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present each other. Then they obtain other bosom friends, and walk with them in love and confidence for a time. But sin and Satan make a breach where they suspect no weakness, and separate them in heart. Thus, by turns, they are the friends and foes of all the society. Ignorance and pride, self-love and jealousy, lead us astray. We look for much respect from our fellow Christians, because, we think, we deserve much; and for the same reason-we pay little. And if they love us cordially, a small incident will awaken our suspicion; and we rashly conclude they are very cool. Poor creatures! may our variableness prevent excessive attachment to the creature, and endear an unchangeable God. We are imperfect; and others have much to bear from us. They are imperfect; and we have much to bear from them. Happy world! where we shall see in each other, nothing we dislike, but every thing lovely and beloved.

No. CLIX.-DOMINION OF SENSE.

THAT principle of sense, which reigns in all bad men, and lives in all good men, is one of the most faithful sources of sin, guilt, and pain in the world. A life of sense, and a life of faith, are directly opposite to each other in their nature and tendency. A life of sense clouds the understanding, by bringing false reports of things to it, or misrepresenting things. This renders the affections carnal, pollutes the imagination with sensible images, and agitates the whole man, soul and body, with various and contrary affections. It is this which ENSLAVES man; "he perceives things pleasant to his eyes," his ears, his taste, his touch, his smell, and the more pleasant, the more enslaving; for what is it which fixes his thoughts on sensible objects? Pleasure. What excites such strong affections to sensible things? The pleasure they afford. What urges the man of sense on to such anxiety, labour, expense, and contrivance to obtain his wishes? The delight he promises himself in the possession of the object. And does the gratification of animal desires afford satisfaction, in proportion to the expense of gratifying them. Far from it; for a life of sense is a life of perpetual DECEPTION. It is all expectation and disappointment. It promises fair, and is generally believed; but the desire is baulked, and the hopes defeated, which (strange infatuation!) only inflames the heart with more eager longings for what has spoiled its peace, and blasted its hopes. It is a DANGEROUS principle; for what impression are spiritual and invisible objects likely to make upon a mind carnalized, darkened, and habituated to the delights of sense? It has taken so deep a root, and so wide a spread, that nothing short of omnipotence can remove its dominion in unbelievers, and prevent it in believers. This is one of the strong cords and many bands with

which Satan holds his captives. It is one quiver of his fiery darts. with which he fires the sensual appetites, and inflames the carnal affections of believers. The power of the passions, immersed in sense, is seen in unbelievers; to gratify sensitive wishes, they expose their health and property, their liberty, and lives. For a little money, or for unchaste pleasure, a man will ruin his reputation, impair his health, break his peace, and damn his soul. So mighty, so efficacious, is the sway of sense, that neither the considerations of heaven and hell, of time and eternity, can break its binding force, without the operation of “the Spirit of Power. And lest Christians should think themselves sufficient to conquer this principle, the Lord often suspends his assisting influence, and leaves the soul to contend with a bare thought, or a sensual desire; they plead duty and interest against the gratification of them; they reason, watch, and pray until they are no more able to desire a deliverance from the sweet delusion, than to create a world. This is humbling indeed! Often they have confessed, but now they feel themselves to be "perfect weakness." The charm of some sensible object shall be found irresistible. It shall laugh at their reasoning, however just and strong. Yea, the more the soul tries to expel the poison from the heart and quench the fire of sensual wishes, the more the flame shall rage and spread until consent is gained, and a determination formed to indulge the flesh, and "fulfil its desires." The believer pleads his advantages, his obligations, his experiences, his present and future happiness; he urges the consequences of falling openly to himself, the church, and the world; the advantage Satan will take of it in all his trials of life and death; but he pleads in vain. He sighs, he ponders, he reasons, he pauses, he exclaims, “O), wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?"

No. CLX.-RESTLESSNESS OF THE WICKED.

"THE wicked cannot rest, they are like the troubled sea." How just the image! how miserable the ungodly! They are not like the sea, in its stillest moments; but when troubled by the winds. And what can be more restless than a person under the sway of carnal passions! If he gratifies his sinful wishes, fear torments him.Guilt breeds fear and shame, suspicion and anxiety. Conscience smites and foretells a day of reckoning. Self-condemnation follows the commission of sin. The pleasure of sin being gone, by gratifying it; the sting of it has the greater power. The soul sces its folly and hates itself; not as sinful; but as miserable. Every alarming Providence awakens suspicion that God is coming near to judg ment. Censures past on others, it hears and trembles at. But on the other hand: if the object of sinful desire is not attainable; what contrivance! what labour! what hope and despondency! what dis

appointment! what care! what criminal thirsting, longing, waiting! and all in vain. What is esteemed necessary to happiness, the soul cannot reach. It knows it, and is miserable. What then, does it cease all efforts to obtain it? No; it tries again and again, whilst disappointed hope, and raging desire, with despair of satisfying it, tortures, enflames and enslaves the soul; and whilst conscience and Scripture declare, that God will punish the unholy creature, according to the wickedness of his wish and endeavour.

No. CLXI.-BESETTING SINS.

EVERY believer in Christ knows, that he who is not able, through the Spirit of God, to conquer his besetting sin, is not a Christian. He may be tempted and troubled with it; but if he is habitually conquered by it, he is no Christian. If any sin reigns, which he knows and allows, he is yet in his sins. This being known to every Christian; it becomes, in some circumstances, a matter of distress.He is drawn, perhaps, out of the path of duty, and finds himself unable to resist temptation; and as this is experienced every time he leaves his duty, he says to himself, "Well, it now appears to me, that I have no grace; for whenever I am in such a situation, which aids the temptation to my once favoured sin, I always feel my heart yield; and if opportunity were afforded, I am sure I should commit the sin again. It is plain then, that I have deceived myself; for if I can stand, only when I am not in such a trial, it proves me destitute of faith, which would help me to resist and vanquish the temptation. If I were a believer, I should find Christ's grace sufficient for me." This objection is very plausible, and therefore distressing to an upright mind; but it is founded on a mistake. For it is not an evidence that I am without grace, because I do not find it assisting me out of the line of duty! For instance; suppose a Christian goes into company where he is sure to be tempted to sin, and is as sure, that neither God nor conscience approves of his going. He goes, and falls into sin. He repeats it, and falls again: and then grieves, not only because he has sinned against God; but also, because he has left his own mind in doubt about the reality of his conversion. If he had been con verted, he thinks grace would have conquered the temptation. But if he had as much grace as Saint Paul, it would not keep him on suspicious ground. If so, the grace of God would encourage us in sin. No! thy weakness out of duty, is no proof thou hast no grace in it. It proves that God is angry with thee; that he will not assist or comfort thee in presumption. And is it any wonder that a believer is not able to resist temptation, when God leaves him, and permits Satan to tempt him? A believer is as weak as another man without God's strength; and is as really without it as another man,

when he leaves the narrow path, wilfully. Thus suspending his influence, he teaches a believer that he is as holy as gracious, and that if he would meet God," he must "remember him in his way." It is no proof that thou hast no grace, because thou art not able to stand thy ground in any place and circumstances; for God is not engaged to keep you in any place or circumstances, where he does not call you. As thy day, of service and difficulty, so shall thy strength be." But if God would keep us out of duty, he must go beyond the promise; which I grant he sometimes does, but not generally, and as we have no warrant to expect it, we seldom find it. In the highway of duty, Satan has no power over us; but if we willingly turn to the right hand or to the left, we are in his ground, and there he improves his advantage to our confusion. “He, only, who walketh uprightly, walketh surely." God is with him, and he with God.

If these things were considered, Christians would find God invariably faithful to his word. They would be more careful against walking on doubtful ground. They would not only pray to be kept from falling into temptation; but would shun it and the road to it. Many a man is drawn into public-houses, stays too long, and drinks too much; notwithstanding he prayed against it several days before the time came. God sees the deceit. He knows when such prayers are "without guile." Perhaps, he goes into company to get business, or keep his reputation with worldly men. This proceeds from distrust of God, and from a life of sense, which leans to “an arm of flesh;" and from a fear of the cross, of being thought a fool for Christ's sake. And such generally are left to fall, and then they lose that reputation they idolized. If we cannot trust God with our characters and business; he will suffer us to feel our own weight; and we are sure to fall. Some think they cannot but be right, because they pray more earnestly than usual to be kept: but they are afraid to "ponder; (weigh) the path of their feet." Deliberation, would leave them convinced that they were wrong; and hinder those prayers which are "an abomination to the Lord." They ask and have not, because they ask amiss. They regard iniquity in their hearts, and God will not hear them.

No. CLXII. DIFFICULT TEXTS.

Ir is lamentable to observe, how prone many ministers of the gospel are, to preach from obscure parts of Scripture by choice.Not that they understand them better than they do other parts; this is not supposable: but I fear, a vain parade of greater penetration leads them on. They wish for something new. This will create admiration, and ensure applause from carnal professors and weak Christians. "He is a fine man! he shows us gospel, where no

One else ever saw it." Many think he sees into the mysteries of the gospel, when he only preaches his own fancies, and "darkens counsel by words without knowledge." He fixes upon a type, and strains it, and weak souls are dazzled with the number of resemblances the minister finds between the type and antitype. They discover some spiritual meaning, where God designed only the literal, and which they pass over. The real meaning of the story of the good Samaritan, they hardly mention; this would be thought legal, because practical. And as such an explanation, with the duty enforced, would be more likely to make the hearers condemn themselves than admire the preacher, it is avoided; and the preacher passes on to consider the spiritual meaning, as he calls it; and the mysteries of his carnal mind being opened, the people wonder at the man's great gifts, and their own enlightened understandings; and pity those who are unable to discern what they do. The literal sense of that story, is truly spiritual; but the spiritual sense, which' such preachers impose upon it, is carnal. Thus the minister's person is held in admiration; the Scripture is perverted. The people diverted from duty, and injured in their dispositions: their pride is nourished by their supposed discoveries, and they "feed upon ashes, whilst a deceived heart, hath turned them aside." It prevents their growth in knowledge; their establishment in faith; it corrupts their taste, carnalizes their passions and leaves their temper unrenewed, their conscience unpurged, their thoughts vain, and their lives unfruitful. I fear such preachers have much more to answer for, than they are aware of! For the various emotions of hope, carnal joy, admiration and self-approbation, occasioned by such discourses, lead many to judge themselves converted. And such vain preachers readily flatter them as sincere, enlightened souls; and assure them, that "he who has begun the good work in them, will finish it." They are proud of the minister's approbation, who knows no more of them than that they understand his preaching and admire it: weep for joy, at their own light, wonder they never saw things so before, and resolve to attend such preaching in future. Thus being flattered by the minister and his weak friends, they learn to flatter themselves," deceiving and being deceived."

No. CLXIII. EVIL AFFECTIONS.

NOTHING is more evident than this, that the sorest of judgments in this world, is-to be "given up to one's own heart's lust," to be held under the power of vile affections." What, like them, can disturb a man's peace? What can so defile, blind, agitate and enslave him? What like them to flatter, deceive and endanger him? What, like them, can deliver a man over into the devil's power, to be tempted, accused, controlled and tormented by him? What like

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