mourn need comfort: Chrift tells us, that he came to comfort thofe that mourn, Ifa. lxi. 2.

The blind need to have their eyes opened. The light is sweet to men: Chrift offers to anoint our eyes with eye-falve that we may fee glorious light. He will be our fun, and the light of God's countenance.

What is more dear to men than life? Chrift hath purchased for men, that they fhould live forever, Pfal. xxi. 4. "He afked life of thee, and thou gaveft it him, even length of days forever and ever."

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How greatly is a crown prized and admired by the children of men? And Chrift offers this,ruptible crown, but an incorruptible and far more giorious crown than any worn by earthly kings. A crown of glory, the luftre of which thall never fade nor decay an everlafting kingdom.

Men love pleasures. Here are pleasures forevermore. What could there be more to draw our hearts to Jefus Chrift, to make us willing to accept of him for our Saviour; and to accept of his benefits, in that glorious and wife way, that he has provided for us!

SERMON XVI.

The True Chriftian's Life, a Journey towards Heaven.

HEBREWS Xi. 13, 14.

[Sept. 1733.]

And confeffed that they were ftrangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that fay fuch things, declare plainly that they feek a country.

THE

HE Apofile is here fetting forth the excellences of the grace of faith, by the glorious effects and happy iffue of it in the faints of the Old Teftament. He had spoken in the preceding part of the chapter particularly of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Ifaac

and

; and Jacob. Having enumerated thofe inftances, he takes notice that" these all died in the faith, not having re"ceived the promises, but having feen them afar off, and "were perfuaded of them, and embraced them, and "confeiled that they were ftrangers," &c.

In these words the Apoftle feems to have a more particular refpect to Abraham and Sarah, and their kindred that came with them from Haran, and from Ur of the Chaldees, by the 15th verfe, where the Apoftle fays, " and truly if they had been mindful of that country "from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned." It was they that up, on God's call left their own country.

Two things may be obferved in the text.

1. What these faints confeffed of themselves, viz. "that they were ftrangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

Thus we have a particular account concerning Abraham, "I am a ftranger and a fojourner with you," Gen. xxiii. 4. And it feems to have been the general fenfe of the patriarchs, by what Jacob fays to Pharaoh. And "Jacob faid to Pharaoh, the days of the years of my

pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and "evil have the days of the years of my life been, and "have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of "my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage," Gen. xlvii. Iama firanger and a fojourner with thee, as all my fathers were," Pfal. xxxix. 2.

2. The inference that the Apoftle draws from hence, viz. that they fought another country as their home. "For they that fay fuch things, declare plainly that

they feek a country." In confeffing that they were frangers, they plainly declared, that this is not their country; that this is not the country where they are at And in confeffing themfelves to be pilgrims, they declared plainly, that this is not their fettled abode; but that they have refpect to fome other country, that they feek and are travelling to as their home.

DOCTRINE.

This life ought fo to be spent by us, as to be only a journey towards heaven.

Here

Here I would observe,

I. That we ought not to rest in the world and its enjoyments, but fhould defire heaven...

This our hearts fhould be chiefly upon &engaged about. We fhould feek first the kingdom of God, Matth. vi. 33. He that is on a journey, feeks the place that he is journeying to. We ought above all things to defire a heavenly happinefs: to go to heaven, and there be with God; and dwell with Jefus Chrift. If we are furrounded with many outward enjoyments, and things that are very comfortable to us: if we are fettled in families, and have thofe good friends and relations that are very defireable': if we have companions whole fociety is delightful to us: if we have children that are pleafant and hopeful, and in whom we fee many promifing qualifications: if we live by good neighbours; have much of the refpect of others; have a good name; are generally beloved where we are known: and have comfortable and pleasant accommodations: yet we ought not to take our reft in these things. We fhould not be willing to have these things for our portion, but fhould feek a higher happiness in another world. We fhould not merely feek fomething else in addition to these things, but fhould be so far from refting in them, that we fhould choofe and defire to leave thefe things for heaven; to go to God and Chrift there. We fhould not be willing to live here always, if we could, in the fame ftrength and vigour of body and mind as when in youth, or in the midst of our days; and always enjoy the fame pleasure, and dear friends, and other earthly comforts. Wefhould choofe and defire to leave them all in God's due time, that we might go to heaven, and there have the enjoyment of God. We ought to poffefs them, enjoy and make ufe of them, with no other view or aim, but readily to quit them whenever we are called to it, and to change them for heaven. And when we are called away from them, we fhould go cheerfully and willingly.

He that is going a journey, is not wont to reft in what he meets with that is comfortable & pleasing on the road. If he paffes along through pleasant places, flowery meadows, or fhady groves; he does not take up his content

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in thefe things. He is content only to take a tranfient view of thefe pleafant objects as he goes along. He is not enticed by thefe fine appearances to put an end to his journey, and leave off the thought of proceeding: No; but his journey's end is in his mind; that is the great thing that he aims at. So if he meets with comfortable and pleasant accommodations on the road at an inn, yet he does not reft there; he entertains no thoughts of fettling there. He confiders that these things are not his own, and that he is but a stranger; that that is not allotted for his home. And when he has refreshed bimfelf, or tarried but for a night, he is for leaving these accommodations, and going forward, and getting on. ward towards his journey's end. And the thoughts of coming to his journey's end, are not at all grievous to him. He does not defire to be travelling always and never come to his journey's end: the thoughts of that would be difcouraging to him. But it is pleasant to him to think, that fo much of the way is gone, that he is now nearer home; and that he fhall prefently be there; and the toil and fatigue of his journey will be over.

So fhould we thus defire heaven so much more than the comforts and enjoyments of this life, that we should long to change thefe things for heaven. We fhould wait win earneft defire for the time when we fhall ar rive at our journey's end. The Apoftle mentions it as an encouraging, comfortable confideration to Chriftians, when they draw nigh their happinefs. "Now is our "falvation nearer than when we believed."

Our hearts ought to be loofe to these things, as it is with a man that is on a journey. However comforta ble enjoyments are, yet we ought to keep our hearts fo loofe from them, as cheerfully to part with them, whenever God calls. But this I fay, brethren, the time is "short. 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 ufe this world, as not abufing it for the fashion of this world paffeth away," 1 Cor. 29, 30, 31.

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:

We

We ought to look upon these things as only lent to us for a little while, to ferve a prefent turn; but we should fet our hearts on heaven as our inheritance forever.

II. We ought to feek heaven, by travelling in the way that leads thither..

The way that leads to heaven is the way of holiness. We should choose and defire to travel thither in this way and in no other... We fhould part with all thofe fins, thofe carnal appetites that are as weights, that will tend to hinder us in our travelling towards heaven.— "Let us lay afide every weight, and the fin which doth "fo easily befet us, and let us run with patience the ཟླ་ race fet before us, Heb. xii. 1. However pleasant any practice or the gratification of any appetite may be, we must lay it afide, caft it away; if it be any hindrance, and ftumbling-block in the way to heaven.

We should travel on in a way of obedience to all God's commands, even the difficult as well as the easy commands. We fhould travel on in a way of felf-denial; denying all our finful inclinations and interefts. The way to heaven is afcending; we must be content to travel up hill, though it be hard and tirefome, though it be contrary to the natural tendency and bias of our flesh, that tends downward to the earth. We fhould follow Chrift in the path that he has gone. The way that he travelled in was the right way to heaven. We fhould take up our cross and follow him. We should travel along in the fame way of meekness and lowlinefs of heart; in the fame way of obedience and charity, and diligence to do good; and patience under afflic tions. The way to heaven is a heavenly life: we muft be travelling towards heaven in a way of imitation of those that are in heaven. In imitation of the faints and a angels there, in their holy employments, in their way of fpending their time in loving, adoring, ferving, and praifing God and the Lamb. This is the path that, we ought to prefer before all others, if we could have any other that we might choofe. If we could go to heaven in a way of carnal living, in the way of the enjoyment and gratification of our lufts, we fhould rather prefer a

way