The Great Duty up f..; d complaiots_ even of true Chrift~ans themfelves, in. whom the reign ing power of S i~1 is in their Regeneration mortified? May we not t ake up the fame Speech concern ing them, as St. Paut doth concerning the Corinthians, 1 Co_r. 3· 3· Tr art yet co!mal, tmd lTMlk at Mm? If the A poftle could have laid in charge againft thefe Co· ,·imhiam, not only Envy, Strife _and Divifions; but ·Hatred, Bittcrnefs, implacahlenefs of Sp irit, br:lin-lick Opi nions, and feJf.fceking PraCl:iccs, joined with a great me~ fur~ of Ncglett an~ Contempt_ of t h_eGlory of God; as j ufl: ly as we can againft 1bcChnftians of our um~s; cenam lY.illS reproof would not have been fo mild, as to teil them that they wal ked as Men, but rat her that they walkt as Devils---Would to God their rnifcarriages were not fo gene rally known, as that every one could not fupply the fcnfe. . 1 h.we alrc.1dy fet before y01~ the gre~tEvils that follow upon a neglected Morti~ ficat ion: As to your own pJ.r tJClllars, If that cannot affect you, there is but little ground to hope that y~ur Charity t.o others Jhould prevail; yet give me leave to mention two grand EVIls that hereby befall others · t. Fi.rft , He r tby they a'te i nduced to think all Pn~felfours are but Hypocrites, RcNegltfl of li (Jion a mcer Mockery, and fo come to have their Hearts imbittered againft the ll:for~ft";- \,~ ys o'f God, as be ing all btit meer Deceit and CCJufenage. 'Tis a fad accufation ~;;0,;;,1· Rom. 2. l-+· T t;e Name of God is blafphemed among the Ger.tiles through you. How fo? in Si11. Becaufe as in the forntcr Vcrfcs, they refted in the Law, and had a Form of Godliners, and were confident th~t they were Guides to the Blind, and Lights to them which were in Darknefs; cmtnent Profeffours they were, like thi=Men of our days: \Veil, bm m.1rk, Thou that tcacheft another , t ea.ch41 thou not thJ f elf! Thou that malt.eft thy bo.ajf of the LAro,' throz'th br_eaking the Law d~Jhonounft thou God! T hou that profeffefl M0rtificat ion, dOft thou tndulge thy felf m thy Lufts? Thou whopretendeft to near Fellowfhip and Comn_mnion with God, doft thou live as one without God in the VJorld? Tremble at Jt, the Name of the Great God is blafphemed among wicked W retches through you; thofc who were Prophane you make AthcifticaJ, ftoffing and deriding Godlin.cfs, as an idle Whim fie ;, and becaufe they· fee fo little i'n their Li-ves, they prefently co'nclude there is no 6ther difference between Saints and Sinner's at a-11 , but that the one have their Tongues a little better tipt, and their Fancies a littl e higher wound than the other. What's the common Raillery of the[e prophanc Perfons? Oh ! this, ~orfooth,, is a Saint, and yet ~low covetous, how griping and greedy? Well, of all Men, de liver me from fal11ng Jnto the hands of a Saint. Well, beware left ihefe th'eir Biafphemie-s be not at }aft charged upon you, ·who throuah a loofe, wanton, and unmorti fied Converfation have made Religion cYen to fli~k in theirNofirils. ?Tis only Mortification that can convince theWorld that Religion is any thing re<il : .Bu.t while Men profefs largely and live at large too, this keeps Men off from Relig1on ; not be.canfe they t hink it a thi ng above them, but becaufe they [corn it as a b..-tfencfs below t hem, fo to jugg le and diflemble with the World. 2. Secondly, Hereby aHO wicke-d Men flatter themfcl V'es in their finful Eftate, [upparti ng thcmfelves up~n the Lives of unmortified Profelfo~rs, tJlat certainly they are in as good a condawn as t hey. They are proud, and zmpatJent, and earth ly ; and if thefe Men )!e t to Heaven, why may not l? 'Tis true, they talk of Se lf-denial and Mortification, but look into our Lives, and mine is as harmlcfs and innocent as theirs; they difcourfe of Exper iences, and Communion and AcquJintance with God, and a Road of \i\for'ds that 1' sKill not; but certainly, if God will not condemn them, although they do nothing but talk, he will not condemn me for not talking as they do. And thus the Hands of wicked Men are mightily 1hengthned, and hereby they fortifie themfelves in thcirUnregeneracy. Now, Chriftians, if you would ~dorn the Gofpel, and bring a Credit upon Religion, live fa that your Conv:erfattons may be a Gonvic:tion to all the \Vorld, that God is in you of a truth, whtch will be when Mortification is more endeavoured and praCHfed. You have a'principte within you, which would yon exert to the utmofr, mere Moralifts with all lheir Civility, and Legalifts with all the forc'd Hadhnefs which they ufc to curb and reftrain !:>in in themfdves, muft confefs that. they fa~l Jhort of true MorcificatMfn. Now though ther.c be in the whole Courfe of Chriftianity, no other duty that otln plead more for tt fcJf. than this of Mortification, yet there is none thathath · mote-
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