in thine own mind, and to have the true enjoyment of thyfelf, till thou livest a virtuous and religious life.

And if this discourse be true, as I am confident I have every man's conscience on my fide; I fay, if this be true, let us venture to be wife and happy; that is, to be religious. Let us refolve to break off our fins by repentance; to fear God, and keep his commandments, as ever we defire to avoid the unspeakable torments of a guilty mind, and would not be perpetually uneafy to ourselves.

Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God, that we may every one of us know and do in this our day, the things that belong to our peace, before they be hid from our eyes. And the God of peace, which brought again from the dead, our Lord Jefus Chrift, the great Thepherd of the Sheep, by the blood of the everlasting covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us that which is well-pleafing in his fight, through Jefus Chrift our Lord; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy teffi

monies.

HE two. great caufes of the ruin of men are, infie

Tdelity, and want of confideration. Some do not

believe the principles of religion; or at least have, by arguing against them, rendered them fo doubtful to themfelves, as to take away the force and efficacy of them. But thefe are but a very fmall part of mankind, in comparison of those who perifh for want of confidering thefe things: for moft men take the principles of religion for granted, That there is a God, and a providence, and a tate of rewards and punishments after this life; and ne

ver

ver entertained any confiderable doubt in their minds to the contrary; but for all this, they never attended to the proper and natural confequences of thofe principles, nor applied them to their own cafe; they never ferioufly confidered the notorious inconfiftency of their lives with this belief, and what manner of perfons they ought to be, who are verily perfuaded of the truth of thefe things.

For no man that is convinced that there is a God, and confiders the neceffary and immediate confequences. of fuch a perfuafion, can think it fafe to affront him by a wicked life. No man that believes the infinite happinefs and mifery of another world, and confiders withal that one of thefe fhall certainly be his portion according as he demeans himself in this prefent life, can think it indifferent what courfe he takes. Men may. thruft away thefe thoughts, and keep them out of their minds for a long time; but no man that enters into the serious confideration of these matters, can poffibly think it a thing indifferent to him, whether he be happy or miserable for

ever.

So that a great part of the evils of mens lives would be cured, if they would but, once lay them to heart : would they but seriously confider the confequences of a wicked life, they would fee fo plain reafon, and fo urgent a neceffity, for the reforming of it, that they would not venture to continue any longer in it. This course: David took here in the text, and he found the happy fuccefs of it: I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy teftimonies.

In which words there are these two things confiderable.

I. The course which David here took for the reform.. ing of his life: I thought on my ways.

2. The fuccefs of this courfe. It produced actual and speedy reformation: I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy teftimonies: I made hafte, and delayed not. to keep thy commandments.

Thefe are the two heads of my following discourse ;; which, when I have spoken to, I fhall endeavour to per fuade myfelf and you to take the fame courfe which Da.. vid here did; and God grant that I may have the fame: effect.

First, We will confider the course which David here took for the reforming of his life: I thought on my ways; or, as the words are rendered in our old tranf. lation, I called my own ways to remembrance. And this may either fignify a general furvey and examination of his life, refpecting indifferently the good or bad actions of it; or elfe, which is more probable, it may specially refer to the fins and mifcarriages of his life: I thought on my ways; that is, I called my fins to remembrance. Neither of these fenfes can be much amifs, in order to the effect mentioned in the text, the reformation and a. mendment of our lives: and therefore neither of them can reasonably be excluded, though I fhall principally infift upon the latter.

I. This thinking on our ways may fignify a general furvey and examination of our lives, refpecting indifferently our good and bad actions: for way is a metaphorical word, denoting the courfe of a man's life and actions. I thought on my ways; that is, I examined my life, and called myself to a ftri&t account for the actions of it; I compared them with the law of God, the rule and measure of my duty, and confidered how far I had obeyed that law, or offended against it; how much evil I had been guilty of, and how little good I had done, in comparison of what I might and ought to have done : that by this means I might come to understand the true ftate and condition of my foul; and difcerning how many and great my faults and defects were, I might amend whatever was amifs, and be more careful of my duty for the future.

And it must needs be a thing of excellent ufe, for men to fet apart fome particular times for the examination of themselves, that they may know how accounts stand between God and them. Pythagoras, or whoever was the author of thefe golden verfes which pafs under his name, doth efpecially recommend this practice to his scholars, Every night, before they flept, to call themfelves to account for the actions of the day paft; inquiring wherein they had tranfgreffed, what good they had done that day, or omitted to do. And this, no doubt, is an admirable means to improve men in virtue, a most effectual way to keep our confciences continually waking and ten

der,

der, and to make us ftand in awe of ourselves, and afraid to fin, when we know before hand that we must give fo fevere an account to ourselves of every action.

And certainly it is a great piece of wisdom, to make, up our accounts as frequently as we can, that our repentance may in fome measure keep pace with the errors and failings of our lives; and that we may not be oppreffed and confounded by the infupportable weight of the fins of a whole life falling upon us at once; and that perhaps at the very worst time, when we are fick and weak, and have neither understanding nor leisure to recollect ourselves, and to call our fins diftinctly to remembrance, much lefs to exercife any fit and proper acts of repentance for them. For there is nothing to be done in religion, when our reafon is once departed from us: then darkness hath overtaken us indeed, and the night is come, when no man can work. But though we were never fo fenfible, and should do all we can at that time; yet, after all this, how it will go with us, God alone knows. I am fure it is too much prefumption for any man to be confident, that one general and confufed act of repentance will ferve his turn for the fins of his whole life. Therefore there is great reafon why we fhould often examine ourselves, both in order to the amendment of our lives, and the eafe of our confciences when we come to die.

II. This thinking of our ways may particularly and pecially refer to the fins and mifcarriages of our lives : I thought on my ways; that is, I called my fins to remembrance: I took a particular account of the errors of my life, and laid them ferioufly to heart: I confidered all the circumftances and confequences of them, and all other things belonging to them; and reafoning the matter thoroughly with myself, came to a peremptory and fixed refolution of breaking off this wicked courfe of life, and betaking myself to the obedience of God's laws. And the confideration of our ways taken in this fenfe, which feems to be the more probable meaning of the words, may reasonably imply in it thefe following particulars.

1. The taking a particular account of our fins, toge

ther

ther with the feveral circumftances and aggravations of

them.

2. A hearty trouble and forrow for them: I thought on my ways; that is, I laid them fadly to heart.

3. A ferious confideration of the evil and unreafonableness of a finful course.

4. A due fenfe of the fearful and fatal confequences of a wicked life.

5. A full conviction of the neceffity of quitting this course.

6. An apprehenfion of the poffibility of doing this.

1. The taking of a particular account of our fins, together with the feveral circumstances and aggravations of them. And to this end we may do well to reflect particularly upon the feveral stages and periods of our lives, and to recollect at least the principal mifcarriages belonging to each of them. And, the better to enable us hereto, it will be useful to have before our eyes fome abridgement or fummary of the laws of God, containing the chief heads of our duties and fins, of virtues and vices; for this will help to bring many of our faults and neglects to our remembrance, which otherwife perhaps would have been forgotten by us. We fhould likewise confider the several relations wherein we have stood to others, and how far we have tranfgreffed or failed of our 'duty in any of these refpects.

E

And having thus far made up our fad account, we may in a great meafure understand the number and greatnefs of our fins; abating for fome particulars which are flipt out of our memory, and for fins of ignorance, and daily infirmities, which are innumerable. By all which we may fee what vile wretches, and grievous offenders, we have been; especially if we take into confideration, the feveral heavy circumstances of our fins, which do above measure aggravate them; the heinoufnefs of many of them as to their nature, and the injurious confequences of them to the perfon, or eftate, or reputation, of our neighbour; their having been committed against the clear knowledge of our duty; against the frequent checks and convictions of our confciences, telling us, when we did them, that we did amiis; against fo many motions and fuggeftions of God's Holy Spirft, fo many admoni