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Well done, good and faithful fervant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord? Or will not the manner of my life oblige him to fay, Thou wicked fervant, thou hast done nothing that I • commanded thee?-What is it I am lofing my ' inheritance in heaven for? For fome poor pleasure; for fome pitiful gain; or to gratify fome filthy luft. Can I imagine, that the glorious inheritance of the children of 'God muft coft me no pains, no trouble, to ' attain it, when it coft my Saviour his life 'to purchase it for me?

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'Laftly, let me ask myself that question, ' which my Saviour has put into my mouth, What shall a man give in exchange for his foul? 'What pains ought I not to take, rather than 'run the hazard of suffering the bitter pains of eternal death?'

Let these things, Christians, enter deep into your hearts; do not forget them as foon as you leave the church; beg of God to give you grace to profit by them. And be affured of this, that there is no greater happiness in this life, than to have reasonable hopes of a blessed eternity: which God grant we may all have, and that we may meet in peace in the paradife of God, for the Lord Jefus fake. To whom, &c.

SERMON

SERMON V.

THE TRUE WAY OF PROFITING BY SERMONS.

LUKE Xi. 28.

BLESSED ARE THEY THAT HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND KEEP IT.a

YOU

U have here the word of Chrift for this important truth, That the preaching of the gofpel, the hearing it with attention and zeal, and leading a life answerable thereto, is a fure way to bleffedness or happiness.

You know the doom of those who heard the fermons of Chrift, and would not mind them: It fhall (faith our Saviour and Judge) it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that people. By which you fee, Chriftians, the great hazard will run, you if you live under the light and ordinances of the gofpel, and are not bettered by them.

Our Saviour himself tells you, who it is that tempts you to hear the word with indif

2 See Levit. vi. 2. xxv. 14. Prov. iii. 9. xiv. 33. xviii. 3. xix. 17. xxii. 16. xxviii. 20. Pfal. xvii. 14. xxxvii. 2. Ifaiah iii. 15. Zech. vii. 10. Matth. vi. 19, 25. Luke iii. 14. xvi. 9. xix. 8. 1 Cor. vi. 10. Eph. iv. 28. v. 5. Col. iii. 25. 1 Theff. iv. 6. 1 Tim. iv. 6. vi. 9, 10, 17. Heb. xiii. 5. I Pet. v. 7. 1 John ii. 15.

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ference,

ference, and to forget what you hear; to defpife the preacher, and the ordinances of God. He tells you, that it is the devil, that taketh the word out of the hearts of those that are not careful to keep it, left they should believe and be faved.

Lastly; you may be affured of it, that the word preached will become the word of falvation to every one that believeth; to every one who comes to hear with a teachable temper of mind, with a serious purpose and defire to learn his duty, and with a refolution to practise what he hears.

My design in this discourse (as it has been in feveral others) is, to fhew you how you may beft profit by the Sermons you hear; that you may return from the house of God with benefit, and with a bleffing.

In order to this, I will propofe to you feveral fubjects of importance, and fhew you how every Christian should apply what he hears to himself.

But in the first place, as ever you hope to profit by what you read or hear, endeavour to discharge your heart of a too great fondness for the world and its idols.

It is not I, but our Lord himself affures you, that let the feed be never fo good, yet if it be fown among thorns, they will choak it at laft; that is, as he himself explains it, The cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lufts of other things, will choak the word, and it will become unfruitful.

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1. A too great fondness, therefore, for the things of this world, (or what we call Covetoufness) being the greatest hindrance to piety and Christian knowledge; we will first confider this evil, and the great mischiefs that attend it.

Take heed, faith our Saviour, and beware of covetoufnefs. Can we imagine that he would have given Chriftians this double, this earnest caution, but that he knew that there is fomething in this fin very deftructive. And you will be convinced there is, if you will attend to what follows:

First; That no man can poffibly love God, whose heart is set upon the world, let him pretend what he will. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. So faith the Spirit of God.

2dly. It leads men infenfibly into atheism; that is, to depend more upon themselves and upon their own industry and wealth, than upon God, his providence and bleffing.

3dly. It ftrangely tempts men to believe that any thing almost is lawful, which will but increase their substance.

4thly. It moft furprisingly changeth the hearts and difpofitions of men. A compaffionate man, once poffeffed with a spirit of covetousness, becomes hard-hearted; a liberal temper becomes ftingy; and he that was charitable before, now grudges every penny he parts with.

< Luke xii. 15.

G 2

4 John ii. 15.

It

It is branded in fcripture with the name of Idolatry, because it tempts men to have fuch an esteem for wealth, as if their life and happinefs depended upon having a great deal.

And that which ftill makes this fin more hateful to God is this, that it is (what the Spirit of God calls it) the root of all evil;the root of every evil, of injustice, of oppreffion, of extortion, of cheating one another, of thieving, of contention, of law-fuits, of wifhing for the death of parents, &c.

In fhort, it is a damnable fin; and whoever lives in it is in a state of perdition: and it has this fad circumstance attending it, that few can be perfuaded that they are guilty of it, and therefore cannot be perfuaded to repent of it. And yet, no doubt of it, a fin branded in fcripture with being the root all evil must of neceffity be known by fuch as are guilty of it, if it is not their own fault, that they may be left without excuse.

Any man, for inftance, may conclude for certain, that he is under the power of this evil fpirit, when he is more intent upon the world than in taking care of his foul; when his love of gain puts him upon fufpicious ways and means of increasing his substance, or denying his neighbour his rights. Sufpicious, I mean to himfelf; for even that ought to hinder a good man from doing any thing which he does but fear may displease God, or injure another.

с 1 Tim. vi. 10.

To

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