men religious, we fhould hardly find fo many wicked and fenfual perfons as we do. The generality of men acknowledge the principles of religion, and the truths of the gospel. If you afk them whether they believe that there is a God, and that he knows the fecrets of the heart, and will one day call men to an account for their actions; if you afk them whether they believe that Jefus Chrift is the fon of God, that he died for our fins, and rofe again for our juftification; that he is afcended into heaven, and will come from thence at the last day to judge the quick and the dead I fay, if you ask them whether they believe these things; they will anfwer in the affirmative, and perhaps be not a little angry with you for feeming to call their faith in queftion. But here lies their unhappinefs; that tho they do in fome fort believe these things, and cannot withold affent from them whenever they confider them; yet it very rarely happens that they do confider them. A croud of other thoughts preffes into their minds, and excludes thofe of a religious kind. Their hearts are fet upon the riches, the honours, and the pleasures of this life: worldly thoughts

always

always remain with them, and are constant inhabitants in their fouls; but holy, and devout meditations visit them but feldom, and are like strangers and fojourners, who tarry a little while in a place, and after that perhaps are no more feen or heard of.:

This is the deplorable case of men whofe hearts God hath not enlarged. But when he enlargeth the heart, he brings divine truths to our remembrance, and caufes them to make a deep impreffion upon the foul: he fets before us the evil of fin, and the beauty of holinefs he raifes in our minds the ideas of his own attributes and perfections: he convinces us of the reafonableness and goodness of all his laws: he represents to us the worth and value of our immortal fouls: he tranfplants our thoughts from earth to heaven, and extends our views beyond time to eternity. This is the first thing which God doth when he enlargeth the heart: he impreffes divine truths upon our minds." But then,

2. To complete this enlargement, he ftirs up holy refolutions within us. The understanding may be well informed, and be very converfant about divine. things,

M 4

things, and yet the will may have a vitious biafs for it doth not always happen that the affections are influenced by the understanding: and what the affections do not embrace, 'tis impoffible the will should chufe. How many are there to whom that of the poet is applicable :

Video meliora proboque 3

Deteriora fequor.

Their reason is on the fide of virtue, but their paffions are on the fide of vice. Therefore when God enlargeth the heart, he changeth the course of the paffions, and diverts them into a different channel. What Solomon faith of the heart of kings, is equally true of the hearts of all men: they are in the band of the Lord; as the rivers of water, he turneth them whitherfoever he will Men are very often unfuccefsful in their addreffes to the paffions: tho they speak with all the reafon and eloquence that it is poffible for men to do, yet they frequently fail of exciting the paffions, and overcoming the will; for there are many persons who are like the deaf adder, that floppeth her ear, which will

not

not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming ever fo wifely, Pfalm LVIII. 4, 5. But the things which are impoffible with men, are poffible with God: he hath an abfolute dominion over the hearts of men, and can with the greatest ease ftir up devout affections in them, and incline them to make holy and virtuous refolutions. And when he is pleased to do fo, then I think he may very properly be faid to enlarge the heart. I proceed now,

III. To fhew you, that it is impoffible for us to run the way of God's commandments, except God doth enlarge our

hearts.

For this purpose it will be proper to confider the difficulties of a religious life. And let none be furprized that I speak of difficulties in religion: for, if there were none, our Saviour would never have represented it unto us under the metaphor of a trait gate, and a narrow or a craggy way; nor would he have told us, that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Now

Now the difficulty of religion arifes from these three caufes: the corruption of our nature; the temptations which affault us from without; and the evil habits which we ourselves contract. On these therefore I will

;

now difcourfe and thence argue the neceflity of a fupernatural aid, or a divine enlargement, in order to the chearful difcharge of our duty.

1. I begin with the firft; namely, the corruption of our nature.

As I am not for debafing human nature, to that degree to which fome would debafe it; fo neither am I for exalting it to that pitch to which fome would exalt it. That there is in mankind a propenfity to vice, and that this propenfity discovers itself very early, are truths founded upon obfervation and experience *; and feem alfo to be countenanced by the word of God.

Here the following lines were inferted; but afterwards ftruck out again, with this reafon affigned, that the author took for granted, fcripture teftimonies would be more acceptable to a chriftian auditory.

σε

"Several of the heathens were fenfible of the depravity of human nature, and deeply lamented it. Cebes "the Thebah, hath reprefented it under the figure of "a woman, whofe name is Imposture, who holds a cup