with tears. She is fenfible, the holy Ghost moves upon these waters, and that fuch a person is indeed baptized with water and the Holy Ghoft.

This the beholds, and beholds with pleasure. Confideration gives her a profpect of the Devil's fubtilty, and her eyes gufh out with tears of joy. And certainly, if it be a greater pleasure to fee, than to grope in the dark; a greater pleafure to know the precipices I am hurried into, than to have them hid from mines eyes; a greater pleasure to see the brink of deftruction I do stand upon, than to be ignorant of it; Confideration must be a pleasure, for this fhews me the steep Rock, Temptation that ignis fatuus would have led me to, the Ditch this falfe Light would have flatter'd me into, the fatal Sea this falfe Star would have feduc'd me into. This must neceffarily fill me with gladness, for it gives me a profpect of the Whirle-pool, where the Devil thought to have split my Veffel, the fands, against which I was to have stranded, the Earthquake that should have made me fink into the ground, and of the terrible tempeft, that should have carried me away.

How have I seen a Traveller rejoyce, when waking in the morning, he hath feen the Water, or the Mine, he must have neceffarily tumbled into, if he had gone but one step farther, and had not stopt where he did? how doth he admire the Providence which hath preferv'd him? and how doth he go on in his way rejoycing,that he hath seen the Gulph he might have rush'd L 4

into,

into, and efcap'd it! And, O finner, doft not thou think thou should'ft rejoyce, to find by Confideration, that thy averfnels from Religion, thy backwardness to Devotion, thy unwillingnefs to spend time in private Meditations, thy excufations of fi, thy palliations of extravagant defires, thy pleadings for Licentioufnefs, thy apologies for pleafing the lufts of thy flesh, thy çagerness to run into evil company, thy defires to wallow in uncleanness,thy longings after things God's Word forbids, thy inclination to unbelief, that all these are temptations of the Devil, Corn which that Fowler spreads and scatters before the unwary Birds, to kill and to destroy them? Confideration would difmantle Satan, pull off his mask and vizard, and convince thee, that the fweetness of the Potion is but to make the Poyfon go down more glib; and however the Pill may be gilded, it is but to dazle thee into love with eternal ruine. This would tell thee, look, here was the Cave,into which thou should'st have been dragg'd, and then murthered, behind this buh, behind this temptation, lay the Lion,watching thy playing with the bait. This device was to have made thee weary of Religion, the other was to have drawn away thy affections from God. And what man of fence can reflect on these hidden things of difhonesty, he hath escaped, without bleffing the Almighty, and going on like the Eunuch, Acts 8. 39. in his way rejoycing?

V. Im

V. Impediment.

V. Danger of lofing their unlawful gain. It's a thing not unusual for men to thrive by fin, and to profper by iniquity; to grow rich by oppreffion, and to advance in wealth by unlawful Callings; to get money by pleafing other men in their luft, and to procure a livelihood by injustice, and complying with the Vices of the Age we live in. The Devil muft have some rewards to bestow, else his Kingdom would foon expire; and though his rewards, as well as temptations, are deceitful, yet rewards they are, and being present and visible, and confequently apt to make the deeper impreffions, they invite more strongly, and carefs men into defires and appetite. Men many times would not venture on fin, but that they believe it is the way to gain, and the known road to advantage and emolument. And as fin is judged to be the way to profit, fo they look upon't as the only means to preferve what they have got and acquired.

If Abfolom had not had a Kingdom in his eye, he would hardly have dar'd to rebel, and, Viper-like, prey'd upon the bowels that did feed and nourish him. Demas fees how plentifully the Heathen Priests did live, what credit, what honour, what wealth and glory they enjoy'd, and that makes him forfake Christianity, and embrace their ways. It was gain made Demetrius so zealous for the worship of Diana; and

the

the Masters of that Damfel that had a Familiar Spirit, fo earnest for telling of Fortunes, and unlawful Divinations. It is this, that makes thoufands comply with mens finful humors, and unwillingness to lose a temporal advantage makes them jogg on in a course, which perhaps they do diflike. Tell them of their fin, and how dangerous it is, the answer is, they cannot help it, and because they must not want bread, they muft neceffarily continue to offend God. Their maintenance is wrapt up in their tranfgreffion, and having laid it down, as a Maxim, that nothing can be ill that makes for their profit, and emolument, they defend their fin and their gain together, and juftifie the one by the other. He that hath but little to live upon in the world, what should he do but feek fupport, where he can find it? and if providence caft his lot among men, that will give him nothing, or stop up the River of their bounty to him, except he do, as they do, flatter their inordinate defires, and accommodate his will to theirs, and lie, and fwear, and drink with them, and commend their lewder doings, he must take that way, there being no other within prospect.

This it's like made Rabab turn harlot, and many of the Jews, Publicans, and Extortioners. Nay it blinds the eye, and what ever men do, looks harmless where gain is the mantle, that doth cover it. This made Hophni and Phineas fhame their profeffion, and Felix pervert juftice. This made Judas a Traytor, and the Pharifees guilty

of

of most notorious Hypocrifie. Lord! what doth not hope of preferment make men do, and how is all Religion laid afide, where greedinefs after gain begins to engrofs the faculties? This made the Jews become Idolaters. And we know who they were that told the Prophet Jeremy, As for the word that thou haft spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee: But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goes forth out of our own mouth, to burn incenfe unto the Queen of Heaven, and to pour out drinkofferings unto her ; for then we had plenty of victuals, and were well, and faw no evil. But fince me left off to burn incenfe to the Queen of Heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been confum'd by the fword, and by the famine, Jerem. 44. 16, 17, 18.

And indeed, this principle, that a finful life is the only profitable life, doth fo spread, and infect the hearts of men, that most are afraid to sit down and confider their ways, for fear Confideration should make them weary of a finful life, and confequently make them quit and calhier the gain and profit they do reap by it. Profit is the great Goddess the World adores, and to preferve that, men employ their ftrength and friends, and make ufe of all opportunities to fecure it; it's that which they are truly jealous of, and which is as dear to them as their lives, and which makes them climb Rocks, and clamber Mountains, and fight their way through all im

pediments