fhall also fail, and live no longer upon Earth, your Works of Righteoufnefs and Mercy, being accepted by God through Chrift's Merits and Interceffion, hall procure you many Friends in the other World, Friends which never die, who fhall readily admit you into the Eternal Manfions of their bleffed Society. Yea, Chrift himself at the laft Day will folemnly admit the Merciful and Charitable to all this endless Happiness with thofe most pleasant and inviting Words, Come ye bleffed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the Foundation of the World. And the chief Caufe of fuch an immenfe Reward is reprefented by him to be their feeding the Hungry, clothing the Naked, vifiting the Sick, &c. Matth. 25. 34, 35

There is alfo affign'd to them an ample Recompenfe in this prefent Life. It is promifed in Holy Scripture, That thofe that open their Hands wide in giving to their poor Brethren fhall be bleffed in all their Works, Deut. 15. 8, 9. That the liberal Soul fhall be made fat, and he that watereth fhall be watered alfo himself, Prov. 11. 25. That he who hath a bountiful Eye fhall be blessed, because he giveth of his Bread to the Poor, Prov. 22. 9. That he who bath Pity on the Poor lendeth to the Lord, and that which he hath given will he pay him again, Prov. 19. 17. That the Lord will deliver him in time of Trouble, That the Lord will preferve him and keep him alive, and make him blessed upon the Earth, and not deliver him to the Will of his Enemies. That the Lord will strengthen him upon the Bed of languishing, and make all his Bed in his Sickness, Pfal. 141. 1, 2, 3. That as he which in Alms-giving foweth Sparingly shall reap fparingly, fo he which Joweth bountifully Shall reap bountifully, 2 Cor. 9. 6. So ftrong are the Obligations, fo great the Encouragements to Acts of Beneficence and Charity. Let me therefore beg Leave very briefly to remind you of fome of the particular Ways whereby you may become rich in good Works.

Your Wealth and Affluence may enable you to do much Good to the Bodies of Men, not only by a free

and

and liberal giving to the Relief of the Poor, but also fometimes by a generous lending of Money to fuch as want Stock to carry on their Trades, or by finding out Work for indigent Labourers, and paying them well. for it. You may likewife employ your Riches in doing Good to the Souls of Men divers Ways, as by erecting Schools, and endowing them with fome competent Maintenance, for teaching Poor Men's Children, and inftructing them in the Principles of Religion, as well as other Knowledge, or by contributing to fuch Charity-Schools already founded, alfo by giving Bibles, Prayer-books, and other pious Books, to thofe that are not able to buy them; by contributing towards the propagating the Gospel in foreign Plantations; or, in Imitation of our gracious Sovereign, to the augmenting the Maintenance of fuch faithful and pious, Minifters thereof here at Home, who want a more comfortable Subfiftence, and deferve better Encouragement. Thus you may do the highest Good, and make the best Use of your Riches in the fe, and the like noble Acts of Piety and Charity, which conduce fo much to the Advancement of Religion, the Salvation of Men, and the Glory of God. But large Estates without Wif dom to improve them to fome of these great and good Purposes, are but like the Mines of Gold in the Poffeffion of thofe filly and ignorant Indians, who understood not the Value and Ufe of that precious Metal.

III. As for your third Advantage, that of Time and Leifure, having cautioned in my Youth's grand Concern against the mif-fpending precious Time, and given Directions for the redeeming it, I fhall add no more upon this Head, except only the making it my humble Request, that you would watch against and avoid all thofe finful or unprofitable Confumptions of Time into which the Affluence of Riches, the Diversions of Pleasure, and the Pomps of a vain World, do frequently lead too many Perfons of your Rank and Quality. Among which evil Ways of employing your Time

you

you are to account, not only the facrificing whole Days and Weeks to a continual Debauch, or fome other wicked Courfe, whereby all Senfe of Religion is loft, and almost all Capacity of ferious Thinking, but the fpending too many of thofe few Hours of a fhort Life, on which an Eternity depends, either in Sleep, or in Eating and Drinking, or in Dreffing, or in Vilits, or in Sports and Games, and the like Diverfions. For how innocent foever thefe Things are in themselves, and how convenient and neceffary foever fome of them may be in this State of Imperfection, yet by an immoderate and exceffive Ufe of them they quickly change their Nature, and become vicious and criminal, hurtful and mischievous.

-Every one knows how neceffary Sleep is for the Refreshment of our Bodies, and fome Conftitutions require more than others, but yet it is fit that we all redeem as much Time from Sleeping as our Health will permit, and not profufely and needlefly wafte it in that State of Darkness fo nearly refembling Death, in which none of the good and useful Ends of Life can be purfued. If therefore, according to the Cuftom of fome Perfons of Quality, you continue to indulge your foft Repofe for feveral Hours after the reft of the World have rifen from their Beds, and applied themselves to their Studies or Bufinefs, you irrecoverably lose the first and choiceft part of the Day. And though it well becomes you to have a juft Regard to the Decency of Place and Rank, yet if you spend almoft all the remaining part of the Morning in the nice and curious dreffing and adorning thofe Bodies, which will be fhortly turned into Duft and Corruption, how very little Time will be left for Religion and Devotion, or any ferious Affair? Will there indeed be any at all, if after a long and plentiful Dinner (as it too often happens) the Afternoon be no better employed than the Morning, but thrown away upon unneceffary Vifits, Sports, or Paftimes,

your Apparel, that it be fuitable to your

Pastimes, and the Evening as ill bestowed at the Playhoufe or the Tavern?

Vifits may be very needful for the Dispatch of Bufinefs, the cultivating Friendship, and paying Refpect where it is due, but in many of them there is no small Lofs of Time, by vain and impertinent Difcourfes, and Hazard of Sobriety by intemperate Drinking. Neither doth any Character feem more defpicable than that of the Makers of infignificant Vifits, who fatigue their better difpofed Neighbours with their infipid Company, when they have nothing worthy to impart to them, nor any Promptitude to be inftructed by them, nor any thing to talk of but the Weather. It muft indeed be acknowledg'd that ingenious and vir tuous Perfons, of a refin'd Education, do often tafte, not only an innocent, but a kind of exquifite and poinant Pleasure in the Vifits they make to, or receive from, Perfons that are equally ingenuous and polite. But yet even this Converfation is not to be approved of, if it be too frequent, or too long, fo as to exclude the Duties of Religion, and devour that Time which fhould be spent in the Clofet, or the Chappel.Neither do the Pleafores of the most agreeable and polite Converfation deferve to be compared with the pure and spiritual Pleasures of a devout Solitude, in which a pious Soul finds it felf most delightfully exercifed, and, as it were, exalted into the Regions above by its Seraphick Adorations and Celebrations of the Divine Goodness with the highest Praises and Thanksgivings. Much lefs are the Enjoyments of any Civil Society to be preferred before all the Melody of the Sacred Hymns and Pfalms of Praife, which are folemnly offered up to God and our Saviour in our publick Affemblies for religious Worship, whereby we not only have Fellowship with the Father and the Son, as St. John fpeaks, but also hold Communion with the heavenly Inhabitants, and joyn with the Church triumphant in their Hallelujahs.

As

As for Sports and Games, thofe only are worthy to be recommended to you, which may be needful to procure Health by fome innocent Exercife of the Body, and Refreshment of the Mind, without too great an Expence of Time. But when a Gentleman three or four times a Week rifes before the Sun, and being attended by his Servants, and perhaps by fome of his Tenants, spends almoft the whole Day in following a Pack of Hounds while they purfue their fearful Prey, and after they come Home talks all the Evening what Heels they made, recounting all the Turns or Doublings in fuch a Field or fuch a Common, and perhaps afterwards entertains the three or four next Companies with a Repetition of the fame Difcourfe is this to employ ones Time as becomes a Perfon whom the Divine Benignity has blefs'd with more liberal Fortunes and opportune Vacancies for the Service of God and Mankind? And yet this may be accounted an innocent Diverfion, and no criminal Confumption of Time, in Comparison of the being fottifhly engag'd for many Hours together with drunken Clubs, or the bestowing as many upon lewd and profane Comedies, or the devoting good part of the Day, and perhaps all the Night, to Cards and Dice, the mischievous Effects of which Games are too often notoriously visible, not only in the Lofs of Time and Money, but alfo in the Cheats and Frauds, the Rage and Paffion, the Oaths and Imprecations, the Quarrels and Disorders with which they are attended.

IV. & V. As for the two laft Advantages before mentioned, that of Authority over your Servants, Tenants and Dependents, and that of Reputation, which your Wealth and Honour procures you, not only with them but with others, I fhall joyn both these together, and briefly remind you what Improvement is to be made of both. The Intereft you have in other Peo ple, either by the Support or Favour you afford them, or by the Efteem or Affection they have for you,

may