or by purity and public manner to use in churches, the fame ufe in all places; with this difference only, that in churches let your deportment be religious, in external forms and circumftances alfo; but there and every where let it be religious, in abstaining from spiritual indecencies, and in readiness to do good actions; that it may not be faid of you, as God once complained of his people, "Why "hath my beloved done wickedness to my houfe?"

God is in every creature; be cruel towards none, neither abuse any by intemperance. Remember that the creatures, and every member of this our body, is one of the leffer cabinets and receptacles of God. They are fuch as God has bleft with his prefence, hallowed by his touch, and feparated from unholy ufe, by making them to belong to his dwelling.

He walks as in the prefence of God, that converfes with him in frequent prayer and frequent communion, that runs to him in all his neceffities, and afks counsel of him in all his doubtings, that opens all his wants to him, that weeps before him for his fins, that asks remedies and fupports for his weakness, that hears him as a judge, and reverences him as a lord, obeys him as a father, and loves him as a patron.

This exercise of confidering the divine presence is an excellent help to prayer, producing in us reverence and awfulness to the divine majesty of God, and actual devotion in our offices.

It also produces a confidence in God, and fearlefnefs of our enemies; patience in trouble, and hope of remedy; fince God is fo nigh in all our fad accidents; he is a difpofer of the hearts of men, and even of things; he proportions out our trials, and fupplies us with remedies; and where his rod strikes us, his ftaff fupports

us.

To which we may add this, that God, who is always with us, is, efpecially by promife in tribulation, to turn the mifery into a mercy, and that our greatest trouble may become our advantage, by entitling us. to a new manner of the divine presence.

It is apt to produce joy and rejoicing in God, we being more apt to delight in the partners and witnesses of our converfation. Every degree of mutual abiding and converfing, being a relation and an endearment: We are of the fame houshold with God: He is with us, in our natural actions to preferve us, in our recreations to restrain us, in our public actions to applaud or reprove us, in our private to obferve us, in our fleep to watch by us, in our watchings to refresh us: And if we walk with God in all his ways, as he walks with us in all ours, we shall find perpetual reasons to enable us to keep that rule of his, Rejoice in the Lord always; and again, I fay, rejoice:" Which puts me in mind of a faying of an old religious perfon," There is one way of overcoming our ghoftly "enemies, fpiritual mirth, and a continual bearing of "God in our minds." This effectually refifts the devil, and fuffers us to receive no hurt from him.

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This exercise is apt alfo to kindle holy defires of the enjoyment of God, because it produces joy when we do enjoy him; the fame defires that a weak man has for a defender, the fick man for a phyfician, the poor for a patron, the child for his father, the bride for her bridegroom.

From the fame fountain are apt to iffue, humility of fpirit, apprehenfions of our great diftance, and our great needs, our daily wants, and hourly fupplies, and admiration of God's unspeakable mercies. It is the cause of great modesty and decency in our actions; it helps recollection of mind, and reftrains the scatterings and loofenefs of wandering thoughts; it eftablishes the heart in good purposes, and leads us on to perfeverance; it gains purity and perfection, according to the faying of God to Abraham, Walk before me and be perfect; with holy "fear, and holy love," and indeed every thing that pertains to a holy life. When we see ourselves placed in the eye of God, who fets us to work, and will reward us plenteously, to serve him with eye-fervice is not very pleafing, for he alfo fees the heart; and the want of this Confideration

confideration was declared to be the caufe why Ifrael finned fo grievously: "For they fay, the Lord hath for"faken the earth, and the Lord feeth not; therefore the "land is full of blood, and the city full of perverfeness." What a child would do in the eye of his father, and a pupil before his tutor, and a wife in the presence of her husband, and a fervant in the fight of his master; let us always do the fame, for "we are made a spectacle to God, to angels, and to men." We are always in the fight and prefence of the all-feeing and almighty God, who is alfo to us a father and a guardian, a husband and a lord.

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Though from what has been already said, persons of both fexes may form a very lively and edifying idea of religion, and especially Chriftianity; yet fince there can never be too much of life and edification in fuch a fubject, we fhall carry our reflexion ftill farther, both in generals and particulars.

Religion, in a large fenfe, fignifies the whole duty of man, comprehending in it justice, charity, and sobriety; because all these being commanded by God, they become a part of that honour and worship which we are bound to pay to him. It is, in a more restrained fenfe, taken for that part of duty, which particularly relates to God, in our worship and adoration of him; in confeffing his excellencies, loving his perfon, admiring his goodness, believing his word, and doing all that which may, in a proper and direct manner, do him honour. It contains the duties of the first table only, and the internal actions of religion, in which the foul only is employed, and minifters to God, in the fpecial actions of faith, hope, and charity.

Faith believes the revelations of God, hope expects his promises, and charity loves his excellencies and mercies. Faith gives our understanding to God, hope gives up all the paffions and affections to heaven and heavenly things, and charity gives the will to the fervice of God. Faith is opposed to infidelity, hope to defpair, and charity to enmity and hoftility; and these

three

three fanctify the whole man, and make our duty to God, and obedience to his commandments, to be willing, reafonable, and delightful, and therefore to be intire, perfevering, and univerfal.

The acts and offices of faith are, To believe every thing which God has revealed to us; and when once we are convinced that God has fpoken it, to make no farther inquiry, but humbly to fubmit, ever remembring, that there are fome things, which our understanding cannot fathom, nor fearch out their depth.

To believe nothing concerning God but what is honourable and excellent; as knowing that belief to be no honouring of God, which entertains of him any difhonourable thoughts. Faith is the parent of charity, and whatsoever faith entertains, must be apt to produce love to God. But he that believes God to be cruel or unmerciful, or to rejoice in the unavoidable damnation of the greateft part of mankind, or that he fpeaks one thing and privately means another, thinks evil thoughts concerning God, and fuch as for which we fhould hate a man, and therefore are great enemies of faith, and apt to deftroy charity. Our faith concerning God, muft be as himself has revealed and defcribed his own excellencies; and in our difcourfes we must remove from him all imperfection, and attribute to him all excellency.

To give ourselves wholly up to Chrift in heart and defire, to become difciples of his doctrine by choice befides conviction, being in the prefence of God but as idiots, without any principles of our own to hinder the truth of God, but fucking in greedily all that God has taught us, believing it infinitely, and loving to believe it. For this is an act of love reflected upon faith, or an act of faith leaning upon love.

To believe all God's promifes, and that whatsoever is promised in Scripture, fhall on God's part be as furely performed, as if we had it in poffeffion. This act makes us to rely upon God with the fame confidence, as we did on our parents when we were children, when we made

made no doubt, but whatsoever we needed we should have, if it were in their power.

To believe also the conditions of the promise, or that part of the revelation which concerns our duty. Many are apt to believe the article of remiffion of fins, but they believe it without the condition of repentance, or the fruits of a holy life; which is to believe the article otherwife than God intended it. For the covenant of the gofpel is the great object of faith, and that fupposes our duty to answer his grace; that God will be our God fo long as we are his people. The other is

not faith but flattery.

To profefs publickly the doctrine of Jefus Chrift, openly owning whatsoever he has revealed and commanded; not being afhamed of the word of God, or of any practices injoined by it; and this without complying with any man's intereft, not regarding favour, nor being moved with good words; not fearing disgrace, or lofs, or inconvenience, or death itself.

To pray without doubting, without wearinefs, without faintnefs, entertaining no jealoufies or fufpicions of God, but being confident of God's hearing us, and of his returns to us, whatever the matter or the inftance be; that if we do our duty, he will be gracious and merciful.

These are the acts of faith. The figns are,

An earnest and vehement prayer: For it is impoffible we should heartily believe the things of God, and the glories of the gospel, and not moft importunately defire them: For every thing is defired according to our belief of its excellency and poffibility.

To do nothing for vain-glory, but wholly for the interefts of religion.

To be content with God for our judge, for our pa tron, for our lord, for our friend; defiring God to be all in all to us, as we are in our understandings and affections wholly his.

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