that will condemn the world's profane contempt of him, Prov. xxviii. 4. (2.) Of exact juftice and truth, in all your doings and fayings with men, Zech. viii. 16. "Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgement of trurh and peace in your gates." The world is funk in a gulf of injuftice and falfehood, and the multitude of thofe that make no confcience of justice in their deeds and truth in their words, is fo great, that they are thought nothing of. Come, row against this ftream. (3.) Of fobriety in moderating your own paffions, with a spirit of peacefulness, meeknefs, and forbearance, Matth. xi. 29. This is neceffary for the good name, and without it it will be marred, Prov. xxv.ult This is a life-preaching of the gofpel to the world, to which every one of you has accefs, Tit. ii. 11, 12. "For the grace of God that bringeth falvation, hath appeared to all men; teaching us, that denying ungodlinefs, and worldly lufts, we should live foberly, righteously, and godly in this prefent world." And that is an ufeful man in the world, that on good grounds can fay, when he is to leave it, with the apostle, "Ye are witneffes, and God also, how holily, and juftly, and unblameably we behaved ourfelves among you that believe," 1 Theff. ii. 10. 2. Be of a beneficent difpofition, difpofed to do good to mankind as you have accefs, Gal. vi. 10. Some are of the household of faith, have a special concern to do good to them; others are not, ye must have a concern for them too; though they are not faints, they are men of the fame common nature with yourselves, Luke vi. 35. We fhould greedily embrace an opportunity of doing good to others, thinking with ourselves, That is the proper bufiness of our life. And be difpofed to do good, (1.) In temporals as ye have access, Heb. xiii. 16. "But to do good, and to communicate forget not; for X 2 with with fuch facrifices God is well pleased." There is no body but fome one time or way or other may be profitable to others. The duties of humanity are of great usefulness in the world, being kind, merciful, and compaffionate to them that are in diftrefs, or need, Col. iii. 12. It has a great encouragement by promife, Prov. iii. 9, 10. Pfal. xli. 1. c. ever. (2.) In fpirituals. There are none of the children of Adam, but have immortal fouls that must live for And true grace is natively communicative, as one candle ferves to light another, Gen. xviii. 19. "I know him," fays God of Abraham, "that he will command his children, and his houfhold after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do juftice and judgement." And fays the woman of Samaria to the men of the city, John iv 29. “Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Chrift?" So ye fhould be ready to be useful to others, according to their spiritual exigence, inftructing the ignorant, warning the fecure, encouraging good motions, bearing down bad ones, &c. 3. Lay out yourselves to forward the usefulness of others, 1 Cor. xvi. 10, II. Whomfoever ye fee dif pofed and employed to be useful, help them forward, facilitate their work, ftrengthen their hands what you can, fo fhall ye be useful to the greatest purposes at fecond hand. The water cannot grind the corn, but it can turn about the wheel, and the wheel the millftone, and fo the millstone will grind it, and fo the water is ufeful for grinding, in fuch fort that when it fails there is no doing it. So the meaneft of the Coloffians could be useful for declaring the mystery of Chrift, Col. iv. 3. Withal, praying alfo for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterence, to fpeak the mystery of Chrift, for which I am also in bonds." People generally think little of weakening the hands of thofe that are useful; but I have often thought that it is one of the most miserable uses of being in 66 the the world, to be in it for a weight hung upon them that would be useful. Matth. xiii. 13. Laftly, Be confcientious in the performance of the duties of your station and relations, 1 Cor. vii. 24. "Brethren, let every man wherein he is called, there in abide with God." That is the fphere of usefulness that God has allotted to you; every one may be ufeful that way; and no body can be useful otherwise, whatever they may vainly imagine. It is exemplified in the cafe of the priests, Mal. ii. 6. of wives, 1 Pet. iii. 1. and of fervants, Tit. ii. 9, 10. To pretend to ufefulness without our fphere, is the effect of pride and prefumption, and is the fame abfurdity in moral conduct, as it would be in nature for the moon and ftars to fet up for the rule of the day, the fun contenting himself with the rule of the night. Thus ye have the improvement of life, by which the good name may be raised. IV. I proceed to confirm the point, That this improvement of life is the beft balance for the prefent, for the vanity and mifery attending our life, better than the most favoury earthly things. And here I fhall fhew, 1. That it is the beft balance for the prefent, for the vanity and mifery of life. 2. That it is better than the best and most favoury earthly things. Firft, I am to fhew, that this improvement of life is the best balance for the prefent, for the vanity and mifery of life. 1. Hereby a man answers the end of his creation, for which he was fent into the world; and furely the reaching of fuch a noble end is the beft balance for all the hardships in the way of it. The merchant toils in travelling, the husbandman in ploughing and fowing; but the gaining of their end downweighs all that toil to them. The chief end of man's life in the world is to enjoy God as our friend, to be dutiful and faithful to him as our Benefactor, and useful to men our fellow creatures; if we reach that noble end, what mat X 3 ter ter what hardships we made thro' unto it? If we miss it, we have nothing that will counterbalance them. 2. It brings fuch a fubftantial and valuable good out of our life, as will downweigh all the inconveniencies that attend our life in the world. Gather the vanities and miseries of human life together, its frailties, weakneffes, difappointments, croffes, c. they will make a great heap; and put them in the balance with bare life itfelf, with mere worldly comforts and conveniencies, they would downweigh it, Pf. 1xxxix. 47. One may fay, these comforts are not worth the living for, at the rate of that vanity and mifery that attend them. But here are three things, namely, our own happiness in God's favour, the honour of God, and the good of mankind; any one of thefe, and much more all of them together, is worth living for under all the inconveniencies of life, and will downweigh all the mifery of life in this world; there being more good in the one, than there is evil in the other. 3. It brings fuch valuable good into our life, as more than counterbalanceth all the vanity and mifery of it. And that is, (1.) A present comfort and fatisfaction, within one's felf, 2 Cor. i. 12. The foul-fatisfaction there, is in the reflection, that God is one's friend, that they have got fomething done for the honour of God, and for the good of their fellow-creatures, is enough to counterbalance the vanity and mifery of life, Prov. xiv. 14. (2.) A future profpect, namely, of complete happinefs, which muft needs turn the fcales entirely, be the miferies of life what they will, Rom. viii. 35,-39. Laftly, That good name well grounded is a thing that may coft much indeed, but it cannot be too dear bought, Prov. xxiii. 23. Whatever it coft you, you will be gainers, if ye get it, Phil. iii. 8. Let men and devils raife the market to the highest pitch they can to increase the difficulty of your obtaining it, they can never raise it so high as to give you ground to stop bidding for it. This has been the concurring teftimo ny ny of all the faints, confeffors, and martyrs from the beginning, Heb. xi. 1,-39. Secondly, I fhall fhew that this improvement of life is better than the best and most favoury earthly things. 1. It will give a greater pleasure to the mind, than any earthly thing can do, Prov. iii. 17. Pfalm iv. 7. 2 Cor. i. 17. This appears in its bearing up the heart, under the greatest trials and hardships. What can all the delights of fenfe, profits and pleasures of the world, avail a dying man? But this good name rejoiceth the heart in the face of death. This made confeffors joyful under the lofs of their fubftance, and martyrs chearfully embrace flames and gibbets. : 2. It will last longer than they will all do, Pfalm cxii. 6. Abraham was rich in filver and gold, and Job in ftocking but these things of theirs are all gone now, but their good name they raised to themselves is yet to the fore, All earthly things have a principle of corruption in them, ruft eats the filver, moths eat the fine clothes, and our bodies themselves will rot; only the good name is incorruptible, and will not be eaten up either by the teeth of malice or time, If.lvi. 5. us, we 3. It is the only thing we can keep to ourselves in the world to our advantage, when we leave the world. We must all leave the world, and then whatever riches, wealth, honours we have in it, we must leave them to others; only what name we leave behind will keep to ourselves when we are gone, we will be our own heirs in that, Mat. vi. 19, 20. If it be an ill name, there is our disadvantage; we leave nothing to ourfelves in the world, but what ftinks in it. If it be the good name, it will be favoury after us, when we are away. So, 4. The good name will, after we are away, be favoury in the world,when the things that others fet their hearts on will make them stink when they are gone. How favoury is the name of Lazarus, Luke xvi. at this day, notwithstanding all his poverty and fores? How is the name of the rich man buried with himself, known on ly |