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convenience and advantage, but fuch as do likewife exceedingly difpofe us to piety and religion, by purifying our fouls from the drofs and filth of fenfual delights: for covetoufnefs debaseth a man's fpirit, and finks it into the earth; intemperance and luft cloud a man's understanding, and indifpofe it for the contemplation of things fpiritual and divine.

Thus you fee how the precepts of Christianity do tend to the perfection of human nature, confidering men fingly and perfonally.

II. The other fort of precepts are fuch as tend to the peace and happiness of human fociety. And the reafon of mankind can devife nothing more proper to this end, than the laws of Chriftianity are; for they command all those virtues which are apt to fweeten the fpirits, and allay the paffions and animofities of men one towards another. They require us to love our neighbours (that is, every man in the world, even our greatest enemies) as ourselves. And for this end, among others, was the facrament of the Lord's fupper; the feaft of love, inftituted; that, by commemorating the love of our dying Saviour, who laid down his life for his enemies, we might be put in mind how we ought to love one ano ther.

And by this law of loving all men, even our enemies, the Chriftian religion discovers itself, not only to be the moft innocent and harmless, but the moft generous and beft-natured inftitution, that ever was in the world: for, in pursuance of this general precept, it commands us, to do good to all men; if it be poffible, and as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men; to be kind one to another, ready to gratify and oblige men; to be tender hearted and compaffionate towards those that are in want or mifery, and ready to fupply and relieve them; to fympathife with one another in our joys and forrows; to mourn with thofe that mourn, and to rejoice with them that rejoice, to bear one another's burdens, and to forbear one another in love; to be easily reconciled to them that have offended us; and to be ready to forgive from our hearts the greatest injuries that can be done to us, and that without bounds and limits, even to seventy times feven, as our Saviour expreffeth it,

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The laws of Christianity do likewife fecure both the private interests of men, and the public peace, by con-firming and inforcing all the dictates of nature concerning juftice and equity, and our doing to others as we would have them to do to us; and by commanding obedience to human laws, which decide mens rights, and fubmiffion to government, under pain of damnation; and by forbidding whatever is contrary to these vio. lence and oppreffion, defrauding and over reaching one another, perfidioufnefs and treachery, breach of trust, oaths, or promifes, undutifulness to fuperiors, fedition and rebellion against magiftracy and authority; and if there be any thing elfe that is apt to disturb the peace of the world, and to alienate the affections of men from one another, as fourness of difpofition, and rudeness of behaviour, cenforioufnefs, and finifter interpretation of things, all cross and distasteful humours, and whatever. elfe may render the converfation of men grievous and uneafy to one another: all these are either expressly, or by clear confequence and deduction, forbidden in the New Teftament.

And now what could any religion do more towards the reforming of the difpofitions and manners of men? What laws can be devised more proper and effectual to advance the nature of man to its highest perfection, to procure the tranquillity of mens minds, and the peace and happiness of the world, than thefe precepts of Chriftianity are? Several of which, as thofe of loving our enemies, of not revenging injuries, of rendering good: for evil, &c. though they have been esteemed reafonable. by fome of the wifeft among the Heathen; yet, by reafon of the degeneracy of the world, and of the obfcurity. and uncertainty of human reafon, they never obtained to have the estimation and force of natural laws. So that we owe to Chriftianity the difcovery of the most certain and perfect rule of life that ever the world was acquainted withal.

Thirdly, Chriftian religion propounds the most powerful arguments to perfuade men to the obedience of these laws. The gofpel offers fuch confiderations to us as are fit to work very forcibly upon two of the most swaying and governing paffions in the mind of man our hopes,

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and our fears. To encourage our hopes, it gives us the highest affurance of the greatest and most lafting happinefs, in cafe of obedience; and, to awaken our fear, it threatens finners with the most dreadful and durable torments, in cafe of disobedience. To them who by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, it promifeth eternal life: but unto them that obey not the truth, but obey unrighteoufness, it threatens indignation, and wrath, tribulation and anguish, Rom. ii. 7. 8. 9. And this is that which makes the doctrine of the gofpel fo powerful an instrument for the reforming of the world, that it propofes to men such glorious rewards, and fuch terrible punishments, as no religion ever did; and, to make the confideration of them more effectual, it gives us far greater affurance of the reality and certainty of these things, than ever the world had before. This account the apoftle gives us of the fuccefs and efficacy of the gospel upon the minds of men; and for this reafon he calls it the power of God unto falvation, because therein the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodlinefs, and unrigh teousness of men, Rom. i. 16. 18. Before the revelation of the gospel, the wickednefs and impenitency of the Heathen world was a much more excufable thing; be caufe they were in a great measure ignorant of the re wards of another life, and had generally but very uncertain and obfcure apprehenfions of thofe things which urge men moft powerfully to forfake their fins, and are the most prevalent arguments to a good life. So St Paul tells the Athenians, the most knowing among the Heathen: The times of this ignorance God winked at ; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: be caufe he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath or dained; whereof he hath given affurance unto all men, in that he bath raised him from the dead, Acts xvii. 30. 31. The refurrection of Jelus Chrift from the dead, hath given the world that full affurance of another life after this, and of a future judgement, which it never had before; for he whom God raised from the dead, did declare and testify, that it was he who was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead, Acts x. 42. And the firm behief of a future judgement, which fhall render to every

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man according to his deeds, if it be well confidered, is to a reasonable nature the most forcible motive of all other to a good life; because it is taken from the confideration of the greatest and most lafting happiness and mifery that human nature is capable of. So that the laws of Christianity have the firmeft fanction of any laws in the world, to fecure the obedience and obfervance of them for what can restrain men from fin, if the terrors of the Lord, and the evident danger of eternal destruction, will not? what encouragement can be given to goodness beyond the hopes of heaven, and the affurance of an endlefs felicity?

Fourthly, The Chriftian religion furnifheth us with the best motives and confiderations to patience and contentedness under the evils and afflictions of this life. This was one great defign of philofophy, to fupport men under the evils and calamities which this life is incident to, and to fortify their fpirits against sufferings. And to this end, the wifest among the Heathens racked their wits, and caft about every way; they advanced all forts of principles, and managed every little argument and confideration to the utmost advantage: and yet, after all these attempts, they have not been able to give any confiderable comfort and ease to the mind of man under any of the great evils and preffures of this life: The bed is fhorter than that a man can firetch himself upon it, and the covering narrower than that a man can wrap himself in it. All the wife fayings and advices which philofophers could mufter up to this purpose, have proved ineffectual to the common people, and the genera lity of mankind; and have helped only to fupport fome few ftout and obftinate minds, which, without the affistance of philofophy, would have held up pretty well of themselves.

Some of the philofophers have run fo far back for arguments of comfort against pain, as to call every thing into queftion, and to doubt whether there were any fuch thing as fenfe or pain. And yet for all that, when any great evil has been upon them, they would certainly figh and groan as pitifully, and cry out as loud, as other men.

Others have fought to eafe themselves of the evil of affliction, by disputing fubtilly against it; and pertina

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ciously maintaining, that afflictions are no real evils, but only in opinion and imagination; and therefore a wife man ought not to be troubled at them. But he must be a very wise man that can forbear being troubled at things that are very troublefome. And yet thus Poffidonius, as Tully tells us, diftinguifhed. He could not deny pain to be very troublesome; but for all that he was refolved never to acknowledge it to be an evil. But fure, it is a very flender comfort that relies upon this nice distinction, between things being troublefome and being evils, when all the evil of affliction lies in the trouble it creates to us. But when the best that can be is made of this argument, it is good for nothing, but to be thrown away as a stupid paradox, and against the common fenfe of mankind.

Others have endeavoured to delude their trouble by a graver way of reafoning, That these things are fatal and neceffary; and therefore no body ought to be trou bled at them, it being in vain to be troubled at that which we cannot help. And yet perhaps it might as reasonably be faid on the other fide, that this very confideration, that a thing cannot be helped, is one of the jufteft caufes of trouble to a wife man. For it were fome kind of comfort, if thefe evils were to be avoided; be cause then we might be careful to prevent them another time but if they be neceffary, then my trouble is as fatal as the calamity that occafions it; and though I know it is in vain to be troubled for that which I cannot help, yet I cannot chufe but be afflicted. It was a Imart reply that Auguftus made to one that ministered this comfort to him of the fatality of things: Hoc ipfum eft (fays he) quod me male habet. This was fo far from giving any eafe to his mind, that "this was the very thing that troubled him.'

Others have tried to divert and entertain the troubles of other men by pretty and plaufible fayings, fuch as this, That if evils are long, they are but light; if fharp, but fhort; and a hundred fuch like. Now, I am apt to imagine, that it is but very small comfort that a plain and ordinary man, lying under a fharp fit of the stone for a week together, receives from this fine fentence. For what pleafure foever men that are at ease and leifure may take in being the authors of witty fayings, I

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