236 Sermon 2. houle, and leave nothing to plenish and furnish it with in whereas, when a perfon is fuitably and ferioufly taken up with feif-examination, it maketh a houfe (to fpeak fo) tho' it should be lefs, to be well filled and furnifhèd : And albeit there be no great noife of a pro - feffion there, yet there is more kindly repentance, more ferioufnefs in prayer and in other duties, more profiting by hearing of the word, and more holinefs of life, than where this exercife of Pelf- examination and refle&&ion is either altogether or very much negleffed, albeit there Mould be then a far, greater profeffion. 3. Becaufe we have been engaged in, and have put many things (to fay fo) through our hands thefe years paft ; and we are afraid that many have not much confulted nor looked well into Confcience in meddling with them. There have been feveral ftrange, uncouth and fcareely heard -of things in the. way of force, and leflèr failings, flips and efcapes in the way of others ; and no doubt the lefs pains was taken by men to be cleared and fatisfied in their Con. fcience, before fuch things were meddled with and en- gaged in, there would be fo much the more pains taken now to reflc& on them when pan, and to bring them in before Confcience, to receive its verdiEt of them : And Pure we can never walk for time to come with that ílraightnefs and folidity, if we be not at force point, by felf fearching as to things paff and prefent. 4. Becaufe, if we know not what hash been right or wrong in things ,aft., the difpenfations of divine providence, which we have met with, call aloud on us to examine what God fpeaketh to us by them ; for he bath made us to be wit- neffes of very Orange things of publick difpenfations, fuch as neither we nor our fathers ever faw the like ; and bath not this fame place in particular fallen under ftrange providences, both as to our temporals and fpiri- tuais r And if the difpenfations of God call and preis any to this exercife of refle&iion and examination, then ;certainly they call and prefs us to it : Therefore, feeing we are called to this, not only as a duty common to all times, but as fomewhat peculiar to this time, and to us in this place, we would make the more Confcience of it ; and INN
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