
 3. In the holiness of her religion. If adultery 
 may separate a marriage contracted, idolatry may 
 hinder a marriage not perfected. Cattle of divers 
 kinds were not to ingender : 2 Corinth, vi. 14, 
 Be not unequally yoked, S^c. It is dangerous tak- 
 ing her for a wife, who will not take God for a 
 husband. It is not meet that one flesh should be 
 of two spirits. Is there never a tree thou likest in 
 the garden, but that which bears forbidden fruit ? 
 There are but two channels, in which the remain- 
 ing streams shall run. 
 
 1. To those men that want wives, how to chuse 
 them. 
 
 2. To those women that have husbands, how to 
 use them. 
 
 I. To those men that want wives, how to 
 chuse them. 
 
 Marriage is the tying of such a knot, that 
 nothing but death can unloose. Common reason 
 suggests so much, that we should be long a doing 
 that which can but once be done. Where one 
 design hath been gravelled in the sands of delay, 
 thousands have been split upon the rock of precipi- 
 tance. Rash adventures yield little gain. Oppor- 
 tunities are not like tides, that when one is past, 
 another returns j but yet take heed of flying with- 
 out your wings : you may breed such agues in 
 your bones, that may shake you to your grave. 
 
 1. Let me preserve you from a bad choice. 
 
 2. Present you with a good one. 
 
 1 . To preserve you from a bad choice. 
 
266 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 Take that in three things. 
 J . Chuse not for beauty. 
 
 2. Chuse not for dowry. 
 
 3. Chuse not for dignity. 
 
 He that looks for beauty, buys a picture. 
 He that loves for dowry, makes a purchase. 
 He that leaps for dignity, matches with a mul- 
 titude at once. 
 
 The first of these is too blind to be directed. 
 The second_, too base to be accepted. 
 The third, too bold to be respected. 
 
 1 . Chuse not by your eyes. 
 
 2. Chuse not by your hands. 
 
 3. Chuse not by your ears. 
 
 First J Chuse not by your eyes, looking at the 
 beauty of the person. Not but this is lovely in a 
 woman j but that this is not all for which a wo- 
 man should be beloved. He that had the choice 
 of many faces stamps the character upon them 
 all : Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain. The 
 sun is more bright in a clear sky, than when the 
 horizon is clouded. But if a woman's flesh hath 
 more of beauty, than her spirit hath of Christian- 
 ity ; it is like poison in sweetmeats, most danger- 
 ous : Gen. vi. 2, The sons of God saw the daughters 
 of men, that they were fair, S^c. One would have 
 thought, that they should rather have looked for 
 grace in the heart, than for beauty in the face. 
 Take heed of inning at the fairest signs ; the swan 
 hath black flesh under her white feathers. 
 
 Secondly, Chuse not by your hands for the 
 bounty of the portion. 
 
 When Cato's daughter was asked, why she did 
 
FOR THE FINGER. 267 
 
 not many ? she thus replied, she could not find 
 the man that loved her person above her portion. 
 Men love curious pictures, but they would have 
 them set in golden frames. Some are so degene- 
 rate, as to think any good enough, who have but 
 goods enough. Take heed, for sometimes the bag 
 and baggage go together. The person should be 
 a figure, and the portion a cypher, which added 
 to her, advances the sum ; but alone signifies 
 nothing. When Themistocles was to marry his 
 daughter, two suitors courted her together ; the 
 one rich, and a fool ; the other wise, but poor ; 
 and being demanded which of the two he had 
 rather his daughter should have ? He answered, 
 Mallem virum sine pecunid, S^c. I had rather she 
 should have a man without money, than money 
 without a man. 
 
 Thirdly, Chuse not by your ears, for the dignity 
 of her parentage. A good old stock may nourish 
 a fruitless branch. There are many children who 
 are not the blessings, but the blemishes of their 
 parents. They are nobly descended, but ignobly 
 minded. Such was Aurelius Antonius, of whom 
 it was said, that he injured his countiy in nothing, 
 but being the father of such a child. There are 
 many low in their descents, that are high in their 
 deserts. Such as the cobler's son, who grew to be 
 a famous captain : when a great person upbraided 
 the meanness of his original. My nobility (said he) 
 begins with me, but thy nobility e?ids with thee. 
 Piety is a greater honour than parentage. She is 
 the best gentlewoman that is heir of her own deserts, 
 and not the degenerated off-spring of another's 
 virtue. 
 
268 A WEDDING-RING 
 
 To present you with a good choice in three 
 
 things : 
 
 1. Chuse such a one as will be subject to your 
 dominion. Take heed of yoking yourselves with 
 untamed heifers. 
 
 2. Chuse such a one as may sympathize with 
 you in your affliction. Marriage is just like a sea 
 voyage 3 he that enters into this ship must look to 
 meet with storms and tempests : 1 Corinth, vii. 
 28j They that marry shall have trouble in the flesh. 
 Flesh and trouble married together, whether we 
 marry or no. Now a bitter cup is too much to be 
 drank by one mouth. A heavy burthen is easily 
 carried by the assistance of other shoulders. Hus- 
 band and wife should neither be proud flesh, nor 
 dead flesh. You are fellow-members, therefore 
 should have a fellow-feeling. While one stands 
 safe on the shore, the other should pity him that 
 is tost on the sea. Sympathy in suft'ering, is like 
 a dry house in a wet day. 
 
 3. Chuse such a one as may be serviceable to 
 your salvation. A man may think he hath a saint 
 when he hath a devil : but take heed of a harlot 
 that is false to thy bed 3 and of a hypocrite, that 
 is false to thy God. 
 
 II. To those women that have husbands, how 
 to use them. In two things : 
 
 1. Carry yourselves towards them with obedi- 
 ence. Let their power command you, that their 
 praise may commend you. Though you may 
 have your husbands' hearts, yet you must not have 
 their heads ; as you will his love, so you should 
 love his will. Till the husband leaves command- 
 ing, the wife must never leave obeying. As his 
 
FOR THE FINGER. 269 
 
 injunctions must be lawful, so her subjection must 
 be loyal. 
 
 2. With faithfulness. In creation, God made 
 not one woman for many men, nor many women 
 for one man j every wife should be to her hus- 
 band, as Eve was to Adam, a whole world of 
 women j and every husband should be to his wife, 
 as Adam was to Eve, a whole world of men. 
 When a river is divided into many channels, the 
 main current starves. 
 
 To conclude : Good servants are a great bless- 
 ing ; good children a greater blessing ; but a good 
 wife is the greatest blessing : and such a Help let 
 him seek for her that wants one j let him sigh for 
 her that has lost one -, let him take pleasure in 
 her that enjoys one. And the Lord God said. 
 It is not good that the man should be alone ; 
 i will make him a help meet for him. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 J. and J. Jackson, Printers, 
 Market-place, Louth. 
 
DATE DUE 
 
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