ordinate to it. In like manner the moral duties of religion, comprehended under the two great com. mandments of the love of God, and our neighbour, because they are of eternal and indifpenfable obligation, are to be preferred to matters of mere pofitive inftitution; and where they cannot ftand together, that which is pofitive ought to be fet afide, and to give way for the present to that which is moral and good in its own nature, and not only because it is commanded and injoined; for in this cafe God hath exprefsly declared, that he will have mercy, and not facrifice. Upon which ground our Saviour declares, that the law of the fabbath ought to give place to works of mercy. Upon the fame account peace and. charity are to be valued above matters of nicety and fcruple, of doubtful difpute and controverfy; because: the former are unquestionably good, the latter doubtfully and uncertainly for

All these things ought to be confidered, and are of great moment to make a man fincerely and wifely religious. For men may keep a great ftir about fome parts of religion, and be very careful and diligent, zealous and earneft, about the means and instruments of religion, and in the exercises of piety and devo-tion, and yet be deftitute of the power and life of it, and fall fhort of that inward, and real, and substan tial righteousness, which along can qualify us for the kingdom of God.

The fifth and laft direction I would give, is this, That we have a particular regard to the great duty of charity or almfgiving, this being very frequently in fcripture called righteoufnefs, as being an eminent part of religion, and a great evidence of the truth and fincerity of our piety. And this our Saviour particularly directs to, as the way to the kingdom of God, Luke xii. 33. After this general exhortation, to feek the kingdom of God, he inftanceth in charity, as the direct way to it: Give alms, provide for your felves bags that wax not old, a treasure in the heavens which faileth not. And elsewhere our Saviour fpeaks of this grace and virtue, as that which, above all others, will make way for our admiffion into heaven,

Luke

Luke xvi. 9. I fay unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteoufnefs, that when ye fail, they may receive you (or ye may be received) into everlafting habitations. And St Paul calls it laying in ftore for ourselves a good foundation, or (as the word may better be rendered in this place) a good treasure against the time to come, that we may lay hold on eternal life, 1 Tim. vi. 29. St James fpeaks of it as a main and most effential part of religion, and the great evidence of a true and fincere piety, James i. 27. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father, is this, To vifit the fatherless and widows in their af fiction. Finally, our Lord inftanceth in this, as the. very thing which will admit us into, or fhut us out of heaven; by the performance whereof we fhall be abfolved, and for the neglect whereof we fhall be condemned in the judgement of the great day, Matth. xxv.: so that this part of righteousness or religion, ought in a more special manner to be regarded by us; because upon the performance or neglect of this duty, our eternal happinefs doth fo much depend.

The fourth and last thing only remains to be fpoken to, which is, To fet before you the most proper and powerful motives and encouragements to the minding of this great intereft and concernment. this will be the fubject of another difcourfe..

But

SER

SERMON

XCV.

117

Religion our first and great concernment.

MATTH. vi. 33.

But feek ye firft the kingdom of God, and his righteoufnefs; and all these things shall be added unto you.

ΤΗ

The fecond fermon on this text.

Hefe words, which I began to difcourfe upon the laft day, are a ftrict charge and command to all Chriftians, to mind the bufinefs of religion in the first place, and to take all imaginable care to fecure the happiness of another life: But feek ye firft the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things fhall be added unto you. In the handling of which ar gument,

First, I explained what is meant by the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.

Secondly, I fhewed what is meant by feeking thefe; and what by feeking them firft.

Thirdly, I laid down fome rules for our direction and furtherance in this great bufinefs.

I fhall now proceed to reprefent to you, in the Fourth and laft place, fome of the moft proper and powerful arguments and encouragements to engage us to the minding of this great intereft and concernment: Among which I fhall, in the laft place, particularly confider the encouragement here given in the text, Seek ye firft the kingdom of God, and his righteouf nefs; and all these things fhall be added unto you.

Firft, My firft argument fhall be from the worth and excellency of the things we feek, The kingdom of God, and his righteousness; which are certainly the greatest and beft things we can feek. The kingdom.

of

of God is the eternal falvation of our fouls, everlasting life and happiness in another world, which, to animate our endeavours, and to tempt our ambition the more, are fet forth to us under the notion of a kingdom. And what will not men do to obtain that? what pains will they not take? what hazards will they not run? what difficuties will they not grapple with, and break through if they can, to come at a kingdom? which when they have obtained, they are exposed to as many, and commonly to more, cares and fears, to greater difficulties and dangers in the keeping, than they were for the getting of it: And yet all this men will do for a corruptible crown, for one of the petty kingdoms and principalities of this world, which are continually tottering, and ready to be overturned by open violence, or to be undermined by fecret treachery. But the kingdom which I am speaking of, and perfuading you and myfelf to feek after, is not like the kingdoms of men, and of this world. It is called the kingdom of Ged, to fignify to us the excellency and ftability of it; as much beyond any of the kingdoms of this world, as the heavens are high above the earth, and as God is greater than man; a kingdom which cannot be shaken, a crown which fadeth not away, a fceptre which cannot be wrefted from us.

But to quit the metaphor, and fpeak to the thing; the kingdom of God imports the eternal falvation of our fouls; I fay of our fouls, which, both in respect sof the dignity of their nature, and their immortal dura

tion, are infinitely more valuable than any of the perifhing things of this world, and ought to be much dearer to us. Other things are without us, they neither conftitute our being, nor are effential to our happiness; but our fouls are ourfelves, and the lofs of them is our utter ruin and deftruction. So that nothing is to be regarded by us with equal care and concernment as the falvation of our immortal fouls; that is, that we may be refcued from eternal mifery, and everlastingly happy in another world. And can we be at too much coft and pains upon fuch a defign, to escape so difmal a condition, fo dreadful a ruin, as

that

that of body and foul to all eternity? Can any man be concerned enough to bring about fo great a good to himself? or, can he purchase it too dear, whatever he give or part with for it? a good fo defirable, and fo durable, as our being happy for ever. When we purchase the things of this world, the riches and honours of it, at the expence of fo much time, and care, and trouble, we pay dear for trifles and fancies but eternal happiness is a jewel of fo ineftimable a price, that a wife merchant will have it at any rate, and fell all that he hath to purchase it.

Of fuch value is the kingdom of God; and next to it is righteoufnefs, which is the only way and means whereby this kingdom is to be attained, and therefore to be fought by us with the greateft diligence and earneftnefs. For that which is the only means to a great and defirable end, and which alone can make us capable of that end, and which in truth is a degree of it, is valuable next to the end, and almost equally with it and fuch is righteoufnefs, in refpect of the kingdom of God; it is the only means to it, it is that alone which qualifies us, and makes us capable of happiness; nay, it is an effential ingredient into it, and that which does in a great measure conftitute the happiness of heaven: for that temper of mind, hat conformity and likenefs to God, which holiness and righteoufnefs brings us to, is the true foundation of our happiness, and according to the best apprehenfions we have now of it, is the very formal caufe and effence of our bleffednefs. So St John tells us, 1 John iii. 2. It doth not yet appear what we shall be

but we

know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; that is, we do not now diltinctly understand wherein the happiness of the next life confifts; we are not able to frame a clear and perfect idea of it; but this we know in general, that it confifts in our likeness to God, in a conformity to the moral perfections of the divine nature, which are exprefled by the name of purity and holiness; and therefore every one that hopes for the happiness of heaven, muft endeavour after ho linefs: Every man that hath this hope in him, must pu rify himself, even as he is pure.

So