A cabinet of choice jewels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…A cabinet of choice jevvels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…

Thirdly, If your obedience springs from Faith, then you will endeavour to obey God in affirmative Commands as well as in negative Commands. You will not only lo•k upon what God would not have you to do, but you will also look to see what God would have you to do.¹ Dives was no• cast into Hell for oppressing Lazarus, but for not showing mercy to Lazarus: He was not damned because he took any thing from him, but because he gave nothing to him. The evil servant did not riot out his Talent, but omitted the improvement of it, for which he was cast into outer darkness Nor those Reprobates in the same Chapter did not rob the poor Saints, but omitted the relieving of them, which was their ruin.² Moab and Ammon were banished the Sanctuary to the tenth Generation, for a mere omission, because they met not Gods Israel in the Wilderness with bread and water. Look as the omission of good diet breeds diseases, so the omission of Religious duties will either make work for Repentance,³ or for Hell, or for the Physician of Souls. Mark, there is many a mans Religion lies merely in negatives, he is no Swearer, no Drunkard, no Adulterer, no Oppressor, no Defrauder, &c. A formal Professors obedience to Divine Commands, does principally lye in negatives, he considers not so much what the Command requires, as what it prohibits, and he pleases himself rather in abstaining from evil, than in doing of good; in being outwardly reformed, than in being inwardly renewed; he thinks it enough that he turns from sin, though he makes no Conscience of turning to God: If you ask him concerning affirmative Commands, there you will find him speechless. Ask him, art thou holy? art thou humble? art thou heavenly? art thou sincere? art thou a Believer? dost thou set up God as the great object o thy fear? dost thou love God with a superlative love? is the Sabbath of the Lord a delight unto thee? &c. Now here you strike him dumb, he looks upon the neglect of these things as no sins,⁴ because they are not such scandalous sins as the others are. Remember Sirs, sinful omissions many times leads to sinful commissions, as you may see in the Angels tha fell from Heaven to Hell; and as you may see in Adam, who