imperfections in the fervice of God; and, in order to a falutary application of the whole to our advantage, have recommended a frequent, ferious, and penitent examination of ourselves, to each one's conftant practice; and noted the proper times for it.

Theod. You fay right. This is the fum of what I have been discourfing more at large. And if either of you have any objection to make to it, I am ready to explain myself to your farther satisfaction.

Eufeb. I fee no caufe for any objection. But if you will give me leave, I will propofe an inference from the whole, which, I think, may reduce all to one word.

Theod. That is easily done. And I know beforehand, the word you mean, is fincerity.

Eufeb. It is fo. For I think the refult of all is this that a fincere endeavour to learn the will of God, and do it, fo as in nothing knowingly to offend him, is the only evidence of our being qualified for a future ftate of happiness. He that has this, fhall not fail of being accepted with God; and he that has it not, is fure not to be accepted by him.

Theod. Moft certainly. For God can neither love those that are not hearty in his fervice, nor reject those that are. It is (m) the heart he calls for. And wherefoever this is right before him, we may fafely depend upon his favour. (n) Blessed are the pure in beart, for they fhall fee God; which no wicked man can do. The finner must not hope for fuch a privilege, as is not to be attain'd to without (0) boliness. But fince our Saviour has taught us, that the pure in heart have a right to it; this is an evident proof, that fuch purity of heart is the holiness that capacitates for this bleffednefs. Thus the wife man invites to have a fingular regard to the motions of the heart; and gives this reafon for it, that our eternal falvation has a peculiar dependence upon them. (p) Hear, my fon, (m) Prov. xxiii. 26. (x) Matth. v. 8. (0) Heb. xii. 14. (p) Prov. xxiii. 19.

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and be wife, and guide thine heart in the way; (q) Keeping thine heart with all diligence, (r) before, or above, all keeping; that is, with all the care that may be, to preferve it upright before God; for out of it are the illues of life; and according as this is well or ill difpofed, fuch is thy behaviour like to be outwardly, and fuch thy ftate to all eternity. So Almighty God #commands the Jews to (s) circumcife the foreskin of their bearts; (4) to cut off and caft away their naughty I affections, and be no more ftiff-necked, as he had often complained they were. And by the mouth of the i prophet Jeremiah, he threatens to punish them for the wickedness of their hearts, as furely as he would the Edomites, or Moabites, or any other of their neighbours, for their uncircumcifion: (u) Behold, the days come, faith the Lord, that I will punish all them that are circumcised, with the uncircumcised; Egypt, and Judab, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness; for all these nations are uncircumcifed, and all the boufe of Ifrael are uncircumcifed in heart, Here the Jews, you fee, are ranked amongst the uncircumcifed, because they were fuch in heart, as the others were in the flesh; they wanted that inward circumcifion, without which the outward impreffion made in the flesh is of no worth in God's account. And, on the contrary, (x) Hezekiah is commended, and profpered, because whatsoever he did in God's fervice, be did it with all his heart. And, in the New Teftament, fays our Saviour to the pharifees, (y) Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth the heart. (z) And divers other places there are, where the heart is declared to be what God respects; fo that, if this be not devoted to his honour,

(9) Prov. iv. 23. (r) ¬nwp-ban (s) Deut. x. 16. (1) Bishop Patrick upon the place. (u) Jerem. ix. 25, 26, (x) 2 Chron. xxxi. 21. (y) Luke xvi. 15. (x) 1 Sam. vii. 3, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. and xxix. 17. and 2 Chron. xxv. 2. Pfalm xxiv. 4. and ii. 6. and lxvi. 18. and lxxiii. 1. Prov. xxi. 2. Rom. ii. 29. and viii. 7. Ephef. vi. 5. 1. Tim. i. 5. 1 Pet. iii. 15.

all

all the service we can pay him, is like to ftand us in little ftead. And, on the other hand, if this be upright and clean, and we are inwardly bent upon his service, we shall not need to defpond, and to torment ourfelves for fuch lefs, involuntary mifcarriages, as we find it out of our power totally to prevent.

Eufeb. But how fhall I know whether my heart be fuch, as will approve itself before God?

Theod. You may know it by these marks; which I fhall very briefly mention, and fo leave them to your own confideration, to make what farther improvement you can of them: 1. If the certain tenor and general courfe of your life be holy. This is fo neceffary from the conftant doctrine of the Gospel, declaring all fin to be of a deadly nature, and that it is, in all respects, diametrically oppofite to that will of God; that whofoever pretends to pleafe God can never give way to it, without a great degree of hy-. pocrify and infincerity. 2. If your care to please God be founded upon truly religious principles and motives. A man may do many good things, and yet be far from being a good man, if they be done to a wrong end, or for fome unworthy finifter defign. If he be temperate, for his health's fake only; or charitable, out of oftentation, and vain-glory; or fair in his dealings, for the prefervation of his credit and reputation; or patient of affronts, out of pure cowardife; or abftemious, out of covetoufness; or obfervant of his times and devotion, out of pure cuflom, and because he fees others do it; or for the carrying on fome worldly intereft; or because his time lies upon his hands, and he knows not how otherwife to employ himself; fuch an one miferably deceives himself, if he thinks Almighty God will look upon this as an acceptable fervice, whilft he is confcious to himfelf, that he did it not for his Maker's honour, but for his own advantage. This fhews him to be intent upon ferving not God, but himfelf; and that all his good deeds are done, either to bad purpofes,

poses, or, at least, to fuch as are unworthy of his moft holy religion; and fo can neither recommend him to Almighty God now, nor make him happy for ever hereafter. 3. If you be as ftudious to ferve God, and as afraid of offending him in private, as in publick; in bad company, as in good; and when you are like to fuffer, as when you hope to get by it. A true Christian is uniform in his obedience, at all times, and in all places, ftudying to approve himself, what he profeffes to be; and never acting contrary to his duty, with whatfoever impunity he may do it in this world, or how little notice foever may be taken of it. His business is not to please men, but God, whose eye he knows is moft affuredly upon him, who fees into the closeft corner of the heart, and to whom he must be accountable at the laft day. And whosoever he be that takes a contrary course, needs no other argument to convince him of his infincerity, than that his practice is not to be reconcil'd to his profeffion. A true fear of God overawes a man at all times, and in all places and eftates; as well when it is against his temporal intereft, as when on its fide; and will have the fame influence in the fecret chambers, as in the open ftreets; and will make a man as unwilling to offend, where no other eye but that of the Almighty can fee it, as in the face of the greatest affembly. And whofoever finds himself thus careful of his duty, may juftly look upon it, as an undeniable token of his fincerity. 4. If fuch your care to please God be without a referve for any beloved luft, or inclination. A truly good man owns himself obliged to an univerfal obedience to the divine commandments of the one table, as well as of the other; and when contradictory to his own natural temper, and defires, no lefs than when moft agreeable thereto. And by an inquiry into his converfation, and the difpofition of his mind in this refpect, a man may find whether the Divine Will, or his own, be the more prevailing principle in him; whether he is more concerned

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concerned to please God, or himself; and, in a word, whether he be fo fincere and hearty in the performance of his duty, as he ought, and profeffes to be. 5. If you be watchful againft leffer fins, as well as against those of a groffer and fouler nature. It is not enough, that we have an abhorrence of fuch crying iniquities, as none but a very hardened finner will dare to venture upon. But a good Chriftian, and an unfeigned follower of our bleffed Lord, will be continually upon his guard against all temptations to whatever deserves the name of fin. He knows, that every wilful tranfgreffion of his duty is a high affront offered to the great and good God, whom he is bound to fear above all things; and dares not venture upon it for all the world, how light a matter foever others' may make of it. Though divers, even of our wilful fins, are comparatively little, he knows affuredly, that none is really fo in its own nature; and therefore makes it his bufinefs to keep from all fins, and even from such as are most common, and least condemned by the generality of men. And till a man is come to be thus watchful against all appearances of evil, I cannot see how he can fatisfy himself of his fincerity in the service of God. 6. And lastly, If you be truly humbled upon every unforeseen failure in your duty, and thenceforward watchfully endeavour an amendment. I have already obferved, that fuch a forrow for fin committed, is not, of itself, any proof that a man is really a good man. But I may fafely affirm it, on the other hand, as an undoubted truth, that he who can fuffer himself to be betrayed into any fin, without being heartily concerned and troubled for it afterwards, is far from being what he ought to be. He must have little reverence for Almighty God, and little sense of duty to him, that can reflect upon his having disobeyed his laws, without being ashamed and troubled for it. But when a man is fo fenfible of his having done amifs, in deviating from his duty, that he heartily laments and bewails it; and not only

fo,