theiẩm in all the irregularities and disorders of our lives, wherein our actions do contradict our principles of God.

(4.) Lastly, Thofe who having had a profeffion do at length quit it. Their leaf faileth and falleth. 1.) There are fome whofe leaf fadeth, as the leaf of a tree in harvest, thro' want of fap from the ftock, and fo falls off. There are not a few at this day of that fort, who fometimes were blooming profeffors, but now they have loft leaf as well as fruit; and nothing ailed them to lose it, but just that the root of the matter was never in them. They have drawn back, and have not ftaid till they had been driven back. 2.) There are fome whofe leaf falleth like the leaf of a tree in fummer by a ftormy wind of persecution. They would keep their leaf if it would al ways abide calm; but they cannot abide the fhock of perfecution, and fo rather than deny themfelves they will deny Chrift before men, Mark viii. ult. ; and many fuch our times are likely to produce, because we have other gods before the Lord,

Go home then, and mourn over the fin that fome of us have never been troubled about hitherto; that is, Atheism, which is not fo rare in the world as is imagined. Thy heart is too kindly a foil for the worst of abominations, to mifs any devilith corruption therein, that is going in the world, And apply to Chrift for his blood and Spirit, to remove the guilt of this fin, and destroy its power and influence in

you.

SECONDLY, Another fin forbidden in this commandment is profaneness, which is the not worship. ping and glorifying the true God as God and our God, and much more the acting against his honour, quite contrary to thofe duties of worship and honour that we owe him. It will then be neceffary that we look back to thofe duties of worship, which we men toned to be thofe of the mind, will, affections, confcience, memory, and the whole foul with all its

faculties, that we may fee what is forbidden under this head.

First, There is a profaneness of the mind, Tit. ii. 15, when the minds of men are like a dark grove for idols, confufion, and profaneness, instead of being a lightfome temple to God, where the candle of heavenly light is put out, and darknefs from hell takes place instead of it. Confider then this profanenefs of mind,

1. In uppofition to the knowledge of God; and fo this command forbids,

ift, Ignorance of God and divine things, especially fuch as are fundamental, Hof, iv. 1. 6. There is a natural ignorance, with which man is born like a wild afs's colt, that must needs be cured, for it is the fad effect of the lofs of original righteoufnefs. There is an affected ignorance among them that have the means, yet, through enmity against God and his law, will not learn, or through laziness and careleffness will not be at the pains, Job xxi. 14.

Ignorance is a mother-fin, as blindness difpofes men to fall over every block in their way, therefore the fcripture tells us it is a fpecial destroyer, Hof. iv. 6. and has a moit terrible threatening annexed to it, If xxvii. 11. It is a people of no understanding: therefore be that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour. Is it fo terrible in thofe that want the means; how will it be to others? 2 Theff. i. 8.

But though we be not chargeable with that grofs ignorance, we do not fatisfy that command, Prov. XXX. 2. How many things are revealed that we ought to know, which we know not? How imperfect and unclear is the knowledge we have of many things? but from the beginning it was not fo. And how ineffectual is our knowledge; and what little influence has it on our practice!

2dly, Mifapprehenfions of God, Acts xvii. 28. 29. O how liable are we to thefe, to apprehend God to be

what he is not! When we begin to apprehend him, the first way the heart goes is to misapprehend him. The world is full of this. Seldom is it that the heart does not blot out fome of his attributes, mifapprehending his word and works. And fuch are all falfe opinions concerning him, Rom. i. 21.

2. In oppofition to thinking and meditating on God, is forbidden,

ift, That profane careleffenefs of the heart whereby God is not in all our thoughts, Pfal. x. 4. He is our first principle, laft end, witnefs, and judge, fo that we fhould fet him always before us, Pfal. xvi. 8. But inftead of that we forget our God, and then forget ourselves, though there is never a moment but we are receiving at his hand, Jer. ii. 32.

2dly, The neglect of the great duty of meditation, fpending no time on that work, yea and a difpofition of fpirit averse to it, and that cannot fix on it. Mens hearts can fix well enough to carnal meditations, that may advance their worldly intereft, or gratify their lufts; but to meditations of God they are unstable as water. They will fink and dive to the bottom in thefe muddy waters, while they will float like a fea ther in the waters of the fanctuary. And it is as difficult to get the heart off the one as upon the other.

3dly, The refifting of the thoughts of God when they bear in themfelves on the foul, Rom. i. 28. Sometimes the Lord makes heavenly thoughts dart into the heart for conviction, humiliation, &, but like a ftitch in the fide prefently there is a hand laid on it to prefs it down. Thus men war against God, and will not think on him, and are as not themselves till they be fifted.

3. In oppofition to the honourable thoughts of God required in this commandment, is forbidden,

ft, The want of thefe honourable thoughts of him, the not efteeming, admiring, and adoring him above all. High thoughts will men have of trifles, that have none of the Higheft. If we look to what he is, and

confider our thoughts, we will be found moft guilty in this point.

2dly, Mean and low thoughts of God and Christ. Thefe are fo frequent in the world, that Chrift is faid to be despised, and not esteemed, If. liii. 3. and God contemned by the wicked, Pfal. x. 13. Read the thoughts of your heart on the work of your hands in refpect of duty, Mal. i. 7. 8.

3dly, Unworthy and wicked thoughts of God, Pfal. 1. 21. which are heart-blafphemy not to be named. Sometimes thefe do arife from the corrupt heart by an ordinary influence of temptation, where the heart like a raging fea cafts up its mire and dirt against heaven ; and they follow on a loose and carnal frame, wherein mean thoughts of God have fettled themselves; or from fome galling of confcience from fear of wrath, while the heart is glued to the fin; or from extremity of trouble, while the fpirit is unfubdued. It is a dreadful fin, and has much of hell in it. But there are wicked thoughts or blafphemous injections that are immediately from the devil, that come in fuddenly like fiery darts, fo as to make a man to fhiver, and being continued will ficken the body, and torment the foul extremely. Thefe are not our fins, unless by confenting to them we adopt them, Matth. iv. 9.

4. In oppofition to the great duty of believing God, feveral things are forbidden, fome in defect, fome in excefs.

ift, There is, (1.) Doubting of or queftioning the truth of what foever we know God has revealed. The queries of the falfe heart concerning revealed truths, How can these things be? are a great affront to the veracity of God. (2.) Unbelief, which gives the lie to the Lord's word, whether doctrines, promifes, or threatenings, 2 Kings vii. 19. Deut. xxix. 19. 20. This is the great ftumbling block of the perithing world, and enemy of the faints. (3.) Misbelief; that is, when men believe fin to be duty, and duty to be fin, If. xxvi. 9. (4.) Herefy, which is a pertinacious

defending of any error against a substantial point of truth, Gal. v. 20. (5.) Lastly, Leffer errors want not their own finfulness, as being contrary to revealed truth, that we are obliged to know, and contrary to that believing of God required in his word. On the other hand,

[1] Vain credulity, when people through the instability of their minds lightly embrace doctrines pretended to be from God, without narrowly examining and discovering the truth, 1 John iv. 1. We must anfwer for what we believe as well as for what we reject; and therefore the Bereans were commended for fearching the fcriptures, whether what the apoftles taught was agreeable to them. [2.] Tempting of God, Matth. iv. 7. when people caft themselves out of God's way, and yet expect his protection; when out of the way of the command, they look for the benefit of the promife. There is another tempting of God, and that in defect, when people will not believe, unless they fee figns and wonders, and cannot take God's bare word. [3] Carnal fecurity, Zeph. i. 12. when, over the belly of all the threatenings of God, men promise themselves fafety in an evil course.

Secondly, There is a profanenefs of the will. It is a ftony heart, enmity against God, having a propensity to evil in it, total in the unregenerate, partial in the regenerate. This command directs it to God. The profaneness of it lies in a departing from and oppofi. tion to God.

1. Whereas it is the duty of our will to take God for our God, and enter into his covenant, and to hold by him as our covenanted God, here are forbidden feveral pieces of profanenefs. As,

ift, The total omiflion of perfonal covenanting with God, clofing with and accepting of God as our God in his covenant. A fad fign of an ungracious heart, If. xliv. 3. 5. Eph. ii. 12. What a profane will muft that be that will not come under the bond of the covenant? What way do men think that