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2. Met. You have much ador, and therefore Save need to be very diligent; O'the valt dale of butinels that a Chriftian bath to go through, yea it is fo comprehenfive and extentive, that a full view thereof at once would make us defpair of ever ac complishing the fame, ye have innumerable Dutit &

perform, ye have many Graces to acquire & ket p in exercife, ye have a multitude of pallions and luks to fubdue, ye have Legions of enemies to rancounter and fight with, ye have alfo a Holy Jealous God to ferve, and precious immortal Souls to fave, &c, Sirs, it were a hard piece of work to tell you of all the pieces of work that a Chriflian hath to mind and manage, and I tell thee,all thy pains, for all thy days, with all thy ftrength will never throughly expede all thy work, fpecially confidering ars longa, vita breviss but this I tell thee not to difcourage thee into del pondency, but to awaken thee to care & diligence, for thou art not to compare thy work with thine own firength, but to confider thy work with an eye 6xed upon Him who calleth thee thereunto, Who fends none a Warfare on their own Charge, & em ploys none without fufficient Furniture proportions ed both to His Liberality and our Neceflity, for He works all our Works in us and for us, Ifa, 26, 12. He will perfect whatever concerneth us, Pfal. 138. 8, He is able to make all Grace abound, that we al ways having ale fufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work; yea He can elevate us to fuch a pitch of perfection & ability for all our Chriftia offices, as we may fay through Chrift ftrengthaing us, we can do all things, Phil, 4. 13. 1 Cor, 9. 8. fo

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that fet diligently to work & do heartily what thou canft, and thou wilt find that what seems to be ins fuperable and impracticable at firft, afterwards through frequent performance, will become more calie, for the beginnings of Actions (wanting ufe and cuftom) are ordinarly the most difficult, hence fays the Emperor Antoninus in bis Medications, Lif 12. pag. 233. Ufe thy felf even to thofe things that thou doelt at firft defpair of; for the left hand we fee, which for the most part lyeth idle, because not ufed, yet doth it hold the bridle with more ftrength than the right, because it hath been used unto it, And if after all tby diligence thou findeff that alas thou art an unprofitable Servant, and far defective in doing duty, yet if thou art confcious to thy fell of fincere endeavours according to thy fmall ability, thou mayft be comforted in this, that where there is a lincere willing mind, God accepteth according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not, 2 Cor. 8, 12,

3. Mor. Ye have unhappily loft much of your time in floath and negligence, & it will take double diligence to recover the fame; O Sinners, what have ye been doing all your days, what have ye done for God that is worth the fpeaking off, what have ye done for your Souls that is worthy of them ? what have ye done for the Church of Chrift, worth your room in the Church? what degrees of Cbriftian perfections have ye arrived at, worthy of the name of Chrift, by whom ye are called; alas I fear fome you have been twenty, thirty, fourty years Pro

of Religion, who yet have your Religion to

Mot. Have ye not been too long diligent in a ade of fin and wickedness, Prov. 4. 16. they fleep not except they have done mifchief, Micah. 3. they do evil with both hands earnefly, and should ye not now become diligent in well-doing, Deut.6. 17, 18. Gal. 6. 9. and have ye not been diligent to ferve Satan and divers Lufts for the wages of death, Rom. 6.21,23. & fhould ye not now be diligent to ferve God, who is a liberal rewarder of them that di ligently feek Him, Heb, 11.6 more of this afterward. 5. Mot. Ye are perhaps difpofed to be diligent enough in your worldly affairs, & do not you think it is reafonable and requifite that ye be diligent too about your fpiritual concerns, that are of greater confequence and excellency; let your worldly dilis gence fhame you out of fpiritual negligence, and fee you mind the best things with molt care, as we are allowed to be not flothfull in business,fo we are charga ed to be fervent in Spirit Serving the Lord, Rom, 12.

6, Mor. May it not fill us with confufion to cons ider the exquifit diligence of many brute creatures; who from the inftruction and instinct of purely, fen itive faculties are most active to do what may make for their fuftentation and welfare; I fay may not this make us afhamed who being enabled with reafon, (which makes us like God) yet are fo far be low our felves, yea and below Brutes, as to be res mifs and negligent in our concerns. Prov. 6 6, 7,8. Go to the Antibou Sluggard, confider her ways and be wife, which having no guide &c. provideth her meat in the fummer, &c. and how long wilt thou fleep, O fluggard, &e. To this purpofe alfo I thought

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tranfcribe one of the Emperour Antoninus bis exe cellent meditations, lib, s. pag. 85. In the morning when thou findeft thy felf unwilling to rife,confider with thy felf presently, it is to go about a mans work that I am ftirred; am I yet then unwilling to go a bout that, for which I my felf was born, & brought forth into this world or was I made for this to lay me down, & make much of my self in a warm Bed O but this is pleafing. And was it then for this that thou wert born, that thou mighteft enjoy pleasure was it not in very truth for this that thou mighteft be always bufie and in action feest thou not bow Sparrows, Ants, Spiders and Bees &c. how all in their kind are intent to perform whatsoever natos rally doth become &belong unto them?and wilt not thou do that which belongs unto a man to do? Se Mot. Improve the feason of your present day and opportunity to be diligent in your work & buli mefs, for as the Wifeman fays, There is no work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whether thou goef, Eccl. 910, and a wifer than Solomon ad vifeth us to work our work while it is day, for the nigh cometh, when no man can work, John 9. 4. the night of forrows and ficknefs, the night of croffes and loffes the night of pains and infirmities, the night af decrippit old age, the night of death may forprize us, and put us out of all cafe and capacitie for las bour and bulinefs of anie kind,

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8. Mot. Ye will fhortlie be called to an account of your Stewardship, how ye have husbanded and managed your affairs: how ye have fpent your time,

we have improven your talents,and then shall it

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be both known & declared, whether ye bave been diligent or unprofitable fervants. O how mute & pale will fome men ftand when they are challenged before Men & Angels, what meaned ye to fland all the day idle; it will not then ferve you for a shift to fay,I was ftill refolving to be butie, but my thoughts beguiled me, alas for I was drawn away with com pany, I boped for time and leafure, and heart too for difpatebing my affairs before my death, but alas I was fadlie furprized, and could get nothing done, till I was undone, and fo forth.

9. Mot. From the bad. Eff of idleness.

1. Effe, An idle man is an ufelefs man, as a pal fie member in the bodie natural, fo is an idle man in the bodie politick, and fuch likewife is a negligent idle Chriftian in the bodie Ecclefiaflick or religious, they are alike not worth their room, far lefs worth the ufe of Gods good creatures that they daily confame, for as Paul faith, He that will not work, neither Should he eat, 2 Theff. 3. 10.

2. Effe. They who are ufuallie idle and out of employment in boneft and law full bufinefs, will be fair to bulie themfelves in fome thing else, yea pers baps in ill things or unprofitable things not worth the while. 2 Theff 3. 11. We hear, fays Paul, there are some diforderly persons among you, who work not as all but are bufic bodies; in the Original, under seyaΚομενος άλλα περίεργαζομένες : i e not working tall, yet working too much, ye may think this a Paradox and a strange faying, yet this paffage fitly accommodats our purpose bere bearing this plain glofs, they were nothing bufie about the affai

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