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murmur that he gives me not that Viper, which will fting me into endless tortures? My love of the World is Adultery, and fhall I defire that wherewith I have committed Adultery? Is it not all one, as if a Woman should entreat her Husband to let her enjoy the pleasure of an unlawful Bed? The Husband doth fhew great mercy to her, in that, when he might punish her more feverely, he only removes the Adulterer; and fhall I count that Mercy an injury? In wifhing for the Riches and Greatnesses of this World, I do as much defire God to give me that, whereby I do offend him. Shall I be angry with a Chirurgeon, who, to prevent the spreading of my Cancer, cuts off a Member, to preferve my Life? And fhall I take it ill of God, for wounding my Flesh, to draw out the Arrows that flick in my Heart, and would fester, and kill me, if not pull'd out betimes?

How fhall I be crowned, if I ftrive not? How fhall I ftrive, if I have no temptation? I cannot ftrive without an Enemy, and without ftriving there can be no Victory. The Workman doth not pull the Gold out of the Fire, till fufficiently refined; and fhall I murmur, that God lets the Fiery Trials continue upon me, when it is certain, that my Gold is not yet fit to be received into the Sanctuary? Iam full of dangers, but my greatest danger is Security. Men fear, and quake, and tremble, if they are in the midit of an hundred Enemies. I have all the Devils in Hell against me, and a whole Army of Lufts bent to ruine me, and am not afraid.

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And when there is nothing can rouze me from my fecurity, but Affliction, ought not I to kifs the Rod? In the greatest Troubles I may be affured, that God loves me, and that it is not his Anger, but his Love, that follows me with Chaftifements; and, Why fhould I fret under the Yoke, especially when fretting and struggling to fhake it off before God's time, doth but make my Neck more fore, and the Yoak far more uneafie? I brought the cause of suffering with me into the World, which is Sin; and how can I expect I fhall be freed from fuffering, till I am freed from Sin? God might have placed me in Heaven, immediately upon my coming into the World, without any of thefe outward troubles: He could as easily produce Bread out of the Earth, as he doth the Ears of Corn; but, that Man may sweat and labour, and relish his Bread the better, he causes only the Ears of Corn to fpring, and of them Bread must be made; fo, by labour and fuffering, God leads me unto Glory, that I may the better relish his Bounty and Liberality, and my Reft may be the fweeter after my toil and tempests here. Affliction, Iknow, cannot hurt me, for my Saviour hath been my tafter; there can be no bitterness in these Herbs, when my God hath feasoned them. Why fhould I love God lefs than Dogs do their Masters? These poor Brutes are beaten, and ftruck, and chid, and pelted with Stones, and yet the more they are beaten, the more they love their owners, and cringe, and bow, and humble themselves before them; Shall I be worse than a Beast, and

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fhall I carry a rational Soul in my Breast, and kick against those pricks which God hath set to guard me from Eternal Flames? All my forrows and bitterness will fhortly be poured out into an Ocean of sweetness; and, How little of it fhall I perceive then? It will then be all loft in a Sea of Glory, and I fhall forget that I was Poor, and Wretched, and Naked, and Miferable, when I fhall be eternally enriched with God's Bounty, enamoured with his Perfection, decked with his Majestick Robes, comforted with his Confolation, delighted with his Love, enriched by his Wifdom, and fatisfied with his Beauty, in whose Prefence there is fulness of Joy, and Pleasure at his right Hand for evermore.

These are some defcants upon the Picture of Retirement; with fuch confolations can he that retires, refresh himself, while the Man that wearies himself with the Vanities of this World finds no folid Peace; and when he comes to die, must look upon his former life with horror and anxiety. But,

II. Another great help to Confideration, is Prayer; this is the Ambaffador that must go to Heaven, and fetch the affiftance of God's Spirit from thence. Confideration fhews me my danger, and my happiness, but it's the Spirit of God muft blow up my Affections, that they may actually fhun the one, and reach after the other; and this Spirit must be had by Prayer, not by Lip labour, not by Prayer unto which the Heart is a stranger, and knows not what the Tongue means in making such

a noife, but by Prayer, which expreffes the real defires of the Heart; by Prayer, that flows from a deep fenfe of the abfolute neceffity of the Grace of God, and hath Fire and Flames enough to bear it up into Heaven. For if you which are evil, can give good Gifts unto your Children, how much more hall your Heavenly Father give his holy Spirit to them that ask bim? faith Chrift, Luke 11, 13. And what kind of asking this is, appears from the Parable immediately preceding; For which of you, faith Chrift, v. 5. fhall have a Friend, and fhall

go to him at Midnight, and fay unto him, Friend, lend me three Loaves; for a Friend of mine in his journey is come unto me, and I have nothing to fet before him. And be from within fball anfwer and fay, Trouble me not, for the door is now but, and my Children are with me in Bed, I cannot rife and give thee: I fay unto you, though he will not rife and give him, because he is his Friend, yet because of his importunity he will rife, and give him as many as he needs. And then it follows immediately, Ask, and it shall be given you, i. e. Ask for God's Holy Spirit, with the fame importunity, with the fame fervency and earnestnefs, that this Man did the Loaves; follow God with inceffant cries, refolve not to be denied, and it fhall most certainly be given you.

The Truth is, importunate and fervent Prayer fhews a Man is in good earnest, and that he doth not come to God out of Formality,or merely to fatisfie the motions of a fearful Confcience, but that a great Sense of the Goodness

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and Mercy of God, and of his Spiritual Wants and Neceffities, puts him upon Prayer, and fuch Prayers God cannot defpife, because he hath promised to hear them; and of this the Evangelift gives us a very illuftrious Example in the Woman of Canaan crying unto Chrift, Lord help me. The Anfwer is rough, It is not meet to take the Childrens Bread and give it unto Dogs: Yet this doth not terrifie her, the doubles her Cries, and feems to catch our Saviour in his own Words, Truth, Lord; yet the Dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Mafter's Table. And now God can hold no longer, but from his Mouth drops the joyful Word, O Woman, great is thy Faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt, Matthew 15. 25, 26, 27. .

Prayer fanctifies Confideration, and where the Soul begs hard of God, that God would fet home the Reflections fhe hath had, and work her into a Willingness to close with his Will, that he would increase that Light which Confideration hath given her; give that Light Fire too, to warm as well as clear her, and drive and force thofe Convictions, Confideration hath afforded her, into a ferious Converfion; terrifie her fo with that Sight of Sin,which Confideration hath prefented to her, that the may remain no longer in the Suburbs of Hell, but come out of Sodom, and fo allure her with that Beauty of Holiness, which Confideration hath let her have a View of, that fhe may not be able to refift the Splendor, but fubmit to the Power, and fend his Spirit fo to move upon her Affections, fo to actuate her Endeavours,

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