cast into the sea his gold and precious stones, that he might not have the trouble to keep them, and who wil fully threw them away, that he might not be any longer in the fear of losing them. But we must take heed that they cause us not to make shipwreck of our faith; and that we preserve them not at the expense of our consciences. For the soul is far more precious than the body, and life is far more valuable than raiment, Matth. vi. 25. Since God giveth us richly all things to enjoy, 1 Tim. vi. 17. we should show ourselves ungrateful to his goodness, rebels to his wise providence, and unjust and cruel to ourselves, churlishly to refuse the means of using and employing those blessings; For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer, 1 Tim. iv. 4, 5.

The honours and riches derived to us from our birth, or that we obtain by lawful and just methods, are to be numbered among the blessings of God; therefore Esther, who was but a poor stranger, received with joy as a favour from heaven, the imperial crown that was put upon her head, and refused not to be the bride of the greatest monarch then living. Joseph readily embraced the power and dignity with which king Pharaoh invested him; and the prophet Daniel, not only accepted the honourable commands which were bestowed upon him by the king of Babylon, but likewise employed all his power and credit to raise his companions to places of trust, and the principal governments of that empire. God indeed sometimes puts sceptres into the hands of cruel and profane persons, such as Pharaoh, Ahab, Nebu chadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Herod, to teach us, that dominion is not the chief good of man, and that we must

aim at a more excellent kingdom, and at a more lasting and solid happiness: but then he also places upon the throne men after his own heart, whom he cherishes as the apple of his eye, such as David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah, to teach us, that the fear of God, and the expectation of an immortal crown, is not incompatible with the honours of this life, nor with worldly glory; for Godliness hath the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come, 1 Tim. iv. 8.

..The riches of the earth are no more hurtful than its honours, unless it be by accident: They are highly useful and advantageous to such as employ them well, and dispose of them with a religious prudence: they are powerful helps to true piety, and excellent means to glorify God, and to exercise a virtuous compassion; nay, I may venture to call them the beauty and lustre of the zeal and charity of God's children. Riches, it is true, turn to evils, and are ill situated in the hands of a brutal and sordid wretch, such as Nabal; of a merciless and voluptuous person, such as the rich glutton in the gospel; of a treacherous and perfidious thief, such as Judas; and of a thoughtless and debauched young man, such as the prodigal son. But then they are blessed both of heaven and earth, when they fall into the hands of a Joseph, who nourisheth therewith his father and all his kindred; of a David, who employs them in offerings to Almighty God, in the sight of all the people; of a Solomon, who builds therewith a magnificent temple; and of a Mary Magdalen, who bestows them, not in luxury and vanity, nor in curious trinkets, but to buy a box of precious ointment, which she pours on the head of the Saviour of the world. They are blessings in

deed when such an one enjoys them as Cornelius the centurion, who employs them in alms, the perfume whereof ascendeth up to the throne of the God of mercies. In short, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the eternal wisdom of the Father, hath pronounced with his sacred lips, that it is more blessed to give than to receive, Acts xx. 35.

I am not ignorant of the oracle of this great God and Saviour, Whoever loves father or mother, houses or lands, more than me, is not worthy of me, Matth. x. 37, which was spoken to teach us, that we must renounce with all our heart and spirit, all the things in the world, and of this present life; and that we must be always ready to forsake them, in case we cannot keep them without offending God, and giving occasion of scandal to his church; but without such an absolute necessity, God requires us not, in any place of scripture, actually to forego our worldly possessions.

I also know very well, that when a young man asked our Saviour What shall I do to inherit eternal life? this wisest of teachers answered, Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me, Luke xviii. But this was a particular command given to a particular person, upon a particular occasion; wherefore it is not possible that we should gather any conclusion to bind others to the same action; for otherwise this would oblige all Christians in general to sell what they have, without exception, and to give it to the poor. This vainglorious Pharisee, had boasted of having kept all the commandments of God from his youth upward. To root out of his mind this overgood opinion of himself, and to give a vent to the swelling of his Pharisaical pride, our

Lord puts him to the trial, by injoining him to sell all that he had, and to give it to the poor. At hearing this, the poor young man went away very sorrowful, for he was very rich, and his heart and strongest affections were placed upon his earthly treasures; by which he discovered, that he was far from loving God with all his heart, and with all his strength, seeing he loved his worldly possessions more than Christ and his blessedness. It therefore plainly appears, O devout souls, that this command, given to this particular young man, extends not to all in general; for if it had been so understood, the holy apostles, who were zealous after every thing that tended to perfection, would not have been contented with losing the enjoyment of their goods, to follow Christ, as they themselves declared unto him, We have forsaken all, and followed thee, Matth. xix. 27. But they would have kept nothing for themselves; which course they never took: for St. John, Christ's beloved disciple, had a house, wherein he entertained the holy virgin, after our Saviour's passion, John xix. 27 ; and the other apostles had reserved their ships, their nets, and their tackling, wherewith they returned to their trade of fishing, after Christ's resurrection, John xxi.

Our Saviour, upon the occasion of this young man's disobeying this express and particular command, to sell all that he had and give it to the poor, tells his disciples, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven, Matth. xix. 23. But then in another place, he explains this passage in such a manner, that he leaves not the least shadow of a difficulty, when he says, How hard is it for them that trust in riches, to enter into the kingdom of God! Mark x. 24. So that he speaks not

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of all rich men in general, without any exceptions, but of such only who put their trust in their riches. Therefore the apostle St. Paul does not command those who are rich to cast away their effects, and absolutely renounce them; but he exhorts them not to put their confidence in them, so as to become more vain and haughty for thus he speaks to Timothy, Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy, 1 Tim. vi. 17.

Here are therefore the best rules, according to my judgment, which a true christian can observe, who desires to render his soul acceptable to God, and to attain the necessary dispositions for a happy death.

1. We must employ all our endeavours, and set all our affections to work, to secure to ourselves the spiritual and eternal advantages of the world to come; we must thirst impatiently for the grace of God, and the gift of his Holy Spirit; we must sigh after the treasures of heaven, and labour with all our might to attain the incorruptible crown of glory and immortality. Our blessed Saviour himself gives us this holy lesson in the sixth chapter of his gospel according to St. Matthew, Seek ye first, says he, the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you and in the sixth chapter of St. John, Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.

2. As Solomon built first the Lord's house, and then his own palace, 1 Kings ix; so we ought to labour first for the advancement of God's kingdom, and the edification of his church, after which we may have the liberty to employ ourselves about the affairs of the pre