of their hearts and lives. And some, by strange and unexpec ted providences, God brings to light, discovering the hidden works of darkness wherein men have taken delight. Such things, therefore, there may be amongst them who make a more than ordinary profession in the world. For there are, or may be, hypocrites among them, "vessels in the house of God of wood and stone." And some who are sincere and upright, may yet be long captivated under the power of their corrup tions and temptations. And for the sake of such, it is principally that this warning is designed. Take heed lest there be in any of you, a growing secret lust or sin wherein you indulge yourselves, or which you approve. If there be so, it may be, there is more in it than you are aware of; nor will your delivery from it, be so easy as you may imagine. God seldom gives up men unto such a way, but it is an effect of his displeasure against their barrenness. He declares therein, that he doth not approve of their profession. Take heed lest it prove an entrance into the dreadful judgment ensuing. Whatever, therefore, it be, let it not seem small in your eyes. There is more evil in the least allowed sin of a professor, I mean that is willingly continued in, than in the loud and great provocations of open sinners. For, besides other aggravations, it includes a mocking of God. And this very caution I now insist upon, is frequently pressed on all professors by our apostle in this very epistle, chap. iii. 10. 12. chap. xii. 15, 16.

2. Constant neglect of private secret duties. This also may be justly feared lest it be an effect of the same cause. Now by this neglect I mean not that which is universal. For it is surely hard to meet with any one who hath so much light and conviction as to make profession of religion in any way, but that he will and doth pray, and perform other secret duties at one time or another. Even the worst of men will do so in afflictions, fears, dangers, with surprisals and the like. Nor do I intend interruptions of duties on unjustifiable occasions, which though a sin which men ought greatly to be humbled for, and which discovers a superfluity of naughtiness yet remaining in them, yet is it not of so destructive a nature as that which we treat about. I intend therefore such an omission of duties as is general; where men do seldom or never perform them but when they are excited and pressed by outward accidents or occasions. That this may befal professors the prophet declares, Isa. xliii. 22, 23. And it argues much hypocrisy in them; the principal character of an hypocrite being, that he will not pray always. Nor can there be any greater evidence of a personal barrenness than this negleet. A man may have a ministerial fruitfulness, and a personal barrenness, so he may have a family usefulness and a personal thriftlessness. And hereof negligence

in private duties is the greatest evidence. Men also may know when those sins are consequences of their barrenness, and to be reckoned among the thorns and briers intended in the text. They may do it, I say, by the difficulty they will meet withal in their recovery, if it be so. Have their failings and negligence been occasional, merely from the impression of present temptations, a thorough watering of their minds and consciences from the word, will enable them to cast off their snares and to recover themselves to a due performance of their duties. But if these things proceed from God's dereliction of them because of their barrenness, whatever they may think and resolve, their recovery will not be so facile. God will make them sensible how foolish and evil a thing it is, to forsake him under the means of fruitful obedience. They may think like Samson, to go forth and do as at other times. But they will quickly find their locks cut, and their spiritual strength so decayed, as that they have no power for what they thought would prove so easy to them at any time. They will find their wills and affections so entangled and engaged, that without a fresh supply of grace, scarce less than that administered in their first conversion, they cannot be delivered. So is it with all lusts, sins and negligences that are consequences of a provoking barrenness under the gospel.

3. A total want of some graces, both in their principle and exercise, is a great evidence of such a condition. Where there is any true saving grace, there is the root and principle of all. Some graces may be more tried and exercised than others, and so be made more evident and conspicuous; for the occasions of their exercise may much more frequently occur. But yet where there is any true grace, at least where it is kept unrusty, vigorous and active, as it ought to be in all profiting hearers of the word; there every grace of the Spirit is so far kept alive as to be in some readiness for exercise when occasion and opportunity do occur. But if in any there are some graces that are totally wanting, that no occasion doth excite or draw forth to exercise, they have just reason to fear, that either those graces which they seem to have are not genuine and saving, but mere common effects of illumination; or that if they are true they are under a dangerous declension, on the account of their unanswerableness to the dispensation of the gospel. For instance, suppose a man to satisfy himself that he hath the graces of faith and prayer, and the like, but yet cannot find that he hath any grain of true zeal for the glory of God, nor any readiness for works of charity with an eye to God's glory, and love to his commands; he hath great reason to fear lest his other graces are false and perishing, or at least that he is signally fallen under the sin of barrenness. For in common grace, one

single grace may appear very evident, and win great honour to the profession of them in whom it is, whilst there is a total want of all or many others; but in saving grace it is not so, for though different graces may exceedingly differ in their exercise, yet all of them are equal in their root and principle. By these and the like considerations, may professors try their own concernment in this commination.

Obs. III. Ordinarily God proceeds to the rejection and destruction of barren professors by degrees; although they are seldom sensible of it until they fall irrecoverably into ruin.-This ground here is first disapproved or rejected, then it is nigh to cursing, the curse ensues; after which it is burned. And God doth thus proceed with them,

1. In compliance with his own patience, goodness and long suffering, whereby they ought to be led to repentance. This is the natural tendency of the goodness and patience of God towards sinners, though it be often abused, Rom. ii. 4, 5. Let men and their sin be what they will, God will not deal otherwise with them, than as becomes his own goodness and patience. And this is that property of God, without a due conception whereof, we can never understand aright his righteousness in the government of the world. Ignorance of the nature of it, and how essential it is to the divine Being, is the occasion of security in sinning and atheism to ungodly men, Eccl. viii. 11—13. 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4. And a great temptation it is oft-times to them that are godly, Hab. i. 12, 13. Jer. xii. 1, 2. Psal. lxxiii. 11— 16. 21, 22. Wherefore, to direct our minds to a due posture, herein we may consider, 1. That the patience of God never came to a general issue with mankind but once since the creation, and that was in the flood, 1 Pet. iii. 20. And this one example God will have to be a sufficient warning to all ungodly sin ners, of the certainty and severity of his future judgment, so that men have no just reason to be secure in their sin, 2 Pet. iii. 5-7. And therefore he hath engaged himself by promise, that he will no more deal so with mankind, be their sins what they will, till the consummation of all things shall come, Gen. viii. 21, 22. While the earth remaineth there shall be no more such a curse. But there is a limited time contained therein. The earth itself shall at length cease, and then he will execute his judgments fully on the world of ungodly sinners. Blessed be God for that public record of his purpose and patience, without which, his continuance of mankind in the world, would be matter of astonishment. 2. The patience of God shall not come to an issue with any apostate church or nation, till he himself declares and determines that all due means have been used for their recovery, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 15-17. And the judgment hereof, he will not leave to the best of men; he would not do so to Elijah VOL. V.

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himself, 1 Kings xix. 3. It is a difficult, glorious and great fruit or effect of faith, not to repine at, but to glorify God in his patience towards a wicked, provoking generation of sinners. Even the souls of the saints in heaven seem to express a little too much haste in this matter, Rev. vi. 9—11. The thing which they desired was suited to the holiness, righteousness and faithfulness of God, and wherein he had designed to glorify himself in his appointed season, Rev. xix. 1-3. but the time of it seemed long to them; wherefore to glorify God herein is a fruit of faith, Rev. xiii. 10. The faith and patience of the saints is most eminent in waiting quietly till the time of the destruction of the enemies of the church be fully come. And it is so, 1. Because it is accompanied with self-denial, as to all our interest in this world, and all the desires of nature. 2. Because the apprehension is most true and infallible, that the righ teousness, holiness and faithfulness of God, will be exceedingly glorified in the destruction of apostate, provoking and ungodly sinners; and this will be in particular in the ruin of Babylon and its whole interest in the world. And this may

make our desires inordinate, if not regulated by faith. It is therefore an eminent act of faith to give glory to God in the exercise of his patience towards apostate, barren professors, and that which alone can in these latter days of the world give rest and peace to our own souls.

2. God will do so to evince the righteousness of his judgments, both in the hearts and consciences of them who shall be finally destroyed, whose end is to be burned; as also of all others who shall wisely consider of his ways. God endureth all things from the world, that he may be justified in his sayings, and may overcome when he is judged, Rom. iii. 4. that is, not only that all he doth shall be righteous and holy, which is necessary from his own essential righteousness, whence he will not, whence he cannot do evil; but his works shall be so wrought, so accomplished, as that the righteousness of them shall be emiment and pleadable by his people against all sayings and reflections of ungodly men. Especially every thing shall be plain and visibly righteous that he doth in this way towards barren unprofitable churches, which he hath formerly owned and blessed. In his dealing with them, he will leave no colour of calling his goodness and faithfulness into question, but will as it were refer the righteousness of his proceedings to all, even to themselves. So he doth as to his dealing with the church of the Jews when it was grown utterly barren, Isa. v. 1-7. So did our Lord Jesus Christ in his parable, compel the wicked Jews to subscribe to the righteousness of God in that miserable destruction which was coming on themselves, Mat. xxi. 33-40. And this God doth principally by his gradual procedure with

them. His precedent warnings and first degrees of judgments, spiritual or temporal, shall bear witness to the righteousness of their total ruin. Men at present, through their blindness, hardness of heart, love of sin, do not, it may be, take notice of God's dealing with them, and are therefore apt to complain when they are surprised with the fatal evil. But the day will come, when their consciences shall be awakened to a dreadful remembrance of all the warnings God gave them, and how slowly he proceeded in his judgments; when their mouths shall be stopped, and their faces filled with confusion.

3. God's dealings with barren apostates being principally in spiritual judgments, the issue whereof is the total removal of the gospel from them, he will not do it at once, because others

may be yet mixed among them to whom he will have the means

of grace continued. This Abraham laid down in temporal judgments as an unquestionable maxim of divine right, that God would not destroy the righteous with the wicked, Gen. xviii. 23. 25. which rule yet, by the way, is confined to that kind of destruction which was to be a standing token, and pledge of the last final judgment and the damnation of all ungodly men. For in other cases, it will admit of some extraordinary exception, but this is the general way of God's procedure in all judgments, spiritual and temporal. Now, when men openly manifest their barrenness, and daily bring forth thorns and briers, if God should immediately remove the word, whilst there are among them a people also that are really fruitful unto his glory, it cannot be, but that in an ordinary course of his provi dence, they must suffer with the rest, and that before God hath fulfilled the whole works of his grace towards them. This was that wherewith he satisfied and quieted the mind of Elijah, when in a transport of zeal, he complains of the horrible apostasy of the church of Israel, making, as the apostle speaks, "intercession against them;" and applieth it unto all other seasons of the church, Rom. xi. 2-5. And we are taught in that example, that when the patience of God towards a highly provoking people, seems to interfere with his threatening and the ordinary course of his providence, to believe that there are yet among them, many whose hearts are sincere for God, though for many reasons they are unknown to us. And this should stir us up unto continual prayers for the whole world. When the long-suffering of God is abused by the most, and turned into an increase of their security, yet he hath a blessed end in it, towards his own among them, 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4. 9. And this was the state of God's present dispensation towards those Hebrews. The most of them were obstinate unbelievers, and many of them, barren apostates. But yet, God continued for a while, to exercise patience towards them, and to tender the