SERM. wretched; poor, and yet have Hope and VIII. Peace within; poor, and yet poffeffed of what

the Apostle calls the greatest Gain, Godliness and Contentment. And as thefe compose the trueft Happiness in this World, fo they may be enjoyed in any condition of Life; and indeed are more likely to be found in a mean and low Station, than in the most exalted one; because the former is fubject to the feweft Interruptions. Had Contentment and a good Confcience any neceffary Connexion with Wealth, Avarice were a Virtue. But, alas! they are Jewels too precious to be purchafed with Gold, and too substantial to be loft in Poverty.

That man then must be governed altogether by Appearances, and entirely neglect our Saviour's Rule and Advice, who esteems a perfon happy purely because he has a large poffeffion of those things which can never make him fo; and another unhappy, because he wants them.

Laftly, Let us remember to apply the fame Rule in judging of our own Character and State. We are no lefs apt to be misled by Appearances in judging of ourselves than we are in judging of other men. It is feldom found

indeed that men judge too ill of themfelves; SERM. though this has been the cafe of fome meek- VIII. hearted, humble, timorous Chriftians; who are apt to see things in the worft Light, and to judge by the most melancholy Appearances. But the most common mistake by far is, for men to judge too well of themfelves; to think they are fufficiently good, if they be not worse than some others, or than they themselves have ordinarily been, if they maintain the fhew of Religion, and attend the duties of public Worship, if they have a competency of religious Knowledge, and a Talent of displaying that to the best Advantage. And thus from thefe Forms of Godliness they conclude they have the Power of it, though the Apostle tells us they are two different things (d).

very

But these are only the Appearances of Religion and if we take up with them, or judge of ourselves only by them, we shall be in danger of forming a very wrong and unrighteous Judgment, and deceive ourselves in matters of the highest Confequence.

Let us take the fame rule with us in judging of our prefent State and Happiness.

(d) 2 Tim. iii. 5.

Hath

SERM. Hath Providence been pleased to profper us VIII. in the World, and given us more than many

others? Do we live in Eafe and Plenty when others are oppreffed with Want and Penury? Let not our foolish Hearts deceive us into a perfuafion, that, on that account, we we are happier than our poorer Neighbours. Because, for that very reason, we may poffibly be more unhappy than they. We have certainly more to anfwer for. And grievous will be our Condemnation, if, the more we receive at the hand of GoD, we regard him lefs. On the other hand, hath Providence placed us in a lower rank of Life? Are we obliged to earn our Bread by the Sweat of the Brow? We mistake, if we think ourselves lefs really happy on this Score. We may fear, and serve Go D, and take care of our Souls with fewer Interruptions, and are expofed to much fewer Temptations, than thofe who make a greater Noife and Show in higher Life. We may be content with mere neceffary Food and Rayment, and enjoy GoD, and Peace of Confcience, in a Cottage. This is real Happiness; all the rest is but the Shew of it.

Thus

VIII.

Thus in feveral Inftances have I endea- SERM. voured to illuftrate the negative Precept in the text, and fhewn you the great Extent and Usefulness of that Rule, which our Lord himself hath given us, for our guard against forming a wrong Judgment of things. That is, not to truft too much to external Appearances. I should now proceed to fhew you what is comprehended in the pofitive Command, but judge righteous Fudgment. But this I must reserve for the Subject of the next Discourse. And fhall conclude this with two or three practical Remarks on what hath been faid.

APPLICATION.

1. The defign of these words of our Saviour, and of what hath been delivered from them, is not to lead men to Scepticism, or to perfuade them to form no Judgment at all of things, but to put them on their guard against a prejudicate and rash Judgment; or to induce them to judge cautiously, and without Prejudice. It is by Appearances that men are generally deceived in their Judgment of things; and Prejudice always magnifies thofe Appearances; and sometimes most

enor

SERM. enormously, beyond all Bounds of Truth and VIII. Reafon; and makes men judge of things just as a heated Fancy, a blind Appetite, or an ungoverned Paffion represents them.

Prejudice is to the mind what a Calenture is to the Eye. It difcolours every Object, or exhibits it in a falfe light. It is the disease of the Understanding; which makes it as unfit to judge aright of Intellectual, as a diftempered Eye is to judge of fenfible Objects. It creates falfe Appearances, and then judges by them.

The Mind without Prejudice indeed may be deceived in judging of Truths, as a found Eye may in judging of Objects, by reason of the Pofition wherein, and the Medium through which it views them; in which case we are obliged to call in the Affistance of our Reason and Understanding to correct it. So I fay the Mind without Prejudice may be deceived by Appearances; because from a certain Coincidence of Circumstances things may appear to be very different from what they really are; or (as I obferved before) Appear

ance

* A Distemper in the Eyes, faid to be peculiar to Seamen; whereby they imagine the Sea to be green Fields and under that Imagination will throw themselves into it, if not prevented.