to have the Measure of himself taken SER M. from the worst Side of him; and the XI. other Parts of his Character esteemed only as pure Artifice and Feigning. His Credit will be blafted, and his good Name taken away; that Engine by which he is to profit himself and others, and to do all the good he is like to do in the World. Intimacies and Friendships are the great Comforts and Supports of Life; and of these such a Man will be always thought incapable. What Ground can his Levity give any one to build their Confidence upon? What Encouragement is there to venture an Acquaintance with the Rash and Unftable? What Reason to expect a mutual Confent and Agreement of Thoughts and Affections from a Mind fo little at Unity in itself?

4. But these are flight Inconveniences, in Comparison of what follows; that fuch a wavering uncertain Temper of Mind is utterly inconfiftent with the Terms of Salvation, and the Hopes of X 2 eternal

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SERM. eternal Happiness. For 'tis not an HoXI. liness taken up by Fits and Starts that can carry a Man to Heaven. It must be a conftant regular Principle, influencing us throughout, that must do that. John viii. If ye continue in my Word (fays our Saviour) then are ye my Difciples indeed! An uninterrupted Course of Virtue and Goodness, and nothing less, can justify us before God, and entitle us to our Reward. And the Reason is, because nothing less can prove our Sincerity to God, which is the great and fundamental Rule by which we are to be tried. And a Vein of this must run through all our Thoughts and Actions, to make them acceptable before God. My Son, give me thy Heart, (fays God) that is, come to me with a fincere and unfeigned Design of ferving me; furrender up to me all thy Inclinations and Affections without Referve; and give me Poffeffion of thy Soul, without any Rival or Competitor. Which how can he be faid to do, that admits contrary Interefts

Interests perpetually to ftruggle within SER M. him, and in his heartieft Repentances is XI. not without fome Profpect of finning again? Holy David therefore makes Infincerity, the Character and Mark of thefe kind of Men: Their Heart was Pf. lxxviii. not right with God, fays he, neither were 37· they stedfaft in his Covenant. The one follows upon the other; if fo be that they are not stedfaft, neither can their Hearts be right with God.

Let not a Man therefore flatter himself that Things are well with him, because he is not abfolutely given over to work Wickedness, but though he fome-Eph. ii. 1. times feems to be dead in Trefpaffes and Sins, yet he foon rises again by Repentance; for affuredly this (which is at the Bottom nothing but an Art of getting to Heaven, and yet enjoying his Lufts all the while) will not ferve his Turn. There is no Promife in Scripture that belongs to the unstable and wavering Man; the Terms of the Covenant are univerfal Purity; or at least univerfal

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SERM.univerfal Sincerity: And, under these, XI. can no Man be faved. And as the State of a Man is thus, with Respect to another World, very dangerous and bad already, fo is it likely to grow worse and worfe ftill without Remedy. For every new Return to Sin, every single Desertion of Virtue, does naturally unqualify a Man more and more for a found Repentance, and weakens all the Motives that lead to it. Sin does by this Means grow familiar to us, and lofes its Frightfulness. By our fuffering its continual Approaches, it begins to appear to us in a more harmless Shape: We find fewer Horrors about us at the Thought of it, fewer Defires of avoiding it.

Besides, by these Viciffitudes of finning and relapfing, our Refolution at laft is quite broken; and we fit down every Time with lefs Hopes of the Mercy and Forgiveness of God, and of his Grace and Affiftance.

Much

Much more might be faid, to fet SERM. out the great Danger of such a State, and · XI. the Inconsistency of it with the Terms of Salvation, if this were not too plain a Point to need any further Proof; and therefore I chufe rather in what remains, to go on, as I propofed, from these several Confiderations to perfuade the Man that is thus bewildered, to retrieve himself by serious Confideration, as foon as is poffible; and to fix a fure Principle of Vertue in his Mind, that may guide and govern him throughout, and make him uniformly wife and holy.

For which Purpose I shall take Leave to recommend two or three plain, but ufeful Confiderations.

1. And first, he that fets about this Work, must be sure that his Belief is right, and found at the Bottom: For 'tis generally the Uncertainty and Waveringness of this, that produces all that Unevennefs, and Disorder in the Life and Practice of Mankind.

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