found me, O mine Enemy (b)? Upon that of the latter, Come with me, caft in thy Lot, let us have one Purfe (c).

(2.) THE new Creature hath an Apiness to fall into boly Meditation. Let this be inftanced in Seasons of Leifure and Retirement. A Man freed from the Weight of Business and the Engagement of Company, who can be without ferious Reflexion in one Kind or other, can have little Room to judge that God hath the first Regard of his Soul. And yet there is a Generation, which is not apt to take up the Thought of GoD and Religion, upon fuch moft feasonable Occafions: Ungodly Men, who, as David fpeaks, have not God in all their Thoughts (d). They fhall be alone, on a Journey, rife up and lie down; and all the Thoughts of their Hearts vain and worldly. As I may fay, they do not all the while once think of thinking upon GOD. And what will ye judge of yourselves? Are ye not carnal? Are ye not careless; Will ye yet doubt of the unholy State of your Souls, when ye will not fo much as think of your. Heavenly Father, and the Heavenly Inheritance he offers you, even when ye have nothing else to think of?

BUT the new Creature, as he is apt to fteal a Thought for a Moment out of Bufi

(b) Kings xxi. 20.
(d). Pfal. x. 4.

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(c) Prov. i. 14.

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nefs or Company, and to retire to God in the midst of either: So he makes much of Seasons, when he is in Retirement. Now he finds himself free, and at Eafe, free now for Converse with his GOD, and to commune with his Soul. Now he falls into ferious Meditation; either fearches out his Spirit and his Conduct, or raifes his Thoughts after GoD, or ftretches them forward into Eternity, or deliberates for the Glory of his Master's Kingdom. Some folemn Subject engages him: And though he be beaten from it by the Interruption of trifling Conceits, which the Weakness and Vanity of the human Mind is ever liable to; yet he will be returning to it again and again. The cxxxixth Pfalm, affords us an admirableExample of a good Man's fecret and holy Meditation. It contains fome pious Reflexions of David, upon God's univerfal Prefence. He was funk into the moft folemn Recollection, upon the Thought of GOD's Nearnefs unto him. He was confidering how GOD fearched him, and faw him throughout: He found he could go no-where from GOD in the whole Universe. There GoD would be alfo, where-ever he was. The awful pleafing Thought grows warm upon his Soul, till he feels himself befet on every Side, and (if I may fo exprefs it) unable to efcape from God's Prefence. He breaks out into this most pious and most suitable Ejacu

Ejaculation: Try me, O God, and feek the Ground of my Heart; prove me and examine my Thoughts; lok well if there be any Way of Wickedness in me, and lead me in the Way everlasting.

WILL Formality fay, that it hath this Aptnefs to ferious Meditation? How was the laft Hour of Leifure employed? What Matter was the Subject of it? Retired from the World, did thy Thoughts fly upwards? Didst thou find thyself drawn towards GoD and Christ; that thou waft inclined to facred Reflexion; the Tendency of thy Soul, as if it had been influenced by an attractive Principle, directing thy Thoughts towards the Point of Serioufnefs? Or waft thou not at that Hour engaged upon fome important Scheme of Intereft or Honor? upon fome Trifle lately enjoyed, or of which thou waft in Expectation? Was it thus that Hour was fpent? And are thy retired (I mean not thy devotional) Hours like unto it? Surely, thou thinkeft as the Careless doth; thou art a Stranger to the pious Spirit, which poffeffes the new Creature's Breaft.-Yet again,

(3) THE new Creature doth not entertain defiling Thoughts in his Heart. Proud, uncharitable, worldly, luftful Suggestions may be starting up in the Mind; although lefs and lefs, more feldom and more faintly, as we advance toward Perfection. But the Inquiry is, what Entertainment they meet with. Are. they

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they not fuddenly obferved and speedily caft out? Doth the Mind dwell upon them, raifing Contrivances to put them in Execution? Above all, is there little elfe which paffes through the Mind, infomuch that the Soul feeds upon them continually? GOD, who trieth the Heart and Reins, fees nothing but Fllthiness and Defilement abiding with fuch. What matter Forms, if this be the Cafe? Or where can be the Difference between the decent, or the open careless Sinner? GOD requireth Truth in the inward Parts (e); and, behold an Heart unwashed from Wickedness, nothing but vain Thoughts lodge there (f).

BUT the Thoughts of the Righteous are right, he fuppreffes all finful Imaginations; he will not entertain fuch difagreeable Guests. It grieves him, that Impurities fhould be preffing into the Temple of GOD. But he harbours them not, would not fhew them the leaft Courtesy, not knowingly doth he give them the leaft Confent. Do they return again and again? He ftill refufes them, ftill cafts them out, afhamed that he is fo little Mafter of his own Heart. He doth not fit down and feed his Mind with pompous Reviews of the Honor, Wealth, or Fame, that diftinguish him in his Generation; nor amufe and lofe himself in imaginary distant Scenes of worldly Bleffings, or carnal Plea(e) Pfal. li. 6. (f) Jer. iv. 14.

fures,

fures, which are but in Expectation: He keeps his Thoughts clofe as he can, to prefent Duty and the Occurrences of the inftant Day; leaving the Morrow to God, the Dif pofer of it, the Difpenfer of all its Events. He takes no Thought for the Morrow, in the largest Sense the Words can bear; finding, that fufficient unto the Day is the Evil thereof (g). În a word; he is fuch an Enemy to Sin, that he cannot patiently endure it in the most secret Thoughts of his Heart. There is a Spring upon his Soul, which per-. petually and forcibly acts against all vain Imaginations: Though, nevertheless, he is not without Sufpicions, that he may often give them fome unobferved Confent: Hé knows that he hath no Lie in bis right Hand, when in the facred Words of Infpiration, he makes his most devout and importunate Petition to the Father of Heaven; Renew a right Spirit within me (b); try my Heart and my Reins; cleanse me from fecret Faults; let the Meditations of my Heart be acceptable in thy Sight, O Lord my Strength and my Redeemer (i). O mention me in the Book of Remembrance which is written before thee, for them which fear the Lord, and have thought upon bis Name.

To ftate the whole of this Matter in the shortest Compass. It is the Way of a natu

(g) Matth. vi. 34.

(i) Pfal. xix. 12, 14.

(b) Pfal. li. 10.

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