others. And as we are fatisfied, the Boaft SR M. of Infallibility in the Romish Church has XIII. been the Source of the groffeft Errors; fo it is not lefs to be feared, that these pretended infallible Signs of Converfion may tend to the Perversion of many weak, though fincere Chriftians. For as it is not poffible to communicate the Manner of these fenfible, internal Operations, any more than it is to make one Man feel for another; a Criterion will be wanted, whereby to judge whether they are Impreffions of the Spirit of God, or are occafioned by the Workings of a warm and difturbed Imagination. Here then we are befet with a double Danger; on one Hand we may fancy ourselves to have thofe Symptoms of a falvable State when we have them not, and fo may be easily betrayed into a fatal Security; on the other, though our Condition might in itself be full of Hope, yet, for Want of thefe fignificant Emotions, we might be thrown into the utmost Despair. But a Man can never be miftaken in the Survey of fuch Actions as being laid in the Principles of found Reafon, are conducted by the Rule, and fupported by the Faith of the Gofpel: Whofe Number are meafured by all the Opportunities we have or can find, and whofe intrinfick Excellency means to imitate the Perfection of the

SER M. Divine Actions themselves. But it is Time XIII.

to proceed to the

III. Third Thing I propofed, which was to make a Reflection or two relating to the Subject. And,

ift, From what has been faid it appears how groundless and unreasonable all those Complaints are, which we hear so often repeated concerning human Life; that it is an infignificant, capricious, and wayward State; by fome looked upon as a Comedy, by others as a Tragedy, and by many as an odd Mixture of both. For, in Truth, all this proceeds from the false Judgment of those who confider it not as Means to an End, but as an End itself; and fo expect to reap that Satisfaction from it, which it was never defigned to give. Let us but once correct this Miftake, and direct the Scope of all our Actions to the Attainment of Happiness hereafter, and a great Share of Happiness will, of Course, fall in our Way, without our looking for it. But, by this strange Perversion of the Order of Things, we take a fure Method of being difappointed in our Expectations of Happiness both here and hereafter. The Means not being employed to their proper End, become ufelefs in that Refpect: And by being confidered

4

are.

dered as an End, we act according to that S ER M. prepofterous Conclufion, and thereby in- XIII. volve and embarrass ourselves in inextricable Difficulties. And hence it comes to pafs, that fo many are fick of themselves, and look upon Life as tedious, distasteful, and nauseous; and are inclined to quarrel with the Difpenfations of Providence for not making them more perfect than they Whereas were their Nature by many Degrees more perfect, by thus mifapplying the Powers of it, their Unhappiness would be ftill the greater: For the nobler we fuppofe the Faculties of the Soul, the lefs fatisfying would every Thing in this World be found. In short, take away the Notion of a future State, and you leave nothing substantial in the prefent, except Mifery: Allow a future State it's due Weight, and nothing in this Life will feem useless or impertinent: You add many fubftantial Bleffings; the Afflictions of Life will point out their own Remedy; and you will remove what is moft miferable in Misery itself And the lefs perfect you are, the more inclined will you be to adore the Goodness of God, who hath appointed fuch an ineftimable Reward for fuch imperfect Services as your's are, or can be.

2dly, If we are perfuaded of the Truth of the Doctrine that has been advanced,

SER M. What fhall we think of the State of thofe XIII. Men, who are pursuing a Courfe of Life

in direct Oppofition to it; who instead of daily proceeding in all Virtue and Godliness are daily adding to the Number and Malignity of their Sins? What can we think indeed, but that it had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy Commandment delivered unto them. Let their Danger fuggeft to us the Means of our own Security: And let us not entertain a mean Opinion of the Power which Christianity has to reform the World, from the fmall Effects that we find it has on the Minds of but too many. The best Religion that God can give unto Man is not defigned, nor can it be defigned, to over-rule his Will; but to impower him to give it a right Direction. Let us confider what our Religion can do by what we know in Fact it has done. It was the high Commendation of an exemplary Roman, that while he lived in the very Dregs and Corruption of his own Republick, he formed his Manners by the Model of one that was accounted the moft perfect: Let it be our's to keep continually in our Eye the Pattern which the primitive Christians have left us; and, by copying after it, approve ourselves blameless and harmlefs, the

Sons

XIII.

Sons of God without Rebuke in the midst of SER M. a perverfe Nation, among whom let us fhine as Lights in the World.

Laftly, We may obferve, it has pleased our Creator to conftitute our Frame in fuch a Manner, that we advance gradually to the perfect Ufe of Reason: A Faculty whofe Increase we are for a long Time as infenfible of, as we are of the Increase of our Stature. We have likewise very good Arguments to perfuade us, that the Soul in a future State will not ftop fhort at any certain Period of Happiness; but that she will continually enlarge her intellectual Powers, and augment her Capacities; purify her Defires, and inflame her Affections; receive new Acceffions of Blifs and Glory, and thereby make perpetual Approaches towards the Fountain of all Perfection. this, we may well prefume, will confift the Happiness of those faithful Servants, who fhall be found to have done their Mafter's Will here on Earth. And a more pleafing Confideration cannot offer itself to the Mind of Man. Ought we not therefore to conclude, that during the intermediate Interval, in order to render the Whole of our Existence of a Piece, the Soul, by Parity of Reason, fhould preserve the fame Tenor of Improvement? Let us then confider how far we are advanced in the

Y 3

In

Path