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without God in the World; and, by neglecting to give that Honour due to his Name, I had forfeited the Favour of the Almighty, and that heavenly Paradife, which the Smiles of his Countenance and Prefence alone can conftitute: Not for Adam's Fault imputed to me, but my own actual Difobedience, refufing that reasonable Service and Homage which he expects and requires from all his rational Creatures. I had been remifs in Acknowledgments to my great Creator, and merciful Benefactor, at whofe bountiful Hand I had received not only a spiritual Bleffing, or Gift of Grace in my Heart, but I was indebted to divine Beneficence for a large Share of temporal Bleffings; neither of which was received or refpected, with a proper Gratitude, nor applied to the Purpofes (I am fince convinced and perfwaded in my Understanding) they were defigned for, by the holy Difpenfer.

And 1. The Seed (or Word) fown in my Heart by the great Hufbandman, was not fuffer'd to fructify, or bring forth Fruit, agreeable to the Praife and Glory of God, as the Cares of this' Life, and the Deceitfulness of Riches, enter'd in and choak'd the Seed, and it thereby became unfruitful: And not only the Cares and Concerns of the World, which fometimes become acci dentally unlawful, but the vain Pleasures, irrati

onal

+ To refute this Doctrine, read Dr. Whitby's Treatise on what is call'd Original Sin. In the Courfe of my Remarks, I choose to produce other Authorities than thofe of our own Society; fince fuch is the unaccountable Prejudice of fome People, that they will reject Truth and Reafon, for no other Caufe, but that it is offer'd by one call'd a Quaker.

onal Recreations, trifling, unedifying, and pernicious Books, with all the Train of idle Amusements, to which the World commonly annex the soft and gentle Epithet of Innocent, ingrofs'd my precious Time; the proper Improvement of which, wife Men, in all Ages, esteemed the highest Point of Wisdom, and of fo inestimable a Confideration, as occafions a late pious Author to affert, that the Man was yet unborn, who truly knew the Value of an Hour.

And the Apostle Paul, in an earnest Manner, exhorts the Believers to redeem the Time, because the Days are evil; and again, directs the Church to walk in Wisdom towards them that are without, redeeming the Time. That Time was valuable, and to be well employ'd and improv'd, I had often heard; but falfe, delufive Pleafure unwilling to hear, or at least to yield to the Voice of Truth, robb'd me of that Bleffing I am now, thro' God's Affiftance, endeavouring to redeem and improve, agreeable to the Apoftle's Advice, Pass the Time of your Sojourning here in Fear (and Reverence) fearing to offend the Infinite Majefty of Heaven, who takes Cognizance of every Thought, Word, and Action. But alas! this Truth and Confideration never so much as occurr'd, when I was spending my Days in Vanity, and my Years in unprofitable Purfuits; forgetting the holy One of Ifrael, Days without Number; never fo much as remarking the royal Prophet's Affertion, That " (not only the flagrantly wicked) but those who forget God, fhall be turn'd into Hell.

And the Prophet Jeremiah tells us, God will pour out of his Anger upon the Families that call

not

not upon his Name, Jer. x. 25. And God declares, that he had fuffered the Defolation of bis People Ifrael, because they had forgotten him, and burnt Incenfe unto Vanity; that they had forgot him, and trufted to Faifhood; that according to their Paftures or Poffeffions, fo were they fill'd, and their Hearts thereby exalted; therefore have they forgotten me, faith the Lord. And the Prophet Hofea complains, that Ifrael had forgot his Maker, and builded Temples to Idols; that the Calf (or Idols) of Samaria had caft them out of his Favour; for they had Jown Vanity and the Wind, and should reap the Whirlwind; that Strangers fhould fwallow them up, the Enemy fhould purfue them, and a Fire fhould devour their

Palaces.

These are some of the difmal and deplorable Effects of Sin, and the terrible Penalties Sinners who forget God, and make to themselves Idols of Vanity, are obnoxious to, in this Life; where the temporal Confequences of Sin appear terrible and fhocking, which one would think a fufficient Reason to deter People from every Appearance of Evil; but when we reflect on this Truth, viz. That without fincere returning to God by Repentance, and Amendment of Life; and being reconcil'd to bim thro' Sanctification of our Spirits by Chrift Jefus, the Punishment for our Sins will attend us to all Eternity, and will affuredly deprive us of that Reft and Peace prepar'd only for the People of God: How fhould this Thought fpeedily remove from every Heart, that is not quite infenfible and obdurate, the dangerous Sin of Unbelief in the Power of God, and excite them

to

to apply to the Father of Mercies for Remiffion of Sin by Christ Jefus! But fome may cbject, That tho' many, call'd Chriftians, live in too much Forgetfulness of God, yet they cannot be chargeable with worshipping of Idols, as the Jews were; fo that the above Scripture Paffages cannot be altogether applicable to them.

I fhall answer this Objection in the Words of one of the first Movers of the Reformation, viz.

Dr. John Staupitz : "He that prefers any

Thing that is outward and temporal before "God, prefers the Creature before the Creator; "and robs God of his Glory and highest "Honour, and makes that to be his God, which " is not God: For that which the Heart loves "moft, the fame it honours as God, what"foever the Mouth may fay to the contrary. "Who knows not, that if a Chriftian fhould

1

now-a-days say, that his Goods, &c. were his God, he would be condemn'd as a Blafphemer; " and yet who is there of us, who doth not fee "in the daily Practice and Actions of Men, "that temporal Goods, Pleasure and Honour,

་་

are preferr'd before God, and his Love to that

Degree, that it is Matter of Lamentation? "We will by no Means endure the Reproach of "being Idolaters, tho' indeed we are fo, really "and in Truth, no less than others were of old: "At this very Day, O gracious God! many in "Christendom worship Gold, Silver, Wood, and "the Goods of this World, as the Heathens did "Thousands of Years ago, notwithstanding they

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fay with their Mouths, Our Father, which art in "Heaven! But true Adoration confists in loving, << not

"not in fpeaking. He prays well, who loves "God moft; and he who does not love God, "neither does nor can pray, tho' he repeat a "thousand Pfalms or Prayers: He who loves "God, ferves him; but he who does not love " him, neither doth, nor can ferve him, how་་ ever great Works of Devotion he may outwardly perform."

But to return: In this careless and forgetful Situation, which I have mentioned, was I, when the Almighty dispensed a Share of his temporal Favours to me, which I received with a stupid Indifference, and without Thanksgiving, as they were common Mercies; and like a certain brute Animal, who devours the Fruit which falls from a Tree, without looking up to fee from whence it comes: So I received the Bleffings of Providence no otherwise, but as Things of Chance, or of Courfe, or the Effect of Care and Induftry; not confidering whofe Hand was neceffary to render our Endeavours fuccefsful and profperous; nor that the fame Power that beftows and difpenfes Bleffings and Mercies, can in a Moment remand and call them back, and deprive us of them whenever he pleafes; and that for every Morfel we eat, we are indebted to God's Bounty and Goodness, and not to our own Wisdom or Prudence. In a Word, that in him we live, move, and have our Being. But how infenfible was I of these Truths, when, in Effect, I lived as if I had been an unaccountable and independent Being, and vainly thought my Mountain was made so strong, that it would never be removed! I was rich and full, and needed nothing, when alas! I was poor and

miferable,

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