fession only, of his total withdrawment from them, by his leaving them to a coldness and carelessness about the things of God, and to delight in the shadows more than in the substance of religion; so that with the rest of the reprobate they have only themselves to blame for being eternally benighted. How then ought not those who observe such signs of his withdrawment, whether as individuals, or a particular church, Joshua like, to pray that this sun may stand still, and if they pray in faith, like Joshua they shall be heard, Josh. x. 12. 13.

When the sun goes down, darkness does not immediately ensue ; but though the light is protracted for a little, yet are there not the smallest hopes of his rising again that day; no, for it is ended.

In the twilight which is quickly lost, in the blackness of the night, the votaries of lewdness walk forth, as well as the beasts of the forest, to hunt for their prey. So the Sun of righteousness may end the day of grace, and I doubt not, often doeth, before the day of a sinner's life; but where there

is the smallest hope of being again blest with his beams, or the least desire after this, it is a sign the case is not desperate: the Sun of righteousness as to them is not totally gone down; for the Lord is good to them that seek him, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; for he satisfieth the longing soul---will be found of them that seek him, and accomplish the desire of them that fear him; at evening time it shall be light, Lam. iii. 25. Psal. xxxiii. 18. Psal. cvii. 9. 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. Jer. xxix. 13, 14. Matt. vii. 7. Psal. cxlv. 19. Zech. xiv. 7. "Thou hast ravished my heart "with one of thine eyes, with one chain of

thy neck," saith Christ, Cant. iv. 9. But, on the contrary, when sinners have not the smallest hope of, nor the least desire of seeing and being blest with his beams again, after having been once enlightened by him, and tasted of the powers of the world to come, Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6. It is a certain sign to them that their day of grace is ended. In this twilight of mercy, as it were, which is protracted to them for a time, they indulge their lusts with freedom, and the wild

beasts of error and corruption walk through their soul without restraint, and make a prey of any good that was there remaining; till at length they are enveloped in the horrible darkness of eternal night, misery, and woe.

89

CONTEMPLATION V.

ON PLOUGHING.

YONDER rustic swain, somewhat aged, driving his lusty team out to plough, calleth to my remembrance Adam driven from the garden, and sent to till the ground, which was cursed for his sake; and happy had it been for his hapless posterity had that been all; but alas! by his rebellion he and they were all laid under the eternal wrath and curse of God, which rendered their hearts more hard and barren than that of the ground.

This man is now got to his labour, and a painful one it is, but there is no help for it, bread cannot be obtained without it; man was to eat bread in the sweat of his face until he returned into the ground, for out of it was he taken, Gen. iii. 19.

By this man's appearance, I judge he is only a servant to some neighbouring husbandman, but a very faithful one: what pains he is taking in breaking the stubborn glebe! now he lets the plough lightly in, making the furrow shallow, because the soil requires it; again he sets her deeper, because the soil will bear it. So the law of God, as a servant to the great Husbandman, is faithful to his trust, in dealing with hardened sinners: in some, as it were, it plougheth by means of the word, with a less sharp coulter of conviction, and lighter sock of contrition than in others; sóme, according as the great Husbandman in his infinite wisdom hath seen it necessary.

This ploughman, I observe, is very attentive that he miss none of the ground, but till it all as he goes along. So the law, in ploughing the fallow ground of a sinner's heart, breaketh it all up, not the smallest green balk of self-confidence is left unturned

over.

I perceive this man with his plough turns up large quantities of filthy noxious weeds, and poisonous roots, which before lay un