Sect. 7. fpirit of Holinefs and Zeal. The event of which will be this: He that will do no more than needs must, will foon be brought to omit fomething of his duty, and will be apt to believe lets to be necessary than is.

Remedies against Tediousness of Spirit.

The Remedies against this temptation are these :

1. Order your private devotions fo, that they become not arguments and caufes of tediousness by their indifcreet length; but reduce your words into a narrower compals, ftill keeping all the matter, and what is cut off in the length of your prayers, supply in the earnestness of your fpirit: for fo nothing is loft, while the words are changed into matter, and length of time into fervency of devotion. The forms are made not the less perfect, and the fpirit is more, and the fcruple is removed.

2. It is not imprudent if we provide variety of forms of Prayer to the fame purposes, that the change by confulting with the appetites of fancy may better entertain the spirit and poffibly we may be pleafed to recite a Hymn, when a Collect feems flat to us and unpleasant; and we are willing to fing rather than to fay, or to fing this rather than that: we are certain that variety is delightful; and whether that be natural to us, or an imperfection, yet if it be complied with, it may remove fome part of the temptation.

3. Break your office and devotion into fragments, and make frequent returnings by ejaculations and abrupt entercourtes with God: for fo, no length can opprefs your tenderness and ficklinels of fpirit; and by often praying in (uch manner and in all circumstances, we fhall habituate our fouls to prayer, by making it the bufinets of many leffer portions of our time and by thrufting it in between all our other employments, it will make every thing relish of Religion, and by degrees rur all into its nature.

4. Learn to abftract your thoughts and defires from pleafures and things of the world. For nothing is a

Sect. 7. 241 direct cure to this evil, but cutting off all other loves an dadherences. Order your affairs fo, that Religion may be propounded to you as a Reward, and Prayer as your defence, and holy Actions as your fecurity, and Charity and good Works as your treasure. Confider that all things elfe are fatisfactions but to the brutifh part of a man, and that these are the refreshments and relishes of that noble part of us by which we are better than beafts: and whatsoever other inftrument, exercife or confideration is of ufe to take our loves from the World, the fame is apt to place them upon God.

5. Do not feek for delicioufnefs and fenfible confolations in the actions of Religion, but only regard the duty and the confcience of it. For although in the beginning of Religion moft frequently, and at fome other times irregularly, God complies with our infirmity, and encourages our duty with little overflowings of fpiritual joy, and fenfible pleasure, and delicacies in Prayer, so as we seem to feel tome little beam of Heaven, and great refreshments from the Spirit of confolation; yet this is not always fafe for us to have, neither fafe for us to expect and look for: and when we do, it is apt to make us cool in our enquiries and I waitings upon Chrift when we want them: It is a running after him, not for the miracles, but for the loaves; not for the wonderful things of God, and the defires of pleafing him, but for the pleasure of pleafing our felves. And as we must not judge our devotion to be barren or unfruitful when we want the over-flowings of joy running over: fo neither must we ceafe for want of them. If our fpirits can ferve God chufingly and greedily out of pure confcience of our duty, it is better in it felf, and more fafe to us.

6. Let him ufe to foften his Spirit with frequent meditation upon fad and dolorous objects, as of Death, the terrours of the Day of Judgment, fearful judgments upon finners, ftrange horrid accidents, fear of God's wrath, the pains of Hell, the unfpeakable amazements of the damned, the intolerable load of a fad eternity. For whatloever creates fear, or makes

R

makes the spirit to dwell in a religious fadness, is apt to entender the spirit, and make it devout and pliant to any part of duty. For a great fear, when it is ill managed, is the parent of fuperftition; but a difcreet and well-guided fear produces Religion..

7. Pray often and you fhall pray oftner; and when you are accustomed to a frequent devotion, it will fo infenfibly unite to your nature and affections, that it will become trouble to omit your ufual or appointed prayers: and what you obtain at firft by doing violence to your inclinations, at laft will not be left without as great unwillingness as that by which at first it entered. This Rule relies not only upon reafon derived from the nature of habits, which turn into a fecond nature, and make their actions eafie, frequent and delightful: but it relies upon a reason depending upon the nature and conftitution of Grace, whofe productions are of the fame nature with the parent, and increases it felf, naturaliy growing from grains to huge trees, from minutes to valt proportions, and from moments to Eternity. But be fure not to omit your ufual prayers without great reafon, though without fin it may be done; because after you have omitted fomething, in a little while you will be paft the fcruple of that, and begin to be tempted to leave out more. Keep your felf up to your ufual forms: you may enlarge when you will; but do not contract or leffen them without a very. probable reafon.

8. Let a man frequently and feriously by imagination place himself upon his death bed, and confider what great joys he fhall have for the remembrance of every day well fpent, and what then he would give that he had fo fpent all his days. He may guess at it by proportions for it is certain he fhall have a joyful and profperous night who hath ipent his day holily; and he refigns his foul with peace into the hands of God, who hath lived in the peace of God, and the works of Religion in his life time. This confideration is of real event, it is of a thing that will certainly come to pats. It is appointed for all men once to

die, and after death comes judgment; the apprehenfion of which is dreadful, and the prefence of it is intolerable, unless by Religion and Sanctity we are difpofed for fo venerable an appearance.

14. of the Ea

9. To this may be useful that we confider the ea- see the Great finels of Chrift's yoke, the excellencies and fweet- Exemplar. neffes that are in Religion, the peace of confcience, Part 3. Dife. the joy of the Holy Ghoft, the rejoycing in God, finefs of the fimplicity and pleasure of vertue, the intricacy, Chriftian trouble and bufinefs of fin; the bleffings and health Religion. and reward of that; the curfes, the fickneffes and fad confequences of this; and that if we are weary of the labours of Religion, we muft eternally fit ftill and do nothing for whatfoever we do contrary to it, is infinitely more full of labour, care, difficulty and vexation.

10. Confider this alfo, that tediousness of spirit is the beginning of the most dangerous condition and eftate in the whole World. For it is a great difpofition to the fin against the Holy Ghoft: it is apt to bring a man to back fliding and the state of unregeneration, to make him return to his vomit and his fink, and either to make the man impatient, or his condition fcrupulous, unfatisfied, irkfome and defperate and it is better that he had never known the way of godliness, than after the knowledge of it, that he fhould fall away. There is not in the World a greater fign that the fpirit of Reprobation is beginning upon a man, than when he is habitually and conftantly, or very frequently weary, and flights or loaths holy Offices.

II. The laft remedy that preferves the hope of fuch a man, and can reduce him to the state of Zeal and the Love of God, is a pungent, fad and a heavy affliction; not defperate, but recreated with fome intervals of kindness or little comforts, or entertained with hopes of deliverance: which condition if a man fhall fall into, by the grace of God he is likely to recover; but if this help him not, it is infinite odds but he will quench the Spirit..

SECT. VIII.

Of Alms.

Love is communicative as Fire, as bufie and as

active, and it hath four twin daughters, extreme like each other; and but that the Doctors of the School have done as Thamar's Midwife did, who bound a Scarlet thred, fomething to distinguish them, it would be very hard to call them asunder. Their names are, 1. Mercy, 2. Beneficence, or, Well-doing, 3. Liberality, and, 4. Alms; which by efpecial privilege hath obtained to be called after his Mother's name, and is commonly called Charity. The first or eldest is feated in the affection, and it is that which all the other must attend. For Mercy without Alms is accep table, when the perfon is difabled to exprefs outwardly what he heartily defires. But Alms without Mercy are like Prayers without Devotion, or Religion without Humility. 2. Beneficence, or Weii doing, is a promptnefs and nobleness of mind, making us to do offices of courtefie and humanity to all forts of perfons in their need, or out of their need. 3. Liberality is a difpofition of mind oppofite to Covetousnefs, and confifts in the defpite and neglect of money upon juft occafions, and relates to our friends, children, kindred, fervants, and other relatives. 4. But Alms is a relieving of the poor and needy. The first and the last only are duties of Chriftianity. The fecond and third are circumftance and adjuncts of thefe duties: for Liberality increafes the degree of Alms, making our gift greater; and Beneficence extends it to more perfons and orders of men, fpreading it wider. The former makes us fometimes to give more than we are able; and the latter gives to more than need by the neceffity of beggars, and ferves the needs and conveniences of perfons, and fupplies circumftances: whereas properly, Alms are doles and largeffes to the neceffitous and calamitous

people