himself to Man, as not to affront his God, and to advise his King to nothing but what is truly great and glorious, and beneficial for the Realm he governs and, as a Prince may confide in fuch a perfon, more than in a sensual man, fo he hath reason to believe, that all things will profper better in his hand, than in the others, because he first feeks the Honour of God, and then the happiness of his King, and the Honour of that Nation he is a Member of; which is a thing fo pleafing to God, that there is nothing more frequent with him, than to blefs fuch ho nest endeavours, and to crown them with fuc cefs and profperity.

And certainly, he that can confider, how to keep himself from the everlasting evil, may, with greater ease prevent temporal mischief and danger, which depend upon the imprudence of his actions; he that can row against the Stream, may, with greater facility, row with it; he that can chearfully go up the Hill, will find no great difficulty in going down; he that can do that which his Nature hath more than ordinary averfion from, may more eafily do that which his nature hath a strong byafs and inclination to a and he, whofe mind will ferve him to turn away the ever-burning wrath of Almighty God, cannot want judgment and prudence to prevent the wrath and anger of thofe men he converfes withal: and he that can, by serious confideration, make sure of a feat in Heaven, cannot want power to confider, how to manage the Eltate Dd God

God hath given him in this World, to Gods glory, and his Neighbours good: and though men that are very confiderate in their Soul concerns, do not always use that prudence we have mention'd in the concerns of this present World; yet it is fufficient, that if they will make ufe of that light, and those arguments, which their reason thus improved by confideration, doth furnish them withal, they may most certainly arrive to this wisdom and difcretion, in fecular concerns and businesses, which we have been speaking of. Indeed it's very rational, that he that exercises his reafon much, and examines the nature, ends, causes, circumftances and confequences of things, as he must do, that seriously confiders the things that belong unto his everlasting peace, fhould arrive to more than ordinary wif dom in other things, and that he that's prudent in the greater, fhould be able to proceed prudentially in leffer matters; that he who is faithful in much, fhould be faithful in a little alfo; and that he who is just in the true Riches, fhould be very juft in the Mammon of unrighteousness too, as we read, Luke 16. 10, 11.

CHAP

CHAP. VII.

A pathetical Exhortation to Men who are jet Strangers to a feripus, religious life, to confider their ways; the wilfulness of their neglect, how dangerous it is; How inexcusable they are, how inbumane to God, and their own Souls; How reafonable God's requests are, and how justly God may turn that power of Confideration he hath given them, into blindness and hardness of heart, fince they make so ill a use of it, &c.

A

ND now, Reader, whoever thou art, that doft yet wallow, or allow thy felf in any known fin, and art not fincerely refolved to close with the terms of Chrift's Eternal Gospel, let me adjure thee, by the mercies of God, not to reject, or fuperciliously to defpife, what here we have propos'd. As thou art a Man, and oweft civility to all Creatures, that have the fignature of Man upon them, be but fo kind and civil to this Difcourfe, as to allow it fome ferious thoughts. Either thou haft a rational Soul, or thou haft not; if thou haft, let me entreat thee, by the Bowels of Jefus, to confider, whether this prefent World be all the Sphere that God intended it should move in ; if it be not, and if how to fecure the happiness of the World to come, be the chief thing this thy Soul is defigned for, Why wilt thou fruftrate God in his expectation? Why wilt thou go conDd 2 trary

trary to all Creatures, and wilt not prosecute the end for which thy Soul was made, and shed into thy Body? That there is fuch a thing as a life to come, and an Eternity of Joy and Torment; the one promised to a strict and heavenly converfation, the other threatned to a loose and careless, or fenfual life, cannot be call'd into question by him, that fhall impartially reflect upon the premiffes: It's certain, the things which concern that other Life, are not difcover'd by our fenfes, and therefore thou canst not hope to be affected with them that way. It's thy reason only that can and must apprehend that future state, and fo apprehend it, as to work upon thy affections. But which way is it poffible thy reafon should fo apprehend it, as to fright thee from thy evil courses, except it be improv'd by Confideration? Sinner, I do here, in the presence of God, conjure thee by all that's good and holy, by the intereft and welfare of thine own Soul, by all the Laws of self-interest, by the Revelations of the Son of God, by all that God ever did for Mankind, by that love which tranfcends the understandings of Men and Angels, by the groans of thofe miferable Souls which are now in Hell, by all the joys of Paradife, by the teftimony of thine own Confcience, by all the motions of God's Spirit in thy heart, by all the mercies thou dost receive from Heaven, by that Allegiance thou owest to God, by that faithfulness thou oweft to thine own Soul; I do most seriously conjure

thee

thee to tell me, whether thou art not able to confider the evil of thy courses, the beauty of God's ways, and the fad confequences of fenfuality; thou denieft thy own being, deniest God's favour to thy Soul, denieft the glory of thy Creation, denieft the most vifible and the most apparent thing in the world, if thou denieft thy ability in this point; and if thou art able to confider fo much, What injustice can it be in God to demand an account of this Confideration? Wherein doth he do thee an injury, if he doth ask what thou haft done with this power? Wert thou in God's ftead, wouldst not thou require the fame account of thy Servant on whom thou hadst beftowed fuch a Talent? If thou art able, and wilt not take thy finfulness into ferious confideration, Can there be any thing more just in the world, than thy damnation? How eafie were it for thee to lay home the danger thou art in; and feeing it is fo eafie, How juft is it with God to let thee perish in that danger thou art resolv'd, in despight of all God's endeavours to the contrary, to fall and fink into? O Christian, how dreadful will it be for thee, when Christ shall depart from thee, with this doleful exclamation, How often would I have gathered thee, as a Hen doth gather her Chickens under her Wings, and thou wouldeft not? Wouldeft not? this is it that makes thy everlasting torments juft. O Sinner, that God should invite thee to Heaven, and thou put him off with this Anfwer, I will Dd 3 not!