to make his heart better, and to work in him a more finished refignation to the will of God. Upon occafion of a confiderable disappointment, he writes thus: "A dif"paffionate temper of fpirit is that only which will afford me folid peace. When paffions of any kind prevail, they de prive me of comfort, they marr my best "fervices to God; I go about my duty in "bitterness, and the heat of my fpirit, "which I have fometimes lately found; I

ought therefore to fummons all my power "to bear them down. Lord, affift me by the Spirit of power, and of love, and of a found mind; and let me ever guard against "vain carnal thoughts, the delufive images "of pleafure, profit, or honour, and against • diffatisfaction with my prefent state; all "these tend to break in upon the fincerity "and tranquillity of my foul. Let me now

66

put the queftion; what would I do, if "my circumftances were altered, according to the imaginations that have often amufed me? I anfwer to myself, I would "apply myfelf chearfully to my bufinefs, as a chriftian and a minifter, ftudying higher degrees of knowledge, purity, meeknefs, charity, and every thing vir

"tuous

P

"tuous and praise-worthy. But am I not "deceiving myself in this? I cannot vindi "cate myself from fuch delufion other

wife, than by promoting these ends now. "to the utmost of my capacity. If I do "not do it now to my utmoft, I fhould not

do it then; for a mere change in the out"ward ftate will never make the heart bet

ter. If I am impatient that things do "not come to pafs according to my fond "defire, and fanguine imaginations, that is * my fin; and if fuch impatience of fpirit diverts me from my duty, it is a certain * indication of infincerity in my profeffion as a chriftian."

ες

To conclude this general account of his diary, there runs through it a tender spirit of fympathy with his friends: Many of their diftreffes are particularly represented, and the feelings of his heart, on their account, which fhew a very delicate fenfibility in fuch matters, and made him always ready to do his utmost for their support and relief. With fuch variety of matter, omitting no thing that was of any importance, he carried on the hiftory of his life, which, tho' manifeftly intended for his own ufe only, b 4

and.

and therefore written with the greatest fimplicity, yet difcovers in every part of it much ferious thinking, as well as fevere felfgovernment.

THE few paffages I have tranfcribed, in giving the reader this view of the defign of it, are in the firft or second volumes; I fhall now add fome of his meditations many years after.

"UPON a defigned confideration of those important fubjects, the methods of di"vine providence towards me, my own "behaviour, what I ought to do, and how fupport myself under the calamities of

દ

life, and the fears of death (and, for such confideration, I have a good opportunity "this Lord's day, being detained from the public affembly by fuch an indifpofition, as does not render me incapable of meditating) a great many thoughts arise in "my heart. It is of the last confequence, indeed the foundation of all religion, and all comfort, to preferve right fentiments concerning the Deity and his providence, "I have given my heart free leave to bring forth all its objections (and they all turn 66 upon

upon this one point, that they feem to argue against the wisdom and kindness "of providence to me) for furely the prin

ciples of religion are not fuch, as to re

quire that any objections against them "fhould be ftifled, as being too ftrong. "The fum of my deliberate thoughts, af

ter a ferious enquiry, are, that if in"deed the gratifications of sense, of ani"mal affections and paffions, be the per"fection and true end of life, I am not "able to answer the objection; for, though "it is certain, I have many good things

from God (and, I am perfuaded, there " is more of them, than evil in my lot; "and, it may be, the enjoyments I would "further defire, might be hurtful to life

upon the whole) yet I cannot fay, that "this amounts to a fatisfying answer. But "taking life in another view, and confi

dering the human nature, as made for the

purposes of virtue and religion, and for "the final fruition of God in a perfect "ftate, and the objection vanishes, there is << no force at all in it; for then it appears, "that the main ends of my being are not ob"ftructed, but promoted rather, and served, by the very troubles and difappointments

"complained

complained of, as experience fully demonftrates: But that this is a true prin principle, is apparent, from a fair view of all the powers, affections, and enjoyments of our nature, taken together; for virtuous "fentiments, and affections, and enjoyments, are fo deep wrought into our conftitution, that it is impoffible to efface them. "To refift and ftrive continually against "them, is to make ourselves compleatly "miferable; whereas, to refift the other "affections and paffions, affords inward fecc renity and peace; fo that, upon the con

'

trary principle to that which I now af"fert, the human nature would be an un

accountable work of God, a heap of ab"furdities and contradictions, like the ha "dow of death, without any light or or"der. But this principle must lie at the "bottom of all religion, and, I hope, I "need not ftill be laying the foundation "from it, as I am fatisfied concerning the

*

difpenfations of divine providence toward me, so I see my own faults, which con"fift principally in oppofing and thwarting it, fetting my heart on thofe things, as "the principal business and fruitions of life which really are not fo; and, upon this wrong

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