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CHAP. IV.

Of the various Impediments and Remora's of Confideration. Men fanfie greater difficulty in't, than there is indeed. Are continually employ'd about fenfual Objects. Loth to part with their fins. Ignorant of the pleasure of Confideration. "Reflect upon the danger of lofing their unlawful gain. Fear they shall fall into Melancholy, or go diftracted with fo much feriousness. Are of opinion, That Converfion, in that fenfe the Scripture Speaks of it, is needles. Miftake the nature of Confideration. Are difcouraged by evil Company. Neglect confulting with Minifters about this neceffary work. Delude themfelves with the Notion of Chrift's dying for the fins of the World.

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Onfideration, a Duty fo great, so noble, fo necessary, one would think should find futable entertainment with all men that pretend to reason, or wisdom, or discretion; For in not giving it refpect, and veneration, they call their own reason in queftion, difparage their wisdom, and give juft occafion to their Neighbours to fufpect, that difcretion is a flower, which never grew in their Garden, the Guest being fo beneficial, who can imagine to the contrary, but every man will spread open his Doors, and let

it in? How? Lock the Gates against a good Angel? Keep out a Messenger that brings glad tidings? Darken the Room that I may not fee the Sun? Confideration, that directs me, how I may be a Friend of God, get room in his Bofome, fing with Angels, triumph with Seraphims, fit at the right hand of a glorified Redeemer, stand before the Throne of God, serve him day and. night in his Temple, and be freed from all poffi. bility of fin and mifery, from all difcontent and vexation of spirit! Is it poffible a Meffenger of that worth, and beauty, and excellency, can want a lodging? Is it poffible it should fare no better than the GREAT JESUS, be destitute of a place where to lay its head? Is it poffible men should deal with it as the inhabitants of Sodom did with the three heavenly Messengers that enter'd into Lot's House? Quarrel with it? abuse it? offer violence to it? be angry at it's harmless language? fhew their spleen against that, whofe prefence preferves them from being confumed? and which while it is among them, stays the hand of Heaven, the hand of the deftroying Angel, that they perish not? Does not every man defire to be happy? Did ever any man hate his own flesh? Was ever any man in love with torment? Is it not every man's interest to study how to prevent it? And then fure, Confideration cannot but have the love and embraces of all perfons, that do not make Sport with cafting fire-brands, and death, and arrows, Prov. 26, 18, 19.

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So an impartial ferious man would think, yet to our grief and forrow we find, that men run away from it, as from the Plague, and do as carefully avoid it, as they would do Rats-bane, or Sublimate, or Night-fhade. This will oblige me in the next place to enquire, what are the Remora's or Impediments that make men neglect this Panacea, and like mad Dogs, fhun the water that would cure them, and flight the remedy that would infallibly recover them. It's natural for men to enquire into the reafons of any decay. If a Tree do not thrive, if Flowers do wither in the Bud, if a Child do not grow, or if the Water of a River fails, the first thing we do, is, to enquire where the ftop is, and what the caufes of the defect are, and why things do not profper according to expectation? And he that hath a Vineyard in a very fruitful Hill, and fences it, and gathers the Stones out of it, and plants it with the choicest Vine, and builds a Tower in the midst of it, and makes a WinePrefs therein, may well ask the Question, Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? Ifai. 5. 1, 2, 3, 4.

The Clogs and Impediments of Confideration are numberless, for indeed it's the Devil's study and contrivance day and night, which way to prevent it. Where a perfon dares extricate himfelf from the fnares of fenfe, and venture upon this work, the Enemy juftly fears he hall lofe a Subject; and a Soul will be fnatcht out of his Clutches, and he shall not be able to hold

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the finner in his Egypt, or hinder him from facrificing to the Lord his God. He dreads this Land of Goshen; and to fee people walk that way, makes him fret and ftorm. It grates upon his Spirits to behold a finner fet his face towards Ferufalem, he cannot endure to fee the Difciples on mount Tabor; an Ifaack, that's going to meditate is a Thorn in his eyes, and, being a Spirit that lives upon Envy, enjoys his malice, and finds his greatest fatisfaction in deftroying mens Souls s we must fuppofe he leaves no ftone unturn'd, no ftratagem untri'd, no means unattempted, to hinder men from a ferious recollection of their thoughts and imaginations, And no Husbandman can be fuppofed to fet more traps, or invent more pitfalls, or devife more fnares for vermine and rapacious animals, then this Sophifter lays to divert the stream of menss thoughts into a chanel of contemptible, and impertinent objects.

There is fuch beauty, fuch loveliness in the ways of God, notwithstanding the coarse outfide, that should a perfon, by ferious Confideration, he tempted to lift up the veil, and fee what is behind it ; remove the Sackcloth and Ashes, and take a view of that which is underneath; open the Iron Gate, and behold the Gold within; unlock the Cabinet, and fee the Jewels there; he would most certainly be ravish'd with the fight, and not stay one hour longer in the Chambers of Death. This the Devil knows; he is fenfible, that Confideration is a Tree of Life, H 2 there

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therefore, left men put forth their hands and take of the Tree, and eat and live for ever, we may rationally believe, he'll cross their endeavours to the uttermoft; fo that we may fuppofe as many impediments of Confideration, as the Devil can invent ftumbling blocks to throw in the way to this Duty: however let's take a view of fome of the principal.

I. The fanfied difficulty of it. I fay fanfied, for there is not that hardship in't, men imagine. But fuch enemies are the generality of men to their own happiness, that they will fanfie difficulties in things they are loth to do, and they therefore cry out, That they are hard, and not to be compaffed but with infinite deal of trouble, because they would be excus'd from the perfor mance or practice of them. It's ordinary for School-boys to plead difficulty of the Task their Master fets them, when they have a greater mind to play than to learn; much like Solomon's flothful man, Prov. 26. 13. There is a Lion in the way, there is a Lion in the fireets. Vain man! there are no Lions but in his own brain, no confiderable difficulties, but what are of his own making. So here, men fanfie that this serious confideration of their way, is a thing which none but Scholars and men of Learning can reach, and none are oblig'd to mind but men of Letters, and fuch as are bookish, and read much, and have large capacities, are men of great judgment, and Can wholly give or dedicate themselves to this

study:

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