Herd in the Stalls; yet he would rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of his Salvation. The greateft Flood of penitential Tears has an inexpreffible deal of Comfort in it, infinitely beyond all the Pleasures of Sin. (2.) And if this penitential Sorrow itself is immediately joined to fo great Refreshments of Comfort, what great Additions may we think are made to it from the many bleffed Fruits and Confequences of it in the Heart and Life? To name a few of them; As this penitential Sorrow weans our Hearts from the World, it naturally begets in them a longing Defire after Heaven, and a Delight in God, which is infinitely comfortable, This again occafions a drawing near to him in Prayer, Meditation, and Contemplation; Contemplation I mean both of his Nature and Attributes, and of his Works of Creation, Providence, Redemption and Grace, and especially the Contemplation of his Love in the Perfon of his dear Son Christ Jesus; all which are very comfortable Exercifes. Further, this godly Sorrow is always attended with a great Vigilance againft Temptations; for as the burnt Child dreads the Fire, whoever has felt the Smart of penitential Sorrow, remembers to watch, and to ftand upon his Guard, particularly against thofe Sins whereby he was formerly enfnared. And this, as it affords great Satisfaction to the Mind at prefent, (for every Act of Care and Virtue treasures up proportionally as much Comfort and Joy,) fo it guards against so much Grief and Sorrow, which are the infallible Confequences of repeated Sins. This Temper, too, both makes one very defirous of more folid Comforts than finful Pleasures do afford, and doth likewise excellently

cellently prepare the Mind for those Comforts: As Hunger gives both a sharp Appetite after our Food, and makes it go down with a good Gusto and Relish; fo penitential Sorrow both raises an Appetite after divine Comforts, and gives them a most pleasant Relish when they come. If there were no more but the Increase of Grace, whereby we are more and more enabled to fubdue our Lufts and Corruptions, and to acquire more confirmed Habits of every Chriftian Grace and Virtue, the Comfort of this is unfpeakable"; for the Soul ftill acquires further Degrees of Liberty, Peace, Reft, and Joy, the further the advances in bringing forth these Fruits of Repentance: And all this is attended with a Train of the most delightful and fatisfying Comforts, even in this Life, that can be imagined; fuch as a Peace of Confcience, a good Government of all the Faculties and Paffions, a well-grounded Hope rising from that great Peace and Joy we have in believing, and an Acquiefcence and Contentment of Mind in the happy Change of our State and Condition, which is fo great and fweet, that it is like a Heaven upon Earth. (3.) If the Fruits of this Temper are fo great in this Life, what will they be in Heaven? There are the only pure and unmixed Joys and Comforts, not allayed with the Croffes and Sins which are continually giving a Check to them here. At prefent we can have but very imperfect Notions of thefe heavenly Comforts; only, in general, we may affure ourselves they are both much purer in their Nature, and much more exalted in Degree, and infinitely more lafting and permanent, and that we shall be much better lified for tasting and relishing them, than ever the

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best Men are for relishing the most pure and hea venly Satisfactions and Comforts which are vouchfafed to them in their most happy Moments in this Life. I cannot but think that it must be the Joys of Heaven which are chiefly intended by this Promise in my Text, the other which I fpoke of in this World being both very imperfect, and too frequently interrupted by the Sins and Temptations, and conftant Troubles of this Life.

3. The third and laft Thing I propofed, was to draw fome Inferences from the Doctrine of this Beatitude, for our further Edification.

1. This Doctrine may ferve to discover the great Folly of a great Part of Mankind; I mean not only those who give up themselves to such an intemperate way of living as to drown all ferious Thoughts, and to fmother all Remorfe for the Errors of their Life paft, and fincere Refolutions of Amendment for the Time to come; but all thofe likewife who place their Happiness in a great Plenty and Affluence of every Thing that may gratify their Luxury, and may make them fwim in the Pleafures of this World. How many are there who bend all their Care and Study after great Estates, ftately Houses, rich Furniture, plentiful Tables, and all other Things which may gratify their Luxury; and, in the mean time, are both Strangers to the Joys which rife from the Exercise of Virtue here, and to the Hopes of a bleffed Immortality hereafter?

2. This Doctrine may fhew us the Neceffity of a mourning penitent Temper, that we should endeavour to be always deeply affected with a godly Sorrow in regard of our paft Sins and Follies, and a holy Fear of falling into the like again. There

is nothing more inconfiftent with this Temper, than the looking back on our Sins with Pleafure and Satisfaction, and acting them over again in our impure Imaginations, with repeated Approbation; nothing likewife is more contrary to this mourning Temper, than, inftead of mortifying our Lufts and Corruptions by Fafting, Abftinence, and Sobriety, and avoiding all Occafions of Temptation to provoke and inflame them, by high eating and drinking, and running upon Temptations and other Inventions to prove our own Devils and Tempters.

3. If there is fo much inward Comfort attending Repentance, which yet is the most smarting and painful Part of Religion; then this may convince us of the Sweetness and Eafinefs of Chrift's Yoke, the hardest of whofe Service is attended with fo much inward Peace and Satisfaction: For Repentance is, like the Pangs and Throws of the new Birth, attended with a great deal of Struggling, Sorrow, and Uneafinefs; but the more we go on in the Ways of Virtue, so much the more plentifully and folidly do we participate of that inward Joy and Contentment which is infinitely beyond the greatest Pleasures of Sin. Let us not then be difcouraged at the first Difficulties in Religion, or raise up a bad Report upon it, as the evil Spies did upon the promised Land, faying, it was a Land that devoured its Inhabitants. For when we come to be better acquainted with it, we shall find the Giants were unreasonably multiplied, and that the Land is both a fruitful and a pleasant Land, and fully anfwers all the Pains we laid out in purchafing it.

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To conclude, Let us refolve on a grave serious Temper of Mind, and watchful Courfe of Life. Let us walk humbly, temperately, warily and confiderately, like Men who believe in good earneft that they have a great Stake to manage, and that according as they fow in this Life, they fhall reap in the Life to come: We shall find that the Pleasures of a ferious virtuous Life are not like the Pleasures of Sin, a little sweet at their first coming on, but bitter at their going off, and poifonous and unwholfome for ever; quite contrary, the longer we continue, and the greater Progrefs we make in the Ways of Repentance and new Life, the more inward Comfort, Joy and Peace, we shall treasure up for ourselves in this World, and in the World to come eternal Life and Felicity. For which bleffed State God of his infinite Mercy prepare us all, through Jefus Chrift our Saviour. To whom, &c.

SER