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nefs of Sin, and elevateft the Soul to the Brightnefs of Angels !

For indeed we find, that as a Man's reason is more free in fuch Retirements, fo God is the readier to meet him, as the Angels did Jacob,in his privacy, and to difplay to him the vanity of that World he hath doated on, the Scarlet dye of thofe Sins he hath delighted in, and that miraculous Love he hath undervalued and trampled on, with the vengeance he hath procured, and been greedy of: For now it appears, that the Man is in good earnest to be faved, and to fuch God never denies his Favour, for moft Men play with Religion, go about it as if it deferved no pains, and therefore here God doth no mighty work, as being loath to caft his Pearls before Swine. He that retires to confider what he muft do to be faved, makes Religion his business; and, thofe that feek me thus, fhall find me, faith Eternal Wifdom, Prov. 8. 17. Such Mens minds he is willing to overshadow with the Power of the Higheft, fuch Men prepare to meet their God, and God certainly will not fail them. And, Chriftians, fay you what you will, either the Gofpel is no Gofpel, or you'll find by woful experience, that without you are at fome trouble about your everlasting concerns, and deny your felves in your Time, Profit, Eafe, Pleasure, and unctilio's of Greatnefs, to mind your Spiritual Intereft; and without Heaven doth coft you fomething more than ordinary, God hath no Heaven for you.

He that retires, and fets afide his Worldly bafinefs, and makes bold with the company he

is in, and leaves them to take a view of his Duty to God and Man, that Man lays force upon the Kingdom of Heaven, I am fure he offers violence to his carnal Interest, violence to Flesh and Blood. The Heathen could fay, that the Gods fell all their Gifts and Riches for diligence and industry. And we find it to be true of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that perfon who retires and takes pains, with Zacheus, to fee Chrift, may expect the fame gracious return, which was made to that Publican, This day Salvation is come into thy Houfe.

The Truth is, fhould God discourse a Sinner, that is in company with other Men, or going about his fecular affairs, he would find him yawn and gape, and stretch himself, and gain as much attention, as he that tells a story to a Man, whose mind is employed about other objects; he seems to give him the hearing, but when a great part of the Tale is told, he starts up, and asks, What do you fay? But in private, where there is none but God and his own Confcience, God can best answer the Sinner's Objections against a ferious confcientious Life, and the Sinner is most likely to attend to God's Proposals; for here, if his Flesh and Blood doth plead, that the Sin he is to leave is fweet, and pleafing, and profitable, God can prefently argue with him; Doft thou call that fweet, which is most bitter and grievous to thy God, and must expire into the bittereft Groans? Is that fo pleafing to thee, which offends and grieves thy bleffed Redeemer, who defcended into Hell to fnatch thee out of it? And, can any Profit here counterpoise

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terpoife the Eternal Lofs of thy Soul? So if he plead, that the Sin he harbours is but a little one, his Confcience can immediately dash the Plea, and reply, How! Can that be little which offends an infinite Majefty? Can that be little which nailed Chrift to the Crofs? Since thou knoweft, that this little Sin is injurious to God's Holiness, What Delight canft thou take in affronting him, in whofe Power it is, either to fave thee, or to damn thee? The lefs it is, the greater Shame it is, that thou shouldft plead for keeping it; the lefs it is, the fooner it may be parted withal: O flatter not thy felf! thy great love to this Sin makes the Sin it felf great; and, Canft thou be faid to love God, that canft hug that, which thou knowest runs counter to his Honour and Glory?

In the fame manner, all other Exceptions may be answered, and the Sinner finding that the Reasons he formerly thought invincible are so easily dashed and blown away, is most like

to hearken to the far ftronger Arguments of God, and his own Confcience: The rather, because he retired on purpose, to have a clearer Sight of his Ways than before he had; and fince God doth vouchfafe him so distinct a Profpect of his Folly and prepofterous Love, he justly thinks, that not to yield to God's reafonings, is to mock him, and favours of fuch Ingratitude as admits of no Excuse. Indeed, without Retirement, our Thoughts and Confiderations flow at large, like Water in the Sea, and we can make no great Obfervations concerning them: But in Retirement,

they

they are much like Water in a Weather-glafs, and by them we may guefs, what Temper our Souls are in, whether hot or cold, more exact

than Men do at the Warmth or Coldness of the Weather, by the rifing or falling of the Liquor in those Glaffes. In fuch Retirements, a holy Awe and Reverence feizes on the Soul ; and when I fee Men can retire to drink, to play, to fleep, and to debauch themselves, I fee no Reafon but they may (I am sure they have greater Reason to do it) retire to confider the Good and Welfare of their immortal Souls.

I have already proved, that Confideration must be frequent, and confequently this Retirement must be so too; not that a Man muft never reflect on his Actions, or mind whether they be good or bad, but when he retires; No, Confideration is either occafional, or a folemn and fet Duty; either an habitual Guide, or an extraordinary Remembrancer; the former, as it is univerfally useful, and a great means to prevent Sin in a true Believer, to check him when he would commit it, to engage him to Repentance when he is fallen, to direct him what he must do, and to encourage him to those Duties, which are proclaimed in his Ears, as neceffary to Salvation; fo it is a neceflary Companion, where-ever we are, or whatever we are doing; and these occafional Confiderations need no Retirement: but then where the stream of Man's Life must be turned, or the Actions of the Day reviewed, how far they have been agreeable to the Will of God, how far they have been contrary to it, or

where

where a strict mortification of fin must be used, or where a long neglected duty must be made a familiar guest in thy Soul; in a word, where the work to be done is of fome more than ordinary difficulty, there thofe occafional reflections will not ferve turn, but more folemn Confiderations must be called in, and these folemn Confiderations are properly the things which require retirement, and, as it's fit they should be used once a day at least, fo he doth truly mind the intereft of his Soul, that fome time every day retires, and confiders, how he hath behaved himself that day towards God and Man, whether his heart hath not been too much carried out after the comforts of this World, what incroachment they have made upon his Love to God, and how they will fill the Garden of his Soul with Weeds, if he do not stop their Progrefs betimes, and root them up; what company he hath been in that day, what he hath done in his Closet, what his thoughts, words, defires, actions, affections, have been that day, whether he hath not been more concerned for the trash and perishable riches of this life, than the Glory of God, and the Salvation of his Soul; and how neceffary it is for him, having had a fall that day, to be more careful, and cautious, and circumfpect the next. This Confideration is the pulse of the Soul, which, while it's beating, it's a great fign that there is life in the Soul, and a good ar gument that God will increafe and enlarge that Life. And, as edification, and progress in goodness, ought to be the real defigns of retiring from the World, fo it doth neceffarily import,

that

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