10 The VaniiJ Of the WorM. to be heard? Shall our vile Bodies, which are but_Duft and Worms-meat, engro fs all our care how_ tO pleafe and pamper thef?, an~ Ihall the neccflities of our neve'r..dying Souls be negleCl:ed.? What have you la1d up m ftore-f0r thefe? Alas l That which lfa, 5. 8. moll: Men buJie themfelves about, is to heap up temporal Riches, To join Houft '<? Hutlje, an4 Land to Land, that they might dwell alone upon the -Ettrth. But know, thou dolt hut grV'e thy Sou1 Husks and Swines-meJt, wh~n thou fetteft the whole World before it. · And therefore uur S.vi•ur juftly brands the Rich Mi<n ih the Gofpel for a Fool, that t k ~ when he had ftufft up his Barns with Corn, faid to his Soul, ·t· Scul, thou haft much ! 9 . u .r ··Good; laid up for many reau. A Fool iadeed to mcafurc the Soul's Goods by the Barn, or by the Buihel. The very fame is the folly of rnoft Men, who think they a re in all t·efpccts well provided for, if they can but fcrape together a great Eftate, whereas the .soul can no more live upon thefe things, than the Body can upon a. thought or notton. Th·ere is a three~fold unfuitablenefs, between worldly things and the Soul. Firft; The Soul is Spiritual, thefe are drofiY and material. Of ::111 things belong. ing to a Man, his Breath is the moll: fubtile, inviliblc, and fpirituat. But now the 'G~n.'- . 7t-Soul is called the* Breath of God, and therefore m'ull: needs De Spiritual in a high degree. And what then bath a fpiritual Soul to do with Clods of Earth, or Acres of Land, with Barns full of Corn, or Bags full of Gold? Thefe are too thic k and grofs to correfpond with its refined Nature. But rather bring Spiritual Thin gs to Spiriru.- t H.b.J2, al. God who is the -f" Father ofSpirits, his Love and Favour, Jn lntereft in him, and 9· Communion with him, the Confolations of the Holy Gholl:, the Altings of Grace, and the Hopes of Glory; thefe Spiritual and Clarified Effences, which a carnal Eye cannot fee, nor a carnal Judgment value; thefe are moll: fuitable to th e Soul, that is a ~pirit, .and ought nOt to be unequally yoak'd to the Dregs and Drofs of Ear thly Enjoymcnts. . .. Secondly; Tlte Soul is immortal, but all worldly Things are perifhints, and wear o~tt in the ufing. And therefore it was but fmall Comfort, when the nch Man fung hts Requiem, to fay, Soul, take thy eafo, thou haft Goods laid up for many Years. .Thou Fool! What is an Eftate for many YearS, to a Soul whofc duration 1s not rneafured by Years, hut by Eternity? What when thofe Years 9f Plenty are expired? How deftitute will thy Soul be when it fhall have out~lived 'all its good things? It may outlive them, even in this World. God may nip and blaft all that thou fett ell: thy Heart Oll, and make all thy Comforts fall off from thee, like fo many withered Leaves. However, if thou hall: no other than what this miferaWc World can afrOrd, thou fhalt <rertainly outlive them in the World to come: And what wilt than do, not in thofc Years, but in that Eternity of Famine? As it is with thofe that are invited tofeaft in fame noble Family, the Furniture is l'ich, the Entertainment fplendid and magnificent; but when they dep art, they can- not of all that Pomp and Bravery carry any thing away with them: So is it here; The VVorld is God's great Houfe, richly fnrniJh'd, and we well entertai n'd in it; we have a\1 things liberally afl:Orded us for our ufe; but nothing of all ' i s ours. And therefore God hath fer that grim Porter, Death, at his Gate, to fee that as we brought nothing into it~ fowe carry nothing out of it. What a fad partin~~hour will it be to the Soul, when it mull: go into another World, and leave all that it admired and loYed, behi_11d in this? How will it protraa, and linger? How loth '_Yill it be to en- ter upon fo great a Jouriley, and carry nothing to defuty the Charges of it? ·Certain.. ly, dying muft needs be a terrible thing to thofe who have gotten nothing but what they can 110 longer keep, When their Souls mull: be fet on Ihore in a vaft and black Eternity, all naked and dell:itute, hav.ing nothing to relieve or fuppor tthem. 3· Thirdly; The Neceffities of the Soul, ·are-alrogethet of another kind, than thofe which worldly things are able to fupply; ~nd therefore they are wholly unfuitable. Natural Things may well ferve for natqral Wants. Food will ~atisfiC Hunger; an:d Raiment fence otrthe Injuries of the Weather, artd R:iches Will procure both. !But the Soul's Neceffities are S_piritual, and the~e no Natl}ral tPing can reacQ. It wants a price to redeem it; nothmg can do this but the preciouS BlOod ofChrift. It' wants Pahion and Forgivcncfs; nothing can grant it, but the ffC~ a nO. abundant Mer~y of God. It wants SanCl:ification and Holinefs,- Conifor t an<l; tAffUrahce; nothin g can effeCt thefe but the Holy Ghoft. Here all worldly things fall fhort. The E:xigencics of the outward Man they may ftipply ~ buethe greate'ft abundance of themcan never .1. qmet
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