fider. Therefore a wife man, before he refolves upon any thing, will confider it thoroughly; he will examine whether the thing in itself be good, and worthy of a reasonable creature: whether it be practicable; and if practicable, whether eafy or difficult; and if difficult, whether the advantages of doing it will be a fufficient recompence for the difficulties. Our Saviour illuftrates this matter by two parables in the XIVth chapter of Luke, from verse 28 to 32. For which of you intending to build a tower, fitteth not down firft, and counteth the coft, whether be bath fufficient to finish it? left, haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all who behold it begin to mock him; faying, this man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king going to make war against another king, fitteth not down first and confulteth whether he be able with ten thousand, to meet him who cometh against him with twenty thousand? or elfe, while the other is yet a great way off, he fendeth an emballage, and defireth conditions of peace.

Now if men are thus wary and cautious in the affairs of this world, much more ought they to be fo in the bufinefs of religion, which is a thing of much

much greater confequence. And this was what our Saviour defigned to recommend by these parables; as appears by what goes before and follows after. See verfes 26, 27. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and fifters, yea, and his own life also; he cannot be my difciple: and whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my difciple. Then follow the parables before mentioned. After which our Saviour adds, verfe 33. So likewife, whofoever he be of you who for faketh not all that he bath, he cannot be my difciple, "Tis as if he had faid: "it is not fo eafy a matter as you may imagine, to be a

difciple of mine; for whofoever em"braces my religion, must be able to "bear affliction and perfecution, and must "have refolution enough to perfevere in "the profeffion and practice thereof, tho "it fhould expofe him to the lofs of all "that is dear and valuable to him in this "world. He must be content to be feparated from his nearest relations, to part with all his worldly poffeffions, " and even with life fitself, rather than quit my fervice and renounce his allegi ance to me. Therefore let no man en

ter

"ter into my fervice, and take up my re

ligion rafhly and inconfiderately; but "let him ufe all that deliberation which "fo vaft an undertaking requires; let him "take an eftimate of the difficulties and dangers which the profeffion of my religion will expofe him to, and confider seriously whether he be able to bear "them: even as a man who hath thoughts

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of raifing a magnificent structure,before " he enters upon it, will compute the coft " of it, and fee if he has money enough "to accomplish it: or as one king will

not make war against another king un"til he has taken an eftimate of his own " and his enemy's forces,and feen whether "he has ftrength enough to refift him."

There are fome perfons who will be greatly moved by an awakening fermon, by a fit of fickness, by the death of a friend, or any other temporal calamity; and in the heat of those impreffions which these things make upon them, will form very good refolutions, and propofe excellent defigns; but when the warmth of these impreffions is over, their refolutions vanish, and their defigns prove abortive: the reason of which is, because they did not duly confider the purport of them, and whe

ther they had sufficient ftrength to put them in execution. They trufted to the ftrength of a sudden paffion, which was raised in them by fome uncommon accident; not confidering that that would foon be over, and then they would have nothing to recommend religion to them but its own intrinfick goodnefs. But a wife man will deliberate upon the matter he will nicely examine the duties and difficulties of religion, and then seriously ask himself whether he be able to practise the former, and endure the latter. His good refolutions are not owing to a fudden heat of affection, which will vanish as foon as that which raised it is extinguished: nor are they founded upon fuch contingent reafons as will hereafter lofe their force, and cease to be any reasons at all; but are the product of serious thought and confideration, and are founded upon fuch reasons and arguments as are univerfal, and will hold good in all circumftances, and upon all occafions. In fhort; he refolves upon religion, because upon the strictest furvey of it, he finds it to be abfolutely neceflary in order to his happiness, and moreover not attended with infuperable difficulties, but very practicable by those

who

who diligently fet about it in an humble dependence upon God for that affiftance which he is ready to communicate unto those who afk it.

2. Another property of religious refolution is, that it is peremptory and unmoveable: and this is a confequence of the former; for thofe purposes which are well weighed and deliberated upon, are not easily shaken. The reason why men fo often break their refolutions is, because they make them haftily and rafhly, without confidering what it is that they refolve upon. Coming afterwards to reflect coolly upon thofe refolutions which they made on a fudden, they find that they were attended with a great many inconveniences, and therefore chufe rather to break than to keep them. But on the contrary, a man who thinks before he refolves, is in no great danger of being moved from his refolutions: for having beforehand confidered all the difadvantages of them, he is not liable to be furprized by any difficulty which was not foreseen; and therefore having once formed a design, he will not be diverted from it, but will fteddily pursue it, and never cease till it be accomplished. So religious refolu