sees the vermin of pride, unbelief, covetousness in your heart: "Ye are they," saith Christ, "that justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts," Luke xvi. 15. A man may not be morally evil, yet not spiritually good. He may be free from gross enormity, yet full of secret enmity against God; like the snake, which though it be of a fine colour, yet hath its sting.

2. If you are only negatively good, God makes no reckoning of you; you are as so many ciphers in God's arithmetic, and he writes down no ciphers in the book of life. Take a piece of brass, though it be not such bad metal as lead or iron, yet not being so good as silver, there is little reckoning made of it, it will not pass for current coin; though thou art not profane, yet not being of the right metal, wanting the stamp of holiness upon thee, thou wilt never pass current, God slights thee, thou art but a brass christian.

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3. A man may go to hell for not doing good, as well as for doing evil; he that bears not good fruit is as fuel for hell, as well as he that bears bad; Every tree which beareth not good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire," Matt. iii. 10. One may as well die with not eating food, as with poison; a ground may be spoiled for want of good seed as well as with having tares sown in it; they that were not active in works of charity, were sadly sentenced : "Depart from me ye cursed, &c. for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat," Matt. xxv. 41, 42. It is not said ye took away my meat from me,

but, " ye gave me no meat. Why were the

foolish virgins shut out? They had done no hurt, they had not broken their lamps; but they "took no oil with their lamps," Matt. xxv. 3. Their wanting

oil was the indictment; therefore let not any man build his hope for heaven upon negatives. This is building upon the sand; the sand is bad to build on; it will not cement; but suppose a man should finish a house upon it, what is the issue? the flood comes, namely, persecution, and the force of this flood will drive away the sand and make the house fall; and the wind blows; the breath of the Lord, as a mighty wind, will blow such a sandy building into hell. Be afraid, then, to rest in the negative part of religion; launch forth further, be eminently holy. So I come to the next words, but "his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

CH. II.-What is meant by the Law of God, what by Delight in the Law, and the Proposition resulting. THE words give us a twofold description of a godly

man.

First, he delights in God's law.

Secondly, he meditates in God's law.

I begin with the first, "His delight is in the law of the Lord." The great God hath grafted the affection of delight in every creature; it hath by the instinct of nature something to delight itself in. Now the true saint, not by intuition, but divine inspiration, makes the law of God his delight. This is the badge of a christian, "His delight is in the law of the Lord." A man may work in his trade, and not delight in it, either because of the difficulty of the work, or the smallness of his wages; but a godly man serves God with delight; it is his meat and drink to do his will.

For the explication of the words, it will be inquired,

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1. What is meant by ،، the law of the Lord." This word, “Law," may be taken either more strictly or more largely. 1. More strictly;-for the decalogue or ten commandments. 2. More largely;for the whole written word of God;-for those truths which are deduced from the word, and concentre in it; for the whole business of religion which is the counterpart of God's law, and agrees with it as the transcript with the original. The word is a setting forth, and religion is a showing forth of God's law. I shall take this word in its full latitude and extent.

2. What is meant by delight in God's law. The Hebrew and Septuagint both render it, his will is in the law of the Lord; and that which is voluntary is delightful; a gracious heart serves God from a principle of ingenuousness; he makes God's law not only his task, but his recreation; upon this scripturestock I shall graft this proposition.

Doctrine. That a child of God, though he cannot serve the Lord perfectly, yet he serves him willingly ; his will is in the law of the Lord; he is not a pressed soldier, but a volunteer; by the beating of this pulse we may judge whether there be spiritual life in us, or no. David professes that God's law was his delight, Psal. cxix. 77. He had his crown to delight in, he had his music to cheer him, but the love he had to God's law did drown all other delights; as the joy of harvest and vintage exceeds the joy of gleaning. I delight in the law of God," saith St. Paul, "in the inner man," Rom. vii. 22. The Greek word is, I take pleasure; the law of God is my recreation, and it was a heart delight, it was in the inner man ; a wicked man may have joy in the face, 2 Cor. v 12. like honey-dew, that wets the leaf; but the

wine of God's Spirit cheers the heart; Paul delighted in the law, in the inner man.

CH. III.-Whence the Saint's Spiritual Delight springeth.

THE saint's delight in the law of God proceeds, 1. From soundness of judgment. The mind apprehends a beauty in God's law; now the judgment draws the affections, like so many orbs, after it; "the law of God is perfect," Psal. xix. 7. it needs not be eked out with traditions. The Hebrew word for perfect, seems to allude to a perfect, entire body, that wants none of the members or lineaments; God's law must needs be perfect, for it is able to make us wise to salvation, 2 Tim. iii. 15. Septuagint renders it, the law of the Lord is pure, like beauty that hath no stain, or wine that is clarified and refined. The soul that looks into this law, seeing so much lustre and perfection, cannot but delight in it; the middle lamp of the sanctuary being lighted from the fire of the altar, gave light to all the other lamps: so the judgment being lighted from the word, it sets on fire the lamps of the affections.

The

2. This holy delight arises from the predominance of grace. When grace comes with authority and majesty upon the heart, it fills it with delight. Naturally we have no delight in God; "Therefore they say unto God depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways," Job xxi. 14. nay, there is not only a dislike, but an antipathy. Sinners are called haters of God, Rom. i. 30. but when grace comes into the heart, oh what a change is there! Grace preponderates, it files off the rebellion of the will, it makes a man of another spirit, Num. xiv. 24. It turns the lion-like fierceness into a dove-like

sweetness, it changes hatred into delight; grace puts a new bias into the will, it works a willingness and cheerfulness in God's service. "Thy people shall be a willing people in the day of thy power," Psal.

cx. 3.

3. This holy delight in religion is from the sweetness of the end. Well may we with cheerfulness let down the net of our endeavour when we have so excellent a draught. Heaven at the end of duty causes delight in the way of duty.

CH. IV. Showing a characteristical Difference between a Child of God and a Hypocrite.

A DISCRIMINATING difference is shown between a child of God and a hypocrite, the one serves God from a principle of delight, the other doth not. "The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver," Psal. cxix. 72. With what delight doth a covetous man tell over his thousands! but God's law was better to David than thousands; a child of God looks upon the service of God, not only as his duty, but his privilege. A gracious heart loves every thing that hath the stamp of God upon it. The word is his delight" Thy words were found and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart," Jer. xv. 16. The Sabbath is his delight-" If thou turn away thy foot from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the sabbath a delight," Isa. lviii. 13. Prayer is his delight" I will make them joyful in my house of prayer," Isa. lvi. 7. Hearing is his delight"Who are these that fly as doves to their windows?" Isa. lx. 8. The gracious soul flies as a dove to an ordinance, upon the wings of delight. The sacrament is his delight. On this day the Lord makes