"

malice misinterpret and misreport me: for it is none of my intent to fix on any particular persons, but to tell you in general, the lamentable disadvantage that the great and presperous have, as to the knowledge of themselves; how little plaindealing they have, and how hardly most of them can bear it; though yet I doubt not but it is borne and loved by those that have true grace: and that if David sin, he can endure to hear from Nathan "Thou art the man,' and this shall befal thee! And an Eli can bear the prophesy of Samuel, and say, "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." (1 Sam. ii. 27; iii. 17, 18.) And an Hezekiah can say, "Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken;" (2 Kings xx. 19;) and Josiah can bear the threatenings of Huldah. (2 Chron. xxxiv; 2 Kings xxii.) And it is a double honour in persons that have so great temptations, to love the plain discoveries of their sin: but a Joash will slay even Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, that set him up and a Herod, that hath so much religion as to fear John, as knowing that he was a just man, and an holy, and to observe (or save him); and when he heard him, to do many things, and hear him gladly, had yet so much love to his fleshly lust, and so little power to resist a flatterer, as that he could sell both the head of John and his own soul, for so pitiful a price as this. (Mark vi. 20. 25. 27, 28.) So true is that of Christ himself, "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved (or discovered): but he that doeth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (John iii. 20, 21.)

And indeed there is none that more opposeth Micaiah than Zedekiah, as being concerned for the honour of his flattering prophecy, to bring plaindealing into disgrace. It is he that smiteth him, and saith, "Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me, to speak unto thee?" (1 Kings xxii. 24.) As Plutarch compareth the flatterer to a painter, that having made a picture of cocks which was very bad, he bid his boys be sure to keep the living cocks out of his sight, lest their appearance should shew the faultiness of his picture: so, saith Plutarch, doth the flatterer do what he can to keep away plaindealing faithful friends, lest his fraud and falsehood should be detected by them. But, saith

Solomon, "He that rebuketh a man, afterward shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.” (Prov. xxviii. 23.) And "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." (Prov. xxvii. 6.) When prosperity is vanished, the flatterer and the faithful dealer will be better known. Deceitful prosperity, and deceitful men, will at once forsake you. None of them will admire or applaud you when you are low, and the tide is gone, and hath left you in contempt: these kind of men will be as ready as any to reproach you; as Shemei that honoured David in his prosperity, but curseth him, and revileth him as a rebel against Saul, and casteth stones at him, when he saw him flying in distress. Plutarch likeneth flatterers to lice, that forsake the bodies of the dead, because the blood is gone that did maintain them. Commonly men in misery, or at death, have better thoughts of faithful plainness, and worse of smoothing man-pleasers, than before.

But whom can the prosperous blame so much as themselves, if they are undone by the deceit of flatterers? It is their own choice; they love to have it so; they will not endure faithful dealing. When they contract those diseases which will not be cured without bitter medicines, they hate the physician that offereth them: their appetites and sensual Just, and not their believing-reason, doth choose their work, their pleasures and their company, and prescribe what language must be spoken to them. And he that resolves to cast away the remedy, and will please his appetite and fancy, come on it what will, must take what he gets by it, and bear the endless wrath of God, that could not bear the necessary warnings and self-knowledge that should have prevented it. Did these men hate sin, and the messengers of Satan, they would not hate the justice and messengers of God: but while they damnably love fleshly pleasures, they cannot savingly love the word that chargeth them to let go those pleasures, nor the persons that cross them in the things they love. And thus poor worldlings are ruined by their own desires: it seemeth so sweet to them to live in sin, that they cannot endure to know the bitter fruits of misery, which it will at last bring forth. They are conquered by their fleshly lusts, and therefore they hate the messengers of that Spirit which would fight against them. Satan doth

perfect his former victories in them, by dispelling or dispersing the auxiliaries of Christ, that were sent for their rescue and relief. They live as if they were purposely made great, that they may be able to drive away the messengers of salvation, and to keep the voice of mercy far enough from their ears; and to command that which the Gadarenes did entreat, that Christ would go out of their coasts, (Mark v. 17,) because they would not be troubled with him. They so much love the way to hell, that they cannot abide to be told whither it leadeth them, and therefore they come thither before they are aware, and must know themselves by the unquenchable fire, because they would not know themselves by the discovering recovering light. And thus by prosperity and flattery, Satan pursues and wins his game.

Direct. 2. In opposition to this hindrance, two things are to be done. 1. Desire not so perilous a station as worldly prosperity and greatness is. Love not, and seek not a condition so hazardous to your souls. Leave that to them that take it for their portion, as not believing what they must lose and suffer by it; or what God hath revealed of the life

to come.

Or if you be in such prosperity, not by your desire, but by the will and providence of God, let your fear and watchfulness be doubled, as your dangers are: Be not like those sensualists, that "feed themselves without fear." (Jude 12.) Use not prosperity to the pleasing of the flesh, and the prospering of your lusts, but deny yourselves in the midst of your abundance; and turn it into an adversity to your sensual inclinations, by taming the body and bringing it into subjection, and suspecting yourselves, and walking humbly with God and man.

And when adversity is upon you, improve the opportunity for the knowledge of yourselves. Then take a just survey of your former course of life. Then try your ways, when the drunkenness and deceits of prosperity are past, and the hand of God hath brought you into a sober and considerate state. O how many souls do know that in one day, when adversity hath made them wise and sensible, which before they knew and would not know; they saw it, but did not understand and feel it! Then on a sudden they are able to pass a right judgment, upon their yielding to temptations, and the value of the things that tempted them,

and upon their worldly designs, and fleshly wisdom, and their neglects of God, and heaven, and duty, than before they could do, though they had never so much instruction, and though they could speak the same words of sin as now. Affliction taketh away the deceiving advantages of fleshly objects, and unmasketh the glory and profit of the world, and awakeneth the rational faculties to perform their office, and therefore is an excellent opportunity for self-acquaintThe prodigal came to himself, when he was denied to fill his belly with the food of swine. (Luke xv. 16, 17.) Nature teacheth men to understand, that it is the principal lesson that affliction readeth to us, to know ourselves, and our ways, as they are related to God and to his judgment.

ance.

2. If you are in prosperity, be the more suspicious of flatterers, and drive them away with the greater detestation : be more careful to keep them from you, than to keep your bodies clean from vermin. And be the more solicitous to procure such faithful overseers and physicians for your souls, as will do their best to save you, though they displease you. O that you knew what an advantage it is to have a faithful pastor, and a faithful friend, that seek not yours but you, and make no advantage to themselves by flattering you, but choose the means that tend most to your salvation! And O that you knew the great disadvantage of those that want such a pastor, and such a friend! You would then be sure to give it as your strictest charge to both, to deal plainly with you, and never to hide or extenuate your sin or danger. You would charge your teachers, 'Whatever you do, deal faithfully with my soul! If you see me in any dangerous course, I beseech you tell me of it: if I should be hardened against your warnings and reproofs, I beseech you deal not lightly with me, but labour to awaken me, and set it home, and pull me out of the fire, and save me as with fear. (Jude 23.) O suffer me not to be quiet in my sins.' The like charge also you would give to your friends that are about you, and converse with you; choose such pastors, and choose such friends as are fittest, thus to prove your friends indeed: and charge them, and entreat them as they love your souls, and as they will answer it before God, that they suffer you not to sin for fear of displeasing you by plain reproofs; and resolve to submit and take it well. A stander-by hath the great advantage of impartiality,

and therefore may see that in you which you observe not in yourselves; an object too near the eye, or too far off, is not well discerned: self-love doth not hinder us so much in judging of other men's cases as our own. Friendly and faithful dealing in the matters of eternal consequence, is the principal use and benefit of friendship. This differenceth 1 the communion of saints from Beelzebub's swarm of flies and caterpillars. Thus "two are better than one: for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up." (Eccles. iv. 9, 10.) Much more woe to him that hath a multitude to cast him and to keep him down.

Hind. 3. The third extrinsical impediment to self-knowledge, is conversing only with such as are as bad as ourselves; and not with such whose lives display the spiritual endowment, and excellencies which we want. Among the Ethiopians, it seemeth no deformity to be black: Seneca saith, that "no man is to be upbraided with that which is 'vitium humani generis,' the common fault of all the world, or of the country where he lives:" for this were but to upbraid him that he is a man, or that he was born in such a time or place. Though Christians that know better the common disease, do know that there must be a common humiliation and remedy; yet these indeed are the thoughts, of most; they know not that it is a matter of dishonour and lamentation, to be no better than the most, and to lie in the common corruptions of the world, and to have no better hearts than they had by nature. To hear preachers talk of holiness, and a Divine nature, and a new birth, and of being made new creatures, and of living in the love of God, and in the joyful hopes of endless glory, doth seem to them but as the talk of a world in the sun, or the description of an angel, which humbleth not them at all, for not being such, nor exciteth in them any great desires to be such: as long as they see not the persons that are such, they think these are but devout imaginations, or the pious dreams of melancholy men; and that indeed there are no such persons in the world or if there be, that they are but as the Papists saints, here and there one to be admired and canonized, and not upon pain of damnation to be imitated. They judge of all the world, or almost all, by those about them; and they think that God should be unmerciful if he should condemn