mortification; and even felf-love it felf will make them with both arms embrace all these aufterities, and ten thousand more, rather than give up the combat, and lie down in eternal forrow. Let him but once come to this pofitive, decretory refult with himself, either I must watch and ftrive, and fence against this deteftable fin and temptation, or I am loft; I must fight, or I must die; refift and ftand it out, or perish and fink for ever: I fay, let the cafe be but thus impartially put and driven home, and we may fafely venture the greatest Epicure, and the most profligate finner in the world, indeed any thing that wears the name of a man, to judge, and chufe for himself.

2dly, Watching imports a diligent confideration, and furvey of our own ftrength and weakness, compared with that of our enemy. Let a man know himself strong before he ventures to fight; and if he finds himself weak, it will concern him either to fence or fly. Wife combatants will measure fwords before they engage and a discreet perfon will learn his own weakneffes rather by felf-reflection than by experience. For to know one's felf weak only by being conquered, is doubtless the worst fort of conviction.

The greatest and most fatal miscarriages in all war are from these two things, weakness

and treachery; and a fubtil enemy will certainly serve his turn by one or both of them. And as it is too evident that weakness, as fuch, can be no match for ftrength, fo ftrength itself must become a prey to weakness, where treachery has the management of it. Now let a man know that he carries both these about him, and that in a very deplorable degree. And,

ift, For weakness; his heart is extremely unable to withstand or repel a finful object fuitably propofed. For fo much as there is of corruption whether natural or moral in any one, fo much there is of weakness. Since thou doft these things, how weak is thy heart? says the prophet Ezekiel, xvi. 30. Sin is the greatest weakness in the world; and what a pitiful thing does it render the ftou.est heart upon the affault of a mighty temptation? Juft like a reed Shaken with the wind, or like a bulrush yielding and bending it self under the torrent of a mighty stream; so far from being able to stem or conquer it, that it is not so much as able to fhew its head.

This therefore let a man always think upon, let him still confider his weakness, and compare it with the wit and strength of him who comes against him; and if he duly weighs and considers this, he will find that weakness can

have no other fupport in nature but watchfulnefs. He who is not ftrong enough to beat back a blow, ought to be quick-fighted enough to decline it. But,

2dly, This is not all; there is not only weakness, but also treachery in the cafe; Jer. xvii. 9. The heart of a man is deceitful above all things: and fo great is the deceitfulness of it, that the tempter never affails a man, but he is fure of a party within him. The poor man has not only one arm too feeble to resist his enemy, but (which is worse) he has the other ready to embrace him. And then, as it falls out in a fiege, if weakness abandons the walls, and treachery opens the gates, the enemy must needs enter and carry all before him.

Let a man therefore, in his fpiritual warfare, draw another argument for vigilance from hence, that he carries fomething about him which is like to do him more mischief than any thing that can annoy him from without that he has a close, domeftick, bojom enemy, more dangerous than the bitterest and most avowed adversary, whose open and profest defiances may pass for humanity and fairplay, in comparison of the fly, hollow, and fallacious arts of the correfponding traytor with

in.

The

The truth is, in most of the transactions of human life, the cruellest and most killing blows given both to perfons and focieties, have been from fome amongst themselves: hardly any government or conftitution comes to confufion, but by fome hungry vipers, which were conceived, and bred in her own bowels, and afterwards gnaw'd their way through them; hardly any church (though in never fo flourishing a condition) is destroyed, but by the help of fome wretches, who first eat her bread, (and perhaps wear her honours) and then lift up their heel against her; fuck themfelves fat with her milk, and then stab her to the heart, through the breast which gave it. Such oftentimes has been the fate of the greateft things. They have been ruined from within, which no force abroad could shake. A bullet from an enemy often goes befide a man, and fo fpares him; but an impostem in his head, or an apoplexy ftrikes him dead.

Now what I have here remarked by way of illuftration, from fuch cafes as these, let a man be affured that he is in danger of finding fatally verified upon himself in the spiritual war, carried on by the tempter against him. For 'tis his own heart, his own false and base heart, which he is chiefly to watch against. The very inftruments of watching (if not look

ed

ed to) may fometimes betray him; and one eye had need to keep a watch over the other. And therefore God, defend me from my felf, ever was, and is, and will be a most wise and excellent petition.

Every man (as I may fo fpeak) has a wolf in his breaft, which (if not prevented) will be fure to devour him. Let him therefore take heed and be wakeful; let him neither give rest to his eyes, nor flumber to his eye-lids; for as they but, fo the tempter takes him, ftill directing his arrows rather by our eyes than by his own. This is our cafe; and furely if ever it concerns us to watch, it should be against an enémy, whose malice is fuch, that he will not, and whose nature is fuch, that he cannot fleep.

3dly, Watchfulness implies a close and thorough confideration of the feveral ways, by which temptation has at any time actually prevailed, either upon our felves or others. He who would encounter his enemy fuccessfully, fhould acquaint himself with his way of fighting, which he cannot do but by obfervation and experience. Great captains should be good historians, that fo by recollecting the various iffues and events of battels, they may fee in feveral inftances, by what arts and methods the victory has been gained on one fide, and by what failures and miscarriages it has

been