free from Blame in your whole Converfation as you poffibly can; and not only fo, but to be as good, and to do as much good as your Circumftances will allow you.

This now is to be a Chriftian indeed; by thus endeavouring, you truly walk worthy of that high and heavenly Calling wherewith you are called, and you do (as the Apostle advises) adorn the Doctrine of God in all Things; and Happy, extremely Happy are they that do thus; for great is their Reward: Great even in this World, in the folid Peace and Affurance of God's Favour which they here enjoy, and which indeed far exceeds all the Bleffings that the Earth can afford; but exceedingly great in the Life to come, when Jefus Chrift fhall come with all the Powers of Heaven to do Honour to thofe that have thus here honoured him.

Thus have I gone through all the Parts of my Text; but I do not think that I ought fo to leave it. I have given you an Account of the Things that St. Paul hath here directed us to, to be the main Purfuit of our Lives. But I think likewise it will be proper to speak fomething of the Methods of that Purfuit, or the Means which we are to obferve, if we would practife this Text; and here I am to begin anew with my Advices. Several Things I have to reprefent upon this Occafion, and to exhort you to. I am not much follicitous, whether they strictly belong to my Argument or no: But I defire to leave them with you, as Things that I judge to be very useful, and which I wifh may be ever remembred by you.

And

And the First Thing I would exhort you to, is this, That you would endeavour to poffefs your Minds with a hearty Senfe of God Almighty, and the abfolute Neceffity of being feriously Religious.

I do not mention this, as if I thought there was any need to caution you against Atheism or Infidelity; for I hope not many among us are inclined that way. Mankind are naturally difpofed to believe a God and Religion; and fince through God's Bleffing it is Christianity that is the Religion of our Country, and in which we have been all educated, I look upon an Atheist or an Infidel among us, to be a fort of Prodigy, a ftrange unufual Creature, vastly different from thofe of his own Kind.

But here is the Thing. Though most of us profefs Religion, and the true Religion, yet many of us have no lively or hearty Sense of it. We use Religion, as we do our Cloaths. They are very convenient, nay, perhaps neceffary, and therefore we wear them, and for the particular Form or Mode of them, we follow, as to that, the Cuftom of the Country where we live. Yet as the Cloaths we wear do not alter the Complexion or Features of our Body, fo neither doth the Religion we profess, any more affect the Temper of our Souls. We ferve ourselves in both Cafes of the outward Conveniencies that are to be had by them, but we are still the fame Perfons, both as to our outward and inward Lineaments.

But, alas! this is a very forry way of being Religious, and will do us no great Kindness. We may perhaps reap fome fecular Advanta

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ges by it, but yet even the every Trouble and Pains it puts us to, do equal the Conveniencies we have from it. The Men that live thus, are juft ferved like those that work in rich Mines; they are daily imployed about Gold and Silver, or Gems, and they work hard, and they have their Day's Wages for their Labour; but they are not a whit the Richer for the Treasures that come into their Hands.

Your Religion will never ferve you to any extraordinary Purposes, till your Hearts be affected with it as well as your Understandings. Let me therefore advise you, as you love either your Happiness in this World or in the next, make it your principal Care to get a lively and vigorous Senfe of God impreffed upon your Minds; and look upon it as the greatest Intereft you have to carry on, the greatest Bufinefs you have to do in this World (as it really is) to approve yourselves to this God, by a fincere Endeavour in all your Converfation, to walk as his Son Jefus Chrift hath taught you. If you do this, you will certainly find the Sweet and Comfort of it both here and hereafter.

When all is faid, it is a vain Thing for any Man to expect a tolerable cafie Paffage thro' this World, unless he have the Hopes of God's Favour to fupport him under the Multitude of evil Accidents, which the State of Human Life will neceffarily expofe him to. And as for the other World, without thefe Hopes he is perfectly loft: And to be able to entertain any Rational Hopes of God's Bleffing and Favour,

is a very vain Thing likewife, unless we make it our Business with our whole Hearts and Souls to ferve and please and obey him.

There are a great many Rules and Maxims that we use to give to our Friends or our Children, for the making their Fortunes; and I cannot deny but they are exceeding good ones. Thus for Inftance, we advife them to get a true Understanding of their Bufinefs, and to purfue it diligently; to keep out of ill Company, to avoid Drinking or Gaming, and Lewdnefs, and to ftudy the Tempers and Humours of Mankind, and to learn to apply themfelves dexteroufly to those they have occafion to converse with; why thefe and fuch others are excellent Rules, and moft worthy of all Men to be ftudied and practised. But ftill there is one Rule above all these, and without which all the other will fignifie very little to the making a Man's Life eafy and comfortable; and that is, to preserve a lively Sense of God upon our Spirits, to have his Fear always before our Eyes, to love him above all Things, to value his Favour more than Life, and to dread his Displeasure as the worst of Evils. If we can but once get our Souls into this Frame, we have done our Bufinefs both for this World and for Eternity; all the other particular Rules and Advices will be in a great measure fuperfluous: for he that is poffeffed of this good Principle, will of course, naturally fall into the Practice of them. And befides this Fear and Love of God in our Hearts, as it is the most effectual Means, accord

ing to the ufual Difpofition of the Divine Providence, to put us into good Circumftances of Living; fo it is the only means of mak ing our Circumftances happy to us, if they be good; or of making them cafie and fup portable, if they be bad.

I do therefore moft earnestly recommend it to you, as you defire that either you or yours may profper; nay, as you would not be very miferable, be not contented with a fuperficial outfide Religion, but affect your Minds as deeply as is poffible with a Senfe of God, and what you owe to him; and endeavour to im prefs the fame Sense upon your Friends and Children, and all that are about you. The Truth of it is, fo much doth our present Hap piness, as well as our future, depend upon this Belief of God, and Love to him, and Hopes of his Favour; that were it not for this, the prefent World, with all the imaginary Pleafures and Glories of it, would appear to all Wife and Good Men, not only an empty, dull, unfatisfactory Place, but a difmal melancholy Prifon. If it was fuppofed, that all Things here were the Effects of blind Chance or fatal Neceffity, and that there were no Wisdom and Goodness that did prefide over the World, or took Care of Mankind; no confidering Man could defire to live here.

you,

The Second Thing I would leave with is this, That after you have got into your Minds a hearty Senfe of God and his Providence, and his Prefence and Goodness; fo as that you mean to make it the Business of your