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the root and principle,) as conducing to make the world happy: supreme love to God; a due and well regulated love of every man to himself; and love to every other man as to himself. But of these hereafter.

I shall now close with a short word of Use. By the drift and tenour of what hath been hitherto discoursed, you may see, that the good and felicity of every person, and so of the church in common, though it come at last in the issue to be an exter- nal thing, yet in the root and principle is an internal thing Every man's happiness or misery grows within himself; and so the common happiness and misery of the church of God grow principally and chiefly within itself. It is the saying of a heathen, Epictetus I mean, The character or note of an idiot or plebeian is this, that he places the expectation of all his good or of all his evil from without; whereas the note, the certain character of a philosopher, (of a wise or virtuous man, so he means by that term,) is to place all his expectation of good or evil in things that are within himself." It were well if we could but learn this document from a heathen; and learn it well, so as to have the sense of it deeply infixed in our minds and hearts: that hearing of these several causes that work the calamities and troubles of the church of God, we would consider, that, according to our participation in any such calamities, these evils in ourselves do contribute a great deal more to them than the evils in any other men. Let us be convinced of this. Do but apprehend, that if the ambition, or pride, or covetousness, or malice of another man may hurt me, these things within myself do hurt me much more; and there is some spice or other of them in each of our natures. Why should not we be convinced of so plain a thing; is not a dart in my own breast worse than in an enemy's hand? if I think myself concerned to know, what the pride and covetousness, and malice and ambition of such and such a man may do against me; if I have any tincture of these evils, (as who dares say he hath not?) within my own soul; have not I a nearer thing to regret, than the evil that only lies in another man? To expect or fear all our hurt from without, and not to fear the next and nearest evil, is the greatest stupidity imaginable.

And then for the causes of common good, and so of our own, as that is involved: we hear, it may be, with a great deal of complacency of such principles generally implanted in the -minds of men. What glorious times would they be, if all other men were such lovers of God, such orderly lovers of themselves, and such lovers of their neighbours, as they should be? but is it not of a great deal more concernment to our own felicity, that we be so ourselves? can the goodness, the piety,

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the righteousness, the benignity of other men do me good, in comparison of what these things lodged and deeply rooted in my own soul would do? It is true, it were a most desirable thing to have all the world religious: but if all the rest of the world were so, and my own soul vacant of it; what should I be the better for that? if all other men were lovers of their own 'souls, it would be happy for them; but nothing to me, if I despised my own. Therefore let us learn, what our own present business must be; to labour to have the causes of common calamity wrought out from ourselves, and the causes of common felicity and prosperity inwrought into ourselves. We 'cannot tell how to mend the state and condition of the world; and our duty reaches not so far: but we have each of us a work to do at home, in our own bosoms. And if ever we expect to see good days, it must be in this way, by being good and doing good. Psalm 34, 14.

SERMON IX*.

WE ́E are considering the principles, which the Spirit poured forth doth implant, conducive to the general prosperity and felicity of the people of God. And, as was said before, of the evil and mischievous principles, that naturally work their calamity and misery, that they may be all reduced to an inordinate self-love; so the good principles, which have a tendency to their welfare, may all be referred unto one common head, that of a due and well-tempered, well-proportioned love, When the Spirit of God comes to make a good and happy state of things to obtain and take place in the church; the work of that Spirit, poured forth for this purpose, is to write the laws of God in the hearts of his people. So you may find, (where there is a manifest reference to that future happy state promised, and which we are yet expecting and waiting for;) he speaks in that and in parallel scriptures of giving his Spirit, and of its immediate workings and operations. And this is its general work, to write his law in the hearts of his people, Jer. 31. 33. Now the law, we are told, all the law is fulfilled in that one word, Love, Gal. 5. 14. That is the sum and epitome of the whole law. And if we descend a little more to particulars, these three branches of a holy gracious love will

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do the whole business: that is, that love to God, which he requires and claims:-that love of particular persons, each of them to themselves, which is due and regular: and-their love to other men, as to themselves; or measured by that love, which they duly bear to themselves.

[I.] Consider what the love of God is, according as the law requires; and that we must therefore believe will be, when God pours forth his Spirit generally, and by it writes his law upon the hearts of men. Here is the first and great thing in the law, as our Lord Jesus Christ himself gives us the system of it, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, Matth. 22. 37, 38. What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, &c. and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul? Deut. 10. 12. Do but consider, what this would do to make a happy world or a happy church, to have the love of God exalted into its just dominion and supremacy in the minds and souls of men: that is, suppose a universal agreement among men to love God with one consent, with all their minds and with all their souls and with all their strength, as far as the bounds of the church may be set. There must be considerable in this love to God; first, Zeal for his interest and honour: and, secondly, Desire of happiness in him. One is love to him, as our supreme and sovereign Lord: the other love to him, as our supreme and sovereign Good, our Portion and Felicity. Now,

Do but suppose, first, a general agreement amongst us in the former of these,-that entire devotedness unto the interest of God, which his love doth most certainly include and must possess the hearts of men with ;-what an influence must this have! when there shall be no other contention amongst men, than who can do most for God, who can most greaten him in the world; when men shall generally agree in an entire devotedness unto the sovereign, supreme interest of the Lord of heaven and earth; do not you think, that would do much of this happy business? for what cause of contention can there be amongst men then? there are no quarrels in heaven; where that is the entire business of all, the thing wherein all consent and agree, to praise and honour, to adore and glorify their common Ruler and Lord and so far as the happy state we are speaking of shall obtain in the church of God on earth, so far that will be the very image of the church of God in heaven. Where there is an agreement among persons upon an evil principle, do but consider how it compacts such people amongst themselves : see how united the people of Ephesus were in a false religion! as is noted by that orator, who bespoke them on occasion of

the commotion amongst them upon the apostle Paul's coming thither, in Acts 19. 35. "What man is there, that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?" It was it seems a most observable unanimity, that was amongst this people in this one thing, unto that degree, that the whole city is said to be but one worshipper. Now when the church shall come to be but one worshipper of the great God, all devoted to him to serve his interest; when there shall be but one altar, the many altars mentioned before being all overturned by that inundation of the Spirit poured forth, and now but one great interest to be served; must not this make a happy state of things so far as it obtains? it is the multiplicity and privateness of men's designs and ends, that sets all the world together by the ears, and makes men every where ready to tear one another in pieces: whether they go under the Christian name, or not, that makes no difference in the case; as certainly a wolf is never a whit the less a wolf for being clothed with a sheep's skin. But when persons shall become one, consenting and agreeing, by the influence of that great principle of divine love, in the main design and business of religion; this must produce a happy harmony. It is a very plain case, that if you draw a circumferential line, and place one centre within that circumference, you may draw as many straight direct lines as you will from any part of the circumference to that centre, and it is impossible you should ever make them to intersect or interfere with one another: but let there be several centres, and then you cannot draw lines from any part, but they must necessarily intersect and cross one another ever and anon. Here is the case before us. It is the making of many centres, that causes men to interfere, while every man makes his own self his end: no two men's interests can throughout and always agree; but that which this or that man does, to please and serve himself, disserves or displeases somebody else, and hereupon comes a quarrel. It is manifest, that sincere religion would cure all this: when there is but one end, and every man's business is to serve and glorify their common Maker and Lord; when all thus agree in the love of God, there would be no interfering: and how would that contribute to external prosperity!

Do but consider the other thing, which true love to God includes, that is, secondly, the desire of him as our portion, our best and supreme good; if that shall once come to be universal, (as it shall be, whenever the happy time comes, when the Spirit shall generally write the law of God in the hearts of men;) it must needs make stirs and contentions and troubles to cease

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