pursued, or else all would fall to ruins at laft, and hell would be the hotter for fuch a barren profeffion. Eleventhly, That Cain, Judas, Efau, and Sapphira, had fell after all their profeffion; and were worse than those that never made any for where little was given little would be required; and therefore the more ignorant the more fafe. Twelfthly, That the path to heaven was ftrait and narrow, and people that would be fingular in religion were exposed to all the fhafts of men and devils; and that Chrift was an auftere and rigid mafter: that there would be nothing but cross upon cross, as we fee in Job; and stripe upon stripe, as in Ephraim, even to the end of the journey. Thirteenthly, That the conjugal emjoyment of a wife, an affectionate indulgence of a child, a jocose word, an innocent fmile, or even a genteel fuit of apparel, would be an iniquity to be punished by the judge; the Lord, whofe name is Jealous, is so jealous a God.

The plaintiff further fhewed, That the Bible was a doubtful revelation; many obfcure phrases, and feeming contradictions, appeared palpable in it; and that many of the learned and wife had examined it, arraigned it, and condemned it; and had fet up their own unbiaffed and unerring reason as the only lord paramount deemed capable of cenfuring and determining every matter in debate relative to heaven, earth, or hell.

The plaintiff further fhewed, That the continual

cross that generally attended thofe of this fingular way of religion was, that there would be an heart to love, and an eye to pity the poor, which would be croffed with a beggar's pocket; there would be an uncommon bigoted fpirit to the fingular party in religion, and a great anxiety to make profelytes, which would be croffed with a heavy perfecution, Spending time in this fervice, and neglecting other business, had, and would again, bring many to fuffer hunger, cold, and nakedness. Besides, people of this ftrange way make the path to heaven much more difficult than it really is; they are righteous overmuch, and ready to deftroy themselves at it; they talk of being partakers of the divine nature, and keep preffing after fuch a degree of holiness by the Spirit, as they call it, that their fin is not unlike Adam's, who wanted to be like God.

And lastly, the plaintiff added, That the things which he had mentioned were confonant, and not repugnant to fome of the plain parts of what is called fcripture; where God (if he be the author of the book) fays, Let us reafon together. Ifa. i. 18.

Abimaaz. Why, the devil is an excellent pleader. Cufbi. In one fense he is; but not in another : he can plead against us; but he is too proud to plead guilty before God, too vile to plead innocent; and without a foundation to plead for mercy. The devil brought all these things to Prodigalis, in order to prejudice his mind against the truth of God, that he might raife rebellion in his heart.

Nor

Nor was Satan's attempt without effect; for Prodigalis did not expect a temptation with fo mild a bait: he expected that every appearance of Satan would be in a storm; and therefore he liftened to him; carnal reafon approved of the fuggeftions; flesh and blood alfo gave into it; and, by the affiftance of unbelief, Satan carried all before him.

Now was Prodigalis filled with carnal reasonings about the fovereign grace of his Maker; the perilous path to heaven; and the few, the very few, that seemed to be travelling on that fingular way. He foon found the government of the world, and the falvation of all the human race, to lay with an intolerable weight upon his fhoulders; and he was impiously led to infringe upon the prerogative of his Lord, whofe undoubted right it is to do as be will with his own, Matt. xx. 15, without giving an account of any of his matters. Job xxxiii. 13.

Abimaaz. There is one thing in Satan's plea that I am amazed at; and that is, that those who were fingular in their religion were exposed to all the shafts of men and devils: can Satan speak against himself?

Cufbi. Satan is not divided against himself in the management of his kingdom; if he was, how could his kingdom stand? But he can speak against himfelf, deny himself, and rebuke himself, when these things will serve his turn. He speaks against himself in every falfe prophet that rebukes fin; he denies himself in every deift that denies the being

or

or existence of fallen angels; and he rebuked himfelf, when fome of his own children (in mockery of Paul) were commanding of an evil spirit to leave the heart of a finner; whofe answer was, Paul I know, but who are you? and then overcame them, and fent them out of the boufe wounded and naked. Aas

xix. 16.

Poor Prodigalis began to be timorous about the difficult way to the kingdom; he yielded to the carnal fear of man, and trembled at perfecution; flesh and blood was confulted about the doctrine of particular redemption; and carnal reafon bore violently against the doctrines of election and predeftination; which influenced Prodigalis with a fpirit of murmuring and rebellion against the difcriminating grace of his God; but he foon found, like Paul, that it was hard work to kick againft the pricks: he found his mind began to be confused; fear and horror laid a fresh hold of his conscience; no peace of mind was enjoyed, his mouth at a throne of grace was ftopped; a fense of the divine favour was fenfibly fufpended; and fhame and confufion covered his face. And as the ftate of his own foul began to be perilous, he was obliged to employ the powers of his mind nearer home, and leave the falvation and management of the world to God; whofe infinite wisdom needs no counsel of ours, nor will his fupreme power, and abfolute prerogative, ever be yielded or given up to us. Abimaaz. How fubtle an adversary is Satan!

who

who would have thought that fuch an one as Prodigalis, a man fo wonderfully delivered, and who had experienced fuch fuperabounding grace, could be so easily led from an humble fubmiffion to the will of God, even to rebel in his heart against him, and against those very truths that had made him free; but, alas! what is man if left to himself? Pray, how was he delivered out of that snare?

Cufbi. As he was one day reafoning and difputing in his heart against the doctrines of election and particular redemption, and impiously cenfuring the fovereignty of his Maker, these words came to his mind with power, and full fraught with divine reproof: Produce your caufe, faid the Lord, bring forth your strong reasons, faith the King of Jacob. Ifa. xli. 21. This made Prodigalis tremble; he thought within himself, that if he juftified all the world it would be of no force against the judgment of God; and if he held the whole fyftem of natural religion, that would afford him no falvation below the grave; for if God was his enerny, who could be his friend in eternity? He went at laft with an humble confeffion of his folly to his Lord, and intreated him to undertake for him, and extricate him out of this puzzling, this foul-diftreffing labyrinth of confufion; and the bleffed Saviour was intreated of him, and gave him a wonderful deliverance; he fent fuch light and comfort into his foul as he thought he never had experienced before; the darkness and confufion of his troubled heart, and his carnal

reafonings