his own honour laid in the dust; so the honour of his house, family, and posterity generally lasts not long, but is also in a little tract of time buried in oblivion.

5. And lastly, riches will certainly fail, leave, and forsake the owners of them at last, when they come to die.

If riches could for the present cure all the evils of our minds and bodies; if they could secure us against all outward accidents in this world, if we were sure of them for our lives, nay, and that they should continue to our posterity; yet were it a vain thing to trust in them as our security and happiness. For we ourselves must certainly, after a few years, bid an eternal farewell to them, and we must die and for ever leave them. This is the meditation of David in the abovementioned Psalm xlix. 16, 17. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. Now what a contemptible, or rather pitiful object is the rich man when he comes to die, if then he hath nothing else but his riches to trust in! Such an one dies with far greater regret and torment of mind, and is so much more miserable in his death than the poorest man. He is now for ever to leave all his wealth, together with all that pomp and grandeur, all those delights and pleasures that it afforded, and his body to be laid in the dark and silent grave; and as for his soul, (as little religion as he formerly had, yet,) he is now uncertain at least what will become of it; but he is certain, that if there be any place of misery for wicked souls, thither his must go. But on the other side,

the poor man hath no such temptation to make him ́ fond of living or unwilling to die, but may rather look on death as a writ of ease, given him by Providence from a life of sorrow and labour.

But see the stupidity and infatuation of fallen man! The rich man knows he must certainly die as well as others, and that the time of his death is altogether so uncertain, that, for ought he can tell, the next day or hour may be his last. He knows that whenever he dies he must infallibly leave his wealth behind him, and carry none of his riches along with him. And to us, that live under the revelation of the Gospel, God hath given so full a demonstration of a life to come, wherein they shall be for ever happy that despise this world, and they miserable that dote upon it, that it seems almost impossible for any rational man, that duly and impartially weighs the evidence given him, to doubt of it; and yet the rich man still depends on and glories in his riches. Whereas if he did but reflect on the perfect vanity of his actions in so doing, and seriously consider with himself how foolish and imprudent he therein is, he would heartily subscribe to the truth of the second observation I proposed to discourse of, viz. That the religious acknowledgment of God's providence, in the wise and righteous government and disposal of all human affairs, joined with an humble dependence and firm trust on him, is man's best and indeed only security. But I shall reserve this subject to another opportunity.

Now to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be given and ascribed all honour and glory, all religious worship and adoration, now and for evermore. Amen.

SERMON XIX.

THAT THE RELIGIOUS ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE, IN THE WISE ANd righteous GovernmENT AND DISPOSAL OF ALL HUMAN AFFAIRS, JOINED WITH AN HUMBLE DEPENDENCE AND FIRM TRUST ON HIM, IN THE WAY OF OBEDIENCE TO HIM, IS MAN'S BEST AND INDEED ONLY SECURITY.

JER. ix. 23, 24.

Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

IN my former discourse on this text I have stripped the carnal man of all his vain confidences, whether in his own wisdom, or in his might, or in his wealth, and have abundantly made good the first proposition contained in the text, viz. That it is a very sinful and vain thing for any man so to glory in his wisdom, might, or wealth, as to place his trust and confidence in either or all of them. But lest we should seem to discourse only in a destructive way, in taking off poor mortals from their false trusts, and then leave them in despair, and destitute of any other more sure and certain dependence; I proceed now to the second observation, which was this:

The religious acknowledgment of God's providence

in the wise and righteous government and disposal of all human affairs, joined with an humble dependence and firm trust on him, in the way of obedience to him, is man's best, yea only security.

But let him that glorieth, &c. For the full clearing of which observation, I shall endeavour plainly to demonstrate these three things.

I. That there is a divine providence that takes notice of, and wisely and righteously directs and governs all human affairs, i. e. the actions and concerns of all men on earth.

II. That there is a most especial providence over good men, that orders all things for their good.

III. That therefore we ought, leaving all other earthly dependencies, to commit ourselves to the divine providence, in the way of piety, and sincere obedience to the divine commands, and firmly to rely and trust on it, as our best, yea only security. Of these in their order.

I. That there is a wise and righteous providence of God that takes cognizance of and governs the concerns of men on earth, is most plain, not only from the holy Scriptures, but also from the universal consent even of those civilized heathen nations which know not, or own not, the sacred oracles as such.

1. First, The holy Scriptures (the doctrine whereof will appear to him that diligently and impartially inquires into all the intrinsic and extrinsic arguments whereby it is confirmed, to be most certainly of God) in very many places clearly set forth the providence of God over the affairs of men. Hear some few, out of a great abundance that might be produced, most plain and express determinations of sacred writ concerning this matter. Such is that, Job xxxiv. 21.

For his eyes (i. e. God's eyes) are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. And that, Psalm xi. 4, 5. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, and his eyelids try, the children of men. The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence the Lord hateth. And Psalm xxxiii. 13, 14, 15. The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike, (or as the Septuagint and the Latin render the Hebrew, severally,) he considereth all their works. And Prov. v. 21. The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings. And lastly, Jer. xxxii. 17, 18, 19. Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

This is the doctrine of the divinely inspired writers; concerning whom it is farther observable, that they have in their very writings not only taught us the doctrine of providence, but also given us a full and demonstrative proof thereof in those many clear and exact predictions of future contingencies, which by the divine Spirit they have delivered to the world many ages before the things themselves came to pass.