intends to please his Prince, to go up and abuse him to his face.

IT feems but a fmall and neceffary part of piety to have fuch a fincere intention as this; and that he has no reason to look upon himself as a Disciple of Christ, who is not thus far advanced in piety. And yet it is purely for want of this degree of piety, that you fee fuch a mixture of fin and folly in the lives even of the better fort of people. It is for want of this intention, that you fee men that profess religion, yet live in fearing and fenfuality; that you fee Clergymen given to pride and covetoufnefs, and worldly enjoyments. It is for want of this intention, that you fee women that profefs Devotion, yet living in all the folly and vanity of dress, waiting their time in idleness and pleasures, and in all fuch inftances of state and equipage as their eftates will reach. For let but a woman feel her heart full of this intention, and she will find it as impoffible to patch or paint, as to curfe or fwear; fhe will no more defire to fhine at Balls and Affemblies, or make a figure amongst those that are most finely drefs'd, than fhe will defire to dance upon a Rope to pleafe Spectators : She will know, that the one is as far from the wisdom and excellency of the Chriftian Spirit, as the other.

It was this general intention, that made the primitive Chriftians fuch eminent inftances of piety, that made the goodly fellowship of the Saints, and all the glorious army of martyrs and confeffors. And if you will here ftop, and ask your felf, why you are not as pious as the primitive Chriftians were, your own heart will tell you, that it is neither thro' ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it. You obferve the fame Sunday-worship that they did; and you are ftrict in it, because it is your full intention to be fo. And when you as fully intend to be like them in their ordinary common life, when you intend to please God in all your actions, you will find it as poffible, as to be ftrictly exact in the fervice of the Church. And when you have this intention to please God in all your actions, C

as

as the happieft and beft thing in the world, you will find in you as great an averfion to every thing that is vain and impertinent in common life, whether of business or pleafure, as you now have to any thing that is prophane. You will be as fearful of living in any foolish way, either of spending your time, or your fortune, as you are now fearful of neglecting the publick Worship.

Now who that wants this general fincere intention, can be reckon'd a Chriftian? And yet if it was amongst Chriftians, it would change the whole face of the world; true piety, and exemplary holiness, would be as common and visible, as buying and felling, or any trade in life.

LET a Clergyman but be thus pious,and he will converse as if he had been brought up by an Apoftle; he will no more think and talk of noble preferment, than of noble eating, or a glorious chariot. He will no more complain of the frowns of the world, or a small cure, or the want of a patron, than he will complain of the want of a lac'd coat, or a running horfe. Let him but intend to please God in all his actions, as the happiest and beft thing in the world, and then he will know, that there is nothing noble in a Clergyman, but burning zeal for the falvation of fouls; nor any thing poor in his profeffion, but idleness and a worldly Spirit.

AGAIN, let a Tradefman but have this intention, and it will make him a faint in his hop; his every day business will be a course of wife and reasonable actions, made holy to God, by being done in obedience to his will and pleafure. He will buy and fell, and labour and travel, because by fo doing he can do fome good to himself and others. But then, as nothing can please God but what is wife, and reasonable, and holy, fo he will neither buy, nor fell, nor labour in any other manner, nor to any other end, but fuch as may be fhewn to be wife, and reafonable, and holy. He will therefore confider, not what arts, or methods, or application will sconeft makehim richer and greater than his brethren, or remove him from a hop to a life of state and pleafure; but he

will

will confider what arts, what methods, what application can make worldly business moft acceptable to God, and make a life of trade a life of holiness, devotion and piety. This will be the temper and fpirit of every tradefman; he cannot ftop fhort of thefe degrees of piety, whenever it is his intention to please God in all his actions, as the best and happiest thing in the world.

AND on the other hand, whoever is not of this fpirit and temper in his trade and profeffion, and does not carry it on only fo far as is beft fubfervient to a wife and holy and heavenly life; it is certain that he has not this intention, and yet without it, who can be thewn to be a follower of Jefus Chrift?

AGAIN, let the Gentleman of birth and fortune but have this intention, and you will fee how it will carry him from every appearance of evil, to every initance of piety and goodness.

HE cannot live by chance, or as humour and fancy carries him, because he knows that nothing can pleafe God but a wife and regular courfe of life. He cannot live in idleness and indulgence, in fports and gaming, in pleasures and intemperance, in vain expences and high living, because these things cannot be turned into means of piety and holinefs, or made fo many parts of a wife and religious life.

As he thus removes from all appearance of evil, fo he haftens and afpires after every inftance of goodness. He does not ask what is allowable and pardonable, but what is commendable and praife-worthy. He does not ask whether- God will forgive the folly of our lives, the madness of our pleasures, the vanity of our expences, the richness of our equipage, and the careless confumption of our time; but he afks, whether God is pleased with thefe things; or whether these are the appointed ways of gaining his favour. He does not enquire, whether it be pardonable to hoard up money, to adorn our felves with diamonds, and gild our charicts, whilft the widow and the orphan, the fick and Cz

the

the prifoner want to be reliev'd; but he asks, whether God has required these things at our hands, whether we shall be call'd to account at the laft day for the neglect of them; because it is not his intent to live in fuch ways as, for ought we know, God may perhaps pardon, but to be diligent in fuch ways, as we know that God will infallibly reward.

HE will not therefore look at the lives of Chriftians, to learn how he ought to spend his estate, but he will look into the Scriptures, and make every doctrine, parable, precept, or inftruction that relates to rich men, a law to himself in the ufe of his eftate.

HE will have nothing to do with coftly apparel, because the rich man in the Gofpel was cloathed with purple and fine linen. He denies himself the pleafures and indulgences which his eftate could procure, because our Bleffed Saviour faith, Wo unto you that are rich,. for ye have received your confolation. He will have but one rule for charity, and that will be, to spend all that he can that way, because the judge of quick and dead hath faid, that all that is fo given, is given to him.

HE will have no hofpitable table for the rich and wealthy to come and feaft with him in good eating and drinking; because our Bleffed Lord faith, When thou makeft a dinner, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinfmen, nor thy rich neighbours, left they alfo bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makeft a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and thou shalt be bleffed. For they cannot recompenfe thee, for thou shalt be recompenfed at the refurrection of the juft. Luke xiv. 12, 13, 14.

HE will wafte no money in gilded roofs, or coftly furniture: He will not be carried from pleasure to pleasure in expenfive ftate and equipage, because an infpir'd Apostle hath faid, that all that is in the world, the luft of the flesh, the luft of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

LET

LET not any one look upon this as an imaginary defcription of charity, that looks fine in the notion, but cannot be put in practice. For it is fo far from being an imaginary impracticable form of life, that it has been practised by great numbers of Chriftians in former ages, who were glad to turn their whole estates into a conftant courfe of charity. And it is fo far from being impoffible now, that if we can find any Christians, that fincerely intend to please God in all their actions as the best and happiest thing in the world, whether they be young or old, fingle or married, men or women, if they have but this intention, it will be impoffible for them to do otherwife. This one principle will infallibly carry them to this height of charity, and they will find themselves unable to stop short of it.

FOR how is it poffible for a man that intends to please God in the ufe of his money, and intends it becaufe he judges it to be his greatest happiness, how is it poffible for fuch a one in fuch a state of mind, to bury his money in needlefs impertinent finery, in covering himself or his borfes with gold, whilft there are any works of piety and charity to be done with it; or any ways of spending it well?

THIS is as ftrictly impoffible, as for a man that intends to please God in his words, to go into company on purpose to fwear and lye. For as all wafte and unreasonable expence is done defignedly, and with deliberation, fo no one can be guilty of it, whofe conftant intention is to pleafe God in the ufe of his money.

I HAVE chofe to explain this matter, by appealing to this intention, because it makes the cafe fo plain, and because every one that has a mind, may fee it in the cleareft light, and feel it in the ftrongest manner, only by looking into his own heart. For it is as eafy for every perfon to know, whether he intends to please God in all his actions; as for any fervant to know, whether this be his intention towards his master. Every one also can as easily tell how he lays out his

money,