4. The

fervation

for grace. God has promifed to give all things to thole, that afk according to his will, 1 John. 5. 14. But we can afk nothing more agreeable to the will of God, and which he more willingly gives, than his Spirit, Luke 11. 13. Who, as he is the principal caufe of our fanétification, fo is the author and finisher of it. Let this therefore be our daily prayer to God; teach me to do thy will; let thy good spirit lead me into the land of uprightness, Pf. 143. 10. Keep back thy Servant alfo from prefumptuous fins, let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great tranfgreffion. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy fight, O Lord, my ftrength and my redeemer, Pf. 19: 13, 14.

CXIII. Fourthly. Whoever feriously endeavours careful ob. to be a proficient, muft in all things give himself up of the ope- to the government and guidance of the Holy Spirit. rations of Whenever he begins to work internally by his fugthe Holy geftions, impulfes and emotions; we are with care Spirit.

and follicitude, to obferve them; and above all beware, that we don't defpife and grieve the Spirit, or ftifle his operations, Eph. 4. 30. 1 Thefs. 5. 19. For, the Spirit of God is a delicate thing; he, deals by us, as we deal by hitn. If, with care and alacrity, we follow his conduct, he will manifeft himself to us with a more cheerful and ferene countenance, will carry us forward to higher attainments, bring us nearer to God and to heaven, and, abundantly favouring us with his joys, make us cheerfully, and without wearinefs, run the race that is fet before us. But if we indolently neglect his influences, he will not bear that affront, but will withdraw with thofe his sweetest fuggeftions, leave us to ourselves, juftly expofe us to be harraffed by the devil and the flesh, and himfelf difquiet us with his terrors: till we are brought to obferve, how ill we have regarded our own intereft, by this indolent carelefinefs, and how we are nothing without him, we have again reconciled him to us by

means

means of humble prayer and fupplication. Let us therefore readily fpread all our fails, while this heavenly breeze continues to blow, left this profperous gale fhould fhortly die away, or the ftorm come on, and fo our failing to the fair haven of falvation be intercepted.

CXIV. Fifthly. It is alfo expedient, that we 5. Renew renew our covenant with God, and thofe promifes, by ing covewhich we formerly bound ourselves to the fincere ob- nant with God. fervance of his commandments: frequently faying, I have fworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments, Pf. 119. 106. It was an excellent advice of Epictetus apud Arrianum, Lib. 1. c. 14. You ought to fwear to God, as foldiers to their general. And to what are you to fwear? That you will always obey him, never accuse him, nor find fault with whatever he is pleafed to bestow, &c. And certainly that oath being thus renewed, if no other advantage attend it, will be of use. ft. To reftrain the foul from fin, by being put in mind of its late promife. 2. To quicken its indolence into zeal; 3. To raise it when fallen, and teach it to mourn for its fins, with more than ordinary bitterness, especially as the guilt of treachery and perjury, is added to all the rest.

nation of

CXV. Sixthly. Holiness is greatly promoted, if, by a 6. A carecareful and frequent examination of confcience, you ful examirecollect your deeds and words, nay and your very confcience thoughts, that, with fhame and forrow, you may confefs to God, what you have done, either altogether wrong, or not fufficiently right, and endeavour to reform for the time to come: or if, by glorifying God for what you have done well, and rejoicing in the teltimony of a quiet conscience, you are animated, with chearfulness, to purfue that courfe of religion, you have entered upon. David declares, that he afted in this manner, to the great emprovement of holine's. Pf. 119. 59. Ithought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy teftimonies.

CXVI. The

themfelves recom

Book 3. Which the CXVI. The heathens themfelves have recom Heathens mended this examination of conscience, and, if they made not a falfe profeffion, were not negligent in the practice of it. Antonin. Lib. 5. §. 31. Recollect with mended. thyself, how thou haft hitherto behaved towards the Gods, thy parents, brethren, wife &c. Whether thou hast committed any thing towards any of them, either in deed or even word, which did not become you. Lib. 8. §. 2. In every action ask thyself, how far is this proper for me, may I not have caufe to repent of it? Seneca Lib. 3. dé Ira, c. 36. The foul is to be called to a daily account: This SEXTIUS did, at the close of the day, when, before he went to fleep, he would ask his foul: what evil of thine baft thou cured to day? What vice haft thou refifted? In what respect art thou become better? what therefore can be more excellent than this practice of canvaffing the whole day? What fleep is that which enfues on the review of oneself? How calm, how excellent and free, when the fcul is either commended, or admonished; and a fecret Spy and cenfer of herself takes cognizance of ber manners? As to what Seneca adds concerning himself, the reader may fee in the author. It is all excellent and divine. But the chofen people of God are to endeavour, not to be put to the blufh, in this refpect, by the heathen.

7. Bearing CXVII. To conclude (for fhould I expatiate on every reproof. particular, this chapter would fwell to a large volume), whoever would make progrefs in holinefs, muft willingly and thankfully fuffer, admonition and reproof. It is peculiar to God and above kuman nature never to commit fin, faid Gregory Nazianzen formerly, Orat. 15, in plagam grandinis. But to cure this evil, no remedy is more falutary than prudent and friendly admonition. As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, fo is a wife reprover upon an obedient ear, Prov. 25.12. Hence faithful reproof is acceptable to the godly. Let the righteous fmite me, it shall be a kindness; and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also

fball

fhall be in their calamities, Pf. 141. 5. It was finely fpoken by whoever he was, whether Gregory Nazianzen or Methodius (for the author is not agreed on, as Gataker has obferved on M. Antonine, Lib. 6. §. 21), I think it a greater happiness to be reproved, than to reprove, as it is much greater for onefelf to be delivered from evil, than to deliver another.

fection re

quired by

the law

CXVIII. There can be no doubt, but whoever The percarefully walks in this way, fhall make very great progress in fanctification, and daily arrive, more and more, at a nearer conformity to the pattern fet before not athim. However we are not to imagine, that ever any tainable in one, in this life, can attain to that perfection, which this life. the law of God requires, that, being without all fin, he should wholly employ himself in the fervice of God, with that purity, that intenfenefs of all his powers, that the divine holiness itself could find nothing in him, but what was agreeable to it. The contrary is evident. Ift. From exprefs teftimonies of scripture, in which it is afferted, that none liveth, who finneth not, stumbleth and falls not, 1 Kings 8. 46. Eccl. 7. 20. Prov. 20. 9. Fam. 3. 2. 1 John 1. 8. 2dly. From the humble, and fincere confeffion of the Saints, who every where own their blemishes and failings, Pf. 19. 12. Rom. 7. 18, 19. Phil. 3. 13, 14. Ifa. 64. 6. 3dly. From an induction of particular examples. For, there are none, even of the most excellent among the Saints, whofe actions are more largely defcribed, but have alfo fome blemishes recorded, which, in fome meafure, throw a fhade on the light of the most fhining virtues. These things are more notorious than need to be repeated here: nor do we with pleasure mention them. So far are we from taking any delight in the infirmities of the most excellent men of God, or wishing to detract from their heroic virtues, when we fometimes speak of their faults; that, on the contrary, we have an inward horror at the remembrance of them, and defervedly tremble at the confideration of our own weakness,

because,

The caufe

becaufe, the latchets of their fhoes we are not worthy to loofe.

CXIX. The principal and proper caufe of this of this im- imperfection is to be found in ourfelves. And is the perfection, the fill-indwelling flesh; or corruption which, tho' really indwell- fubdued by the efficacy of the fpirit, with respect to ing flesh its reign, Rom. 6. 14; yet vexes the godly: and, as that unhappy incumbrance retarded † Atalanta, so also believers are retarded by this corruption in their christian race! while the flesh continually lufts against the fpirit, it hinders the elect from chearfully performing, what otherwife they would earnestly defire to do, Gal. 5. 17. Rom. 7. 15, 16. By the fpirit the renewed man,certainly,tends upwards: but the flesh foon with great ftruggling pulls him down again; like a heavy ftonetied to the feet of one of the fowls of heaven. With a couragious boldness believers enter upon all the exercises of every virtue, or grace, Pf. 119. 128. A&s 24. 16, and while they go on in all the strength of the Lord their God, P. 71. 16, they undertake what far furpaffes the capacity and power of natural men, and thus, at a great pace, they prefs forward to perfection, like thofe, who hunt down fome wild beaft in hopes to poffefs it, Phil. 3. 14. But inherent corruption, innate perverfenefs, heightened by fo many vicious acts, the fin that eafily befets us, Heb. 12. 1, again fpoils and taints all. And this abides in man till his death: It dwells, but reigns not, abides,

"

+ For the benefit of the common English reader, I would obferve, that Witfius feems here to refer to the fabulous story of Atalanta the daughter of Schanus king of the island Scyrus, who being wearied with the importunity of her fuitors, confented to have the man that could out run her; but on this condition, that he was to die, who loft the race. This being the fate of feveral, others were difcouraged. But Hippomanes receiving three golden apples, ventured to run with her, and at proper times, when the was like to get the ftart of him, threw the apples, which the looping to gather, loft the race.

but