which the Lord hath promised: for we have sinned.” And, indeed, it fares with these men oftentimes as it did with those, both as to the undertaking, and as to the success; their motion is as sinful as their station; and their success is answerable, they are driven back and discomfited in their enterprise. Nay, though this passion might arise so high, as to be called an ecstacy or a rapture, yet it deserves not the name of religion: "For religion is," as one speaks elegantly, "like the natural heat that is radicated in the hearts of living creatures, which hath the dominion of the whole body, and sends forth warm blood and spirits, and vital nourishment into every part and member; it regulates and orders the motions of it in a due and even manner." But these ecstatical souls, though they may blaze like a comet, and swell like a torrent or land-flood for a time, and shoot forth fresh and high for a little season, are soon extinguished, emptied, and dried up, because they have not a principle, a stock to spend upon, or, as our Saviour speaks, no root in themselves. These men's motions and actions bear no more proportion to religion, than a land-flood, that swells high and runs swiftly, but it is only during the rain; or, in the Scripture phrase, no more than a morning dew, that soon passes away, is like a well or fountain of water. Second, If religion be a principle, a new nature in the soul, then it is not a mere mechanism, a piece of Art imitates nature; nothing more ordinary, I fear, than for religion itself, that new nature, to go into an art. I need not tell you how all the external acts and shootings forth of religion, may be dissembled and imitated by art, and be acted over by art. a mimical, apish Pharisee, who finds nothing at all of the gentle and mighty heat, nor the divine and noble life of it in his own soul, whereby he may fairly deceive the credulous world, as I have partly hinted already. But it is possible, I wish it be not common, for men that are somewhat more convinced, enlightened, and affected, to imitate the very power and spirit of religion, and to deceive themselves too, as if they possessed some true living principle; and herein they exceed the most exquisite painters. Now, this may be done by the power of a quick and raised fancy; men hearing such glorious things spoken of heaven, the city of the great King, the new Jerusalem, may be carried out by the power of self-love, to wish themselves there, being mightily taken with a conceit of the place. But how shall they come at it? Why, they have seen in books, and heard in discourses, of certain signs of grace, and evidences of salvation; and now they set their fancies on work, to find or make some such things in themselves. Fancy is well acquainted with the several affections of love, fear, joy, grief, which are in the soul, and having a great command over the animal spirits, it can send them forth to raise up these affections, even almost when it listeth; and when it hath raised them, it is but putting to some thoughts of God and heaven, and then these look like a handsome platform of true religion drawn in the soul, which they presently view, and fall in love with, and think they do even taste of the powers of the world to come, when indeed it is nothing but a self-fulness and sufficiency that they feed upon. Now, you may know this artificial religion by this; these men can vary it, alter it, enlarge it, straiten it, and new-mould it at pleasure, according to what they see in others, or according to what themselves like best; one while acting over the joy and confidence of some Christians, anon the humiliation and brokenness of others. But this fanciful religion, proceeding indeed from nothing but low and carnal conceits of God and heaven, is of a flitting and vanishing nature. But true Christians are gently, yet powerfully, moved by the natural force of true goodness, and the beauty of God, and do move on steadily and constantly in their way to him, and pursuit of him. The spirit of regeneration in good men spreads itself upon the understanding, and sweetly insinuates itself through the will and affections, which makes true religion to be a consistent and thriving principle in the soul, as not being acted upon the stage of imagination, but upon the highest powers of the soul itself, and may be discerned by the evenness of its motions, and the immortality of its nature; for a good man, though indeed he cannot go on always with like speed and cheerfulness in his way, yet he is not willing at any time to be quite out of it. By this same nature of true religion you may examine all those spurious and counterfeit religions, that spring from a natural belief of a Deity, from convictions, observations, fleshly and low apprehensions of heaven, book-learning, and the precepts of men, as the prophet calls them, and the rest, which are seated in the fancy, and swim in the brain ; whose effect is but to gild the outward man, or, at best, but to move the soul by an external force, in In an unnatural, inconstant, and transient manner. a word, all these pretenders to religion may seem to have water, but they have no well; as there are others, deep men, principled indeed with learning, policy, ingenuity, &c. but not with true goodness, whom the Apostle calls "wells," but "without waBut the truly godly, and godlike soul, hath in itself a principle of pure religion.—“The water that I shall give him, shall be a well of water springing up into eternal life.” ter." CHAPTER III. Containing the first property mentioned of true religion, namely, The freeness and unconstrainedness of it. This freedom considered as to its Author; in which is considered how far the command of God may be said to act a godly soul. Secondly, Considered as to its object. Two cautionary concessions: 1. That some things without the soul may be said to be motives. 2. That there is a constraint lying upon the godly soul; which yet takes not away its freedom. I PROCEED now, from the nature of religion, to speak of the properties of it, as many of them as are couched under this phrase, "springing up into everlasting life." Not to press the phrase any further than it will naturally afford discourse, I shall only take notice of these three properties of true religion, contained in the Word, "springing up," namely, the freeness, activity, and permanency, or perseverance of it. The first property of it, couched under this phrase, is, that it is free and unconstrained. Religion is a principle, and it flows and acts freely in the soul, after the manner of a fountain; and, in the day of its mighty power, makes the people a willing people, and the soul, in whom it is truly seated, to become a free-will offering unto God. Alexander the Great subdued the world with force of arms, and made men rather his tributaries and servants, than his lovers. and friends but the great God, the king of souls, obtains an amicable conquest over the hearts of his elect, and overpowers them in such a manner, that |