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SERM. tender affection; fhould cheerfully concur in undergoing the common burdens; fhould heartily with and induftriously promote their good, affift them in accomplishing their reasonable defires, thankfully requite the courtefies received from them, congratulate and rejoice with them in their prosperity, comfort them in their diftreffes, and, as we are able, relieve them; however, tenderly compaffionate their disappointments, miferies, and forrows. This renders us kind and courteous neighbours, sweet and grateful companions. It reprefents unto us the dreadful effects and infupportable mifchiefs arifing from breach of faith, contravening the obligations of folemn pacts, infringing public laws, deviating from the received rules of equity, violating promises, and interrupting good correfpondence among men; by which confiderations it engages us to be good citizens, obedient fubjects, juft dealers, and faithful friends. It minds us of the blindness, impotence, and levity, the pronenefs to mistake, and misbehaviour that human nature neceffarily is fubject to; deferving rather our commiferation, than anger or hatred, which prompts us to bear the infirmities of our brethren, to be gentle in cenfure, to be infenfible of petty affronts, to pardon injuries, to be patient, exorable, and reconcileable to those that give us greatest cause of offence. It teaches us, the good may, but the evil of our neighbour can in no wife advantage us; that from the suffering of any man, fimply confidered, no benefit can accrue, nor natural fatisfaction arife to us; and that therefore it is a vain, bafe, brutish, and unreasonable thing, for any cause whatsoever, to defire or delight in the grief, pain, or mifery of our neighbour, to hate or envy him, or infult over him, or devife mifchief to him, or profecute revenge upon him; which makes us civil, noble, and placable enemies, or rather no enemies at all. So that Wisdom is in effect the genuine parent of all moral and political virtue, justice, Prov. viii. and honefty; as Solomon fays in her perfon, I lead in the way of righteoufnefs, and in the midst of the paths of judgment. And how fweet thefe are in the practice, how comfortable in the confequences, the teftimony of conti

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nual experience, and the unanimous confent of all wife SERM. men fufficiently declare. But farther,

XV. The principal advantage of Wisdom is, its acquainting us with the nature and reason of true religion, and affording convictive arguments to perfuade to the practice of it; which is accompanied with the pureft delight, and attended with the most solid content imaginable. I fay, the nature of religion, wherein it confists, and what it requires; the mistake of which produceth daily so many mischiefs and inconveniences in the world, and exposes so good a name to so much reproach. It fheweth it confifteth not in fair profeffions and glorious pretences, but in real practice; not in a pertinacious adherence to any fect or party, but in a fincere love of goodness, and dislike of naughtiness, wherever discovering itself; not in vain oftentations and flourishes of outward performance, but in an inward good complexion of mind, exerting itself in works of true devotion and charity; not in a nice orthodoxy, or politic fubjection of our judgments to the peremptory dictates of men, but in a fincere love of truth, in a hearty approbation of, and compliance with, the doctrines fundamentally good, and neceffary to be believed; not in harsh censuring and virulently inveighing against others, but in careful amending our own ways; not in a peevish croffness and obftinate repugnancy to received laws and customs, but in a quiet and peaceable fubmiffion to the exprefs laws of God, and lawful commands of man; not in a furious zeal for or against trivial circumftances, but in a confcionable practising the substantial parts of religion; not in a frequent talking or contentious disputing about it, but in a ready observance of the unquestionable rules and prefcripts of it: in a word, that religion confifts in nothing else but doing what becomes our relation to God, in a conformity or fimilitude to his nature, and in a willing obedience to his holy will: to which by potent incentives it allures and perfuades us; by representing to us his tranfcendently glorious attributes, confpicuously displayed in the frame, order, and government of the world: that wonderful Power, which

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SERM. erected this great and goodly fabric; that incomprehenI. fible Wisdom, which preferves it in a conftant harmony; that immenfe Goodness, which hath fo carefully provided for the various neceflities, delights, and comforts of its innumerable inhabitants. I fay, by representing those infinitely glorious perfections, it engages us with highest respect to esteem, reverence, and honour him. Alfo, by minding us of our manifold obligations to him, our receiving being, life, reason, sense, all the faculties, powers, excellencies, privileges, and commodities of our natures from him; of his tender care and loving providence continually supporting and protecting us; of his liberal beneficence, patient indulgence, and earnest defire of our good and happiness, by manifold expreffions evidently manifefted toward us; it inflames us with ardent love, and obliges us to officious gratitude toward him. Also, by declaring the necessary and irreconcileable contrariety of his nature to all impurity and perverseness, his peerless majefty, his irresistible power, and his all-seeing knowledge, it begets an awful dread and a devout fear of him. By difcovering him from his infinite benignity willing, and from his unlimited power only able to supply our needs, relieve us in diftreffes, protect us from dangers, and confer any valuable benefit upon us, it engenders faith, and encourages us to rely upon him. By revealing to us his fupereminent fovereignty, uncontrolable dominion, and unquestionable authority over us; together with the admirable excellency, wisdom, and equity of his laws, so just and reasonable in themselves, so suitable to our nature, fo conducible to our good, so easy and practicable, fo fweet and comfortable; it powerfully inclines, and by a gentle force as it were constrains us to obedience. By fuch efficacious inducements Wisdom urges us to all duties of religion, and withal furely directs us (as I before faid) wherein it confifts; teaching us to have right and worthy apprehenfions of the divine nature, to which our devotion, if true and good, must be suited and conformed: and fo it frees us, as from irreligion and profane neglect of God, fo from fond fuperftitions, the fources

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of so much evil to mankind. For he that wifely hath con- SERM, fidered the wisdom, goodness, and power of God, cannot imagine God can with a regardless eye overlook his prefumptuous contempts of his laws, or endure him to proceed in an outrageous defiance of Heaven, to continue hurting himself, or injuring his neighbour; nor can admit unreasonable terrors, or entertain fufpicious conceits of God, as of an imperious master, or implacable tyrant over him, exacting impoffible performances from, or delighting in the fatal miferies of his creatures; nor can suppose him pleased with hypocritical fhews, and greatly taken with superficial courtships of ceremonious address; or that he can in any wife favour our fiery zeals, fierce paffions, or unjust partialities about matter of opinion and ceremony; or can do otherwise than deteft all factious, harsh, uncharitable, and revengeful proceedings, of what nature, or upon what ground foever; or that he can be fo inconfiftent with himself, as to approve any thing but what is like himself, that is, righteousness, fincerity, and beneficence.

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viii. 35.

Laftly, Wisdom attracts the favour of God, purchaseth a glorious reward, and fecureth perpetual felicity to us. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wifdom. Wif. vii. 28. And, Glorious is the fruit of good labours: and the root of iii. wisdom shall never fall away. And, Happy is the man Prov.iii. 13. that findeth wifdom: and, Whofo findeth her, findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. These are the words of wife Solomon, in the book of Wisdom, and in the Proverbs. God loveth her, as moft agreeable to his nature; as resembling him; as an offspring, beam, and efflux of that Wisdom which founded the earth, and established the heavens; as that which begetteth honour, love, and obedience to his commands, and truly glorifies him; and as that which promotes the good of his creatures, which he earnestly defires. And the paths she leads in are fuch as directly tend to the promised inheritance of joy and blifs.

Thus have I fimply and plainly presented you with part of what my meditation fuggefted upon this fubject: it

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SERM. remains that we endeavour to obtain this excellent endowment of foul, by the faithful exercife of our reason, careful obfervation of things, diligent study of the divine law, watchful reflection upon ourselves, virtuous and religious practice; but especially, by imploring the divine influence, the original fpring of light, and fountain of all true knowledge, following St. James's advice: If any man lack wifdom, let him afk it of God, who giveth freely. Therefore, O everlasting Wisdom, the Maker, Redeemer, and Governor of all things, let some comfortable beams from thy great body of heavenly light defcend upon us, to illuminate our dark minds, and quicken our dead hearts; to enflame us with ardent love unto thee, and to direct our steps in obedience to thy laws, through the gloomy fhades of this world, into that region of eternal light and blifs, where thou reignet in perfect glory and majefty, one God ever bleffed, world without end. Amen.