live in ! fo that they have no time to retire into themfelves, and think for what end, and ufe, they were created, and fent into this world. All their thoughts, all their cares, all their ftudies, and labours, are taken up about the perishing, clogging, enfnar ing body, which must so shortly fall a prey to the worms. How many millions of poor creatures are there that labour, and toil all their life long, for a poor, bare maintenance of their bodies, and never think they have any other bufinefs to do in this :world!

And how many, of an higher rank, are charmed by a thick fucceffion of fleshly delights, and pleasures, into a deep oblivion of their eternal concerns! So that their whole life is but one entire diverfion from the great business, and proper end of it. James v. 5. "Ye have lived in pleafures on earth," living in them, as the fish doth in the water, its proper element, or the eel in the mud. Sometimes it falls out, at the very close of a vain voluptuous life, when they fee all their delights, thrink. ing away at the approaches, and appearance of death, that they begin to be a little ftartled at the change, which is about to be made upon them; and to cry, O what shall we do now ! Ah poor fouls! is that a time to think what you shall do, when you are just stepping into the awful ftate of eternity? O that this had been thought on in feason! but you could find no leisure for one fuch thought. Now you begin to wifh time had been refcued out of the hands of the cares, and pleasures of this life, for better purposes; but it is gone, and never more to be recalled.

Infer. 2. Is the foul fo invaluably precious? Then the falvation of the foul is to be the great care, and business of every man in this life.

Where one thought is spent about this question, What shall I eat, drink, and put on? A thoufand fhould be spent about that question, "What fhall I do to be faved?" If a treasure of ten, or twenty thousand pounds were committed to your truft, and charge, and for which (in case of lofs) you must be responsible; would not your thoughts, cares, and fears, be working night and day about it, till you are fatisfied it is safe, and out of danger? And then your mind would be at reft, but not before. Thy foul, O man, is more worth than the crowns, and treasures of all the princes in the world! If all their exchequers were drained, and all their crown-jewels fold to their full value, they could never make up a half ransom for the foul of the poorest and meaneft man. This invaluable treafure is committed to your charge; Hhh

VOL. III.

if it be loft, you are loft for ever. That which St. Matthew calls the lofing of the foul in my text, St. Luke calls lofing himself, if the foul be loft, the man is loft: The body is but as a boat faftened to the ftern of a stately fhip, if the fhip fink, the boat follows it.

O, therefore, what thoughts, what fears, what cares should exercise the minds of men, day and night, till their precious fouls are out of all danger: Methinks the found of this text fhould ring a perpetual alarm in the ears of careless finners, and make them haften to the infurance-office, as merchants do, who have great adventures in danger at fea. It was counfel given once to s king, and worthy to be preffed upon all, from the king to the beggar, to ruminate thefe words of Christ one quarter of an hour every day;" What is a man profited, if he fhall gain the

a

whole world, and lose his own foul? Or what shall a man "give in exchange for his foul?" Certainly it would make men flacken their pace and cool themfelves in their hot, and earneft pursuit of the trifles of this world, and convince them, that they have fomewhat else to do of far greater impor

tance,

It was not without great and weighty reafon, therefore, that the apostle Peter exhorts to all diligence to make our calling, and election fure, 2 Pet. i. 10. There are two words in this text of extraordinary weight, Give all diligence; the dáμTE, word is Audy, the utmost intention of the mind, pondering, and comparing things in the thoughts, valuing reafons for, and objections against the point before us, this is ftudy; and fuch as calls for all diligence where the fubject-matter is (as, to be fure, here it is) of the greatest importance: And what is the fubject-matter of all this study, and diligence? Why, it is the most folemn of all works that ever came under the hand of man, to make our calling and election sure, firm, ftable, or fixed, as a building raifed upon a fquare, and Atrong foundation; or as a conclufion is fure, when regularly drawn from certain, and indubitable promifes: There can never be too much care, too much study, or pains, about that which can never be too well fecure.

Many fouls never fpent one folema hour in a close and serious debate about this matter; others have taken a great deal of pains about it; they have broken many nights fleep, poured out many prayers, made many a deep fearch into their own hearts, walked with much confcientious watchfulnefs, and tenderuefs, propofed many a ferious cafe of confcience to the most judicious, and fkilful minifters, and Chriftians; and, after all,

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the fecurity is not fuch as fully fatisfies: And probably one reafon of it may be the great weight wherewith the matters of their falvation lie upon their spirits. O that these soul concerns did bear upon all, as they do upon fome! It requires more time, more thoughts, more prayers to make these things fure, than most are aware of..

Infer. 3. If the foul be fo precious, then certainly it is the fpe rial care of heaven, that which God looks more particularly after, than any other creature on earth.

There is an active, vigilant providence, that fuperintends eevery creature upon earth; there is not the most despicable, dis minutive creature that lives in the world, left without the line of providence: God is therefore faid to give them all their meat in due feason, and for that end they all wait upon him, Pfal. civ. 27. who, as a great and provident house-keeper orders daily, convenient provifions for all his family, even to the leaft, and lowest among them: The fmalleft infects, and gnats which swarm fo thick in the air, and of the usefulness of whose Being it is hard to give an account; yet as the incomparably learned * Dr. More well obferves, thefe all find nourishment in the world, which would be loft if they did not, and are again convenient Dourishment themselves to others that prey upon them.

But man is the peculiar, fpecial care of God, and the foul of man much more than the body. Hence Chrift fortifies the faith of Christians, against all distrusts of divine providence, even from their excellency above other creatures.

Mat. x. 31. "Ye are of more value than many fparrows;" and Mat. vi. 26. your heavenly Father feeds the fowls of the air, "and are ye not much better than they?" and ver. 30. he clothes the grafs of the field," and shall he not much more "clothe you?" and fo the apostle, 1 Cor. ix. 9." Doth God "take care for oxen? or faith he it altogether for our fakes? "For our fakes, no doubt, this is written." In all which places we have the dignity of man above all animals and vegetables, in refpect of the natural excellency of his reasonable soul, but especially the gracious endowments of it, which endear it far more to its Maker; this is the very hinge of the argument, and a firm ground for the believer's faith of God's tender care over both parts, but especially the foul. The body of a believer is God's creature, as well as his foul; but that being of lefs value, hath not fuch a degree of care and tenderness expreffed Hhh 2

*Antidote, &c. p. 82.

towards it, as the foul hath the father's care is not fo much for the child's cloaths, as it is for the child himself. Befides, the immediate wants and troubles of the foul, which are idopathetical, are far more fharp and pinching, than thofe it fuffers upon the body's account, which are but Jympathetical; and therefore, whenever fuch an excellent creature, as a fanctified foul, which is in Chrift, or a foul defigned to be fanctified, which is moving towards Chrift, falls under those heavy preffures and diftreffes, (as it often does) and is ready to fail; let it be affured, its merciful Creator will not fail to relieve, support, revive, and deliver it, as often as it fhall fall into thofe deep diftreffes.

Hear how his compaffionate tenderness is expreffed towards diftreffed fouls. Ifa. xlix. 15. "Can a woman forget her fuck

ing child, that the fhould not have compaffion on the fon of "her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee." Sooner thall a woman, the more tender fex, forget, (not the nurfe-child, that only fucks her breaft, but) the child, yea, the fon of her womb, and that not when grown and placed abroad, but whilft it hangs upon her breaft, and draws love from her heart, as well as milk from her breast; than God will forget a foul that fears him. Let gracious fouls fortify their faith, therefore, in the Divine care, by confidering with what a peculiar eye of eftimation and care, God looks upon them above all other creatures in the world: only beware you fo eye not the natural, or fpiritual excellencies of your fouls, as to expect mercy for the lake thereof, as if your fouls were worthy for whole fake God fhould do this: no, no, fin hath nonfuited that plea, all is of free grace, not of debt: but he minds us to what reputation the new creation brings the foul with its God.

Infer. 4. If the foul of man be fo precious, how precious and dear to all believers, bould the Redeemer and Saviour of their precious fouls be?

"Unto you therefore that believe, he is precious," faith the apostle, 1 Pet. ii. 7. Though he be yet out of our fight, he should never be one whole hour together out of our hearts and thoughts. Pet. i. 8." Whom having not seen ye love; whom

though now ye fee him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy un peakable, and full of glory." "The very name of "Chrift," faith + Bernard, "is honey in the mouth, melody . in the ear, and a very jubilee in the heart." The bleffed martyr, Mr. Lambert, made this his motto, None but Christ,

Mel in ore, melos in aure, jubilum in corde. Bern

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Bone but Chrift. Molinus was feldom obferved to mention his name without dropping eyes. Julius Palmer, in the midft of the flames, moved his fcorched lips, and was heard to fay," Sweet Jefus, and fell asleep. Paul fastens upon his name, as a bee upon a fweet flower, and mentions it no less than ten times in the compass of ten verses, 1 Cor. i. as if he knew not how to leave it.

There is a twofold preciousness of Chrift, one in respect of his effential excellency and glory; in this refpect he is glorious, as the only begotten Son of God, the brightnefs of his Father's glory, and the exprefs image or character of his perfon, Heb. i. the other in refpect of his relative usefulness, and fuitableness to all the needs, and wants of poor finners; as he is the Lord our righteousness, made unto us wisdom, righteousness, fanctification, and redemption. None difcern this preciousness of Chrift, but those that have been convinced of fin, and have apprehended the wrath to come, the juft demerit of fin, and fled for refuge to the hope fet before them; and to them he is precious indeed. Confider him as a Saviour from wrath to come, and he will appear the most lovely and defireable in all the world to your fouls: he that understands the value of his own foul, the dreadful nature of the wrath of God, the near approaches of this wrath to his own foul, and the aftonishing love of Chrift, in delivering him from it, by bearing that wrath in his place and room, in his own perfon; cannot chufe but eftimate Chrift above ten thousand worlds.

Infer. 5. How great a trust and charge lieth upon them to whom the care of fouls is committed, and from whom an account for other mens, as well as their own fouls fball certainly be requir "ed?

Minifters are appointed of God to watch for the fouls of their people, and that as men that must give an account, Heb. xiii. 17. The word here translated watch *, signifies such watchfulness, as that of thepherds who keep their flocks by night in places infested by wolves, and watch whole nights together for their fafety. If a man were a keeper only of fheep and fwine, it were no great matter if the wolf now and then carried away one whilst he Дept; but minifters have charge of fouls, one of which, as Chrift affures us in the text, is more worth than the whole world. Hear what one fpeaks upon this point.

Aypurva eft noctes in fomnis agere, quod folent viri ßuxúÞopolg pernoxfo ilicitudo.