and knows his thoughts, words, and actions. It is true, that vain-glory, and oftentation, and reputation, and designs, and ends, may many times render the outward actions fpecious and fair, when the heart runs quite another way, and accordingly would frame the actions, if those ends and defigns, and vain-glory and oftentation, were not in the way; but the fear of God begins with the heart, and purifies and rectifies it; and from the heart thus rectified grows a conformity in the life, the words and actions.

5. The great occafion and reafon of the folly of mankind are, 1. The unruliness and want of government of the fenfual appetite or lufts. Hence grows intemperance and excels in eating and drinking, unlawful and exorbitant lufts; and these exhaust the eftate, waste and confume the health, embafe and impoverish the mind, deftroy the reputation, and render men unfit for induftry and bufinefs. 2. The exorbitancy, and unrulinefs, and irregularity of the paffions; as, exceffive love of things that are either not lovely, or not deserving so much love; excess of anger, which oftentimes degenerates into malice and revenge; excess of joy, in light, trivial, inconfiderable matters; excess of fear, where either no caufe of fear, or not cause of fo much fear is: and these exorbitances of paffions betray the fuccours of reafon, break out into very foolish, vain, imprudent actions, and fill the world with much of that folly and diforder that is every where obfervable. 3. Thofe difeafes and diftempers of the mind, as pride, vain-glory, ambition of honour, and place and power, infolency, arrogancy, envy, covetoufnefs, and the like; thefe, I fay, are fo many fickneffes and cankers, and rotten ulcers in the mind; and as they, like the furies that were let loose out of Pandora's box, do raise most of those storms and tempefts that are abroad in the world, fo they disease and diforder, and befet the mind wherein they are, and make their lives a torment to

them

themselves, and put them upon very foolish, vain, and frantic actions and deportments, and render men perfect fools, madmen, and without understanding; and their folly is fo much the greater and the more incurable, that like fome kind of frantic men, they think very goodly of themfelves, think themfelves paffing wife men, and applaud themselves; though it is most apparent to any indifferent by-ftander, that there are not a fort of vainer, foolish perfons under heaven. Now, as we are truly told that

Sapientia prima est,

Stultitia caruisse

"the first degree and step of wisdom is to put off folly," fo it is the method of the fear of God, the beginning of all true wisdom, to disburthen a man of these originals and foundations of folly. It gives a law to the fenfitive appetite, brings it in fubjection, keeps it within the limits and bounds of realon, and of those inftructions and directions that the wife God hath prefcribed. It keeps it under difcipline and rule. It directs the paffions to their proper objects, and keeps them within their due measures, and within the due lines and limits of moderation, and as becomes a man that lives in the fight and obfervation of the God of glory, majefty, and holinefs. It cures thofe diseases and diftempers of the mind by the prefence of this great preservative and cathartic, the fear of God. If pride or vain-glory begin to bud in the foul, he confiders that the God he fears refifts the proud. This fear puts a man in remembrance of the glorious majefty of the most glorious God; and what is a poor worm, that he fhould be proud or vain-glorious in the prefence and fight of that mighty God? If ambition or covetoufnefs begin to appear, this fear of God prefently remembers a man that the mighty God hath

reminds.

pro

prohibited them; that he hath presented unto us things of greater moment for our defires than worldly wealth, or honour; that we are all of his houfhold, and must content ourselves with that portion he allots us, without preffing beyond the meafure of fobriety or dependance upon, or fubmiffion to him. If re venge ftirs in our hearts, this fear of God checks it, tells a man that he ufurps God's prerogative, who hath referved vengeance to himself as part of his own fovereignty. If that vermin envy begins to live and crawl in our hearts, this fear of God crufheth it by remembering us that the mighty God prohibits it; that he is the fovereign Lord and difpenfer of all things; if he hath given me little I ought to be contented; if he hath given another more, yet why fhould my eye be evil, because his eye is good? Thus the fear of the Lord walks through the foul, and pulls up thofe weeds and roots of bitterness and folly that infect, difquiet,

diforder and befool it.

6. Another great caufe of folly in the world is inadvertence, inconfideratenefs, precipitancy, and overhastiness in speeches or actions. If men had but the patience many times to pause but fo long in actions and fpeeches of moment as might ferve to repeat but the Creed or Lord's Prayer, many follies in the world would be avoided that do very much mischief, both to the parties themselves and others. And therefore inadvertence and precipitancy in things of great moment, and that require much deliberation, muft needs be a very great folly, because the confequence of mifcarriage in them is of greater moment. Now, the fear of the Lord of heaven and earth, being actually present upon the foul, and exerting itself, is the greatest motive and obligation in the world to con fideration and attention touching things to be done or faid. When a man is to do any thing, or fpeak in the prefence of a great earthly prince, the very awe and fear of that prince will give any man very much confideration touching what he faith or doth, especially to

fee

fee that it be conformable to thofe laws and edicts that this prince hath made. Now the great God of heaven and earth hath, in his holy word, given us laws and rules touching our words and actions; and what we are to fay or do, is to be faid or done in no less a prefence than the presence of the ever-glorious God, who strictly eyes and obferves every man in the world, with the very fame advertence as if there were nothing elfe for him to obferve. And certainly there cannot be imagined a greater engagement to advertence, and attention, and confideration than this. And therefore, if the action or fpeech be of any moment, a man that fears God will confider, 1. Is this lawful to be done or not? If it be not, how fhall I do this great evil and fin against God? 2. But if it be lawful, yet is it fit? Is it convenient? Is it feafonable? If not, then I will not do it, for it becomes not that presence before whom I live. 3. Again, if the thing be lawful and fit, yet I will confider how it is to be done, what are the most fuitable circumstances to the honour and good pleasure of that great God before whom I ftand. And this advertence and confideration doth not only qualify my actions and words with wisdom and prudence, in contemplation of the duty I owe to God, but it gives an excellent opportunity very many times, by giving pause and deliberation in reference to my duty to God, to discover many human ingredients of wisdom and prudence requifite to the choice of actions and words, and the manner of doing them. So that befides the greater advantage of confideration and advertence in relation to Almighty God, it doth fuperadd this advantage alfo, for opportunity thereby of human prudential confiderations, which otherwife by hafte and precipitance in actions or words would be loft; and it habituates the mind to a temper of caution, advertence, and confideration in matters, as well of fmaller as of greater moment, and fo make a wife, attentive, and confiderate man.

7. It mightily advanceth and improveth the worth and excellency of moft humane actions in the world, and makes them a nobler kind of a thing than otherwife without it they would be. Take a man that is employed as a statefman or politician, though he have much wifdom and prudence, it commonly degenerates into craft, and cunning, and pitiful fhuffling, without the fear of God: But mingle the fear of Almighty God with that kind of wisdom, it renders it noble, and generous, and staid, and honest, and stable. Again, a man that is much acquainted with the fubtler kind of learning, as philofophy, for inftance, without the fear of God upon his heart, it will carry him over to pride, arrogance, felf-conceit, curiofity, prefumption: But mingle it with the fear of God, it will ennoble that knowledge, carry it up to the honour and glory of that God that is the author of nature, to the admiration of his power, wisdom, and goodness; it will keep him humble, modest, sober, and yet rather with an advance than detriment to his knowledge. Take a man industrious in his calling, without the fear of God with it he becomes a drudge to worldly ends, vexed when disappointed, overjoyed in fuccefs: mingle but the fear of God with it, it will not abate his induftry but sweeten it; if he profper, he is thankful to God that gives him power to get wealth; if he mifcarry, he is patient under the will and difpenfation of the God he fears; it turns the very employment of his calling to a kind of religious duty and exercife of his religion, without damage or detriment to it.

8. The fear of God is certainly the greatest wisdom, because it renders the mind full of tranquillity, and evenness in all ftates and conditions: for he looks up to the great Lord of the heavens and earth, confiders what he commands and requires, remembers that he obferves and eyes all men; knows that his providence governs all things; and this keeps him still even and Iquare without any confiderable alteration, whatever his condition is. Is he rich, profperous, great? yet

he