pelle, pelle timorem, &c. Nubila mens eft, vinctaque franis, hac ubi regnant. "Rid yourselves of trans"porting joy, and discouraging fear; deluding hope "and confounding grief. For, the mind is clouded, "fettered and in bonds, where thefe have any place.

The fecond thing in which holiness confifts, is, rectitude and uprightness, in respect of God. For, the intellectual nature hath special reference and relation to God. All mind and understanding hath tendency towards God. It was well faid by the philofopher, "God is more effential to us, than that that is most "ourselves; and is fupreme to that which is in us "fovereign." Simplicius. And fo long as the foul of man is fixed, and fastened, and rooted in God; fo long, it draws fap and life, and nourishment, and vital influence; thrives, profpers, and retains all its perfections, emoluments and qualifications, with which God did at first make it. All its powers, abilities and faculties remain whole and entire. But, if any way, the foul of man be torn off from God, either by our own act of wilful departure, or by ignorance, or by any other ways; it withers, and fades, fhrivels up, and comes to nothing; till it do again, by regeneration and good affection, return to God, and reft in him. For, if the mind be off from God; it is off from its original: and, that is mischief enough. For, that that is original to firft-being, is confervative to all after being. If a man, by degeneration, be fallen off from God; he is deprived of his confervative caufe; he is off from his center; he is crofs to his end; he is in a ftate of deadly fickness, and prefent death. God is our principal object: and,

our

our chief and proper employment is about him. And, indeed, were it not for man's capacity for God; if our rational faculties had no employment about God, but were intended only for the drudgeries of the world; it had been better for man to have been made in a lower order. Had we been to have had our adequate employment here below; been made to converfe with the creatures which now we govern; we should have been more happy, a great deal, if more equal to them. For, there is not fo free converse, where there is inequality. A man cannot communicate himself to the creatures below him: they can not understand man, as an equal; but as a governor. It had, therefore, been better for man, had he been made lefs; if he had been only to have employed himself about beafts: because he, and his employment would have had a greater harmony. It is therefore in nature, that this is founded (viz.) Our relation God-ward; our motion upwards; our converfe with feparate fpirits; because the mind of man hath no adequate employment in converse with creatures below. It had been a blot in the creation of God, and an imperfection, for a man to be fo much raised above the beasts; if he were made only to converse with them. But, in that he is so much raised above the lower creation; in that a man is capable of receiving from God; it must be, that God is his peculiar and proper object. And, if there be a diverfion of him from God; all the things in the world are fhort and unfatisfactory.All indifpofition Godward, all averfation from him, and contradiction to him is man's obliquity and deformity and it is his impiety

impiety and unholinefs. The reasonable part in man is God's manfion: it hath the impreffion of God upon it it hath a peculiar reservation for God; and its happiness is in its employment about God. And (as Seneca reafons) "It is the image of the creator, "copied out in the creature.". This is the force of our Saviour's argument, Mat. xxii. 20. when he was asked a captious question; whether the free-born Ifraelites were fubject to pay tribute to Cæfar? an ill intended question: but fee what a brave notion our Saviour gives us, in his solution! If he had said, they fhould not; he had made himself obnoxious to Cafar's power: if he had faid, they fhould; he had, then, betrayed the honour of his people; the people of the Jews, whom God had chofen. But he faith, Bring me a penny. Whofe image and fuperfcription doth it bear? Then, the rule is; let every body have his own: give to Cæfar that which is Cæfar's; and to God that which is God's. Here is our Saviour's argument. If the mind of man bears God's image, hath God's fuperfcription upon it (as certainly it hath ;) then give it God, ufe it in the service of God; employ it about God, in tendering acts of homage to God, and acts of faith and affiance in God, &c.—

And this for the fecond holiness; as it doth import a man's rectitude and uprightness, in respect of God. First, well conftituted in himself: and, fecondly, rightly postured towards God.

Thirdly, We come to confider holiness, in respect of a man's fellow-creatures: that a man ftand right and straight towards his fellow-creatures. And this takes in man, as he is made a fociable creature: made

for

Then, in respect of
God hath made him

for converse with those that are his equals, to receive from them, to communicate to them, to be better for them, and to better them. the inferior part of the world. the governor and, in respect of them man is required to exercise such government as God exercifeth over his creatures; that is, not wilful government, not violent, tyrannical, unmerciful. For, the merciful man is merciful to his beaft, Prov. xii. 10. It is unboly for a man to be furious, provoking, injurious, boisterous, troublesome, mifchievous; to ly heavy upon the world; fo to behave himself, that those that are under him, their fouls are fad and troublesome to them, because he lies heavy upon them. These are inftances of unholinefs, and expreffive of an unholy temper: foul ufage, hard measure, cruelty, oppreffion, want of moderation; any thing extremely done, in the rational world of mankind; or violently done in the inferior world of fenfitives. These are monftrous effects of impure tempers, and unholy difpofitions. They are contradictory to the law of the upper world. For, gentleness, meekness, fairness, ingenuity, tenderheartedness, readinefs to do good, calmnefs, benignity, moderation, &c. thefe are the declarations of divine communication to men ; and belong to man's holiness, uprightness, and integrity, in the carriage of himself in God's family, towards his fellow-creatures.

To conclude, a man is holy, when he stands so affected, as I have here expreffed. And, I take it for granted, so far as you fail and miscarry in any of thefe; fo far your fpirits are unfanctified; and you are in a state of variation from God, and contradiction to him.

Now

Now the oppofites to real holiness, which generally go under the name of impurities; and according as the scripture hath expreffed them; I will reduce to feven heads. 1. The firft fort are fins of worldly-mindedness: these are reported in fcripture to be things of an impure and unholy nature. All alienation of the mind from God, and from things that are divine and spiritual and connatural to heavenborn fouls. All these things are impure: of this fort are these; all covetousness, all inordinate affection, all evil concupifcence. 2. A fecond fort, are fins of carnality and brutishness, which do infect and poifon holy fouls with bodily fteams and noisome lusts: of this nature are fins of uncleannefs, lafciviousness, fornication, adultery, and the fin not to be named, called fodomy; and then intemperance, drunkenness, gluttony, through the excess of appetite and liquorishness of the palate. 3. The third fort are fins of mental intoxication, and of a creature's felf-exaltation; fuch as arrogance, haughtinefs, pride, prefumption, felf-affuming, vain-glory. 4. The fourth fort are thofe that are of the devilish nature, hurtful and deftructive to others, principles of malign operation among men, and difquieting God's family; fuch are fierce anger, wrath, envy, malice, rage, fpite, cruelty of this fpirit are thofe that are inventers of mifchief, make-bates, whisperers, backbiters, furious, cruel, unmerciful, murderers, &c. 5. Sins of unrighteousness; when men deal with others, not according to common law or rule of right, but according to their own arbitrary wills and unreasonable defires; of this fort are over-reaching, oppreffion, ex

tortion,