of being happy hereafter but by being holy here. And though it be an easy thing to profefs Holiness, and to perform fome external Acts of it; yet to be truly pious and holy indeed, fo as we must be if ever we would go to Heaven, this is every whit as difficult as the other is easy.

FOR first, I fuppofe, all will grant that he is not truly holy that lives in any known Sin, as the Apoftle alfo intimates, faying, He that is born of God doth not commit fin, 1 Joh. iii. 9. And therefore he that still indulgeth himself in the Commission of any known Sin, he is not yet regenerate or born of God, he is not truly holy. So that to our being fo holy here, as that we may be happy hereafter, it is abfolutely and indifpenfably neceffary that we forfake and avoid to the utmost of our Power whatfoever is offenfive unto God, and contrary to his Laws. But it is as difficult as it is neceffary to forfake Sin as we ought to do. It is an eafy matter, I confefs, to rail at Sin, to backbite others, or blame our felves for it. But that is not the Bufinefs; but to loath our Sins as much as ever we loved them, to abhor as much as ever we defired them, and to be as much averse from them as ever we were inclined to them, to forfake Sin as Sin, and by confequence all Sin whatfoever, one as well as

ano

another; fo as to deny our felves all that Pleasure we were wont to take in any Sin, and all that seeming Profit which we used to receive by it, and that too, out of love to God and fear of his Difpleasure. This is to forfake Sin indeed, but it is fooner spoken of than done; and it requires a great deal of time and fkill, and pains to get fo great a Conqueft over our felves as this is, to cut off our Right Hand, pluck out our Right Eye, and caft it from us; even renounce and forfake thofe very beloved and darling Sins, which the Temper and Conftitution of our Bodies, the Corruption of our Hearts, and constant Cuftom and Practice hath made in a manner natural to us. So that our very Natures muft be changed, before we can ever leave them. And therefore it must needs be a matter of as great Difficulty as it is of Moment, to mafter and fubdue thofe Sins and Lufts that have been long predominant in us, which I dare fay many of us have found by their own fad and woful Experience, having ftruggled perhaps many Years against fome Corruption, and yet to this Day have not got it under, nor totally fubdued it. And it is fuch, and fuch alone, who are competent Judges in this Cafe; for they that never ftrove against their Sins, cannot know how ftrong they are, nor how P 2 hard

hard it is to conquer them. And therefore it is to those who have made it their Bufinefs to destroy and mortify their Lufts, that I appeal, Whether it be not hard to, do it. I am confident they cannot but have found it, and therefore must needs acknowledge it to be fo; and by Confequence that it is no eafy matter to get to Heaven, seeing it is fo hard to keep out of Hell, and to avoid thofe Sins which otherwife will certainly bring us thither; every Sin unrepented of having eternal Punishment entailed upon it.

AND if it be fo hard to forfake Sin, how difficult muft it needs be to perform all thofe Duties, and to exert all thofe Graces which are neceffarily required, in order to our attaining everlafting Happiness. It is true, praying and hearing, which are the ordinary means for the obtaining true Grace and Holiness, are Duties very common and cuftomary amongst us, but they are never the eafier because they are common, but rather far more difficult. For we being accustomed to a careless and perfunctory performing thefe Duties, cannot but find it an hard and difficult mat. ter to keep our Hearts fo clofe unto them, as to perform them as we ought to do, and fo as that we may be really faid to do them. For we must not think that fitting

at Church while the word of God is preached, is hearing the word of God, or that being present there whilft Prayers are read, is real praying. No, no, there is a great deal more required than this to our praying to the great God aright; infomuch that for mine own part, I really think that Prayer, as it is the higheft, fo is it the hardest Duty that we can be engaged in. All the faculties of our Souls, as well as members of our Bodies, being obliged to put forth themselves in their feveral Capacities, to the due performance of it.

AND as for thofe feveral Graces and Virtues which our Souls must be adorned withal, before ever they can come to Heaven, though it be easie to talk of them, it is not fo to act them, I fhall inftance only in fome few; as to love God above all things, and other things only for God's fake, to hope on nothing but God's Promifes, and to fear nothing but his Difpleafure; to love other Mens Perfons, fo as to hate their Vices, and fo to hate their Vices as ftill to love their Perfons; not to covet Riches when we have them not, nor truft on them when we have them; to deny our felves that we may please God, and to take up our Cross that we may follow Chrift; to live above the World whilft we are in it, and to despise it while we use it; to be alP 3

ways

ways upon our watch and guard, strictly obferving not only the outward Actions of our Life, but the inward Motions of our Hearts; to hate those very Sins which we ufed to love, and to love thofe very Duties which we used to hate; to chufe the -greatest Affliction before the least Sin, and to neglect the getting of the greatest gain, rather than the performing of the fmalleft Duty; to believe Truths which we cannot comprehend, merely upon the teftimony of one whom we never faw; to fubmit our wills to God's, and delight our felves in obeying him; to be patient under fufferings, and thankful for all the troubles we meet with here below; to be ready and willing to do or fuffer any thing we can for him, who hath done and fuffered fo much for us; to cloath the naked, feed the hungry, relieve the indigent, and rescue the oppreffed to the utmost of our power: In a word, to be every way as pious towards God, as obedient to Chrift, as loyal to our Prince, as faithful to our Friends, as loving to our Enemies, as charitable to the Poor, as juft in our Dealings, as eminent in all true Grace and Virtue, as if we were to be faved by it, and yet have no confidence in it, but ftill look upon our felves as unprofitable Servants, and depend upon Chrift

J

and