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vening the conscience, the fortifying and confirming our refolutions, and the raifing and keeping up an heavenly frame of fpirit. 4. The immediate ends of difcipline, are the fubduing the pride of the heart, and the reducing the appetites of the body. 5. Some kinds of life are better fuited to the great ends of religion and virtue, than others.

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Hould I infist particularly on every one of the means or inftruments of Perfection, it would lead me through the whole fyftem of religion; it would oblige me to treat of all the articles of our faith, and all the parts of moral righteousness. For the virtues of the gofpel do all afford mutual fupport and nourishment to one another; and mutually minifter to their own growth and ftrength. And prayer and the Lord's fupper, not to mention meditation, pfalmody, converfation, difcipline, are founded upon the belief of all the mysteries of our religion; and confist in the exercise of almost all Chriftian graces, as repentance, faith, hope, charity: but this would be an endless task. I purpose therefore here only to lay down some few general obfervations, which may serve for directions in the ufe of gospel-means, point out the end we are to aim at, and enable us the utmost benefit from them.

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§. 1. The practice of wisdom and virtue, is the best way to improve and ftrengthen both. This is a propofition almoft felf-evident: for befides that it is acknowledged on all hands, that the frequent repetition of fingle acts of virtue, is the natural way to arrrive at an habit of it; the practice of virtue gives a man great boldness towards God, mingles joy and pleasure in all his addreffes to him, purifies and enlightens the mind, and entitles him to more plentiful measures of grace, and higher degrees of favour. If ye continue in my word, then are ye my dif ciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth fhall make you free, John viii. 31, 32. To him that bath, shall be given, and be fhall have more abundance, Matth. xiii. 12. If this be fo, as undoubtedly it is, it is plain, that we ought not to be fond of fuch a folitude or retirement, as cuts off the opportunity of many virtues, which may be daily practifed in a more publick and active life. The true Anchorite, or hermite, was at firft little better than a pious extravagant: I will not fay how much worfe he is now. Meditation and prayer are excellent duties; but meeknefs and charity, mercy and not one jot inferior to them. is an excellent school to a good

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an; the follies and the miferies, the trials and temptations of it, do not only exercife and employ our virtue, but cultivate and improve it: they afford us both inftruction and difcipline, and naturally advance us on towards folid wisdom, and a well-fettled power over our felves. 'Tis our own fault if every accident that befals us, and every one whom we converfe with, do not teach us somewhat; occafion some wife Reflection, or inkindle fome pious affection in us. We do not reflect on our words and actions, we do not observe the motions of our own hearts as diligently as we ought; we make little or no application of what we fee or hear, nor learn any thing from the wisdom and the virtue, the folly and the madness of man, and the confequences of both: and so we neither improve our knowledge, nor our virtue, but are the fame to day we were yesterday, and life waftes away in common accidents, and cuftomary actions, with as little alteration in us, as in our affairs: whereas, were we mindful, as we ought, of our true intereft, and defirous to reap some spiritual benefit from every thing, the virtues of good men would inkindle our emulation, and the folly and madness of finners, would confirm our abhorrence for fin; from one we should learn content, from another induftry; here we

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fhould fee a charm in meekness and charity, there in humility; in this man we fhould fee reason to admire difcretion and command of himself; in that courage and conftancy, affiduity, and perfeverance: nor would it be less useful to us, to obferve, how vanity exposes one, and peevishness torments another; how pride and ambition embroil a third; and how hateful and contemptible avarice renders a fourth; and to trace all that variety of ruin, which luft and prodigality, disorder and floth, leave behind them.

And as this kind of observations will fill us with folid and useful knowledge, fo will a diligent attention to the rules of righteoufnefs, and discretion in all the common and daily actions of life, enrich us with true virtue. Religion is not to be confined to the Church, and to the closet, nor to be exercised only in prayers and facraments, meditations and alms; but every-where, we are in the prefence of God, and every word, every action, is capable of morality. Our defects and infirmities betray themselves in the daily accidents and the common converfation of life; and here they draw after the very important confequences; and therefore here they are to be watched over, regulated and governed, as well as in our more folemn actions. 'Tis

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to the virtues or the errors of our common converfation and ordinary deportment, that we owe both our friends and enemies, our good or bad character abroad, our domeftick peace or troubles; and in a high degree, the improvement or depravation of our minds. Let no man then, that will be perfect or happy, abandon himself to his humours or inclinations in his carriage towards his acquaintance, his children, his fervants: let no man, that will be perfect or happy, follow prejudice or fashion in the common and cuftomary actions of life: but let him asfure himfelf, that by a daily endeavour to conform these more and more to the excellent rules of the gospel, he is to train up himself by degrees to the moft abfolute wisdom, and the most perfect virtue, he is capable of And to this end he must first know himself, and thofe he has to do with; he must discern the proper feafon and the juft occafion of every virtue; and then he muft apply himself to the acquiring the perfection of it by the daily exercise of it, even in thofe things, which, for want of due reflection, do not commonly seem of any great importance. To one that is thus difpofed, the dulness or the carelesness of a fervant, the ftubborness of a child, the fournefs of a parent, the inconftancy of friends, the coldness of relations, the

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