the Contrary. But if, in the Heat of our Zeal, or Extremity of our Danger, we have thus folemnly Engag'd Ourfelves, it is too late then after Vows to Prov. xx. make Enquiry? There must be no start-25. ing back, No Prevaricating with God; We have Nothing then to Do, but to fet ourselves Carefully and Refolutely to Perform what we have Vowed.

ĮPL. lxvi.

136

When David was amongst the Phi liftines, in great Danger at Gath, he made Vows to God for his Deliverance; And did not forget them Afterwards, Neither his Dangers nor his Vows. Thy Vows (fays he) are upon Me, O God ;Pr. Ivi.12. I will Render Praifes unto thee; Thou haft Delivered my Soul from Death will go into thine Houfe with Burnt-offerings; I will Pay thee my Vows which my Lips have uttered, and my Mouth hath Spoken when I was in Trouble -Thus David Vow'd, and Perform'd his Vows. And Doubtless Vows were to Him, and Many Other Saints of Old, Great Inftruments and Helps to their Devotion, as well as Expreffions of their Grati tude. But ftill We may do well to proceed with Care and Caution, and wifely to Confider, Whither They might not more eafily Perform Their Vows of Legal Ritual Oblations, than We Our Yows of Evangelical Purity and Obedience?

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dience? Whither We are as fure of Having our Hearts and Affections at Command, for the Performance of our Vows of Holiness and Piety, as They were of having Their Sheep and Oxen in readiness for Thofe Sacrifices and Offerings which They Vowed to God. If not, It nearly concerns us not to engage ourselves in Vows, but upon very serious and mature Deliberation, and full Confideration of the Nature of the Vow, and all the Difficulties that attend it, and the Temptations we may meet with in it, and our own Weakness and Frailty, and all other Obstacles that may poffibly fall in our Way. According to our Saviour's Advice, we ought first to Sit down and count the Coft; We muft before-hand reckon upon it, What Prayers and Faftings and Self-denials, what Care and Pains and Diligence, and what Firmnefs and Refolution of Mind, will be neceffary to Carry us thorough our Defign: For if we fail in it, inftead of Strengthning our Soul, and Improving it in Grace, and fettling it in Peace, we fhall only bring ourselves into a Snare, and may throw ourselves into a Labyrinth of Trouble and Perplexity for all the Refidue of our Days; And All This by our own Voluntary Unnecef

fary

fary Vows and Engagements. I call
them Unneceffary, because we are All of
us Already under Vows; General Vows
of Faith and Obedience; Such as are
Sufficient to bring us to Heaven, if
well Obferv'd and Kept; and Such as
will find Work enough for a very Good
Chriftian truly to Obferve and Keep
them. We have All of us Vowed in our
Baptism, that we will Renounce the Devil
and all his Works, the Pomps and Vanity of
this wicked World, and all the Sinful Lufts
of the Flefb, fo That we will not Follow nor
be led by them; that we will Believe all the
Articles of the Chriftian Faith; and will
keep God's Holy Will and Commandments,
and will Walk in the fame all the Days of
our Life. And thefe Vows we folemnly
Ratify and Repeat as oft as We come
to the Holy Table. Now let a Man
first well acquit himself of All This En-
gagement, in every Branch of it; Let
him have fubdued every inordinate
Appetite, and Mortified the whole Body
of Sin, and be full Mafter of himself,
and be able truly to fay, that he can Do,
and has Done, All that is Commanded
him; and Then let him take upon him-
self what farther Tasks he pleases; Let
him then, in the Name of God, Go
on, if he
if he can, farther and farther un-
to Perfection, from Strength to Strength,
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till

$

till he comes to be Perfect in Chrift Jefus.

I would by no Means Difcourage any One from Endeavouring after the higheft Pitch of Perfection and Piety, that his Strength and Prefent State will bear: But This fhould be done gradually, going on from one Degree of Grace unto another, with Watchfulness and Diligence, fecuring all the Ground he gets, and improving every Advantage as a Step to help him forwards. A Man makes a wrong Estimate of his Cafe, and takes his Measures wrong, when he thinks by One Bold Stroke to Secure All; I mean, when by a Rash Sudden Vow, made in Heat and Hafte, and commonly at an improper Time, in the Time of Sicknefs, (when he judges of his Strength by his Present Disposition of Mind,) he reckons to Do the Business All at Once; and from a Slave to Sin on a fudden to become a Saint. Such Hafty Vows made in Sickness do generally Miscarry in Health; And when they Do mifcarry, the Beft they can leave behind them is Sorrow and Repentance; I fay the Best, because the Cafe must be very Bad indeed, the Heart must be Hardned to a great De gree, if Breach of Vows folemnly made

does

does not caufe Extremity of Sorrow. I would therefore Advise any One to make the Best Resolutions he can in his Sickness, and Afterwards he may Confirm them with Vows, if he thinks I fit: But let it be in Health, when his Mind and Thoughts are well Compofed, and he has Time to communePf, lxxvii. with his own Heart, and Search out_his. Spirits: And let him calmly and deliberately weigh every Thing, and every Num.xxx Circumftance, before he Vow a Vow un-2. to the Lord, to bind his Soul with a Bond; well confidering with the Wiseman, how much Better it is that he should Ecclef. v. not Vow, than that he fhould Vow and not 5. Pay.

Since then Perfons are moft Apt in
their Sick and Weak Eftate, when they
are leaft fit for it, to engage them-
felves in Vows, which may be very
Hard to be kept, and yet are very
Dangerous to be Broken, I hope I fhall
not be thought to have dwelt too long
upon the Subject.

But I now come in the Laft Place, III.
to Conclude All with a few Practical
Confiderations, fuch as may
be proper
to Excite us to the Duty we have been
treating of, the Duty of Gratitude to

Good