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SERM.

II.]

INWARD WITNESS

TO

CHRISTIANITY.

21

wrought

in

truth

in

the

soul,

hath,

in some measure,

this effect; and where

it

shines

in its

brightness, it bath,

in a great degree, this sublime grace accompanying

it;

or rather,

,(shall

I

say

this piece

of

heavenly

glory.

Pain and

sickness;

poverty and reproach, sorrow

and

death

itself,

have been

contemned

by

those

that

have be-

lieved

in

Christ

Jesus,

with

much

more

honour

to

Chris-

tianity,

than

ever

was

brought

to

other

religions

by

the.

same profession,

and the

saine

practice.

Other

religions

have,

in

some degree,

promised

a

con-

tempt of

the

world,

s,

contempt

of

sickness,

and pain,

and

death; but

then

it

hath

been only

here and there

a

person

of

a

hardier

mould

of

body; here

and

there one

in an

age,

or

one

in a

nation,

who by a firmness

of

natural

spirits,

an obstinate resolution,

attained

by

much labour

of

meditation, and toil

of

thought,

hath

got

above the

world,

and above death. But our religion

boasts

of

its

hundreds and

thousands,

and

that

not

only:

those

who

had

firmer

natural

spirits, or have

been skill-

ed

in

thought

and

meditation, and absent

from

sensual

things by philosophy, and intellectual exercises

;

but

the

feeblest

of

mankind, the

weak

things

of

this world,

the

foolish

and

the young; the

infant

(as

it were)

in

years,

and

the

feeble

sex,

have

been

made

to

contemn

this

world,

and

the pleasures

of

it,

the

hopes,

and

the

sor-

rows,

pain,

and

death.

They

have

learnt

to live

above

all the

enticing joys and

affrighting

terrors of

this

present

state,

that

is,

to

live

near

to

heaven:

So

that

whatso-

ever religion pretends

to

a competition

with ours,

it

falls

vastly

short

in this

respect,

in

raising the

affections

above

the

world,

above the joys and fears

of

the

present

life.

Again,

if

we

consider what

motives have

argued the

minds

of

men to the

contempt

of

the world,

we

shall

find

the religion

of

Christ

Jesus

is

far superior

to all

in

this respect.

Other

religions have

taught

men to despise

the

good

things

of

this world, and to be

unconcerned

about

the

evils

of

it, in

a mere romantic

way: Such

was

the Stoical

doctrine, denying

health and

wealth, sleep

and

safety,

to have

any goodness

in

them

;

and prófessiog

that

pain,

poverty, sickness,

want, hunger, and

shame, were no

c3