loofe, disjointed, incoherent Thoughts; our SERM. V. Lives will be a Rhapsody of loofe, fortuitous, inconfiftent Actions, without confidering what God, Reason, Eternity and our own Happiness require of us. Why do we not put these Queftions home to ourselves? "What is the best End for me to drive at in "all my Doings? Will fuch an Action be "better upon the whole for my Good, " for my eternal Good? How fhall I wish "I had lived, when I come to die?" God grant us all a right Sense of our Duty; that we may act agreeable thereto; and perfevere in acting so to the End of our Lives. SERMON How far an Affluence contributes to In a SERMON preached before the Univerfity of OXFORD, 1741. LUKE XII. 15. A Man's Life confifteth not in the Abundance of the Things which he poffeffeth. I' F a Man's Happinefs (for Life in this SERM. VI. Abundance; then a Man would be happy in Proportion to what he has: An Affertion, which the Compafs of every Man's Obfervation difproves. We find feveral, who have no confiderable Advantages, either of Fortune, or Honour, or Power, contented and eafy; and feveral, who poffefs them all, yet extremely dif contented and miferable. This fhould in SERM. V. cline us to think, that Happiness is chiefly feated within That the Mind, as it is well or ill difpofed, muft endear the Relish; or pall the Flavour, of every earthly Bleffing: that we must enjoy ourselves, before we can enjoy any Thing elfe.. Men misplace their Difcontent: They are very well satisfied with what they are; They are only diffatisfied with what they bave. Whereas the very Reverse ought generally to take place, and the only Defire which we ought to fet no Bounds to, is that of encreafing in Goodness. A flender Allotment of worldly Bleffings will content an eafy, modeft, humble Frame of Mind: And no Allotment whatever, no Affluence how great foever, can fatisfy an uneafy, reftlefs, fretful Temper, ever seeking Rest and finding none, making to itself Difquietudes, when it meets with none; and improving them when it does. A rational Way of thinking is therefore an effential Ingredient of Happiness. We muft poffefs ourselves with just Apprehenfions of Things: We wind up our Imaginations too high; and Things, as they are in Nature, will never answer to the gay florid Ideas, which a luxuriant Fancy forms forms of them. The only Expedient SERM. V. therefore is to take down our Fancy, and bring it to the Truth of Things and the Standard of Nature. Unless we do this, we can never be tolerably eafy: For our Uneafinefs, in the Abfence of fuch Things, will be proportionable to the Good which we imagine them to have: But our Happiness, in the Poffeffion of them, will be only answerable to the Good that is really in them. The Confequence of which is, that the want of them may make us exquifitely unhappy; though the Fruition of them would be but a lender Addition to our Happiness. Confult then your Reason : Cool unbiaffed Reafon will teach you the true intrinsic Value of all the Gifts of God, itself the most valuable of any. Whatever you admire beyond the real Proportion of Good that is in it, you will foon difrelish as much: But a just reasonable Value will be as unchanging as Reafon itself; And Time, which wears off the fpecious gilding of each imaginary Good, brightens and improves the Sterling Luftre of real Bleffings. An undisciplined Imagination may fuggeft," O how happy fhould I "be, if I could compass such a Situation |