cafting forth its favour like good ointment. It is faid of Chrift, Cant. i. 3. that “his name is as ointment poured forth;" but all the faints partake of that anointing, Pfal. xlv. 7. "God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Wherever grace is, it exerts itself in the course of a gracious converfation, holy actions, which procure a good name to the party, in fpite of all that the malice of the world can do. It is not a mere name, which a hypocrite may have; but a name raised on a folid foundation of grace and true piety.

Now that is better than precious ointment," i. e. the best things of this prefent world, that carnal mer fet their hearts on.

(1.) It is better than all the world's wealth, that goes under the name of oil, Deut. xxxiii. 24. "And of Asher he said,-Let him dip his foot in oil." To do a good action, is better than to gain a great worldly advantage. A course of piety, and the just character of a holy life, is preferable to riches, Prov. xxii. 1. So the name of poor Lazarus remains favoury, while the name of the rich glutton ftinks.

(2.) It is better than all worldly pleasures and delights of fenfe, expreffed by ointment and perfume, Prov. xxvii. 9. "Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart." The teftimony of one's own confcience for godly fincerity will rejoice the heart more, 2 Cor. i. 12. Lay the perfumed fool on a fick-bed or deathbed, these things avail nothing, while he is galled with the remembrance of an ill spent life; but conscience of integrity will bear up a man in the face of death, 1 John iii. 21. Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not, then have węc onfidence towards God." 2 Sam xxiii. 5. "Although my house be not fo with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and fure; for this is all my falvation, and all my defire, although he make it not to grow."

(3.) It

(3.) It is better than all worldly honours, for kings were anointed to teftify the conferring of that dignity on them. Men cannot cars their worldly honours into the other world with them; death treats the king and the peasant alike; but the character of piety outlives death, and will be owned and regarded in the other world, Rev. iii. 12. When wicked men fhall be condemned in their actions in which they applauded themselves, and others flattered them; the faints will receive Heaven's approbation of their holy actions, "Well done good and faithful fervants.” . Wherefore the best thing to balance the misery of human life for the prefent, is to be good, and do good. That is the great leffon that Solomon gives us here. Look on human life in all the periods of it, childhood, youth, middle age, and old age; and ye will find it is but juft fo many stages of vanity, whereof fome are paft, and others pafling. Look on it in the various circumftances of it, profperity and adverfity, health and fickness, wealth and penury; and you fhall find it but vanity caft in different fhapes. Turn up what fide of it you will, the young or the old, the fingle or married ftate, it is larded with vanity on every fide. Only, confider it as an opportunity of being and doing good, and fo it is a fubftantial thing; and fo very fubftantial in that respect, that it may well balance all the miferies that attend it. But take away that, and it is at beft but an ufelefs burden, Pfal. lxxxix. 47.

2. Death, the paffing into the other world, is beft; the dying-day is beft, "better than the birth-day." It is hard to believe that; and if men frame their fentiments according to the prevailing opinion of this world, they will never believe it; but if they frame it according to the doctrine of the other world, they muft needs believe it as it is represented in this text.

Ye have heard that there is another world; a lower part of it, the region of horror; to which death is U

the

the paffage for finners, whose dying day muft therefore be their most doleful day, in the view of which ye have been exhorted to cry, "Gather not my foul with finners." But ye have heard also, that there is a higher part of that world, a region of perfect bliss and happiness, to which death is also the paffage for faints or perfons that have got the good name; now if you believe that doctrine, you must needs conclude from it, that the day of fuch a one's death is better than the day of his birth, which is the thing here meant. And fince we have offered a view of the dark fide of the cloud, the gathering with finners in the other world; it is juft we offer a view too of the bright fide of the cloud, the gathering with faints there.

.There is a comparison here of two of the days of human life, both of them specially remarkable. The one is the first day of our life here, the birth-day, wherein we come into this world out of the womb. The other is the last day of our life here, the deathday, wherein we go out of this into the other world. The question is, Which of the two is the best day, the most defirable in itfelf? The fubject is determined in the first claufe, to be the man with the good name, who has been favoury in his life, being and doing good. And Solomon decides the queftion with refpect to fuch a one, roundly telling us, The day of death is better than the day of his birth, Heb. namely, the man with the good name. When he came into the world at his birth, his friends rejoiced, they thought it a good day; when he goes out of this world into the other, they mourn, thinking it a fad day. But think they as they will, it is the best day of the two; and were it not the partition betwixt the two worlds, we would fee it to our conviction.

Wherefore the best thing to balance the mifery of human life for the future to a good man, is to die, and leave this world and the life in it. That is the leffon we are taught here. The weight of glory that

death

death will bring him to in the other world, will abfolutely downweigh all the mifery of life here. The blifs of the lodging he comes to there, will more than compenfate all the hardships of the way; that he fhall fay, "O that happy life in the lower world, that made way for my entrance hither into this upper world! Who would not gladly have embraced Methufelah's tack of that life, for to get this!"

From the text thus explained, arifeth the two following points of doctrine, vix.

DocT. I. The improving of our life in this world to the raising up a well-grounded good name and favoury character in it, is the beft balance for the prefent for the vanity and mifery attending our life, better than the most favoury earthly things.

DOCT. II. To one who has fo lived, as to obtain the good name, his dying day will be better than his birthday, quite downweighing all the vanity and mifery of life in this world.

I fhall speak to each of these in order.

DocT. I. The improving of our life in this world to the raifing up a well grounded good name and favoury character in it, is the beft balance for the prefent for the vanity and mifery attending our life, better than the most favoury earthly things.

In difcourfing from this doctrine, I fhall,

I. Lay before you fome things fuppofed in it. II. Shew what is the well-grounded good name, that is the balance of the vanity and mifery of this life. II. What is the improvement of life, whereby that good name may be raised.

IV. Confirm the point, That this improvement of life is the best balance for the present for the vanity and mifery attending our life, better than the most favoury earthly things.

V. Make fome improvement.

U 2

I. I SHALL

I. I SHALL lay before you fome things fuppofed in the doctrine.

1. It fuppofeth that there is a vanity and mifery that is the infeparable attendant of human life in this world. No man in life is free of it, nor can be, Pfal. xxxix. 6. “Surely every man walketh in a vain fhew." No circumftances of life can avail to the shifting it off; it accompanies the crown and fceptre, as well as the beggar's feat on the dunghill, Eccl. i.: 2. "Vanity of vanities, faith the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Pfal. xxxix. 5. "Verily every 'man at his best state is altogether vanity." Men may -change their wildernefs-ftation, but while here will ftill be in a wilderness. They may get out of one vanity and mifery, but it will always be but a falling into another.

2. Every man will find himself obliged to feek for fome allay of that vanity and mifery of life, that he may be enabled to comport with it, Pfal. vi. 6. This makes a bufy world, every one feeking fomething to make his hard feat foft. For the whole world is in a fickly condition of fpirit, witness their need of the great Phyfician, Mat. ix. 12. Hence there is a mighty reftlefinefs, turning and shifting from one thing to another, for fome allay of the prefent uneafinefs.

3. It is natural for men to feek an allay to the vanity and mifery of life, in earthly things, Pfal. vi. 6. "There be many that fay, Who will fhew us any good?" They feek precious ointment, as it were, to mafter the rank favour that is about human life. For this caufe the pleasures, profits, and honours of the world are fought after, and employed as plafters for that fore; that, by means of them, they may be enabled to comfort with the vanity and mifery of life.

4. But the best of earthly things will make but a forry plafter for that fore; they will not be able to balance the vanity and mifery of life, but with them all life may be rendered faplefs, through the predo