God. How many irregular appetites may we difcern in children? how foon do the vices of pride, envy, covetouf nefs, anger and revenge, difplay themfelves? Indeed all perfons are not equally prone to evil: as fome are b d with a more healthful conftitution of body than others; fo likewife with a more happy difpofition of mind. All have not the fame paffions; and even in those who have, they do not exert themselves with equal violence. But this I fay, that there are none who are perfectly free from all inclination to evil, or in whom there is not a tendency to fome vice or other in fome degree.

As great a man as the apostle Paul complains of a law in his members warring against the law of his mind, and bringing him into captivity to the law of fin which was in his members, Rom. VII. 23. And in his epiftle to

" in her hand, which contains a portion of ignorance "and error: this cup fhe prefents unto every one at "their first coming into the world; and they all drink,"fome more, fome lefs. Jamblicus complains, that 66 our mind is held by bonds and chains, even from our "infancy. Tully gives a lively defcription of the corrupt ftate of human nature, Tufcul. quæft. lib. iii.

" initio.

the Galatians he speaks of the flesh lufting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flefb: which phrafes, if they have any meaning at all, muft, I think, denote fome corrupt principle within us, which rebels against the reafon of our minds. The heathens were fenfible of the depravity of human nature, and deeply lamented it ; but were very much puzzled to give an account of the cause of it. However, many of them had too great a reverence for their maker, to afcribe it to him as the author; and therefore they attributed it to the foul's being united with the body, into which they fuppofed it to be fent by God, as into a prifon, there to fuffer punishment for fins committed by it in a state of præ-existence. But we are not left to fuch wild conjectures: the fcripture opens to us the fource of our defilement: there we are told, that through one man fin entred into the world. Our. first parents finned against God, and thereby brought corruption and weaknefs upon themselves. No wonder therefore, that their pofterity are infected therewith: for that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and none can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. Who

can fay, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my fin? hath not the best of us fometimes been apt to murmur against the law of God, as too strict and fevere; and to wifh, that he would abate a little of the rigour of his precepts, and indulge us in this or the other vanity?

Now from what hath been faid upon this head, I might argue the neceffity of a fupernatural aid, or a divine enlargement, to make us run the way of God's commandments. But I wave that for the prefent, because I fhall do it with greater advantage when I have confidered the other caufes which I mentioned of the difficulty of religion. The argument will be much stronger, when taken from all of them together, than from any of them alone. Proceed we therefore,

2. To take a view of those temptations which affault us from without, and are so great a hindrance to our progrefs in religion.

(1.) The world is a never failing fource of temptations: the pleasures, riches and honours of it, have a natural tendency to divert men from the care of their fouls, and the business of

re

religion. Our Saviour, in the parable of the fower, fpeaks of fome, who when they have heard, go forth and are choaked with cares, and riches, and pleafures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection; Luke VIII. 14. Many are forced to labour hard for obtaining the neceffaries of life; and therefore think they may well be excufed from the concerns of religion. These they leave to men who enjoy more eafe and leifure, and who being already fufficiently provided with the good things of this life, have nothing else to do but to fecure the happiness of a future: but as for themfelves, fince the neceffities of the prefent life prefs fo hard on them, they are principally concerned to make provifion for their comfortable fubfiftence in this world, and either wholly caft off the care of another, or elfe defer it till they come within a nearer profpect of it. Thus they labour for the meat which perishes, to the lofs of that which endures to everlasting life. So that a ftate of poverty is not the most friendly to religion; because it obliges men to spend the greatest part of their time in fecular employments, and leaves but little for religious exercifes. But this is not

all

all the inconvenience of it: for befides that it has a tendency to divert men from the duties of religion; it is also a temptation to the practice of feveral vices, as theft, envy, and infidelity.

It is a temptation to theft: for when men are grievously pinched, and have nothing of their own to help themselves, no wonder if they endeavour to get poffeffion of that which is another man's, especially if they can do it with fecrecy. Therefore Agur pray'd against poverty, left he should fleal; Prov. XXX. 9.

Again Poverty is a temptation to envy for moft men have a good opinion of themselves, and are not easily perfuaded, that their neighbours are better or more deferving than they: and therefore when they fee their fellow creatures abounding in riches, whilst they themselves are in want, they can't help fretting, and fecretly wishing that there was a greater equality in the dif tributions of providence; and that something were taken from their wealthy neighbour's ftock, and added to their own. And men are more eafily tempted to envy than to theft; because envy is a fecret vice which lies concealed from human