for happiness, and to make him fit to be admitted into the kingdom of God..

And this difficulty is chiefly in ourfelyes, but greatly increased by temptation and oppofition from without chiefly, I fay, in ourselves, from the ftrong bias of our evil and corrupt inclinations, and the ftrong power of vitious habits and cuftoms, which, when they are grown inveterate, do tyrannize over us, and make us perfect flaves, and lead us captive at their pleasure; fo that our nature must be quite changed, and as the Apostle expreffeth it, we must be renewed in the spirit of our minds, our fouls must be new moulded and fashioned; we must be, as it were, created, and born again, before we can enter into the kingdom of God. In this our Saviour is pofitive and peremptory, John iii. 33. Verily, verily, I fay unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot Jee the kingdom of God. This difficulty indeed is greateft at first, but it is confiderable afterwards, till a thorough change be made, and new inclinations planted in us, and the contrary habits of grace and virtue be fuperinduced.

And that which increaseth the difficulty is outward temptation and oppofition from the world, and the devil; which to withstand and refift, requires great courage and refolution, great watchfulness and guard over ourselves. But yet for our comfort, these difficulties are not infuperable to that grace and affiftance which God is always ready to afford to us upon fo good an occafion, and to fo good a purpofe; greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. And this, I am fure, is matter of great encouragement to us, that though the difficulty of working out our falvation be great, yet if we do in good earnest fet about it, God is ready to affift and fecond our fincere endeavours, to work in us both to will and to do of his own goodness, and fo to prevent us with his gracious favour, and to further us with his continual aid, that finally by his mercy we may obtain eternal life.

Thirdly, Another powerful argument to care and diligence, is the fatal danger of miscarriage in a matVOL. V. L

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ter of fo great concernment. We may do many things in religion, and take fome pains to get to heaven, and yet fall fhort of it. The rich young man in the gospel, our Saviour tells us, was not far from the kingdom of God, and he broke with our Saviour only upon one point, he was too much addicted to the world, and loth to part with his great poffeffions, and distribute them in charity to the poor, and thereupon he left our Saviour, and, for any thing we can find, never returned to him again.

If the world govern and bear fway in our hearts, if we mind earthly things first, and make these our chief care and defign, the kingdom of God and his righteousness fhall not be added unto us; if we will not mind them in the first place, they are too good to be acceffaries.

And if upon any one point we mifcarry, either out of love to the world, or affection to any other luft or vice that we are loth to part withal, our mifcarriage is fatal, and the ruin which we bring upon ourfelves irreparable; for the foul once loft, is loft for ever. If we have neglected the opportunity of working out our own falvation, while we are in this world, it will never return into our power again; death will fhut the door against us, and we shall never see the kingdom of God.

Fourthly, It is a mighty encouragement to us to confider, that if we fincerely feek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, there is not only a fair probability of obtaining them, but all the fecurity we can defire. Men may be in good earnest for the things of this world, may love them with all their hearts and fouls (as we fee too many do) and seek them with all their might and ftrength, and yet after all, their endeavours may be fhamefully fruftra ted and disappointed of their end. There are ma ay examples of this kind daily before our eyes, and yet men are not difcouraged from feeking these things. A fair probability, nay, almost a poffibility of attaining them, is enough to a worldly-minded man to drudge and toil for them. Why? the fame affection, the fame zeal, the fame unwearied endea

your

vour to please God, and to fave our fouls, would infallibly bring us to heaven. It was a fad, but true faying of Cardinal Wolfey, when he was leaving the world, "Had I been but as careful to please God, "r as I have been to ferve my prince, he would not "have forfaken me now in the time of my grey "hairs."

Nay, it is to be hoped, that lefs diligence and care about the concernments of our fouls, and another life, than many men ufe about the things of this life, will fecure our eternal happiness, or elfe it is to be feared, that but very few would be faved: And who would not place his induftry and endeavour upon a defign in which he is fure not to mifcarry, "if he do but heartily and in good earneft purfue it? efpecially when it will be of infinite greater advantage to him, than any defign he can propound to himself for this world. If a man may be certainly happy for ever, upon the fame, or easier terms, than he can ordinarily compafs any of thofe little defigns which men propofe to themselves in this world; who would not feek that which is most worthy the having, and which he is fureft to obtain ?

Fifthly and lastly, The encouragement here in the text is not inconfiderable; that if we feek the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, all these things Shall be added unto us. This certainly is a very tempt ing confideration; for who would not be glad to reconcile the enjoyment of this world with the hopes of heaven and eternal happiness? But men do not generally like our Saviour's method, they would feek the things of this world in the first place, and get to heaven at laft; they would be content to feek the one, and have the other caft in and conferred upon them, without their feeking. But this will not be granted, this way will not do. And yet our Saviour has gone as far as one would think could in reason be defired ; he hath promifed that if we will make religion, and the falvation of our fouls, our first and chief care, that all these things shall be added unto us. So that the defign of going to heaven, and being happy for ever is no ways inconfiftent with a com

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petent portion of the things of this life. Godliness
(the Apoftle tells us) hath the promise of this life,
and of that which is to come.
The bufinefs of reli-

gion, the practice of a holy and virtuous life, is 'no
hindrance to a man's thriving in his temporal eftate;
nay, in many refpects it is apt to promote and advance
it; by engaging us to diligence in our calling, and
by deriving the bleffing of God upon our honeft and
Jawful endeavours; by obliging us to the strict and
conftant practice of truth, and juftice, and fidelity
in all our dealings and commerce, which are the best
way to establish a clear and folid reputation, and
good esteem among men; which is an unspeakable
advantage in bufinefs, and, at the long run, one of
the best and moft lafting inftruments of profperity
and fuccefs.

Befides, that religion frees a man from thofe paffions and vices, which do naturally tend to diffipate and ruin mens eftates; as intemperance and lewdnefs, which are every way chargeable vices, and do not only take men off from bufinefs, and render them unfit for it, but waste their eftates, and bring many other inconveniencies upon their perfons and families. Religion makes men meek, and peaceable, and inoffenfive in word and deed, which is a great fecurity against chargeable fuits and contentions, and all forts of injuries and affronts from others. Among all the beatitudes of our Saviour, he only promifeth temporal happiness to meeknefs, blessed are the meek, for they fhall inherit the earth. They who provoke and offend no body, are likely to be leaft difturbed and difquieted by others in their poffeffions and enjoyments; Who will harm you, (faith the Apoftle, 1 Pet. iii. 13.) if ye be followers of that which is good? Some may be fo perverfe as to perfecute a man for his goodnefs; but it rarely happens; most men have not only a kindness, but a veneration for true goodness.

By all thefe ways religion naturally tends to the temporal profperity of men, and the promoting of their welfare and happiness even in this world; befides that the providence of God is very peculiarly

con

concerned for good men, and a special bleffing attends them in all their undertakings. So that excepting the cafe of perfecution (which God will particularly confider and reward in another world) the religious and good man, who fincerely feeks the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, ftands as fair, and is upon as good terms, for all the lawful enjoyments of this world, as he that makes it his only defign to be rich and great in this world; nay, as to the neceffaries of this life, and a competency of outward things, he hath a much greater and better fecurity from the providence and promife of God, than the men of the world have by all their care and pains.

Befides, that he hath this confiderable advantage, by minding these things only as acceffaries, that if he mifs of them, he hath fomething better to fupport him in the want of them; being fecure of a happiness which this world can neither give nor take from him. But now the worldly man, if he be defeated in his defigns, is of all men moft miferable, because he hath nothing elfe to comfort him, nothing elfe to trust to; he fails of his hopes as to this world, and hath done what in him lies to make his cafe defperate as to the other.

Upon all thefe confiderations and encouragements, you fee how reasonable it is, that we fhould make religion, and the concernments of another life, our great care and business. And yet how are thefe neglected by the greatest part of mankind! and by the beft of us (God knows) not minded as they ought, and as they deferve! What can we lay for ourfelves in excufe of fo intolerable a folly? There are two or three things which men commonly pretend, if not in juftification, yet in mitigation and excufe of this great neglect.

First, They pretend great difficulties and difcouragements in the ways of religion. This I have already acknowledged to be true, fo far as to awaken our care, and to whet our induftry; but by no means to make us defpond and give over all care of fo great a concernment, becaufe of the difficulties it is attended withal. Men who have no mind to a thing,

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