rightly use them will certainly prove fuccefsful; and fo many they are, that there is no good purpose which may not be effectually accomplish'd by them. Means of this Nature and Vertue the World hath none, nor can any one, whatever means he use, or what wisdom foever he exercifeth in the use of them, affure himself that he fhall obtain his worldly ends by them. Our means are not of our own Invention, but of God's Prescription. He himself is our Teacher, we are taught of God. We are not

left to the Conduct of our own reafon only, nor to be rul'd by its probable Conjectures; but the wisdom of God, the eternal word, is become the light of the World. His Inftitutions are the principal means we are to use. And he hath given us his Holy Spirit to guide us into all Truth, and to help our Infirmities, and affift us in the use of these means. We have our Rule and Directory in our Hand, the Holy Scripture given by Infpiration of God, to make us perfect unto every good work, and wife unto Salvation. And is it not a fhame for us to be lefs diligent and Induftrious in the ufe of thefe excellent means, on the Confciencious ufe whereof is entail'd the bleffing of God, and all good fuccefs; than the Children of the World are in the ufe of means, which, when they have done all they can, may prove unfuccefsful?

Thirdly, Confider the evils which muft follow our foolishness, either in neglecting, or not wifely enough using thofe means. We thereby provoke God to be difpleas'd with us; we weaken our own hopes and comforts, we fcandalize the weak, we difcredit our Holy Religion, we make our Repentance difficult, Death terrible, and life eternal, uncertain,

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God

God expects a Duty from us anfwerable to the benefits we receive from him, and to whom more is given, of him more will, in all reason, be requir'd. If we make not good ufe of what we have, and do not wifely approve the Talent beftow'd upon us, we are in danger of having it taken from us. We ought to fear the woe against Chorazin, Bethfaida and Capernaum. God cannot fee his Mercy abus'd or flighted without Indignation. And by our neglecting to make a good ufe of it, we provoke him to awake us, and m ke us fenfible of our folly by fome very fevere Chaftisement; for this caufe (as it was with the Corinthians) many amongst us are weak and fickly, and many die. And is it no fhame, that who have receiv'd fo many excellent tokens of God's love, fhould thus provoke him to Anger?

Our hopes are grounded on the gracious promifes of God, and thefe promises are made to fuch as are careful, diligent, and industrious in the use of the means which he hath appointed for the obtaining of what he hath promifed; and our Comforts arife from Teftimony of our Confciences, that our Converfation is as becometh the Gospel of Chrift. Our hopes therefore and our comforts muft needs encreafe or abate, according as our care and diligence in the use of thofe means is more or lefs. Yea, Experience affures us, that many have by their Negligence in the ufe of the Means of Grace brought themfelves into a defpairing condition, wherein their Squls have refufed to be comforted.

Our remifsnefs in our Duty, and bold venturing upon Temptations, is too often a Scandal and Stumbling Block in the way of the Weak;

who,

who, tho' they design well, are yet very apt to be led by Example, and to take the Lives and Practices of those whofe Wisdom and Piety they have a good Opinion of, for a good comment on the Rules which are given them by God in his Word. They think that they do well enough fo long as they make as good ufe of God's Mercy, as they fee others do, whom they think to be good Men. Thus not by our Knowledge (as the Apostle faith, 1. Cor. 8. 11.) but by our Folly and regardlefness of our own greateft Concerns, our weak Brother may be brought into danger of perifhing, for whom Chrift died.

Again, Hereby, we alfo encourage the Adverfaries of our holy Religion to speak evil of it, and bring it ftill more and more into difcredit among them, who have not kindness for it. Many of them will not give themselves the trouble of ftudying and confidering it in the Doctrines and Rules of it given us in the Holy Scripture, nor do they read it any where but in the Lives of those who profefs it; and how should they think that we our felves believe it, when they fee us lefs careful, to affure to our felves the things it promifeth, by the means which it commends unto us; than the Children of this World are to make fure to themfelves things no way comparable to those we pretend to hope for.

Moreover, by this Folly of ours, we make our Repentance a great deal more difficult, without which we know that we cannot be fav'd. Through want of Care, Caution, and Watchfulnefs, we are drawn into many Sins which we might have avoided, and fo the number of our Sins to be repented of, daily encreafeth; and hereupon alfo many Sins pafs unobferved by us,

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and

and fo we cannot worthily repent of them. Yea, by a careless and flight performance of Duty, we cheat our felves, and grow by degrees confident that we are in a very good Condition, and ftand not in need of that Repentance which is our Duty. And thus we are hardly perfuaded to believe that we have much to repent of, and when we are convinced of this, we are the more confounded in our Thoughts about it.

And this makes the very Thoughts of dying terrible to us, because we know that to die without true Repentance is to perifh everlastingly, and reflecting on our paft Behaviour, we are apt to fall into, many doubt about the truth and fincerity of Our Repentance, and whether or no fuch as it is, it will be accepted of by God. Hence Fears arife, that we fhall never attain to eternal Life. All these things well confidered, it appears how much Reason we have to be afhamed of it, that we fhould be lefs provident and careful for the affuring to our Selves eternal Blessedness, than others are for mere Trifles in comparison of that. Seeing therefore Death is at Hand, and we know not how foon we shall be called to give an Account of our Stewardship, let us give all Diligence to make our Calling and Election fure; that fo an entrance may be miniftred unto us abundantly into the everlafting Kingdom of our LORD and Saviour JESUS Chrift.

VERSE

Verse 9.

And I fay unto you, make to your felves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

ROM the eighth Verse we learn'd, that the Children of Light are not fo wife in ordering their Affairs in relation to a blessed Eternity, as the Children of this World are in their Worldly Concerns. Now in this Verfe, our bleffed JESUS teacheth us how we may be wifer, or which is the wifeft course we can take for our own future Happiness, and it is this: Whatever we have by God's Gift, so to use it, as to make it as serviceable as it can be made, for the atchieving our great and ultimate End, the Salvation of our Souls. Here we have his application of the Parable to his Difciples. And I Jay unto you; that is, what I have faid all this while unto you in this Parable, is this, which I now tell you very plainly. This was my meaning in it, That feeing whatever you have is of God, and you have it as his Stewards, and are therefore to order and difpose of it, not as your Lufts would perfuade you to do, but according to his Will and Pleasure, which is to do every thing to his glory; and it being his Will that you fhould improve every thing to your own beft advantage and profit, fee that you do fo; for you will die fhortly, and this Stewardship will be at an end, and you must account for whatever you have had; and if you