Moderation; which confifts in proportioning our Concupifcible Affections to the juft worth and value of Things; fo as neither to spend our Affedions too prodigally upon Trifles, nor yet be overfparing or niggardly of them to real and fubftantial Goods. But to love, defire, and expect things more or lefs, according to the Eftimate which our best and most impartial Reafon makes of their Worth and Goodness. For he that affects things more than in the Esteem of Reafon they deserve, affects them irrationally, and regulates his Paffion by his wild and extravagant Imagination, and not by his Reafon and Judgment. And while men do thus neglect their Reafon, and accustom themselves to defire,and love and affect without it, they neceffarily disable themselves to enjoy a Rational Happinefs. For, befides that their Rational Faculties being thus laid by, and unemployed, will naturally contract Ruft, and grow every day. more weak and reftive; Befides, that their unexercised Reafon will melt away in Sloth and Idlenefs, and all its vital Powers freeze for want of motion, and, like standing water, ftagnate and gather mire, and by degrees corrupt and putrefie,till at last it will be impoffible to revive them to the vigorous Exercife and Motion wherein their Pleafure and Happiness confifts; Besides this, I say, by habituating our felves to affect things irrationally, i.e. to love the leaft Goods moft, and the greatest leaft; we shall dif able our felves from enjoying any Goods, but only fuch as cannot make us happy. For he that loves any Good more than it is worth, can never be happy in the enjoyment of it, because he thinks there is more in it than he finds, and fo is always disappointed

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difappointed in the Fruition of it. And the Grief of being disappointed of what he expects, does commonly countervail the Pleafure of what he finds and enjoys. While he is in the pursuit of any Good which he inordinately dotes upon, he is wild and imaginative; he fwells with Phantaftick Joys, and juggles himself into Expectations, that are as large and boundless as his Defires; But when once he is feized of it, and finds how vaftly the Enjoyment falls fhort of his Expectation, his Pleasure is presently loft in his Disappointment, and fo he remains as unfatisfied as ever. And thus if he were to spend an Eternity in fuch Pursuits and Enjoyments,his Life would be nothing but an Everlasting Succeffion of Expectations and Difappointments. So that all inordinate Affection destroys its own Satisfaction, and neceffarily renders us by fo many Degrees miferable, as it exceeds the real worth and value of Things.

Besides which also it is to be confidered, that all thefe leffer Goods which are the Objects of Our Extravagant Affections, are things which we muft ere long be for ever deprived of: For the leffer Goods are thofe, which are only good for the worfer Part of us, that is, for our Body and Animal Life, the proper Goods whereof are the Outward, Senfitive Enjoyments of this World: All which, when we leave this world we must leave for ever, and go away into Eternity, with nothing about us, but only the Good, or Bad Difpofitions of our Souls. So that if our Soul be carnalized through our immoderate Affection to the things of this World, we shall carry that Affection with us, but leave the things which we thus

vehemently affect behind us for ever.

For that

which is the prevailing Temper of Souls in this Life, will doubtlefs be fo in the other too; fo far is that of the Poet true,

-Qua gratia currûm.

Armorúmque fuit vivis, qua cura nitentes
Pafcere equos, eadem fequitur tellure repoftos.

For though the coming into the other world will queftionless improve thofe Souls which are really good before, yet it is not to be imagined how it Thould create thofe good who are habitually bad; and if we retain in the other world that Prevailing Affection to these fenfitive Goods which we contracted in this, it must neceffarily render us unfpeakably miferable there. For every Luft the Soul carries into the other world, will, by being eternally separated from its Pleafures,convert into an Hopeleß Defire,and upon that account grow more furious and impatient. For of all the Torments of the mind I know none that is comparable to that of an outragious Defire joyned with Despair of Satisfaction; which is just the case of fenfual and worldly minded Souls in the other Life where they are full of sharp and unrebated Defires, and like starved men that are shut up between two Dead Walls are tormented with a fierce,but hopeleß Hunger, which having nothing else to feed on, preys and quarries on themfelves; and in this defolate condition they are forced to wander to and fro, tormented with a reftless Rage, an Hungry and Unsatisfied Defire, craving Food, but neither finding, nor expecting any; and fo in unexpreffible

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Anguish

Anguish they pine away a long Eternity. And though they might find content and fatisfaction, could they but divert their Affections another way, and reconcile them to the Heavenly Enjoyments; yet being irrecoverably preingaged to fenfual Goods, they have no Savour or Relish of any thing elfe, but are like Feverish Tongues that dif guft and naufeate the most grateful Liquors by reafon of their own overflowing Gall. So impoffible is it for men to be happy, either here or hereafter, fo long as their Affections to the leffer Goods of this World do fo immoderately exceed the worth and value of them.

One Effential Part therefore of the Chriftian Life, which is the Great Means of our Happiness, is the Virtue of Moderation; the peculiar Office whereof is to bound our Concupifcible Affections, and proportion them to the Intrinfic Worth of thofe outward Goods which we affect and defire. For though the word Moderation, according to our prefent Acceptation of it, be no where to be found in the New Teftament; yet the Virtue expreffed by it, is frequently enjoyned; as particularly where we are forbid to fet our Affections upon the Things of the Earth, Col.iii.2. To love the World or the Things that are in the world, 1 Joh. ii. 15. Which Phrafes are not to be fo understood as if we were not to love the Enjoyments of the World at all; for they are the Bleffings of God, and fuch as he has proposed to us in his Promises as the Rewards and Encouragements of our Obedience; and to be fure, he would never encourage us to obey him by the Hope of fuch Rewards as are unlawful for us to defire and love: The meaning therefore

;

of

of thefe Prohibitions is, that we fhould fo moderate our Affections to the world, as not to permit them to exceed the Real Worth and Value of its Enjoyments. For it is not fimply our loving it, but our loving it to fuch a Degree as is inconfiftent with our Love of God that is here forbidden; For he that loveth the world, faith St. John, the Love of the Father is not in him, i.e. he that loves it to fuch a Degree as to prefer the Riches, Honours, and Pleasures of it before God and his Duty to him, hath no real Love to God, i. e. he loves not God, as God, as the Chiefeft Good and Supreme Beauty and Perfection. And hence Covetoufneß, which is an immoderate Defire of the world, is called Idolatry, Col. iii. 5. because it fets the world in the place of God, and gives it that fupreme Degree of Affection which is only due to him; and this the Apostle there calls Inordinate Affection, because it extravagantly exceeds the Intrinfic Worth and Value of its Objects. Wherefore we are ftrictly enjoyned to take heed and beware of Covetoufneß, Luke xii. 15. And to let our Converfation be without Covetousness, Heb. xiii. 5. By all which and fundry other Commands and Prohibitions of the Gospel, the Moderation of our Concupifcible Affections is made a neceffary part of the Chriftian Life.

Now that this alfo mightily contributes to our Acquifition of the Heavenly Happineß, is evident, not only from what hath been already faid, but alfo from hence, that till our Affections are thus moderated, we can have no Savour or Relish of the Heavenly Enjoyments. For in this corrupt State of our Nature, we generally understand by