THE SEVENTH EXERCISE.

Every day we should keep a strict guard over our eyes.

 

 THIS Exercise is recommended to us in Job xxxi. 1; Ps. cxix. 37;, Matt. 5:2E4 29; and 18:9. By the eye here, I do not mean the eye of contemplation, whereby men see what is above them; nor the eye of reason, whereby they see what is within them; but the eye of the body, which discovers to them the things. that are without them: and what necessity there is for guarding the eye, the unhappy examples of persons who have been lost for want of it sufficiently show.

 

 At these windows enter covetousness, and lasciviousness, and admiration of sensual objects, and envy. At these avenues they come in, and from these gates the poison is conveyed to the heart. Did not the covetous feed his eyes with the sight of gold, he would not forsake Paradise for Sodom, heaven for earth, and Go]) for mammon. Did the lustful person deny himself in seeing the tempting object, he would not become a slave to his passion. Did not the envious cast his eyes on his neighbor's welfare, it would not grieve him to see his equal or inferior prosper.

 

 This Exercise consists, First, in admiring nothing in the creature, but the Creator's glory. Secondly, in turning away our eyes from any object, which we have reason to suspect as dangerous. Thirdly, in checking the disorder which our seeing may cause in our minds. Fourthly, in making greater use of' the eyes of our minds than of our bodies.

 

 1. In admiring nothing in the creature but the Creator's glory. What beauty, what harmony, what exactness, what perfection we see in any object, that must immediately lead us to admire the supreme Cause that gave it being, his finger must be taken notice of, his wisdom magnified, ’big' bounty adored, his power praised, and the creature only looked upon as the work' of his hands, and the product of his goodness: he that looks no farther than the creature, runs himself into snares, and Grin justly suffers him to fall, who would not look higher. Such a man looks no farther than a beast, and forgets that God gave him a faculty to see more than irrational animals; such a man has nothing to keep him in awe, and therefore is tempted to lay hold on the forbidden tree, which was only presented to his eyes by way of trial: he who, upon seeing the loveliness and beauty of a sublunary object, presently reflects on the, God that made it, at the same time furnishes himself with arguments to keep within the bounds of. seeing, and within the borders of virtue; for sure he cannot at the same time admire the Creator, and sin against him.

 

 2. In turning away our eyes from any object, which we have reason to suspect as dangerous. There is no man that observes himself, and knows what sins he is most prone to, but must needs know, or at least may know, what objects are most likely to raise disorders in the soul; experience has taught him, and his frequent falls have been his schoolmasters. Such objects must be shunned, as the pestilence; and if they come within sight, his eyes must be cast down on the ground, or shut, however ridiculous this may seem to the world. There is no dallying with such objects. To see whether I am able to resist the temptation, is to sin for trial's sake, and he is certainly safer that looks another way. Our greatest wisdom is, to suspect our own frailty; and the best way to keep sin out of the mind, is to keep it out of the eyes.

 

 3. In checking the, least disorder, which our seeing may cause in our minds and passions. It is possible we may be surprised, and the object we behold unawares may dart a covetous, or envious, or lascivious thought into our minds, and that spark, may fall upon the passions; but here the poison; must be presently vomited up again, and our souls cleared of the dangerous guest; the sudden thought must be drowned in, the waters of repentance; and, greater cautious. ness, for the future. must, be used., Where this is neglected, and men are careless of this Exercise, their souls are in danger of being consumed; for those sparks, if let alone, will soon put all into a conflagration.

 

 4. In making greater use of the eyes of our minds, than those of our bodies. Indeed were these exercised more, those of the body would have no such evil influence upon the soul. The intellectual eye looks beyond the clouds, and sees through all the mists of this world into eternity. This beholds the satisfactions of another world, and the treasure which Got, has laid up for them that fear him. This looks up to the everlasting hills: and as the eyes of servants look unto the hands of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden look unto the hands of her mistress, so this waits upon the King of Heaven, till he is pleased to answer in the still voice of love and mercy. In these particulars this Exercise consists; and this is what we press upon you; this is what we exhort you to, and entreat you to employ yourselves in, as you would not bear the name of Christians in vain. 

 

 This has been the care of saints in all ages. This Exercise the ancient Fathers pressed; and upon such sermons the wanton world began to be reformed. This made the virgins cover their faces with veils, that they might neither tempt others, nor be tempted with the spectators. This made the world take notice of the holy looks of Christians, and observe how, with their lives and conversations, the motions of their eyes and their gestures changed. The quickness of their eyes was lost with their sins; and the wantonness of their looks expired with their debaucheries. They considered, that their reason was given them to subdue their senses; and they justly thought, that in vain they pretended to a life of reason and religion, unless they subdued then senses, and fenced all those passages where sin and folly used to enter. This gave religion credit, and made men come from the east and west to gaze upon it. This made the world wonder to see human nature rise so high, and attain to a pitch of sanctity, to which even the heathen GOD’s had been strangers.

 

THE PRAYER

 

 O YOU, whose eyes are like flames of fire, and whose feet are like brass glowing in a furnace; who art brighter than the sun, and clearer than the stars; whose eyes run to and fro through the world, to show thyself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is upright before thee:—I have deserved that no eye should pity me, because I have not used my sight with that moderation, modesty, and piety, which you justly requirest of me. I have had eyes; and have not seen those things of which I should have taken notice it were just in thee to strike me blind, and to deprive me of that mercy which I have so often turned into wantonness! I have gazed upon objects that have inflamed my lusts, irritated my passions, and kindled hellfire in my breast. Ah! what impure, what disorderly thoughts have I let in through these windows! O look upon me, and have mercy on me. Open you mine eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of thy law. O let nothing be so pleasant to mine eyes as thy marvelous works. Teach me to see thee in thy Providence, and in thy works of grace and nature. O let me remember that, wherever I am, I am before the eye of thy glory; and let mine eyes be ever toward the LORD. If my right eye offend me, let me pull it out. Give me courage to turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, when that vanity would snake me enamored with the world. Quicken the eyes of my mind, that I may behold thy power and glory, as I have seen it in the sanctuary. Show me the danger of walking in the sight of mine eyes, and guide me by thine eye. Destroy in me all lofty looks; and the lust of the eye do you remove far from me. Let my outward as well as inward man be thy servant. O let me see, and taste, how sweet and how gracious you art. You hast given me my eyesight; cause me to see thy salvation; and let me see that I walk circumspectly, as wise men, and not as fools, redeeming the time, because the dais are evil. Consider and hear me, O. Lord my GOD; lighten mine eyes, lest 1: sleep the sleep of death. Keep me as the apple of thine eye; hide me under the shadow of thy wings: then shall I behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. O glorious sight, when I shall see thee as you art! How ravishing will that prospect be! How transporting that vision! O let me not miss of it! I will look upon thee here. I will behold thee in the blessings I enjoy. I will see thee in thy mercies, and admire thee. I will look to myself, that I may not err from thy commandments. I will look for the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. I will look up unto Mount Zion, which fades not away. Ir will look unto the Lord, that I may be enlightened, and that my face may not be ashamed, through JESUS CHRIST Our LORD. Amen.

 

THE EIGHTH EXERCISE.

 

Every day there is occasion to make good use of the virtues and vices, of our neighbors,

 

or of those who have, lived before us, and of whose actions we have either read or heard.

 

 This Exercise Is commanded in Luke 13:2, 8; 1 Cor. 10:6—11; Rom. 15:4. The Chaldee Paraphrast upon the thirty fourth chapter of Deuteronomy, tells us, " GOD taught us to clothe the naked, when he made ADAM and EVE coats of skin, and clothed them: and he taught us to marry in the LORD, and in the fear of GOD, when he joined them two together,: and he taught us to comfort those that mourn, when he manifested himself to JACOB, coming hack from Paran, in the place where his mother died: and he taught us. to feed the poor, when he sent bread to the children of Israel from heaven: and he taught us to bury the dead, when himself was pleased to bury MOSES the man of GOD." So far the interpreter, though a Jew, is in the right. But this is not all: not only GOD’s actions, but the actions of our neighbors, must be improved to our spiritual advantage. And this Exercise consists partly in imitating the good actions, partly in shunning the bad, or such as we have reason to suspect as evil.

 

 1. In imitating the good. " Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise,"—wherever you see it, in whomsoever you meet with it, whether in a Jew, or Heathen, or Christian,—" think on these things," and imitate them, says the Apostle. Such a Christian is eminent for his meekness; another for patience; a third for peaceableness; a fourth for modesty; a fifth for charity; a sixth for humility; a seventh for spiritual joy; another for self denial; another for temperance; another for pardoning of injuries. To look upon these patterns is not enough; but then we exercise ourselves to Godliness, when we bring ourselves to imitation, in some such way as this:—How lovely is this virtue! How amiable this temper! What content must it cause in this man to be so favored of Got,! What should hinder me from following him Why should not this practice kindle in me desires to arrive at the same happiness Could he be master of this grace, and why cannot I Is not the same GOD alive, and the same SPIRIT ready to assist me Have not I the same means of grace to help me Suppose my condition is not the same with his; yet is there any condition in which a man may not be good, or is not obliged to be so

 

 If I go among the Turks, I shall see the highest, as well as the lowest, the Emperor, as well as the meanest subject, rise by break of day to praise GOD. If I go among the Jews, I shall find that they will begin no work, do no business, nothing about their houses, till they have been at their prayers. If I go among the Heathen, I shall find, that though their goods and houses, and all they have, and their lives too, were in danger, they would not break off in the midst of the service of their GOD’s, but stay till they have done. Can I imagine, that these examples are represented to me without a. Providence Can I imagine that these are no invitations to convert those good customs into practice Shall a Heathen, a Turk, a Jew, outdo me in holiness If they do, shall not " the Queen of the South rise in the day of judgment, and condemn" me, who " came from the farthest parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of SOLOMON; but a greater than SOLOMON is here"

 

 In the same manner, if I read the Bible, and meet with excellent endowments of men, I am idle and lazy, and, like that slothful servant in the Gospel, hide my talent in a napkin—if, _reading of the. zeal of Moses, of the contentedness of Job, of the even spirit of DAVID, of the Steadfastness of DANIEL, of the constancy of SHADRACH, MESHACK, and ABEDNEGO, of the faithfulness of SAMUEL, of the circumspection of ENOCH, of the early piety of JOSIAH, of the candor of ST. PAUL, of the sincerity, of NATHANAEL, of the strong faith of ABRAHAM, of the alms and prayers of CORNELIUS, of the fervency of ST. PETER, of the readiness of the Bereans to receive the word, of the Philippian Gaoler's earnestness to be saved, I do not force myself to follow these examples. Indeed this is the end of GOD's setting these examples before me; and except I make these instances my patterns, I read the Scripture unprofitably.

 

 It is true, when. the good actions I meet with in. Scripture are peculiar to the place, calling, or office, of the saint that wrought them, as the Prophet saying to the man that met' him, " Smite me, I pray thee," and the Apostles taking neither gold nor silver in their pockets, when they went to preach the Gospel,—where the good actions are of this nature, I am not bound to exercise myself so, as to study imitation. But as to all those actions which they did in conformity to the moral law of God, and the rules which the Gospel prescribes to all Christians; there I am bound’ to look upon these examples as voices from heaven to summon me to make that use of them. Could they, who had greater impediments than you have, embrace CHRIST'S yoke, and cannot you Could they, who had more to plead for their refusal of GOD’s offers than you, leave all, and follow CHRIST, and cannot you Could they leave lands, and houses, and father, and mother, and life itself, for the Gospel, and cannot you part with a trifle for Heaven's glory Did they think nothing too costly to part with for the pearl of price, and will not you quit one bosomsin for it

 

 Nor is this only to be observed in Scripture passages, but in Civil Histories too. I may chance to read of the admirable acts of pagans;—for instance, of the continence of SCIPIO, who, being but twenty four years of age, young, lively, and what is more, a conqueror, and having taken prisoner a young lady of noble blood and wonderful beauty, did not only dismiss her to her friends uninjured, but added the vast sum of money brought for her ransom, as an augmentation of her portion. I may light upon such an example as that of CURIUS, who, being presented with a great quantity of gold by the Saumites, though poor, refused it, saying, that he had rather rule over a wealthy people, than be wealthy himself. I may read of the moderation of MERELLUS, of the constancy of PHOCION, of the sobriety of SOCRATES, of the meekness of ARCHYTAS, of the chastity of SPURINA, of the gratitude of MASSA NISA, of the gravity of ARISTIDES, and of the temperance of EPICURUS. Even here, I must not be a careless reader of these things; but make this inference from them:If these men arrived at such a degree of virtue by the light of nature, what a shame will it be to me, if, assisted by the light both of grace and nature, I fall short of it.

 

 2. The same method must be observed in respect to the sins and vices of others, whose example must affright us from those sins, and stir up our hatred against them.

 

 Let the sins of others attract. sensual men into delight and compliance;—a Christian must live above that sordid condescension. The follies of his neighbor must make the fire of his zeal against those offences scorch the more; as their virtues must make him grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord JESUS CHRIST.

 

 This is your work, my friends; this is the task which the GOD of your fathers has set you; in this race you are to run; the good works of those with whom you converse, or which you hear mentioned by others, you are to transcribe upon your own lives. As light does naturally issue out from fire, and flowers send forth a delightful fragrancy; so, says ST. BASIL, from the light or commemoration of holy men's actions proceeds very great advantage. This is to draw pictures from divine images. Thus did the men of whom POTITIANUS spoke to ST. AUSTIN. As they were walking forth to take the air, they lighted upon a cottage, where some religious persons lived; and, taking a view of their devotion, and manner of conversation, and meeting with a history of a certain holy man's life in one of the rooms, they read its and from these considerations were so transported; that immediately they resolved to. became friends of GOD and holiness. And so ST. BASIL professes of himself: " When I saw," says he, "about Alexandria) and in' other parts of Egypt, in Palestine, Celosyria, and Mesopotamia, divers men that had cone. crated themselves to the service of GOD, I could not but stand amazed at the strictness of their diet, their patience in holy labors, and their vigor and constancy in prayer. When I observed how, neither conquered with sleep, nor overcome with the infirmities of their natures, they kept up and maintained a lively sense of GOD, mocking both hunger and thirst, both’ cold and nakedness, as if they lived in another world, and their souls dwelt in a spiritual body,—and how nothing would satisfy them, but bearing in their bodies the marks of the LORD JESUS,I began to envy their happiness, and thought it long till I attained to their felicity.

 

 This is the learning that must fit you for the university of the third heaven. All the wisdom of SOLOMON, without. this skill, would have done him but little good. Behold the fountain of your comforts! Would you be supported in distress Would you be preserved from fainting under troubles Would you bear up under the greatest storms Would you hold out in the greatest persecutions Survey the actions of the martyrs and confessors of old, and they will shed new life into your spirits, strengthen you beyond expectation, defend you against discouragements, and make you weather all the tempests that come against you. Are you reproached Look upon DAVID, how patiently he endured the revilings of SHIMEI. Are you persecuted for righteousness' sake Look upon the Apostles of our Lord, how they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of the LORD JESUS. Do you suffer wrongfully Look unto JESUS, the Author and Captain of your salvation, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, and despised the shame. Are you bound with chains Look upon ST. PAUL, how he gloried in those shackles, and was confident that they would promote GOD's glory. Do friends forsake you Look upon LAZARUS, of whom GOD took care, when none would regard or relieve him.

 

 Nay, in death itself, the sweet and heavenly frame of spirit, that is to be found in the saints of GOD, will be of great efficacy to arm yourselves against the assaults of that last enemy. When death approaches, look upon the courage, the joy, the resolution, and the cheerfulness of POLY CARP, of IGNATIUS, and, others. "Come forth, my soul," said old Hit, ARION;" Why art you afraid Venture into another world. Why. dost you doubt Have you served CHRIST SO long, and dost you tremble"—ST. JEROME, when he was departing, thus addressed himself to his friends that stood about him: " Throw off your mourning weeds, and sing a psalm of praise to Gm,; for hitherto I have gone through fire and water, but now I am entering into my cooling place. O what a gainful thing is death to me; for CHRIST with all his merits will be mine. Behold, my friends, the earthly tabernacle is going to be dissolved, that I may enter into another made without hands, eternal in the heavens: I am going to put off corruption, that I may put on incorruption. Hitherto have been a traveler; but now I am going to my own country. I see the prize before me, for which I have been running so long: I am come to my desired haven: I am passing from darkness to light, from. fighting to victory, from a temporal to an everlasting life. The life of this world is no life, but death. The merchandise of death is more precious than that of gold and rubies. O comfortable death! Certainly you art no King of Terrors; for you givest true life. Come then, my beloved, my spouse, my friend, show me where He feeds, whom my soul does love. Awake, my glory. Lend me thy hand, draw me after thee. My heart is ready; rise and follow the perfume I smell, till you bring me into my Father's house. You art lovely, my friend; come, and do not tarry. By thee I must go into the garden of my Beloved, that I may eat of his fruit. The tithe is come for thee to have mercy on me make haste, and fly to me; for I am sick of love. You art terrible to the Kings of the earth, and crushest the spirits of Princes; but to the humble you makest thy power to be known. You breakest the horns of the wicked, and liftest up the horns of the righteous. Open to me, you gate of life. Take away my coat, this mortal coat, which I wear; and deck me with the garment of praise. Break the. bow and shield,; the sword and the battle. Harden not thy heart against me. Take pity, of a hungry son, that has lived long in a strange country, and deliver him back to his own. Father again."—Thus departed that holy man; thus he spoke, and thus he died. What excellent cordials are such patterns to a dying Christian! He that takes a view of them, learns what to say, and how to speak to GOD, and to his own soul, when he is going to leave this world. A Christian indeed looks upon those that are better than himself; by these he takes example; and to come up to their perfection, is a great part of his Exercise.

 

 GOD has not given all perfections to one man, lest he I should be exalted above measure. But this man has what you hest not, and you have that which is denied to him; that he, considering the good which he has not, and which is to be seen in thee, may prefer thee before himself; and again, that You, who seest that in him, which you have not, may give him the greater honor.

 

 Counterfeit Christians consider not wherein other men excel them, but wherein they excel others. They take no notice what gifts their neighbors have received above their own, but what evil others do commit, wherein they fall short of them; and thus their spiritual pride leads them on to carnal security, and that carnal security entitles them to the portion which is reserved for hypocrites. I have not the virtue another has, that I may labor to be’master of it; and another possibly wants the grace I have, that he may be restless till he has attained it so true is that saying of the Apostle, " The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to' the feet, I have no need of you." (1 Con 12:21)

 

THE PRAYER.

 

 MOST merciful Father, Creator of heaven and earth, who has given me a soul apt to be led by examples, and have set excellent patterns before me, that I may follow their steps; incline my heart, I beseech thee, to consider the large provision you hest made for my better part, and let me not continue blind in the midst of so many shining and burning lights. O let me see with other eyes than those of carnal men. O raise my mind, and carry it up to the holy Mount, to the Mount of GOD; and from thence let me behold the portion of thy children, of' those excellent souls that despise the world, and labor for honor and immortality. Discover to me the comforts they enjoy in thy bosom, and how you makest them to drink of the rivers of thy pleasures. Let their faith encourage me to believe in hope, against hope; that, as they are made perfect in love, so I may be perfect too, and may be one with thee, even as you and they are one. I cannot have a better example than Thyself; O make me partake of thy Divine Nature. Give me a holy ambition to be like thee. Make me merciful, as my Father in Heaven is merciful. O let that mind be in me, which was also in CHRIST JESUS, O JESUS, attract my soul with thy beauty. Teach me to tread in thy steps. Let thy example be ever before me; and wherever I am, let me do nothing unworthy of it. If I follow thee, I cannot err: You art the way, the truth, and the life. Loin, do you appear amiable to my soul, that this sight may constrain me to learn of thee. Transcribe thy graces on my soul, and life that my conversation may show that I am thy disciple indeed, resolved to live and die, and rise with thee to eternal glory. Give me the spirit of ST. PAUL. Give me the excellent temper of those saints, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of ions, quenched the violence of the fire, out of weakness were made strong, and were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. O deny me not the same spirit of faith, that at last I may obtain the end of my faith, the salvation of my soul, through CHRIST our LORD. Amen.

 

THE NINTH EXERCISE.

 

Put a charitable interpretation upon what you see or hear, especially when it does look ill.

 

 THIS Exercise is commanded in 1 Cor. 13:4—7; Rom. 14:13; and Matt. 7:1—3. It is an Exercise very necessary in this age, where men's misconstructions of one another's actions have made them strangers to that charity which thinks no evil; wherein men will be judges of other men's hearts, and think that Go]) has given them free leave to pass their censure on all who come within their knowledge.

 

 This Exercise includes five duties, viz. 1. Unwillingness to believe any thing ill of others. 2. Believing and hoping that it was not done with any ill intention. 3. Ascribing the evil act either to education, or ignorance, or the society they have been in, or necessity, or some other circumstances, which may take off from the greatness of the guilt. 4. Pitying them. 5. Believing readily all the good we hear of our neighbors.

 

 1. Unwillingness to believe any thing ill of our fellow Christians. A quick belief of things of this nature, argues either malice, or great vanity of mind. The best man that lives cannot escape the lashes of a slanderous tongue; and there are thousands, that will raise ill reports of their neighbors, without any other ground but a humor. We see daily how we are deceived, by giving credit to rumors; and shall I believe any thing ill of my neighbor, because two or three men say so Nay, though a man of credit and honor accuses him, my belief at the best must be but slow and wavering. If wavering and doubting be allowable in any sort of faith, it is in this; and " Surely it cannot be so bad," must be our language in these cases; " there may be a mistake in it: let the thing be better examined first, before we give the verdict: Let us not be peremptory in our judgment, till we have heard him plead in his own defense; till then, let us suspend our thoughts, and think better of his actions." Thus we ought to qualify the ill we hear of our neighbors; and he that thus exercises his discretion, and his reason, acts like a rational man, upon principles of prudence and Christian circumspection.

 

 2. Believing, and hoping, that the ill which our neighbor is found to have done; was not done with an ill intention. This is another branch of that charitable interpretation of our neighbor's actions without all peradventure, the intention either aggravates or qualifies a crime. He that hurts his neighbor with an intent to be revenged upon him, certainly is a greater sinner than he that hurts him only to save himself. He that tells a passage of me, which renders me ridiculous, may not do it with an intention to traduce me, but out of inconsiderateness.—Some actions indeed are so foul, that the offender cannot, with any color of reason, be supposed to have had a good intention in them; but where there is one that is so, there are. ten others which are. capable of a double intention. And since we cannot look into men's hearts, nor search into the recesses of their minds, it is our safest course to exercise our charity as to their intent; and this is the import of CHRIST'S command, (John 7:24,) " Judge not according to appearance."—Where the action is capable of a good intention, let us ever give our vote for that. For suppose we err, it is an error on the right side; and it is more Christianlike to believe a bad man to be good, than to bring ourselves to a habit of censuring, and consequently to run ourselves into danger of misinterpreting the harmless acts even of the best of men.

 

 3. Ascribing the evil act' either to education, or to ignorance, or to the society' our neighbor converses with, or to necessity, or to some other circumstances, which may take off from the greatness of the guilt.—I have read of a Persian King, who had condemned a prisoner to death, and given the executioner a sign to do his office. The Prisoner, despairing of all hopes of mercy, in his own language began to revile the King, and curse him. The King demanded, what it was which the wretch did mutter. A grave and charitable man that stood by answered, " This unhappy creature was saying, that Paradise awaits those that show mercy; and none can so much reckon upon the happiness of another world, as those that moderate their anger." The King, hearing this, immediately revoked the sentence, and bid him live. Another courtier, who bore a spleen to this sober man, presently stepped forth, and assured the King, that the Prisoner had been so far from answering modestly, that he had most basely reviled him, and that this man had misrepresented the malefactor's answer. The King hereupon fell into a pass ion, and protested, " I like this man's he better than thy truth; for he has covered the malefactor's ill nature with the mantle of charity, but you speakest nothing but spleen and malice! " Though I do not like this way of doing good turns, yet, in the main, the action was generous; and would men, as the Philosopher advised them, put the bag, wherein their own faults are, before, and that wherein their neighbor's offences are, behind, there is no question but they would observe the rules I have laid down. I am sure, he that means to work in GOD’s vineyard, like a Christian, must do so. Breeding, education, and society, and other circumstances, make great alterations upon men's tempers and inclinations; and if these causes be rightly considered, the injuries we receive, or fancy, will not appear so big as flesh and blood represent them.

 

It takes off from the heinousness of the evil act, if we think it is not inclination, but some adventitious heat, that has caused the injury. Such a man reproaches me; it is possible he may not know me; if he did, he would not give himself that freedom. Another takes me to be a drunkard; it is possible, those that hate me told him so; perhaps it was misinformation that made this man despise me; perhaps it was his being in such a family that made him neglect my counsel. Whatever is possible in these cases may justly be believed; and this is what the Apostle means by saying, that " Charity believeth all things."

 

 4. Pitying our fellow Christians on account of their faults and errors. Thus ST. PAVE pitied the Jews his countrymen, who had studied to murder him. (Rom. 9:3.) We pity men that are sick, and such as have not the use of their reason, or as have lost their estate and fortune, or are fallen into the hands of a powerful enemy. And shall not we pity the man, who, by his error and offence, is fallen sick of a desperate disease, which, if not speedily remedied, will make him languish and die into eternal torments Shall not we pity the wretch who has unmanned himself, and lost his reason in his sinful enterprise Shall not we pity a creature, that by his sin has lost the favor of GOD, and his title to the treasures which CHRIST has purchased by his death and passion Shall not we pity him who has lost his way, and is fallen among the thieves of hell, is become a subject of the Prince of Darkness, and has wrought himself into a worse condition than that of the Israelites under the tyranny of PHARAOH Certainly, such a man deserves our pity more than our anger, and our tears more than our stripes. The injury which he has done to us is not so great as that he has done to himself; and he is to be pitied the more, because be does not pity himself. We are not only to weep with them that weep, but to weep over those too, that have cause to mourn for themselves, and are blinded, and do not; for that is the greater misery. He that is sensible of his misery may find a way to be freed from it; but he that is not, runs on, and locks up all the gates of mercy and recovery against himself; whence must necessarily arise those everlasting plagues which were prepared for the Devil and his Angels. "

 

 5. A ready belief of all the good that is said of our neighbors. Indeed this is a sign of a generous mind, that it would have no man bad, but is desirous that all mankind should meet in this centre. A sanctified soul does attentively listen to such reports, and rejoices at the is your justice, your equity, your religion You are for peace and quietness; but are your sinister constructions of your neighbor's actions the way to it Charitable interpretations will preserve you from a storm; but where you abate nothing of the fault, your passions blessings which GOD has conferred upon his neighbor; and if the good things said of him be not true, it however wishes that they were so. Such a man hopes that the very shadows of his neighbor's graces are substantial things; and though he would not, if he could help it, suffer sin upon him, yet till he has certain knowledge to the contrary, he believes he is the man that he seems, and is reported to be. A Christian hash a soul greedy after goodness; and is glad of an opportunity to think well of his neighbor. That which makes him does to believe any ill of him, makes him believe all that is said in his commendation; for he abhors that which is evil; sin is odious to him, because GOD hates it, and therefore he would have no man guilty of it; and because goodness is exceedingly lovely in his eyes, and GOD loves it, therefore he would have all men love goodness, that GOD may love them,—and that draws this charitable belief from him. He believes what he would have to be true, and so makes good the character which ST. PAUL gives of Charity, that it thinketh no evil, but rejoiceth in the truth."

 

 And this is the Exercise which is incumbent upon you, men, fathers, and brethren; an Exercise of such necessity, that you must declare war against that law of nature, " Whatsoever you would that men should do unto you, even so do ye to them," if you neglect or undervalue it. Is there any of you that would not be thus dealt with Would not you have others put such charitable interpretations on your words and actions And would you have others subject to this rule, and except yourselves Would you have others live up to this light, and would you love darkness better Would you have others discharge their duty to you, and would you be excused from discharging yours to them What can be more unreasonable Where must needs rise into a tempest. Calmness of mind is so great a blessing, that a wise man would purchase it at any. price; and when you may have it at so cheap a rate, as the favorable interpretations of what your neighbors say, or do, will ye stand out and refuse the treasure

 

 This Exercise will preserve you from a thousand sins, and as many inconveniences. We see how men, when once they give way to uncharitable censures, run from one sin to another, and know not where to stop This uncharitableness leads them on to envy, envy to wrath, wrath to backbiting, and backbiting to revenge; revenge stops their progress in goodness; and who can reckon up all the evils that flow from this polluted spring Shall GOD allow. grains in offences, and shall not we Shall he remember that we are dust, and shall we forget that our neighbors are so How can we expect that GOD will deal favorably with us, if we do not deal so with our fellow Christians Why do we call ourselves Christians, if we will not learn to run in this race This charitable interpretation. of what, we see, or hear, is one character which is, to distinguish us from Jews, Heathens, and Infidels if we want this mark, how shall CHRIST distinguish us from the goats

 

Who has made you judges of your neighbors Who opened a, window to you into their hearts Why do you usurp GOD’s authority. has he appointed a day in which he will judge’ the world, and will you prevent that judgment Are you ever likely to love your neighbor as yourselves, while you reject this Exercise And if you are resolved not to learn it, how will you be able to. appear at the great tribunal Have you forgotten, that Love is the root of all virtues Have not you heard, that this makes the soul beautiful and lovely in the eyes of Him that gave it Have you forgotten, that this is the bond that unites the soul to its Creator This is the gold of the sanctuary, without which we are naked, poor, and miserable. This makes a man like a living man; without this, religious, societies are no better than hells, and the inhabitants of convents no better than Devils. Put on sackcloth, tear your flesh, fast yourselves to death, he on the hard ground, walk in black, pray whole days together, —without this Love, you have not yet arrived at any true holiness.

 

THE PRAYER.

 

 O GOD, who art infinitely compassionate, Love itself, —and goodness itself: Ah! how selfish is my heart! To whom shall I complain, but to thee, who alone can heal me! You have balm, You have plasters for all sores, medicines for all diseases. How apt am I to think and speak ill of my neighbor! How does my blood boil, when either a real or an imaginary injury is offered to me!! O you GOD of Peace, you Father of Mercy, melt, melt this stubborn heart. How does is it to yield to thy injunctions! I am encompassed with all the rays of GOD’s love imaginable. You bearest with me, when I deserve punishment; you dealest not with me after my sins, neither rewardest me after mine iniquities. Even my best actions you might justly except against; but thy love covers a multitude of faults. How often do I provoke thee, and yet you shootest not thine arrows at me. I transgress thy laws; I affront thee; I am an unprofitable servant; yet you pitiest me, and dost not suffer thy displeasure to arise. In the midst of my follies you art kind; not because you approvest of them, but because you wouldest lead me to repentance. O let me think of this; and let me love my neighbor with a pure heart fervently. Spread thy wings over me. Form in me bowels of mercy. Banish from me all sourness of spirit. Let all bitterness and wrath die in me. Let all malice flee away from my soul; rid me of that ill nature which lodges in me. Let gentleness and meekness be welcome guests in my heart. Make me peaceable and tractable, easy to be entreated, full of good works, and ready to forgive. Let the love of the Lon") JESUS be my guide; and let me truly follow the LAMB whithersoever he goes. O JESUS, can I, after thy love to my soul, be unkind to others! Can I be churlish, morose, and ill natured, when I remember how you diedst for thy enemies! I believe you intercedest for me in heaven. What favorable constructions must I suppose are put upon my actions in that intercession! When SATAN accuses me in the presence of GOD, and has but too much reason for those accusations, you pleadest thy merits, thy wounds, and thy Father's love. Where my infirmities will bear excuse, you qualifiest them, and sufferest not the enemy to have his will of me. O let thy great example be ever before me! And when I would forget it, represent it in lively colors to my mind; that I may be thy disciple indeed, and, having lived in love here, may at last arrive at the Paradise of everlasting love. Amen.

 

THE TENTH EXERCISE.

 

Conscientiously and faithfully discharge the duties of your several relations, callings, and conditions.

 

 This Exercise is enjoined in Ephes. 6:1—5, 9; Col:3:18-22; 4:1; 1 Pet. 2:17,18; Tit. 2:2-4, 6, 9; Heb. aiii.17; 1 Tim 3:2, 3, 9, 12; and Rom. 13:1—7. Let a Christian's work be ever so hard, if he make not this conscientious discharge part of his work, he works as those that built the Tower of Babel; rolls SISIPHUS's stone; and, like subterraneous spirits that are to be seen in mines, with great labor and industry does nothing. I mean by " several relations, callings, and conditions," those of father and mother, parents and children, masters and servants, husbands and wives, tutors and scholars, magistrates and subjects, ministers and people, rich and poor, old men and young men, bond and free, noble and ignoble, tradesmen and gentlemen. If the Exercise commanded in tire text be universal, then certainly all these have their task; all these are bound to exercise themselves in the duties belonging to the relation or condition in which they stand. And,

 

 1. How do I exercise myself unto Godliness, as a Father or Mother of children, except I show them a good example; except I behave myself decently, gravely, soberly, and modestly before them, that they may learn nothing ill by my carriage; except I bring them up in the fear of GOD; talk to them of the odiousness of sin, and the beauty of holiness; instruct them in the ways of God; and pray with them, and for them; except I provide for them, not only for their bodies, but their souls too; except I admonish them in the LORD, reprove them for their faults, and correct them early for an indecent action or expression; except I oblige them to use reverence to their father and mother; except I instill conscientious principles into them, the principles of justice, honesty, goodness, meekness, patience, and giving every one their due; except I inquire into their devotion, whether, and how, they read, and pray, and hear; except I watch their actions, their eating, drinking, sleeping, working, writing, studying, and see whether they keep within bounds, or not; except I examine them, what progress they make in piety, whether they make conscience of secret duties, whether they are respectful and obedient to the Ministers of the word of GOD, whether they be attentive in hearing sermons, whether they delight in keeping the LORD’s Day holy, and what apprehensions they have of their spiritual and eternal condition, how they spend their time, and whether they apply themselves to those virtues of which they read and hear, whether they do not indulge themselves in pride, or lying, or envy, or hatred, or revengeful desires, whether they are tractable, or live up to the rules and precepts which I give them

 

 2. Then I exercise myself unto Godliness, as a Child, as a Son or Daughter, when I follow the good instructions of my Parents; when I obey them in every lawful thing; when I have an honest desire to please them, and a filial fear of their displeasure; when I do not lose my respect to them, though I am got out of their jurisdiction, nor deride them for their infirmities, but, like. the sons of NOAH, cover their nakedness with the cloak of charity; when I speak of them, and to them, with reverence; when I take their, admonition and correction kindly; when I seek to promote their credit and reputation; when I am guided by. their discretion and good example; when I neither marry, nor settle myself in the world, without their advice, and am governed by their direction more than by mine own determination; when I express my grateful sense of their kindness, and study how I may requite their paternal care and love; when I interpret all they do or say candidly; when I respect them, though they are poor, and bear the same love to them if they be sunk into a low condition, that I would have done if they had been advanced to the highest prosperity when in their lawful commands I show passive obedience, and, where I cannot obey them for conscience sake, suffer their anger, and the effects of it, patiently, without traducing, or exposing them to the scorn and laughter of men; when, like the RECHABITES, I obey them in things lawful, yet difficult, and suffer not the uneasiness or hardness of the task to discourage me from acting according to their prescriptions.

 

 3. How can that man be said to exercise himself unto Godliness, has a Master of a family, who is himself a slave to sin; who either drinks, or swears, or cheats, or lies; and who, instead of discouraging his servants from any of these sins, does rather entice them to these transgressions Who is regardless of his great Master in heaven, to whom ere long he must give an account of his stewardship Who cares not what qualifications his servants have, so that they will but do. his work; and is not at all displeased, if they privily slander their neighbors, or turn aside from the holy commandment delivered unto them Who either oppresses his servant with work and drudgery, or gives him' leave to waste much time in doing nothing Who allows his servants no time to perform their duty to their Maker, nor encourages them to prayers by his example and command Who gives them liberty to do what they please on the LORD’s Day, and is unconcerned if they neglect the public worship of GOD, or their private devotion Who takes no notice of their thrivings in grace; and cares not what he does in their presence, so that his passion and humor be gratified Who gives them unkind language; and, instead of reproving them with meekness for their faults, reviles them with bitterness Who does not give them things convenient for. their sustenance, and denies them the wages for which they serve him Who does not faithfully instruct his covenant servant in the art or trade he has promised to instruct him in, and has no tenderness, no compassion, to such persons in their distress and sickness Or who thinks much of giving them bread, when they cannot work, and of maintaining them when Providence has disabled them from doing their master's business

 

4. If I will exercise myself unto Godliness, as a Servant, I must be diligent, faithful, industrious, and careful in the work I am employed in; I must advance my master's interest, and manage his concerns, in his absence, with the same honesty that I would do if he were present; I must cheerfully run at his command, if not contrary to the will of GOD, and be ready to do the errand he sends me upon. I must not pick and choose my work, but do that which he thinks fit. I must not grumble at his order, nor be unwilling to go where he sends me. I must love him, as well as serve him; and honor the froward, as well as the gentle. I must not suffer any of his goods to be embezzled; nor waste the treasure he has committed to my charge. I must not misspend the hours he gives me for my work; nor dissemble with him in things that make for his advantage. I must be tender of his honor; and the secrets of the house I must not reveal to strangers. I must not discover his faults, without a lawful call. I must not let persons come into his house that would either wrong him, or do him mischief. I must stand up in his vindication, when he is abused; and take heed of exaggerating his errors, if they come to be public. I must not tell him a lie, if I have committed a fault, nor stand to justify or excuse my error. I must not answer again when I am child by him; and much less repay him with ill language, if his passion prompts him to speak more than otherwise he would have done. I must bear with his infirmities; and though he has his failings, yet do him service with fear and trembling. I must not despise him, because I am better born, nor speak dishonorably of him, because I understand more than he I must plead conscience, when he would have me do a thing that is displeasing to GOD; and humbly beg of him not to put me upon that which will be a torment to my spirit. I must endeavor to gain his love; and do sometimes more than he commands me, to testify my zeal to do my duty. I must listen to the good lessons he gives me from the word of GOD, and exhort my fellow servants to do the like. I must be kind to his children, and take care that I do not draw them into any thing that may be prejudicial, either to their souls or bodies.

 

 5. That man does not exercise himself unto Godliness, as a Husband, who loves not his wife without dissimulation; or who does not, as much as in him lies, promote her spiritual and everlasting welfare: Who does not care for dwelling with her; nor thinks it his duty to entreat the light of GOD’s countenance for her, or join in prayer with her: Who is intemperate in his wedlock; or thinks, that the strict alliance between him and her warrants any thing immodest, extravagant, and inordinate, and that no decorum is to be observed in that estate: Who has no care of her health, wealth, and credit, or loves her more for her money and beauty than her virtue: Who gives her reproachful language, and reproves her not with tenderness and compassion, if her errors deserve reprehension: Who does not instruct her, so far as he is able, or does not help her to bear the burden of the family: Who cares not what becomes of her, so himself can but enjoy health and prosperity; whose carriage to her is churlish, and whose expressions to her are dipped in gall: Who exposes her natural defects before company, and aggravates her neglects: Who instead of comforting her, slights her; and is so far from healing her wounds, that he does what he can to make them wider Who does not allow her convenient food and raiment and lets her want those necessary supplies, which the law of nations binds him to Who does not protect her when she is in danger: Who does not trust her with the affairs of the family, if she be able to manage them, or conceals from her the things which appertain to their common safety: Who goes beyond the bounds of the authority GOD has given him over her; and, instead of being her head, makes himself a tyrant, and her a slave: Who does not yield unto her reasonable requests, and by his good example encourage her to piety, gravity, charity, and discretion: Who despises her good counsel, and will be sooner persuaded by a stranger, than by her that lies in his bosom Or who takes it ill that she should obey God' more than him. Such a man does not exercise himself unto Godliness, but rather unto hardness of heart and impenitence.

 

 6. And indeed the same may be said of the woman, that does not discharge the duty of a Wife to a husband. If her religion shall deserve this name of exercising herself unto Godliness, her great care must be, according to the Apostle's rule, to "reverence her husband." After him must be her desire; and it must be her glory to submit to him in the fear of GOD. In her mind she must value him as the image and glory of the great Creator. To love him must become natural to her; and to tend him, though ever so weak or calamitous, must be one great part of her care. Her conversation must be. chaste; and the value she has for him must appear in her words and actions. She must fear him, as her master; and yet nothing must, cause that fear but affection: She must deny herself for him; and, in things indifferent, his will must be her rule. Her submission must be hearty; and it must not be any sinister respect, but conscience, that produces it. She must wave her privileges of birth and breeding; and honor him according to the Law of Him that joined, them. Her study must be to make his life comfortable; and she must contrive. soft expressions to engage his inclinations. Her language to him must. be mild and peaceable, and her behavior such as becomes a woman that, professes Godliness. Her conversation must be the same in his absence, that it is in his presence; and she must give him such demonstration of her kindness, that his heart may confide in, her. To get a meek and quiet spirit, must not be the least part of her prayer; and insolence and haughtiness of spirit she must shun as the pestilence.. She must be a stranger to brawling; and her words must be weighed in a balance. She must flee idleness; and contrive how to advance her husband's interest with honesty. She must encourage her, servants to their labor, and guide them by her eye. Her ears must be, open to her husband's counsel; and; she must not think much of his reproof. The entertainment she gives him must; be with a cheerful countenance; and crossness of humor must, be banished from her. If ought have provoked him, slip must study arts; to pacify him; and whatever heat she finds him she must study, how to allay the inflammation. His anger she must overcome, by meekness; and, if he be inclined to passion, take, the fittest opportunities to hush those tempests. In expenses she must move by his advice; and, the propriety being in Lim, consult him upon such occasions. His kindness to her must not make her usurp authority over him;; and the more he condescends to her, the more she must oblige him.

 

 7. If I mean to exercise myself unto Godliness as. a Minister of the Gospel, I must be more concerned for men's souls than for a maintenance; and I do little, if I do not study to advance the people's happiness.; I must not sew pillows under their elbows, nor flatter them with easy injunctions into ruin. I must not speak peace to them, when there, is none; nor tell them that they are in GOD’s favor, when their aversion from Gospelduties shows them reprobates. I must become an intercessor for them at the throne of grace; and be more than ordinarily importunate with GOD, to pour out upon them the SPIRIT of grace and supplication. My life must be holy; I must not tell them of one way, and go another; I must let them see that I am in good earnest when I preach to them, and that I do not give them a cast of my office only, when I fright them with damnation. They must see, that I myself am afraid of GOD’s judgments, and have deliberately chosen that seriousness, which I press upon them by a thousand arguments. I must inquire into their wants; and labor to suit my plaster to their wounds. I must give them warning, that they fall not into the snare of the Devil; and, if they be caught in it, see by what way I may extricate them from that danger. I must open my heart and bosom to them; and convince them that nothing is so pleasing to me, as to advance their spiritual interest. I must be instant in season, and out of season; and exhort, and rebuke, with all longsuffering and doctrine.’ The sins I reprove in them I must hate like poison; for in vain do I bid them abstain from the forbidden tree, if I stretch forth my hand to eat of it. I must visit them when they are sick; and make myself acquainted with their necessities. I must relieve the poor, so far as I am able; and, by my zeal and gentleness, win even upon those that hate me. I must comfort the weakhearted, and strengthen the feeble knees. I must meditate on the Scriptures, and make it my business to know the will of GOD. I must be able to resolve their doubts, and to confute such as creep in unawares to pervert their souls. I must learn to rule my own house well, that I may be able to prescribe good rules to others; and must not neglect the gift that is in me, but study how I may lay out myself for the pro. motion of God's glory.

 

 8. On the other side, if I would have my conscience bear me witness that I exercise myself unto Godliness, as a Hearer, I must be sure to obey them who have the rule over me; and count them worthy of double honor who labor in the word and doctrine. I must look upon them as ambassadors from GOD; and respect them as messengers of the LORD OF HOSTS. I must learn to see God in them; and must look farther than their outside, even to the commission which GOD has given them. I must not despise them, because they carry this treasure in earthen vessels; nor think the worse of them, because they are men of the same passions that I am. I must not contemn the whole function, because some wolves get in among the sheep; nor blaspheme the order, because there is a JUDAS in the college of JESUS. I must be kind to them for GOD’s sake; and remember that the cup of cold water which I give to them, I give to Him that sent them. I must not deny them maintenance; nor let them labor without encouragement. I must remember, that such laborers are worthy of their hire; and that they deserve so much the more, by how much their pains are of a sublimer nature. I must consult with them in my perplexities, and in my doubts be guided by their directions. I must have recourse to them when I he under strong temptations, and reveal my case to them, that they may know how to apply a remedy. I must ask seriously of them, what I must do to inherit eternal life; and. when I know it, must run and make haste to do it. I must consider that they watch for my soul; and make that an argument to express my love to them upon all occasions. I must not think any thing that is bestowed upon them as thrown away; but believe that it will, in some way or other, descend upon me in richer showers, I must not show myself froward, when they reprove; nor fall out with them, because they preach no doctrine that pleases my sensual appetite. I must so love them, as to stand up for them when they are traduced; and think it my duty to speak and act for them, to whom I am more beholden than to the nearest relations.

 

 9. I cannot exercise myself unto Godliness as a Magistrate, except I protect the innocent, and punish the guilty, I must be a terror to evildoers, and an encourager of those that do well. I must secure those that are committed to my care against dangers; and must not suffer cruel men to oppress them. I must seek their welfare, to the best of my power; and neglect no lawful means to advance their prosperity. 

 

 1O. If I mean to exercise myself unto Godliness as a Subject, I must look upon my Prince as Gob's Vicegerent, and stand in awe of that authority which the ALMIGHTY has stamped upon him. I must not speak evil of Dignities; nor report things abroad which are to my King's discredit. I must submit to his orders, when they contradict not the injunctions of the greater Lawgiver; and live peaceably under his government. I must not sow sedition among my neighbors; nor fill them with prejudice against their lawful Governor. I must suffer rather than resist; and be persuaded, that those who resist shall receive to themselves condemnation. I must cheerfully give him the tribute I owe him; and pay him that honor which the law of GOD and nature does allow him. I must not rashly censure his actions, because I do not apprehend the reason of them; and forbear judging of them, till I know the cause that moved him. I must not only have a due veneration for him in my heart, but must express it in my gestures too; and my outward behavior to him must show, that I look upon him as a mortal GOD. If he falls into any scandalous sins, I must not attempt to reform him by insurrection; but must address myself to that GOD in whose hands the hearts of princes are, and leave it to his power and goodness to make him a man after his own heart.

 

 11. The Master does not exercise himself unto Godliness, who does not train up the child, under his charge, in the way he is to go: Who does not season his mind with a form of sound words; and, whilst he infuses learning into him, teach him how to behave himself to GOD, and to his neighbor: Who does not break the stubborn youth by admonition, and just correction: Who does not check the first beginnings of sin in him; or lets the tares run on, till they choke the good seed sown there: Who does not teach him to stand in awe of his MAKER; or does not by his serious deportment show him how he may render himself beloved, and beneficial to mankind.

 

 12. If I am Rich, and mean to exercise myself unto Godliness, I must remember, that I am Gob's steward, and sent hither to disperse the blessings which he has bestowed upon me, among those whom he has made objects of my charity. I must not oppress the poor man, because he cannot hurt me; nor deny another man what is due to him, because he has no power to withstand me. I must make myself friends of the mammon of unrighteousness;, and so husband that estate which I have, as to providefor everlasting habitations. I must not think myself the better man for my riches; nor fancy that GOD will be more kind to me in the last day, because my enjoyments were greater here than those of my neighbors. I must mistrust my own prosperity, and look upon it as more dangerous’ than the greatest misery. I must walk circumspectly in may affluence; and take heed that my heart be not set on things which, before I am aware, will make themselves wings, and fly away. I must make the poor my pensioners, and lay up a good foundation against the time to come. I must be liberal and bountiful, as I expect that GOD should be munificent to me; and believe that I am unjust, if I do not, according to my ability, provide for CHRIST'S distressed members. I must learn to' be humble in the midst of my plenty; and the more blessings GOD heaps upon me, the more I must grow in grace and holiness. I must study how I may do good; and make it the great concern of my life so to deport myself in this condition, that I may inherit eternal life.

 

 As a Poor Man, I then exercise myself unto Godliness, when I am contented with the condition in which I am placed, and labor, in the sweat of my brow, to get mine own bread; when I go upon this principle, " He that will not work, neither shall he eat;" when I envy not the rich, and rejoice in having but food and raiment, as much as others do in a great inheritance; when I labor to be poor in spirit, and keep myself from repining and mistrusting Grin's Providence; when I am ambitious of the riches of grace, and thirst after nothing so much as the treasure which thieves cannot steal away; when the kingdom I seek is the kingdom of GOD, and his righteousness, and nothing engrosses my desires so much, as to be always abounding in the work of the LORD, forasmuch as I know that my labor is not in vain in the LORD.

 

 O Sirs, retire, and think of the reasonableness of this Exercise. O that we could make you see the necessity of it! O that it lay in my power to persuade you to it! But it is not eloquence that will do it; GOD’s SPIRIT must breathe upon you; and O that this blessed SPIRIT would blow upon you, and compel you to come in, and make you so sensible of the love of Go", that you might not be able to withstand its force! You would then see, how much those men are mistaken, who place all their religion in a few heartless prayers, and will not believe that GOD ever commanded this faithful discharge of the duties of their several relations and callings.

 

 We have innumerable examples of men, who even in this life have felt the burden of GOD’s anger, for their unfaithful discharge of these duties. How many fathers have groaned under a sense of neglect of their duty to their children How many children have smarted for the neglect of theirs to their parents How has God punished Princes, how has he visited subjects, for their carelessness of their mutual offices How many servants have complained that they have been undone, because their masters admonished them not How many masters have been ruined, because their servants remembered not what faithfulness, and what duties, GOD required at their hands And if GOD’s anger against these neglects be so heavy in this life, what will it be in the day of indignation The judgments which GOD sends upon men here, are but shadows of the future; emblems of greater plagues in another world; representations of more violent storms that are to follow. GOD punishes some only that the rest may take warning; and those whom he punishes, he punishes but gently,—to show that if these rods cannot soften men's hearts, they are but the forerunners of more dreadful scourges.

 

THE PRAYER.

 

 MOST glorious God! Who has fitted thy holy Laws to my wants and necessities, and, in commanding me, dost consult my advantage more' than thy profit; how am I bound to praise and magnify thy bounty! You have taught me how to behave myself in all conditions. As these are part of the blessings of thy righthand, so let my soul admire them above those of thy left. Whatever estate I am in, whatever relation, calling, or station, give me grace to adorn it with a suitable conversation. Teach me how to behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt you come unto me! O let me remember, that, in the calling in which you have placed me, you have called me to certain duties, of which you wilt take an account. O convince me that I am not called to idleness, but to labor in thy vineyard. I am backward to any thing that requires circumspection; but renew you a right spirit within me. Be you exalted, LORD, above the heavens, and the glory above all the earth. If you wilt but appear in my soul, every thing will yield; and every rebellious lust will bow to thy majesty. Nothing can resist thy omnipotence; and' whatever desire in me has been hitherto rebellious, will be flighted at thy presence, and retire, or become subject to thy power. O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve me; and my mouth shall sing of thy righteousness. O let me remember that every new relation brings a new obligation upon me; and that if I regard not that obligation, I am unfaithful to my Got. In every condition, in every relation, let me consider the duties incumbent upon me, and be zealous to discharge them. Let not the example of others tempt me to neglect them. O tell my soul, that it is better to have thy favor, than the applause of men; and teach me to prize it, that I may be content to leave all, in order to obtain it, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD. Amen.

 

THE ELEVENTH EXERCISE.

 

To resist all sorts of Temptations.

 

 This Exercise is peremptorily commanded in James 1:12, 13; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8, 9; Ephes. 5:15; and Heb. 12:4. The conquest of temptations makes the great difference between a true believer and a hypocrite; and there is not' a surer sign that a man is perishing, than his being does to encounter these enemies.

 

Temptations may come from friends, as well as from enemies and a father, or a mother, may be a tempter, as well as our greatest adversaries. Temptations may arise from ourselves, as well as from strangers; and our own bosoms may furnish us with fuel for sin, as much as outward objects. And indeed there are no temptations so dangerous, as those that come from within and the Devil himself could do us no hurt, but that our own hearts second his' fatal enterprise. Outward objects can only present themselves to our minds; but our minds make the first motion to transgression. He that resists his evil thoughts, resists the strongest rebels; and what can all other assaults signify, while the mind is guarded against invasion

 

 Of all the temptations of the DEVIL, there are none which he values so much, as those which are levelled either against our venturing on the Power of Godliness, or against continuing in Seriousness.

 

 1. Such as are levelled against our venturing the Power of Godliness. The DEVIL is content that we should play about the outsides of religion, in the antechamber to true piety: as long as he can keep us from the banqueting house, the banner whereof is love, he can bear with our little acts of worship. The inconsiderable services which proceed from custom, he does not value: and he is content that we should use a form of Godliness; being sensible that hypocrisy will damn us as soon as much more open debaucheries.

 

 2. Such as are levelled against our holding out in Seriousness. He knows to whom the crown is promised, even to him that is' faithful unto death; and has seen GOD set the diadem of righteousness on the heads of those that have continued with CHRIST JESUS in his temptations. He brows the Scripture, and is sensible, that the man who holds out to the last will certainly enjoy the delights of GOD’s bosom; and therefore to conquer such a man, who labors hard for salvation, and to stop him in his progress, he looks upon as his proudest victory Antiquity has expressed it by this fable. LUCIFER having sent out his Officers to fill the world with death and ruin, they all went on their several errands. Upon their' return, he demanded an account of their’ proceedings, what mischief they had done, and what plagues they had scattered. One of them, more forward than the rest, replied, that he had been a fortnight wandering about, and at last had overturned a fleet of ships at sea, so: that both men and goods were lost. The Prince of Darkness, enraged at his laziness, instead of a reward, gave him a hundred lashes, because he had done no more hurt in all that time. Another Spirit stood forth, and boasted that he had been for a month contriving how to set such a city on fire, and had at last effected it; and he also was severely punished for his idleness and neglect in accomplishing his design no sooner. At last came forth a third,' who had been forty years absent; and being asked how he had spent his time, he answered, " These forty years have I been tempting such a religious man to fornication, and 'have at last prevailed; and at this time he wallows in his sin." BELZEBUB immediately arose from his throne; caressed that fiend; and commended him, as having done a greater exploit, after forty years' travail, than the other by afflicting and consuming so many men, and ships, and houses, in a few days. The moral is this, That if he can make a sincere believer weary of his heavenly mindedness, and burning zeal for GOD's glory, he values that injury more, than if he tempted a thousand reprobates to greater impieties.—Therefore the holier men are, the more they may expect the Devil's assaults; and the richer their souls are in faith and good works, the more they may look for the rage of this roaring lion.

 

 To resist these two grand temptations is the intent of this Exercise; which consists, 1. In arming ourselves with the word of Goo. 2. In praying for help from above, against such assaults. 3. In getting others to pray for us, and to counsel us. 4. In being more cautious for the future, in case the temptation prevail.

 

1. In arming ourselves with the Word of God. With this sword CHRIST cut the Devil's temptations asunder; with this shield the Apostles weathered his fiercest tempest; with this helmet the saints of old blunted his sharpest arrows; and he that has no skill at this weapon must resist but weakly, will fight but with feeble hands, and at the best cannot hold out long.

 

 2. In praying against temptation. This has in all ages been counted a part of this exercise; and he that considers with what force temptations come upon us sometimes, will believe it. necessary to call in the Divine Arm for our assistance. This was the command of Him, who was tempted in all things, as we ourselves, yet without sin: (Matt. 26:41:) and what is impossible with men is easily effected by Him whose power cannot by searching be found out. Nothing can be difficult to Omnipotence; and as dreadful as some temptations seem, if the help of GOD's SPIRIT be called down by fervent prayer, they melt as wax before the fire.—In these prayers, the chief things to be begged of GOD are power and courage to overcome the temptation, not freedom from all temptations. For the most part, it is safer to pray that the temptation may not overcome us, than that it may totally leave us. For temptations make us watchful, help to polish our souls, and advance our assurance of salvation.

 

 3. In getting others to pray for us. At many times GOD wisely does not grant the blessing which we pray for, on purpose that we may get others to join with us in our prayers. So did ST. PAUL, as we read in 2 Thess. 3:1, 2, and in 2 Cor. 1:11. Joint forces do storm. heaven; and when prayers mount up, as DAVID went into the temple with the multitude that keeps holyday, the ALMIGHTY bows down his ear, and sends them away with a blessing. But then he who desires a religious man to pray for him, that GOD would give him grace to conquer, must join his own earnest endeavors with that good man's prayer; else h does but mock GOD, and the holy man. too. This destring others to pray for us, when assaulted by strong temptations, will give us opportunity to discover ourselves to the charitable man, whose assistance in prayer we desire; and will help us to defeat that stratagem' of the Devil, whereby he keeps us from revealing the thoughts of our hearts, and the temptations we he under, to those who are able, by their advice and counsel, to relieve us. How many souls have been restored to joy again, when they have broken through this snare,_ and opened to some faithful Minister that grief, which before lay heavy, and was ready to sink them into destruction.

 

 4. In rising again, and being more cautious for the future, in case a temptation prevail. By this rising again, I do not mean, going round in a circle of repenting and sinning, and sinning and repenting; but if, after long and strong opposition, we fall against our wills, we must not he still one moment in the sin, but get up with speed, and put on greater resolution, and double our diligence, that we may not be surprised again.

 

 Meantime, remember the torments of another world; and this will keep thee from fainting under all thy crosses and miseries here. Rejoice, because GOD Both visit thee; and have ever that memorable saying in thy mouth, "The LORD has chastened and corrected me sore, but has not given me over unto death." If you art iron, this fire will burn away thy rust. If you art a saint, and sufferest such things, from these great conquests you wilt be promoted to greater dignities in heaven. If you art gold, this furnace will make thee finer. Is SATAN's angel given thee to buffet thee Rejoice to think, whom you art like; for this was ST. PAUL'S affliction, and ST PAUL'S glory will fall to thy share.

 

THE PRAYER.

 

 O LORD of Hosts, who is like unto thee! You rulest the raging of the sea; and when the waves thereof arise, you stillest them. You seest what temptations I am encompassed with, what enemies surround me, and how I am beset with dangers. Extend thy mercy to me, and send from above, and take me. Deliver me from my strong enemy, and from them which hate me. Leave me not to the rage of temptation; neither give me up to the will of those that persecute my soul. I will arise, O God'', and fight the good fight. Teach me what temptations are, and give notice to my soul when I am in danger. I know, O LORD, that all places, callings, and employments, bring. temptations with them! How diligent, how watchful ought I to be, that mine enemy rejoice not over me. Yet I will not be afraid; because if You art with me, I may defy all that are against my soul to destroy it: for You, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; and with thy favor you wilt compass him as with a shield. Up, LoRD, and pluck thy hand out of thy bosom. Enable me to put on the whole armor of Gore O GOD, I will cry day and night unto thee; give me wisdom and resolution to secure thy favor. I cannot secure it, except I hate the works of them that hate Thee, and am grieved with those that rise up against Thee. O LORD, mine own flesh, and the world, and messengers from hell, are confederate against Thee. O teach my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. My rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my GOD, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation; cover you my head in the day of battle. Let mine eye see my desire on the temptations which annoy me. Hear my voice out of thy temple, and let my cry come before Thee, even into thine ears. Give me power to climb thy holy hill. When I faint, LORD, support me; when I grow weary, furnish me with fresh motives to hold on; when I would go back, persuade me to press toward the mark; when I fall, let thy Angels bear me up in their hands. O You that have done great things for me, strengthen my faith, that I may endure temptation, and, being tried, may receive the crown of righteousness, which you have promised to them that love thee, through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.

 

THE TWELFTH EXERCISE.

 

To stand in awe of GOD, even when we are alone, and no creature sees us.

 

 This Exercise is commanded in Psalm cxxxix. 1.5; 4:4; 10:12, 14; and fhb. 4:13. One would think, that the bare belief of the being of Go]) would be a sufficient argument to any man to fear Him, even when he is alone, and to behave himself with that reverence and decency which he would use, were the greatest monarch of this world present with him. But, alas! The generality of men dare do that in private, when none but God and they are together, which they would be afraid to do before the meanest slave. They dare to think that before GOD, which they would tremble to utter before men; and harbor things in their hearts in the sight of the ALMIGHTY, which they would not, for a world, that men should know.

 

 A Christian is a man of another temper, and exercises himself unto Godliness, when he is alone, as well as when he converses with his neighbors. Nay, he is more industrious to please his kind and merciful Master, when retired from the sight of men, than he ordinarily is when the world looks upon him. He is afraid of sin, though there be no Magistrate near to overawe him; and durst not commit any thing that is offensive to GOD, or injurious to his neighbor, were he in a desert or a den. He is sensible that no place can escape an allseeing eye; and that there is no corner so secret but the Father of Lights shines into it. He remembers that GOD will call him to an account for secret sins, as well as for notorious offences; and therefor;; has the same veneration for his holiness, when all men are gone from him, as he has when he is surrounded with society. He lives in the sense of GOD’s Omnipresence; and whether he is on a hill, or in the valley, Go]) is the same to him. The place, he knows, snakes no variation in GOD’s purity; and wherever the man is, GOD cannot be far from him. He pities, or smiles, at the sinner who flatters himself that GOD sees him not, because he lurks in a cave; and nothing appears so absurd to him, as to fancy that he who made the eye should not pierce into the remotest corner.

 

 Behold, Christian, when you art alone, that God is with thee, and in thee, and stands by thee, before whom all Angels veil their faces; at whose presence Devils tremble, and who fills heaven and earth with his glory. That GOD is with thee, who is altogether lovely; the centre of thy happiness, before whom all nations are as grasshoppers, as the small dust of the balance, and as a drop at the bottom of a bucket;" who by his providence maintains thy soul in life, charges the Devil not to drag thee into hell, commands the powers of darkness not to molest thee or murder thee, takes care of thyself, thy wife, and thy children, and watches day and night over all that you hast. He preserves thy house from being burned, thy children from being drowned, thy cattle from rotting, thy barns from being consumed by lightning. He commands, and you takest thy rest; speaks the word, and no danger must come nigh thee; keeps thee as the apple of his eye, and bids. his Angels to carry thee in their hands. This God—this immense, this infinite, this bountiful, this gracious, this munificent Being,—is with thee, and about thee, every where; especially when you art by thyself, for then there is none with thee but He. And wilt not you be conscientious in His presence

 

 Was ever ingratitude like this The most ungrateful slave, however he rails against his benefactor behind his back, yet is afraid to do it in his presence. And will you revile God to his face What is your sinning against him, but reviling him What is your acting contrary to his will, but abusing him And if he be in the room with you, and looks you in the face when you do so, do not you reproach him to his face And dare you do that to Him, which you dare not do to a man of greater power than you Must you sin, because He does not punish; or transgress his laws, because by his mercies He would oblige you to repentance Will you slight Him, because He is kind; or undervalue Him, because He caresses you to happiness

 

 Sinner, did the LORD JESUS appear to thee in a visible shape, while you art alone in thy closet, wouldest not you behave thyself humbly, modestly, and seriously, and suit thy thoughts and actions to the presence of so glorious a Being Why, CHRIST'S Divinity is with thee now; and cannot his Divinity have the same influence upon thy spirit that his Humanity would have Is not his Divine above his Human Nature; and is not the Deity more excellent than the most glorious image or representation

 

 Inconsiderate man! If you art minded to offend GOD, get curtains that can hide thee from his sight; for if He see, what madness is it to conspire against Him, before Him Go, get where GOD sees not, and then do what you wilt! But now, GOD stands with infinite ears, and eyes, and understanding, about thee; and with as strong application of spirit, as if he left the contemplation of himself, to pierce thee with all his beams. And for Him to sea thy disloyalties is a greater shame, than if they were represented on all the theatres of the world!

 

 "Fear the LORD, all ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him." The man who fears Him, from a sense of his omnipresence, can lack nothing; for he can lack no strength to arrive at the highest degree of holiness. This sense will call him away from all absurd and indecent actions; it will not suffer him to fall into sin; and, like the hands of Angels, it will preserve his foot from running against a stone. As a large and spreading oak, deeply rooted in the earth, mocks the rage of winds; so a soul, in whom this. sense is fixed, can sing securely under all outrages. " My flesh trembles for fear of thee: " so we read in Psalm exix. 12O. The Septuagint renders it, "Fix, or nail, my flesh, with thy fear;" because the Hebrew word signifies both: And the word thus taken is very emphatical; for as the man, whose hands and feet, and body, are nailed to a tree, can stir no where; so he that lives in a mighty sense of the ALMIGHTY's presence, dares not stir from the straight way.

 

THE PRAYER.

 

 O LORD, you have searched me, and known me: you knows my downsitting and mine uprising; you understand my thoughts afar off; you compassest my path, and my lyingdown, and art acquainted with all my ways. I beseech thee overawe me with thy presence. O that you wert in all my thoughts! O how sweet, how delightful, how glorious art You l Could I always think of Thee, how poor would the world, and all things in it, seem in mine eyes! Did I look upon Thee more, I should be so delighted with thy beauty, that sin would be loathsome to me. I sin against thee, because I lose the sight of thee. The eye of my understanding was given to me on purpose to look upon Thee! O let me use it to that end! When I am does to look upon thee, LORD, press you into my thoughts, so that I may not be able to shake off thy presence. If I see thee, I shall not dare to offend thee: Who would offend so dear a friend, if he look upon him t When any sin would insinuate into my affections, O call me, and say, "Thy GOD is here;" and that name will withhold me from those crooked ways. Henceforward be you ever with me. Let no base objects intervene between my sight and thy glorious self; or if they do, help metolook off, and to return to my centre. Make strong impressions of thy omniscience and omnipresence upon my heart; that no sensual object, no pleasing temptation, no deceit, no flattery, may rob me of my integrity. At the brightness of thy presence, let all mine enemies vanish; and be you my conqueror, my triumph, my beauty, and my glory, through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. Amen.

 

THE THIRTEENTH EXERCISE.

 

To do all things to GOD’s Glory.

 

 This Exercise is commanded in 1 Cor. 10:31; Colos. 3:17; Ephes. 5:2O; and Thess. 5:18. It consists, 1. In giving thanks for every blessing we enjoy. 2. In doing all things, whether civil or religious, with an intent to promote GOD’s glory. 

 

 1. In giving thanks for every blessing we enjoy. He that is not sensible of the great necessity of this Exercise hash never heard of what MOSES, DAVID, ST. PAUL, and the whole army of saints, have done; and he that knows not what it means, has certainly forgotten the end of his coming into the'world. Not to give GOD thanks for the blessings we possess, is to be a beast, nay, worse than a beast; for the very dragons praise GOD in their kind. See Psalm cxlviii. 7. And yet to thank him without consideration of what we do, adds nothing to our happiness. To give Go n thanks, requires the attention of the mind; and the man that praises Him must seriously break forth into astonishment at his goodness. Every blessing must lift up my heart to heaven; and every mercy I receive must make my soul adore the hand that sent it. He that in his blessings reflects only on the second causes, whereby they were procured, robs GOD of his honor; and to ascribe any mercy to mine own wisdom, or industry, ox friends, is no less than sacrilege. I must see GOD in every blessing, and take notice of his gracious Providence in the dispensation. I must not feed on it as beasts upon grass, without regard to Him that made it grow; and indeed, I cannot put a greater affront in this case upon the ALMIGHTY, than by not considering the operations of his hands. Every blessing has the stamp of GOD upon it; it bears his image and superscription; and therefore it is injurious not to give to GOD the things that are God's.

 

 But, 2. The greater part of the Exercise is yet behind; and that is, To do all things, whether civil or religious, with an intent to promote GOD’s glory. Even many of those that seem to do more than others, are defective in this duty. I must preach, and pray, and sing psalms, to GOD’s glory; and drink, and eat, and he down, and sleep, and visit, and discourse, and follow the works of my lawful calling, to GOD’s glory. When I eat and drink, I must not do it to please my appetite, but to be more serviceable to my Master in heaven. When I visit, I must have a design of edification in it. When I am going to take my rest, it must not be with an intent merely to refresh my body, but chiefly with an intent to be the better able to do my Master's work. When I enter upon the works of my calling, my design must be to please GOD, and to obey his will; not to provide for the ease and satisfaction of my flesh. When I arise in the morning, I must rise with an intent to spend that day for eternity; and whatever I do, I must do it to please GOD, not to please myself. But, above all, my religious duties must have no other design, but that Gory may be glorified by them; and that his name maybe advanced, and his honor spread, must be the end of all my alms and supplications. CHRIST'S interest must be my interest; and I am no complete Christian, till Gob becomes all in all to me. To be a favorite of Heaven, this must be my motto, " To me to live is CHRIST:" and I must not only say so, but say it with such seriousness, that I may be able to call GOD to witness that it is so.

 

 This is what CHRIST means, by bidding. us take care, that our eye be single. It must aim at one thing only, viz. GOD’s glory. If it looks upon more objects at once, it confounds itself. There cannot be a nobler mark than this; and there is nothing more proper for our souls than this employment. This is to be, with JESUS, about our Father's business, and to mind the end for which we came into the world. This is to conform to GOD, and to be workers together with him in the enlargement of his kingdom. This is what we pray for when we say, a Thy kingdom come;" and we then live according to our prayer, when the advancement of that kingdom is our constant endeavor. There can be no greater commendation, than that we seek to bring all back again to the fountain from which they had their being.

 

This if to make religion the darling of our souls; and he answers the great design of his Maker, who takes care that GOD may be in all his thoughts. He that does so, shows that he delights in GOD, and that GOD has engrossed his joy. Then delight in GOD is come to a just pitch, when the soul is thus eager to advance GOD’s glory; and then the mind does truly taste how sweet and gracious the LORD is, when GOD’s honor becomes an ingredient of all his designs and purposes.

 

THE PRAYER

 

 O GOD, who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders! Thy glory is the end of all created beings. You art decked with beauty and glory; glorious is thy name; and to glorify thee is not only our duty, but our interest too. O let my heart be touched with a sense of thy glory. Let me admire the glory of thy kingdom. If you wouldest vouchsafe to display thy glory in my benighted soul, how should I despise this miserable world! How should I scorn the lust of the eye, and the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life! I have talked of thy glory; but O how little have I aimed at it in my actions! What base ends have I had in my services! O Father of Mercy, purify my intentions, and rectify my designs. Give me a right aim in all things. I am sent into the world to advance thy glory: O let it not be said that I sought mine own glory! How great is thy goodness, that you wilt employ so wretched a creature in promoting thy glory, who can live without me, and be happy and glorious without me! O glorify my soul, that I may glorify thee! In all the blessings, in all the mercies I enjoy, let me give thee all the glory. What have I, that I have not received Why then should I glory, as if I had not received it O let me study how I may do good in my generation. Let the SPIRIT of Glory and of CHRIST rest upon me! O Father of Glory, let me see what is the glory of thy inheritance. Open you my lips, O LORD, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. Guide me by thy counsel here, and hereafter receive me into glory. O that this heart of mine were more spiritualized. LORD, speak the word, and deliver me from myself. Assure me that the degrees of my future glory will be proportioned to the degrees in which I advance thy glory here. O let me abound in good works; and let doing good be my great delight, forasmuch as I know that my labor is not in vain in the Loin). You have promised it; and you wilt do it. I believe; Lord, help mine unbelief, through JESUS CHRIST OUT LORD. Amen.

 

THE FOURTEENTH EXERCISE.

 

To stir up, and exercise our graces, as zee have occasion; and to grow stronger in the grace of GOD.

 

 This Exercise is commanded in 2 Tim. 1:6; 2 Pet. 1:5—8; 3:13; 1 Thess. 3:12; and 4:1. By this Exercise I do not only mean, that when we are tempted to any sin, we should practice the contrary virtue; but that we should become eminent in those virtues, the seeds whereof he scattered in our souls.

 

 My Faith must not only engage me to praying and hearing; but must raise my soul to a transcendent love of the Law of GOD, to an insatiable hungering and thirsting after Him, to a. mighty delight in his presence, to a sacred grief in his absence, and to resolutions to seal the Truth of GOD with my own blood.

 

 My Hope must force me to repose all my concerns on his holy Providence; make me pray with fervor, and incessantly; and lead me on to trust Him in most desperate plunges, making me ashamed to think that a patient should trust his health with a physician, and that I should not trust myself to the conduct of Him who has done all things well, who defends all creatures, even to the snail, and the least root of grass, and who showers down blessings even on his enemies, and therefore cannot possibly be supposed to forsake those who hope in him. 

 

 My Patience must not only extend to such wrongs, as do not blemish much either my fortune or reputation; but I must learn to bear greater blows, even the censures of good men. Yea, I must no longer call afflictions miseries, but donatives of mercy, gifts that come from my dearest friend, GOD, who means to conduct me to my happiness. 1: must learn, as I am a Christian, not to be rich and pompous, and take my pleasure in the world; (GOD need not have shed tears and blood, and given precepts, for this; but to bear the cross, and to become conformable to the sufferings of JESUS. In a word, I must learn to fear nothing so much, as that GOD will give over afflicting me.

 

 My Love to GOD must teach me to embrace mean and painful things for GOD; to bear inconvenience in duties with patience; to be undiscouraged in successless labors; to root out vice, and plant virtue, in all that depend upon me. My Love must be so exercised, till GOD becomes the life of my soul, and the light of mine eyes, and till I can say, a Lo an, here I am, send me; give me grace to do what you dost command, and then command what you wilt. I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine." O, my love, my life, my desire, my delight, my riches, my treasure, my all, my happiness, my hope, my comfort, my beginning, my end,—too late have I known thee, too late have I loved thee; O that I had loved thee sooner!

 

 My Charity to my neighbor is but in it an infancy, while I am only respectful to him without prejudicing myself but it must be exercised, till it grows large and diffusive; it must extend to his soul, as well as to his body; and teach me to be tender of his credit, compassionate in his calamities, and hopeful in his distress. It must constrain me to rejoice at his prosperity, to admonish him to holiness, to encourage him to good works, and to forgive him, even as I hope to be forgiven in the day of our LORD JESUS.

 

 Then I exercise all these graces, when I work them into greater solidity; when of feeble, I make them lusty and vigorous, and of fickle and uncertain, fixed, constant, and immoveable, until I come to abound in the work of the LORD JESUS: And into this strength and glory they may be wrought by the assistance of GOD’s free and generous SPIRIT, who is nigh unto them that call upon him; unto all such as call upon him in truth.

 

 Of the necessity of this Exercise none can doubt, who does but take pains to read over the several Parables of the Gospel. All the exhortations, all the admonitions, all the counsels, in Scripture, to steadfastness, and abounding; and increasing, and going on to perfection, do with one mouth, and with one voice, proclaim the necessity of this Exercise.

 

THE PRAYER.

 

 O YOU who art a strong tower to all them that run unto thee: Take care of my immortal soul! If you wilt charge thyself with her welfare, I shall be safe. I have been very slothful hitherto. I have lost much time, many opportunities, many advantages of spiritual life. I know that I must grow onto a perfect man in CHRIST JESUS. You dost not allow me to stand still. O purify me from all sin. LORD JESUS! give me thy SPIRIT, that I may be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding; and, for the glory set before me, may be content to do and suffer cheerfully whatever you shall think fit to charge me with. Come, Lord! make a reformation in this poor, blind, distressed, and miserable soul; my faith is weak, my hope is weak, my love is weak, my charity is weak. One word of thy mouth would put vigor and life into me. The same word that made the sun shine out in the first creation, would make my grace bright; and that sentence, a Let there be light," spoken to my soul, would change the dark chaos into a globe of light. O make goodness habitual to my soul. O that it might be an everlasting inhabitant in me! O that my soul might become its proper seat, from which it might never depart! Ah! how inconstant is my zeal! Hot I am today, and cold tomorrow. Sometimes I seem to lay force on the everlasting kingdom; a little while after I fall in love again with the world. O destroy this weed of inconstancy in my garden. All this comes from the weakness of my virtues. Hence it is, that I am not the same every where; and that I, who am bold in one place to stand up for thy glory, am a coward in another. Where is thy mighty arm; O LORD; where are thy bowels Fill my languishing soul with strength and wisdom from above, that I may increase and abound more and more in love. Perfect what you have begun in me. Let meekness, and humility, and all the graces of the HOLY GHOST, become natural to me.

 

O that they were incorporated with my temper! O that they were so riveted into my soul, that I might not be able to act contrary to them! O that I might find as great a reluctancy, when I am tempted to neglect them, as formerly I found when thy SPIRIT commanded me to perform them! O into how sweet a frame do these graces put the soul! Blessed JESUS, be not tired of taking pains with this miserable soul! You have been wonderfully kind to me; O be not weary of being farther gracious and favorable! O let me find, by blessed experience, that, I grow in grace, that every thing in thy service becomes more easy, and that what formerly was a burden to me, is now pure delight to my soul. O • GOD, gild my soul once more with thy radiant beams, and establish my heart unblameable in holiness unto the coming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Amen.

 

THE FIFTEENTH EXERCISE.

 

Every night, before you go to bed, call yourself to an account for the actions of the day;

 

and examine your heart and life, how you have discharged your duty towards God, and towards man.

 

 This Exercise is commanded in Psalm 4:4; 2 Car. 13:5; and Jer. 8:6. It is the life of all the rest; and the grand reason why men make no greater progress in goodness is because they do not study and search their own lives and actions. How should we know what good we ought to do, except we examine what evil we commit

 

 No man can be a good man, that neglects this Exercise. For every good man must be cautious of offending GOD; but how can any man be cautious of offending him, that does not search and see what it is that does offend him, and whether his own actions be not the things that displease him Nothing will make a man more cautious, than this frequent calling of himself to an account; and since every rational person, who chooses the end, must necessarily choose also the means which lead to that end, it will unavoidably follow, that he who is a good man, and cautious of offending GOD, cannot but resolve upon this selfexamination, as the great means to arrive at that cautiousness.

 

 Men to whom the word of GOD, never came, have seen the necessity of this Exercise,' and thought they could not be men without it; and can we be Christians without it It was one of the canons of the Pythagorean Discipline, to call to mind what they had been doing in the day. And how like a Christian does SENECA speak, when he tells his friend NOVATUS, "the heart must every day be called to an account." So did the brave SEXTUS, before he composed himself to sleep. When daylight was shut in, he asked his heart, " What disease, what distemper of nature have you cured What sin have you withstood Wherein art you better "—Wrath and anger will cool, if thus they be called to the bar every day. What can be more pleasant, than thus to explore the actions of the whole day How soft must that rest be, which succeeds that examination! How sweet, how free, how easy must it be, when the soul is either commended or admonished; and a man is his own judge, and turns critic upon his own life This power I use; and every day I have pleadings in my soul, when the candles are taken away, and my wife, knowing my custom, has left me to myself. I dive into the whole day, and measure my words and actions over again. I hide nothing from myself; I pass by nothing that I have said or done; for why should I be afraid of mine own errors, when I can say to my heart, "Take heed; do so no more; I forgive thee at this time."

 

This Exercise appears to me so necessary, that I cannot forbear giving you what directions I can for the faithful performance of it.

 

 1. Let it not be done slightly, or superficially, as careless servants sweep a room, leaving half of the rubbish behind them. Some Christians there are, who being does to be miserable hereafter, and sensible that CHRIST must be obeyed in every thing, will force themselves to do any thing which they hear is their duty; but they do not properly perform the duty, but only something like it, in order that their hearts may not smite them for the total omission.—He who calls himself to an account for the sins he has committed, and not for the neglects he has been guilty of, Both the work by halves. And he who spends only a few thoughts upon his actions, and presently interrupts the task again with some other business, or who takes a careless survey of his behavior, and mingles thoughts of the world, or of sensual pleasures, with those contemplations of himself, shows that he has no desire, no appetite to this spiritual food, that the world does yet engross his desires and affections, and that he does not think heaven worth taking by violence.

 

 2. Go about it willingly and cheerfully; not like men that seem angry with GOD, for laying such a yoke upon the neck of his disciples. I do not deny but that the Devil and our own lusts will make objections against it; pleading that it is not necessary, that we must mind the works of our calling, and that sleep will oppress us, if we go about this work at night, &c. The Devil did never yet let any man go quietly to heaven; and therefore such impediments he will certainly throw in any man's way, who has serious resolutions not to neglect it. But these objections must be courageously answered, vigorously resisted, and manfully opposed; for the Strong Man will not leave the house, except you throw him out by force. He that is afraid of discomposing his soft lusts and passions, can do no good here; and whatever unwillingness may steal upon us in this Exercise, our business must be to strive, and pray, and labor hard against it, and to resolve to cross it, whatever it cost us. Suggestions, that would make us unwilling to venture, must not be dandled, courted, or flattered, but must be beaten off with a strong hand.

 

 3. Let it be done with an intent to be better. Whatever we do in religion, this must be our end. He that examines himself at night in course, or makes a formality of it, and has no real intent to leave, and watch against, the sins and neglects which upon examination he finds in himself, or to become more serious, beats the air; and, what is worse, mocks the ALMIGHTY, and takes his Covenant in his mouth, while he hates to be reformed.

 

 4. Let it be done with some aggravation of the defects and errors of your lives, which you detect by examination. The bare discovery of our neglects, or defects, will signify little, except they be represented to our minds in such black characters, as shall work a detestation of them. Being drawn in their native colours, and their offences heightened from circumstances, and the defects compared with the light and knowledge we have, with the encouragements, motives, and arguments which Got. is pleased to give is, with the various opportunities we enjoy, with the parts, gifts, and abilities which the ALMIGHTY has bestowed upon us, they will look more dreadful, and consequently the sight will make deeper impressions upon us. On the other side, when the influences, assistances, strength, and power against any sin or temptation, or any other mercy, which we have received in the daytime, are heightened, and made more lively, by considering our vileness, unworthiness, and wretchedness, and how undeserved these blessings are, the heart will be more impressed by them, engaged to a more fervent love of GOD, and urged to run with greater alacrity in the way of his commandments.

 

 5. Those that have families should by all means exhort their Children and Servants to this Exercise;—such, I mean, as are capable of it. And they are capable of it sooner than we are aware. This is certainly part of that “walking within our houses with a perfect heart," which DAVID makes the qualification of a good housekeeper. (Psal. ci. 2.) Goodness is ever communicative; and 1;Io man loves GOD truly, who does not desire that others should love Him as well as. himself.—If this communing with our own hearts be profitable to our own souls, why should it not be so to the souls committed to our trust If we think it necessary to our salvation, shall we think that those under our charge may find out another way to heaven If we look upon it as a preservative to guard us against sin, shall we leave those, whose souls, as well as bodies, we are to provide for, to secure themselves against sin as well as they can These are absurdities of which a Christian must not be guilty, except such Christians as the Angel of the Church of Sardis, who " had a name that he lived, but was dead."

 

 A sense of the Necessity of this Exercise will soon dictate Methods to a soul that is solicitous concerning it. Be it in what Method it will, if it do but produce the effects it should do, it is acceptable to GOD. Nor is it necessary that this Exercise must necessarily be performed at night. He that finds himself fittest and freshest for it in the morning, may call himself to an account for yesterday's actions at that time, and expect the same advantage by it. Some Christians are so watchful and jealous over their thoughts, and words, and actions, and desires, that this self examination is their constant attendant, wherever they go; and they have got such a habit of it, that whenever they think, or speak, or act, they immediately bring all to this touchstone, and weigh it in this balance. They have a scheme of the will and precepts of GOD in their minds; and if any action of theirs do in the least clash with Go D's will, their hearts presently smite them; they are presently aware of it; and they cry, " LORD, be merciful unto me a sinner! "

 

 That common argument which’ men allege as a discouragement from this Exercise, I must use as a powerful’ motive to oblige them to such selfexamination. " The Devil hinders them, and dissuades them from it," they cry. But because he does dissuade you, therefore you have reason more vigorously to apply yourselves to this Exercise. For he would fright you from it, because he sees that it will certainly make you leave his kingdom. His business is to ruin souls, as ours is to save them. And there must needs be something more than ordinary in this duty, because he throws in so many impediments, to put a stop to this advantageous Exercise. Happy is the man, who is not afraid of judging himself; who can look into this glass, and is not ashamed to see his own deformity, nor to behold what manner of man he is. This is the man of whom the Son of MAN will not be ashamed before GOD and his holy Angels. He that loves to look upon himself; shall see and taste how sweet and gracious the LORD) is. O how much safer is it to let our children, (I mean our thoughts, and words, and actions,) pass through this fire now, than to leave ourselves altogether to the judgment of GOD in the last day By being our own judges. now, we may prevent the severity of the Judge of quick and dead in that day. By judging ourselves every day, the strength of our souls is renewed;; our minds get new light, our affections new encouragements, our hearts new motives, and our inward man new arguments to shake off the clogs of sin, and of a deceitful world. How cheerfully will the man, who now sits as judge upon his own actions, be able to present himself before that dread tribunal. His heart will not suggest to hint such fears and terrors as the man will find, who has not thought this Exercise worth his care. He will be able to look upon CHRIST as his friend, as his advocate, as his intercessor, as his Mediator, that will stand between him and GOD’s anger: His conscience will. bid him take courage, and lift up his eyes with joy, because his redemption draws nigh. This must needs be so for we are told by the Apostle, that "If we would judge ourselves we should not be judged of the LORD." (1 Cor. 11:31.) To judge ourselves, is to walk after the SPIRIT, and to mind the things of the SPIRIT; and we know that " there is no condemnation to them that are in CHRIST JESUS, who walk not after the flesh, but after the SPIRIT." (Rom. 8:1.)’When thus we call ourselves to an account, we act like the children of GOD, —like, children, that are afraid of offending their heavenly Father; and if children, then heirs, heirs of GOD, and join theirs with CHRIST.

 

 And these are the constant, daily, and standing Exercises to which all who name the name of CHRIST must necessarily apply themselves, if they will not rest in a form of Godliness, and delude their own souls. Christianity is no idle, calling; and they that stroke themselves for being Christians, and sit with folded arms, and yawn and stretch themselves upon their couches, have learned their divinity of the Devil. WORK HARD, is the Christian Motto; and nothing implies a greater contradiction than Idleness and Christianity. Shall any man talk of ease and softness, who in his baptism has devoted himself to a continual warfare, and engaged himself to fight under the banner of JESUS The time of rest is to come; the present time is designed for labor and trouble. A Christian must not look for rest here; GOD has promised him no such thing, till he comes to Heaven. Nothing in nature is idle; and shall a Christian be the only idle thing in the world

 

I know there is no man but finds some business or other, to divert his thoughts; but, in vain, Sirs, do you talk of business, while the business of your souls lies at sixes and sevens. No worldly employment deserves the name of business, in comparison of this, concerning which we speak. These Exercises are the business for which we come into the world; and he is idle, that does not work the work of God. Did ever any man hire a day laborer, to see him only eat lustily, or walk up and down in the house with his hands in his pockets And can we be so unreasonable as to think that CHRIST hires us to take our pleasure here, when he has so much work for us to do As our worldly business must be followed with industry and care, for the support of ourselves and families, so, in the midst of that, our great Master's work may be carried on; and in the very works of our calling, his will must be so eyed and minded, that, when that and our business come to clash, our business must give way to the other. And this is to spend the greatest part of our time in his service, when, not only in our set devotions, but in the very works of our calling, we make his will a lantern to our feet.

 

 These Exercises will make you capable of being admitted to a friendship with the infinite Majesty of Heaven. " The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him," says the man that had found it by experience. (Psal. 25:14.) Through these Exercises the soul is freed from her dross, from carnal lusts and affections, and is made fit company for the Deity; for. so delighted is GOD with these Exercises, that the man who runs in this race is in a capacity of drinking of the rivers of GOD’s pleasures. u O how great is thy goodness, which you have laid up for them that fear thee! " (Psal. xxxi. 19.) 

 

 GOD'S goodness is a treasure inexhaustible, and so full of charms, that the more a man thinks of it, the more he may. The thoughts of it put the soul into a kind of fever; for the more she drinks of this living water, the more she may. Other arts and sciences a man may bring to perfection, and see the utmost of them: But as for GOD’s goodness there is no coming to the top of it; the soul that contemplates it this hour, sees in it new mysteries the next; and he that is ravished with the contemplation of it today, is ready to be overwhelmed in the admiration of it tomorrow. It is a fountain of life, which sends forth a thousand streams, and yet is as full as ever. It is the hidingplace of a holy soul; and the Scripture means nothing else by GOD’s banqueting house, but his goodness. This enriches the soul beyond all the wealth of which the world boasts: and I know not what name to give to its influences; for, like the heat of fire, they can only be felt, but cannot be painted.

 

The lively sense of hi goodness the ALMIGHTY vouchsafes to those who thus exercise themselves unto Godliness; for these are the men that fear him. The LORD is their shepherd, and they shall not want; they shall not want a friend in adversity; when lovers and friends are put far from them, and their acquaintance into darkness, GOD will be their friend; when they have no person to advise or to consult with, or to make their complaints to, He will guide them by his counsel; when their flesh and their heart faileth, and all creatures fail them, GOD will be their strength and their portion for ever. He will hear their cry; they shall unbosom themselves unto him, and he will bow down his ears to them, tell their wanderings, put their tears in his bottle, and write all their sighs and groans in his book. What a comfort is it to have a bosom friend here on earth, to whom we can speak our minds, who will bear the burthen with us, and compassionate us, and to whom we can unlock and open the very inside of our hearts! But then, what a comfort must it be to have GOD for my friend, to whom I can have recourse in all my necessities, and make my moan, and tell him how my heart is grieved; who will not laugh at my calamity, nor mock when my fear comes; whose bowels yearn over me, who will advise me for the best, and who will bid me lay my wearied head in his bosom.

 

 "Such honor have all his saints." So kind, so good, so wonderfully gracious is GOD, to all such as exercise themselves unto Godliness, that they shall want nothing that is necessary either for soul or body. Their souls shall be fed with the promises of the Gospel, guided by the Eternal SPIRIT, and provided for from the storehouse of grace and mercy. Their bodies shall never want; GOD will either bless their industry, and the labors of their callings, as he did ST. PAUL'S diligence; (2 Thess. 3: S;) or turn the hearts of other men towards them, who shall relieve them, assist them, receive them, and redress their grievances, as he did in the case of ONESIMUS; (Philemon 12;) or send an Angel from Heaven to feed them, as he did ELIJAH. (1 Kings xix. 6.) Nay, suppose that it should be expedient for GOD’s glory, that they suffer the want of necessaries, yet even then they shall not want grace to support them, courage to bear up under it, joy to keep their heads above water, and resolution to trust in him, though the LORD should kill them.

 

 Christian, fancy that you seest DAVID fighting with GOLIATH in a valley between two mountains; while on the one hand there lies encamped the army of the Philistines, on the other the host of Israel. Think what courage and resolution it must infuse into the young soldier's heart, to see himself gazed on by two armies of friends and enemies! Why, thy condition, when you exercisest thyself unto Godliness, is the same! You stand in this valley of tears; on one hill stands the great GOD of heaven and earth, with all the host of heaven; on the other are spread all the legions of hell, ready to triumph in thy fall. Can there be a greater encouragement, than to see the glorious GOD before thee, ready to set the laurel on thy temples, if you darest follow after, that you may apprehend that for which you art also apprehended of CHRIST JESUS Nay, he calls to thee from the hills of heaven, saying, " Fear not, for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy name; you art mine: When you passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee!" And shall not this tempt thee to do more than thy careless neighbors, more than nature will agree to Arise, and depart; for here is not thy rest!—Rest! that is the glorious fruit of this tree of life; the comfort which these Exercises end in. The weary daylaborer after his toilsome work in the field, or the seaman after his laboring in storms and tempests, does not rest so sweetly, as he that exercises himself day and night unto Godliness; for he rests on the down of Angels; on the wings of Cherubims, on the breast of JESUS; and shall rest ere long in ABRAHAM'S bosom, in the bosom of glory, in the bosom of everlasting mercy; where life is to be found in its perfection, life without sorrow, life without fear, life without corruption, life without disturbance, life without change, life without deformity, life without discontent, life without dishonor, life without envy, life without decay; where no adversary comes to molest it, no sin to spoil its beauty, no temptation to break its order, no Devil to discompose its harmony; where the day is everlasting, the hours are measured by eternity, and the months and years by an infinity of bliss and glory.

 

 Go to now, ye careless men, that are more frighted by these Exercises, than by all the terrors of the burning lake! As laborious as these Exercises seem to be, without them expect no rest, no peace, no tranquility; for there is no peace, says my Go)), unto the wicked. Expect grief, trouble, anguish, a turbulent soul, and an affrighted conscience; for these must certainly be the portion of your cup one day. How should your life end in rest, who never tried your strength in these Exercises Lift up your eyes, and behold the man that exercises himself unto Godliness! Hear what becomes of him at his death; " Blessed are the dead, which die in the LORD, from henceforth; yea, says the SPIRIT, they rest from their labors, and their works do follow them." (Rev. 14:13.)

 

 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God; a rest, which tempests cannot shake, storms cannot annoy, frosts cannot chill, and heats cannot consume; a rest, where there is joy without mourning, tranquility without labor, honor without a period, wealth without danger of losing it, beatitude without the least shadow of calamity. What songs, what hymns, what music, what praises, what hallelujahs, what melody, what harmony, are to be met with there!—Where the spirits of men made perfect join, in perpetual concert, to sing salvation to our Lord, and to the LAMB for ever and ever; where wickedness and malice must never look in; where want and poverty must for ever cease; where quarrelling and accusing and impleading one another will all be over; where all violence and discord die, and all grief, and pain, and anguish, are swallowed up in an eternal jubilee!

 

 I see the joyful day approaching,—I see it by the eyes of faith,—when this humble soul, this laborious saint, this self denying Christian, this contemned man, shall change his rags into purple robes, and be translated from a momentary sorrow to an eternity of satisfaction, where the LAMB that is in the midst of the throne shall feed him, and shall lead him into living fountains of waters, and God' shall wipe away all tears from his eyes. Then shall be fulfilled the saying that is written: " They that sow in. tears shall reap in joy; He that go forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."

 

THE PRAYER.

 

 O God, who searchest the heart and the reins! How deceitful is my heart! How many are the ways that lead to destruction! How innumerable are the wiles of the Devil! Yet by thy light they may all be discovered. O my GOD, make me willing to see the designs of my spiritual enemies against me, that I may resist and overcome them. My heart is a field where many tares are mixed with the wholesome wheat. If I search not, how shall those tares be rooted up If I examine not, what can I expect, but that like the field of the slothful, and like the vineyard of the man void of understanding, it will be all grown over with thorns, and nettles will cover the face thereof Shall I say, a little sleep, a little more slumber, till my poverty come on like an armed man O my Gm), let my greatest care be, that you and my soul may be friends. But how shall I know that you art my friend, except I examine my soul, and see what tokens of thy love I find there O let me not be afraid to know my thoughts, my words, my actions, my inclinations; that if I know they are evil, I may reform them; and that if I find they are good, I may rejoice in them. O teach me the art of searching my heart. Let me not continue a stranger to myself. Let it be a pleasure to me to take notice how I grow in grace. O keep me from wandering in the dark. Let me see how I go astray, that I may get into the right way again. I have dwelt too long in the suburbs of religion. O persuade me to enter into the city which has foundations. Let the reward that is before me, be a strong motive to me to put on the whole armor of GOD. O how sweet will it be to me to see thy assistances, the incomes of thy grace, the influences of thy SPIRIT, my progress in goodness, the abatement of my sins, the decay of my corruptions, and my nearer approach to heaven. If I examine my heart, all this will be made manifest to me; for you wilt teach me the way of life, and in thy light I shall see light through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. Amen.