reward exceeding great. He is their friend, and the best of friends; the shepherd of their souls, who leads them out to his admirable pastures, to the fountains of living water. His tenderness towards them is beyond that of a father, nay, beyond that of the tenderest mother: Isaiah xlix. 15, 16. In short, God is all things to those that fear him. Oh! my soul, seek no other treasure than him. Fear nothing but the losing of him If thou hast him, nothing can make thee miserable; but without him, nothing can make thee happy.
3. Consider the pleasure that attends a virtuous life; the satisfaction, peace and joy of a good conscience, which, by the wise man, is likened to a continual banquet; the consolations of the Holy Ghost; the comfortable expectation of a happy eternity after our exit out of this vale of tears; a holy confidence in the protection and providence of God, and a perfect conformity in all things to his blessed will. From these fountains flow such delights, as cannot be conceived by worldlings who have no experience of them: pleasures pure and spiritual, which sweeten all the crosses of this life, are an unspeakable comfort in death, and carry with them a certain foretaste of the immortal joys of heaven. Whereas all worldly pleasures, like the world itself, are false and deceitful; always be-sprinkled with something of bitterness, and attended with uneasiness, followed by remorse, and end at last in eternal sorrow.
4. Consider that saying of our Saviour, one thing is necessary: Luke x. 42. And what is that one thing, O my soul, which alone can make thee happy, both here and hereafter? It is to serve thy God, and to provide in earnest for eternity. All time compared to eternity is less than nothing. So are all temporal concerns,
