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MATTHEW.

CHAP. VI.

16 Moreover, when ye faft, be not as the hypocrites, of a fad countenance : for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to faft. Verily, I fay unto you, they have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fafteft, anoint thy head, and wash thy face:

18 That thou appear not unto men to faft, but unto thy Father which is in fecret; and thy Father which feeth in fecret, fhall reward thee openly.

19 Lay not up for your felves treasures upon earth, where moth and ruft doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.

20 But lay up for your felves treasures in heaven, where neither moth ncr ruft doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be alfo.

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When you faft in private upon fome religious account, do not, like the Hypocrites, appear abroad with a fquallid Look, that all may pry into the occafion of it. Thefe certainly fhall obtain no other Reward than that Praife they court. You therefore, when you faft, make it your business to conceal it; appear abroad as at other times, in your ufual Drefs, with your Head anointed, and your Face wash'd, according to the Cuftom of the Place. Men indeed will know nothing of your Fafting: Suffice it, that your Father is not ignorant of it, who obferving what you have thus done privately, will one day publickly reward your Devotion.

Seek not for Riches here on Earth, which are liable to Ruft and Moth, and the Rapacioufness of Thieves; but be follicitous after Riches in Heaven, where nothing of this nature is to be fear'd. In this happy Temper you will not be disturb'd with the ufual Care and Anxiety after Riches; for fince the Mind generally accompanies the Riches, if thefe are thought to be in danger, your Mind will neceffarily be molefted with care and concern for them.

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MATTHEW.

CHAP. VI.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be fingle, thy whole body fhall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body fhall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 No man can ferve two mafters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or elfe he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot ferve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I fay unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye fhall eat, or what ye fhall drink; nor for your body what ye fhall put on: Is not the life more

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The Eyes do as it were illuftrate the whole Body of Man; and if they are clouded with no mark of Envy or Difingenuity, the whole Body will feem to be brighten'd by them: But if the Eyes difclofe any thing ungenerous and bafe, the whole Body will be then in Darkness. Now if that Member by which the rest are fuppos'd to be enlighten'd, be it felf involv'd in Darknefs, how great must the Obfcurity of those other Members be which fhine only by a borrowed Light? When you defign to appear generous, and make oftentation of your Liberality (that molt fplendid Light by which all other Virtues are illuftrated) if then you appear to be bafe and fordid to every one that hath a true Relish of that Virtue, how intolerably deform'd muft your Vices be?

No man can ferve two Mafters with the fame Chearfulness: for he will unavoidably prefer the one, and obey his Orders, while thofe of the other are neglected by him. In like manner is your Service of God inconfiftent with a flavilh defire of heaping up Riches. If you would therefore ferve God with all your heart, you must throw off that Anxiety after worldly Riches, which interferes with your Obedience to the Divine Commands; and this Obedience will fecure you from the fear of ever wanting neceffary Food or Raiment: for God who has given you

MATTHEW.

CHA P. VI.

than meat, and the body than raiment ?

26 Behold the fowls of the air for they fow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his ftature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Confider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they fpin.

29 And yet I fay unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these..

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Life and a Body, will alfo beftow upon you whatever is neceffary for the fuftenance of that Life, and defence of your Body from the Injuries of the Weather; and he who is the bountiful Author of your Being, will not refufe you thofe leffer Benefits which conduce to the prefervation of it. Reflect upon the condition of the Birds, who fill no Storehoufes against a time of Scarcity, and yet are abundantly fupplied by the Providence of God: You have no reafon then to fear that he will neglect you, the condition of whofe Being is fo vaftly preferable to theirs. You ought then to reft fatisfied, that while you perform thofe Duties God requires of you, you shall by him be fupplied with all Neceffaries of Life. If God fix the Period of your continuance here on Earth, there is not a man of you can with his utmost thoughtfulness lengthen it by one Moment. Wherefore you ought not to be fo careful about the prefervation of your Life, as thereby to neglect any of God's Precepts, who is able without the leaft care of yours to preferve it, and can affo, whenfoever he pleafes, deprive thofe of it who are over follicitous about it. Confider alfo the Lilies and other Flowers of the Field, which grow up and flourish without any human Art or Labour, neither do they themselves acquire that Beauty we difcover in them by their own Skill or Induftry; and yet I tell you, that Solomon, heretofore the most glorious Monarch in the Eaft, did not equal the natural Ornament of thefe Flowers with his moft magnificent Attire. You

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MATTHEW.

CHAP. VI.

30 Wherefore if God fo clothe the grafs of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is caft into the oven, fhall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, faying, What shall we eat? or what fhall we drink? or wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles feek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But feek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things fhall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow fhall take thought for the things of it felf: fufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

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have then no reason to dread the want of Raiment; for if God provide fo bountifully for thefe Plants, which after a fhort duration are burnt up and confumed, how much greater care will he take of Men, who are defign'd by him to be eternally happy, provided they live in obedience to his Laws? Think you that he will fuffer them to fall into fo miferable a condition, as to be deftitute of neceffary Food and Raiment? They who entertain these Thoughts, have no very religious fenfe of the Deity. Be not then fo follicitous after thefe things, as to omit any moral or religious Duty, if you defire to excel other Nations in Virtue and Religion, who only feek after earthly Happiness. Let your great bufinefs be to acquaint your felves with the Laws of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to live in perfect obedience to them; and then rely on the good Providence of God, who is acquainted with your Wants, and will provide for you, and beftow even more upon you than you de fire of him.

Neglect not the exercife of any Virtue out of a follicitous care for what may hereafter happen, and content your felves with ufing the prefent opportunity: Every Day is attended with its own trouble, which you have no reafon to anticipate.

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Condemn

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Condemn no one rafhly, left hereafter you be punish'd for your rafh Censure rather acquit all that may be acquitted, that you your felves in like manner may be abfolv'd by God: For Judgment fhall pass against you with the fame Severity that you have exercis'd; and as you have treated others, you must expect to be treated by God.

Be liberal to others, that God may be liberal to you, in reftoring to you not only what you have thus parted with, but beftowing on you. much more valuable Benefits, in which he will have refpect to the Charity you have showed to¬ wards others.

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