were they grown) did in the declension of that state neither understand nor pretend to this was that which made the world admire and love Christianity. After thus much faid of the effects of this fort of carriage; I need scarcely put any one in mind, what will be the last and faddeft effect of it; for if our Chriftianity be fuch, that it neither truly sets us free from our bondage to the world and flesh; nor inriches our foul with true and folid virtues if it neither promote the honour of God, nor the good of man, it must unavoidably follow, that having no true title to God's favour, nor any rational ground, on which to build an affurance of it, we can reap no true comfort or pleasure from religion here, or any reward from it hereafter. Alas! what talk I of comfort and reward? Diftrefs and anguish must take hold of the finners in Sion; and fearfulness must jurprise the hypocrite: and from the troubles and miferies of this life, they must go down into the everlasting torments of another. The fcripture is plain; God will fpue them out of his mouth, as he did the Laodicean: he will fhut the gate of heaven against them, as against the foolish virgins that had no oil in their lamps and their hell will have one torment in it, which is incident to no others, that they had once the hopes of heaven; and it is no small aggra

aggravation of mifery to fall into it, even from the expectation of happiness.

This is not, as I obferved above, to be applied to accidental dulness or deadness in duty; nor are the decays or abatements of love, which good men fometimes fuffer, immediately to be pronounced damnable. But yet these are to be put in mind of the danger they are in; and recalled to their former zeal, in the words of the Spirit to the Church of Ephefus; Nevertheless, I have fomewhat against thee, because thou haft left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen; and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent, Rev. ii.

4, 5.

CHAP.

CHAP. IX.

Of Zeal. What in general is meant by Zeal; and what is that perfection of holiness in which it confifts. Whether the perfect man must be adorned with a confluence of all virtues, and to what degree of holiness be may be fuppofed to arrive.

I

Am arrived at the last stage of perfecti on, which I chufe to call a ftate of zeal; not only because the fcripture seems to direct me to this expreffion, but alfo because it feems to me more full and proper than others, that may be, or are made ufe of for the fame end. A ftate of union is an expreffion that better fuits another life than this. For the leffon the perfect man is ever and anon to revolve in his mind, is, that the prefent life is a life of labour, and travel, and fufferings; the future one, of rewards, and crowns, and enjoyments. Then as to that other expreffion, the ftate of love, it suits my purpose well enough; but does not come up to justly and exactly to it, as the state of zeal; for I take zeal to be love, in the utmost elevation and vivacity that it is capable of.

And now, what a noble, what a fruitful argument am I entring upon? Methinks I feel my foul grow warm, and inkindle

kindle upon my approaching it; and my firft views or contemplations of it inspire me with defires of the fame nature with it felf. I am concerned to fee my felf confined and limited by the laws of method; and find my felf inclined to wifh, that I were now to write, rather a juft volume, than a few pages. Here the heroic acts, or, what is more, the heroic lives of faints, martyrs, and confeffors, present themfelves to my thoughts; here human nature, enriched, adorned, and elevated to the utmost degree, by a participation of the divine one; here the power of God's Word, the energy of the Holy Ghoft, the triumphs of faith, and the extafies of love, would be defcribed; here the different excellencies of different virtues, and the different value of good works, fhould be ftated and fettled, and the various paths, in which men purfue the heights of virtue and the nobleft defigns be examined, and folid piety and true wisdom be refined from the alloys and mixtures of enthufiafm, fuperftition, fancy, or whatever elfe they are disfigured and debased by. But this cannot now be done, and it may be it could not at all be done by me: no meafure of the Spirit, peradventure, below that with which the apostles were infpired, is fufficient to treat this argument as it requires. Befides, according

cording to my capacity, I have been all along making this point. When, in the first fection, I stated the notion of perfection, fhewed by what fteps we advanced to it, what means we are to make use of, and what would be the fruit of it, I did in effect describe to my reader, the ftate of zeal, and marked out the path that leads to it. When, in the fecond, I labour to establish the true liberty of man, upon the overthrow and extirpation not only of mortal fin, and of idleness and lukewarmness, but also, as far as it might be, even of fin of infirmity, and original corruption; what elfe was I doing, but profecuting this one design, namely, the implanting and propagating in the world the ftate of zeal? However, fomething there seems to me yet wanting to compleat my undertaking; and that I am to endeavour now. To which end I will here discourse of three things,

I. What it is in general I mean by zeal. 2. What is that Perfection of holiness or righteousness, wherein it confifts And,

3. Of the efficacy or force of this holinefs, as it exerts it felf in good works. Of thefe, the two former fhall be the argument of this; the third of the following chapter.

§. I. Of