How the Melancholy mtljt mle their Thougl,ts. ting of your own miforits. You dare not deny but this is your duty, if )'OU"undc:rlland your duty,: <Jhank.fgiving and praifr are a greater duty, than confef!ing fm and mifery: Rcfolve then that they !ball have the /argejl ]hart of 1imt• If you will but do this much, ( which you can do 1f you .will), it will in time rake off the bitttrnefs of your fpirits, and the very frequent mention of fweerer things, will fwceten your minds; and change their temperature and habir, as change of dyet changeth the temperature of tht: body. I befeech you refolve and try this courfe. If you cannot mention mercy fo 7hank/lfUyas you would, nor menrion Gods exceUencies fo holily and praififully as you would, yet do what you can, and mwtion them as.you are able. _You may co.mmarad your 1~mt ( wha~ lha~l have the gremft ]hare in prayer) though not yom affe8zom: You wtll find the beneht very great, 1f you will do but th!S. . 9· 17 . Direct. 13· Overvalue not tl~e paffi011ate part of duty, bttt /(.!tow that J.udgemem~ Will and Direl/. I3• PraCJice; a high cjtecm of God and bolmeji, a rrfolvc~ cborce, and a {11:cerc cndeavottr are the life of Gr.zce and duty, 1 vlmt fttling Paf!io11Jare but lower u;:certam thmgs: You know not what you do, when yo_u lay fo much_on the patlionate par.t : Nor when_ you ftrivt _fo mucb for deep and tr~nfpor~ing appre!lenfions : Thde are not the great thmgs, nor effetttt .. lr of Hohnds : Too much of tlus feelmg may d1firad:: you. Godknowcth how much you are able tO ~ear. ~aflionatc feelings ~epend much upon _nature: Some pcrfons are more fcnfible than others : A !mic thmg goeth deep w1th Come The w1fet\ and weiglnidl perfons are ufually leafi p:tffionate; and the weakefi l~ardly rno.derate thcu paffions. Go& is not an object of fcnf~, an.d there~or~ more~ ~t fo.r the ~tnderftandm" and rrnU,. rha~ the p~ffionJ to work upon. That js the hohdt foul whiCh tS moit znclmcd to God, and refolved for lnm, and co1t{armed to his will and nnt that which is affected with the de<pefi uicji, and fear!, and j9yJ and Q[her fuch tranfpo1~tinp; paffiOns: Though it werebEll, ifevett holy patifons could be raifed at the wills command in that meafine wh.ich fin.cth us bell for duty. .But I have known many com~lair~ for want ~f dupe; feeling wl.o if thetr fttlmg (as they called thm paffion) had been more, Jt mrght ·have dtllracted them.' J had rathcr be that Chrifiian that loarhs himfelf for fin, rcfolveth again(\ it, and forfaketh it, though ht" c... nnot weep for i~, than .one of thofe chat c~n weep !0 d_ay, and fin ag:iin to morrow; and ..., hofe finfnl pa1Tions arc qu1ckly fbrred, as well as thetr better paU10ns. , ~· 1 &. Dited-. 14• ~1ak,.e not too great a matttr of your own tboughti ; and tak..,e not too much 1tfl· Virelf. I.f• lice of them; but if Sat~Zn cajt in m.,Jtjting 'h~ughu, ifyou cannot caft tbem out, {et light by them, and talt.! tefs nJtice of ,ru m. Making a great matter of evt:.ry Thought that is cafi into your mind, will keep thofe thoughts in your mind the longer: For that which we arc moll fr~jibie of, we motl thin/;. on: And that which we leall regard, we lcaft remember: If you would never be rid of them, the way is to be fiill noting th<m,and making too great a matter of them. Thefe croublefom thoughts are like trollhlefom fooldJ, that if you reg~.rd them and anfwer theni will never have done with you; But if .you let them talk, and take no ~ouce of them, .nor .make no anfw~r to them, ther will be weary a~d give over. The Devils defign ts to vex and d1fqu1Ct you: And tf he fee you w1ll not be vexed and difqttitttd, he will give over attcmpdng ir. 1k~ow you'll fay, jhoul~ I .be{o tengodly ar tomak._e ligbt. Dfjirch finful thoughts l I anfiver, make not fo ltght of them as to be mdijferent what thoughts are in your mind, nor to as to take the fmallefi fin to be none: But make fo light of them as not to take them for greater or more dangerous fins rhan they are: And fo light ofthem as not to take difiinct particular notice of them; nor to di(quiet your felves about them: for if you do, you will have QO :rOom in your thoughts for ChriA: and Heaven, and .that .wl~ich !hould take up yp'ur thoughts; but the Devil will re joycc to fee how he cmployeth you 1n thm~z11g over your onm tboHghtr, .or rather, hU temptations; and that he ea~ employ you all the day in hearkning to all that he will fay to you, and in thinking of his motions in!lead of thi.v<ing on the works of God. There are none of Gods fervants without irregub.rities and fin of thoughts : Which they mult daily. ask forgivcnefs of and rejoycc tO think that they have a fufficicnt Saviour and remedy, and that fin fhall but occafio~ the magnifying of grace : But if they 0\0uld e.xcd\ively obfervc and be troubled at every unwarran– tablerhought, it would be a fnare to takerhem olf almotl all their greater duties. Would you like it in your fervant, if he fhould flop in obferving and troubling himfelf abou1 eycry ordinary impcrfeciion in hiswork, infiead of going on to do it? - 9· 19. Din&. 15· _Remember that it it nofi;z tobe ten:pted,bsu only toyield to tht trmpt11tlou: ~nd th,&t Direl1. 1 5• Chri/1 himfelfwar camed abuut. and tcmpud bla[phemouj/y by the Dtvil, '"'" to fall down andworfhip him , . and yet he made tht{e ttmptatz~ns but an adva?tage to tke glory of hi1 vil1oT)'• ., Take ~?t the Devils Jjn to beyour!: Areyottr temptations more hornd and odtous than Chrijts were l What tf ·the Devil had carried you to the pinacle of the Temple as he did Chril\? Would you not have thought that God had forfaken you, and given you up to the power of Satan? But you,ll fay, that youyield to the temptation, and fo did not Chrifi: 1anfwer, It cannot be expected that finful man lhould beai a tempralion :.s inr:occntly as Chrifi did? Satan found nothing in Chrifi tO comply wit b. hi~n ; but in us he ~ndeth a finful nature! w ax will receive an impreffion when Marble will not. But i~ is not every finful taint that is a con{ent to the fin to which we are tempted. , 9· 20. Direlt. I 6. Conjidel·how far yot~ are from Loving, delighting in or being loth to Je"ave, i7>eje fin- v· a 6 fol tbougl111; and that ~o fin condemneth, but t.h.-tt whic~ is {o loved and delighte~ i11; 4j ~hat jou Ire • 1 • had rather l;fep than leave''." . WoNId you not fam be dehvered from all thefe horrid thoughts and fins ? Could you not be w1lhng to ltve m d1fgracc, ~r want, or banifhmcnt, fo you mighr 'but be free from fin? If fo, why d~ub; you of the pardon of 1t ? Can .you have any furer.tign of RepentaiJCc, or· that your fin 15 not a Retgmng unpardoned fin, than that, 1t IS not L""ed and dcjireii by you? The /efi wtU,the lels fin; and the morewtll,the more fin : The Covetous man Lovcli> !)is money : and ihe forni- - Cltor
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