of Worldly Affairs must often raife fuch difficulties as will puzzle the moft obferving and the moft wife, wife only in the World's Wisdom I mean, how to fteer aright, which way to direct his Courfe. But at the fame time, which is the wondrous great comfort of the truly Confciencious Man, it is almost impoffible that he fhould ever be at a lofs ta which way to take. The Highway of the Upright is to depart from Evil, fays Solomon, and for our direction it bids us only look out and find it. Let thine Eyes look right on, and let thy Eyelids look ftraight before thee (Prov. 4. 25.) Turn not to the Right Hand nor the Left, remove thy foot from Evil, v. 27. When the Way lyes fo ftraight, and he is fo fure it is the true One, whatever difficulties he may encounter in it, yet he will not venture being loft by feeking By-Roads and making to himself indirect Paths to avoid them. He thinks it, as it really is, the mark of weak Judgment to truft to his own devices rather than the ftraight line that is chalk'd out for his direction, and that it is the only true Wisdom and fafety to keep in God's way, and neither difpife the beaten way for its plainnefs, nor fhun the rugged and difficult one for its danger.

It is not fo very hard, as is often pretended, to understand our Duty; Men may, with much more ease than they will allways

own,

own, know which is the true Way, if they fuffer'd not their Lufts or Affections, or Intereft to feduce and lead them aftray. But if there fhould ever happen any real difficulty or doubt concerning the Path a Man ought to take, I am confident a good Confcience, a well meaning and fincere Heart, is the best Casuist in the World; an honeft Mind will fooner Refolve this Scruple than the most expert and best studied Di'vine. God will not fuffer true and earneft endeavours after neceffary Truth, join'd with hearty Refolution to embrace and obey it when found, to be long without finding it. By his Bleffing, all the mifts and clouds of Doubting are foon difpell'd from a truly Upright Heart; Unto the Upright there arifes Light in Darkneß, fays the Pfalmift, and moft true is that of the Wife Man, The Righteousness of the Perfect fall direct his Way.

Prov. 11. 3, 5.

But 2dly, this Upright Walking is not only the eafieft and plaineft, but the most becoming a great Mind, and a Man that has any Value for his Reputation or Honour. As much defpis'd as generally it is, yet in it felf it is highly Honourable. And there cannot be a greater fign of the degeneracy of a Nation, nor a worfe prefage of what it is further running into, than to find That Honefty, Plainness and Simplicity, in which

we

we can only fay, we have heard our Nation once excell'd and our Ancestors were fo diftinguish'd by and fo renown'd for, grown fo worn out and Old fashion'd Qualities, as to be ridicul'd and laugh'd out of the World; and in their room a fort of mean, trifling, fhuffling Sophiftical Policies taken up, which no Man of true Honour or found Judgment would ftoop to meddle with.. If there were any fpark of Virtue, of Magnanimity or true sense left among us, we fhould have other notions of things; Upright dealing and Truth, for all its plainness and Simplicity, would not appear fo mean or contemptible a thing. Plainnefs itself, let not our fine Gentlemen too much mistake themfelves, is far from being fo. On the contrary, the best. Judges have ever heretofore accounted, in all the Works of Art or the products of Wit, the Compofitions of the Hand or of the Head, whatever is moft Simple and moft Plain, (if it have withal Solidity, Juftice and Proportion,) most Durable, most Beautiful, moft Magnificent." And why fhould not the fame hold good in the Moral, as well as the Artificial or Intellectual Works of Men? Certainly it do's, and a Life led in an Equal and Conftant Tenor of Exactnefs and Juftice, can't choofe, how Plain foever it be, nay for being fo, but be Lovely, Honourable, Ve

nerable.

nerable. I am fure St Paul highly values himself upon fuch a Converfation, 2 Cor.1.12. Our Rejoicing (as the English Tranflation renders it) but rather as the Original xaúxos imports, Our boafting, our glorying is this, the Teftimony of our Confcience, that in Simplicity and godly Sincerity, not with Flefbly Wisdom, we have had our Conversation in the World.

And how grateful fuch a Character was to our Blessed Saviour himself, we have One remarkable Inftance in that kind Welcome he gave to Nathanael on account of it; when being prefented to him he cry'd out with Admiration and Delight, Behold an Ifraelite indeed in whom is no guile. However therefore fome People may value themfelves upon their Craftiness, it is certainly no great commendation to this Quality, that our Saviour in another place calls Herod Fox, as one of the Higheft Marks of his Deteftation and Contempt of Him. For Certainly nothing makes any Man, especially a Great Man, more Despicable and Mean, than Cunning: All Difguifes being below the Great, as arguing either want of Wisdom or Power.

It is a very true Maxim of Tully's, that "that Ever becomes every Man beft, that "is moft his Own:" and if we reflect on the moft Politick Customs and Manners of Hu

man

man Life, nothing we fhall find is truly graceful that is over mix'd or unnaturally forc'd; No word we fpeak, no phrase we use, no gefture, no tone of voice that is over artificial, but it prefently offends; nothing in Beauty, in Habit, in Action, in Motion can please, that is affectedly labour'd and over adorn'd. Nothing has fo much Reverence in Human Converfation, as true Ingenuity, manly Plainnefs, gentle Eafynefs, undiffembled Sincerity. Nothing fooner, or more, or longer, affects Men with delight, and love, and admiration: nothing is more honourable, nothing more Amiable, nothing indeed more Eafie and Safe. It is very probable, that more of the deep, dark, referv'd, crafty Men have at laft fail'd of their Designs, than of the plain, upright, honeft Men.

Which is the Third and last thing I fhall undertake to make good, namely that Walking Uprightly is not only the moft easy and plain, the most becoming and honourable, but the prudenteft and fureft way too. That is, downright Honefty, how mean an Opinion foever fome Men may have of it in comparison of their Own Craft and Cunning, is the best Policy at laft.

For Firft, an experimented Integrity and open franknefs in dealing Naturally begets fuch a Confidence and Truft among Men, as highly promotes the Success of a known

Honeft