Practical DISCOURSES UPON THE Morality OF THE GOSPEL.  
Printed MDCXCIX.   

TO THE READER.  
MOrality is my Business. Morality Improved, Exalted, and Raised nearer Heaven by Religion. If Controversy ever happens to lie fairly in my way, I shall as fairly pass it by, without taking any Notice of it. I am not at all desirous to Dispute with my Reader; but to do him good: Which I believe is seldom done by Arguing and Disputing.  
The best thing that Controversy can do, is to show us clearly, which is the True Religion: And I presume All Parties are Agreed, that This is a very Necessary Point; or otherwise they would not think it worth their quarrelling so fiercely and so obstinately about it. But yet, when This is done, we are only beginning the Great Work of our Salvation. The Best Religion in the World can never Save us, without a constant Practice of the Best Morality. The Faith and Law of Christ must always go together. The Creed and the Commandments must never, upon any Terms, be parted. The First Part will not do without the Second: 'Tis always defective, and wants the other Half to make up a Whole Christian.  
I may therefore boldly say, The Subject which I Treat of, is the Best I could have chosen. I know no Entertainment Better for a Christian, than the Morality of the Gospel, which is the Law of Christ.  
As for the Style and Method of the following Discourses, I leave them to speak for themselves. They were the usual Employment of my Morning-Thoughts, intended chief for my own Private Improvement: And, tho' I am far from Admiring them, yet, having found some benefit in the Writing, I do not quite despair, but that some few may find the like in Reading them.  
My Friends, perhaps, may wonder to see me again in Print; especially after having Publicly Declared, That I had now done Scribbling. But, however, I hope they will not Accuse me of Inconstancy, when I assure them, that my Judgement and my Inclination are still the same; and that 'tis only by Advice that I have changed my Resolution. They may also please to Reflect, that having taken some pains to prove (in Doubtful Cases) the Security of Blind Obedience, it would look a little strangely if I durst not venture to Practise it.   

The Contents.  

Discourse I. Of Hearing the Word of God.  
Discourse II. Of the Advantages of Christianity, and Duties of a Christian.  
Discourse III. Of the Love of God and the World.  
Discourse iv Of Worldly Policy, and Christian Prudence.  
Discourse V Of Christian Humility.  
Discourse VI Of Christian Marriage, and the Means to Sanctify it.  
Discourse VII. Of True Repentance.  
Discourse VIII. Of the small Number of the Elect.    

Discourse I. Of Hearing the Word of God.  
WHEN many People were gathered together, and made haste out of the Cities to come to Jesus, he spoke by a Parable: The Sower went out to Sow his Seed; and as he Sowed, some fell by the way, and it was trodden down, and the Fowls of the Air devoured it. And some fell upon a Rock, and being sprung up, it withered away, because it wanted Moisture. And some fell among Thorns, and the Thorns springing up with it, choked it. And the other fell upon good Ground, and being sprung up, bore Fruit an Hundred-fold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that has Ears to hear, let him hear. Whereupon his Disciples asked him, What this Parable might be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the Mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to others in Parables; that Seeing they may not See, and Hearing they may not Understand. Now the Parable is this: The Seed is the Word of God. Those whose Seed falls by the Way, are they that Hear; and then comes the Devil, and takes the Word out of their Hearts, lest they should Believe and be Saved. They whose Seed falls upon the Rock, are they who when they have Herd, Receive the Word with Joy; and these have no Root: Who for a time Believe, and in time of Temptation fall away. And that which fell among Thorns, are they who have Herd, and going forth are choked with Cares, and Riches, and Pleasures of this Life, and bring no Fruit. But that which falls on the good Ground, are they who in a good and honest Heart, having Herd the Word, Keep it, and bring forth Fruit with Patience. Luk. 8. ver. 4, to 16.  
The Word of God is the Seed of Salvation; the Seed of those Virtues, by which we save our Souls. The Heart of Man is the Ground in which this Seed is Sown: And if the Ground be good, it will Receive the Seed, and Keep it, and bring forth Fruit with Patience. 'Tis no wonder therefore, that the Prophet exhorts us to prepare our Hearts to God, and Serve him only; because we cannot Serve him, unless we first prepare our Hearts, and fit them for his Service. It is not Grace alone that makes the difference 'twixt Saints and Sinners. The very same Degree of Grace which is Received by some, is many times Refused by others: And the Receiving or Refusing of it, very much depends upon the preparation of our Hearts. The Seed miscarried Three several ways: 'Twas Devoured, Withered and Choked. Not because there were Three forts of Seed, but because the same Seed Fell upon Three sorts of Ground: The First did not Receive it, the Second did not Keep it, the Third brought no Fruit to perfection.  

I.  
The First Ground did not Receive it: Because 'twas totally Neglected, and continually Trampled under Foot. The Husbandmen were Idle, and never offered to Cultivate it: The Passengers were ever busy, to and fro, and made it too hard for any Seed to Enter. And this is the common Case of many People's Hearts: 1. They take no Care to Prepare them: 2. They spare no Pains to Harden them.  
1. They take no Care to Prepare their Hearts for the Reception of the Word of God. They never make it any Considerable part of their Business, to be well acquainted with it. If they read it, or hear it, 'tis either Curiosity or Custom, 'tis not Inclination, that prompts them to it: And, when all is done, they seldom or never seriously Consider it. For want of a free acquaintance with it, they never know how lovely it is in itself: And for want of loving it, as it deserves, they give it a very cold reception in their Minds, and none at all in their Hearts. The Word of God is in their Ears, when they hear it; in their Minds, when they think of it; but never is in their Hearts, till they Love it. Hatred indeed belongs to the Heart, as well as Love: But Hatred banishes and drives it away; 'tis only Love receives it, and embraces it. And how should they Love it, without knowing the Value of it? Or how should they rightly Understand it, without Conversing freely and familiarly with it?  
As partial as we are in favour of ourselves, we cannot reasonably expect that our Salvation should cost us nothing; and that God should either force our Happiness upon us, whether we will or no, or let us find it by chance, without enquiring after it. 'Tis enough that he is always ready to help us; and that, because he takes delight in Crowning and Rewarding our Labours, therefore he will always have us take some pains to help ourselves. He bids us seek: He tells us, we shall find: And, if we do not think the finding worth our seeking, whose fault is it but our own? Such Sinners as we are, have little reason to complain, that God deals hardly with us, because he does not speak more plainly to us. 'Tis true, our Knowledge of Heavenly things is so Mysterious and Obscure, that St. Peter Compares it to a Light that shines in a Dark place: But however, the least Degree of Knowledge is more than is due to those who deserve Eternal Darkness: And besides, 'tis better for us that it should be so. Obscurity is an Advantage to the Good. It Exercises their Faith; Increases their hearty Desires of Knowing more and more in this World; and Inflames their fervent Prayers, for the Happiness of Seeing All in the next. 'Tis then that we are truly Happy, when all the Desires of our Heart are fully and securely Satisfied: And since our Hearts expect to be so well Rewarded there, it is but just they should be put upon their Trial, and do something to deserve it here. The Obscurity of our Faith is the great Trial of our Hearts. If God had pleased to let so strong a Light break in upon our Minds, as might Convince us evidently, and force us to See clearly what now we only Believe, our Heart would have lost its Liberty of Choosing, and could not have deserved any Thanks for taking the right side. The worst of Hearts, as well as the best, would have equally submitted to the Conquering Power of Evidence: And, tho' God's Mercy might, perhaps, appear, his Justice could not show itself, either in punishing Sinners, or in the more delightful part of it, the just Rewarding of Saints: Whereas, according to the present Course of Providence, his Justice is as glorious as his Mercy. He Mercifully gives us Light and Strength sufficient to See and Do what he Commands: He Reconciles our Liberty with his Decrees: He sets before us Good and Evil, and puts it in our own free Power to make what Choice we please. All this is infinitely Merciful, and more than we deserve. His Light is always ready to Direct our Steps: There's nothing wanting on our part, but that we Open our Eyes to see it. A good and honest Heart is always willing and prepared to See and Do its Duty. But a Perverse and Wicked One, that frowardly and wilfully Refuses to See its Duty, because it has no mind to Do it: A Heart that will not apply the Mind to an impartial and sincere consideration of its Choice, but blindly follows where its inclination leads: A Heart, I say, which thus Neglects and Slights God's Mercy, very well deserves to fall into the Hands of his Severest Justice, and be given over to the Power of Darkness, which it is so fond of.  
We read in the Gospel, That when many People were gathered together, and made haste out of the Cities to come to Jesus, he spoke to them by a Parable. The Eternal Word is made Flesh: His Doctrine is delivered in Parables: The one and the other are both of them partly Manifested to us, and partly Hidden from us; not that they may not be found by us, but that we may seek for a more perfect Knowledge of them, and seeking it, we may deserve to find it. We read, moreover, That when he had said these things, he cried, He that has Ears to Hear, let him Hear: That is, He that Hears, let him take Care to Understand. They had all of them Ears to Hear: But alas! it is not sufficient to Hear with our Ears; our Minds and Hearts must be Attentive to what we hear, or else we hear in vain. Whereupon his Disciples asked him, What this Parable might be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the Mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to others in Parables. The reason was, because altho' these others had Curiosity enough to gather together, and make haste out of the Cities to See and Hear him, yet when they had Seen and Herd him, they were so Unconcerned and Careless, that Seeing they did not care to See, and Hearing they did not desire to Understand. But the Disciples were more hearty and sincere, and therefore unto them it was given to know the Mystery of the Kingdom of God. The Parable gave them some little Light. This little excited a great desire of more. They sought for it, and they found it: They asked for it, and they had it for ask.  
2. It commonly happens, that they who take no Care for the reception of the Word of God, are otherwise very busy, and spare no pains to Harden their Hearts against it. A Heart that lies in common, open to all that comes or goes, a constant thoroughfare of idle, vain, impertinent Amusements, is hardened like the beaten Road, the best Counsels make little or no Impression upon it, 'tis insensible of the sharpest Reproof, and impenetrable to all good Advice. Whatever Seed falls there, it takes no Root; but is immediately Trodden down, or presently devoured. We read in the Gospel, That when they hear the Word, the Devil comes, and takes the Word out of their Hearts. He leaves it in their Minds; but at the same time fills their Heads with Crowds of other Thoughts, which Trample it under Foot, and make their Hearts too hard to receive it. He leaves it in their Minds, not to Direct them, but to Self-condemn them; and takes it out of their Hearts, for fear lest they should Believe and be Saved. He fears they would love it, if they began to like it: He fears they would believe it firmly, and hold fast to it, if they loved it: And therefore is afraid they would be Saved, if they Believed it. For this reason, he is ever busy in contriving Ways and Means to Secure their Hearts to himself. He manages all manner of Temptations with his utmost Skill, to enslave them to the Pleasures of this Life: He never fails, in time and season, to Suggest such Thoughts as he imagines may Create a Prejudice against their Duty, and the Difficulties of it: He bushes them on from one Folly to another, and drives them into a perpetual Circle of Diversions and Employments, which leave no room for Reading, Meditating, Praying, and Endeavouring to Save their Souls: And thus, at length, he Corrupts them to such a Degree, that they cannot endure to Hear the Word of God, because they cannot abide to Believe it. They are so far from caring for the Light of Faith, that they take all Care imaginable to avoid it. They despise and hate it, because it only Discovers to them a Heaven, which they do not Relish, and Disturbs them with unwelcome Thoughts of a Hell, which makes them Tremble. Their Hearts are wilfully Blind, and obstinately Deaf: And therefore they seeing, see not; and hearing, hear not. Our Saviour thus describes them in the Thirteenth of S. Matthew; Their Heart is gross, their Ears are dull of hearing, and they shut their Eyes, for fear lest at any time they should See, and Understand with their Heart, and should be Converted, and I should Heal them. They are not so much afraid of Understanding with their Mind; because the Mind only Preaches, 'tis the Heart that Practices. Their great fear is, lest at any time they should Understand with their Heart. They have not patience to think of any real and effectual Change of Life; and therefore are afraid of changing their Foolish Hearts, and bringing them to a better Understanding of the Word of God, lest at any time they should begin to Love it, take Delight in it, and Practise it. The Devil is always watchful to take the Word out of their Hearts: And they are no less Careful to keep it always out. He takes it out, for fear lest they should Believe and be Saved: They keep it out, for the same reason, lest at any time they should be Converted and Healed. The Devil fears nothing more, than that they should Believe it, so as to be Saved: And they are so much of his Mind, so fully in his Power, and so led Captive by him at his pleasure, that the Devil himself is not more afraid of it than they are.   

II.  
When the Heart of Man is thus doubly hardened, from without, and from within, 'tis no great wonder, that it does not receive the Word of God. No wonder, I say, that the Seed, which falls by the way, is trodden down, and presently devoured. But the Second sort of Ground is something better than the First. Though it be Stony underneath, yet it is covered over with some little Earth, which readily receives the Seed, and helps it to spring up, although it does not keep it, nor allow it any Root.  
S. Luke says, It withered away, because it wanted Moisture. And indeed there are some certain Tears of hearty and sincere Repentance, which are apt to mollify the hardest Heart, and soften all the Stony places in it. They are, as it were, the Dew of Heaven, that Heavenly Moisture which Nourishes the Love of God, and of his Holy Word, and helping the Seed to Enter Deeply, hinders it from being Scorched and Withered.  
In the Thirteenth of S. Matthew we read, that the Seed which fell upon stony places, sprung up immediately, because it had no deepness of Earth; and presently Withered away, because it had no Root. It was soon up, for want of Depth; and soon down, for want of Root. The Love of this World, in the Heart of many Christians, who prefer it before God, and do not know they do so, is like a Rock under Ground. The Soil seems good; and, so much as there is, it really is so; but because there is no more of it, 'tis little better than none at all. It is not Deep enough to be fruitful. The Seed immediately Enters; but being little Covered, and less Rooted, is presently Withered with the first heat that Scorches it.  
The generality of Mankind are strangely in love with this foolish World, and violently fond of transitory things, belonging to this present Life. Their Worldly Honour, Wealth, and Pleasure, are dearer to them, than their Lives; and this Life dearer to them, than the next. When they hear of the next, and are awakened with a lively Apprehension of a future State, where Everlasting Happiness attends them, if they please; they receive the Word with joy, and are very glad to understand that, when they have done being Happy here, they may, perhaps, begin to be so there. They are not very much Charmed with what they hear of Heaven; they know not how to relish those Spiritual Pleasures, which are too refined for Sensual and Carnal Souls; but however, they presume, that God, who cannot but be infinitely Happy in himself, must needs know how to make them Happy when he takes them to him; and therefore when their own Felicity is spent, which they desire may last as long as possible, they then are willing to try what Heaven is, and see if it can make amends for what they leave behind them. Upon these Terms, they seem to love God pretty well; but 'tis too plain, they love themselves a great deal better. And the more we consider the matter, the plainer 'twill appear, that it is not so much the Love of God which Leads them, as it is the Fear of Hell which Drives them, into a Desire of Heaven.  
Fear is a troublesome Passion: And Hell is a thing so terrible, that even those who have no mind to believe it, are not easy in themselves, when they admit a serious thought of it. It sours all Worldly Comforts, and Embitters the Enjoyments of this Life. And therefore for their own dear sakes, that they may Love the World Securely, and Enjoy it▪ with an undisturbed and quiet Mind, they are willing to come to a Composition, and to comply with all the Exterior Duties of Religion, provided they may keep their Heart to themselves, and bestow it where they please, without being obliged to Wean it from the World, and Disengage it from the Treacherous Endearments of it. For this reason they are very exact in all their Parish-Devotions, punctual in their times of Morning and Evening Prayer, diligent in Hearing Sermons, cheerful in giving Alms, and charitable in comforting the Afflicted. All this they are ready to do, and any thing else, whatever it is, that does not hinder them from loving and enjoying Themselves, the World, and their own Humour, as much as ever. And all this they are the more willing to do, because it pacifies the troublesome Remorses of their Conscience; it cheats them into a belief that they are better than they are; it makes them hope they love God better than they do; and that they are not so very fond of any Worldly Satisfactions, as not to leave them all for God's sake, when occasion requires.  
The outside of their Piety Amuses them, but the inside of their Heart is always Hidden from them. They take no Pains to Search the Bottom of it, and to discover the wretched Corruption of their misplaced Affections; because there are some certain things in which they are fully determined never to practise any Self-denial; they will not hear of any reason to the contrary; but in spite of all the Reason in the World, they are resolved upon the Point, that such things must and shall be reasonable, because they have a mind they should be so. In other matters, where their strongest Passions are not much concerned, they can comply with ease. They can Read, and Pray, and Hear the Word of God with Joy; they can Conceive some good Desires; they can be very much pleased with a little sensible Devotion for the present: But when these Pious thoughts begin to sink a little deeper in their Hearts, and to contrive a real and effectual Reformation of their Lives; when the Seed gins to take Root: 'Tis then it meets with great and unexpected Resistance, and finds under a tender Surface, nothing but the hardness of a Rock. Their Worldly Honour, their Estate, their Ease, are things which must not, upon any Terms, be called in question. They are hardened in a Selfish, Proud, and Sullen Resolution, of never parting with them: And, till the time of Trial comes, they do not know how hard their Obstinacy is. When all goes prosperously on, and Danger looks upon them at a distance, almost out of sight, they then can make a shift, in a kind fit, to offer all these things to the Almighty, and address his Infinite Majesty with the usual Compliment, of being ready, upon all Occasions, to stand by him with their Lives and Fortunes. But notwithstanding all this, the Gospel assures us, that these dutiful Expressions of their Mind have no Root in their Heart: These Loyalists endure but for a time: And afterward, when any Persecution or Affliction arises, they find, in time of Temptation, how much they were mistaken in themselves; immediately they fall away.   

III.  
The third sort of Ground receives the Seed, and keeps it. It keeps it warm and deep, and helps it to take Root. But because the Thorns take deeper Root, spread farther, and rise higher, therefore the Seed is choked, and brings no Fruit. These Thorns, according to the Gospel, are the Cares of this Life. As for the Life to come, we cannot be too Careful of it; we cannot love God too much; we cannot have too great a Passion for the Joys of Heaven. But as for this poor Earth, this Dirt, which only fouls and clogs our Feet, this Clay, in which we often stick so fast, alas! this miserable World has nothing in it that deserves our Care, except it be get well out of it, and make it a safe Passage to a better. Whatever may be useful to this End, we may be careful of it. But as for any thing else, belonging to this wretched Life, the Gospel gives us warning, to avoid the Danger of such Needless and Pernicious Cares, which hinder the Word of God from being fruitful in our Hearts.  
The Danger is the greater, because these Cares are of an earlier Growth; the Roots of them come into the World with us: They take Possession of our Hearts, for several Years, before the use of Reason has prepared us for the Word of God. We read, that the Seed fell among Thorns; which plainly supposes, that the Thorns were first Possessors of the Ground. But yet, if they had been extirpated before the Seed was sown, it might have sprung up safely by itself, there would have been no Thorns to spring up with it, and choke it.  
The Thorns have great Advantage over the Seed. Not only their Growth is earlier, but quicker, and more natural. The Corruption of our Heart is like the Rankness of a Soil, to which they easily take, and where they thrive at a strange rate. There needs no planting, watering, or taking any Care of them. 'Tis but letting them alone; they grow apace, and spring up of themselves. But it is not so with Piety and Virtue. There must be Sowing, Planting, Cultivating: No Pains must be spared to keep them in good order; and all that we can do is little enough to make them bring forth Fruit, altho' there were no Thorns to hinder them.  
I tremble when I think how sadly true this is. Experience teaches it; the Gospel itself confirms it; and our Conscience cannot deny it. We daily see how careful most Men are of this World, and how careless of the next. They lay up Riches, and provide for Pleasures. These are their principal Cares, which our Saviour mentions in the Gospel. They are very highly concerned for living long, with all their Plenty and their Ease about them: But as for living well, and laying in Provision for a happy Eternity; they entertain these Thoughts with Coldness and Indifference. The least Prospect of Danger, attending their Worldly Riches, or their Pleasures, is enough to break their Sleep. The very Apprehension of a Momentary Poverty or Misery, tho' at a distance, is enough to put their Minds upon the Rack, and torture the very Souls of them: But as for Eternal Riches, and Heavenly Pleasures, tho' these are perhaps in greater Danger, they can sleep securely: All the Cruel Poverty and Everlasting Misery of Hell itself, tho' they are loudly threatened with its being nearer than they are ware of, all this will not Rouse them, and Awaken them into a true Sense of their Duty. So Stupid and Insensible our Nature is in all things, which regard the other World, and yet so Vigorous, so Active, and so Busy in the Cares of this.  
The Consequence is natural and plain. There's no Excuse can be admitted in the Case. We must consider, on the one Hand, the Danger, and on the other, the Folly of these Worldly Cares: We must go to work with both our Hands, and labour with all our Strength, to pull them up by the Roots. Without this, all our other Labours are in vain. We may Confess our Sins; we may be Sorry for them; we may purpose to Amend: But all these Pious Endeavours will be fruitless, and without effect; we shall immediately relapse again; our Sorrow and our Purposes will never be Victorious, whilst our Worldly Cares are stronger, and more prevalent. We must therefore lay this Matter seriously to Heart. Eternity depends upon it. The more we consider it, the more we shall be sensible of the Importance of it. 'Tis a common thing to meet with People, who wonder strangely at their own Frailty, and cannot, without Horror and Amazement, reflect how long they have continued in a Sinful Course; in spite of all the Pains which they have often taken to amend their Lives. But yet, for my part, I can never wonder that People lose their Labour, when they go the wrong way to work. If they will not take Advice, when God himself is pleased to give it them, I know not how to help it. He tells them plainly, that whilst they sow among Thorns, the Seed will never bring forth Fruit. And this is a fair Warning to them, to begin the Amendment of their Lives, by labouring all they can, to root out all these Thorns, all Worldly Passions and Affections whatsoever, from whence those Cares arise, which choke the Seed, obstruct the Word of God, and hinder it from being Fruitful in their Hearts.  
I do not descend to Particulars, because the Case is general, and without the least Exception. No Love of any Creature whatsoever must ever dare to stand in Competition with the Love of our Creator. All other Loves must be resigned and moderate; submissive to God's Holy Will, contented with his Appointments, always Calm, Serene, and Undisturbed. When Worldly Cares are thus restrained, they are no more than Duties: But when they pass these Limits, than it is that they are Thorns; which not only prick our Feet, but pierce the very Hearts of us: They wound our Feet, I mean those Pious Affections of our Soul, which are the only Feet by which we move towards Heaven, and pierce our Conscience with a terrible Remorse of loving this World too much, and for aught we know, a great deal more than the next.  
'Tis possible, you'll say, to love the World to a very great degree, and yet love God a little better; which if we do, we love him above all things, and that's enough to save us. But surely you are not in good earnest. Your whole Heart is due to him: And can you think you do him Justice, by allowing him a little more than half? Your whole Heart ought to be a House of Prayer: And is it just, to make almost one half of it a Den of Thiefs? Your whole Heart ought to be the Temple of God: And dare you offer to defile it, by making a Partition in it, and erecting Altars to his Mortal Enemies, the World, the Flesh, and the Devil?  
A true Christian cannot be so falsehearted. If we believe the Gospel, He has the best of Hearts: His Heart is Good and Honest: He's no Trimmer betwixt God and the World: He hates all double Dealing, and endeavouring to please both Parties: He scorns to do so mean and base a thing, as to divide His Heart, and steal away any part of it from him who has a Right to All. He does not use the World, because He loves it, but because He needs it. He Eats, and Drinks, and Sleeps, that He may live: He does not live, that He may Eat, and Drink, and Sleep. If He takes care of His good Name, it is because it will enable Him to do more Good. If He diverts himself, 'tis only to refresh His Spirits, and prepare them for a better use. He knows very well, that all the Comforts and Reliefs of our Corrupted, Weak, and Sickly Nature, are very pleasing and delightful to it, and are therefore apt to entice our Hearts to love them. But alas! He sees, and grieves at his diseased Condition: And, tho' He gladly uses the Remedies, because His Nature wants them, and His Misery makes it His Duty to apply them; yet He is so far from loving them, that He could wish with all His Heart, He were so Healthy and so Happy, as not to stand in need of them. The Sores of His Mortality are grievous to Him, and the itching Pleasure of His Plasters does not make him such Amends, but that He had much rather be without them. He hears, and He believes, there is a State of Immortality, where Health and Happiness expect Him; where He may be sure to find them; if He please; and where, once found, it is impossible to lose them. The Word of God assures him of it. And this is the Word, which, in a good and honest Heart, he receives joyfully, keeps faithfully, and brings forth Fruit, with Patience, because he is not so much concerned for any Worldly Matter, as to be impatient about it.    

Discourse II. Of the Advantages of Christianity, and Duties of a Christian.  
JEsus said to his Disciples, Blessed are the Eyes which see the things that you see. For I tell you, that many Prophets and Kings have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them. And behold a certain Lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, What shall I do to possess Eternal Life? He said unto him, What is written in the Law? How readest thou? And he answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Strength, and with all thy Mind, and thy Neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live. But he willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my Neighbour? And Jesus answering, said, A certain Man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among Robbers, who stripped him, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain Priest that way, and when he saw him, he passed by. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came, and looked on him, and passed by. But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had Compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his Wounds, pouring in Oil and Wine, and set him on his own Beast, and brought him to an Inn, and took care of him. And on the Morrow he took out Two Pence, and gave them to the Host, and said unto him, Take Care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was Neighbour unto him that fell among the Robbers? And he said, he that shown Mercy unto him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. Luke 10. v. 23, to 38.  
The Glorious Advantages of Christianity, and the Principal Duties of a Christian, are the whole Matter of this Gospel. The Advantages are so great, that we should be ungrateful, if we passed them slightly over; and the Duties are of such Importance, that we should be inexcusable, if we refused to take them into serious Cosideration.  

I.  
S. Paul, in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, considers the Preeminency of the Law of Christ above the Law of Moses: And, that we may better understand the Comparison, it will not be amiss to observe the Rise and Progress of the Divine Law, from the first Establishment of it. God in the first Creation gave to Man a Natural Knowledge of his Duty; which Knowledge is the Law of Nature. By this, Abel offered Sacrifice, Enoch walked with God, Abraham paid Tithes to Melchisedec, Lot was hospitable to Strangers, Job was Patiented, Just, and Humble. In a Word, All the Saints, who lived before the Law of Moses, by the Light of Nature, were instructed in their Duty. Mean time, the growing Malice of Corrupted Nature every Day increased; the Will became more prone to Evil; and the Custom of transgressing, being, as it were, a second Nature, superinduced a second Law, which the Apostle calls the Law of Sin. The Dictates of this Law of Sin, altho' they were not able to efface the Original Impression of the Law of God, yet they obscured and darkened it: The Understanding, which ought to have led the Will, was now misled and blinded by it: And. Vice prevailing almost universally, the Law of God was, in a manner, out of Sight, and out of Mind. When the World was in this desperate Condition, God, of his Infinite Mercy, promulgated the Law of Moses; the Morality of which was formerly well known, tho' now neglected, and almost quite forgotten. Then it was that the Law was written in their Tables, says S. Austin, because they did not read it in their Hearts.  
The manner of its Delivery is very remarkable. When the Children of Israel were gone out of the Land of Egypt, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai, and Camp'd before the Mount; where the Ten Commandments were proclaimed with Thunder and Lightning; the Earth quaking, and the People trembling at what they saw and heard. The Morality of these Commandments was neither more nor less than the Law of Nature; which, as promulgated by Moses, is called the Old Law; and, as confirmed by Jesus Christ, is called the New. Not that the Law itself, as to the Moral Part of it, is different from what it was; but that the Circumstances, I mean the Motives and Advantages are New, and infinitely surpassing those of the Old.  
In the New Law, the Motives which induce us to observe it, are incomparably greater. The Jews generally feared nothing but Temporal Punishments; they hoped for nothing but Temporal Rewards; their Self-love aimed at nothing more than Earthly Happiness; and even God himself, who knew their Hearts were harder than the Stones, on which he Engraved their Law, proposed no better Motives to them. They were to be Trained up by Degrees to fear and to obey the Author of their Nature, before they could be well prepared to Entertain the Mysteries of Grace and Glory. And thus we read, in the Nineteenth Chapter of Exodus, how God Commanded Moses, to mind the People of what he had done to the Egyptians; and that now, having brought them to himself, if they would obey his Voice, he would take them into his particular Care, above all other People; and, to Encourage them the more, he would have them know, that All the Earth was his. They were to remember the Plagues of Egypt, that they might not forget their Duty, but that their fears might be awakened with expecting the like Severity in case of Disobedience. And, to maintain their hopes, it was enough that All the Earth was his; for this was All they wished for; and therefore, if they Obeyed, he was able to Reward them to the utmost of their Heart's desire. In the Twenty sixth of Leviticus, he tells them, If you keep my Commandments, I will give you Rain in due Season; and the Land shall yield her increase; you shall eat your Bread to the full; you shall Chase your Enemies, and they shall fall before you; and you shall dwell in your own Land safely. And in the Twenty eighth of Deuteronomy, he assures them, All these Blessings shall come upon you, if you will hearken to my Voice: But if you will not hearken to it, Then All the contrary Curses shall be sure to overtake you. Poor Creatures! And was This All! Was This the utmost prospect of their Hopes and Fears! These Little, Earthly, and Transitory Comforts, are they worthy to compare with that inestimable Blessing promised by our Saviour; Come ye Blessed of my Father, Come and possess the great and everlasting Kingdom of Heaven, which was prepared for you from the Foundation of the World? Or are the Curses which deprive us of these Empty and Unsatisfying Pleasures, are they comparable to that final Curse of our Redeemer, Go ye Accursed into Everlasting Fire, which was prepared for the Devil and his Angels? No, no. The Eternal Torments, which no Tongue is able to express; the Everlasting Joys of Heaven, which never entered into the Heart of Man; and the endearing Charms of God's prodigious Love, by which he sent his Son, not only to teach us these great Truths, but to Assist us with his Conquering Grace, and to Redeem us with his Precious Blood: These, these I say, are new Advantages incomparably surpassing All that the Old Law ever could pretend to.  
'Tis true, there were many Prophets, Patriarches, and Kings amongst them, who were more Enlightened than the rest; and, tho' they had not received these glorious Promises, yet they had some foreknowledge of them afar off, and languished with continual Expectations and Desires to see the Accomplishment of them. And therefore 'tis no wonder that we find it written, in the beginning of this Gospel; Jesus said to his Disciples: Blessed are the Eyes which see the things that you see. For I tell you that many Prophets and Kings have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them. We see the Church of Christ Established firmly and securely; Blessed are the Eyes that see it. We hear his Gospel Preached, and faithfully Delivered to us: Blessed are the Ears that hear it. And Blessed indeed we are, if we not only hear the Word of God, but also keep it. Alas! These great Advantages of Christianity will little avail us: They will only serve to rise in Judgement against us, and to heap a greater Damnation upon us, if we neglect the Duties of it.   

II.  
We read in the Gospel, how a certain Lawyer stood up, and asked our Saviour, What shall I do, to possess Eternal Life? He thought (and with a great deal of reason) that so vast a Purchase, as Eternal Life, was never to be had for nothing: He knew that all this Momentary Life of ours, is nothing to Eternity, which swallows up all Time, with a disproportion infinitely greater than a Drop of Water loses itself in the Ocean: And therefore he justly suspected, that perhaps his uttermost endeavours would fall short of it. What shall I do, says he, to possess Eternal Life? These words of his, express an earnest and a sincere desire, not only to know his Duty, but to do it: And truly, unless we fully and absolutely resolve to do it, we had better never know it. Are we as hearty desirous as he seemed to be? Are we as much in earnest? Are we as sincere? If so; Hear then what's written in the Law. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy Heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy Strength, and with all thy Mind, and thy Neighbour as thyself. Consider this well; and then attend to what our Saviour says: Do this, and you shall live: Do but this, and you shall certainly possess Eternal Life.  
And is it hard to do so much as this? He is infinitely lovely in himself, and is it therefore a difficult thing to love him? He infinitely deserves our Love, and therefore we can never Love him so much as he deserves: But must we therefore never Love him as much as we can? Let us do our utmost, we can never Love him so much as he Loves us; and although we had each of us a Thousand Hearts entirely at his Service, we should never be able to make a suitable return: Since therefore we have only one, Can we for shame refuse him any part of that? 'Tis All of it due; and can we make abatements? 'Tis all of it too little, and can we think it too much?  
There's only one Objection obvious in this Case. If we must Love God with all our Heart, with all our Soul, with all our Strength, with all our Mind, it seems to follow, that we must Love nothing else. Now this is evidently a great Mistake, because the Scripture immediately adds, that we must Love our Neighbour as ourselves; from whence it follows clearly: 1. That we must Love ourselves. 2. That, as we Love ourselves, so we must Love our Neighbour also. 'Tis enough therefore, that with all our Mind we principally consider our Duty to our God, with all our Strength endeavour chief to Serve him, and with all our Heart and Soul Embrace him, as the most Transcending Object of our best Affections. 'Tis enough, I say, that we never Love any thing else, but either by his Order, or with his Leave: And that all our Love, of any Creature whatsoever, is always Subordinate to the Love of God, and ready, upon all occasions, to give place to it, without ever offering to stand one Moment in Competition with it. Remember what our Saviour says: Do this, and you shall certainly possess Eternal Life. But at the same time, pray remember, that, unless you Do this, you shall certainly never possess it.  
It seems a little strange, that this Lawyer, who was so very skilful in the general Doctrine of the Law, was yet so ignorant in the particular Application of it. He knew that all the Precepts of the Law were comprehended in these Two, of Loving God above all things, and our Neighbour as ourselves: And yet he knew not who his Neighbour was, but asked our Saviour the Question, Who is my Neighbour? Is it a Friend? A Benefactor? A Relation? An Acquaintance? A Partner? A Fellow-Citizen? A Countryman? Or is it generally any Person United to us in some Common Bond of Humane Society? I am afraid that many Christians are as ignorant as this Pharisee was. They generally Love themselves to that Degree, as not to Care for any Body else, but those who are, some way or other, Instrumental, Useful, or Serviceable, to their Honour, Interest or Pleasure. Without something of this, 'tis no great matter what becomes of them. Whether they Sink of Swim, 'tis all the same. If this were all that is Commanded by the Second Precept of the Law, this part of the way to Heaven would be Broad enough: We than should have no need to fear, that there are few that find it; we might be assured there would be none that miss it. To Love our Neighbour for our own sake, is as easy as it is to Love ourselves: But on the contrary, to Love him purely for God's sake, is as hard a Task as 'tis to Love our Maker better than ourselves. If we Love God above all things, and consequently above ourselves; this Love, when it extends to our Neighbour, will naturally set a greater value upon his Relation to God, than his Connexion with us. We shall not then so much consider his Affinity, his Kindness, or his Usefulness; but we shall chief regard his being made to the same Divine Image, Redeemed by the same Precious Blood, and therefore being capable of the same Grace in this World, and the same Glory in the next. Let a Man be never so much a Stranger to us, nay, let him be our greatest Enemy, yet it is still true, that his Creation, his Redemption, his Capacity of Grace and Glory, are the same as ours: And therefore, if we Love God above all things, and ourselves in order to him, we are bound to Love our Neighbour principally upon these Accounts; that is to say, we are obliged to Love him, as we Love ourselves.  
The truth of this Doctrine is plain and clear in our Saviour's Parable of the Samaritan. When he saw a Naked Man lie Bleeding, and Half-dead of his Wounds, 'twas enough to move his Compassion, and to make him overlook all private Considerations of his being not only a Stranger, but perhaps an Enemy to him; for the Jews, in those Days, had such a Mortal Enmity against the Samaritans, that they would not endure either to Eat or Drink with them. But not withstanding all this, He was framed of the same Flesh and Blood, he was made to the Image of the same God, he had a Just Title to the Common Duties of Humanity; and therefore the Samaritan went to him, he poured Oil and Wine into his Wounds, he bond them up, he set him upon his own Horse, he brought him to an Inn, and took Care on him. This was not all. When he had brought him thither, another Person would perhaps have thought that he had done enough for one Man's share, and would have left him to the mercy of the Inn, where every Body else was as much obliged, as he, to have Compassion on him. But the Samaritan was not content with doing half his Duty; he was not certain that the People of the Inn were willing to supply the rest; and therefore he not only left Money in the Hands of his Host, but also left Orders to let him want for nothing, assuring him, that if the Money fell short, whatsoever he laid out more, he would faithfully repay every Farthing. The Samaritan, if he had been so Hard, so Cruel, and so Selfish, as we are, he might have alleged a Thousand of those cautious pretences which are common in the World: But his Charity was too sincere, to need any Excuse; and too great, to allow it.  
Our Saviour not only Preached this Doctrine, but also Practised it. The Parable is not only His, but He himself the principal Person represented in it. When Adam Sinned, he went down from Paradise into a Vale of Miseries, where not only He, but his Posterity, are stripped of all the Original Robes of Innocence, and fallen into the Hands of their own disorderly Passions, which are worse than Robbers, by whom they are dangerously Wounded, and left Half Dead. Our Saviour Jesus Christ, the true Samaritan, saw our Condition, and took Pity on us. He descended from Heaven, he poured his Precious Blood into our Wounds, he Charged himself with the Burden of our Frailties, he brought us into his Church, and there he took such Care of us, that we are certain to be Cured, unless we wilfully refuse to apply the Remedies which he provided for us. He looked upon us as his Neighbours: He Loved us because we are made to the Divine Image, which, tho' defaced by Sin, and possessed by the Devil, nevertheless was still capable of being Ransomed by the Merit of his Passion, Renewed by the Power of his Grace, and Perfected by the Brightness of his Glory. These are the Reasons why our Saviour Loved us, even when we were his Enemies: For the same Reasons we truly and justly Love ourselves, in spite of all our Faults: And, tho' our Neighbour hates us, yet these Motives still subsist, and very well deserve our Love.  
Let us therefore Love God above all things. Let us Love our Neighbour as ourselves. Love is the fulfilling of the Law: Let us only Do this, and we shall live: Let us Do this, and we shall possess Eternal Life. Amen.    

Discourse III. Of the Love of God, and the World.  
JEsus said to his Disciples: 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. You cannot serve God and Mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Be not Solicitous for your Life, what you shall cat; nor yet for your Body, what you shall put on. Is not the Life more than Meat, and the Body more than Clothing? Behold the Fowls of the Air: For they Sow not, neither do they Reap, nor Gather into Barns; and yet your Heavenly Father Feeds them. Are not you much better than they? Which of you by taking Care can add one Cubit unto his Stature? And why are you Solicitous for Clothing? Consider the Lilies of the Field, how they Grow; they Toil not, neither do they Spin. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his Glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore if God so Cloth the Grass of the Field, which to Day is, and to Morrow is cast into the Oven, How much more will he Cloth you, O you of little Faith? Therefore be not Solicitous, saying, What shall we Eat? Or what shall we Drink? Or wherewithal shall we be Clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. And your Father knows that you want all these things. Seek therefore First the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Math. 6. v. 24, to 34.  
This Gospel teaches us Three Things. 1. That we cannot serve God and Mammon; we cannot serve God and the World; they cannot both be Masters of our Heart and our Affections; but if we Love God, and hold to him above all things, we must of necessity either Hate the World, or at least Despise it. 2. That it is a Dangerous thing to Love the World and be Solicitous for any thing belonging to it; because when Love is grown Solicitous 'tis certainly great, and the worst of it is, we cannot certainly judge how great it is; it may, for aught we know, be greater than the Love of God; and if it be so, we have already quitted the Service of God to Embrace the Service of the World. 3. That it is a needless thing to Love the World and be Solicitous for the necessary Conveniencies of it; because God himself has faithfully promised us, that as long as we make it our Chief Busito serve Him, He will always make it part of his Care, that the World shall be sure to serve Us.  

I.  
If God and the World were both of the same Mind; if they commanded the same things, by the same Authority, and for the same End; they would not then be two Masters Our Obedience to each of them would be one and the same thing; and, in obeying one, we should obey them both. But this is an impossible Supposition. We all know very well, that God and the World are Enemies which never can be reconciled. They command opposite things, by a different Authority, and for contrary Ends. The Laws of the World are directly Repugnant to the Laws of God: The usurped Authority, by which they are imposed, is derived originally from the Devil: And the Ends, they aim at, are as different as Temporal and Eternal.  
'Tis therefore impossible for God and the World, at the same time, to be each of them the Sovereign Master of our Heart. If we Hold to the one, we must Despise the other: If we Love the one, we must Hate the other: And since they are engaged in a Continual War, we cannot List ourselves in Service of the one, without Fight against the other. This is the Reason why our Life is said to be a Warfare upon Earth. And this is the War which is described in the Epistle of this Day, betwixt the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of this World, which are always contrary the one to the other. For which Reason S. James, in his Epistle, tells us, that the Friendship of this World is Enmity with God; and whosoever will be the World's Friend, is God's Enemy.  
And yet although we cannot possibly be Friends to both, we are under an absolute necessity of making Friends with one of them. The Reason is natural and evident. We are made to be happy; and indeed, happy we were, when we were First made: But being unfortunately fallen from the Original Happiness of our First Creation, we feel the want of what we lost; we cannot but be Conscious of our Emptiness; and therefore cannot help desiring and endeavouring to satisfy it. Such is our Nature, that we must and will be happy, one way or other, if we can: And because our Misery and our Corruption are such, that 'tis impossible to find our Happiness at home, 'Tis therefore no wonder that we go abroad to seek it. Now there are only two sorts of Happiness that we can think of; either our present Happiness in this Life, or our future Happiness in the next. God promises the one: The World invites and tempts us to the other.  
The one is True and Sincere; the other False and Counterfeit: The one Sensual and Beastly, the other Manly and Rational: The one Unmixed and Pure, the other Sprinkled with Care and Sorrow: The one Secure and Eternal, the other short-lived and always dying, either with us, or before us. One would think that so much difference in the case, were more than enough to Determine our choice. And yet This is not All. Our God is so infinitely Good, so Merciful and Kind, that He not only promises All This hereafter, but even here affords us so much Comfort Satisfaction and Pleasure in a Virtuous Life, that the World with all its Charms, can never make a show of any thing that's able to compare with it. He bestows, at present, more Happiness than the World can offer us; and, for the future, He promises incomparably, nay infinitely, more than he now gives us: So that we are evidently Guilty of a double Folly, if we do not gladly accept of what we have in Hand, and thankfully submit to give him Credit for the Rest.  
Since therefore God has kindly left it to our choice, what Master we please to serve; and since we cannot avoid choosing, let us gratefully and wisely choose Himself. Let us serve him, because he made us; let us love him, because he loved us; let us live and die for him, because he redeemed us; let us obey him without reserve, because he rewards us without Measure. Let us banish the World from our Heart, and leave the whole room to Him, who only deserves to be the Sovereign Lord and Master of it. The World does not deserve our Love, and therefore we ought to Despise it. On the contrary, it deserves God's hatred, as well as ours; the Maxims of it are Inconsistent with his Service and our Happiness; 'tis a declared Enemy to him, and a pernicious Enemy to us; and therefore we have a double Reason to Hate it.  
If we Love God above all things, the very Love of him is enough to set our Hearts at liberty: It disarms the Power of the World: It makes us generously scorn its Riches, Vanities and Pleasures: It calls home our Thoughts, reclaims our Affections, calms our Passions, enlightens our Mind, inflames our Heart, and establishes the Kingdom of God within us. When once we Love God as we ought, we are led by the Spirit of God: And S. Paul assures us, that the Fruits of this Spirit are, not only Love, but Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance, and all those other Virtues which begin our Heaven upon Earth.  
But it is not so with those who Love this World above the next. They are Slaves to their own Uncleanness, Covetousness, and Pride: They begin their Hell, before they end their Lives: They wilsully condemn themselves, to all the Troubles, Anguishes, and Torments, which their eager, violent, and furious Passions can invent; and when these Executioners have done their worst, the Devil and his Angels do the rest for ever. They have received the Spirit of this World, whose Works, according to the same Apostle, are Manifest; not only Adultery, Fornication, Uncleanness, Lasciviousness, Drunkenness, and Revellings, but also Covetousness, which is Idolatry, and Pride, which naturally is attended with Hatred, Variances, Emulations, Anger, Strife, Seditions, Heresies, Envyings, Murders, and such like; concerning which, says he, I foretell you, as I have also told you in time past, that they who do such things shall not Inherit the Kingdom of God. No, no: They shall, whether they will or no, Inherit the Slavery of the Devil: But, as for the Kingdom of God, they have no Title to it. Unless his Will be done, his Kingdom cannot come. Unless we Love him above all things, we cannot be his Subjects, nor can he be our King. Our Heart is the Throne of God: And when we begin to Balance betwixt him and the World, when we refuse to let him Govern our Affections, we Rebel, we take up Arms against him, and call in the Devil to help us to Dethrone him. And can we expect to inherit his Kingdom, if we wilfully renounce it, and declare against it? Can we be Heirs of his Kingdom hereafter, if we are not Faithful and Loyal Subjects of it here?   

II.  
I have said enough to show the impossibility of serving two Masters, the necessity of serving one, and the Folly of preferring the World before the Maker of it. I shall now consider the natural Consequences of this Doctrine. If our present and future Happiness depend entirely upon our Loving God above all things: If our Misery, as well here as hereafter, is the Effect and Punishment of loving the World too much: It follows evidently, that we ought to make it the Chief Business of our whole Life, to improve the Love of God, and to lessen the Love of this World.  
'Tis true; the Kingdom of God is never perfect upon Earth: The Empire of Divine Love is never so absolute here, as to exclude all Worldly Affection. The Love of this World is entailed upon our Corrupted Nature: 'Tis an Inseparable Companion of it, and a Mortal Enemy to it. And this is our unhappy Condition in this Vale of Misery: We are engaged in a Continual War with ourselves: Our Heart is the Field of Battle, where we must always Fight, and may always Conquer; but can never Kill our Enemy. We can never quite destroy the Love of this World. Let us do what we can, 'twill never die before us: But as long as we live, it will still live in us; and whilst it lives, will always struggle with us, and rebel against us. But nevertheless, although we cannot Kill this Love, yet we can Moderate it, we can Weaken it, and keep it under: And this is what we are strictly obliged to, unless we have a mind to Cherish our Danger, and to Perish in it.  
This is the Reason why our Saviour had no sooner said to his Disciples, You cannot serve God and Mammon, but immediately he concludes, Therefore I say unto you, Be not Solicitous for this Life. And the Reason is clear: Because when once we Love the World to that Degree, as to be Solicitous for it, we are in very great danger of loving the World too much, and of serving Mammon instead of God. I have already told you, that when Love is grown Solicitous, 'tis certainly great; and that we cannot certainly judge how great it is. It may, for aught we know, be greater than the Love of God: And, if it be only as great, 'tis enough to lose his Favour, and make him leave us to ourselves, to seek our Fortune in the Service of this World.  
In Matters of little Importance, where our Heart is not much engaged, we are not apt to be Solicitous; our Minds are at ease; we expect with a great deal of Patience, and are disappointed with very little Disturbance. But, if our Thoughts are always stirring and busy, our Desires eager and importune; if our Hopes are unquiet and restless, our Fears troublesome and painful; if Delays very much mortify us, and even the Apprehensions of Disappointments very much disturb us; we may be sure that the Love, from whence all this Solicitude proceeds, is very great: And, whether it be Honour, Interest or Pleasure, be it what it will, 'tis certain we are very much in Love with something or other, which Influences all these Motions and Affections of our Mind and Heart; when things are once come to this pass, 'tis time to look about us, and stand upon our Guard. We may hope indeed, that still we Love God better than the World: And I must needs Confess, 'tis possible we may; but I am sure it is not very probable we do. There are great odds against us. For 'tis a certain Truth, that All our Inclinations are proportioned to the Love from whence they proceed: And if our Aversions and Desires, our Hopes and Fears, our Joy and Grief, are stronger and more active in the Concerns of this World, than in those of Heaven, we have Reason to be very much afraid, that our Love of this World is greater than the Love of God.  
'Tis a gross Mistake to imagine, that because we still Esteem God more, Therefore we Love him better. Alas! This Esteem is only a Compliment of our Mind: And this Compliment may easily pass for Current, altho' the strongest Affections of our Heart are otherwise engaged. We know too well by sad Experience, that there is a certain thing called Humour, which often overrules our Reason, and steals away our Heart to dote upon those very Follies, which, in our Serious Thoughts, we cannot but despise. A Man who is Solicitous for this World, may easily deceive himself in this Matter. He may Esteem God a great deal more, and yet Love him a great deal less. The Disciples had a great Esteem of our Saviour, and thought they loved him better than their Lives: They All declared they would rather die with him, than deny him: And yet, immediately after, the Chief of them denied him, and all the rest forsook him. When they looked upon the time of Trial at a distance, they had a great Opinion of their Strength: But when the Occasion was present, they soon discovered their Weakness. This was once their Case: And God only knows how often it has been ours.  
Their Case, you'll say, was different; because they were Guilty of a great Presumption. But pray consider a little. Are not we as guilty as they? Do we not presume as much? Are we not as confident of our own Strength? We know very well, that the Love of this World is a Mortal Enemy to the Love of God: And therefore, if we do not daily watch the Motions of this Enemy, oppose its Progress, and cut off all Communications which may any way Fortify it; if on the contrary, we daily furnish it with all Provisions, Ammunitions, and Arms, against us; if we thus despise the Strength of our Enemy; is it not Visible, that we too much confide in in our own? And if we commonly neglect those daily Considerations, Exercises and Endeavours, which are necessary to Increase and Fortify the Love of God; is not this a downright Presumption in our own Sufficiency, as if we already loved him enough?  
Remember the Fall of the Apostles. Remember how grievously they were mistaken. Remember that not only their Doctrines, but even their Failings, ought to be an Instruction to us. Never let us confide in our present Love of God; but let us daily endeavour to Improve it. Never let us despise the Strength of our Worldly Love; but let us daily endeavour to abate it. If we could serve two Masters, we might be Solicitous for both: But since we can only serve One, 'tis a dangerous thing to be Solicitous for any Other. You cannot serve God and Mammon, says our Saviour; therefore I say unto you, Be not Solicitous for this Life.   

III.  
We have seen how Dangerous it is, to be Solicitous for any thing in this World: The rest of the Gospel shows us, that his Solicitude is altogether needless. If there were any necessity of it, our Saviour would not forbid it. The Words are plain, Be not Solicitous for your Life. And indeed, if we seek first the Kingdom of God, if the Service of God be truly and sincerely our first and principal Concern, 'tis evidently needless to be Solicitous for our Life. He made us for himself; and for his own sake he takes care of us. Not that he is any way the better for us, but because he naturally takes delight in doing good to All, who do not wilfully oppose the overflowing of his Goodness. He gave us our Life, that, if we please, we may be Happy, by employing it entirely in his Service: And as long as we serve the Master who gave us this Life, our Self-preservation is in better Hands than our own. All the Malice of Men and Devils put together, can never take away our Life, without our Master's order, or his leave: And therefore whensoever, either by his leave, or by his order, the appointed Hour of our Death approaches, we may be assured our Master has no more occasion for our Service; and therefore we have no Pretensions to Live longer. There is only One thing Necessary in this World, and that's our Duty to our Master: And, whensoever our Duty stands in Competition with our Life, if we are true and faithful Servants, we shall always readily and cheerfully conclude; Our Duty is Necessary, but our Life is not. When things are in this posture, 'tis evident, that the Observance of this Duty, is the last Piece of Service which our Master requires at our Hands: And since our Service is the End for which our Life was given us, if we wish to outlive our Service, we are every jot as unreasonable, as if we wished to outlive the End of our Life.  
You'll tell me perhaps, you are very willing to Die when God pleases: But you are afraid of wanting the Necessary Conveniences of Humane Life, and therefore you are justly Solicitous, for fear of being Miserable whilst you Live. And truly you are partly in the right. You have all the Reason in the World to be willing that God should choose the Hour, and appoint the Moment of your Death; because He only knows what Time is best and fittest for us. But since we are willing to trust him with our Life, why should we not as willingly trust him with all things else belonging to it? He has promised to take Care of us. He knows, better than we do, what is good for us. He loves us better than we love ourselves. His Power is boundless, and cannot be obstructed. Is not this enough to secure us? He is infinitely Powerful: He is able, says S. Paul, to do exceeding abundantly, above all that we can ask or think. He is infinitely Good: He cannot but Delight in being so, to those that serve him. He is infinitely Wise: He cannot commit the least mistake in our Concerns. In a Word, his Wisdom, his Goodness, and his Power, all concur to Ensure the Blessings of his Providence, which by a Solemn Promise is engaged for ever, to be favourable to us. Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and All these things shall be added to you▪ 'Tis the Voice of Truth itself: Truth cannot tell a Lie: His Promise cannot fail.  
Is it not the First Article of our Creed, to believe in God the Father Almighty? Does not the First of all our Petitions begin with these comfortable Words, Our Father who art in Heaven? If we believe him to be Our Father, ought we not to believe that he will certainly be careful of his Children? And if we really believe He is always careful of us, what need we at any time be Over-careful and Solicitous for ourselves. Therefore I say unto you, says our Saviour, Be not Solicitous for your Life, what you shall eat; nor yet for your Body, what you shall put on. He only forbids our being Solicitous. He does not forbid us to Work and Labour for an Honest Livelihood. Our Heavenly Father does not encourage Idleness in his Children. He expects that we should be industrious in doing of our part: And, when we have done that, He's always ready to supply the rest. And to satisfy us concerning this matter, our Saviour is not contented to give us his bare Word for it, but uses several Arguments in order to convince us.  
Is not the Life more than Meat, says he, and the Body more than Clothing? He who freely and frankly bestows upon us what is more, will he deny us what is less? Do we not all of us Value our Body more than our Clothing, and our Life more than Meat? And can we think that He, who voluntarily grants these greater Benefits, will grudge us others which are much Inferior to them? He gave us our Body, and Breathed Life into it. What moved him to be so kind? He might have done as he pleased. Before we lived, we could not deserve our Life; nor could we so much as ask it. Since therefore He bestowed this Great and Fundamental Blessing upon us, without either deserving or ask it; may we not firmly believe, He will never deny us other lesser Blessings, when we not only ask them, but make it our Chief Business to deserve them, by spending our whole Life in his Service?  
Behold the Fowls of the Air, says he, they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into Barns. They are Idle and Careless; they do nothing for themselves; and nevertheless our Heavenly Father feeds them. He is not their Father, and yet be feeds them: And will he refuse to feed us, because he is our Father? Will he not help us when we have done the Duty of good Children, by endeavouring to help ourselves? Will he do all for them, and nothing for us? Have we not Reason to believe, He Loves his better Creatures best? And does he not plainly tell us, we are much better than they?  
Which of you, says our Saviour, by taking Care, can add one Cubit to his Stature? No Man ever grew Taller, by wishing to be so: Neither has any Man ever been Happier, by being Solicitous about it. This Comparison shows plainly, that Solicitude never does good; and that therefore there is never any need of it. When we have done what's fitting, and have taken Care to do as much as we ought, 'tis Vain and Foolish to entertain any further Concern, and be Solicitous for the Event of our Endeavours. We have planted, we have watered, we have done our part: The increase belongs to God; and what have we to do with his Business? Let him do as he pleases; and let us be Contented with his Holy Will and Pleasure. If we truly Love him above all things, it will not be so hard, to like that most, which he likes best.  
After these, and other Arguments, our Saviour concludes, Therefore be not Solicitous, saying, What shall we Eat, or what shall we Drink or wherewithal shall we be Clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. If we were Gentiles; if we were Heathens; if we had no Knowledge of God; then indeed it were no wonder, that we seek these things, and are Solicitous about them: But since our Father knows a great deal better than we do, how much, how long, and to what End, we want these things; since we believe in his Allseeing and All-ruling Providence; since we know very well, that all these things are only necessary during Life, and that our Life is necessary no longer than God requires our Service; since, I say, by Faith we are instructed so much better than the Gentiles; is it not a Scandalous and a Notorious Shame, that all the World is Witness of our seeming every jot as Eager and Solicitous as ever the Heathens were? If we serve Mammon like Heathens; how can we at the same time serve God like Christians? The Gospel plainly declares in the beginning, we cannot serve two Masters' God and the World: And, in the end it assures us, that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, All these things shall be added to us. The only way, to be truly Masters of this World, is to be True and Faithful Servants of God. Let us therefore, in the first place be careful to serve God. All other Care is dangerous, and needless. Let us only serve Him; and He will certainly take Care, that the World shall serve us, and conduct us, easily and safely from his Kingdom upon Earth, to his Kingdom in Heaven, which was prepared for us from the Foundation of the World. Amen.    

Discourse iv Of Worldly Policy, and Christian Prudence.  
THE Pharisees went and consulted together how they might Catch Jesus in his Discourse. And they send unto him their Disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the Way of God in Truth, neither dost thou care for any Man, for thou regardest not the Persons of Men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give Tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceiving their Malice, said, Why do ye Tempt me, ye Hypocrites? Show me the Tribute-Money. And they brought unto him a Penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this Image and Superscription? They say unto him, Caesar ' s. Than says he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are due to Caesar, and unto God the things which are due to God. Matth. 22. v. 15, to 22.  
There's nothing so Wise, so Charitable, and Just, as Christian Prudence: And nothing, on the contrary, so Foolish, so Malicious, and Unjust, as Worldly Policy.  

I.  
Idolatry is the height of Folly. 'Tis so extravagantly Foolish, that many People can scarce believe there was ever any such thing in the World. They are so incredulous in this Point, that common History will not satisfy them, but we are forced to have Recourse to Scripture, to convince them. For Example. We read in Exodus, how they made a Molten Calf, and worshipped it, and sacrificed unto it. In Deuteronomy we read, they sacrificed to Devils, not to God. In the Prophet Isaiah, we read, how common it was amongst them, for a Carpenter to make a God, and worship it: He burns part of it in the Fire, says the Prophet, and the residue thereof he makes a God: he falls down to it, and Worships it, and Prays to it, and says, Deliver me, for thou art my God. In doing thus, the Scripture assures us, they forgot God their Saviour; they forgot me, saith the Lord, and did not know that I gave them Corn, and Wine, and Oil, and Multiplied their Silver and Gold which they prepared for Baal. And therefore 'tis clear, they did not direct their Worship to God, whom they forgot; but as the Prophet Jeremy tells us, they turned their Back to God, and their Face to Idols, saying to a Stock, thou art my Father, and to a Stone, thou hast brought me forth. I must confess, all this is so intolerably silly, that, unless the Word of God asserted it, I could not easily believe it. And yet I am fully persuaded, that if we Examine well the Depth of Humane Policy, and search the Foundation of it, we shall find it grounded upon as gross Idolatry as this.  
Thou shalt have no other Gods before me, says our Lord, in the first Commandment. And in the Explication of it, he instances in those particular Gods which then were most in Fashion, Thou shalt not make unto thee any Graven Image, Thou shalt not Bow down thyself to them, nor Worship them. Thus he forbids the Worship of other Gods, both all and some. And now I desire to know whether it be not too true, that all those Worldly Politicians are Idolaters, who seek first the Kingdom of this World, and expect that the Kingdom of God should be added to them? Do they not change the Truth of God into a Lie, and Worship the Creature more than the Creator? Do they not make to themselves a Graven Image? Do they not frame to themselves an imaginary Happiness? A Happiness which is not to be had in Heaven above, but only in the Earth beneath? And do they not bow down and serve it? How many are there of whom S. Paul makes mention, whose Belly is their God, who Sacrifice themselves to Gluttony and Drunkenness, and waste away their Lives in Flames of Lust? Their short-lived Happiness is part of it dead already, and burnt in its own Fire; and of the residue thereof, they still persist to make a God, and Worship it. How many are there in the World, who are ready at any time to Pawn their Souls for Gold? Do not these Men make a Golden Calf, and Worship it? Those Men who quit their Religion to secure their Fortune; who do not think there is a Thousand Pounds a Year difference betwixt the Right and the Wrong; but prefer the short Enjoyment of a little Spot of Terra Firma, before the Everlasting Possession of their Heavenly Inheritance; do not these Men make a God of Mammon? Do they not put more Confidence in their Estate, than in the God of Heaven and Earth? Do they not forget God their Saviour, as if they did not know that he gave them all these things? Do they not turn their Back to God, and their Face to Idols, saying to their Land, thou art our Father, to thee we own our Lives, and to their Money, thou hast brought us forth, and delivered us out of the House of Bondage? How many are there who are such Idolaters of Worldly Honour, that they trample under Foot the Laws of God and Man, the Laws Ecclesiastical and Civil, rather than seem to Trespass, in the least punctilio, against the Laws of Hectorism? They prefer those Maxims, which the Pride of Lucifer has introudced and settled in the World, before the Precepts of the Most High God, which are revealed, confirmed, and ratified unto us, by the Gospel, Church, and State. The very Thought of being Laughed at, and Despised by some few silly People, for a little while, is much more Terrible to them, than the Loss of God, and all that's Good, for all Eternity. When once the Reputation of their Modish Bravery is called in question by the least Affront or Provocation, they are so bewitched, so stupefied, so overpowered, with a Base, Cowardly Fear of losing it, that altho' they are daring enough to Die Eternally for it, they have not true Courage enough to live one Moment without it. They Sacrifice to Devils, not to God. They force their way through Blood and Ashes, to the Altars of Revenge and Pride. They imprint and grave in their Minds an Image of I know not what, which none but Fools call Honour, and to this they offer up their Vows and Prayers; they fall down to it, and worship it, and in their Hearts they say unto it, Deliver us, for thou art our God.  
The Psalmist tells us, that the Fool says, in his Heart, There is no God. And truly, if we well consider the matter, we shall find that all those People, who seek first the Kingdom of this World, the Honours, Riches, and Pleasures of it, are certainly such Fools, as to say, in their Heart, There is no other God but these. 'Tis no wonder therefore that the Apostle says, The Wisdom of this World is Foolishness with God. No wonder that he tells the Politicians of this World, that they are vain in their imaginations; that their foolish Hearts are darkened; and that professing themselves Wise, as really they are, in the management of Worldly Affairs, they become Fools in the misgovernment of themselves.  
When I talk of Politicians, I do not only mean those great Ones, who sit at the Helm of Government, Ecclesiastical or Civil; I also Comprehend all those, who, in the Shades of a Private Life, find warmth enough to nourish Pride and Luxury, as well as Covetousness. Alas! It is not the Palace or the Cottage that makes any great difference in the Case: 'Tis the Heart of Man which is the Temple of these Idols: And the lowest Condition we can think of, does not hinder us from loving ourselves above all things, and Idolising such little Deities as our narrow Capacity can afford us. 'Tis not the Golden or the Wooden Idol that aggravates or lessens the Crime: 'Tis the Worship that makes the Idolater. We know very well, that Villages retained their Pagan-Worship, when the greater Cities banished it. We certainly know, that altho' Self-love and Pride are boundless in their vast Pretensions, yet they play at small Game rather than sit out. And therefore 'tis no wonder if the Poor, as well as Rich, are apt to Idolise themselves, and so are give ●ver to a Reprobate Mind, Proud, Coverous, without Natural Affection, Deceitful, Envious, unmerciful, in a word, Malicious, and .   

II.  
If I did not very well Consider the prodigious Folly of Self-love, I could not believe it capable of so much Malice. Who could have imagined, if the Scriptures were not plain, that the Jews who had so long expected the Messiah, could be so Malicious against him, when he came? He came from Heaven; and this perhaps was more than they expected. He was True God, as well as Man; and this, I fear, was more than they desired. He came to fulfil the Law, and to make them Perfect like their Father in Heaven; and this was a great deal too much, for those who thought themselves already good enough. But yet methinks they had no reason to like him so much worse, for being so much better than their wishes. His only fault was, that he was to● good for them; and because he was so, therefore they could not abide him. He came to destroy the Works of the Devil; to pull down the Idols which they had set up in their Hearts; and teach them to Adore, the One True God in Spirit and Truth, by taking away the Worship of all Worldly Honours, Wealth and Pleasures. Learn of me, says he, because I am humble of Heart. Learn of me, because Blessed are the Poor in Spirit. Learn of me, because Blessed are they who are Persecuted for Righteousness sake. Learn all this, and always remember this comfortable Lesson, Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Let this be always the Treasure of your Minds; let it always be the Cordial of your Hearts; remember it was I myself that told you, Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.  
This was the Light of the glorious Gospel of Christ; but this Light did not shine upon them, so as to open their Eyes, because they loved the Darkness they were in: The God of this World had blinded their Minds: And they hated the Light because their Works were Evil. Alas! They did not care for the Kingdom of Heaven. An Earthly Kingdom was the chief thing they desired. They expected the Messiah to Redeem them from the Slavery of their Enemies, to Enrich them with the Spoils of Conquered Nations, and to make the whole World Tributary to them. They loved themselves too well, to care for any thing else; and loved this World too much, to be concerned for any other. Their Business was to build their Tabernacles here: The great Employment of their Minds was to contrive a Paradise on Earth: And their whole Souls were taken up with striving to be Rich and Powerful, that they might purchase and command whatever Pleasures they desired. And therefore when the Messiab came to undeceive them, they were so surprised, they could not believe he was the Person whom they had so long expected. They did not imagine, his design was only to Redeem them from the Slavery of Sin, to assist them in the Conquest of their Vices, and to make their Passions Tributary to their Reason. The Objects of these Passions were the Idols, which they had so long Adored, and Worshipped with as furious a Zeal as any of the Heathens round about them; and these they would not part with, upon any Terms: They would not endure to have them Abandoned, Undervalved and Despised: No, no, say they, We will not have this Man Reign over us. And thus you plainly see, 'twas their Idolatry, which made them so blindly Zealous; 'twas their prodigious Folly, which made them so strangely Malicious against him.  
We read in our present Gospel, that the Pharisees went and Consulted together, how they might Catch him in his Discourse. His Actions they could not Condemn: He went about, doing good to all: He was in all things a living Example of Goodness: But however, their Malice made them hope to Catch him, and lay hold of some unwary Words in his Discourse. This was not the first Onset: We read in the foregoing Chapter, how they sought to lay hands on him, but durst not, because they feared the Multitude, who took him for a Prophet. They durst not meddle with him: And therefore away they went, and Consulted together how to Catch him another time. We read in S. Luke, how they watched him, and sent forth Spies, to feign themselves Just Men, that they might take hold of his Words, that so they might deliver him to the Power of the Governor.  
They feigned themselves Just. They knew well enough the true Character of Goodness: But the Malice of their Hearts abused the best and clearest Light of their Minds. They knew how to act their part; but could not endure the sincere practice of it. A wicked Man is always the worse for his Knowledge: The more he has, the more cunning he is in making ill use of it, and employing it against his Neighbour, instead of improving it to himself. They knew very well the Qualifications of a Prophet sent by God: Master, say they, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither dost thou care for any Man, for thou regardest not the Persons of Men. They appealed to his Integrity, to decide the Rights of Caesar and the People. They knew how hard it was to please both Parties, and how dangerous to give offence to either. They wanted the assistance of the one, or other, to destroy him. The Multitude took his part, because they took him for a Prophet. The Emperor had nothing to say against him, so long as he did not meddle with the Government. And therefore the only Comfort of their Malice, was the Hope they had to make him choose one side, that they might make him odious to the other.  
There is nothing so Rash and Enterprizing as Vanity. A Man who is possessed with a greedy desire of Popular Esteem, will stick at nothing to Purchase it. The Pharisees by Experience knew the force of it. The Gospel tells us how they loved to do things to be seen by Men. And therefore they cunningly endeavoured to insinuate how much they admired their Master already, and that nothing could Crown his Merit with a greater Addition of Glory, than his being bold enough to Declare against Caesar. Tell us therefore, say they, What thinkest thou? Is it Lawful to give Tribute to Caesar, or not? Do but tell us boldly, that we, who are God's People, are free from Tribute, and that it is not Lawful to pay it to Caesar: Tell us only this, and we shall all of us Conclude, That no Man ever gave a greater instance of his Teaching the way of God in Truth, without caring for any Man, and without regarding the Persons of Men.  
Thus they maliciously contrive his Ruin, whilst he kindly aims at nothing but their Good. They flatter him, and try to entangle him, whilst he deals sincerely with them, and makes it his business to undeceive them. They praise his Generosity, with a wicked intention, to make him Proud and Indiscreet, whilst he discovers their Hypocrisy, with a Charitable Design, to make them Wise and Humble. He perceived their Malice, and thus Expostulated with them, Why do ye tempt me, ye Hypocrites? Why are you so foolish, as to have other Gods before me, and only feign yourselves Just, in presence of him, who, by so many Miracles, has proved, he is the One True God, who sees th● Secrets of your Hearts? Why are you so Malicious, as to seek the Ruin of a Man, who comes from Heaven to Redeem you, and to Save you from Eternal Misery? Why are you so , to God, your Neighbour, and yourselves?   

III.  
What was it that made the Heathens so Malicious against the Primitive Christians? What made them so  in persecuting, as to lay aside all Rules and Forms of Justice? The Principal and Fundamental reason was, because the Christian Faith opposed the Worship of their Gods. Tertullian in his Apology tells us, That when they were Indicted as Criminals, they were not vouchsafed the Justice of Legal Trials. They were Tortured after they Confessed; they were not heard in their own Defence; they were denied all benefit of the Law; and, after all, they were not allowed to offer their Humble and Dutiful Petitions to their Prince, for any Redress. Such Proceed as these, were not only contrary to the received Laws of the Empire, but against the Common Liberties of Humanity and Nature, and the Allowance of all Just Governments. In other matters they observed some measures of Equity: But, when their Idols were opposed, their Passion banished all manner of Reason, and left no Room for Justice.  
This is the common Case of all Self-lovers. They are  to God, whose Worship they give to his Creatures;  to their Neighbour, whose Concerns they Sacrifice to their own; and  to themselves, whose Body and Soul they Damn for all Eternity. We read in Scripture, He that is Evil to himself, to whom will he be Good? He that Loves himself above all things, is as Evil to himself as his Hands and Heart can make him: How then will he be good to any Body else? How will he spare his Neighbour's Blood before the Altar of that Idol, to which he Daily Sacrifices his own Soul, his Heart, and All that is within him? When once the Devil has possessed men's Fancies with a great Idea of this World, and led them by Degrees to that exceeding height, from whence he shows them all the Happiness, and Glory of it; when once they relish the fond Hopes of all these things, the Honours, Wealth, and Pleasures of this World; when once their Hearts are fixed upon these Idols of their Mind; there is no longer any Justice to be had, no Right to be pleaded, no Law to be acknowledged, but the Sovereign Will and Pleasure of Self-love. They may counterfeit Piety, Loyalty, Friendship, Justice, Liberality, and all those Virtues which are Popular and Serviceable to their Politic Designs; they may possibly have some Degree of Natural Goodness, and may act sincerely in some small Occasions, where 'tis no way inconsistent with the Worship of their Idols; they may feign themselves Just to God, to Caesar, to a Friend or Neighbour, and all these Virtues may perhaps look well enough in the Face; but, wheresoever Self-love Lives and Reigns, it is impossible to have them sound at Heart. These Duties peradventure may obtain some Toleration at a distance; but must never approach the Altar, where Self-love has placed the Graven Image of their Happiness. 'Tis true, the Honours, Riches and Pleasures here below, are all imaginary things; there's nothing Real and Substantial in them: And, when the parting Hour draws near, when once these drowsy Souls are thoroughly awakened with a quick and lively Sense of their Eternity, they then see clearly the illusion, and the emptiness of all these silly Dreams. But nevertheless they now are so Amused and Charmed, with an imagination of something or other, in which they place their Happiness, that, whatsoe'er it is, they make a God of it, they Adore and Serve it only. All their other Humours, whatsoe'er they are, must all bow down to this: And all the Duties of a Christian, of a Subject, of a Friend, or Neighbour, must be Sacrificed as often as they dare pretend to stand in competition with it.  
These are the Natural Effects of Worldly Policy; the necessary Consequences of that Wisdom of this World, which, the Apostle says, is Foolishness with God. 'Tis Foolish in itself, Malicious against it opposers, and  to all. And truly we can expect no better, if we consider, that the first Principles of it, are an insatiable Self-love, a vain Hope of Self-enjoyment, and a silly Belief, that this miserable World is the only Seat of Happiness.  
On the contrary, Christian Prudence, the first of Moral Virtues, which Directs and Governs the practice of them all, is grounded upon the Three Theological Virtues, a true Love of God above all things, a comfortable Hope of Enjoying him for ever, and a lively Faith that nothing else can make us truly Happy. These are the Fundamental Principles of Christian Prudence, and therefore there is nothing so truly Wise, so Charitable, and so Just.  
1. There is nothing so Wise. Because as Self-preservation is the first Instinct of Nature, so true Self-love is the first Effect of Divine Wisdom; and Christian Prudence teaches us the true Love of ourselves. It regards our true Interest and Advantage; it endeavours to free us from our greatest Evils, and procure our greatest Good; it considers, that inward Peace is better than outward Ease, that our Souls are nobler than our Bodies, that Eternity is infinitely more considerable than Time; that the short and light Afflictions of this World, which are but for a Moment, are nothing in comparison of Everlasting and Intolerable Torments, and that all the uneasy Pleasures of this Life, are nothing to the Heavenly Joys which the Almighty has prepared for those that Love him. Did Esau truly love himself, when for a Morsel of Meat he sold his Birthright? The present satisfaction of his Humour, was it not soon past? And did not he himself remain a standing Monument of his own Folly? Did he not Repent too late, and found no place of Repentance, tho' he sought it with Tears? And was not he himself a sufficient Witness of his being Fool enough to Love a trifle better than himself? Such Fools as this, and worse, are all Profane Self-lovers. They Love their Humour, not themselves; and to content some silly Humour, for a Moment, they are willing to destroy themselves for ever. If any one will come after me, says our Saviour, let him deny himself, and follow me; let him deny his own unreasonable Humour, and follow my Advice; let him follow me, who am the Way to Truth; let him follow me, who am that very Truth, which is the Way to Everlasting Life; let him not Idolise a foolish Humour, and Love it better than himself; but let him kindly and wisely deny his Humour for a time, that he may Save himself for all Eternity.  
2. As there is nothing so Wise for ourselves, so there is nothing so Charitable to our Neighbour. A Man who believes God's Word, and relies upon his Promises, is happy in a comfortable Hope of Enjoying him for ever. The Pleasures of Flesh and Blood are too mean to content him; they are the same which Brutes enjoy, and therefore he despises them. He glories in the Pledges of his Hope; his being Made to the Divine Image, his being Redeemed by the Merits of Christ, and being thus Entitled to Grace here, and Glory hereafter. These are the Reasons why he justly Values himself. They are the Excellencies which he is in Love with wheresoever he meets them, and therefore Loves his Neighbour as he Loves himself. The best Christian is always the best Friend. He is the truest Friend, not only to himself, but to his Neighbour. The World is strangely mistaken in the Notion of true Friendship, as well as in that of Self-love. We commonly think a Man Loves himself mightily, when he allows himself in all his Humours: But alas! He only Loves his Humour, and at the same time Hates himself. He does not see it, and may be will not believe it, till he's Damned for it: But then his Hatred shows itself too late; he Hates and Curses himself for ever. In the same manner, we take him to be our best and faithfulest Friend, who is always most ready to comply with us, and take our part in all things. But this is a mistake, as great as the other. If our Neighbour's Humours are any way unreasonable, a true Friend may endeavour to moderate, but can never find in his Heart to approve them. Nay, tho' their Humours are Lawful, yet if they are not Expedient, 'tis an Argument of true kindness to deny one's Neighbour, in all those Cases, in which one would be glad to have so much Virtue as to deny one's self. For my own part, if ever I have need of a Friend, I only wish and pray I may fall into the Hands of a good Christian; a Friend of God's own Making, Choosing and Appointing. Let him be only able to assist me, I am very sure, the better Christian he is, the better Friend he'll show himself: He'll act by Nobler and Diviner Principles, than all the Humane Ties of Gratitude and Kindness: And will be sure to do a great deal more for God's sake, than any Body else will ever do for mine. I grant there are but few of these; but the fewer there are, the more's the pity: And I am very much afraid, 'tis partly our own fault, that the World is not good enough to have more of them.  
3. As there is nothing so Wise, and Charitable, so there is nothing so Perfectly and Universally Just, as Christian Prudence. Although it necessarily presupposes Faith, and Hope, yet the chief ground of it is Charity, by which we Love God above all things, and look upon all things else as nothing in Comparison of Him. A Man whose Mind and Heart are throughly Enlightened and Inflamed with this Celestial Love, lays up his Treasure in Heaven, where his Heart is: He gives to God what's due to God, he Adores and Serves him only, he renders to him his whole Being, his Soul, his Heart, and all that is within him: He despises all the Treasures upon Earth, where Moth and Rust do Corrupt, and Thiefs break through and Steal: Eternity is his great Aim, and therefore he scorns to quarrel about any Temporal Concerns, but easily and readily makes even Reckon with all the World, by giving to Caesar what is due to Caesar, and to his Friends and Neighbours what is due to all of them. We never are Unjust to Caesar, to a Friend or Neighbour, but when we are strongly tempted to it by an eager desire of something or other relating to our Honour, Profit or Pleasure: And these are the very things which a good Christian Undervalues and Despises. When our Saviour said to the Pharisees, Show me the Tribute-Money; and when he asked them, Whose is this Image and Superscription? He was not ignorant of either: But was willing to let them understand how little he valued these Money-matters, which were the least part of his Care. A Christian is a Man of another World; and all the while he is in this, he chief minds his way to the next. He knows that his good Actions are the only things which have a Current Value there: And as for the Riches of this World, he does not covet to be loaded with them, but only to have a little about him, as much as may suffice to pay his share by the way. He considers that the way is short, and therefore is easily satisfied with any thing. If he Lodge uneasily, and Far a little hardly in his Journey, 'tis only the common Fate of Travellers; he cheerfully makes the best of it; and comforts himself with thinking how plentifully he shall Feast for ever, when he comes to his Eternal Home.  
O God, who art the only Refuge of Sinners, the only Strength of the Weak, and only Author of all Piety, incline thy Ears of Pity and Compassion to the Pious Prayers of thy Church; forgive our past Offences, all our Folly, Malice, and Injustice; direct us in the ways of thy own Wisdom, Charity and Righteousness; and never cease to assist us with thy Grace, that what by thy Encouragement we confidently ask, we may effectually obtain: Through Christ our Lord. Amen.    

Discourse V Of Christian Humility.  
JEsus went into the House of one of the Chief Pharisees to eat Bread, on the Sabbath-day, and they watched him. And behold there was a certain Man before him which had the Dropsy. And Jesus answering, spoke unto the Lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it Lawful to heal on the Sabbath-day? But they held their Peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go. And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an Ass or an Ox fallen into a Pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath-day? And they could not answer him to these things. And he told a Parable to those who were Invited, observing how they chose out the chief places, saying unto them, When thou art Invited to a Wedding, sit not down in the highest place, lest perhaps a more honourable Man than thou be Invited by him; and he, who Invited thee and him, come and say to thee: Give place to this Man; and then thou begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art Invited, go and sit down in the lowest place: That, when he comes who Invited thee, he may say unto thee: Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have honour in presence of those who sit with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted. Luk. 14. v. 1. to 12.  
This Gospel presents to our Consideration the Best of Moral Virtues, Humility; exercised by the Best of Mankind, Jesus Christ, true God as well as Man; and delivered by the Best of Oracles, Truth itself Incarnate. Learn of me, says he, because I am humble of Heart. His whole Life was a constant Lesson of Humility. He taught it us, not only by word, but by example. And that we may the better learn our Lesson, I shall endeavour to show, according to the order of the Gospel; 1. How He Practised this great Virtue. 2. How he Preached it.  

I.  
'Tis the nature of Charity to make us Humble; and Humility is also a natural Disposition towards being Charitable. If we consider Charity in order to God, we plainly see that a Man, who truly Loves Him above all things, cannot but undervalue all the fading Glories of this World. The Gaudy Scene of all its Vanity makes little or no Impression upon him: He easily discerns how false its Lustre is: He sees quite through it, and sees Eternity beyond it. If we consider the same Charity in order to our Neighbour, whom we Love for God's sake, as being Made to the same Divine Image, Ransomed by the same Infinite Price, and thereby Entitled to the same Grace here, as well as the same Eternal Glory hereafter: These great and glorious Motives shine so bright, that all those heaps of Honour which the World is able to Accumulate upon us, are no better than so many Dunghills in comparison of these inestimable Jewels. A Man, who chief Loves himself and his Neighbour upon these accounts, can have no longing passion for any preference on Earth: He cannot but disdain all these inferior Excellencies, Dignities and Praises; because the Treasure of his Mind and Heart is infinitely greater; and all these Trifles are as much below his Thoughts, as Heaven is above them.  
Thus we see how Charity inclines us to be Humble; and 'tis as easy to discover how Humility disposes and prepares us to be Charitable. It removes the Obstacles of Charity: It lessens our inclinations to those things which commonly create Division amongst us: In a word, it banishes that Pride, Ambition, and Vanity, which are the usual subject of our Quarrels; and makes the way plain and easy towards a perfect and a happy Union of Peace and Love. A Proud Man thinks it a lessening of his Greatness, to make the least step towards any Reconcilement. He scorns to stoop to his Duty, but expects that every Body else should bow to his Imperious Humour. On the contrary, an Humble Man is ashamed of being so Proud. If his Neighbour happens to be Captious, Envious or Malicious, he freely forgives his fault, and pities his fall; and never thinks it below him, to go and seek him out, and even stoop to help him up again.  
We read in the beginning of this Gospel, how Jesus went into the House of one of the chief Pharisees, that is to say, of his chief Enemies, to eat Bread. A Proud Man would have scorned to eat the Bread of an Enemy; but our Saviour's Humility was too Charitable to need any Invitation, and his Charity too Humble to desire it. There was good to be done; and that was enough to Invite him. He knew very well their Pride and Malice: But at the same time he considered, that the prouder they were, the more they wanted his assistance; and the more they wanted it, the more willing he was to afford it. He knew they would not come to him to fetch it: And therefore he went into the House to bring it to them, and in a manner force it upon them.  
Behold the Example of our humble Redeemer! Are we always ready to follow it? Are we at all times willing to oblige our Enemies? Do not we take quite other Measures? If our Enemy disdains to make the first Step towards us: If he expects that we begin to show respect and kindness: If he takes upon him a great deal more than he deserves: Do not we behave ourselves as if we thought ourselves obliged in Honour to be as Proud as he? Do not we sometimes find a secret satisfaction in showing to the World, how high a Spirit we have? How hearty we despise all those that slight us? And is it not a strange Folly, to value so much that very Pride in ourselves, which we despise so hearty in our Neighbours?  
Our Saviour knew very well the Pharisees were his Enemies; he knew they cared not for him; he knew they slighted him; and yet he freely goes into the House, to seek their Company. He knew they always watched him, wheresoever he went, and whatsoever he did or said. He knew they watched him, with a Spiteful and Malicious Design, to Misinterpret all his Conversation, Words and Actions. He knew by Consequence how little Probability there was of doing any Good amongst them. But yet there was still some little Appearance; and as long as there was any left, he could not forbear embracing any Opportunities of courting their Esteem, or gaining their good Will. Not that he either valued or wanted their Favour or Affection, but that he might teach them to value what they wanted themselves; and that they might be ready and desirous to receive, and to improve, those truly Valuable Blessings, which his Hands were always full of.  
And behold there was a certain Man before him, which had the Dropsy. 'Twas enough that the Man was before him: He could not behold his Misery, without pitying it: He could not see his Want, without desiring to Relieve it. But however, because he was surrounded by his Enemies, the Pharisees, who carefully observed, and watched him, with Design to make him Odious to the People: Therefore Jesus answering, spoke to the Lawyers, and the Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to Heal on the Sabbath-Day? Our Pride would never have endured to show so much Civility to those who seek to undermine our Credit, and are not contented to Despise and Hate us, but are Studious and Industrious to make us Odious and Contemptible to every Body else. We think it below us to humour such People; we look upon it as an Argument of a mean Spirit, to comply with them; we take a great deal of Pleasure, in showing how Great we are in our own Little Dominions, and how much we disdain the very seeming to value those who undervalue us. Our Saviour was humbler than we: He did not value the Opinion of the Pharisees, but yet he was humble enough, to give them leave to think he did so. He knew, that the only way to do them Good, was first to please them: And that he could not please them better, than by seeming to consult them. Is it Lawful, says he, to Heal on the Sabbath-Day? If he had gone to School to learn the Law of them, he could not have put the Question in more Humble Terms; but yet they held their Peace. Their Pride would not suffer them to run the Hazard of exposing their Ignorance, by reasoning the Matter with him: They were Conscious, that they had but little Reason on their side; but their Malice made them hope, that, in his Absence, they might afterwards be able to find Fault with him, and colour their Detraction with such Plausible Pretences, as might make him pass, in the Opinion of the People, for a Scandalous Person, who had little or no Regard to the Observance of the Sabbath. Our Saviour knew their Malice, and saw their Pride: But, at the same time, knowing that their stubborn Silence might very civilly be taken for Consent: And having showed his Humility, in referring himself to their Judgement, he resolved to defer no longer his Charity to the Dropsical Man: He took him, and Healed him, and let him go.  
This was not all. He was not content, that their Silence was enough to stop their Mouths, and to hinder them from blaming what they durst not contradict. He did not consider himself so much as them. He had done one Miracle already, but he had yet more Miracles to do: And not only more, but greater. He had cured one Body of a Dropsy; but what was that to so many Souls before him, which were all of them more Dropsical, and much more dangerously Sick? Alas, poor Creatures! They were puffed up with a great Excess of Pride: They were almost ready to burst with Envious and Malicious Humours, and yet they thirsted eagerly for fresh Occasions, to dilate these Humours, and increase the Torment of their Minds. They saw the Swelling of the poor Man's Flesh, but did not see the greater Swelling of their own proud Hearts. They pitied his Body, but were too blind to pity their own Souls.  
To tell them, in plain Terms, how Blind and Proud they were, would never do them any Good: It would neither Humble them, nor Open their Eyes: It would only serve to Aggravate their Pride, and Blind them so much more. When Pride is the Disease, Humility must be the Cure; and an Humble Person must undertake it, or else 'twill never succeed. A Proud Man must be always treated gently, and gained by Insensible Degrees. To gain upon him, we must not offer to Attack him, as if we designed a Victory over him; neither must we directly Contradict him. His Maxims indeed are often Contradictory to one another: But the great Difficulty is, how to go about to make him see it. To take upon us to show it plainly to him, is as great an Affront, as if we pretended to be clearer-sighted than he. And therefore the best way is to lead him fairly and softly by his own Principles, till we have brought him so near the Matter, that he may easily and clearly see his own Mistake, without our pointing at it. Let him but have the Honour of seeming to find it himself, and then he'll willingly own it. To do all this is no hard Task, unless we are as Proud as he. If we are truly Humble, we shall take Delight in it. The Prouder he is, the greater is his Fall; and the Humbler we are, the Lower we shall willingly stoop to help him up again.  
We have already seen how Humble our Saviour was, in not offering to Cure the Dropsical Man before he had Consulted the Company; and by their Silence, had a just Pretence to take it for granted, that the thing was fitting to be done. Let us now consider, how Humbly he behaved himself afterwards, as soon as he had Healed the Man, and let him go. To let them see how far he was from Slighting or Despising their Opinion of him, he Appeals to their own Principles, and by a Familiar Example, lets them understand what Reason he had to judge, they could not possibly dislike what he had done. Which of you, says he, shall have an Ass or an Ox fallen into a Pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath-Day? A Proud Man would have gloried in being bold enough, to tell them to their Faces, how Blind, how Covetous, and how Uncharitable they were. Our Saviour teaches us another Lesson: Learn of me, because I am Humble. He does not tell them, they are Proud and Blind, but endeavours to put them in a way of Opening their Eyes, and chooses that Method of discoursing, which was least offensive to them. He does not tell them, they are Covetous, but argues from a particular Maxim of their own, which he knew their Covetousness would always help them to approve of.  
Their Vanity of being exact, in the Observance of the Sabbath, was greater than their Charity to their Neighbour: And therefore they concluded it was a Transgression of the Law, to Cure a Man upon the Sabbath. But yet their Covetousness was more Predominant than all their Vain Hypocrisy; and therefore, if any of their Goods were endangered upon the Sabbath, they did not doubt but it was Lawful to secure them. The Life of an Ass or an Ox, provided it were their own, was a great deal more to them than the Life of a Neighbour. To save the Life of a Beast, which was worth Money to them, this was a thing of real Importance, which the Ceremonious Piety of the Sabbath might very well give Place to. But to save the Life of a Neighbour, by whom, perhaps, they were not like to get a Penny, alas! What signified his Life to them? They were never like to be the better for it: Let him even die, say they, and let us keep the Sabbath.  
Behold what Blindness we are capable of, when Pride and Passion overrule our Reason! Let us consider it well, and lay it seriously to Heart. Let it be a continual Instruction to us, which may daily Humble us, and make us always Jealous of ourselves. We are made of the same Flesh and Blood; we are liable to the same Pride and Passion; and may, for aught we know, be as Extravagantly, and as Proudly Blind, as they. The only way to Open our Eyes, and see that Pride which Blinds us, is to observe the Doctrine and Example of our Humble Saviour. He is the Light of the World: He Enlightens every Man that comes into it: He is the only Light, in which we can truly see, how Proud we are. And is it not a wonderful thing, that Light itself should shine so bright before the Pharisees, and they not see it? The Gospel takes notice, that they could not answer him to these things: But however we do not read that they submitted to him. Their Pride and Passion made them love Darkness rather than Light. And yet our Saviour took all Care imaginable, to make his Light acceptable and pleasing to them, for fear, lest they might shut their Eyes against it. Which of you shall have an Ass or an Ox fallen into a Pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath-day? He only proposes, with all Humility, a modest Question, without the least reflecting upon them; and leaves them to their own Discretion, to apply it to themselves. My God How profoundly Humble is thy Infinite Charity! How infinitely Charitable is thy Profound Humility!   

II.  
If it be true, that Charity makes us Humble, 'tis no less certain, that Self-Love makes us Proud. When once we lose the Love of God above all things, we turn our Back upon the Light; and being in the Dark, it is no wonder that we blindly  upon ourselves. We have lost the Presence of our God, whose Infinite Goodness was the Boundless Object of our Minds, and filled the utmost Stretches of our Unlimited Desires: And, when we lose him, 'tis no wonder if we find our Hearts as Empty as our God is Great. As he is infinitely Great, so we are infinitely Empty without him: And all that we can find amongst His Creatures is never Great enough to satisfy us. This is the Reason why we are so fond of Greatness. 'Tis the true Cause why we are so Proud, Ambitious, Vain, and Envious. All our Honours, Dignities and Praises, all our Actions and Pretensions, every thing belonging to us must be Great: And, if we cannot in ourselves be Great, according to our Wishes, we make it out, with fancying we are greater than our Neighbours. We study their Faults, and wink at our own; we study our own Advantages, and wink at theirs; we do what we can to lessen them, and magnify ourselves; and all this Care is taken, only to purchase an Agreeable Mistake of htinking we are greater than they. If this succeeds not, but, in spite of all Self-flattering Arts, we still are Conscious of our Neighbour's Merit being greater than ours; our last Refuge is to have Recourse to the Opinion of others, to make Amends for what's deficient in our own. Although we cannot deceive ourselves, yet still we hope that they may be deceived in us, and think us Great, in spite of all our Littleness: And 'tis no matter how little we are at home, provided we are great abroad. If our Acquaintance Love us, Honour us, and Praise us, more than any Body else; if they Extol us, Magnify us, and Cry us up, above all others; we care not what Place we have in our own Thoughts, provided we have the first Place in theirs. The first Place is the thing we always aim at: We cannot endure that any Body else should have it: And the more earnestly we endeavour to exalt ourselves, the sooner we are humbled.  
The reason is plain. Because our being thus exalted in the Minds and Hearts of other People, is a privilege depending entirely upon their courtesy, and a favour not to be obtained by force or fear. Esteem and Love are never to be had for ask; much less by laying claim to them, as if we thought them due to us. men's Thoughts are their own; they are free to think what they please: And will ever do so, without craving our leave for it. They cannot love us, unless they like us: And how can they like us, if we take upon us to oblige them to it? 'Tis a visible Encroachment upon the liberty of their Thoughts and Inclinations: A liberty which God himself allows them; and a liberty which all the United Strength of Mankind is not able to take from them. Let us do and say what we can, they are absolute Masters at home, and altogether Arbitrary in their own Dominions: We cannot choose our place in their Affection or Esteem: And the only way to get the best preferment amongst them, is to challenge none at all, but only endeavour to deserve it, and always leave it to their own discretion. To do otherwise, will only serve to make us odious and ridiculous. And therefore our Saviour gives us warning not to choose the highest place, for fear lest we begin with shame to take the lowest: But, on the contrary, to go and sit down in the lowest place, that we may afterwards go higher, and have so much greater honour in presence of those who sit with us.  
And here I cannot but admire our Saviour's Charitable Condescension to us, in making use of our own Principles to instruct us, and in rectifying our Frailties, so as to make them serviceable to us. When Pride is predominant in us, we fear nothing more than being humbled, and hope for nothing more than being exalted: These are our greatest hopes and fears: And, because they are so, therefore our Saviour makes choice of them to Check the unruly motions of our Pride. What is it, but a violent desire of being Exalted, that makes us so fierce in challenging Respect, so loud in complaining of Neglect, so hot in quarrelling about it, so implacable in resenting it, so furious and so cruel in revenging it? We think that by these means we may perhaps be able to force our way to Honour, and make a Conquest of the highest place in the Esteem and Love of Men: But alas! We always find ourselves most grievously mistaken. Such means as these, if we are Rich and Powerful, may possibly prevail so far upon some few mean Spirits, as to make them fear and flatter us: But 'tis impossible, this way, to make them ever Love us, or Esteem us. And since our strongest hopes and fears are so much bend upon this silly Method of endeavouring to exalt ourselves; what stronger Argument could be employed to Curb the impetuous Sallies of our Pride, than to open our Eyes, and let us plainly see, that whilst we are thus hastening to invade the highest place, we are continually posting to the lowest? Because the prouder we seem to be, the more they hate us, and despise us. The more they hate the Injustice of our being so; and the more they despise the Folly of our showing it.  
The Injustice of a Proud Self-lover is so Notorious, that nothing can excuse or palliate it. If he could have it for ask, he would make no scruple to Monopolise the Esteem and Love of all the World. 'Tis All too little for him, and therefore no share of it can content him. If it lay in his power, he would humble every Body else, to make room for his own dear Self. He is unjust both to God and Man. He prefers himself before both. And if this be not unjust, I know not what to call so. Our God who made us, is he not infinitely better than all his Creatures? And is it not just that we should Love him best? Does not the first and highest place, in all men's Minds and Hearts, belong to him? How dare we then so insolently offer to pretend to it? Our Neighbours, are they not made by the same God, and for the same glorious End? Are they not all Invited to the same Eternal Happiness? He who Invites us, is he not the same who Made us? He Made us what he pleased; and does it not therefore belong to him to Assign us what place he pleases? Whatever we are, whatever we have, whatever we imagine greater in ourselves than others, we have no just reason to be Proud of it; because 'tis no Property of our own, but a free Gift of our Master, without our first deserving it. We may be humbly thankful for it, but have no pretence to glory in it; because it does not argue that we are better than others, but only that God is better and kinder to us than he is to them. We did not Make ourselves, we did not Invite ourselves, and therefore must not Choose for ourselves. We have no Right to our being Made, no Claim to our being Invited, no Title of our own to any Place at all: And since there's no Place due to us, Are we not horribly Unjust, if nothing but the highest Place will satisfy us?  
In a word, there's nothing so Unjust and Odious, nothing so Unreasonable and Ridiculous, as Pride. And therefore 'tis no wonder if the higher we Aim, the lower we fall. No wonder, I say, if it be always true, that Whosoever Exalts himself, shall certainly be Humbled, by Men, in this World, and by the Devil and his Angels, in the next.  
On the other side, there's nothing so Humble, nothing so Divine, as Charity; and, at the same time, nothing in the World so Charitable, so truly Great and Generous, as true Humility. And therefore 'tis no wonder that our Saviour assures us, He that Humbles himself, shall be Exalted. If he Humbles himself exteriorly in the sight of Men, he will be sure to be Exalted, Loved, and Honoured by them here. And if he Humbles himself sincerely in the sight of God, he cannot fail to be Exalted Everlastingly hereafter.   

Discourse VI Of Christian Marriage, and the Means to Sanctify it.  
THere was a Marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the Mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his Disciples, to the Marriage. And when they wanted Wine, the Mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no Wine. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what's that to me and thee? My Hour is not yet come. His Mother saith unto the Servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. Now there were set there Six Water-pots of Stone, after the manner of the Purifying of the Jews, containing Two or Three Measures apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the Water-pots with Water. And they filled them up to the Brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and present it to the Governor of the Feast. And they presented it. But when the Ruler of the Feast had tasted the Water that was made Wine, and knew not whence it was, (but the Servants which drew the Water, knew) the Governor of the Feast called the Bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every Man at the beginning doth set forth good Wine, and when Men have well drunk, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good Wine until now. This beginning of Miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his Glory; and his Disciples believed in him. John 2. v. 1, to 12.  
This Gospel affords great Comfort and Instruction, not only to those who engage themselves in Marriage, but also to all Christians whatsoever, even those who lead a single Life.   

I.  
The first thing we read in the Gospel is, that there was a Marriage, and the Mother of Jesus was there; and not the Mother only, but Jesus also was himself invited to it. They were both invited, and were both of them pleased to be there. They were not contented to come themselves, to honour this Happy Solemnity; but, the Disciples being also invited for their Master's sake, He was pleased to bring them with him, that they might be Witnesses, how much he honoured it, and that his Apostles afterwards might preach with greater Assurance this Orthodox Doctrine, that Marriage is always Honourable, not only in itself, but in all who rightly engage in it, and observe the Duties of it.  
There's nothing raises more the Value of any Commendation, than to have it given by those who are Commendable for being of a different Profession. Such a Commendation carries with it a much fairer appearance of being Impartial and Sincere, and therefore is more justly Valuable.  
If Marriage were esteemed and praised only by married People, we should not much admire the Commendations which they so frankly bestow upon their own Condition. But when we see Virginity itself do so much Justice to a Married Life, as to approve it: When we see the two most perfect Patterns of Virginity, the Virgin Son of God, and Virgin Mother, Vouchsafe to Adorn a Wedding with the Glory of their Presence: When we consider, that although they both of them preferred a Virgin Life so much before it, that the one would not be Born of a Woman unless she were a Virgin, neither was the other contented to be his Mother, till she understood, that by a Miracle she might be Fruitful without the least Prejudice of her Virginity; yet nevertheless, they both of them were pleased to Accept the Invitation, and be Witnesses of the Solemnity: When, I say, we duly consider all these Circumstances, we must needs conclude, that although Virginity be preferable as being more perfect, yet the State of Marriage is truly Honourable in itself, and aught to be honoured by all Mankind, since God himself was pleased to Honour it.  
Christian Marriage is the Nursery of Christianity, the School where Children learn the Rudiments of Christian Virtue, and the Academy where they are daily Trained up to the Exercise of it. Let the Little ones come to me, says Christ in the Gospel: And 'tis the great Duty of Parents to bring their little ones to him. The Institution of Christian Marriage, aims at no less Glorious an End, than that for which the Son of God was pleased to come into the World; which is, that the Children of Men may, by his Grace, become the Children of God. For this Reason he Established his Holy Church upon Earth; He gave Apostles, Bishops, and Pastors, to carry on the Work of the Ministry; and gave a strict Commission to Parents to bring their Children to him, that they may know his Holy Will, and do it, that they may grow up in him in all things, and that by daily Improvement in the practice of all Christian Duties, they may replenish the Church Militant here, and the Church Triumphant hereafter. If any, says the Apostle, have not Care of their own, and especially of those who are of their own House, their own Family, their own Flesh and Blood, they have denied the Faith, and are worse than Infidels.  
I must confess, 'tis no small Honour for Married Persons to be constituted Coadjutors of Christ in that great Work which brought him down from Heaven: But then again, I cannot deny but that this very Honour brings along with it so many and such heavy Obligations, that unless the Grace of God support them, it will only serve to crush them with its Weight. A Virgin has only one Soul to save, one Person to please, one Passion to conquer. This Passion, being taken young, is easily made tame; and, being used to that Subjection which it owes to Reason, grows contented with it. This Person is its own dear Self; one Mind, one Humour with itself; and is not easily prevailed with to displease itself. This Soul is entirely its own; it is not divided betwixt a Neighbour and itself; 'tis the whole Object of its great Concern, the only Necessary one; and being free from all Distraction, it has nothing else to do, but to endeavour the Salvation of itself. But it is not so with Married People. They must take great Care to save their Child's Souls, or else they greatly endanger their own. They must instruct them in all their Duties; and that's some little Trouble. They must, in all things, give them good Example; and that's a great deal more Troublesome. They must bear patiently whatever Crosses they meet with from their Children; and this is not always easy. They must be as patiented, and more, if possible, in bearing with all the Faults and Humours of those whom they have taken for better or worse; and how hard this is, they only know who have tried it. On the one side, I do not easily conceive how Married People can please themselves, without pleasing one another: And on the other side, I am very much afraid it is as difficult a thing to please two Persons, as it is to serve two Masters. I know very well, that according to the Institution of Marriage, Man and Wife are but one. They are one in Law; they ought to be one in Inclination and Affection; and whilst they are so, they are as happy as Marriage can make them: But when they are two, they are the worst two in the World. There's nothing so sour as Love when it turns. From an Excessive Fondness, which created a Thousand Extravagant Expectations, and a Thousand more Unreasonable Jealousies, they often pass to to the other Extreme of hating more than ever they loved: And 'tis hard to say, which is the greater Plague of Marriage; too much Love, or too little. A Medium betwixt both is certainly the best: And even then there's enough to be done, and a great deal more to be suffered. Abatements of Humour must be made, on the one side as well as the other; there must be mutual Condescensions used; they must have Patience, if not always, at least by turns: And all this little enough to maintain that Peace at home, and Credit abroad, without both which they cannot expect to be easy. For want of this, we see the Ruin of many Families, who are a grievous Scandal to their own Domestics whilst they live together, and a greater to the whole World when they part. To prevent all these Disorders, and to govern all their Passions with that Moderation and Discretion which is necessary for their present Happiness, and for the future Welfare of themselves and Children, both in this World and the next, the Grace of God is indispensibly required. Their Frailty and Temptations are greater than ordinary, and therefore their Grace must be so too. They are as Frail and Weak as Water: And nothing but a Miracle of Grace can change their Water into Wine. This is that Comfortable beginning of Miracles which Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, to Manifest his Glory, that all Married Christians may be true Disciples of him, and firmly believe in him, that though without him they are never able to Support the Difficulties of their State, yet by his Presence and Assistance they may make those Duties easy, which are otherwise impossible.   

II.  
'Tis a great Comfort to Married People, that the State wherein they engage is truly Honourable; and that God himself, his Virgin-Mother, and Disciples, were pleased to Honour it with their Presence. 'Tis yet a greater Comfort to Consider, that the things which are Impossible with Men, are Possible with God; and that although sometimes it may be morally Impossible for Humane Nature, to endure with Patience the Cares and Crosses which attend a Foolish or Unwary Choice, yet still God's Mercy is so great, that he will rather Work a Miracle in Favour of them, than suffer his Omnipotent Assistance to be wanting to them. But though these Comforts are Peculiar to Married Persons, yet the Instructions of the Gospel are more general, and may regard all Christians whatsoever; not only those who are Married, but even those who lead a single Life.  
I. There was a Marriage, says the Evangelist, and Jesus was invited. Without this Invitation, He would not have been present: And without his Presence, they would have been deprived of his Assistance. This is the Case; not only of Marriage, but of any other Calling or Profession whatsoever. No good Christian dares presume, in any State of Life, to expect the Blessing of Christ, without inviting him to give it. He must be present in their Hearts, by a Sincere Desire of serving him, and saving their Souls. Whatever they engage in, they may perhaps have other Honest Motives, but this must always be the Chief. He must be also present in their Minds, by a Sincere Enquiry into his Holy Will and Pleasure, which they consult in every Deliberate Action, and much more in any Solemn Undertaking, which is like to have a greater and more lasting Influence upon their Lives. They invite not only Jesus Christ, but his Disciples also; when in all things they consult those Holy Maxims which He and his Apostles preached; and under the secure direction of Faith, Hope, and Charity they fix their steady Eye upon the Glories of another Life, and Value this no farther than it is Subservient to that. 'Tis thus they prove themselves to be true Christians, according to S. Paul's Description, by denying all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts, by living Soberly and Righteously in this present World, and by expecting the Glorious Appearance of him, who is their God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 'Tis thus they show to all the World the Sanctity of their Calling, and make it appear, as the Apostle says, that God has not called them to Uncleanness, but to Holiness, that every one may know how to Possess their Vessel in Sanctification and Honour, and not in the Lust of Concupiscence, like the Heathens, who know not God, and therefore know no Rule but their unruly Appetites. 'Tis thus they Build their whole Morality upon a true Christian Foundation: They believe, they hope, they love above all things, that Blessed Eternity, whose Joys are set before them; and therefore take no Measures but what are suitable to it, and are always Prudent in choosing, Patient in suffering, Just and Temperate in all their do.  
Even those who differ from us in Matters of Faith, are (some of them) of the same Opinion with us in these Important Maxims of Morality. A very Abstemious Life, if it be not required as an Essential Part of Holiness, yet it is necessary as the Means and Instrument of it: Conformably to that of S. Paul, 1. Cor. ch. 7. Brethren, the time is short; it remaineth that they who have Wives, be as though they had none; and they that Rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; for the Figure of this World passes away. Where we are not only Interdicted unlawful Pleasures, but forbidden to give our selyes up to lawful ones; and commanded to use such Moderation as may become Men fully persuaded of the Shortness and Vanity of this Life, and possessed by the Expectation of a better. The Christian State is a State of Holiness and Purity: 'Tis in one Word, to be Heavenly-minded: And therefore that Course of Lise, which can best serve to Increase this Blessed Temper, is the Christian's Duty; and that which Softens and Sensualizes us, is Inconsistent with Christianity. The great End of Temperance, according to S. Paul, 1 Cor. ch. 9 is the Mastery, or Conquest, over the World and Flesh, whose Lusts and Pleasure's War against the Soul. Religion being nothing but the Love of God, and Heavenly things, the Gospel endeavours all it can to wean us from the World and Flesh; it being Impossible to serve Two such contrary Interests. And, when the Soul is striving for the Mastery, is it Sense to Arm the Enemy, and Feed it into a Fierce and Brutish Courage, by indulging those Enjoyments which are the Food and Fuel to its Lusts? In plainer Words: that Abstinence from Sensual Pleasures, which renders the Body Governable and Serviceable to the Soul, which Frees the Mind from its Captivity to Sense, and Establishes its Dominion over the Brutish Part, is that Temperance which the Gospel requires: And by Consequence, that Indulgence to Worldly Pleasures, which tends to Pamper and Enrage the Body, to awaken our Passions for this present State, to make the Minds of Men Soft and Feeble, Heavy and Sensual, unable to Suffer, and froward if their Appetite be not satisfied, is flatly Contradictory to the Temperance of the Gospel of Christ.  
II. To obtain this Temperance, this Mastery over ourselves, we must observe another great Instruction of our present Gospel. We must not rely upon the length or number of our Prayers; we must Pray much, and Labour a great deal more; we must Pray sometimes, and Labour always; our Praying is only part of our Duty, the whole of it chief consists in doing all we can to perform it. Although we Pray for ourselves, although the whole Church offers up her Prayers for us, although not only the Saints on Earth, but all the Saints in Heaven, join their Humble Supplications with ours, all this will never prevail, unless we add our own Endeavours, and do whatever we are able to the utmost of our Power. We read in the Gospel, when they wanted Wine, the Mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no Wine. She Intercedes not with the Authority of a Mother, but with the Humility and Lowliness of a Handmaid. She barely Recommends their Want, with that Simplicity, and Modesty, and Loving Confidence, which even we Sinners may presume to Imitate. Our Saviour's answer seems a little Surprising, Woman, what's that to me and thee? He does not so much as call her Mother: He seems to Check the forwardness of her Submissive Request, by telling her, his Hour was not yet come. But at the same time he designed to do as she desired: And knew very well, that although the Hour was not yet come, it was not very far off. Her Humble Prayer was a great Step towards it: And when the Servants had done their Duty, in following her direction, and doing whatsoever Jesus said unto them, when they had filled the Water-pots with Water, and filled them up to the Brim, when they had done what they were bid to do, and whatsoever they were able, when they could not now do more than they had done already, than the Hour was come for Christ himself to do the rest. Dew now, says he, and present it: And then it was that all the Company were Witnesses, the Hour appointed for the Miracle was come, when they plainly. Tasted that the Water was made Wine.  
If we apply this duly to ourselves, the Application will be very Instructive. The Church of God, who is our common Mother, and is to us the Mother of Christ, by forming his Spirit in us, is very sensible of our Want, and daily Recommends us, in her Prayers to Christ the Saviour of his Body, that our decaying Fervour may revive again, and our Devotion, which is grown quite palled and Dead, may be Inspired and Animated with new Life and Vigour. She Prays here upon Earth: She Prays in Heaven also, where her better part is now Triumphant, Secure of their own Happiness, and only Solicitous for ours: And surely if the Fervent Prayer of one Righteous Man, as the Apostle says, avails so much, the Prayers of so many Saints, both here and there, must needs be very Prevalent. But yet we must not lay more stress upon the Matter than 'tis able to bear. Their Praying as much as we please, will never serve our turn, without our doing as much as we can. This we can all of us do: And more than this, we are none of us obliged to: But this, at least, we must always do, or else all Praying is in Vain.  
When we fall into Sin, we feel our Weakness: And when we strive to rise, we feel it more. We therefore Pray to God to help us: The Church Prays for us too: But all this while we do not sufficiently consider that it is not in the Power of God himself to help us, unless we help ourselves. To help us, is not to do the Work for us, but to do it with us. And then it is that the Almighty helps us, when we do those Duties with him, which we cannot do without him. Repentance and Amendment are things which are not to be done by Proxy: Another's Repenting does not change our Hearts; another's Mending does not make us better: Such things as these are Personal, which we ourselves must do, or else we must All Perish: And hence it follows clearly, that unless we help ourselves, it is impossible for God to help us. How unreasonable therefore is the common Practice of those People, who take great Care to ask God's help, and take no Care to have it? They Pray all; and do nothing. When they have done their Prayers, they think they have no more to do. They Pray indeed, that they may Seriously and Hearty begin a thorough Reformation of their Lives, but still they let their Duty take its Fortune, without ever beginning to go about it in good earnest.  
'Tis very observable in our present Gospel, that, in order to the Miraculous Change of Water into Wine, there was more done than said. The Mother of Jesus said only three or four Words to him: But there was a great deal more to be done. There were no less than Six Water-pots to be filled, and great ones too, such as were then in use for the Washing or Purifying of the Jews: Our Saviour kindly designing to Work a Beneficial Miracle, which might not only be a Relief of their Poverty at present, but a Provision against it for the Future. 'Tis also worth observing, that the Virgin-Mother's Exhortation to the Servants, was more ample, and more earnest, than her Prayer to her Son; because She knew very well her Petition would never be granted, unless the Servants took great Care to do whatsoever Jesus said unto them. Neither is it less Remarkable, that he no sooner said unto them, Fill●● be Water-pots with Water, but they immediately obeyed, and filled them up to the Brim; and in the very Moment of their doing so, the Miracle was done, the Water was made Wine. If Christ had ordered them to fill the Water-pots with Wine, they might have justly pleaded, it was more than than they could do: But since he only commanded them to fill them up with Water, they had no Excuse left; the Water was near at Hand, they might easily have it for fetching, and a little Labour was enough to do the Work. This puts me in Mind of a Celebrated Sentence of S. Austin, God does not command impossible things, but by commanding gives us warning to do what we can, and to ask what we cannot. Let us only do what we can, and what we cannot we are sure to have for ask. We are sure, I say, to have it granted in Proportion to what we do, and may be, in a greater Measure than we ask. If we consider well the Matter of Fact, we shall find the Quantity of Wine was more than any Body asked, but neither one Drop more nor less than what the Servants did in Drawing Water and Filling. Had the Water been less, the Wine had been so too: And had they Drawn no Water, they would have had no Wine at all.  
The Wine I speak of, is the Wine of Grace: That Wine which Inebriates the Soul with all Celestial Delights, and makes it so Heavenly-minded, that it Loathes and Hates the Intoxicating Wine of Worldly Pleasures: That Noble, Generous, and All-victorious Grace, which gives us the Mastery we strive for, but never-gives it without our striving for it. This Grace is never granted to the Lazy and Idle Prayers of a Careless Sinner, nor ever denied to the Faithful and Vigorous Endeavours of an Humble Penitent. A Penitent who labours all he can to Humble himself, and lays aside all Censuring of his Neighbour's, that he may the more effectually call home his Serious Thoughts, to Censure and Correct himself: Who spares no Pains to do or suffer any thing that may be requisite or useful to reform his Life: Who frequently and seriously Reflects upon the Vanity and Emptiness of all Worldly Enjoyments, the Folly and Mischief of doting upon them, the great Advantages and Pleasures of despising them, and being thus delivered from the Tyranny and Slavery of all his Arbitrary, Restless and Insatiable Passions: A Penitent, who uses all his Art and Industry to set his Heart at Liberty, and never leaves off Cuarrelling with this unconstant, silly, miserable World, till he is quite fallen out with it, and Hates the very Thought of being reconciled: A Penitent, I say, who will not endure to hear of any Treaty with his Enemies, the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, but knowing well their Treachery, does whatsoever he can, 1. To avoid all those Occasions in which they seek to Surprise him, 2. To cut off all Provisions and Succours which may Feed and Reinforce them, 3. To watch their Motions with such Care, that not a single Thought, Imagination, or Delight, can ever advance one step beyond the Lines of their Duty, without being presently observed, and vigorously repulsed: Such a Penitent as this will certainly succeed, and gain the Grace he strives for. 'Tis true, the Endeavours of a Penitent who has been long a Sinner, are as Weak as Water. But nevertheless, if to the utmost of his Power he struggles with himself, to do all those things whatsoever Jesus says unto him, he will soon, by joyful Experience, find the Weakness of his Water changed into the Strength of Wine. Let him but fill up his best Endeavours to the Brim of his Capacity, (this he can always do, and God requires no more) let him do but this, and he will soon be convinced, that Miracles are not ceased. The World indeed may wonder at his change of Life, and so did the Ruler of the Feast, when he Tasted the Water that was made Wine; he wondered, because he knew not whence it was: But the Servants, which drew the Water, knew: And all God's Servants, who have been Sinners heretofore, know very well from whence their Change proceeds: They know 'tis from the Right Hand of the Highest; who will not let us lose the every least part of our Labour, but for little Drop of Water, gives us in Exchange an equal Share of Wine; and and in Requital of our Weak (but Constant and Sincere) Endeavours, never fails to Assist our Victory with a Proportionable Grace, and Crown it with Eternal Glory. Amen.    

Discourse VII. Of True Repentance.  
IN the Fifteenth Year of the Reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being Governor of Judea, and Herod being Tetrarch of Galilee, and his Brother Philip Tetrarch of Iturea, and of the Reign of Trachonitis and Lysanias the Tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiphas being the High Priests, the Word of God came unto John the Son of Zacharias in the Wilderness. And he came into all the Country about Jordan, Preaching the Baptism of Repentance, for the Remission of Sins; as it is Written in the Book of the Words of Isaias the Prophet: A Voice of one crying in the Wilderness; prepare the Way of the Lord, make his Paths Strait; every Valley shall be Filled; and every Mountain and Hill shall be brought Low; and the Crooked Ways shall be made Strait, and the Rough ones shall be made Smooth; and all Flesh shall see the Salvation of God. Luke. 3. v. 1, to 7.  
We are All Sinners. We are therefore All of us Highly concerned in the Subject of this Gospel. There's no Salvation to be had without Remission of Sin: And no Remission to hoped for, without True Repentance. For this Reason, John the Baptist was called by God himself, and sent to Preach it. The Word of God came to him in the Wilderness; and he immediately obeyed: He came into all the Country about Jordan, Preaching Repentance for the Remission of Sins. The Evangelist not only tells us the Design, and the Authority, but also the Time of his Mission: And seems, by Marking the many Circumstances of it, to be more careful in Dating the coming of S. John, than of our Lord himself; because, unless by true Repentance we prepare the Way, his coming will be no Advantage to us, but only rise in Judgement against us. To prepare the Way of our Lord, three things are necessary to be done. We must make it Levelly, Straight, and Smooth. And here I will not dispute what difference there is, betwixt Repentance and Doing Penance; because, if we believe the Evangelist, the Prophet Isaiah, and the Voice of one crying in the Wilderness; if, I say, we believe the Word of God, by whom they were all Inspired, we cannot doubt, but that Repentance, if True and Sincere, has a great deal to do; the doing of which is very Difficult and Mortifying, and therefore very well deserves the Name of Doing Penance. 1. Every Mountain must be brought Low. 2. Every Crooked Way must be made Strait. 3. Every Rough Way must be made Smooth.  

I.  
Every Mountain must be brought Low; and therefore our Proud Presumption must be Humbled. We must neither be so Proud of our own Natural Strength, as to think we are able to save our Souls without God's helping us; neither must we presume so much upon God's Goodness, as to expect that he should save us, without our helping ourselves.  
There are some People in the World, who have so great an Opinion of their Natural Strength, as to Imagine they can take Heaven by their own Force, and Storm it when they please: And therefore they do not apprehend the Danger of continuing in a Sinful Course of Life. They know very well, that a Custom of Sinning superinduces a second Nature, almost as hard to be expelled as the first: They are sensible, that the farther they proceed in any Vicious Practice, the more they are confirmed and settled in it: They feel the Miserable Chains of their Wickedness, and the Sad Slavery of Sin, to which they tamely Submit, and have not the Heart to make any Resolute Attompt for their Liberty. But notwithstanding all this, they still suppose they are their own Masters; they fancy that their Weakness is rather want of Will than Power; they persuade themselves, that a High and Mighty Resolution has an Invincible Force, and that therefore they are able to rescue themselves from Sin and the Devil whensoever they please. This was the Pride of all those Heathen Philosophers, who placed the Happiness of a Wise Man in being Self-sufficient, Independent, and Supreme Disposer of himself in all things requisite to make him Good and Happy. 'Twas this made Cicero say, Who ever gave God Thanks for being a Good Man? And this, I fear, makes many Christians say in their Heart, whenever they do any thing that looks like good, Our own High Hand, and not our Lord, has done all this. To prepare the Way of our Lord, this Pride must be Humbled: This Hill must be brought Low: It must be removed out of the Way, by a strong and lively Faith of our Essential Dependency on the Almighty Hand that made us. All Sinners, the more they confide in their own Strength, the more they are apt to defer the time of their Repentance: But when once they are throughly convinced of being able to do nothing of themselves, 'tis then that they begin to think how Dangerous it is to continue any longer in a Wicked Course, and to make him more and more their Enemy, without whose Friendly Assistance they are lost for Ever.  
There are others who understand themselves too well, to be so Proud of their own Strength. They are very sensible that in their Daily Prayers, when they say, Thy Will be done, they plainly acknowledge that they cannot do God's Will without his help. But their Misfortune is, that they are strangely mistaken in the Notion of his Mercy; they Presume too much upon his Goodness; and expect that he should help to save them, in spite of all their Faults, and without their helping themselves. They are wilfully Deluded with Extravagant Ideas of God's Mercy being above all his Works, as if he regarded very little, either what we do, or what himself has done, but only studied how to please himself in being Merciful to Sinners. They Persevere as unconcernedly in their Sins, as if the Laws of his Justice were made only to be broken, as if the Precepts of his Wisdom were given only to be despised, and as if he took Delight in having them believe, that he is so unjustly and unreasonably Merciful, as to Pardon them upon their own Terms, and let them live Sinners at their Pleasure, that they may Die Saints at their Leisure. They think 'tis time enough to Die to Sin, when Sin Dies to them. When Death draws near to their Bedside, and stairs them in the Face; if they can but cry Peccavi, before they feel the Fatal Stroke; if they have but time to say, Lord save us, or else we Perish; 'tis enough, Our Lord is Merciful; and since they all along relied upon his Mercy, and sinned upon that very Score, they Presume he will not now be so unmerciful, as to deceive them in the End.  
Thus their Presumption swells, and rises to a most prodigious height; and thus it hinders their Repentance, till their Faith discovers how hollow the Foundation is. But then the Mountain cracks immediately; it falls to pieces in a moment; and sinks as low as the Abyss of its own Emptiness. If we believe God's Word (and surely He knows best how Merciful he is) we soon shall see how 'Slight and Frivolous all those Pretences are, on which they Build their Foolish Confidence. They would fain contrive some way or other to Reconcile a Wicked Life with a Holy Death. They would willingly allow themselves their Liberty in all their Vicious. Humours, and be happy their own way here; and when this is done, they are contented to leave the rest to God's Discretion, and be happy which way he pleases hereafter. To pacify their Minds, and calm their Fears, they Magnify God's Mercy above all his other Attributes, and spare no Pains to Cheat themselves into a Fond Belief, that He is much more Merciful, than he is either Wise or Just. But yet they are terribly afraid, that what God cannot do justly and wisely, he cannot do at all: And therefore some little Reason, or at least some little Appearance of it, must be found, that they may seem to justify their Plea for Pardon, and may have something to say for themselves, that the Sentence of their own Self-condemnation may not pass upon them.  
1. There are some who seem to presume upon their Greatness, as if the Laws of God were only made for little Folks, and not for those who are the great Lawmakers of the Earth. But the Scripture assures us of the contrary. In the Wisdom of Solomon we read, Hear therefore, O ye Kings and Rulers of the Earth: Your Power is given you from the Highest, who shall try your Works. The most Sharp Judgement shall be to them that are in High Places; and Mighty Men shall be mightily Tormented. For God shall accept no Man's Person, nor stand in awe of any Man's Greatness.  
2. Others presume upon their great Prosperity in a Wicked Life. I have sinned, say they, and what harm has happened to me? But the Scripture bids them have a care of saying so; because although God is patiented, yet he will in no wise let them go free from Punishment. His Indignation, says the Son of Sirach, has an Eye upon Sinners: Therefore be not without fear of adding Sin to Sin. Bind not one Sin upon another; but remember that thou shalt not be unpunished in any one of them.  
3. Others presume more foolishly, that in so great a Crowd of Criminals, they may perhaps escape: I shall not be discovered, say they, amongst so many People; for what is my Soul amongst such an infinity of Creatures? But in the same Ecclesiasticus we read, Number not thyself among the Multitude of Sinners; but remember that his Anger will not tarry long. The longest delay is only till Death; and who knows how short that may prove? Remember also that He, who Numbers all the Hairs of our Head, will as easily Number not only our Persons, but our Faults.  
4. Others presume upon their great Donations to the Church. But this pretence is plainly Contradicted in Ecclesiasticus, c. 7. Say not, God will look upon the Multitude of my Oblations, and when I offer to the most High God, he will accept it. No: He will not accept it: He receives no Bribes.  
5. Others presume upon their great Faith. But what does it profit, says S. James, if a Man has Faith? If he has not Works of true Repentance can his Faith save him? No, no: He that will be saved, must keep all the Commandments, and persevere in them to the End.  
6. Others presume upon their much Fasting. But as the Prophet observes, In the Day of their Fast, they find Pleasure in seeking their own Will, and in doing their own Ways; and this is not the Fast, which God has chosen, neither is it acceptable to him.  
7. Others presume upon their many Prayers. But what signifies Praying without Practising? In the Proverbs we read, He that turns away his Ear from hearing the Law, even his Prayer shall be Abomination.  
8. Others presume upon their great Alms; because 'tis written, that Charity covers a Multitude of Sins. But this is chief understood of our Neighbour's Sins, not ours. The covering of our own avails us nothing, unless we Repent, Confess, and Forsake them. 'Tis written in the Proverbs, that He who covers his Sins, shall not Prosper: But whosoever confesses and forsakes them, shall have Mercy.  
9 Others presume upon their being Children of the Catholic Church. But as it was in vain for the Jews to say within themselves, we have Abraham for our Father, so likewise 'tis to little purpose for us Catholics to say, we have the Church for our Mother. The Gospel assures us, that Every Tree which brings not forth good Fruit, (Fruits worthy of true Repentance) shall be hewed down, and cast into the Fire. So true it is, that there's no Ground at all for our Presumption, no Pardon to be obtained, no Mercy to be hoped for, without Sincere Repentance, and a thorough-paced Amendment.   

II.  
When Faith has once Levelled these Mountains of Presumption and Pride, the next Affair in Hand, is to prepare the Way of our Lord, by making it Strait. There's nothing so Crooked as Self-Love. It makes us Crooked in all our Ways. It invents a Thousand Turn, Wind, and Byways, to compass its designs: It never engages in any thing abroad, without contriving to bring something home: It gins from itself, it tends to itself, it bends till both ends meet; and what can be more Crooked?  
On the contrary, the Love of God is Strait. It directs us in the Way of his Commandments: And leads us in a Strait Line to that Blessed End for which he made us. It prepares our Hearts to God, that we may serve him only. It prepares us for the Kingdom of God within us; that every Loyal Heart may be the Throne of his Divine Majesty; that all our Passions, Inclinations, and Humours, may be Faithful Subjects to him, in doing his Will on Earth, as it is done in Heaven; and that his Love may not only Live but Reign in us, and not only now but for ever.  
His Love must begin to Live, before it gins to Reign in us. It must First move us to Repent, before the Kingdom of God, which always is at Hand, can be Established in our Hearts. Our Penitential Tears will never sufficiently prepare the Way of our Lord, unless the Spirit of Love begin to move the Waters. Our Self-Love may Cry its Eyes out, and almost break its Heart with Grief: Alas! This Crooked Love can never make the Way Strait: There's nothing but the Love of God, who is all Truth, all Justice, and all Holiness, there's nothing else can make all Strait, by making us truly Repent, and moving us to Detest and Hate all Falsehood, all Injustice, and all Wickedness.  
The Council of Trent, in the 6. ch. of the 6. Session, describing Repentance, such as always was, and now is, Requisite, as well before Baptism, as before the Sacrament of Penance, lays the whole Train of Penitential Dispositions in this Natural Order. It mentions, 1. Our Fear of the Divine Justice; 2. Our Hope of Mercy through Christ; 3. Our beginning to Love God as the Fountain of all Righteousness; 4. Our being therefore moved with Hatred and Detestation of our Sins; 5. Our purposing to begin a New Life, by keeping the Divine Commandments. And again in the 4. ch. of the 14. Session, the same Council declares, that all true Repentance includes not only a Cessation from Sin, but also a Beginning of a New Life, and a Hatred of the Old One; according to the Prophet, Cast away from you all your Transgressions, and make you a New Heart, and a New Spirit.  
Let us now consider a little this Doctrine, and we shall find it so Clear and Rational, as not to need the Authority of a Council to Recommend it to us.  
1. When Sinners Sleep securely, they Dream of nothing but the Sensual Satisfactions, and the Transitory Pleasures of this Life. But when they once are roused, and throughly awakened with a Strong Belief and Lively Apprehension of a future State, in which God's Justice will Eternally deprive them of these things, and punish them severely with the contrary, there's nothing more Natural, than to be struck with Fear of such a Punishment: And, although they see it by a Supernatural Light, they dread it with a Natural Fear. Neither is there any need of quoting Aquinas for this Truth: It being as evidently Natural to to fear the Pain of Sense, as it is to Love the Pleasure of it.  
2. The uneasiness of this Fear is Troublesome to us: And when 'tis great, we dare not shake it off, as usually we do our Creditors, whom we refuse to Speak with, when we have no Mind to give them Satisfaction. The Fear of being Arrefted, and Eternally confined from all that ever pleased us, when it once looks Big and Terrible upon us, it soon brings down our Stomaches, and makes us contented now, to think how Merciful God is, and seek for Hope of Comfort in the Merits of his Son.  
3. When we are thus considering, how good God is, and how bad we are; how great his Mercy is, and how little we deserve it; how severe his Justice is, and how much we have provoked it: When we are wavering 'twixt Hope and Fear, and pondering the Reasons on both sides; admiring that Incomprehensible Mercy, which moved the most High God to send his only Son for the Redemption of the World, and being Astonished at his Inexorable Justice, which would not be atoned by any other Sacrifice: When we compare the Crookedness of Sin with the Strait Paths of Virtue; the Truth, the Purity, and Equity of God's Laws, with our Hypocrisy, Uncleanness, and Iniquity: When we study the Charming Features of his Divine Beauty, and, in his own Light, see our Horrible Deformity: 'Tis then, that we begin to Love him as the Fountain of all Righteousness; and, because we love him, therefore we Detest and Hate our Sins, by which we have offended him: 'Tis then, that we are sensible, what Fools we have been, to forsake our God, the Fountain of Living Waters, and seek our Happiness amongst his Creatures, by hewing out Cisterns, Broken Cisterns, which can hold no Water: 'Tis then, our Heart is ready to Break with Grief, to think that we have erred from the Strait Ways of Truth, and we tried ourselves in the Crooked Ways of Wickedness and Destruction: 'Tis then, I say, we firmly purpose to begin a New Life, because we Hate the Old One: And then, according to the Prophet, we cast away from us all our Transgressions; because we have now a New Heart, and a New Spirit; we love our God, whom hitherto we slighted; and, for his sake, we Hate the Vices which formerly we Loved, and Love the Virtues which heretofore we Hated.  
By what has been already said, 'tis easy to answer a very Important Question, Whether Sorrow arising from the Fear of Hell alone, may deserve the Name of True Repentance? 'Tis agreed by all, and declared in Council, That without the Sacrament of Penance it cannot, of itself, justify a Sinner: The Question is, Whether it sufficiently disposes him, in that Sacrament, to obtain the Grace of God? To avoid mistakes in a matter of this Moment, we must observe, that in Hell there are Two sorts of Pain, the one of Sense, the other of Losing God: And consequently there must be also admitted Two sorts of Fear and Sorrow, the one proceeding from Self-love, the other from the Love of God.  
This Second sort of Sorrow, although it falls short of Perfect Contrition, yet nevertheless it presupposes a Fear of losing God's Friendship in this World, and his Company in the next, a desire to please him here, and to enjoy him hereafter, an actual Love of him, as our last End, and chiefest Good: And since their Love, Desire, and Fear, may be so great, as to imply a Preference of him before all his Creatures, it follows clearly, that the Sorrow, which is ground on this Love, may possibly exclude all Actual Desire of Sinning; which if it does, the Council tell us, That it is an Impulse of the Holy Spirit, not yet dwelling in us, but moving us, by which a Penitent prepares the way for his being justified.  
But the First sort of Sorrow is certainly insufficient; and 'tis very fit that we should know it in good time, before we feel it. And that we may discern what ground our Sorrow goes upon, S. Austin thus proposes the Case, in his 19 Sermon, de verbis Apostoli; Behold, says he, the Lord your God tries you, as who should say, Do what you will; and whatsoever pleases you, take it for granted that 'tis lawful; I do not Punish it; I do not cast you into Hell for it; only I shall certainly deny you the Sight of my Face for ever. If you were afraid; you Loved. If you are more afraid of this, than any other thing; you Love him above all things. Your Love inspires you with a Noble Detestation of all Sin, a Strong Aversion against it, a Continual Fear of incurring God's Displeasure by it, and a True Penitential Sorrow for having been Guilty of it. But if you Value not the Loss of God; if you are unconcerned for all the Joys of his Blessed Company; if you neither Care for Him nor his Heaven, provided he allows you all your Pleasures upon Earth; you may be very well assured, that as long as you Love your Humour, Ease, and Pleasure, above all things, your Fear and Sorrow proceeding purely from this Love, can never of themselves exclude your Actual Desire of Sinning. This very Love is a Capital Sin, which Breeds a Thousand Desires of Sinning: And, according to the eagerness of those Desires, the greater is your Fear, that they will all be Disappointed, and severely Punished; and the greater is your Sorrow, to think that all God's Penal Laws against these Criminal Desires, will certainly be put in Execution for all Eternity. The Fear of Sensible Pain, and the Desire of Sinful Pleasure, grow naturally both upon the same Stock; they are both rooted in the same Self-love: And how then can the one be able, of itself, to pull up the other by the Roots? How can the Fear of Pain extirpate the Love of Pleasure, and exclude the Will, or the Desire, of Sinning? For this Reason, S. Austin, in his Book against the Adversaries of the Law, affirms, That the Desire of doing ill is not excluded, but by a contrary Desire of doing well. And in his Epistle 144. he says, In vain does he think himself a Conqueror of Sin, who abstains from it only for Fear of Pain: For although he does not outwardly Accomplish his Wicked Desire, yet this Desire, this Enemy of his, is still within him. He who fears Hell, does not fear Sinning, but Burning. Alas! This Servile and Carnal Fear, as S. Austin calls it, can never change the Heart: It can never alter our Minds: Because as long as we fear nothing but Burning, we are every ●o● as carnally-minded as before; we mind nothing but the Satisfaction of our Senses; this we love, this we desire; and by the same Rule are Afraid and Sorry, when we think of Pain and Torment. To be carnally-minded is Death, says the Apostle; but, to be spiritually-minded, is Life and Peace. Our Repentance is not true, unless it change our Hearts, and make us spiritually-minded: It must make to us a New Heart, and a New Spirit: It must make us Love a New Life, and therefore Hate the Old One. Our Hatred of this, is always grounded in the Love of that; and, as S. Austin says in his Epistle 144. So much as we Love the one, so much we Hate the other. O how I Loved thy Law! Says the Psalmist; therefore I Hated every Evil Way. In a Word, The Love of God must prepare the Way of our Lord, because Self-love is Crooked, and can therefore never make it Strait.   

III.  
S. Paul in his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, humbly and hearty begs, that our Lord may direct our Hearts in the Love of God, and in the Patience of Christ. And 'tis a most Excellent Prayer. For when once the Love of God has made the Way Strait, there's nothing wanting but the Patience of Christ to make it Smooth.  
1. The Apostle assures us, we have need of Patience to do the Will of God; to Fight, and Conquer, and Maintain our Conquest to the End. Self-love and Pride, the Mortal Enemies of our Eternal Happiness, can never quite Die, as long as we ourselves are Living; they lodge in our very Bosoms; we cannot hinder their Living and Moving in us; we cannot prevent the First Rebellious Insurrections of them: But however, we can prevent being Surprised by them, we can always be upon our Guard, we can throw them as fast as they Rise; and we have this great Comfort left, that every Fall Weakens them, and every Victory Increases our Power over them, till at length they make so Small and Feeble a Resistance, that those very Conflicts, which at first were Painful to us, now become a pleasing Exercise, which seems to be the Sport and Pastime, rather than the Trial, of our Virtue. This Degree of Patience is the surest Mark of true Repentance. 'Tis certain we are not truly Penitent, unless we absolutely and fully resolve to Decline from Evil, and to Do Good: And though this Resolution may seem Strong and Firm, yet we shall soon discover its Weakness; we shall presently Break it, if we have not Patience to keep it. The longer we have lived in Sin, the stronger are our Vicious Habits, the harder it is to struggle with them; the more Pains we must take to Master them, and therefore so much greater Patience is requisite to overcome them. But whatsoever difficulties we may meet with by the Way, we must remember, that these Obstacles which give us so much Trouble, are the Work of our own Hands. Our Sinful Habits are the woeful Fruit of our own wilful Wickedness. The Crookedness and Roughness of our Nature was Soft and Tender at first: If our Reason had begun betimes to make it Strait and Smooth, it had been done with ease: And whose Fault was it, that we did not rise, and fall to Work, at a more Early Hour? Since therefore the Fault is our own, we have no Reason to Complain, and Grumble at the Hardship of our Labour. If we cannot now perform our Work without the Sweeting of our Brows, and Aching of our Hearts, we may Thank our own Presumption and Self-love, which were the Sad Occasion of such long delays; and therefore we have Reason to have Patience with ourselves.  
2. We have need of Patience, not only to do the Will of God, but also to suffer it. We need it, not only to do good, but to endure whatever Evils he shall please to appoint us. 'Tis not sufficient to begin a New Life: We must also Hate the Old One, and be willing to undergo the just Punishments of it. There's nothing so effectual, as a true Sense of our Gild, to make us truly Patiented. An Humble Penitent is throughly convinced, that all the Sufferings of this Momentary Life, are nothing to what he deserves. He thinks himself unworthy of the Ground he goes upon. He knows that he deserves to have it Open under him, and Swallow him Alive. He does not look upon himself as Pardoned, but Reprieved; and therefore Trembles at the Dreadful Apprehension of Unspeakable and Everlasting Misery, which he still fears may be his Doom at last. He fears not them who Kill the Body, and are not able to Kill the Soul; but, from these Words of our Saviour, he learns to fear him only who is able to Destroy both Soul and Body in Hell. The Fear of Hell Sinks deeply in his Mind, as Deep as the Abyss itself, and Swallows up all other little Fears of Momentary Pains. Compared to Hell, they are no more than the least Drop of Water to the Ocean; nor yet so much, because the smallest Drop has still some small Proportion with the Sea, whereas those Pains have less Proportion with those, and Time has none at all with our Eternity. And therefore an Humble Penitent, whatever happens to him, he submits not only willingly, but cheerfully: He Humbly Kisses the kind Hand which lays the Cross upon his Shoulders; and thankfully acknowledges the Double Favour of God's Infinite Mercy, who is pleased not only to Exchange his Many and Everlasting Torments, for a few Transitory Afflictions, but also to Reward his Little and Short Sufferings, with a far more Exceeding and Eternal Weight of Glory.  
3. We have need of Patience, not only to Suffer the Will of God in these unusual Trials; but also to Bear one another's Burdens, and to Support the uneasy Humours of our Neighbour, in all common Occasions. That Heroic Patience is the proper Character of Confessors and Martyrs: This belongs to all good Christians; it concerns us all, and every one of us. All our Impatience proceeds from Pride and Selfishness, which make us Love our Honour, Interest, and Humour, better than God and our Neighbour. When we are Contradicted, Slighted, or Despised, our Patience has much ado to keep us quiet, our Blood Rises, our Spirits are Ruffled and Discomposed, our Thoughts are in a Hurry, to lay hold on some Revenge or other, and without the least Consideration, catch at any thing that's uppermost or nearest Hand. Is this the Natural Temper of an Humble Mind? Surely, although we stand in our own Light, we are not so much in the Dark, but we can see, or feel at least, that these Resentments and Disturbances proceed from Pride, and that they are all Rooted in Self-love. We Love our Honour because we Love our Selves: And, for the selfsame Reason, we Love a Thousand other things besides our Honour; all those things, I mean, which fall under these two Heads, our Interest and our Pleasure. Our Interest is liable to an Infinity of Various Accidents, which Trouble our Temporal Affairs; our Pleasure is the Object of as many Inconsistent and unreasonable Humours; and every little Gale of Wind, that blows Cross to the one or other, is enough to raise a Storm, in which our Patience seldom fails to suffer Shipwreck. For this Reason, whensoever I see a Choleric Person grow Patient, I look upon it as an Excellent Sign of his being truly Penitent. When I see him cast away from him all his usual Motions of Impatience, I easily imagine that he has made to himself a New Heart and a New Spirit. When I observe him Easie and Cheerful, not withstanding any Slights or Provocations: When I discover a calm and even Temper in him, in Spite of any Crosses or Disappointments: When I perceive him as ready to Excuse or Overlook an Injury, as he was before to Aggravate it, or Revenge it: Then indeed I have just Reason to conclude, he is no longer governed by the Spirit of this World, but that he is renewed as S. Paul says, in the Spirit of his Mind, and led by the Spirit of God, the Love of God, and Patience of Christ. The very word Repentance,