SECT. IV.

PROSPERITY discovers many sad symptoms of an evil heart. Among others, these are ordinarily most conspicuous.

1. It casts the hearts of some men into a deep oblivion of God, and makes them lay aside all care of duty. "The altars of rich men seldom smoke." Deut. xxxii. 13, 14, 15. Jeshurun sucked honey out of the rock, eat the fat of lambs, and kidneys of wheat: But what was the effect of this? He kicked, and forsook the God who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. Instead of lifting up their hearts in an humble, thankful acknowledgment of God's bounty, they lifted up the heel in a wanton abuse of his mercy. the fattest earth we find the most slippery footing. He that is truly gracious may, in prosperity, remit some degrees, but a carnal heart there loseth all that which in a low condition, he seemed to have. Agur's deprecation, as to himself, no doubt was built upon his frequent observation how it was with others; Prov. xxx. 8, 9. Lest I be full, and deny God.'

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It is said in Eccles. v. 12, That the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.' I wish that were the worst injury it did him. But, alas! it will not suffer him to pray, to meditate, to allow 'time and thoughts about his eternal concerns. falls asleep in the lap of prosperity, and forgets that there is a God to be served, or a soul to be saved. This is a dangerous symptom of a very graceless heart!

2. Prosperity meeting with a graceless heart, makes it wholly sensual, and entirely swallows up its thoughts and affections. Earthly things transform and mould their hearts into their own similitude and nature. The whole strength of their souls

goes out to those enjoyments. So those graceless yet prosperous persons are described, Job xxi. 1F 12, 13. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ: they spend their days in wealth? They take the timbrel, not the bible. They rejoice at the sound of the organ; not a word of their rejoicing in God. They send forth their little ones in the dance. That is all the catechism they are taught. They spend their days in wealth. Their whole time, that precious stock and talent, is wholly laid out upon these sensitive things. Either the pleasure of it powerfully charms them; or the cares of it so wholly engross their minds, that their is no time to spare for God They live in pleasure upon earth, as it is, Jam. v. 5, just as the fish lives in the water, its proper element.Take him off from these things, and put him upon spiritual, serious, heavenly employments, and he is like a fish upon the dry land.

Now, though prosperity may too much influence. and ensnare the minds of good men, and estrange them too much from heavenly things, yet thus to engross their hearts, and convert them into their own similitude and nature, so that these things should be the centre of their hearts, the very proper element in which they live, is utterly impossible.

An hypocrite indeed may be brought to this, because, though Janus-like, he have two faces, yet he really hath but one principle; and that is wholly carnal and and earthly. So that it is easy to make all the water to run in one channel; to gather all into one entire stream, in which his heart shall pour out all its strength to the creature.

But a christian indeed hath a double principle that actuates him. Though he have a law of sin that moves him one way, yet there is in him also the law of grace, which thwarts and crosses that

principle of corruption. So, that as grace cannot do what it would because of sin; neither can sin do what it would because of grace, Gal. v. 17.

The heart of a christian, in the midst of ensnaring sensitive enjoyments, finds indeed a corrupt principle in it, which would incline him to fall asleep upon such a soft pillow, and forget God and duty. But it cannot do so.-There is a principle of grace, within him, that never leaves disturbing, and calling upon him, till he rise and return to his God, the true rest of his soul.

3. A false pretender to religion, an hypocritical professor, meeting with prosperity and success, grows altogether unconcerned about the interest of religion, and senseless of the calamities of God's people. Thus the prophet convinces the Jews of their hypocrisy, Amos vi. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. They were at ease in Zion, and trusted in the mountains of Samaria.' And so, having a shadow of religion, and fulness of earthly things, they fell to feasting and sporting. They drank wine in bowls, and anointed themselves with the chief ointments, but were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.' If they are out of danger once, let the church shift for itself. Let the birds of prey catch and devour that flock with which they sometimes associated, they are not touched with it. Moses could not do so, though in the greatest security and confluence of the honours and pleasures of Egypt, Acts vii. 23. Nehemiah could not do so, though the servant and favourite of a mighty monarch, and wanted nothing to make him outwardly happy; yet the pleasures of a king's court could not cheer his heart, or scatter the clouds of sorrow from his countenance, whilst his brethren were in affliction, and the city of, his God lay waste, Nehemiah ii. 1, 2, 3. Nor indeed can any gracious heart be unconcerned and senseless, for that union which all the saints have

with Christ their head, and with one another as fellow members in Christ, will beget sympathy among them in their sufferings, 1 Cor. xii. 26.

SECT. V.

BUT as the fire of prosperity discovers this and much more dross in a graceless heart, so it discovers the sincerity and grace of God's people. I say not that it discovers nothing but grace in them. O that it did not! alas! many of them have had a great deal of dross and corruption-discovered by it, as was noted before. But yet in this trial, the graciousness and uprightness of their hearts will appear in these and such like workings of it.

1. Under prosperity, success, and honour, the upright heart will labour to suppress pride, and keep itself lowly and humble; and still the more grace there is, the more humility there will be. If God lift him up, he will lay himself low, and exalt his God high. So did Jacob, when God had raised and enlarged him; Gen. xxxii. 10, 'I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands.'

Great was the difference in Jacob's outward condition at his return, from what it was at his first passage over Jordan: then poor, now rich; then single and comfortless, now the head of a great family. But though his outward estate was altered, the frame of his heart was not altered. Jacob was an holy and humble man when he went out, and so he was when he returned. He saw a multitude of mercies about him, and among them all not one but was greater than himself.

I dare not say, every christian, under prosperity, can at all times manifest like humility; but I am sure what pride and vanity soever may rise in a

gracious heart, tried by prosperity, there is that within him which will give check to it. He dare not suffer such proud thoughts to lodge quietly in his heart; for, alas! he sees that in himself, and that in his God, which will abase him. Grace will make him look back to his original condition, and say with David, 'What am I, O Lord God? and what is my father's house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?' 2 Sam. vii. 18.

It will make him look in, and see the baseness of his own heart, and the corruptions that are there, and admire at the dealings of God with so vile a creature. O, thinks he, if others did but know what I know of myself, they would abhor me, more than now they esteem and value me.

2. Prosperity usually draws forth the saints' love to the God of their mercies. That which heats a wicked man's lusts, warms a gracious man's heart with love and delight in God.

These were the words of that lovely song which David sang, in the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hands of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: 'I will love thee, O Lord, my strength,' Psalm xviii. Title and ver. 1 compared. These outward things are not the main grounds and motives of their love to God; no, they love him when he takes away, as well as when he gives. But they are sanctified instruments to inflame their love to God. They boil up a wicked man's lust, but they melt a gracious man's soul. O in what a pang of love did David go into the presence of God, under the sense of his mercies! his melting mercies! when he thus poured out his whole soul in a stream of love to his God, 2 Sam. vii. 19, 20. 'Is this the manner of men, O Lord God! And what can David say more unto thee?' An expression that turns up the very bottom of his heart.