Moses his choice with his eye fixed upon Heaven, discovering the happy condition of…

As if two should go to sea, it may be they go out both together, and one endures as much tempest and storm as the other, and they are at the like charge; perhaps yet the one comes home richly laden, and the other brings nothing but Cockle shells, and a little gravel; when he that brought home the Cockle shells and the gravel, shall see the difference between him and the other, when as they were at like charge, and endured the same difficulty, how will he be ashamed? This is the difference between a gracious heart and an hypocrite, both go out in Religion, the one makes as much stir as the other, and suffers as much disgrace and contempt as the other; the one enjoys all the riches of the Kingdom of God; the other, what does all his profession come to? he gains a little respect from some, that this body or that body says, He is a man of good parts, and here is all. O miserable voyage that such as these are have made, when all their profession comes but to this! Yea, it may be they do not so much as gain respect from those that are wise and judicious, but only from a company of prattlers, that will speak well of you ⟨p. 636⟩when you please them, and when you do not please them, they will speak as ill of you: like a great blaze that a little fire will make in straw for the present, and when it is past, you see nothing but a few black ashes; so many Professors make a great blaze, and a great noise and show, and all that it comes to, is, that they get a little esteem in the world; or, like Kites they will flutter up a little, but their eye is upon the carrion; so many seem to be above in the air in the profession of Religion, and yet their eyes are upon the carrion, they make things below their aim.

As if two should go to sea, it may be they go out both together, and one endures as much tempest and storm as the other, and they are at the like charge; perhaps yet the one comes home richly laden, and the other brings nothing but Cockle shells, and a little gravel; when he that brought home the Cockle shells and the gravel, shall see the difference between him and the other, when as they were at like charge, and endured the same difficulty, how will he be ashamed? This is the difference between a gracious heart and an hypocrite, both go out in Religion, the one makes as much stir as the other, and suffers as much disgrace and contempt as the other; the one enjoys all the riches of the Kingdom of God; the other, what does all his profession come to? he gains a little respect from some, that this body or that body says, He is a man of good parts, and here is all. O miserable voyage that such as these are have made, when all their profession comes but to this! Yea, it may be they do not so much as gain respect from those that are wise and judicious, but onely from a company of pratlers, that will speak well of you