and spiest out all my ways; yea, thy mercy embraceth me on every fide; when I fleep I am safe, when I awake joyful; in prosperity I have thy rod to afflict me, in adverfity thy ftaff to comfort me; Lord, while I am in thy favor, I can look no way but to happiness, if I walk not answerable to it, I may well fear to be deprived of it.

And doubtles (O my foul) thofe eyes which look fo gracioufly upon thee in this life, will behold thee with a more earnest, with a more endeared love in that to come; thefe tranfitory glances are but the faithful pledges of those future embraces, Those arms of mercy which now support thee in thine often failings, fhall then encompass thee with glory; those blessed hands which now chastise thee for thy rebellions, will then wipe away all tears from thine eyes; and that relenting heart, which sometimes is moft unwillingly withdrawn from thee for thy apoftafy, will then unite itself to thine for

ever,

Lord, who can be a christian and be fad? who can believe all this, and not triumph in joyful exaltation? and not insult over the sorrows of this life? and not contemn the joys of this bewitching world? and not resist these cloudy discontented thoughts, these close affaults, of fatan's never-reftting malice? Millions of worlds, miriads of angels, cannot restore that curfed fpirit to this happiness

which thou now enjoyeft, and yet fo flightly regardeft.

O let this teach thee to abhor his foul tempta tions, to confider of thy worth in Chrift, and to raise thyself above the reach of earthly mifery; to love thy God faithfully, to serve him chearfully, to perfevere joyfully, to be patient in tribulation, to rejoice in hope, to pray continually, to thirft after the sweetness of his grace, and earnestly to long for the confummation of his glory.

BLESSED GOD,

HOW unworthy am I to be called thy fervant, who have so long been subject to the world's commands? how undeferving of thy glorious liberty of thy fons; who have fo willingly been fettered by mine own corruptions? how uncapable of thy heavenly comforts, that can rejoice in nothing but these earthly vanities.

Lord open mine eyes, that I may fee the richness of the price of my high calling in Christ Jefus, and endeavour to walk worthy of it; that I may earneftly defire thee, joyfully embrace thee, and conftantly and chearfully devote my service to thee.

Forgive my drowfinefs, my dulnefs, my back

wardness to holy duties; awake my finful soul from fenfuality, and raise it to the bleffed thoughts of fweet eternity.

Compaffionate my weakness, accept my willingness, forgive my finfulness, quicken my dulness, correct my untowardness: Lord bring me to such a bleffed frame of heart, that I may willingly forego the fins and miseries of this life, and frequently delight myself with contemplations of thy joys in that.

to come.

CHAP. XXV.

UPON MAN'S SINFUL FRAILTY IN THE HOUR OF

TEMPTATION, WITH MOTIVES TO

MAKE RESISTANCE.

I AM now in the lift with fatan, and this

hour to fight the Lord's battle: God feeth me, and his holy angels fee me, I have long profeffed myfelf to be Chrift's soldier, and he hath now brought me to the field to prove me; now is the trial of my courage, of my christianty; if I overcome, I fhall rejoice on earth, triumph in heaven.

If that evil one were as powerful as malicious, I had just cause to fear him; but now my comfort and affurance is, that he cannot hurt me, but by me; he now strongly labours to encline my will) and woe to me, if he might compel it,) his subtle fuggeftions, his unclean folicitations, his fulminated motions may be the father begetting, but mine own corrupt heart is the mother conceiving; there can be no danger from abroad, if there be no treason at home.

Look well into thyself therefore O my foul, afcend the watch-tower of thine understanding, and fee that there lurk therein no feeming fhews, no

M

fpecious pretences, no grofs lies, no false proposals to betray thee if thy head be furprised, thy heart cannot long hold out.

Examine thine affections, try them by the blessed rule of divine precepts, if they be not fharply corrected, they will foon be corrupted; endeavour to refift the very first motions to fin; for if fatan can beguile thine affections, he will undoubtedly command thine actions.

Quicken thy memory by the momentary pleafure of fin, by the heavy judgments threatened against it, by the fad confequence of it, by the eternity of torments after it; think how often thou hast been already foiled; how many serious vows and faithful promises thou haft already made to God of thine amendment; how carelefly thou haft difpenfed with them all, and how presumptuously perfifted in thy follies. O think how gracious thy God hath been unto thee in forbearing, how wonderful his mercy is in pardoning, how juftly he might now destroy thee, even in the very act of finning.

Lord, if none of all this, will yet scare me from finning against thee, nor allure me to repenting, that I may draw nearer home unto thee: O let me yet confider, who it is that leadeth me to fight, and wherefore I have engaged. Thou, O my bleffed