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ment; yet it is unspeakably great. Lazarus is reprefented as very happy immediately after his paffing out of this world; he is faid to be carried into Abraham's bofom: by which the Jews exprefs the happinefs of the future ftate. And the rich man is reprefented as in great anguifh and torment. But what the happiness of good men, and the mifery of wicked men fhall be in the other ftate, we can but now imperfectly and unskilfully defcribe. Each of thefe I have in another difcourfe [Sermon clxiii. on Rom. vi. 21. 22.] fpoken fomething to. I proceed to a

Fourth obfervation, the vaft difference between mens conditions in this world, and the other. The rich man profpered here, and was afterwards tormented: Lazarus was poor and miferable in this world,` and happy in the other; ver. 25. Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedft thy good things, and Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And it is very agreeable to the wisdom of God, to make such a difference between mens conditions in this world and the other; and that for these two reafons:

ft, For the trying of mens virtue.

2dly, In order to the recompenfing of it..

1. For the trial of mens virtue. For this end prin cipally God ordains the fufferings of good men, and permits the best of his fervants many times to be involved in the greatest calamities, to try their faith in him, and love to him; to improve their virtue, and to prevent thofe fins into which the mighty temptations of a perpetual profperity are apt to draw even the beft of men; to take off their affections from the love of this vain world, and to engage and fix them there, where they fhall never repent that they have placed them; to prove their fincerity towards God, and to exercise their patience and fubmiffion to his will; to prepare them for the glory of the next life, and to make the happiness of heaven more welcome to them, when they fhall come to it.

2dly, In order to the recompenfing of men: that they who will take up with the pleafures and enjoyments of this prefent world, and take no care for

their future ftate; that they who will gratify their fenfes, and neglect their immortal fouls, may inherit the proper confequences of their wretched choice. And on the other hand, that they who love God above all things, and had rather endure the greatest evils, than do the leaft; that they who look beyond the prefent fcene of things, and believe the reality and eternity of the other ftate, and live accordingly, may not be difappointed in their hopes, and ferve God and fuffer for him for nothing. From this confideration of the difference between the condition of men in this world and the other, we may infer,

1. That no man fhould measure his felicity or unhappiness by his lot in this world. If thou receivest: thy good things, art rich and honourable, and halt as much of the things of this world as thine heart can wish, art fplendidly attired, and farest fumptuously every day; art in no trouble like other men, neither art plagued like other folk; do not upon this blefs thy felf as the happy man. On the other hand, art thou poor and miferable, deftitute of all the conveniencies and accommodations of this life.? do not repine at thy lot, and murmur at God for having dealt hardly with thee. No man can be pronounced happy or miferable for what befals him in this life; no man knows love or hatred by these things: this life is but a fhort and inconfiderable duration, and it matters not much what entertainment we meet withal, as we are paffing through this world: The ftate of eternity is that wherein the happiness or mifery of men fhall be determined. He is the happy man who is fo in that life which fhall never have an an end; and he is miferable that fhall be fo for ever.

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2. We fhould not fet too great a value upon the: bleflings of this life. We may receive our good things. here, and be tormented hereafter; nay, this very thing will be no inconfiderable part of our torment, none of the least aggravations of our misery, that we did receive our good things. Nothing afflicts a man more, and toucheth him more fenfibly when he is in mifery, than the remembrance of his former

profpe

profperity; had he never been happy, his mifery would be the lefs.

Therefore we should be fo far from applauding ourfelves in the profperity of this world, that we fhould rather be afraid of receiving our good things here; left God fhould put us off with these things, and this should be all our portion, and left our mifery in the next world fhould be the greater for our having been happy.

The felicities of this world are tranfient, and though our happiness were never fo compleat, yet it is going off, and paffing away; and when it is gone and past, if mifery fucceed it, it had better never have been. Remember, thou in thy life-time receivedft thy good things; thefe things are only for our life-time, and how fhort is that! Did men feriously confider this, they would not fet fuch a price upon any of the tranfient enjoyments of this life, as for the fake of them to neglect the great concernments of another world. We are apt to be dazzled with the prefent glittering of worldly glory and profperity: But if we would look upon thefe things as they will be shortly gone from us, how little would they fignify! The rich man here in the parable, did, no doubt, think himself a much happier man than poor Lazarus that lay at his door; and yet after a little while, how glad would he have been to have changed conditions with this poor man! When he was in torments, then, no doubt he wished that he had fuffered all the mifery and want in this world, which Lazarus did, provided he might have been comforted as he was, and carried by Angels into Abraham's bofom. We fhould value this world, and look upon it, as this rich man did, not when he enjoyed it, but when he was taken from it; and we fhould esteem it, and use it while we may, as he wished he had done when it was too late.

3. We fhould not be exceffively troubled if we meet with hardship and affliction here in this world ; because those whom God defigns for the greatest happiness hereafter, may receive evil things here. Thus our bleffed Saviour, the captain of our falvation, was

made

made perfect through fufferings: This was the method which God ufed towards his own Son, first be fuffered, and then entered into glory. He fuffered more than any of us can bear; and yet he fupported himfelf under all his fufferings by the confideration of the glory that would follow; for the joy that was fet before him, he endured the cross, and defpifed the Shame.

;

The fame confideration fhould arm us with patience and conftancy under the greatest evils of this life. The evils that we ly under are paffing and going off; but the happiness is to come. And if the happiness of the next world were no greater, nor of longer continuance, than the miferies of this world; or if they did equally anfwer one another yet a wife man would choose to have mifery firft, and his happiness laft. For if his happiness were firft, all the pleafure and comfort of it would be eaten out by difmal apprehenfions of what was to follow: but his fufferings, if they were firft, would be fweetened by the confideration of his future happiness, and the bitternefs of his fufferings would give a quicker relish to his happiness when it fhould come, and make it greater.

But a good man under the fufferings of this life, hath not only this comfort, that his happinefs is to come, but likewife that it fhall be infinitely greater than his fufferings; that these are but fhort, but that fhall never have an end. And this was that which fortified the first Christians against all that the malice and cruelty of the world could do against them. They thought themselves well paid, if through many tribu lations they might at last enter into the kingdom of God; because they believed that the joys of the next life would abundantly recompenfe all their labours and fufferings in this world. They expected a mighty reward, far beyond all their fufferings; they were firmly perfuaded that they fhould be vaft gainers at the laft. So the Apoftle tells us of himself, Rom. viii. 18. I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed. And to the fame purpofe, 2 Cor.

iv. 17,

iv. 17, 18. Our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work for us an eternal weight of glory, whilst we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are feen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. If we would confider all things together, and fix our eyes as much upon the happiness and glory of the next world, as upon the pomp and fplendor of this if ; we would look as much at the things which are not feen, as the things which are feen, we fhould easily perceive, that he who fuffers in this world does not renounce his happiness, only puts it out to intereft, upon terms of the greatest advan

tage.

4. We fhould do all things with a regard to our future and eternal ftate. It matters not much what our condition is in this world, because that is to continue but for a little while: but we ought to have a great and ferious regard to that ftate that never fhall have an end. Therefore whenever we are do ing any thing, we should confider what influence fuch an action will have upon the happiness or misery of the next life. We fhould measure every action and every condition of our lives by the reference of them to eternity. To be rich and great in this world will contribute nothing to our future happinefs; all these things which we fo much dote upon, and purfue with fo much eagerness, will not commend any man to God; they will fignify nothing when we come to appear before our Judge. Death will ftrip us of thefe things, and in the other world, the foul of the pooreft man that ever lived fhall be upon equal terms with. the richeft. Nothing but holinefs and virtue will then avail us; and it is but a little while and we fhall all certainly be of this mind, that the best thing men can do in this world, is to provide for the other. I proceed to a

Fifth obfervation, that the ftate of men in the next world is fixed and unchangeable; which I ground upon verfe 26. Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, fo that they that would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would

come

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