Rejoyce, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven.

THere never was a Question started so early in the World, nor so warmly discuss'd, and, what was most unhappy to Mankind, so late resolv'd, as that of the Rational Soul existing in another World, and of a well-spent Life being attended with a Reward in Heaven. The sober and sound Men of every Age singled it out as the chiefest Object of their profoundest Speculation, and the Libertine made it the Subject of his Mirth and Raillery; with this only difference between other Times and these we live in, That the most Witty, and best Parted Men of the Gentiles, were the most serious Enquirers after this Verity, arriv'd to a glimpse of it by the light of Nature, and wrought out an imperfect Idea of it by the force of Reason: But in our Days, in the Noon of Christianity, and the clearest Proposal of our End, it is be­come the Character of a Wit, either whol­ly to neglect this greatest Concern, or to study the Resolution meerly to revive the [Page 7] Question; and while the Heathen submits to the Doctrine of Christ, the Christian en­deavours to subject it once more to Dis­pute; verifying the Paradox of the Phi­losopher, That no one can be happy against his will, nor wou'd the ill Man be so by his good will.

Indeed no Man can be so miserable as not to desire to be happy, and self-love, which is the occasion of his misery, is the root of this desire. But Men frame to themselves so childish, so mean, or so sensual a Beatitude, that themselves blush to own; but while they are not asham'd to pursue it, they lay an Obligation upon us, who are the Dispensers of the Mysteries of God, to shew,

That there is no true happiness to be found in the World (which is my First Point;) unless it be in a firm Belief, Division. 1 and serious Practice of Christian Religion, which is admirably compris'd in the Gospel of the Day: This is my Second Point, 2 and the only way that leads to a final Beatitude in Heaven (my last Consideration) where it is bestow'd as a reward of our Faith and 3 [Page 8]good Life, which shall make my Conclu­sion.

I. THE Holy Ghost instructing King Solomon how to delineate the folly of Man, and his progress in it, who calcu­lates his Happiness from worldly Enjoy­ments, reduces the multitude of our Er­rors and Mistakes touching that Point, to Three principal Heads, as our Blessed Ma­ster and Doctor of Justice, seated on a Moun­tain (to express the sublimeness of his Doctrine,) comprehends all the Methods leading to a true Felicity, in Eight Beati­tudes.

For every Man that yields to the bent of Nature, seeks his Enjoyment either,

• 1. In corporal Pleasures, the Delights of the Senses;
• 2. Or in Honor and Greatness, the Delights of the Passions;
• 3. Or in Wisdom and Knowledge, the Delights of the Mind.

A Gradation taken notice of by S. John, [Page 9]tho' express'd in other terms, 1 John 2.16. Concupiscence of the flesh, concupiscence of the eyes, and pride of life.

1 ^st. When a Man is arriv'd to the open­ing and bloom of his Reason, that part of Life we call Youth, he becomes more heady then to be govern'd intirely by the Reason of another, yet remains more weak and unsteddy then to be guided by his own: Wherefore Sense takes the Chair, the heat of Blood and corruption of Nature put in for his bosom Counsellors, and by their advice he abandons himself to Libertinism and Disorder. His Language and Behavi­our is admirably personated in the Book of Wisdom; Let us go, says he, Sap. 2.6, &c. and enjoy the things that are before us. Et utamur creatura tanquam in juventute celeriter. Let us live apace, and use the creature before that and our youth pass away. Let us bathe our temples in rich wines, and shed sweet oynt­ments on our heads, let no flower of the field escape our hand; we will crown our selves with roses before they wither; we will leave marks of our luxury and riot where-ever we go, Quoniam haec est pars nostra, & haec [Page 10]est sors, This is our portion, and this is our end; 1 Cor. 15.32. Let us eat and drink, for to morrow we shall die.

But when by access of years that irregu­lar Heat evaporates, and the Spirits grow more cool and temperate, he soon grows weary of such Pleasures as he finds by a woful Experience to ruine the Health and Constitution of his Body, and sadly to de­face the Beauty of his Soul. Then he up­braids his charming Deceivers, and ex­postulates with the Objects of his folly; Risum reputavi errorem, Eccl. 2.2. & gaudio dixi, cur frustra deciperis? Laughter and merri­ment I thought a cheat, and I said to joy, Why hast thou vainly deceiv'd me? For he plainly sees, that can never be the Happiness of a Reasonable Creature, which is a torment to the Reason, and a remorse to the Conscience, where the Delight passes, and the Sting re­mains.

2 ^ly. With such Reflections the Prodigal returning into himself, takes leave of his former Courses, and enters upon another more refin'd and elevated, changing in­deed his Passion, but not his Slavery. He [Page 11]quits the concupiscence of the flesh for concu­piscence of the eyes, and pride of life; the proud and curious Person being only the sensual Man reform'd. He aspires to Honor and Preferment, courts Fame and Esteem, entertains the largest Retinue he can make, and worships the Populace, that they may return his Adoration with Interest; and, in a word, labours to hide and varnish over the Stains of a corrupt and infamous Life, with the formalities and lustre of Greatness. But no sooner is he well acquainted with his new Choice, then he discovers the vanity and emptiness of that too; the thing for which he is so valu'd by others, sits un­easie upon his Shoulders; Use and Custom take off the sense of Pleasure, and his Hap­piness corrupts into Affliction of spirit. He experiences that Honors too have their weight, that Dignities are Burthens and Servitude under a finer Name; Fulgidi compedes & clara miseria, Golden Fetters, and a dazling Misery: Riches, but the oc­casion of Disquiet; Pomp, the object of Envy; Fame, but the opinion of Men, and of no longer duration then their other [Page 12]Fancies. Psal. 75.6. Dormierunt somnum suum (says a Prince, as Great and Powerful, as he was Learn'd and Holy,) & nihil invenerunt om­nes viri divitiarum in manibus suis; Thus the Rich and the Great sleep out their golden dreams, and when they awake find nothing in their hands.

3 ^ly. But perhaps the Contemplation of Wisdom may afford a more solid fruition. To distinguish Verity from Vanity, Truth from Falshood, seem to raise a Man above the level of Mankind, distinguishes him from the unthinking Multitude, and cuts off many Branches of our Misery which spring from Ignorance, and want of Re­flexion. But alass, the Crop do's not an­swer the Tillage: Eccles. 1.18. Qui addit scientam, addit & laborem; He that increases knowledge, adds to his labour, but not to his satisfacti­on. In many things our Principles are meerly supposed, our Maxims prove but Opinions; the causes and natures of the low­est and most obvious things are so far a­bove our reach, and our Understanding so clouded and circumscrib'd within so nar­row limits, that again with the wifest of [Page 13]Men he deserts all his labour, and discovers even This to be the greatest vanity of all; while the fruit he reaps from so much pains, 1 Cor. 8.1. amounts only to a puffing up of the mind (as the Apostle speaks,) and as S. Au­gustine ingeniously Comments from his own experience, Superbae dejectioni & inqui­etae lassitudini, To a haughty dejection of Spirit, and restless weariness of Heart.

There is no Man that gives way to the Inclinations of corrupt Nature, but has follow'd one or more of these Courses; and I appeal to his own experience, if he has not fail'd of his expectation: if his eye has been satisfi'd with seeing, or his ear with hearing, or his heart with desiring. I allow him to have found a Beatitude where no wise Man wou'd have fought it. But while I see him like the Dove flying from the Ark, and not finding where he can rest his foot; while I contemplate every Sinner in the state of a weary and weather-beaten Tra­veller, that sits down on the barren Sands in an untrac'd Desert, uneasie in himself, and uncertain whether he be nearer his Journeys end then when he first set out; I [Page 14]am ready to pronounce with the Royal Prophet, Psal. 11.9. In circuitu impii ambulant; The wicked walk in a circle: They make forward in vain, they only change their Place by shifting their Pleasures, but they approach not a Hairs-breadth nearer the Centre, Beatitude.

You desire to be happy; so far you are in the right, 'tis what you were created to: Bonum quaeris, St. Aug. sed non benè; What you seek is good, but 'tis not where you look after it; Job. 28.13. It is not found in the land of those that live deliciously, said holy Job. You search after Life in the Region of Death, and in despite of our Saviour's Admoni­tion, you are still looking for Grapes upon Thorns, and Figs upon Thistles; for Joy in the Vale of Tears: non invenitur. You place your End among things inferiour to your selves; Luc. 17.27. you enquire after Happiness among things without, while the Kingdom of God is within you.

It is my Second Point, That nothing but Christian Religion, and the observance of its Doctrines and Precepts, can make Man happy.

II. It is the peculiar advantage, the ex­cellence, and (as I may say) the incommu­nicable Attribute of Christ's Doctrine, that it discovers a Man to himself, that it opens, and searches and heals those Wounds, which all other Religions either imperfectly cure, as the Old Law; or labour to conceal, as the Moral of Philosophy; or widen and inflame, as the Pagan and Mahometan Wor­ship. None but Christianity proposes an End worthy an intellectual Being, and pre­scribes Means to obtain it proportion'd to a reasonable Agent.

For the Jewish Law, 1 Rom. 7.12. (as the Apostle says) indeed was just and holy, yet brought nothing to perfection; Hebr. 7.19. its Promises for the most part mean and carnal, a Land flowing with milk and hony, a numerous issue, and length of life: The Means servile and coactive, ter­rible in the Promulgation, amidst Thunder and Lightning; Severe in the Exaction, with Menaces of Death, repeated at every turn; And in fine, difficult and heavy in the Execution, a yoke, Acts 15.10. which neither our fathers, says St. Peter, nor we were able to bear.

The Religion of the Pagans or Gentiles, 2 stands condemn'd for no less then gross and palpable Contradictions to the in-born Principles of Reason. For a fundamental Error in the Object of Divine Worship, by constituting a plurality of Gods, by pay­ing Divine Honors to Creatures. For the manner too of their Worship, humane and ungrounded Inventions, and these, either unnaturally cruel, as the sacrificing of Men; or superstitiously foolish, as adoring I­dols; or shamefully unclean, such as Cato, or any grave Person, wou'd blush to assist at. For the End, either meerly Negative, by teaching the mortality and perishing of the Soul; or by assigning it an idle and empty Happiness in the Elysian Walks, which rises no higher then to a meer pri­vation of Pain.

Every one knows the Doctrine of Maho­met to be stuff'd with so many Absurdities, 3 the Means of its propagation so violent and bloody, and the End (a carnal Paradice) so beneath the Inclinations of an honest Mind, that one may wonder how it can be favour'd by any, except that barbarous [Page 17]People, whose Brutality it indulged, and with whose Arms it travell'd and con­quer'd. Believe me, Christians, a just Pu­nishment of God upon those Nations (a Punishment which I pray may never come home to our own Doors,) for the abuse and contempt of a more holy Reli­gion.

And these Religions consider'd in their sounder Parts, principally regard the exteri­or, and Ceremonies of Worship more then the Substance; they draw not Man into him­self, and therefore merit not the Denomi­nation they bear; they are levell'd to the gross Conceptions of the Vulgar, but are not Religions for Men of good Sence and Learning.

A Religion purely spiritual, wou'd in­deed be more adapted to the Understand­ing of sharp and Learned Men, but what wou'd become then of the far major part of Mankind, that is led by sensible to spiri­tual things? Now only Christian Religion can pretend to this double perfection, being a debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbari­ans, both to the wise and to the unwise, to the [Page 18]Unlearned as well as to the Learned; shew­ing in her exterior a grave decency of Rites and Ceremonies; and offering to the interior a Doctrine so chast, so pure, so perfect, that a gentile and docil Soul wou'd be sorry it shou'd not be true, and which a Man of Reason must acknowledge to be the only true one.

For that Religion can only be so, which proposes to Man the knowledge of himself, as I before alledged; for without the dis­covery of himself and of his Nature, he can never know what is his End, or what are the Means directing to it, and by evi­dent Consequence can have no true Idea either of God or Vertue.

Now to the knowledge of his own Nature, 'tis requisite he discern the Dignity and Misery of it; the Perfection of which it is ca­pable, and the Corruption in which it is im­mersed. If we do not conceive our selves to be most excellent and noble Creatures, (says an eminent Writer) we are intolerably stupid; and if we do not perceive at the same time, that we are wretched, full of pride, passion, and weakness, we are strangely blind. Yet [Page 19]not any Teacher besides Jesus Christ ever pretended to clear and lay open those two important Verities, That by the excellency of our Nature we are capable of enjoying the sovereign Good, and of reigning with God in Heaven; but by the Corruption of our Nature we are unworthy of him. 'Tis absolutely and equally necessary in order to Man's Happiness, that he be convinc'd of these Truths; for it is equally danger­ous to know our design'd End, without knowing our deserv'd Misery; and to know our Misery, without knowing the Means how to repair our Ruines, to re­trieve our Innocence, to ward the Punish­ment, and to re-entitle us to the Reward in Heaven.

But this is above the flight of Reason, without the assistance of Revelation, that is, Religion. Philosophy leaves us quite in the dark, the Stoa and the Academy talk wildly upon the Point, and prescribe Methods that can never be reduc'd to Practice, and would not do the work if they could be: And tho' divine Plato discover'd the Happiness of the Creature to consist in becoming like [Page 20]the Creator; yet his Morals are as defective as those of his Neighbours, and he must yield up his mighty Title to Jesus Christ the Teacher of Justice, who in the Gospel of this Day (which is the beginning of that truly divine Sermon recorded by the Evangelist in this and the two following Chapters) establishes all the natural Princi­ples of Truth and Goodness, fills up the Imperfections of the Judaical, dashes out the unlawful Permissions of the Heathen Moral, delivers a perfect Idea of the Sci­ence of Saints, Sap. 10.10. Scientiae Sanctorum; and in a word, draws an exact Map of all the Ways that lead to our eternal Beatitude. To shew this is my last Point.

III. God often tells us in his holy Word, that he has set fire and water, good and evil before us, that we may stretch out our Hand to which we please, giving us suffi­cient strength to pursue the one, and to avoid the other: In the right use of which liberty, and compliance with Divine Grace, consists true wisdom; Eccles. 12.13. for to fear God, which chiefly regards the avoiding of evil, and to keep his Commandments, which regards the [Page 21]election of good, is the whole duty of man, Deum time, &c.

Now this avoiding of evil is chiefly pla­ced in restraining our Affections, and wean­ing them from the love of temporal things; and because (as S. Paul observes) those that will be rich, fall into temptation, 1 Tim. 6.9. and the snare of the devil; Therefore Beati pauperes, Blessed are the poor. Yet because a Man may turn his Poverty into a Subject of Vanity, and as Plato smartly reply'd to the Cynique, may tram­ple upon Riches and Greatness with great­er Pride then another retains them, There­fore, Beati pauperes spiritu; 1 Blessed are the poor, not simply, but such as are poor in spirit. For when God has bestow'd upon you a plentiful Fortune, the Law of Christ do's not oblige you to renounce that as evil, which is the Gift of God, and a Bles­sing; but to limit your Desires, and to con­sider your self as his Steward, thro' whose Hands he conveys his Blessings unto your indigent Neighbour. This you must do, if you would avoid evil. But the election of good stops not here; Charitas Christi urget nos, The love of Christ carries us on to be [Page 22]earnest and zealous for the performance of every Duty; earnest in our own Practice, and zealous to encourage others in the Ways of Heaven; 3 Therefore Beati qui esuriunt, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, and when they arrive to the term of their labours, they shall be satisfi'd. But the mean time they must not lose courage, if they meet with any opposition in the way; 2 Tim. 2.5. for he shall not be crown'd that do's not fight lawfully. The Law of Arms to the Soldiers of Christ, is chiefly passive Valour. Prayers and Tears are the only Weapons of a Christian, (say the Fathers) and those that otherwise resist, Rom. 13.2. (cries the Apostle) shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 Therefore Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur, Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake. And that no one may think this a hard Lesson, the Encouragement is so bright, that any wise Man as well as St. James, would count it all joy to fall into divers tem­ptations; for the reward is so great in Hea­ven, that nothing less then the Kingdom of Heaven it self shall be the Reward: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Such is a Christian in the Field; 4 but he is also the Member of Civil Society, and the best Constituted Government in the World; which teaches him such Calm­ness in his Motion, such Modesty in his Behaviour, such Sincerity in his Dealings, such a Command of his Passions, as set a Beauty on our Religion, which never any other so much as pretended to, as Cano­nize Civility, and make good Breeding a Christian Vertue, worthy a Beatitude, for Blessed are the meek, deserving a Reward, for they shall inherit the land, no question that which the Psalmist mentions, Psal. 26.13. the land of the living.

But if you sit down contented with your own Performances, you will fall short of the Reward; Eccl. 17.12. Because Mandavit unicuique de proximo suo; God has commanded every one to be concern'd for his Neighour. And it is not sufficient to take notice of his cor­poral Wants, if you pass by his spiritual unregarded. Therefore, Beati qui lugent; 5 Blessed are those that mourn, that lay to heart, and take home to themselves the Excesses and Corruptions of their Fellow-Members. [Page 24]For if the King and Prophet had reason to lay claim to a share in the Merits of all good Men, Psal. 118.63. I am a partaker with all those that fear thee, and keep thy commandments; have not we as much rea­son to apprehend we shall be accountable for all the Sins of Mankind that we can obviate, or for not bewailing them, if we cannot? and tho' the Effect correspond not to our Endeavours, yet our reward shall be great in Heaven; Ipsi consolabuntur, Such shall be comforted.

But some Offences are directed against our selves, 6 which we must be as ready to pardon, as to correct those which are com­mitted against others; This being the He­roick, and (as I may say) the Specifick Ver­tue of a Christian, inspiring a Generosity not only to pass by an Injury, not only to scorn a Revenge, (a thing so sweet to Na­ture, and so honorable to false Reputation) but even to bear above the Resentment; and if I may apply the Apostle's Phrase, To insert the olive-branch into the wild olive, and graft Kindnesses upon the Stock of Inju­ries and Ingratitude: for Blessed are the [Page 25]merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. And tho' the word [...] properly signifies those that give Alms, St. Augustine teaches us there is no Alms-deed like that of forgiving an Injury.

Yet this Charity limited to our private Concerns, 7 is not easily distinguish'd from Self-love; and to forgive that we may be for­given, carries so much of Interest along with it, that a Man who is not tender and compassionate to his Brother, is at the same time barbarous and inhumane to himself. Love, therefore, is of a more diffusive qua­lity, and must extend to all those Feuds and Differences which are daily breaking out between such as have no other relation to our selves, then the common Bands of Humane Society. And upon this account Blessed are the peace-makers, Beati pacifici; a Benediction that reaches from the Cot­tager to the Monarch that sits upon the Throne, takes in all Mankind that lends a Hand towards establishing the Empire of Peace, but sheds it self more plentifully on the Head, that sacred Head by whose most wise Conduct, and unwearied Industry, [Page 26]we rest this day in the beauty of Peace, while he sits above a living Representation of the only God we worship, Psal. 75.3. whose Place is made in peace. And if such as contribute the most to the welfare of Mankind, de­serve a higher Reward, we that are in a lower Station, cannot envy them a more elevated Benediction; Quoniam Filii Dei vocabuntur, They shall be stil'd the Sons of God, because they carry on the great Work which the Son of God began in the World, reaching from end to end powerfully, and dis­posing all things sweetly, Sap. 8.1. as the Wise-man predicted; and by propagating a Blessed Ʋnion in this nether Hierusalem, antidate the Joys of that which is above, which is our Mother, and where all her Children have but one heart, and one soul; neither divided by Interest, nor disquieted by Passion, nor stain'd by Imperfection; but perfectly re­sembling that of their Blessed Master, de­scrib'd by the Apostle, Hebr. 7.26. Holy, unblemished, innocent, made higher then the Heavens, (which is only the Place of their Beatitude) the Beatitude it self consisting in this, 8 Bles­sed are the clean of heart, because they shall [Page 27]see God. I reserved this to the last, it being the very top of the mystical Ladder, where our Lord appears leaning; for upon such his Spirit rests, and by such Purity they rest eternally in him.

And now before I was aware I have clear'd the last Point that I design'd to Discourse to you, the essential Glory of the Saints. Clear'd it, did I say? 'twas an im­proper word: Had I the Tongue of Men and Angels, I cou'd never express what the heart of man cannot conceive; 1 Cor. 2.9. and you know the Heart can conceive infinitely beyond what the Tongue can express. The great Apostle in his Rapture to the Third Heaven, I am apt to think, among those arcana verba, 2 Cor. 12.4. those unspeakable words he heard, had some account of this blessed State; but he gives us no other Prospect then thro' a Glass, and in a Riddle, 1 Cor. 13.12. that we know now only in part; the rest is wrapt up in the obscurity of Faith, is left to the expectations of Hope, and an impossibility of Expression, Non licet homini loqui.

But while my Gospel acquaints you that you shall see God, what need you more [Page 28]to raise your Imaginations, to inflame your Hearts, to quicken and inspirit your Desires? or if the word seeing cannot put into you a lively Idea of that Glory, add to it the Explication in another Text, John 17.3. This is eternal life, to KNOW thee, the true God, and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ. To have our Understandings fill'd with a clear knowledge of the most perfect Being, of the sovereign Truth, of the original Cause of things, and in that of all other Causes, Effects, and Productions, as well natural as supernatural, makes the Man of Reason, the Lover of Truth, to sally out of himself, to strive to break his Chains, and languish to be with Christ, and wish with the Royal Prophet, Psal. 55.6. that He had the wings of a Dove, that he might flie, and be at rest, in Contemplation of that self-evident Truth, supream Reason, VERITY, (as I say) the chief Attribute of God.

But you are not to imagine that the Beatitude of the Saints is plac'd in a per­petual gazing upon the Divine Beauties, or in a sterial Speculation of Truth; from the Mind it flows into the Heart, [Page 29]from the Understanding into the Will, penetrating all the interior of the Soul, transforming her in a certain manner into God, begetting Ecstasies without emotion, Languishings without defect, Enjoyments without satiety, Love without measure, and Fruition without end.

O you Joys of Heaven, how do you swallow up our thoughts, and fill us at once with Pleasure and Amazement! and yet we must cry out as the Queen of Sheba did when she beheld a faint Representa­tion of you in the Court of King Solomon, that Half your Delights have not been told us. Blessed are they that stand in thy Courts, and minister to thy King Day and Night; Day without Night I shou'd have said, where every Moment is an Age, Psal. 89.4. Et mille Anni tanquam Dies, and a thousand Years cannot fill up a Day: Love is the mea­sure of this Duration, and the Eternity of God the measure of Love.

Blessed God! thy Nature is Goodness, and therefore thy Work must be Mercy; that thou art so free of thy Creatures, I do not wonder; thou bestowest them on [Page 30]Man, thy better Creation; but why art thou so liberal of thy Self? Why hast thou prepar'd such a Happiness in Heaven for those that are seeking a Paradice upon Earth? that are contented to barter their Eternal weight of Glory for a gaudy Trifle, for a shining piece of Earth, for the grati­fying a Lust, or an Ambition, for a mean, or a sordid, or at the best, but a momentary Pleasure? Cur posuisti pretium in manu stulti? Why hast thou laid such an inesti­mable Treasure in the hands of ungrateful and insensible Men, that neither know the value, nor value the use?

No, Christians, we have no reason to expostulate with our God; for tho' by condescending to our infirmity, he has underset the Joys of his Kingdom, yet there are Conditions propos'd, and with­out the performance of which, there is no Heaven for us. Apoc. 21.7. Qui vicerit possidebit haec; He that overcomes (says he) shall possess these things: And do we fondly promise our selves the Triumph before the Victory, or a Victory before we have struck a Stroke? Indeed Christ bids us be confident, John 16.33. for he has [Page 31]overcome the world; but do's not he give us warning, that whosoever observes not the same Discipline, takes not up his cross, Matth. 10.38. and follows him, is not worthy of him? But is not Jesus Christ the author of eternal salva­tion? Hebr. 4.9. Yes (replies the Apostle) to them that obey him. Rom. 1.17. Gal. 5.6. But do's not the just man live by Faith? Yes, if it work by Charity: For he that trusts to the strength of his Faith, without the support of a good Life, is as blameable as the Apostles, when they re­joyced at their power of ejecting Devils. Tho' our Faith be of such prevalency as to remove mountains, still by Good-works we are to make our calling and election sure, 2 Pet. 1.10. still we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, Phil. 2.12. and only rejoyce that our reward is great in Heaven, a Reward not bestow'd on those who stand all day idle in the market-place, but to those that labour in the vineyard; a Reward that shall be distri­buted in number, weight, and measure, in proportion, and beyond all proportion to our smallest Performances; but shall be more plentifully bestow'd on those, who like your Sacred Majesties, bear the burthen [Page 32]of the heat, and of the day; which we wish for the good of your People, you may long support, and hear, not till after a long and prosperous Reign, that comfortable Invitation of your Original, Luc. 22.28. Ye are they which have continu'd with me in my temptati­ons, and I appoint unto you a Kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and sit on Thrones, judging the Tribes of your own Israel, In the Name of the Fa­ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.