PART III. of gracious 4rfEions. 31 i in the Courfe of our Practices are as it were theBalances in which our Hearts are weighed, or in which Chrift and the World, or Chrift and his Competitors, as to the Efteem and Regard they have in our Hearts, are weighed, or are put into oppofite Scales, by which there Day that burns as anOven ; all that do wickedly(hall beasStubble, " Mal.q..i. For in thatDay the predominantIntereft mutt appear " . and be difcovered, it can be concealed no longer. NoMan can ferve twoMajlers, faithChrift, Luke 16.13. A Man may ferve bt manyMatters, if they all command the fameThing or Things fubordinate to each other ; but he cannot ferve two Matters if t 6 theirCommands clafh & interfere with eachother : And fuch are iz theCommands ofChrift & theFlefh inafuferingHour : ---Thus " the twolnterefts come in fullOppofition. And now havebutPa- " tience and wait a little, and you will difcern which is predo- " minant. A Dog follows two Men, while they both walk ,c one Way, and you know not which of the two is hisMafter : " Stay but a little, 'till their Path parts, and then you .thall << quickly fee who is his Matter : So it is in this Cafe." Ibid Chap. 8. Seat. 3.. And in another Chapter he lays, " Great " Numbers of Perfons are deceived and deftroyed by nutting to fecming untried Grace. This was the miferable Condition " of the Laodicean Profefl'ors : They reckon'd themfelves rich, " but were really poor : All is not Gold that glitters : Their " Gold (as they accounted it) was never tried in the Fire. If " a Man's whole Eftate lay in fome precious Stone, fuppofe a " rich Diamond, how is he concern'd to have it thoroughly " tried, to fee whether it will bear a fmart Stroke with the <c Hammer, or fly like a Brillol Diamond ! " Ibid Chap. ioE Seat. 3. Again in the fame Place, " The Promifes of Salva- "c tion are made over to tried Grace, and that only as will en- dure the Trial." " The Lord will try you. Godbath his tryingTimes : And they 44 were never fent,but todifcover whowereDrofs,who wereGold. " And the main Endof all God's Trials, is to difcover thisTruth " that I now am preffing upon you. Some have a thorn' Work " andnowtheTrial difcovers theTruth,as inAbraham;Heb..t t . z 7. 6 Some have a fuperficialWork, & they fall inTrial,as inSaul ; and <` it doth difcover ìt was but anoverly'Work.For this is theQueftion `c God makes,Is` it thoro' or no ? Ay,faiththe carnalHeart ; Yes, " faith a gracious Heart. Hence it is ftrange to fee what Men " will do when a Trial comes." Shepard's Par.Part I. p. 219. 66 There is an Hour of Temptation which tries Men, which will éf difcover Men indeed." Shepard's Parable Part IL p. 6o.. 1S
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