can for God. Particularly take care of your Frame, before you actually enter upon your fecular Affairs. Be concerned that the World does not creep into your Hearts, when you rife in the Morning. Your Morning Frames are of great Importance. Labour to throw afide the World; and do not enter upon Business, till you have earnestly fought the Prefence and Bleffing of God with and upon you. Confider well over, in your Closets, the Affairs of the Day, the Temptations you are like to be expofed to; and be earnest with God for his fpecial Prefence to keep you: And oh! endeavour to get your Hearts impreffed with the Love of Jesus, and you will be in lefs Danger of being carried away by the Temptations of the Day. You read in the Life of Col. Gardiner, that that great Man had always his two Hours with God in a Morning*. If his Regiment was to march at Four, he would be up at Two. I doubt not but that Frame he had in his Closet often went with him through the Day. I would not intimate by this, that it is the Duty of every one of you, my Friends, to fpend two Hours in your Closets every Morning: But I am fatisfied, that if no Care is taken to fet apart fome Time for God, that Perfon can never be in a flourishing Condition as to his Soul. Let me tell you, early Rifing is not only good for the Health of the Body, but for the Health of the Soul too, provided fome Time is fpent with God, and communing with our own Hearts. "O my Friends, ftrive, wrestle with God in your Morning-Hours for his Presence in the Day, and labour to get Love to Jefus inkindled in your Breafts, before you go out of your Closets: And watch over your Frame in the Day. Exa

*Col. Gardiner's Life, Page 60.

mine your Ends and Views, the Principles and Springs from whence you act. Watch over your deceitful Hearts. Walk as in the Prefence of God. In fine, let the Glory of Chrift lie near your Hearts, and be afraid of any Thing that may difhonour God, and provoke his Spirit to withdraw from you. Thus, in endeavouring to cultivate a spiritual Frame and Tem per, and to walk with Humility and Circumspection, you will give Evidence of your being Chriftians indeed; may expect the Presence of God with you; and I doubt not but, through his divine Bleffing, you will find your Souls in a thriving Condition. I would now close these few Hints with two Remarks

1. Hence we find, that it is not an eafy Thing to be a flourishing Chriftian. We muft live much in the Exercife of Faith; we must be much upon our Guard against Sin; we must be much in our Closets, seeking God by Prayer, examining ourselves, and keeping a strict Watch over our Hearts, left they fhould deceive us. A carelefs Chriftian cannot be a flourishing one. If you would grow up like tall Cedars, and flourish as Trees of Righteousness, you must not be cold and lifelefs, careless as to your Frames and Conversation, Like Centinels, you must be ever upon your Watch; like Perfons running a Race, you must be preffing towards the Mark with all your Might; and like Soldiers, you must be prepared for the Battle, and enter the Field with your Armour on, that you may get daily Advantages over your spiritual Enemies, and may go from Strength to Strength, from one Degree of Grace unto another. To be lively Chriftians, fuch as glorify God in every Circumftance of Life, requires Grace to be much in Exercife, much of the Prefence of God, and constant Sup plies out of our Redeemer's inexhauftible Fulness.

2. We should be each concerned to inquire how it is with our Souls, and, if we are upon the Decline, to attend unto the Directions that have been given. Put off a Matter of such vaft Importance no longer; but examine whether you are Chriftians indeed, or not, and in what Circumstances, whether thriving, or declining: And, if you are upon the Decline, let me intreat you to confider what has been faid upon this Subject, and think it high Time to awake out of Sleep. Oh! if you have any Concern for the Honour of Chrift, any Concern for the Peace and Welfare of your precious Souls, labour to have Things better with you. Let your Loins be girt, and your Lights burning: And may none of us be under the leaft Alarm, when Death approaches, but then, through Grace, be enabled to fay, We have fought the good Fight; we have finished our Course; we have kept the Faith. Henceforth there is laid up for us a Crown of Righteoufnefs, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give us at that Day, and not to us only, but also to all thofe that love his Appearing.

CASE III.

A ferious Perfon, who fcruples to comply with the usual Practice of playing at Cards, defires to know, whether thefe Scruples arife from a needlefs Tenderness of Confcience, or from the faithful Monitions of the Spirit of God?

The above Queftion is grounded upon, and extracted from, the following Epistle:

σε

"Reverend Sir,

Humbly take Liberty to recommend to your Confideration a Subject, which has been of great "Concern to my Mind. In Time paft I had a

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great Liking to, and frequently practifed the Game "of Cards without Remorse, as moft young People, I "believe, do. But, fince I have tafted that the Lord "is gracious (which I hope is my happy Case) I di"rectly laid aside the general Practice of it, as what I "apprehend unbecoming the Chriftian Character. I "have withstood frequent Temptations offered for a Compliance; but, once being in Company warm "for the Game, on their Solicitation I complied, but "not without fharp Reproofs of Confcience. On "which I fecretly purposed to have no more to do "therewith, and have hitherto kept my Refolution. "Whether my Refufals are needlefs Scruples of Con"fcience, or faithful Monitions from God, is my Query. "And, as the Season is coming on, in which the Game "of Cards is commonly practifed, and I may poffibly ❝ fall

"fall in the Way of Temptation hereto, I am defirous "to know, if by Compliance I fhall fin against God, and (if fo) wherein the Evil thereof particularly confifts." I am, Sir,

Yours, &c.

"P. S. I leave it to your Judgment to frame a Que"stion from these Thoughts suitable to the Occasion."

A

S fuch a conscientious Spirit runs through the above Epiftle, I think it may speak the Language of many Hearts, and therefore the more readily addrefs myself to the Confideration of the Subject.

The ferious Request contained in the foregoing Letter cannot be answered without entering into the Merits of the Cause; for there is no other Way of knowing whether the Scruples in our Minds, as to any particular Practice, be needlefs or juft, but by applying to the Divine Word, as the Rule of Duty, to see what we can gather from thence by juft Confequence concerning the Point. So far, therefore, as my Judgment reaches, I would endeavour feriously and faithfully to recommend myself to every Man's Confcience in the Sight of God.

Let me first speak a few Things, which agree to the Game of Cards along with other Diverfions in common; and then confider what is peculiar to this Game, and others of a fimilar Kind; and fo by Degrees fhew you wherein and how far it is lawful or unlawful. And,

1. This Diversion, with every other, is certainly evil, whenfoever it is attended with those Circumstances, that are detrimental and difgraceful; if it be practifed with wicked Company; if it is purfued at unfeasonable Hours; if it infringes

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