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communion with him: for we cannot love a nature contrary to our own, nor delight to converfe with it. Therefore religion, in order to the fitting of us for the happiness of the next life, does defign to mortify our lufts and paffions, and to restrain us from the inordinate love of the grofs and fenfual delights of this world; to call off our minds from these inferior things, and to raise them to higher and more fpiritual objects, that we may be difpofed for the happiness of the other world, and taught to relifh the delights of it: whereas, fhould we fet our hearts only upon these things, and be able to tafte no pleasure in any thing but what is fenfual and earthly, we must needs be extremely miferable when we come into the other world; because we should meet with nothing to entertain ourselves withal, no employment suitable to our difpofition, no pleasure that would agree with our depraved appetites and vitious inclina tions. All that heaven and happiness fignifies, is un fuitable to a wicked man, and therefore could be no felicity to him. But this I fhall have occafion to speak more fully to in my next difcourse.

From all that hath been said, the reasonableness of religion clearly appears, which tends fo directly to the happiness of men, and is upon all accounts calculated for our benefit. Let but all things be truly confidered and caft up, and it will be found, that there is no advantage to any man from an irreligious and vitious courfe of life. I challenge any one to inftance in any real benefit that ever came to him this way. Let the finner declare what he hath found by experience. Hath lewdness and intemperance been more for his health than if he had lived chaftely and foberly? hath falfehood and injuftice proved at the long-run more for the advancement and fecurity of his eftate, than truth and honefty would have done? hath any vice that he hath lived in made him more true friends, and gained him a better reputation in the world, than the practice of ho linefs and virtue would have done? hath he found that peace and fatisfaction of mind in an evil course, and that quiet enjoyment of himself, and comfortable affurance of God's favour, and good hopes of his future condition, which a religious and virtuous life would have given him? Nay, on the contrary, have not

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fome of his vices weakened his body, and broken his health? have not others diffipated his eftate, and redu ced him to want? What notorious vice is there that doth not blemish a man's reputation, and make him either hated or defpifed; and that not only by the wife and the virtuous, but even by the generality of men? But was ever any wicked man free from the ftings of a guil ty confcience, and the torment of a reftlefs and uneafy mind, from the fecret dread of divine difpleasure, and of the vengeance of another world? Let the finner freely fpeak the very inward fenfe of his foul in this matter, and spare not; and I doubt not, if he will deal clearly and impartially, but that he will acknowledge all this to be true, and is able to confirm it from his own fad experience. For this is the natural fruit of fin, and the prefent revenge which it takes upon finners, be fides that fearful punishment which fhall be inflicted on them in another life.

What reafon then can any man pretend against religion, when it is fo apparently for the benefit, not only of human fociety, but of every particular perfon; when there is no real interest of this world, but may ordinarily be as effectually promoted, and pursued to as great advantage, nay ufually to far greater, by a man that Lives foberly, and righteously, and godly, in the world, than by any one that leads the contrary course of life? Let no man then fay, with those profane persons whom the prophet speaks of, It is in vain to ferve the Lord: and what profit is it that we have kept his commandments? Mal. iii. 14. God has not been fo hard a mafter to us, that we have reason thus to complain of him. He hath given us no laws, but what are for our good; nay, fo gracious hath he been to us, as to link together our duty and our intereft, and to make those very things the inftances of our obedience which are the natural means and caufes of our happiness. The devil was fo far in the right, when he charged Job that he did not ferve God for nought. It is he himself that is the hard mafter, and makes men ferve him for nought, who rewards his drudges and flaves with nothing but fhame, and forrow, and mifery. But God requires no man's fervice upon hard and unreasonable terms. The greateft part of our work is a prefent reward to itfelf; and

for

for whatever else we do or fuffer for him, he offers us abundant confideration. And if men did but truly and wifely love themfelves, they would, upon this very ground, if there were no other, become religious. For when all is done, there is no man can ferve his own intereft better than by ferving God. Religion conduceth both to our prefent and future happinets. And when the gospel chargeth us with piety towards God, and juftice and charity towards men, and temperance and chastity in reference to ourfelves, the true interpretation of thefe laws is this, God requires of men, in order to their eternal happiness, that they fhould do thofe things which tend to their temporal welfare; that is, in plainer words, he promises to make us happy for ever, upon condition that we will but do that which is beft for ourselves in this world. To conclude, religion is founded in the intereft of men rightly apprehended. So that, if the god of this world, and the lufts of men, did not blind their eyes, fo as to render them unfit to difcern their true intereft, it would be impoffible, fo long as men love themselves, and defire their own happiness, to keep them from being religions; for they could not but conclude that to be their intereft; and being so convinced, they would refolve to purfue it, and ftick to it.

SERMON

V.

The excellency of the Chriftian religion.

PHIL. iii. 8.

Tea doubtless, and I count all things but lofs, for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord.

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N the beginning of this chapter, the apoftle makes a comparifon between the Jewifh and the Chriftian religion, and fhews the Chriftian to be in truth and fubftance what the Jewish was only in type and fhadow wer. 3. We are the circumcifion, which worship God in

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the fpirit. And then he enumerates the feveral privileges he was partaker of by virtue of his being born in the Jewish church, ver. 4. 5. 6. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might truft in the flesh, I more: circumcifed the eighth day, of the ftock of Ifrael, &c. And yet he tells us he was contented to forego all these advantages for Christ and the Christian religion, ver. 7. But what things were gain to me, thofe I counted lofs for Chrift. And not only thefe, but if there were any thing elfe that men value in this world, he was willing to hazard that alfo upon the fame account: ver. 8. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but lofs, for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord.

In which words the apoftle declares the high esteem he had for the Chriftian religion, which he calls the knowledge of Chrift Jefus his Lord; the excellency whereof appeared fo great to him, that he valued nothing in comparison of the advantages which he had by the knowledge of it.

My defign at this time from this text is, to represent the excellency of this knowledge of the Chriftian religion above that of any other religion or inftitution in the world. And here I fhall not confider the external evidence which we have of the truth of Christianity, and of the divinity of its doctrine, in which refpe&t it hath incomparably the advantage of any other religion; but only the internal excellency of the doctrine itself, abftracting from the divine authority of it; and that in these four respects.

1. As it does more clearly reveal to us the nature of God, which is the great foundation of all religion. 2. As it gives us a more certain and perfect law for the government of our lives,

3. As it propounds to us more powerful arguments to perfuade men to the obedience of this law.

4. As it furnishes us with better motives and confiderations to patience and contentedness under the evils and afflictions of this life Now, these are the greatest advantages that any religion can have; to give men right apprehenfions of God, a perfect rule of good life, and efficacious arguments to perfuade men to be good, and patiently to bear the evils and fufferings of this life.

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And these shall be the heads of my following discourse. First, The Chriftian religion doth more clearly reveal to us the nature of God than any religion ever did. And to have right apprehenfions of God, is the great foundation of all religion. For according as mens notions of God are, fuch will their religion be. If men have grofs and falfe conceptions of God, their religion will be abfurd and fuperftitious. If men fancy God to be an ill-natured being, armed with infinite power, one that delights in the mifery and ruin of his creatures, and is ready to take all advantages against them; they may fear him, but they will hate him: and they will be apt to be fuch towards one another, as they fancy God to be towards them; for all religion doth naturally incline men to imitate him whom they worship.

Now, the Christian religion gives us a more perfect, and a more lovely character of God, than any religion ever did. It reprefents him to us as a pure spirit, which the Heathens did not generally believe; and that he is to be worshipped in fuch a manner as is moft suitable to his fpiritual nature; which not only the Heathens, but even the Jews themselves, were extremely mistaken about. God is a fpirit, (fays our Saviour), and they that worship him, must worship him in fpirit and in truth. It is true indeed, God himself did command facrifices to the Jews, and all thofe external and troublesome obfervances of which their religion did confift. But then it is to be confidered, that he did not inftitute this way of worship because it was moft fuitable to his own nature, but because of the carnality of their hearts, and the proneness of that people to idolatry. God did not prefcribe thefe things because they were beft, but because the temper of that people would then admit of nothing better. And this the fcripture gives us feveral intimations of Thou defireft not facrifice, thou delighteft not in burnt-offerings, faith David, Pfal. li. 16. And elsewhere, more exprefsly, to this purpose: I spake not unto your fathers, (fays God, by the prophet Jeremiah), nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and facrifices. But this thing commanded Ithem, faying, Obey my. voice, Jer. vii. 22. 3. A fufficient intimation, that VOL. I.

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