SEVERAL SERMONS: Some PREACHED in ENGLAND, And some in the Island of BARBADOES IN AMERICA Upon several Occasions.  
By Robert Scamler M. A. and Rector of Taverham in the County of Norfolk.  Lord, whilst I Preach unto others, let not myself be a cast away. 
Printed by Nathaniel Thompson for the Author 1685.   

TO HER Grace MARY Duchess OF BEUFORT.  
Madam,  
HAd I been affected with that Itching Humour of Ambition to raise an Obelisk to my Memory, and leave behind me some Tokens, that I once Lived, and had a Being and Existence upon Earth: How could I have contrived a more Glorious method for the Erecting this Eternal Monument, than by fixing Your Grace's Name to these my poor weak Endeavours? For, who (seeing Your Honoured Name set before the Book,) will not be invited (by the Fairness of such a Frontispiece) to look into the Sermons, and even practise the Duties intimated therein?  
Madam, I confess it high Presumption, and I humbly beg your Graces Pardon for borrowing your Name and Patronage, because it looks like a design in me, that if there be no other worth in the Discourses, yet at least they may have the Virtues and Advantages of a Burning-Glass, which borrowing a Flame from the Great Eye of Heaven, Shines and Burns, not of itself, but by the Rays and Emanations of its Bright Patron and Benefactor: I will not pretend to vindicate myself from so Holy a Suspicion, though something more Ennobled my Desires to present Your Grace with this humble Dedication: For I do confidently avow (not to Affront the Modesty so Innate to Your Temper, or come within the Sphere of Flattery, so repugnant to my Genius,) that the Noble Perfections wherewith Heaven hath Accomplished You, have rendered You so Publicly Acquainted to the World, that he must not only be a Stranger to himself, but even to all Humane Society and Converse, who converse, who have not been sensibly surprised in the Admiration of Your Virtues: Virtues which you Suckled in even with Your Milk, and have Thrived with so daily an Increase in the Sequel of Your Life, that they might Justly Challenge Shrines and Altars from us, if Your Humility did not signify unto us a Reprimand. These are such Truths, that I dare not proceed to say any thing further concerning your Grace's Perfections, because it is impossible for me (had I the Tongue of Angels) to express myself in a method proportionable to my Theme. I might, it is possible, suggest and hint to present and future Ages, that Your Natural and Particular Inclinations are those Virtues; yes, and in a much more Eminent Degree, which Deified far less Deserving Persons: Nay further, if some most Sweet and Angelical Tongue does not contrive some new Language to Posterity, wherein to Celebrate and Proclaim Aloud the Embellishments and Graces wherewith Heaven hath Endowed You; it must Silently Content itself to Reverence the Name, and Adore the Memory of the most Virtuous and Illustrious Lady, MARY Duchess of Beufort, without presumption of Speech of Your Actions, because they transcend Expression as well as Imitation.  
What need I to repeat the Immortality of Your Augustick Family, the Sun shall sooner be displaced from its Orb, the Stars forget their Motions, than Mankind forget to Celebrate the most Heroic, Loyal and Glorious Achievements of the most Generous and Honourable Capel? And Madam, You being one of the Noble Branches proceeding from that Loyal Stem, to whom can I Address myself more properly in a Sermon on the Thirtieth of January, then unto Your Grace? For not only Charles the First, but likewise the Honourable Capel fell Sacrifices to a Usurping Power, and both died Glorious Martyrs in Defence of Church and State.  
May it please Your Grace then to accept these Discourses, though presented by a mean Hand, for they are intended for no other purpose; then to convince unreasonable and Wicked men of their Damnable and Hellish Practices against the Church and State, and what Indefatigable Labours they Groan under to effect their Diabolical Designs: But God grant that all our Nobility may Unanimously Resolve a perfest Conquest and Subjection of these Engineers of Satan and Builders of Babel, that the Peace and Happiness, Truth and Justice, Religion and Piety may be Established amongst us and all succeeding Generations, which is Incessantly Prayed for by  
Your Grace's most Humbly Devoted Servant R. SCAMLER.   

ERRATA.  
IN the Epistle Dedicatory, Page 2. l. 13, and 14. deal who converse. p. 4. l. 5. deal the In the Book, p. 1. l. 2. r. Show, l. 6. r. pearly, p. 4. l. 27. r. constituted, p. 7. l. 21. deal the, p. 9 l. 13. r. at his own Royal door, l. 18. r. pearly, l. 21. r. more mild and Gentile p. 11. l. 2. r. and a great, p. 12. l. 17. deal the, p. 14. l. 12. r. Feats, p. 15. l. 27. r. contemn, p. 19 l. 2. r. bgin at, is the House of God, l. 7. r. that Queen, p. 21. l. 28 r. For were they strict, l. 32. deal of, p. 25. l. 1. r. professing, p. 26. l. 25. r. as is too, p. 28. l 13. r. conceive, p. 34. l. 13. r. light of, l. 21. deal if, l. 23. r. attributed to us, p. 36. l. 11. r. sure the polluted, l. 18. r. ereeps, l. 25. r. is called, p. 43. l. 14. r. as it did, l. 15. r. Massah, l. a 7. r. nothing is more, p. 44. l. 8. r. in excuses and denials, l. 20. an hour hence, p 45. l. 3. deal thin, p. 46. l. 1. deal pure, p. 47. l. 25. r. Now, p. 50 l. 2. r. accepted, l. 31. r. but much, p. 51. l. 19 r. seem, p. 54. l. 16. r. my Wickedness, and be, p. 56. l. 8. r. the next Festival, p. 57, l. 1. r. as the early, l. 16. deal the, l. 22. r. Zylander, l. 25. r. ten Attic, p. 58. l. 1. r. them one, p. 62. l. 14. r. irrecoverable, l. 25. r. Natural propentions, p. 64. l. 16. r. Foams, l. 23. deal the, p. 65. l. 20. deal it, p. 66. l. 4. r. Flattering, p. 67. l. 12. as a more. p. 68 l. 19 r. good dwells. p. 79. l. r. of a Timorous.   

A SERMON Preached on the Martyrdom of King CHARLES the I. The Thirtieth of January.  2 Sam. 1st. 12th. 
And they Mourned, and Wept, and Fasted until Even for Saul, and for Jonathan his Son, and for the People of the Lord, and for the House of Israel, because they were fallen by the Sword.  
THey Mourned— And where is that sullen Stoic? Show me the Man that can condemn this their Pious Mourning? Who can deny a Tear at such a sad Solemnity? Where is that flinty breast that can forbear to Sorrow in such a case? No Loyal Subject to the Throne of Saul can be so base, as to deny a yearly Subsidy, when Princes Hearses claim it as its due? Natural Affection will break forth into Sighs and Tears at the Corruption of what we Love; when that grim Sergeant of Nature, Death, hath snatched from us any, linked unto us by the ties of Friendship; How do we dissolve into Tears! How great are our Griefs and Sorrows!  
Now if we be judged insensible, for our not relenting the loss of Friends? What brand of shame and Infamy do they deserve, who neither Mourn, Weep, or Fast when a Cypress Vail hath overspread the Royal Diadem? Shall we not be Dejected and Sorrowful, when the Sword of Death hath cut off Him in whose Hand alone rested the Sword of Justice? Shall not We Fast and Weep at the Fatal Catastrophe of Saul and Jonathan? Are not our Souls Elemented, as it were, of nothing but Sadness, when our Ears are pierced with the lamentable news of the fall of the People of the Lord, accompanied with the sad misfortune of the House of Israel. Moses' Death may justly command a Brinish shower, but much more if accompanied with that of Aaron; if King and Priest, Nobles and Subjects, Lords and Commons be involved in the same misfortune, then certainly we must want words, to express the bitterness of our Griefs. Niobe found a vent for her Passion, when made unhappy by the loss of one, or two, of her little Babes; but when robbed of all, she became Insensible. Curae leves loquuntur. They are Inferior Evils admit of Tears, but those of a Superior Nature are unexpressible. When Church and State, King and Priest are partakers of one and the same Calamity; what moderation can be expected in our Elegiac Threnes and Mournful Lamentations? For where can we find words to express the Conflicts and Agonies of our Souls? Yet still the misfortunes are far greater, which give occasion to this lamentation in the House of David, for when the Amalikite had told them the pitiful and fatal overthrow of Saul and Jonathan by the Philistines Army, than the Text tells us, They Mourned, and Wept, and Fasted, etc.  
Mourning, Weeping and Fasting were the Dutiful, as well as Holy Performances of all pertaining to the Family of David, and ought not that to be this days chief work in the Houses of us all? For God hath commanded me to acquaint you, that every Master of a Family, and all that are under his Protection, should by Fasting serve the Lord; and the neglect thereof will be justly imputed to the Master's Charge at the great and solemn day of Account.  
The Hebrew word for Mourning, which the Vulgar Latin render Plangentes, signifies Funebri ritu Lugere, a Funeral Mourning; and does not this days Duty command the same: David and his Family bemoaned the Effusion of Royal Blood, and is not That the dismal occasion of this days Lamentation; Lace befits not a Mourning Suit, expect not then Flourishes of Rhetoric in a Mourning Sermon. On such a Day, and Text, as this, the Preachers words should be Sighs, his Accents Groans, and the Auditors Tears the best Commendation of the Discourse: For this end I appear amongst you this day, though (not as my Saviour in another case) to send fire, but as the Woman at the Well to draw water, that the Kingdom of England may become like that where the Angel of the Lord delivered his doleful Message to the Israelites, Bochin, a place of Weepers! And oh! how happy will it be, if, as when all Israel were gathered together at Mizpeth, so when all Subjects pertaining to the Crown of England, being Assembled together in the House of God, may draw water, and pour forth their Prayers before the Lord, for the Royal Blood, which as on this day was poured out, and spilt as water upon the ground; that so we may imitate the example of the Royal Prophet, and his Domestics, Who Mourned, and Wept, and Fasted, etc.  
The Text may afford us many Particulars, but lest I seem tedious, I shall contract my Meditations into these Two.  

The Persons Mourning, and the persons Mourned for.  

Consider we the first.  
And it were needless to dwell upon a Theme obvious to all who consult this Chapter; For who are they? But David and his Family, and those who are of his Retinue, at the first accosting the Amalikites, that Condoled the hard Fate of Saul and Jonathan? For though he was disaffected to David, an adversary who hunted after his Life, and from whom he had escaped, as a bird from the hand of the Fowler: Nevertheless David forgets not to commiserate His, and his Nobles condition: Nay, though God himself had rend the Kingdom from Saul, and conveyed it over unto David; yet still he Song his Elegy, that he might not go to the Grave unlamented; and he gives the reason of this, in his Tenderness and Pity to Saul, who was so Cruel unto him, why he was so troubled for his Death; who should be no sooner dead, than his own Head should be encircled with the Royal Diadem; and that was, because he was Anointed with Oil. None that are Anointed with Oil, but aught to have a Tribute of Salt Tears paid unto their Hearse. By the Laws of Friendship, he was obliged to be concerned for the Death of Jonathan; but as for Saul, who studied his destruction, and laboured his ruin; who was his inveterate Enemy, and wholly bend to do him mischief; whence could it proceed, but from an unfeigned Respect, and untainted Loyalty to his Prince? an Obedience and Love to him, whom God had instituted his Vicegerent over Israel, and it is on that account we read, they Mourned, etc.   

2. I descend to the Persons Mourned for.  
And who are they? But King, Priest, and Commons; and indeed, all of us are equally concerned to Mourn and Weep for their Saul's and Jonathan, for their Priest, the People of the Lord, and for their Brethren, the whole House of Israel, when they are cropped by the saith of an immature and sudden death; we have a Duty incumbent on us to Mourn, and Fast, and Humble ourselves, when God punishes Kings for the sakes of our Sins by an unripe and untimely Death. Common reason will teach nature to pay a more than ordinary Tribute of Sighs and Tears at the last Obsequies of them who move in the highest Sphere; public Persons Hearses may justly challenge the Distillation of private Persons Eyes; all Rivulets and little Torrents empty themselves into the main Ocean: Can any man forbidden, or fault this Holy Water? Who would not be Baptised in such a Fountain? Dethroned Princes have had this paid them by their Enslaved Subjects. Cum nil nisi flere relictum. When they were not capacitated to do more, their grateful and generous Spirits disdained to do less. Eminent persons, in all Ages have been thus bemoaned by the Church of God; not only those who have been blasted in the greenness and tenderness of their Age, in their most precious days, but those also who have dropped away with Age, and been gathered to their Fathers, by the long Rake of silent Time; Thus the Sons o● Jacob bewailed their Aged Father seven days, with great and sore Lamentation. Thus when Moses the Faithful Prince and Ruler of his People fell asleep, all Israel mourned for him thirty days in the Plains of Moab. Thus Judah and Jerusalem bemoaned the death of their King Josiah; And thus David and his Family Wept and Fasted for the death of Saul and Jonathan. That Light shining in the dark Lantern of our Bodies, (I mean the the Light of Nature wherewith we are invested,) hath taught all Nations to Reverence their Kings whilst Living, and to Condole them being Dead, Thus the Romans erected Funeral Piles and Massy Columns in Memory of their Caesars. Jus gentium est obedire Regibus, The Law of Nations hath consented, that Homage and Obedience is due to them who sit at the Helm of State; And what is the Law of Nations, but the Law of God Engraven in the Heart? And what is the Law of Christians, but the Will of God written not only in the Heart, but also expressed unto us in the most lively Characters of Holy Writ. As than none better instructed in the Principles of governing Subjects, than Christian Kings; so none more, and clearly convinced of the Fealty due to Kings, than Subjects Professing Christianity; And therefore They should better understand the value of a King, and consequently be more nearly touched for his loss. Whatsoever the Babylonians did for Nebuchadnezar, or the Persians for their Cyrus; That did David and his Family for Saul and Jonathan. Peace and Happiness, Prosperity and Safety, are so strictly tied to Sovereignty, and entailed upon the Crown, that a Church's Glory and Nations Safety depend upon the strict maintaining the Royal Prerogative. For all our Felicity is held in Capite, and where a Prince's Honour is but faintly miantained, and gins to languish, the Subjects Property must decay and perish.  
The King of Poets relates concerning those Illustrious Creatures Bees, Rege incolumi, mens omnibus una est— Amisso Rupere fidem— When their King is lost, instead of Honey they have nothing but Gall; their pretty contrived waxed Fabrics are easily demolished, and Drones devour and run away with the Fruits of all their pains and care: After the same manner it fares with Men, if the King be gone, what can we expect but Factions, and Fractions, Sects and Schisms; then Armed Swarms encounter, and fall down dead together, as though they agreed in nothing but a resolution how to disagree among themselves. When the Head is ill, all the Members are out of Temper, and complain of smart: So ominious is the Death of a King to a whole Nation, that well may David and his Family Mourn, and Fast for Saul, and Jonathan his Son.  
By how much Kings excel in Virtue, by so much the more their Corruption from us increase our Floods of Grief, making our Tears to swell beyond its margin; But be they never so bad or wicked, they must not go to their long home un-attended with a weeping Eye, and a bleeding Heart. Let them be Josia's or saul's, we have still an Injunction on us to Fast and Mourn, which calls to remembrance that old Woman Hymaera, who seldom failed a day to Pray to God to prolong the Life of that Tyrant Dionysius, which expressed her not only more Loyal, but far Wiser than those, whose Hearts and Heads are ever given to Change, with whom it is the Advice of the wisest of men to have nothing to do: The event and consequence of every Change is dubious and un-intelligible; a King's translation often proves as a Prologue to a Nations Tragedy, that the World may understand there is a genuine Sympathy between King and People, as well as between the Head and Body natural.  
'Tis not the Sun, but the Sublunary Creatures suffer by the Sun's Eclipse; He must be more than blind, that reads not God's anger in the loss of a good King, when he himself hath given us to understand, it is none of the highest of his Judgements to constitute a bad one to Rule over us, I gave thee a King in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath: Nay we may observe how Holy David discerned God's anger against the Land in saul's overthrow, and how sensible he was of it, insomuch that he not only Mourns and Fasts, but he even curses the place where the Armies of Saul and the Philistines Forces disputed their Valour. Ye mountains of Gilbo●, let there be no Dew nor Rain upon you, nor Fields of Offerings, for there the Shield of the Mighty was vilely cast away, the Shield of Saul, as though he had not been Anointed with Oil, verse 21. For so much is a Nation concerned to bewail the fall of a Prince, though of a Saul, and rejected of God; for thus did David and his Family.   

They Mourned, and Wept, and Fasted, etc.  
I have now finished the Text, and I am still to begin my Sermon; For if David thus Mourned and Fasted for Saul and Jonathan, what Groans and Sighs mayst thou expect, O blessed Martyr, whose Blood on this day we Traitorously shed? How shall we expiate this our Offence? If David lamented the Death of Saul occasioned by the accidents of War, how ought We to Mourn bitterly, who contrived thy Murder? and Confederated against thee? David took not up Arms against Saul, yet still he Wept, and Mourned, much more than ought We, who not only Rebelled against thee: But O damnable Impiety! Even Betrayed, Bought, and Sold Thee? Who pretended a Law, and erected a Scaffold to Butcher thee, making thy Royal Palace an Akeldama, or field of Blood: No, what an Amalekite did, the Royal Prophet lamented, Bathing his Hearse with Tears, and embalming his memory with a set form of Lamentation, for they Mourned, and Wept, and Fasted, etc.  
But our case is more deplorable than that of saul's, and hath the nearest relation to that of the Blessed Jesus, who inter malitiam & avaritiam, between the Malice of some, and Ambition of others (as Christ between the Thiefs) was Crucified. Here a Judas come from that cursed Climate the North with a Quantum dabitis, what shall be the Reward of my Treason, and I will betray and Sell him? There a Temporising Courtier who Eat his Bread at his Table, lifted up his Heel against him. O! that our Heads for these things were Rivers of Water, and our Eyes a Fountain of Tears, for the Beauty of England is slain, and he who clothed us in Scarlet, cut off by an Axe wheted at Geneva, and sharpened at Amsterdam. But oh wretched Stupidity! How unwilling are we to credit these Reports! Being ambitious as it were to run the same risk of Confusion! Will it not appear strange, and unparallelled in Story, that a Nation should be twice ruined, twice undone, by the selfsame ways and means? How! Weep for the King? The very pronounciation of such a word not many years since, would have cost a man his Life; to Rail, Revile, or Blaspheme him, call him Papistical Tyrant, Traitor, Murderer, Plunder and undo all that stand up for him, lay Hands on him, Imprison and Arraign him as a Malefactor, Condemn him, and carry him in triumph to his Execution. Though to the affront of Heaven, and him that dwelleth therein; yea, Murder him at his Royal Door, though contrary to all Examples of Story, Precepts of God and Law of Nations; no matter for Religion or Precedent, This is the Heir, come let us Kill him, and seize on the Inheritance. Quis talia fando temperat à laerymis? Where is thy Eye, O flint hearted Stoic, whose Limbeck will refuse to pay a yearly Tribute at this Sacred Shrine, who was the Glory of Europe, and shame of his own degenerate People? Born it is true in Scotland, but he breathed more Gentile Gales than those of Northern Blasts: Nay had he not been Born there, I would have said, and as properly, as Nathanael did of Nazereth, Can any good thing come from thence? Joh. 1.46. Nay, may we not read the Characters of Divine Wrath imprinted on those Cursed Judas' and Hellish Varlets to avenge the Blood of this Righteous Abel, for as the Offence was equal to that of Cain's; so travail the World and you'll read the Punishment shall be the same, Vagabonds and Wanderers shall they be: He was a King who was an absolute Conqueror over himself, to whom his Passions, (those attendants on Humane Nature,) yielded a more entire Obedience, than the Kingdoms he Ruled over; For those did never Mutiny, but his Kingdom's Loyalty, let this day witness.  
Should I conduct you into that large field of Divine Fancies, manifested in his Books, you would absolutely conclude the Coal which the Seraphim laid on Esays lips, was bestowed on his Pen, for they consist of such Ravishing and Eloquent strains, that none can read them but with Wonder and Reverence; some accurate Pencel might give some faint and weak resemblances of his Personage, but who can delineate the Complexion of his Soul, so Faithfully as he hath copied out Himself unto Us in his Writings, where we may read his zeal truly balanced, with deep and profound Knowledge, Piety and Modesty, his Grief for the Ruins of the Church, and Miseries of his People, his Care for his Friends, and Charity for his Enemies, his Commiseration of others, and Courage in his own Afflictions; and in all so even a Temper, that he resembled none but him who at his Cross did say, Father forgive them, they know not what they do.  
In short, he was a true Beuclerk, as much a Scholar as a Prince, and more a Christian than either; He was, and is, not only to this Nation, but all Christendom; a Mirror to think how he Lived, and a Grief to consider how he Died.  
Thus fell that shining Star, whose Light overspread the whole Earth, and the Royal Dignity Suffered an Eclipse in the Greatest King that ever was.  
Let us then Weep and Fast, to think how we have rendered ourselves guilty of Innocent Blood; if the guilt of a Brother's Blood cried to Heaven for Vengeance; how much more the Blood of a Father, the common Father of three Christian Kingdoms? If saul's death was so deplorable, (yet he a wicked Person, and the Phylistines none of his Subjects) then how much more in this case, where wicked Subjects, Subjects said I? Nay rather the dung of the Earth, like Baanah and Rhechab, have Murdered a Righteous Man, and their most Gracious King.  
How ought this to afflict us? Know you not that there is a Prince, a great man fallen this day in our Israel— He is fallen, and his fall accompanied with that of the Nobility and Gentry, Laws and Justice, with the fall of Church and Religion, Doctrine and Discipline, Piety and Morality; let us Mourn then that our sins of Scarlet may be made white by the Blood of Christ. I am charitably persuaded, all in this Assembly did detest this Bloody Action with the greatest Horror and Indignation: Nevertheless we must all acknowledge ourselves guilty of his Blood, because they were our sins, the sins of the whole Nation, which provoked God to thunder down Vengeance on us in the Person of our Shepherd, that so we, the sheep might be smitten. It was of thy Mercy, O Lord, thy Mercy alone, O praised be that Mercy! That we were not utterly consumed, when for many years together, our Cornutes were turned into Fifes, our Dances into Marches, and our Banquets into want of Bread, and our Livery-Gowns into Buff-Coats, and our Suits of Gold into Glittering Armour, and our Beavers into Hemlets? How was the Pride of our Cupboard, and our Finger's Glory, turned into Soldiers Salaries, and the price of Blood? How were our Girdles turned into Belts, and our Gowns and Cassocks, into Coats of Mail? Our Lofty Houses into Garrisons, and our stately Edifices into Prisons, our Temples into Stables, and the House the Lord, the House of Prayer, into a Den of Thiefs?  
So soon as the Lords Anointed was slain, the whole Nation went disorderly, and proved out of Course; when our Prince of Peace, Charles the First, was taken from among us, then presently sprung up Briars and Brambles, more Cruel than Tigers, that rifled from Drams of Silver into the Bowels of their own flesh, and would either Kill, or Die, for a days Wages; no sooner was Sovereignty dethroned, and Majesty destroyed, but Desolation and Woe, with the whole retinue of Miseries fell upon us; Insomuch, we no sooner sat down to Meat, but we expected the intrusion of Armed Guests; how often were men dragged from their Beds to the Prison, and from thence to an untimely and violent Death? And as it fared with the State, so also with the Church? How did their little Disputes and Divisions hinder the building of Jerusalem? They contended so long about the Windows, they had almost lost the foundation for Zion, how did a pretence of inward Sanctity in some, devour their outward Decency! Pretending the Glory of God by such means as you would think yourselves Vilified and affronted! How was Charity banished to fetch home Truth, and a Coal from the Altar to set the Temple itself on Fire? When men pretended to be Enlightened by the Spirit, yet lived after the Lusts of the Flesh? Were not thousands made naked to keep the Surplice off from a few men's backs? How were the Churches defaced for the little Piques men conceited at the Windows, every minuit difference made a quarrel, and did not Disputes raised about a Pin or Nail of the Temple, shake and endanger the whole Fabric thereof? Men took up the Weapons of the Devil under a show of the Lords Cause; and pretending to fight the Battles of the Lord, they entered a Solemn League and Covenant, and Swore Allegiance to the Prince of Darkness! How was Christian Religion at once violated and defamed? Not only by violating her Precepts, but by falsely aspersing her, to own, and countenance such vicious practices: These with many more Miseries did our Nation groan under so soon as we had committed that horrid crime of Regicide; and what could we expect less! Shall Zimri have Peace, who slew his Master? The King is God's Vicegerent and Representative on Earth, and therefore every Contempt of him is no less an affront to God himself? We read in the 2 Sam. 21.1. That when the Land of Israel was smitten three years together with Famine, the Oracle of God declared, That it was for Saul and his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. Now, I pray tell me, was not our National sin, far greater than that of Israel's! There, it is true, the King slew the slaves, but here the slaves slew the King; there one of the worst of Kings, contrary to a National Oath slew the basest of the People; but here the basest of the People, contrary to many Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, Protestations and Covenants, slew the best of Kings?  
And will not God visit for these things? Will our sins be less importunate for Vengeance than that of the Israelites? Shall the Gibeonites Blood cry unto God from the ground, and will not the Blood of this days Martyr cry under the Altar? How long, O Lord, how long before thou avengest my Blood! Yes verily, and I am afraid, that besides these many Plagues and Mischiefs we have groaned under, there be severer Vengeance hanging over us, his hand will be stretched out still, unless we prevent it by a serious Confession, and a sincere Repentance of our Sins; when we were in the dregs of Misery, and lying under the bitterness of Death, Heaven smiled upon us, and the great and allseeing Eye gave us a taste of his Mercies, by Restoring unto us our Dread Sovereign; But examine your Consciences, and inquire of your Hearts, what Gratitude you express for this Mercy? What returns have we made for so astonishing a Blessing? We entertained the Change with a Joy too profuse, but was it enough Religious? We saw the great things were done for us, whereof we were glad, but did we so much consider, the Lord had done them, and were we not more affected with the variety and profitableness, than with the Mercy and kindness of the Dispensation? Have we seriously humbled ourselves before God for this days Wickedness? Have we Repent of it, have we dispatched our Tears and Sighs as Ambassadors from Heaven to plead in our behalf, and to Sue out our Pardon? That you and I, and all of us are Guilty of the Sin, is sufficiently notorious, though after divers manners and circumstances; as then the Distemper is Epidemical, so let our Sorrow be Universal; let us unanimously cry unto God, that he would forgive us not only this, but all the sins we have since committed, for God hath applied the Sunshine of his Mercies to melt us into Repentance, as well as the Thunder of his Judgements to ruffle us into Obedience; but let us seriously reflect, if the Oil of his Mercy hath not made us rather wanton and nimble in Feasts of Impiety, than Active in his Service? And as we have abused his Favours, so neither hath his Judgements instructed us to learn Righteousness.  
O cursed Impenitency for this days Murder! I fear it is Thou that hast undone us, I fear it is Thou that still causest us to lie under the Rod of God's Anger; how hast thou laboured our ruin, and still study our Destruction? Look down from Heaven, and speak, O Royal Charles; was it not for thy Blood that God hath vexed us with Plagues, and beaten us in pieces like a Potter's Vessel? Was it not thy Blood which caused the Destroying Angel to fill our Air with such an horrid Infection, that in less than nine Months above an Hundred Thousand Inhabitants were cut off from one City?  
Speak, O Royal Charles, Was it not thy Blood which brought the most flourishing and famous City in the World to Ruin and Desolation, overthrowing it, as Sodom and Gomorrha were overthrown; and have we yet made an Atonement to thy Hearse? Are we not still insensible of our Wickedness? Have we watered our Couch with Tears for this our Disloyalty? Have we paid double Honour unto the Son for the great Dishonour done unto the Father? 'Tis true we have Sanctified a Fast, and called a Solemn Assembly; but have we Fasted from our Sins? Is there not as much Rebellion in our Hearts, as before we expressed in our Actions? Are we not daily Contriving and Plotting the Subversion of our Government? How do we make ourselves a Prey to our Adversaries by the Divisions amongst us; by our Heading of Factions, and Espousing little Parties and Interests? Do we not daily Speak Evil of Dignities, and Despise Principalities and Powers? Though, God himself hath said, Who shall say unto a King, what dost thou? And thou shalt not Speak Evil of the Ruler of thy People; do we not contemn his Laws, and refuse the Dictates of his Precepts, and will not the Noise of Blood pull Vengeance upon our Heads, if we prove no better Penitents. Yes verily, and I am afraid the Calamitous Distractions which at this day Infect our Nation, proceedeth from our little respect to this days Solemnity: Many, instead of Fasting and Praying, are Hectoring and Ranting; and if this be the Religion of Saints, tell me, O good God what is the Impiety of Devils? Is it Comely thus to Mourn in Coloured Taffeta? Will such a wrestling with God force him to a Blessing, or rather will it not provoke Fire and Brimstone from Heaven, utterly to undo us? I will up, I will up, saith the Lord, and ease myself of my Adversaries, making my Sword like that of Saul, or Gideon, loaden with the Blood of the slain, and Fat of the mighty: Yet still as if God only spoke big Words, and all his Threats were mere Bravadoes of Heaven, we slight and condemn both his Golden Sceptre and Iron Rod.  
Alas! was ever People so Prodigiously besotted, as to think, God will be thus infinitely provoked? Let us begin then now to fear our God, and to pay all Honour and respect to the Defender of his Faith; are you not acquainted that our Nation is almost ruined and destroyed; doth not Church and State lie a Bleeding? are not your Estates wasted? and your Trading decayed? Your Splendour Eclipsed? Your Families broken and scattered; yea, and your Dignities trampled on: Is it not high time then that we fall on our knees, and beg of God that the Blood of his Son, may cleanse us from that of our Sovereign? Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die? If we seek unto God by Repentance, he will repent of the Evil he intended to inflict upon us: Oh! blessed Repentance, it is Thou alone that canst save us! It was Thou alone, O Repentance, that saved Eight Persons from the Flood. Nineveh had fallen, had not you supported it, it had fallen, had not you protected it; it was the want of Thee that caused the Destruction of Egypt: If Thou hadst been present, Sodom had not been destroyed: Come thou then to our succour, O potent Repentance, help us, O help us! Thou Joy of Angels and Crown of Nations, stand up in defence of a no longer Rebellious, but Penitent People; let a poor Bleeding Church, let a poor Perishing Nation take shelter under thy Wings: Turn in unto us O Repentance, and be Thou visible in this Nation, who art only able to repair the mischiefs thereof: Make us perfect Ninevites, that the cry of Blood may not be laid to our Charge; give us from henceforth Loyally affected Hearts, that we may be subject not only for Wrath, but for Conscience sake; Cloth us with Sackcloth, that we may not be stripped of our Gorgeous Apparel; Sprinkle us with Ashes that the Smell of Fire may be no longer in our Dwellings; Enjoin us to Fast for Saul and for Jonathan, that we may live in Peace, and enjoy the Fruits of our Labour in all Godliness and Honesty; make us to Cry mightily, that no other Cry may be heard in our Streets than those of Devotion; for Blessed are the People that are in such a Case; yea, Blessed are the People who have the Lord for their God. For then shall Peace be within our Walls, and Plentiousness within our Palaces, then shall there be no complaining nor leading into Captivity in our Streets.  
Oh! the Happiness we might enjoy if we were thus industrious for our own good; and if not now, when shall we be Happy? When we live under so Gracious a Prince, that for Virtue and Piety he is Second to none but Charles the First, but none but Apelles can draw Alexander's Picture. I shall conclude therefore, Humbly beseeching God to grant Him a long and Prosperous Reign over us, to Confound the subtle Conspiracies of His Enemies, and that as he hath expressed His Grace and Clemency to us, so may we blot out the Infamy of this Day, by plentiful returns of our Sincere Loyalty and Affection to Him; and let all Loyal and Well Affected Subjects say, from the bottom of their Hearts,  
God Save King Charles the Second, Amen.     

A SERMON PREACHED AT St. Michael à Plea April 21st. 1684. at the General Assembly of the Clergy, held there by the Archdeacon of Norwich, etc.  Luke 19th. v. 46th. 
It is written, my House is the House of Prayer, but ye have made it a Den of Thiefs.  
THe most convenient Place for Judgement, to begin at the House of God; for there is no danger of miscarriages in the Commonwealth, when there is a concurrence of all things to promote the Beauty and Glory of the Temple: For wherein consists the Glory of a Kingdom? But in the due Execution of Justice: And what is it that Maintains the Queen upon her Throne? But the Power of Religion.  
When Religion then gins to falter, no marvel if Justice gins to swerve; and what can that presage, but he eminent peril and downfall of a State?  
To prevent therefore the ruins and devastations of both, God hath entrusted the Royal Office with an Absolute Supreme Power, and deposited the Court Rolls of Heaven into his Hands: For the same Divine Providence that Anoints Him King, Proclaims Him also Defender of the Faith, and great Nursing Father of the Church.  
Thus Solomon built the Temple of the Lord and his own Palace both together, but he first Perfected the goodly Fabric of the former, before he began to Erect the latter, to hint to us that it is the Temple which fastens the Royal Diadem upon the Prince's Brows.  
Though we urge not therefore the great Aid and Assistance to the Crown by those weapons of the Church, Praeces & lacrimae. Yet Heaven hath so provided, that Caesar is as much obliged out of kindness to Himself, (as a Religious respect to promote the Splendour of Religion;) to take special regard that the House of Prayer be not converted into a den of Thiefs.  
For he who will abuse the House of God, will even dare to Affront Majesty to His Face.  
If Aaron be disturbed in his Office, how can Moses be secure in his Throne, or how can Aaron be a Co-adjutor and Prophet unto Moses, if he be not a Shield and Defence unto his Brother? The Interest of the Crown and Mitre, Sceptre and Crosier is mutually to assist each other; for, like Twins, they thrive and fade, live and die together: And as the Prosperity of a Kingdom, depend on the flourishing of Religion; so likewise Religion must use the Rules of Discipline to make it more vigorous and Powerful.  
The Primitive Fathers, as well as those of a younger birth, employed all their Industry and Care for the maintenance of it. 'Tis all one, like the Edomite, to race and demolish the Church, as with Separatists to inveigh against the Discipline thereof. The Apostolical Cannons largely evince the Pains and Industry the Apostles used to maintain its Honour and Glory; they therefore Decreed that Episcopal Assemblies should be held twice every year; which Constitutions were afterwards reinforced by the Decrees of several Councils: For what was more Powerful to preserve Sanctity, maintain Purity of Doctrine, hinder Heresy and Schism, and to encourage the Dispensers' of God's Word, to contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints?  
'Tis therefore a Duty incumbent on the Bishop, to provide that Discipline be preserved in the Church, and to Actuate those Laws, which otherwise would die Abortive They therefore who declaim against Hierarchy of Bishops, strike at the very ground and Foundation of the Church. For let us but remove Prelacy, and tell me where shall we find Discipline; and that being gone, what will become of Religion? When Anarchy reigned in Israel, than every man did what seemed good in his own eyes; and where there is no Prelate, are there not diversity of Doctrines, variety of Judgements, and every man professing what Religion he pleaseth? But seeing there are Bishops in our Church, if there be not a Religious and Orthodox Clergy, where lies the fault but in the Prelate; and if there be not a Devout and Conformable People, where lies the Fault but in the Priest? For where they are strict and careful in performing the Duties incumbent on them, the People would or must of necessity do theirs?  
It was upon this account, therefore the Blessed Jesus in this Chapter, When he saw the City he wept of over it; but being come into the Temple, he cast out them who Sold therein.  
In all his time of Converse with mankind on Earth, he never executed the Office of a Magistrate till now; and indeed, what place more fit for Reformation to begin in? Were all Erroneous, Whiggish and half-Conforming persons weeded out of all Ecclesiastical Courts and Employments, we should soon find Religion would have a greater Influence on the Conformity and Lives of Men. May we not well presume Jerusalem to be out of Course, and Order, when there were such great Disorders in the House of God? When Thiefs and Robbers had taken the House of God in Possession, and Sacrilege installed in the House of Prayer? Here then our Saviour gins, passing by the Sins and Divisions of the City, only weeping over it, and pitying it; but punishing the sins of the Temple, for he Whipped and Scourged them who had Profaned it; saying, My House shall be called the House of Prayer. The words present to us the Institution, and Profanation of the Church of God, My House, &c, The Institution will entertain your Meditations with three Particulars. What it must be, For whom, And for what end.  

We resume the First, It must be an House.  
First, Though the Earth is the Lords, and the Fullness thereof: Though God be the Supreme Governor of all the World, and cannot be circumscribed, but replenish every Corner and part thereof with his Presence; yet still he hath ever confined himself to some one particular place, set apart for his Adoration and Worship.  
Though as St. Paul speaketh, Men ought to Pray continually, and in every place: Nevertheless in all Ages of the World, God hath appointed some more peculiar Place for his Royal Court, and Refidence on Earth, where Men shall offer Sacrifices of Prayer, and Praises to him.  
Thus when Religion was but in its Infancy, God was resorted to in a remote Mountain, or some neighbouring Grove, where being absent from the noises of the World, men might elevate their Souls in the most pleasant Contemplations of Eternity; where they may be freed from all Avocations, having no encumbrances to Indispose their Minds from setting their Affections on things above.  
It was in this Melancholy Solitude and Holy Retirement from the World that Abraham, Solicited God by Invocation. Gen. 21.33.  
But when Religion began to flourish, these Groves being abused by Gentile Superstition, God removed himself into a Tabernacle, and journeyed along with Moses and the Children of Israel, and would not be publicly spoke withal until Solomon's time. When these Pilgrims had completed their Travels, God no longer dwelled in a Tabernacle or Travelling Temple, but had an House Erected, that He and the Ark of his Strength might enter therein; and Solomon was the first who built this House where Men should make their Addresses to the Throne of Grace.  
Nor ever read I any denying him a place to rest in, till there started up a late Generation of men, who would make God but their Inmate, and out of Civil Courtesy grant him a Lodging, like the poor Levite in Micha's House, or the man of God in the Shunamites little Chamber. But Sirs, God commands me to declare, That he who provides us an House to secure us against the ruggedness of the Air, and fierceness of Beasts, will have an House Dedicated to himself, that he may dwell therein; yea, and Blessed be God we have found out an Habitation for the Lord of Hosts, But Thanks to the Devotion of our Forefathers. For we are more ready to pull down than to build; and if so, how great is our backwardness to Beautify and Adorn; good Works are even Antiquated; and that Religion adjudged most acceptable to God. which is the least chargeable to man 'Tis strange men should be so basely niggardly in promoting the Glory of God? Either there must be less Religion in the World, or not the same Obligation; the last is impossible, for the Glory of God which prompted our Forefathers, hath the same force and Argument upon us; it must therefore proceed from our low esteem of an Omnipotent Being, that we imagine a Granary or Stable, or some Spiritual Weavers Parlour, spacious enough to entertain the King of Glory, and all his retinue of Celestial Courtiers.  
We are censured Superstitious, if we be not direct Antipodes to the Pious Sense of former Ages: We are presently concluded devoted to the See of Rome, if we be but so Curious as to make God's House Handsomer than our own; But if this be Superstition, I wish from the bottom of my Soul, all men were thus Superstitious, and zealous of good Works; If this be Superstition, how had it overspread and corrupted Primitive Christianity? For they thought no Service so acceptable, as to do something for God's House? For what is more plain, men have but small respect for Religion, who adorn their Houses with Marble and Ivory, Cedar and Tapestry, and see God's House lie unprovided for, and neglected? Whatever men think, the Royal Prophet I am sure was of another Judgement and Persuasion: For (saith he to Nathan) see now I dwell in a House of Cedar, but the Ark of God resteth within Curtains. He thought it great Ir-religion and Impiety, that even the King's Palace should be more Glorious than God's House: This was the primary reason Antiquity Christened their Churches by the Name of Basilicae, not because they there Sacrificed to the King of Heaven and Earth, but because of their Beauty and Frame. How Magnificent and Noble was the Temple which Constantine Erected; and yet how far surpassed, by that vast one Constantius his Son built at Alexandria? He succeeded his Father, not only in possessing the same Religion, but also in his great Care and Reverence for the House of God: For they two are inseparable Companions; he can't have any high regard for Religion, who disregarded the House of the Lord; let that fall, and Religion cannot stand; let that decay, and will not Religion perish? He who hath any respect for his Master, can't patiently behold his House surmounted by an Hospital, or Almshouse, for Beauty and Ornament? Can my Devotions be Elevated and Pure, when I see the place where he dwells, more like a Bridewell, or Pest-house, than the Palace of my God? Can we conceive it the presence-Chamber of Heaven, where God and his whole train of Blessed Spirits are more immediately present to hear and observe us when we see it more like a Sty, or a Stable, rather than the Mansion of so Glorious a Being; And this I fear, is no small occasion, men demean themselves so unhandsomsly and rudely therein, because an ordinary Cottage outvies it in Spruceness, and Neatness. But indeed the most Graceful Ornament of an House, is the Peace and Unity therein; And for this Cause, I presume the Church is not styled Curia, but Domus; not a Court where Divisions and Envy are nourished, but an House where Righteousness and Truth meet together, and Love and Peace even Kiss each other. 'Tis no easy Province to maintain perfect Unity in a State, but is it so laborious to preserve it in an House? The Disturbances and Commotions of a Kingdom, may prove Dangerous, and Fatal, but are not the Divisions of an House far more opprobrious and shameful? When men are not of one mind in an House, but the Father opposing the Son, and the Son studious to control the Father. The Church ought to be an House in respect of the Unity and Order maintained therein, but not an House divided against itself, where the Pastor is against the People, and the People endeavouring to oppose the Shepherd, and both join hand in hand to oppugn their Bishop and Ordinary. They who consented to the persuasion of Pythagoras, were of opinion, that there was but one God, and two Devils, because he first separated from Unity. I shall not trouble myself with the Arguments they alleged to prove their Assertion, but I am verily persuaded, the Devil was the first Whig, (in its proper sense,) Who not only by his saucy Affectation of a Parity with God, caused a Division and Tumult in Heaven; but also, he still hath his Agents and Factors to create the like differences upon Earth; he can't, it's true, now slain the Glories of unblemished Saints, or set Heaven itself at odds: Yet alas! How Prosperous is he, in fomenting Enmities, Animosities and Divisions upon Earth: Was it not the Devil, who caused the Schism of Corah, Dathan and Abiram? Did not he breed the separation of the Eustasians, who occasioned the Council at Gangra? Was it not he, who Enkindled that Schismatical Fire of the Donatists? Did not he blow it into such dismal and raging Flames, that they had almost consumed and burnt the whole Church? Yea, even turned it into Ashes? Had not that Council at Africa been Assembled to quench and allay its fury; And tell me, I beseech you, are not these Embers revived afresh? If we reflect on those, who at this day disturb our Jerusalem, are they not of the same die and Complexion (herein only differing) that those of this Age have scraped the shreds of all old and outworn Heresies to patch them up in a Scotch Tump, or Geneva Frock; but God grant, all the Tantivy-men (as they maliciously call us) and Obedient Sons of the Church, may unanimously concur to whip and scourge out all them, who foment and cherish the Divisions of Church or State; that the House of Prayer may no longer be a Den, but an House, and that for God too, which is the next particular.  
Secondly, My House, and upon this account it was styled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Council at Laodicea, where they Condemned even the Feasts of Charity celebrated therein; for though they were good convincing Arguments of Christian Unity and Love; and held the Authority of Apostolical Custom, yet still it was thought great Profanation of the Temple, because it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, proper only to God, and not to be employed to uses of our own. God gives us a right and propriety to all others, but this is God's House, and we may not make bold with it? For as it hath a special Holiness, so in like manner, a special Honour pertaining thereunto: We don't, it is true, consider it as Holy in respect of itself, yet is it not Holy by reason of its use, and special dedication unto God? And if so, how Erroneous are they, who dispute against it, and maintain any other place as much his, and as much Holy? Which, if true, to what end is that strict Command, Make not my Father's House an House of Merchandise? Or how could our Saviour lay Sacrilege to the Jews charge, because they Traded and Traficked there?  
What more evident, than that the Churches are to be used only for the Services of God? And that ought to be the principle, yea only end of our coming thither, and not to dispatch Worldly concerns, to make Compacts and Bargains, as too frequent amongst us.  
The Consecration and Dedication of Churches is no new nor unheard of thing, no nor yet Superstitious; they who censure it so, cast dirt upon all Holy Antiquity: Ah! of Holy Antiquity, said I; in the very face of God himself, who hath ever Honoured and Accepted it.  
'Tis the Consecration thereof, makes it Holy; yea, and causeth God so to judge of it: For though Stone and Morter are incapable of Grace; yet by their Consecration, they receive a Spiritual Power, whereby they are made fit for God's Worship and Service. Now being Consecrated, tell me, O tell me the danger of Attributing Holiness thereto? I am confident there is none, if we will not run contrary in Opinion to the whole stream and current of the Ancient Fathers, who declared it as their Judgement? Whence, O whence, comes that rude and unhandsome Behaviour in the Church (that he must have a piercing judgement indeed who can discern a difference between the Temple and the Theatre) but from that Heretical Opinion condemned in the Messalian Heretics, that there is no more Holiness in the one than in the other? Does not the Profane Usage proceed from the Profane Opinion thereof? And he that conceived thus, what can he be styled less than Atheist or Heretic? For let us have but an Honourable Opinion of God, and from the Him of such a Garment will flow a Virtuous and Honourable Opinion of his House: Let us but Honour him, and I declare it impossible to have no Veneration or Reverence for the Temple.  
Let others style it Superstitious, but O my Soul come not thou into their Secrets, but mount up thyself, and imitate the Devotions of Primitive Christians, who Worshipped God toward the East, both Priest and People as soon as they presented themselves in his House: All the time they were there, with what Modesty and Silence, with what Reverence and Attention did they demean themselves? That it justly merited the Phrase of the House of God, and they of a Choir of Angels rather than Men: Were they not all upon their Knees at the Prayers? All upon their Feet at the Sermon; none presuming to Sat, as being too bold and laisy a Posture in the House of God? Nay, were there not some, who, Audipedes incedebant in Templum. In imitation of Moses they would not have their Shoes on their Feet in the Temple. May not this shame; yea, God grant it rise not up in Judgement against them who Snort a Sleep in his House, as if they had not a Cabin to rest in? Who have their Hats on their Heads, when God and his Angels more immediately behold them? And what O ye Watchmen of Israel, and Prophets of the Lord, shall we see our Master thus Dishonoured in his House, and shall we wink at the Abuses? Let us not be so faint-hearted and tame, as if we were afraid to Speak; but let us labour to maintain the Glory of his House? Ought there to be no difference between the Temple of the Lord and an House accustomed to Revelling? Shall a common Meeting place in the Market, and that of Angels and Arch-Angels be one and the same? Of Angels said I? yea, the very Presence Chamber of the King of Heaven.  
This is a Duty especially incumbent on the Priest to Correct such Abuses and miscarriages in the Church; that it may not be a Den, but ever continue an House of Prayer.   

Which is the next Particular.  
Thirdly, Though there be many Religious Duties to be exercised in the House of God, yet Prayer is the principal; yea, no other is mentioned. God's House is the House of Prayer, not of Preaching; not that Preaching is excluded, but Prayer must have the pre-eminence and upperhand. Preaching and Prayer are both good, but of the two the the latter is the most worthy; 'tis pity two such fair Sisters should vie Beauty; but indeed God hath commanded me to declare that Prayer must have the most eminent, nay only place, My House is the House of Prayer. This was the Apostles judgement, when there was the highest necessity for Preaching, for then the Gospel was to be planted in all the World; nevertheless though it was then most useful, yet Prayer was preferred before it, for say the Apostles, But we will give ourselves continually unto Prayer, and to the Ministry of the Word, Acts 6.4. First Prayer, than the Ministry of the Word; now if it was so in their days, the Argument is more forcible in ours, because the Gospel is propagated, and Christianity fully settled among us; God forbidden that I should in the least derogate from that Honourable Employment of Preaching the Word, yet I am more than convinced we must more strictly account for the neglect of Prayer than of Preaching: Yet alas! we think we may be remiss in our Duty of coming to Church, if our Ears be not first alarmed with the loud noises of a Sermon Bell, as if Religion consisted in this only, and went no higher than aurium Tenus.  
To what end serves Preaching, and all Learned Discourses, but as Instruments and means to instruct us to Pray; Thus you may hear St. Paul, How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a Preacher? So that Preaching is the means to direct us to call upon him: And I pray tell me, if the means ought to be magnified beyond the end?  
The Fathers, 'tis true, were very frequent in such Pious Orations, but this did not make Prayer more compendious; for in the days of Chrysostom, when Preaching was most used, there was no part of the Liturgy omitted, but now Prayer is slenderly respected; we seem desirous of nothing but Preaching. Many men's dislike to that incomparable Common Prayer practised in the Church, Pardon me Gentlemen if I impute it to those of our Function; for how can we presume the Laity to have Reverence for it, when we ourselves seem to disown it, by cutting it into little shreds and parts, either to oblige a Faction, or ease ourselves; But did we all unanimously agree to be obedient to our Rubric, as our Oath requires us, men would soon have a greater respect for It and Us; for what can create greater Distractions in the minds of men, whilst they observe me exactly conformable to the Rules of the Church, and another little or nothing regarding it, for the same Obligation commands it from him, which enjoins it as my Duty. The Roman Devotionals ('tis true) retain a great part of our Liturgy, and do they not also the same Bible, Sacraments, and other Holy Duties, and shall I deny that which is good, because it hath sometimes been mixed with Evil? The Vessels of the Temple were carried to Babylon, and Profaned by Belshazzar, yet were they not restored, and Consecrated by Ezra to the Service of God? The Common Prayer-Book in like manner was most collected from the Roman Mass Book, but what of this? There were Liturgies extant in the Church before the Mass had Name, or Being; and Rome Christian, was much Elder than that of Papal: When therefore the Mystery of Iniquity began to play its Cards, the Old or First Common Prayer was not Abolished, only mixed with Errors and Corruptions; which blemishes being taken away, is it not as Beautiful as ever? This than was the Pious Care of our first Reformers to refine it from its Dross, and bring it to its Primitive Purity, retaining nothing but what is pure Scripture, or deducted therefrom by the Judgement of our Holy Mother the Church. But alas! we so much degenerate from their Worthyness, that we will not follow the form prescribed by them; we are for new Lights and Inventions to guide us to Heaven, we deny Common Prayer, and magnify the sudden Raptures of men, as the Illuminations of the Spirit; when really what are they better, than an heap of Nonsense in Cramped words, only glazed with the Saintlike Varnishes of a cast up Eye, and Canting Tone.  
Their chief Objections against the Liturgy, are because it is a Form, and enforced by Authority, which are so ridiculous, they are not worthy Confutation: For what Prayers I pray best adorn the Beauty of Holiness, those which are shuffled together by Chance, or such as be Refined and Polished, who Pray most Believingly, he who digesteth what he Prays for? or he who utters his first Sense and Thoughts? Who Prays with fullest assurance to have his Prayers heard and Crowned with Success? He who weighs and ponders his Petitions? Or he who either by implicit Devotion gives assent to all that proceed from the mouth of a Gifted Brother, or else suspend his Amen, when he hears things inconsistent with his reason, or rule of Faith? So that it cannot be because it is a Form, but because commanded by Authority; yet that very command lays the highest Obligation for our Obedience thereto. Obedience (says Samuel) is better than Sacrifice. The Levitical Law Commanded, That the Firstlings of an Ass should be redeemed with a Lamb: Now, shall we in contempt of this Law, break the Lamb's neck, and think an Ass a more proper Offering for the Temple?  
Return then O Shunamite, return, return into the Embraces of thy Holy Mother the Church, for she is all Fair, there is no Spot in her; she looked forth as the Morning, Fair as the Moon, Clear as the Sun, and Terrible as an Army with Banners. The Profanation of the Church, Ye have made it, etc.  
That which was before phraised the Perfection of Beauty, the Joy of the whole Earth; whether the Tribes ascended, as to the Pattern of Heaven: When Christ came to visit it, it was neither like Heaven nor an House, the very Sacrifices therein had need of an Expiation; the Sanctuary itself could not be safe from Sacrilegious Cruelty, God and Prayer were both driven out by Thiefs. The Temple was not barely Profaned, but Profaned in the most heinous nature; the greatness of the Offence, may be measured by the harshness of the Term, in that he calls not an House, but a Den, Ye have made, etc.   

Where I shall consider, When the Church is made a Den: And then secondly, Who are the Thiefs.  
First, An House, receive the first peeping forth of Light, all little Rays and Glimmering will pierce themselves in: But as for a Den, it is a place of Horror and Darkness; and the Church may well be compared to it, if there be wanting in it, the Light of Ceremonies, the Light of Doctrine, and the Light of Life and Conversation in the Priest.  
For First, If the Light of Ceremonies be taken out of the Church, we blow out the Light that is shining therein; 
Rom. 1.20.  is not Sense the guide to the Understanding! Do not Visible things direct us to those that are Invisible? Can an Internal Worship be manifested better than by an External Deportment? All Nations, not only Jews but Gentiles, had Rites in the Adorations of their supposed Deities. All meeting in this, as a Principle of Nature, that Divine Worship cannot be rightly Celebrated without some Outward Solemnity.  
Did not God command the use of Ceremonies unto the Jews? Now the Moral and Ceremonial Law were not promulgated at different times, but both together, And those whom God hath joined, let no man put asunder. Will it not cause a Disrespect to hear the Service of God huddled over, as a Scrivener reads a Bond or an Indenture: Are we so great Enemies to Innocency, that a Surplice should affright us from attending the Ordinances of God? That the Priest should 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, was so general a practice in all Ages of the Church, that none did Officiate in Holy Offices, but he was clad in Raiment White as Snow.  
They are not the Embroideries of Religion I so admire, as to have its Garment too heavy and weighty, nor such a plainness, as to abhor all Decency and Comeliness; For let us suppose the worst, that there are some Spots which may be spared, could they be handsomely taken out, yet what? Because of this must I rend my Garment in pieces and be naked? Or shall I suffer rude Hands to cut and tear it in pieces, as they please, to the great injury and Perturbation of the Church, Ceremoniae tanquam Cerei, They are as Lights which give Lustre and Brightness to God's House, and the Services performed there, and one way to make it a Den, is to extinguish this Light, that it may not give Light to them entering the House of Prayer.  
Secondly, As the Church can't but be dark without Ceremonies, so if the Life of Doctrine required in the Priest, be not a Lamp unto our Feet, and Light unto our Paths, to guide us into the ways of Peace.  
The Blessed Jesus himself hath styled the Preachers of the Word, not only the Lights of the World, but also, the Salt of the Earth, a City set upon a Hill; they are not only Stars, but Angels, chosen Vessels, men of a thousand; their Feet are styled Beautiful, and they themselves the Glory of Christ; good reason then if our Lights should shine before men, for seeing we are called to this Eminent Function, having the Title of Light attributed us; we cannot think it sufficient we have Lamps unless furnished with Oil, that our Doctrine may promote the Glory of God, and save both our own, and the Souls of them committed to our Care.  
The House of Prayer may be a Den, if the Flames therein be not real, but Painted.  
Thus St. Paul chargeth Timothy, To take heed unto himself, and his Doctrine, and put them in remembrance to stir up the Gift of God. 'Tis not enough to fill the Golden Candlestick of the Temple, unless they give Light to those that enter in; otherwise what are they more than prettily contrived Antics under a Building, who seem to groan under the oppression of that which doth support them.  
'Twas our Saviour's Command, That we should always have our Loins girt, (that is) with the Girdle of Sincerity and Truth, or with other Expositors, by External Conformity in our Habits; we must be Pillars of Fire to guide others out of the night of Ignorance and wilderness of Error: For are not the Priests Lips to preserve Knowledge, and are not we to inquire of them what concerns our Souls, for they are the Messengers of the Lord of Hosts. I shall conclude this, only minding you of that Solemn Oath at our Instalment into this Sacred Office, That we would give Faithful diligence to Minister the Doctrine and Discipline of Christ: For if the Lights of the Church be darkened, how great is that Darkness! And what will be the House of Prayer but a Den, etc.  
Thirdly, As there must be the Light of Doctrine, so also of Conversation in the Priest; yes, and it must be Perspicuous too, that Religion and the Doctors thereof may have a good Report amongst all men of whatever Sect or Persuasion, that they may find no occasion to Revile, or Blaspheme us; Blaspheme us I say, for in doing it unto us, they do it unto Christ; we have Motives sufficient to incite us to a circumspect walking; For, waving the express command of our Saviour, let us consider how many Enemies we have in the World, who watch for our Halting, and are so quicksighted, that they discern the least Lint hanging on a Black-Gown: No Cloth so subject to be discoloured, as that of ours. Men are not like that Pious Emperor, who would cover the Nakedness of his Clergy with his own Royal Robe, but joyful to embrace every little occasion to render us Contemptible.  
This than should awaken us; but if this will not do, let us consider, how absurd it is to undo that on the Weekday which we Preached on the Lords? Shall we be diligent in Instructing of others, and we ourselves remain Ignorant and Foolish? Shall we speak brave flourishing words in commendation of Religion, and reclaim Rhetorically against Vice; yet make it our Trade and Practice. The Vrim and Thummim were both put into Aaron's Breastplate, that he might be a Living Sermon, as well as a Preacher of Sound Doctrine.  
He who wanted an Eye, Hand, Foot, or had any blemish in his Body, was forbidden by God to attend at his Altar; then much more sure polluted in Soul? They who bear the Vessels of the Lord, must be Clean: Ye have made it a Den of Thiefs, was a great aggravation of the Church's Profanation.  
Secondly, I descend to the Thiefs, or Persons defiling God's House: The first of them, is he who crept into the Ministry without Commission; thus the Saviour of the World tells us, He who creeps into an House by the Window, the same is a Thief and a Robber: And if so, what can he be styled less who thrusts himself into the Priesthood, and not by the door of Lawful Authority? Thus to run without Commission, is an Usurpation of that which none should take upon him, but he that was called of God as was Aaron, by an External, as well as Internal call. The Apostles were trained up a long time before Christ sent them on that Employ; they were not sent to Preach the Word so soon as they were Enrolled into the number of his Disciples, like hasty Births with Shells upon their Heads, but they attended and waited for a full Authority and Commission: But alas! Authority is now so much slighted and trampled on, that men fancy, if they can but spare so much time from their Shops, they have Authority enough to skip into the Office of the Priest; but are they not Thiefs and Robbers, who force themselves into the Ministry without Licence, or Abilities? they pretend indeed to a large share of Spiritual Influences, which they resume will supply all other Defects, and adapt them fit Ministers of the Gospel; which if true, the House of Prayer would soon be made a Den of Thiefs, for men would soon get the knack and Cunning, to pretend a Call; and then by tedious Discourses of God's Grace, so Insinuate themselves into the Bosoms of men, that they would easily be Deluded by them; others excuse their Illiterate rudeness by the Honest, Plainness and Simplicity of the Apostles; but can they manifest such Miraculous endowments, such Power, and Anointing from above as they were furnished withal.  
St. Paul in reference to this Holy Function, asked with trembling, Who is sufficient for such Offices? But they invert the question, and cry, who is insufficient? I leave it to yourselves, is it probable that Farriers should turn Expeperienced Physicians; much less that they who come from sordid Mechanic Offices, can provide for men's Souls? All accomplishments of Reason, Learning and Judgement are decried as Carnal, and Enemies to the Cross of Christ, which makes me commend to you the Story of the Apes in the Fable, Who because they had no Tails themselves, would have persuaded those who enjoyed that Ornament to cut it off as troublesome and superfluous; yourselves may make the Application, and so I pass from the first to the second sort of Thiefs who trouble the House of God.  
Secondly, They are those who rob God of his Titles, for it is a gross mistake to think it is unto Us; no, it is unto God, they refuse to render the things which are Gods; Thus you may hear God himself declare it, Will a man rob God? yet ye have rob me; But you say wherein have we rob Thee, in Tithes and Offerings? God takes the wrong wholly unto Himself, and the reason why he made the Heaven's Brass, and would not suffer Rain to descend upon the Earth, was because they had given him no Tithes of the Fruits wherewith he had Blessed them.  
Thirdly, But as the People rob the Priest of his Tithes, so also the Priests rob the People in not affording them Divine Service: That the Priest should reap men's Worldly things, is unquestionable; so it is also required that they should reap our Spiritual things; If therefore we either omit the reading these Prayers commanded by the Church, or shrink them into a lesser compass, we deserve no better Appellation than that of Thiefs. As then, we are earnest for all our Tithes, so let us be careful that God may have all his Prayers; for he that will cut God short of them, will not fear to cut him short of any thing else whatever.  
Fourthly, There are many other Thiefs which very much abuse the House of Prayer; but I shall conclude all in naming the Churchwardens, and other Officers, who are the Guardians of the Church; you are persons in whom the Church repose her Confidence, that you will deal Faithfully with her in presenting all Abuses, but how you discharge your Trust passeth my understanding; for none are ignorant many things are Presentable, but nothing Presented, so that from hence especially, the Church is made a Den of Thiefs; For would men dare to separate from our Solemn Assemblies, if you were not so remiss in your respective Duties? Will it not be a most piercing Wound to your Consciences at the General Audit of God, that by your omitting to execute the Laws of the Church our Holy Mother (as Medea did her Children) is rend into several Limbs, Bits, and Pieces? What can be more terrible to you, then to consider, that through the neglect of You, the House of Prayer is made a Den of Thiefs.  
Let me then beseech all who are entrusted with the Concernments of the Church, to think they hear God speaking unto them, as he did unto Joshua, Wherefore lie you on your Faces, up and be doing, take away the accursed Errors from amongst you? Let the Laws be put in a severe Execution against all Dissenters from the Church, for obstinacy must be Forced, not Courted by Peswasions, it is an Happy Violence that pull men out of the Fire: They are Blessed Bonds, which tie men to Christ, Comfortable Fetters, which keep our Feet in the ways of Peace; let them style it Persecution, Persecution, God, I am sure, will take it well at your hands, for 'tis his own method, to afflict the Body, that he may save the Soul, which if we do, we shall see God will arise, and his Enemies be scattered, then will the Glory of God be Exalted, Religion Flourish, and the House of Prayer no longer a Den, but an House at Unity in itself; which that it may, God Enlighten the Hearts of all in Authority Ecclesiastical and Civil, that they may not be negligent in their Duties, but Strong and of good Courage to Fight against them, who Fight against God, that there may be an advancement of Religion, a composure of all Christian Animosities, that Peace and Righteousness, Religion and Piety, may be Established among us for all Generations, and let all who seek the Prosperity of Jerusalem, say, Amen, Amen.    

A SERMON PROVING A Late, or Deathbed Repentance, no Repentance.  Psalm xcv. V viij. 
To day if you will hear his Voice, harden not your Hearts—  
SElf-Interest and Prudence, oblige and command us to guard and fortify ourselves, before the approaching Incursions of our mortal and malignant Enemy; that we may the more effectually oppose, and briskly resist their forces.  
He, who would not be constrained Cowardly to fly at the first Encounter of an Invading Adversary, must be ready to Assail him before he hath Entrenched himself; lest, when his Canons are placed, his Battering-pieces displayed, he meet with a more vigorous and easy Repulse: That subtle Serpent the Devil, is the Arch-enemy of all Mankind, if therefore we do not valiantly oppose, and courageously bid defiance to all his Temptations at the first onset, by more lessening Circumstances he will quickly become more Victorious over us, and lead us into the strong-holds of Sin.  
He then, who is earnest to avoid this Slavery and be perfectly released from such a Servitude, must in the Morning of his Age, grapple with the Old Man, and expel him put of this flesh wherein he hath so strongly Encamp himself, and whilst we have the Recruits of Vigour and Strength to reinforce us. For it is a Cessation of Arms that gives the Conquest to our Enemy, and if we do not repel him in the Spring, and Flower of our Youth, in our greenest years; Oh! the difficulty and hardness, we shall find to rally our decaying Spirits, in the Winter of our Age when Snow is on our Heads, and Frost within our Veins!  
Now then is the accepted time, This is the day wherein we must proclaim open Wars-against that Inveterate Enemy of Mankind. For that Warrior of Hell watches for Opportunities to lullaby us a sleep on the downy Beds of Sloth and Security, thereby to gain those great advantages of a surprise; because he knows, if we don't cheerfully attend upon the Ordinances of God, and make a continued Progress in Holiness, we do certainly yield ourselves Servants to Sin, and are ensnared by these Nets he hath privately laid to entrap men. For when God perceives I make no good use of those Talents of Grace committed to my Trust; not to my Trust as to keep them enwrapped in a Napkin, but to improve to a further growing in Grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; which, if I don't, he then will most justly withdraw these his Graces, which I have so foolishly misemployed; and harden my heart, as well to punish me for my Wickedness, as also for my Folly; that then when I might have made use of his supporting Grace to assist me, I did wilfully slight and neglect these opportunities of growing from Grace to Grace; For to day if you will hear his Voice harden not your Hearts.  
In this Psalm the Sweet Singer of Israel insinuates an earnest Exhortation to Laud and Magnify the Providence of God, in his Wise conduct of the World; together with that Infinite Wisdom in contriving and managing the Illustrious Fabric and oeconomy of the Church both Triumphant and Militant; and then he descends in v. 8. to exhort and admonish us not to Irritate and provoke him to Anger, by our Impenitent Course, and persisting in Wickedness; but embrace every opportunity of Obedience to his Voice, and of a perfect resignation to his Service and Pleasure; least by a contempt and hardening our Hearts, we tyre and weary out the Patience of Heaven, till it punish us (as did those of Messah and Meribah) by a Sclemn Protestation and Oath, We shall not enter into the Land of Rost, or Heavenly Canaan.  
The words are naturally so pregnant, I need not urge any thing therefrom, but what presents of its own accord: I shall not then enlarge my Meditations further, then to entertain you with this short Proposition.  
That we must not in the least defer our Repentance, but instantly comply with Obedience to that Voice which requires it of us, For to day if you will hear, etc.  
Solomon seriously considering the hard Province of a man to relinquish habituated Vices, advises all in his Book of Ecclesiastes, To remember their Creator in the days of their youth: For evident it is, nothing more difficult for a man, when he hath once set his Teeth on edge with the unwholesome Viands of Sin, than to relish the Savoury Meats of Righteousness.  
For Sin and Pleasure leave such a Tangle and Hogoe in the mouths of Carnal men, it renders so pleasant a gust to the Infirmities of Humane Nature, that a Camel may as easily rush through the Eye of a Needle, as such a person be capacitated for the Kingdom of Glory; to which sense are those excellent words of the Prophet, Can the Aethiopian change his Skin, or the Leopard his Spots, Then may you also do good, who are accustomed to do evil?  
He therefore that defers his Repentance in the Summer of his Age, and will not acknowledge his Sins whilst he hath Strength, and Vigour, To resist the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, but involved them in the excuses and denial, and clouds of Hypocrisy. He will not find it a slender task, when all Diseases and the Evils of Age, shall muster up their forces in his Crazy-bones, when all his wasting pleasures shall present their Items to his Bed rid view to find the Comforts of Repentance then.  
Many Doctors pertaining to the Roman Conclave, answering to the question, At what time precisely a Sinner is obliged to Repent, affirm, At what time soever; (for say they) the Precept of Repentance is of the same nature with that of Baptism and Prayer; Nor this day, nor to morrow, is it absolutely necessary to be Baptised, but sometime or other; and if I Pray an hour or half hence, the duty of Prayer is performed as fully, as if I fell upon my Knees at the very instant of the Proclamation. But with submission to better Judgements, I dare boldly affirm, this assertion can neither be confirmed by Holy Writ, or any Author, who Preach nothing but the Sineere Word of God. 'Tis true, I dare not conceal it, God desires not the Death of a Sinner, but abundantly rather, that he turn and Live: Yet if one, who hath had the grand Blessing of Heaven to be born in the Pale of his Church, who hath the Sun shine of the Gospel always beaming on him (whose Life engendering Rays are sufficient to warm and soften a stony Heart; yes, And out of such stones to raise up Children unto Abraham) if he will consume his Youth and Beauty in the Service of sin, wearing out the gloss of his Life in open Hostility against God, and Rallying his Forces to Bandy against the Almighty, neither will he accept of his Services, when he is worn out with years, and hath nothing to present him but the thin Furrows and Wrinkles of Old Age.  
I appeal to yourselves, how just and reasonable it is for an Earthly Potentate, who promise me, if I will submit to his Commands, and render an entire Obedience to all his Precepts for the space of one year; at his expiration, he will load me with Honours, and burden me with Riches; how just is it for him to refuse me those Honours, and deny me those Riches, if I walk contrary to his ways, and will not be obedient to the Dictates of his Laws? May not then the Creator of Mankind, in like manner, withdraw the Graces we have so foolishly embezzled and misemployed.  
For is it reasonable for me, professing Christianity to Ravel out the little moment of this Life, in Sensual Pleasures and Delights, never taking a turn in the Melancholy Shades of a Penitent Soul, to imagine God will reward my Deathbed Sorrow, as a Godly Sorrow, when I have Prodigally spent all my Sprightly Strength, in ranging the byways of Sin, and completing the Kingdom of Satan; because he who expects a consummation of future Bliss, must have his whole Life, and all his Actions free from every imputation and appearance of Evil.  
The great Shepherd of our Souls loves not a Spotted or Ring streaked Flock; but our whole Lives must be an unchequered, and entire Holiness.  
So soon as we have taken our Military Oath, and are Enrolled under Christ's Banner, we must begin our Warfare against the World, Flesh and the Devil; not having the most little and inconsiderable passage of our Life stained, or sullied by the dishonours of a dirty and unworthy Action; I mean not, that all the circumstances of our Life, or whole retinue of our Actions can be as uncorrupted as the Rays of the Sun, or as pure as the pure Sparkling of the White-stone, and Heavenly Jerusalem; no, but yet we may in some measure resemble the Moon, in which Philosophers acquaint us, there are certain Macule, or Spots, but no Deformities.  
Whilst we are in this state of Imperfection, we can't be so Clarified, as to be free from all Indiscretions, Errors and Mistakes: Flesh and Blood are daily attended by a numerous train of Sensual Objects, which causes us to dwell in the neighbourhood of Ungodliness; but then so soon as I am sensible of this Defilement, or that Weakness, I must wash it away in the Tears of Repentance: But if I persevere in my Wickedness, and never inquire of my Conscience what I have done, I wilfully incur my own Damnation, because I am positively and directly bound for to repent so soon as I know I have offended, For to day if you will hear his Voice, etc.  
Thus you see, if we would be Happy hereafter, we must not in the least defer our Repentance, but that is further urged by these following Reasons.  
First, The first Reason is drawn from the end and intention of God, in commissioning the Dispensors of his Word, To lift up their Voices like Trumpets, to declare to Jerusalem their Sins, and to Judah their Transgressions: For wherefore is all this, if not to Alarm us into a present actual Obedience? For does God authorise those who attend at his Altar, to Thunder against our Sins, and incite us to Repent, and does he not intent we should repent on that day he calls for it? Dare the Prophets and Ministers of Righteousness, bid us repent next year? Have they any Commission will warrant them to say, It is very well and expedient to repent to day, but you incur no danger to defer it to a longer time, or more convenient season, till you are well stricken in years, and your Heads Crowned with a Silver Crown of Hoary Hairs? If it be thus, to what end do we Preach? If this be the drift of Pulpit Discourses, wherefore are they made? Does not God require our exact Obedience? Does not he expect my Morning and Evening Sacrifices of Prayer and Thanksgiving? And can I offer this unto him, unless I seriously Repent? No certainly; so long then as I remain Impenitent, I deny myself the Honourable Title of being the Servant of God, To day therefore, etc.  
Secondly, But than secondly, does not God every day dart some Beams of his Grace upon me? Do not he incessantly knock at the door of my heart, so long as the day of Salvation gins not to decline? Does not he send his Spirit to Invite, his Arguments to persuade, and his Mercies to Enamour me of the Beauty of Holiness? And are these things to be Played withal, or set light by? Is it not a Sin, once to resist the Holy Spirit, and done't I resist it, who remember I have sinned, and know it does incense my God, yet I continue so presumptuous as not to repent at the pleading guilty in my Conscience? Now is not he who resists the Grace of God, ten, twenty, or thirty years, a much more Notorious Offender, than he who opposed it twenty days, and so on to twenty hours, and twenty minutes? The longer God hath patiently waited for our Repentance, much more infinitely disobliged is he, if we don't Repent: How can I senselessly imagine his Anger would increase, if our sins were not multiplied? Besides, must not I repent of my resisting Gods Grace, of my refusing to Hear, of my none-Attendance and neglect of the means of Salvation? Must not I give diligence to make my Calling and Election sure? Must not I strive to enter in at the straight Gate? And why all these Exhortations and Incitements to Holiness, if there be no Duty to be performed? To what intent serve all the Terrors and Asrightments of Hell, if not to persuade men to avoid all the dismal Horrors and Consequences thereof? Wherefore are all the Promises of Eternal Life, and Crowns of Glory, if not to encourage, as well as to reward Obedience? And what can be reckoned a Contempt of Heaven, if this be not, that when God by his Preventing, his Exciting, his Encouraging, and his Assisting Graces to invite us to Repentance. We, notwithstanding all, will not Mourn for our Sins, nor be Sorrowful for our Offences.  
This is that wherewith God upbraided the Obstinacy of his People, Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my Hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all my Councils, and would have none of my Reproof; I will therefore laugh at your Calamity, and mock when your Fear cometh, Prov. 1.25, 26, 27. Tell me now, is not every Calling of great moment and concern, and consequently is not every slighting of it Criminal and dangerous, and does not God Call upon us daily? Let us put these things together, and then we may derive this Natural consequence, that he who Sins and does not speedily Repent, at least Sin twice; and every day we defer it, is a more completed Provocation to urge the Lord of Hosts, to enter into the Armoury of his Wrath, and utterly consume us, to which sense are those excellent words of St. Paul,  
Despisest thou the Riches of his Goodness, and Forbearance, and long Suffering, not knowing that the Goodness of God leadeth thee to Repentance, Rom. 2.3. That is,  
Every Action of Gods Loving Kindness, and forbearing to punish our Sinful Courses, is an Argument for, and a Motive to Repentance; and our not stretching forth our Hand to lay hold on this Tree of Life, our refusing to wash in this River Jordan, our not being Reformed or made better by it, is styled by the Apostle, A despising his Goodness, and every non-repented day, a Treasuring up Wrath, against the day of Wrath: For, if we wilsully persist in our obdurate resisting all these methods of Divine Mercy, it will certainly add greater weight to our ruin, when God shall punish or reward according to our Actions; To day therefore if you will hear his, etc.  
Yet Oh! the stupidity of Mankind! So dull and careless, are we to apprehend our future good and advantage, that we wax Old in Sin, and Grace in Iniquity; we judge the hours of our Life glide and vanish away too nimbly for the acting of our Sin, but comes too fast for our Repentance. In my private Meditations and close Retirements into my own Breast, I have Christianly commiserated; yea, my heart hath even bled, at a man Rightly Principled in Religion, able to Administer Sage Council to others, Discreet enough to conduct the various Intrigues of a Family, Prudently resolved concerning the Interests of this Life; entering Gods-House every Sunday or Festival, giving great Attention to the Dispensors of God's word, the Sermons of the Gospel, and the soft murmur of the Holy Spirit: Men who understand the woeful Estate of them, who die without Absolution and Remission of their Sins, who are not insensible, that the Wrath of God, like the Punishment of Cain, is greater than we can bear, yet inevitably incident on all them who prevent it not by opportune Repentance.  
Is it not a lamentable and doleful sight, to observe men, so well qualified for Virtue, and a Pious Life, daily Sinning against God, entering into all Temptations, and as it were, Ornare Diabolum, Become Learned Spoils to the Enemy of our Salvation, yet never think on Repentance, but resolves to venture for it till the last Breath, and for its acceptance too at so untimely a Season.  
For, it is first a great hazard whether God will then assist me with so much Grace as to Repent; which if he do, I than secondly, run the venture of an After game, whether that Repentance will be acceptable by him; because without Controversy it cannot be perfected. For if Holy Writ, by a true Repentance, understand and mean an Amendment and Reformation of Life, as certainly it does: Then tell me, what difference is there, not to Repent at all, or not to begin it, till the last Thread of Life be a Spinning: For, how can I Amend, Reform, or lead a new course of Life; when alas! poor Creature that I am! I am no longer to be! To day therefore, etc.  
Thirdly, Are not all the Leaves of the Book of Life Exhortatory Persuasions to a speedy Repentance? For where God commandeth me to Pray, there he urgeth to Repentance; because otherwise, my Prayer would be defective, and render no sweet smelling Savour in the Nostrils of God.  
Nay without Repentance, I pronounce it impossible to Pray to God with that Ardour and Zeal we are obliged: For, to Pray aright, is to cast away all Affections to Sin, the least Glances to Temptations, to be Sorry we have Sinned, with a full Resolution never to be Guilty of the like Transgression, or the same Madness; and thereupon Solomon declared, The Prayer of the Wicked is an abomination to the Lord: Yea, consult Truth itself, and you may hear it declaring, I hate your  Offerings, my Soul loathes your Solemn Assemblies; bring me no more vain Oblations: They are adjudged vain and loathsome, because not perfumed with the sweet Incense of Repentance. Thus you may hear the man in the Gospel declaring, God heareth not Sinners, John 9.31. (that is) Those who have sinned, and have not yet repent; being unhappy in their hasty Sin, much more miserable in their slow Repentance.  
An Impenitent person Soils and Discolours every otherwise well approved Action, he Envenomes and Poisons even the very Mercy of God: For, if such a man Pray, what is it esteemed more, than Howling? If he Mourn, what is it more, than hanging down the Head like a Bulrush? If he Sacrifice, what is it, but the cutting off a Dog's neck? If he rejoice, what is such mirth, But a Blaze and Crackling of Thorns under the Pot? For God regards and gives ear to none but the Penitent, on which account you may observe, Christ commanding us to Pray, and instructing us what we should Pray for, enjoins us every day, To Pray for the remission of our Sins; Mat. 6.10, 11. We can't request our daily Bread, unless we beg a daily forgiveness of our Sins. So likewise Holy David in the Text, and St. Paul from the Psalmist in his Epistle to the Hebrews, To day if you will hear, etc. Not only strictly commanding us, not to put off our Repentance one day, but also affirming, every such delay is an act of Obduration, and so a new sin is added to the old. So oft then as I meditate on those Melodious Words, and Charming Eloquence, of the Son of Syrach, I seemed to hear all the bright morning Stars and Sons of Glory, calling to us below, to make no tarrying to turn unto the Lord, and to put not off from day to day, for suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth, and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed, and perish in the day of Vengeance, Ecclesiasticus 5.7.  
For every day of our Life, may probably be adjudged the day of our Burial; for what is it more than the Life of Roses, which in the Evening make a Tomb, of that Scarlet which was its morning Ornament and Glory? What reason therefore can be more prevalent than this, to provide the best Arguments we can for our Justification before Death; because God frequently smites Sinners in their Confidences, he strikes them in their Securities, in their Delays, they may meet with a Surprise; in their Procrastinations, they may be frustrated of their Hopes, and Death may rob them of the Benefits and Advantages of to morrow. For what is bold man, (as some confidently speak) to resolve not to Repent till Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, next Communion, or such prefixed Festival and Seasons: Alas! poor Dust and Ashes that we are! How probable is it whilst we revolve such Thoughts in our mind, an Imposthume, Swelling in our Head or Breast, may make us big with Death?  
How probable is it, some popular Disease raging in our Streets, may slay him in three days time? May not to morrows Dinner breed a Surfeit, or this night's Intemperance a Fever, How oft do we see Death riding Triumphant in our Dwellings, and Crowned with the Spoils of many numbers of Men? Alas! it is impossible to enumerate all the possibilities of dying Suddenly, or the Probabilities how soon our Lives may be raveled out to its utmost Thread: For though we flatter ourselves in the Plentifullest hopes of a Gaudy Fortune, Death may meet every one of us, with a Thou Fool, this night shall thy Soul be taken from thee. Let any one therefore, who hath any thing besides the Shape and Lineament of a Man, but really acknowledge, that he is Mortal; let him but confess himself to be a man, and subject to the Accidents of Mortality; and that very Confession, must be a confutation of them who defer their Repentance. For, I appeal to yourselves, Is it reasonable for me, who confess myself a Sinner, and am persuaded of a Supreme Existence, and believe, that he knows I am a Sinner, and will Infallibly punish me for my Sins, if not washed away with the Tears of Repentance; can I be thought Rational, and in my Wits, if I defer it, unless upon the confidence of a long Life? And grant my Supposition, should the promising myself many days promote a Life and state of Impenitency? Is it so intolerable to live Virtuously? Is the Yoke of Christ so uneasy? Are the Commandments of God so Grievous? Will to live Righteously, Soberly and Godly in this present World, quite strip us of our pleasant days, and make us waste our Hours in a Moross Austerity or Sullen Gravity? Or are the hopes of Life intended for no other purpose than to delay our Sin, and defer our Repentance; God forbidden, for such premises can't be guilty of a worse Conclusion. However, he that seriously meditates on those many numbers of men; who, like little Blossoms, are Cropped by the Scythe of Death in the Tenderness of their Age, will have but small reason to consent to these evil purposes from such weak and contingent Principles.  
I cannot tell the precise Minuit of my Death, or take an exact measure of this Span of Life; and then, to defer my Repentance, is a Shame put upon my own Soul, and a contempt of all the Divine Revelations of Heaven and Hell.  
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, make no League of Confederacy with time, because there is nothing more like to to deceive Humane Nature, than such a fickle uncertainty; and therefore God threatened the Angel of the Church of Ephesus, saying, Repent for I will come unto you quickly, and remove the Candlestick out of its place, unless you do Repent; that is, unless you Repent quickly, I will come quickly, and who knows how soon that may be to me Preaching, or you Hearing? Is it not therefore great Prudence, as well as Charity to our Souls, to be Providently Industrious, that his coming to us prevent not our return to him; for which we can never enjoy good security, unless we embrace a speedy Repentance. And Oh! the mighty Influence! it would have upon our Lives, if the consideration might sink into our Hearts of those many numbers of Persons, as Good, as Wise, as Daring and Confident: Yes, and by the circumstances of Health, as likely to Live as we; yet have been snatched away, by a Death so sudden, that their very deferring their Repentance but one day, nay but one hour, may have proved their Eternal ruin.  
Had they but Repent the day before, it would have looked like a design of Grace, and an act of Election, and have rendered their condition Hopeful.  
If we seriously weigh such considerations in our breast, we shall conclude it necessary, in the highest degree, that we make neither loitering, nor stay in our being reconciled unto God; because one hours, nay minutes stay, may not only by a peradventure, but in a real and true event of things, prove to be one of these Sins, called the Sins against the Holy Ghost, I mean, final Impenitency.  
For, as I who die young, and in the prime of my strength and vigour, am as really dead, as he who dies after an Age of 40, 50, or 60 years' Travel; so is that Impenitency final, under which I am Arrested by Death in the very birth, and infancy of my Crimes, as much as if I had laid Bedrid in my Repentance, be snatched from hence to die Eternally in Hell.  
The Evil is not of so black a die, the Judgement is not of so severe a stamp, but equally as Fatal, equally as irreversible, as the Decrees and Sentences of Damnation on those who are held in Chains until the Judgement of the great day.  
Moreover, may we not observe the stupid foolishness of man, to slight and neglect those best opportunities of Repenting, whilst the Marrow swells in our Bones, our Blood be hot, and boils within our Veins, when we are best capable of performing the several Duties of it, then to put it off till we grow Crazy and Infirm; for are Dim Eyes, Deaf Ears, Pale Visage, Decayed Teeth, Withered Skin, Stinking Breath, Furred Pipes, Trembling Knees, Fumbling Hands, Falling Feet, a Stammering Tongue, and a Rattling Throat; fit Qualifications and suitable Embellishments for one rendering an Account to the Impartial Judge of Heaven and Earth? To day therefore if you will hear his Voice, etc.  
Fourthly and Lastly, When a man warps from the direct path of Virtue, it is obvious and common to rebuke him; for every Sober, and Honest person is covetous and desirous, that his unhappy Friend or Acquaintance should forsake his pursuit in Wickedness, and leave off his course in Impiety: We therefore require him to be sorry for his Sin, to detest and hate his Crime, resolving for the future never to be guilty of the like Enormity.  
Now, I pray consider, wherefore is all this, if not upon the same account that God does it; because to persist in it, can't possibly be good, but to relinquish it, very advantageous; to dwell or tarry therein is dangerous, and a state of Evil; and to choose to dwell there, what is it, but an Act of Love to that state, and consequently impossible to be free and void of offence? And not to Repent, when by good Admonitions I am forewarned of my danger, is a desire to abide there; and when I consider, and know that I have Sinned, and am not absolved of mine Iniquities, then does God's Spirit, and the Principles of our Religion mind me of my danger, and threaten my Ruin, if I perversely venture myself on such dangerous Precipices; so that the Conclusion is undeniable, no man can so much as remember he hath sinned (and remain Impenitent) without an Addition, or at least a Repetition of the same Sin.  
But than is not our Natural and Inbred disposition to incite others, a potent Argument, that the same obligation binding them, commands it of every one of us in our own particular?  
Seeing we all pretend to flatter ourselves, as capable of giving good Council, will it not slain our Wisdom, if ourselves refuse to follow the Dictates of our own Sage Advices? Now then is the accepted time, this is the day of Salvation.  
Thus a famous Champion of Christianity piously confirmed his Resolutions, and at last fixed on such a present actual Obedience; for nothing could end his questions, and compose the rufflings of his Conscience, but to interpret the Precept of Repentance in the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the very present juncture, and at no time else.  
Differens dicebam modo, ecce mode, sine Paululum, sed modo & môdo non habuerat modum.  
I would Anon, and against the next Week, against the next Communion, or against the Festival, but there was no end of this; Subfico igitur me stravi flens, Quamdiu, quamdiu, Cras, & Cras, quare non modo, quare non hâc horâ finis Turpitudinis mei?  
I Wept, and said, how long shall I say to morrow? How long shall I say till the next Communion? Why not now? Why should I not by an immediate Repentance put a close and period to my Crime? If not till to morrow, or the next Festival, there is as great an Argument for every day of our Life in which we can say to morrow.  
There is enough that can determine us to day, but there is nothing that can determine us to morrow! If it be not necessary now, it will not be convenient then, or ever likely to be expedient, so long as there be a Morrow-morning to our Life.  
He therefore, who desires the welcome of a Faithful and diligent Servant, must be early at his Work, and begin forthwith to do the Will of his Father which is in Heaven. To which purpose, I have somewhere read one advising us to imitate the Example of the Thief upon the Cross. To do as he did.  
Yes, we are easily decoyed by the Subtlety of our Enemy to do as he did; I mean defer our Repentance unto the last gasp of breath, having the great Encouragements of his happy success. Alas! no we don't follow his steps! Thrice Happy men were we! If we did resemble Him in his Repentance. For, I will dare to aver, he did not defer his Repentance until the last, for so soon as early Beams of the Sun of Righteousness peeped through the Curtains of his Infidelity, and shined in his Heart, he embraced his Saviour with the Arms of Faith, believed on him, and was really Converted; so soon as he heard of a Christ, he confessed him a Saviour, and without the least hesitation, or delay, Repent him of his former misspent Actions. And if we Transcribe his Copy, we must Repent so soon as we hear Christ Preached unto us, and then our Repentance is unreprovable, but otherwise our Damnation is unavoidable.  
Why art thou so dull and drowsy then, O sinful Creature? What frenzy possesseth thee, thus to defer thy Repentance? Can this delay consist with any Christian Grace? With Faith, Hope and Charity? With Prudence or Piety? With the Love of God, or of our own Souls? Thus to withstand the shock of the Thunder, to oppose the mouth of the Canon, and dare the Omnipotents Anger? All which are the dreadful effects of an Impenitent Heart, for God hateth him, who grows fat in his Sin, and waxes Lusty in his Transgressions; And is it so idle, so indifferent a concern, to be detested by the Fountain of Love and Goodness?  
When the little Son of Alexander saw a Company of Thiefs Pilfering his Father's House, and carrying away the Rich Vessels of Gold, and Attic Talents, the Child Smiled and Whipped his Top; But when a Boy, who accompanied the Thiefs, robbed him of his little Instrument for Sport, he could then cry out, raising the Neighbourhood, and discovering the Thiefs.  
Thus, and much more Childish is he, who Plays and Sports himself in the Caresses of Sin, and in the Interim his Soul is stolen away by that Goliath of Hell, who gives us Toys and Pebbles, the more easily to Delude, and Cousin us of this our most precious Jewel. How would such a man be transported with Fury, and Rage, at the loss of his Goods? Is he not too Jealous of his Fortunes to commend one hour to the Pidelity of Thiefs? Would he venture his Body two Minutes in the reach of an Enraged Lion? Yet, how unconcernedly! does he permit his Soul to be snatched away by that Roaring Lion, who goes about seeking what Souls he may devour! He leaves it in pawn to that great Tyrant, Months and Years, in a danger so amazing, it would even Stagger and Distract, all the Reason of Mankind could it possibly be understood but half so great as in reality it is.  
'Tis reported, the Emperor Augustus wondered how a Roman Gentleman could have his Senses so strongly bound by the Silken Chains of Sleep, having contracted so great Debts, as he had not wherewith to satisfy his Creditors; having therefore exposed his House-hold-stuff to Sale, the Emperor would needs buy the Pillow yielding so Sweet Repose and Rest.  
How then may we admire the Supine negligence of them, who usually go to Bed, expecting a soft Slumber to steal upon their Eyes, when they are Infinitely Indebted to God by their Sins, yet seldom or never examine their Accounts, or prove Supplicants to the Throne of Grace, that God would Pardon their Sins, and do away their Offences.  
What is it then, O dull and and finful Soul, which makes thee thus confident in thy State? What Evasion canst thou make for thy Non-repentance? What excuse for this Progress in Sin, and little regard of its Remission? Dost thou say,  
Thou confessest thyself a Sinner of no small degree, but God is Merciful and you hope for Salvation through that Mercy, and the Merits of Jesus Christ? These, though the common, yet are but weak Arguments for Christians expectation; for though without Controversy, God is a God of Mercy, and easily entreated; still he is a God of Justice, expecting to be feared: As he is my Father, he will be compassionate, but as he is my Sovereign, he must be obeyed. Christ, I acknowledge, hath abundantly satisfied for the Redemption of all descending from the loins of Adam; But must we therefore neglect the means of Salvation, and the end of our Hopes, Eternal Life?  
Come, tell me I beseech you, wherefore did Christ die and shed his Blood, was it only for your and my Pardon; did He bear the Cross, that We might bear none? Or was it the design of his Death to get us a Dispensation from Holy Living? Or rather, was not this his end and purpose, by keeping us from dying, to make us alive to God? By denying himself, to invite us to take up our Cross, and follow him, and not to procure us a Liberty to execute our Will and Pleasure?  
St. Peter confirms this Doctrine, For he died, that we being dead to Sin should live unto Righteousness, 1 Pet. 2.24. So that unless we live to Righteousness, his Scourges will not save us from the Lash: His Crucifixion will be insignificant unto us, if we do not Crucify our Carnal Appetites; nor will his Death ransom us from dying, if our Sins still live.  
For can we think so dishonourable of Christ, as to make him a Cherisher of such Traitors? Does he take care for their Protection, and set up a Sanctuary to which they may boldly flee? Is the Altar of the Cross an Asylum, or Refuge, for those who gather themselves together against the Lord, and against his Anointed. Are the unmanly Sensualities of the World so highly favoured by God, that he will send his Legate, à Latere, Son from his Bosom to die in defence, and behalf of them? How gross a mistake is this! when the Pardon and Forgiveness of our Sins, was not so much intended by the Death of Christ, as the Purifying of our Hearts and Lives; and therefore St. Paul (as well as the other mentioned place of St. Peter) tells us, That Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from this present World, (that is) By showing his willingness to pass by our Faults, he would even melt and win us to acknowledge our Trespasses, to repent of them, and for the future to become more Dutiful and Obedient.  
Up then quickly, O Elijah, Eat and Drink, for thou hast a great Journey to go: Let us up Sirs, and be doing, and not Prorogue so weighty a business any longer, endeavouring only to Reform; when alas! frail Creatures! We must cease to be!— 'Twill be too late to say, Father I have Sinned, when it will be only Seasonable to cry, Corruption thou art my Father?  
For, they are not a few Death bed Sighs will waft us over to these Elysium Fields: They are not a few Momentary Groans and Mournful Lamentations will Capacitate us fit Candidates for the new Jerusalem. Oh! the Horror and Amazement! which will benumb our Senses, when Death shall make its sudden Addresses to us, and summon us from our Beds of Security to appear before God at the Tribunal of Justice!  
Will it not be too late to say then, Lord I Repent, when an Impartial and Severe Judge is ready to pronounce, A go ye Cursed into Everlasting Fire? Oh! Consider this all ye that forget God Oh! Consider this, all ye who forget your Souls are Immortal! And now, Before the Night cometh when no man can Work; Let us earnestly and humbly beseech him, whose Nature and Property is always to have Mercy, and to Forgive, to receive our Humble Petitions: And though we be tied and bound with the Chain of our Sins, yet let the Pitifulness of thy great Mercy lose us, O Lord, for the Honour of Jesus Christ our Mediator and Advocate. Amen.   

A SERMON PREACHED ON Rom. seven. V xv. last words.— What I hate, that do I.  
SO great and fatal was the overthrow of the Sons of men in their Original Apostasy from their God, that the whole Creation even Sigh and Groan under it.  
For, though it is true, God first raising the Structure of Mankind out of nothing built it most completely and proportionably, there were no Erratas to be found, nothing of Imperfection, but all Fair and Lovely.  
What an Accurate Harmony! what an Immaculate Beauty was found in him! A just and Regular Tendency, without the least Swerving or Deviation; for he had no inclination or proness to Evil: For though his Body was not Beautified equally with those, which are Glorified, yet it was Dutyful and Obedient, and never remiss in paying its due Homage to the Soul.  
The very Sensitive Powers were neither Factious or Seditious, but willingly subject to the Higher Powers, the Intellectual; there were no violent motions or perturbations, which since have bred such Phantacisms and Insurrections in the Soul; In a word, no Passion which had any tendency to Sin: May we not then stand amazed, may we not then admire? How so Beautiful a Creature should be soon withered? How that fragrant Breath God breathed into Adam should be so soon corrupted? Shall I censure the untowardness of his Will for this defect? Would not that be unjust, when it yielded so entire an observance to all the Dictates of his understanding? Or what? Shall I fault the understanding? Would not this suppose him maliciously, and on purpose to sin against God contrary to the sense of his own Judgement? And shall I entertain a thought so dishonourable to the first root, from whence I derive my Being? shall I make his Offence nothing inferior to that of the Apostate Angels thrown into Misery irrevocable?— Let us rather presume, that this understanding was defective in its office by a negligent Non-attendance; for though the Eye was clear enough, yet it was not sufficiently vigilant; though the Balance was not deceitful, yet Adam forgot to weigh things therein, and so was despoiled, not only in all those Supernatural Endowments, but even wounded in all those Natural Capacities he had, to remain in an Innocent and Sinless state. Yes, and those sour Grapes he Eat, have so edged his children's Teeth, that they can't perform what they would, but in an impulsive manner are driven and spurred on by propentions, To do what they hate.  
With how great Virtue soever a Soul is fortified, Humane Nature hath Weaknesses it cannot disavow; and how great resistance soever it make, through Principles of Virtue against irregular motions, yet if it be not supported by an especial Endowment and Providence, it must at sometimes yield and give most visible marks of Frailty; for the passions have got such an Empire over us, that we can't shake them off, so long as we remain in a state of Nature, and not of Grace; and therefore the Author of our Text speaking of the Imbecilities of men, he means as they are Naturally descended from Adam, and not as they are Ennobled by the Favours of Heaven through Jesus Christ.  
For, though it is true, so long, as I am a mere man, Unbaptised, and in a state of Carnality, I dwell in the Regions of Death, so that I cannot act according to Grace, but sense. Yet when I am redeemed by the Blood of Christ, I am no longer in the Dominions of Sin; I am no longer a slave, but Christ's freed man, he hath Manumised me, and set me at Liberty, so that I cannot then Complain, What I hate, that do I.  
In the Prosecution of my Discourse, I shall first show you the true and genuine Cause of man's Imbecility; That he cannot do, but what he hates. Secondly, A possibility, yea absolute necessity of his Conquest over these Enemies of his Salvation. Thirdly, I shall answer an Enquiry. And lastly make Application.  
First, We begin with the Causes of Humane Imbecilities, and though they are many, such as bad Education, evil Habits, Customs and the like; yet I shall bend my Discourse to the Primary one, Natural Corruption.  
For such is the Imbecility of our Nature, ever since Adam, either to gratify his Sensual Appetite, or (as I rather persuade myself) out of a complacent humour towards his young Mistress in the Garden, tasted of the forbidden Fruit, that we are incapacitated to give Life and Birth so much as to one good Thought: Holy David was very sensible thereof, when he cries out, I was conceived in Sin, Psal. 51.5.  
From the first instant of my Conception, Sin seized on me; and though that Lineal stain was cleared by Circumcision under the Law, and now by Baptism under Dispensation of the Gospel; yet there still remains a Propensity to Sin, which grows up with me, gaining strength through the whole course of my Adolescence.  
For many years of my Age slide away, before I arrive at that ripeness to distinguish between Good and Evil; in the Series of which time I follow without stop, or hesitation the Dictamen of Sense; so that at the first unclasping the Windows of my Understanding, at the first peeping forth of any Rays of Light to dispel the Darkness had overspread my Intellectuals I discover a Law Anathematising all my former Practices, the which by many reiterated and continued Acts are so wrought into Habit, that to break them, I must (as it were) mould myself into another Nature. This considered, together with the dregs and Relics of Corruption Original Sin leaves behind, I wonder not our Apostle declare, What I hate, that do I.  
For this Fumes, or scattered Seed of Original Sin hath a double Effect; one, an Inclination to that which is Evil, the other a backwardness to, or a declining from that which is good: And therefore St. Paul tells us, He found a Law in his Body contradicting that of his Reason.  
For though without Controversy Sin may be washed away by the Sprinkling of Water, and the Holy Ghost: Nevertheless to perfect a Cure, that I feel neither the Spice nor Itching thereof, is, in a manner impossible; at least, it requires a long course of Remedies by a constant exercise and trial in Virtuous Actions. For what is Sin, but  
An Inordinate and Habitual Concupiscence in the Sensitive part; so radicated, that it becomes, as it were, a Portion of Nature? Whence Seneca did affirm, Virtues are rarely, or never acquired without a Master, but we quickly grow expert in Vice without the help of any Teacher. All which proclaims the pernicious consequences of our first Parent's Offence.  
Nay further, let us look into our Breasts, and tell me I Pray, are not you, and I, sensible, that many Actions we do are highly Offensive to the God whom we Worship, and injurious to our own Souls; yet still we are hurried on by that violent vehemency of Natural Inclinations we cannot but Act them.  
Thus the Poet brings in Medea speaking, I understand, saith she, that the (utting, or Tearing my little Babes into bits and pieces, is a most horrid Crime, and I ought not to commit it, but my Passion overcomes my Reason. Thus he in the Tragedy did confess, I am not ignorant of those things thou Admonishest me against, I am satisfied I ought not to be guilty of them, but my Nature forceth me contrary to my Opinion. And what was this smart Doom, a proness to do Evil, but a just retaliation for our Disobedience! For since the Soul had been Disobedient to her Creator, what higher Justice could there be, than that the Body in requital should rise up in Rebellion against the Soul, and punish her by the same Engines she had made use of in her prevarication.  
Flesh and Blood may censure it hard and severe, but it is not most just, that God should punish Millions of men, for the Transgression of one?  
For seeing (if Adam had been Obedient) that transcendent Happiness promised to him, had been Entailed on you, and me, and all his Posterity; why should not I, and you, and all that descend from that Fountain, share (by his Fall) in the Pain due to his Transgression? It may indeed fill us full of doubts and perplexities to consider man in this tottering condition, that he cannot do the good he desires, or flee from the Evil he hates and abominates; because we know not by what strange bewitching means our Will (impaired by sin) is hampered in a kind of necessity; yes, and in such a manner, as neither the necessity, (because voluntary) can plead excuse for our consent; nor can the Will being alured, scarce break through the necessity, because this necessity is in a sort voluntary. How can I resemble it better, than to a kind of Amorous Violence working by Flattery, and Flattery by Force; Whence the Will, having once consented to Sin, can hardly disengage herself, nor yet find Arguments enough to excuse what she hath done. No marvel then that Job complains, Lord I suffer Violence, it is only you who impose, the necessity can Answer for me. And a little after he cries, O thou Ruler of men, why hast thou set me against thee?  
I have read Philo the Jew speaking of Original Sin, gives it a term of Infinity, That being once set on a flame, can never be extinguished; it is an Immortal Evil, by no Death or Desolation to be destroyed.  
Search I pray into yourselves, and there you will find the truth of this Philosophy: For though Baptism hath cleared the Channel, so as the streams of Grace may run, yet there are certain Exhalations issuing from that Corruption, always ready to fall and Embody with the Current; so that, if there be not a continual care and sifting, it will be morally impossible to preserve our Souls pure and unspotted.  
How plentifully are we furnished with the Examples of those, who conceited themselves like Cedars, elevated to an high pitch of Virtue (by a presumption of their own strength) engaging themselves in hazardous Trials, have been ignominiously blasted, and reduced to the poor fate of a weak shrub? Lucifer enamoured of his own Perfections, and by his saucy Affectation of a Parity with God, became the most Abject of Creatures. Did you never read St. Peter, promising wonders of his constant Fidelity to his Master, yet he sufficiently testified (by that shameful denial of him) what man is void and destitute of the supports and aids of Grace?  
The Charms of Dalilah, the Powers of Bathesba, or the Conquering Eyes of the Daughters of Egypt, could not be resisted by that Triumvirate of Holy Worthies, Samson, David or Solomon.  
How sensible was Holy Job, that Prodigy of Humane Constancy, of the Proclivity of Humane Nature to that which is evil, insomuch he falls with bitterness upon the very day in which he was born, Wishing it might perish, and never be reckoned among days in the course of the Zodiac.  
Nay, may not that Royal Prophet come in for a sad example, may not his Confession, I was conceived in Sin, serve a monument to Posterity, that they may reflect, what man is, from the first instant of his Conception, and though he may be raised and ennobled by God's Favour; yet he tells us, what we must trust to when left to ourselves, Upon the substraction of thy Spirit, O Lord, we sink and resolve into the dust, from whence we came all covered, and besmeared with the stains of Sin.  
Now judge, what higher Justice can there be, that because man in Paradise did not do, what he could, and might have done, he should now out of Paradise have a desire to do that he is not able to perform?  
'Tis nothing strange then, St. Paul cries, Like a Captive, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; What I hate, that do I,  
An Expression, which might terrify the most daring of the Sons of men, was it not sweetened by that Confession of his, That there is a Power of Grace contradicting this Predominancy of Nature, and therefore he warns us, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Rom. 6.12. Not to let Sin reign in our Mortal Bodies, intimating, That though there be Seeds of Tumults and Seditions sowed within us, yet we have Arms and Strength sufficient (if we adhere to God) to crush and frustrate all their insolences.  

Which is the second Particular.  
Secondly, The Favourite-Disciple hath declared, He that saith he hath not sinned, is a Liar; But what of all this? Cannot Sin be avoided? Must we commit it always? Cannot the Works of the Devil be destroyed? Hast thou sinned, do so no more, was the Aphorism of Bensirah; And said Christ, Behold thou art made whole, sin no more, John 5.14.  
Now what idle? what Impertinent Admonitions are they, if we cannot suppress those Traitors which labour to undo us? Why do we solemnly Assemble ourselves together? Why are we attentive to the Preach of the Gospel? Why do we, who are styled the Watchmen of Israel, spend our Breath, and our Lungs? Is it only to tickle our Ears and exhort us to Impossibilities? Or rather, is it not to inform us, that strong Resolutions; and serious Promises of Amendment, may baffle the Temptations of the Devil, and rout a whole Army of such Uncircumcised Philistines, as have set themselves in Battle Array against our Happiness? For, as in the state of Nature, nothing of God dwells in us, so when Christ reigns and rules in our Hearts, none other shall be Lord over us.  
The Ark, and Dagon cannot stand together, neither can I serve God and Belial; But he that is born of God overcometh the World. This is impossible to them who remain in a state of Nature, but what Nature cannot do, will be effected by the Blessed Influence of the Holy Spirit; what we cannot do for ourselves, God can do for us, and with us. I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me, not of myself, but by the Grace of God co-operating with me; God and man can do it together; So that if it can be accomplished by any of those means God hath put into my Power, will not the Natural conclusion be this, that my good will, and intentions will not be taken in commutation, for the zeal and actual mortification of my Sins?  
He that sins, and flatters himself to sin contrary to his Will, and against his Inclination; may justly conclude his Heart to be Treacherous and False; for is it possible for me to Pray for a Deliverance, and not have the event of my Petitions, unless I ask amiss? Shall a man Labour, and his Labours not Crowned with a Prosperous Success, unless he Labours Deceitfully? It is therefore gross absurdity, for a man to Hugg and Coke himself with the fond conceit, his Heart is good, his Intentions Honest, and though he sometimes fall, 'tis a slip of Nature, Weakness, and Infirmity, yea he could no ways help it; because, if I do not perform what I desire, and aught to do, I confess myself to sin against the Dictates of my own Conscience: And, will that extenuate, or rather is it not an Aggravation of my Crime, that the checks of my Conscience could not deter me from the Commission of it?  
What a poor Plea! what a sad Apology! will it be, at the Great and Dreadful Tribunal of Heaven, for me to confess, I know the Acting, or Living thus, and thus, so, and so, was notoriously bad, offending my God, and prejudicing my Soul, but the pleasantness of the Company, the Humouring a Friend, the greatness of the Temptation could not be withstood, for were it not for Temptations, how could we maintain our Warfare against the three Cardinal Enemies of man's Salvation, Sin, the World, and the Devil?  
These are our Enemies, we are the Soldiers must fight the Battles of the Lord; our meaning cannot be good, if we do not valiantly withstand all oppositions. For it is not enough that I speak like an Angel, Pray with great zeal and vehemency of Spirit; if (my Devotions Consummated) I prove as Passionate as ever, as Waspish as an amazed or disturbed Fly, if I be Refractory to the Government of my Country; if I Censure the Actions of my Prince, or ridicule the Demeanours of them placed in Authority under him; if I be Unjust to my Neighbour, Cruel in my Bargains, or proud like a little Indian Prince.  
What signify all the flourishes of Religion, the gay expressions of Devotion, my lifted up Eyes and Hands to Heaven, if I continue regardless of Reproof, Covetous, high, unbridled Passions! All that Purity and Saintship, all that Spiritual Life I pride myself in, is nothing more, than Spiritual Fancy and Illusion, whilst I am under the Power of my unruly Desires, so that I contentedly follow and am led by them!  
I pray tell me, do not we censure it difficult, and uneasy to be guilty of the madness of those who talk splendidly of Religion, yet practice nothing less.  
The common Swearer cannot forbear his habituated and accustomed sin, yet if he Discourses of the Authority of the Bible, and Principles of Religion, one would think him a Saint; and those persons themselves, who speak so bravely, imagine they cannot Act, so much as they Discourse; yet both of them are under the Power of their respective Sins, and are equally deceived, for neither are the Servants of God; yet there is no necessity to do this, because we are obliged, yes, and (God hath commanded me to tell you also) it is in our Power to do better if we please: Thus you may hear the Apostle.  
Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the Lusts of the Flesh, for the Spirit lusteth against the Flesh, and Flesh against the Spirit, Gal. 5.16, and 17. Where he means,  
That as there is a State of Carnality (before Baptism or Regeneration) in the which, a man cannot but be in Awe and Subjection to the Flesh; so there is a state of Spirituality (after Regeneration) when Sin is dead, and Righteousness is alive, and in this state the Flesh can no more get the Conquest, than the Spirit could be Victor in the other.  
I dare not deny it, such is the sad condition of some men, that they cannot but Sin, because the Apostle hath told me, The Carnal mind is not subject to God, nor can be, Rom. 8.7.  
There are others, in like manner, who cannot endure the least tendency to Sin; to a mild and peaceable disposition, how disagreeable is the Nature of a Contentious, wrangling person, to a Sober and Temperate person, how tedious is the Company of Hectoring Debauchees, To a  and Modest person? how shameful are Prostitutions and Beastialities of Lust? Consider this, and tell me, is it impossible for a person whose mind is built upon Righteousness to resist those snares and direct Treasons against the Soul? Thus you may hear the bosom-Disciple breathing it out, He that is born of God doth not commit sin, nor can he, because he is born of God.  
Can a corrupt Tree have good, or a good Evil Fruit flourishing thereon? Things most nauseous and disgusting to the Palate, or the sharpest punctures to the Pupil of the Eye, cannot be so offensive, and irksome, as Sin to one Regenerate and born anew.  
For where is the Person, show me a man but of common Prudence, and Ordinary Reputation in the World, would be tempted upon the Pad: What price would purchase him to Murder his Brother, or the Dearest of his Friends?  
May not our daily converse with the World acquaint us, that men, who are none of the great Sages, and eminent Hero's for Parts and Understanding, yet have Power sufficient to Conquer the greatest Sins? And what? Shall I be Crowned with the Olive Branches and Palms, shall I erect Trophies for my Victory over Goliath? Can I conquer the Sons of the Giant, and stoutest of the Sons of Anack? And shall I at last be captivated by the weak Forces of the little Children of Gath? I remember I have read of Achilles, Falling into the River Xanthus, that he was not so much terrified at the grim Countenance of Death, as the manner of it; Had Hector slain him in the Field, he had died with the satisfaction of its Glory; but to be drowned in the River like a little Boy, was a Fate more becoming a smooth faced Narcissus, than a Warlike Achilles.  
How unworthy then is it for a Christian, to prefer an easy, and entire Conquest over the Greatest, and at last be enslaved by the subtle Artifices of a less Temptation? Can the poor possessed man, who lived in the Tombs, by the Powers of the Devil, break his Iron Chains in pieces? and cannot I, assisted with the Influences from above, break the Chains of Sin, and cast away its Cords from me? If the Lord of Hosts be on my part, who dare offend, who can oppose me? For were we so Wise and Valiant, as not to affright ourselves with our own shadows, we should find, by the Encouragements of God's Spirit, that he who is with us, is mightier, than they who are against us; Michael and his Angels are not only more Powerful and numerous, than the old Dragon and his supposed Strengths, but also more loving and careful to do us good: Did we not therefore look through the discoloured Mediums of our own polluted Nature? Was not the Eye of our Souls tinctured by the suffusions of Lust, we should soon find our Strengths greater, than we imagine? For did we seriously weigh things in their proper balance, we might observe an Heroic Vigour in all Goodness, and an Imbecility in Evil only.  
Furthermore, if by the assistance of Grace, I can't prove myself more than Conqueror over Temptations, why should I rejoice, when I fall into a variety and abundance of them? Or, can I imagine, that God, who remembers I am but Dust, and knows whereof I am made; who is better acquainted with my Form and Figure than I myself am, would he impose any thing upon me, but what he knows is absolutely in my Power to perform?  
Now you may observe both God and his Church, bind every Christian at his first Admission into Covenant, by the most Solemn Tie to resist Temptations.  
The Substance of which Oath in Baptism, is,  
I. N. or M. do here in the presenee of God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and all the Heavenly Host, devote myself to the Services of my God; I call Heaven and Earth, Angels and Saints, the Church Militant and Triumphant, to bear witness, that I renounce the World, Flesh, and the Devil, and that I will resist their Temptations unto my last breath: This I avow to be my Resolution; and upon this account, and this only, I now desire to enter into Covenant with my God, and be Initiated and Admitted a Member of his Church; and I call my Conscience to Record this day, that I will never repent of this Promise, nor revoke it, but continue Christ's Faithful Soldier and Servant unto my Lives end. So help me O my God. Amen.  
Now this being the form of our Oath in Baptism, which we renew at our Confirmation, and repeat every time we Communicate at the Lords Table; we can certainly conclude it is to be performed; for can we fancy to ourselves, God and his Church would urge us to Impossibilities, and engage us to what cannot be effected? No certainly, for if men be persuaded the Sins they commit, are , why do they Sorrow and Repent, for what is past? Why do they contradict themselves, and put a mock upon Heaven by promising Amendment for the future? Instead of Confessing, why do they not rather Expostulate with God, and say,  
'Tis true, O Lord, I have done many things amiss as I have been Informed by the Parson, who calls himself thy Minister, and trouble the World by thy Authority; which if they be offensive, I protest, O my God, I could not help them, I had not Power to resist them: If therefore thou wouldst have me for the future perform thy express Words and Commandments, and practise those Duties our Preachers inculcate; thou must assist me with a greater stock of Grace, than hitherto thou hast furnished me withal.  
Now can I presume any so horribly Profane, so ridiculously Wicked to Pray after this method, and utterly confound those two absolutely necessary parts of Repentance, Confession and Contrition.  
If it be thus, I dare boldly affirm it, the greatest Sins we are tempted to commit, are no Sins at all? But indeed God will be justified in his say, and found clear when he is judged, for there is no thinking circumspect man (if he applies the Grace of God) can be over matched by any Trial, or meet a Temptation, that is : For if I can conquer Sin in the Mountains and Strong holds, I need not doubt but to baffle him in the Plains and Valleys; if I can overcome those great and Gigantic Sins of Idolatry, Adultery, Felony Treason and the like, why may I not escape those of a lesser magnitude, such as Pamphleting the Government, and Libelling Authority, such as Lying and Slandering, Cheating and Cozening, Back biting and Speaking evil one of another? Shall a Pigmye subdue the Crane? or a Dwarf prove Conqueror of a Giant? Can I go upon the Lion and the Adder, and shall a Frog or a Worm ●lisorder me? Did not Christ come to redeem to himself a Church, and to present it, without Spot or Blemish, before the Throne of Grace? Now, how can We be of this number, and not under that qualification, Void of Offence towards God, and towards Man.  
Thirdly. Some may inquire, how far we must proceed in Righteousness that we may get a Conquest and Mastery over our Nature; and be free from those Imbecilities, in saying, What I hate, that do I.  
To which I answer, There is no set or determinate degree of Endeavour, but even as much as we can, or are able: There is no size or Standard, the Excess of which would appear Monstruous; But Religion is like unto the flawless Diamond, where bigness taxes the value, and the unusual bulk both rates, and Enhances the Lustre and the Price: To give God all that I can is the great command both of the Law, and of the Gospel.  
For so noble is the nature of Religion, that it admits of failings but by one of the Extremes, that of Defect. Mediocrity, which in other Passions is an Excellency, is here an Imperfection.  
It being therefore impossible for us to be too Loyal and Obedient, too Religious and Dutyful, we must make it the business of our Lives, the Care of our Thoughts, our only Concern and greatest Employment in the World, To be Holy as God is Holy; abstaining from all things whatever that can impede or hinder the promotion and growth of an Holy Life; for what is our chiefest righteousness better than Menstruous Rags, if the Lord was extreme to mark what we have done amiss? After our very Innocency (which otherwise would appear stained) may through the merits of Christ prove acceptable unto God; whatsoever thou findest in thy Heart to do, perform it with all thy might and vigour. He that will live according to the exact Rules of Christianity, must bend his Nerves and Sinews, do his utmost towards the demolishing all the Strong-holds of Satan. For we can never be clean and free from all Sin, until we have done our best and utmost towards the Mortification of it, for until that be done, how can we be satisfied where the blame and fault resteth, or whether it can be effected, or not?  
If any man can profess, that Purity of Life, and strictness of Conversation, as to assert, that he hath endeavoured to husband and employ his Talon of Grace to the most proper and best advantage; that he hath Endured as much as is possible to be Endured, that he hath Loved as much as he could Love, that he hath Watched till he can Watch no longer; my Soul for his, that Man is blameless in the sight of God, because God hath commanded me to tell you, he does not expect Brick, where he does not afford Straw; he accepteth of what a man hath, requiring nothing which he is not able to perform.  
For God looks into my Heart, and inquires, if That be right, if I have no Rebellion in Thought, as well as Act, if I have no affections to Sin, no glances to Temptations? If I have liquorish desires after the Onions and Garlic, or fleshpots of Egypt; if I apply all prudent and effectual methods to Mortify my Sins; In a word, if I be sincere and real in my Actions and Intentions: For, unless God (at his coming) find us in this Sinless state, we must never expect the Blessing of his Kingdom; But if he does, my Soul for yours, we shall undoubtedly be saved by the Blood of Christ.  
For consult the Histories of all the most vile and wicked men that ever had a Being upon Earth, and as you will find few or none, but sometimes or other performing some good Action; and yet that Action did not interrupt, or put stop to their courses of Impiety; so the most Religious of Pious Souls in like manner, have their Indiscretions and Mistakes, Failings and Errors; sometimes doing that which is Wicked and Sinful: Nevertheless, because their Hearts stand most firm and right towards God, He in Mercy will not impute those over sights to Eternal Condemnation. The sweet Singer of Israel is a Royal Instance to confirm this Doctrine, He was a man after Gods own Heart; Nay the Text tells you, He was blameless, save only in the matter of Uriah.  
Nevertheless, did you never read, how he numbered the People; and can you not plainly read the Characters of Divine Wrath in that severe Judgement wherewith he Plagued his People for this his Transgression; Yet still because David was a good man, serving God with an upright Heart, not intending to disoblige him, but committing this Sin through inadvertency, it was not imputed to him. In short,  
If I endeavour all that I can to arrive at the Perfection I am capacitated for, and do what lies in me to inherit the Promise; if I Labour and Hope for it, using the most ready and probable means, (not being deluded by the cunning Arts of a false and treacherous Heart) I shall stand upright in the Congregation of the Just; and though I cannot, with the Romanist, challenge Heaven by Merit, yet I shall find it as my Saviour hath told me, My Father's good pleasure to give me a Kingdom.   

The Conclusion.  
Fourthly, Thus you have the Imbecilities of Man natural, together with a Possibility, as well as absolute Necessity of their Conquest by man Spiritual and Regenerate: For the Devil, as Potent and Crafty as he is, cannot ravish our Wills, nor force our Inclinations; the worst he can do, is to prompt and persuade, to watch Advantages, and administer suitable Solicitations, but cannot compel us to entertain them.  
No man is undone or ruined Eternally, but himself is the Cause of it; he that would not, cannot be overcome, provided he keep his Resolutions fixed and steadfast. This is the true way of Conquest and Victory over Satan, Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you, Jam. 4.7. If we do but make good our ground, his Temptations will vanish and disappear. What remains? but that we be strong in the Lord, and in the Power of his might; that we take unto ourselves the whole Armour of God, and be thereby enabled to stand against the Wiles of the Devil?  
Let us Reverence the Greatness and Nobility of our Natures, being born anew, they are of too Divine a Frame and Temper, than to be Prostituted and Defiled: Let all opportunities and occasions of Vice be avoided, with a quick and jealous care: A Temptation is easilier prevented, than removed, when once it has thrust itself upon the Sinner. We should frequently review our Lives, and call our Actions to a severe and impartial Account and Examination, that we may know what is their Spring and Fountain, what their Tendency and Inclination, and what will be the Consequence and Issue of them; and that if the Politic Enemy of ours have conveyed in a Suggestion in disguise, we may pull off the Mask and resent it in its proper Form and Figure. And this reckoning aught to be enquired into, so soon as ever we have sinned, or we know that he hath gotten the upperhand over us; for the less Sin hath prevailed, the easier the Fight, and Conquest more certain; But if he have had much better of us, the Argument is more forcible, because we have the more to do, and therefore we must begin by times. The longer our Journey, the more early we must set out; we must not defer this Labour till it be rendered more difficult by Age, or impossible by Death. Nothing more true, than short Tarrying create long Journeys; if we neglect the Duties of our Sprightly years, our Journey will be more tedious, when our Vigour is decaying, and we are weakened by Age. Oh! Blessed Pythagoreans! who were taught every night to call themselves to an Account for the Actions of the preceding day!  
Sextius the Philosopher, never used to go to Bed, till he had first Expostulated with himself, saying,  
What Evil Habit have I Cured to day? What Vice have I resisted? Wherein am I better than I was before? Oh! let Us imitate those brave Examples, and accustom ourselves to this excellent course, and then we shall quickly find our Victory over sin far more easy and feasible. That than which we do, let us do quickly, whilst the Marrow swells in our Bones, and our Blood be hot, and boils within our Veins, before Evil days come, and we be snatched away, and there be none to deliver us. I Pray tell me, are not You and I, and all the Members of the Catholic Church, desirous to end our days in Religion and Piety? To die in the Arms and Embraces of our Holy Mother the Church? To expire and breathe out our last under the safe care and conduct of some Godly and Religious Minister? When we are Sick and returning our Souls to him, who lent them, than nothing but Prayers and doleful Complaints? The Groans of Timorous Repentance; and the faint Labours of an almost impossible Mortification? Yes, and lest your Souls should miscarry, we presently dispatch a little Mercury or Messenger for the despised Parson. Then, and only Then, we look upon our Priest, (so much laughed at in our Plays, and made the May game of our Stage) as a Barnabas, or Son of Consolation; then we adjudge him as a Messenger or Physician sent from God to heal our Plague-Sores; what are his Words, but Oracles? Religion, but Truth? Sin, but a burden, and most uneasy to be born? And the Sinner more foolish than the Beasts that perish?  
But I Pray Sirs, as you prise your Souls, as you value Heaven, as you expect Eternal Life, or dread the Terrors of Everlasting Burn, seriously to consider with me, whether the Doctrines we Preach, the words we deliver, the Counsels we give, are they not as True; now whilst ye live and enjoy the Happy Privileges of Health, as they be, when ye approach the Paths of Death? Why should they not then have the same Powerful Influence, and make that impression on our Lives now, they commonly do then? Let us then Mortify our Sins betimes, lest we never Mortify them at all; the Fable will tell you, The Snail outwent the Eagle, and won the Race, because she set out betimes. Let us begin our Warfare, whilst it is called to day, resolving to die unto the World, that we may be found alive unto God: Let us grow in Grace, going on to Perfection till we arrive at the full measures of the stature of Christ, and into the perfect Liberty of the Sons of God; so that we shall not complain in the Text, What I hate, that do I; but hate what God hates, doing nothing that is forbidden, not by virtue of our own Strength or Power, but because Christ is our Strength, and he dwells in us, and we in him: Grant us Grace therefore we beseech thee, O Lord, to withstand the Temptations of World, the Flesh, and the Devil, and with pure Hearts and Minds to follow thee the only God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.  
FINIS.