government of Religion and directed by the Laws and Rules of it and it should be our continual Care and Endeavour to please God in all things and we should take as much pains and be as heartily concerned to be good Men as the Men of the World are to grow Rich and Great in this World nay so much more by how much it is a better and nobler Design to improve in Grace and Virtue than to prosper and thrive in our Temporal Estate and we do not in good earnest seek the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness if this be not our great study and endeavour to subdue our Lusts and govern our Passions and in a word to reform whatever is amiss in the inward frame and temper of our Minds and in our outward Conversation And indeed nothing does require greater diligence and attention and care than for a Man to become truly and thoroughly good to be meek and humble and patient and contented and resigned to the Will of God in every Condition to be peaceable and charitable and placable and ready to forgive these are great and difficult things and whatever we think not the work of a Wish or the effect of a sudden Resolution before the receiving of the Holy Sacrament no nor the fruit of frequent and â—ervent Prayers without the hearty concurrence of our own Care and Endeavour to render our Lives such as we pray God by his Grace to assist and enable us to be Thirdly Seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness does further imply zeal and earnestness in the pursuit of this Design And this is a degree above diligence for zeal is an ardour and â—ervency of Mind in the prosecution of a thing for which we are greatly concerned and which we vehemently desire to obtain it is the hottest and most intense degree of our affection towards any thing of our desire and love mixt with anger at every thing that stands in our way and hinders us from obtaining what we seek after such an heat as Ambition does commonly inspire Men withall in the pursuit of Power and Preferment Such ought to be the temper of our Minds and the edge of our Spirits in seeking the Kingdom of God as does usually possess Men in seeking the Kingdoms of this World and the Glory of them We must remember that it is a Kingdom which we seek for and aspire after not like the unstable and tottering Kingdoms of this World but a Kingdom which cannot be shaken as the Apostle calls it So that the greatness of the Design and the Excellency of what we seek after will justifie and warrant the highest degree of a discreet zeal and fervour in the prosecution of it and therefore no wonder that the Scripture in this matter useth words that import the greatest vehemency and earnestness bidding us to strive to enter in at the strait gate to labour and watch to run and wrestle and fight and in a word to give all diligence to make our Calling and Election sure Lastly Seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness does imply patience and perseverance in our endeavours after them and that we never cease our pursuit of them 'till we have obtained them and this notwithstanding all the difficulties and discouragements the opposition and persecution that we meet with for Righteâ—usness sake For this we must expect and reckon upon before-hand to encounter many difficulties and find many discouragements in the ways of Religion for strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life as our Lord himself hath told us Nay we must count to be grievously persecuted for Righteousness sake and if God see it good for us to pass through many Tribulations before we shall enter into the Kingdom of God and therefore we had need to be armed with a great deal of Patience and a very firm and obstinate Resolution to enable us to bear up and to hold out against all these for this is a necessary qualification for our seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness So our Lord hath told us Mat. 10. 22. he that endureth to the end shall be saved if we hope to receive the Crown of Life we must be faithful to the death Rev. 2. 10. And to the same purpose St. Paul declares Rom. 2. 7. that they only shall be made partakers of Eternal Life who by patient continuance in well doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality You see what is meant by seeking thâ— Kingdom of God and his Righteousness it remains briefly to be shewn in the Second place what is meant by seeking these first seek ye fâ—rst the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness that is let this be your main and principal Design so as to take place of all others in your esteem and affections in your aim and endeavour in comparison of this mind nothing else not the Comforts and Conveniencies no not the Necessaries of Life what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink and wherewithal ye shall be cloathed These you see our Saviour instanceth in before the Text as not to be regarded and taken care of when they come in competition with the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness And our Saviour tells us elsewhere that not only none of the Comforts and Necessaries of Life are to be valued against him and his Religion but that even this Temporal Life itself as dear as it is to us is to be parted withall and given up rather than to quit the profession of his Truth and Religion Mat. 10. 37. 38. He that loveth Father or Mother more than me is not worthy of me and he that loveth Son or Daughter more than me is not worthy of me He instanceth in the nearest Relations those towards whom we have the most tender and relenting affections and yet he tells us that the Consideration of his Truth and Religion ought to take place of these nay even of Life it self for so it follows and he that taketh not his Cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me St. Luke expresseth it more strongly and vehemently Luke 14. 26. If any man come to me that is take upon him the profession of my Religigion and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his own life also he cannot be my Disciple When these come in competition with our Religion and the great interest of our Eternal Salvation we are to regard and value them no more than if they were the Objects of our hatred but to set aside all consideration of affection to them so far as it would tempt us from Constancy in our Religion and the Care of our Souls So that when our Saviour bids us first to seek the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness his meaning is thaâ— Religion and the Concernments of our Souls and the Eternal Happiness of them in another World should be our first and chief Care and that all
finally by his Mercy we may obtain Eternal Life Thirdly Another powerful Argument to Care and Diligence is the fatal Danger of Miscarriage in a Matter of so great Concernment We may do many things in Religion and take some pains to get to Heaven and yet fall short of it The Rich young Man in the Gospel our Saviour tells us was not far from the Kingdom of God and he broke with our Saviour only upon one Point he was too much addicted to the World and loth to part with his great Possessions and distribute them in Charity to the Poor and thereupon he left our Saviour and for any thing that we find never returned to him again If the World govern and bear sway in our Hearts if we mind Earthly things first and make these our chief Care and Design the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness shall not be added unto us iâ— we will not mind them in the first place they are too good to be Accessories And if upon any one point we miscarry either out of love to the World or affection to any other Lust or Vice that we are loth to part withal our miscarriage is fatal and the ruine which we bring upon our selves irreparable for the Soul once lost is lost for ever If we have neglected the opportunity of working out our own Salvation while we are in this World it will never return into our power again Death will shut the door against us and we shall never see the Kingdom of God Fourthly It is a mighty encouragement to us to consider that if we sincerely seek the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness there is not only a fair probability of obtaining them but all the security we can desire Men may be in good earnest for the things of this World may love them with all their Hearts and Souls as we see too many do and seek them with all their might and strength and yet after all their Endeavours may be shamefully frustrated and disappointed of their End There are many Examples of this kind daily before our eyes and yet Men are not discouraged from seeking these things A fair probability nay almost a possibility of attaining them is enough to a Worldly-Minded Man to drudge and toil for them Why the same Affectionâ— the â—ame Zeal the same unwearied Endeavour to serve God and to save our Souls would Infallibly bring us to Heaven It was a sad but true Saying of Cardinal Wolsey when he was leaving the World Had I been but as careful to please God as I have been to serve my Prince he would not have forsaken me now in the time of my gray hairs Nay it is to be hoped that less Diligence and Care about the Concernments of our Souls and another Life than many Men use about the things of this Life will secure our Eternal Happiness or else it is to be feared that but very few would be saved And who would not place his Industry and Endeavour upon a Design in which he is sure not to miscarry if he do but heartily and in good earnest pursue it Especially when it will be of infinite greater advantage to him than any Design he can propound to himself for this World If a Man may be certainly Happy for Ever upon the same or easier terms than he can ordinarily compass any of those little Designs which Men propose to themselves in this World who would not seek that which is most worthy the having and which he is surest to obtain Fifthly and Lastly the Encouragement here in the Text is not inconsiderable that if we seek the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness all these things shall be added unto us This certainly is a very tempting Consideration for who would not be glad to reconcile the enjoyment of this World with the hopes of Heaven and Eternal Happiness But Men do not generally like our Saviour's Method they would seek the things of this World in the first place and get to Heaven at last they would be content to seek the one and have the other cast in and conferred upon them without their seeking But this will not be granted this way will not do And yet our Saviour hath gone as far as one would think could in Reason be desired he hath promised that if we will make Religion and the Salvation of our Souls our first and chief Care that all these things shall be added unto us So that the Design of going to Heaven and being Happy for ever is no ways inconsistent with a competent portion of the things of this Life Godliness the Apostle tells us hath the promise of this Life and of that which is to come The business of Religion the practice of a Holy and Virtuous Life is no hindrance to a Man's thriving in his Temporal Estate nay in many Respects it is apt to promote and advance it by engaging us to diligence in our Calling and by deriving the blessing of God upon our honest and lawful Endeavours by obliging us to the strict and constant practice of Truth and Justice and Fidelity in all our Dealings and Commerce which are the best way to establish a clear and solid Reputation and good Esteem among Men which is an unspeakable advantage in Business and at the long run one of the best and most lasting Instruments of Prosperity and Success Besides that Religion frees a Man from those Passions and Vices which do naturally tend to dissipate and ruine Mens Estates as Intemperance and Lewdness which are every way chargable Vices and do not only take Men off from Business and render them unfit for it but waste their Estates and bring many other inconveniencies upon their Persons and Families Religion makes Men meek and peaceable and inoffensive in word and deed which is a great security against chargeable Suits and Contentions and all sorts of Injuries and Affronts from others Among all the Beatitudes of our Saviour he only promiseth Temporal Happiness to Meekness Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the Earth They who provoke and offend no body are likely to be least disturbed and disquieted by others in their Possession and Enjoments who will harm you saith the Apostle 1 Pet. 3. 13. if ye be followers of that which is good Some may be so perverse as to persecute a Man for his goodness but it rarely happens most Men have not only a kindness but a veneration for true goodness By all these ways Religion naturally tends to the Temporal Prosperity of Men and the promoting of their wellfare and happiness even in this World besides that the Providence of God is very peculiarly concerned for good Men and a special Blessing attends them in all their Undertakings So that excepting the Case of Persecution which God will particularly Consider and Reward in another World the Religious and good Man who sincerely seeks the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness stands as fair and is upon as good terms for all
a Divine Nature First We will consider the Promises which are here spoken of whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises And because the chief Promises of the Gospel are here intended I shall take occasion from this Text to handle the Doctrine of the Promises which is frequently discours'd of in Divinity but not always so clearly stated And to this purpose it will be proper to take into Consideration these four things 1. What the Promises are which are here spoken of whereby are given unto us Promises 2. Why they are said to be so great and precious exceeding great and precious Promises 3. We will Consider the Tenour of these Promises 4. When Men are said to have a right to them so as they may apply them to themselves These four Heads will comprehend what I have to say upon this Argument 1. What the Promises are which the Apostle here speaks of whereby are given unto us Promises And no doubt the Apostle here intends those great and excellent Promises which Christ hath made to us in the Gospel So that to satisfie our selves in this enquiry we need only to consider what are the Principal Promises of the Gospel Now the great Promises of the Gospel are these three 1. The Promise of the free Pardon and Forgiveness of our Sins upon our Faith and Repentance 2. The Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit to assist our Obedience 3. The Promise of Eternal Life to Reward it 1. The Promise of the Pardon and Forgiveness of our Sins upon our Faith and Repentance The Gospel hath made full and clear Promises to this Purpose that if we believe the Gospel and will forsake our Sins and amend our wicked Lives all that is past shall be forgiven us and that Christ died for this end to obtain for us Remission of Sins in his Blood The light of Nature upon consideration of the Mercy and goodness of God gave Men good hopes that upon their Repentance God would forgive their sins and turn away his wrath from them But Mankind was doubtful of this and therefore they used expiatory Sacrifices to appease the offended Deity The Jewish Religion allowed of no Expiation but for legal impurities and involuntary transgressions such as proceeded from ignorance and inadvertency but not for Sins of Presumption and such as were committed with an bigh hand If Men sin'd wilfully there was no Sacrifice appointed by the Law for such Sins But the Grace of the Gospel justifies us from the greatest Sins upon our Faith and sincere Repentance So St. Paul tells the Jews Acts 13. 38 39. Be it known â—nto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses There was no general Promise of Pardon nor way of Expiation under the Law perfect Remission of Sins is clearly revealed and ascertain'd to us only by the Gospel 2. Another great Promise of the Gospel is the Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit to assist our Obedience Our Blessed Saviour hath promised that our Heavenly Father will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him 'T is true indeed there was a peculiar Promise of the Holy Ghost to the Apostles and Christians of the first Ages which is not now to be expected namely an Extraordinary and Miraculous Power whereby they were qualified to publish the Gospel to the World and to give Confirmation to it But now that the Christian Religion is propagated and setled in the World the great End and Use of these Miraculous Gifts is ceased but yet the Spirit of God doth still concur with the Gospel and work upon the Minds of Men to excite and assist them to that which is good And tho' this Operation be very secret so as we cannot give an account of the manner of it yet the effects of it are very sensible and this influence of God's Holy Spirit is common to all Christians in all Ages of the World This Proposition is Universally true and in all Ages and Times If any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his It must be acknowledged that the Spirit doth not now work upon Men in that sudden and sensible manner as it did in the first times of Christianity because then Men were strongly possest with the prejudices of other Religions which they had been brought up in and therefore as more outward means of Conviction were then necessary so likewise a more powerful internal Operation of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men to Conquer and bear down those prejudices and to subdue them to the Obedience of Faith But now the Principles of Religion and Goodness are more gradually instilled into the Minds of Men by the gentle degrees of Pious Instruction and Education and with these means the Spirit of God concurrs in a more Humane way which is more suited and accommodated to our Reason and offers less violence to the Nature of Men. So that this Promise of God's Holy Spirit is now made good to us as the Necessity and Circumstances of our present State do require God does not use such extraordinary Means for the producing of those Effects which may be accomplish'd in a more ordinary way The assistance of God's Holy Spirit is still necessary to Men to encline and enable them to that which is good but not in that manner and degree that it was necessary at first Because the prejudices against Christianity are not now so great and many of those Advantages which were necessarily wanting at first are now supplied in an ordinary way and therefore it is not reasonable now to expect the same extraordinary operation of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men which we read of in the first beginnings of Christianity 3. There is likewise the Promise of Eternal Life to Reward and Crown our Obedience And this the Scripture speaks of as the great Promise of the Gospel 1 Job 2. 25. This is the promise which he hath promised us even Eternal Life And upon this account the new Covenant of the Gospel is preferred before the old Covenant of the Law because it is establish'd upon better Promises All the Special and Particular Promises of the Law were of Temporal good things and these were the great Encouragements that were given to Obedience under that imimperfect Dispensation but now Godliness hath not only the Promise of the Life that now is but of that which is to come as the Apostle tells us 1 Tim. 4. 8. The Gospel hath clearly revealed to us a happy State of Immortality after this Life of which Men had but very obscure and doubtful apprehensions So the same Apostle tells us 2 Tim. 1. 10. That it is now made manifest by the appearance of our Saviour Jâ—sus Christ who hath abâ—lisbed Death and hath brought Life and Immortality
to light through the Gospel Holy Men had good hopes of it before but they had no sure distinct apprehensions of it no such full assurance concerning it no such clear and express Promises of it as the Gospel hath given us Thus you see what those great Promises are which the Gospel hath given us namely the Promise of the Free Pardon and Forgiveness of our Sins upon our Faith and Repentance the Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit to assist our Obedience and the Promise of Eternal Life and Happiness to Reward it These are the three Eminent Promises of the Gospel and in all probability those which the Apostle here calls great and precious Promises which brings me to the Second Thing which I propounded to Consider namely why they are said to be exceeding great and precious 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the greatest and the most valuable Promises And to satisfie us that they are such the very Consideration of the Bâ—essings and Benefits that they carry in them will be sufficient If we Consider the Condition that Mankind was in when God was pleased to make these gracious Declarations to us we shall see great Reason to set a high value upon every one of these Promises Mankind was extreamly degenerated all Flesh had corrupted its ways and the whole World was guilty before God and liable to all that Misery which the Sinner had reason to apprehend from the incensed Justice of the Almighty We had forfeited that Happiness to which our Immortal Nature was designed and which made our Condition more sad we were without strength to recover our selves out of it by our Repentance for what was past if God would have accepted of it and by our Future Obedience Now the Promises of the Gospel offer Relief to us in all these Respects and thereby obviate all the difficulties and disâ—ouragements which Mankind lay under The gracious Promise of Pardon frees us from guilt and sâ—cures us from the terrible wrath of God which our guilty Consciences did so much dread and without this Promise Mankind would have been under the greatest doubts and discouragements For when Men are afraid their Sins are greater than will be forgiven them they are apt to fall into Despair and Despair is an effectual bar to Repentance for when Men think their Condition is desperate they care not what they do And the Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit to assist and enable us to do our Duty does fully answer all the Discouragements and Objections from our own weakness and the power of temptation We may do all things through Christ strengthning us and how weak soever we are of our selves we are strong in the Lord and in the power of his might If God be for us who or what can stand against us The Devil is a very powerful Enemy and much too strong for Flesh and Blood to Encounter in its own strength but there is another Principle in the World which is Mightier and more Powerful than he the Holy Spirit of God who is always ready to help when we do not repulse and refuse his assistance Greâ—ter is he that is in you than he that is in the World says the Apostle 1 Joh. 4. 4. The Spirit of God dwellâ— in all those who are willing to admit him and is ever ready to assist those who comply with his blessed Motions and do vigorously put forth their own endeavours And then the Promise of Eternal Life that answers all the difficulties of our Obedâ—ence and sets us above any thing that the World can threaten us withal for our Constancy to God and his Trâ—th A Wise Man will be content to suffer any thing or to quit any thing upon terms of far greater advantage And what greater Consideration can be offered to encourage our Constancy and Obedience than an Eternity of Happiness So that the Apostle had Reason to call these exceeding great and valuable Promises so valuable that if any one of them had been wanting our Redemption and Recovery had either been absolutely impossible or extreamly difficult I proceed to the Third thing I propounded which was to consider the Tenour of these Promises that is whether God have made them absolutely to us without requiring any thing to be done on our part oâ— upon certain Terms and Conditions to be performed by us That God may if he please make an Absolute Promise of any Blessing or Benefit to us there is no doubt and that God's grace does prevent many and is beforehand with them is as little to be doubted the Spirit of God goes along with the Gospel moving and inclining Men to yield Obedience to it many times before any inclination and disposition thereto on their parts But as to this Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit the great question is not about the first motion of it but the continuance of this assistance and the encrease of it and this I think may safely be affirmed is promised only Conditionally as also the Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life And concerning each of these the Matter may quickly be decided by plain Texts of Scripture Concerning the Promise of the grace and assistance of God's Holy Spirit the Scripture takes notice of two Conditions First that we beg it earnestly of God And this our Saviour expresseth by asking seeking and knocking which signifies the importunity of our Requests Our Heavenly Father will give his Holy Spirit to them that thus ask it And then Secondly That we improve and make use of the grace which God affords us To him that hath shall be given and from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he seems to have That is as appears plainly from the scope of the Parable to him that useth that grace and those advantages which God affords him more shall be given but from him that makes no use of them and therefore is as if he had them not shall be taken away that which he but seems to have because he makes no use of it Concerning the Pardon of Sins The Scripture plainly suspends that upon the general Condition of Repentance and the change of our Lives Repent that your Sins may be forgiven you And upon the Condition of our forgiving others If ye forgive Men their Trespasses then will your Heavenly Father also forgive you but if ye forgive not Men their Trespasses neither will your Father forgive your Trespasses says our Saviour Mat. 6. 14 15. And then the Promise of Eternal Life is every where in Scripture suspended upon the Condition of Faith and Repentance and Perseverance in well doing He that believes says our Saviour shall be saved which indeed implies the whole Condition of the Gospel He that Believes that is he that effectually assents to the Doctrine of Christ and is so perswaded of the truth of it as to live according to it shall be saved But if Obedience were not included in the Scripture Notion of Faith yet the Scripture
design of them were to insinuate to us that God is to be prevailed upon by the meer importunity of our Prayers to grant our Requests but our Blessed Saviour who best knew his own meaning tells us that all he design'd by it was only to signifie that we ought always to pray and not to faint that is to continue instant in Prayer and not to give over after once asking as if we despaired of prevailing Not that meer importunity prevails with God to give us those things which he is otherwise unwilling to grant but because it becomes us to be fervent and earnest to testifie our Faith and Confidence in the goodness of God and the deep sense we have of our own weakness and wants and unworthiness and likewise that we set a true value upon the Blessings and Favours of God as worth all the earnestness and importunity we can use And in this decent and sober sense the success of our Prayers may truly be said to depend upon our importunity not that it is necessary to move God to grant our Requests but that it becomes us to be thus affected that we may be the more fitly qualified for the Grace and Mercy which God is willing to confer upon us I have been the longer upon this to give us a right notion of this matter and that we may the more distinctly understand the true Reason why our Saviour does require so much earnestness and importunity of Prayer on our part not at all to work upon God and to dispose him to shew mercy to us for that he is always inclinable to when ever we are fit for it but only to dispose and qualifie us to receive the grace and mercy of God with greater advantage to our selves Fifthly Provided moreover that we be not confident of our selves and of the force and strength of our own Resolution We know not our selves nor the frailty and weakness of our own Resolution 'till we are tried 'T is wise Advice which Solomon gives us and never more seasonable than in the day of trial Prov. 3. 5 6 7. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths be not wise in thine own eyes that is be not conceited and confident of thine own wisdom and strength or ability in any kind there is a secret Providence of God which mingles it self with the actions and spirits of Men and disposeth of us unknown to our selves and what we think to be the effect of our own strength and resolution of our own wisdom and contrivance proceeds from an higher Cause which unseen to us does steer and govern us So the Wise Man observes Prov. 20. 24. Man's goings are of the Lord how can a Man then understand his own ways And therefore we have reason every one to say with the Prophet Jer. 10. 23. O Lord I know that the way of Man is not in himself it is not in Man that walketh to direct his steps Our feet will soon slip if God do not uphold us by his hand Remember how shamefully the chief of our Lord's Disciples miscarried by too much confidence in himself I mean St. Peter in whose fall we may all see our own frailty if God do but permit the Devil to have the winnowing of us there will be a great deal of chaff found in the best of us What St. Paul said of himself 2 Cor. 12. 10. When I am weak then am I strong we shall all find true when it comes to the trial we are then strongest when in a just sense of our own weakness we rely most upon the strength and power of God Sixthly Provided furthermore that according to our ability we have been much in the exercise of Alms and Charity For well-doing or doing good is sometimes taken in a narrower sense not improper here to be mentioned tho' perhaps not so particularly intended here in the Text for works of Charity and Alms. As Heb. 13. 16. But to do good and to communicate that is to the necessities of the Poor forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased This kind of well-doing is a special Preservative in times of Evil there is no kind of Grace or Virtue to which there are in Scripture more special Promises made of our Protection and Preservation from Evil and Suffering of Support and Comfort under them and Deliverance out of them than to this of a Charitable and Compassionate Consideration of those who labour under want or Suffering Psal 37. 3. Trust in the Lord and do good so shalt thou dwell in the Land and verily thou shalt be fed And ver 19. speaking of Righteous or Merciful Men They shall not be ashamed in the evil time and in the days of Famine they shall be satisfied Psal 41. 1 2. Blessed is he that considereth the Poor the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble the Lord will preserve him and keep him alive and he shall be blessed upon the Earth and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his Enemies There are likewise in the Apocryphal Books Excellent Sayings for the encouragement of Charity as that which will be particularly considered and rewarded to us in the times of Danger and Distress in the days of Affliction and Suffering Tob. 4. 7 8 9 10. Give Alms of thy substance and turn not thy face from any Poor Man and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee if thou hast abundance give Alms accordingly if thou hast but a little be noâ— afraid to give according to that little for thou layest up for thy self a good treasure against the day of necessity because that Alms do deliver from death and suffereth not to come into darkness Ecclus 3. 31. Speaking of him that gives Alms and is ready to do Kindness to others He is mindful of that which may come hereafter and when he falleth he shall find a stay And Chap. 29. 11 12 13. Lay up thy treasure according to the Commandment of the most High and it shall bring thee more profit than Gold shut up alms in thy store-houses and it shall deliver thee from all affliction it shall fight for thee against thine Enemies better than a mighty shield and strong spear I have often said it and am verily perswaded of it that one of the best â—igns of Gods Mercy and Favour to this poor Nation is that God hath been pleased of late years to stir up so general a disposition in Men to works of Alms and Charity and thereby to revive the Primitive Spirit of Christianity which so eminently abounded in this Grace and taught those who believed in God to be careful to maintain and practâ—se good works And nothing gives me greater hopes that God hath Mercy still in store for us than that Men are so ready to shew Mercy there are great Objects to exercise our Charity upon in this