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SERMON II.

SET YOUR AFFECTION ON THINGS ABOVE, COLOSS. iii. 2.

IT can hardly be denied, that all men are desirous of happiness; though, at the same time it must be confessed, some are so miserably mistaken in the pursuit, that it may be difficult to give any rational account of their proceedings. They either think that to be happiness, which is not so: or, if they are right as to the object, they have such prejudices concerning the means of obtaining it, as render all their endeavours ineffectual.

I shall make it my business to shew you in this discourse, that till we set our affections on things above, no true happiness is to be found,

As

As the affections of man are active and restless in their nature, they must have their objects; and if these objects are not the things above, they will be the things below; and if these things are in their nature unsatisfactory, such an attachment can terminate in nothing but disappointment. The wisest of mankind, who had experienced all the heights of worldly felicity, did long ago pass sentence of condemnation upon the things of the world, as the instruments of vanity and vexation; yet few can find in their hearts to take his word, 'till they have made their unsuccessful experiments, and are convinced by the issue of them. It is a truth, which some happily discover in due time, and which all will see at last, that to expect substantial happiness from the things of this earth, is as impertinent as to seek for the living among the dead. That no real good can be found here, is evident from this one consideration, that whatsoever we find we cannot keep possession of it. Suppose the things never so good in themselves, yet such are the conditions on which we hold them, that they cannot confer upon us the happiness we are looking for. If the cup of life were to be mixed up at the will of the most skilful epicure, the certainty of death, and the uncertainty of the time, are ingredients

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SERMON II.

SET YOUR AFFECTION ON THINGS ABOVE. COLOSS. iii. 2.

IT can hardly be denied, that all men are de

sirous of happiness; though, at the same time it must be confessed, some are so miserably mistaken in the pursuit, that it may be difficult to give any rational account of their proceedings. They either think that to be happiness, which is not so: or, if they are right as to the object, they have such prejudices concerning the means of obtaining it, as render all their endeavours ineffectual.

I shall make it my business to shew you in this discourse, that till we set our affections on things above, no true happiness is to be found,

As

As the affections of man are active and restless in their nature, they must have their objects; and if these objects are not the things above, they will be the things below; and if these things are in their nature unsatisfactory, such an attachment can terminate in nothing but disappointment. The wisest of mankind, who had experienced all the heights of worldly felicity, did long ago pass sentence of condemnation upon the things of the world, as the instruments of vanity and vexation; yet few can find in their hearts to take his word, 'till they have made their unsuccessful experiments, and are convinced by the issue of them. It is a truth, which some happily discover in due time, and which all will see at last, that to expect substantial happiness from the things of this earth, is as impertinent as to seek for the living among the dead. That no real good can be found here, is evident from this one consideration, that whatsoever we find we cannot keep possession of it. Suppose the things never so good in themselves, yet such are the conditions on which we hold them, that they cannot confer upon us the happiness we are looking for. If the cup of life were to be mixed up at the will of the most skilful epicure, the certainty of death, and the uncertainty of the time, are ingredients

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ingredients which can never be excluded; and they will never fail to embitter the whole. For our life is but a vapour, a thing of no substance, and liable to be dissipated by the next rough blast. If a man is unmindful of this, he is in a state of stupefaction; and stupefaction is not enjoyment if it lies upon his mind, it will as surely have its effect, as the sound of a passing bell, near at hand, will spoil a concert of music. Besides this, the objects so eagerly sought after are but shadows and delusions 3 which borrow their greatest value from the error of our imaginations. All the things we behold at present are but the lowest works of our Almighty Creator, and are to endure but for a limited time. The world itself, as well as they that inhabit it, must pass away, as a garment which is worn out, and must be changed for that which is eternal. This being the case, there is something in the soul of man which thirsteth after greater things than are here to be met with. There is in those, who do not extinguish it, an appetite, which will not be satisfied or put off with trifles. When a man has tried the world, and found it full of labour and vanity and disappointment, what can he think? If he thinks at all, he must conclude, either that God made him to disap

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