the feed, and gives to every ridge its juft proportion. With infinitely more care doth the great Husbandman fow the good feed in the heart; no place of it is missed; every faculty of the foul receives a proper meafure of it: the understanding is not enlightened and the will left unrenewed; nor the confcience made tender, and void of offences, while the memory is unfanctified, and the affections cold: No, all are fown with the good feed, which will grow up in due time to perfection. I obferve the harrows following the hufbandman, and covering up the feed; if this was not done, very foon would it be snatched from the earth by the fowls of the air. In like manner, the good feed of the word must be as it were covered up, and hid deep in the heart, left the foul fiend Satan come and catch it out: thus did the royal Pfalmist; "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, "faith he, that I might not fin againft "thee," Pfal, cxix. II. From this ground which is now harrowed over, I behold large quantities of weeds gathered together, with a number of stones, which would have intercepted the growth of the feed; yet some of the weeds and many of their poisonous roots ftill remain there, but will be more and more taken out as the feed fprings up. In like manner, from the heart which the great Hufbandman hath cultured and fown in the day of converfion, the hard and ftony heart, that would have intercepted the growth of the heavenly feed, is taken out, together with a great deal of the weeds of fin and corruption; though, alas! many of them with a bitter root ftill remain, which will be taken more and more away as the believer grows in grace, and the good feed fprings up in him to eternal life. Next comes the ponderous roller, which faddens the ground, keeps it from heaving and fpewing out the grain. So a proper fenfe of fin, and man's ftate by nature, like a weighty roller faddens the heart, keeps it humble from proud rifings, and throwing out the good feed. To a partial obferver this ground appears to be fown; and fo does much that is only harrowed over, but has no good feed fown in it, which the husbandman has reserved for other purposes than growing of corn: but by a more careful fcrutiny, fuch as entering into the field, and turning over fome of the mold, it may be certainly known whether the feed be there or not. In like manner, owing to fome external reformation and civility of life, many are deceived, and too often, it is much to be doubted, the perfon himself that hath these outward appearances, thinking his heart is fown with the good feed, but by a more strict examination of it, made by the man himfelf, he may know whether the good feed be in him. How careful then ought I to be, not to stand at a diftance, as it were, from myself, but to enter into the field of my own heart, which appears to be thus cultured and fown, and turn up the fecret receffes thereof, to try if it be fo in reality or not. Have I ever experienced any faving work there? are the faculties of my foul renewed? is the hard and ftony heart taken away, with many of the foul weeds of fin and corruption? and are the remainder a burden under which I groan and long to be rid? chiefly because they are offenfive to God, and coft my Lord and |