between these two, slothful and wicked, Matt. xxv. 26. Thou wicked and slothful servant.

2. It reproves the Formalist, who puts all his religion in gestures and vestures, emblems of devotion, and thinks this will entitle him to Heaven, Rev. iii. 1. Thou hast a name to live and art dead. The form and outside of Christianity is judged necessary.

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1. It is a means to keep up men's credit in the world. Should they be visibly profane, such as are sober would not come them they would be looked upon no better than baptized heathens: therefore they must make a shew of devotion, out of policy to gain some repute and esteem among others.

2. A form serves to stop the mouth of conscience: had not they some kind of outward devotion, their conscience would fly in their face, and they would be a terror to themselves; therefore they think it expedient to have a form of godliness. But alas, what is all this? The text speaks of offering violence to heaven. What violence is there in a form? Here is

no taking pains with the heart; a form, but no power, 2 Tim. iii. 5. Formalists are like the tombs in the church, which have their eyes and hands lift up to heaven, but no soul. The formaliais devotion runs out most in punctiloes, and niceties: he neglects the weightier matters of the law, Faith and Mercy, Matt. xxiii. 23. He scruples superstitious fancies, but makes no reckoning of sin: he is more

afraid of an hare crossing his way, than of an harlot in his bed. He hates sanctity. Christ had no such bitter enemies as the formal pharisees. The formalist is never violent, but in persecuting the power of godliness.

3. It reproves such as are violent in a bad sense they are violent for hell; they go thither in the sweat of their brows, Jer. viii. 6. Every one turned to his course as the horse rushoth into the battle. A war-horse rusheth violently among the guns and pikes: so did they rush into sin violently. Men are violent,

1. In opposing good.

2. In pursuing evil.

1. In opposing good. Several ways. 1. They offer violence to the spirit of God. The spirit knocks at the door of sinners' hearts; he waits till his head be filled with dew and his locks with the drops of the night; but sinners repulse and grieve the spirit, and send away this dove from the ark of their souls, Acts vii. 51. Ye do always resist the holy ghost. The Spirit offers grace to the sinner, and the sinner offers violence to the spirit, Isaiah Ixiii. 10. "They rebelled and vexed his holy spirit; and may not the Lord give over striving. God who is willing to come in when we open to him, hath not promiseth to come again if we unkindly repulse him.

2. They offer violence to conscience.Conscience is God's preacher in the bosom;

and this preacher cannot flatter: it tells men of their pride, covetousness, abuse of mercy; but they instead of being violent against their sins, offer violence to conscience: they silence and imprison conscience. But as the prophet Zachary, when he was dumb called for a table book, and did write, Luke i. 63. So when conscience cannot be permitted to speak, it will write: it writes down men's sins; and when at death they shall be forced to read the hand-writing, it will make their hearts tremble, and their knees smite. This I fear is too common, for men to offer violence to their conscience and what will be the issue? They who will not hear the voice of conscience, shall be sure to feel the worm of conscience. 3. They offer violence to God's image.The saints (who are God's lively picture) are opposed and shot at. This is a cursed violence. Gal. iv. 29. As he that was born after the flesh, persecuted him who was born after the spirit; so it is now. Christ himself is stricken at through believers. The church hath been always in the torrid zone: The ploughers have ploughed upon herback. The earth hath been sown with the bodies of the Saints, and watered with their blood.

Persecutors I grant are of an ancient family. The first man that was born in the world was a persecutor, namely Cain; and he hath a numerous off-spring. Nero, Trajan, Domitian, Dioclesiun, Maximinus. Chrysostum saith,

Fælix,

that the apples of his eyes fell out. earl of Wartemberg being at supper at Auspurg, did take an oath, that before he died, he would ride up to the spurs in the blood of the Lutherans; but was afterwards choaked in his own blood. Persecutors are the curse of the creation; being some of those thorns and briars which the earth brings forth.

2. Men are violent in pursuing evil.

1. They are violent in their Opinions, 2 Peter ii. 1. Privily they shall bring in damnable heresies, denying the Lord that bought them. Arrius was such an one; and afterwards his bowels gushed out. And truly the spirit of Arrius is yet alive at this day, while men dare deny the Deity of the blessed Son of God. Many of the heritics of old were so violent, that their opinion was to them a Bible: and some of them died in maintaining their heresies. These were the Devil's martyrs.

2. They are violent in their passions.Anger is a short frenzy, James iii. 6. The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. In this little member there is a great world, viz. a world of sin: such as would be counted sober, yet are drunk with passion. Their prayers are cold, but their anger hot. They spit fire as the serpent doth poison. "Fiery passions without repentance, bring men to the fiery furnace.

3. They are violent for their lusts, Titus iii. 3. Serving divers lusts. Lust is an inordi

nate desire or impulse, provoking the soul to the gratifying its carnal desires. Aristotle calls them brutish lusts, because when lusts are violent, they will not let reason or conscience be heard; but a man is carried brutishly to the satisfying the flesh.

1. Men are violent for their drunken lusts. Though death be in the cup, they will drink it off. One having almost lost his eye-sight, the physician told him there was no cure for him, unless he would leave off his excessive drinking; then saith he, farewell sweet light: he would rather lose his eye-sight than leave his drinking.

2. They are violent for their unclean lusts. Men are said to burn in lusts, Romans i. 27. The apostle intimateth that lust is a kind of fever. Feverish heats are not more pernicious to the body, than lust is to the soul. O what folly is it for a drop of pleasure, to drink a sea of wrath.

3. They are violent for their oppressive Justs who wrong and defraud others, and by violence take away their right. Instead of cloathing the naked, they make them who are cloathed naked. These birds of prey live upon rapine. They are cruel, as if with Romulus they had been suckled with the milk of wolves. They smile at the curses of the poor, and. grow fat with their tears. They have forgotten Christ's caveat, Luke iii. 14. Do violence to no man. Ahab violently took