alas! poor man, his being lefs evil, at best, could but procure him a cooler hell, or a milder flame. This was the cafe of the young man, Mat. xix. 28. and like a young man, indeed, he reafons. He fums up all the stock of his civil life, and thinks it ftrange if that be not enough to make a purchase of eternal life. What lack I yet? Alas! poor foul, every thing neceffary to falvation; the very firft ftone was not laid, when he thought the building was finished: And this is the cafe of multitudes, both young and old; and that which greatly confirms, and settles them in this their dangerous fecurity, is the general, indiftinct doctrine of fome, who pretend to be guides to the fouls of others, the fcope of whofe miniftry aims at no higher mark, than to civilize the people, and prefs moral duties upon them, as if this were all that were neceffary to falvation: Nay, it is well if fome do not induftriously pull down the pale of diftinction betwixt morality, and regeneration, and tell the world, in plain English, That there is no reason to put a difference betwixt fuch as are baptized, and live morally boneft, and thofe that have Javing grace; and they that do so, are only a few, who are highly conceited of themselves, and cenforious of all others, whom they pleafe to vote formal, and moral.

This, indeed, is the way to fix them where they are; if Christ had not taken another method with Nicodemus, and his minifters had not preffed the neceffity of regeneration, and the infufficiency of moral honefty to falvation, how thin had the num ber of true converts been, though, at most, they are but a handful, in comparison of the unregenerate!·

O that God would blefs what follows, to undeceive, and fave fome poor foul out of this dangerous fnare of the devil! The twelfth way to damnation barred, by three confiderations. 1. Blind not yourselves with the luftre of your own moral virtues, a life fmoothly drawn with civility through the world: for though it must be acknowledged there is a lovelinefs, and attracting sweetness in morality, and civility, yet these things rather refpect earth, than heaven, and are designed for the confervation of the order, and peace of this world, not for your falvation, and title to the world to come. Without juftice, and truth, kingdoms, and commonwealths would become moun tains of prey, and dens of robbery. Where there is, no trust,

there can be no traffic; and where there is no truth, there can be no truft. Civility is the very basis of human society, a world of good accrues to men by it, and abundance of mischief is prevented by it; but it never gave any man an intereft in Chrift,

or a title to falvation. The Romans and Lacedemonians, who perished in the darkness of Heathenifm, excelled in morality; there is nothing of Chrift, or regeneration, in these things, how much of excellency foever be afcribed to them. Paul, the Pharifee, was a blamelefs perfon, touching the law, and yet, at the fame time, not only utterly ignorant of Christ, but a bitter enemy to him, and all that were his. Till you can find another way to heaven than by regeneration, repentance, and faith, never lean upon fuch a deceitful, and rotten prop, as mere civility is.

2. Civilized nature is unfanctified nature ftill; and without fanctification there is no falvation, Heb. xii. 14. Civility adorneth nature, but doth not change it. Moral virtues are so many fweet flowers ftrewed over a dead corpfe, which hide the lothfomeness of it, but infpire not life into it. "Morality hides, "and covers, but never mortifies, nor cures the corruptions of

nature ;" and mortified they must be, or you cannot be saved: take the beft nature in the world, and let it be adorned with all the ornaments of morality (which they call homiletical virtues) and add to thefe all the common gifts of the Spirit, which are for affistance, and miniftry; yet all this cannot fecure that foul from hell, or be the ground-work for a juft claim to any promife of falvation: all this is but nature improved, not regenerated. Morality is neither produced as faving grace is, nor works fuch effects as grace worketh; there are no pangs of repentance introducing it, it may cost many an aking head, but no aking heart for fin; no fuch diftreffed outcries as that, Acts

ii. 37 66 Men, and brethren, what fhall we do?" Nor doth it produce fuch humility, felf abasement, heavenly tempers, and tendencies of foul, as grace doth. Cheat not yourselves, therefore, in fo important a concern as falvation is, with an empty shadow.

3. Civility is not only found in multitudes that are out of Christ, but may be the cause, and reason why they are christless: mistake not, I am not pleading the cause of prophaneness, nor difputing civility out of the world; I heartily wish there were more of it to be found in every place, it would exceedingly promote the peace, order, and tranquillity of the world: but yet it is certain. that the eyes of thousands are fo dazzled with the luftre of their own morality, that they fee no need of Chrift, nor feel any want of his righteoufness, and this is the ruin of their fouls. Thus Chrift brings in the Pharifee with his proud

Abfcondit, non abfcondit vita. Lactans.

boaft, that he is" no extortioner, adulterer, nor unjust, or such "an one as that publican," Luke xviii. 11. O what a faint doth he vote himself, when he compared his life with the other's! Well, then, beware you be not deceived by thinking you are fafe, because you are got out of the dirty road to hell, when, all the while, you are only stepped over the hedge into a cleaner path to damnation. You have had a short account of fome few of thofe many ways in which the precious fouls of men are eternally loft: Let us briefly apply it in the following inferences.

Infer. 1. If there be fo many ways of lofing the foul, and fuch multitudes of fouls loft in every one of them, then the num ber of faved fouls muft needs be exceeding small.

The number of the faved may be confidered, either abfolutely or comparatively: In the first confideration they appear great, and many, even a great multitude, which no man can number, Rev. vii. 9. but if compared with thofe that are loft, they make but a small remnant lsa. i. 9. a little flock, Mat, xii. 32. For when we confider how vaftly the kingdom of Satan is extended, who is called the god of this world, from the world of people who are in fubjection to him: how small a part of this earthly globe is enlightened with the beams of gofpel-light, and that Satan is the acknowledged ruler of all the reft, Eph. vi. 12. But when it fhall be farther confidered, that out of this fpot, ou which the light of the gofpel is rifen, the far greatest part are loft, alfo: O what a poor handful remains to Jesus Christ, as the purchase of his blood!

It is of trembling confideration, how many thousands of families, amongst us, are mere nurferies for hell, parents bringing forth and breeding up children for the devil; not one word of God (except it be in the way of blafphemy, or prophaneness) to be heard among them. How naturally their ignorant and wicked education puts them in the course and tide of the world, which carries them away irresistibly to hell; how one finner confirms and animates another, in the fame finful course, till they are all past hope, or remedy: how the rich are taken with the baits of fenfual pleasures, and the poor loft in the brake of diftracting, worldly cares, except here and there a foul plucked out of the fnare of the devil, by the wonderful power, and arm of God. On the one fide, you may fee multitudes drowned in open prophaneness, and debauchery; and, on the other fide, many thousands fecurely fleeping, in the state of civility, and morality: fome key-cold, and without the leaft fenfe of religion; others hell-hot, with blind zeal, and fuperftitious madness, against true godlinefs, and the fincere practilers of it. Some

living all their days under the ordinances of God, and never touched with any conviction of their fin, or misery; others convinced, and making fome faint offers at religion; but their con victions (like bloffoms nipt with a frosty morning) fall off, and no fruit follows. And as rubies, fapphires, and diamonds, are very few, in comparison of the pebbles, and common fones of the earth; fo are true Chriftians, in comparison of multitudes that perish in the faares of Satan.

Infer. 2. How little reafon have the unregenerate to glory, and boaft themselves in their earthly acquifitions and fucceffes, whilst in the mean time, their fouls are loft they have gotten other things, but loft their fouls. It is ftrange to fee how some men, by rolling a small fortune up and down the world (as boys do a fnow-ball) have increased the heap, and raised a great estate; they have attained their design and aim in the world, and hug themselves in the pleafed thoughts of their happinefs; but, alas, among all the thoughts of their gains, there is not one thought of what they have loft. O if fuch a thought as this could find room in their hearts, I have, indeed, gotten an estate, but I ⚫ have loft my foul; I have much of the world, but nothing of Chrift; gold and filver I have, but grace, peace and pardon I have not; my body is well provided for, but my foul is naked, empty, and deftitute.' Such a thought, like the fentence written on the wall, would make their hearts fail within them. What a rapture, and tranfport of joy did the fight of a full barn caft that worldling into! Luke xii. 19, 20. "Soul, take thine "ease, eat, drink, and be merry;" little dreaming that death was juft then at the door, to take away the cloth, gueft, and all together; that the next hour his friends would be scrambling for his eftate, the worms for his body, and the devil for his foul.

O how many have not only lost their fouls, whilft they have been drudging for the world, but have fold their fouls to purchase a little of the world! parted, by confent, with their best treasure for a very trifle, and yet think they have a great bargain of it! Surely, if poor finners did but apprehend what they have loft, as well as what they have gained, their gains would yield them as little comfort as Judas's money did, for which he fold both his foul and Saviour. Inftead of thofe pleasing frolics of wanton worldlings, what a cold fhiver would run through all their bones and bowels, did they but understand what it is to lofe a gracious God, and a precious foul, and both eternally, and irrecoverably!

The juft God remains ftill to avenge and punish the finner;

but the favour of God, that friendly look, is gone; the peace of God, that heaven upon earth, is gone; the effence of the foul remains still, but its purity, peace, joy, hope, and happinefs, these are gone; and these being gone, what can remain, but a tormenting, piercing fight of those things, for which you have fold them?

Infer. 3. Hence let us eflimate the evil of fin, and fee what a dreadful thing that is, which men commonly sport themselves with, and make fo light of it is not only a wrong and injury to the foul, but the lofs and utter ruin of the foul for ever.

It is faid, Prov. viii. 36. "He that finneth against me, wrong"eth his own foul." And if this were all the mifchief fin did us, it were bad enough; a wrong to the foul is a greater evil than the ruin of the body or eftate, and all the outward enjoyments of this life can be; but to lofe the precious foul, and destroy it to all eternity, O what can estimate fuch a lofs! Now the result and laft effect of fin, is death, the death of the precious foul. Rom. vi. 21." The end of thofe things is death." So Ezek. xviii. 4. "The foul that finneth shall die."

Sin doth not destroy the being of the foul by annihilation, but it doth that which the damned fhall find, and acknowledge to be much worse; it cuts off the foul from God, and deprives it of all its felicity, joy, and pleasure, which confifts in the enjoyment of him. Such is the dolefulness and fearfulness of this refult and iffue of fin, that when God himself fpeaks of it, he puts on a paffion, and speaks of it with the most feeling concernment. Ezek. xxxiii. 11." As I live, faith the Lord, I have no plea "fure in the death of the wicked: Turn ye, turn ye, for why "will ye die, O boufe of Ifracl?" q. d. Why will ye wilfully caft away your own fouls? Why will ye chufe the pleasures of fin for a feafon, at the price of my wrath and fury, poured out for ever? O think of this, you that make fo light a matter of committing fin! we pity thofe, who, in the depth of melancholy or defperation, lay violent hands upon themfelves, and, in a defperate mood, cut their own throats; but certainly, for a man to murder his own foul, is an act of wickedness as much beyond it, as the value of the foul is above the body.

Infer. 4. What an invaluable mercy is Jefus Chrift to the world, who came on purpose to feek, and to fave fuch as were toft?

In Adam all were fhipwrecked and caft away: Chrift is the plank of mercy, let down from heaven to fave fome. The lofs of fouls, by the fall, had been as irrecoverable, as the lofs of the fallen angels, had not God, in a way above all human thoughts,