thus with us as he threatned the People of Issrâ—el Isa 27. 11. When the boughs are withered they shall be broken off and set on fire for it is a People of no understanding therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them and he that formed them will shew them no favour And now I have done with the three Points which I proposed to handle from this Text and the Discourse which I have made upon them does all along apply it self by dirâ—cting us how we ought to commit our selves to the Providence of God in all Cases of Danger and Suffering especially for the Cause of God and his Truth viz. in the faithful discharge of our Duty and a good Conscience and by a firm Trust and Confidence in the Wisdom and Goodness of the Dâ—vine Providence not doubting but that he who made us and knows our frame will have a tender Care of us and not suffer us to be tempted above what we are able And as to our present Danger and that Terrible Storm which threatens us let us pray to God if it be his will to divert it but if otherwise he hath determined to fit and prepare us for it And let us be fervent and earnest in our Prayers to him not that he is moved by our importunity but that we may thereby be qualified and made fit to receive the Mercy which we beg of him And let us take this Occasion to do that which we should have done without it to breaâ— off our Sins by Repentance and to turn every one of us from the evil of our waysâ— that hereby we may render God propitious to us and put our selves under the more immediate Care and Protection of his Providence that we may prevent his Judgments and turn away his wrath and displeasure from us as he did once from a great and sinful City and People upon their sincere Humiliation and Repentance Jonah 3. 10. where it is said of the People of Niniveh That God saw their works that they turned from their evil way and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them and he did it not Above all let us be sincere in the profession of our Religion and conscientious in the Practice of it nothing will bear us up under great Trials and Sufferings like the testimony of a good Conscience void of offence towards God and Men. I will conclude this whole Discourse with those Apostolical Blessings and Prayers Colos 1. 10 11. That ye may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work strengthned with all might according to his glorious Power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness And 2 Thes 2. 16 17. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God even our Father who hath loved us and hath given us everlasting Consolation and good hope through Grace comfort your hearts and stablish you in every good word and work To him be Glory and Dominion for Ever and Ever Amen A SERMON ON JOHN IX 4. I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day The night cometh when no man can work THese words our Blessed Saviour spake of himself whilst he was upon Earth in which he tells us that he was sent by God into the World and had a certain Work and Imployment appointed him during his Abode in it A great Work indeed to instruct and reform and save Mankind A Work of great Labour and Pains and Patience not to be done in a short time and yet the time for doing it was not long after he came into the World It was a good while before he began it and after he began it the time of Working was not long before the Night came and put an End to it I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day The night cometh when no man can work But this which our Saviour here speaks of himself and which properly belongs to him and no other may yeâ— be accommodated to every Man with some Allowance for the Difference and Disproportion For tho' every Man be not sent by God into the World after so peculiar a manner and upon so particular and vast a Design Yet upon a general Account every Man is sent by God into this World and hath a Work given him to do in it which he is concern'd vigorously to mind and to prosecute with all his Might And tho' every Man be not sent to save the whole World as the Son of God was yet every Man is sent by God into the World to work out his own Salvation and to take Care of that in the first Place and then to promote the Salvation of others as much as in him lies So that every one of us may in a very good Sense accommodate these Words of our Saviour to himself I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day The night cometh when no man can work I shall therefore at this time take the Liberty to handle these words according to this moral Accommodation of them and apply what our Saviour here says of himself to every Man that cometh into the World And this I shall do by shewing these three things First That every Man hath a Work assigned him to do in this World by him that sent him into it and may in some Sense say as our Blessed Saviour did of himself I must work the works of him that sent me Secondly That there is a certain and limited time for every Man to do this Work in While it is day Thirdly That after this Season is expired theâ—e will be no further Oportunity of working The Night cometh when no man can work First Every Man hath a Work assigned him to do in this World by him that sent him into it and may in some sense say as our Blessed Savâ—our did of himself I must work the works of him that â—ent me God who made man a reasonable Creature and hath endowed him with Faculties whereby he is capable of knowing and serving him hath appointed him a Work and Service suitable to these Faculties And having infused an immortal Soul into this Earthy Body hath certainly designed him for a State beyond this Life in which he shall be for ever happy or miserable according as he useth and demeans himself in this World So that the Work which every one of us hath to do in this World is to prepare and fit our selves for that Eternal Duration which remains for us after Death For the Life which we live now in this World is a time of Exercise a short state of Probation and Tryal in order to a durable and endless state in which we shall be immutably â—ixt in another World This World into which we are now sent for a little while is as it were God's School in which immortal Spirits clothed with Flesh are trained and bred up for Eternity and therefore the best
this precious Treasure to every bodies rapine and extortion and can quietly look on whilst Men thrust in their hands and take it out by whole handfuls as if it were of no greater value than Silver was in Solomon's days no more than the stones in the street And yet when it is gone all the Silver and Gold in the World cannot purchase and fetch back the least moment of it when perhaps we would give all the World for a very small part of that time which we parted with upon such cheap and easie terms Good God! what a stupid and senseless Prodigality is this do we consider what we do when we give away such large portions of our time to our ease and pleasure to diversion and idleness to trifling and unprofitable Conversation to the making and receiving of impertinent visits and the usual and almost inseparable attendants thereof spiteful observations upon them that are present and slandering and backbiting those that are absent For the great design of most People in visits is not to better one another but to spie and make faults and not to mend them to get time off their hands to shew their fine Cloaths and to recommend themselves to the mutual contempt of one another by a plentiful impertinâ—nce when we part with it by wholesale in sleep and dressing and can spend whole Mornings between the Comb and the Glass and the Afternoon at Plays and whole Nights in Gaming or in Riot and Lewdness and Intemperance in all which People commonly wast their Mony and their time together Nay how do even the best of us misplace this precious Treasure and tho' we do not employ it to wicked purposes and in Works of Iniquity yet we do not apply it to the best and noblest use to the Glory of God and the Good and Salvation of Men By thus laying out this Treasure we might lay up for our selves treasures in heaven and help others on in the Way thither Thus our Blessed Saviour employed his precious time in going about doing good in all kinds and upon all Occasions healing the Bodies and enlightning the Minds and saving the souls of men This was his Business and this was his delight it was his meat and drink and his very Life he spent himself in it and sacrificed his Ease and his Safety and his Life to these great Ends for which he came into the World he considered the Goodness and the Greatness of his work and the little time he had to do it in which made him incessantly industrious in it and to run the Race which was set before him with great speed and to work while it was day because he knew the night would come when no man can work And this brings me to the Second thing I observed from the Text namely that there is a certain and limited time for every man to do this Work in while it is day I must work the works of him that sent me whilst it is day And this day comprehends all the Oportunities of our Life which will soon be over and therefore had need to be well spent A great part of our Life is past before the Season of Working begins it is a great while before the use of our Reason begins and we come to have our Senses exercised to discern between Good and Evil beâ—ore our Understandings are ripe for the serious Consideration of God and Religion and for the due Care of our Souls and of the Eternal Concernment of another World so that this first part of our Life is in a great Measure useless and unprofitable to us in regard to our great Design For Infancy and Childhood are but the Dawnings of this Day and no fit time to work in and Youth which is as the Morning of this day tho' it is the Flower of our Time and the most proper season of all other for the Remembrance of God and the Impressions of Religion yet it is usually possest by Vanity and Vice the common Custom and Practice of the World hath devoted this best part of our Age to the worst Employments to the Service of Sin and of our Lusts How very few are there that lay hold of this Opportunity and employ it to the best Purposes And yet the following Course of our Lives doth in a great measure depend upon it for most Persons do continue and hold on in the Way in which they set out at first whether it be good or bad And those who neglect to improve this first Opportunity of their Lives do seldom recover themsâ—lves afterwards God's Grace may seize upon Men in any part of their Lives but according to the most ordinary Methods of it the Foundations and Principles of Religion and Virtue are most commonly laid in a pious and virtuous Education This is the great Opportunity of our Lives which setleth and fixeth most Men either in a good or bad Course and the Fortune of their whole Lives does usually follow it and depend upon it 'T is true indeed our Day continues many times a great while longer and we are to work while it continues and 't is never too late to begin to do well and to enter upon a good Course but there is no such proper and advantagious Season for the beginning of this work as in our youth and tender years This is the accepted time this is the day of salvation God's Grace is then most forward and ready to assist us and we are then least of all indisposed for the receiving of the Impressions of it and the Impressions of it do then go deepest into our minds and are most lasting and durable But if we neglect this Opportunity we provoke God by Degrees to withdraw his Grace and to take away his holy Spirit from us and by degrees we settle in vicious Habits and are every day more and more hardned through the deceitfulness of sin It is never too late to work while the day lasts but the sooner we begin this work and set about it in good earnest the easier we shall find it if we defer it late every step will be up the Hill and against the Grain Thirdly After this Season is expired there will be no â—urther Oportunity of working when this day is once at an end then cometh the night when no man can work The Night is a time unfit for work when we can hardly do any thing if we had never so great mind to it and there is such a Night coming upon every one of us and Wo be to us if we have our work to do when the Night overtakes us There is usually an Evening before this Night when it will be very difficult for us and next to impossible to do this work and this is the time of Sickness and Old Age in which men are commonly unfit for any work but most of all that which requires the whole force and vigour of our Minds the business of Religion If we attempt this work
are but Pilgrims and Stranger in the World as all our Fathers were that we have here no abiding place no continuing City but are travelling towards our own Country And why should we load our selves whilst we are upon our journey and cumber our selves with those things which will be of no use to us there whither we are a going But the great wonder of all is that this Vice should so strongly reign and even grow upon Men in Old Age and get strength as weakness creeps upon us This very thought that we are to dye should work in us a great indifferency towards the Things of this World But when Men are convinc'd they cannot live long and that every step they take they are in danger of stumbling into the Grave this one would think should wean our Affections from this World and yet usually none take so fast hold of it and embrace it so kindly as Old Men like Friends who tho' they know they must leave one another yet are loth to part Do we not see many pursue these things with as much eagerness and appetite when they are leaving the World as if they were to stay in it a hundred years longer So that in this sense also they are Children again and are as fond of these Toys as if they were just beginning the World and setting out for their whole Life 3. There is another Life after this to be seriously thought on and provided for with great care and did Men firmly believe this they would not with Martha busie themselves about many things but would mind the one thing necessary and with Mary chuse that better part which could not be taken from them They would overlook the trifles of this World and scarce take notice of the things which are seen but be only intent upon the things which are not seen because the things which are seen are but Temporal but the things which are not seen are Eternal The great Concernments of another World would employ their utmost Care and their best Thoughts Whilst we are in this World we should remember that this is not our home nor the place of our rest and therefore as Men do in an Inn we should make a shift with those indifferent Accommodations which the World will afford us and which we can have upon easie terms without too much trouble and stir because we are not to continue long here and in the mean time we should cheer up our selves with the thoughts of the pleasure and the plenty of our Father's house and of that full contentment and satisfaction which we shall meet withal when we come to those Everlasting Habitations So that our great Care should be to provide for Eternity If we have unbounded Desires let us place them upon such Objects as are worthy of them Let us earnestly covet the best things and seek after the true Riches We should so mind the World as to make Heaven our great Care as to make sure to provide for our selves bags that wax not old a treasure in the Heavens that faileth not where no thief approacheth neither Moth corrupteth as our Saviour adviseth Luke 12. 33. To the same purpose is the Counsel of St. Paul 1 Tim. 6. 17 18 19. Charge them that are Rich in this World that they be Rich in good works willing to distribute ready to communicate laying up for themselves a good foundation or as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may also be rendred a good treasure against the time which is to come that they may lay hold of Eternal Life I have told you that all these things will fail in a short space we shall either be stripp'd of them or separated from them when we come to dye and shall look over to that vast Eternity which we must shortly enter upon this World and all the Enjoyments of it will then be as nothing to us and we shall be wholly taken up with the thoughts of another World and be heartily sorry that the things of this World have taken up so much of our Time and Care and that the great and weighty Concernments of all Eternity have been so little minded and regarded by us Now seeing all these things shall be pardon me if I earnestly beg of you in the midst of all your Worldly Cares to have some Consideration for your Immortal Souls which are no wise provided for by a great Estate but are design'd for Nobler Enjoyments than this World can afford When you are taking care to Feed and Cloath these dying Bodies remember that better part of your selves which is to live for ever Let not all your enquiry be what shall I eat or what shall I drink or wherewithal shall I be cloathed But sometimes ask your selves this question what shall I do to be saved I have an Immortal Spirit it is but fit some Care should be taken of that to train it up to Eternity and to make it fit to be made partaker of an Inheritance among them that are sanctified The firm Belief and serious Consideration of the great Things of another World cannot surely but cool the heat of our Affections towards these dying and perishing Things and make us resolved not to do any thing whereby we may violate the peace of our Consciences or forfeit our Interest and Happiness in another World 2. By way of Remedy against this Vice of Covetousness it is good for Men to be contented with their Condition This the Apostle prescribes as the best Cure of this Vice Heb. 13. 5. Let your conversation be without Covetousness and be content with such things as ye have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being contented with the present and thinking that sufficient A Covetous Man cannot enjoy the present for fear of the future either out of fear that he shall come to want or out of a sickness and uneasiness of Mind which makes that nothing pleaseth him But if we could bring our Minds to our Condition and be contented with what we have we should not be so eager and impatient after more This Contentedness with our present Condition doth not hinder but that Men by Providence and Industry and lawful Endeavours may lay the Foundation of a more plentiful Fortune than they have at present For provided a Man use no indirect and dishonest ways to increase his Estate and do not torment himself with anxious Cares do neither make himself guilty nor miserable that he may be Rich provided he do not neglect better things to attain these and have not an insatiable Appetite towards them provided he do not Idolize his Estate and set his Heart upon these things and if he can find in his heart to enjoy them himself and to be Charitable to others nothing hinders but that he may be contented with his present Condition and yet take all fair Opportunities which the Providence of God puts into his hands of enlarging his Fortune It is a good Character which the Poet gives of Aristippus
off from all Employment lest you put them in the ready way to be undone have a Care of leaving them no other business but to spend what you have left them if you do so they will in all probability do that work very effectually and make as much haste to be Poor as you did to make them Rich. If Men could but be contented to do that which is best for their Children they might do a great deal better for themselves by disposing what they have to spare in Charity Thirdly Others would fain excuse themselves from this Duty at present by telling what they intend to do when they come to Die that is when they can keep what they have no longer It seems then thou wilt leave it to thy Executor to do good in thy stead This shews thou hast no great heart to the business when thou deferrest it as long as ever thou canst But why wilt thou trust another with the disposal of thy Charity rather than thy self This is hardly to offer either a Reasonable or a Living Sacrifice to God to do good only when we are dead It is well that God hath made all Men Mortal and that it is appointed for all Men once to die otherwise some Men would never do good at all Wherefore setting aside these and all other excuses which will not be admitted nor will any of us have the face to plead them at the Day of Judgment I say setting aside all Excuses whatsoever let us resolve to do good with what we have whilst we can and to that end let us lay aside some Portion of what God has blest us withal for the uses of Piety and Charity and let it bear some decent Proportion to what God hath given us There is never want of proper Objects for our largest Charity and now less than ever Besides those at home which present themselves to us in great numbers every day God hath sent us many from abroad who call loud upon us for our pity and help both as they are reduced to the greatest extremiâ—y and are Sufferers in the best Cause that of our common Religion which ought now to be dearer to us than ever Let us shew Mercy now as we expect Mercy from others in any day of our distress in this World and as ever we hope when ever we come to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to find Mercy with the Lord in that Day Consider what I have said upon this Argument and let this extraordinary kind of Caution which our Saviour here gives make a deep impression upon your Minds Take heed and beware of Covetousness for a Man's Life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth A SERMON ON MATTH VI. 33. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righâ—â—ousness and all these things shall be added unto you IN the latter part of this Chapter our Saviour doth in a long Discourse caution his Disciples against an Inordinate Care about the Things of this Life which he concludes with a strict Charge to make Religion their first and great Concernment and above all Things to take Care to secure to themselves the happiness of another Life But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness c. In the handling of which words I shall do these Four Things First I shall explain what is here meant by the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness Secondly What by seeking of these Thirdly I shall lay down some necessary and plain Directions which if we observe we cannot miscarry in this matter Fourthly I shall set before you some of the most proper and powerful Motives and Encouragements to the minding of this great Interest and Concernment among which I shall particularly consider the Argument or Encouragement here used in the Text and all these things shall be added unto you 1. I shall explain to you what is here meant by the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness First What is meant by the Kingdom of God And there are two Famous acceptations of this Phrase and both of them very frequent in the New Testament Sometimes it is used to signifie the State of the Gospel or the Christian Religion which by the Jews was called the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of the Messias Mark 1. 15. The Kingdom of God is at hand that is the State or Dispensation of the Gospel is now approaching and ready to take place Luke 17. 20. The Pharisees demanding of our Saviour when the Kingdom of God should come that is when the Reign of the Messias should commence he answers them the Kingdom of God cometh not with observation that is not with any Temporal Pomp and Splendor so as to draw the eyes of People after it as the Jews did vainly imagine but the Kingdom of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is among you not within you as our Translation hath improperly rendred it the Kingdom of God he tells them is already come unto you the Messias is among you and ye are not aware of him In the like sense this Phrase is used Mat. 21. 43. the Kingdom of God that is the Gospel shall be taken from you and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits thereof And so likewise the Phrase of the Kingdom of Heaven is used Mat. 11. 11. where speaking of John the Baptist our Saviour saith that among them that were born of Women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist that is there was no greater Person than he under the Jewish Dispensation and yet he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven that is under the Dispensation of the Gospel is greater than he Now tho' this sense of the Kingdom of God be not wholly excluded in the Text yet there is another sense of this Phrase very usual likewise in the Scripture and which is more agreeable to the scope of our Saviour's Argument and Discourseâ— and so it signifies that future state of Happiness and Glory which good Men shall be advanced to in another World in opposition to this Life and the Enjoyments of it which our Saviour had before forbidden his Disciples to be so solicitous about Take ye no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be cloathed And then it follows in direct opposition to this inordinate and solicitous Care about Worldly Things but seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness That is be not so solicitous about the Conveniencies and Necessaries of this Life as about the Happiness of the other and the Means to it And this sense of this Phrase of the Kingdom of God is so very frequent in the New Testament that I shall not need to give particular Instances of it Secondly what is meant by Righteousness seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness Righteousness in the strictest and most proper sense of the word signifies the particular Virtue of Justice
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
other things should be made subordinate and subservient to this great Design and be no further minded by us than they really are so For that which is our great End will subdue all other things and bring them into subjection to it and will reject them and throw them aside if they be inconsistent with it If Heaven be our utmost aim and in order to that it be our great study and endeavour to be Righteous and Holy this Resolution and Design sincerely entertained will over-rule all other Considerations and make all the things of this World to stoop and give way to that which is our chief End the Eternal Happiness and Salvation of our Souls And thus I have done with the Second Thing I proposed namely what is meant by seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and what by seeking them first I proceed in the Third place to lay down some plain Rules for our Direction and Furtherance in seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness that is in the great business of Religion First Let us always live under a lively and powerful sense of another World that we are placed here in this World but for a little while and that wholly in order to our preparation for a better and a happier Life Let this thought be often in our Minds that Eternity is the most considerable duration and the next World the place of our Everlasting abode where we must dwell and continue for ever and therefore our present state is but of little Moment and Consideration to us but only in order to our future and Everlasting Condition We may please our selves here for a little while with Toys and Trifles with Dreams and Shadows of Pleasure and Happiness and may be exercised with some Troubles and Afflictions for a short space for a moment as the Apostle calls it our light afflictions which are but for a moment and so indeed it is compared with all Eternity but the substantial and durable Happiness or Misery remain for Men in the other World and will certainly be their portion according as they have demeaned themselves in this World Now the serious Consideration of this cannot fail to put us upon vigorous preparations for another World and to make us wholly intent upon our Eternal Concernments and to resolve whatever becomes of us in this World to take effectual Care that we may be Happy for ever He that firmly believes the Immortality of his Soul and a Life after Death which will never have an end must needs take into Consideration his whole duration and bend all his Care and Thoughts how he may avoid the greatest and most lasting Misery and secure to himself an Immortality of Bliss and Happiness Secondly Let us be always under a Conviction of the absolute and indispensable necessity of Holiness and Righteousness as the only way and means whereby the Kingdom of God is to be attained and that Holiness and Happiness are not to be separated the one being a necessary Condition and Qualification for the other and consequently that it is the vainest thing in the World for any Man to hope to enter into the Kingdom of God without endeavouring after his Righteousness there is so strong a connexion between them that a Man may as reasonably expect to be well and at ease without Health as to be Happy without Holiness for this makes us like to God and our Likeness and Conformity to God is that alone which can make us capable of the Blessed Sight and Enjoyment of God We must be Partakers of a Divine Nature in order to our participation of the Divine Blessedness And the Consideration of this will effectually engage us to seek the Righteousness of God without which we shall never enter into his Kingdom and to follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. Thirdly Let us always remember that Righteousness is of a great extent and comprehends in it all goodness it takes in all the Duties of Religion and the Practice of all of them it is a Complication of all Graces and Virtues of all the Parts and Ingredients of all the Duties and Offices of a good Man To denominate a Man Righteous all Causes must concurr all the Essential Principles and Parts of Religion and Goodness must meet together Knowledge and Practice Faith and Good Works Right Opinions and Real Virtues an Orthodox Profession and a Holy Life abstaining from Sin and doing of Righteousness Purity of Heart and Unspotted Manners Godliness and Honesty the Bridling of our Tongue and the Government of our Passions and above all things Charity which is the Band of Perfection For Righteousness is our Conformity to the Law of God as Unrighteousness and Sin is the Transgression of it Now this if it be real and sincere will be uniform and universal equally respecting all the Laws of God and every part of our known Duty and will not content it self with an especial regard to one or two Precepts of the Law tho' never so considerable and then allow it self in the neglect and violation of the rest no nor with the observation of the Duties of one Table of the Law if it overlook the other no nor with Obedience to all the Commandments of God one only excepted St. James hath put this very Case and determined it that he that shall keep the whole Law save only that he offend in one point is guilty of all that is he is not sincere in his Obedience to the rest And therefore if we seek the Righteousness of God our Righteousness must be Universal as he that hath called us is holy so must we be holy in all manner of Conversation in the tenor of our Actions and the whole course of our Lives and any one Reigning Sin and Vice any gross and notorious defect in the Virtues of a good Life will spoil all our Righteousness and will effectually shut us out of the Kingdom of Heaven Fourthly Let us wisely subordinate the several parts and duties of Religion to one another according to the intrinsical worth and value of them that so we may mind every part of Religion in its due place and according to the true nature and importance of it Knowledge and Faith are in order to Practice and a good Life and signifie nothing unless they produce that the Means of Religion such as Prayer and Fasting diligent Reading and Hearing of the Word of God Reverent and Devout Receiving of the Blessed Sacrament are of less account and value than that which is the End of all these which is to make us inwardly and really good and fruitful in all the works of Righteousness which by Jesus Christ are to the Praise and Glory of God And therefore the Means of Religion which I have mentioned are to be regarded and used by us in order to the attaining of these Ends without which they are meer Formalility and Hypocrisie and instead of finding acceptance with God they are an
duly Considered and all Accounts cast up it will appear upon a just Calculation of things that all the restraints which the Laws of God lay upon Men are highly reasonable and greatly for their benefit and advantage and do not abridge us of any true Pleasure or Happiness but are Wise and Merciful Provisions of Heaven to prevent our harm and mischief so that we are not Wise if we act without regard to God and his Laws and are not willing to be govern'd by him who loves us better than we do our selves and truly designs our Happiness and Commands us nothing but what directly tends to it For the Laws of God are not Arbitrary Constitutions and meer instances of Soveraign Will and Power but Wise Rules and Means to procure and advance our Happiness And in like manner all that Wisdom which Men use to compass their Worldly Designs of Riches and Greatness without Consideration of the Providence of God and Dependance upon it for the Success of our Affairs is all perfect Folly and Mistake For tho' the Design be never so well laid and vigorously prosecuted and no Means which Humane Wisdom can devise for the attaining of our End have been omitted by us yet if we leave God out of the Account we forget that which is Principal and signifies more to the Success of any Design than all other things put together For if God favours our Designs the most improbable shall take effect and if he blow upon them the most likely shall miscaâ—ry Whenever he pleaseth to interâ—oâ—e to cross the Counsels and Desigâ—â— of Mâ—n the Race is not to the swift nor the Battel to the strong neither yet bread â—o the wise nor riches to men of understanding nor favour to men of skill but time and chance happens to all So that it is great folly not to Consider the Providence of God in all our Designs and Undertakings not to implore his Favour and Blessing without which nothing that we take in hand can prosper That which is Principal to any Purpose ought to be considered in the first place nothing being to be attempted either without or against it And such is the Providence of God in all Humane Affairs it is more considerable to the promoting or hindering of any Event than all things in the World besides and therefore all Policy which sets aside God and his Providence is vain because there is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord. So likewise all that Wisdom which only considers and regards this short Life and the narrow Concernments of it and makes provision only for our welfare in this World and therefore can only be tempted with the hopes of Temporal Advantages and terrified only with the danger of Temporal Evils and Sufferings but hath no sense of an Immortal Spirit within us no prospect of a Life after Death no Consideration of a Happy or Miserable Eternity of Rewards and Punishments infinitely greater than all the Temptations and Terrors of Time and Sense I say all this is a preposterous and pernicious Wisdom and proceeds upon a false Supposition and a quite contrary Scheme of Things to what really is and consequently our whole Life and all the Designs and Actions of it do run upon a perpetual mistake and a false Stating of our own Case and whatever we do pursuant to this Mistake is foolish and hurtful and so far from conducing to our true interest that it is all either besides it or contrary to it because we act upon a Supposal only of this Life and a Being only in this World and that there is nothing either to be feared or hoped for beyond it and being thus grosly mistaken we set our hearts only upon Temporal Things and study our present security and satisfaction and in all our Counsels and Actions are swayed only by the Consideration of Temporal Good and Evil of the present Ease and Pleasure the Disturbance and Pain of our Fleshly and Sensual Parts without any sense of our own Immortality and of that Everlasting State which remains for us in another World But there is my Brethren most certainly there is another Life after this we are not Beasts if we do not make our selves so and if we die we shall not die like them neither shall our last End be like theirs For whatever we may think or wish it will not be in our power to extinguish our own Beings when we have a mind to be rid of them and to chuse whether or no we shall live for ever And if this be a false Scheme of things which we have framed to our selves and proceeded upon as undoubtedly it is then our whole Life is one great Error and a perpetual Mistake and we are quite wrong in all â—hat we design to do Our Wisdom haâ—â— begun at the wrong end and we have made a false Calculation and Account of things and have put our Case otherwise than it is and the farther we proceed ugon this Mistake our Miscarriage will be so much the more fatal in the issue But if our Wisdom begin at the right end and our Case be truly stated that God hath put into these frail and mortal Bodies of ours Immortal Spirits that shall live for ever and hath sent uâ— into this World to soâ—ourn here for a little while and to be disciplin'd and train'd up for Eternity and that after a short proof and trial of our Obedience we shall be translated into an Everlasting State of unspeakable Happiness or Misery according as we have demeaned our selves in this World if we believe this to bâ— truly our Case our Interest is then plainly before us and we see where our Happiness lies and what remains for us to do in order to the obtaining of it and what we are to expect to suffer if we do it not Now this Foundation being laid it is evident that the best thing we can do for our selves is to provide for our Future State and to secure the Everlasting Happiness of another Life And the best way to do that is to live in obedience to those Laws which our Maker and our Soveraign hath prescribed to us and according to which he will one day Sentence us to Eternal Rewards or Punishments It is evident likewise that all our sensual Appetites and Desires are to be bounded by the Rules of Reason and Virtue which are the Laws of God and that no present Ease and Pleasure Trouble and Suffering are to be considered and regarded by us in competition with the things which are Eternal and that Sin is of all other the greatest Evil and most mischievous to our main Interest and therefore with all possible Care to be avoided and that the favour of God is to be sought and the Salvation of our Souls to be provided for at any pains and expence whatsoever and even with the hazard and loss of our dearest Interests in this World yea and of Life it self And now if this
very Evil and Unreasonable upon these following Accounts I. Because it takes Men off from Religion and the Care of their Souls II. Because it tempts Men to do many Things which are inconsistent with Religion and directly contrary to it III. Because it is an endless and insatiable Desire IV. Because the Happiness of Humane Life doth not consist in Riches V. Because Riches do very often contribute very much to the Misery and Infelicity of Men. First Covetousness takes Men off from Religion and the Care of their Souls The Covetous Man is wholly intent upon this World and his inordinate Desire after these Things makes him to neglect God and the Eternal Concernments of his Soul He employs all his Time and Care and Thoughts about these Temporal Things and his vehement love and eager pursuit of these Things steals away his Heart from God robs him of his Time and of all Opportunities for his Soul and diverts him from all serious Thoughts of another World and the Life to come And the Reason of this is that which our Saviour gives Mat. 6. 24. No Man can serve two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other Ye cannot serve God and Mammon No Man can serve two Masters so different as God and the World are because they will give cross Commands and enjoyn contrary Things God he calls upon us to mind the Duties of his Worship and Service to have a serious regard to Religion and a diligent Care of our Souls But the Cares of the World and the Importunity of Business and an eager appetite of being Rich call us off from these Divine and Spiritual Employments or disturb us in them God calls upon us to be Charitable to those that are in want to be willing to distribute and ready to communicate to the Necessities of our Brethren But our Covetousness pulls us back and hales us another way and checks all Merciful and Charitable Inclinations in us God calls us to Self-Denial and Suffering for the Sake of him and his Truth and commands us to preferr the keeping of Faith and a good Conscience to all Worldly Considerations whatsoever But the World Inspires us with other Thoughts and whispers to us to save our selves not to be Righteous over much and rather to trust God with our Souls than Men with our Bodies and Estates If we set our Hearts and Affections strongly upon any thing they will partake of the Object which they are Conversant about for where our Treasure is as our Lord hath told us there will our Hearts be also If a great Estate be our chief End and Design if Riches be our Treasure and our Happiness our Hearts will be found among the Stuff We cannot bestow our Affections freely upon two Objects We cannot intensly love God and the World for no Man can have two Ultimate Ends two Principal Designs Our Riches may increase but if we set our hearts upon them and give them the chief place in our Affections we make them our Lord and Master Whatever we make our Ultimate End we give it a Sovereignty and Empire over us we put our selves under its Dominion and make our selves subject to all its Commands So that if it bid us go we must go come we must come do this we must do it because we are under Authority The World is our Master and we are its Slaves Now he that is under the Rule and Dominion of this Master must withdraw his Obedience from God and in many Cases decline Obedience to his Laws This Worldly Covetous Disposition was that which made those in the Parable to make so many Excuses when they were Invited to the Supper Luke 14. 18. One had bought a Farm and he could not come Another had bought so many Yoke of Oxen and therefore he desired to be excused Riches do so fill the Covetous Man's Heart and the Cares of the World so possess his Mind that he hath no room left in his Soul for any other Guests Intus existens prohibet alienum that which is full already can receive no more The Covetous Man's Heart is taken up with such Things as keep out God and Christ and better Things If any Man love the World and the Things of it to this Degree St. John tells us that the love of the Father is not in him In the Parable of the Sower Mat. 13. 7. Our Saviour represents to us the Cares of the World which choak the word of God by Thorns which sprang up among the Seed and stifled the growth of it The Cares of the World will not suffer the Word of God to take deep root in our hearts and to have any permanent effect upon them And Ezek. 33. 31. God gives this as a Reason why the People of Israel would not hearken to the words of his Prophet because their Hearts were upon the World They come unto thee says God there to the Prophet as the People cometh and they sit before thee as my People and they hear thy words but they will not do them For with their mouth they shew much love but their heart goeth after their Covetousness A Heart that is deeply engaged in the World will stand out against all the Invitations and Promises and Threatnings of God's Word When the Word of God invites such Persons it is like making Love to those who have already fix'd their Hearts and Affections elsewhere the Promises and Threatnings of the Gospel signifie but very little to such Men because their Hearts are set upon Worldly Things and all their Affections are bent that way all their Hopes and Desires are Worldly to be Rich and abound in Wealth and all their Fears are of Poverty and Loss Now such a Man can only be moved with the Promises and Threatnings of Temporal Things for no Promises have any effect upon us but such as are of some Good which we care for and value Nor are any Threatnings apt to move us but such as are of some Evil which we dread and are afraid of And therefore when Eternal Life and the Happiness of another World are offered to a worldly-minded Man he does not desire it he is not at all sensible of the value of itâ— the Man's Heart is full already of other Hopes and Desires and the full Soul loatheth the Hony-Comb Promise to such a Man the Kingdom of Heaven and the Pleasures of God's Presence and the Joys of Eternity this does not signifie to such a Man any Good or Happiness that he is sensible of or knows how to relish And on the other hand threaten him with the loss of God and an Eternal Separation from that Fountain of Happiness and with the unspeakable Anguish and Torments of a long Eternity these Things tho' they be terrible yet they are at a distance and the Covetous Man is enured to Sense and is only to be moved with Things present and
sensible he cannot extend his Fears so far as another World so long as he finds himself well and at ease as to the Things of this present Life If we would affect such a Man we must offer to his Consideration something that is fit to work upon him threaten him with breaking open his House and riâ—â—ing his Coffers and carrying away his full Bags with questioning his Title to his Estate or starting a precedent Mortgage or something of the like Nature These Things indeed are dreadful and terrible to him now you speak intelligibly to him and he understands what you mean Tell him of a good Bargain or an advantagious Purchase offer him decently a good Bribe or give him notice of a young Heir that may be circumvented and drawn in then you say something to him that is worthy of his regard and attention the Man may be tempted by such Offers and Promises as these But Discourse to him with the tongue of Mâ—â— and Angels of the Excellency of Virtue and Goodness and of the Necessity of it to the obtaining of a Glory and Happiness that shall neither have bounds nor end and lo thou art unto him as a very lovely Song of one that hath a pleasant voice and can play well upon an Instrument for he hears thy words but he will not do them as the Prophet expresseth it Ezek. 33. 32. Such Discourses as these they look upon as fine talk or a melodious â—ound that vanisheth into air but leaves no impression behind it Perhaps even these dull and stupid kind of Men are affected a little for the present with the liveliness of the Romance and the Poetical Vein of the Preacher but these Things pass away like a Tale that is told but have no lasting effect upon them So effectually doth Covetousness and the love of this present World obstruct all those Passages through which the Consideration of Religion and Heavenly Things should enter into our Minds Secondly As Covetousness hinders Men from Religion and takes them off from a due Care of their Souls so it many times tempts and engageth Men to do many Things contrary to Religion and inconsistent with it It is the Natural Source and Fountain of a great many Evils and the Parent of most of the worst of Vices He that will engage deep in the World must use much more guard and caution than most Men do to do it without Sin How many Temptations is the Covetous Man exposed to in the getting and in the securing and in the spending and enjoying of a great Estate It is no easie Task to reckon them up and much more difficult to escape or reâ—ist them and yet each of these Temptations bring him into the danger of a great many Sins For I. In the getting of an Estate he is exposed to all those Vices which may seem to be serviceable to this Design Nothing hath been the Cause of more and greater Sins in the World than Covetousness and making haste to be Rich. It is Solomon's Observation Prov. 28. 20. He that maketh haste to be Rich shall not be Innocent He does not say he cannot be Innocent but he speaks as if there were all the probability in the World that he will not prove to be so but being in so much haste will almost unavoidably fall into a great many oversights and faults And the Heathen Poet makes the very same Observation in more words Inde ferè scelerum causae nec plura venena Miscuit aut ferro grassatur saepiùs ullum Humanae mentis vitium quam saeva Cupido Immodici Censûs nam dives qui fieri vult Et cito vult fieri Sed quae Reverentia Legum Quis Metus aut Pudor est unquam properantis avari This says he is the Cause of most Sins Nor is there any Vice of which the Mind of Man is capable that hath been guilty of more Murders and Poysonings than a furious Desire of immodeâ—ate Wealth for he that will be Rich will make haste to be so And what Reverence of Laws what fear or shame was ever seen in any Man that was in in haste to be Rich And this is the sense of what the Apostle says concerning this Vice of Covetousness this peremptory Resolution of being Rich 1 Tim. 6. 9 10. They that will be Rich fall into Temptation and a Snare and into many foolish and hurtful Lusts which drown Men in Destruction and Perdition For the love of Mony is the root of all Evil. If this Vice of Covetousness once reign in us if we have once fix'd our End and set up this Resolution with our selves that we will be Rich we shall then make every thing stoop and submit to this Design A Covâ—tous Man will make his Principles and his Conscience to bend to his Resolution of being Rich and to bow to that Interest The eager Desire of Riches makes Men to pursue them in indirect and uncharitable ways by Falsehood and Perjury by undermining and over-reaching by dissembling and flattery by corrupting and imbasing of Commodities by false Weights and Measures by taking Fees with both hands by making use of their Power and Wit to oppress and defraud their Brother by imposing upon his Ignorance and Simplicity or by making a Prey of his Poverty and Necessity Covetousness many times makes Men Cruel and Unjust nay it makes them guilty of the worst sort of Cruelty and Oppression For as one says well the Covetous Man oppresseth his Neighbour not for any good to himself for he does not enjoy what he tears and rends from others so that he is of that most hateful kind of Beasts of Prey that kill other Creatures not to eat them but that they may see them lie dead by them Lyons and Wolves kill out of hunger but the Covetous Man like a Serpent or Scorpion stings and bites others to death not for his need but for his pleasure and recreation Covetousness is the Parent of the most monstrous Sins because it fixeth a Man in a Resolution of getting an Estate by any means If Falseness and Deceit Violence and Oppression will further this End the earnest desire of the End tempts Men to use any sort of Means whereby the End may be compassed and tho' a Man may have some averseness from them at first yet that wears off by degrees and the strong desire of the End reconciles a Man at last to the love and liking of the Means how wicked and unwarrantable soever Covetousness tempted Achan to steal the accursed Thing and Gehazi to lie to the Prophet and Ahab to Oppress and Murder Naboth Nay a small Summ tempted the Covetous Mind of Judas to betray his Master and his Saviour And how do many Men every day strain their Consciences to get an Estate and hazard their Souls for Mony nay exchange their Souls which are of more value than the whole World for a very small portion of it II. There are likewise many other Temptations which