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Who takes not the Corinthians for distracted Men, when they abused the Ambaffadors of a powerful Republick, which could crush them into Ruin? And art not thou as much befide thy self when thou dost vilifie and flight the Meffage of the King of Heaven, and not only ftoppeft thine Ears against the Offers of Mercy, but putteft ill Constructions on the Endeavours of God to convert thee, as if he intended to rob thee of thy Happiness, when nothing but that Endeavour can procure it? Is this thy Wifdom, to neglect the weightieft Concerns, and spend thy time in admiring Bubbles? Is this thy Wisdom, with Rehoboam, to defpife the Counsel of the Grave and Ancient, and follow the Advice of young Men; to neglect what the Ancient of days proclaims in thine Ears, and to hearken what a few rafh Youths do fuggeft? To flight what the most prudent Men affure thee upon experience to be fo, and to tread in those Paths which thy greatest Enemies entice thee to walk in? Is this thy Wifdom, to prefer a few drops before an immenfe Ocean of Bleffedness; an Atom before an Infinite; and the smallest duft upon the Balance before Mount Zion, which can never be moved? Is this Wifdom, to thrust away Salvation with both Arms, and to oppofe the Endeavours of that God, that even compels thee to come to the Supper of the Lamb? Is this thy Wisdom, to lie in a Dungeon, when a Palace is prepared for thy Reception? And to be enamoured with Deformity it self, when thou art courted by him who is altogether Lovely? Is this thy Wisdom, to rely on broken Reeds, rather

rather than on the Rock of Ages? And to trust more to Caftles in the Air, than to him who is the Ancient of Days, and hath promised neither to leave nor to forfake those that call upon him faithfully?

And when theCafe ftands thus with thee,when thou art as mad as thou well canft be, fure thou needeft not be afraid that Confideration of thy Ways will make thee fo. Confideration! Why this will make thee fober; this would bring thee to thy right Senfes again; this would make thee live like a rational Man again; this would restore thee to thy Wits again; this would cure the Diftempers of thy Brain; this would be fo far from promoting, that it would chafe away all Madness and Distraction; this would clear thyUnderstanding, and rectifie thy Will and Affections, and make all thy Faculties move more orderly.

Confideration would let thee fee what madnefs it is to defpife him whom thou standest moft in need of; and to neglect that now, which, upon thy Death-bed, thou wilt with thou hadft minded day and night. This would reprefent to thy mind, what weakness of Judgment it is to call thy felf happy, with Crefus, before thy end; and to flatter thy felf with Felicity, before thou knoweft whether the latter part of thy Life will be agreeable to the former, or to the prefent in Affluence and Profperity. This would fhew thee what a folly it is to flight the Fountain of living Waters, and to hunt after broken Cisterns which can hold no Water; and to efteem a Wildernefs, a land of defarts, and of pits; a land of drought, and of the shadow of death; a land

which no Manpasses through, and where no Man dwells, infinitely more than a plentiful Country, Jer. 2.6. This would fhew thee what a folly it is to forfeit the Favour of him that must be thy Judge one day; and to make him thy Foe, without whofe Mercy thou must fall a Prey to hellish Furies; to fcorn that Provifion now, the Crumbs whereof thou wilt be glad to gather one day; and to mock his kindness now, when one day thou wouldeft rejoyce at the leaft fimile of his Countenance, if thou couldst but have it. This would fhew thee, what a folly it is, to be ravished more with a painted Coronet, than with the real Glories of a Kingdom; and to rejoyce more in the present Pomp and Adoration of a Stage, than in thy Right to the Reversion of a Crown; and what diffraction it is to think that the Great God, who changes not,will make those Bleffed,who renounce hisBlifs,and quench HellFire for Men, because they are refolved to run into it; to make thofe like unto the Angels of God, that will live like Beafts here; and prefer those to his Throne, that would not have him to Reign over them! This would fhew thee what a folly it is to make merry at the brow of a Pit; and to fing Care away, when thy Sins call for Mourning and Lamentation.

Confideration,Sinner,would let thee fee,That there is no Wisdom like that Wisdom, which makes Men wife unto Salvation; which makes them deliberately take God for their Guide and Portion, and fearch into those things which do moft nearly concern them; which makes them attentive to God's Providences, and confiderate

in examining the Reafons,and End of his Love to Mankind; which makes them chufe the Good and refuse the Evil; and teaches them how to prefer the Suggestions of the Spirit before thofe of Flesh and Blood; which teaches them to apply things to their own Souls, and to reduce general Precepts to particular Perfons, Times, Places, and to digeft them into fpiritual Profit and Emolument; and that those who deny all ungodliness and worldly lufts, living foberly, righteously and godly in this prefent world, looking for that blef fed Hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God, and our Saviour Jefus, are the only Men that are in their Wits; and that the reft who forget their calling, and walk not worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called, do really unman themselves, and live below their reafon. This would let thee fee, that those who give all diligence to add to their faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance,patience; and to patience, godlinefs; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness; and to brotherly-kindness, charity; and are not barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jefus Chrift, are the Men that chufe the fittest means for the greatest end; and that he that works to day in God's Vineyard, and fo numbers his days, that he may apply his heart unto Wisdom; and lives like a perfon that remembers he hath a Soul to be fav'd, is the Man who governs his affairs with difcretion. This would let thee fee, that Men do pretend to Learning in vain, while they are ignorant of Mortification of their Members which are upon the Earth, and

of

of a Spiritual Life, which is every Man's greatest Intereft. That the Painter doth but draw the Picture of his own Ruin, who is not wife for Eternity, or doth not represent to his Mind the Images of that Glory which fhall e'er long be revealed in holy Men, fo as to lead a Life which may be a Preparative to it. That the Disputant is no better than aHeretick inManners, who doth not reason himself out of the fnares of Sin, and fhew forth, out of a good Converfation, his Works with Meeknefs. That the Logician, who refolves all knotty Arguments, is but a Fool while he knows not how to keep himself from the Wiles of the Devil; and that the Grammarian, who rectifies the Errors of Speech, is but a Mad-man, while he takes no care to rectifie the Errors of his Life. That the Aftronomer, who tells the Stars, and calls them by their Names, is vain in his Imaginations, while he hath not his Converfation in Heaven. That the Metaphyfician, that speculates Things above Senfe and Nature, is but a very indifcreet Perfon, while he takes no heed to make God his highest comfort and delight. That all Opticks are Nonsense, which do not teach Men to behold the Mighty God that made them; and all Geometry but Confufion, which leaves Men ignorant of the height and depth of the Love of God.

Confideration would discover to thee, That God who is most Wife,is moft Holy too; and that in vain we imitate him in one Attribute, except we imitate him in another; and how irrational a thing Sin is; what ftrange unmanly Actions it puts Men upon; Actions which they must be N 2

afhamed

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