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THE

POWERS

AND

CONTESTS

OPPLESH

AND

SPIRIT.

2lk

.

tation

in

the

healthful and

waking

hours

of

life

:

Let

us

carefully shun

all

those practices

that

have any tendency

to

discompose

the brain,

or introduce

disease or

disorder

into

that

part

of

our animal

powers

;

lest

if

we

bring

these

inconveniences upon ourselves

by

our

own

guilt or

negligence,

ive

expose ourselves

to

more

just

censure and

punishment,

for the

unhappy

effects.

and

attendants

of

such

a disordered imagination.

And

there

is

another

reason

too

why we

shoúld

take

care

at

all times to

employ

our

thoughts

and

our

time

aright;

and

that

is,

that

we

may

introduce a

better

habit

into

animal

nature, and

provide

better against

those

sea-

sons wherein

either

the daily course

of

nature,

or

the

afflicted

providence

of

God,

may seem to

give

the

pow

-.

ers

of

the

flesh

an

excessive

or superior

influence over

the

'faculties

of

the mind.

Let

us

never indulge

the

corrupt

appetites, the

unlawful desires,

or the

sinful passions

that

work

within

us

:

Let

us be

watchful

against every

rising

enemy,

and subdue the

vicious

propensities

of

na-

ture,

by

holy

diligence

in

our proper

duty, and

by

earnest

.

addresses

to

the throne

of

grace

:

Let

us

treasure up in

our

imagination the

sacred histories

of

the

bible,

and

fill

our

memory with

the

things

of religion;

that

the ideas

of

better

things

than

riches,

honours,

and

pleasures, may

be

ever ready to

start

up and

appear

to the soul,

when

it-

is

at

leisure

from

other

necessary business.

This

might

happily furnish

out

safer and

sweeter

scenes

to

entertain

fancy

at

midnight-hours, or

when the

brain

labours

under

worse disorders by

reason

of

some

bodily

distemper.

The

wise

man tells

us,

"

that

a

dream cotneth

through the

multitude of

business;" Eccl.

v.

3.

And

by

the multi-

tude of thoughts that

pass

through

the mind, and

are

entertained

with delight,

in

the vigorous

and

wakeful

parts

of

life,

the animal powers

of

fancy

and

passion

will

generally

be

in some

measure influenced and regulated.

The

best

way

then

to

cure covetous,

or

ambitious,

or

:uxurious

dreams,

is

to fight

against the workings

of

these iniquities when

we

are

awake

;

for

a

very

pure

fpuntain,

even

under

some

casual disturbance,

will

not

send forth

its

streams

so

much defiled,

and

so

muddy,

as

where

the

spring

is

filthy

or

corrupt,

and

under

some

dis

-

t

irJ.

lce

toQ;