13. *Have no end, no ultimate end but God. Thus our Lord, _One thing is needful_. And if thine eye be singly fixt on this one thing, _thy whole body shall be full of light_. Thus St. _Paul, This one thing I do; I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling in_ Christ Jesus. Thus St. _James, Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded_. Thus St. _John, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world._ The seeking happiness in what gratifies either the desire of the flesh, by agreeably striking upon the outward senses, the desire of the eye, of the imagination, by its novelty, greatness, or beauty; or the pride of life, whether by pomp, grandeur, power, or the usual consequence of them, applause and admiration: _Is not of the Father_, cometh not from, neither is approved by the Father of spirits; _but of the world_; it is the distinguishing mark of those, who will not have him to reign over them. II. 1. Thus have I particularly inquired, what that _circumcision of heart_ is, which will obtain the praise of God. I am, in the second place, to mention some reflections, that naturally arise from such an inquiry, as a plain rule whereby every man may judge of himself, whether he be of the world or of God. And, first, it is clear, from what has been said, that no man has a title to the praise of God, unless his heart is circumcised by humility, unless he is little, and base, and vile in his own eyes: unless he is deeply convinced of that inbred “corruption of his nature, whereby he is very far gone from original righteousness,” being prone to all evil, averse to all good, corrupt and abominable; having a _carnal mind_, which _is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God; nor indeed can be_: unless he continually feels in his inmost soul, that without the Spirit of God resting upon him, he can neither think, nor desire, nor speak, nor act, any thing good or well-pleasing in his sight. No man, I say, has a title to the praise of God, till he feels his want of God: nor indeed, till he seeketh that _honour, which cometh of God only_: and neither desires nor pursues that which cometh of man, unless so far only as it tends to this.