PART Ii. SERMON II, 17 in the soul, hath, in some measure, this effect; and where it shines in its brightness, it hath, 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 believed in Christ Jesus, with much more honour to christianity, than ever was brought to other religions by the same profession, and the same practice. Other religions have in some degree, promised a contempt of the world, a contempt ofsickness, and pain, and death; but then it bath been onlyhere and there a person of ahardier 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 ofthought, hath got above the world, and above death. But our religion boasts of its hun- dreds and thousands, and that not only those who had firmer natural spirits, or have been skilled 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 sorrows, pain and death. Theyhave learnt to live above all the enticing joys and affrighting terrors of this present state, that is, to live near to heaven : So that whatsoever religion pretends to a competitionwith ours, it falls vastly short in this respect, in raising the affections above the world, abovethe joysand fears of the present life. Again if we consider whatmotives have arguedthe minds of men to the contempt of the world, we shall find the religion of Christ Jesus isfar superior to all in this respect. Other religions have taught men to despise the good things ofthis world and to be unconcerned about theevils of it, in amere romantic way : Such was the Stoical doctrine, denyinghealthand wealth, sleep and safety, tohave any goodness inthem ; and pro- fessing that pain, poverty, sickness, want, hunger, and shame, were no evils ; andupon this accountthey taught their disciples to beunsolicitous about the one or the other, because they were nei- ther good nor evil. Thus, while they change the use of words they would make stocks and stones of us, rather than intelligent and holy despisers of sensible things; but the Christian doctrine teaches us to contemn both the goodand evil things of sense and time, by the expectation and prospect of the invisible and eternal world, whereboththe good and evil things are ofinfinitely greater importance: So our Saviour preaches, Mat. vi.19, 20. Laynot Vox.. t. C
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