Christ's yoke an easy yoke, and yet the gate to heaven a strait gate in two excellent sermons, well worthy the serious perusal of the strictest professors / by a learned and reverend divine.

III.

Vertue conduces infinitly to the content of our lives, to Secular fe∣licities,

and Political satisfactions; and Vice doth the quite contrary. For the blessings of this Life are these, that make it happy, Peace and Quietness, Content and Satis∣faction of desires, Riches, love of Friends and Neighbours; Honour and Reputation abroad; a healthful Body and a long Life. Th••s last is a distinct Consideration, but the other are proper to this Title.

For the first it is certain. Peace was so design'd by the Holy Jesus, that he fram'd all his Laws in com∣plyance with that design. He, that returns good for evil, a soft answer to the asperity of his Enemy, kind∣ness to injuries, lessens the conten∣tion alwayes, and sometimes gets a Friend, and when he does not, he shames his Enemy. Every little ac∣cident in a family, to peevish and angry persons, is the matter of a quar∣rel, discomposes the Peace of the

House, and sets it on Fire, and no Man can tell how far that may burn; it may be, to a dissolution of the whole Fabrick. But whosoever o∣beys the Laws of Jesus, bears with the infirmities of his Relatives and Society, seeks with sweetness to re∣medy what is ill, and to prevent what it may produce, and throws water upon a spark; and lives sweetly with his Wife, affectionately with his Children, providently and discreetly with his Servants, and they all love the Major domo, and look upon him as their Parent, their Guardian, their Friend, their Patron, their Provedi∣tor. But look upon a person angry, peaceless and disturbed, when he en∣ters upon his threshold, it gives an alarm to his house, and puts them to flight, or upon their defence; and the Wife reckons the joy of her day is done when he returns; and the Children enquire into their Father's

Age, and think his Life tedious; and the Servants curse privately, and do their service as Slaves do, only vvhen they dare not do otherwise; and they serve him, as they serve a Lyon, they obey his Strength, and fear his Cruelty, and despise his Manners, and hate his Person. No Man injoyes content in his Family but he that is peaceful and charita∣ble, just and loving, forbearing and forgiving, careful and provident. He that is not so, his House may be his Castle, but it is mann'd by his Ene∣mies; his House is built not upon the Sand, but upon the Waves, and upon a Tempest, the Foundation is uncertain, but his Ruine is not so.

And if we extend the relations of the Man beyond his own Walls, he that does his duty to his Neighbour, that is, all offices of kindness, gen∣tleness and humanity, nothing of in∣jury and affront, is certain never to

meet with a wrong so great, as is the inconvenience of a Law-Suit, or the contention of Neighbours and all the consequent dangers and troubles.

Kindness will create and invite kindness; an injury provokes an in∣jury. And since the love of Neigh∣bours is one of those beauties, which Solomon did admire, and that this beauty is within the combination of precious things, which adorn and reward a p••aceable charitable dispo∣sition, he that is in love wi••h Spiri∣tual exc••llencies, with intellectual rectitudes, with Peace and with bles∣sings of Society, knows they grow among the Role-bushes of Vertues, and holy Obedience to the Laws of JESUS. And for a good Man some will ev••n dare to dye, and a sweet and charitable disposition is received with fondness, and all the endearments of the Neighbourhood. He that observes how many Families

are ruin'd by contention, and how many Spirits are broken by Care, and Contumely, Fear and Spight, which are entertain'd as Advocates to promote a Suit of Law, will soon confess, that a great loss and peacea∣ble quitting of a considerable Interest is a purchase and a gain, in respect of a long Suit, and a vexatious Quar∣rel.

And still if the Proportion rises higher, the Reason swels and grows more necessary and determinate. For if we would live according to the Discipline of Christian Religion, one of the great Plagues, which vex the World, would be no more.

That there should be no Wars, was one of the designs of Christianity, and the living according to that In∣stitution, which is able to prevent all Wars, and to establish an universal and eternal Peace, when it is obeyed, is the using an infallible instrument

toward that part of our political hap∣piness, which consists in Peace. This World would be an image of Hea∣ven, if all Men were Charitable, Peaceable, Just and Loving. To this excellency all those Precepts of Christ, which consist in Forbearance and Forgiveness, do cooperate.

But the next instance of the re∣ward of Holy Obedience and confor∣mity to Christ's Laws is it self a duty, and needs no more but a meer repeti∣tion of it. We must be content in every State; and because Christia∣nity teaches us this lesson, it teaches us to be Happy: for nothing from without can make us miserable, un∣less we joyn our own consents to it, and apprehend it such, and enter∣tain it in our sad and melancholy re∣tirements. A Prison is but a retire∣ment and opportunity of serious thoughts to a person whose Spirit is confin'd, and apt to sit still, and de∣sires

no enlargement beyond the can∣cels of the Body, till the state of se∣paration calls it forth into a fair liberty. But every Retirement is a Prison to a loose and wandring fan∣cy, for whose wildness no precepts are restraint, no band of duty is confinement, who, when he hath bro∣ken the hedge of duty, can never af∣ter endure any enclosure so much as in Symbol. But this Precept is so necessary, that it is no more a Duty than a rule of Prudence, and in ma∣ny accidents of our Lives it is the only cure of sadness: for 'tis certain, that no Providence less than Divine can prevent evil and cross accidents; but that is an excellent Remedy to the evils, that receives the accident within its power, and takes out the sting, paring the Nails, and drawing the Teeth of the Wild-beast, that it may be tame or harmless, and Medi∣cinal. For all content consists in the

in the proportion of the Object to the appetite. And because external acci∣dents are not in our power, and it were nothing excellent that things happened to us according to our first desires, God hath by his Grace put it into our own power to make the happiness, by making our desires de∣scend to the event, and comply with the chance, and combine with all the issues of Divine Providence. And then we are noble persons, when we borrow not our content from things below us, but make our satisfactions from within. And it may be con∣sidered, that every little Care may disquiet us, and may encrease it self by reflexion upon its own Acts; and every discontent may discompose our Spirits, and put an edge, and make afflictions poynant, but cannot take off one from us, but makes every one to be two. But content removes not the accident, but complyes with

it; it takes away the sharpness and displeasure of it, and by stooping down makes the heights equal, pro∣portionate and commensurate. Impa∣tience makes an Ague to be a Fever, and every Fever to be a Calenture, and that Calenture may expire in madness: But a quiet Spirit is a great disposition to Health, and for the pre∣sent does alleviate the Sickness. And this also is notorious in the instance of Covetousness. The love of money is the root of all evil, which while some have coveted after, they have pierced themselves with many Sor∣rows. Vice makes poor, and does ill endure it.

For he, that in the school of Christ hath learnt to determine his desires when his needs are served, and to judg of his needs by the proportions of Nature, hath nothing wanting to∣wards Riches. Vertue makes Pover∣ty to become rich, and no riches can

satisfie a covetous mind, or rescue him from the affliction of the worst kind of Poverty. He only wants, that is not satisfied. And there is great infelicity in a Family, where Poverty dwells with discontent; there the Husband and Wife quarrel for want of a full Table, and a rich Wardrobe; and their Love, that was built upon false Riches, sinks, when such temporary supporters are re∣moved. They are like two Milstones, which set the Mill on fire when they want Corn. And then their combi∣nations and society were unions of Lust, when not supported with Sacra∣mental and Religious Love.

But we may easily suppose St. Jo∣seph, and the Holy Virgin Mother in Egypt poor as hunger, forsaken as banishment, disconsolate as stran∣gers; and yet their present lot gave them no affliction, because the An∣gel fed them with a necessary Hos∣pitality,

and their desires were no larger than their Tables, their Eyes look'd only upwards, and they were carless of the future, and careful of their duty, and so made their life plea∣sant by the measures and discourses of Divine Philosophy. When Elisha stretch'd himself upon the body of the Child, and laid hands to hands, and applied mouth to mouth, and so shrunk himself into the posture of commensuration with the Child, he brought life into the dead Trunk: and so may we by applying our Spi∣rits to the proportion of a narrow fortune, bring life and vivacity into our dead and lost condition, and make it live till it grows bigger, or else returns to health and salutary uses.

And besides this Philosophical ex∣traction of Gold from Stones, and Riches from the dungeon of Pover∣ty, a holy life does most probably procure such a proportion of Riches

which can be useful to us, or con∣sistent with our felicity. For (be∣sides that the Holy Jesus hath pro∣mised all things, which our Hea∣venly Father knows we need (pro∣vided we do our duty) and that we find great securities and rest from care, when we have once cast our cares upon our God, and plac'd our hopes in his bosome: besides all this) the Temperance, Sobrie∣ty and Prudence of a Christian is a great income, and by not despising it a small revenue combines its parts, till it grows to a heap big enough for the emissions of Charity, and all the offices of Justice, and the supplies of all necessities. Whilest Vice is un∣wary, prodigal, indiscreet, throwing away great revenues, as tributes to intemperance and vanity, and suffer∣ing dissolution and forfeiture of estates, as a punishment and curse. Some Sins are direct improvidence

and ill-husbandry. I reckon in this number Intemperance, Lust, Litigi∣ousness,, Ambition, Bribery, Prodi∣gality, Gaming, Pride, Sacriledge, which is the greatest spender of them all, and makes a fair estate evapo∣rate, like Camphire, turning it into nothing, no Man knows which way. But what a Roman gave as an esti∣mate of a Rich Man, saying, He that can maintain an Army is Rich, was but a short account: for he that can maintain an Army, may be begger'd by one Vice; and it is a vast revenue that will pay the Debt-Books of In∣temperance or Lust.

To these if we add, that Vertue is honourable, and a great advantage to a fair reputation; that it is prais∣ed by them that love it not; that it is honour'd by the followers and Fa∣mily of Vice; that it forces Glory out of shame, Honour from contempt; that it reconciles Men to the foun∣tain

of Honour, the Almighty God, who will honour them that honour him. There are but a few more Ex∣cellencies in the World to make up the Rosary of temporal felicity. And it is so certain, that Religion serves even our temporal ends, that no great end of State can well be served without it; not ambition, not desires of wealth, not any great designs; but Religion must be made its usher or support. If a new Opinion be com∣menc'd, and the Author would make a Sect, and draw Disciples after him, at least he must be thought to be Re∣ligious, which is a demonsration how great an instrument of Reputa∣tion Piety and Religion is; and if the pretence will do us good offices among Men, the reality will do the same, besides the advantages which we shall receive from the Divine be∣nediction. The Power of Godliness will certainly do more than the form

alone. And it is most notorious in the affairs of the Clergy, whose lot it hath been to fall from great riches to poverty, when their wealth made them less curious of their Duty; but when Humility and Chastity, and no exemplary Sanctity have been the enamel of their holy Order, the peo∣ple, like the Galathians, would pull out their own eyes to do them bene∣fit. And indeed, God hath singularly blessed such instruments, to the being the only remedies to repair the breaches made by Sacriledge and Ir∣religion.

But certain it is, no Man was ever honoured for that which they esteem∣ed vitious. Vice hath got money and a curse many times, and Vice hath adhered to the instruments and pur∣chases of honour. But among all Na∣tions, whatsoever they call'd Ho∣nourable, put on the face and pre∣tence of Vertue. But I chuse to in∣stance

in the proper cognisance of a Christian [Humility] which seems contradictory to the purposes and re∣ception of Honour, and yet in the world nothing is a more certain means to purchase it. Do not all the World hate a proud Man? And therefore what is contrary to Humi∣lity is also contradictory to Honour and Reputation. And when the A∣postles had given command, that in giving Honour we should one go be∣fore another, he laid the foundation of Praises, Panegyricks, and Tri∣umphs. And as Humility is secure against affronts, and tempests of de∣spite, because it is below them: So when by employment, or any other issue of Divine Providence, it's drawn from its sheath and secresie, it shines clear and bright as the purest and most polish'd Metals. Humility is like a Tree, whose roots, when it sets deepest in the Earth, rises higher, and

spreads fairer, and stands surer, and lasts longer; every step of its descent is like a rib of Iron, combining its parts in unions indissoluble, and placing it in the Chambers of secu∣rity.

No wise Man ever lost any thing by cession; but he receives the Hosti∣lity of violent persons into his im∣braces, like a stone into a lap of Wooll, it rests and sets down soft and innocently: but a stone falling upon a stone makes a collision, and ex∣tracts Fire, and finds no rest: And just so are two proud persons, despis'd by each other, contemn'd by all, living in perpetual dissonances, alwayes fighting against affronts, jealous of every person, disturb'd by every ac∣cident, a perpetual storm within, and daily hissings from without.