in his Life, as hath been represented, then how much to be reproved are they, that do no Good till their Death? That live fcrapingly and uncharitably, and uselesly to the World, all their Lives long, and then when they come to die, think to atone for their Sins and Neglects of this kind, by fhewing fome extraordinary Bounty to the Poor, or devoting fome Part of their Eftates, to Publick or Pious Ufes?

I must confefs, this kind of Proceeding, doth, to me, feem juft like the Business of putting off a Man's Repentance to his Deathbed. It is abfolutely neceffary, that a Man fhould Repent, though it be never fo late; and fo it is, that he should do Good: If he have done little Good in his Life, he is bound, as he loves his Soul, to fhew fome extraordinary uncommon Inftances of Charity, and a Publick Spirit, when he comes to die. But then, it is here, as it is with the long delaying of Repentance, the deferring it fo long, has robbed the Man of the greatest Part of the Praife, and the Comfort he might have expected from it. His Rewards in Heaven will be much lefs, though his good Deeds fhould be accepted, but he is infinitely uncertain, whether they will or no. be a very great A&t of Generosity and Charity, that can obtain a Pardon for a whole Life of Uncharitableness.

It must

Let us all, therefore, labour and study to do Good in our Lives, let us be daily giving Evidences to the World, of our kind and charitable

charitable Difpofition, and let not that be the Firft which is difcovered in our Laft Will and Teftament. If God hath bleffed us with Worldly Goods, let us diftribute them as we fee Occafion in our Life-time, when every one may fee we do it voluntarily; and not ftay till we must be forced to part with them, whether we will or no; for that will blaft the Credit of our good Deeds, both with God and Man.

I have faid enough concerning the First Point, recommended in the Text, viz. doing Good. I now come briefly to treat of the other, that is, Rejoycing, which is equally a Part of the Bufinefs of this Day.

There is no Good (faith Solomon) in any Earthly Thing; or, there is nothing better for any Man than to Rejoice and to do Good.

The Rejoicing here recommended, is сараble of Two Senses; the First more General, and more concerning us as Chriftians; the other more Particular, and which more immediately concerns us, as we are here met upon this Occafion.

In the First Place, by Rejoycing, we may take to be meant, a conftant Habit of Joy and Cheerfulness; fo that we are always contented and well pleased, always free from those Anxieties and Difquiets, and uncomfortable Reflections, that make the Lives of Mankind miferable. This now is the Perfection of Rejoicing, and it is the utmost Degree of Happiness that we are here capable of. It must be granted, indeed, that not

many

many do arrive to this State; but yet, I doubt not but that it is a State that may be attained; at least in a great measure, in this World. Otherwife the Holy Men in Scripture, and particularly the Apoftles of our Lord, would never have recommended it to us, so often 1 Theff. as they have done. Rejoice evermore, faith St. Paul to the Theffalonians. And to the Phil.4.4. Philippians, Rejoyce in the Lord always; and again, I fay, Rejoyce.

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2 Cor. 1.

12.

The way to attain to this Happy Condition doth confift chiefly in thefe Three Things: Firft, a great Innocence and Virtue, a behaving ourselves fo in the World, that our Confciences fhall not reproach us. This St. Paul lays as the Foundation of Rejoicing. This (faith he) is our Rejoicing, the Teftimony of our Confcience, that in Simplicity and godly Sincerity, I have had my Converfation in this World. It is in vain to think of any true folid Joy, or Peace, or Contentment, without a hearty Practice of all the Duties of our Religion, fo that we can fatisfy ourselves of our own Sincerity before God.

And then Secondly, To make us capable of this conftant Rejoicing, befides the Innocence of our Lives, there muft go a firm and hearty Perfuafion of God's particular Providence; a Belief that he not only difpenfeth all Events that come to pafs in the World, even the moft inconfiderable; but that the Measure of the Difpenfations of his Providence, is infinite Wifdom and Goodnefs, and nothing elfe: So that nothing doth or ever can hap

pen

pen to us in Particular, or to the World in General, but what is for the beft. Now when we firmly believe this, and frequently attend to it, how can we be either folicitous for the future, or difcontented at the prefent Events of Things, let them fall out never fo cross to our Defires and Expectations? This is the beft Antidote in the World (and an effectual one it is) against all Trouble and Vexation, and Uneafinefs, that can happen to us upon any Occafion whatsoever; to wit, the Confideration that all Things are managed by an infinitely Wife and Good: God, and will at laft prove for the beft; how unaccountable foever they appear to us at prefent. And this is that which the Wife Man infinuates in the Verfe before the Text, when he faith, that God hath made every thing beauti ful in bis Seafon.

Thirdly, Another Requifite, both for the procuring and preferving this continual Chearfulness and Rejoycing, is a frequent and fixed Attention to the great Rewards of the other World, which God hath promised to all that truly love him, and endeavour to please him. This Confideration will extreamly add to our Comfort, and contribute to our rejoycing. under all the Miferies and Afflictions that we can poffibly fall into, namely, that whatsoever Condition we are in here, we shall certainly, in a little Time, be in a moft happy and glorious one; and the worfe our Circumftances are in this Life, the greater (if we be good), fhall be our Happiness in

VOL. I.

H

the

the next; for thefe light Afflictions (as St. 2 Cor.4. Paul tells us) which endure but for a Moment, do work for us a far more exceeding weight of Glory.

17.

This, then, is the Joy that we are to endeavour after in the First Place to be conftantly well-pleas'd and contented with our prefent Condition whatever it be; and these are the Ways to attain to it.

1

But Secondly, There is another more particular Notion of Rejoycing, and which, I conceive, Solomon doth chiefly intend in the Words of the Text; and that is, the free and comfortable Enjoyment of the good Things of this Life, that God hath bleffed us with, in Oppofition to a pinching and penurious way of Living. This, I fay, feems to be the Notion of Rejoycing that the Text fpeaks of, as appears by the following Verfe. Solomon having told us in the Text, that there is nothing better for a Man than to Rejoyce and do Good; he adds, by way of Explication of what he meant by Rejoycing, thefe Words, that every Man fhould eat and drink, and enjoy the Good of all his Labours, for it is the Gift of God. And frequently in this Book of Ecclefiaftes, doth he perfuade to this kind of Rejoicing. Thus in Chap. 2. ver. 24. There is nothing better for a Man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make bis Soul enjoy Good in his Labour; this also I saw it was from the Hand of God. And in Chap. 5. ver. 18. Behold that which I have seen, it is good and comely for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy

the