notwithstanding all the difficulties and difcouragements, the oppofition and perfecution that we meet with for righteoufnefs fake: For this we must expect and reckon upon before hand, to encounter many difficulties, and find many difcouragements in the ways of religion; for ftrait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, as our Lord himself hath told us. Nay, we must count to be grievoufly perfe cuted for righteoufnefs fake, and, if God fee it good for us, to pass through many tribulations, before we fhall enter into the kingdom of God; and therefore we had need to be armed with a great deal of patience, and a very firm and obftinate refolution, to enable us to bear up, and to hold out, against all thefe; for this is a neceffary qualification for our feeking the kingdom of God, and his righteoufnefs. So our Lord hath told us, Matth. x. 22. He that endureth to the end, fhall be faved; if we hope to receive the crown of life, we must be faithful to the death, Rev. ii. 10. And to the fame purpofe St Paul declares, Rom. ii. 7. that they only fhall be made partakers of eternal life, who by patient continuance in well-doing feek for glory, and honour, and immortality.

You fee what is meant by feeking the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; it remains briefly to be fhewn, in the 2d place, what is meant by seeking thefe firft; Seek ye firft the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; that is, let this be your main and principal defign, fo as to take place of all others in your efteem and affections, in your aim and endeavour; in comparison of this, mind nothing else, not the comforts and conveniences, no, not the neceffaries, of life, what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, and wherewithal ye fhall be clothed. Thefe you fee our Saviour inftanceth in before the text, as not to be regarded and taken care of, when they come in competition with the kingdom of God, and his righteoufnefs. And our Saviour tells us elfewhere, that not only none of the comforts and neceffaries of life are to be valued against him and his religion, but that even this temporal life itfelf, as dear as it is to us, is to be parted withal, and given up, rather than to quit the profef

fion of his truth and religion, Matth. x. 37. 38. He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth fon or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. He inftanceth in the neareft relations, thofe towards whom we have the moft tender and relenting affections; and yet he tells us, that the confideration of his truth and religion ought to take place of thefe, nay, even of life itself; for fo it follows, and he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. St Luke expreffeth it more ftrongly and vehemently, Luke xiv. 26. If any man come to me, (that is, take upon him the profeffion of my religion), and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and fifters, yea, and his own life alf, he cannot be ny dif ciple. When these come in competition with cur religion, and the great intereft of our eternal falvation, we are to regard and value them no more than if they were the objects of our hatred, but to fet afide all confideration of affection to them, fo far as it would tempt us from conftancy in our religion, and the care of our fouls.

So that when our Saviour bids us first to feek the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, his meaning is, that religion, and the concernments of our fouls, and the eternal happiness of them in another world, should be our firft and chief care; and that all other things fhould be made fubordinate and fubfervient to this great defign, and be no farther minded by us, than they really are fo: for that which is our great end, will fubdue all other things, and bring them into fubjection to it, and will reject them, and throw them afide, if they be inconfiftent with it. If heaven be our utmost aim, and in order to that, it be our great ftudy and endeavour to be righteous and holy, this refolution and defign, fincerely entertained, will o ver-rule all other confiderations, and make all the things of this world to ftoop and give way to that which is our chief end, the eternal happinefs and falvation of our fouls. And thus I have done with the fecond thing I propofed, namely, what is meant by fecking

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feeking the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and what by feeking them firft.

I proceed, in the third place, to lay down fome plain rules for our direction and furtherance in feeking the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; that is, in the great business of religion.

Firft, Let us always live under a lively and powerful fenfe of another world; that we are placed here in this world but for a little while, and that wholly in order to our preparation for a better and a happier life. Let this thought be often in our minds, that eternity is the most confiderable duration, and the next world the place of our everlasting abode, where we must dwell and continue for ever; and therefore our prefent ftate is but of little moment and confideration to us, but only in order to our future and everlafting condition. We may pleafe ourselves here for a little while with toys and trifles, with dreams and fhadows of pleafure and happinefs, and may be exercifed with fome troubles and afflictions for a fhort fpace, for a moment, (as the Apostle calls it); our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, and fo indeed it is, compared with all eternity; but the fubftantial and durable happiness or mifery remain for men in the other world, and will certainly be their portion, according as they have demeaned themfelves in this world.

Now the ferious confideration of this cannot fail to put us upon vigorous preparations for another world, and to make us wholly intent upon our eternal concernments, and to refolve whatever becomes of us in this world, to take effectual care that we may be happy for ever. He that firmly believes the immortality of his foul, and a life after death, which will never have an end, must needs take into confideration his whole duration, and bend all his care and thoughts, how he may avoid the greatest and moft lafting mifery, and fecure to himself an immortality of blifs and happiness.

Secondly, Let us be always under a conviction of the abfolute and indifpenfable neceflity of holiness and righteousness, as the only way and means where

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by the kingdom of God is to be attained; and that holiness and happiness are not to be feparated, the one being a neceffary condition and qualification for the other; and confequently, that it is the vainest thing in the world for any man to hope to enter into the kingdom of God, without endeavouring after his righteoufnefs. There is fo ftrong a connection be• tween them, that a man may as reasonably expect to be well and at ease without health, as to be happy without holiness; for this makes us like to God, and our likeness and conformity to God, is that alone which can make us capable of the bleffed fight and enjoyment of God. We must be partakers of a divine nature, in order to our participation of the divine bleffedness. And the confideration of this will effectually engage us to feek the righteousness of God, without which we fhall never enter into his kingdom; and to follow holiness, without which no man shall fee the Lord..

Thirdly, Let us always remember that righteouf nefs is of a great extent, and comprehends in it all goodness; it takes in all the duties of religion, and the practice of all of them: it is a complication of all graces and virtues, of all the parts and ingredients, of all the duties and offices, of a good man. To denominate a man righteous, all caufes muft concur; all the effettial principles and parts of religion and goodnefs must meet together; knowledge and practice, faith and good works, right opinions and real virtues, an orthodox profeffion and a holy life, abftaining from fin and doing of righteoufnefs, purity of heart and unfpotted manners, godliness and honesty, the bridling of our tongue, and the government of our paffions, and above all things charity, which is the band: of perfection.

For righteoufness is our conformity to the law of God, as unrighteousness and fin is the tranfgreffion of it. Now this, if it be real and fincere, will be uniform and univerfal, equally refpecting all the laws of God, and every part of our known duty, and will? not content itself with an efpecial regard to one or two precepts of the law, though never fo confider

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able, and then allow itfelf in the neglect and viola tion of the reft; no, nor with the obfervation of the duties of one table of the law, if it overlook the other; no, nor with obedience to all the commandments of God, one only excepted. St James hath put this very cafe, and determined it, that he that Shall keep the whole law, fave only that he offend in one point, is guilty of all; that is, he is not fincere in hisobedience to the reft: and therefore if we seek the righteoufnefs of God, our righteoufnefs muft be univerfal; as he that hath called us is holy, so muft we be holy in all manner of converfation, in the tenor of our actions, and the whole courfe of our lives: and any one reigning fin and vice, any grofs and notorious de fect in the virtues of a good life, will spoil all our righ: teousness, and will effectually fhut us out of the king-dom of heaven.

Fourthly, Let us wifely fubordinate the feveral parts and duties of religion tone another, according to the intrinfical worth and value of them, that fo we may mind every part of religion in its due place, and according to the true nature and importance of it. Knowledge and faith are in order to practice, and a good life; and fignify nothing unless they produce that. The means of religion, fuch as prayer and fafting, diligent reading and hearing the word of God, reverent and devout receiving of the bleffed facrament, are of lefs account and value, than that which is the end of all thefe, which is to make us inwardly and really good, and fruitful in all the works of righteousness, which by Jefus Chrift are to the praife and glory of God. And therefore the means of religion which I have mentioned, are to be regarded and ufed by us, in order to the attaining of thefe ends,. without which they are mere formality and hypocrify, and inftead of finding acceptance with God, they are an abomination to him, and his foul bates them.

And fo likewife the circumftances of religion are: lefs confiderable than the substantial means and inftruments of it; and therefore all rites and ceremo⚫. nies are in religion of lefs confideration, than the subftance of God's worship, and ought always to be fub.

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