Serm. XV. Sojourners upon Earth. ftrid Account of all the Altions done by us in this Life, and receive the Sentence of Eternal Happinefs or Mifery, according to the things donein the Body, whether they he Good, or whether they be Evil. For as our Saviour argues concerning the Cafe of denying him and his Truth, to avoid temporal Suffering and Death ; What is a Man profited, if he (hall gain the zvhole World,- and lofe his nom Soul ? Or what (hall a man give in exchange for his Soul? When we are tempted by temporal Intereft and Advantage, or by the fear of prefent Lofs and Suffering, to deny or diffembie our Religion, to do any thing that is finful in any kind, and con- trary to our Duty and Confcience, let us ask our felves; What will be the Pro- fit and Advantage of it ? What, if for fear ofMen, and what they can do to nie, I incur the Wrath and Difpleafure of Almighty God ? This is infinitely more to he dreaded ; and his Frowns are a thoufand times more terrible, than the bittereft Wrath and cruelleft Malice of Men. What, if to preferve this frail and mortal Body, I (hall evidently hazard the Lofs of my Immortal Soul ; and to efcape a Temporal Inconvenience, I forfeit Everlafting Happinefs, and plunge my felf into Eternal Mifery and' Ruin ? Would not this be a wild Bargain, and a mad Ex- change, for any Temporal Gain and Advantage, to lofe the things that are Eter- nal ? And for the pleating of our felves for a little while, to make our felves miferable for ever ? If we confefs our felves to be Pilgrims andStrangers on the Earth, and are per Evaded of the Promifes of God concerning an Heavenly Country, where we hope to arrive after the few and evil days of our Pilgrimage are over ; let us not, by complying with the Humours of Strangers, and the vitious Cuftoms and Prati- ces of an Evil World, bar our felves of our Hopes, and banifh our felves from that happy Place, to which we all profefs we are going. We pretend to be travelling towards Heaven : But if we make fhipwreck of Faith and a good Confcience, we deftroy our own Hopes of ever arriving at that happy Port. We do not live up to our Expetation of a future Happinefs; if the unfeen Glories of another World do not raife us above all the Temptations and Terrors of Senfe. Our Faith and Hope have not their due and proper In- fluence upon us, if they donot govern our Lives and Altions, and make us fted- faft in the Profeffion of our Holy Religion, and in the. Confcientious Pra&ice of it. St. Paul reafon'd himfelf into this Holy Refolution, fromthe hopes of a bleffed Refurre&ion, Ails 24. 15, 16. I have hope, fays he, toward God, that there flail be a Refurreilion of the Dead, both of the Tuff and Unjuff, dr TIrio A For this caufe therefore, I exercife my felf always to have a Confcience void of offence, towards God, and towards Men. Vi. And La/Ily, If we be So;ourners and Travellers in this World ; we fhould often think of our End, and carefully mind the way to it. Our End is Everlafting Happinefs, and the direct Way to it is by a conftant and fincere and univerfal Obe- dience to the Laws and Commandments of God. And this in it felf is fo plain a way, that a fincere and honefi Mata can hardly err in it. And therefore we muff not fuller our felves to be led and trained out of it, upon any Pretence whatfo- ever; not by the Wildfire of pretended Illuminations and Enthufiafns ; nor by the confident Pretence ofan infallible Guide, that will needs Phew us another way, and perfwade us to follow him blindfold in it. Let us not quit the Infallible Rule of God's Word, to follow any Guide whatfoever. If an Apo/lle, or an Angel from Heaven, preach any other DoIrine and Way to Heaven, let him be accurfed. He who is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, when he was confulted with about the Way to Eternal Happinefs, knew no other but. this. For when the Young Man ask'd him; Good Mailer, what good thing fall I do, that I may inherit Eternal Life ? His Anfwer was, If thou wilt enter into Life, keep the Commandments, ' fis true indeed, that by Reafon of our corrupt Inclinations within, and powerful Temptations without this Way (efpecially at our firft fetting out) is rugged and difficult. So our Lord bath forewarned us, telling us, That ¡Irait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way that leadeth to Life, and that there be few that find it ; therefore we fhouldflrive to enter in, take great Care and Pains to difteria the Right Way, and to overcome the Difficulties of our<firlt Entrance Q 2 into
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