ian will not be unwilling to have his practices examined and tried by the rules of reason and God's word; but will rather rejoice in it.

And I desire particularly, that the practice may be tried by that sure touchstone of experience. Let it be tried by the consideration of what is experienced in fact abroad in one town, and place, and another. This is one of the rules of trial that have been mentioned, that that custom that the experience and observation of mankind shows to be ordinarily attended or followed with sin, may be determined and concluded to be unlawful. And if we look abroad in the country, I doubt not but these two things will be found.

1. That as to those towns where there is most of this care ried on among young people, (as there is more of it in some places than others) it will be found, as a thing that universally holds, that the young people there are commonly a loose, vain, and irreligious generation; little regarding God, heayen, or hell, or any thing but vanity. And that commonly in those towns where most frolicing is carried on, there are the most frequent breaking out of gross sins; fornication in particular.

2. If we try it by persons: If we go through the country, we shall, for the most part, find, that those persons that are greatest frolicers, are most addicted to this practice which we are speaking of, they are the persons furthest from serious thought, and are the vainest and loosest upon other accounts. And whence should this be, if such a practice was not sinful, or had not a natural tendency to lead persons into sin.

And furthermore, I appeal to the experience of you here present, as to what you have found in yourselves. I desire those of you that have made pretences of serious religion, and saving piety, and have formerly pretended to keep up religion in your closet, and your own souls, that you would seriously ask yourselves, whether or no you have not found, that this practice has indisposed you to serious religion, and taken off your minds from it? Has it not tended to your neglect of secret prayer? Have you not found, that after you have

been to a frolic, you have been more backward to that duty? And, if you have not wholly neglected it, have you not found that you have been abundantly more slightly, and ready to turn it off in any manner, and glad to have done with it? And more backward to reading and serious meditation, and such things? And that your mind has been exceedingly diverted from religion, and that for some time?

I do not send you far off to find out whether this custom be not of bad tendency....not beyond the sea, to some distant country; I send you no further than to your own breast to examine your own experience in this matter; let the matter be determined by that.

And then again, let us try this custom by the effect the outpouring of the Spirit of God on a people has with respect to it. This we are under great advantage to do; because there has lately been here in this place, the most remarkable outpouring of the Spirit of God that has ever been in Newengland, and, it may be, in the world, since the apostles' days. And it is known, that before this, that custom of young peoples frolicing did prevail in the town. And here we all know the effect it had: It put an end to it.... It was a custom that was wholly done with....It was altogether laid aside; and was so for several years.

It has been already shown, that there is no account can be given why the Spirit of God, and the flourishing of religion should abolish such a custom, unless it be because that custom is, either in its nature or tendency, an enemy to the Spirit of God and religion.

The fruits of the Spirit of God are good, and I hope there are none that have the blasphemy to say otherwise. And therefore it is good that this custom should be removed; for this is plainly one of the effects of the Spirit of God. And if so, it is because the custom is bad, either in its nature or tendency; otherwise there would be no good in its being removed. The Spirit of God abolished this custom for this reason, because if it had been kept up in the town, it would have had a direct tendency to hinder that work that the Spirit was about to do amongst us, This was undeniably the reason.

Supposing such a custom had been begun and set up by the young people all over the town, in the midst of the time of the late outpouring of the Spirit, all of a sudden, would any wise persons, that have truly the cause of religion at heart, rejoice at it? Would not every one at first thought have concluded, without any hesitation, that it was a thing that looked darkly upon the interest of religion, and there was great danger that it would take off peoples' minds from religion, and make them vain; and so put an end to the flourishing of religion? Would not every considerate person in this town have thought thus of it? And if such a custom would had an ill tendency then so it will now.

Objection. The town' is not in such circumstances now as it was then. And though it might have done hurt then, by putting an end to the great concern; yet now it may do no hurt: For there is now no such great concern to be put an end to by it.

Answer. Though the town is not in such circumstances now as it was then, yet it ought to be; there ought to be as much engagedness of mind about religion; as much contern among sinners, and as much engagedness among the godly, as then And it is to our shame that there is not. And if such a practice would have tended to destroy such a religious concern, then it certainly tends to prevent it now. It is a rule that will hold, that that which has a tendency to destroy a thing And are we not

when it is, tends to prevent it when it is not. praying from sabbath to sabbath, and from day to day, for such a concern again? And do not those of you that pretend to be converted, that have lately set up this custom, pray for the same? Are you a convert, a saint, and yet not desire that here should be any more pouring out of the Spirit of God? The town has cause to be ashamed of such converts, if it has any such. And if ye do, why do you do what tends to prevent it?

Again, Let this practice be tried by the effect that a general decay of religion has with respect to it. Now we have a trial; it is now a time that religion is greatly decayed amongst us; and the effect is that this custom comes in with this decay. Young people begin again to set up their old custom of

frolicing, and spending great part of the night in it, to the violation of family orders. What is the reason, if this custom is not bad, either in its nature or tendency, that it did not come in before, when religion was lively? Why does it stay till it can take the advantage of the withdrawment of religion? This is a sign that it is a custom that shuns a spirit of lively religion, as darkness shuns the light, and never comes in until light withdraws.

ence.

And here again, I would send persons to their own experiHow did this practice come in with you in particular : You that two or three years ago, seemed to be so engaged in religion? Did it not come in, did you not begin to practise it, as the sense of religion wore off? And what is the matter? Why did not you set up the practice then, when your heart was taken up about reading, meditation, and secret prayer to God? If this do not at all stand in the way of them, and is no hinderance to them, why was you not engaged in both together? What account can you give of it? Why did you leave off this practice and custom, or abstain from it? To what purpose is this changing? One while it must be avoided as evil, and another while practised and pleaded for as good. The making such an alteration does not look well, nor will it be for the honor of religion in the eye of the world. For whether the practice be lawful or not, yet such a thing will surely be improved to our disadvantage. For your avoiding of it then, has this appearance, in the eye of the country, that then you condemned it; and therefore your now returning to it will appear to them as backsliding in you. Such changelings are ever more in the eye of the world, greatly to the dishonor of the profession they are of, let it be what it will,

Indeed this custom, as it is practised, does not only tend to sin, but is in itself very disorderly, sinful, and shameful. For it is attended late in the night, and in the dead of the night, to the neglect of family prayer, and violating all family order, which is disorder and profaneness. Is it lawful to rob God of his ordinary sacrifices, for the sake of your pleasure, diversion, and jollity? Are you of that mind that it is a decent thing, that the stated worship of the great God should give

way to your mirth, and your diversions? Is this the way of God's holy children, to talk after this manner? Those works that are commonly done in the dead of the night, seem to have a black mark set upon them by the apostle, and Christians are exhorted to avoid them, Rom, xiii. 12, 13. "Let us

cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness; not in chambering and wantonness." The word here rendered rioting, is of far different signification from the term as used in our laws: For the forcible doing, and unlawful thing, by three or more persons assembled together for that purpose. Words, as they are terms in the law, are often used very much beside their common signification. But the word here properly signifies, a disorderly convention of persons to spend their time together in pleasure and jollity. So the word is commonly used in scripture,

Prov. xxiii. 20.

Prov. xxviii. 7.

"Be not amongst riotous eaters of flesh." "He that is a companion of riotous men, Luke xv. 13. "Wasted his substance

shameth his father."

with riotous living."

Again, a black mark seems to be set on such in scripture, as in 1 Thess. v. 5....8. "Ye are all children of the light, and children of the day: We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunk, are drunken in the night.

Many of you that have lately set up this practice of frolicing and jollity, profess to be children of the light and of the day; and not to be the children of darkness. Therefore walk as in the day; and do not those works of darkness that are commonly done at unseasonable hours of the night.

Such things are not only condemned by the apostle, but are looked upon as infamous through the world in all ages among sober sort of people; and all past writings show it. Therefore it is a thing of bad report, and so forbidden, Phil. iv. 8, "Whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any vir, tue, any praise, think on these things.