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SERMONX

The Wisdom of this World;

and its Infufficiency to make us Happy.

PROV. IX. 12.

If thou be Wife, thou shalt be
Wise for thyself.

T was wittily observed by one of the greatest Observers of this last Age, "That

" of all the Gifts that God has given " to Men, there are none of them in which "his Providence has pleased All in the Di " stribution,

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"stribution, except only in Good Understanding, which every one has to his Mind *." His Observation will, I believe, generally hold: For how Few do we find there are, that are well contented with their Portion of Power or Preferment, Riches or Honour? But as for Intellectual Gifts, Good Understanding and Wisdom, Parts and Sense, there are as Few that do not think, they have a very fufficient Share: Though it should feem from Men's Different Conduct, that there is Nothing more Unequally distributed amongst the Sons of Men. What strange Delusion then is this, that where Men Want Most, they should think they are Leaft Wanting; and where they do really Want, think they have abundance?

We are all agreed in the Main: Every one designs to be Wife; and to be Wife for himself too. Self-Interest and Advantage is the Common Scope of all Men's Actions. Whatever may be pretended, or fet forth to View, yet generally SELF some way or other lies at the Bottom: Most Men's Designs begin and end There; All commonly Cen

* Nulla res æquabilius inter Homines est distributa, quàm Bona. Mens: Eâ enim Unusquisque ita abundare se putat, ut ne quidem illi qui maximè inexplebiles Cupiditates habent, & quibus in nullâ unquam alia re Natura fatisfecit, meliorem Mentem quàm poslideant, optare confueverint. Cartefius de Methodo.

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ters in Self: So that Self-Wisdom seems to be a Principle so well observed, that it least needed to be Preach'd up of any of the Duties of our Lives. Yet Self-Wisdom, we find, is here Preached up by the Wife Royal Preacher, and that as the Only WisdomIf thou be Wife, thou shalt be Wife for thyself; If thou art not Wife for thyself, thou art not truly Wife.

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He, it seems, did not think the Generality of the World, however Wife they may be in their own Conceits, and fatisfy'd with themselves and their Choice, truly Wife for themfelves. We therefore find him marking out the several Ways of Worldly Wisdom, whereby Men cheat themselves, vainly seeking their Happiness where it was not to be found; censuring all that fort of Wisdom, as so far from True Self-Wisdom, that he pronounces it to be Nothing but Folly, Vanity, Madness. I shall therefore consider,

I. What is the Common Wisdom of the World, that which passes most for Wisdom amongst Men.

II. What Account this Worldly Wisdom turns to; whether it be True Self-Wisdom. III. What Sort of Wisdom it is, that the Wiseman Does here recommend, which will make us truly Wife for Ourselves.

IV. The Properties and Preheminences

of it above Worldly Wisdom.

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And

And Lastly, we will consider, How we may attain it.

I.

I. Then we are to consider, what is the Common Wisdom of the World; That which passes most for Wisdom amongst Men; That whereby Men seek for Happiness, nothing doubting the Wisdom of their Choice: If they can but obtain their Aim, they make sure of being Happy.

Not that I shall undertake to trace out all the Ways of this Worldly Wisdom, which is Wifdom falsely so called; and is in the Wiseman's own Language, (who best understood it,) with better Propriety of Speech, called Folly ; which is therefore harder to be accounted for: For it is the peculiar Character of True Wisdom and Knowledge, to be always Simple, and Uniform, and Consistent with themselves; but Error, and Vice, and Folly, and all the other Irregularities, whether of Practice or Speculation, vary into ten thousand Shapes; So that for the One Single Way of Wisdom that leadeth unto Life, Error and Folly are infinite, and have a Multitude of By-Paths,, that go down to the Chambers of Death.

There is a wonderful Variety in Men's Inclinations and Fancies, almost as great as in their Features. Some Men place all their Happiness in things that will scarce yield so much as a Diversion to other Men. Most Men have fome Idol or other that they fet

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up in their Hearts ; and every one is pleased
with his own Choice; would think himself
Happy if he could but compass 'his End,
whatever it be that he proposes to himself,
and accordingly pursues it with all his Might.
But if he is Mistaken in his Choice, and makes
That his Chief End, which cannot make him
Happy, This is a Fundamental Error, that
imposes a Set of False Principles upon his
Mind, and claps a wrong Biass upon his
Judgment in all Things; It misguides him
in all his Inclinations and Defires, and in all
the Actions of his Life, and makes his whole
Life One Vain Pursuit, One long Continued
Folly.

To give some Instances:

One Man thinks it His greatest Happiness if he can but grow Rich; and to this Wife Design he will Sacrifice his Health and Eafe: He will be Content to rise up early, and late to take his Reft, and eat the Bread of Carefulness. Reflections of Mind, and Scruples of Confcience, if they will be troublesome, and will still be running athwart to his great Design, must be stified and laid aside. These are those our Saviour calls the Wife in their Generation.

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Another has Riches at Command, fuffici cient for all the Reasonable Enjoyments and Conveniences of Life, but his Heart is fet upon growing Great: His Station is too Low for his Great Soul; and therefore he must

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