tion; these following confiderations have the best and most universal influence.

FIRST, Confideration of the prefence of God; who is witnefs of all our actions, and a revenger of all impiety. This is fo great an inftrument of fear and religion, that whoever doth actually confider God to be present, and confiders what that fignifies, either must be reftrained from the present temptation, or must have thrown off all the poffibilities and aptneffes for virtue; such as are modefty, and reverence, and holy fear. For if the face of a man scatters all base contrivances, and we dare not act our crimes in publick, unless we be impudent as well as criminal; much more doth the fenfe of a prefent deity fill the places of our heart with veneration and the awe of religion, when it is thoroughly comprehended and actually confidered. We fee not God, he is not in our thoughts, when we run into darkness. to act our impurities. For we dare not perpetrate a crime, if a child be prefent: the child is fent off with an excuse, and God abides there, but yet we commit the crime :

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crime: It is because, as Jacob faid at Bethel, God was in that place and we knew not of it; and yet we neither breathe, nor move, but in him, and by his affiftance. In him we live, and move, and have our being. All things are naked and open in his fight. He that made the eye, shall not be fee? To him the night and day are both alike. Thefe, and many more to the fame defign, are the voices of fcripture, that our spirits may retire into the beholding of God, to the purposes of fear and holiness; with whom we cohabit by the neceffities of nature, and the condition of our being. And then only we may fin fecurely, when we can contrive to do it fo, that God may not fee us.

They who walk as in the divine prefence, perceive the fame reftraints in darknefs, and closets, and folitude, as in the open day-light; and that confideration imposeth upon us a happy neceffity of doing virtuously, which prefents us placed in the eyes of our judge. If every man would confider God to be the great eye of the world, watching perpetually over all our actions,

actions, and that his hand is indefatigable, and his ear ever open; it would go nigh to extirpate fin from off the face of the earth. Whatfoever amongst men, can be a reftraint of vice, or an endearment of virtue; all this holds infinitely ftronger with refpect to God, to whom our confcience in its very concealments is perfectly open and known. And if we fail of the advantage of this exercife, it must proceed either from our difhonourable opinion of God, or our own fearless inadvertency; or from a direct fpirit of impiety. For it is certain, that this confideration is in its own nature apt to correct our manners, to produce the fear of God, and humility, and fpiritual and holy thoughts, and the knowledge of God and of ourselves, and the confequents of all these, holy walking and holy comforts.

But then, this prefence of God muft not be a mere fpeculation of the underftanding; but then only we walk in the prefence of God, when by faith we behold him prefent, when we speak to him in frequent and holy prayers, when we beg aid from him in all our needs, VOL. IV. U

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and afk counsel of him in all our doubts, and before him bewail our fins, and tremble at his prefence. This is an entire exercife of religion. And befides that the prefence of God ferves to all this, it hath alfo efpecial influence in the difimprovement of temptations; because it hath in it many things contrary to the nature and efficacy of temptations; fuch as are, confideration, reverence, fpiritual thoughts, and the fear of God. For wherever this confideration is actual, there either God is highly defpifed, or elfe is certainly feared.

THE next great inftrument against temptation is, Meditation of death. It is infallibly and unalterably appointed for all men once to die; that is, to pass from hence to a condition of eternity, good or bad. Now because this law is certain, and the time and manner of its execution is uncertain, and upon this fhort life eternity depends, and that after this life the final fentence is irrevocable, that all the pleafures here are fudden, tranfient, and unfatisfying, and vain; he muft needs be an egregious

egregious fool, that knows not how to diftinguish moments from eterniiy. And fince it is a condition of neceffity, established by divine decrees, and fixed by the indifpenfable laws of nature, that we shall after a very little duration pafs on to a condition unknown and unalterable; this, when it is confidered, muft in all reafon make the fame impreffion upon our understandings and affections, which naturally all ftrange things and all great confiderations are apt to do; that is, create refolutions and refults paffing through the heart of man, fuch as are reasonable and prudent, in order to our own felicities; that we neglect the vanities of the present temptation, and fecure our future condition; which will, till time itself fhall be no more, remain fuch as we make it to be by our deportment, in this short tranfition and paffage through the world.

And when a man ftands every day, as it were, at the door of eternity, which is ready to open upon him; and every night one day of our life is gone and paffed into the poffeffion of death; it will concern