and very frequently in the Old Testament it is used for Charity to the Poor or Alms-giving Psal 37. 25 26. I have been young and now am old yet have I not seen the Righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread he is ever merciful and lendeth and Psal 112. 9. he hath dispersed he hath given to the Poor his Righteousness endureth for ever But Righteousness in its largest and most extended sense comprehends all the Virtues of a good Man and so it signifies here in the Text and in many other places of Scripture So that the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness comprehends the whole business of Religion our last End which is Eternal Life and Happiness in another World and the way and means to this End which is Righteousness or that Universal Goodness which God requires of us and whereof he himself is a Pattern and Example to us for which Reason 't is call'd his Righteousness And in this sense of our last End and the way and means to it the Kingdom of Heaven and Righteousness are used in another place even of this Sermon of our Saviour's upon the Mount Matth. 5. 20. Except your Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven where Righteousness is made the necessary Means and Condition of Eternal Life I proceed in the Second Place to explain what is meant by seeking first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness And this signifies the greatest intention of mind and earnestness of endeavour about the business of Religion in order to our attaining of Eternal Happiness such a seriousness and earnestness of endeavour as Earthly-Minded Men use about the Things of this World For after all these things says our Saviour immediately after the Text do the Gentiles seek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which words signifie an intense Care and vigorous Endeavour but seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Rightousness that is be ye who profess your selves Christians as intent upon the business of Religion and the Salvation of your Souls as the Heathen who are in a great measure ignorant of God and another Life are about the things of this Life And here are two Things to be explained 1. What is here meant by seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness And 2. What by seeking them in the first place For the First A sincere and earnest seeking of the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness does imply in it these Four Things First A fix'd Design and Resolution as to the End that we do not only propound to our selves the Eternal Happiness and Salvation of our Souls as our chief End but that we be immoveably fixt upon it and always have it in our aim and design that here we set up our Resolution if it be possible to be happy for ever that we have this End always in our eye and be firmly resolved to do all that we can towards the attaining of it Not that we are obliged always actually to think upon it but to have it frequently in our Minds and habitually to intend and design it so as to make it the scope of all our Endeavours and Actions and that every thing we do be either directly and immediately in order to it or some way or other subservient to this Design or however not inconsistent with it like the term and end of a Man's Journey towards which the Traveller is continually tending and hath it always habitually in his intention tho' he doth not always think of it every step that he takes and tho' he be not always directly advancing and moving towards it yet he never knowingly goes out of the way And tho' he bate and lodge by the way and does many other things which do not directly set him forward yet they are all subservient to his Journey or in prosecution of it or at least no wilful deviations from it Thus it should be with us while we are Sojourning in this World our fix'd aim and design should be to get to Heaven and thither we should be continually tending in our Desires and Endeavours And if this Resolution be deeply rootâ—d and fix'd in our Minds it will govern all our Actions and keep them steady to their main End Whereas if we be uncertain and unresolv'd upon our great End and be divided between the Happiness of the next Life and the present Enjoyments of this we shall be fickle and unsteady in all our Motions He that hath two Ends can pursue neither vigorously but while he is moving towards the one he leans and inclines to the other and like a Needle between two Loadstones is always in a doubtful and trembling Condition inclines to both but is constant to neither And this is the meaning of that Aphorism of St. James The double-minded Man is unstable in all his ways He that is unresolved as to his main End hath two Minds and can prosecute nothing vigorously But if our Mind be once fix'd and resolv'd that will determine and govern all our motions and inspire us with Diligence and Zeal and Perseverance in the prosecution of our End Secondly Seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness implies incessant Care and Diligence as to the means that we make Religion our business and exercise our selves in the Duties of it both in publick and private at proper times and seasons with the same seriousness and application of Mind as Men do in their Callings and Professions for the gaining of Wealth and Preferment especially on the Lord's-Day which God hath taken to himself and set apart for the Duties of his Worship and Service Not that we are excused from minding Religion at other times but that those who are prest and straitned by the necessary Cares of this Life may be sure to mind it then and may have no colour of excuse for the neglect of it at that time which God hath allotted for that very purpose and which it is unlawful to employ about our Worldly Affairs God expects that we should serve him at other times that we should live in an habitual sense of him and as Solomon expresseth it Prov. 23. 17. Be in the fear of the Lord all the day long so as to be careful not to offend or transgress in any thing and so as to redeem all Opportunities for the exercise of Piety and Devotion but this Day he peremptorily challengeth to himself and expects we should imploy it in his Service and Dedicate it to Religion to the Contemplation of God and Heavenly things and the Care of our Immortal Souls with the same seriousness and diligence as we do upon other days labour for the bread which perisheth and the less leisure we have upon other days for this purpose the more entirely should we Devote and Consecrate this Day to the Purposes and Duties of Religion Not but that our whole Life and all the Actions of it should be under the
Revelation and Rule of their Written Law and that they were not Infallibly Assisted is evident from the great Errors they fell into in making void the Commandments of God by their Traditions and in their Rejecting and Crucifying the true Messias and the Son of God In like manner the Apostles and first Teachers of the Christian Religion were immediately Inspired and Miraculously Assisted in the Publishing of the Christian Doctrine and for the speedy and more effectual Propagating and Planting of it in the World in despite of the violent Prejudices that were against it and the fierce opposition that was made to it But when this was done this Miraculous and Extraordinary Assistance ceased and God left the Christian Religion to be preserved and continued by more Humane and Ordinary ways the Doctrines of it being committed to Writing for a standing Rule of Faith and Practice in all Ages and an Order of Men appointed to Instruct People in those Doctrines with a Promise to secure both Teachers and People that sincerely desiâ—e to know and do the Will of God from all Fatal Errors and Mistakes about Things necessary to their Eternal Salvation and this is a Provision more likely to be made by God and better suited to the Nature of Man than the perpetual and needless Miracle of an Inspired or any otherwise Infallible Church Thirdly This way is likewise more agreeable to the Nature of Religion and the Virtue of Faith The Design of an Infallible Church is to secure all that continue in the Communion of it against all possibility of Error in Matters of Faith The Question now is not whether an Infallible Church would do this but whether that Church which arrogates Infallibility to it self does not pretend to do this And if they could do it it would not be agreeable to the Nature of Religion and the Virtue of Faith For Faith which is the Principle of all Religious Actions would be no Virtue if it were necessary A true and right Belief can be no Virtue where a Man is Infallibly secured against Error There is the same Reason of Virtuous and Criminal Actions and as there can be no Crime or Fault in doing what a Man cannot help so neither can there be any Virtue All Virtuous Actions are Matter of Praise and Commendation and therefore it can be no Virtue in any Man because it deserves no Commendation to believe and own that the Sun shines at Noon-day when he sees it does so No more would it be a Virtue in any Man and deserve Praise to Believe aright who is in a Church wherein he is Infallibly secured against all Error in Matters of Faith Make any thing necessary and impossible to be otherwise and the doing of it ceases to be a Virtue God hath so framed Religion and the Evidence of Truth and the Means of coming to the Knowledge of it as to be a sufficient Security to Men of honest Minds and teachable Tempers against all Fatal and Final Mistakes concerning Things necessary to Salvation but not so that every Man that is of such a Church should be Infallibly secured against all Errors in Matters of Faith and this on purpose to try the Virtue and Disposition of Men whether they will be at the pains to search for Truth and when it is proposed to them with sufficient Evidence tho' not by an Infallible Hand they will receive it in the love of it that they may be Saved Fourthly This is as much security against Error in Matters of Faith as God hath provided against Sin and Vice in Matters of Practice and since a right Belief is only in order to a good Life a Man would be hard put to it to give a Wise Reason why God should take greater Care for the Infallible Security of Mens Faith than of their Obedience The Reason pretended why God should make such Infallible Provision for a right Faith is for the better security of Mens Eternal Salvation and Happiness Now the Virtues of a good Life have a more Direct and Immediate influence upon that than the most Orthodox Belief The end of the Commandments i. e of the Declaration of the Gospel is Charity In the Christian Religion that which mainly avails to our Justification and Salvation is a Faith that worketh by Charity and the keeping of the Commandments of God He that heareth these Sayings of mine and doth them saith our Blessed Lord I will liken him to a Wise Man that Built his House upon a Rock and again not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord i. e. makes Profession of Faith in me shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven and again if ye know these Things happy are ye if ye do them And the Apostle St. Peter Exhorts Christians to add to their Faith and Knowledge Virtue and Godliness and Brotherly Kindness and Charity that so an abundant entrance may be ministred to them into the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ So that the Virtues of a good Life have the greatest Influence upon our Salvation and the main stress of Christianity is to be laid there And therefore whatever Reason can be assigned why God should provide for the Infallible security of our Faith is much stronger why an equal Provision should be made to secure Holiness and Obedience of Life because without this Faith cannot Infallibly attain its End which is the Salvation of our Souls But this it is granted God hath not done and Experience shews it and therefore it is unreasonable to suppose that he hath done the other It is sufficient that in both kinds he hath done that which is sufficient to make us capable of Happiness if we be not wanting to our selves the rest he hath left to the sincerity of our Endeavours expecting that We on our part should work out our Salvation with fear and trembling and give all Diligence to make our Calling and Election sure And if God hath made such Provision by the Gospel for all that enjoy the Light and Advantage of it that none can miscarry without their own fault then both his Goodness and Wisdom are sufficiently acquitted without an Infallible Guide and Judge in Matters of Faith and that Irreverent way of Arguing in the Canon Law might well have been spared that of necessity there must be an Infallible Judge of Controversies in Religion aliter Dominus non videretur fuisse discretus otherwise God would not seem to have Ordered Matters discreetly But what Infallible Security soever they have in the Church of Rome as to Matters of Faith they are certainly the worst provided of wholsom and safe Directions for the Consciences and Lives of Men of any Church in the World No Religion that I know of in the World ever had such Lewd and Scandalous Casuists Witness the Moral Divinity of the Jesuits which hath been so exposed to the World not only by those
that can deny themselves to Dine with him in hopes to make better Meals upon his Estate when he is gone And if he be so penurious to himself the necesâ—ities of others are not like to movâ— him to be liberal I can but imagine one Occasion that could tempt such a Man to lay out what he hath namely when one part of his Estate is in danger to spend the other to secure it And yet even in that Case if his Cause were not very clear and good he would go nigh to lose it using it as he does himself that is by starving it And if this be all then a Man had as good be without an Estate and save himself the trouble either of getting it or securing it for if it were all gone he might live as well as he does and that with half the Care and Pains Secondly The Happiness of this World consists in a state of freedom from Evil. Now the great Evils that Men are liable to in this World are such as are incident to them either in the course of their Lives or at the time of their Death and Riches do not contribute to Mens Happiness by freeing them from either of these I shall speak to these severally 1. Not from the Evils which are incident to Men in the course of their Lives These are of two kinds inward or outward 1. Inward Evils by which I mean those of the Mind and our greatest troubles are from within from the anxiety of our Minds and the guilt of our Consciences from the vicious inclinations of our Wills and the irregularity and disorders of our Passions Now Riches were an admirable thing indeed and worth our Coveting if they would help to Cure these Distempers of our Minds but they are the least fitted for such a purpose of any thing in the World For not he that hath the greatest Estate but he that hath the fewest and most reasonable Desires and the best govern'd Passions and the most Virtuous Inclinations is the Happiest Man and dwells nearest to satisfaction Nemo malus foelix No bad Man can be Happy tho' he were possessed of the whole World because he hath that within him which frets and discontents him which galls his Spirit and keeps his Mind restless and uneasie and he that does not enjoy himself can enjoy nothing else Did but Men know how much Happiness hath been enjoyed by many a Pious and Virtuous Man in a mean Fortune how quiet and easie their Minds have been how much fuller of Joy and Pleasure than the Heart of any Covetous Worldling ever was in his most prosperous Estate and when his Corn and Wine and Oyl abounded did we I say but know this we should not envy the Men of mighty Fortunes Nam neque divitibus contingunt gaudia solis Rich Men are not the only happy People in the World If they be not Good as well as Rich Happiness is a greater stranger to their Dwellings than to the Cottages of Poorer Men. Now Riches are so far from helping to make Men good that they are one of the greatest Temptations to them in the World to be otherwise which it the Reason why our Saviour says it is so very hard for a Rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven because considering the powerful and almost irresistible temptations of a great Estate and the impotency and weakness of humane Nature to govern it self in a plentiful Fortune it is very hard for a Rich Man to be so good as he ought it requires a great force and firmness of Resolution a very solid and vigorous constitution of Mind to bear a great Fortune and not to be corrupted by it and a Man hath never more Reason to implore God's gracious help and assistance and to consult his own best and coolest thoughts to know what he ought to do and how he ought to demean himself than when the outward Blessings of this Life flow in amain upon him felicitate corrumpimur nothing sooner debaucheth Men than Prosperity and he is a very happy Man whom Wealth and a good Fortune do not make licentious and dissolute because these tempt Men with the power and opportunity to do all the ill that their wickedâ— Hearts can design or desire The Temptation of Riches and the Power that goes along with them is so forcible and prevalent that the Devil who is a sagacious Spirit and hath great and long experience in this kind when he was making the Experiment whether Christ was a meer Man or the Son of God reserved this for his last Temptation resolving if that would not do to try him no farther After he had assaulted him in several kinds he represents to him at last that which was sufficient to have surfeited two of the most insatiable Desires of Humane Nature Ambitioâ— and Covetousness even all the Kingdoms of the World and the glory of them in a moment or point of time he brings all the Rays of this Glory to one point that the Temptation might kindle and take hold the sooner and says to him all this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me He supposed with great probability that if he were but a meer Man the strongest and most resolved Mind would bend and yield to so dazling a Temptation as this but when he saw that this Temptation was rejected he found himself baffled and gave him over since this did not move him he concluded now that he was the Son of God indeed and that it was in vain to tempt him any farther From all this it appears that Riches are so far from making Men Virtuous that nothing is more dangerous to Virtue than a full Condition if Men have not a great degree of Grace as well as Discretion to manage it Solomon tells us that the prosperity of Fools destroyeth them And yet how do most of us Court this Temptation and are forward to thrust and venture our selves upon it There are a great many other Things in which most Men make a right Judgment of themselves and will readily acknowledge that they are altogether unfit for them Every Man will not take upon him to be a Physician or a Lawyer to prescribe Medicines in dangerous Cases and to give Counsel to Men in knotty and difficult Points about their Estates but every Man thinks himself fit enough to be Rich and sufficiently qualified to manage a great Estate if he can but get it when perhaps there are few things in the World which Men are more insufficient for than to weild and govern a great Fortune nor wherein there is greater danger and miscarriage It is not every bodies Talent to be Wealthy and Wise Rich and Innocent 2. As for the outward Evils of this Life such as Want and Contempt Bodily Pains and Diseases Unhappiness in Friends and Relations a great Estate is by no means a sufficient Security or Remedy to a Covetous Man against these 1. As for want And surely
things are without us they neither constitute our Being nor are â—ssential to our Happiness but our Souls are our selves and the loss of them is our utter ruine and destruction So that nothing is to be regarded by us with equal Care and Concernment as the Salvation of our Immortal Souls that is that we may be rescued from Eternal Misery and Everlastingly Happy in another World And can we be at too much cost and pains upon such a design to escape so dismal a Condition so dreadful a ruine as that of Body and Soul to all Eternity Can any Man be concerned enough to bring about so great a good to himself or can he purchase it too dear whatever he give or part with for it a good so desirable and so durable as our being Happy for ever When we purchase the things of this World the Riches and Honours of it at the expence of so much Time and Care and Trouble we pay dear for Trifles and Fancies but Eternal Happiness is a Jewel of so inestimable a Price that a Wise Merchant will have it at any rate and sell all that he hath to purchase it Of such value is the Kingdom of God and next to it is Righteousness which is the only Way and Means whereby this Kingdom is to be attained and therefore to be sought by us with the greatest diligence and earnestness For that which is the only Means to a great and desirable End and which alone can make us capable of that End and which in truth is a degree of it is valuable next to the End and almost equally with it and such is Righteousness in respect of the Kingdom of God it is the only means to it it is that alone which qualifies us and makes us capable of Happiness nay it is an essential ingredient into it and that which does in a great measure constitute the Happiness of Heaven For that temper of Mind that Conformity and likeness to God which Holiness and Righteousness brings us to is the true Foundation of our Happiness and according to the best apprehensions we have now of it is the very formal Cause and Essence of our Blessedness So St. John tells us 1 Joh. 3. 2. It doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him that is we do not now distinctly understand wherein the Happiness of the next Life consists we are not able to frame a clear and perfect Idea of it but this we know in general that it consists in our likeness to God in a conformity to the Moral Perfections of the Divine Nature which are exprest by the name of Purity and Holiness and therefore every one that hopes for the Happiness of Heaven must endeavour after Holiness every Man that hath this hope in him must purifie himself even as he is pure So that the things which I am pressing you to seek after are most effectually recommended by telling you what they are the Kingdom of God is Eternal Life and Happiness and his Righteousness is Universal Holiness and Goodness without which no Man is qualified for this Blessed State Now if there be any thing better than Goodness any thing more desirable than a Happiness which haâ—h no bounds nor no End do not mind them nor look after them but if there be not then certainly these aâ—e worthy of the Care and Endeavour of our whole Life Secondly Another Consideration that should very much excite and quicken our Endeavour and Diligence in seeking these things is the difficulty of obtaining them This I confess is no Encouragement but it is a very good Motive and Argument to whet our industry in seeking these things when we plainly see that they are not to be had upon other terms And this Consideration our Saviour useth to quicken us to strive and to contend earnestly for Eternal Life Mat. 7. 14. because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth to Life and few there be that find it And Luke 13. 24. Strive to enter in at the strait gate for many I say unto you will seek to enter in and shall not be able Seeking here in opposition to striving is a faint and weak Endeavour which will not carry us through this narrow and difficult passage and this is the reason why many miscarry who make some attempts towards Heaven but they do not strive they do not put forth any vigorous Endeavours to get thither Now the difficulty of attaining Eternal Happiness ariseth from the difficulty of the Way and Means to it and it is therefore hard to attain the Kingdom of God because it is hard to attain his Righteousness As desirable as it is it must be acknowledged very difficult for a Man to raise himself to that temper and disposition of Mind so to subdue his Lusts and govern his Passions to bridle his Tongue and order all the Actions of his Life as is necessary to qualifie him for Happiness and to make him fit to be admitted into the Kingdom of God And this difficulty is chiefly in our selves but greatly increased by temptation and opposition from without Chiefly I say in our selves from the strong biass of our Evil and Corrupt Inclinations and the strong power of vicious Habits and Customs which when they are grown inveterate do Tyrannize over us and make us perfect Slaves and lead us Captive at their pleasure so that our Nature must be quite changed and as the Apostle expresseth it we must be renewed in the Spirit of our Minds our Souls must be new moulded and fashioned we must be as it were Created and Born again before we can enter into the Kingdom of God In this our Saviour is positive and peremptoâ—y Joh. 3. 3. verily verily I say unto you except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God This difficulty indeed is greatest at first but it is considerable afterwards 'till a through Change be made and new Inclinations planted in us and the contrary habits of Grace and Virtue be super-induced And that which increaseth the difficulty is outward Temptation and Opposition from the World and the Devil which to withstand and resist requires great Courage and Resolution great Watchfulness and Guard over our selves But yet for our Comfort these Difficulties are not insuperable to that Grace and Assistance which God is always ready to afford to us upon so good an Occasion and to so good a purposeâ— greater is he that is in you than he that is in the World And this I am sure is Matter of great incouragement to us that tho' the difficulty â—f working out our Salvation be great yet if we do in good earnest set about it God is ready to assist and second our sincere Endeavours to work in us both to will and to do of his own goodness and so to prevent us with his gracious Favour and to further us with his continual Aid that
the lawful Enjoyments of this World as he that makes it his only Design to be Rich and Great in this World nay as to the necessaries of Life and a competency of outward things he hath a much greater and better security from the Providence and Promise of God than the Men of the World have by all their Care and Pains Besides that he hath this Considerable advantage by minding these things only as accessories that if he miss of them he hath something better to support him in the want of them being secure of a Happiness which this World can neither give nor take from him But now the Worldly Man if he be defeated in his Designs is of all Men most miserable because he hath nothing else to Comfort him nothing else to trust to he fails of his hopes as to this World and hath done what in him lies to make his Case desperate as to the other Upon all these Considerations and Encouragements you see how reasonable it is that we should make Religion and the Concernments of another Life our great Care and Business And yet how are these neglected by the greatest part of Mankind and by the best of us God knows not minded as they ought and as they deserve What can we say for our selves in excuse of so intolerable a folly There are two or three things which Men commonly prâ—tend if not in justification yet in mitigation and excuse of this great neglect First they pretend great difficulties and discouragements in the ways of Religion This I have already acknowledged to be true so far as to awaken our Care and to whet our Industry but by no means to make us despond and give over all Care of so great a Concernment because of the Difficulties it is attended withall Men who have no mind to a thing are apt to imagine great difficulties in the attaining of it and to magnifie them in their fancies beyond Reason As the People of Israel when they were to enter into Canaan which was the Type of the Kingdom of Heaven represented the Inhabitants of the Land whom they were to Conquer more terrible than in truth they were reporting to one another that the Land was full of Giants and Sons of Anak Men of prodigious Stature which reached up to Heaven And this the Wise Man observes to be the perpetual excuse of the Sloathful when they have no mind to a thing they say there is a Lyon in the way that is they fancy to themselves Dangers and Terrors which are not Thus Men who are averse from Religion and have no mind to be at the trouble and pains to get to Heaven are apt to complain of the monstrous and insuperable Difficulties of Religion and how hard it is for a Man to mortifie his Lusts and subdue his Appetites and govern his Passions and to do all those things which are necessary to bring him to Heaven Well! it is acknowledg'd to be difficult And is it not so to get an Estate and to rise to any thing in this World The true pains which Men take about these things shew that they are difficult only when Men have a mind to a thing and their Heart is set upon it they do not stand to complain of the difficulty but buckle to it and grapple with it Is Religion difficult And what is not so that is good for any thing Is not the Law a difficult and crabbed study Does it not require great labour and perpetual drudging to excel in any kind of Knowledge to be Master of any Art or Profession In a word is there any thing in the World worthy the having that is to be gotten without pains And is Eternal Life and Glory the only slight and inconsiderable thing that is not worth our Care and Industry Is it fit that so great a good should be exposed to the faint and idle Wishes to the cheap and lazy Endeavours of sloathful Men For what Reason Nay with what Conscience can we bid less for Heaven and Eternal Life than Men are contented to give for the things of this World things of no value in Comparison not worthy the toiling for not sure to be attained by all our Endeavours things which perish in the using and which when we have them we are liable to be deprived of by a thousand Accidents One fit of a Feaver may shatter our Understandings and confound all our Knowledge and turn us into Fools and Ideots an Inundation or a Fire may sweep away and devour our Estates a Succession of Calamities may in a few hours make the Richest and Greatest Man as Poor as Job and set him upon a Dunghill But be the Difficulty what it will of attaining the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness they are to be sought at any rate because they are absolutely necessary and we miserable and undone if we have them not And therefore not to dissemble in the Matter the Difficulties of Religion are considerable but then they are much greater aâ— first and will every day abate and grow less and the work by degrees will become eaâ—â—e and turn into Pleasure and Delight a Pleasure so great as none knows but he that hath it and he that hath it would not exchange it for all the sensual Pleasures and Enjâ—yments of this World Secondly Others pretend want of time for the minding of so great a Work And 't is very true that all Persons have not equal leisure for this purpose some are much more straitned than others and more taken up with the necessary Cares of this Life but God hath put no Man upon this hard necessity that for want of time he shall be forced to neglect his Body and his Health his Family and Estate to save his Soul And yet if any Man were brought to this distress it were well worth his while to secure his Eternal Salvation tho' it were with the neglect and loss of all other things But those who are most straitned for time have so much as is absolutely necessary for there is a considerable part of Religion which does not require time but Resolution and Care Not to commit Sin not to break the Laws of God not to be intemperate to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the Lusts thereof does not spend time but saves it for better Purposes so that every Man hath time not to do that which he ought not to do And for the positive part of Religion whether it consists in the exercise of our Minds or in the External Acts of Religion no Man is so distrest but he hath time to think of Heaven and Eternity time to love God to esteem him and delight in him above all things And this a Man may do very frequently and very acceptably while he is labouring and travelling about his Worldly Affairs while his hand is upon the Plow his heart may be with God and while he converseth here upon Earth his Thoughts and Affections may be in