SER M. fhunning what is noxious; by it our fpirits are comXI. fortably warmed and cheered, our life confequently, our health, our vigour, and activity are preferved. Eph. v. 8. John xii. 35. Eph. v. 11. 105. The like benefits doth religion, which is the light of Luke xvi. 8. our foul, yield to it. Pious men are children of the Theff. v. light; pious works are works of light shining before men. ང་ God's Word (or true religion) is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path; enabling us to perceive things, Matt. v. 16. and judge rightly of them; teaching us to walk ftraightly and furely, without erring or ftumbling; qualifying us to embrace what is ufeful, and to avoid hurtful things; preferving our fpiritual life, and difpofing us to act well with a vigorous alacrity: without flix. 10. it a man is ftark blind, and utterly benighted, gropeth Job v. 14. in doubt, wandereth in mistake, trippeth upon all xxviii. 29. occafions, and often falleth into mifchief. The path of the juft, faith the Wife Man, is as the fhining light. The way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at Prov. xiii. what they ftumble. Righteousness keepeth him that is 6. xi. 3. 5. upright in the way; but wickedness overthroweth the finner. Deut. Prov. iv. 18, 19. Again: it is a fair ornament of a man, and a grand convenience both to himself and to others, with whom he converfeth or dealeth, to act regularly, uniformly, and confiftently; freeing a man's felf from diftraction and irrefolution in his mind, from change and confufion in his proceedings; fecuring others from delufion and difappointment in their tranfactions with him. Even a bad rule conftantly obferved is therefore better than none: order and perfeverance in any way feemeth more convenient than roving and toffing about in uncertainties. But, fecluding a regard to the precepts of religion, there can hardly be any fure or fettled rule, which firmly can engage a man to, or effectually reftrain a man from any thing. Via eunti aliquid extremum eft; error immenfus eft. Sen. Ep. 16. There XI. There is scarce in nature any thing fo wild, fo un-s E R M. tractable, fo unintelligible, as a man who hath no bridle of conscience to guide or check him. A pro-fane man is like a ship, without anchor to stay him, or rudder to steer him, or compass to guide him; so that he is toffed with any wind, and driven with any wave, none knoweth whither; whither bodily temper doth sway him, or paffion doth hurry him, or intereft doth pull him, or example leadeth him, or company inveigleth and haleth him, or humour transporteth him; whither any fuch variable and unaccountable caufes determine him, or divers of them together distract him; whence he fo rambleth and hovereth, that he can feldom himfelf tell what in any cafe he should do, nor can another guess it; fo that you cannot at any time know where to find him, or how to deal with him: you cannot with reason ever rely upon him, so unstable is he in all his ways. He is in effect a mere child, all humour and giddinefs, fomewhat worse than a beast, which, following the inftinct of its nature, is conftant and regular, and thence tractable; or at least fo untractable, that no man will be deceived in meddling with him. Nothing therefore can be more unmanly than fuch a perfon, nothing can be more unpleasant than to have to do with him. But a pious man, being steadily governed by conscience, and a regard to certain principles, doth both understand himself and is intelligible to others: he presently defcrieth what in any cafe he is to do, and can render an account of his acting: you may know him clearly, and afluredly tell what he will do, and may therefore fully confide in him. What therefore law and government are to the b Nihil eft tam occupatum, tam multiforme, tot ac tam variis affectibus concifum atque laceratum, quam mala mens. Quint.xii. 1. • Οἱ ἐπιεικεῖς ἑαυτοῖς ὁμονοῦσι καὶ ἀλλήλοις, ἐπὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ὄντες, ὡς εἰπεῖν· τῶν τοιύτων μένει γὰρ τὰ βυλήματα, καὶ ἡ μεταέξει, ὥσπερ εὔριπος. Arift. Etb. ix. 6. VOL. II. τα S public, SER M.public, things neceffary to preferve the world in XI. order, peace, and fafety, (that men may know what Deut. x. 12, 13. to do, and diftinguish what is their own,) that is piety to each man's private state, and to ordinary converfation: it freeth a man's own life from diforder and diftraction; it prompteth men how to behave themselves toward one another with fecurity and confidence. This it doth by confining our practice within fettled bounds: but this advantage appeareth greater, confidering that the rules which it prefcribeth are the best that can be. Such they muft needs be, as proceeding from infallible wisdom and immenfe goodnefs; being indeed no other than laws, which the all-wife and moft gracious Lord and Maker of the world, out of tender kindness to his fubjects and creatures, with especial regard to our welfare, hath been pleased to enact and declare. What of old he said to the Ifraelites concerning their laws, may with greater advantage be applied to thofe, which should regulate our lives: And now, Ifrael, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to ferve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul; to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his Statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? (For thy good; that was the defign of their being commanded; thereto the obfervance of them did tend.) And that commendation, which by the Levites in Nehemiah is given to that, doth more clearly and fully agree to the Chriftian (general and perfect) Neh. ix. 13.inftitution: Thou cameft down from mount Sinai, and Spakeft with them from heaven, and gaveft them right judgments, and true laws, good ftatutes and commandRom. vii. ments. And, The law, faith the Apostle Paul, is holy, the commandment is holy, juft, and good as fuch it is recommended to us by its Author, so we Chriftians are by many great arguments affured that it is, and that it is fuch even our natural reafon dictateth; fo IZ. (as (as to the chief inftances thereof) the most wife and s E R M. fober men always have acknowledged, fo the general x1. confent doth avow, and fo even common experiencedoth atteft. For, heartily to love and reverence the Maker of all things, who by every thing apparent before us demonftrateth himself incomprehensibly powerful, wife, and good, to be kind and charitable to our neighbours, to be juft and faithful in our dealings, to be fober and modest in our minds, to be meek and gentle in our demeanours, to be ftaunch and temperate in our enjoyments, and the like principal rules of duty, are fuch, that the common reafon of men and continual experience do approve them as hugely conducible to the public good of men, and to each man's private welfare. So notorioufly beneficial they appear, that for the juftification of them. we might appeal even to the judgment and conscience of those persons, who are moft concerned to derogate from them. For hardly can any man be fo fenfelefs, or fo lewd, as ferioufly to difapprove or condemn them, as inwardly to blame or flight those who truly act according to them. The will of men. sometimes may be fo depraved, that diffolute perfons wantonly and heedlessly may fcoff at and feem to difparage goodnefs; that good men by very bad men for doing well may be envied and hated: (their being so treated is commonly an argument of the goodness of their perfons and of their ways:) but the understanding of men can hardly be fo corrupted, that piety, charity, juftice, temperance, meekness, can in good earneft confiderately by any man be difallowed, or that perfons apparently practifing them can be defpifed; but rather, in fpite of all contrary prejudice and difaffections, fuch things and fuch perfons cannot but in judgment and heart be esteemed by all men. The luftre of them by a natural and neceffary efficacy (like that of heaven's glorious light) dazzleth the fight and charmeth the fpirits of all men living; the beauty of them irrefift S 2 ibly XI, SER M.ibly conquereth and commandeth in the apprehenfions of men: the more they are observed, the more ufeful and needful they appear for the good of men; all the fruits which grow from the obfervance of them being to all men's tafte very pleasant, to all men's experience very wholefome. Indeed, all the good, whereby common life is adorned, is fweetened, is rendered pleasant and defirable, doth fpring thence; all the mifchiefs, which infeft particular men, and which disturb the world, palpably do arise from the tranfgreffion or neglect thereof. If we look on a perfon flicking to those rules, we fhall perceive him to have a cheerful mind and compofed paffions, to be at peace within, and fatisfied with himself; to live in comely order, in good repute, in fair correfpondence, and firm concord with his neighbours. If we mark what preferveth the body found and lufty, what keepeth the mind vigorous and brifk, what faveth and improveth the estate, what upholdeth the good name, what guardeth and graceth a man's whole life; it is nothing elfe but proceeding in our demeanour and dealings according to the honeft and wife rules of piety. If we view a place where thefe commonly in good meafure are obferved, we fhall difcern, that peace and profperity do flourish there; that all things proceed on fweetly and fairly; that men generally drive on conversation and commerce together contentedly, delightfully, advantageoufly, yielding friendly advice and aid, mutually ftriving to render one another happy; that few clamours or complaints are heard there, few contentions or ftirs do appear, few difafters or tragedies do occur; that fuch a place hath indeed much of the face, much of the fubftance of Paradife. But if you mind a perfon who neglecteth them, you will find his mind galled with fore remorfe, racked with anxious fears and doubts, agitated with storms of paffion and luft, living in diforder and difgrace, jarring |