A Sinner is a Man that is dead, and a thoufand times more senseless than the Dead themselves. His very Soul is dead; whereas others die only as to the Body, I say, his very Soul is dead; nor do I here use any Metaphor. The Soul only lives by Love and Knowledge. Thus the Love and Knowledge (of what is the Good of Man, that is) of God, is the true Life of the Soul; and when it lofes this Love and this Knowledge, it lofes its true Life, tho' it retains another poor and miferable one, by the Love it bears to, and the Knowledge it has of the Creatures. 'Tis for this Reason, that it is faid by Wifdom to its Children, Wisdom gives her Sons Life, because on them it bestows the Knowledge and Love of God.

The Comparison therefore is very natural and exact, which the Fathers make between a Soul in Sin, and a moving Sepulchre; because the Soul being dead, the Body that inclofes it may in fome fort be faid to be its Grave. And this Comparison runs fo much the better, in that, as a Tomb is adorn'd without, but fill'd within with nothing but Dirt and Corruption; fo the Sinner, whofe Outfide appears fo pleafing and grateful, flattering our Senfes by these exterior Endowments, conceals within fo horrible a Corruption and Stench, that it would prove intolerable, were it laid open to Sight.

The dreadful Mifery of Sinners, may help us to conceive the inestimable Happiness of the Juft, fince we know already, that 'tis a great good Fortune to be freed from fo wretched a Condition. The Juft are no more either blind or deaf Beggars, or benumm'd with Palfies; they are no Slaves nor naked, nor in a State of Death; but they enjoy the Light of Almighty God; they, as Friends, hear his Voice; they raise themselves up towards him, by the Motions and Sentiments of their Hearts; they are poffefs'd of the Treasures of Grace, and freed from the Slavery of the Devil and Sin; they are clad with the Robes of Innocency, and live the true Life, that is the Life of Charity.

But

But we must yet make a farther Progrefs, before we can conceive any Part of their Grandeur, we must say they are Kings, being Affociates in Royalty with our Saviour Jefus Chrift; that they are Lords of the World, fince the whole Creation continues but for, and in relation to them; that they are Children of God, fince they are adopted for his by being united to his only Son: that they are Heirs of Heaven, fince that is the Inheritance of our Saviour, and a Right to it has been conferr'd on them by the Pledge of the Holy Ghoft, which they have receiv'd; that they are the Temple of God, fince he dwells in them, and that they are animated by his Holy Spirit; that they are Members of Jefus Chrift, making up part of his Body, by the Participation of his Spirit.

We must endeavour to imprint in our Minds, as deep as we can, these Ideas, that we may be able to refist the Impreffions made only by the Difcourfes of Men, who fill our Heads with Conceits of falfe Grandeur, falfe Abjections, falfe Goods and Evils: And for this Reason it is, the holy Scriptures so often raise us up to admire the juft. Blessed are those who are without Blame in the ways of God: Bleffed are those who found the Depth of his Precepts: Bleed is the Man who fears God: Bleffed is the Man who follows not the Counsel of the Wicked: Bleffed, O Lord, are those who dwell in thy Houfe. On the contrary, they endeavour to take from us that Efteem we have for all thofe human Qualities, which are the usual Object of Man's Vanity. Let not the Wife glory in his Wifdom, nor the Strong in his Strength, nor the Rich in his Riches; but he that has a mind to glorify himself, let it be in knowing me, in knowing that I am the Lord, who exercise Mercy, Judgment and Juftice in the Earth: for these are the things that please me, Jays the Lord.

The facred Writ proceeds yet farther, and wills us to look on Sinners, not only as reduc'd by Sin to a low degree of Abjection, but even to a State of Annihilation. I z

And

And while in this manner it paints them forth, at the fame time it buries and annihilates with them all their Greatness, all their Riches, all their Qualifications, as well the interior as the exterior ones. It will not permit that any thing of these fhou'd make them even to fubfift in our fight, or make us to judge there is any thing of real and folid in their Condition.

And it is thus the holy Scripture wou'd have us to confider whatever has no Relation to God. This is that exprefs Conclufion which it made a great King, on whom God had heap'd all the Grandeurs and Pleasures of the World, to deduce, to the end he might be more able to teach us the Vanity of them all. In pursuit of this Defign he does in particular reprefent to us the Nothingness of all Pleasures, of all Greatnefs, of all Employments, of all Enterprises confider'd in themfelves, and not referr'd to God. After all he concludes the Sum of his Inftructions with thefe Words, Fear God, and keep his Commandments; for in this confifts the very Being of all Men. That is to fay, Whatever tends not to God and the keeping his Law, has no Being, no Reality, cannot be folid and happy; and fo before Almighty God, is a total Privation of Good. Thus it is God judges of the things of this Earth, and therefore we ought not to judge otherwife; and by this Rule it is, that we fhould reform all thofe falfe Ideas and Notions we receive from our Converfation; which would naturally lead us to live a Life of Religion, the end of which is a Life of eternal Glory.

PRAYER

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PRAY E R.

T

HE feveral Duties and Exercises of Religion, which will be treated of under the following

Heads, Prayer, Fafting, Repentance, the Sacrament, &c. have been touch'd upon in feveral of the preceding; but having not been fo thoroughly and particularly confider'd, as the Importance of them requires, 'twill be neceffary to treat of them at large, for the greater Inftruction and Profit of the Reader; In doing which we shall begin with Prayer.

There is no greater Argument in the World of our fpiritual Danger, than the manifeft Indifpofition there is in us to religious Duties, nor any plainer Instance of that than the backwardness which moft Men have always, and all Men have fometimes, to say their Prayers: So weary are we of their Length, fo glad when they are done, fo witty to excufe and fruftrate an Opportunity; and yet all Prayer is nothing but a defiring of God to give us the greatest and the best things we can need, and which can make us happy. It is a Work so easy, fo honourable, and to fo great Purpose, that in all the inftances of Religion and Providence, except only the Incarnation of his Son, God has not given us a greater Argument of his Willingness to have us fav'd, than by rewarding so easy a Duty with so great Bleffings; neither do we in any case more plainly fhew our contempt of his Mercy.

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Ought

Ought we not seriously to confider, that God and his bleffed Son command it, that 'tis an act of Grace and highest Honour, that we, Duft and Ashes as we are, are admitted to speak to the eternal God, to run to him as to a Father, to lay open our Wants, to complain of our Burdens, to prefent our Scruples, to beg Remedy and Eafe, Support and Counsel, Health and Safety, Deliverance and Salvation? God has invited us by many gracious Promises of hearing us; he has appointed his moft glorious Son to be the Médiator between us and him, and to make continual Interceffion for us at the throne of Grace; he has put it into the hands of Men, to refcind or alter all the decrees of God which are conditional, and concern our Estate whether temporal or eternal, by the power of Prayers. The Prayers of good Men have fav'd Cities and Kingdoms from Ruin, have rais'd the Dead to Life, have stopp'd the Violence of Fire, fhut the Mouths of wild Beafs, alter'd the course of Nature, caus'd Rain in Egypt, and Drought in the Sea. Prayer has made the Sun to go from Weft to Eaft, and the Moon to ftand ftill; it has compell'd Rocks and Mountains to walk; it cures Diseases without Phyfick; and makes Phyfick do the Work of Nature, Nature do the Work of Grace, Grace do the Work of God, and does Miracles in Accident and Event. Tho' it does all this, 'tis of itself nothing but an ascent of the Mind to God, a defiring of things fit to be defired, and an Expreffion of this defire to God, as we can, and as becomes us. Our Unwillingness to pray, is nothing elfe, but a not defiring what we ought paffionately to long for; or if we do defire it, 'tis a choofing rather to with our Satisfaction and Felicity than to ask for it.

In the exercise of Prayer, we must be careful that we never ask any thing of God that's finful, or that directly minifters to fin; for that wou'd be to ask God to dishonour himself, and to undo us. It equally imports us, to confider what we pray for; before it returns in Bleffing, it must be join'd with Chrift's Interceffion, and

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