Ser: 68. made partakers of a bleffed immortality in another world. I fhall briefly fpeak to both thefe; and then fhew what effect and influence the ferious meditation of these two points ought to have upon every one of us.

I. That our condition in this world is very troublefome and unfettled. This I take to be principally intended in the metaphor of frangers and pilgrims. Such was the life of the Patriarchs, which is here fpoken of in the text they had no conftant abode and fixed habitation, but were continually wandering from one kingdom and country to another; in which travels they were exposed to a great many hazards and dangers, afflictions and miferies, affronts and injuries, as we read at large in the history of their travels in the Old Testament. And fuch is our condition in this world; it is often troublesome, and always uncertain and unfettled.

It is often very troublesome: not to infift upon the weak condition of infancy and childhood, the helplessnefs of that state, and infufficiency of it for its own prefervation, and the fupply of its natural wants and neceffities; not to mention the dangerous vanity and defperate folly of youth, nor the infirmities and contempts, the many tedious and wearifome days and nights that old age is commonly grieved and afflicted withal; to that degree, as to make life not only unpleasant, but almost an intolerable burden to us: not to dwell upon these, which yet take up and poffefs a great fhare and portion of our lives; if we look upon man in his beft ftate, we fhall find him, as David hath long fince pronounced on him, to be altogether vanity. We need not go a pilgrimage, and travel into remote countries, to make life more troublesome and uneafy. In what part of the world foever we are, even that which we improperly call our own home and native country, we fhall meet with trouble and inconvenience enough to convince us, that we are but frangers in it. More efpecially good men are peculiarly liable to a great many evils and fufferings, upon account of their piety and virtue. They are not of the world, (as our bleffed Saviour tells his difciples, John xv. 19.); and because they are not of the world, therefore the world hateth them, and taketh all opportunities and occafions to vex and perfecute them in one kind or other, ei

ther

ther by doing all manner of evil to them, or by fpeaking all manner of evil of them.

But fuppofe we cfcape trouble upon this account, there are abundance of common and natural inconveniences, which render human life very uneafy. For either we must live alone, or in the company and fociety of others one of these two is neceffary and unavoidable. Suppofe we would live alone; how few are there that can enjoy themselves tolerably alone for any confiderable time? For though there be a great deal too much of felf-love in mankind, and men are generally extremely fond of themselves; yet I know not how it happens, though fo it is, that very few men in the world care for their own company, or can endure, for any confiderable time, to converfe only with themfelves; nay, for the most part, they are fooner glutted with themfelves, and furfeited of their own converfation, than with the worst company they can meet with: A fhrewd fign, as one would think, that they knew fomething worfe by themfelves than of any body elfe; or at leaft they know it more certainly. It is a wife and deep faying of Ariftotle, Whoever affects to be alone, must be Osòs, On<< pio, either a god or a wild beaft: " either he must be fufficient for himself, and want nothing; or of fo wild and favage a difpofition, as to destroy every thing that is weaker, and to run away from every thing that is ftronger than himself. Now, man is neither good enough to be c contented and fatisfied with himself, nor bad enough to hate and avoid every body else; and therefore he muft enter into fociety, and keep company with other

men.

And if we go abroad into the world, and try the converfation of men, it cannot but grieve us to fee à great many things, which yet we must fee every day; the cenforioufnefs, and uncharitableness, and infincerity of men one towards another; to fee with what kindness they will treat one another to the face, and how hardly they will use them behind their backs. If there were nothing elfe, this one naughty quality, fo common and reigning among mankind, were enough to make an honeft and true-hearted man, one that loves plainnefs and fincerity, to be heartily fick of the world, and glad to fteal off the ftage,

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stage, where there is nothing native and fincere, but all perfonated and acted; where the converfation of a great part of men is all defigning and infidious, full of flattery and falfhood, of good words and ill offices: One Speaketh peace.bly to his neighbour with his mouth; but in his heart he lieth in wait, as it is in the Prophet, Jer. ix. 8. And when a man hath done all the good turns he can, and endeavoured to oblige every man, and not only to live inoffenfively, but exemplarily: he is fair dealt withal, and comes off upon good terms, if he can but efcape the ill words of men for doing well, and obtain a pardon for thofe things which truly deferve praise.

But fetting afide thefe, and the like melancholy confiderations; when we are in the health and vigour of our age, when our blood is warm and our fpirits quick, and the humours of our body not yet turned and fowred by great difappointments, and grievous loffes of our eftates, or nearest friends and relations, by a long course of afflictions, by many crofs events and calamitous accidents; yet we are continually liable to all thefe; and the perpetual fear and danger of them is no fmall trouble and uneafinefs to our minds, and does in a great measure robus of the comfort and eat out the pleasure and fweetness of all our enjoyments; and, by degrees, the evils we fear overtake us; and as one affliction and trouble goes off, another fucceeds in the place of it; like Job's meffengers, whofe bad tidings and reports of calamitous accidents came fo thick upon him, that they overtook one another.

If we have a plentiful fortune, we are apt to abuse it to intemperance and luxury; and this naturally breeds bodily pains and diseases, which take away all the comfort and enjoyment of a great eftate. If we have health, it may be we are afflicted with loffes, or deprived of friends, or croffed in our interefts and defigns; and one thing or other happens to impede or interrupt the contentment and happiness of our lives. Sometimes an un

expected ftorm, or fome other fudden calamity, sweepeth away, in an inftant, ail that which with so much industry and care we have been gathering many years. Or if an eftate ftand firm, our children are taken away, to whofe comfort and advantage all the pains and endeavours of

our

our lives were devoted. Or if none of thefe happen, as it is very rare to escape most, or some of them; yet for a demonstration to us, that God intended this world to be uneafy, to convince us that a perfect state of happinefs is not to be had here below, we often fee in experience, that those who seem to be in a condition as happy as this world can put them into, by the greatest accommodations towards it, are yet as far or farther from happinefs, as those who are destitute of most of those things wherein the greatest felicity of this world is thought to confift. Many times it fo happens, that they who have all the furniture and requifites, all the materials and ingredients of a worldly felicity at their command, and in their power, yet have not the skill and ability out of all thefe to frame a happy condition of life to themselves. They have health, and friends, and reputation, and eftate in abundance, and all outward accommodations that heart can wish; and yet, in the midst of all these circumftances of outward felicity, they are uneafy in their minds, and, as the wife man expreffeth it, in their fufficiency they are in ftraits, and are as it were furfeited even with happiness itfelf; and do fo fantastically and unaccountably naufeate the good condition they are in, that though they want nothing to make them happy, yet they cannot think themfelves fo; though they have nothing in the world to moleft and difguft them, yet they can make a fhift to create as much trouble to themselves out of nothing, as they who have the real and substantial caufes of difcontent.

*

Which plainly fhews, that we are not to look for happiness here; it is not to be found in this land of the living: and, after our inquiries after it, we fhall fee fufficient reafon to take up Solomon's conclufion, that all is vanity, and vexation of Spirit; which is much the fame with that aphorifm of David his father, which I mentioned before, that man in his beft eftate is altogether vanity.

But what happiness foever our condition in this world is capable of, it is moft affuredly full of uncertainty and unfettlement: we cannot enjoy it long, and every moment we are in danger of being deprived of it. What* Probably the author should have here faid Zophar, whofe are the words he quotes, Job xx. 22.

ever

ever degree of earthly felicity we are poffeffed of, we have no fecurity that it fhall continue. There is nothing in this world, but when we are as fure of it as this world can make us, may be taken away from us by a thousand accidents. But fuppofe it to abide and continue, we ourselves fhall be taken away from it: we must die, and in that very day all our enjoyments and hopes, as to this world, will perifh with us; for here is no abiding place, we have no continuing city: fo that it is in vain to defign a happiness to ourselves in this world, when we are not to stay in it, but only travel and pafs through it.

And this is the firft, our condition in this world is very troublesome and unfettled.

II. Our condition in this world being a state of pilgrimage, doth imply a tendency to future fettlement, and the hopes and expectation of a happier condition hereafter. And fo the Apoftle reafons immediately after the text, They confeffed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth for they that fay fuch things, declare plainly that they feek a country; that is, they who acknowledge themfelves to be ftrangers and pilgrims on the earth, and yet withal profefs to be perfuaded of the goodnefs of God, and the fidelity of his promife, do plainly declare that they feek another country. This is fpoken of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, who acknowledged themfelves to be frangers and pilgrims on the earth, and thereby declared that they fought another country. Now, fays the Apostle, this cannot be the country from whence they first came, Ur of the Chaldees, y 15. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had an opportunity of returning thither. And therefore he concludes, that the country which they fought, was a better country than any in this world, y 16. But now they defire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city. This plainly refers to that famous declaration or promife of God to the Patriarchs of being their God: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of Jacob. Now, certainly this promife of God did fignify fome great bleffing and advantage to thofe faithful fervants of

very

God