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partial prepoffeffions and the power of paffions: but by right reafon, I mean those common principles, which are readily allowed by all who are capable of underftanding them, and not notoriously perverted by the power of prejudice, and which are confirmed by the common confent of all the fober and thinking part of mankind, and may be eafily learned by the light of nature. Therefore, if any doctrine or practice, though supposed to be founded in or countenanced by revelation, be nevertheless apparently repugnant to these dictates of right reafon, or evidently contradict our natural notions of the divine attributes, or weaken our obligations to univerfal virtue, that, we may be fure, is no part of revelation, because then one part of our rule would clash with, and be oppofite to the other. And thus reafon was defigned to be our guard against a wild and extravagant conftruction of fcrip

ture.

(2.) The other part of our rule is the facred fcriptures, which we are to use us our guard against the licentious excursions of fancy, which is often impofing itself upon us for right reafon. Let any religious fcheme or notion then appear ever so pleafing or plaufible, if it be not established on

the

the plain principles of fcripture, it is forthwith to be difcarded; and that sense of scripture that is violently forced to bend towards it, is very much to be fufpected.

It must be very surprising to one who reads and studies the facred fcriptures with a free unbiaffed mind, to fee what elaborate, fine fpun, and flimfy gloffes men will invent and put upon fome texts as the true and genuine fenfe of them, for no other reason, but because it is most agreeable to the opinion of their party, from which, as the standard of their orthodoxy, they durft never depart; who, if they were to write a critic in the fame manner on any Greek or Latin author, would make themselves extremely ridiculous in the eyes of the learned world, But, if we would not pervert our rule, we must learn to think as fcripture fpeaks, and not compel that to speak as we think. Would we know ourselves then, we must often view ourselves in the glass of God's word. And when we have taken a full furvey of ourselves from thence, let us not foon forget what manner of perfons we are, Jam. i. 23, 24. If our own image do not please us, let us not quarrel with our mirror, but fet about mending ourselves. The eye of the mind indeed is not like R 3

that

that of the body, which can fee every thing elfe but itself; for the eye of the mind can turn itself inward, and furvey itself. However, it must be owned, it can fee itself much better when its own image is reflected upon it from this mirror. And it is by this only that we can come at the bottom of our hearts, and discover those fecret prejudices and carnal prepoffeffions, which felf-love would hide from us.

This then is the first thing we must do in order to felf-knowledge. We must examine, fcrutinize, and judge ourselves, diligently, leifurely, frequently, and impartially; and that not by the falfe maxims of the world, but by the rules which God hath given us, reafon and fcripture; and take care to understand thofe rules, and not fet them at variance. The next important ftep to felf-knowledge is the subject of the following chapter.

CHAP. II.

Conftant Watchfulness, necessary to Self

II. ".

Knowledge.

"WOULD we know ourselves, we "must be very watchful over

our hearts and lives."

(1.) We

(1.) We must keep a vigilant eye upon our hearts, i. e. our tempers, inclinations, and paffions. A more neceffary piece of advice we cannot practise in order to selfacquaintance, than that which Solomon gives us, Prov. iv. 23. Keep your heart with all diligence, or, as it is in the original, above all keeping *. q. d. Whatever you neglect or overlook, be fure you mind your heartt. Narrowly obferve all its inclinations and aversions, all its motions and affections, together with the feveral objects and occafions which excite them. And this precept is enforced with two very urgent reafons in fcripture. The firft is, because out of it are the iffues of life. i. e. As our heart is, fo will the tenor of our life and conduct be. As is the fountain, fo are the ftreams; as is the root, fo is the fruit, Matth. vii. 18. And the other is, because it is deceitful above all things, Jer. xvii. 9. And therefore without a conftant guard upon it, we shall infenfibly run into many hurtful felf-decep

מכלך משמר *

tions.

+ Parallel to this advice of the royal preacher is that of the imperial philofopher, Evdov Brems endov yag n anyn re ayate. Look within; for within is the fountain of all good. M. Aurel. lib. 7. § 59.

tions. To which I may add, that without this careful keeping of the heart, we fhall never be able to acquire any confiderable degree of felf-acquaintance or felf-government.

(2.) To know ourfelves, we must watch our life and conduct as well as our hearts. And by this the heart will be better known; as the root is best known by the fruit. We muft attend to the nature and confequences of every action we are difpofed or folicited to, before we comply; and confider how it will appear in an impartial review. We are apt enough to obferve and watch the conduct of others; a wife man will be as critical and as fevere upon his own; For indeed we have a great deal more to do with our own conduct than other mens; as we are to answer for our own, but not for theirs. By obferving the conduct of other men, we know them; by carefully obferving our own, we must know ourfelves,

CHAP.

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