wards it, fince the Motion was rejected with infinite Abhorrence and Dislike, he contracted not the leaft Guilt thereby.

A bad Man may often think of what is good, may entertain his Mind with Speculations about God, his immortal Soul, a future Life, the Benefits purchased for us by Jefus Chrift; may employ himfelf much in the Study and Meditation of the Scriptures, divine and fpiritual things, only to exercife his Wit, to fatisfy his Curiofity or inquifitive Humour, to furnish himself for Talk or Dispute, to appear learned, or the like; nay, he may take great pleasure in thinking of fuch Objects, and in using his Reason, Judgment, Invention or Fancy about them, as other Men are delighted in the Study of any other Sciences, or in any acquired Knowledg. Yet all these Thoughts about good things are not, in a moral reckoning, good Thoughts; nor is the Man at all morally the better for them, if his Will do not join with, nor is governed by them. If he be not pleased with, if he doth not entertain such Thoughts upon some other accounts, there is no more Religion or Vertue in fixing his Mind upon God, than there is in thinking of the Sun, or Moon, or Stars, or any Propofition in the Mathematicks, or any other innocent Thing or Notion: for thus an Atheist may confider much God's Nature and Attributes, and Providence, only to pick a quarrel with him, or find out fomething to object against them.

And

And on the other fide, the beft Men may and fometimes must think of those things that are finful; how elfe fhould they ever repent of them, beg God's pardon for, or refolve against them? There is no reading in the Holy Scriptures, or any other Hiftories, wherein the evil Actions and Speeches of wicked Men are recorded; there is no living or converfing in the World, where fo much Evil is every day committed, without thinking of that which is finful: but then in good Men the Thought of any fuch thing is always with Grief and Deteftation, they think of it as of a thing that is moft hateful and pernicious to them; as Men think of a Plague or Mifchance, fhivering at the very naming of it, and praying to God to preferve them from it. Thus our Thoughts are not to be called or counted evil only from the Object of them.

Nor yet farther, by evil Thoughts do I understand any fudden Thoughts, ftarting up in our Minds before we are aware, which will not I believe be imputed to us as Sins, tho if confented to, they are undoubtedly evil; for nothing will be reckoned to us as a Sin, or punished as fuch, but what is fome way or other voluntary, and might have been helped or avoided. Now fuch firft Motions of Sin (as) we commonly call them) which come upon us, nobis non fcientibus nec volentibus, without our Knowledg, and against our Wills, are only the Exercife of our Vertues, when prefently check'd and controuled; but when confented

to and delighted in, they then bring forth Sin, and Sin when it is finished brings forth Death.

But to be more particular, I fhall firft of all fhew you when our Thoughts may be counted voluntary, and we are truly and justly answerable for them. Secondly, propound to you fome of the several kinds of evil Thoughts. Thirdly, lay down fome practical Rules for the due Government of our Thoughts.

I. I fhall fhew when we are justly answerable for our Thoughts, or when they may be reckoned voluntary; and here I fhall only give these three Instances.

1. When evil Thoughts are plainly occafion'd by any thing that was voluntary in us, then they are to be accounted voluntary and finful. What our Thoughts fhall be, depends very much upon the Choice of the outward Objects that we converfe moft with in the World; and they will be ofteneft on those things which we delight moft in, and accuftom our felves most unto. So far forth therefore as our Company, Difcourfe, Employments, Entertainments, Books, Recreations, Wine, nay I may add Diet roo, do contribute to the stirring up in our Minds wanton and luftful, covetous or ambitious, angry or revengeful Thoughts, fo far are fuch Thoughts voluntary in us; and tho they may come upon us, and rife in our Minds without any actual Confent or Command of our Wills, yet we are justly answerable for them, as having by fome

wilful Act of our own difpofed our felves for fuch Thoughts.

By Senfuality, and Loofenefs, and Intemperance, and indulging themselves in bodily Pleasures, Men may fo debafe their Minds, that hardly any Thoughts fhall offer themfelves but what are beaftly and leud, or at best trifling and useless. Empty, light, vain, foolifh, extravagant Thoughts, are the natural Product of Idlenefs, Sloth, Pride, and Luxury. So that tho what we fhall think of be not at all times in our power, yet it is in our power in a very great measure to abstain from those things which are apt to incite evil Thoughts, and minifter Fuel to them; from all Incentives or Provocations to inordinate or filthy Imaginations. And as far as we our felves give occafion to the raising up of evil Thoughts in our Minds, fo far are they voluntary and imputable to us.

2. When evil Thoughts proceed from grofs fupine Negligence and Carefefncfs, then are we accountable for them: when we keep no guard at all over our Minds and Fancies, but give them free Liberty wildly to rove and ramble, and let what will come into our Thoughts; if they then prove vile and wicked, it is very much our own Fault, and we must answer for them, because we then willingly prostitute our Minds to every Luft and Vanity. And when we fet the Doors wide open without any Watch or Guard, we must blame our felves if dishonest Men enter in fometimes as well as good Friends.

Indeed,

Indeed, notwithstanding all our Care to fe cure our felves, Thieves may perchance break in upon us, or creep in unawares; whilft we fleep or intermit our Watch (for we cannot be always upon the Guard) the Enemy may fow fome Tares, inject and dart in some evil Thoughts. Tho we keep never so strict an eye over our selves, and endeavour to the utmost to keep our Souls pure and chaste, yer fometimes by Surprize, thro cafual Non-attendance and Inadvertency, or the Cunning and Activity of our fpiritual Enemies, a base wicked Thought may fuddenly poffefs our Minds, nay and abide in us for fome time before we take notice of it: but then the Mind is mostly paffive in this; it is ravifhed rather than voluntarily commits Leudnefs: this is our Weakness and Infirmity only, which God is always ready to pity and pardon.

Our Souls are active and bufy; they cease to be and exift, when they do not think of fomething or other. Now if we do not take care to furnish our Minds continually with good and useful Matter for our Thoughts, they will foon find out fomething else to exercise themfelves upon; and when we let them run loosely and at random, and think at all adventures as it happens, we then tempt the Devil to chufe a Subject for us, we expose our selves to the Wildness and Extravagance of our own vain Imaginations; and when we keep no Watch, no wonder tho we be over-run with Swarms of vagrant Thoughts. When there

fore