there are neither Jews nor Papists. Let us not look upon the depravity of others with triumph, nor censure it with bitterness. Every sect may find, in its own followers, those who have the form of godliness without the power; every man, if he examines his own conduct without intention to be his own flatterer, may, to a certain degree, find it in himself.
To give the heart to God, and to give the whole heart, is very difficult; the last, the great effort of long labour, fervent prayer, and diligent meditation. Many resolutions are made, and many relapses lamented, and many conflicts with our own desires, with the powers of the world, and the powers of darkness, must be sustained, before the will of man is made wholly obedient to the will of God.
In the mean time, we are willing to find some way to heaven, less difficult and less obstructed, to keep our hopes alive by faint endeavours, and to lull our consciences by such expedients as we may easily practise. Not yet resolved to live wholly to God, and yet afraid to live wholly to the world, we do something in recompense for that which we neglect, and resign something that we may keep the rest.
To be strictly religious, is difficult; but we may be zealously religious at little expense. By expressing on all occasions our detestation of heresy and popery, and all other horrours, we erect ourselves into champions for truth, without much hazard or trouble. The hopes of zeal are not wholly groundless. Indifference in questions of importance, is no amiable quality. He that is warm for truth, and fearless in its defence, performs one of the duties of a good man; he strengthens his own conviction, and guards others from delusion; but steadiness of belief, and boldness of profession, are yet only part of the form of godliness, which may be attained by those who deny the power.
As almost every man is, by nature or by accident, exposed to danger from particular temptations, and disposed to some vices more than to others; so all are, either by
