the Confeffion of particular Sins for inftance, The Confeffion of Sin in religious Affemblies must be made in general Terms, that the. bel and the worst may join in the fame Office, hereby all acknowledging that they have neglected what they ought to have done, and done what they ought not to have done, and that they are miferable Sinners; but because the Confeffions of all are made in the fame general Terms, is there therefore no Difference between thofe that make them? Shall the worft Sinner in the Congregation go away with an Opinion, that there is no Man better than himself because of the fame Confeffion made by all? No furely, for the publick and ftanding Offices of Prayer are in their Nature and Defign incapable of putting a Difference between Men and Men that join in them; or if fuch a Difference were attempted to be made, the ill Confequence of it would be intolerable, as any difcerning Man may readily fee. Publick Confeffions of Sin are not to make a whole Congregation alike in respect of Sin, or to fhew every Man in his true Colours, but they are to be fo general, that the most different Degrees of Sin may with Truth be confefs'd under them by all that affemble for this Service; but there is another Place for private Confeffion of a Man's own Sins, whereby he is different from his Neighbour that is more righteous than himself, and that

is his Closet; there let him arraign himself before his God, there let him fet his Sins in order, and take the Shame of them to himfelf, and own his particular Guilt, and diftinguifh himself by his more grievous Offences from thofe that he feemed not to differ from while he joined with them in the fame common Confeffions of Sin. No Man can reasonably doubt whether Confeffion ought not to be made to God according to the Proportion of a Man's Guilt, and the Heinoufnefs and Number of his known Sins, but this cannot be done in Forms that are fuited to the Ends of religious Affemblies, and therefore it must be done in private Prayer, if iț

be done at all.

In like manner there are common Bleffings which God hath bestowed upon all of us, and these are to be acknowledged in publick Praises and Thanksgivings; and there is almost an infinite Variety of particular Benefits of Providence that are distributed a mongst particular Perfons, of which fome have a greater Share than others, and if these are to be acknowledged with Thankfulness, as most certainly they are, then is private Devotion neceffary to a religious Man, fince he cannot otherwife duly acknowledge them; and thus the Neceffity thereof appears from that which is the proper Matter and peculiar Subject of it.

2. It is also very neceffary to maintain in our Minds a reverent Senfe of God's Omniprefence when we are alone, and no mortal Eye feeth us; for the Senfe of God's Prefence is very apt to wear off, and we have great need to be made mindful of it, efpecially when we know our felves to be fecure from the Obfervation of Men. Now there is nothing that can more effectually imprint the Senfe of God's Omniscience and Omnipresence upon our Minds, than the Conftancy of private Prayer, in which God alone heareth and feeth us, this will fet a Guard upon us when we are alone, and we fhall not dare, tho' in fecret, to fin against God, fince to the fame God we pray in fecret, to him that will reward or punish openly whatfoever is well or ill done in fecret; this is that which will infufe a great Regard of God into us in all that we do, and will not fuffer Privacy to be made an Encourage, ment to any Wickedness; for if in Confidence that God feeth and heareth us, we offer up our Prayers to him in fecret, this is an effectual Admonition given to our felves, that in Confidence of the fame Prefence being always with us, we fhould behave our felves as in his Sight, and ftand in Awe of him no less, but vaftly more, than if all the World took notice of us.

Upon fuch obvious Reasons as these the Puty of private Devotion is founded; and

this is all I fhall fay to what is fuppofed in this Place.

And now I proceed to confider what our Saviour's Cautions and Directions are concerning this Matter.

The firft is a Caution against Vain-glory and Hypocrity in private Devotion.

The fecond is against much speaking, and vain Repetitions.

The first is expreffed in thefe Words: When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the Hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the Synagogues, and in the Corners of the Streets, that they may be feen of Men. Verily, I say unto you, that they have their Reward. But thou, when thou prayeft, enter. into thy Clojet, and when thou hast shut thy Door, pray to thy Father which is in fecret, and thy Father sebich feeth in fecret, himself. fhall reward thee openly,

The Sum of this is, That they must have: a great Care not to affect the Praise of Men, and therefore, that they fhould make no manner of Ŏitentation of their private Devotions; and this he forewarns them against.

1. By putting them in mind that this Affectation was no unufual thing, there were: divers Examples of it abroad: Thou shalt not: be as the Hypocrites are, for they love to pray Standing in the Synagogues, that is, in Places of Concourfe, not religious Worship, and in the Corners of the Streets, that they may be

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feen of Men; that is, when they knew they fhould be obferved by a great many, they betook themselves to their fingle Devotions. The Jewish People were not yet grown fo bad, but it was a Reputation amongst them to be thought religious, and therefore the Pharifees took all Opportunities, and used all manner of Ways to gain a Fame for Devotion and Piety; and if their Labour in doing this was ridiculous to any, it was not becaufe Religion, but becaufe Hypocrify was a ridiculous thing; but this their Hypocrify was discovered but by a few, and fo they were fecure of the Praife and Admiration of the most, which was the Thing they aimed at. Now the Way of thofe Hypocrites to make their Devotions obferved, by faying their Prayers in the Streets, is but one Ins ftance of a great many Artifices of the fame Kind, by which a Man may give others to understand that he ufes to fay his private Prayers; and our Saviour in rebuking, the one, expofes and difcountenances all the reft; not that a Man fhould do any thing to make others believe that he never fays his Prayers, for this would be a Lewdnefs on the other fide; nor that a Man fhould reckon it an Unhappiness to him to have it believ'd that he is devout in his Cofet; no, nor that he fins by every Indication, or giving any Token, or making any Shew that he is fo, for fometimes this may be unavoidable; but that