have never thought of, viz. That a Habit of Lying out of the Confeffional, is a fair Step towards Lying in Confeffion. For 'tis with this, as with all other Vices; its Progrefs is gradual, and gains upon us almost imperceptibly.

Children begin at firft with little Excufes, very near a-kin to Lyes, to cover their ordinary Faults; and prevent their being chid or corrected by their Parents. By doing this often, and finding the Benefit of it, they proceed infenfibly to downright Lying, whenever it ferves their Turn. As this grows cuftomary and familiar, the Horror of it wears off; Nature takes a Bent that Way; they grow harden'd to it by Degrees: And thus, a falfe and infincere Temper being contracted by a long Custom of Lying to Men, disposes them infenfibly, to venture upon Lying to God himself. For this Reason, all those that are employ'd about Children, fhould make it their Business, to infpire them, from their very Infancy, with a Love for Truth, and Hatred to Lying: And in order to it, whenever this Vice happens to be mention'd before them, it ought always to be spoken of with the utmost Deteftation; and reprefented in fuch Colours, as may give them a fenfible Horror of it.

But

But Care fhould be alfo taken, that Children should always fare the worse for telling a Lye; and the better for owning the Truth. For if they find by Experience, that they are ever in Danger of being Lofers by Lying, and fure of being Gainers by fpeaking the Truth; this will infenfibly nourish in them, an Hatred of the one, and a Love and Esteem of the other The Effect whereof will be, that being brought up from their Infancy, with an Averfion to all Untruth; Sincerity will become habitual, and almoft natural to them: And fince the beft Security against Sin, is to keep at the greatest Distance from it; 'tis evident that thofe, who have an Abhorrence even of any Sort of Lying, will not eafily become guilty of the fouleft Part of it; and the Saying of Chrift will be verified in this, as well as other Inftances; viz. He that is faithful in that which is leaft, is faithful alfo in much. Luke

xvi. 10.

The

The LVIIth ENTERTAINMENT.

The Folly of concealing any Sin in Confeffion.

Be not ashamed to speak Truth for thy Soul: for there is a Confufion, that causeth Death; and there is a Confufion, that bringeth Glory and Grace. Eccl. iv. 24, 25.

T'

HE Confufion that caufeth Death,

is that which hinders a Sinner from laying open the true State of his Confcience; without which, his Soul can never be reftored to the Life of Grace. But the Confufion, which has Grace in this Life, and eternal Glory in the next, for its Reward, is that, which aPenitent submits to, in becoming his own Accufer. Whence it appears, that the Concealment of any Sin, in Confeffion, is not only the Addition o a moft grievous Sin, as has been proved in the former Difcourfe; but is over and above, the very highest Strain of Folly and Madness; as fhall be fhewn at large in this Entertainment.

If a Sinner, by impofing upon his Confeffor, could at the fame Time deceive Almighty

mighty God; if by concealing his Sins from the Knowledge of a Man, he could. alfo hide them from the All-feeing Eyes of Jefus Chrift; finally, if his avoiding a momentary Confufion in this Life, were a Means to shelter them against eternal Confufion hereafter, then indeed he would not altogether want Encouragement to play the Hypocrite, and deal unfairly with God's Minifter: And tho', in fo doing, he might be tax'd with Irreligion and Sacrilege, he could not however be accufed of Weaknefs and Folly.

But Alas! the Cafe is quite otherwife: The Ulcers of his Soul, tho' never fo industriously conceal'd from the Eyes of Men, lie always open to the Eyes of God: That very Sin, which he feeks to hide from his Confeffor, is already register'd in the great Book of Accounts; and nothing, but an humble Confeffion of it, can hinder it from. appearing against him to his everlasting Confufion, both at the Hour of Death, and the great Day of Affizes: And is it not then an unaccountable Folly to refuse a: Compliance with a Duty; when there is no Profpect of Advantage to encourage a Perfon's Tranfgreffing against it, and his fubmitting to it, is the only Means to refcue him from everlasting Evils.

Suppose

Suppose a Criminal condemn'd to die, fhould have his Pardon offer'd him, for only owning his Crime in private, to one deputed by the Judge; would he not be thought to have loft his Reason, if he fhould refuse to submit to such easy Terms? All Men would certainly pronounce him guilty of exceffive Madness and Cruelty to himfelf. Since therefore Almighty God impofes no harder Condition on Sinners, and engages his Word to deliver those that fubmit fincerely to it from eternal Death, and the endless Miseries their Sins have deferved; what Madness and Infatuation is it to reject fo great a Mercy, and rather choose to continue under the Sentence of eternal Damnation, than purchase their Pardon at fo cheap a Rate.

You will fay perhaps, the Condition required is not fo eafy as is pretended; fince to declare one's fecret Sins, is a Thing to which Man's Nature has the greatest Repugnance: But to filence these Reasonings of human Pride; let us fuppofe the ordinary Punishment of every Sin we commit, were, to have it expofed as long as we live, to the View of every one we converse with; and then I afk whether, in this Cafe, a Sinner would not be very mercifully dealt with, if to deliver himself from this publick and lafting Confufion, he were only obliged to

confefs