it; fuch as long Fafts, and Watchings, and being too much alone. But, to advise about thefe Things, belongs not to me, but to another Profeffion, and therefore I fay no more about them.

Secondly, It will concern them to keep themselves employed, as much as they can, and, if it be poffible, to have always fome Work or Bufinefs upon their Hands, to exercife their Minds about. Idleness is the worst thing in the World for this fort of Distemper, and indeed thofe that labour hard, are feldom troubled with it. And therefore, if thefe Perfons have no Affairs to take care of, (which yet few in any Station are without) they must make Bufinefs for themfelves. But then there is one fort of Bufinefs, that they ought to be feriously cautioned against, and that is, the too long, or too intenfe Application of their Minds to their fpiritual Exercife; fuch as Reading, Meditation, and the like. For, tho' thefe Employments, above all others, are to be recommended to Perfons that have Health and Leifure, yet to fuch as are in their Condition, they often do more Hurt than Good.

Thirdly, Another Thing that would be of fingular Ufe to thefe Perfons, if they could be perfuaded to practise it, is this: Not to lay thefe Disturbances of their Minds too much to Heart. Let them not be fo grievously concerned, when they cannot govern their own Thoughts, as they defire, but a thou

fand

fand filly or wicked Fancies do impofe themfelves upon them, whether they will or no On the contrary, let them neglect them, let them despise them, and not think themselves the worse, upon account of them: It is their Eagerness to prevent, or ftop, this fort of Fancies, and their immoderate Trouble for them afterwards, that is one of the most effectual Means to excite and perpetuate them: Whereas, if they would make no great matter of them, but let them go out, as they came in, without being concerned about them, in all Probability, with a little Degree of Health, they would vanish and die And they that now complain fo much upon that Account, would have as much Peace in their own Minds, as other Men.

But, Fourthly and Laftly, there is one Thing more to be recommended to these Perfons, and then I have done, and that is this: Let them never omit any known Duty, either to God or their Neighbours, upon account of the Suggeftions, how violent or how troublesome foever they be: Let them never leave off faying their Prayers, at the accustomed Times, or receiving the holy Sacrament, or doing any other Duty, that the Law of Chrift hath tied upon them. And tho', upon these Occafions, above all others, they are moft diftracted by thefe ungovernable Fancies, yet, for all that, let them go on; and, how little foever they please themselves

in these Duties, or how unfit foever they take themselves to be to engage in them, yet let them affure themselves, that God is as much pleased with them, when they do thofe Duties out of Confcience, and because they think they are bound fo to do, (tho' it be with much Infirmity, and a very fhatter'd diftracted Mind) as if they had fatisfied themselves never fo much in the Performance of them.

This I fay, and I conclude with it: So long as we bear an honest Mind towards God, fo long as we do not prevaricate with him, and wilfully depart from the known Rules of our Duty; but endeavour fincerely in all our Actions to obey his Laws; he will accept us, nay, he will reward us, be the Disadvantages we labour under never fo great. And, tho' we cannot please ourfelves, we fhall please him; nay, (as I had occafion to fay in one of my former Difcourfes) he will be better pleafed with us, for doing our Duty under these discouraging Circumftances, than if, being free from these Incumbrances, we had done it with more Pleasure to ourselves. And, if the Devil was really as bufy about us, as fome of us fancy him to be, nay, tho' all the Powers of Hell fhould fet themselves against us, yet, fo long as we thus walk, God will protect us. And, if fometimes he doth not, fo foon as we defire, remove our Afflictions,

Alictions, yet he will give us Grace and Strength to bear them, and, after that, reward us for them, by increafing our Glory in the next World, in Proportion to the Difficulty we had to struggle with, in his Service, in this.

And this is all I have to fay upon this Argument.

SERMON

SERMON VI.

LUKE XIII. 23.

Then faid one unto him, Lord, are there few that shall be faved? And be faid unto them, Strive to enter in at the freight Gate; for many, I fay unto you, will feek to enter in, and fhall not be able.

I

N Pursuance of the Argument I
have been lately difcourfing of in
another Place, and which I told
you I would go on with as I had

Opportunity; I mean to treat now

of two other Things, (different from those I then spoke to) and which are often the Occafion of great Disturbances to the Minds of some melancholy People among us; and for that Purpose I have now pitched upon the Words I have read unto you.

As for those that out of Curiosity defire to be fatisfied about the Point here propofed to our Saviour, concerning the Fewness of the Saved, (which feems to have been the Temper of thofe that afked this Question in my Text) they ought to have no other Anfwer VOL. III.

I

than

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