blessedness, if it were not for sin? which bringeth down the soul from the doors of heaven, to wallow with swine in a beloved dunghill.

Direct. vII. Bethink you what a life it is which you must live for ever, if you live in heaven; and what a life the holy ones there now live: and then think whether sin, which is so contrary to it, be not a vile and hateful thing?'-Either you would live in heaven, or not. If not, you are not those I speak to. If you would, you know that there is no sinning; no worldly mind; no pride; no passion; no fleshly lust or pleasures there. Oh, did you but see and hear one hour, how those blessed spirits are taken up in loving and magnifying the glorious God in purity and holiness, and how far they are from sin, it would make you loathe sin ever after, and look on sinners as on men in Bedlam wallowing naked in their dung. Especially, to think that you hope yourselves to live for ever like those holy spirits; and therefore sin doth ill beseem you.

Direct. VIII. Look but to the state and torment of the damned, and think well of the difference betwixt angels and devils, and you may know what sin is.'-Angels are pure; devils are polluted: holiness and sin do make the difference. Sin dwells in hell, and holiness in heaven. Remember that every temptation is from the devil, to make you like himself; as every holy motion is from Christ, to make you like himself. Remember when you sin, that you are learning and imitating of the devil, and are so far like him. And the end of all is, that you may feel his pains. If hell-fire be not good, then sin is not good.

Direct. Ix. Look always on sin as one that is ready to die, and consider how all men judge of it at the last.'-What do men in heaven say of it? and what do men in hell say of it? and what do men at death say of it? and what do converted souls, or awakened consciences, say of it? Is it then followed with delight and fearlessness as it is now? is it then applauded? will any of them speak well of it? Nay, all the world speaks evil of sin in the general now, even when they love and commit the several acts. Will you sin when you are dying?

Direct. x. Look always on sin and judgment together.'

in John viii. 44.

-Remember that you must answer for it before God, and angels, and all the world; and you will the better know it.

Direct. x1. Look now but upon sickness, poverty, shame, despair, death, and rottenness in the grave, and it may a little help you to know what sin is.'-These are things within your sight or feeling; you need not faith to tell you of them. And by such effects you might have some little knowledge of the cause.

Direct. x11. Look but upon some eminent, holy persons upon earth, and upon the mad, profane, malignant world; and the difference may tell you in part what sin is.'-Is there not an amiableness in a holy, blameless person, that liveth in love to God and man, and in the joyful hopes of life eternal? Is not a beastly drunkard or whoremonger, and a raging swearer, and malicious persecutor, a very deformed, loathsome creature? Is not the mad, confused, ignorant, ungodly state of the world a very pitiful sight? What then is the sin that all this doth consist in?

Though the principal part of the cure is in turning the will to the hatred of sin, and is done by this discovery of its malignity; yet I shall add a few more Directions for the executive part, supposing that what is said already has had its effect.

Direct. 1. When you have found out your disease and danger, give up yourselves to Christ as the Saviour and Physician of souls, and to the Holy Ghost as your Sanctifier, remembering that he is sufficient and willing to do the work which he hath undertaken.'-It is not you that are to be Saviours and Sanctifiers of yourselves (unless as you work under Christ). But he that hath undertaken it, doth take for his glory to perform it. Direct. 11. Yet must you be willing and obedient in applying the remedies prescribed you by Christ, and observing his directions in order to your cure.'-And you must not be tender, and coy, and finical, and say, This is too bitter, and that is too sharp; but trust his love, and skill, and care, and take it as he prescribeth it, or giveth it you, without any more ado. Say not, It is grievous, and I cannot take it: for he commands you nothing but what is safe, and wholesome, and necessary; and if you cannot take it, you

must try whether you can bear your sickness, and death, and the fire of hell! Are humiliation, confession, restitution, mortification, and holy diligence worse than hell?

Direct. 111. See that you take not part with sin, and wrangle not, or strive not against your Physician, or any that would do you good.'-Excusing sin, and pleading for and extenuating it, and striving against the Spirit and conscience, and wrangling against ministers and godly friends, and hating reproof, are not the means to be cured and sanctified.

Direct. IV. See that malignity in every one of your particular sins, which you can see and say is in sin in general.' It is a gross deceit of yourselves, if you will speak a great deal of the evil of sin, and see none of this malignity in your pride, and your worldliness, and your passion, and peevishness, and your malice, and uncharitableness, and your lying, backbiting, slandering, or sinning against conscience for worldly commodity or safety. What self-contradiction is it for a man in prayer to aggravate sin, and when he is reproved for it, to justify or excuse it? For a popish priest to enter sinfully upon his place, by subscribing or swearing the Trent Confession, and then to preach zealously against sin in the general, as if he had never committed so horrid a crime? This is like him that will speak against treason, and the enemies of the king, but because the traitors are his friends and kindred, will protect, or hide them, and take their parts.

Direct. v. Keep as far as you can from those temptations which feed and strengthen the sins which you would overcome.'-Lay siege to your sins, and starve them out, by keeping away the food and fuel which is their maintenance and life.

Direct. VI. Live in the exercise of those graces and duties which are contrary to the sins which you are most in danger of.'-For grace and duty are contrary to sin, and killeth it, and cureth us of it, as the fire cureth us of cold, or health of sickness.

Direct. VII. Hearken not to weakening unbelief and distrust, and cast not away the comforts of God, which are your cordials and strength.'-It is not a frightful, dejected, despairing frame of mind, that is fittest to resist sin; but it

is the encouraging sense of the love of God, and thankful sense of grace received (with a cautelous fear).

Direct. VIII. Be always suspicious of carnal self-love, and watch against it.'-For that is the burrow or fortress of sin; and the common patron of it; ready to draw you to it, and ready to justify it. We are very prone to be partial in our own cause; as the case of Judah with Tamar, and David when Nathan reproved him in a parable, shew. Our own passions, our own pride, our own censures, or backbitings, or injurious dealings; our own neglects of duty, seem small, excusable, if not justifiable things to us; whereas we could easily see the faultiness of all these in another, especially in an enemy: when yet we should be best acquainted with ourselves and we should most love ourselves, and therefore hate our own sins most.

Direct. Ix. 'Bestow your first and chiefest labour to kill sin at the root: to cleanse the heart, which is the fountain;` for out of the heart cometh the evils of the life.'-Know which are the master-roots; and bend your greatest care and industry to mortify those : and they are especially these that follow; 1. Ignorance. 2. Unbelief. 3. Inconsiderateness. 4. Selfishness and Pride. 5. Fleshliness, in pleasing a brutish appetite, lust or fantasy. 6. Senseless hardheartedness and sleepiness in sin.

Direct. x. Account the world and all its pleasures, wealth and honours, no better than indeed they are, and then satan will find no bait to catch you.'-Esteem all as dung with Paul; and no man will sin, and sell his soul, for that which he accounteth but as dung.

Direct. xI. Keep up above in a heavenly conversation, and then your souls will be always in the light, and as in the sight of God, and taken up with those businesses and delights, which put them out of relish with the baits of sin.'

Direct. x11. Let Christian watchfulness be your daily work; and cherish a preserving, though not a distracting and discouraging fear.'

Direct. XIII. Take heed of the first approaches and beginnings of sin. Oh how great a matter doth a little of this fire kindle! And if you fall, rise quickly by sound repentance, whatever it may cost you.'

Direct. XIV. Make God's Word your only rule: and labour diligently to understand it.'

Direct. xv. And in doubtful cases, do not easily depart from the unanimous judgment of the generality of the most wise and godly of all ages.'

Direct. xvI. In doubtful cases be not passionate or rash, but proceed deliberately, and prove things well, before you fasten on them.'

Direct. xvII. Be acquainted with your bodily temperature, and what sin it most inclineth you to, or what sin also your calling or converse doth lay you most open to, that there your watch may be the stricter. (Of all which 1 shall speak more fully under the next Grand Direction.)

Direct. XVIII. Keep in a life of holy order, such as God hath appointed you to walk in. For there is no preservation for stragglers that keep not rank and file, but forsake the order which God commanded them.'-And this order lieth principally in these points: 1. That you keep in union with the universal church. Separate not from Christ's body upon any retence whatever. With the church as regenerate, hold spiritual communion, in faith, love and holiness with the church as congregate and visible, hold outward communion in profession, and worship. 2. If you are not teachers, live under your particular, faithful pastors, as obedient disciples of Christ. 3. Let the most godly, if possible, be your familiars. 4. Be laborious in an outward calling.

Direct. xix. Turn all God's providences, whether of prosperity or adversity, against your sins.'-If he give you health and wealth, remember he thereby obligeth you to obedience, and calls for special service from you. If he afflict you, remember that it is sin that he is offended at, and searcheth after; and therefore take it as his physic, and see that you hinder not, but help on its work, that it may purge away your sin.

Direct. xx. "Wait patiently on Christ till he have finished the cure, which will not be till this trying life be finished.'-Persevere in attendance on his Spirit and means; for he will come in season, and will not tarry. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning, and he shall come unto us as