counters.

which preceded and accompanied it, will not only ingage us to take the more care and regard of it, but ingage God alfo to contribute more aid and affiftance to it in all its enfuing Conflicts and EnAnd when in the framing of our Refolution we have taken effectual care before-hand not to refolve upon any thing but what we have confidered the difficulty of, or against any thing but what we have felt the fhame and Smart of, or upon any Reason, but what we have throughly pondered, and do firmly believe, and together with all this, have ingaged by our earnest Prayers the God of all Grace to aid and affist us, we may with fome affurance promise our felves a blessed Iffue and Succefs. For now we are forewarned of, and forearmed against all that can happen to us in our fpiritual Warfare; now there is no Difficulty can arife in our way which we did not forefee and provide against when we first fet forward to Heaven. So that if from henceforth we do but take an honest care to watch the Motions of our Enemy, and to keep up our own Hearts and Courage, we cannot mifs of a glorious Victory, and after that an everlasting Triumph.

But if we make a rafh Beginning, and refolve precipitantly without obferving the above-named Rules and Directions, in all probability our hafty Purposes will end in a leisurely Repentance. So that unless we intend to take a great deal of pains in Religion to no purpose, to weave a Penelope's Web, and do and undo as long as we live, and only to dance round in an eternal Circle of finning and refolving against it, refolving and finning again, without ever making a step forward, but ftill wheeling

1

wheeling about to the fame Point, let us now at laft refolve to begin in that prudent Method which God hath prescribed us.

IV. Confider that when once we have begun it well, we have conquered the main Difficulty of this our fpiritual warfare. For though it be an easie matter to begin ill, to refolve against our fins in a fudden Pet, or tranfient Heat of Paffion; yet it must be confeffed that to refolve well and wifely, that is, with that firm Belief and through Confideration of things, with that Shame and Sorrow and thofe earnest Cries to Heaven for Aid and Affiftance, which are necessary to the founding of a strong and lafting Refolution, is not fo eafie a matter. For in all thofe preparatory Exercifes, we have a roving mind, a hard Heart, and a perverfe Nature to contend with; and we fhall find it a very hard matter to call in our wandering Thoughts, and unite them together into a fixt and fteady Confideration of the Evidences of the Truth of Religion, and of the Duties and Motives and Difficulties of it. And whilft we are entertaining them with this unwonted Argument, there are a thoufand Objects with which they are better acquainted that will be calling them away; fo that without a great deal of Violence to our felves we shall never be able to keep them together fo long, as is neceffary to the forming a firm Affent to the Truth, and the paffing a true and impartial Judgment upon the Propofals of Religion. And when we have fixt our Thoughts into a ferious Confideration of the Evidences of Religion, we fhall find that our Lufts will object much more against them than our Reason; that

they

they will be cafting mifts before our Eyes and bribing and biaffing our Understanding the other way, and that thereupon 'twill be more difficult than we are aware to convince our felves throughly of the truth of a Religion that is fo diametrically oppofite to our vicious Inclinations. But when this is done and we proceed to confider the Duties of Religion, and to balance the Motives with the Difficulties of them, in order to the obtaining of our felves a full and free Confent to them; here again we fhall find our felves at a mighty Plunge. For though the Motives to our Duty are at first View infinitely greater and more confiderable than the Difficulties of it; though it be unspeakably more intolerable to lofe the Joys of Heaven,and incur the Pains of Hell than to endure the sharpest Brunts of this Spiritual warfare; yet these being present and fenfible have a more Immediate Accefs to us, and confequently are apter to move us than either of thofe Motives which are both of them future and invifible. So that unless we do earnestly pres and urge our felves with thofe Motives, and imprint them upon our minds in the most lively and real Characters, we shall find our felves overruled in defpight of them by these present and fenfible Difficulties that are before us. But when we have effectually convinced our felves that those Difficulties of our Duty are much lefs confiderable than the Motives to them, we shall find it a hard Task to perfuade our Wills into a free and explicite Confent to all the Particulars of it. For now we shall find a strong Aversation in our Natures to fundry of thofe Duties that call for our Approbation, and there will be a mighty Counter

striving

ftriving between our Reafon and Inclinations. Our darling Lufts, thofe bofom Orators within us, will now employ all their Rhetorick to diffuade us from parting with them; they will clafp about our Souls, like departing Lovers, and ufe all their Charms and Allurements to hold us faft, and reconcile then felves to us; and under thefe Circumftances, though we have all the reafon in the world on our fide, we fhall find it will be no fuch eafie matter effectually to difpofe our Wills to clofe with fo many offenfive Duties, and part with fo many beloved Sins. But when this is done, which to be fure will coft us many a violent Struggle and Contention with our felves, there are other Difficulties to be mastered. For now we must reflect upon our paft ill Life, and expofe it to our own Eyes in all its natural Horrour, Turpitude, and Infamy,and never leave reproaching our felves with the Foulneß and Difingenuity, the Madness and Folly of it, till we find our hearts affected with Shame and Sorrow for, and Indignation against it. And for us that have been fo long used to cokes and flatter our felves,to paint and varnish our Deformities, and crown our Brows with forced and undeServed Applaufes; for us to condemn and upbraid our felves, to ftrip our Actions of all their artificial Beauty,and fet our felves before our own Eyes in all our naked, undifguifed Uglinefs, and not look off till we have lookt our felves into Shame and Horrour and Hatred of our felves, will be, at first especially, a very ungrateful Employment; and yet it may be a good while perhaps before our hard and unmalleable Hearts will yield to the impreffions of Godly Sorrow and Remorfe. But when

this Difficulty is conquered, our Work is not yet totally finished. For now we must come off from our felves and all our presumptuous Dependences upon our own Ability and Power, and in a deep fence of our own moft wretched Weakneß and Impotency throw our felves wholly upon God, and with earnest and importunate Outcries implore his gracious. Aid and Affiftance. And let me tell ye, to men that have been all along inured to fuch glorious Conceits of themselves, fuch mighty Confidences in their own Abilities; that have promised themselves from time to time that at Juch and fuch a time they would repent and amend, as if without Gods help 'twere in their Power to repent when they pleased; for fuch men as thefe, I fay, to come out of themselves and their own felf-confidences, and wholly caft themfelves upon a foreign Help; fo fenfibly to feel, and ingenuously to own their own Inability, as to fly to God, and confefs themfelves loft and undone without him, is a much harder matter than we can well imagine till we come to make the Experiment. And yet this, all this, must be done before we can be well prepared to refolve upon the Christian Warfare.

This I have the longer infifted on, because, I would deal plainly with you, and fhew you the worft of things. For whether you are told of it or no, you will find it, if ever you make the Experiment, that all your good Refolutions without thefe Preparations will foon unravel in the Execution; and that after you have refolv'd a thousand times over you will be just where you are, and not one step farther in Religion. But for your EncouRECLA ragement,