Felicity of this Life, it both fhortens our Life in general, and the profperous flourishing Part of it in particular. We may well ask the Question then, as Solomon doth, Ecclef. ii. 22. What hath a Man of all his Labour, and of the Vexation of his Heart wherein he hath laboured under the Sun? For all his Days are Sorrows, and his Travel Grief, yea his Heart taketh not reft in the Night. He anfwers there that this alfo is Vanity; and concludes that there is nothing better, as to this World's Felicity, than the contrary Practice, of not being a Drudge to the World, but both ufing it for the various Occafions of Life, and taking Pleasure in that Ufe, for that this is the Gift of God.

And it is no wonder that both in the Old and New Teftament, we are so much cautioned against thefe exceffive Cares of the World, and exhorted to a chearful Use of it, and a Moderation of our Defires after it, fince it is found by conftant Experience, that nothing is more pernicious either to the Care of our Souls, and the Concerns of a better Life, or to our Peace and Happiness in this World, than these anxious Cares, engaging the Mind in a perpetual Drudgery Day and Night, and leaving us neither Time 'nor Inclination for better Things; whereas, on the contrary, a Mind delivered from thefe Encumbrances, is a fit Soil for receiving the Seeds of all Virtue, and for bringing forth the due Fruits of it. (a) In fome thirty, in fome fixty, and in fome an hundred fold. It will be but a poor Excufe to fay, I take all this Pains

(a) Matt. . 8.

for my Heir, I fhall leave it to him, and he may do more good with it than I have done, if he pleases. This is juft the Defcription Solomon gives of the worldly Wretch, having immediately before given a quite contrary Character of a good Man. Eccl. ii. at the last Verfe, For God giveth to a Man that is good in his Sight, fays he, Wif dom and Knowledge and Joy; but to the Sinner he giveth Travel, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. To conclude, Pray let us all remember that the Time is faft approaching, when the richest Mifer shall in vain with that he had not left the doing of good to his Heirs; but according as God had enabled him, that he had contrived to do good himself; to be rich in good Works, ready to dif tribute, willing to communicate, laying up for himfelf a good Foundation against the Time to come, that he might have laid hold on eternal Life. And O that all of us would confider in this our Day the Things that belong to our everlasting Peace, before the Time come that they be hid from our Eyes.

God of his infinite Mercy give us all Grace fo to do; and to him be all Praife, Honour, and Glory, for ever, Amen,

SERMON XXVI.

MATT, VI, 28.

And why take ye Thought for Raiment: Confider the Lilies of the Field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin.

Ver. 29. And yet 1 fay unto you, that even Solomon, in all his Glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Ver. 30. Wherefore if God fo clothe the Grass of the Field, which to day is, and to morrow is caft into the Oven, fhall be not much more cloath you, Oye of little Faith!

I

The Eighth Sermon on this Text.

N thefe Words our Saviour continues the for

mer Subject he was upon against Anxiety, and the inordinate Cares of the World; only as what went before had an Aspect to that Part of our neceffary Subfiftence, which confifts in Eating and Drinking, this which I have now read relates chiefly to our Cloathing; and the Defign of it is to fhew us that God's Providence relates to our Cloathing as well as to our Victuals, which by a moderate Care and Industry, but without Anxiety and Solicitude, with God's Bleffing, we may easily provide for ourselves. In the Words we may observe these three Things.

L. A

I. A Reprehenfion of our Anxiety, and Diftruft of Providence as to our Raiment: And why take ye Thought for Raiment?

II. An Argument to convince us of God's Care in cloathing his Creatures, taken from the glorious Apparel of the wild Lilies; Confider the Lilies of the Field, how they grow.

III. An Application of this Argument to the Cafe of anxious diftruftful Men, a fortiori, in four Particulars.

(1.) That the Lilies can do nothing for themfelves, towards their own Cloathing; we can. They toil not, neither do they fpin. The Word which we render Toil, in the (a) Original fignifying only Husbandry Labour, it is not taken in an ill Senfe, q. d. They can go through none of the Labour neceffary for making Cloth, neither the Field or Husbandry Labour, as for example, in fowing and gathering the Flax and Cotton; nor the House Labour, in working it up; both which we can do.

(2.) That they are Creatures of a much shorter Continuance, and of far lefs Use than we; and therefore we may much more expect to be taken Care for by God's Providence than they. Wherefore if God fo cloath the Grafs of the Field, which to Day is, and to Morrow is caft into the Oven, fball he not much more cloath you?

(3.) 'We may easily observe that God's Providence extends to Clothing, because this Clothing, which without their Industry he bestows on the wild Lilies, doth in Fineness and Splendour much

exceed the richeft Clothing invented by human Art. I fay unto you that even Solomon in all his Glory, was not arrayed like one of these.

(4.) In this Application, our Dulness in not obferving, and our Infidelity in not believing these Things, and our Diffidence in not trusting to them, is reprehended in these Words; O ye of little Faith! These are the feveral Parts of the Text, which I intend to explain and recommend to your Confideration at this Time, in the fame Order in which I have proposed them.

I. The first Thing I take notice of in the Words, is, a Reprehenfion of our Anxiety and Diftrust of Providence, as to our Raiment. And why take ye Thought for Raiment? I fay, in these Words are reprehended an Anxiety, and a Diftruft of Providence; an Anxiety, in the original. Word peguvaw, which as I told you before μεριμνάω, when applied to worldly Things fignifies not a moderate, but an exceffive vexatious Care, which we properly call Anxiety and Solicitude. A Distrust of Providence is likewife implied in this Queftion, which will be plain if we confider how the Sentence ends, O ye of little Faith! Now that Man's Anxiety reaches to Raiment, as well as Victuals, is too plain almoft in all forts of Men. The Poor, though their Clothes are not coftly, yet confidering more their own narrow Circumftances than the Providence of God, are much concerned where to find new Clothes, when the old fhall be worn out. And the richer Sort, though they have enough to buy Clothes for their Neceffity, if that would content them, yet striving to vye with one another in the Richness and Coftliness of Apparel, they are as often put to it to fatisfy

the