our admiffion into heaven, Luke xvi. 9. I fay unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they may receive you (or ye may be received) into everlasting habitations. And St. Paul calls it laying in ftore for ourfelves a good foundation; or (as the word may better be rendred in this place) a good treasure against the time to come, that we may lay hold on eternal life, 1 Tim. vi. 19. St. James fpeaks of it as a main and moft effential part of religion, and the great evidence of a true and fincere piety, James i 27. Pure religion, and undefiled before God and the Father, is this; to vifit the fatherless and widows in their affliction. Finally, our Lord inftanceth in this, as the very thing which will admit us into, or fhut us out of heaven; by the performance whereof we shall be abfolved, and for the neglect thereof we shall be condemned in the judgment of the great day, Matth. xxy. So that this part of righteousness or religion, ought in a more fpecial manner to be regarded by us; becaufe upon the performance or neglect of this duty, our eternal happiness doth fo much depend.

The fourth and last thing only remains to be fpoken to; which is, to fet before you the most proper and powerful motives and encouragements, to the minding of this great intereft and concernment. But this will be the fubject of another discourse.

1

SER

SERMON XCV.

Religion, our first and great concernment.

MATTH. vi. 33.

But feek ye firft the kingdom of God, and his righteoufness; and all these things fhall be added unto

you.

T

The fecond fermon on this text.

HESE words, which I began to difcourfe upon the last day, are a ftrict charge and command to all Christians, to mind the business of religion in the first place, and to take all imaginable care to fecure the happiness of another life; But feek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteoufnefs; and all these things fhall be added unto you. In the handling of which argument,

First, I explained what is meant by the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.

Secondly, I fhewed what is meant by seeking these ; and what by feeking them first.

Thirdly I laid down fome rules for our direction and furtherance in this great bufinefs.

I fhall now proceed to represent to you, in the Fourth and last place, fome of the most proper and powerful arguments and encouragements, to engage us to the minding of this great intereft and concernment: Among which I fhall, in the laft place, particularly confider the encouragement here given in the text, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things fhall be added unto you.

First, My firft argument fhall be from the worth and excellency of the things we feek, the kingdom of God and his righteousness; which are certainly the greatest and best things we can seek. The kingdom

of

of God is the eternal falvation of our fouls, everlasting life and happiness in another world, which, to animate our endeavours, and to tempt our ambition the more, are fet forth to us under the notion of a kingdom. And what will not men do to obtain that ? what pains will they not take? what hazards will they not run? what difficulties will they not grapple with, and break through if they can, to come at a kingdom? which when they have obtained, they are expofed to as many, and commonly to more cares and fears, to greater difficulties and dangers in the keeping, than they were for the getting of it: And yet all this men will do for a corruptible crown, for one of the petty kingdoms and principalities of this world, which are continually tottering, and ready to be overturned by open violence, or to be undermined by fecret treachery. But the kingdom which I am fpeaking of, and perfuading you and myself to feek after, is not like the kingdoms of men, and of this world; it is called the kingdom of God, to fignify to us the excellency and ftability of it; as much beyond any of the kingdoms of this world, as the heavens are high above the earth, and as God is greater than man; a kingdom which cannot be shaken, a crown which fadeth not away, a fcepter which cannot be wrefted from us.

But to quit the metaphor, and speak to the thing; the kingdom of God imports the eternal falvation of our fouls; I fay of our fouls, which both in respect of the dignity of our nature, and their immortal duration, are infinitely more valuable than any of the perifhing things of this world, and ought to be much dearer to us. Other things are without us, they neither conftitute our being, nor are effential to our happiness; but our fouls are ourselves, and the lofs of them is our utter ruin and destruction. So that nothing is to be regarded by us with equal care and concernment, as the falvation of our immortal fouls; that is, that we may be refcued from eternal mifery, and everlaftingly happy in another world. And can we be at too much coft and pains upon fuch a defign, to escape fo difmal a condition, fo dreadful a ruin,

as

119 as that of body and foul to all eternity? Can any man be concerned enough to bring about fo great a good to himself? or, can he purchase it too dear, whatever he give or part with for it? a good fo de firable, and fo durable, as our being happy for ever. When we purchase the things of this world, the riches and honours of it, at the expence of fo much time and care, and trouble, we pay dear for trifles and fancies; but eternal happinefs is a jewel of so ineftimable a price, that a wife merchant will have it at any rate, and fell all that he hath to purchase it.

Of fuch value is the kingdom of God; and next to it is righteoufnefs, which is the only way and means whereby this kingdom is to be attained, and therefore to be fought by us with the greateft diligence and earneftnels: For that which is the only means to a great and defirable end, and which alone can make us capable of that end, and which in truth is a degree of it, is valuable next to the end, and almoft equally with it; and fuch is righteousness, in respect of the kingdom of God; it is the only means to it, it is that alone which qualifies us, and makes us capable of happiness; nay, it is an effential ingredient into it, and that which does in a great measure conftitute the happiness of heaven: for that temper of mind, that conformity and likeness to God, which holiness and righteoufnefs brings us to, is the true foundation of our happiness, and according to the best apprehenfions we have now of it, is the very formal cause and effence of our bleffedness. So St. John tells us, 1 John iii. 2. It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; that is, we do not now diftinctly underftand wherein the happiness of the next life confifts, we are not able to frame a clear and perfect idea of it; but this we know in general, that it confifts in our likeness to God, in a conformity to the moral perfections of the divine nature, which are exprefst by the name of purity and holiness; and therefore every one that hopes for the happiness of heaven, muft endeavour after holiness; every man that hath this hope in him, must purify himself, even as he is pure.

So

So that the things which I am preffing you to feek after, are most effectually recommended, by telling you what they are; the kingdom of God is eternal life and happiness, and his righteousness is univerfal holinefs and goodness, without which no man is qualified for this bleffed ftate. Now if there be any thing better than goodnefs, any thing more defirable than a happiness which hath no bounds, nor no end; do not mind them, nor look after them: But if there be not; then certainly thefe are worthy of the care and endeavour of our whole life.

Secondly, Another confideration that fhould very much excite and quicken our endeavour and dili gence in feeking these things, is the difficulty of obtaining them. This, I confefs, is no encouragements but it is a very good motive and argument to whet our industry in feeking these things, when we plainly fee that they are not be had upon other terms. And this confideration our Saviour ufeth to quicken us to strive, and to contend earnestly for eternal life, Matth. vii. 14. Because ftrait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it: And Luke xiii. 24. Strive to enter in at the ftrait gate; for many, I say unto you, will feek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Seeking here, in oppofition to ftriving, is a faint and weak endeavour, which will not carry us through this narrow and difficult paffage; and this is the reafon why many mifcarry, who make fome attempts towards heaven; but they do not ftrive, they do not put forth any vigorous endeavours to get thither.

Now the difficulty of attaining eternal happinefs, arifeth from the difficulty of the way and means to it; and it is therefore hard to attain the kingdom of God, because it is hard to attain his righteousness. As defirable as it is, it must be acknowledged very difficult for a man to raise himself to that temper and difpofition of mind, fo to fubdue his lufts, and govern his paffions, to bridle his tongue, and order all the actions of his life, as is neceffary to qualify him

for