And here it may be seasonable to take notice of a dangerous Mistake which many of the Professors of Christianity are guilty of They pretend to have a deep and serious Sense what a weighty and solemn Duty the receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is and 't is for this Reason that they forbear it because they think they are not sufficiently prepared for it and yet at the same time these very Men presume to come to the Church to address themselves unto God's Throne and hear his Holy Word without any Preparation at all as if the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was the only Duty of Religion which required Care in the performance of it Thus they are too nice and scrupulous on the one hand whilst they are too negligent and prophane on the other they wholly omit one Ordinance of God because they do not think themselves sufficiently prepared for it and lose the benefit of all the rest because they will not Prepare themselves at all For what other Reason can be given why Men who live so long under the most powerful Preaching of the Word of God Edifie so little by it why their Understandings are so little improv'd in Spiritual Matters and their Lives and Conversations so little better'd thereby but because they do not bring prepared Minds and good Dispositions along with them their Thoughts are taken up with worldly Affairs their Hearts are fill'd with corrupt Affections and many wicked and impure Spirits have taken Possession of their Souls and then no wonder that the Holy Spirit of God doth not take up his abode with them when they are not in a Capacity to give him any suitable Entertainment Some Preparation therefore is absolutely necessary to be made before we attend on the Publick Worship of God Which may be perform'd after this or such like manner Upon the Lord's Day or any other day Dedicated to the Publick Service of God and set apart from our private Employments to the more solemn Worship of our Creator as soon as ever we awake let our Souls be season'd with some holy and devout Meditation Let us consider that at the same time the Sun salutes our Eyes and refresheth our Bodies with his comfortable Beams Mal. 4.2 The sun of Righteousness doth arise with healing in his wings and makes us the Overtures of some peculiar Favours That this Day is set apart by the great God of Heaven and Earth to receive the Homage of his Vassals and to give them the Liberty of entring his Courts appearing before his Throne admiring his Excellencies adoring his Perfections celebrating his Praises and laying open their Wants before him and begging Supplies and that therefore 't is both our Duty and Interest to improve these Seasons of Grace to Prepare our selves to meet our God and not only to put our Bodies into a Decent and becoming Dress but to adorn our Souls with such Qualifications and Dispositions as are requisite for Poor sinful Men when they appear before the great Creator and Governour of the World And because the Preparations of the heart are from the Lord Prov. 16.1 it will be necessary to prostrate our selves before the Throne of his Grace and to beseech God Jam. 1.17 Who is the Author and Giver of every good and perfect Gift that he will inspire our Hearts with holy Dispositions and afford us the Assistance of his Holy Spirit to enable us to cast out of our Minds all vain and worldly Thoughts to subdue all Carnal and corrupt Affections and to offer up to him our Bodies and Souls a pure undefiled and acceptable Sacrifice That we may spend this day especially that part of it which iâ—â—edicated to God's immediate Service â—â—ter so Holy and Devout a manner as may promote our Spiritual Welfare and hereby Glorifie our Father which is in Heaven Matth. 5.16 Let us beseech Almighty God that his good Spirit may go along with us through all the Duties of the day and incite strengthen and confirm us in every good Work That he would teach us to Pray with Fervency and an holy Assurance that all our Requests which are conformable to the Will of God shall be granted us to hear his Word with Attention and firm Resolutions of performing whatsoever we are convinc'd is our Duty and to Praise him with gladness and cheerfulness of Soul with Hearts fill'd with the grateful Resentments of his Benefits and Loving kindness towards us In the next place let us read some Portion of the Holy Scripture and make this the Subject of our Meditation till the hour approaches when we are call'd upon to joyn with the Congregation in our Devotions and we hear the Summons to attend God's Publick Worship It will then be time to enter upon a more particular Consideration how we have pass'd the last Week how well we have perform'd those Resolutions which we have formerly taken up what Sins we have since been guilty of what good Duties we have omitted and that we should be sorry for these our Neglects and bewail our Mis-carriages and resolve that we will amend our Lives and never be guilty of the same Sins for the time to come but that we will walk more uprightly and more exactly in Obedience to all the Commands of God This is that Preparation of Soul which every one ought to make before he enters into the House of God For God will not be serv'd with unclean hands and an unsanctify'd heart he abhors even the most solemn Fasts of those Men who smite with the Fists of wickedness Isa 58.4 he expects that the sprinkling water should be sprinkled upon us 2 Cor. 7.1 and that we should cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit when we draw near unto him And wash our hands in innocency Psal 26.6 before we compass God's Altar Let us therefore never omit this Examination of our selves before we enter into God's House when we have time and opportunity so to do For tho' upon some sudden Emergencies all this Precaution is not to be us'd this Exactness of Preparation may be omitted and a general and habitual Preparation of Mind will suffice yet this will in no wise excuse the constant Neglect of this Duty nor take off the blame from those Men who live in the constant Omission of it for 't is highly reasonable to believe that Self-Examination is a Duty in some Degree as absolutely necessary to be perform'd before we attend God's Publick Worship as 't is before the receiving the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Which Sacrament was anciently an Essential part of the Publick Worship of God tho' of late years it has been scandalously neglected And therefore as when Men come to the Table of the Lord without due Preparation 1 Cor. 11.29 they trample under feet Christ's holy Body and Blood and eat and drink Condemnation to themselves So when they frequent the House of God and attend upon
suitable to the Divine Nature then are our Minds duly qualified and prepared to perform that Spiritual Worship which God is best pleas'd with and takes most delight in John 4.24 For God is a Spirit and will be worshipp'd in Spirit and in Truth And therefore 't is no wonder that of so many who frequent the Publick Worship of God so few reap Benefit by it because the Generality of Worshippers render themselves uncapable of receiving those Blessings which God offers them in his Holy Ordinances They come into God's Courts carelesly and negligently without a due Sence of the importance of those Duties they are going to perform their Minds are full of vain worldly and sinful Thoughts polluted with carnal Desires and Affections and then no wonder that they take so little delight in the Service of God and reap no more Benefit by it 2. If we would worship God in the Beauty of Holiness we must comport our selves after such a manner as is sutable to the Duty we are about and express the Zeal and Fervency of our Souls by becoming and expressive Gestures of our Bodies Did we consider That the place we tread is holy ground Exod. 3.5 that God and his Holy Angels look down upon us and behold us the House of God would strike a greater Awe and Reverence on our Minds than the Throne of any temporal Prince which will not fail of exacting from us the worship of our Bodies Gen. 28.17 How dreadful is this place says Jacob This is no other but the House of God this is the gate of Heaven A due Sense also of the importance of the Business we are about would have the same Effect for were we begging of God some temporal Blessing which we might well be without indifferency in our Behaviour would better become us but when the eternal Welfare of our Souls lies at stake when we are Candidates for an everlasting Inheritance we cannot be too earnest we cannot be too Devout had we a thousand hands and a thousand tongues they might all of them be employ'd to express the Devotion of our Souls and the Fervency of our Affections 'T is not a bare joyning in the Prayers of the Church a repeating the Responses and putting our selves in that Posture the Rubrick enjoyns 't is not the avoiding the Indecencies of a prophane or clownish Worshipper I am now pleading for this the Custom of the place good Manners and gentile Education will exact from us But that we go farther and by the Humility Gravity and Composedness of our Behaviour stir up Holy Affections in our own Minds and encourage others to imitate our Example Lastly the Beauty of Holiness doth also consist in the Decency and Solemnity of those Circumstances which Accompany our Worship Which tho' they consist of Rites and Ceremonies in their own Nature indifferent yet are ordain'd to an excellent end and are of admirable use for the promoting Devotion and Uniformity in the Service of God The Generality of Mankind are very much influenc'd by the shews and appearances of things and whatsoever is pleasing to the Eye has an easier Admission and makes a deeper Impression on the Mind And therefore it has been the Care of Holy and Devout Christians in all Ages of the World when Religion had the Countenance of Publick Authority and was in a flourishing Condition to build Churches for the Publick Worship of God to keep them in good Repair to furnish them with such Ornaments that the Worship of God may be perform'd orderly decently and solemnly and appear regular and beautiful in the Eyes of the Beholders and hereby raise up in their Minds awful and reverent Thoughts of that God who is there worshipped For 't is a Sign that Religion is vile and cheap in the Eyes of those Men who as the Prophet speaks can suffer the house of the Lord to lie wast whilst they dwell in ceiled roofs They spare no Cost to raise beautifie and adorn their own Houses They ceile them with Cedar Jer. 22.14 and paint them with Vermilion and yet will not contribute the least Mite to the Service of the Temple Quorsum perditio haec is their usual demand To what end is all this Cost and Charges were it not better that all this Money was spar'd and given to the Poor To whom I answer in the words of a Learned Knight which probably will give better Satisfaction Sir Edwin Sands in his Speculum Europae than if spoken from the mouth of a Clergy-man Tho' the Ornaments says he of such places as are Dedicated to God's Service ought to be rather Grave than Pompous yet it could never sink into my Heart to imagine that the allowance for furnishing them out should be measur'd by the Scanty Rule of meer Necessity a Proportion so low that Nature it self has gone beyond it even in the most ignoble Creature or that God has enrich'd this lower World with such wonderful Variety of things Beautiful and Glorious that they might serve only for the pampering mortal Man in his Pride and that to the immediate Service of the great Creator Lord and Giver of them only baser cheaper and less Beautiful things ought to be employ'd Especially seeing that as in Princes Courts so in the Service of God this outward State and Glory being well dispos'd doth beget encrease quicken and nourish the inward Reverence and respectful Devotion which is due to so Sovereign a Majesty Thus this truly Pious and Devout as well as excellently Learned Person To whom Assents the voice of all Antiquity 't is well known what Care was taken that the Tabernacle of Moses should be as rich and as Beautiful as Art could make it in what Glory Splendour and Beauty the Temple of Solomon was built how desirous David was to have been the Founder of it But since that Honour was reserv'd for his Son Solomon he made it his business to provide Materials and tells us Moreover because I have set my Affection to the house of my God 1 Chron. 29.3 I have of my own proper Goods of gold and silver which I have given to the house of my God over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house even three thousand talents of gold of Ophir and seven thousand talents of refin'd silver And when this House was destroy'd a second Temple was built which tho' much inferour to the former yet for Beauty and Magnificency was the wonder of the whole World And thus 't was not only under the Law but from the first planting of Christianity as soon as ever the Christian Religion was tolerated by the Civil Magistrate their great Care was to build Churches for the more Decent and Solemn Worship of God And when those Churches which were overthrown in the Dioclesian Persecution were re-edified adorn'd and Beautified under Maximinus The Historian tells us Euseb lib. 10. cap. 2. That the Hearts of all Men were fill'd with a
dii Charior est illis homo quam sibi Which is as much as to say Commit thy self and all thy Concerns to Divine Providence let him determine what is most convenient for thee what is most requisite in the Course of thy Affairs for God loves Man better than Man loves himself and doth him good oftentimes against his Will and though he denies him those things which are grateful and acceptable to his fleshly Appetites and Desires to his carnal Lusts and inordinate Passions yet he gives him other Blessings which are more wholsome and more profitable to him Thus a careful Physician prescribes safe and beneficial though unpalatable Medicines to his diseas'd Patient and thus God deals with Mankind mercifully and bountifully and frequently denies his Requests and Prayers out of Kindness to him that he may furnish him with those things which are more safe and more convenient for him This is an useful Lesson and to be learn'd from St. Paul's Experience as 't is contain'd in the Text and the two preceding Verses Least says he I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of Revelation there was given unto me a thorn in the Flesh the Messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me And he said unto me my Grace is sufficient for thee So that the words of the Text are an Answer to St. Paul's Prayer wherein God instead of delivering him from the buffeting of Satan which was the thing he pray'd for Promises to give him his Grace to endure it which would be far more commodious and advantageous to him My Grace is sufficient for thee That I may Discourse with the greater Profit upon these words I shall consider I. What it is which God Promises His Grace II. The measure and proportion of it Such as should be sufficient III. The Person to whom it was promis'd to the Apostle St. Paul My Grace is sufficient for thee As if God should have said thus unto him I will not answer thy Requests in exempting thee from thy manifold Troubles and Afflictions but least thou shouldest be opprest by them I will give thee what is more expedient for thee to wit my Grace which is sufficient for thee 1. What it is which God Promises viz. his Grace Which taken in the general denotes the Power and Efficacy of the Holy Spirit renewing the Soul to the Image of God and continually strengthning and guiding it in Obedience to his Will Now from the same Spirit proceeds Diversity of Grace there is Gratia gratis data or the miraculous Unction of the Holy Ghost whereby to one is given the Gift of Miracles to another speaking with Tongues to a third Prophecying but this is not the Grace meant in the Text 1 Cor. 10.12 for this was communicated to wicked as well as to good Men to Balaâ—â— and Saul and Caiphas and Judas as well as to the rest of the Apostles this was the occasion of tempting St. Paul to the Sin of Pride of which he speaks in the Verses before the Text. And those excellent Gifts and Endowments with which this Apostle was furnish'd tended to puff him up and expos'd him to the Buffettings and Temptations of the Devil But that Grace which upheld and strengthned him and was sufficient for him was what the School-men call Gratia gratum faciens or the Grace of Life Such as are all the saving Gifts and Graces of the Spirit which are wrought by his Help and Assistance in the hearts of Believers such as Faith Hope Charity Purity Humility and all other gracious Habits of the Mind which the Apostle calls the fruit of the Spirit and wherein the Image of God the Power of Godliness and the Spirit of Christianity do truly consist Eph. 1.6 This is that Grace which renders us acceptable unto God and is in effect eternal Life unto us This is that Grace which is best describ'd by its Effects Rom. 6.23 Which illuminates our Vnderstandings teaches us those things we know not 1 Joh. 2.27 and brings us to the Knowledge of the Truth this renews the Image of God in our Souls governs our perverse Wills and Affections Counsels and Actions God's holy Spirit leading guiding and directing us in all our ways Rom. 8.14 this unites us unto Christ our Head Comforts us in all our Affliction and Distress whether of Body or Soul and therefore the holy Spirit is call'd the Comforter Joh. 15.26 Psal 45.8 and the Oyl of Gladness And lastly It helps us in all our Streights and Supports us in times of the greatest Distress and Extremity it keeps us from despairing of God's Mercy when we consider our manifold Sins and Transgressions or from questioning his Providence because of our Miseries and from back-sliding and falling off from Christ for fear of Danger or any other worldly Respects In short it enables us to do all things Phil. 4.13 which God requires of us through Christ that strengthens us Which brings me to the 2. Observable in the Text. The measure and proportion of this Grace 't is such as is sufficient to enable us to undergo whatsoever God shall please to lay upon us My Grace is sufficient for thee 1 Thes 5.23 For since that God who gives this Grace is in himself All-sufficient therefore there is no question but that the Assistance which he affords will be sufficient to bring about those Ends for which he gave it God's Grace sanctifies all the Faculties of our Souls all the Powers of our Body it is sufficient in every State and Condition of Life it cheers us in Adversity it restrains us in Prosperity not suffering us either to be puft up with the one or to droop under the Burthen of the other It is a sufficient Remedy against all Temptations and fortifies our Souls against all sorts of Batteries Eph. 6.12 When we are afflicted it tells us That our Sufferings here are not worthy to be compar'd with that eternal weight of Glory Rom. 8.18 which shall be reveal'd in us or if we abound in Blessings or in Gifts natural or supernatural it tells us from whence they came and to what end they were bestowed upon us that we must not hide these Talents in a Napkin or abuse the Grace of God unto Wantonness but promote as much as in us lies the Glory of God the good of our Neighbour and the eternal Welfare of our own Souls Tho' we offer up our Prayers to God without present Returns or apparent Success it tells us That God forbears to give us those good things we ask for that he may try our Patience and Perseverance and since he doth not see it expedient to grant them therefore 't is our Duty to wait the Determination of his good Pleasure Again God's Grace is sufficient for all Persons our heavenly Father is so merciful that he shines
as well upon the bad as the good of his fullness all receive Grace for Grace Joh. 1.9 And tho' the Grace of God is not imparted to all alike yet every Man receives a sufficient Portion of it sufficient to supply all his Wants both Temporal and Spiritual For as if you dip Vessels of different Sizes into the Sea every one will be full of Water though every one doth not hold the same quantity so tho' there are different Gifts and different Administrations and different measures of Grace communicated to Men yet God with-holds from no Man sufficient Grace to enable him to be good and vertuous and to answer all his pressing and unavoidable Necessities The Israelites in the Wilderness gathered Manna Exod. 16.18 according to every Man 's eating when they did measure it with an Omer he that had gathered much had nothing over and he that had gather'd little had no lack So God gives his Grace unto Men according to every Man's necessity measure it with an Omer weigh all the Circumstances and you will find That neither he that has little has Cause to repine nor he that has much to boast One Man is surrounded with Temptations burthen'd and loaded even to the ground with Afflictions oppress'd with Difficulties and to this Man God gives a greater Portion of his holy Spirit he assists him more powerfully he strengthens and confirms him after an extraordinary manner and enables him to close and grapple with the Difficulty or Temptation which assaults him Another has been nurtur'd in Vice and brought up in Debauchery and it is necessary that he should be reclaim'd from his Evil doings with a strong hand and an out-stretch'd Arm. A third has been long accustom'd to good and is naturally inclin'd to Sobriety and Vertue and requires only the ordinary Assistance of God's Grace to keep him so Thus God like a Wise Housholder proportions his Gifts to the Wants and Necessities of his Children and Servants and will require of every one according to what he has receiv'd and reward them according to their Works he that has but one Talent given him if he well employs that one may obtain the Government of one City though he has not the highest place in the Kingdom of Heaven yet he will find Admittance there where the least degree of Happiness will consist of Joys unspeakable which transcend all comparison But if God call out any one to give Testimony to the Truth or to be an eminent Example of Patience or Long suffering or taking up the Cross he will furnish him with proportionable measures of Strength so that the good Christian may rest assur'd that though at present he finds himself weak and frail and unable to undergo the Affliction which he fears will suddenly fall upon him yet I say he may assure himself that the Divine Assistance will always attend him God will never leave him nor forsake him but as his troubles grow upon him so shall he be supply'd with more Power more Courage and more Ability to bear up under them God is faithful 1. Cor. 10.13 and will not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able to bear as St. Paul assures us And that God has been faithful in the performance of this as well as his other Promises we need no other Testimony but that of our own Consciences For if we look back upon the past Transactions of our Lives we shall find how frequently God's Grace has suggested to us This is the Way walk in it when we were in suspence how to behave our selves and has as it were Pointed out our Duty to us how often we have been prick'd at the heart when we have committed any Sin and stir'd up and incited to do good and the Reason why we have done amiss and transgress'd God's Commands has generally been because we have not improv'd those good Motions and followed the Dictates and Impulses of God's Grace within us For tho' we are not to look for any other Directions for the Government of our Lives besides those of God's written word and if we have any thing suggested to us which is opposite to this establish'd Rule of our Duty we ought to look upon it as a snare of the Devil and the Instigation of an evil Spirit Yet on the contrary when we find any vigorous and strong Inclination to do that which we are fully assur'd is our Duty to do at that time and in that place then we may assure our selves that this is the Motion of God's holy Spirit the Grace of God working in us and that 't is our Duty to comply with it to encourage and improve it and if we do so then it will certainly bring to pass that Effect for which God at the first design'd and intended it It remains therefore That God's Grace is sufficient for us i. e. gives us Strength Ability and Means enough to subdue the Devil the World and the Flesh and that if we are brought under the Dominion and Power of any of these we must accuse our own Sloth and Laziness in neglecting to use and improve to the uttermost those means and helps which God has afforded us This will be made more evident by considering 3. The Person to whom this Promise is made My Grace is sufficient for thee And if we consider the Person here spoken of the Apostle St. Paul according to that account which is given of him in the Holy Scripture we shall find in his Life such variety of Circumstances so very remarkable and instructive that there is hardly any Condition we can fall into wherein we may not receive Benefit by his Example and have an Instance of the Powerfulness and sufficiency of God's Grace Let us consider him as a Jew how zealous was he in the Profession of that Faith how furious in the Persecution of all such who either taught or liv'd in the Observance of the Christian Religion Acts 23.6 He was a Pharisee the Son of a Pharisee And by consequence a rigid Observer not only of the Rites and Ceremonies of the Law but also of all the Traditions of the Rabbies so that though he liv'd at that time when our Saviour Christ was on Earth and had heard of if not seen the Miracles which he wrought yet was he an inveterate Enemy to him and his Religion And this mistaken Zeal for the Mosaical Law carried him forth to a furious Persecution of the Church he was consenting to the Death of the Martyr St. Stephen Acts 22.20 Acts. 8.3 Acts 9.1 He made havock of the Church and breathed out nothing but threatnings and slaughter against the Disciples dragging Men and Women to Prison and procuring Letters of Inquisition against them from the High Priest and yet for all this God's Grace was sufficient to bring him from the bondage of the Law to the Freedom of the Gospel and the only Righteousness in Christ Jesus to make him Preach that
Thoughts were not sinful unless immediately Blasphemous against God and therefore they did not blame the Intention of the Heart to commit Murder or Adultery unless 't was actually put in Execution which we have the less reason to wonder at because there are so many amongst us who maintain this absurd Opinion and Fansie their Thoughts are so free that they shall never be call'd to Account for them if they can but Act so cunningly as to escape the Censures of Men Psal 55.21 if they can but speak words smoother than Oil they are not at all sollicitous how their Hearts stand affected But let these Men consider Rom. 2.15 that at the last day when God shall judge the secrets of Men we shall be call'd to an Account for all the Thoughts and Intents of our Heart as well as for the loudest Words and most publick Actions in God's Book not only the Members of our Body but the Thoughts of our Mind are written and therefore we are commanded not to make Provision for the Lust of the Flesh Rom. 13.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to contrive before-hand how we may fulfil our sinful Appetites and Desires Solomon tells us That the Thought of Foolishness is sin i. e. Prov. 2.4 9. a foolish Thought and that a Man of wicked Devices or Thoughts God will condemn Prov. 12.2 And St. John affirms 1 Joh. 3.15 That whosoever hates his Brother or retains any Rancour or Malice in his Heart is a Murderer Now as on the one hand God will accept of the sincere Intention of those Persons who fail in their Obedience only for want of Power and Ability to perform what he has commanded them So on the other our Thoughts may be sinful in the sight of God though we have neither Will nor Power to put them in Execution Abraham only intended to Sacrifice his Son Isaac Heb. 11.17 and this holy Purpose of his Heart was imputed to him for Righteousness Gen. 18.12 and when Sarah dis-believ'd the Promise of God and derided it in her Heart she is said to laugh within her self and God resents the Provocation And though 't is true that when a wicked Thought is put into Execution and breaks out into a wicked Act Jam. 1.15 when Lust has conceiv'd and brought forth Sin 't is of a far more heinous Nature and deeper Dye than when it was only an Embryo or in the Birth yet in many Respects our Thoughts may be more wicked than either our Words or Actions can be For 1. Our Thoughts are more numerous than our Actions There must be many Preparatory Motions of the Mind many Thoughts twisted together to produce one deliberate sinful Action How many Plottings and Contrivings Desires and Hopes Wishes and Complacencies must go before the Commission of every evil Deed There must be first a Scheme erected in our Minds the Means and Methods must be resolv'd on the Instruments must be chosen and the thing frequently acted over in our Thoughts before any notorious sinful Action can be committed 2. The same Sin may be acted over a thousand times in the Mind which can only be once perform'd in the outward Action We may take a great deal of Pleasure and Delight in recalling the Sins we have formerly committed in representing them in our Fancies and re-acting them over in our Imaginations and hereby draw down a fresh Guilt upon our selves Nay 3. We may be guilty of those Sins by contriving them in our Minds which can never possibly be really acted thus the Covetous Man may rob his Neighbour of his Wealth though he never obtain the Possession of it the Malicious and Revengeful may murder his Enemy when out of his reach and the Cruel and Blood-thirsty may imagine all Mankind to have but one Neck and then cut it off Psal 14.1 and the Atheist may say in his Heart there is no God and fancy him excluded out of the World From these and such other Considerations 't is obvious to conclude That we are not left at liberty to think as we please but that the Government of our Thoughts is a necessary and indispensable Duty Nay so absolutely necessary is it to our eternal Welfare to keep our Hearts that no Word or Action can be good or acceptable unto God which doth not proceed from a sanctify'd Heart A wicked Man may perform many Acts of Justice and Charity but if they do not proceed from a good Disposition of Mind they are only splendida peccata counterfeit Vertues and therefore the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 13.1 That if we give our Goods to feed the Poor and have not Charity i. e. a sincere Love to God and our Neighbour which is seated in the Heart all those good Deeds will profit us nothing 2. The Keeping of our Hearts is conducive to our eternal Happiness because the maintaining our Communion with God depends on it Now our Communion with God is maintain'd by our offering up Prayers and Praises unto him and his Acceptance of them and bestowing on us the blessed Influences of his Holy Spirit and if so then what Sacrifice of Prayer and Thanksgiving can be acceptable unto God which is offer'd up from a Heart full of impure Desires and Affections reeking with Lust or Anger or Revenge He is a pure and holy Spirit and delights to dwell in a humble and contrite Heart Isa 57.15 and if our Hearts are infected with Envy Malice Pride or Lust we shall grieve him and he will depart from us and then the Devils those impure Spirits will take Possession of our Souls they will become a Cage of these unclean Birds a fit Habitation for these Legions to dwell in 3. A right Frame of Heart is a Qualification absolutely necessary to render us capable of enjoying eternal Happiness in the Life to come For our Happiness in the other World will in a great measure depend on the Preparations we have made for it in this Our Life here is a State of Probation and Trial a small Span of time allotted us to furnish our selves with vertuous Habits and Divine Qualities those wedding Garments which will render us welcome Guests at the Marriage of the Lamb. And therefore if we would have any well-grounded Hopes of Happiness in the other World we must make it our Employment here to restrain our Passions moderate our Affections enflame our Hearts with Zeal and Devotion and accustom our selves to holy Meditation these are Qualifications absolutely necessary to make us relish the Pleasures of another Life For we may with as good Reason hope to satisfie our Hunger with precious Stones and Diamonds or our Thirst with the sight of stately Buildings or goodly Apparel as that a malicious envious lustful or covetous Person whilst he continues so should take delight in the Beatifical Vision and in singing Praises and Hallelujahs unto God So necessary is it that we cleanse and purifie our
not all the presumptuous Sins you ever committed in your Life-time begin in your Heart were they not forg'd and contriv'd there And how can you tell but that the Allowance of one wicked Thought may be the Rise of the most villanous Act No Man was ever wicked all of a sudden The Sinner at first is timorous and bashful and goes on by Degrees till at last he arrives at the highest Pitch of hardness and Impenitency Many a Man there is who thinks it can be no heinous Offence to cast a covetous Eye on other Mens Goods or a wanton Look on his Neighbours Wife and yet whosoever doth not restrain these evil Affections of his Mind will soon lie under an unavoidable Temptation to commit the grosser Acts of Theft and Adultery for if we allow our selves in the lighter Breaches of our Duty we shall soon come to think every Sin to be so and wicked Thoughts harbour'd and encouraged will produce wicked Actions Had David at first suppress'd his lustful Thoughts after the Wife of Vriah he had never added the Murder of the Husband to Adultery with the Wife but when once he gave way to sinful Thoughts this Man after God's own Heart this holy Prophet as well as great King was born down the Stream of his vicious Inclinations and committed the vilest Acts of the most presumptuous Sins Consider therefore with thy self that though a vain and wicked Thought is a Sin of Infirmity when it enters into our Mind without our Consent and Approbation yet we shall very much encrease the Guilt when we allow our selves in it and it may prove very dangerous to our eternal Welfare 4. If sinful Thoughts still press into our Minds divert them to some holy Meditation and take this hint of bending your Thoughts to the contrary Duty Thus if you are tempted to plot and contrive the Commission of any Sin make this the Occasion of fortifying and strengthning your Resolutions against the Commission of that very Sin of considering its evil Nature and dangerous Consequences and hereby encrease your Hatred and Detestation of it Are the sinful Pleasures which you have formerly enjoy'd represented to your Fansie Let the Remembrance of them renew your Sorrow and Repentance for your disobedience to God's Law and the Breach of his Commandments and put you upon begging God's Grace and Assistance that for the time to come you may live more uprightly and unblameably Are you perplex'd and troubled with blasphemous and Atheistical Thoughts Fall presently on the Contemplation of the wonderful Works which he has made and the curious Operations of his hands consider this stupendious Fabrick of the World the infinite Variety and yet exact Order and due Subordination of Beings contained in it ask thy self what Power it was which first created it and still continues to preserve it which has furnish'd irrational Creatures with unerring Instincts that teaches the Bird to build its Nest the Spider to weave its Web look into the curious Frame and Composition of that lesser World thy own Body Psal 139.14 and behold there how fearfully and wonderfully thou art made And by such Contemplations as these affect thy Mind with a humble Awe and devout Reverence of God's Power and Majesty Are you tempted to Envy the Prosperity of your Neighbour Consider how many Gifts of God's Bounty you have receiv'd how much you enjoy more than you deserve and how unthankful and ungrateful you have been for those good things God has already given into your hands Are you given to lustful Thoughts Turn this strange Fire into a Holy Zeal for God's Glory Do presumptuous Thoughts rise up in your Heart Consider your former Sins and repeated Provocations against God and take occasion from hence to exercise your Humility Are you overwhelm'd with Despair Call to mind God's gracious Promises and admire his infinite Goodness who has given his only begotten Son and sent him into the World on Purpose to atone for your Sins and to accomplish the great Work of your Salvation and still makes you the Proffers of Pardon and Forgiveness by such Meditations as these you will imitate your heavenly Father in drawing Good out of Evil and make the Temptations of the Devil the occasion of promoting your eternal Welfare Nay if you thus resist the Devil he will flee from you James 4.7 his Assaults will be neither so frequent nor so furious when he finds they serve only to exercise your Graces and make you more watchful 5. Season thy Heart every Morning with some Holy Meditation Dedicate the First-fruits of thy Thoughts unto God How precious are thy Thoughts unto me O God says the Psalmist how great is the sum of them Psal 139.17 18. If I should count them they are more in number than the Sand When I wake I am still with thee The constant and serious Meditation on those great Motives to a Holy Life the Example of our Blessed Saviour the Torments of Hell the Joys of Heaven the certainty of Death the Terrors of Judgment if made the Subject of our Morning Meditations would be a Spring and Source of good Thoughts all the day long and produce in our Minds suitable Desires and Affections and to this End let us constantly read some Portion of the Holy Scripture This will be a Lamp to our feet Psal 119.115 and a light to our Paths it will both inform our Judgments what we ought to do and incline us to walk in the Way of God's Commandments 6. And lastly Let us beseech Almighty God that he would give us his Grace and enable us with the Assistance of his Holy Spirit to Keep our Hearts and govern our Desires and Affections And though this Duty is too difficult to be perform'd by our own Strength yet we may be assur'd that God will enable us to go through with it because he requires nothing of us which is not in our Power to perform He has promis'd Isa 42.3 That he will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking Flax but that he will encourage every Effort that we make towards a good and vertuous Life His Grace was never deny'd to any one who did but sincerely desire it and endeavour to render himself capable of receiving of it Luk. 6.38 To him that asks it shall be given not only what he prays for but also the larger Effusions of his Holy Spirit he often prevents our Prayers and is more ready to give than we are either to desire or receive And now what remains but that we being furnish'd with these Helps and assur'd of the Assistance of God's Holy Spirit immediately set upon the Practice of this Duty and endeavour with all Care and Diligence imaginable to keep a strict Watch over the Thoughts and Affections of our Hearts 'T is true this cannot be perform'd without much Pains and Industry but what Design which is either great and glorious useful and honourable can be compass'd