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to him. The Affected and Falfe Serioufness and Sanctity of a Pharifee may poffibly compafs his End and Defign, may poffibly secure him of the Approbation and Applaufe of Men; But, for all That, his Affectation and Falseness will turn his very Prayers into Sin. No Sly Artifices and Devices can Escape the Knowledge of God, but will bring down his Vengeance upon us. We must take care, that our Sacrifices be fuch as He Requires, if we would have them fuch as He will Accept. Attention of Mind, and Sincerity of Heart, and Fervency of Spirit are Neceffary to Recommend our Prayers to Him, who Clearly fees, How far our Words are anfwerable to our Meaning, Whether our Outward Confeffions do proceed from true Contrition, Whether our Thanksgivings do flow from a Grateful Soul, and whether our Requests are Earneft enough to deserve his Regard.

4ly, God's Omniscience is a Reason of believing, that we fhall be Tried, in the Future Judgment, with much greater Strictnefs than we are Apt to Imagine, and

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under many Articles, which we are not wont to confider. His Knowledge Fully Comprehends and Faithfully Retains every moving Conviction of our own Minds, which we have at any time Stifled or Rejected; every Holy Refolution, which we have at any time Violated; every of those Terrors of Confcience, which we have Audaciously Diverted and thrown off; All the Endearing Affiftances, Inftigations and Restraints of the Holy Spirit, which we have Stubbornly Withstood or Suppreffed, and every inftance of our Fruftrating the Wise Ends of his Providence, whether in Adverfity or Profperity, which we have feldom taken Notice of, or Generally Forgot.

All our Fixed Purposes of Sinning, though we could not put them in Execution; All the inftances of our Irreverence towards God and his Holy Word, whether Publick or Private; Every Attempt or Defign, either to Oppofe or Diffemble, to Mifrepresent or Wreft the Truth, how Plaufible foever fuch Attempts or Designs may be; E

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very inftance of our Endeavours to please Men, by Complying with them, or giving them Countenance and Encouragement, in their Deviations either from Truth, or Virtue; The Abuse or Neglect even of our Capacities to do. Good; The Mischief we have done by our Examples, either in the Commiffions of Sin, whereby the Dominion of Sin hath been Propagated and Inlarged, how far by Our means Propagated and Inlarged, we cannot tell, God knoweth; or, even in the Omissions of Duty, as of the Publick Worship, or the Neglect (much more the Abuse) of the Sabbath, whereby many Other Perfons, how many we cannot tell, God knoweth, have been led into the Like Omiffions and Neglects; These and all other Circumftances of our State and Condition and the Confequences of them, are now continually and Particularly Seen and Noted, and will hereafter be Particularly brought to account by God, who is Greater than our heart and knoweth all things. And when all the circumftances of Aggravation against us, are Particularly

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charged upon us, how fhall we fink under a Weight of Shame and Confufion of Face? ·

Indeed the Power of Imagination it self can now scarce represent to us that Piercing Senfe of Shame, which, in Proportion to our Guilt, will wound our Souls, in that Great and Solemn Day, when all our Actions and Circumftances fhall be Unvailed by the God of Knowledge, and Obferved by the General Afsembly of Angels and Men. It is not Evident from the Scripture, that even Those persons shall escape the Shame of their Sins in the Judgment, who may escape Condemnation to the Eternal Punishment of them. 'Tis not eafy to conceive, how Their Sins fhall be so Particularly Examin'd, as the Scripture reprefents, without having all those Sins Expofed and laid Open in the Judgment, or, how the Mercy of God fhall be so illuftriously displayed in the Forgiveness of their Sins, without the Manifeftation and View of thofe Sins, which are to be Examin'd, before they are Forgiven. And when Infinite Knowledge is to account

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for our Iniquities; the Occafions and Degrees of our Shame must be much Greater, than we our Selves could Before Apprehend.

sly, and Laftly; The Omniscience of God yields Proper matter of Comfort to all Good men. They are from This Principle Affured, that All their Duties, whether Open or Secret, are now Punctually Obferved and Regarded by the moft High, and will therefore be Undoubtedly followed with an Abundant and Eternal Reward. And they are, upon This Principle, Cheer'd and Refreshed with the Thoughts, that all Mifreprefentations and Sufpicions of their Virtue and Goodness, which are now as Difficult to be Born as to be Avoided, will, in due Time, be taken off, and their Sincerity fet in its Proper Light.

Their Scrupulous and Confcientious Discharge of their Offices and Employments; Their Serious and Conftant Endeavours to avoid all Appearance of Evil; Their Faithful' expreffions of

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