126 SERMONS upon the S E R M. XVI. bag, that ,n Man take thy Crown ; as if that Crown which we had loft, were taken and worn by others. So Numb. r 1. 17, 25. Gsd took of the Spirit that was upon Mo- íès, andgave it to the Seventy Elders : As if what were given to his Afftftance, were taken from him, and his Abilities we leffened with his Work ; whereas 'tis only Meant of the Communication of the fame Graces. 2. The Meaning is, He that ufeth his Gifts well, fhall be amply rewarded ; fo amply, as if the Happinef which others expe&, (hould accrue to them, and be put on their Account.. Thirdly, The Reafon of both in the 29th, herfe ; For unto every one that bath, fha2 he '',iota. That thefe Expreffions are proverbial, is out of queftion with the Learn- ed : Habentt dabitur, is an Expreflìon verified in all Ages, and in all Countries : The Rich have many Friends ; and he that halt much ¡hall have more ; every one will be prefenting them : and they have great Advantages of laying out themfèlves, and improving themfelves more than others have : So on the contrary fide,' by the negle& of others, and their own incapacity to improve themfelves, poor Men com- monly grow poorer. Upon this occauion were the words firft ufed, which our Savi- Our is pleafed to tranflate, and apply to his own purpofe. The Senfe of the Words, as they lie hero, will be known .by taking this copulate Axiome and Propofition apart : The firft Branch fpeaketh of Gain, the fécond of Lois, a. Branch. `Unto every one that bath ¡hall be given, and he ¡hall have abundance. The word tx., cloth not only lignifie the Poffeflion of a thing, but the Ufe, which is the end of Poffefliott . and fo, he that hath, is he that hat to purpofe, that occupieth and trafficketh with his Grace or Gift received, with that care and diligence that belongeth to fo great a Treafure and Truft : To him (hall be given ; he (hall increafe his Stock, and accordingly the Comfort, Benefit and Reward that belongeth to it : Yea, it follows, He (hall have abundance, mac.M°isÉlat, not a fingle Abundance, but a continual Increafe even unto Perfè &ion ; an Increafe of Gifts, Graces and Rewards. The lumm is, To hiim that ufeth and improveth God's Grace, hhall by degrees bé given fo much, as that at laft he ihall have all'abundance. a. Branch of this copulate Axiome, is, From him that bath not, ¡bait' be taken away, even that which bath. As he that had one Talent, but had it not for his Matter's Ufe, is counted and reckoned as though he had none. We have not what we have, if we ufe it not well'; as we fay of a covetous Man, Avaro'tam deer quad habet, uám quad non habet. 'Tis as if we had it not : idle .Gifts and Habits lie dead and Milers. In Luke 'ris, Chap. 8. 18. And from whomfoever bath not, ¡hall be taken that which he feemeth to have. He maketh no ufe of his Gifts, but lets them lie idle, as if he had not had them: Of Grace and Righteoufnefs the Propofition holdeth molt true ; of Re- probates their Grace and Righteoufnefs is but a Pretenfion: of other Gifts which they have, they have them not for ufe, for the Lord's Service ; and fo, in effe&, they have them not : Therefore, they (hall be taken from them ; that is, they lofe their Reward. Ezek. j;. r;. If he trait in his Righteoufnefs, and commit Iniquity, all his Righteoufnefs ¡hall not be rentembred. a John 8. Look to your [elves, q. that we lofe not chafe things which we have wrought ; but that we receive a full Reward. Gal. ;. . Have you fufered fa many things in vain ? If it be yet in vain. Men may fuffer ma- ny things for the Truth, who afterward make foul tpefe &ion from it ; but all is vain, loll, and to no purpofe, as to any thing that can be expe&ed from God. The Nat.arite was to begin again, if he had defiled himfelf in the dayes of his Separati- on, Numb. 6. r 2. Thus for their putative Righteoufnefs, for other commorí Gifts which they really have, they (hall be deprived of all the real Benefit, which other - wife they might have had, if they had laid them out for the Glory of God, their own Salvation, and the good of their Neighbours. Doa. That all the good Gifts which God bath be/towed upon men, increafe by good u /e, but wither and are loft by Negligence. For this is the fumme of Chrifts Sentence and Reafon. Now that I may fpeak diftin&ly of the point, I mutt. fay fomething as to. the Increafe, and fomething as to the Loa - (t.) For the Increafe, To him. that bath (hall be given, and he ¡hall have- encre a- andantly t I (hall deliver my fenfe of it in thefe Propofitions. Flrft,
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