"What a mixture of grain is on this ridge!" Mixture prevails every where on earth; no man, no thing, is altogether excellent: perhaps none furpafs in every fin one is reckoned a civil Atheilt; another a religious villain; a third an honest drunkard; another a compaffionate whoremonger; and, in fine, fome detest all wrong, except that which is done to their Maker. "LATELY this poor fellow loft his eye." If I am a true Christian, I have a threefold eye; one of fenfe, to difcern material fubftance; another of reason, to difern God in it; and a third of faith, to look at the things which are not feen, which are eternal; to difcern God in Chrift as my reconciled. Saviour: let me alfo have three guides: Jefus, in. his Spirit and truth, to go before me: and his. daughters, of wisdom and charity, to attend at my fides. "To alight with violence on her prey, how high "foars yonder hawk!" That I may alight with noted force upon my finful lufts, my fpiritual foes, let my foul afcend high in the faith of Jefus and his love fo fhall I more effectually tear and tread. them under my feet. But let me carefully watch against Satan, when he mounts high as an angel. of light; and never pufh high to fecure temporali enjoyments. "HERE comes **** the bankrupt." It is only honourable to be a bankrupt to Chrift. O his. wonderful mercy, who at once forgives my infinite debt to himself, and becomes an eternal debtor to me! my life, my ALL, is already borrowed from him; yet I have is obligation for all his unfearchble riches; by defert I owe him MY ALL, ten thou fand fand fold; by covenant engagement he owes HIS ALL to me. "IN how little room hath this skilful waggoner "turned his carriage!" Let me rather ftudy to live well in ftraitening circumftances, than to increase my wealth to live royally amidst riches, is the honour of an estate; to live happily on little, is the honour of the poffeffor.-Let me never wrong myself by fullen dulnefs, nor lofe dainties for want of a ftomach: If God, to mark his pleasure in his fervant's profperity, put Adam into a garden, let me make the best of whatever I have.-Were I beggar, I would readily wish to live a monarch; and were I a monarch, how readily, at death, would I wifh that I had lived a beggar! Only the everlasting enjoyment of God is precifely as I wish; it is all my falvation, and all my defire. Why fhould not I even now find as much joy in him, as worldlings do in their forced merriment, or lewd wretches in their filthy luft? Let me neither debafe my immortal, my rational foul, to partake of the mad laughter of fools; nor let my fullen behaviour tempt the profane world to imagine that the God whom I worship is fome-furly devil: let me live in God, and I fhall never weary, either for want of work or pleasure.-All men fhall concur to do me good: These who are friends, fhall give me the comfort of their fociety, and the help of their prayers. These reckoned enemies, fháil caufe me to take heed to my ways; fhall difcover to me the faults overlooked by my indulgent friend; fhall give me opportunity to honour myself, in rendering them love for hatred, good for evil, and bleffing for curfing. "WHY doth yonder boy fpur the gallopping "horfe?" How mad to incite finful men to mischief! what what can be a more devilish; what a more thankless office? If the tranfgreffor be convinced, he will deteft;-and if he be damned he will curfe his tempter.How mad to push forward time which already flies swifter than an eagle! "Let me efcape out of “the way, that I be not hurt." Let me alway take heed to myself: let me never, with Shimei, throw away my own life to feek my fervant; never lofe my foul to please my body; never lofe heaven by grasping at this earth. I am fufficiently intelligent, honoured, and happy, if I know, overcome, and content myself: nor can any hurt me, if I affift them not; not Satan, but by my own corruption; not afflictions, but by my own impatience; not tempta-, tions, but by my own yielding; not death, but by my own finfulnefs: nor fin, without my own impatience and unbelief; nor outrageous abuse, unless by fludy of revenge, I, like the angry bee, lofe my fting, and caft away my calm temper. If the world abufe me, let me never, on that account, abuse myself with finful anger, difcompofing grief, or proud refentment: better endure a thoufand wrongs, than do one: Who by revenge, ever gained any thing more than plunging himself into deeper diftrefs? "HERE is a fellow with his puppet-fhew." How wickedly he earns his bread, by impofing on his neigbours?-Did he not at leaft derive this part of his bufinefs from Satan?-How men run to obferve his pitiful trinkets, rather than to behold the Lamb of God!-Lord, how rarity, even of trifles, renders them wondered at! while the marvellous rifing of thy fun, the motion of thy air the life of our body and union thereof with our foul, because common are overlooked! nay, while the rare, the marvellous Saviour is contemned!" Even this forry "fellow "fellow doth not make his fervant familiar with "him." And am infignificant I, the meanest of God's fervants, alfo his fon and intimate friend?"How idle and ufelefs are thefe fellows!" To a good man few things are more troublesome than idlenefs: nor is the life of any more expofed than of idlers; they are Satan's pillow, where he takes his cafe; are fitly difpofed for every wicked motion; and, as ftanding pools, foon ftink with the favour of filthy lufts. And they that hide their talents in the carth, need expect no treasures in heaven. "YONDER ftands **** with her baftard-fon in "her arms: foolish attendance at **** marriage "last year; with her light dancing, and perhaps "her drunkennefs, iffued in this." Are multitudes of our marriages now made in Satan's name; that the parties must be initiated into his fervice, by affembling a number of light and vain perfons, on the marriage day, to flatter, whore, drink, dance, and fpue? Can I act like a tender Chriftian, without being ashamed to countenance fuch infectious rambles? durit I pray for the bleffing of God on my attendance? would my being there make me ready for the marriage of the Lamb? would it correfpond with my profeffion, to be a mourner for the abounding difhonours of my God? have I forgot the filthy, the bloody iffue of Dinah's attendance on a similiar convention? Let none of my children be fo employed, till once I want them whores, fots, or fools. How often have I seen the very money collected on fuch occafions, seemingly curfed of God, and quickly wa fted!-Satan hath too many to promote conventions of vanity and guilt, though I be none of the number, When I think seriously of death, or of accounting to God for the moments of my time, how my confeience ftings me, that ever I was guilty of fuch con duct duct!-How my confcience fmites me, that ever I had any fhare in the mad races, and the inhuman fporting with animal life, fo well known to the fervile tribe? "HERE two neighbours difagree, and call one an" other bad names." How often my foul and body are at odds! what is for the pleasure of this, is feldom for the advantage of that.-It fills me with fhame to think that my better part is imprifoned in a dunghill, and that fo very a trifle provokes me to variance with my fellow faints; nay, with my gracious God.-O could I love every neighbour into friendship! The folitary have fewer temptations to evil, but fewer excitements to good.-In me, let even the dead, the abfent, always find a trufty friend: Chrift's love, fo immenfely great, obligeth me to live in bankruptcy of love to him; but let me study to run bankupt in love to none befide.-God forbid that my heart fhould be a hall to plot my neighbour's ruin; my hand a fword to hurt his perfon, a drag to catch his wealth; or my throat an open fepulchre, to bury his fame or rot his character. If I can fay no good, let me fay no evil of him!-A wounded repu. tation is like a rent garment, easily torn by every nail that comes in the way. In respect of their fame, fome men are their own executors; their character is rotten before their carcafe: others are held infamous till they be dead; and then fall heirs to their reputation; fo precarious, however precious, is a good name.-To promote and maintain mine, let me take Chrift to be my husband and pattern; let me have a faithful friend, who will first heat me with evidence of affection, and then beat me with ftrokes of Chriftian reproof; who, like sweet honey, will kindly, but fharply fearch my corrupt |