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ECCLES. vii. 16.

Be not righteous over-much, neither make thyself over-wife: Why Shouldst thou destroy thyself?

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OTHING is more frequent, than while People are living in a Course of Sin, living after the Fashion and Manner of the World, then there is no Notice taken of them; neither are their Ways difpleafing to their Companions and carnal Relations: But if they fet their Faces Zion-ward, and begin to feel the Power of God upon their Hearts, then they are furrounded with Temptations from their Friends, who are acting the Devil's Part; for the Enemies, the greatest Enemies a young Convert meets with, my dear Brethren, are those of his own House: They that will be godly, muft fuffer Perfecution; fo it was in Chrift's Time, and it was fo in the Apostles Time too; for our Lord came not to fend Peace, but a Sword. Our Relations would not have us fit in the Scorner's Chair, they would

would not have us be Prodigals, confuming our Substance upon Harlots, neither would they have us Rakes or Libertines, but they would have us be contented with an almoft Chriftianity, fo as we can but keep our Reputation by going to Church, and keeping to the outward Forms of Religion, faying your Prayers, reading the Word of God, and taking the Sacrament: This, they imagine, is all that is neceffary for to be Chriftians indeed; and when we go one Step farther than this, their Mouths are open against us, as Peter's was to Chrift: Spare thyfelf, do thyself no harm.

And of this Nature are the Words of the Text. They are not the Words of Solomon himself, but the Words of an Infidel speaking to him, whom he introduces in feveral Parts of this Book to those who ferved God; for Solomon had been fhewing the Misfortunes which attended the truly Good, as in the Verse before our Text.

Upon this the Infidel fays, Be not righteous over-much, neither be thou over-wife: Why bouldst thou destroy thyself? (i. e.) Why fhouldst thou bring thefe Misfortunes upon thy felf by being over ftrict? Be not righteous, over-much, eat, drink, and be merry, live as the World lives, and then you'll avoid those Misfortunes which may attend on you by being righteous over-much.

This Text has another Meaning; but take it which way you will, my Brethren, it was fpoke by an Unbeliever, therefore it was no Credit for the Perfon who lately preach'd upon this Text,

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to take it for granted, that these were the Words of Solomon, without any Reafon for fo doing; or else the Words of an Infidel was not a proper Text to a Chriftian Congregation. But as David came out against Goliah, he came not armed as the Champion was, with Sword and Spear, but with a Sling and Stone, and then cut off his Head with his own Sword; fo I come out against these Letter learned Men, in the Strength of the Lord Jefus Chrift; and, my dear Brethren, I trust he'll direct me to use my Sling, fo that our Enemies may not gainfay us; and, by the Sword of God's Word, cut off the Heads of our Redeemer's Enemies.

But, my Brethren, though these are not the Words of Solomon, yet we'll take them in the fame Manner the late Writer did; and, from the Words, fhall,

First, Shew you what it is not to be righteous over-much, that we may not destroy our felves.

Secondly, My Brethren, I fhall let you fee what it is to be righteous over-much. And then,

Thirdly, Conclude with an Exhortation to all of you, high or low, rich or poor, one with another, to come to the Lord Jefus Chrift.

First, The firft Thing propofed was to fhew you what it is not to be righteous over-much. And here,

ft, It is by no Means to be righteous overmuch to affirm we must have the fame Spirit of God as the first Apostles had, and must feel that Spirit upon our Hearts.

By receiving the Spirit of God is not to be understood, that we are to be infpired to fhew outward Signs and Wonders, to raise dead Bodies, to cure leprous Perfons, to give Sight to the Blind: Thefe Miracles, my Brethren, were only of ufe then, in the first Ages of the Church; and therefore Christians (nominal Chriftians, for we have little elfe but the Name) may have all the Gifts of the Spirit, and yet none of the Graces of it: Thou, O Man, may be enabled by Faith to remove Mountains; thou, by the Power of God, may caft out Devils; thou, by that Power, mayft fpeak with the Tongues of Men and Angels; yea, thou mayft, by that Power, hold up thy Finger and stop the Sun in the Firmament; and if all these are unfanctified by the Spirit of God, they would be of no Service to thee, but would hurry thee to Hell with the greater Solemnity. Saul received the Spirit of Prophefying, had another Heart, yet Saul, my Brethren, was caft away. We must receive the Spirit of God in its fanctifying Graces upon our Souls; for Chrift fays, Unless a Man be born again, be cannot fee the Kingdom of God. We are all by Nature born in Sin, and at as great a Distance from God, my dear Brethren, as the Devils themselves: I have told you often, and now tell you again, that you, my dear Brethren, are by Nature a motly Mixture of the Beaft and Devil, and we cannot recover our

elves from the State wherein we have fallen, and therefore must be renewed by the Holy Ghost; by the Holy Ghoft I mean the third Person of the ever-bleffed Trinity, God coequal, co-effential, co-eternal, and confubftantial with the Father and the Son; and therefore, when we are baptized, it is into the Nature of the Father, into the Nature of the Son, and into the Nature of the Holy Ghost; and therefore, my dear Brethren, we are not true Chriftians, till we are fanctified by the Spirit of God.

.And tho' our modern Preachers do not actually deny the Spirit of God, yet they fay Christians must not feel it; which is in effect, to deny it; for when Nicodemus came to Chrift, and the Lord Jesus Christ was instructing him concerning the New Birth, fays he to our Lord, How can these Things be? Nicodemus, tho' a Master of Ifrael, acts just as our learned Rabbi's do now: The Anfwer that Chrift gave him should stop the Mouths of our Letterlearned Pharifees, The Wind bloweth where it lifteth, and we hear the Sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth. Now till the Spirit of God is felt on our Souls as the Wind on our Bodies, indeed, my dear Brethren, you have no Intereft in him: Religion confifts not in external Performance, it must be in the Heart, or else it is only a Name, which cannot profit us, a Name to live whilst we are dead.

The Preacher upon this Text feems to laugh at us for talking of the Spirit in a fenfible ManMm

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