How to live to god. 425 felves, and witb.bold the truth in unrighteonfnefs; Here is a man living to himfelf.' How many Points are there in Religion, that manymen are willingly ignorant ofi And when they cannotbut know them, How do they labour fordiftitaaion ? How fo they dawbover the matter, that they may hide the truth from themfelves, that it may not work upon their Confciences, co make there leave their profitable fins to ìome would have the keeping of the Lords day according to ]udaifine, though it ,e revealed to them, that there is a broad difference between the Sews obfervation, end the Chriflians keeping of it. Another man he will not underhand lifury to be i fin, becaufe his courfe is ufurious : He will not know this willingly, becaufe he ould not difadvantagehimfelf. Another will not underhand what he is bound to lo, to the gloryof God with his eflate ; in what meafure, according to all the good hatGod bath ble(fed himwith, to honour God, and give the fief} fruits of all his ;ncreafe : Nor in whatmanner, that he fhould be ready to every goodwork, to con- tribute willingly to the neceffities of the Saints ; what he (hould do to pious and merciful efes, what for publike, what for private occafions; he will not willingly know thefe things; he (hall have lets cafe he makes account. Thus when a man is not willing to be informed in any thing, to lift the truth to the bottome, to the itttermoft, to knowany thing concerning a duty in any kind,whenhelaboureth not to convince his hearr, to this end, that he may be brought in every thing co obey God,when heftandeth out with God in any one point t This man liveth to himfelf, and walked) not as he (hould, according to the rule of God. Now then ( be- loved ) let us he convinced of ir, I befeech you, take it home, and let every man confiderof it with himfelf. Sometime in thea&ions of Religion there cosnethmat.. terof glory in the world, and this fetteth me forward much : When thefe things ire fpoken againft, and when I fhall fuller difgdvantages, I cannot hold out. At another time, though all things be well, yet if it crofs me in fach a courfe, I mutmure, as if it were an unprofitable thing to ferve God. And then again when God revealeth his will, my froward and rebellious heart bath hung back, and been unwilling to fubmic to Gods will in this point : All this while I have lived to my felt. And if is be true; if a man be in Chrift, he liveth not tohimfelf, then it follows ; if a man liveth to himfelf, he is out.of Chrift ; If theweakeff Chriflian live to Cbrifl, then thebell that liveth to bimfelf is out of Chrift. Be convinced of the fir(}. Secondly, I?te convinced, as it is thecafe of ourfeives ; fo it is an ill eflate for a s. That his as man to live to himfelf. you fee 1h11 it is the whole drift of wicked men to look to evil thing for themfelves, Haman aimed at himfelf; when thè King asked him, What fhould be a man to live done re the man whom the King would honour? He thought,whom fhould theKing tohím&If. honour bui himfelf ? He looked tohimfelf. Here was the difference between Ha- man and Mordecai, both had honour in the world : Haman leeks hirnfelfin all his honcur ; Mordecai leeks God, and his glory, and the welfare of his Church in his honour ; A great difference. Saich Nabal, fhall I tate my breed,andmy drink,and give it toaman that 1 know not z Here was a man that lived to himfelf. Compare him withyob; He was a Foot to the Lame,anEye to the Blind ; he continually fed chofe that wanted food. Agreat difference; yob lived toGod,and therefore he hc- noured God in relieving many with the efface that God bathgiven him: Nabal li- ved to himfeif, therefore he regarded none but himfelf, and his own houle, and Shecp.fheaters; and thole that depend upon him. This is the property of a man out of Chrift to leek himfelf, and to live to himfelf in all things. Again confider, others that have gone further in matters ofReligion, yet they have Manned out of the way, as far as they have halted in this, Mat, 6. 22,. If Thine eye be fingle, the whole body is light: but if thine eye be wicked,the whole body Man6 22. is darknefs. Awicked eye is luppofed to a Engle eye ; a double eye isa wicked eye : A fisglceye, What is a tingleeye 1 That that looks but upon oneobjeól, uponGod, and God "'bar. only, andGod principally : And on allother things inhim, and with reference to him. Now The double eye, is that, that though it looks to God, and domany things in obedience to God ; yet it looks to lomewhat elfe, and takes other thingsas greater incouragements: This is a wicked eye, and fuch a man walkethin darknefs; when aaraar.
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