The Excellency of Heavenly Trcafom. 547 is a Sayinj!, in PbuttYch recorded, of a rich Ro_man~ Craj]iu, That he did not think rh.u Afan rit·h, t~Jat knew all that he hfld. Truly, m th!s Man's account, a Chriftian is truly rich, he hath laid upmorcTreafure than htrnfelf knows?f; hut though a Chriftian knows not how muc~ he hath, yet l1c Jhalllofe none ; It is fafe, being b. id up in Heaven; every Star ts as a Seal fet upon the Treafure Door, that none may break i n and violate it. And that is the firft Argument, Lay up Treafure in Heavm, hecaufc there on! y it is fafc; there only the Moth doth not corrupt, and Thieves do not break throvgh and fleal. ( 2.) And then Secondly, another inforcing Rcafon you find in the nex:t Verfe, and that is, becaurc by laying up 'Treafure in Heaven, you lay up your Hearts alfo in Heaven ; for, n'hercyour Treafurc is, fays Chrift, there 1vili your Hearts be aLfo; and where your Hearts are, there arc ¥ou. Now. what an Argument is this, 0 Chr_iftians! \Vould you your felves be latd up fately m Heaven,before you come to be latd down in your Graves? Would you pre-occupate your own Immortality and Glory? Would you fend all your Thoughts, and all your Defires, as Spies into the Land of Promife, to difcovcr the Riches and Beauty of it? Then lay up your Treafure there, this will center all your thoughts, this will fix all your ajfrffiom on it felf; and though now yo~1 are on Ea~th, and walk on Earth, ye~ t~is ~HI make your Converfation to be m Heaven, If your Treafure be there; tt ts tmpoffible that you and your Treafure fhould be at a diftance: If your Treafure be on Earth, your Minds will be there alfo, you will grovel here below, the Serpent's Curfe will he upon yot~, Vpon thy belly /halt tho~go, ~nd duft ftJalt. tboz~ Eat all the Days of thy Life. But tf you r Treafure be latd up m Heaven, It wtll attraB: and draw up yOllr Heart$ unto it, and make them Heavenly Hearts as it felf is an Heavenly Trcafure. Now all this is backed with another confideration in the beginning of the words, and that is, Lay up Treafure for your [elves in Heaven. You may indeed lay up Treafurc on Earth, but it is a hazard whether it be for your felves: Here Meu fweat and toil to get Eltates, and heap up Treafurcs, but they knolv not who jl1t1U enjoy and I>oflefs them ; they h1.hour all their Days to Purchafe a few uncertain Riches, that ufi.1ally, by that time they purpofc to reap the Fruit of them, Death comes, and fi1atches away their Souls; and the greateft ufe they can make of them is, only to bequeath them unto others. He only that is Rich towards God, lays up Treafure for h;m[clj; and lays up thofe Richcnhat he needs no Legacy to difpofe of them ; a Chriftian is his own Heir, and what himfelf bath gotten, he himfelf lh. a\1 Eternally enjoy and poffefs. And thus you have the parts of the Text: Lay up for your [elves 1~reafure in Heaven. There is nothing in the words that needs much Explication, I !hall therefore on· ly in brief enquire into two things. Firft, What is here meant by Trcafure. Secondly, What is meallt by laJing up this Trc~tfure in Heawn. Firft, \\~'hat is here meant by Treafure, _ I .Anfroer, 1t is a metaphorical Expreffion, and denotes to us that which we fet JVh~t ir the higheft rate and value upon, that the getting of which we muft endeavour, me~nr h.f the enjoyment of which we we moft prize, the lofs of which we moft bemoan: In 7'reafure. a word, that which we account as our greateft and beft Good, that is our Treafure, be it what it will. Secondly, The next Enquiry is, what is meant by Laying up this Trcafure in He~t~ Wlmiti$ vm. ro14.fup 1 A nfn)er, It is nothing elfe but to efteem Heaven, and the things of Heaven r;,:lljurein thus, to be our Treafure, to rate and value them above all things elfe, and to e~t'llen. look upon them as our Chiefeft Good, and accordingly to feek and labour after them. I might now propound many Obfervations to you, as indeed every word of this precious Scripture is vregnant with them, but 1 fhall only mention one, intending only to infift upon that, and it is this; Do8:. T1Mr Heavmly and SpirituaL rhingJ, they are and ought to be of rhe grt~~ttfl va/11e with t'Utry true Chriftiart. Or thus: A true Cbriftiau doth~ atJd he ought to ejlee., HeavenLy things ~tbr;e 110 things. Now what arc thefe Heavenly things but God and Cbrift,Gracc and Glory, Spiri· rual and Eternal Concernments? Thefe are the choice things of a Chriftiln, what .. Zzzz• n~
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