that confider themselves only in order to this life; whereas these men have fouls to fave or to lofe ; and there is another state that will commence and begin after the expiration of this. Man who is now fubject to uncertainty, mutability, and vanity; he fhall be hereafter put into a fettled condition. Wherefore, with the wife man, I ask this queftion, Prov. xvii. 16. Wherefore is there a price in the hana of a fool to get wisdom, feeing he hath no heart to it ? Since he hath neither wisdom nor understanding to make advantage of it? This is the greatest argument of folly, that men can be guilty of, like the fool in the gospel, Luke xii. 19, 20, 21. to think of worldly provifion, and accommodations great estates revenues, honours and dignity, riches and pleasure ; but not of being rich towards God. Thou fool (faith our Saviour) this night thy faul fhall be required of thee; then whofe fhall thofe things be, which thou haft provid ed, Luke xii. 20. Certainly, he is a very careless and prodigal perfon, who spends all his portion to day, and leaves nothing for to-morrow. Plutarch

speaks of a man, who when he was in a languishing condition, and nature upon its utmost decay, comes to the physician to be cured of his res dubia, a petty inconvenience that hung upon his finger.: There are many of this defperate refolution, as to fay, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die; and look no further. As they are wont to fay, they will have a fweet life, though it be short: 'tis well if they could have their choice. But if there be a feparate existence, and another state to commence after this; and that this life is but preparatory to

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that; then these men are guilty of the greatest madness and folly. And of these men it may be faid, that they have their immortal fouls, only as falt to keep their bodies from french and putrefaction; they have their reasonable faculties only to keep their bodies alive; and not for the great purposes of eternity; not for the sense of a deity, and the contemplation of God; not for the purpose of adoring the fupreme majefty, and ferving of him here, and resembling of him in holiness and righteousness, which are the only things that put a value upon man.

2. My next inference from what hath been said, is, that we should not be tempted in this life, to do any thing to the prejudice of our future ftate; the ftate of eternity: but to let things be confidered according to the true worth and value, left they find cause to repent, when it is too late, of the pleasures they took in their unlawful actions. Todo any thing to the prejudice of our immortal fouls, is the greateft folly that men can be guilty of. Let men be never fo much admired and adored, yet they are guilty of the greatest folly and madness, if they do not fubordinate all the affairs and tranfactions of time, to serve the intereft of their immortal fouls. But this often happens to be our fate, or our fault, (I am fure) and our folly: we are all wife, but too many are wife too late. Wherefore let me advise you to use your power and skill to do things in fubordination and reference to the future account. Do that now, which will not burden confcience; that will not contradict the sense of your minds and understanding; that which is, and will be pleasing and acceptable

acceptable to God. This is true wisdom, and in this we shall have fatisfaction for the present, and expectation to eternity. I would fain ask this rational question, and leave it with you, doth the fcripture declare concerning God, in whom there is all power, and liberty, Jer. xix. 24. That all his ways are ways of goodness, righteousness, and truth? then should not a man think, that it doth become him, and is fit on his part, that the fruit of the jpirit in him, should be in all goodness, righteousness, and truth, Eph. v. 9. For, this is our religion, a divine participation, and to imitate him whom we worfhip. Let us always remember, that the actions of this present life are the matter of the future judgment; and that we shall be accountable for all thofe actions which do proceed from the understanding of the mind, and liberty of the will; and that men may fin by neglect of their faculties, as well as by abuse of them. Now all those actions that are capable of morality, are bound to be governed by moral principles; and the mind and understanding ought to be intent, so as to rule and govern them according to the reason of things. For we may fin two ways, either by confenting to that which ought not to be admitted; or by neglecting ourselves, through want of care and due examination. An evil action should never be done ; but if upon any occafion it be admitted, it ought prefently to be judged unfit, and to be condemned, rejected, and revoked by repentance, and the rule of right acknowledged. For whofoever doth willingly commit evil, and doth not presently revoke and

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difclaim it, he is reckoned to own, and live in the fin he hath committed, and to justify it: otherwise why doth he not revoke it? It is abfolutely neceffary that this should be done, or else we are not capable of God's grace and pardon; for we cannot put that upon God, to pardon contumacious and impenitent finners. If we do not revoke the evil which we have at any time committed; the guilt lies upon our confciences, without any removal; and the malignity will affect our minds, without any remedy. These are the inferences I have made from the first proposition.

II. The second propofition, is that the state of man in the life to come holds a proportion to his affairs in this life. We may eafily judge, by what we now are, and by what we now do, how it shall be with us in the life to come. And this is fully laid down in the text fon, remember that thou in thy life-time received'st thy good things, but didst abuse them to luxury and exçefs, to pamper thy body, to wantonnefs, pride, forgetfulness of God; and therefore, now thou art tormented. But Lazarus had evil things, but they became inftruments of righteoufnefs, they brought him to modefty, and felf-denial; therefore he is comforted. From which it plainly appears, that the state of man in the world to come, holds a proportion to his affairs in this life. For explication.

I. Let it be understood, that I have no intention at all to speak one word to countenance the creature's merit with God; for that I conceive to be incompatible to the condition of the higheft an gel in glory, properly to merit any thing at the

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hand of God; and therefore not at all agreeable to the infirm, weak and crazy condition of man; unlefs you will use the word mereri in latin, in the harmless fenfe in which the ancient fathers did ufe it, in which sense it may pass; for that is no more than confequently to obtain God's grace and favour, But we are shy of the word, fince it hath been fo much abused in the Roman church. And I take it to be above the capacity of any creature in the highest altitude, properly to merit ought at the hand of God. And if fo, they fail in the very fundamental, who tell us of a treafury of merit in the church, that is partly fupplied by the merit of faints departed this life, out of which there may be a fupply for those that want.

Nothing can be given to God which is not due to him, nor that can be profitable to him ; and therefore there is no poffibility of merit, in a strict fenfe. Nothing can be given to God which was not his own before; and we have nothing that is properly ours, but the consent of our minds; and I confefs, that is our free-will-offering, and our only facrifice, and all that we have to give, and that which God requires at our hands, and that which God takes kindly, and doth accept, and will reward with eternal recompence, viz. if we make God our delight and choice. For it is not worthy the name of religion that is not voluntary, wherein the heart of a man is not engaged, which is not the matter of his delight and choice. For to drudge in religion, is the baseft thing in the world; and I would never charge my confcience with that, which I had not reconciled firft to the reafon and judgment of

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