nefs of God, in the Distributions of his Providence, than fuch; to conceive not only indecent, angry, and falfe, but pro10 fane and blafphemous Notions of him: None more apt tofollow the defperate Advice of Job's Wife; Curfe God, and die, Job. ii. 9. than fuch worldly, repining, difcontented Wretches, as place all their Heaven here. And that this is true, I think is a matter fufficiently plain by our own Experience; and 'tis eafy to produce Instances not a few. And therefore to be humble, contented, and bleffing God; not charging him foolishly, or thinking of him unworthily in every State and Condition, I look upon to be part of the means in order to the avoiding profane and blafphemous Thoughts.

V. Another Rule which may be obferv'd to this end, is, That when at any time we are affaulted with fuch profane Thoughts, we immediately with a facred Fear, caft them out of our Minds: For profane or blafphemous Thoughts are eIpecially fuch as we fhould not itay to argue or difpute with. And therefore we find that tho' our Bleffed Lord thought fit to argue with the Devil in other Temptations, yet when he fuggefteth profane Thoughts of God to him, our Saviour seems to vary in his Defence, and imme

diately bids him be gone; Mat. iv. 10. ürays Zaravã, Get thee hence Satan, &c. And then ('tis faid) The Devil left him, and behold Angels came and miniftred unto him, ver. 11.

Whenever therefore this happens to be your Cafe, that you are troubled with fuch horrid, profane, or blafphemous 'Thoughts of God, immediately caft them out; do not let your Mind dwell upon them one Moment; but do with this kind of evil Thoughts in particular, as you were taught to do in the Seventh Direction for the well-governing our Thoughts in general.

In the next Place, it is advisable, that at that time when we are affaulted with them, we fend up an Ejaculation to Heaven, and lift up our Hearts to God in a fhort Prayer, that he would be pleased to cleanse our Hearts of them, and preferve us from them. When any fuch abominable Thought prefents itself to thee, cry out, O Lord, keep me! O Lord, fave me! O Lord, let not the Devil have Advantage over me! Lord, I defire to love, and adore thee with all my Heart, with all my Soul, and with all my Might. O Lurd, thou knoweft that I am grieved at fuck Thoughts as thefe; and earnestly defire to bave my Thoughts of thee to be fuck, as

thofe

thofe Bleffed Spirits Entertain, who are continually in the blissful Prefence, &c. And not only in Ejaculatory, but in our fet Prayers, and conftant Devotions fhould we offer them up to God ; purge and acquit ourselves of them in his fight, and lay open the fincere and vehement Defires of our Souls, to be rid of them. And by this means it is hop'd that we shall at length be freed from them. Though they may not prefently depart from us, but continue to moleft us, even in our Prayers, and moft Solemn Duties, as they often will; though Almighty God may fuffer them to be injected into our Mind, for wife and beneficial Ends, which are unfeen, as (no doubt) he frequently doth, yet I think this is what very well becomes one that is afflicted with profane or blafphemous Thoughts, and a proper way to cafe his Mind of them.

VII. Again: In order to the remedying profane and blafphemous Thoughts, have a fpecial Reverence of the Name of God. Never hear it mentioned without a facred Veneration, and Awe upon thy Soul: Let thy Heart bow down at the Mention of him. Never let his Name be in thy Mouth but with Devotion; nor ever hear others pronounce it rafhly or profanely, in common Swearing, or Curfing, without an

holy

holy Dread; and (if it may be done effectually) a fober Reproof. A cuftomary and heedlefs naming the Name of God, leads to Profanenefs, and encourageth blafphemous Thoughts of him.

And therefore 'tis a dangerous Evil to have the Name of God, or Christ in our Mouths flightly or jeftingly; or upon any frivolous Occafion, or in the Repetition of a Story, &c. The Apoftle faith, That at the Name of Jefus every Knee should bow, of Things in Heaven, and Things in Earth, and Things under the Earth. All the heavenly Hoft pay a moft profound Reverence to that Name, which Men prostitute, and make fo vile. And until we endeavour to imitate their Adorations, we fhall not cafily be preferved from fuch Thoughtsas are horridly profane. It is hard to imagine how that Perfon can be kept from thinking unworthily of God, who makes nothing of ufing his Name in his common Difcoufe, or upon the most petty Occafions.

VIII. One Rule more which I would recommend to the Purpose in Hand, is this: Labour to know God, if thou. would't think highly, and worthily of him. The Knowledge of God is a proper Remedy againft profane Thoughts. Now there is a Knowledge of God which

We

f

we may not feek after, as to know his Effence, his Decrees, &c. To endeavour fo to know him, is a vain, as well as a prefumptuous Thing; as was hinted before in this Chapter. But there is a Knowledge of God, which we may and ought to make our Search and Study; viz. The Knowledge of his glorious Attributes, his Will, and Commandments; and those Things that in his Word he hath revealed on purpose to be known, in order to Man's prefent Happiness, and future Perfection. Such a Knowledge of him as this every good Man will earnestly endeavour after, and ufe all means of attaining; and the rather because it is indeed an Expedient of avoiding fuch profane Thoughts of God as many are grievously troubled with. Ignorance is here fo far from being the Mother of Devotion, that nothing more tends to make our Thoughts of God vile, and blafphemous. The Truth of this abundantly appears from the various and monitrous Idolatries of the Gentile World, and the grofs and horrid Conceptions they had of their Deities. And alfo from the Idolatries of the Church of Rome, and that grofs and carnal Way of Worship amongst them used; efpecially in the darkeft Ages of Popery. When 'tis almoft incredible to tell what Abfurdities and Profaneneffes,