deferves to have fo much ftrefs laid upon it.

It is reprefented as the very defign of the Cofpel, beyond the former legal difpenfation, lead men: "to ferve God in newnefs of the fpirit," or with a new fpirit, Rom. vii. 6. Our great Mater began his public miniftration, when he entered upon his prophetical office, with pronouncing bleffednefs princi-pally to a new and holy temper of foul. So the ftrain of his beatitudes runs, in Mat. v. to "the poor in fpirit; to them that mourn; to the meek; to fuch as hunger and thirst after righteoufnefs; to the pure in heart:" plainly fignifying at his fetting out, the genius of his religion, to reach the fpirits of men, and in that refpect to make his difciples more excellent than their neighbours..

3. As we aim at the favour of Gcd, this is the thing principally to be regarded by us ;. because it is principally regarded by God. Men cannot reach the hearts of their fellowcreatures; but muft judge only according to outward appearance. But God fees deeper; and therefore the fairest outfide, without a right temper of foul, cannot poffibly meet. with divine acceptance. "He defires truth in the inward parts," Pfalm li. 6. "The hid den man of the heart," when that is godlike, "is in the fight of God of great price," 1 'Pet iii. 4. And if our heart be removed far from him," though we fhould "draw near to him with our mouth, and with our lips honour him;" this will be of little account with God, Ifai. xxix. 13. The apoftle fpeaking directly to the Jews, who boafted of a peculiar re

lation to God, declares the fame thing, in language fuited to them, but equally fit for our admonition, Rom. ii. 28, 29. "He is not a Jew, (not entitled to the fpecial favour of God, as the Jews thought themselves to be) who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcifion, (fuch as fhall avail to mens partaking of the righteoufnefs which is by faith) that is outward in the flefh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; (who is in his inward temper what one of the peculiar people of God should be) and circumcifion (that which will turn to a faving account) is that of the heart, in the fpirit, and not in the letter; whose praife is not of men, but of God."

To this pur

4. As we are obliged to a holy life, it is neceffary there fhould be a care of the inward temper, which is the principle of the other. "Keep the heart; for out of it are the iffues of life," or, of the life, Prov. iv. 23. As the heart is, fo the life is like to be. pose our Saviour speaks, Mat. xii. 33, 34, 35. "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, fpeak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth fpeaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good things; and an evil man, out of the evil treafure bringeth forth evil things." As the most regular converfation and commendable actions, without a good heart to fupport and animate them, are in truth but vile hypocrify, and a false difguife;

fo,

fo, while fuch an outward appearance of good> nefs is maintained, it must all be an unnatural and unpleasant force upon a man, and for that reafon cannot be expected to last long.

5. As ever we would fecure inward peace and tranquillity of mind, we fhould carefully attend to the tempers of our fouls. A mind under the government of paffion and appetite; has many fprings of uncalinefs and difquiet within itself; according to the elegant def eription of the prophet, Ifai. Ivii. 20. "The wicked are like the troubled fea, when it can. not reft, whose waters caft up mire and dirt." If they have nothing to trouble them from without, their own diftempered fpirits will not fuffer them to be at reft. And if we confider inward peace farther, as refulting from reflection, and the approbation of confcience; there can be no room for it, without an acquain tance with our own fpirits. We cannot juftly approve a particular action, unless we are confcious to ourselves that we were governed in it by good motives, as well as that it was good for the matter of it: nor can we enter. tain a fafe hope of eternity, without being able to difcern, a congruity of temper to the happiness in reverfion. "But let every man prove his own work, then fhall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another," Gal. vi. 4.

"

6. As we are in an enfnaring world, we are concerned to know the bent of our fouls. When we know the "fins which moft eafily befet us, whether pride or paffion, or fenfuality,or covetoufnefs; we fee where our principal and

and moft conftant guard is neceffary, what irregular inclination we should moft fet ourfelves to mortify, where Satan is most likely to gain an advantage over us. The more ignorant we are of our weak part, the more likely he is to prevail; for we have given that. watchful enemy too many opportunities to difcern this, though for want of attention we fhould remain ignorant of it ourselves. And indeed the general knowledge of the imperfection of our own hearts, of their inftability, their conftant proneness to one evil or other, is of great confequence to us in the chriftian life that we may not be confident in ourselves, but may maintain a conftant dependance on divine grace to keep us from falling, which is abfolutely neceffary to our fafety: And God will probably take fome way to make us fenfible that it is fo, if we forget it; as he "left Hezekiah to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart," 2 Chron. xxxii. 31.

7. As ever we would attend on God's ordinances, and perform religious exercifes with advantage, it is neceffary we should know the spirit we are of. For want of this, thofe inftructions which are most appofite to the ease of men, lofe their effect. Ill men ef

cape conviction, and lofe the benefit of the apteft means for their everlasting welfare, because they know not themselves. Chrift is not entertained by them, because they see not their need of him: "For the whole have no need of the phyfician, but they that are fick," Luke v. 31. As long as the Laodiceans continued to flatter themselves that they were

rich, and increafed with goods, and had need of nothing, and knew not that they were wretched, and miferable, and poor, and blind, and naked;" fo long Chrift's counfel would be little regarded by them, when he calls upon them "to buy of him gold tried in the fire, that they might be rich; and white raiment, that they might be cloathed," &c. Rev. iii. 17, 18. And fometimes even good men deny themselves the comfort offered them, for want of a fuller acquaintance at home. This occafions a wrong application of the word of God, either to encourage prefumption, or unreasonably to encrease defpondencies. The fame felf-ignorance, carried into our prayers, or praises, or confeffions, muft prevent their being performed with understanding. How can we afk of God. the bleffings moft proper for us, unless we are fenfible of our prefent Spiritual wants? How fhould we praise God in a right manner for fpiritual benefits received, unless we know what he has done for our fouls? or manage our confeffions fuitably to our own cafe, unless upon a fearch into our fpirits, we difcern what is amifs there?

Let us all then be perfuaded to make this our concern and business, to know what spirit we are of. This muft decide the great queftion, whether we are in a ftate of acceptance with God, and whether we are tending towards heaven or hell? Here begins the great difcrimination between good and bad men thro' the world, whether the difpofitions of their fouls be prevailingly good or bad, chriftian or unchristian. And yet, though it is a matter

of