press destruction and ruin, Deut. xxxiii. 11. Weak loins, and a weak man. If we be but a little weary, nature directs us to lay our hands on our loins to sustain them, as our chief strength: thus' as the actings of our minds and spirits are in their faculties and powers, so we are weak or strong Christians. If the understanding be clear in its apprehensions of truth, and the will sincere, vigorous, and fixed in its purposes, for that which is holy and good, then he is a strong Christian; but if the understanding be dark, or uncertain in its notions (as a distempered eye that cannot well discern its object), and the will be wavering and unsteady (like a needle that trembles between two loadstones), not able to bring its thoughts to an issue, which to close with, here the man is weak, and all he doth will be so. Feeble spirits cause an intermitting faltering pulse; so want of strength in the mind, to know truth, and resolution in the will, to pursue that which he knows to be holy and good, causeth a man to falter in his course. The use therefore of these two, "truth of doctrine" for the mind, and sincerity for the will, is to unite and establish both these faculties, which they do when they are clasped and girt about the soul, as the girdle about the loins of the body." Though the loins be the strength of the body, yet they need an auxiliary strength from the girdle to keep those parts close, and unite their force, without which men, when they would strain themselves and put forth their strength in any work, find a trembling and looseness in their loins. Hence the "shaking of the loins," is a phrase to express weakness, Psalm lxix. 23. Thus our minds and spirits need this girdle to strengthen them in every work we do, or else we shall act nothing vigorously.

First, We shall begin with "truth of doctrine," or truth of the word, called "the word of truth," Ephes. i. 13, because it is the word of God, who is the God of truth. It behoves every Christian to be well girt with this truth. "Resist the devil (saith Peter), steadfast in the faith;" 1 Pet. v. 9. that is, in the truth; faith being there put for the object of our faith, which is the truth of God, declared in the doctrine of the gospel, this is "the faith which was once delivered to the saints," Jude x. that is

the truth delivered to them to be believed and held fast. And of what importance it is to be thus steadfast in the faith, the apostle Peter, in the following verse of the beforementioned place, shews, by his vehement and earnest praying for them, that God would "establish, strengthen, and settle them." The heaping of words to the same purpose, implies the great danger they were in of being unsettled by Satan and his instruments, and the necessity of their standing firm and unshaken in the faith. Nothing more frequently inculcated than this in the Epistles; and the more, because in those blustering times it was impossible to have kept the faith from being blown from them, without this girdle to hold it fast. Now, as there is a double design Satan hath to rob Christians of truth, so there is a two-fold girding about with this truth necessary.

First, Satan comes as a serpent in the persons of false teachers, and by them labours to put a cheat on us, and cozen us with error for truth. To defend us against this design, it is necessary we be girt with truth in our understanding, that we have an established judgment in the truths of Christ.

Secondly, Satan comes sometimes as a lion in the persons of bloody persecutors, and labours to scare Christians from the truth with fire and fagot. Now to defend us against this, we need have truth girt about us, so that with a holy resolution we may maintain our profession in the face of death and danger. To begin with the first.

CHAP. II.

WHEREIN IS SHEWN, IT IS THE CHRISTIAN'S DUTY TO LABOUR FOR A JUDGMENT ESTABLISHED IN THE TRUTH, WITH THE REASONS OF IT, AS ALSO SOME APPLICATION OF THE POINT.

IT should be the care of every Christian to get an established judgment in the truth. The Bereans are highly

commended for the enquiry they made into the Scripture to satisfy their judgments concerning the doctrine Paul preached. They did not believe hand over head, but their faith was the result of a judgment, upon diligent search, convinced by Scripture evidence, Acts xvii. 11. it is there said, " they searched the Scriptures daily whether these things were so." They carried the preacher's doctrine to the written Word, and compared it with that; and mark, ver. 12, “therefore many believed." As they did not believe before, so they durst not but believe now. I remember Tertullian, speaking of some heretics, their manner of preaching, saith, Persuadendo docent, non docendo persuadent; they teach by persuading, and not persuade by teaching: that is, they woo and entice the affections of their hearers, without convincing their judgment about what they preach. Indeed it were a hard work for the adulterer to convince her he would prostitute that the fact is lawful; no: he goes another way to work; first, by some amorous insinuations he inveigles her affections, and they once bewitched, the other is not much questioned, it being easy for the affections to make the judgment of their party. Well, though error, like a thief, comes thus in at the window, yet truth, like the true owner of the house, delights to enter in at the right door of the understanding, from thence into the conscience, and so passeth into the will and affections. Indeed he that hits upon truth, and takes up the profession of it, before he is brought into the acquaintance of its excellency and heavenly beauty by his understanding, cannot entertain it becoming its heavenly birth and descent; it is a prince that travels in disguise, not known, therefore not honoured. Truth is loved and prized only by those who know it; and not to desire to know it is to despise it, as much as knowing it to reject it. It were not hard sure to cheat that man of truth who knows not what he hath. Truth and error are all one to the ignorant man, so it hath but the name of truth. Leah and Rachel were both alike to Jacob in the dark. Indeed it is said "in the morning behold it was Leah," Gen. xxix. 25. so in the morning, when it is day in the understanding, then the deceived person will

see he hath had a false bride in his bosom, and will cry out, Behold it is an error which I took for a truth. You have, may be, heard of the covetous man, that hugged himself in the many bags of gold he had, but never opened them or used them; when the thief took away his gold, and left him his bags full of pebbles in the room, he was as happy as when he had his gold, for he looked not at the one or other. And verily an ignorant person is in a manner no better with truth than error on his side; both are alike to him: day and night is all one to a blind man.

But, to proceed and give some more particular account why the Christian should endeavour for an established judgment in the truth, I shall content myself with three reasons: the first taken from the damning nature of false doctrine, the second from the subtilty of seducers to draw into false doctrine, and the third from the universal influence that an established judgment hath on the whole man, and whole course of a Christian.

First, from the damning nature of false doctrines. They hunt for the precious life of souls, as well as any other sin. An imposthume in the head proves oft as deadly as one in the stomach; a corrupt judgment in foundation-truths kills as sure as a rotten heart; indeed it proceeds thence. Jezabel's children are threatened to be killed with death, Rev. ii. 23. and who are her children, but her disciples, that drink of her cup of fornication, and embrace her corrupt doctrines? But sure this is not believed by some, who though very strict in their lives, and seem as tender in matters of morality as Lot was of his guests, yet are very loose in their principles and judgments, exposing them, as he his daughters, to be defiled with any corrupt doctrine that comes to their door. They would make us think that here men played but at small game, and their souls were not at stake, as in other sins. As if there were not such a question to be asked at the great day, what opinions we held, and whether we were sound in the faith. In a word, as if false doctrines were but au innocent thing, not like the wild gourd which brought death into the prophet's pot (turning wholesome food, with which it was mingled,

into baneful poison) 2 Kings iv. but rather like herb John in the pot, that does neither much good nor hurt. Yea, there be some that speak out, and tell us a man may be saved in any religion, so he doth but follow his light; and are not these charitable men? who, because they would have the company as few as may be that are damned, make as many roads to Heaven as the Scripture tells us there are ways to Hell; contrary to Christ, who tells us of no other way but by him to life: "I am the way, the truth, and the life," John xiv. 6. point blank against Saint John, who tells us but of one doctrine, and that the doctrine of Christ, and he that holds not this to be marked out for a lost man: "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God." 2 John, verse 9. And how far, I pray, is that man off Hell that hath not God? He that hath not God before he dies, the Devil shall have him when, he dies. Well, sirs, the time is coming, yea it hastens, what favour and kindness soever corrupt doctrines find here at man's hand, wherein the obstinate heretic shall receive the same law at Christ's hands with the impenitent drunkard: you may see them both under the same condemnation, as they stand pinioned together for Hell. "I tell you now (saith the Apostle), as I have told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" Gal. v. 20, 21, and see I pray if you cannot find the heretic's name amongst them. Ignorance in fundamentals is damning, surely then error in fundamentals much more. If a pound weighs down the scale, there is no doubt then but a stone weight will do it if the less sin presseth down to Hell, how can we rationally think that the greater should escape it? error stands at a further distance from, yea a fuller contrariety, to truth than ignorance. Error is ignorance with a die on it. He that eats little or nothing, must needs die; much more he that eats rank poison. The Apostle doth not only tell us of "pernicious doctrines, and damnable heresies," but he tells us, they "bring swift damnation" upon those that hold them, 2 Pet. ii. 1. I pray observe, what an accent he lays on the damnation that comes by these corrupt doctrines: he calls it swift damnation. All