wifedom for our protection, our fuccour, our direction and guidance; enjoying the fweet effluxes of his mercy and bounty; we therewith become friends to the holy Angels, and blessed Saints, to all good Men, being united in a holy and happy confortship of judgment, of charity, of hope, of devotion with them we become friends to all the World, which we oblige by good wishes and good deeds, and by the influence of good example; we become friends to our felves, whom we thereby enrich and adorn with the best goods; whom we gratifie and please with the choiceft delights: but perfifting in fin we continue to affront, wrong, and displease our Maker, to be difloyal toward our Sovereign Lord; to be ingratefull toward our chief Benefactour, to difoblige the best Friend we have, to provoke a most just and severe Judge; to cope with Omnipotency, to contradict Infallibility, to enrage the greatest Patience, to abuse immenfe Good

nefs:

nefs: We thereby become enemies to all the World, to God, whom we injure and dishonour; to the friends of God, whom we defert and oppofe; to the creatures which we abuse to our pride, luft and vanity; to our neighbours, whom we corrupt, or feduce; to our felves, whom we bereave of the best goods, and betray to the worst evils,

Beginning to live foberly, we be gin to live like Men, following the conduct of reafon; beginning to live in charity, we commence the life of Angels, enjoying in our felves most fweet content, and procuring great benefit to others; but going on in finfull voluptuoufnefs, we proceed to live like beafts, wholly guided by fenfe, and fwayed by appetite; being pertinacious in malice we continue to be like fiends, working torment in our felves, and mifchief to our neighbours.

Embracing vertue we become wife and fober Men, worthy and honourable, beneficial and ufefull to

the

the World: but continuing in vice, we continue to be foolish and vain, to be vile and defpicable, to be worthless and useless.

By our delay to amend, what do we gain? what, but a little flashy and tranfient pleasure instead of a folid and durable peace; but a little counterfeit profit inftead of real wealth; but a little fmoak of deceitfull opinion instead of unqueftionable found honour; fhadows of imaginary goods inftead of those which are most substantial and true, a good mind, the love of God, the affured welfare of our fouls. But this field of difcourfe is too fpatious, I shall onely therefore for conclufion fay, that speedily applying our felves to obedience, and breaking off our fins by repentance, is in effect nothing else but from a present Hell in trouble, and the danger of a final Hell in torment to be tranflated into a double Heaven; one of joyfull tranquillity here, another of blifsfull reft hereafter; unto the which

Almighty

1 Theff. 5. 23

Almighty God in his mercy bring us all, through Jefus Christ our Lord; to whom for ever be all glory and praise. Amen.

The very God of peace fanctifie you wholly, and I pray God your whole Spirit, and foul, and body be preferved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Amen.

THE END.

Some BOOKS Printed for ROYSTON and ELIZABETH Meredith, and Sold by Him at the Star in St. Paul's Church-Yard.

TE

HE Great Exemplar: or, The Hiftory of the Life and Death of the Holy Jefus: As alfo the Lives, Acts and Martyrdoms of the Holy Apostles. In Two Parts. The First by Dr. Taylor; The Second by Dr. Cave. In Folio.

Ductor Dubitantium; or, The Rule of Confcience in all her General Meafures: Serving as a great Inftrument for the Determination of Cafes of Confcience. In Four Books. The Fourth Edition. In Folio.

Σύμβολον Ἠθικαπολέμινον ; or, A Collection of Polemical, and Moral Difcourfes. The Fourth Edition. In Folio.

A Courfe of Sermons for all the Sundays of the Year. The Fourth Edition. In Folio.

Rules and Exercifes of Holy Living and Holy Dying. In Two Parts. Together with Prayers. containing the whole Duty of a Chriftian; and the Parts of Devotion fitted to all Occafions, and furnish'd for all Neceffities. The Twenty-first Edition. In Octavo.

Θεολογία Εκλεκτική ; or, A Dilcourle of the Liberty of Prophetying: Shewing the Unreasonablenefs of Prescribing to other Mens Faith, and the

Iniquity