1)ire&iom for young [hrijlians. flirc&. Is. WAtch diligcncly b"th agai•ft the more difcem•ble decayer ~f grm, alld againj! Dircll. ,g, tbe degcncrati;tg vf it into fome ctlrnal ajfc(fimi: or fomethmg CQUnterfnt, and of ~notbcr PJnd: And fo alfo ofReligioJH d~tties. §. J, \\·e arc no fooner warmed with the crelefiial flames, but natural corruption, is .enClining us to grow cold: Like hot water, which lofeth its heat by degrees, unlefs the fire be contmually kept \mder it. who fcdeth not that asfoon as in a Sermon or Prayer, or holy Medttatton, hts heart hath got a little heat, as foon as it is gone,. it is prone to its former earthly temper, and by a little remifnds in our dUly, or thoughts, or bufinefs about the world, we prefcntly grow cold and dull again. Bt.: watchful therefore Jell: it decline too far: Be frequent in the mea_ns that mull: preferve you from declining: when faintncfs telleth you, that your ~omach_s are empued of the forme: mear., iUpply it with another, left firength abate. You arc romng agamfi the fiream of flcfhly mtereft and inclinations; and therefore intermit not too long, left you go fafier down by your cafe, then you get up by labour. . . . §. 2 . The Drgener.;ting of Gr!lce, is a way of backfl1dmg, very common, and too httle obferved. HowGrlce It is, when good aj]Ctrioni do not direllly cool, but turn into fome carnal affcl1io-M fome::Vhit like may degene· them, but of another kind: As if the body 6f a man inf\ead ofdying, lhould receive the hfe'or foul'"'"· of a BeaH, infiead of the reafonable humane foul. i'"or infiance: l· Have you Believed in Gud, and i• Jcfiu Chri/1, and Lovrd him~ccordingly? You flJall f<em to do fo !\ill as muchas. formerly·, when your corrupted mmds have rece1ved fame falfe reprefentatlon of htrn; and fo 1t xs mdeed another thing rho.t yo\l thus corruptly Believe and Love. 2. Have you been fitvem in Prayer.? you '£hall be fervem ftiU; it Satan can but corrupt your prayers, by corrupting your judgement or affelJionJ, and get you to think that to be the caufc of God, which is againll"him; and that to be againfi hi~, which he commandeth, and rhofc to be rhe troubkrs of the Church, which are its bell: and faithfullefi members : Torn bot your prayers againtl the caufe an~ people of God by your mifiake, and you ·may pray as fervently again(\ them as )'01:.1 will. The fame I may fay of preaching, and co11{erence, and zeal: Cerrupt them once, and turn them againft G£lll, and Satan will joyn with you for zealou.r and frequent preaching, or conference, or dijputn. 3· Have ybll a confidence in Chrijf and his promife for your fal– vation? Take hted left ir·rurn into carnal fecurity, and a perfwafion of your good efiate upon ill grounds, or you know not why ? 4· Have you the Hope of glory.? Take hc:ed left it turn into a carelefs venteroufnefs of your foul) or the meer laying afide of fear and cautelous fuCpicion of ybur felves. 5· Have you a Love to them that fear the Lord? Watch your hearts left it degene,rate into a camaJ or aparti:zJ Love. Many unheedful young perfons ofdifferent Sexes, at tirfl: love each other with an honell:, chafie and pious Love ; bur. imprudently uGng too much familiarity, before they were well aware it hath turned into a fle!hly Love,which hath proved their fnare, and drawn·che1111 fur– ther into fin or tro\lble. Many have honoured them that fear the~ord, who infenfibly have declined to honour only thofe of them that were t:minent in wealth and worldly honour, or that were efl:eemed for their parts or pl~cc by others~ and little honoured the humble>poor, obfcure Chrifiians, who were at leafi as good as they; forgenmg that the tbi1zgs that are highly tjlecmed among mtn> are abomiJta1ion in the {igbt of God, Luke 16. I 5· and that God valueth not men by their pl::~cn and dignities in the world, but by tbcir gracn and holincfs of life. Abundance that at firfi did feem to Lwe aU Chriflians aJ fuch, as far as any thing of Chrifi appeared in rhem, have firfi fallen into fame Sell, and ovcr-ac.lmiring their party, and have fer light by others as good as them, and cenfured them as un– found, and then withdrawn their fpecial Love, and confined it to their party, or to fame few; and yet thought that they loved the godly as much as ever, when it was degenerate into afactious Love. 6. Are you zealo:l-f for God, and truth, and holinefs, and againfi the errors and fins of others? Take · heed lefl: you lofe it not, ·while yo~ think it doth increafe in you; Nothing is more apt to degene– rate than zeal; In how many thoufand hath it turned from an innocent, charitable, peaceable, tra· Chble, healing, profitable, heavenly zeal, into a partial zeal for fame Party or Opinions of their own? and into a tierce, cenforious, Uncharitable, fcandalous, turbulent, difobedienr, unruly hurt– ing and dcfiroying zeal, ready to wi{h for tire from Heaven, and kindling contention, confufion and every evil work. Read wcllJar:neJ 3· 7· So if you aremre~ or patitnt, take hted left it degene– rate into j~up~dity·or contempt of thofe you.fuffer by : To be p:Hient is not to be meerly i11{enjible of the af!hcbon ; but by the power of faith to bear tbe fcnfe of it, as over·ruled by things of greater mornenr. §· 3· How apt men are to corrup_t and debafe alldutin of Rdig,i:m is too vifible in the face of the far greatefl part of the Chriflian world: Throughout both th~ Eallern and the Wellern Churches, the Pa· pills> the Greeks, the Arrneni~ns, the Abafiines, and t_oo many o~hers, (_t~ough the Effcmials ofReligion through Gods mercy arc retamed, yer) how much ts the face of ReligiOn altered from what it was in the dayes of the Apofiles? The antient jimplicity of DoChinc, is turned into abundance of Jl(!n• or P;ivate opinir:n~ intr~duced as ncccffary Articles of Religi?n ( and alas, how many of them fa(fc? ) So tha~ Clmfim1s bemg too pr_o~d t? accept of _the anc1ent tell: of Chrif\ianity., cannot now agree among I hcmfelve~ ~hat a Chrijhan 1s, a~d who ~s to be efiecmed a Chrifi:i~n ? and fo they deny one another to be Chnfi1an~, and deihoy the1r Chanty to each other, and div1de th~Church, and make K them-
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