purely as a Clergyman;-or, a true Chriftian is reproached and ill treated, merely upon account of being a Christian ;—or, an Advocate for the true Faith, in Oppofition to any modern Corruptions whatfoever, on that account, fuffers either in his Fortune, or his Name. With refpect to the latter, this happens in all Cafes, where the ferious and fober Practice of Duty fhall expofe Men to the Scoffs and Infolencies of the Wicked;-the fober Practice of it, I fay; for Religion is not properly concerned, where Men make themfelves ridiculous by their own vain Affectation.

Thefe lower Degrees of Perfecution, as they have happened in every past Age, so they must be expected in every Age yet to come; in every Age which shall produce Inftances of Unbelief and Wickedness: Men of the former Character, muft of course be Enemies to Faith,--of the latter, to good Works.

But yet, let not the true Believer, or the fober and difcrete Practifer of his Duty, be difcouraged by thefe Means. The Apostles of Chrift in general, and the Saint of this Day in particular, fuffered much more for the fame great Caufe. The Greatness of the

Caufe

Caufe fupported them in fome measure: The extraordinary Rewards in View animated them still farther; and the abfolute Neceffity of Perfeverance, in order to avoid infinitely greater Miferies than human Power could inflict, fixed them immoveably.-May the fame strong Reasons for obeying God, at all Events, have an equal Influence on us; and may we never, through any Diftreffes of Life, —or Dread of Death, fall from him!

SER

SERMON XII.

The Condition of Mankind in general unhappy, without the Belief of a future State.

PART I.

I COR. XV. 19.

If in this Life only we have Hope in Christ, we are of all Men most miserable.

"T was the Design of our Apostle, in this Chapter, to inculcate on his Corinthians

I

the Doctrine of a future Refurrection : And this he doth by Two Sorts of Arguments, whereof One is more close and direct to the Point, and the other is more loose and indirect.

It seems there fubfifted, at the Time when this Epiftle was written, a remarkable Sect amongst the Jews, I mean the Sadducees; which maintained the Self-fufficiency of Virtue, and that no Happiness was to be expected in any State to come hereafter. From this Sect it is probable there might be fome Corinthian Converts; who, not being able at once to lay afide all their former Prejudices, imported fome of them into the Chriftian Church, and particularly the Disbelief concerning a future State. Perfons of this Stamp may be fuppofed to reject the Doctrine of a Refurrection, chiefly upon that very Principle: And if this were the Cafe, our Apostle's Way of treating them, in the Words before us, must be exceeding proper; for it served at least to remove the greatest Difficulty about admitting a Resurrection,—and, confequently, to prepare their Minds for fuch other Confiderations, as are more home to the Point he would establish.

Thus, though the Argument in the Text will directly prove no more than the Certainty of a future State, yet our Apostle hath alledged it, for a farther Purpose, with great Art, as knowing, that if he could once conquer this great Prejudice of the Corin

thians,