like may be said as to temporal judgments, which I need not mention.

Let us now consider what is our duty in such a perilous

season.

(1.) We ought greatly to mourn for the public abominations of the world, and of the land of our nativity wherein we live. I would only observe that place in Ezek. ix. God sends out his judgments and destroys the city; but before, he sets a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh for all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. You will find this passage referred in your books to Rev. vii. 3. Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.' I would only observe this, that such only are the servants of God, let men profess what they will, who mourn for the abominations that are done in the land.' The mourners in one place, are the servants of God in the other. And truly, brethren, we are certainly to blame in this matter. We have been almost well contented that men should be as wicked as they would themselves, and we sit still and see what would come of it. Christ hath been dishonoured, the Spirit of God blasphemed, and God provoked against the land of our nativity; and yet we have not been affected with these things. I can truly say in sincerity, I bless God, I have sometimes laboured with my own heart about it. But I am afraid we all of us come exceeding short of our duty in this matter. 'Rivers of waters,' saith the psalmist, 'run down mine eyes, because men keep not thy law.' Horrible profanation of the name of God, horrible abominations, which our eyes have seen, and our ears heard, and yet our hearts been unaffected with them! Do you think this is a frame of heart God requireth of us in such a season, to be regardless of all, and not to mourn for the public abominations of the land. The servants of God will mourn. I could speak, but am not free to speak, to those prejudices which keep us off from mourning for public abominations; but they may be easily suggested unto all your thoughts, and particularly what they are that have kept us off from attending more unto this duty of mourning for public abominations. And give me leave to say, that according to the Scripture rule, there is no one of us can have any evidence that we shall escape outward

judgments that God will bring for these abominations, if we have not been mourners for them; but that as smart a revenge, as to outward dispensations, may fall upon us, as upon those that are most guilty of them; no Scripture evidence have we to the contrary. How God may deal with us, I know not.

This then is one part of the duty of this day, that we should humble our souls for all the abominations that are committed in the land of our nativity; and in particular, that we have no more mourned under them.

(2.) Our second duty, in reference to this perilous season, is to take care that we be not infected with the evils and sins of it. A man would think it were quite contrary; but really to the best of my observation, this is, and hath been the frame of things, unless upon some extraordinary dispensation of God's Spirit: as some men's sins grow very high, other men's graces grow very low. Our Saviour hath told us, Matt. xxiv. 12. Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will wax cold.' A man would think the abounding of iniquity in the world should give great provocation to love one another. No, saith our Saviour, the contrary will be found true: as some men's sins grow high, other men's graces will grow low.

And there are these reasons for it:

[1.] In such a season we are apt to have light thoughts of great sins. The prophet looked upon it as a dreadful thing, that upon Jehoiakim's throwing the roll of Jeremiah's prophecy into the fire, till it was consumed, yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king nor any of his servants, that heard all these words;' Jer. xxxvi. 24. They were grown senseless both of sin and judgment. And where men (be they in other respects never so wise) can grow senseless of sin, they will quickly grow senseless of judgments too. And I am afraid the great reason why many of us have no impression upon our spirits of danger and perils, in the days wherein we live, is because we are not sensible of sin.

[2.] Men are apt to countenance themselves in lesser evils, having their eyes fixed upon greater abominations of other men, that they behold every day: nay, there are those, who pay their tribute to the devil, walk in such and such abominations, and so countenance themselves in lesser evils.

This is part of the public infection, that they do not run out into the same excess of riot that others do;' though they live in the omission of duty, conformity to the world, and in many foolish, hurtful, and noisome lusts. They countenance themselves with this, that others are guilty of greater abominations.

[3.] Pray let such remember this, who have occasion for it (you may know it better than I, but yet I know it by rule as much as you do by practice), that general converse in the world, in such a season, is full of danger and peril. Most: professors are grown of the colour andcomplexion of those with whom they converse.

This is the first thing that makes a season perilous. I know not whether these things may be of concern and use unto you, they seem so to me; and I cannot but acquaint you with them.

II. A second perilous season, and that we shall hardly come off in, is, when men are prone to forsake the truth, and seducers abound to gather them up that are so; and you will have always these things go together. Do you see seducers abound? You may be sure there is a proneness in the minds of men to forsake the truth; and when there is such a proneness, they will never want seducers, those that will lead off the minds of men from the truth; for there is both the hand of God and Satan in this business. God judicially leaves men, when he sees them grow weary of the truth, and prone to leave it; and Satan strikes in with the occasion, and stirs up seducers. This makes a season perilous. The apostle describes it, 1 Tim. iv. 1. Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times,' these perilous days, 'some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.' And so Peter warns them to whom he writes, 2 Epist. ii. 1, 2. that there shall come false teachers among them, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction: and many shall follow their pernicious ways.' There shall come times full of peril, which shall draw men off from the truth, into destruction.

If it be asked, how we may know whether there be a

proneness in the minds of men in any season to depart from the truth? there are three ways whereby we may judge of it.

1. The first is that mentioned 2 Tim. iv. 3. The time will come, when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.' When men grow weary of sound doctrine, when it is too plain, too heavy, too dull, too common, too high, too mysterious, one thing or other that displeases them, and they would hear something new, something that may please; it is a sign that there is in such an age many who are prone to forsake sound doctrine and many such we know.

2. When men have lost the power of truth in their conversation, and are as prone and ready to part with the profession of it in their minds. Do you see a man retaining the profession of the truth, under a worldly conversation? He wants but baits from temptation, or a seducer to take away his faith from him. An inclination to hearken after novelties, and loss of the power of truth in the conversation, is a sign of proneness unto this declension from the truth. Such a season, you see, is perilous. And why is it perilous? Because the souls of many are destroyed in it. The apostle tells us directly, 2 Pet. ii. 1. ' of false prophets among the people, who privily bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.' Will it abide there? No: And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.' Brethren, while it is well with us through the grace of God, and our own houses are not in flames, pray do not let us think the times are not perilous, when so many turn unto popery and quakerism, into pernicious errors, and fall into swift destruction. Will you say the time of the public plague was not perilous, because you are alive? No. Was the fire not dreadful, beyour houses were not burnt? No. You will notwithstanding say it was a dreadful plague, and a dreadful fire. And pray consider, is not this a perilous season, when multitudes have an inclination to depart from the truth, and God in just judgment hath permitted Satan to stir up seducers to draw them into pernicious ways, and their poor souls perish for ever?

Besides, there is a great aptness in such a season to work indifferency in the minds of those who do not intend utterly to forsake the truth. Little did I think, I should ever have lived in this world to find the minds of professors grown altogether indifferent, as to the doctrine of God's eternal election, the sovereign efficacy of grace in the conversion of sinners, justification by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ; but many are, as to all these things, grown to an indifferency, they know not whether they are so or not. I bless God, I know something of the former generation, when professors would not hear of these things without the highest detestation; and now high professors begin to be leaders in it, and it is too much among the best of us. We are not so much concerned for the truth as our forefathers: I wish I could say we were as holy.

3. This proneness to depart from the truth, is a perilous season, because it is the greatest evidence of the withdrawing of the Spirit of God from his church; for the Spirit of God is promised to this end,' to lead us into all truth;' and when the efficacy of truth begins to decay, it is the greatest evidence of the departing and withdrawing of the Spirit of God. And I think that this is a dangerous thing; for if the Spirit of God departs, then our glory and our life depart.

What now is our duty in reference to this perilous season? Forewarnings of perils are given us to instruct us in our duty.

(1.) The first is, not to be content with what you judge a sincere profession of truth, but to labour to be found in the exercise of all those graces which peculiarly respect the truth. There are graces that peculiarly respect the truth, that we are to exercise; and if these are not found in our hearts, all our profession will issue in nothing.

And these are,

[1.] Love: Because they loved not the truth.' They made profession of the gospel, but they received not the truth in the love of it. There was want of love of the truth: truth will do no man good, where there is not the love of it. Speaking the truth in love, is the substance of our Christian profession. Pray, brethren, let us labour to love the truth, and take off all prejudices from our minds that we may do so.