CXXVII. SERM. 1. That no man fhould measure his felicity or unhappiness by his lot in this world. If thou receiveft thy good things, art rich and honourable, and haft as much of the things of this world as thine heart can wifh, art fplendidly attired, and "fareft fumptuously every day;" art "in no trouble "like other men, neither art plagued like other "folk;" do not upon this bless thyself as the happy man. On the other hand, art thou poor, and miferable, deftitute of all the conveniences and accommodations of this life? do not repine at thy lot, and murmur at GOD for having dealt hardly with thee. No man can be pronounced happy or miferable for what befals him in this life; "no "man knows love or hatred by these things; "this life is but a fhort and inconfiderable duration, and it matters not much what entertainment we meet withal, as we are paffing through this world: the state of eternity is that wherein the happiness or mifery of men shall be determined. He is the happy man who is fo in that life which shall never have an end; and he is miferable that fhall be fo for ever. 2. We fhould not fet too great a value upon the bleffings of this life. We may "receive our "good things" here, and "be tormented" hereafter; nay, this very thing will be no inconfiderable part of our torment, none of the leaft aggravations of our mifery, that we "did receive our gooa things." Nothing afflicts a man more, and toucheth him more fenfibly when he is in mifery, than the remembrance of his former profperity; had he never been happy, his mifery would be the lefs. Therefore we should be fo far from applauding ourfelves in the profperity of this world, that we CXXVII. fhould rather be afraid of "receiving our goodSER M. "things" here; left GOD fhould put us off with these things, and this should be all our portion, and left our mifery in the next world be the greater for our having been happy. The felicities of this world are tranfient, and tho' our happiness were never fo compleat, yet it is L going off, and paffing away; and when it is gone and past, if mifery fucceed it, it had better never have been. "Remember, thou in thy life-time re"ceived'ft thy good things;" these things are only for our life-time, and how fhort is that! did men feriously confider this, they would not fet fuch a price upon any of the tranfient enjoyments of this life, as for the fake of them to neglect the great concernments of another world. We are apt to be dazzled with the prefent glittering of wordly glory and profperity; but if we would look upon these things as they will be fhortly gone from us, how little would they fignify! the rich man here in the parable did, no doubt, think himself a much happier man than poor Lazarus that lay at his door; and yet after a little while how glad would he have been to have changed conditions with this poor man! when he was "in torments," then no doubt he wish'd that he had fuffered all the misery and want in this world which Lazarus did, provided he might have been comforted as he was, and "car"ried by angels into Abraham's bofom. We should value this world, and look upon it, as this rich man did, not when he enjoyed it, but when he was taken from it; and we should efteem it, and use it while we may, as he wish'd he had done when it was too late. CXXVII. SERM. 3. We should not be exceffively troubled if we meet with hardship and affliction here in this world; because those whom God designs for the greatest happiness hereafter, may receive evil things here. Thus our bleffed SAVIOUR, "the captain of "our falvation, was made perfect through fufferings;" this was the method which God used towards his own Son, firft "he fuffered, and then "entred into glory." He fuffered more than any of us can bear; and yet he fupported himself under all his fufferings by the confideration of the glory that would follow; "for the joy that was fet before "him, he endured the crofs, and defpifed the "fhame." The fame confideration fhould arm us with patience and constancy under the greatest evils of this life. The evils that we lie under are paffing and going of; but the happiness is to come. And if the happiness of the next world were no greater, nor of longer continuance, than the miseries of this world; or if they did equally anfwer one another; yet a wife man would choose to have mifery first, and his happiness laft. For if his happiness were firft, all the pleasure and comfort of it would be eaten out by dismal apprehenfions of what was to follow but his fufferings, if they were firft, would be sweetned by the confideration of his future happinefs; and the bitterness of his fufferings would give a quicker relish to his happiness when it fhould come, and make it greater. But a good man under the fufferings of this life, hath not only this comfort, that his happiness is to come, but likewife that it fhall be infinitely greater than his fufferings; that these are but fhort, but that CXXVII. that shall never have an end. And this was that SER M. which fortified the first chriftians against all that the malice and cruelty of the world could do against them. They thought themselves well paid, if "through many tribulations they might at last "enter into the kingdom of Go D;" because they believed that the joys of the next life would abundantly recompenfe all their labours and fufferings in this world. They expected a mighty reward far beyond all their fufferings; they were firmly perfuaded that they should be vaft gainers at the laft. So the apostle tells us of himself, Rom. viii. 18. "I "reckon that the fufferings of this present time "are not worthy to be compared with the glory "that shall be revealed." And to the fame purpofe; 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. Our light afflictions, "which are but for a moment, work for us an "eternal weight of glory, whilst we look not at "the things which are feen, but at the things which are not feen; for the things which are seen are "temporal, but the things which are not feen are "eternal." If we would confider all things together, and fix our eyes as much upon the happiness and glory of the next world, as upon the pomp and fplendor of this; if we would look as much at the things which are not feen, as the things which are feen," we fhould eafily perceive, that he who fuffers in this world does not renounce his happiness,, only puts it out to intereft, upon terms of the greatest advantage. 4. We fhould do all things with a regard to our future and eternal eftate. It matters not much what our condition is in this world, because that's to continue but for a little while: but we ought to CXXVII. SERM. have a great and ferious regard to that ftate that never fhall have an end. Therefore whenever we are doing any thing, we fhould confider what influence fuch an action will have upon the happiness or mifery of the next life. We fhould measure every action and every condition of our lives by the reference of them to eternity. To be rich and great in this world will contribute nothing to our future happiness; all these things which we fo much dote upon, and purfue with fo much eagerness, will not commend any man to GOD; they will fignify nothing when we come to appear before our judge. Death will ftrip us of these things, and in the other world, the foul of the pooreft man that ever lived fhall be upon equal terms with the richeft. Nothing but holiness and virtue will then avail us; and it is but a little while and we shall all certainly be of this mind, that the best thing men can do in this world, is to provide for the other. I proceed to a Fifth obfervation, that the ftate of men in the next world is fixt and unchangeable; which I ground upon ver. 26. "Between us and you "there is a great gulf fixt, so that they that would 66 pafs from hence to you cannot, neither can they "pass to us that would come from thence " By which words our SAVIOUR feems not only to intend, that they that are in heaven and hell can have no communication and intercourfe with one another; but likewife that they are lodg'd in an immutable ftate. Those that are happy are like to continue fo; and those that are miferable are immutably fixt in that state. 1. As to those that are in happiness there can be no great doubt. For what can tempt men that |