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opprobrious to Christianity in General. And 4. and Laftly, Very dangerous to the Proteftant Religion, as giving too many Advantages, and too much Encouragement to the Factors of the Papacy.

But I have, I fear, already exceeded the Limits of a Sermon, and therefore fhall add no more.

God

open our Eyes, that we may, in this our Day, understand the Things that belong to Peace, before they be hid from our Eyes.

SER

SERMON II

PREACHED AT

BOW CHURCH,

On the 30th of JANUARY, 1675.

I TIM. iv. 8. Godliness is profitable unto all things, having a Promife of the Life that now is, and of that which is to come.

T

HESE Words are the Enforcement of an Exhortation which St. Paul had made to Timothy, in the Verse before-going, which was, That he fhould avoid prophane and old Wives Fables; meaning those impious and fuperftitious Doctrines, and the carnal and unchriftian Obfervances, that were grounded upon them (fome of which he had mentioned in the beginning of this Chapter) which some at that Time did endeavour to introduce into Christianity: And instead of applying his Mind to thefe, that he fhould rather Excercife himself unto true Godliness.

This was the Exhortation. The Arguments wherewith he enforceth it, are Two:

First, the Unprofitableness of these Carnal and Superftitious Doctrines and Practices. Bodily Exercife (faith he) profiteth little. Secondly, The real Usefulness of folid Vertue and Godlinefs, to all the Purposes of Life. Godliness is profitable to all Things, having a Promise of this Life, as well as of that which is to come.

I fhall not here meddle at all with the former Part of the Apoftle's Exhortation, or the Argument that hath relation to it; but shall apply myself wholly to the latter, craving leave moft plainly and affectionately to prefs upon you the Exercife of Godliness, upon those Grounds and Confiderations on which the Apoftle here recommended it.

Indeed, to a Man that confiders well, it will appear the most unaccountable thing in the World, that among all those several Exercises that Mankind bufie themselves about, this of Godliness fhould be in fo great a measure neglected; that Men fhould be fo diligent, fo induftrious, fo unwearied, fome in getting Estates, others in purveying for Pleafure, others in learning Arts, and Trades, All in fomething or other relating to this fenfible World; and fo few should ftudy to acquaint themfelves with God, and the Concernments of their Souls, to learn the Arts of Vertue and Religious Conversation.

Certain it is, this Piece of Skill is not more above our reach, than many of those other Things we fo induftriously purfue; nay, I am apt to think, it is more within our Power than most of them. For, in our other Labours, we cannot always promise to ourselves certain Suc

.cefs.

cefs. A thousand Things may intervene which we know not of, that may defeat all our Plots and Defigns, though never fo carefully laid but no Man ever seriously undertook the Bufinefs of Religion, but he accomplished it.

;

Nay, farther, As we can with greater Certainty, fo can we with lefs Pains and Difficulty, promise to ourselves Success in this Affair, than we can hope to compass moft of our Worldly Designs, which fo much take up our Thoughts. I doubt not in the leaft, but that lefs Labour, lefs Trouble, lefs Sollicitude, will serve to make a Man a good Chriftian, than to get an Estate, or to attain a competent Skill in Human Arts and Sciences.

And then for other Motives, to oblige us to the Study of Religion, we have incomparably more and greater, than we can have for the Pursuit of any other thing. It is certainly the greatest Concernment we have in the World. It is the very thing God fent us into the World about. It is the very thing that his Son came down from Heaven to inftruct us in. It is the very thing by which we shall be concluded everlaftingly Happy, or everlaftingly Miserable, after this Life is ended.

Thefe Things well confidered, we may juftly (I fay) ftand amazed, that Men fhould be fo prodigiously fupine and negligent in an Affair of this Nature and Importance, as we fee they generally are.

If there can any account be given of this Matter, I fuppofe it must be fome fuch as this, That the Things of this World, upon

which we bestow our Care, our Time, our Courtship, are prefent to us. We fee them

every Day before our Eyes; we tafte, we feel the Sweetness of them; we are fenfible that their Enjoyment is abfolutely neceffary to our present Well-being. But as for Spiritual Matters, they lie under a great Disadvantage: They appear to us as at a great Distance: We do not apprehend any prefent need we have of them: Nor do we fanfie any Sweetness or Relifh in them. Nay, on the contrary, we form the most frightful and difmal Images of them that can be. We look upon them not only as flat, and unfavory; but as Things which if we trouble our Heads too much about, will certainly ruin all our Designs in this World. We think Religion good for nothing but to spoil good Company; to make us melancholy and mopifh; to diftract us in our Business and Employments; and to put fo many Reftraints upon us, that we can neither with that Freedom nor Succefs, purfue our Temporal Concernments, which we think neceffary to our Happiness in this World.

But let us fuppofe Things to be thus with Religion as we have fanfied, yet cannot this be any reasonable Excufe for our Carelesness about it. What though there were no visible Benefit by a Religious Life in this World; What though the Rewards of our Pains about it were only in Reverfion; Yet fince a Time will come when it will be our greatest Intereft to have been heartily Religious, is it not a Madness now to neglect it? What tho' Res

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