many years, tho' you are young: remember, death preys upon youth, as well as upon old-age; and that it's no good inference; many years are to come, becaufe few are past. Refolve to live well this day, and think not of to-morrow. When the morrow is come, fay to yourself: Yesterday, with God's affiftance, I complied with my duty: why not to-day? The difficulties are not greater, nor God's affiftance lefs. Thus did the faints by this pious ftratagem deceive nature; which looks upon a restraint, not only as infupportable, but almoft as impoffible: and by practifing christian perfection every day, they confecrated all their life to virtue : without fainting in their way, without relenting in the happy course begun, they crowned their piety with a more happy perfeverance. O Paftor of my foul! fuffer me not to faint in the way of thy fervice. I am one of thofe, whom thy goodness has called from far. Let thy compaffion move thee to fortify the weakness of my foul, as it did to refresh the bodies of the multitude in the defart. In fpight of all my refolutions to remain thy fervant, I find a ftrange propenfity within me to abandon thee. Nature revolts; pleafures allure, and difficulties fright me. Nothing can keep me conftant to my good purposes, but thy grace, that perfuaded me to make them. If we examine the conduct of this multitude, according to the rules of human prudence, their piety carried them too far; for they remained three days fafting, and the wilderness could afford no provifions; fo that nothing but a miracle could fuftain them: but a true love of God, a fincere concern for the good of their fouls, makes faints forget all care of their bodies; and this neglect is fupplied by God's paternal providence, who feldom fails to manage our temporal intereft, when we give all our thoughts to the improvement of his. When K 3 we we feek only his glory, he labours for our profit; and not only furnishes us with fupernatural bleffings, but temporal happiness alfo: Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all thefe things fill be added unto you, Matth. vi. 33. But as a fervent zeal for the glory of God makes us prefume too much on our strength, fo felf-love exaggerates out weakness. Those undertake things above their strength, and chufe rather to be indifcreet than to be lefs zealous ; but thefe, under a pretext of difcretion, foolishly pretend their conftitution is unable to bear any aufterity, and thus they exempt themselves from the performance of their duty, and lay those defects on impotence, that are folely owing to lukewarmness. Few, in our age, feem guilty of the multitude's indifcretion (if it may be called one) but many of too exceffive a love of their health; or at least they cover their indevotion, and even greater fins, with this pretext, and tranfgrefs the commandments of God, and all the precepts of his church, because they cannot obferve them without inconvenience. Some cannot faft, nor others pray. Abftinence agrees not with the conftitution of those, nor application with the indifpofition of thefe. But in reality, the cause of these neglects lies not in the body, but the mind: we will not check appetite, nor force nature with the least constraint. O! let my fervour carry my mortification beyond the bounds of difcretion, rather than felf-love withhold me from my duty. If I can faft for a wordly intereft, why not for an eternal? does the hope of a transitory reward deaden all the weakning impreffions of hunger; and the expectation of a never ending recompence enliven them? or if I dare expose my life, and health, for a fenfible fatisfaction; why fhall I not hazard it for virtue? is that fo valuable, or this fo contemptible! Oh my foul ! foul! ftop thy ears to the murmurs of nature, and follow the voice of grace. This cannot mislead you; That may; and out of a fear of doing too much for God, you do nothing. The apoftles thought it impoffible to nourish fuch a multitude in the defart: Whence can a man fatisfy thefe men with bread here in the wilderness? They had only feven loaves, and a few fifhes: a fmall pittance for four thoufand. But they confidered not the power of their Mafter, who was as able to multiply the loaves as to draw the univerfe from nothing. O! how happy are we, who have so powerful a Protector to defend us! fo compaffionate a Father to affift us! his omnipotence affures me, he can protect me against all the strength of wicked men, and malicious devils; and his goodness gives me a confidence he will. Let nothing therefore deter thee, my foul, from his fervice; neither dangers, tribulations, perfecutions, nor even death: He will either avert thefe, or fupme with ftrength to overcome them. Tho' am able to do nothing of myself, with his help all things are poffible. Ply They did eat and were filled. All that the world can either promife or give, rather sharpen the appetite, than fatisfy it. They may give us a furfeit, but not fatiety. Thy gifts, O Lord, alone can fatiate a reasonable foul. We are made for thee; Thou wilt truly content us in the other world, and virtue alone can fatisfy us in this. If therefore we defire to lead a happy life here, let us be truly virtuous. The only content, we can find here, is a firm confidence, we fhall be placed among the bleffed hereafter; and this is founded upon God's favourable affistance, and, on our part, on a pious co-operation with his grace; for, without this, we do not confide, but finfully prefume. When the multitude was fatiated, the apostles took up of the broken meat that was left, feven baskets full. Thy favours, O Lord, are precious; and we must manage the leaft of them with care and folicitude. Yet why do I fay the leaft? no grace is little it is the price of thy blood, and confequently of an infinite value: it is the feed of eternity; the cause efficient of virtue, and of a thousand graces, which thou haft even prefs'd upon me; but on which my falvation depends, I know not. Seeing therefore I am ignorant on which; Oh! let me manage them all to thy glory, and my profit. Let not the leaft fragment pafs my notice, nor flip by unregarded; much lefs fall upon the ground, out of disrespect or negligence. EPISTLE to the Rom. Chap. vi. Verfe 19. I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh: for, as ye have yielded your members fervants to uncleanness, and to iniquity, unto iniquity; even fo now yield your members fervants to righteousness, unto holiness. 20. For when ye were the fervants of fin, ye were free from righteoufness. 21. What fruit had ye then in those things, whereof ye are now afhamed? for the end of thofe things is death. 22. But now being made free from fin, and become fervants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23. For the wages of fin is death: but the gift of Gods is eternal life, through Jefus Christ our Lord. The ST The MORAL REFLECTION. T. Paul does not, at the firft, perfwade the Romans to embrace the higheft perfection, the chriftian religion prefcribes; but, having regard to their weakness; I speak after the manner of men, because of the infirmity of your flesh. He exhorts them to apply themselves as feriously to virtue, as, under idolatry, they did to vice; and to confecrate thofe members to righteousness, they had defiled with fin: As ye have yielded your members fervants to uncleanness and to iniquity, fo now yield your members fervants to righteousness. Is it poffible, Ŏ God, that thou wilt be content to be served with the fame application, we ferve the flesh, and even thy mortal enemy, and our own, the devil? All we have is thine: to thee we owe life and being. Thou haft created the world for our use, and ourselves to poffefs thy glory. Without thy affistance, we cannot move one step. If thou withdraweft thy hand, we fall into our primitive nothing. When, by disobedience, I fell into thy displeasure, thou didst not revenge my ingratitude, but didft facrifice thy innocent Son, to expiate my crime. But alas! what obligation have I to flesh or the devil? The one draws me to pleasure, the other to fin, and both confpire my damnation. They therefore deferve averfion, not service; and I am obliged, by all that's dear, to difobey their commands; to refuse their favours; to repress their fuggeftions, which defign my ruin under the colour of happiness. But I am wholly thine, O God, and therefore thou doft deferve every action of my body, every motion of my foul. I fhould not think but of my baseness, and thy perfection; of thy goodnefs, and my ingratitude; nor even love myself, but for thee. Yet oh! did I but ferve thee with the |