better not to know God, than to think of him amifs: for in the one cafe we do but neglect him, and in the other cafe we difhonour him. 3. Which is religion compleat in us; to refemble and imitate him, and to be in our measure and degree, so far as he is communicable to us, what God is in his height, excellency and perfection. This is to glory, that he doth underftand and know me. To know God, of whom three things are affirmed. (1.) That he doth deal graciously and favourably; he knows our frame, he confiders of what we are made. (2.) That he doth act according to the reafon of the thing or the right of the cafe, which is called judgment. (3.) That he doth act, fecundum equitatem caufa, that is, according to the equity of the cafe i. e. in righteousness, dealing according to what is just and fit. And this the scripture doth abundantly declare; I will name you fome places. Pfalm. lxxxix. 14. Juftice and judgment are the habitation of his throne; mercy and truth fhall go before his face. Pfalm. cxix. 156. Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord: Pfalm. cxlv. 7. They fhall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and fball fing of thy righteousness. v. 8. The Lord is gracious and full of compaffion, flow to anger and of great mercy; v. 9. the Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. God, when he did gratify Mofes to admit him to the fight of himself, he made this proclamation, gracious and merciful, full of loving-kindness, and of great mercy.

In the IIId place, you have in the words following the text, the affurance of these things, that God is. in them certainly; for in these things I delight, faith

the

the Lord. Now this you must know; that which is in a rational and intelligent nature with complacence, harmony and delight, and is a matter of choice, is more certainly there, than any natural quality is fixed to an inferior agent. So that the fun doth not more certainly fhine, nor the fire more certainly burn; heavy things do not more certainly defcend by a principle of gravity, nor light things afcend by a difpofition of levity, than an intelligent nature doth perform these things; and they are there effectually, where an intelligent agent doth delight himself. So that do but confider this by the way God is not formidable because of his omnipotence; though he is not fubject to the controul of the whole world, and his own power cannot be limited by any thing below him ; yet you may be affured that you cannot be hurt from thence you are out of danger, because God takes pleasure and delight in judgment. and loving-kindness.

Thus have you the fum of the words.. So that here to speak to the point, we are not to glory: what that imports I will fhew you. 1. Not in the good things of the mind. Now the perfections of the mind (I mean of the understanding) are these two, intelligence and prudence. These are the perfections of the understanding. 2. You are not to glory in bonis corporis, in the good things of the body. Now the good things of the body are two; health and firength. 3. You are not to glory in the good things. of fortune; and they are two alfo; wealth and ho

nour.

For fapientia mentis; wisdom is a perfection of the mind: might is a perfection of the body;

riches are the inftruments of both; for by wealth a man is enabled to exercise liberality, magnificence, and to do things that are either for the honour of God in the world, for the advantage of human fociety, or for the relief of the poor and those that are in neceffity.

Thus comprehensive is the prophet, let not the wife man glory, &c. And pray take notice of four things; firft, of the word, glory. 1ft. He doth not deny the things themselves to be good for all those things that he instances in, are the gifts of God; they are God's bleffing upon us, for which God is to be thanked, and in the enjoyment of them he is to be acknowledged. 2dly. He doth not difallow our having of them; for we may fay here, as St. Peter to Ananias and Sapphira, Acts v. 4. concerning his lands and his estate, were they not in thy own power? There is no law that requires thee to alienate thy eftate, nor art thou called upon to bring either part or all to the common stock of the church; fo that he was not challenged for having the land, neither did the apoftle fay it was his duty to alienate or to fell it; but for lying to the Holy Ghoft, for diffimulation; an act of treachery and falfhood. 3dly. He takes not away the use of these things, of none of them: for Pfalm cxii. 5. The good man guides and orders his affairs with difcretion, faith the Pfalmift; there is the ufe of wif dom; and Ifa. xxviii. 26. there the husbandman's fkill is attributed to God's direction; God directs him how to prepare his ground and to fit his feed for the foil. Prov. xxii. 3. The prudent man forefees an evil and hides himself; but the fimple pass on and are punished.

;

punished. 1 Chron. vii. 2. you have there an honourable mention of valiant perfons and men of might. 1 Kings xv. 23. even kings that are not upon the whole matter approved, because they did not follow the Lord fully, yet the might that they did is commended. Eccl. v. 18, 19. Behold that which I have feen; it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the fun, all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. Eccl. vi. 1, 2. There is an evil which I have feen under the fun, and it is common among men; a man to whom God hath given riches, wealth and honour, fo that he wanteth nothing for his foul of all that he deftreth, yet God giveth bim not power to eat thereof, but a franger eateth it. These men have the privilege of the horse and the afs, to carry all the day long a heavy load upon their backs, and at night to have it taken off from them, and they turned into the ftable: they have power to fee that so much is their own, but they have not command of what they have, neither have they power to do publick good, or to exercise acts of charity, nor to use themselves kindly. 4thly. He doth not deny advantage by these, Eccl. ii. 13. Wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. And we are wont to say, it is better and safer for a man to be envied than pitied. For he that is envied hath wherewithal, by which he may fubfift, and by which he may make his defence; but a man may be pitied

and

and starved. And we are wont to say, neceffity makes men bafe. Now by these four things it appears that the prophet excludes none of them and this fhews, 1st. The folly of popish fuperftitious votaries. They tell us of three states of perfection; the state of fingle life; the state of poverty and beggary; the ftate of regular, i. e. blind, obedience. I have but to do with one of these states, that is the ftate of poverty or beggary. There is nothing of merit in this state, there is nothing that recommends a man in this ftate to God, but the exercise of virtue, fubmiffion to the divine difpenfations, patience and contendedness. It is a fignal place, that of the apoftle, Col. ii. 23. where, in a competition, he puts the fatisfying of nature's defires, and prefers this before pinching and ftarving the body. Some think it is mortification, but they are mistaken; which things have indeed a fhew of wif dom, in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body, not in any honour to the fatisfying of the flesh. The denying of a man's will, the keeping ourselves within the bounds of reason, that is perfection. To pretend to mortification by making a diftinction between flesh and fifh, by abftaining from flefh and drinking wine, these are cheats and impoftures, there is nothing of religion in them. 2dly. I alfo do ob

ferve all these four against that ftinginefs and envy of fuch as being in a lower ftate themselves, because they cannot otherwife fatisfy their mal-content, malignity and envious difpofitions towards thofe that are in a fuperior and better condition; hold forth that despicablenefs, and being contemned in the world, think that that is religion: which is a cheat

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