feffion of his truth and religion, Matth. x. 37,38. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth fon or daughter more than me,is not worthy of me. He inftanceth in the neareft relations, thofe towards whom we have the most tender and relenting affections, and yet he tells us, that the confideration of his truth, and religion ought to take place of these, nay, even of life itfelf; for fo it follows, and he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. St. Luke expreffeth it more ftrongly and vehemently, Luke xiv. 26. If any man come to me, (that is, take upon him the profeffion of my religion) and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and fifters, yea, and his own life alfo, he cannot be my difciple. When thefe come in competition with our religion, and the great intereft of our eternal falvation, we are to regard and value them no more than if they were the objects of our hatred, but to fet afide all confideration of affection to them, fo far as it would tempt us from conftancy in our religion, and the care of our fouls.

So that when our Saviour bids us first to seek the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, his meaning is, that religion, and the concernments of our fouls, and the eternal happiness of them in another world, fhould be our firft and chief care; and that all other things fhould be made fubordinate and fubfervient to this great defign, and to be no farther minded by us, than they really are fo: For that which is our great end, will fubdue all other things, and bring them into fubjection to it, and will reject them, and throw them afide, if they be inconfiftent with it. If heaven be our utmost aim, and in order to that, it be our great ftudy and endeavour to be righteous and holy, this refolution and defign, fincerely entertained, will over-rule all other confiderations, and make all the things of this world to ftoop and give way to that which is our chief end, the eternal happiness and falvation of our fouls. And thus I have done with the fecond thing I propofed, namely, what is meant by

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Seek

feeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and what by feeking them firft.

I proceed in the third place, to lay down fome plain rules for our direction and furtherance in feeking the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; that is, in the great bufinefs of religion.

First, Let us always live under a lively and powerful fenfe of another world; that we are placed here in this world, but for a little while, and that wholly in order to our preparation for a better and happier life. Let this thought be often in our minds, that eternity is the moft confiderable duration, and the next world the place of our everlasting abode, where we muft dwell and continue for ever; and therefore our prefent ftate is but of little moment and confideration to us, but only in order to our future and everlafting condition. We may pleafe ourfelves here for a little while with toys and trifles, with dreams and fhadows of pleasure and happiness, and may be exercised with some troubles and afflictions for a short fpace, for a moment (as the Apostle calls it) our light afflictions which are but for a moment, and fo indeed it is, compared with all eternity; but the fubftantial and durable happiness or mifery remain for men in the other world, and will certainly be their portion, according as they have demeaned themselves in this world.

Now the serious confideration of this cannot fail to put us upon vigorous preparations for another world, and to make us wholly intent upon our eternal concernments, and to refolve, whatever becomes of us in this world, to take effectual care that we may be happy for ever. He that firmly believes the immortality of his foul, and a life after death, which will never have an end, muft needs take into confideration his whole duration, and bend all his care and thoughts, how he may avoid the greatest and moft lafting mifery, and fecure to himself an immortality of blifs and happiness.

Secondly, Let us be always under a conviction of the abfolute and indifpenfable neceffity of holiness and righteoufnefs, as the only way and means where

by

by the kingdom of God is to be attained, and that holiness and happiness are not to be feparated, the one being a neceffary condition and qualification for the other; and confequently, that it is the vainest thing in the world for any man to hope to enter into the kingdom of God, without endeavouring after his righteousness; there is fo ftrong a connexion between them, that a man may as reafonably expect to be well and at eafe without health, as to be happy without holiness; for this makes us like to God, and our likeness and conformity to God, is that alone which can make us capable of the bleffed fight and enjoyment of God. We must be partakers of a divine nature, in order to our participation of the divine bleffed nefs. And the confideration of this will effectually engage us to feek the righteousness of God, without which we fhall never enter into his kingdom; and to follow holiness, without which no man fhall fee the Lord.

Thirdly, Let us always remember that righteoufnefs is of a great extent, and comprehends in it all goodness; it takes in all the duties of religion, and the practice of all of them: It is a complication of all graces and virtues, of all the parts and ingredients, of all the duties and offices of a good man. To denominate a man righteous, all caufes muft concur; all the effential principles and parts of religion and goodness must meet together; knowledge and practice, faith and good works, right opinions and real virtues, an orthodox profeffion and a holy life, abstaining from fin and doing of righteoufnefs, purity of heart and unfpotted manners, godlinefs and honesty, the bridling of our tongue, and the government of our paffions, and above all things charity, which is the band of perfection.

For righteoufnels is our conformity to the law of God, as unrighteoufnefs and fin is the tranfgreffion of it. Now this, if it be real and fincere, will be uniform and univerfal, equally refpecting all the laws of God, and every part of our known duty, and will not content itself with an efpecial .regard to one or two precepts of the law, though never fo confide

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rable, and then allow itself in the neglect and violation of the reft; no, nor with the obfervation of the duties of one table of the law, if it over-look the other; no, nor with obedience to all the commandments of God, one only excepted. St. James hath put this very cafe, and determined it, that he that hall keep the whole law, jave only that he offend in one point, is guilty of all; that is, he is not fincere in his obedience to the reft: And therefore if we feek the righteoufnefs of God, our righteoufnefs muft be univerfal; as he that hath called us is holy, fo must we be holy in all manner of converfation, in the tenor of our actions, and the whole courfe of our lives: And any one reigning fin and vice, any grofs and notorious defect in the virtues of a good life, will spoil our righteousness, and will effectually shut us out of the kingdom of heaven.

Fourthly, Let us wifely fubordinate the feveral parts and duties of religion to one another, according to the intrinsical worth and value of them, that fo we may mind every part of religion in its due place, and according to the true nature and importance of it. Knowledge and faith are in order to practice, and a good life, and fignify nothing unless they produce that. The means of religion, fuch as prayer and fafting, diligent reading and hearing the word of God, reverent and devout receiving of the bleffed facrament, are of lefs account and value, than that which is the end of all these, which is to make us inwardly and really good, and fruitful in all the works of righteoufnefs, which by Jefus Chrift are to the praise and glory of God. And therefore the means of religion which I have mentioned, are to be regarded and u fed by us, in order to the attaining of thefe ends, without which they are mere formality and hypocrify, and instead of finding acceptance with God, they are an abomination to him, and his foul hates them.

And fo likewife the circumftances of religion are lefs confiderable than the fubftantial means and inftruments of it. And therefore all rites and ceremonies are in religion of lefs confideration, than the fubftance of God's worship, and ought always to be

fubor

fubordinate to it. In like manner, the moral duties of religion, comprehended under the two great commandments of the love of God, and our neighbour, because they are of eternal and indifpenfable obligation, are to be preferred to matters of mere pofitive inftitution; and where they cannot ftand together, that which is pofitive ought to be fet afide, and to give way for the prefent to that which is moral and good in its own nature, and not only, because it is commanded and enjoined; for in this cafe God hath exprefly declared, that he will have mercy and not facrifice. Upon which ground our Saviour declares, that the law of the fabbath ought to give place to works of mercy. Upon the fame account peace and charity are to be valued above matters of nicety and fcruple, of doubtful difpute and controverfy; because the former are unquestionably good, the latter doubtfully and uncertainly fo.

All these things ought to be confidered, and are of great moment to make a man fincerely and wifely religious. For men may keep a great ftir about fome parts of religion, and be very careful and diligent, zealous and earnest about the means and inftruments of religion, and in the exercises of piety and devotion, and yet be deftitute of the power and life of it, and fall fhort of that inward, and real, and substantial righteousness, which alone can qualify us for the kingdom of God.

The fifth and laft direction I would give, is this; that we have a particular regard to the great duty of charity, or alms-giving, this being very frequently in fcripture called righteousness, as being an eminent part of religion, and a great evidence of the truth, and fincerity of our piety. And this our Saviour particularly directs to, as the way to the kingdom of God, Luke xii. 33. After this general exhortation, to feek the kingdom of God, he inftanceth in charity, as the direct way, to it; give alms, provide for yourfeives bags that wax not old, a treafure in the heavens which faileth not. And elfewhere our Saviour fpeaks of this grace and virtue, as that which, above all others, will make way for

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