and Noah walked with God. So David, Pfal. 26.3, I have walked in thy truth. Pfal. 119. 168, I have kept they precepts, and thy testimonies, for all my ways are before thee. This was the beft teftimony, that Solomon his Son could give of him, when he was dead, I King. 3. 6, Thou hast fhewed unto thy fervant David my Father, great mercy, according as be walked before thee, in truth, and righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee. This is that which God gives in charge to Abraham, and that upon this account, Gen. 17. 1, walk before me, and be thou perfect. As thou defireft (and I know thou defireft) to hold fast thine integrity: Let me live in thy thoughts, and fee to it, that thou fo live, fo think, fo fpeak, and fo do, as remembring thou art always in my fight. This is that which hath a very great influence, to draw, as it were, the draught of the Image of God, day by day in our Souls, in more and more lively colours. For in the ftate of glory, the glorified Saints that are with the Lord, and always behold his face are like him, and see him as he is, 1 Joh. 3.2. Even fo it is in the fate of grace, fo far as this duty is confcientiously obferved, and difcharged, 2 Cor. 3. 18, We all with open face, beholding as in 4 glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the fame image, from glory to glory, even

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as by the Spirit of the Lord. It is true, it is not faid of Mofes, that his face did fhine the first time, that he had been with God in the Mount, but when he had been with him the fecond time, Exod. 34.29. This then is that we ought to have deeply engraven upon our hearts, as ever we defire not to lose the things we have wrought, to do as David did, Pfal. 16. 8, I have fet the Lord always before my face. Always] that implies that we ought to make it our daily work: what a Man does every day, he is faid to do Always. And Always] i.e. one day as well as another, to our laft day. This is no more then is exprefly required, Prov. 23. 17, Be thou in the fear of the Lord, all the day long. And 1 Pet. 1. 17,-pass the time of your fojourning here in fear. It is the exercife of the fear of God, which hath a very great influence upon Soul-profperity, 2 Cor. 7.1-perfecting holiness in the fear of God. And it is this realizing the prefence of God, which hath the great influence into the exercife of the fear of God. Hence it is, that true child-like fear is faid to be, fearing before God; that is, out of an awful respect unto, and due confideration of his All-feeing eye, Eccl. 8. 12,-it (hall be well with them that fear God, that fear before him. This is that then, which above all other things, ought not to be omitted, for the ve

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ry finews of all heart-godliness are, as it were, cut in funder, fo far as this is neglected. For there is nothing left then, which hath any power over the inward man, the hidden man of the heart, but it enjoys a lawless liberty, as if there were none to obferve it, nor to judge it. 3 Epift. of John ver. 11, Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil, hath not feen God. Deut. 32. 18, Of the Rock that begat thee, thou art unmindful, and haft forgotten God that formed thee. All their wickedness is charged upon that.

I fhall fay no more to this Second ge. neral Direction, but only these Three things.

(1.) That untill the Soul be fpiritually alive to God, and fo in a capacity of prof pering, there is neither delight, nor defire to entertain any thoughts of God, Rom. 1. 28, And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. They caft the notions of God out of their minds, as of no ufe to them, Pfal. 10. 4, God is not in all his thoughts. i.e. Not in his thoughts at all, Job 21. 14, They fay to the Almighty, Depart from us, for we defire not the knowledge of thy ways. Some fay fo in words at length, and all of them fay it in their hearts. Thò God faith, Wo unto you, when I depart from

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you, Hol. 9. 12. Yet they think it best when he departeth from them; and the farther the better. This frame of heart is the veblackness of Hellish darkness. It speaks the very language of Satan, Matth. 8. 29, What have we to do with thee, thou Jefus, the Son of God; art thou come to torment us before the time? Thus it was of old, Ifa: 30. 11, Cause the holy one of Ifrael to reafe from as.

(2.) Though the Soul be alive to God, yet fo far as the Image of the old Adam is unmortified, and any particular luft indatged, fo far God and the heart will be ftrangers. Not only the beam but even fuch a moat in the eye, will make fuch Souls, to fhun, what they can, the prefence of God, and the prefence of thofe who, they think, will speak the mind of God unto them; as Ahab did the prefence of Micaiah, 1 King. 22.8. Such Souls are far from profpering. This is the very image of old Adam, Gen.3.8, He heard the voice of God, and hid himself from the prefence of the Lord.

3. Even thofe whofe Souls do live, and in fome measure, may be faid to profper, though they dare not omit any external duty of Religion, yet they do too often, and too eafily flip over this, without timely obfervation, till they take a review of their hearts, and then they fee they have

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cause to fay, as Pfal. 36. 11. Unite my heart to thee, that I may fear before thee, all the day long: Or unite my heart within it felf, that it may not be diverted, or distracted, not carried this way, and that way, but that I may be able to fay, It is fixed, it is fixed. Thus I fay it is, and that too often with Souls that profper according to their measure. Therefore we ought to charge our felves with this duty, and renew the charge from day to day. To fet our felves under the actual confideration of God's All-feeing eye; who hath absolute Soveraignty over us; to whom alone we muft ftand or fall; who can tell us all our thoughts, and will render to every Man according to his works; and therefore hath a Book of remembrance for thofe that think upon him, and fear his name, Mal. 3. 16. And hath a bag for iniquity, wherein he doth, as it were, feal up mens fins to bring them forth as Evidences, and charge them upon every one as the matter requires. And as God is faid to have a Book, and a Bag, fo he is faid to have a Bottle, Pfal. 56. 8, Put my tears into thy bottle, are they not in thy book? This, I fay, we fhould charge upon our hearts, and renew this charge from day to day, till we have fome power over them. For though it be true, that God alone hath the Soveraignty over, and is the

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