Heavenly merchandiseHeavenly merchandize

2. Your trifling will give God the provocation to pack up his precious wares and be gone. Should a Merchant come among a people, and bring along with him the richest and most necessary Goods (such as men cannot do ⟨p. 142⟩without, and such as no other hath to sell) and offer them to people at the easiest rates, so that every one, even the poorest, might be able to buy them, if he had a mind to it; and when he hath opened, and set them to view, yea, and given sufficient notice to all, bidding them to come; and now, though a great many pretended Customers do come to see them, and his Shop be full of such, yet here is one that stares up and down, and never so much as minds the Commodities; there are others smiling, and saying, this man hath gotten an excellent faculty in commending his own Wares; here are some huffing, and protesting that they can see no such excellency in them, as they were commended for, they are dull unsightly things which have no gloss upon them: others cry out, we looked for something new, but these are nothing but a company of old worn things, and what service can we expect from them? and here and there is one that speaks in their commendation, professeth the things are good, and begins to cheapen them, but as soon as ever he hears the price, cries out it is an hard pennyworth, and if he is resolved to hold them up so high, he must even keep them for him; and it may be once in a great while there is one or two that doth come and buy ⟨p. 143⟩would not this man thus conclude within himself, and say, I see this is no place for me to vend my Merchandise in, this people have no occasion for it, I do but lose my labour and time in waiting for custom here; and will therefore pack it up, and carry it away to some other place where I may find better acceptance, and more encouragement; and truly I am very much out in my observations if this be not too much New-England's case, in respect of the Truth: There is no need for me to tell you what and how many awful Tokens there are amongst us of God's being threatening to depart from us: it is a Subject that hath been much and often discoursed of, and great enquiry there hath been made after the provocation; and there is no doubt to be made of it, but that the Pride, Vanity, Profaneness, Earthly-mindedness, Contention, &c.

2. Your trifling will give God the provocation to pack up his precious wares and be gone. Should a Merchant come among a people, and bring along with him the richest and most necessary Goods (such as men cannot do