will of our enemies, than that we should be at war with God and our own confciences. So faith our Saviour exprefsly, Luke xii. 4: Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: fear him which, after he hath killed, bath power to caft into hell; yea, I fay unto you, fear him.

But if this be fo unhappy a condition, how comes it to pass, that fo many are so easy under it? One would rather expect, that onehalf of the world fhould be distracted with the fears of what fhall become of them. Why truly fo they would, if they did but fee the danger they are in: but there are ways of preventing this.

Some there are, whofe confciences are hardened, or (as the apoftle expreffes it') seared with a hot iron. It cannot be expected that these fhould feel any uneasiness.

There are others who make their minds eafy by purposing fome time or other to lead a new life, and fo to die in the favour of God.

Many fear no danger, because they perform the outward acts of Chriftian worship as well as others.

Laftly: The greatest part of men feek for ease, and in fome measure find it, in the great variety of business, in the great variety of pleafures, in worldly cares, and worldly company.

And the very reason why people choose any of these methods of eafe, before a more perfect

f 1 Tim. iy. 2.

fect acquaintance with themselves, is the fad apprehenfion of knowing God to be their enemy, and an unwillingness to do what is neceffary to gain his friendship.

It is not our business, at prefent, to fhew the extreme folly of laying confcience asleep, by these or any other ways; but this is fit to be taken notice of, that there is a vaft difference betwixt peace of confcience, and fearing no danger.

A man may be afleep on the top of a mast, (as Solomon obferves) and fear no danger; but it cannot be faid, that he is in fafety. One may stifle, divert, bribe, and fear, the confcience; one may wink hard, and ftop his ears, fo that he shall neither hear, nor fee the mifchief that is ready to befal him; and yet the danger is as near him as if he saw it.

But peace of confcience, arifing from the knowledge of God's goodness, and our fincere endeavours of doing what we know will please him, is both fafe and grateful; and while we enjoy the bleffing of this calm, we need not fear a ftorm will follow.

II. How we may obtain this blessed peace, we come now to confider. But first let us confider, that the conditions of this peace cannot poffibly be hard or unreasonable.

As God has a right to give us laws, fo all his laws do proceed from his goodness and kindness for his creatures: For never (faith the wife Man") would God have made any 8 Prov. xxiii. 34. h Wifd. xi. thing,

24.

thing, if he had hated it. Here then let us fix our firm belief, That the love of God for us was the foundation of all that he has commanded us to believe or do, in order to our happiness.

He only knows, what can make us happy, what we can do ourselves, what help we shall want, what enemies we fhall meet with, what difpofitions are neceffary to fit us for that happiness he has defigned for us: and all his commands (which are the conditions of our peace) are given for these very ends; and not to be a burthen to us.

After all, we must not imagine, that this great bleffing is to be obtained without trouble. To get out of the fnare of the devil; to break off evil habits; to accuftom one'sself to virtuous actions; to make the service of God one's delight; this will require pains, and patience, and prayers, and fearchings of heart, before it is brought about: and fure it is worth all this, to be poffeffed of that peace which arifeth from an affurance of being beloved of God.

To come to the conditions of this peace we are speaking of;—how it is to be obtained.

Now; all our fears arifing from a sense of our having offended God, our peace can no otherwife be made, than by obtaining his pardon, receiving the terms of grace which he proposes, and refolving to be more fearful of offending him for the time to come; or, in other words, the conditions of our peace

are,

are, Repentance, faith, and obedience. By repentance, we are reconciled to God; by faith, we understand what will please God, and are encouraged to undertake it; by obedience, we gain fuch difpofitions as fit us for heaven.

He that would find reft unto his foul, has this and this way only of obtaining it:-He may lay his conscience afleep; he may please himself with ways of his own devising; he may flatter himself that God will be merciful to him, though he should not observe these methods of peace; but fafe it is impoffible for any man to be, except in the way of God's appointment.

Let us now fee what the scriptures fay upon thefe conditions of peace.

And first, of repentance. St. Paul affures us,' that this is the foundation of our peace with God, and upon which he will acknowledge us: Let every one that nameth the name of Chrift, (that pretends to be his fervant) depart from iniquity? How depart from iniquity? Why, not only confefs our fins, (which we are ready enough to do, and lament our weakneffes) but fincerely refolve, for the time to come, to forfake every evil way, to avoid all fin, and the occafions of it.

But we are befet with temptations, and in many things we offend all. Muft not we, therefore, hope for pardon and peace, when at any time we have been overtaken in a fault? Yes, fure; but on this condition only, that when I repent

i 2 Tim. ii. 19.

I repent of any fault, I do at the fame time fincerely refolve, not to repeat that fault in particular; and to the best of my power, to do as I have refolved, praying for grace as well as pardon: otherwife, he that does not keep a ftricter watch over fuch fins as do most eafily befet him, muft not too confidently hope for pardon: which obliges me to take notice of a mistake which people are too apt to run into.

We are apt to conclude, that if in the main our lives be tolerable, for a flip now and then there is no great harm in it. But pray let us confider, that fuch flips as thefe, if wilful, are a plain difowning of God's authority, and as plain a forfeiture of his favour, and the peace which attends it.

All at present that I shall say to this mistake is this: See what are thofe fins which the fcriptures fay will keep men out of heaven. If your fin, which you now and then indulge, be one of those, (as to be fure it is) why then depend upon it, it will fhut you out of heaven; and that it is all one how many other good qualifications you had; they will be of no use to you.

In fhort; he that calleth finners to repentance, calleth them from all their fins. And It is the greatest inftance of presumption, to hope that God will pafs by any wilful fins, because we serve him in other things; as if our service profited him more than ourselves.

But