Meat which cannot fatiate our Longing; like the Waters of the Well of Sychar, whereof our Saviour faid to the Woman of Samaria, He that drinketh of this Water fhall thirst again, Joh. iv. It happens to the Worldlings, as to him who fleeps hungry, and dreams that he is eating, when he awakes, his Stomach is empty, Ifa. xxix. Or like to another, who thinks in his Sleep that he drinks, but when his Eyes were open, he finds himself weary, and his Appetite unfatisfied: For he who hungers for Money, is never contented with the Enjoyment of it; and he who thirfts for vain Glory, can never be pleased with all the great Honours and Grandeurs of the World, Eccl. v. Instead of fatiating his longing Appetite, these things ferve but to increase and augment it. The whole World was not large enough to fatisfie the foolish Ambition of Alexander: For 'tis faid, he wept when a Philofopher told him, there were yet many Worlds to conquer. This Man, for whom fix Foot of Earth was fufficient, had a Mind to command over a thousand Worlds, if there had been so many.

II. Confider that all the Treafures and Riches of the Indies, and the Pomp and Grandeur of the World, are not able to bring Peace to the Soul, nor Quiet to troubled Confciences. When a poor Man has got together a little Silver and Gold, or when a mean Perfon is raised to the highest Offices and Dignities, his Mifery continues ftill, tho' it changes its Appearance. Oft times 'tis so much the more infufferable, in that it puts on a falfe Luftre, and a deceitful Glofs, in that fuch are conftrain'd to live always mafked, to fupprefs the Pangs, the Grief, the Sighs and Groans that often interrupt their profane Smiles, and carnal Delights and Paftimes.

Therefore our Saviour compares Riches to Thorns; for they prick and gaul not only the Hands, but the Heart and the Bowels of fuch as embrace 'em with Affection. It may be alfo faid, that they are like Lions and Bears; for they are not to be caught without much

Difficulty,

Difficulty, and they are as uneafie to be kept, becaufe we must take heed, that we be not bit with their venomous and deadly Teeth. If you had but tried the horrible Displeasures, the fenfible Griefs, and fecret Fears, with the tormenting Cares that attend upon the moft glorious Sceptres and the richeft Crowns, you would never judge the Saying of that Prince unreafonable, who exclaim'd against his Royalty in this Manner,O Crown,if any did but know thy Weight, he would never lift thee up from the Ground. The most Part of the Pleasures and Satisfactions of this Life depend much upon Man's Imagination, and all this Grandeur and human Glory is nothing but Wind. The Royal Prophet teaches us this Truth with much Elegancy, when he faith, That every Man at his laft State is altogether Vanity; furely every Man walketh in a vain Shew, furely they are difquieted in vain, Pfal. xxxix. Solomon, the most learned of all Kings, the richest and most magnificent Prince of his time, had refused nothing to his Eyes to gratifie his Luft; he had tafted of all the Delights and Paftimes that can be imagin'd; but at last he found fo little Satisfaction and folid Content, that he was forced to acknowledge, That all things under the Sun are but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit, Ecclef. iv.

12. Chiefly, we are to confider, that if our Enjoyments have been wrongfully gotten, as Balaam's Reward, Achan's Wedge of Gold and Scarlet Cloak, Gehazi's Changes of Raiment, Ahab's and Jezabel's Vineyard, Judas's thirty Pieces, Num. xxii. Job. vii. they can bring no real Content or Peace to the Soul, but they rather fill us with Gripings of Conscience, and with a fearful Defpair, 2 Kin. v. 1 Kin. xxii. If the voluptuous Worldling who hath enricht himself by Rapine, Ufury or Extortion, did wring with his Hands his fumptuous Garments, where his Pomp and Pride appear'd, he would vifibly squeeze out the Tears of the afflicted and poor People, Mat. xxvii. If he did but relish the right Tafte of the Liquors that he drinks out of his Cups of Jafper and Cryftal, he should find, inftead of

Wine and Limonade, the Sweat and Blood of the Miferable; and if he had but seriously lookt into the Silver and Golden Veffels that are put upon his Table, he should perceive the Marrow and the Bones of fuch as he hath devour'd. Whofoever becomes fat with the Substance of the Widow, and the Fatherless, shall never open his Coffers, but he may fpy there the Image of the Devil and the hellish Furies; he may hear the Cries and Groans of fuch, whom he hath deftroy'd by his Injuftice and Cruelty. If fuch escape unpunish'd here upon Earth, they fhall furely feel the Severity of God's Vengeance hereafter. If there be no Sword to ftrike them, nor Fire to confume them, nor Leprofie to gnaw them, nor Dogs to tear them, nor Halter to hang them, they have a guilty Confcience that will perform more than this. For 'twill be their Witness to accuse them, their Judge to condemn them, their Rack, their Wheel, and Executioner to torture them. The time will come when the Worm that never dies, and the Fire that fhall never be quench'd, fhall torment and burn them.

13. Confider, that 'tis poffible to be very indigent in the midst of a great Plenty. The Poets have had a Defign to represent this by the Fiction of a Man thirsting in a River, whereof the Waters reach'd up to his Chin. The covetous Mifer represents this miferable Wretch. He may be alfo compar'd to the Fig-tree of the Gofpel, curfed by our Saviour Chrift, that brought forth no Fruit for others, and withered for want of Nourishment. Therefore a contented Poverty is more worthy than Riches with Difcontent. Nature is fatiffied with a little, Piety with lefs; but Covetousness hath no Measures. The Heathens have very well acknowledged, that he was the richest who was most content. For the more things you defire, the more are wanting to you. It matters not much, if the Cup which is prefented to you, be of Gold or of Earth, fo that there be Liquor enough to quench your Thirit. I would rather drink of a little clear Stream of Water, than out of a

great

great River all muddy and troubled. A little Quantity of Ground is fufficient to nourish a Man in this Life, but lefs neceffary to cover him when he is dead. A little Money fatisfies to fubfift honeftly in the Fear of God, but lefs is required to die happily, in the Favour and Love of our good Saviour. Kings, and the greatest Monarchs have but one Body to nourish, and to cloath, as well as the meaneft of their Subjects. They who enjoy leaft in this World, ufe, or rather abuse the most of any, the things that they poffefs. Inftead of envying the Worldling's Opulency, let us meditate upon St. Paul's excellent Saying, Having Food and Raiment, let us be therewith content, 1 Tim. vi. And let us imprint in our Minds that other Sentence, Piety with Contentment is great Gains, 1 Tim. i.

14. Chriftian Souls, caft your Eyes upon all the things of the World that are most esteem'd, and you fhall find that their Poffeffion is but uncertain, and of fhort Continuance: For Riches have Wings to fly to Heaven as an Eagle. All Flesh is like Grafs, and the Glory of Man as the Flower of the Field, the World paffeth away with all its Lufts, Prov. xxiii. There needs but the pillaging of a Town, the breaking of a Merchant, or an unfuccessful or contrary Suit in Law, to render thee poor, and bring thee to Want. A little Sparkle of Fire is able to reduce all thy Riches into Afhes, and to bring thee to extream Poverty. The least Frown can cover thy Face with Shame and Confufion, and caft thee down from the highest human Glory, into the deepest Abyss of Difgrace and Ignominy. The wife Man informs us, That he who trufts in his Riches fball fall. We may fay fo of fuch as rely too much upon great Men's Favour: For 'tis like a broken Reed that pierces the Hands of fuch as lean upon it. There is nothing here below fo conftant as Inconftancy. If the Earth did not often change its Face and Appearance, it would not be Earth as it is; and if the World were not inconftant, it would cease to be a World. Therefore 'tis no Wonder if the Heathens, who understood not God's

God's wife Providence, that governs the natural Beings, and draws Light out of Darkness, have reprefented Fortune blind, mounting fometimes on a Wheel, and in an Instant tumbling down again. How many Perfons do we meet with, reduc'd on a fudden to Beggary, who a little before flourish'd in all manner of Plenty? How many are caft down into the Duft, and become the Scorn of the World, who were once raised to the highest Dignities, and the highest Honours ? How many fall into the Contempt and Derifion of the Vulgar, whofe Praises were once exalted up to Heaven? In a Word, how many do we fee before our Eyes drag'd along the Streets, fhut up in close Prisons, brought upon the Scaffolds and Gallows, who were once the Glory of the World, admired of all Men, and the Scourge of honeft Men? When we run over and confider the ftrange, unexpected, and fudden Changes that we have seen in our Days, they seem to us as Dreams. St. Paul reprefents this great Inconftancy of the World to take off our Hearts and Affections from it. The time, faith he, is fhort, it remaineth, that both they that have Wives, be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they poffeffed not; and they that use this World, as not abufing it, for the Fashion of this World paffeth away, 1 Cor. vii. Because of this great Inconftancy of all the worldly Advantages, St. Paul invites us to think upon the everlasting Riches. Charge, faith he, them that are Rich, that they put not their truft in uncertain Riches, but in the living God, laying up in ftore for themselves a good Foundation against the time to come,that they may lay hold on eternal Life, 1 Tim.vi. For the fame Reason, the Son of God adviseth us, not to lay up for our felves Treafures upon Earth, where the Moth and Ruft doth corrupt, but lay up for your felves Treafures in Heaven, where the Moth and Ruft do not corrupt, and where Thieves do not break thro' and steal,Mat.vi. A wife Perfian was well acquainted with this Truth; therefore he hath left this Leffon for Pofterity,The World