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your own hearts, they will discover very much fin. But,

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3. We fhall in the next place take a view of you in your converfe in the world, and there fee whether we can find you guilty of fin or not. And with refpect to your converse in the world, I would pofe you upon a few things. And,

1. I put the question to you, What company do ye make choice of? Do ye choofe the company of them that fear God, or the company of irreligious perfons? I am fure, if many of you deal impartially with your own hearts in this matter, ye will find guilt. Your confciences can tell, That you have the greatest intimacy with perfons who have no religion, perfons who have no fear of God before their eyes; not regarding what the wife man long ago obferved, That he that walks with the wife fhall be wife, but a companion of fools fhall be deftroyed, Prov. xiii. 20. And fuch are all irreligious men in God's account. I would not be understood to extend this too far, as fome, through a mistake dangerous enough, do, as if thereby we were forbid civil or neighbourly con verfe with perfons that are not religious; for this is not only lawful, but a duty; we have not only fcripture commands to this purpose, but the very law of nature obliges us to it: and we are fure,God did never by any pofitive precept enjoin us any thing contrary to this. Nay, upon the contrary, we fee plainly, That a walk according to the law of nature in this matter, is highly congruous to religion. If fuch perfons do vifit us, we may vifit them again, and carry it friendly. This is one part of that courteousness that the apostle Peter enjoins us, Pet. iii. 8. Finally, be ye all of one mind, having, compaffion one of another; love

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as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous. And whereas the refufal of civil converfe, in enquiring after one another's health, vifiting at fome times, and the like acts of kindness, is looked upon by fome as a piece of strictness and perfection, it is quite otherwife; for the very contrary is determined to be a piece of a perfection, by our great Lord and Mafter, who is the beft judge, Matth. v. 47, 48. And if ye falute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans fo? Be therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect. The plain meaning of which is this, A Chriftian fhould be a man every way beyond others, and fhould have fomething peculiar in the whole of his conduct; but if ye deal only civilly and neighbourly with these of your own perfuafion, with thefe who in every thing do jump with you, wherein do ye go beyond the publicans and finners, the moft fignally impious wretches that the world can fhew again? Even thieves and robbers will keep fome correfpondence and civility toward thefe of their own fort; but chriftian perfection calls for more enlargement of foul, and requires that we carry obligingly to all, and perform, as occafion calls, all the duties of love, which comprehend certainly these of civil converfe and neighbourlifiéfs, as the apoftle puts beyond all queftion, 1 Cor. x. 27. If any of them that believe not, bid you to a feast, and ye be dif pofed to go; whatsoever is fet before you, eat, afking no queftion for confcience fake. Thus we fee Chriftians are allowed to converfe civilly with thefe who are unbelievers. And indeed not to do fo, has a tendency to bring the way of God into contempt, and to make religion to be evil fpoken of, and is contrary to the very fpirit of the gofpel, and

these many exprefs commands which we have of adorning the gofpel, and of converfing, so as thereby we may leave a teftimony upon the confciences of men. Nay, it is to bear witness against God's goodness, and to rub fhame upon our religion, as if it did narrow our fouls, and make us defective in these duties which it obliges us to abound in. But though what we have faid doth condemn the unchriftian rigidity of fome, yet it will not justify the unwarrantable choice of perfons who have no religion, for our intimates, or for our ordinary and daily companions. No, we are obliged to guard against this. If we do this, we are out of our duty, and therefore have no reason to promife to ourselves God's protection. A perfon that walks, that ordinarily converfes. with fuch men, has reafon to fear that the Lord may leave him to become like to them: and this intimacy, I fear, is what most of you are guiltty of

2. I would ask you, What company do ye delight moft in? This is a great indication of the frame of the heart. A man that takes most pleafuse in the company of irreligious perfons, furely fins in it. Some, when they are in the company of the godly,, carry it as if they thought themselves in fetters; and when ever they get out of it, to their own companions again, their minds are at eafe, and they find fatisfaction; as a man doth that is loofed out of the stocks. Are there none here whofe confciences can tell them that they are of this number? Let fuch look to the I Pfal. and I ver. and there they will fee how far otherwife they ought to carry it.

3. I would further put the queftion to you, What converfe do you delight in? Some, it may

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be, like well enough the company of perfons that are religious; but it is not for their religious converfe, but because they are affable, difcreet, learned, judicious, or have fome other fuch qualifications as these. If any of you fay ye love the company of religious perfons is it for the religi on of their converfe? I fear few can say it. And therefore few can say they are clean in this matter. I fhall not undertake to difcourfe of all the fins of converfe: it were almost endless. Only I would, with respect to your converfe, defire you every night to put a queftion or two to your own hearts, and thereby you will discover much fin. (1.) Say, Tell me now, O my foul, what have I been doing in company? Have I bridled my tongue? Have I kept it from vain, idle and fruitlefs difcourfe, this day in company with others? James i. 26. If any man among you feem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, that man's religion is vain: and confequently all he doth is fin. (2.) Have I endeavoured to be edifying in my discourse? Eph. iv. 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good, to the ufe of edifying, that it may minifter grace to the hearers. (3.) Have I Spoken evil of no body? Tit. iii. 2. Put them in mind to speak evil of no man; for we ourselves alfo were fometimes foolish, disobedient, etc. 1 Pet. . 1. Wherefore, laying afide all malice, and all guile and hypocrifies, and envies, and all evil Speakings, as new-born babes defire the fincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. One that would obferve the ordinary converse of moft part of people, would be ready to think, that either they never read or heard these laws, or that they never obferved what they heard. Look to your

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yourselves here, and obferve your own ways, and O what fin will appear in them! These three queftions will difcover almoft innumerable fins every day and if one day have fo many, what will many days have? Nay, how many fins in fome months or years will you be guilty of? But,

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4. If we proceed to confider you as you are related to others, we will be fure to make further difcoveries, of fin in your carriage. All of you stand some one or more ways related to others; ye are either mafters or fervants, parents or childrens, hulbands or wives: now every one of these relations have peculiar duties belonging to them; and lay thefe who contract fuch relations, under peculiar obligations to walk according to the rules prefcribed them of God: and therefore we may and do fin, in walking contrary to thefe divine preferiptions. We fhall not attempt to mention the particular fins you may be guilty of in your feveral relations; this were a work that would almoft be endlefs: therefore we fhall only pitch upon fome generals which may difcover to your confciences that ye fin in all of them. (1.) I fay most of you do fin in contracting these relations. How few mafters dare fay, That in the choice of their fervants, they went to God for counfel? And how few mafters can fay, that ever they acknowleged God in the choice of their fervants? Nay, it may, when ye have been anxioully defirous to have good fervants, even then ye have not been at pains to confult God; not minding that gracious direction that is given by the Spirit of God, Phil: iv. 6. Be careful for nothing; in every thing by prayer and fupplicati on, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Nay, is it not to be feared, That

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