63© Ap fiatiz.ing p rofeOorrunufefilandunprofitaRe, as there can be ofother thinas,as mony if i; b;: b Oxen if it can- not go for coin,yec it is good for the Goldfmith, but fait is good for nothing at all,& fo profeffors that are apoflatizing from the truth. There is not a more miferable creature then an Apofla- tizingChriflian,they are good for nothing,fornow neither God nor man will truth them, they have been forward in Religion, and they are now fallen off, and God will not trut them any more, nor will man truft the anymore becaufe of their uri= faithfulnefs to God, they that re not ufeful they are: call out of mens hearts; there was a tim that'it may be you rejoyced to be in their company,and lookedf upon it as a priviledge,but now you look on them as contemptible , they go up and down as poor wretches forfaken of God and men , becaufe they are of no ufe at all to the world, of no note or account in the Church, but do hurt where ever they are , God ordinarily takes their gifts, away from them, when they profelíed Religi- on they had gifts, and God hath taken them away ; now they cannot pray as they could formerly do , and there is a fecret curfe of God that goeth along with them in all that theydo, that in the time of their youth, and at firth when they began to make profeflion of truth there was force gifts of God in them and upon them for the edification of others , but now God is gone from them, and their gifts they are gone, and they themfelves are departed from God, what change is in them ! and they go up and down as burdens to the Towns and :Fami- lies, and they are troden under foot, no men in the world do more mifchief or hurt then thofe that are forward in profeflì- on of Religion and yet fall off afterwards , they then look on the name óf God as vile and contemptible, God will look on you as vile and contemptible, and you are the Humbling blocks and di:couragements to young beginners in the ways of God , when God begins to work on their hearts, you harden the hearts of wicked men, when once you were forward, hot and zealous, and are fallen off, they that are wicked think that Re- litiion ii' but a fancy, and it is but a meer humor that men are poi3efs'd withal, and fo you are difcouragements to poor weak ones, they think, Lord what (hall become of me, that thofe that
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