as to allow himself no time for the immediate Service of God, or but little and feldom, it is impoffible that ever Religion fhould profper in fuch a Man's Hands.

As God who gave us all our Time, ought, in reafon, to have fome Portion of it devoted to him, and accordingly hath so commanded; fo if he had not, the very Nature and Temper of our Minds would have made it neceffary, if ever we meant to preferve them in a religious Frame.

We may talk what we will, but it is no more poffible to maintain the spiritual divine Life within our Souls, without frequent and conftant Retirements and taking Times for Reading, and Prayer, and Meditation, than it is to maintain the Life of our Bodies, without a conftant Supply of Meat and Drink.

I could heartily wish this was seriously taken notice of; for the not obferving this Point hath, I am afraid, done Mischief to many Souls. Several there are that at fome times, thro' fome extraordinary Providence of God, and the Motions of his Holy Spirit, are awakened to a very lively Sense of their Duty, and very ftrong and vigorous Refolutions they make; and for fome while they live up to them, that is, fo long as that Senfe lafts, being very careful of their Actions, and having a very comfortable Relish of God and Goodness upon their Spirits.

Why now might not thefe Men always live thus? why certainly with due Care they might, and not only fo, but daily grow better and better; but, alas! we fee they often do not, for you fhall find many of these that began to live fo well, after fome time to lofe all their Senfe of Piety, and to grow as careless and unconcerned for their Souls, as ever they were. I do not deny but there may be many concurrent Causes to produce this Alteration in them, but this I am very confident of, that a main one is that I am now fpeaking of; namely, the Neglect of frequent Recollections, the not taking conftant times of Prayer and Reading and renewing their holy Purposes, and fetching new Supplies of Strength and Vigour from the Throne of Grace, but fuffering worldly Business or Cares to steal away their Hearts infenfibly.

This therefore you muft fix as a certain immoveable Principle in your Minds, that how urgent and preffing foever the Business of your Calling or of your Lives be, it must not put the Thoughts of Religion out of your Head for any long while together: There must be a Time and Leifure found for the minding the Work of that; nay fo neceffary is this, if you mean to fave your Souls, that the allowing your felves Time for Eating and Sleeping is not more.

To define or prescribe the precife Portion of Time that every one is to give to God,

t

and

and the Concernments of his Soul, is a thing not only unneceffary, but unreasonable: because the Conditions of Men are fo infinitely various, both as to their outward and their inward Circumftances; fome Men can allow more time from their neceffary Bufinefs and Occafions than others can, and fome likewife ftand in need of more Retirements and fet Devotions and Meditations than others do However, one Day in a Week God Almighty has bound us all up to by confecrating it to his immediate Service, and he that makes no Confcience of obferving that Day religioufly, it is certain he hath no Senfe of Religion at all, but is either a perfect Worldling or Epicure.

But one Day in a Week spent in devout Exercises, will hardly, I fear, be fufficient to fecure, much lefs to advance, our Spiritual Concernments. We every Day think fit to give Food and Refreshment to our Bodies; why is it not as fit we should every Day be as kind to our Souls, by giving them the Repafts of Prayer, and other holy Exercises; whoever doth not take that Course, will, I dare fay, advance but little in Holiness and Virtue. Nay, if we mean to thrive in Spirituals, fo far muft we be from letting our Bufiness hinder or ftifle our daily Devotions, that we must live fo above it, and have our Thoughts fo loofe from it,as to be at Leifure feveral times in a Day to raise up our Minds unto God; and to think of the great Work

We

we have undertaken, and to implore the Divine Grace to carry us on in it, to thank him for his continued Mercies to us, and to reinforce our Purposes and Refolutions of serving him all the Days of our Life.

O that we would all thus have our Converfation in Heaven, thus maintain Communion with God, while we are a doing the Work of this World!

But however if we cannot or will not raife ourselves to this Pitch of Devotion, yet as we love our Souls, no Bufinefs, no worldly Care, muft hinder us from setting apart every Day fome Portion of our Morning and Evening for religious Ufes and not only doing fo our felves, but allowing all our Servants the fame Liberty, and calling upon them to make use of it: But I leave this.

In the fecond Place, our Care is then alfo immoderate and unlawful, whenever it puts us upon the use of unlawful or fuspected Means for the gaining our Ends; let our Defigns be what they will, never fo innocent, never fo laudable, nay, never fo neceffary to our Well-being, or even Being in this World, yet if for the accomplishing of them we can find in our Hearts to ftrain a Point of Conscience, or to engage in any Practice that we have reafon to believe is against the Laws of God; this is an undeniable Argument that we love the World better than God, are more the Servants of Mammon, than we are of our Lord Jefus. For if we

will be his Difciples, we must not do the leaft Evil that Good may come of it: if we do, our Damnation is juft, as St. Paul hath told us.

They therefore that in their Conversation or Dealing with others can cheat, or over-reach, or defraud, nay, can deliberately tell a ferious Lye, or make use of the leaft indirect Art or Trick for the ferving their own Ends; fuch Men have their Affections too much fet upon the Things of this World, to be ever able to approve themselves fincere Disciples of Jefus Chrift; and of the fame Strain are thofe that practife any fuperftitious Art, for the bringing about their worldly Purpofes; as for Inftance, applying to Wife Men, as they call them, for the refolving hidden Queftions, making use of Charms, or other Magical Tricks, for the Recovery of ftolen Goods, or the Cure of Diseases, or the like. Thefe Things are perfectly unlawful to Chriftians, as being a departing from the ordinary Methods of Providence, (wherein alone we are to feek for Help under our Neceffities) to Ways of the Devil's finding out.

The Sum of this Point is this; fo long as we profecute our Designs in honeft and regular Ways, our Care is laudable, but to make use of the leaft indirect Means for the bringing them about (nay, tho' it were for the saving our own Lives) is an Argument of immoderate worldly Care, and we ought not to do it.

VOL. IV.

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But,