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ftate of Christians, are to be limited, as doubtlefs they were intended, principally to those first times, and by no means to be equally extended to all ages of the church. At first, indeed, whoever embraced the profeffion of Christianity, did thereby expofe themselves to all the fufferings which the power and malice of the world could afflict them withal; but fince the kingdoms of the earth became the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Chrift, and the governors of the world began to be patrons of the church, it is fo far from being univerfally true, that every Christian hath fuffered the violence of perfecution, that it hath been a rare case, and happened only in fome few ages, and to fome perfons: fo that this is acciden tal to a state of religion, and therefore ought not to be reckoned among the ordinary difficulties of it. And when it happens, God gives extraordinary supports, and promifes mighty rewards to make it tolerable.

2. This difcourfe, concerning the eafinefs of God's commands, does all along fuppofe and acknowledge the difficulties of the firft entrance upon a religious courfe, except only in thofe perfons who have had the happiness to be trained up to religion, by the easy and infenfible degrees of a pious and virtuous education. Thefe in deed are freed from a great deal of pains and difficulty, which others, who are reclaimed from a bad courfe of life, muft expect to undergo. They are in a great mea fure excufed from the pangs of the new birth, from the pains of a fudden and violent change, from the terrors of an affrighted mind, and from the deep and piercing forrows of a more folemn repentance. Whereas thole who have lived wickedly before, must look to meet with: a great deal more trouble; because they are put upon changing the whole courfe of their life at once, and muft contend with inveterate habits, and offer no fmall violence to themselves in plucking up thofe vices which have been rooted in them by long cuftom and conti nuance. This indeed is grievous, and muft needs be fenfibly painful, like the plucking out of a right eye, or the cutting of a right hand: for in this cafe a man must ftrive against the very bent and inclination of his ftrongeft appetites, against the tyranny of cuftom, and the mighty power of a fecond nature. But this is no juft reflection

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reflection upon religion; because this does not proceed from the nature of God's laws, but from an accidental indifpofition in ourselves, which religion is apt to remove and if we will but allow fome time of trouble, and uneafinefs for the cure, when that is once wrought, the commands of God will be, more eafy and delightful. to us than ever our fins and lufts were.

3. Nor does this exclude our after care and diligence. For when the apoftle fays, that the commandments of God are not grievous, he does by no means intend to infinuate, that they are calculated for flothful and lazy perfons, that they are fo eafy as to require no industry and endeavour on our part: he only aims to prevent a tacit objection, which lies at the bottom of many mens. hearts, as if religion were a moft grievous and intolerable burden, and there were more trouble, and lefs pleafure in it, than in any other action of human life.. This he utterly denies; but does not hereby intend to exclude fuch diligence and industry as men use about other matters. And if I fhould tell you, that the bufinefs of religion does not require a very vigorous profecution and great earneflness of endeavour, I fhould speak quite befides the holy fcriptures; which fo frequently, command feeking, and firiving, and labouring; befides. many other fuch phrafes, that import diligence and earneftness. And indeed it were unfit that fo excellent and glorious a reward as the, gofpel-promises,. fhould stoop. down like fruit upon a full-laden bough, to be plucked by every idle and wanton hand; that heaven thould be prostituted to the lazy defires and faint wifhes, to the cheap and ordinary endeavours of flothful men. God will not fo much difparage eternal life and happiness, as to beftow it upon thofe who have conceived fo low an opinion of it, as not to think it worth the labouring for. And furely this is fufficient to recommend religion to any confiderate, man, if the advantages of it be much greater than of any worldly defign that we can propound to ourselves, and the difficulties of it not greater. If the fame ferioufnefs, and induftry of endeavour, which men commonly use, to raise a fortune, and advance themfelves in the world, will ferve to make a man a. good man, and to bring him to heaven, what reafon. hath.

hath any man to complain of the hard terms of religion? And I think I may truly fay, that ufually lefs than this does it for God confiders our condition in this world, and the preffing neceffities of this life; that we are flesh, as well as fpirit; and that we have great need of these things; and therefore he allows us to be very fedulous and industrious about them. However,. this I am fure of, that if men would be as serious to fave their immortal fouls, as they are to fupport these dying. bodies; if they would but provide for eternity with the fame folicitude and real care as they do for this life; if they would but seek heaven with the fame ardour of affection, and vigour of profecution, as they seek earthly things; if they would but love God as much as many men do the world, and mind godliness as much as men ufually do gain; if they would but go to church s with as good a will as men ordinarily do to their markets and fairs, and be in as good earnest at their devo tions as men commonly are in driving a bargain; they would but endure fome troubles and inconveniences in the ways of religion, with the fame patience and conftancy as they can do ftorms, and foul ways and mifchances, when they are travelling about their wordly occafions; if they would but avoid bad company, as men ufe to do cheaters, and reject the tempta-tions of the devil and the world, as they would do the kind words and infinuations of a man whom they verily believe to have a defign to over-reach them: I am confident that fuch a one could not fail of heaven; and would be much furer of it upon thefe terms, than any man that doth all the other things could be of getting an eftate, or of attaining any thing in this world

And cannot every man do thus much? All that I have faid fignifies no more, but that men fhould use their fincere endeavours. And this furely every man can do: for to use our fincere endeavours, is nothing else but to do as much as we can; and it is nonfenfe for any man to deny that he can do as much as he can. And if we would do thus much, we are fure of God's s grace affistance; which is never wanting to the fincere endeavours of men. But men-expect that religion fhould coft them no pains; that happinefs fhould drop into their

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laps, without any defign and endeavour on their parts and that, after they have done what they please while they live, God fhould fnatch them up to heaven when they die. But though the commandments of God be not grievous, yet it is fit to let men know that they are not. thus eafy.

4. All the difficulties of religion are very much allay-· ed and sweetened by hope and by love. By the hopes of a mighty reward, fo great as is enough to raife us above ourselves, and to make us break through all diffi-. culties and difcouragements. And by the love of God, who hath taken all imaginable ways to endear himself to us. He gave us our beings; and when we were fallen from that happinefs to which at first we were defigned, he was pleased to restore us to a new capacity of it, by fending his only Son into the world to die for us. So that, if we have any fenfe of kindnels, we cannot but love him who hath done fo much to oblige us; andif we love him entirely, nothing that he commands will · be grievous to us: nay, fo far from that, that the greatest pleasure we are capable of will be to please him." For nothing is difficult to love. It will make a man de-. ny himfelf, and cross his own inclinations, to pleasure. them whom he loves. It is a paffion of a strange power where it reigns, and will caufe a man to fubmit to those things with delight, which in other circumstances would feem grievous to him. Jacob ferved for Rachel Seven years, and after that feven years more; and they feemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. Did but the love of God rule in our hearts, and had we as real an affection for him as fome men have for their friends, there are no fuch difficulties in religion but what love would conquer; and the fevereft parts of it would become eafy, when they were once undertaken by a wil ling mind.

5. There is incomparably more trouble in the ways of fin and vice, than in thofe of religion and virtue. Every notorious fin is naturally attended with fome inconvenience of harm, or danger, or difgrace; which the finner feldom confiders, till the fin be committed, and then he is in a labyrinth; and, in feeking the way out of a prefent inconvenience, he intangles himself in more. He is glad to make use of indirect arts, and laborious crafts,

crafts, to avoid the confequences of his faults; and many times is fain to cover one fin with another; and the more he strives to difintangle himself, the more is he frared in the work of his own hands. Into what per plexities did David's fin bring him? fuch as by all his power and arts he could not free himself from. He was glad to commit a greater crime, to avoid the fhame of a lefs; and could find no other way to conceal his adul tery, but by plunging himself into the guilt of murder. And thus it is proportionably in all other vices. The ways of fin are crooked paths, full of windings and turnings; but the way of holiness and virtue is a highway, and lies fo plain before us, that wayfaring men, though fools, fhall not err therein, If. xxxv. 8. There needs

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no fkill to keep a man's felf true and honeft, if we will but refolve to deal justly, and to speak the truth to our neighbour nothing in the whole world is eafier; for there is nothing of artifice and reach required, to enable a man to. fpeak as he thinks, and to do to others as he would be dealt withal himself.

And as the ways of fin are full of intricacy and perplexities, fo likewife of trouble and difquiet. There is no man that wilfully commits any fin, but his confcience fmites him for it, and, his guilty mind is frequently gal led with the remembrance of it; but the reflection upon honeft and virtuous actions, hath nothing of regret and difquiet in it. No man's confcience ever troubled him for not being dishoneft; no man's reafon ever chal. lenged him for not being drunk; no man ever broké. his fleep, or was haunted with fears of divine vengeance, because he was confcious to himself, that he had lived foberly, and righteously, and godly, in the world. But with the ungodly it is not fo. There is no man that is knowingly wicked, but he is guilty to himfelf; and there is no man that carries guilt about him, but he hath received a fting into his foul, which makes him reftlefs, fo that he can never have any perfect ease and pleasure in his mind.

I might have defcended to particular inftances, and have fhewn, how much more troublefome the practice of every fin and vice is, than the exercife of the contrary grace and virtue. But that would be too large a fubjects to be brought within the limits of a fingle difcourfe.

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