will go into all companies, and lend an ear to all doctrines that are preached; first be a hearer, and then a disciple of them. Many indulge themselves so far in this curiosity of conversing with every sect and opinion, that at last they turn sceptics, and can settle upon nothing as truth. Augustine confesseth of himself that he had gone through so many errors and delusions of the Manichees (which he once cried up for truths, but afterwards saw them abominable errors) that at last he was afraid of truth itself, which he heard Ambrose preach. Ut malum medicum expertus, etiam bono timeat se committere. As (saith he) one that hath had experience of an unskilful physician, is at last afraid to put himself into the hands of him that is skilful. O take heed that you who will now hear any thing, come not in the end that you will believe nothing.

Fifthly, Humbly beg of God an established judgment. No travellers lose their way sooner than they who think they know it so well that they need not ask it; and no professors are so much in danger of being drawn from the truth as they who lean to their own understandings, and acknowledge not God in their way by consulting with him daily. Mark pride (however it may seem to soar aloft in profession at present) and you shall find it at last laid in the ditch of error or profaneness: this is the bed God hath made for it, and it must lie there where God hath appointed its lodging. It is very necessary such men should be left to be bewildered, and so put to shame; that when their understanding returns to them (if God hath such a mercy in store for them), they may, with Nebuchadnezzar, bless the Most High, and acknowledge him at their return, whom they neglected so unworthily at their setting forth. O take heed therefore of pride, which will soon make thee a stranger at the throne of grace. Pride takes little delight in begging it turns humble praying for truth into a busy stickling and ambitious disputing about truth; there is honour to be got here, and thus many to get victory have lost truth in the heat of the battle. Lay this deep in thy heart, that God, which gives an eye to see truth, must give a hand to hold it fast when we have it. Qua

habemus ab eo, tenere non possumus sine eo. Bern. What we have from God, we cannot keep without God. Keep therefore thy acquaintance with God, or else truth will not keep her acquaintance long with thee. God is light: thou art going into the dark as soon as thou turnest thy back upon him. We stand at better advantage to find truth, and keep it also, when devoutly praying for it, than fiercely wrangling and contending about it. Disputes disturb the soul, and raise the dust of passion; prayer sweetly composeth the mind, and lays the passions which disputes draw forth; and I am sure a man may see further in a still clear day, than in a windy and cloudy. When a person talks much, and rests little, we have great cause to fear his brain will not long hold; and truly when a person shall be much in talking and disputing about truth without a humble spirit in prayer to be led into it, God may justly punish that man's pride with a spiritual frenzy in his mind, that he shall not know error from truth.

Sixthly, Look thou takest not offence at the difference of judgments and opinions that are found amongst the professors of religion. It is a stone which the Papist throws (in these divided times especially) before our feet. How know you, saith he, which is truth, when there are so many judgments and ways amongst you? Some have so stumbled at this, that they have quitted the truth they once professed, and, by the storm of dissentions in matters of religion, have been, if not thrown upon the rock of atheism, yet driven to and fro in a fluctuation of mind, not willing to cast anchor any where in their judgment till they see this tempest over, and those that are scattered from one another by diversity of judgment meet together in an unity and joint consent of persuasions in matters of religion. A resolution, as one saith very well, as foolish and pernicious to the soul, if not more, than it would be to the body if a man should vow he would not eat till all the clocks in the city should strike twelve just together; the latter might sooner be expected than the former.

Seventhly, Rest not till thou feelest the efficacy of every truth thou holdest in thy judgment, upon thy heart.

One faculty helps another. The more clear truth is in the understanding, the more abiding in the memory; and the more operative truth is on the will, the more fixed in the judgment. Let a thing be never so excellent, yet if a man can make little or no use thereof, it is little worth to him, and may easily be got from him. Thus many rare libraries have been parted with by rude soldiers, into whose hands they have fallen, for little more than their covers were worth, which would by some (that could have improved them) have been kept as the richest prize. And verily, it fares with truth according as they are into whose hands it falls; if it lights upon one that falls to work with it, and draws out the strength and sweetness of it, this man holds it so much faster in his judgment, by how much more operative it is on his heart; but if it meets with one that finds no divine efficacy it hath to humble, comfort, sanctify him, it may soon be turned out of doors, and put to seek for a new host; such may for a time dance about that light, which awhile after themselves will blow out. When I hear of a man, that once held original sin, and the universal pollution of man's nature, to be a truth, but now denies it, I cannot but fear he did either never lay it so close to his heart, as to abase and humble him kindly for it; or that he grew weary of the work, and by sloth and negligence lost the efficacy of that truth in his heart, before he lost the truth itself in his judgment. I might instance in many other particulars, wherein professors in these changing times have slid from their old principles. Singing of psalms hath been a duty owned and practised by many, who now have laid it down: and it were a question worth the asking of them, whether formerly they never enjoyed sweet communion with God in that duty as well as in others? whether their hearts did never dance and leap up to God with heavenly affections, while they sang with their lips? And verily I should think it strange to hear a godly person deny this. Well, if ever thou didst, Christian, meet with God at this door of the tabernacle (for I cannot yet think it other), let me ask thee again, whether thy heart did not grow common, cold, and formal in the duty before thou durst cast off the duty, and if so (which I am

very ready to believe), I desire such in the fear of God to consider these four questions.

First, Whether they may not fear that they are in an error; and that this darkness is befallen their judgments as a punishment for their negligence and slightness of spirit in performing the duty, when they did not question the lawfulness of it?

Secondly, Whether it were not better they laboured to recover the first liveliness of their affections in the duty, which would soon bring them again acquainted with that sweetness and joy they of old found in it, than to cast it off, upon so weak evidence as they who can say most bring in against it?

Thirdly, Whether such as neglect one duty, are likely to thrive by any other, and keep up the savour of them fresh in their souls?

Fourthly, Whether, if God should suffer them to decline in their affections to any other ordinance (which he forbid if it be his will), it were not as easy for Satan to gather together arguments enough to make them scruple and in time cast off that also as well as this? And that there is reason for such a question, these times will tell us; wherein every ordinance hath had its turn to be questioned, yea disowned, some by one, some by another. One will not sing; another will not have his child baptized; a third will not have any water-baptism, nor supper neither; a fourth bungs up his ear too from all hearing of the Word, and would have us expect an immediate teaching. Thus when once ordinances and truths become dead to us through our miscarriage under them, we can be willing (how beautiful soever they were once in our eye), yea call to have them buried out of our sight. These things, sadly laid to heart, will give you reason to think, though this direction be placed last in order of my discourse, yet it should find neither the last nor least place (among all the other named) in your Christian care and practice.

CHAP. IV.

WHEREIN IS CONTAINED THE SECOND WAY OF HAVING OUR LOINS GIRT WITHh truth, VIZ. SO AS TO MAKE A FREE AND BOLD PROFESSION OF IT, AND WHY THIS IS OUR DUTY; AND A SHORT EXHORTATION TO IT.

THE second way that truth is assaulted is by force and violence: the devil pierceth the fox's skin of seducers with the lion's skin of persecutors. The bloodiest tragedies in the world have been acted on the stage of the church, and the most inhuman massacres and butcheries committed on the harmless sheep of Christ. The first man that was slain in the world was a saint, and he for religion; and, as Luther said, Cain will kill Abel unto the end of the world. The fire of persecution can never go out quite, so long as there remains a spark of hatred in the wicked's bosom on earth, or a devil in Hell to blow it up. Therefore there is a second way of having truth girt about the Christian's loins, as necessary as the other; and that is in the profession of it. Many that could never be beaten from the truth by dint of argument, have been forced from it by fire of persecution. It is not an orthodox judgment will enable a man to suffer for the truth at the stake; then that poor Smith, in our English martyrology, would not have sent such a dastardlike answer to his friend, ready to suffer for that truth which he himself had been the means to instruct him in; that indeed it was the truth, but he could not burn. Truth in the head, without holy courage, makes a man like the sword-fish, which Plutarch saith hath a sword in the head, but no heart to use it. Then a person becomes unconquerable, when from Heaven he is endued with a holy boldness, to draw forth the sword of the Spirit, and own the naked truth, by a free profession of it in the face of death and danger. This, this is to have our loins girt about with