ing of the words, the handsome expression, order, manner; which in their places are all good, if animated with spirit, life and seriousness.'

Direct. VII. Look most and first to the soul in duty, and the soul of duty. The picture of meat feedeth not; the picture of fire warmeth not: fire and shadows will not nourish us. God loveth not dead carcasses instead of spiritual worship; we regard not words ourselves, further than they express the heart. Let the outer part have but its due.

Tempt. VIII. He tempteth you to rest in a forced, affected, counterfeit fervency, stirred up by a desire to take with others.'

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Direct. VIII. Look principally at God and holy motives, and less at men, that all your fire be holy, fetched from heaven.

:

Tempt. ix. 'He would keep you in a lazy, sluggish coldness to read, and hear, and pray as asleep, as if you did it not.' Direct. 1x. Awake yourselves with the presence of God, and the great concernment of what you are about, and yield not to your sloth.

Tempt. x. He would make you bring a divided, distracted heart to duty, that is half about your worldly business.'

Direct. x. Remember God is jealous, your business with him is great, much lieth on it, call off your hearts, and let them not stay behind; all the powers of your souls are little enough in such a work o.

Tempt. XI. Ignorance, unskilfulness, and unacquaintedness with duty, are a great impediment to most.'

Direct. xI. Learn by study joined with practice: be not weary, and difficulties will be overcome.

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Tempt. XII. Putting duty out of its place, and neglecting the season that is fittest, makes it oft done slightly.' Direct. x11. Redeem time, and dispatch other business, that idleness deprive you not of leisure: and do all in order. Tempt. x111. Neglecting one duty is the tempter's snare to spoil another. If he can keep you from reading, you will not understand well what you hear: if he keep you from meditating, you will not digest what you hear or read. If he keep you from hearing, you will want both matter and life for prayer, and meditation, and conference: if he keep

Ezek. xxxiii. 31.

you from godly company, you will be hindered in all, and in the practice: no one is omitted, but you are disadvan taged by it in all the rest.'

Direct. x111. Observe how one duty helpeth another, and take all together each one in its place.

Tempt. XIV. Sometimes the tempter doth call you off to other duty, and puts in unseasonable motions to that which in its time is good: he interrupts prayer by meditation, he sets seeming truth against love, and peace, and concord.'

Direct. XIV. Still know which duties are greatest, and which is the due season for each, and do all in order.

Tempt. xv. He spoileth duty, by causing you to do it only as a duty, and not as a means for the good of your own souls, or only as a means, and not as a duty if you do it only as a duty, then you will not be quickened to it by the ends and benefits, nor carried by hope, nor fit all to the end, nor be so fervent or vigorous in it, as the sense of your own good would make you be. And if you do it only as a means, and not as a duty, then you will give over or faint, when you want or question the success: whereas, the sense of both would make you vigorous and constant.'

Direct. xv. Keep under the sense of God's authority, that you may feel yourselves bound to obey him, whatever be the success; and may resolve to wait in an obedient way. And withal, admire his wisdom in fitting all duties to your benefit, and commanding you nothing but what is for your own, or others' good, or to his honour and mark the reason and tendency of all; and your own necessity.

Tempt. XVI. The tempter hindereth you in duty, as well as from duty, by setting you a quarrelling with the minister, the words, the company, the manner, the circum stances; that these things may divert your thoughts from the matter, or distract your mind with causeless scruples.'

Direct. xvi. Pray and labour for a clear judgment, and an upright, self-judging, humble heart, which dwelleth most at home, and looketh most at the spiritual part, and affecteth not singularity.

Tempt. XVII. The tempter spoileth duty by your inconstancy: while you read or pray so seldom, that you have

lost the benefit of one duty, before you come to another, and cool by intermissions."

Direct, XVII. Remember that it is not your divertisement, but your calling, and is to your soul, as eating to your bodies.

Tempt. XVII. Sometimes satan corrupteth duty by men's private passions, interest, and opinions, making men, in preaching and praying, to vent their own conceits and spleen, and inveigh against those that differ from them, or offend them, and profane the name and work of God: or proudly to seek the praise of men.'

Direct. XVIII. Remember that God is most jealous in his worship, and hateth hypocritical profaneness, above all profaneness. Search your hearts, and mortify your passions; and especially selfishness, remembering that it is a poisonous and insinuating sin, and will easily hide itself with a cloak of zeal.

Tempt. XIX. • False-hearted reservedness is a most accursed corrupter of holy duty: when the soul is not wholly given up to God, but sets upon duty from some common motive; as, because it is in credit, or to please some friend, purposing to try it awhile, and leave it, if they like it not.'

Direct. xix. Fear God, thou hypocrite, and halt not between two opinions. If the Lord be God, obey and serve him with all thy heart: but, if the devil and the flesh be better masters, follow them, and let him

go.

Tempt. xx. Lastly, The tempter hindereth holy duty much, by wandering thoughts, and melancholy perplexities, and a hurry of temptations, which torment and distract some Christians, so that they cry out, I cannot pray, I cannot meditate;' and are weary of duty, and even of their lives.'

Direct. xx. This sheweth the malice of the tempter, and thy weakness; but, if thou hadst rather be delivered from it, it hindereth not thy acceptance with God. Read for this, what I have said Chap. v. Part 2. at large; especially in my Directions to the Melancholy.

I have been forced to put off many things briefly here, which deserved a larger handling; and I must now omit the discovery of those temptations, by which satan keepeth men in sin, when he hath drawn them into it. 2. And those

by which he causeth declining in grace, and apostacy. 3. And those by which he discomforteth true believers; because else this Direction would swell to a treatise; and most will think it too long and tedious already, though the brevity which I use, to avoid prolixity, doth wrong the matter through the whole. Acquaintance with temptations is needful to our overcoming them.

Grand Direct. x. Your lives must be laid out in doing God service, and doing all the good you can, in works of piety, justice, and charity, with prudence, fidelity, industry, zeal, and delight; remembering that you are engaged to God, as servants to their Lord and master; and are entrusted with his talents, of the improvement whereof you must give account.'

The next relation between Christ and us, which we are to speak of, (subordinate to that of King and Subjects,) is this of Master and Servants. Though Christ saith to the apostles, "Henceforth I call you not servants, but friends";" the meaning is not that he calleth them not servants at all, but not mere servants, they being more than servants, having such acquaintance with his counsels as his friends. For he presently, verse 20. bids them "Remember that the servant is not greater than the lord." And John xiii. 13. “Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well, for so I am." And Matt. xxiii. 8. "One is your Master, Christ; and all ye are brethren:" so ver. 10. And the apostles called themselves the "servants of Jesus Christi," and " of God."

He is called our Master, and we his servants, because he is our Rector, ex pleno dominio' with absolute propriety, and doth not give us laws to obey, while we do our own work, but giveth us his work to do, and laws for the right doing of it: and it is a service under his eye, and in dependance on him for our daily provisions, as servants on their lord. God hath work for us to do in the world; and the performance of it he will require. God biddeth his sons, "Go work to day in my vineyard';" and expecteth that they do itm. His "servants" are as husbandmen," to whom "he entrusteth his vineyard, that he may receive the fruit"."

h John xv. 5.
Matt. xxi. 28.

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i Rom. i. 1. and 1 Cor. iv. 1. Phil. i. 1.

m Ver. 31.

* Tit. i. 1.

n Ver. 33, 34. 41, 43.

"Faithful servants" shall be "made rulers over his household." Christ delivereth to his servants his talents to improve, and will require an account of the improvement at his coming. Good works, in the proper, comprehensive sense, are all actions internal and external, that are morally good but in the narrower acceptation, they are works, not only formally good, as acts of obedience in general, but also materially good, such as a servant doth for his master, that tend to his advantage, or the profit of some other, whose welfare he regardeth. Because the doctrine of Good Works is controverted in these times, I shall first open it briefly, and then give you the Directions.

1. Nothing is more certain, than that God doth not need the service of any creature; and that he receiveth no addition to his perfection or felicity from it; and, consequently, that on terms of commutative justice, (which giveth one thing for another, as in selling and buying,) no creature is capable of meriting at his hands.

2. It is certain, that on the terms of the law of works, (which required perfect obedience as the condition of life,) no sinner can do any work so good, as in point of distributive, governing justice, shall merit at his hands.

3. It is certain, that Christ hath so fulfilled the law of works, as to merit for us.

4. The redeemed are not masterless, but have still a Lord, who hath now a double right to govern them: and this governor giveth them a law and this law requireth us to do good works, as much as we are able, (though not so terribly, yet) as obligingly as the law of works: and by this (of Christ) we must be judged: and thus we must be judged according to our works and to be judged is nothing else but to be justified or condemned. Such works, therefore, are rewardable according to the distributive justice of the law of grace, by which we must be judged. And the ancient fathers, who (without any opposition) spoke of good works as meritorious with God, meant no more, but that they were such as the righteous Judge of the world will reward, according to the law of grace, by which he judgeth us. And this doctrine being agreed on as certain truth, there is no controversy left with them, but whether the

• Matt. xxiv. 45, 46.

VOL. II.

Y

P Matt. xxv. 14.