tion! Seeing, as (g) St. Chryfoftom juftly argues, this world is but as a dream, and the greatest affluence of the good things of it, but as a pleasant dream, who would fo little regard his own welfare, as irrecoverably to ruin himself for it? If, for a pleafant dream of one night only, a man were, upon his awaking, to be immediately feized, and be violently tortured for an hundred years together, without intermiffion, or ceffation, who would ever defire fuch a dream? I add, What man in his fenses would not heartily dread the leaft thought of it, and most earnestly long and pray to be preferved from it? Yet incomparably greater, as he proceeds, is the difference betwixt the reality of a future eternal ftate, and the short vain dream of this life; betwixt the endless years of the other world, and the few tranfitory days of this. Lefs, far lefs, is this life, in relation to that which is eternal, than one hour's dream in respect of an hundred years awake; lefs than a fingle drop of water in respect of the whole fea. Forbear then, O my foul, to take up with these unfatisfactory and perifhing enjoyments, and let thy conftant endeavours be after those which are both better, and more lafting; such as may make thee happier at prefent, with the hopes and expectation of them, than thou can't be by the fruition of whatever thou canst attain to here, and will be fure to make thee infinitely more fo for ever in the other life. Do but inform thyself aright of the vaft prejudice thou doft thyself by thy fondness for these sublunary advantages, and thou wilt not dare to remain any longer enflaved to them. I will therefore beftir myfelf, before it be too late. I will prefer, and diligently puriue, my trueft and most lafting intereft, that fo I may be happy both here and hereafter. I will confider my latter end; I will weigh with myself the vanity of all temporal good things, will look upon myself as only a stranger and pilgrim upon earth, and ufe whatever I enjoy here, only as the accommodations I meet with in my inn; whilft (g) Hom ad Pop. 20. Bb 3

my

my heart is fet upon my journey's end, my Heavenly Father's houfe, whither I am travelling, and those more transcendently valuable rewards, which are prepar'd there for his true and faithful difciples. I will reckon myself only as a fojourner here below, and tho' I will not, with the antient (b) Encratites and ApotaƐlicks, fenfelefly deprive myself of the ufe of what temporal bleffings God is pleas'd to beftow upon me; I will not fuffer myself to be brought into subjection to them; nor fo place my affections upon any of them, as not readily to part with them whenfoever they fhall be called for and will endeavour to (i) make to myself fuch friends of this mammon of unrighteousness, as that when I fail, and am to continue to longer here, they may receive me into everlasting habitations.

II.

On the Relation we fland in to Almighty God, the Duty we owe him, and the Knowledge be bath of all our Actions.

AS I received my being from God, and have my

whole dependence upon him, I muft needs be fenfible, that all the duty I can poffibly pay him, is no more, no more, did I fay? it is incomparably lefs, than what my relation to him, aud the bleffings I have receiv'd from him require of me. I can never be too careful to please him, tho' I be ever fo intent upon his fervice, and tho' I watch day and night with all the diligence poffible, that I be not any way drawn to offend him. He is our Lord and Creator; we are his creatures and fubjects. He has abfolute fovereignty and dominion over us; and as we are accountable to him only for what we do, so are we accountable to him for ALL we do; and muft expect, that he will most certainly reward or punish us everlastingly, according as we either approve ourselves to, or difobey him. (6) Eufeb. Hift. Eccl. 1. 2. c. 17. Epiphan. Hæref. 61. B. Aug. de Hærefibus. (i) Luke xvi. 9.

He

He (k) is our Lawgiver, our Judge, and our King, who alone has the right to demand of me, and all mankind, whatsoever fhall feem well-pleafing to him; and we must leave ourselves without any excufe, if we do not indefatigably labour to answer our obligation. Think therefore, O my foul, what exceffive guilt muft I neceffarily contract, and to what intolerable vengeance do I juftly expofe myfelf, by every act of wilful difobedience! If it be a heinous crime to offend an earthly prince, of the fame mortal conftitution with myself; a fellow-creature, who, tho' advanced far above me in the world, can no more fubfift of himself, than I, can; who depends wholly, for both his being and well-being, upon God's good Providence, as much as I; and who fhall as certainly give up the ghoft and die, and be afterwards brought to judgment, as I fhall; if it be fuch a heinous crime to offend fuch a prince, how much more heinous must it be to offend the great and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords! And how can I answer it to my own confcience, or what can I think will become of me, if I allow myself to do it? He will not fail to (1) render to every man according to his deeds: to them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, feek for glory, and bonour, and immortality, eternal life; but to them who are contentious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every foul of man that doth evil. And, by confequence, it is not only fhameful and highly mifbecoming, to behave myself undutifully towards him; but it is unconceivably dangerous, and the readieft way I can take to render myself for ever miferable. It was not to gratify our unreasonable lufts and paffions, and lead 'as fenfual lives as the brute beasts, which have no understandin; not to feek after prefent perishing enjoyments, nor to spend our days in carnal pleafures and delights, that we came into the world; but to (m) work out our falvation with fear and trembling, to make provision (4) Ifa. xxxiii. 22. (1) Rom. ii. 6, 7, 8, 9. (m) Phil. ii. 12. Bb 4 for

for a future ftate, and prepare ourselves, by a truly Chriftian converfation, for the perpetual fruition of God in the highest Heavens. And nothing can be more contradictory to this great end of my being, than to indulge myself in any fort of wickedness; and thereby (n) treasure up to myself wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Nor is there any hope of escape, if I do so. For, as God is just, and will not fail to avenge himself upon finners; fo is his eye continually upon each one, to observe his doings, whether his (0) converfation be, as becomes the Gospel of Chrift; or whether he takes liberty to tranfgrefs his duty, and expofe himself to all the tortures threatened to thofe that do fo. He is everywhere prefent; neither is there any action, any word, any thought or defire, (p) that is not manifeft in bis fight; his eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. Where-ever I am, or howfoever employed, I am sure to be under his inspection; who fees me, and all my doings, tho' I fee not him. I can conceal nothing from him; not the moft fecret inclinations of my heart. And what great need have I therefore, to be very cautious what I do, that it may be what he will approve of! Dare I take upon me to provoke him to his face? If I dare, the consequence of fuch prefumption must be very terrible, and must leave me without all excufe, when I come at the laft day to appear before his tribunal. And, if I dare not, why do I ever give way to any temptation, feeing I know beforehand, that fuch compliance, how private foever, can no more be hid from his omnifcience, than if it had been publickly proclaimed on the houfe-top? He knows how to (q) bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifeft the counfels of the heart; and there is no impofing upon him in any respect. And if this confideration cannot make me diligently watchful over myself, and holy and (*) Rom. ii. 5. (0) Phil. i. 27. (p) Prov. xv. 3. (9) 1 Cor. iv. 5.

upright

upright in all my ways, it is impoffible, that any mother should ever do it.

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III.

On the infinite Mercy and Goodness of God to Sinners.

BEfides the authority of God over all, and the knowledge he has of all our ways; his unfpeakable mercy, and moft gracious condefcenfion, is anoether powerful diffuafive from vice, and well worthy of my ferious confideration as fuch. His abundant goodness to finners, throughout the whole course of their lives, the bleffings he heaps upon us in this world, and the far greater he has promis'd in the other, and, above all, the ineftimable price that was paid for our redemption, are an indifpenfable obligation to make his glory the aim and defign of all my actions. And indeed, who would not be immediately ravifh'd into an ecftafy of love, at the meditation of those transporting bowels of pity and commiferation, which could prevail with Almighty God, not only to create us fubjects capable of enjoying his favour, but, when we had juftly depriv'd ourfelves of all pretence to it, by our difobedience and rebellion, even yet to seek our salvation, and restore us to his love, tho' it were by the death of his only-begotten and dearly beloved Son? Who would not hereupon be feized with the most profound admiration of the height, and breadth, and length, and depth, the unfathomable dimenfions of this love of God in Chrift Jefus our Lord? And how unaccountably do I behave myfelf, if I will not yet be perfuaded to live as one intirely devoted to his fervice, after all the experience I have had of his abundant, tho' every way undeferved, loving-kindness ?

What more endearing courfe is it poffible that God could have taken to bring finners to himself, and their own happiness, than, in fpite of all their

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