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the profeffion of Chriftianity, have the impudence to hope, that thou fhalt fit down with Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God? No: Thofe fins which are committed by Chriftians under the enjoyment of the gospel, are of deeper dye, and clothed with blacker aggravations, than the fins of Heathens are capable of. A Pagan may live without God in the world, and be unjust towards men, at a cheaper rate, and upon ea fier terms, than thou who art a Christian. Better had it been thou hadft never known one fyllable of the go fpel, never heard of the name of Chrift, than that, having taken it upon thee, thou shouldft not depart from iniquity. Happy had it been for thee that thou hadst been born a Jew, or a Turk, or a poor Indian, rather than that, being bred among Chriftians, and profeffing thyfelf of that number, thou shouldft lead a vitious and unholy life.

I have infifted the longer upon thefe arguments, that I might, if poffible, awaken men to a ferious confideration of their lives, and perfuade them to a real reformation of them; that I may oblige all those who call themfelves Christians, to live up to the effential and fundamental laws of our religion; to love God, and to love our neighbour; to do to every man as we would have him to do to us; to mortify our lufts, and subdue our paffions, and fincerely to endeavour to grow in every grace and virtue; and to abound in all the fruits of righteoufnefs, which are by Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God.

This indeed would become our profeffion, and be honourable to our religion, and would remove one of the greatest obstacles to the progrefs of the gospel. For how can we expect that the doctrine of God our Saviour fhould gain any confiderable ground in the world, fo long as, by the unworthy lives of fo many Christians, it is reprefented to the world at fo great difadvantage? If ever we would have the Chriftian religion effectually recommended, it must be by the holy and unblameable lives of those who make profeffion of it. Then indeed it would look with fo amiable a countenance, as to invite many to it; and carry fo much majesty and authority in it, as to command reverence from its greatest enemies, and make men to acknowledge, that God is in

us

us of a truth, and to glorify our Father which is in heaven.

The good God grant, that as we have taken upon us the profeffion of Chriftianity, fo we may be careful fo to live, that we may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; that the grace of God, which bringeth falvation, may teach us to deny ungodliness, and worldly lufts, and to live foberly, righteously, and godly, in this prefent world; looking for that bleffed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Fefus Chrift. To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghoft, &c.

SERMON

VIII.

Of the happiness of a heavenly converfation.

PHIL. iii. 20.

For our converfation is in heaven.

OR the understanding of which words we need to look back no farther than the 18th verfe of

this chapter; where the apoftle, with great ve hemency and paffion, fpeaks of fome among the Philippians, who indeed profeffed Chriftianity, but yet would do any thing to decline fuffering for that profeffion : There are many that walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies to the cross of Chrift; they cannot endure to fuffer with him and for him; they are fo fenfual, and wedded to this world, that they will do any thing to avoid perfecution. So he defcribes them in the next verfe: Whofe end is deftruction, whofe God is their belly, whofe glory is in their fhame, who mind earthly things. Now, in oppofition to these fenfual and earthly-minded men, the apoftle gives us the character of the true Chriftians: They are fuch as mind heaven and another world, and

prefer

prefer the hopes of that to all the interefts of this life: Our converfation is in heaven.

For the right understanding of which phrafe, be pleafed to obferve, that it is an allufion to a city or corporation, and to the privileges and manners of those who are free of it. And heaven is feveral times in fcripture represented to us under this notion of a city. It is faid of Abraham, that he looked for a city which hath foundations, whofe builder and maker is God, Heb. xi. 10. It is called likewife the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerufalem, Heb. xii. 22. And the fame apoftle, fpeaking of the uncertain condition of Chriftians in this world, fays of them, that here they have no continuing city, but look for one that is to come, Heb. xi. 14.

Now to this city the apostle alludes here in the text, when he fays, Our converfation is in heaven: for the word oxira, which is rendered converfation, may ei ther fignify the privilege of citizens, or their converfation and manners; or may take in both these.

In the first fenfe, of the privilege of citizens, we find womirsiz, a word of near affinity with this, fometimes ufed: With a great fum (fays the Captain to Paul) obtained 1 T TOM:T:lav Tairm, this freedom, Acts xxii. 28. According to this fenfe, ἡμῶν τὸ πολίτευμα may very well be rendered, as Tertullian often does this text, municipatus nofter, cur citizenship is in heaven; an allufion perhaps, as the learned Dr Hammond obferves, to those who, though they were not born at Rome, and it may be lived at a great distance from it, had yet jus civitatis Romane, the privilege of Roman citizens. In like manner, the apostle here defcribes the condition of Chriftians. It is true, we are born here in this world, and live in it but we belong to another corporation; we are denizens of another country, and free of that city which is above.

In the other fenfe, of the converfation of citizens, we find the verb OMITEE ufed towards the beginning of this epiftle: Let your converfation be as it becometh the gofpel of Chrift, Phil. i. 27. And why may not the word oxia in the text, without any inconvenience, include both these as if the apoftle had faid, There are some that mind earthly things, and are fo addicted to them, VOL. I. that,

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:

that, rather than part with them, they will forfake their religion but, as for us, we confider, that we are citizens of heaven; and accordingly we converfe and demean ourselves in this world, as those that are free of another city, and do belong to it.

So that to have our converfation in heaven does imply thefe two things.

1. The ferious thoughts and confiderations of heaven. 2. The effect which thofe thoughts ought to have upon our lives.

Thefe two things take up the meaning of my text, and fhall be the fubject of the following difcourse.

Firft, The ferious thoughts and confiderations of heaven; that is, of the happy and glorious ftate of good men in another life. And concerning this there are two things principally which offer themselves to our confideration: 1. The happiness of this state. 2. The way and means whereby we may come to partake of this happiness.

I. We will confider the happiness of this ftate. But what, and how great, this happiness is, I am not able to reprefent to you. These things are yet in a great measure within the veil, and it does not now fully appear what we fhall be. The fcriptures have revealed fo much in general concerning the reality and unfpeakable felicities of this ftate, as may fatisfy us for the prefent, and ferve to inflame our defires after it, and to quicken our endeavours for the obtaining of it: as, namely, that it is incomparably beyond any happiness of this world; that it is very great; and that it is eternal; in a word, that it is far above any thing that we can now conceive or imagine.

1. It is incomparably beyond any happiness in this world. It is free from all thofe fharp and bitter ingredients which do abate and allay the felicities of this life. All the enjoyments of this world are mixed, and uncertain, and unfatisfying: nay, fo far are they from giving us fatisfaction, that the very fweetest of them are fatiating and cloying.

None of the comforts of this life are pure and unmixed. There is fomething of vanity mingled with all our earthly enjoyments, and that caufeth vexation of Spirit. There is no fenfual pleasure, but is either purchased by

fome

fome pain, or attended with it, or ends in it. A great eftate is neither to be got without care, nor kept without fear, nor loft without trouble. Dignity and greatnefs is troublesome almost to all mankind; it is commonly uneafy to them that have it; and it is ufually hated and envied by those that have it not. Knowledge, that is one of the best and sweetest pleasures of human life; and yet, if we may believe the experience of one who had as great a fhare of it as any of the fons of men ever had, he will tell us, that this also is vexation of fpirit; for in much wisdom there is much grief; and he that increafeth knowledge, increafeth forrow, Eccl. i. 17.

18.

Thus it is with all the things of this world. The best of them have a mixture of good and evil, of joy and forrow, in them. But the happiness of the next life is free from allay and mixture. In the defcription of the new Jerufalem, it is faid, that there shall be no more curfe, and there fhall be no night there, Rev. xxii. 3. 5. nothing to imbitter our bleflings, or obfcure our glory. Heaven is the proper region of happiness; there only are pure joys and an unmingled felicity.

But the enjoyments of this world, as they are mixed, fo they are uncertain. So wavering and inconftant are they, that we can have no fecurity of them: when we think ourselves to have the faftéft hold of them, they flip out of our hands we know not how. For this reafon, Solomon very elegantly calls them things that are not: Why wilt thou fet thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make to themselves wings, and fly like an eagle towards heaven. So fugitive are they, that, after all our endeavours to fecure them, they may break loofe from us, and in an inftant vanish out of our fight. Riches make to themselves wings, and fly like an eagle; intimating to us, that riches are often acceffory to their own ruin. Many times the greatnefs of a man's eftate, and nothing elfe, hath been the caufe of the lofs of it,and of taking away the life of the owner thereof. The fairness of fome mens fortune hath been a temptation to thofe who have been more powerful; to ravifh it from them. Thus riches make to themfelves wings. So that he that enjoys the greatest happiness of this world, does. ftill want one happinefs more, to fecure to him for the

N. 2.

future

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