TYRE is the City here spoken of; and a very good and great Word it is that is here spoken of her. It is a Prophecy of the Conversion of the Ty­rians by the preached Gos­pel; and how they should use their Wealth in the Day when God should convert them. And what is here written concern­ing them is for our learning, being a Direction and Precept to us, that our Merchandise and Hire should be Holiness to the Lord.

[Page 2] Tyre was a Gentile City of great Antiquity, and Re­nown for Trade and Wealth, scituate on the Me­diterranean Sea, near to the Lot of the Tribe of Asher. It was built by some Colony of the Zidonians, and is therefore in our Context called the Daughter of Zidon.

In David and Solomon's time we find the Tyrians faithful Allies and Friends of Israel. And as one well observes, ‘Trading Cities seldom prove dan­gerous Enemies to their Neighbours; for they ac­quire and maintain their Grandeur, not by the Conquest of others, but by Commerce with them.’

The Inhabitants of Tyre were now grown the most skilful in Sea Affairs of any in the World. A­bout the ninth Year of Hezekiah, Salmanezer the Assyrian invaded and besieged them both by Sea and Land. By Sea they beat the Assyrian and Phaenician Fleet of sixty Sail, with twelve Ships only. This gave 'em a Name for War as well as Riches, and made 'em the Terror of the Ocean. The Assyrian Army then block'd 'em up by Land; for Old Tyre was built upon the Continent, and the new City after­ward upon an Island; which Siege they bare for five Years, and were at last delivered by the Death of Salmanezer. Upon this Success they were puff'd up with new Pride, and grew hau'tier than ever, which provoked the Holy God to utter the Burden and Prophecy against them, in the Chapter before us, wherein is foretold, 1. The miserable Overthrow of the Tyrians by Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldean Army; and 2. Their Restoration, like their Nei'bours the Jews, after seventy Years; when they should recover their ancient Liberty, Trade & Riches again — This is the Danger and Misery of Places of Commerce, that as they grow rich and opulent they [Page 3]also grow sensual, prophane and insolent, unjust and unrighteous; and so forfeit the Blessings of Provi­dence, and incur its dreadful Judgments; as Tyre did.

Nebuchadnezzar found it a hard peice of Work to conquer Tyre ^*. He began its Siege about two Years after the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Captivity of Judah. It held him thirteen Years be­fore it was taken, when he took a terrible Revenge and utterly ras'd it. An Account of this is given us by the Prophet Ezekiel, Chap. xxix. v. 18. Son of Man, Nebuchadnezzer King of Babylon caused his Army to serve a great Service against Tyre; every Head was made bald and every Shoulder was peeled; yet had he no Wages nor his Army for Tyre, for the Service that he served against it. The short Account of this Mat­ter is, "That the Tyrians finding him too hard for them by Land, while yet they were Masters by Sea, they built themselves a new City on an Island about half a Mile distant from the Shore, into which they removed the most and best of their Effects; so that when Nebuchadnezzar enter'd the old City, after his long Seige and hard Service of thirteen Years, he found no Riches, no Spoil in the Place, to repay him for his vast Expence or to reward his Soldiers; the Inhabitants having pass'd with their Stores into the new City, which was afterwards a most mighty Maritime Power and Mart of the Nations, still cal­led TYRE; rising as a Phaenix from the Ashes of her Dam. — It is probable, says the noble Histo­rian, that after the King of Babylon had destroy'd the Old Town, those that retir'd into the new one came into Terms and submitted to him; and so [Page 4]continued in a state of Restraint and Servitude to the Babylonians and Persians for Seventy Years; al­tho' they were not captivated and dispersed, were not carried away to Babylon and Chaldea, as the Jews were.

Such was the Accomplishment of the Burden of Tyre utter'd by Isaiah! So it was laid waste, at which all her Ships are call'd to howl. This was the End of the joyous City, whose Antiquity was of ancient Days, her own Feet carry'd her away! her Pride and High­ness of Spirit, the Sin of rich and thriving Places did it! for it presently runs a Place into Irreligion, Sensuality and Unrighteousness. The same Pride, that cast down the Angels; and destroy'd Sodom in her Fulness of Bread, leaving the polluted Cities as the Image on Earth of everlasting Burnings; laid Tyre, the crowning City, desolate; whose Merchants were Princes, and her Traffickers the honourable of the Earth: The LORD OF HOSTS did it to stain the Pride of all Glory.

These things are written for our Warning; for a warning to the Maritime Powers of Europe, to Eng­land and Holland in particular, on whom the Ends of the World are come. So criminal is the Pride of Life in the Eyes of a Holy God, and odious! See it in the Judgment of Tyre, as the most eminent In­stance, Ezekiel xxviii. init. "Son of Man, say to the Prince of Tyre, Thus saith the LORD GOD, Because thine Heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, (a kind of Neptune, God of the Seas) I sit in the Seat of God, in the midst of the Seas: Yet thou art a Man and not a God, tho' thou set thine Heart as the Heart of God: Behold thou art wiser than Daniel (who had it seems such a Name and Fame for Wisdom, thro' the King­doms and Provinces of the East, that it might pass [Page 5]for a Proverb among them, "as wise as Daniel) and with thy Wisdom and Understanding thou hast gotten thee Riches, Gold and Silver into thy Treasuries, and thy Heart is lifted up; (art a golden God in thy own Eyes, ma­king thy Gold thy Hope, and saying to it, "Thou art my Confidence!") Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Be­hold I will bring Strangers upon thee, the Terrible of the Nations, and they shall draw their Swords against the Beauty of thy Wisdom, and they shall defile thy Bright­ness; they shall bring thee down to the Pit, and thou shalt die the Deaths of the Slain in the midst of the Seas: thou shalt be a Man and no God in the Hand of him that slayeth thee.

All this God bro't on proud and hau'ty Tyre for her Sins. But in the Close of the Chapter, where my Text is found, we have "a Time fix'd for the Con­tinuance of her Judgment, and a Prophecy of the Re­covery of her ancient Glory," v. 15. Tyre shall be forgotten seventy Years, according to the Days of one King; after the End of seventy Years shall Tyre sing as an Harlot: By the Days of one King we must understand the Succession of one Family of the Monarchs of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, his Son and Grandson; and by her singing again as an Harlot, we must understand, ‘her Return to her State of former Prosperity, Mer­chandise and Traffic; and her using all Arts and Means (as she had done before) to draw Trade and Customers to her: Like as an Harlot that has been sometime under Restraint and Correc­rection for her Leudness, when she is at Liberty again returns with a violent Bent to her old Arts of Temptation ^*;’ Such was Tyre when at the End of 70 Years she recovered Freedom, Trade and Riches. She did all she could to allure the Com­merce of the Nations to her again; the Tyrians were as much set upon worldly Gains, were as in­ordinate [Page 6]in their Desire and Love of Wealth, and in taking all Methods to get it, as they had been before; and rejoyced in their Acquisitions as hereto­fore. This is the Harlotry here imputed to her, an inordinate Lust after Riches, and Pleasure in it; which in Scripture is called spiritual Fornication. And accordingly the Prophet goes on to brand and expose Tyre for her Love of Money, v. 16. "Take an Harp and go about the City, thou Harlot that hast been forgotten! make sweet Melody, sing many Songs that thou mayst be remembred. Nothing can be more elegant than this predicting" the various Artifices and even dishonest Practices, whereby the City of Tyre regain­ing her Liberty, would return into her wonted Com­merce with all the Nations, and entice the Merchants of the Earth into their usual Dealings with her. So she turn'd to her Hire, and committed Fornication with all the Kingdoms of the World upon the Face of the Earth, v. 17.

But then in the last Verse of the Chapter, which is my Text, there is one Word of Good concerning Tyre; one Word of Grace respecting her; and that is — "That having recovered her rich and opulent State, a Time would come wherein She should make a better Use of it than she had done formerly; she should in Process of Time come to use it religiously, to the Honour of God and in his Service; "Her Mer­chandise and her Hire would then be Holiness to the Lord: And this is explained in the following Words, It shall not be treasured and laid up; neither as Misers hoard up their Bags, nor as the proud and vain lay out and lay up their Moneys in Fineries & Jewels; but "her Merchandise shall be for them that dwell be­fore the Lord, for the Support and Maintenance of Religion and the Ministers of it; for them to eat suf­ficiently, and for durable Clothing.

[Page 7] What more could we hope to hear of Jerusalem the Holy City, at any time! or of any other City of God in Gospel Times! — What more than this, "Her Merchandise and her Hire shall be HOLINESS TO THE LORD? The High Priest of God, in his Attire of Holiness and Glory, on the great and solemn Day, wore no more sacred Inscription than this was! yet this shall be written on the Merchandise of Tyre! marvellous Word! written for the Generati­ons to come, and that the People to be created should praise the Lord.

But when was this to be? and wherein should it be so? — Why, In the Day when Tyre, and other Nations, should come, 1. Not to treasure up their Gains, from a Spirit of Covetousness, or of Ambi­tion and Pride, or of Confidence in their Riches; but 2. when their Gains by Trade should be devo­ted to God's Honour and employ'd in his Service, in Works of Piety and Charity; for the Establishment and Support of the House and Worship of God, and for the Relief of his Poor: for sufficient and durable Food and Clothing for the Pastors and the Poor of Christ's Flocks.

But, was there ever such a Time as this, for New Tyre? and when was it? — I answer, There were such Times; and two Periods may probably be re­ferr'd to;

First, The Time of Judah's Return out of Babylon, when tho' the seventy Years of Tyre were not quite expired, yet new Tyre had attained more than fifty Years Growth, and was able to furnish the Jews toward and assist them in their rebuilding of the City and their second Temple. The Tyrians actually did this, partly in Obedience to the Edict of Cyrus, to whom they were subject, and partly from Interest [Page 8]and Inclination, having been Fellow-Sufferers with and in the Captivity of Judah Accordingly we read in the Book of Ezra, of Meat and Drink, and Oil given to them of Zidon and of Tyre, to bring Cedar-Trees from Lebanon to the Sea of Joppa; according to the Grant by the Hand of Cyrus King of Persia. Chap iii. 7. So early was the Merchandise of new Tyre Holiness to the Lord, for the rebuilding of his Temple, and for the furnishing of his Priests and Worshipers. And it is greatly to be observed to the Honour of the Tyrians, That as the Fathers in old Tyre had a spe­cial Hand in Materials for building the first Tem­ple, so had their Posterity in the second.

But secondly, The Prophecy in my Text looks to be sure to some Time long after the Return of the Jews from Babylon; even to the Days of the Messiah and the Conversion of some in Tyre by the preached Gospel. The Prophecy plainly supposes that Tyre would for a long Term of Years return into her old Course and Way of living, and continue Pagan; tho' in a Way of Trade it might be friendly to the Jews their Nei'­bours. In this there was little or no Religion; their Idol Gain and worldly Wealth was served in it. But in the Day of the Conversion of the Nations to the Christian Faith, Tyre also received the Gos­pel. And then it was that her Merchandise and Hire became Holiness to the Lord, being used by a Number of Gods chosen and called there in the Services of true Religion and Godliness, the Support of his Worship, Ministers and Poor.

In Nehemiah's Time we read of the Men of Tyre dwelling at Jerusalem, and we may suppose from that Time to the Day of Christ many a Gift and Offering from Tyre to the Altar of God at Jerusa­lem; wherein the Words of David in the xlv Psalm might be fulfilled, as they doubtless were in his own Day; "The Daughter of Tyre shall be there with a Gift.

[Page 9] In Christ's Time we find many of Tyre and Zidon better disposed to have received Him and his Gospel than the Men of Israel; for if his mighty Works had been done among them they would have repented in Dust and Ashes.

In the Days and Acts of the Apostles we find Christians at Tyre, Chap xxi. 3, 5. with whom Paul tarried seven Days, and who thro' the Spirit warn'd him of his Danger and Sufferings if he went up to Jerusalem; and when he departed from them they bro't him on his Way with their Wives and Children, so reverend and fervent was their Love to him for the Gospels sake, till he was out of the City, where they kneeled down on the Shore and prayed, and took Leave one of another. After this Christianity flourished in this trading City, and then her Merchandise became devoted, in part, to the Worship and Glory of Christ.

So that we plainly find in my Text, 1. A Pro­phecy of the Conversion of the Tyrians. 2. How they should then use their Wealth; that it would be con­secrated to God in pious Uses, and holy to his Worship. 3. This Spirit and Example of the Tyrians is for the Learning and Imitation of other Places, Cities and Countrys, among the Gentiles. Let the Christians of Tyre teach us, that where ever the Gospel is re­ceived, in the Love and Power of it, it will bring forth this good Fruit; the Merchandise and Hire of the People will be Holiness to the Lord. ‘So Christians should use their Estates in the Service of God, and unto pious Uses, and count that best laid up, which is so laid out. Both the Merchan­dise of the Men in Trade, and the Hire of the Men of Labour, should be devoted to God. The Tythe was so under the Law, and there is a Due (and surely an equal one) under the Gospel.’

New Tyre has the Honour of teaching us this un­der the New Testament; and in all Places of the [Page 10]World, thro' all Ages, the Gospel is to be thus ho­noured. As it is written, Zech. xiv. 20. In that Day there shall be upon the Bells of the Horses Holiness unto the Lord; yea every Pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be Holiness to the Lord of Hosts.

And here let me pause and observe to you, The Advantage that trading Places have beyond others by their Merchandise and Commerce; and the Obligation they are under to improve their Advantages, for getting and propagating the saving Knowledge and Worship of God. This was Tyre's Happiness and Benefit by her Situation for Traffic. She was much the more known to Israel, and knew so much the more of her God and Worship, than other Places. Her Merchandise put her in the Way hereof. Many a Man of Tyre went a trading to Jerusalem, and heard of the true God, his Law to and his Works for Israel, and saw his Sanctuary, the Order and Worship of his House.

Many of the Jews also were led to Tyre by their Trade, where they accidentally spake of the Lord God of their Fathers, his Worship, Laws and Works. Other Places it may be took up strange and odd Notions of that separate People, as a singular sort of Folk; but the Tyrians saw they were a wise and un­derstanding People, had Statutes and Judgments most righteous, and excelled other Places in Sobriety and Justice as well as in Devotion. And who knows what Influence this might have on that Degree of Union, which there was between Jerusalem and Tyre in the Days of David and Solomon? 1 Kings v. 6. My Servants shall be with thy Servants.

But this we know, That Christianity has been greatly serv'd by Trade and Merchandise, by means whereof a great Part of the World has been gospelised. [Page 11]For the Knowledge of Christ has been propagated by Trade far and near. The Earth and Sea have thus help'd the Church, and as Daniel foretold it would be, Many have run to and fro' (cross the Ocean) and Knowledge has been increased. God has us'd the Loadstone and the Mariners Art in the Service of Christ, and the Ends of the Earth have seen his Salva­tion.

And to add yet one more Benefit of Commerce; it enlarges Peoples Hearts to do generous Things, for the Support of Divine Worship and Relief of the Poor. We always see most of this in Places of Trade. And so it has been from the first Days of Tyre, of whom we read, "The Daughter of Tyre shall be there with a Gift: She first and more free of her Gifts than others. This is most natural to Places of Commerce; Something to give and a Heart to give. May it be always found so in trading Places! but especially we wish them a Heart to make the best Gift, Themselves with their Estates, and this in the best Manner; as the Churches of Macedonia are celebrated for ever for doing, 2 Cor. viii. 1,—5. The Riches of whose Liberality abounded in their deep Poverty, praying the Apostles with much Entreaty that they would accept the Gift, and take upon them the Fellow­ship of ministring to the Saints; first giving their own Selves to the Lord, and then to the Apostles by the Will of God. "When Converts joyn themselves to the Church then they come with a Gift, devoting their Seed and Substance together with their Persons, Gifts and Powers, to his Service and Glory.

It is high Time I now come to the Doctrine which my Text leads me to enlarge on, which is,

"That the Merchandise and Hire of a People, their Trade and worldly Business, their Gains and Riches, should be Holiness to the Lord.

[Page 12] The Enquiries under this Doctrine must be 1. Into the Meaning of the Phrase, Holiness to the Lord. 2. When the Traffic and Wealth of a People may be so called? 3. Why it must be so?

I. The Meaning of this Phrase, Holiness to the Lord must be look'd into. And the first time that we find it us'd, than which there could not have been found any more eminent, was the Divine Order concern­ing the High Priests Vestments, his Garments for Glory and Beauty, wherein he was to approach before the Lord, and minister unto Him upon the most solemn Occasions: Exodus xxviii. 36, 37, 38. Thou shalt make a Plate of pure Gold, and grave upon it like the Ingravings of a Signet, Holiness to the Lord: And thou shalt put it on a blue Lace, that it may be upon the Mitre, upon the Fore-front thereof; upon Aaron's Forehead, that he may bear the Iniquity of the Holy Things which the Children of Israel shall hallow in all their Holy Gifts; And it shall be always upon his Forehead, that they may be accepted be­fore the Lord.

Now we may observe in this first Appointment of this Title & Inscription, that it plainly was meant to signify, 1. The infinite Holiness of the God of Israel, and of Christ the great High Priest of our Pro­fession. 2. The Holiness of the Priesthood and Ministerial Office, their special Consecration to holy Ministrati­ons, and their special Obligations to be Holy to the Lord. 3. The Holiness of God's Worship, and that all his People must take Care to be very holy in all their Approaches to Him, in all the Institutions of his Worship. Psalm xcix. The Lord is great in Zion, and high above all People: Let them praise thy great and ter­rible Name, for it is Holy; Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy Hill; for the Lord our God is Holy.

[Page 13] So that in this Title Holiness to the Lord we have 1. the Holiness of God: 2. a Consecration to Him, or the Separation of a Person or Thing to holy Uses: 3. Actual Use and Imployment therein: and 4. in a special Relation to his Worship.

1. Holiness to the Lord supposes, and in the highest manner declares, as in shining Capitals of Gold, the infinite, unutterable, incomparable, inconceivable Holiness of Jehovah, the only true God; that He is the Holy One, and alone Holy, glorious in Holiness, the thrice Holy; and there is none Holy like Him or be­side Him. This is his Glory in both Testaments ^*, in his Temple above and in that below: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a Throne, high and lifted up, and his Train filled the Temple: Above it stood the Seraphims, covering their Faces, and One cried unto Another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts! the whole Earth is full of his Glory. And if the blessed God were not Himself thus Holy, why and how should Persons and Things be called Holiness unto Him.

2. It speaks a Consecration of Persons and Things to God, a separation of them to his more immediate Service and Glory, to be of holy Use according to his Will. So Aaron and the Priesthood were of old separated and devoted to God, and therefore had this Name written on them, Holiness to the Lord. So the Sabbath is consecrated Time, and in the Hebrew called Holiness to the Lord, Exod. xxxi. 15. In like manner the very Fruit of the Trees in the fourth Year were holy to praise the Lord withal: Levit. xix. 24. The Hebrew Word is Holiness; being given to the Priests and to the Poor. And the same is said of the Vessels of Silver and Gold, Brass and Iron, in Jerioo. [Page 14]Josh. vi. 19. Thus Israel was Holiness to the Lord (Jer. ii. 3) by the Covenant of Circumcision, their Dedication to God therein; and in like Manner do all Christian People by their Baptismal Dedication to God wear the same Words, as on their Foreheads.

But moreover, 3. Holiness to God imports the actual Use and Improvement of Persons and Things in the Service of God and to his Glory. When Aaron put on his Mitre it was actually to officiate before the Lord. He was then in a more special manner to intend, design and act for, the sanctifying God's Name in holy Ministrations. De facto there was Holiness to the Lord in his right Dispositions, and Discharge of his Office: Else the Priesthood and Worshippers profaned the Holiness of the Lord which be loved. Mal. ii. 11. Otherwise, in their set Office ("in the Discharge of their Office to which they were set apart") they sanctified themselves in Holiness. 2 Chron. xxxi. 18. Then, and then only, were they Holiness to the Lord, in Deed and in Truth. And so are we to Christ, if we are holy in Heart and Life; if we live to Him in all holy Conversation, as in our Baptism we have bound our Selves.

4. And lastly, This Motto, Holiness to the Lord, has a more particular Regard to the Worship of God, his Ministry and Sanctuary, his Ordinances and Insti­tutions. So Israel as Worshippers, and Aaron as a Priest, and the Sabbath as the Day of weekly Wor­ship, and the First-fruits as offered in Worship, were dignified with this Style of Holy to the Lord. So when we by the Grace of God devote, use and im­ploy our Souls and Bodies, our Gifts and Powers, our Time and Estate, in the Services of Religion, and for promoting his Worship, they become Holi­ness to the Lord. We become in our Persons as [Page 15] Temples of the living God, and God is sanctified in us as in them that draw nigh to Him; and our Powers of Mind and Body, with the Fruit of our Bodies, our Time and Estate, our Interest in the World and our Influence among Men, are as so many Offerings to God at his Altar, which consecrates the Gifts.

Having thus enquired into the Meaning of the Phrase Holiness to the Lord, I come new to enquire,

II. When the Traffic and Wealth, Merchandise and Business of a Person or People may be so called? To which I answer in three general Heads,

1. When Men seriously devote, dedicate & con­secrate, first Themselves and then of their worldly Substance, a due Part, to the Glory and Service of God. 2. When what is so consecrated to God out of our Estates is actually used and imployed in his Ser­vice, according to his Will, in Acts of Piety and Cha­rity. 3. Always provided that what we so devote and use is acquired honestly & righteously in God's Fear and Way, and is given by us with a spiritual Mind and Heart.

I Then is our Merchandise and Trade, Wealth and worldly Business, Holiness to the Lord, when we se­riously devote, dedicate and consecrate, a due Part of our Substance, together with our Selves, to the Glory and Service of God.

First, I must say our Selves, for the Person must be sacred and dedicated to God before his Estate will be so; the Person is first holy and then his Gift. This is the Order of Nature and of Grace ^*; for which [Page 16]is greater, the Gift or the Giver! how much less is a Mans Estate before God, than the Man himself? according to the Apostles just Estimation of the Ma­cedonians and their ministring to the Saints, 'Who first gave their own Selves to the Lord. God looks to a Mans Heart and Soul in all his Offerings to Him, whether of Praise or Alms. It is the Person who wears upon his Forehead the Inscription, Holiness to the Lord. If the Person be unholy before Him, his Sacrifice is an Abomination. He profanes and pol­lutes his own Gift; as Cain did his Offering, bring­ing it with a wicked Mind. If we have not given our Selves, our Hearts to God, we may give all our Goods to feed the Poor, or give it to the Church, (for Them that dwell before the Lord) and yet there will be nothing of Holiness in the one or in the other^‖.

Yet the Estate must go with the Person, as it is in Marriage; and it has pleased God to espouse un­to Himself the Soul that gives it self to him;^* I am married to you, saith the Lord.

The first Offering from Man that we read of, ac­ceptable to God, was the Person with a part of his Estate; I mean Abel's Offering. Cain also bro't of the Fruit of the Ground, but God had no Respect to his Offering because he had not first given himself to Him. Abraham having resigned up Himself to the Divine Will and Call, gave his Tythe of all unto the Priest of the most High God; the famous Type of his Lord and Saviour, after whose Order Christ is a Priest for ever; and he was blessed by him. So Jacob vowed, first that the Lord should be his God, and then a Tenth of all that God should give him. So David having first render'd his Heart to God in Flames of [Page 17]Devotion, then gathered vast Stores which he con­secrated for a Temple to the Name of the Lord; and his Princes followed his Royal Example, 1 Chron. xxix. 16.17. "O Lord our God, all this Store that we have prepared cometh of thine Hand, and it is all thine own: I know also my God, that Thou triest the Heart and hast Pleasure in Uprightness: As for me in the Up­rightness of my Heart have I willingly offer'd all these Things, &c. Here was the Offering of the Man af­ter God's own Heart. And we find in the Gospel when the young Man came and offered Himself to Christ, our Lord demanded of him also the Use of all his Estate, and he went away sorrowful. It is added, for he had great Possessions ^*: He might then, one would think, have been the more ready to have given freely to the poor out of it: Or, did he think his Riches of more Price than himself? poor Soul! it seems as if he would not have offer'd himself to Christ, had he tho't himself half so good as his Pos­sessions! his going away sorrowful shew'd that he was not sincere in the Offer of Himself. On the contrary Zacchcus being a sincere Penitent, gave half his Goods to the poor, and Christ accepted of his Per­son, and said to him, "Salvation is come to thy House ^†.

So the first Christians ^‖ when they had given up Themselves to Christ in Baptism, gave in all their Goods into a common Stock. It was on an extraor­dinary Occasion, and under an extraordinary Effusion of the Holy Spirit The Churches Needs call'd for it, and the Spirit of God directed to it. Ananias and his Wife had only given their Names, not their Hearts; and keeping back part of the Price died for the Sacri­lege, [Page 18]and their Lying to the Holy Ghost. On the con­trary, the Macedonians, whose Praise is in all the Churches for Evermore, having given both their Names and Hearts to Christ, gave liberally of their Estates for the Relief of the poor Saints, even beyond their Ability. Thus was their Merchandise Holiness to the Lord. Neither will the Estate do without the Person, all his Heart and all his Soul; nor the Person do (if that could be) without the Estate, for it will go with the Heart and Love. — But I prevent my self on the second Answer to the En­quiry I am upon:

II. Our Merchandise and Wealth is Holiness to the Lord, when what is consecrated and devoted out of our Estate, is actually used and imployed in the Ser­vice of God, according to his Will. "When thou vowest a Vow, defer not to pay; why should God be an­gry at thy Voice^*? Vow and pay to the Lord thy God! let all that be round about Him bring Presents unto Him that ought to be feared. Present thy Self, and then remember that thou hast implicitly and virtually, if not most explicitly and expresly, vowed to him his Dues out of thy Estate. Bring these Presents to Him as long as thou livest, in their returning Sea­sons, Better it is that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

It is to be feared that many Christians do not eno' apprehend and consider, that their worldly Estate enters into their general Vow, and is always a Part of it, in their Self-Dedication to God. But God's Part is holy to Him whether we consider it or no; and if we render Him his Part, the whole is sancti­fied unto us. There is not Holiness to God written [Page 19]on our Persons, Faculties and Powers, nor on our Estate, till both one and the other are used to holy Ends and Purposes, in actual Ministrations to the Glory of God. But if we are actually honou­ring God with our whole Man, Soul and Body, the Powers of the one, and the Endowments of the other, the Spirit of the Living God dwells and rules in us, and has graven on us, as in Letters of Gold, Holiness to Himself. And if we are honouring the Lord with our Substance, and with the First-fruits of our Increase, we may read with Pleasure the same Inscrip­tion on our Estates, & others may see it on us. 2 Cor. iii. 2. Ye are our Epistle written in our Hearts, known and read of all Men: Ye are manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ, ministred by us, written not with Ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God; not in Tables of Stone, but in fleshly Tables of the Heart.

Now if it be ask'd, Wherein a Part of our worldly Estate is to be us'd to the Glory of God? it is easily answer'd in the two general and known Instances, Works of Piety and Charity. The first is the very Thing in my Text, and the other is like unto it, and never to be separated; the first is a more direct Ex­pression of Love to God, the other to our Neibour; on which two hang all the Law and the Prophets, and consequently the whole of Holiness to the Lord is contained in them.

First then, Our Wealth and worldly Business is Holiness to the Lord, when with a true and right Heart it is used and imployed in Works of Piety to­ward God, for the Support of his Worship. When it is for them that dwell before the Lord to eat sufficiently, and for durable Clothing. That is to say, When Men make Conscience of giving unto God a due Pro­portion out of their Estates for the Support of Re­ligion [Page 20]and the Maintenance of God's Ministers, to feed and clothe them, and that sufficiently and ho­nourably; eno' to eat of plentifully, and to clothe their Families decently, and leave something to them when they die. — The Tithes of old were such a Provision for the Levites. And as they that served at the Altar liv'd of it, so has the Lord ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel, 1 Cor. ix. 14. The Bread of Ministers is the Bread of God, and we must allow Him to be a good Housholder, & to keep a good Table. He does not feed his Houshold by Miracles, but by his reser­ved Dues out of the Estates of his People. He will have it done by their Hands, that they may do Him Duty and Homage, and pay him Tribute. There is always a part of your Moneys, whereof he says to you, "Whose Image and Superscription is this? and you must answer, It is Gods. Then render to God the Things that are his. Matth. xxii. 21. Do it by mi­nistring out of your Estates to his House and Wor­ship, according to the Ability which he gives you.

When People expend prudently and piously for the setting up, and carrying on, the Worship of God where they live, or in other Places; or in sending the Gospel to People destitute thereof, and perish­ing for lack of Knowledge; and in making Provi­sion for a more private Instruction of Children in such Places; their Wealth in this Use of it becomes Holiness to the Lord. It comes into a Relation to di­vine Worship, even as Aaron and the Holy Things of old belonging to the Tabernacle.—But unto such Works of Piety for the Support of God's Worship, we must add

Secondly, Works of Charity and Mercy, which are as much in themselves, and render us as much, Ho­liness [Page 21]to the Lord, as the other. These belong to the second Table of the Law, as those to the first. Pity to the poor and needy, in Obedience to God & Con­formity to Him, is Piety and Sanctity in his Sight. They are the Lords Receivers as well as his Priests, and we have them always with us. And the pious poor are among his spiritual Priests, rich in Faith, chosen of God and called. He that gives to them, for their comfortable Eating and Clothing, with a right and charitable Frame of Spirit, lends to the Lord, and honours Him with his Substance. These are spiritual Sacrifices with which God is well pleased. There is Worship and Incense, an Odour of a sweet Smell in them, as well as in Offerings at the Altar of God. The Alms of Believers go up for a Memo­rial before God, with their Prayers; as did those of Cornelius. The Great High Priest, at the Golden Altar within the Vail, presents the one and the other in the Cloud of Incense, his own Merits & Intercession. He, the Holy One of God, was Holiness to the Lord above all the Sons of Men; and his Miracles of Mercy were like his Prayers and Devotions beyond number, and alike honorary to God. God will have his poor fed, as well as his Ministers. And why not? are they not together Heirs of his Kingdom? and has he not put them together again and again, the Levite and the Poor ^*, in his Peoples rejoicing before him on his solemn Feasts?

But give me leave more particularly to prove, by three or four Arguments, that Works of Charity to the poor are proper Holiness to the Lord.

1. They are Obedience to the Law of God which is most holy. The Word of God is the Rule of Holi­ness, [Page 22]and one of its grand Rules and Laws to us is Alms-deeds, and acts of Charity. These are an e­minent Branch of that Holiness which the Lord re­quires, Zech. vii. 9. Thus saith the Lord, Shew Mercy every one to his Brother. Only let what we do be done in Obedience to God, for his Glory, and with a pure Respect to his Will, not to be seen of Men; ha­ving true Compassion one of another, loving as Brethren, pitiful, courteous, tender-hearted ^‖; otherwise there is no Holiness to the Lord, nor Reward from our Fa­ther that is in Heaven.

2. To give to the poor out of our Estates is Holi­ness to the Lord, because it is our Conformity to God and Christ in their Bounties and Mercies to the indigent and miserable. Conformity to the Holy God is Holiness, but Compassion and Mercy to the poor is Confor­mity to God; who maketh his Sun to rise and his Rain to fall on the evil and on the good; Be ye therefore per­fect as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Mat. v. 45, 48. So Christ approved Himself to be the Holy One in the Days of his Flesh, by filling up his Life with Acts of God-like Charity and Mercy. They cried after Him, laid themselves in his Way, and he healed them all. This was Holiness to his Father, and in the Sight of Men, and we should lay up in our Hearts his me­morable Words, Acts xx. 35. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

3. A right and charitable Disposition is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in us, & therefore can be no other than Holiness to the Lord. "The Fruit of the Spirit is Love ^†. There is much of the Spirit of God in Bowels of Pity to one another. "If there be any [Page 23]Fellowship of the Spirit, if any Bowels and Mercies. The Communion of the Holy Ghost, and the Communion of Saints, is experienced & exhibited in these Bowels, which we are therefore exhorted to put on, as the Elect of God, holy and beloved; and because this Cha­rity is the Bond of Perfectness. See the Argument and Demonstration of the Apostle James on this Head, Jam. ii. 15, 16. If a Brother or Sister be naked, and destitute of daily Food; and one of you say unto them, Depart in Peace, be you warmed & filled: notwithstand­ing ye give them not those Things which are needful to the Body; what doth it profit? q. d. What Fruit, what Evidence of any true Holiness is there, in a Soul or Life destitute of the Fruits of Charity.

4. Is the Sabbath and its Worship Holiness to the Lord? So are Charities and Mercies. There is such a Sanctity in these, that they belong to & are a Part of the Sanctification of the Sabbath. Yea such Regard is had by God to an Act of Mercy to our poor Nei'bour, that He has made his own Worship to vail and give place thereto for the Time^*. "Go ye and learn this, I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice. Which of you having an Ox or Ass fallen into a Pit, will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day? And if a good and devout Man must show this Mercy to his Brute-Creature on the Sabbath day, the Holiness of God directing him so to do; how much more must not Acts of Compassion and Mercy to our poor and needy Brethren, and to the necessitous Members of Jesus Christ, be esteemed by the Lord of the Sabbath to be Holiness to himself? The Zeal for God's House and Day eat up our Holy Saviour, but more his Zeal for an Act of Mercy to a poor Woman; Luke xiii. 10,—17. He was teaching in one of the Synagogues on [Page 24]the Sabbath-day, and behold there was a Woman which had a Spirit of Infirmity eighteen Years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up her Self: And when Jesus saw her, be called her to him and said to her, Wo­man thou art loosed of thine Infirmity! And he laid his Hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. Tell me now which was most Holi­ness to the Lord, the Sermon of Christ on that blessed Sabbath, or this his Act of Healing the poor Wo­man? truly both alike.

Moreover, Offerings out of our Estates, and Col­lections for the poor, do both belong to the Temple of God and to his Sabbaths. St. Luke tells us of a Treasury ^‖ of God in the Temple of old, and that on a Time as Christ was looking on the rich Men that cast their Gifts into the Treasury, he saw also a cer­tain poor Widow who threw in two Mites, and said, "Of a Truth She has cast in more than they all. So from Heaven the Lord Jesus still looks with Approbation and Pleasure, on the free-will-Offerings of his Wor­shipers in his House of Prayer, on Lord's Days and at other appointed Times; the poorer as well as the richer. — And so near a Kin are God's Worship and Contributions for the poor, that they are joyned by the Lord in Affinity, and equally declared to be Ho­liness to Him, in that Apostolical Constitution and Di­rection^*, "Now concerning Collections for the Saints, as I have given Order to the Churches of Galatia, so do ye; Upon the first Day of the Week let every one of you lay by him in Store, as God hath prosper'd him, &c. Your Prayers and Hearing the Word this Evening ^† are not more Holiness to the Lord than your Collection is. The [Page 25]same God has said to us, "Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy, and hath also said, 'to do Good and to communicate forget not, for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased.

5. And lastly, The Promises made by God to those that are merciful and bountiful to the poor, do a­bundantly declare that there is Holiness to the Lord in true Acts of religious Charity and Mercy. He that is Holy would not be so well pleased with our Charities to the poor and needy, if there were not much Holiness in them. He has therefore blessed the merciful, and said that they shall find Merey. He is not unrighteous to forget this Work and Labour of Love. Not that there is any Merit or Desert herein, but there is of his own Holiness in it. If it were not so, Alms would never come up for a Memorial before Him. Nor would they be so remembred, mention'd and rewarded in the Day of Judgment, as Christ has told us they will be; "Then shall the King say to them on his right Hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World; for I was hungry and ye gave me Meat, thirsty and ye gave me Drink, a Stranger and ye took me its, naked and ye clothed me, &c. These high and ever­lasting Rewards of the Charities of Saints, prove them to be Holiness to the Lord. Blessed and Holy is he that has Part in these Promises^*.

And thus we have seen that the actual Use & Im­provement of our Estates in the Service of God, in Works of Piety and Charity, renders them Holiness to the Lord. — But there must be something added by way of Caution and Limitation, and that is

[Page 26] III. Always provided that what we so devote and use is acouired honestly and righteously in the Fear of God and in his Way; and is given by us with a spi­ritual Mind, Heart and Affection.

1. What we have and give must be gotten in God's Way, which is the Way of Holiness. If we go out of that we sin, and whatever we get in sinful Ways is necessarily unholy before the Lord, and abominable in his Eyes. Now that what we get may be ac­quired in God's holy Way,

First, Our Dependence must be on God for his Blessing to make our lawful Endeavours prosperous; For it is the Blessing of God that makes rich, and it is He that gives us Power to get Wealth; it is therefore prophane and unholy to act in our worldly Business but with a Dependance on the Governing and over­ruling Providence of a wise and Sovereign God: James iv. 14. Go to now you that say, To Day or to Morrow we will be here or there, do this or that, and make Gain; Whereas ye ought to say, If the Lord will we shall do so. Let Jacob teach us how to begin and go thro' the World: Gen. xxviii. 20. If God will be with me in the Way I go, and give me Bread to eat and Raiment to put on.

Secondly, We must daily commit our worldly Af­fairs to God in Prayer, and more especially at Times our more important Concerns and Interests. Our Lord has taught us to bring these before God in our Prayers: We pray for them in that Directory or Form for Prayer which he has given us, the fourth Petition in it. We pray ‘that of God's free Gift we may receive a competent Portion of the good Things of this Life, and enjoy his Blessing with them.’ It is greatly for the Glory of God, and [Page 27]for our temporal Interest and daily Comfort that we daily pray for God's gracious Direction to us in, and for his Blessing on our worldly Business: "That the Lord thy God may bless Thee in all the Works of thy Hand. So Isaac pray'd for his Son, "God give Thee of the Dew of Heaven, and the Fulness of the Earth, and Plenty of Corn and Wine. And so Jacob prayed for himself, "If God will be with me in the Way I go, and give me Bread to eat. And so Moses for the Tribe of Levi, "Bless, Lord, his Substance: The less it is, the more need to pray over it; for the Bles­sing of God can make a little go far. The wise Agur has taught us what to pray for, "Feed me with Food convenient for me. He is unholy & prophane whose Prayer is not to God his Heavenly Father, for these Things ^*. And they are sanctified to us by Prayer, which makes them Holiness to the Lord.

Thirdly, We must keep from every sinful & wicked Way in our worldly Acquisitions and Enjoyments, and govern our Selves by the holy Laws of Justice and Righteousness, Sobriety and Temperance, and uni­versal Obedience to the Divine Law. Else all is un­holy and unclean, and we forfeit God's Blessing and provoke his Curse. It is only sincere, hearty, universal and persevering Obedience to the holy Commandments of the Lord our God, that will render us holy and acceptable in his Sight. Deut. xxviii. 1, 2, 3. ‘If thou shalt bearken diligently to the Voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and do all his Com­mandments, all these Blessings shall come on thee, — Blessed shalt thou be in the City and blessed in the Field! blessed the Fruit of thy Body and the Fruit of thy Ground! — blessed thy Basket and thy Store! blessed shalt thou [Page 28]be when thou comest in, and blessed when thou goest out.’

Fourthly, In Case a Person have acquired Riches in any unjust and unrighteous Manner, by Deceit and Fraud, or by Extortion and Oppression; he must make his Peace with God by Repentance, with deep Humilia­tion before Him for his Wickedness; and if it be in his Power he must make Restitution; which if he cannot do to the Persons wronged let him do it to the poor, beseeching God to pardon him for Christ's sake and accept his Offering; and then his Merchandise and his Charities shall be yet Holiness to the Lord, not­withstanding his past Unrighteousness and Sin. See the Case of Zaccheus, Luke xix. 8. And Zaccheus stood and said before the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my Goods give I to the poor; and if I have taken any Thing from any Man by false Accusation, I restore him four-fold: And Jesus said unto him, This Day is Salvation come to this House.’ "When true Faith, Repentance and new Obedience comes to a House, Salvation comes to it, however great the Sins of it had been before. Zaccheus had been a Publican and an Extortioner, exacting more than was his right. "Those Publicans had the Ear of the Roman Gover­nours, and by a false Account of Persons and Things could easily be injurious. This Chief among the Publicans was also answerable (it is to be feared) for many Abuses of Power by those that were under him But he here stood a Penitent before Christ, confessing and seeking Mercy. A Change of Heart and Way, and Fruits meet for Repentance, appear in his Words. ‘A very large Proportion of these ill-gotten Goods he set apart for Works of Piety and Charity.’ He could not refund to the Men in Trade and Merchandise, whom he had wrong'd in the Seat of Custom: They were gone hither and [Page 29]thither, and he knew 'em not nor was like to see some of 'em any more: to those he could find he restored four-fold, the Residue he restored to the Poor; and Christ accepted him as a humble Believer and true Penitent, a Son of Abraham. — Thus what we get must be in God's Way, the Way of Holiness. And then

2. We must use it with a spiritual Heart and Mind. As, (to add unto much that has been already said) We must daily praise and bless God for daily Bread, for all our Receipts and Increase; we must give Him the Glory and render Him our Thanks; "O God, I am not worthy of the least of all the Mercies, and of all the Truth, which thou hast showed unto thy Servant! for with my Staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two Bands. This was Holiness to the Lord. — We must earnestly desire and seriously resolve, by the Grace and Help of God, to serve Him in Righteous­ness and Holiness before him, and with gladness of Heart, with all the Good Things that a bountiful God shall see fit for us, that the Lord shall be our God, and we will live devoted to him, and lay out our selves to glorify him, and make it our Meat and Drink to do his Will. This will be Holiness unto Him. — The Abundance of all Things which the Lord our God may give us richly to enjoy must be so far from charming our vain Minds and chaining them down to the Things of Earth and Sense, that we must indeed make Ar­guments and Motives of them, to raise our Hearts un­to and fix them on the Things that are unseen, spiri­tual and heavenly. ‘From Men of the World which have their Portion in this Life.—As for me, I will behold thy Face in Righteousness! I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy Likeness.’ ‘Many there be that say, Who will shew us any Good? Lord, lift Thou up the Light of thy Countenance upon us! Thou hast put [Page 30]Gladness in my Heart more than in the Time that their Corn and their Wine increased ^*.’ — Again, We must be ready, thro' Grace, to part with, and submit to the Will of God in the loss of all worldly Things; learning in whatsoever State we are therewith to be con­tent, both how to be abased and to abound, to be full and to be hungry. Let this be our Frame and Temper in the Acquisition and Use of our worldly Estate, and God will write Holiness unto Himself on us and it.

Only it must be added, to the Glory of Christ, That our Persons and our Estate are Holiness to the Lord only by Faith in his Holiness and Righteousness, who is our Great High-Priest within the Holy of Holies, ever living to make Intercession for us, in whom and for whose Sake it is that repenting believing Sin­ners are accepted as Holy in the Sight of God. Aaron within the Vail was the eminent Type of Jesus entring by his own Blood. He is of God made to us Holiness, and we the Holiness of God in Him. He, the Holy One of God was made sin for us, that we Sinners may by Faith in Him become Holiness to the Lord. With the Heart Man believeth in Him unto Righteous­ness, and God is sanctified therein while his Mercy abounds unto the Chief of Sinners. Coming to Him, we are built up a spiritual House, a holy Priesthood. As He went to the Cross, he said, "For their Sakes I sanctify my Self, that they may be sanctified. He was separate from Sin, that we may come boldly to the Throne of Grace ^‖. Bear this in Mind, That no Saint is Ho­liness to the Lord from any inherent Holiness in him, nor for any Works of Righteousness done by him, but for the perfect and glorious Holiness of Christ reckon'd to him.

[Page 31] And having thus said, When the Traffic & Wealth of a People is Holiness to the Lord, I come (as was proposed) in the third and last place to enquire,

III. Why it must be so? Why our Merchandise and Hire should be bro't, with our Selves, under a holy Consecration to God, and Use for Him.

I might easily enter into, and enlarge on, many Reasons of this Duty, which are also Motives to it, and must pray you to give 'em a just Consideration, and so make the Application of all that has been said every one to himself.

1. It is the highest End & best Use of Man and of all that belongs to him, his first and last End, to be Holy to God. "The Earth is the Lord's, and the Fulness there­of, the World and they that dwell therein. The Hea­vens, with all their bright Inhabitants, serve to no higher End. "Angels are ministring Spirits, sent forth to minister to the Heirs of Salvation from this Earth of ours. Those Watchers and Holy Ones on High use and imploy all their Powers and Riches, in Boun­ties to the poor and needy Children of Men, the poor Saints below. And can we do better than They to serve the Ends of Holiness, and the Glory of God? "Whether they be Thrones, or Dominions or Principalities, or whether we be higher or lower in Rank and E­state on Earth, all are created by Him and for Him; to Whom be Glory for ever ^*.

2. This is therefore the prescribed, commanded Use of our worldly Riches, that they be holy to God. "This is the Will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us, and our [Page 32]Sanctification. God cannot will better concerning us, than that we and all that belongs to us be holy to Him. This is his good and acceptable, his royal and perfect Will. Let us put our Amen to it and say, "Father, thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven ^‖

3. It is the greatest Honour and Dignity put on us, and our worldly State, that we and that be Holiness to the Lord. "This Honour have all the Saints, and only They; praise ye the Lord. The Glory of God is his Holiness. He is the High and Lofty One, whose Name is Holy ^*. A Ray from his excellent Glory shines on Angels above, and on Saints on Earth, and makes them Stars in his Firmament. This was the peculiar Honour of Israel, "Ye shall be a holy People unto Me. God has not a brighter Stone in his own Crown than his Holiness, nor a brighter Crown for the Head of Creatures than to make them holy.

But it is remarkable, and the World may well wonder at the Beast, That the vainest and proudest Creature on Earth affects this sacred & lofty Style, His Holiness! He takes the Name of God in vain, in the most horrid and monstrous manner, and the Lord will not hold him guiltless. The Man of Sin calls himself His Holiness! was ever any thing more absurd, and yet more natural? Only the Man of Sin durst take the most blessed and incommunicable Name. The jealous God will consume that wicked One. Nothing on this side Hell can be further from the Holiness of God.^† The Scarlet Whore, drunken with the Blood of Saints, impudently and blasphemously calls herself His Holiness! Monstrum, informe, ingens! [Page 33]No, the Honours of Heaven go with the poor in Spi­rit, the meek and lowly and merciful. All the Riches and Dignities of Kings are below these poor of Christ's little Flock, to Whom it is the Pleasure of the Father to give the Kingdom.

4. Our worldly Goods will be vilely abused to the Dishonour of God, and the Hurt of our Selves and o­thers, if they be not holy to God. They are the Mammon of Unrighteousness for want of this, and gen­der to all Ungodliness. They become a Provision for the Flesh, to fulfil the Lusts thereof; the Fuel of Pride and Vanity, Gluttony and Drunkenness, Lewdness and Uncleanness Or thro' Covetousness they be­come Idolatry. The Love of Money is the Root of all Evil, Sin and Sorrow, to our Selves and others; ruinous to our own Families, and also to our Nei­bours, by Dishonesty and Unrighteousness, Deceit and Fraud, Extortion and Oppression. For where Charities and Mercies fail, and Works of Piety, the forenamed odious Vices grow up in their stead, of­fensive to God and Man; Roots of Bitterness, bearing Gall and Wormwood, all manner of Corruption and Iniquity, Calamity and Mischief. But let our Mer­chandise and Hire be holy to God, and all this is pre­vented, and our Goodness extendeth to the needy and the excellent of the Earth, in whom should be all our De­light; and we become Eyes to the blind, and Feet to the lame, and Fathers to the poor, and abundant Bles­sings in our Generation^*.

5. The Merchandise and Hire of Persons and Places should be Holiness to the Lord, that the Lord their God may bless them in all the Works of their Hands. [Page 34]The Way of Holiness is the Way of Blessing. God has promised to bless his People in this his required Way. It is He that gives us Power to get Wealth. Read his Promises to an Obedient holy People, Deut. xxviii. "All these Blessings shall come upon thee, —Blessed shalt thou be in the City and in the Field, &c. He has threatned to curse an unholy People in the same Instances. If he blow upon 'em they are blasted. God justly impoverishes the Places that rob him of his Offerings and Alms. To with-hold his Dues tends to Poverty. But prove me now, saith the Lord, if I do not pour out a Blessing, when you pay to Me and mine my Part out of your Estates^†. ‘Alas! says an excellent Divine, that Men have generally so little Faith in God's Providence or Promises! Few believe Him when he says, "Let there be Meat in my House that there may be eno' in your own! few can trust God as to the Gains of Piety and Charity.’

6. Our Merchandise and Hire should be holy to God, that so his spiritual Blessing may come on our Souls. This lies especially in a spiritual Mind, and hea­venly Affections, and the Comforts of Grace: These are the perfect Gifts from the Father of Spirits, and are more (infinitely more) than all present Riches. God gives the Power to eat our Bread, and use it holily. To him that has this Heart, he will add more Grace. He shall increase with the Increasings of God. Thus the liberal Soul is made fat in Spirituals, and he that watereth is watered again. And well re­paid is he that sowes in worldly Things, and reaps in Spiritual: Like the Woman of Samaria who gave Christ a little common Water, and received of Him [Page 35]a Well of living Water, within her Self, springing up into everlasting Life. ^*

7. Let your Merchandise and Hire be Holiness to the Lord, and you shall have Riches in Heaven. So our Lord proposed to the young Man that came to him. The Promise is, "He that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap Life Everlasting. The Promises of this Nature are multiplied ^‖ in the Book of God, because our carnal Minds are so averse to the Be­lief of them. But will Christ fail us in a Point that he has so often repeated? He has said, ‘Thy Father which sees in secret will reward thee openly. Thou shalt be recompensed at the Resurrection of the Just. Make to your selves Friends of the Mammon of Un­righteousness, that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting Habitations. Provide Bags which wax not old, a Treasure in Heaven that faileth not, where no Thief approacheth, nor Moth corrupteth.’— These are true Sayings of God, He is faithful that hath promise. Both in our Devotions and Cha­rities we should have Respect unto the Recompense of Reward: Knowing (says the Apostle) that in Heaven ye have a better and more enduring Substance; Cast not away therefore your Confidence which hath great Recom­pence of Reward.

You must be just to God and your Selves, and make these Reasons of your Duty so many Motives to it.

You see 1. That the meanest Things may be of good and great Use to the Glory of God; and the most contrary Things be made to turn to our Salva­tion. We may so serve God and our Selves of [Page 36] Mammon, as to make it a Friend to Him and our Souls. We may extract Holiness out of the Dirt and Clay of this World, the thick Clay wherewith so many load themselves and bury themselves. God sits as a Refiner and does this for us. Grace turns all it touches into Gold. It is a Stone that attracts and fixes the very Iron to its Pole, which is Holiness, Heaven and God. As Phylosophy has found out the richest Virtues in the meanest Herbs and Plants, so Divinity teaches us how to improve and use the mean Things of this World to the most spiritual and heavenly Ends: And when we serve God and our Souls of earthly Things, then are they indeed wisely and rightly used.

2. Let us be humbled for the ill Use we have made of our worldly Business and Gains, our Abuse of them unto Unholiness and Sin. What is more Enmity to God and our Selves than this? Mens worldly Af­fairs engross and eat them up! eat out the Heart of that little Religion they profess. The Cares of the World and the Deceitfulness [...] choke the Word. Men go, one to his Farm and [...] to his Merchandise. God, and the poor, and their own Souls are forgotten and neglected by them. They trust in uncertain Riches, and renounce the living God. They fall in­to Temptations, and Snares, and many foolish and hurt­ful Lusts, which drown them in Destruction and Perdition. They are filled, and they fill the World, with all Un­righteousness, Fornication, Wickedness, Covetousness ^† What a shameful Abuse is this of the Bounties of Providence! and a turning his Glory into Shame!

3. See the Honour and Happiness of a religious People. They and all that belongs to them are Holiness to the [Page 37]Lord. Blessed & holy is He that hath part in this. They are in God's Church here in the Image of Jesus, the great High Priest of their Profession. They are a holy Priesthood, a spiritual House, the House­hold of Faith. What can Angels be, and what can Heaven be more than this, Holiness to the Lord? Jesus is this, within the Holy of Holines, at the right Hand of God. He calls his chosen into Fellowship with Him, and with his Angels. His People are a King­dom of Priests, a holy Nation. There are Garments of Glory and Beauty provided for them, wherein shortly to enter the Holiest of all. So the Apostle salutes and superscribes;—^* ‘To the Church of God which is at Corinth, sanctified in Jesus Christ, called to be Saints; with all that in every Place call upon the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours! I thank my God always on your behalf, for the Grace of God that is given you by Jesus Christ.’

4. and lastly, I beseech you Brethren, by the Mer­cies of God, that you present your Selves, Children, Families, Substance, Gifts, Talents, all you are and have, as living Offerings to God, holy and accepta­ble thro' Jesus Christ. How should an unholy Person offer to God in a holy manner? The Person is more than his Estate. Christ seeks not yours but you. The Soul is his, and all Souls are so. There are the Riches of Souls, their noble Faculties and Powers with every natural and acquired Gift; and what should be thy Gift to God but These! thy whole Self; Body, Soul and Spirit, which is your reasonable Service. Prov. xxiii. 26. My Son, give me thy Heart.

Next to thy Self are thy Children: Give these to God as thy best Riches, thy richest Jewels. They are holy to Him by Covenant, as the Family of Abra­ham [Page 38]was. This Blessing is come upon us Gentiles, thro' Faith in that Blessed Seed, in Whom the Families of the Earth are blessed: and thro' Whom the Offerings [...] the Gentiles are acceptable to God, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. What can a Man give to God in Ex­change for his Soul and the Souls of his House? will he give his Estate, and think it will be accepted? I trow not.

God values our Hearts and Spirits above all our Silver or Gold, our Herds and Flocks. If a Man would give all the Substance of his House instead of Love, the Loves of his Soul and the Souls of his House, it would be contemned. Thousands of Rams were a dogs-neck in lieu of the Love of one Soul.

We owe the first and greatest Piety and Charity to our Selves and at Home. We and ours are made for ever, if we are holy to the Lord: But we are profane and miserable without it.

The rich and the poor equally owe Themselves to God, and are equally able to render it. The Lord is the Maker of them both, and they are alike acceptable to Him. The one must be rich in good Works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; and the other must be rich in Faith, Heirs of the Kingdom.

It is a holy Thing to give unto such as these, from Faith and Love which is in Christ Jesus.

I will read you, the best Offering that any Man can make to God! read it and make it, and I have done: Gen. xviii. 19. I know Abraham, that he will command his Children and his Houshold after him, and they shall keep the Way of the Lord; — that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.