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into this Lake of Fire and Brimstone. And have we thus undone our felves, thus madly, thus without Pretence or Temptation! O! curfed be our Folly, curfed be our Lufts, and for ever curfed be we for harbouring and entertaining them! Thus will thefe miferable People inceffantly rave against themselves, and with dire Reflections on their defperate Follies for ever inrage and multiply their own Torments. So that were I defcending to the bottomless Pit, and had but fo much Time before I came there, as to make one Prayer more in my own Behalf, next to that of being wholly delivered thence, I know none I fhould fooner pitch upon, than this, O Lord deliver me from that Portion of Hell, which thou haft referved for Apoftates.

So that if now, that we have fo far ingaged our felves in the Chriftian Warfare, we should be fo mad as to retreat into our own finful Courses, it had been a thousand times better for us that we had never ingaged in it at all. For unless we repent of our Retreat, and come on again, we have taken a great deal of Pains in Religion to no other Purpose, but only to treasure up to our felves wrath against the day of wrath, and heat the Furnace of our future Torments yet feven times hotter. Wherefore fince the Matter is now reduced to this Iffue, that if we revolt from our Chriftian Warfare we fhall not only defeat our felves of all the Fruit of our past Labour and Contentions, but alfo inhance our future Punishment; fo that we muft either refolve to win Heaven by our Perfeverance, or fink our felves into the nethermoft Hell by our Apostafie; let us pull up our Courage, and maugre all Temptations to the contrary, continue ftedfaft Dd 4 and

and immovable in our Chriftian Refolution, remembring what the Captain of our Saivation hath promifed, Rev. iii. 21. To him that overcomes, will I grant to fit with me in my Throne, even as I also overcame, and am fate down with my Father in his Throne.

CHA P. V.

Containing fome Short Directions for the more profitable reading the preceding Difcourfe, and alfo for the Conduct and regular Exercife of our Clofet Religion in all the diffe rent States of the Chriftian Life; together with Forms of private Devotion fitted to each State.

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N the foregoing Chapter I have indeavoured a full Account of all thofe inftrumental Duties of Christianity by which we are to acquire, improve, and perfect the principal Vertues of it, in the Perfection of which Vertues, Heaven, which is the great End of Christianity, confifts. And for the more diftinct management thereof, I confidered men under a threefold State; First,' as entering into the Chriftian Life; Secondly, aș actually ingaged in the Courfe of it; Thirdly, as improving towards Perfection by Perfeverance in it; and gave a diftinct account of all those Inflrumental Duties that are proper to each of these States. And now that what hath been faid in

that

that and the preceding Chapters may have its due Effect upon the Readers Mind, I have thought fit to reduce it to Practice by directing

men,

First, How to read and apply the feveral parts of it to their own particular States;

Secondly, By furnishing them with fome fhortRules for the more profitable Exercise of their priyate Religion in each of thofe different States, together with Forms of private Devotion fitted to each State.

I. As to the firft of thefe, it is to be confidered, that to the making men fincere and hearty Christians, it is highly neceffary that they should have a right understanding, First, of the Nature of the great and chief End which Christianity proposes to them; Secondly, of the Means by which that End is to be obtained; Thirdly, of the natural Tendency of all the Vertues of Christianity towards this bleffed End, and of the contrary Tendency of the oppofite Vices towards their eternal Mifery and Ruine. Of all which I have indeavoured to give an Account in the three first Chapters of this Book. Wherefore I would advise the Reader

1. Carefully and seriously to peruse those Chapters wherein (because I have been fometimes forced by the fublimity of my Argument to difcourfe a little more abftrufely than in any of the following Parts) it will be neceffary for him to imploy more of his Thoughts and Confideration, and not to content himself with a flight and curfory Perufal. And when by a ferious Confideration of what hath been there difcourfed, his Mind is

fully

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fully convinced what a kind of Heaven he is to expect hereafter, what kinds of Means are necessary to obtain it, how naturally all the Vertues of Religion do raise up mens Souls to Heaven, and how all the contrary Vices do as naturally fink and prefs them down to Hell, it is to be hoped he will be fully perfuaded of the indifpenfable Neceflity of entring into the Christian Life; which if he be, I would advise him,

2. Seriously to read over and confider the first and fecond Sections of the fourth Chapter, wherein are contained the feveral Duties which are proper to his State of Entrance into the Chriftian Life, and alfo proper Arguments and Motives to ingage him to the Practice of them; which if he would read to good Effect, he must by no means content himself with a single perufal, but read them over at least once a weak whilft he continues in that State, till he fully comprehends the Meaning and Ufe of all thofe Duties, and the Force and Cogency of thofe Arguments; which if he do, it is to be hoped he will at last be reduced to a through and well-weighed Refolution of forfaking his Sins and actually ingaging in the Christian Life. Which being done I would advise him,

3. With the fame Care and Frequency to perufe the third and fourth Sections of the fourth Chapter, wherein are contained all the several Duties proper to this fecond State of actual Engagement in the Chriftian Life, as alfo fundry Arguments or Motives to prefs and inforce them; and when by the Affistance of thefe Duties he hath continued for fome time faithful and conftant to his good Refolution,

4. Toge,

4. Together with the third and fourth Section, let him often perufe and confider the fifth and fixth, wherein are contained the Duties appertaining to the third State of Emprovement and Perfeverance in the Chriftian Life, together with fome Confiderations to inforce the Practice of them. All which I would earnestly perfuade the pious Reader to read and confider over and over again, till his Mind is fully instructed in the Nature and Ufe of each Duty,and hath throughly digested the Force and Evidence of every Argument. And this may fuffice for the first thing propofed concerning the profitable Method of reading this &tical Treatife.

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II. As for the fecond Part of it, which is that which I mainly defign in this Chapter, viz. the Rules and Directions for the private Exercife of our Religion in each State of the Chriftian Life, together with the Forms of private Prayer fitted for each, take them in their following Order.

Directions for the more profitable Exercife of our private Religion in the State of our Entrance into the Chriftian Life.

In the Morning before you go into the World, enter into your Clofet, and there confider with your felf a while the miferable State you have reduced your felf to by your paft finful Courses, the abfolute Neceffity of your forfaking them, and the poffibility of your Recovery, if you heartily

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