_Direct._ III. Know well your sin, and vileness, and desert, and the justice and holiness of God; and then you will see that if Christ reconcile you not, and justify you not by his blood, and do not sanctify and help you by his Spirit, and make you sons of God, and intercede not for you, there is no access to God, nor standing in his sight.
_Tempt._ IV. The tempter would have you pray hypocritically, with the tongue only, without the heart: to put off God in a few customary words, with seeming to pray (as they do the poor, James ii. with a few empty words) either in a form of words not understood, or not considered, or not felt and much regarded; or in more gross hypocrisy, praying for the holiness which they will not have, and against the sin which they will not part with.
_Direct._ IV. O fear the holy, jealous, heart-searching God, that hateth hypocrisy, and will be worshipped seriously in spirit and truth, and will be sanctified of all that draw near him, Lev. x. 3; and saith, they "worship him in vain, that draw nigh him with the lips, when the heart is far from him," Matt. xv. 8, 9. See God by faith, as present with thee, and know thyself, and it will awaken thee to seriousness. See Heb. iv. 13; Hos. viii. 12, 13.
_Tempt._ V. He would destroy faith and hope, and make you doubt whether you shall get any thing by duty.
_Direct._ V. But, 1. Why should God command it, and promise us his blessing if he meant not to perform it? 2. Remember God's infiniteness, and omnipresence, and all-sufficiency: he is as verily with thee, as thou art there: he upholdeth thee: he showeth by his mercies, that he regardeth thee; and by his regarding lower things: and if he regard thee, he doth regard thy duties. It is all one with him to hear thy prayers, as if he had never another creature to regard and hear. Believe then, and hope and wait upon him.
_Tempt._ VI. Sometimes the tempter will promise you more by holy duty, than God doth, and make you expect deliverance from every enemy, want, and sickness, and speedier deliverance of soul, than ever God promised; and all this is, to make you cast away all as vain, and think God faileth you, when you miss your expectations.
_Direct._ VI. But God will do all that he promiseth, but not all that the devil or yourselves promise. See what God promiseth in his word. That is enough for you. Make that and no more the end of duties.
_Tempt._ VII. The tempter usually would draw you from the heart and life of duty, by too much ascribing to the outside: laying too much on the bare doing of the work, the giving of the alms, the hearing of the sermons, the saying the words, the handsome expression, order, manner; which in their places are all good, if animated with spirit, life, and seriousness.
_Direct._ VII. Look most and first to the soul in duty, and the soul of duty. The picture of meat feedeth not; the picture of fire warmeth not; fire and shadows will not nourish us: God loveth not dead carcasses instead of spiritual worship: we regard not words ourselves, further than they express the heart. Let the outer part have but its due.
_Tempt._ VIII. He tempteth you to rest in a forced, affected, counterfeit fervency, stirred up by a desire to take with others.
_Direct._ VIII. Look principally at God and holy motives, and less at men, that all your fire be holy, fetched from heaven.
_Tempt._ IX. He would keep you in a lazy, sluggish coldness, to read, and hear, and pray as asleep, as if you did it not.
_Direct._ IX. Awake yourselves with the presence of God, and the great concernment of what you are about, and yield not to your sloth.
_Tempt._ X. He would make you bring a divided, distracted heart to duty, that is half about your worldly business.
_Direct._ X. Remember God is jealous, your business with him is great, much lieth on it; call off your hearts, and let them not stay behind: all the powers of your souls are little enough in such a work, Ezek. xxxiii. 31.
_Tempt._ XI. Ignorance, unskilfulness, and unacquaintedness with duty, is a great impediment to most.
_Direct._ XI. Learn by study joined with practice. Be not weary, and difficulties will be overcome.
_Tempt._ XII. Putting duty out of its place, and neglecting the season that is fittest, makes it oft done slightly.
_Direct._ XII. Redeem time, and despatch other business, that idleness deprive you not of leisure; and do all in order.
_Tempt._ XIII. Neglecting one duty is the tempter's snare to spoil another. If he can keep you from reading, you will not understand well what you hear. If he keep you from meditating, you will not digest what you hear or read. If he keep you from hearing, you will want both matter and life for prayer, and meditation, and conference. If he keep you from godly company, you will be hindered in all, and in the practice: no one is omitted, but you are disadvantaged by it in all the rest.
_Direct._ XIII. Observe how one duty helpeth another, and take all together each one in its place.