For they look upon Sermons only as popular Difcourfes, rehears'd by one of their Fellow-Creatures, which they may cenfure, approve or reject, as themselves fee good. And we our felves, I fear, have been too faulty, or at least remifs, in this particular; in that when we preach, we ordinarily make a long Harangue or Oration concerning fome point in polemical, dogmatical, or practical Divinity, and ufe only fome moral Perfuafions to press upon our Auditors, the obfervance of what we say, without interpofing, or exercifing the Authority which is committed to us, fo as to charge them in the Name of the most High God, to observe and practise what we declare and prove unto them to be his Will, and by confequence their Duty. But for my own part, did I think that Preaching confifted only in explaining fome point in Divinity, and using only moral Arguments to perfuade Men to perform their Duty to God and Man, I fhould not think it worth my while to do it, because I could not expect to do any good at all by it. For all the moral Arguments in the World, can never be fo ftrong to draw us from Sin, as our own natural Corruptions are to drive us into it. And therefore we can never expect to do any good upon Men, either by our Logick or Rhetorick; but our ArL guments

guments must be fetched from on high, even from the eternal God himself, or elfe they are never likely to profit or prevail upon them. We must charge and command them in God's Name, or else we had as good fay nothing.

IT is true, did we, who preach God's Word, propofe nothing else to our felves, but to tickle Mens ears, and please their fancies, and so to ingratiate our felves into their love and favour, it would be eafie to entertain them with Difcourfes of another nature, ftuffed with fuch fine Words, quaint Phrafes, and high Notions, as would be very pleasing and acceptable unto them. But I must take leave to fay, that we dare not do it; for we know, that as our Auditors must give an account of their hearing, fo it is not long before we also muft give an account of our preaching too; for fo God himself hath told us before hand by his Apoftle, Heb. 13. 17. But how shall we be able to look the eternal God in the face, yea, or to look our Auditors in the face at that time, if inftead of charging their Duty upon them, in order to their eternal Salvation, we fhould put them off with general Difcourfes, which fignifie nothing, only to please and gratifie them whilft we remain with them; no, we dare not do it, and therefore I with Men would not expect it

from

from us; for we must not hazard our own eternal Salvation, to gain their temporal favour or applaufe. And therefore, feeing God hath been pleased to entrust us fo far with Mens Souls, as to direct them in the way to eternal Life, how foever they refent it, we are bound in Duty, both to God, to them, and our felves, to deal plainly with them, and to use the Authority which he hath here committed to us, where he hath exprefly commanded us in his Name, to charge them that are rich in this world, &c.

WHERE I defire the Reader to obferve in the next place, that we of the Clergy are not only empower'd to charge the poorer, or meaner fort of People, who by reafon of their extream poverty and want, may seem inferior to us, but even rich Men too; Charge them, faith the Apostle, that are rich in this world. And the reafon is, because we come unto them in his Name, who gives them all the Riches they do enjoy, and can take them away again when he himself pleafeth; fo that he can make the poor rich, and the rich poor, when he pleaseth, and therefore the poor and rich are all alike to him; his Power and Authority is the fame over both; and therefore we, coming in his Name, are ordered to make no diftinction, but to charge the one as well as the other; yea, here we L 2

are

are particularly commanded to charge them that are rich.

WHICH is the next thing to be confidein thefe words, even whom the Apoftle means by them that are rich in this world? Which is a Question that needs a serious Refolution. For many Men, not thinking themselves as yet to be rich enough, will be apt to conclude from thence, that they are not to be reckoned amongst those whom the Apostle here calls rich in this World. But whatsoever they may think of themfelves, I believe there are but few, except the very poor, who in a Scripture sense are not rich Men. For whatsoever any have over and above their neceffary maintenance, that the Scriptures call Riches, as is plain from Agar's wifh, Give me neither poverty, nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me, Prov. xxx. 8. From whence it is eafie to obferve, that as nothing but the want of convenient Food is Poverty; fo whatsoever a Man hath over and above his convenient or neceffary Food, is properly his Riches; and fo he that hath it, is in a Scripture sense a rich Man, who is therefore called here in my Text πλέσιΘ, quafi πολυέσΘ, one that hath much Subftance, or more than he hath neceffary occafion for. And therefore, although fome may be richer than others, yet I believe the generality

may

may be justly reckoned in the number of the rich Men here spoken of, at least all fuch, as by the Bleffing of God, have not only what is neceffary for their present maintenance, but likewife fomething to fpare, and fo may all come under the notion of those whom we are here commanded to charge not to be high minded, nor truft in uncertain Riches, &c.

HAVING thus confidered the Act which we are here commanded to exert, and the Object, the rich of this World, we are now to confider the Subject matter, what that is which we are here commanded to charge upon them; but that is here exprefly fet down in feveral Particulars, all which I fhall endeavour to explain as they lie in order.

1. THAT they be not high minded; a neceffary caution for rich Men. For Riches are very apt to puff Men up with vain and foolish conceits of themselves, fo as to think themselves to be fo much better, by how much they are richer than other People; but this is a grand mistake, which we are here enjoined to use the utmost of our power and skill to rectifie, by charging them that are rich not to be high minded; that is, not to think highly and proudly of themselves, because they are richer or wealthier than other Men, butto