Heavenly merchandiseHeavenly merchandize

1: The necessity which all men stand in of it; the well being of every man hath a real dependence upon his having of it, without a spiritual and saving knowledge of the great Truths of the Gospel, there is no Salvation to be expected by any of the children of men, Hos. 4. 6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, without Truth in the Understanding, there can be no moral goodness in the will; without the knowing of God and Christ, there can be no believing on him; till the eyes of the mind be enlightened; the enmity of the heart will still remain in it, and there can be nothing but estrangedness from God: they, and none but they that know him, will put their trust in him, Psal. 9: 10. where Divine Truth is not exhibited, there Perdition reigns and rageth, Prov. 29. 18. Where there is no Vision, the people perish. If a man could gather together all the wealths and delights of this lower world, and enjoy them in the fullest measure ⟨p. 20⟩of content that he is capable of, if yet he be without the Truth, he is for all this a poor and a miserable man. He cannot live well without it; for his whole life can be nothing else but one perpetual wandering out of the paths of peace, and straggling in the way that leads to destruction. Truth is the only directrix of a mans life, so as to make it regular, and guide it safely, hence that, Psal. 86. 11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, I will walk in thy Truth; without this no man can dye well: there is nothing else that will stick by a man in the hour of distress, to afford him any of the least comfort then, but this will; Hezekiah had happy experience of it, Isa. 38. 3. I have walked before thee in truth. The dying man can see nothing but darkness before him, except Truth enlighten him; this is that which alone can discover to him the life after death, and the fullness of Joys that is at Gods right-hand, when all his earthly comforts are bidding him a final adieu. This only will stand a man in stead for eternity; the man that hath lived a long while, and driven a great trade in this world, and seemed to gain in it, if among all those many things which he hath here bin bartering for, he hath neglected to deal for, and so hath