the Throne of Grace with thefe or the like Petitions; and what he asks in Faith, will furely be granted him.

O my God, and my Father, increase the Knowledge of thy Word, and the Grace of thy Spirit in me: Enable me to perfect Holiness in thy Fear, and to hold faft the Steadfaftnefs of my Hope unto the End. Pardon all the Sins and Errors of my Life, and accept of my Services, through Jefus Chrift. And because, though after all we can do we are Unprofitable Servants, thy infinite Bounty will yet certainly Recompenfe our fincere Endeavours to promote thy Glory; Let me find my Reward from Thee, or rather do thou thyfelf vouchfafe to be my Reward. I should have ever thought myself unworthy to have put this Petition to Thee, O thou Glorious and Incomprehenfible Majefty, had not thy own Goodness, thy own Spirit kindled this Ambition in me. Behold what Manner of Love is this, that we should be called the Sons of God! These are the Words of thy Servant St. John. And now therefore, my can never be at Reft till I awake at the Laft Day after thy Likeness. I can never be fatisfied till I behold thy Glory: Which vouchsafe me, I beseech Thee, by thy Mercy and thy Faithfulness, by the Sufferings and Interceffion of thy Dearly Beloved Son. Amen.

Soul

SCRU

I

SCRUPLE S.

N Matters of Religion and another World, nothing is more ordinarily obfervable, than that those Peo

ple are wont to have the greatest Fears, who have the least Reason for them. Tho' good Christians think the best of others, they are generally very fufpicious of themselves: They have a deep Sense of the Danger of Sin, and a full Conviction of the fatal End of Difobedience; which makes them think, that in a Matter wherein it concerns them fo highly not to be mistaken, they can never be over-jealous of their own Hearts, or too cautious, left after all, the infupportable Punishments of Sin fhould fall to be their own Portion.

This they do in an especial manner, if in any material Point, upon which, as to the Sentence of Life or Death, the Gospel lays a great Stress, they are ignorant and erroneous: For there are no Terrors in the World comparable to thofe of Religion; nor have any Men upon Earth fo much Reason to be afraid, as they who are in danger to fall under them. If there is any thing therefore which will be of great account in the last Judgment, or what is all one, which they think will be feverely accounted for; and they either find themselves to be guilty of it, or but fancy that they are (which is the fame Thing in the Effect of it) they muft needs be fearfully perplex'd, and depriv'd of all Peace and Comfort, tho' they are really in the greatest Safety. 'Tis true indeed, that in the End they fhall be no Lofers;

nor

nor fhall those mistaken Fears ever be fulfill'd upon them: Because at the last Day God will judge them according to his own Rule, which they have really perform'd, tho' they knew it not, and not according to their Errors and Mifrepresentations of it. Their Errors fhall in no wife pervert his Truth; for he sees what they are, however they may mistake it; and if he fees them to be Righteous, his Sentence will follow his own Knowledge. He will declare their Righteousness to all the World.

This is the Security of all Good Men, as it is the Eternal Terror and Aftonishment of all Hypocrites and Sinners, that they shall be brought before an Unerring, Uncorrupt Judge, who can neither be brib'd nor deceiv'd, and who cannot mistake them, or wrongfully condemn them, however they may mistake, or wrongfully condemn themselves. Thus then they are really safe in their own Goodness, when they most of all fufpect their own Danger, and are fecure from Evil, even while they are afraid of falling under it.

But tho' every good Man is in this Safety, let his Understanding of himself be what it will; yet if in any of those things which he takes to be a Matter of Life or Death, he judges wrong of himself, and thinks erroneously, he can enjoy no Peace and Comfort. He will go to Heaven full of Fears and foreboding Thoughts, and never think himself in the Way to Blits, 'till he is actually inthron'd in it: He will at last be happy, but he will have no Sight or Expectation of it in the Way; For all his Life long he will be tormented with Doubts and Sufpicions, Fears and Jealoufies, and be ftill, by Turns, concluding himself loft as to the next World, tho' he be only loft in his own fickly Imagination. And this fanfy'd future Mifery will bring him under a Real one for the prefent. It will make him have fad Thoughts, and a forrowful Heart: It will much abate his Joy, and disturb his Peace, and almost overwhelm him in groundless Perplexity and Vexation.

But

But that pious Souls may not fear where no Fear is, nor torment themselves with unreasonable Apprehenfions, let us endeavour to remove their groundless Scruples and Mistakes, by fhewing what, and of what Force thofe things are, which are wont, without any fufficient Reason, to disquiet the Minds, and to disturb the Peace of good and fafe, but mistaken Christians, about it.

The Causes of good Mens Fears are chiefly these.

They are wont to call in Question their future Salvation; because after all their Care against them, they find that fome Motions of the Flesh, some Stirrings of their Lufts, fome Thoughts of Evil do still arife in them. They feel themselves fubject to Delights and Fancies, and Defires of forbidden things: They are liable to a luftful Thought, a covetous Wish, and Infurrection of Anger, of Envy, and of several other damning Sins.

'Tis true indeed, these Lufts do not reign in them, because they do not consent to their Inftigations, nor do what they would have them. They can only inhabit and stir in them, but have not Strength enough to give Laws to them. For they reprefs them before they come to will and choose, much less to fulfil and practise what they incline to. They may perhaps have a Thought and Fancy, a Wish and Inclination after unchafte Pleasures; but they correct themselves there, and never in their Hearts confent to an unlawful Embrace, nor ever proceed to an unclean Action. In a sudden Motion of Anger, it may be they may have several Expreffions of Wrath, and Inftances of Revenge occur to their Thoughts, and obtruding themselves upon their Imaginations; but they stop there, and do not consent to utter an injurious Word, or to commit a spiteful Action; and the fame they experience by themselves in other Inftances. In all which, feveral forbidden things will get into their Thoughts and Defires, and fteal from them a Wish or Inclination: But when once they have done that, they can do no more, being unable either to gain their Con

fent,

fent, or to command their Practice; fo as that they fhould not only defire, but also choose and fulfil them.

Now tho' they do not fuffer Sin to reign in them, fo as to confent to it, or to fulfil its Lufts; yet they fear left their very Thoughts and Inclinations after it should prove damnable. For God requires the Obedience of our whole Man, of the Mind and Affections, as well as of our Wills and Actions; and he is disobey'd by any, as well as by all our Faculties. And feeing every Sin is forbidden under Pain of Death, who knows but that this Admiffion of it into our Thoughts and Defires, is a mortal Tranfgreffion? This is one great Caufe of Fear, and a Rock of Offence to a truly Honeft and Good Man.

But to take off all Doubt and Scruple upon this Account, we must know, that our Impotent Lufts and Ineffective Defires of evil Things, if they are able to get no farther than a Thought or Wish, tho' at prefent they are a Matter of Exercife and Humiliation, yet at the Day of Judgment they fhall be no Article of Death or Condemnation. For Chrift's Gofpel does not fentence us feverely upon these first Motions of a Luft, or Beginnings of a Sin. If they arrive no higher than Fancy or Inclination, thro' the Merits of Chrift's Sacrifice, there is Grace enough in store for them; and in the Gospelaccount they are not grown up to be a Matter of Death, nor come within the Confines of Deftruction.

We shall not at the Laft Day be condemn'd for our feeble Lufts and Defires after Evil, which are unconfented to, and unfulfilled: God will never fentence any Man otherwise good, for every fudden Defire and Inclination after finful Things. If it refts there, and goes no farther than bare Defire, he will pardon and pafs it by.

Thefe Luftings and Defires are to be confider'd, both as to their firft Birth, and as to their indulg'd and allow'd Continuance; the First is never damning, and the Latter many times is no Article of Condemnation.

VOL. III.

As