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University of California Berkeley 
 
The "Mercbancfife of a People 
 HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 
 
 A 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 Preached in part at the 
 
 TubHc^LeUure in *Bofton, 
 
 July I. I 7* ^ 
 
 In part at a private Meeting 
 for Chanty to the Poor, 
 
 March 6. 1726. 
 And now publifhed as 
 
 A Than/tO/ering to GOD 
 for repeated furprifing Bounties 
 
 from LONDON 
 for Ufcs of Piety and Charity. 
 
 By Benjamin Colman> D. D. 
 
 And Paftor of a Church in Bojlo*. 
 
 2 Cor. ix. 9. He bath differed abroad, he hath given 
 to the Poor, bis Rigbtewfrcfs remaineth fo 
 
 B O S T O N) n e 
 
 Printed by J. Draper, in Ncwbury-^rect, 
 x 7 3 6. 
 
To the HONOURABLE 
 
 Samuel Holden, Efq; 
 
 of LONDON: 
 
 S I R, 
 
 ejenerous Things You have been 
 
 doin s from Ycar to Ycar for y Co - 
 
 rr ^^ f' 01 ' m any of the Churches of Cbrift 
 in if > whom You have, cnrich'd with 
 Means of /;?oW Knowledge and pratti* 
 cal Religion and for the^ ^/>/ P<?or in 
 it, both Minlfters and Others, who have tailed of 
 ycur Bounties and their Souls have blefled You ; 
 have led me into this open Acknowledgment, to 
 the Glory of God, from whofc Hands we would 
 receive what You and Others have fent us from 
 Time to Time, an Odour of a facet Smell, a Sacrifice 
 'acceptable, wdl f leafing to God. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 
ft . -DE-DIC A TION. 
 
 Sir, I hold my Self highly indebted to the Go* 
 verning Providence of a gracious God, which led 
 me in my Youth from my Native Land to lee That 
 of our Fathers Sepulchres ; and in my Way thither 
 was pleas 'd to ftrip me of the Little I had, that I 
 might be invited by the excellent Saint your dear 
 Mother, who took in the Stranger, and for a Ccurfe 
 of Years together regarded him as a Son, while her 
 Soul longed after Tou at Riga. 
 
 What the Holy God was then doing I could little 
 know at the, Time, but He has made me to per- 
 ceive fince, " That He led me into Mr. Parkhurjt's 
 Houfe, and from thence to Bath, to bring me into 
 a more immediate & extenfive Acquaintance with 
 Terfbns of DijHnEHon for Learning and Religion^ for 
 my greater Ufsfulnefs in the Times that have palled 
 over me, and to be the Hand thro' which his pur- 
 pofed Benefactions to our College, to many of our 
 Towns and Churches, and to many poor Mcmbws of 
 Chrift in thefe Parts, {hould flow. 
 
 By the Help of God, I humbly hope that I have 
 wittingly done the Part of a faithful Almoner, as 
 well in advlfing when I have been writ to, as i 
 tbferving the Directions of Thofc who have intruded 
 me ; which is all the Honour I may pretend to in 
 the A dtninif ration of this Service, which is abundant by 
 wemj Thankfgivings to God ibme of which You have 
 feen and read, as from the Hand of worthy Mini- 
 Jtersj fo One efpccially from the Angelick Pen of a * 
 Gentlewoman, who in the School of Affliction made a 
 Proficiency in Grace and facred 5*<*,even beyond 
 all that the School of the Prophets among us has been 
 able to boaft ! and as foon almoft as She had wrote , 
 what I fent You, lay down and died in perfect 
 Peace. 
 
 * Mrs, Gfrrijb of 
 
DEDICATION, iii 
 
 I know Sir You are no Stranger to the "Profujton 
 of Bounties which for a Courfc of many Years our 
 College received from the moil pious and munifi- 
 cent Thomas Hollts, Efq; whofc worthy Heir has 
 ibon followed him to the Grave, after he had made 
 a good Addition to the Foundations laid by his 
 Uncle, and adorn'd us with a rare Orrery ; and now 
 we have the Tydings of the Death of John Hollis, 
 Efq; the worthy Brother of our great Benefactor, 
 and a Heir with him of the lame Grace j who was 
 alfo a Father to poor Orphans here, as well as at 
 Home. 
 
 And if it were permitted me, I would now have 
 nam d Another, a younger Gentleman, whom God 
 has Inrlch d with till Bohnt ifulnefs US-Ward ; ofwhofe 
 Liberality our Churches and our Poor have hereto- 
 fore largely tailed and this Year brings me the 
 Joy of an Order from him for fchooling, cloathing, 
 feeding and lodging of twenty Indian Children at 
 Hcjfatonnoc, a Tribe who have lately received the 
 Gofpel with a marvelous Joy, and are now under 
 the Paftoral Care of the Reverend and Learned Mr. 
 John Sargent. 
 
 You will eafily think, Sir, how placid the Sur- 
 frlfe of fuch a Benefaction is, and tho 7 I fee not 
 how the Donor of fo public a Charity can be kept 
 fecret, any more than a City Jet on a Hill can be bid ; 
 yet the Thing ought to be told to the Glory of God, 
 and in this open Manner I would let tne hidden 
 Donor know the Senfe we have of the Gocdnefs ef 
 GOD to us thro 7 Him, and our Prayers for Him, 
 that his Fathir which fatk in fieref will reward him 
 
iv DEDICATION. 
 
 j Sir,, that I mean a Dedication of the fol- 
 lowing Dlfcourfe to this namelefs Benefactor alfo, 
 who would account it an Honour to be nam'd 
 after Tou ; Whem God has fet in the Chair among 
 your Brethren the DiJ] enters, and honoured You 
 before the Greateft Men at Court as well as in the 
 City, for Wiidom, Modefty and Integrity. 
 
 That your Days may be multiplied, even crofs 
 to your own Wijhii of a fpeedy Entrance on a bet- 
 ter Life ; for your greater and longer Ufefulnefs in 
 your Generation, and your more abundant Reward 
 in the Day of Chrift ; and that a gracious God 
 may alfo pleafe to multiply Grace and Peace unto our 
 Other Benefattors, is the hearty Prayer of, 
 
 S I R, 
 
 Your moft Obliged Friend, 
 
 and very Humble Servant, 
 
 Boflon, Mttj jv 
 
 ^Benjamin Colman. 
 
To the Gentlemen of the Town of 
 
 , who ufually attend the weekly Lecture, 
 
 And to T0/ in particular who attend the J>uarterly 
 Meetings for Collections for the P#$r in QornhilL 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 H E N the following Difcourfe was 
 
 prea . ch ' d tor ^ a p^ rc .^ fic at thc 
 
 \V : />^/zV Letture, and a part in your more 
 private Meeting, You were then ad- 
 drefs'd in the Clofc of thofe Sermons 
 in the following #W/, which I think 
 good WOT^ to bring to your Remembrance, and alfo 
 to lay before Others. 
 
 " I fpeak unto a Trading Town, and I thank God 
 c unto a Peep/* us'd to Charities and //'for*/ Things. 
 
 [[ Need I provoke you to Emulrtu* by what is 
 
 B " written 
 
ISOlJAD () 
 
 " written of the Men of Tyre ? And God forbid 
 
 <c that they fhouid rife up in 'Judgment again ft Us y 
 C and condemn us. Shall not your Merchandize and 
 <$ your Hire be Holinefs to the Lord, when theirs was 
 " fo, when the C, off el came among thfm I Surely 
 " we have carried our ProfeJJion as high., and our Ob- 
 " Illations are at leaft as great as Thole of Tjreand 
 cc Sidon. 
 
 . c: One natural Benefit of Trade and Commerce 
 rc to any People is^ that it enlarges their Hearts 
 "to do generous Things. God grant that every 
 " Thing of that Nature done among us, or ly O- 
 <c thers for us, may be fo done as to carry in their 
 " Front the glorious Infcription of HOLINESS TO 
 Cf GOD. So let it be in your fccret Gifts and Dif- 
 <f tributions, fo in your private and more bounti- 
 c ful Subscriptions and Celk&ions, whether they be 
 <c for God's Peor or for his Worfliip. And I wifli 
 u the Tropofals which were lately printed for the 
 <c yearly Gathering a fmall Stock or Pund in parti- 
 <c cular Congregations for pious and charitable Ufes, 
 <c might find Acceptance in our Churches, and 
 prove a happy Means of fulfilling my Jext among 
 
 " us. 
 
 " But there is one Thing, the Work and Duty 
 " of the prefent Day, which 1 may not omit, if I 
 cc would be juft e'trier to my Text or to my Country ; 
 
 " which is That your Merchandise and Hire muf 
 
 " be for Them -which dwell before the Lcrd, to eat fuffi- 
 cc ciently and for durallt Clothing. How ftiall it be 
 * c called Holinefs to the Lord without this ? You 
 * : muft make Confcience of fupporting your Mini- 
 *' fterr, who ferve in the Santtuary and at the Altar 
 " of God, Money /<*/A, you all wife vour Mer- 
 
 " chandife 
 
( iii ) 
 
 " chandife^ and you are unjuft to Chrlft and his Mi- 
 c< fters, (that is to lay unholy) if you do not ra//e 
 " their Support. It is impoffibie that They ihould 
 cc eat fufficiently, or haveC/0//g for their Families, 
 <c if their Support rife not while all your Trade 
 <c and Hire rifts after fo prodigious a Manner. 
 t( This is to your poor Minlfters, like a bundredlit- 
 <c tie Streams uniting on them, and bearing them 
 " away as with a -F/W , or like a fweeping Raitt 
 <( that leaves no food. You muft up inftantly or it 
 '* will wajh away the Field of God., his Worjhiphom 
 " oft the Face of the Land. You muft mmiftec 
 (( more of your rifing Hire to the Temple of God, 
 " or let drop any Pretence to my Text. 
 
 " This Matter belongs in the firft place to the 
 " Government over us 3 who have had it under Con- 
 ce fidcration in their prefent SeJJion * and pioufly 
 *' re/olved, That it is the Indifpenfable Duty of the 
 " leveral Towns, Trecinfts and Parishes of the Pro- 
 <f vince, to make fuch Additions to the Salaries or 
 <c Maintenance of their refpe&ive Minlfters, as may 
 <c honourably fupport and encourage them in theic 
 " Work : The Court did therefore moft earneftly 
 fe recommend a fpeedy and chearful Compliance 
 " with this their Judgment, to the feveral Congrega- 
 *' tlons and Religious Ajfemblles within the Province. 
 
 " To Them it indeed belongs nextly and more 
 <c immediately, whofe Frofeffion in a Church-State 
 " is this Hollnefs to the Lord and it is the Duty of 
 c the refpedive Members in every Congregation to 
 c fee to.it that their Merchandlfe and Husbandry be 
 fo, and that ?/>^V P^/or^ have Af^f fuffichnt and 
 Clothing. For with what Face and 
 
 7 a 5 
 
 B ^ <c Confciencc 
 
<c Confctence fhall every One of you rife a Tenny 
 cf or a Shitting in your Hire andMerchandife, Year 
 cc after Year, and not rile alfo in the Support of 
 " your Minlfters ? I leave it to the fie tin of every 
 cc Merchant and every Labourer to judge in this 
 Thing, f 
 
 f I have but one JtforJ more to add in this 
 
 <c Audience^ and that concerns the College ; to mind 
 
 " you that the many great and prudent Benefactions 
 
 " made of late Years to that Society, have (I truft) 
 
 " this Inscription of Holinefs to the Lord upon them. 
 
 " The Bounties f the pious Mr. Hollis in particular, 
 
 f: his humble Offerings to Chrijl and his Munifi- 
 
 cc cence to us, his Lettures and devoted Students 
 
 * wear This on their Forehead. ce Tfo LORD raife 
 
 c up of our Sons for Trophets, and of our Toung Men for 
 
 c Na&arite*. That our Son* may be as Plants of Righ- 
 
 * ttoufnefs $ and our Garners full, affording aU Manner 
 
 cc ef Store \ Happy the People that are in fucb a Cafe y yea 
 
 *' happy is that People wbofe Ged is the Lord. 
 
 The Addrefs to Tcu, with which the Sermon clos'd 
 in your private Meeting, was in thefollowingWords, 
 
 " Finally, Should our Merchandife and Hire be 
 <c Holinefs to tJoc Lord ? it gives a fpecial Countenance 
 " to, and puts great Honour on, yourprefent Meeting* 
 c f This Evening Lifture is on a double Account holy 
 
 f Since that Day many or moft of our Churches have matJq 
 considerable Additions to the Support of their Mtnijhrs, but 
 in very few Places I think in a }uft. Proportion to the Fall 
 of Money, and the Rife of Goods. So that every New Tear 
 or twp aHs for a new P.rouljwn ; fuch is our miferable 
 finking Condition ; ala< without Profpeft of any Remedy \ 
 May the Dews of Heaven come down more abundantly tin 
 the Placet that coniider of it ! 
 
 c tO 
 
(v) 
 
 u to God ; as in Refped of the Religious Exercife 
 " oflforjhip fo alfo in Refped of our intended O/- 
 " leffionfor tbePoor. The Defign ^.Intention of our pre- 
 <c fent Meeting is entirely (acred to Chrlfl & to his 
 <c P00r.We come to caft ourMites into the LordsTrea- 
 (C fury for the Ufe of thzWidow & the Fatherlefs. Let 
 * c us feek the Divine Grace that we may fo worjhip, 
 cc and fo zt>e 3 as becometh Holinefs in holy Man- 
 " ner, with holy Frames, from holy Principles, for 
 holy Ends, to the Increale of holy Fruits in our 
 Hearts & Lives, to the Glory & Praife of God. 
 
 cc 
 
 " 
 
 cc Write now., if you pleafc, Holinejs to tie Lord on 
 thefe Doors (|, here opened to us for the fake of 
 " Charity and Devotion which two will never fail, 
 " no not when Faith and Hope (hall ceafe,, within 
 cc the Ho/y of Holies. The 7?;V/& are invited hither, 
 
 c not for their own fo much as for the Poors fake. 
 Cf 73&^ Low els of the Poor are refrefaed by Thee, Kr other, 
 c in your calling the Rich to your Hottfe : It is to feafl 
 
 c the poos, the maimed, the lame and the blind,and Thou 
 " Jhalt be recom fenced at the Refurretfio* of the Juft. 
 
 <c This Meeting is a Witnefs that our Widows and 
 " the Fatherlefs are not negleded in the daily Mi- 
 e riiftrations. By Inclination you are led, and fome 
 c of Teu more efpecially are by * Office bound, un- 
 c to this Service. And God is not unrighteous tofor- 
 >e get this Labour of Love, which you are Rowing to 
 6 his Name, in miniflring to his Saints. 
 
 " We have had a hard and long Winter t, which 
 " fome may think has impoverifhed the Town, but 
 
 |J Deacon WUi*m<?s in Cornbill. * The Deacons of the Churches; 
 t March <J i 7 a <5, 
 
 God 
 
(vi) 
 
 " God has carried us thro 7 it., and provided for the 
 " Poor. Yet they muft needs be left the more bare 
 " and neceffitous.,and laden with little Debts it may 
 fc be, which you Brethren are now met to fay y with 
 <c a willing Mind ,* that they may begin a New 
 <c Tear with Thank/giving to God on your behalf. 
 <c I need not urge you to what you are fo r$ady of 
 u your felves. You are met for this very End, to 
 C fray us to accept the Gift, and to continue in this Fel~ 
 " lowfhip of miniftring to the Saints. Like Titus 3 
 <c I am defired mmy Turn to minifter unto thefnifli- 
 fc ivg in you the Grace, which God has long fincei 
 tc begun. And God Is able to make aU Grace to abound 
 
 c toward you, that ye always having Alfafficicncy in all 
 " Ihings, may abound to every good Word and Work . 
 t Now He that minijtreth Seed to the Sower, both mlni- 
 fc fter Bread for your Food y and multiply your Seed f own y 
 
 c And increase the Fruits of your Right eou(ne(s y being en~ 
 cc riched in every Thing to all Bountifulnefi, which 
 " caufetb thro us Thanksgiving unto God. 
 
^r*) flP^ ^*h fS3^ /Z& i f&\ ^\ f&*. *&^ fEfa &\ /Zfa ^%^. /f&$ ( 
 '^^"^\^^^\^^\^^^"^^^Sl} 
 
 ^J? 3va-7 j ^.3^Q'< ^^3X^7^ x^?^ a^*.-^ V^7t *Jg^3W7 a^g^3 vVjTy 4ii3^ 
 
 OUR 
 
 3j&erchandife and Hir& 
 
 HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 
 
 Ifaiah xxiii. 18* 
 
 'And her Merchanc/ife, and her Hire fbaft 
 be Holinefs to the Lord. 
 
 TR E is the City here 
 Ipokenof; and a very 
 good and great Word it i* 
 that is here fpoken of 
 her. It is a Prophecy of 
 the Convcrfion of the Ty- 
 nans by the preached Gof- 
 pel } and how they (hould 
 ufe their Wealth in the 
 Day when God Ihould 
 convert them. And what 
 is here written concern- 
 ing them is for our learning, being a Dire'&ion 
 and Precept to us, that our Merchandife and Hire 
 Ihould be Holinefs t$ the LorJ. 
 
 ft* 
 
2 Merchandife and Hire 
 
 Tyre was a Gentile City of great Antiquity > and Re- 
 nown for Trade and Wealth, fcituate on the Me- 
 diterranean ?./, near to the Lot of the Tribe of After. 
 It was built by fome Colony of the Zidonians, and 
 is therefore in our Context called the Daughter of 
 Zidon. 
 
 In David and Solomon's rime we find the Tynans 
 faithful Allies and Friends of IJrael. And as one 
 well obferves, a Trading Cities feldom prove dan- 
 " gerous Enemies to their Nei'bours $ for they ac- 
 " quire and maintain their Grandeur, not by the 
 " Conqueft of others,,but byCommerce with them. 
 
 The Inhabitants of Tyre were now grown the 
 mft skilful in Sea Affairs of any in the World. A- 
 bout the ninth Year of Hez,ekiab, Salmane&er the 
 ^Jjyrian invaded and befieged them both by Sea and 
 Land. By Sea they beat the AJJyrian and Hanician 
 Fleet of fixty Sail, with twelve Ships only This 
 gave 'em a Name for War as well as Riches, and 
 made ? em the Terror of the Ocean. The AJJyrian 
 Army then block'd 'cm up by Land ; for Old Tyre 
 was built upon the Cent in ent y and the <?M> City after- 
 ward upon an Ifland ; which Siege they bare for 
 five Years, and were at laft delivered by the Death 
 of Salntanez,er. Upon this Succefs they were pufFd 
 up with new Pride, and grew hau'tier than ever, 
 which provoked the Holy God to utter the 
 Burden and Prophecy againft them, in the Chapter 
 before us, wherein is foretold, i. The miferable 
 Overthrow of the Tyrians by Nt-buchadneZt&ar and the 
 Chaldean Army ; and 2. Their Reftoratien, like their 
 Nei'bours the Jews^ after feventy Years ; when they 
 fhould recover their ancient Liberty, Trade & Ricbts 
 again This is the Danger and Mifery of Places 
 cf Qomme rce, that as they grow rich and ofulwt they 
 
 alfo 
 
to the Lord. $ 
 
 alfo grow fcnfual, propbane and Infolent, unjuft and 
 unrighteous , and io forfeit the Bleffings of Provi- 
 dence, and Incur its dreadful Judgments j as Tyre 
 did. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar found it a hard peice of Work to 
 conquer Tyre *. He began its Siege about two 
 Years after the Deftrudion of JcrufaUm and the 
 Captivity of Judah. It held him thirteen Years be- 
 fore it was taken, when he took a terrible Revenge 
 and utterly ras'd it. An Account of this is given 
 us by the Prophet Ezektel, Chap. xxix. i/. 18. Son 
 of Man, Neluehadnezzer King of Babylon caufcd his 
 Army to ferve a great Service again ft Tyre ; every Head- 
 was made I'M and every Shoulder was peeled jet had, 
 he no Wages nor his Army for Tyre, for the Strvice that 
 he (erved agalnfl it. The fhort Account of this Mat- 
 ter is, " That the Tyrlans h'ndmg him too hard for 
 them by Land, while yet they were Mailers by Sea, 
 they built themfelves a new City on an Ijland about 
 half a Mile diftant from the Shore, into which they 
 removed the moft and beft of their Effects ,- Io that 
 when Nebuchadnezzar enter'd the old Clrj y after his 
 long Seige and hard Service of thirteen Years, he 
 found no Riches, no Spoil in the Place, to repay him 
 for his vaftExpence or to reward his Soldiers the 
 Inhabitants having pafs'd with their Scores into 
 the ntw City, which was afterwards a moft mighty 
 Maritime Power and Mart of the Nations, ftill caN 
 led TYRE; riling as a Phtsmx from the Aflies of 
 
 her Dam. It is probable, fays the noble Hlfto- 
 
 rian, that after the King of Babylon had deftroy'd 
 the Old 7ou>n, thole that rctir'd into the mw one 
 came into 7'erms and fubmitted to him and fo 
 
 * See the learned Dr. Prieleaux's Connexion of the Old and 
 
 New Teflt.-aent* 
 
 C continued 
 
4 Merchandise and Hire 
 
 continued in a ftate of Reftraint and Servitude to 
 the B ibylonians and Perjians for Seventy Years ; al- 
 the/ they were not captivated and difperfed, were 
 not earned away to kabylon andCkaldea, as the Jews 
 
 were. 
 
 \ 
 
 Such was the Accomplifhment of the Burden of 
 Tyre utter'd by Ifaiab\ So it was laidwafte, at which 
 all her Sbifs are call'd to hoivl. This was the End 
 of the joyous City, whofc Antiquity -was of ancient Days, 
 her own Feet carry 7 d her an>ay \ her Pride and High- 
 xefs of Spirit, the Sin of rich and thriving Places 
 did it I for it preiently runs a Place intolrreligion, 
 Senfuality and Unrighteoufnefs. The fame Pride, 
 thai caft down the Angels ; and deftroy'd Sodom ia 
 her Fulneis of Bread, leaving the polluted Cities as 
 the Iwagc on Earth of everlafting Burnings laid 
 Tyre, tbe crowning City, defblate whole Merchants 
 were Princes , and ber "Traffickers rbe honourable of the 
 Earth: The LORD OF HOSTS did it tofttin tbe 
 Tride of all Glory. 
 
 Thefe things are written for our Warning for a 
 warn'ng to the Maritime Powers of Europe, to Eng- 
 land and Holland in particular, on \vhvmtheEnds of 
 tht World are ewe. ^Q criminal is the Pride of Life 
 in the Eyes of a Holy God, and odious ! 'Sec 
 it in the Judgment of Tyre, as the moft eminent In- 
 ftance, E^ckiel xxviii- ink. " SVw of Man, fay to tbe 
 Prince of Tyre, Thus faitb tbe LORD GOD, Bccaufe 
 thine Heart is lifted up, And thou h&Jt fa id, I am a God, 
 (a kind of Ncvtune, God of the Seas) I fit in tbe Seat 
 of God, in the mid'} of the Seas : Tet thottart a Man and 
 9tot a God, tb& J thou fet thine Heart as tbe Heart of God : 
 Beheld tbou art wi/er than Daniel (who had it feems 
 fuch a Name and Fame for Wifdom, thro' the King- 
 doms and Provinces of the */, that it might pa^s 
 
 tor 
 
ffolinefs to the Lore?. y 
 
 for a Proverb among them, cc as -wife as Daniel) and, 
 with thy H'ifflom afidUnderJtanaing thou haft gotten thee. 
 Riches, Gold and Silver into thy Treasuries, and thy Heart 
 Is lifted up ; (art a. golden God in thy own Eyes, ma- 
 king thy Gold thy Hope, and faying to it, " Thou an 
 my Confidence ! ") Therefore thus faith the Lord God, Be- 
 hold I witt bring Strangers upon thee, the fernble of the, 
 Nations, and they foatt draw their Sivords againft the 
 Beauty of thy Wifdont, and they fiall defi 'le thy Rrigh^ 
 nefs ; they fliall bring thee down to the Pit, and thou jl alt 
 die the Deaths of the Slain in the midft of the Ssas : thott 
 Jbsilt be aMan and no God in the Hand of him that flayetb 
 thee. 
 
 All this God bro't on proud and hau'ty fyre for 
 her Sins. But in the Clofeof the Chapter, where my 
 fcxt is found, we have " a firne fix'd for the Con- 
 tinuance of her Judgment, and a Prophecy of the Re- 
 covery of her ancient Glory, " v. if. 2jre {hall be 
 forgotten feventy Tears, according to the Days of one King 
 after theEnd of feventyTears Jh*ll fjre {ing as an Harlot : 
 by the Days of one King we mult underftand the 
 Succeffion of one Family of theMonarchs of Babylon, 
 Nebtichadnez J '&ar, his Son and Grandfon ^ and by her 
 Jinging again as an Harlot,\ve muft underftand, " her 
 if Return to her State of former Vrofperity, Mer- 
 " chafidife and Traffic , and her ufing all Arts and 
 cc Means (as (he had done before) to draw Trade 
 cc and Cuftomers to her : Like as an Harlot that 
 <c has been fometime under Reftraint and Correc- 
 " redion for her Leudnefs, when {he is at Liberty 
 " again returns with a violenrBent to her old Arts 
 * of Temptation * j Such -was Tyre when at the End 
 of 70 Years (he recovered Freedom, Trade and 
 Riches. She did all fhe could to allure the Com- 
 merce of the Nations to her again ,* the fyrians 
 were as much fet upoa worldly Gains, were as in- 
 
 ___^^__ j _^^_^^^ M _ MJ ^^^^^,^^ M ^ 
 
 * See Henry in loc. 
 
 C ordinat* 
 
< Werchanc/ife and Hire 
 
 ordtnatein their Dcfire and Love of Wealth, and 
 in taking all Methods to get it, as they had been 
 before ; and rejoyced in their Acquifitions as hereto- 
 fore. This is the Harlotry here imputed to her, an 
 Inordinate Luft after Riches,, and Pleafure in it ; 
 which in Scripture is called ipiritual Fornication. 
 And accordingly the Prophet goes on to brand and 
 expofe fjre for her Love of Money, v. 16. cc fs.ke 
 an Harp and go about the City, thou Harlot that haft been 
 forgotten ! make facet Melody, Jing many Songs that thcu 
 way ft be remembred. Nothing can be more elegant 
 than this predicting" the various Artifices and even 
 dijhoncft Vraflices, whereby the City of fyre regain- 
 ing herLiberty, would return into her -wonted Com- 
 merce with all the Nations,, and entice the Merchants 
 of the Earth into their ufuai Dealings with her. 
 So jbe turn d to her Hire, and committed Fornication "with 
 all the Kingdoms of tbs World upon the Face of the Earth, 
 V. 17. 
 
 But then in the laft Verfi of the Chapter, which 
 is my fext, there is one Word of Good concerning 
 tfjre one Word of Grace refpefting her , and thtt is 
 " That having recovered her rich and opulent 
 State,* flme would come wherein She fhould make 
 a better Ufe of It than flie had done formerly $ (he 
 fhouid in Procefs of Time come to uje it nllgloujly, 
 to the Honour of God and In h'ls Service ; u Her Mer- 
 chand'ife and her Hire would then be Hollnefs to the 
 'Lord : And this is explained in the followingWords, 
 It fall not be treafured and laid up ; neither as Mifers 
 hoard up their Bags, nor as the proud and vain lay 
 but and lay up their Moneys in Fineries & Jewels 
 but " her Merchandise foall be for them that dwell be- 
 fore the Lord, for the Support and Maintenance of 
 -Rtl'gion and the Mini/ers of it , for them to eat fuf~ 
 ) and for durable Clothing. 
 
 What 
 
Holinefs to the Lorcf. j 
 
 What more could we hope to hear of Jerxfalcm 
 the Holy City, at any time ! or of any other City 
 of God in Gofpel Times ! What more than this, 
 " Her Merchandise and her Hire flail be HOLINESS 
 TO THE LORD ? The High Yrief of God, in 
 his Attire of Holinefs and Glory, on the great and 
 folewn Day, wore no more fared I*ffrifti$n than this 
 was ! yet this (hall be written on the Merchandise of 
 Tyre I marvellous Word \ written for the Generati- 
 ons to come, and that the People to be created JhouU 
 pralfe the Lord. 
 
 But when was this to be ? and wherein fliould it 
 be fo ? Why, In the Day when Tjre, and other 
 Nations, fhould come, i. Not to treafure up their 
 Gains, from a Spirit of Covetouihefs, or of Ambi- 
 tion and Pride, or of Confidence in their Riches ; 
 but 2. when their Gains by Trade ftiould be devo- 
 ted to God's Honour and employ'd in his Service, in 
 Works of Piety and Charity for the Eftablifhment 
 and Support of the H**fe and Worfiif of God, and 
 for the Relief of his Poor : for fufficient and durable 
 Food and Clothing for the Pajhrs and the Poor of 
 Chrift's Flocks. 
 
 But, was there e'ver fuch a Time as this, for New 
 Tyre ? and when was it ? I anfwer, There were 
 fuch Times and two Periods may probably be re- 
 ferr'd to ; 
 
 Firjl, The Time ofjudah's Return out of Babylon^ 
 when tho' the/eventy Years of fyre were not quite 
 expired, yet new fjre had attained more than fifty 
 Years Growth, and was able to furnifti the Jews 
 toward and affift them in their rebuilding of the City 
 and their /econd femfle. The fjrians adually did 
 this, partly in Obedience to the Editt of Cyrus, to 
 whom they were fubjeft, and partly from Intereft 
 
 and 
 
S Wlerchanc/ife and Hire 
 
 and Inclination, having been Fellow-Sufferers with 
 and in the Captivity of Judah, Accordingly we 
 read in the Book of Ez>ra, ot Mtat and Drink, and Oil 
 given to them of Zldun and o* fjre, to bring Cedar-^Trees 
 from Lebanon to the Sea of Joppa i according tv the Grant 
 by the Hand of Cyrus King of Perfia. Chap. iii. 7. So 
 early was the Merchandiie of new 3j*e Holinefs 
 to the Lord, for the rebuilding of his f*mfle, and 
 for the furnifhing of his Priefts and Worfl^perr. And 
 it is greatly to be obferVed to the Honour of tne 
 Syrians, 1 hat as the Fathers in old fj re had a fpe- 
 cial Hand in Materials for building the/r// Tem- 
 ple, fb had their Pojterity in the fecond. 
 
 "Butfecondfy, The Prophecy in my fext looks to be 
 fure to fome Time long after the Return of the J< ws 
 from fitibylon even to the Days of the Mjfiah and the 
 Converfien of fome in fjrt by the freached Go/pel* 
 The Prophecy plainly iuppoies that fjre would for 
 a /ow^Term of Years return into her old Courie and 
 Way of living, and continue Pagan; tho ; in a Way 
 ef&ttfch it might be friendly to the Jews their Nei'- 
 bours. In this there was little or no Religion , 
 their Idol Gain and worldly Wealth was ferved in 
 It. But in the Day of the Converfion of the Nations 
 to the Chriftiaa Faith 3 fyre alfo received the Gof- 
 pel. And then it was that her Merchandife and 
 Hire became Holinefs to the Lord, being ufed by a 
 Number of Gods choicn and called there in the 
 Services of true Religion *nd Godlinefs, the Support 
 of his Worfhip, Minifters and Poor. 
 
 In Nehemiafrs Time we read of the Men of Tyre 
 ^wetting at Jerufakm, and we may iuppofe from 
 that Time to the Day of Cbrift many a Gift and 
 Offering from Tyre to the Altar of God at Jerufa- 
 lem wherein the Words of David in the xlv T faint 
 might be fulfilled., as they doubtlefs were in his 
 own Day [[ The Daughter of Tyre flail be there with 
 a Gift. In 
 
Holiness to the Lord. 9 
 
 In drift's Time we find many of Tyre and Zldon 
 better difpofed to have received Him and his Gofpel 
 than the Men of Ifrael ; for if his mighty Works bad 
 been done among them they would have repented in Duft 
 and A^es. 
 
 In the Days and Mis of the dfoflles we find 
 Cbriftians&t Tire, Chap. xxi. 3, f. with whom Paul 
 tarried fevtn Days, and who thro 7 the Spirit warn'd 
 him of his Danger and Sufferings if he went up to 
 Jeruftlem $ and when he departed from them they 
 brot him on bis Way with their Wives and Children, fo 
 reverend and fervent was their Love to him for the 
 Gofpels lake, till be was out of the City, where they 
 kneeled down on the Shore and prayed, and took Leave 
 one of another. After this Chriftianity flourifticd in 
 this trading City, and then her Merchandise became 
 , in part; to the Worfhip and Glory of Chrif- 
 
 So that we plainly find in my Text, i. A Pro- 
 phecy of the Converfion of the Tynans. 2. How they 
 fhould then u[e their Wealth that it would be con- 
 fecrated toGod in piousUies^ and holy to his Worihip. 
 3. This Spirit and Example of the Tyrians is for the 
 Learning and Imitation of other Places, Cities and 
 Countrys, among the Gentiles. Let the Chriftians 
 of Tyre teach us, that where ever the Gofpel is re- 
 ceived, in the Love aud Power of it, it will bring 
 forth this good Fruit ; the Merchandife and Hire of 
 the People will be Holinefs to the Lord. " So 
 " Cbnftians ihould ufe their Eftates in the Service 
 
 of God, and unto pious Ufes, and count thatbeft 
 " laid tfp,which is fo laid out. Both the Merchan- 
 <c dife of the Men in Tr*de 9 and the Hire of the 
 fc Men of Labour, ftiould be devoted to God. The 
 * c Tytbe was fo under the Law, and there is a Due 
 (and (urely an equal one) under the Gofpel. 
 
 New Tyre has the Honour of teaching us this un* 
 der the New Tt/awent j and in all Places of the 
 
 World 
 
 cc 
 
i 6 Merchant/I fe and Hire 
 
 World, thro' all Ages, the Gofpel is to be thus ho- 
 noured. As it is written, Zech. xiv. 20. In that 
 Day there jhall be upon the Bells of the Horfes Holinefs 
 unto the Lord yea, every Pot In Jerujalem and injudah 
 {hall be Holinefs to the Lordof Hofts. 
 
 And here let me faufe and obferve to you. The 
 * Advantage that trading Places have beyond others by their 
 Merchandife and Commerce ; and th^ Obligation they 
 are under to improve their Advantages, for getting 
 and propagating the faving Knowledge and Worfnp of 
 God. This was Tyres Happinefs andBenefit by'her 
 Situation (otTrajpc* She was much the more known 
 tolfrael, and knew fo much the more of her God and 
 Worship, than other Places, Her Merchandife put 
 her in the Way hereof. Many a Man of Tyre went 
 a trading to Jeru[alem, and heard of the true God, 
 his Law to and his Works for Ifrael, and faw his 
 San ff nary, the Order and Worfliip of his Houie. 
 
 Many of the Jews alfo were led to Tyre by their 
 Trade, where they accidentally fpake of the Lerd 
 God of their Fathers, his Worfhip, Laws andWorks. 
 Other Places it may be took up ftrange and odd 
 Notions of that feparate People, as a fingular fort of 
 Folk - y but the Tyrians faw they were a wife and un~ 
 derfttnding People, had Statutes and Judgments rr.oft 
 righteous, and excelled other Places in Sobriety and 
 Juftice as well as in Devotion. And who knows 
 what Influence this might have on that Degree of 
 Union, which there w&sbetweenjerttfalem and Tyre 
 in the Days of David and Solomon ? i Kings v. 6. 
 My Servants JhaH be with thy Servants. 
 
 But this ? we know, That Christianity has been 
 greatly ferv'd by Trade and Merchandife , by means 
 whereof a greatPart of the World has beengofpelifed. 
 
 For 
 
Holinejs to the Lore/. it 
 
 For the Knowledge of Chrift has been propagated 
 by Trade far and near. The Earth and Sea have 
 thus help'd the Church, and as Daniel foretold it 
 would be,Many have run to and fro (erofs theOcean) 
 and Knowledge has been increafed. God has us d the 
 Loadftone and the Mariners Art in the Service of 
 Chriftj and the Ends of the Earth have feen his Salva- 
 lion. 
 
 And to add yet one more Benefit of Commerce ; 
 it enlarges Peoples Hearts to do generous Things, for 
 the Support of Divine Worfliip and Relief of the 
 Poor. We always fee moft of this in Places of 
 Trade. And fo it has been from the firit Days of 
 Tyre, of whom we read, " The Laughter of Tjrcfiatt 
 be there 'with a Gift : She/r/ and more free of her 
 Gifts than others. This is moft natural to Places 
 of Commerce; Something to give and a Heart to 
 give. May it be always found fo in frW/V/gplaces ! 
 but efpccially we wifh them a Heart to make the 
 beft Gift, Themfelves with their Eftates, and this in 
 the belt Manner as the Churches of Macedonia are 
 celebrated for ever for doing, 2 Cor. viii. i, f. 
 
 The Riches of tvhofe Liberality abounded In their deep 
 
 P0tr*rrf,praying the Apoftles with much Entreaty that 
 they would accept the Gift, and take upon them the Fellow- 
 fjip of mini firing to the Saints ; fir ft giving their own 
 Selves totheLord, and then to the Apoftles by the Will of 
 God. cc VVhenCon verts joyn themfelves to the Church 
 then they come with a Gift, devoting their Seed *n<l 
 Subftanee together with their Perlbns, Gifts and 
 Powers, to his Service and Glory. 
 
 It is high Time I now come to the Dotfrine which 
 my Text leads me to enlarge on, which is, 
 
 Cf That the Merchandise and Hire of a People, their 
 Trade and worldly Bufinefs, their Gains and Riches, 
 fhould be Hotincls to tbs Lord. 
 
 D The 
 
is Mercha'todie ^n Hire 
 
 The Enquiries under this Dottrlne muft be r. Into 
 the Meaning of the Phrafe., Hollnefs to the Lord. 2, 
 When the Traffic and Wealth of a People may be fo 
 called ? ;. Why it muft be fo ? 
 
 I The Meaning of this Phrafe, Hollnefs to theLord 
 muft be look'd into. And thtfirft time that we find 
 it us'dj than which there could not have been found 
 any more eminent, was the Divine Order concern- 
 ing the High Prlefts Veftments, his Garments for Glory 
 and Beauty, wherein be was to approach before the 
 Lord, and minifter unto Him upon the moft fohmn 
 Occafions : Exodus xxviii. 56, 37, 58. Tbw (halt make 
 #Plate ofpureGold, and grave upon it like the Ingr wings 
 ff a Signet, Hollnefs to the Lord : And thoti (halt put it 
 on a blue Lace, that it may be upon the Mitre, upon tbt 
 Fore-front thereof upon Aaron's Forehead, that he may 
 lear the Iniquity of the HolyThlngs whi-h the Children of 
 Ifraeljhall hallow In aft their Holy Gifts -, And It flail be 
 always upon his Forehead^ that they may be accepted be~ 
 fore the Lord. 
 
 Now we may obferve in this firft Appointment 
 of this Title & Infcriptlon,that it plainly was meant 
 to fignify, i. The infinite Holinefs of the God of 
 Ifrael, and of Chrlfl the great High Prleft of our Pro- 
 fejfion. 2.TheHolincfs of thePr left hood and Mini/ferial 
 Office, their fpecial Conficratlon to holy Miniftrati- 
 ons., and their fpecial Obligations to be Holy to the 
 Lord. ;. The Hollnefs of God's Worfiif, and that all 
 his People muft takeCare to be very holy in all their 
 Approaches to Him, in all the Inftltutions of his 
 Worihip. Pfalm xcix. The Lord Is great in Zlon,and 
 hl^h above all People : Let thempralfe thy great and ter- 
 rible Name, for It Is Holy ; Exalt the Lord our God, and 
 at bis holy #/# j for the Lord wr God is Holy. 
 
 So 
 
Holinefs to the Lor 
 
 So that in this Title Holinefs to the Lord we have 
 l. the Holinefs of God : 2. a Confecration to Him, 
 or theScparation of a Perfbn or Thing to boly Ufes : 
 3. Mtu*l Ufe and Imploymcnt therein ; and 4. in 
 a fpeciai Relation to his 
 
 i. Holinefs to the Lord fuppofes, and in the higheft 
 manner declares, as In fining Capitals of Gold 3 the 
 infinite, unutterable, incomparable, inconceivable 
 Holinefs of Jehovah, the only true God; that He is the 
 Holy One, and alone Holy, glorious in Holinefs, the 
 thrice Holy and there is none Holy like Him or be- 
 fide Him. This is his Glory in both Teftaments *, 
 in his Temple above and in that below : <c / faw the. 
 Lord fitting upon a Throne, high and lifted up, and his 
 Train filled the Temple : Above it flood the Serapbims, 
 covering their faces, andQwe cried unto Another andfaid, 
 Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hofls ! the whole Earth 
 is full of bis Glory. And if the blefted God were not 
 Himielf thus Hely, why and how fhould Perfons 
 and Things be called Holiness unto Him. 
 
 2", It fpeaks a Consecration of Perfons and Things 
 to God, a feparation of them to his more immediate 
 Service and Glory, to be of holy Ufe according to 
 his Will. So Aaron and the 'Priefrhoed were of old 
 feparated and devoted to God, and therefore had 
 this Name written on them, Holinejs to the Lord. So 
 the Sabbath is confecrated Time, and in the Hebrew 
 called Holinefs to the Lord, Exod. xxxi. 15*. In like 
 manner the very Fruit of the frees in the fourth Tear 
 were boly to praife the Lord withal: Levit. xix. 24. 
 The Hebrew Word is Holinefs ; being given to the 
 Triefts and to the Poor. And the fame is faid of the 
 Veffels of Silver and Gold, Brafs andiron, in Jerigo. 
 
 3< e ve y. , 9, 
 
 D ^ Jolh. 
 
7 4 Merchandise 'and Hire 
 
 Joftl. vi. 19. Thus Ifrael "was Hollnefs to the Lsrtl 
 (Jer ii. j.j by the Covenant ofdrftmcijion, their 
 Dedication to God therein ; and in like Manner 
 do all Chrifttan People by their Baftlfmal Dedication 
 to Gd wear the fame Words, as on their Fonheads. 
 
 But moreover, ;. Hollnefs to God imports the 
 't&ual Ufe and Improvement of Perfons and Things 
 in the Service of God and to hlsGlory. When Aaron 
 put on his Mitre it was actually to officiate before 
 the Lord. He was then in a more fpeeial manner 
 to intend, defign and act for., the fan&ifying God's 
 Jslame in holy M migrations. Defaffo there was 
 Hollnefs to the Lord in his right Difpofkions, and 
 Difcharge of his Office : Elfe the Priefthood and 
 \Voiftuppers profaned the Hollnefs of the Lord which 
 l>e loved. Mai ii. n. Otherwife, In their fet Office 
 ( fc in the Diicharge of their Office to which they 
 were fet apart ") they fanttlfed themfelves in Holinefs. 
 2 Chron. xxxi. 18. Then, and then only, were they 
 Hollnefs to the Lord, in Deed and in Truth. And 
 fo are we to Cbrift, if we are holy in Heart and 
 Life if we live to Him In all holy Confer fat f on 9 as in 
 pur bdptlfm we have bound our Selves. 
 
 4. And laftly. This Motto, Hollnefs to the LorJ, 
 lias a more particular Regard to thtM^orjhip of God, 
 his Minfjtry&vd Sanffuary, his Ordinances and In ft I- 
 tutions. So Ifrael as Worfhippers, and Aaron as a 
 Prieft, and the Sabbath as the Day of weekly Wor- 
 {hipj and the Firft-fmlts as offered in Worfhip,were 
 Dignified with this Style of Holy to the Lord. So 
 when u>e by the Grace of Gbd devote, ufe and ifri- 
 ploy our Souls and Bodies, our Gifts and Powers^ 
 pur Time and Eftate, in the Services of Religion, 
 and for promoting his Worfliip, they become Holl~ 
 'weft 19 the Lord We become in our ferfcns as 
 
"fJo linefs to the Lcrtf. 1 5 
 
 es of the living God, and God is fanttifed in us 
 as in them that draw nigh to Him and our Powers 
 of Mind and Body, with the Fruit of our Bodies, 
 our Time and Eftate, our Inttreft in the World and 
 our Influence among Men, are as fo manyOfferivgs to 
 jGod at his Altar, which confecrates the Gifts. 
 
 Having thus enquired into the Meaning of the 
 Phrale Hotincfs to the Lord, I come now to enquire, 
 
 II. When the Traffic *nd Wealth, Merchandise and 
 Bufinefs of a Peribn or People may be fo called ? 
 To which I anfwer in three general Heads, 
 
 i. When Men ferioufly devote, dedicate & con- 
 fecrate, firft Themfelves and then of their worldly 
 Subftance, a due Part, to the Glory and Service of 
 God. 2. When what is fo confecrated to God out 
 of our Eftates is abtually ufed and implcyed in hisSer- 
 yice, according to his Will, In Afts of Piety and Cha~ 
 rity. 3. Always provided that what we fo devote 
 and ufe is acquired honeflly & righteoufly inGod'sFear 
 and Way, and is given by us with a fpfritual Mind 
 and Heart. 
 
 I Then is our Merckandtfe and Trade, Wealth and 
 worldly Bufinefs, Hollnefs to the Lord y when we fe- 
 rioufly devote, dedicate and confecrate, a due Part of 
 our Subftance, together with our Selves, to the Glory 
 tnd Service of God. 
 
 Firft, I muft fay our Selves, for the Perfon muft be 
 facred and dedicated to God before his Eflate will 
 be fo,- the Perfon is firft holy and then hisG//>, This 
 is the Order of Nature and of Grace * : for which 
 
 * a Cor, viii. j. Matth, xxiii. 17. 
 
 is 
 
I 6 Merchandise and Hire 
 
 is greater, the Gift or the Giver ! how much lefs is 
 a Mans Eftate before God, than the Man himfelf ? 
 according to the Apoftles juft Eftimation of the Ma* 
 eedonlans and their mini firing to the Saints, c Who fir ft 
 gave their own Selves to tke Lord. God looks to a 
 Mans Heart and Soul in all his Offerings to Him, 
 whether of Praife or Alms. It is the Perfon who 
 wears upon his Forehead the Infer iption, Holme fs 
 to the Lord. If the Perfon be unholy before Him, 
 Us Sacrifice Is an Abomination. He profanes and pol- 
 lutes his own Gift , asCain did his Offering, bring- 
 ing it with a wicked Mind. If we have not given 
 our Selves, our Hearts to God, we may give all eur 
 Goods to feed the Poor, or give it to the Church, (for 
 Them that dwell before the Lord) and yet there will be 
 nothing of Holinefs in the one or in the other [|. 
 
 Yet the Eftate muft go with the Perfon, as it is 
 in Marriage ; and it has pleafed God to efpoufe un- 
 to Himfelf the Soul that gives it felf to him j / Z 
 am married to y OH } faith the Lord. 
 
 The /r/ Offering from Man that we read of, ac- 
 ceptable to God, was the Perfon with a part of his 
 Eftate I mean Abets Offering. C// alio bro't of 
 the Fruit of the Ground, but God had no Refptfl to 
 his Offering becaufe he had not firft given hlmftlftQ 
 Him. Abraham having refigned up Himfelf to the 
 Divine Will and Call, gave his Tytbe of till unto tfa 
 frleft of the moft Hlph God ; the famous Type of his 
 Lord and' Saviour, after whofe Order Chrift is a Trleft 
 forever; and he was blejfed by him. So Jacob 
 vowed, firft that the Lord foould be his God, and then 
 a Tenth of all that God fhould give him. So David 
 having firft render'd his Heart to God in Flames of 
 
 Cor. xiii. 4. * Jererji. iii. 44. 
 
 Pevotioq 
 
Holinefs to the Lore?. 17 
 
 Devotion, then gathered jaft Stores which he con- 
 fecrated for a Temple to theName of the Lord ; and 
 his Princes followed his Royal Example., i Chron. 
 Xxix. 1 6. 17. " O Lord our God, all this Store that we 
 have prepared cometh of thine Hand, and It if all thin* 
 ewn : I know alfo my God, that Thou triefl the Heart 
 and haft Pleafure In Uprightness : As for me In the Uf- 
 rightnefs of my Heart have I willingly offer d all thefe 
 Ih.ngs, &c. Here was rhe Offering 0f the Man af- 
 ter G<d's own Heart. And we find in the Gofpel 
 when the young Man came and offered Himfelf to 
 Chrift, our Lord demanded of him alfo the Ufe of 
 all his Eftatf, and he went away forrowfuL It is 
 added, for he bad great Toffejjions * : He might then, 
 one would think,have been the more ready to have 
 given freely to the poor out of it: Or 3 did he think 
 his Riehes of more Price than bimfelf? poor Soul ! 
 it feems as if he would not have offer'd himfelf to 
 Chrift, had he tho't himfelf half fb good as hisPof- 
 feflions 1 his going away forrowfnl fhew'd that he 
 was not fencer e in the Offer of Himfelf. On the 
 contrary Zaccheus being a fmcerePenitent, gave half 
 his Goods to the poor, and Chrift accepted of his Per-' 
 fon y and laid to him, " Salvation is come to thy 
 Houfe t- 
 
 So the frfl Chrlflians \\ when they had given up 
 Them/elves to Chrift in Baptifm, gave in all their 
 Goods into a common Stock. It was on an extraor- 
 dinary Occafion, and under an extraordinaryEffufion 
 of the Holy Spirit. The Churches Needs call'd.for it, 
 and the Spirit of God dire&ed to it. Ananias and his 
 Wife had only given their Names, not their Hearts ; 
 and keeping hack part of thePrice died for theSaen* 
 
 Matth. xix. 22. f Luke xix. 9. || Afts iy. 34, 
 
 V 
 
 , 
 
 lege 
 
i S Merchanc/ife and Hire 
 
 lege, and their Lying to the Holy Ghoft. On the con- 
 trary, the Macedonians, whofe Praife is in all the 
 Churches for Evermore, having given both their 
 Names and Hearts to Chrift, gave liberally of their 
 Eftates for the Relief of the poor Saints, even beyond 
 their Ability. Thus was their Merchandise Hohnefs 
 to the Lord. Neither will the Eftate do without 
 the Perfon, all his Heart and all his Soul ; nor the 
 Perfon do (if that could be) without the Eftate, 
 for it will go with the Heart and Love. But I 
 prevent my felf on the fecond Anlvver to the En- 
 quiry I am upon : 
 
 II. Our Merchandiie and Wealth isHolinefi to the 
 Lord, when what is confecrated and devoted out o 
 our Eftate, is adually u/ed and impioyed in the Ser* 
 vice of God, according to his Will. " When thou 
 voweft & Vow, defer not to fay $ why fiould God be an- 
 gry at thy Voice * ? Vow and fay to the Lord thy God I 
 let all that be round about Him bring Prefects unto Hint 
 that ought to be feared. Prefcnt thy Self, and then 
 remember that thou haft implicitly and virtually, 
 if not mod explicitly and exprefly, vowed to him 
 bis Dues out of thy Eftate. Bring fhefc Prefents to 
 Him as long as thou liveft, in their returning Sea- 
 fons, Better it is that thoufiouldeft not ww, than that 
 thou foouldeft <vow and nut pay. 
 
 It is to be feared that manyC/;r//?/^j do not eno' 
 apprehend and confider, that their worldly Eftatt 
 enters into their general Von> y and is always a Part 
 of it, in their Self -Dedication to God But God's 
 Part is holy to Him whether we confider it or no j 
 and if we re-nder Him his Part, the whole is lan&i- 
 fied unto us. There is not Holtnefs to God written 
 
 ! Ecclcf. v. 4) f> & P&lin 
 
 on 
 
to the Lore?. 
 
 on our Perfons, Faculties and Powers, nor on our 
 Eftate, till both one and the other are ufed to 
 holy Ends and Purpofes, in actual Miniftrations to 
 the Glory of God. But if we are actually honou- 
 ring God with our whole Man, Soul and Body, 
 the Powers of the one, and the Endowments of the 
 other, the Sfirit of the Living God dwells and rules 
 in us, and has graven en us, as in Letters of Gold, 
 Holinefs to Himfelf. And if we are honouring the. 
 Lord with our Sub fiance, and with the Firft-fruits of our 
 Increafe, we may read with Pleafure the fame I* fir if* 
 tion on our Eflates, & others may fee it on us, 2 Cor. 
 iii. 2. Te are our Epiftle written In our Hearts, known 
 and rtad of all Men : 71? are manifeftly declared to be the. 
 Epiftle of Chrift, miniftred by us, written not with Ink, 
 but with the Spirit of the Living God $ not in Tables of 
 Stone, but inflefoly Tables of the Heart \ 
 
 Now if it be ask'd, Wherein a Part of our worldly 
 Eftate is to be uid to the Glory of God t it is eafily 
 anfwer'd in the two general and known Inftancet, 
 Works of Piety and Charity. The frjt is the very 
 Thing in my Text, and the other is like unto It, and 
 never to be feparated , the /r/ is a more direct Ex- 
 preflion of Love to God, the other to our Neibour 
 on which two hang all the Law and the Prophets, and 
 confequently the whole of Holinefs to the Lord is 
 contained in them. 
 
 :# 
 
 Firfi then, Our Wealth and worldly Bufincfs is 
 Holinefs to the Lord, 'when with a true and right 
 Heart it is ufed and imployed in Works ofPitty to- 
 ward God, for the Support of his Worflrip. When it is 
 for them that dwell before the Lord to eat fitfficiently, and 
 for durable Clothing. That is to fay, When Men 
 make Conference of giving unto God a due Pro- 
 portion out of their Eftates for the Support of Re- 
 
 E 
 
so Merchanc/ife and Hire 
 
 ligion and the Maintenance of God's Mlnlfters, to 
 feed and clothe them, and that fufficiently and ho- 
 nourably ; eno' to eat of plentifully, and to clothe 
 their Families decently, and leave fomething to 
 them when they die . The Tithes of old were 
 
 fuch aProvifion for the Levites. And as they that 
 ferved at the Altar liv'd of it, fo has the Lord 
 ordained that they -who preach the Gofpel JhoM live of 
 the Gofpel, i Cor. ix. 14. The Bread of Mlnlfters is 
 the Bread of God, and we muft allow Him to be a 
 good HoufhoUer, & to keep a good Table. He does 
 not feed his Houlhold by Miracles, but by his reler- 
 ved Dues out of the Eftates of his People. He will 
 have it done by their Hands,that they may do Him 
 Duty and Homage, and pay him Tribute. There is 
 always a part of your Moneys, whereof he fays to 
 you, cc Wbofe Image and Sttperfcription is this ? and 
 you muft anfwer, It is Gods. Then render to Go A the 
 Things that are his. Matth. xxii 21. Do it by mi- 
 niftring out of your Eftates to his Houfe and Wor- 
 ihip, according to the Ability which he gives you. 
 
 When People expend prudently and pioufly for 
 the letting up, and carrying on, the Worjhip of God 
 where they live, or in other Places j or in fending 
 the Gofpel to People deftitute thereof, and perifh- 
 ing for lack of Knowledge ; and in making Provi- 
 fion for a more private Inftru&ion of Children in 
 fuch Places theirWealth in thisU/e of it becomes 
 Hollncfs to the Lord. It comes into a Relation to di- 
 vine Worfhtp, even as Aaron and the Holy Things of 
 old belonging to the Tabernacle. - . But unto fuch 
 Works of Piety for the Support of God's Worjhip, we 
 muft add 
 
 Secondly, Works of Charity and Mercy, which are 
 as much in themfelves, and render us as much, Ho- 
 
 ltne/4 
 
Holinefs to the Lorcf. 21 
 
 llnefs to theLord, as the other. Thcfe belong to the 
 fecond Table of the Law, as thofe to the frft- Pity to 
 the poor and needy, in Obedience t^ God & Con- 
 formity to Him, is Piety and Sanftlty in his Sight. 
 They are the Lord s Receivers as well as his Priefts, 
 and we have them always with us. And the pious 
 foor are among his fplritual Prie/ts, rich in Faith, 
 chofen of God and catted. He that gives to them, 
 for their comfortable Eating and Clothing, with a 
 right and charitable Frame of Spirit, lends to the. 
 Lord, And honours Him with his Subftance. Thefe are 
 fpiritual Sacrifices with which God is well fleafed. 
 There is Worfhip and Incenfe, an Odour of * fweet 
 Swell in them, as well as in Offerings at the Altar 
 of God. The Alms of Believers go up for a Memo* 
 rial before God, with their Prayers ; as did thofe o 
 Cornelius. The Great High Prieft, at the Gulden Altar 
 within the Fail, prefents the one and the other in 
 the Cloud of Incenfe 3 his own Merits & Interceffion. 
 He, the Holy One of God, was Holinefs to the Lori 
 above all the Sons of Men , and his Miracles of 
 Mercy were like his Prayers and Devotions beyond 
 number, and alike honorary to God. God will 
 have his foor fed, as well as his Mlnlfters. And why 
 not ? are they not together Heirs of his K'n^dom ? 
 and has hCfnot put them together again and^again, 
 the Levite and the Poor *, in his Peoples rejoicing 
 before him on hisfolewn 
 
 But give me leave more particularly to prove, by 
 three or four Arguments, that Works of Chanty to 
 the poor are proper Holinefs to the Lord. 
 
 I. They are Obedience to the Law of God which is 
 moft holy. The Wort of God is the Rule of Holi- 
 
 ! Deut. xvi. Jfi, 14, *jm. u. 13, 
 
 E z Rft| 
 
22 Merchancfife and Hire 
 
 nefs, and one of its grand Rules and Laws to us i$ 
 jllws-dteds, and a6j:s of Charity. Theie arc an e- 
 roinent Branch of that Holimfs which the Lord re- 
 quires, ech vii 9. Thus faith the Lord, Shew Mercy 
 every one to his Brother. Only let what we do be done 
 in Obedience to God, for his Glory, and with a 
 pure Kefped: to his Will, not to befeen of Men ; ha- 
 ving true Compajfion one of another, loving as Brethren, 
 fit if #1, courteous, tender-heart ed\\ $ otherwise there is 
 no Hollnefs to the Lord, nor Reward frpm our Fa- 
 ther that is in 
 
 2. T> give to the poor out of our Eftates is Holt- 
 Ttefs to the Lord, becaufe it is ourConformity to God and, 
 Cbrift in their Bounties and Mercies to tfje indigent anel 
 wiferable. Conformity to (he Holy God is Hollnefs, 
 but Covif*]Ji',n and Mercy to the poor is Confor- 
 mity to God , "who maketh his Sun to rife and bis Rain 
 to fall on the evil and on the good , Be ye therefore per- 
 feft as your Father in Heaven is perfett. Mat.v. 45^48. 
 So Cbrift approvedHimfelf to be the Holy One in the 
 Days of his Flefh, by filling up his Life with Ads 
 Of God-like Chtrity andMercy. They cried after Him, 
 laid themfclves in his Way, and he heakd them all. 
 This was Hvlinefs to his father, and in the Sight of 
 Men., and we Ihould lay up in our Hearts his me- 
 iporable Words, Ads XX. 35-. It is mere blejjed to give 
 than to receive. 
 
 * A right and charitable Difpofition is the Fruit 
 tf the Holy Spirit in us, & therefore can be no other 
 than Holinefs to the Lord. " The Ftuit of the Spirit is 
 Love t. There is much of the Spirit of God in 
 Bpwels pf Pity to one another. " If there be any 
 
 Matth. vi. i. i Pet. Hi. 8. Ephef. iy. 32. f Gal. V. 32. 
 Phil. ii. j. Col. iij, is. 
 
Holinefs to the Lord. 23 
 
 Fettowflrip of the Spirit, If any Bow eh and Mercies. 
 Communion of the Holy Ghof, and thcCommunion 
 of Saints j.s experienced & exhibited in thefeBowels, 
 which we are therefore exhorted to put on, as the 
 Elctf of God, holy and beloved ^ and becaufe this Cha- 
 rity is the Bond of~Perfettnefs. Sec the Argument and 
 Demon/lration of the Apome James on this Head, 
 Jam. ii. iy, 16. If a Brother or Sifter be naked, an 
 deftitute of daily Food $ and one of you fay unto them 9 
 Depart in Feace^be you 'warmed & fitted : notwithftand* 
 ing ye 'give them not thofe Things which are needful to 
 the Body ; -what doth it profit ? q. d. WhatFruit,what 
 Evidence of any true Holinefs is there, in a Soul or 
 Life deftitute of the Fruits 
 
 4. Is the Sabbath and its Worfoif Holinefs to the 
 Lord ? So are Charities and Mercies. There is fuch 
 uStnttity in theie, that they belong to & are a Part 
 pt the S*ntfipf*tio* of the Sabbath. Yea fuchRegard 
 is had by God to an A& of Mercy to our poor 
 Nei'bour, that He has made his own Worfhip to 
 vail and give place thereto for the Time *. cc Go 
 ye and learn this, I witt have Mercy and ntt Sacrifice. 
 Which of you having an Ox orAfs fallen into a Pit, will 
 not ftraightwty full him out on the Sabbath day ? And if 
 a good and devout Man muft fhow this Mercy to 
 Jiis Brute-Creature on the Sabbath day, the Holinefs of 
 God dire&ing him io to do how much more muft 
 fcot A&s of Companion and Mercy to our poor and 
 needy Brethren, and to the neceffitous Members of 
 Jefus Chrift, be efteemed by the Lord of the Sabbath 
 to be Holinefs to himfelf? The Zealfot God'sHoufe 
 and Day eat up our Holy Saviour, but more his Zeal 
 for an A& tf' Mercy to a poor Woman ; Luke xiii. 
 I o 3 17. He was teaching in one of the Synagogues on 
 
 * Mat A. xii. 7. Luke xiy. 5. 
 
 the 
 
Merchandise and Hire 
 
 the Sabbath-day, and behold there was a Woman which 
 bad A Spirit of Infirmity eighteen Tears y and was boweA 
 tevether, and could in no wife lift upberSelf: An A when 
 Jefus faw her. he called her to him and f aid to her, WQ- 
 wan thoti art loofed of thine Infirmity ! And he laid his 
 Hands on her^ and immediately (he was made ftralght^mel 
 glorified God. Tell me now which was molt Holi- 
 vefs to the Lord, the Sermon of Chi lit on that biefled 
 Sabbath, or this his Ad: of Healing the poor Wo- 
 man ? truly both alike. 
 
 Moreover, Offerings out of our Eftates, and C<?/- 
 le&ions for the poor, do both belong to the Jewyk 
 of God and to his Sahbaths. St Luke tells us of a 
 Treasury \\ of God in the Temple of Old, and that on 
 a Time as Cbrift was looking on the rich Men that 
 caft their Gifts into the Treafury, he faw alfo a cer- 
 tain foor Widow who threw in two Mites, and faid, 
 " Of aTruth She has caft in more than they aU. bo from 
 Heaven the Lord Jejus ftill looks with Approbation 
 and Pleafure, on the free-will-Offerings of his Wor- 
 ihipers in his Houfe of Prayer, on Lord's Days and 
 at other appointed Times , che pocnr as well as the 
 rider. . And fo near a Kit* are God's Worfrip and 
 Contributions for the poor, that they are joyned by 
 the Lord in Affinity., and equally declared to be Ho* 
 linefs to Him, in that sJpoftolical Conflitution and Di- 
 re&ion * 3 " Now concerning Gjlletfions for the Saints y 
 as I have given Order to thcChurches of Galatia, fo do ye 
 Upon the fir ft Day of the Wetk let every one of you lay Ij 
 him in Store, as God hath proffer d him, &C Your 
 Prayers andHearing the Word this Evening f are not 
 more Holinefs to 'he Lord than your Cotteftion is. The 
 
 jj Luke xxi. i, 2, 3. 
 f At a quarter Meeting for Charity the Lord d*y Evening, 
 March 6. 1716. 
 
 fame 
 
ffolinefs to the Lord. $ 
 
 fameGod has fa;d to us, " Remember the S Math-day 
 to keep it holy, and hath alfo faid, c t o do Good and 
 to communicate forget not 3 for with fucb Sacrifices God Is 
 
 $. And laftly, The Promifes made byGod to thofc 
 that are merciful and bountiful to the poor, do a- 
 bundantly declare that there is Holincfs to the Lori 
 in true Ads ot religious Charity and Mercy. He 
 that is Holy would not be fb well pleafed with our 
 Charities to ths poor and needy, if there were not 
 tnuchHjlinefs. in them. He has therefore blejjed the 
 tnercirulj and laid that they fall find Mercy. He is 
 not uniigtotcous to forget this Work and Labour of Lo~Jt. 
 Net that there is any Merit or Defert herein, but 
 there is of his own Holinefs in it. If it were not fo, 
 dims would never come up for a Memorial before 
 Him. Nor would they be fb remembred,mention'd 
 and rewarded in theDay of Judgment, as Chrift has 
 told us they will be ; " Then (hall the King fay to them 
 en his right Handy Come ye bleffed of my Father, inherit 
 the Kingdom prepared J or you from the feundation of the 
 World j for I -was hungry and ye gave me Meat, thirfty 
 and yt gave me Drink, a Stranger and ye took me In 3 
 'naked and ye clothed me, &c. Thefe high and ever- 
 lafting Rewards of the Charities of baints^provethem 
 to be Holtvcfs to the Lord. Bleffed and Holy is he that 
 tas Part in theie Promiles *. 
 
 And thus we have feen that the altualUfe & Im~ 
 frovement of ur Eftates in the Service of God, in 
 Works of Piety and Charity, renders them Holinefs 
 to the Lord. But there muft be fomething added 
 by way of Caution and Limitation, and that is 
 
 f Marth. v 7. Heb. yi- Jo. Aft$X. 4. Matth. xxv. 3 * 
 Key. xx. 6. 
 
 HI. Always 
 
a 6 Mefchanc/ife and Hire 
 
 HI. Always provided that what we fo devote and 
 ufe is acquired honeflly and rtghtewjly in the Fear of 
 God and* in his Way ; and is given by us 'with a fpi- 
 rltutl Mind) Heart and Affection. 
 
 i. What we have and give muft be gotten in God's 
 Way, which is the Way of Hollnefs. If we go out of 
 that we fin, and whatever we get in finful Ways is 
 neceflarily unholy before the Lord, and abominable 
 in his Eyes. Now that what we get may be ac- 
 quired in God's holy Way, 
 
 Flrfl y Our Dependence muft be oti God for his 
 Bkjfing to make our lawful Endeavours profpcrous ; 
 For it is the Bleffing of God that makes rich, and it 
 Is He that gives usPower to get Wealth it is therefore 
 frofbane and unholy to a&in our worldly Bufinefs but 
 with a Dependance on the Governing and over- 
 ruling Providence of a wife and Sovereign God : 
 James iv. 14. Go to now you that fay, To Day or 
 to Morrow we will be here or there, do this or that, 
 and make Gain ; Whereas ye ought to fay, IftheLord will 
 we (hall do fo. Let Jacob teach us how to begin 
 and go thro' the World: Gen. xxviii. 20. If God 
 will be with me In the Way I go, and give, me Bread t9 j 
 eat and Rtlment to fttt en. 
 
 Secondly, We muft daily commit our worldly Af- 
 fairs toGod in Prayer, and more efpecially atTirnes 
 our more important Concerns and Interefts. Our 
 Lord has taught us to bring thefe before God in 
 our Prayers : We pray for them in that Directory or 
 Form for Prayer which he has given us, the fourth 
 Petition in it. We pray cc that of God's free Gift 
 Cf we may receive a competent Portion of the good 
 <f Things of this Life, and enjoy his Bleffing with 
 ^ them, It is greatly for the Glory of God, and 
 
 foe 
 
Holinefs to the Lord. 27 
 
 for our temporal Intereft and daily Comfort that 
 we daily pray for God's gracious Direction to us 
 in, and for his Bleffing on our worldly Bufmefs : 
 * c Jhat the Lord thyGod way bkfs Thee in all the Works 
 of thy Hand. So Ifaac pray'd for his Son, " God 
 give Thee of the Dew of Heaven, find the Fulnefs of ths 
 *Earth, and Plenty of Corn and Wine. And fo Jacob 
 prayed for himfelf, sc If God will be with me in the 
 W' a y I P 5 a *d give me Dread to eat. And fo Mofes for 
 the Tribe of Lev!, cc Blcfs, Lord, bis Subjtance : The 
 lefs it is, the moreW to pray over it for theBlef- 
 fing of God can make a little go far. The wife^wr 
 has taught us whai to pray for, " Feed me -wlthFocd 
 convenient for me. He is unholy & prophane whole 
 Prayer is not to God his Heavenly Father, fvr tbefe 
 Things *. And they are fan ft I fed to us by Prayer, 
 which makes them Hollnefs t& the Lord. 
 
 Thirdly, We muft keep from every finful & wicked. 
 Way in our worldly Acquifitions and Enjoyments, 
 and govern our Selves by the holy Laws of Ju'Hce 
 and Righteottfnefs, Sobriety and Temperance, and uni- 
 vcrfal Obedience to the Divine Law. Elfc all is un- 
 holy and unclean, and we forfeit God's Bleffing 
 and provoke his Curie, It is only fincere, hearty, 
 univerfal and perfevering Obedience to the holy 
 Commandments of the Lord our God, that will 
 render us holy and acceptable in his Sight. Deut. 
 XXViii. I, 2 3 3. If tbou (halt hearken diligently to thtVolce 
 * c of the Lerd thy God, to obferve and do all his Com- 
 fc manJmcntS) attthefe Blejfings (hall come on thee, . 
 
 * c BleJJed foalt thou be in the City and bleffed in theField ! 
 " bleffed the Fruit of thy Body and theFrult of thyG round ! 
 J c bleffed thy Basket and thy Store J blefjed fialt thoti 
 
 Deut. xiv. 19. Gen. xxvii. 28. xxviii. 20. Deut. xxxiii. 
 l. Froy. xxx. 18. Match, vi. 32. i Tim. iv. 5. 
 
 F be 
 
28 Merckancfife and Hire 
 
 " be 'when thou comeft in, and bleffed when thou 
 * c out. 
 
 Fourthly, In Cafe a Perfon have acquired Riches 
 in any unjuft and unrighteous Manner, by Deceit and 
 Fraud, or by Extortion and Opprejfion ; he muft make 
 his Peace with God by Repentance, with deep Humilia- 
 tion before Him for his Wickednefs and if it be in 
 his Power he muft make Reftltutlon $ which if he 
 cannot do to thtPerfbns wronged let him do it to the 
 foor, befeeching God to pardon him for Cbrift's fake 
 and accept his Offering ; and then his Merchandise 
 and his Charities mall be yet Hellnefs to the Lord,not~ 
 withftanding his paft Unrlghteoufnefs and Sin. See 
 the Cafe of Zaccheu*, Luke xix. 8. And Zacchtus 
 food and fald before the Lord, (c Behold, Lord, the half 
 ic f m y Goods give I to the poor' and if I have taken 
 " any Thing from any Man by falfe Accufatlon, I reft or t 
 cc him four- fold : And Jefus fald unto him, This Day is 
 * c Salvation come to this Houfe.- " When true Faith, 
 Repentance and new Obedience comes to aHoufe, 
 Salvation comes to it, however great the Sins of ic 
 had been before. Zaccheus had been a Publican and 
 an Extortioner, exacting more than was his right. 
 <c Thofe Publicans had the Ear of the RonianGover- 
 nours, and by a falfeAccount of Perfons andThings 
 could eafily be injurious. This Chief among the 
 Publicans was alfo anfwerable (it is to be feared) for 
 many Abufes of Power by thofe that were under 
 him But he here flood a Penitent before Chrift, 
 confeffing and feeking Mercy. A Change of Heart 
 and Way, and fruits meet for Repentance, appear 
 in his Words. " A very large Proportion of thefe 
 cc ill-gotten Goods he fct apart for Works of Piety 
 cc and Charity. He could not refund to the Men 
 in Trade and Merchandife, whom he had wrong'd 
 in the Seat of Cuftom ; They were gone hither and 
 
 thither 
 
Holinejs to the Lorcf. 2? 
 
 thither, and he knew 'em not nor was like to fee 
 fome of 7 em any more : to thole he could find he 
 reftored four-fold, theRefidue he reftored tothePoor; 
 and Chrift accepted him as a humble Believer and 
 true Penitent, a Sen of Abraham. Thus what we 
 get muft be in God's Way, the Way of Holintfs. And 
 then 
 
 2. We muft ufe it with a fpiritual Heart and Mind. 
 As, (to add unto much that has been already faid) 
 We muft daily praife and blefs God for dully Bread, 
 for all ourReceipts and Increafe ; we muft give Him 
 the Glory and render Him our Thanks ; " O God, I 
 am not 'worthy of ths lea/} of all the Mercies, and of all 
 the Truth, 'which thou haft flowed unto thy Servant \ for 
 with my Staff If ajjed over this Jordan } and now I am 
 he some two Bands, This was Holinefs to the Lord. 
 We muft earneftly dejlre and ferioufly refolve, by the 
 Grace and Help of God, to [ewe Him in Righteouf- 
 nefs and Holinefs before him, and with gladnefs of 
 Hearty with all the Good Things that a bountifulGod 
 ftiall ice fit for us 3 that the Lordfljall be our God, and 
 we will live devoted to him, and lay out our felves 
 to glorify him, and make it our Meat and Drink to do 
 
 his mil. This will be Hollnefs unto Him The 
 
 Abundance of all Things which the Lord our God may 
 give us richly to enjoy muft be Co far from charming our 
 vain Minds and chaining them down to the Things 
 of Earth and Senfe, that we muft indeed make Ar- 
 guments and Motives of them, to raife ourHearts un- 
 to and/* them on theThings that are unfeen,y/>H~ 
 tual and heavenly. cc From Men of the World which 
 
 cc have their Portion in this Life -As for me, I will 
 
 c behold thy Face in Right eoufnejs ! I foal I be fat is fad 
 
 e when I awake in thy Likenefs. C( Many there be that 
 
 fC f a j) Who will jhew us any Good ? Lord, lift Thou up 
 
 I! the Light oftkj Countenance upon us / Thou haft put 
 
 F 2 << Gladneft 
 
go Merchandise and Hire 
 
 (C Gladnefs In my Heart, mwe than in the 'Time that tkeir 
 c: Corn and their Wine Increased *. . Again, We 
 
 mult be ready, thro' Grace, to part with, andfubmit 
 to the Will of God in the lofs of all worldly Things ; 
 learning In what fatter State -we are therewith to be con- 
 tent, both how to be abafed and to abound^ to be full and 
 to be hungry. Let this be our Frame and Temper in 
 the Acquifkion andUfe of our worldly Eftate, and 
 .G od will write Holinefs unto Himfelf on us and it. 
 
 Only it mult be added, to the Glory of Chrift, 
 That our Per fins and our Efiate are Holinefs to the 
 Lord only by Faith In his Holinefs and Right eoufnefs 9 
 who is our Great High-PrieJt within theHolj of Holies, 
 ever living to make Inter ceffion for us, in whom and 
 for whofe Sake it is that repenting believing Sin- 
 ners are accepted as Holy in the Sight of God. Aaron 
 within theyail was the eminent^/u? of Jefus entring 
 *by his own blood. He is of God made to us Holinefs, 
 and we the Holinefs of God in Him. He y the Holy One 
 of God was made / for us, that we Sinners may by 
 Faith in Him become Holinefs to the Lord. With 
 the Heart Man believeth in Him untp Righteouf- 
 jiefs, and God is f an ft i fed therein while his Mercy 
 abounds unto the Chief of Sinners. Coming to Him, 
 we are built up a fpiritual Houfe^ a holy Priefthood. As 
 He went to the Crofs, he faid, cc For thtir Sakes I 
 janffify my Self, that they 'may be ftn&ifed. He was 
 ftp xr ate from 5/X tnat we nia Y corne boldly to the Throne 
 *f Grace (|. Bear this in Mind, That no Saint is Hp- 
 linels to theLord from any lnhercntHQ\ii\t($ in him, 
 nor /or any Works of Rigbteoufnefs done by hint, but for 
 the peried and glorious Holinefs of Chrlft Beckon 'd 
 to him. 
 
 * Pfalm Iv. 6. xvii. ult. Phil. iv. rr. J! Hebrews x. Jp, a j 
 i Cor- v. :i- J Pet. ii. 4, 5. Heb. vii. 26. Phil. iii. 9. 
 
 And 
 
 
 
 mm 
 
Holiness to the Lord. 31 
 
 And having thus faid, When theTraffic& Wealth 
 of a People is Hoiinefr to the Lord, I come (as was 
 propofed) in the third and laft place to enquire, 
 
 III. Why it muft be fo ? Why our Mtrclandife and 
 Hire fhould be bro't, with our Selves, under a holy 
 Consecration to God, and Uft for Him. 
 
 I might eafily enter into, and enlarge on, many 
 Reafons of this Duty, which are alfo Motives to it, 
 and muft pray you to give 'em a juft Confederation, 
 and fo make th explication of all that has been faid 
 every one to himielf. 
 
 I.It is the bigheft End & be ft Ufe of Man and of all 
 that belongs to him, his fr(t and /^/End, to be Holy 
 1o God. " The Earth is the Lord's, and theFidneft there- 
 of, the World and they that dwell therein. The Hea- 
 vens, with all their bright Inhabitants, ferve to no 
 higher End. " Angels are miniftringSp irits, fent forth 
 te mini ft tr to the Heirs of Salvation from this Earth 
 of ours. Thofe Watchers and Holy Ones on High 
 ufe and imfley all their Powers and Riches, in Boun- 
 ties to the poor and needy Children of Men, the 
 poor Saints below. And can we do better than They 
 to ferve the Ends of Holiness, and the Glory ofGod ? 
 fc Whether they be Thrones,or Dominions or Principalities y 
 or whether we be higher or lower in Rank andE- 
 ftateon Earth, all are created by Him and for Him $ t& 
 Whom be Glory for ever *. 
 
 2-Thi s is therefore the prefer it ed, cemwanded Ufe of 
 our worldly Riches,that they be holy to God. "This 
 is the Witt of God in Chrifl Jefus concerning us, and Our 
 
 * Pfalna >xiv. a. Heb, i. 14. Daniel iv. 13. Col. i. 16 
 
 SanAificatioa, 
 
 
 
3 2 MerchanJife and Hire 
 
 San&ification. God cannot will letter concerning 
 ns ? than that we and all that belongs to us be My to 
 Him. This is hh good and acceptable, his royal anel 
 ferfett Witt. Let us put our Amen to it and fay, 
 " Father, thy Will be done on Earth as It is in Heaven [| 
 
 **" 
 
 ;. It is the greateft Honour and 'Dignity put on us, 
 and our worldly State, that we and that \>t Holinefs 
 to the Lord. cc This Honour have all the Saints, and 
 only They ; pralfe ye the Lord \ The Glory of God is 
 his Holiness. He is the High and Lofty One, whole 
 Name is Holy *. A Ray from his excettentGlory fhines 
 on Angels above,, and on Saints on Earthed makes 
 them Stars in his Firmament. This was the peculiar 
 Honour of Ifrael, " Te Jhall be a holy "People unto Me. 
 God has not a brighter Stone in his ownCrown than 
 his Holinefs, nor a brighter Crown for the Head of 
 Creatures than to make them holy. 
 
 But it is remarkable, and the World may well 
 
 wonder at the Bcaft, That the vaineft and -proudeft 
 Creature on Earth affe&s this facred & lofty Style, 
 His Holinefs ! He takes the Name of God in vain, in 
 the moft horrid and monftrous manner, and the 
 Lord will not hold him guilt lefs. The Man of Sin 
 calls himfelf HisHolinefs 1 was ever any thing more 
 ab(urd, and yet more natural ? Only the Man of Sin 
 durft take the molt bleilcd and incommunicable 
 Name. The jealous God will confume that wickedOne. 
 Nothing on this fide Hell can be further from the 
 Holinefs of God. t The Scarlet Whore, drunken with 
 the Blood of Saints, impudently and biafphemoufly 
 calls hcrfelf His Holinejs ! Monftruw, lnforme y ingens! 
 
 \\ i Thef. v. 1 8. iv. 3. Rom. xii. 2. Jam. ii. 8. i Pet. ii. 9, 
 * Ifai.lvii. 15. Dan. xii. 3. Deut. ii. 21. t 2 Thef. ii. 
 
\Holinefs to the Lore/. 
 
 No, the Honours of Heaven go with the poor In Spi- 
 rit, the meek and lowly and merciful. All the 
 Riches and Dignities of Kings are below thefe poor 
 of Chrift's little Flock, to Whom it is the Pleafurc 
 of the Father to give the Kingdom. 
 
 4. Our worldly Goods will be vilely abufed to the 
 Difoonour of God, and the Hurt of our Selves and o- 
 thers, if they be not holy to God. They are the 
 Mammon of Unrlghteoufnefs for want of this,and gen- 
 der to all UngddUmft. They become a Provifion 
 for the Flcfato fulfil tbcLufts thereof '; the Fuel of Pride 
 and Vanity, Gluttony and Drunkennefs, Lewdnefr 
 and Uncleannefs. Or thro' Co'vetoufnefs they be- 
 come Idolatry. The Love of Money Is the Root of all 
 Evil, Sin and Sorrow, to our Selves and others ; 
 ruinous to our own Families,and alfo to our Nei"- 
 bours, by Diftioaefty and Unrighteoufnefs, Deceit 
 and Fraud, Extortion and Oppreffion. For where 
 Charities and Mercies fail, and Works of Piety,the 
 forenamed odious Vices grow up in their ftead, of- 
 fcnfive to God and Man , Roots of Rltternefs, bearing 
 Gall and Wormwood, all manner of Corruption and 
 Iniquity,Calamity and Mifchief. But let ourMer* 
 chandife and Hire be holy to God> and all this is pre- 
 vented, and our Goodnefs extendeth to the needy and 
 the excellent of the Earth, In whom jheuld be all our De- 
 light and we become Eyes to the blind, and Feet to 
 the lame, and Fathers to the poor, and abundant Mlcf- 
 fings in our Generation *. 
 
 $. The Merchandife and Hire of Perfons and 
 Places fhould be Holinefs to the Lord, that the Lord 
 their God may blefs them In att the Works of their Hands. 
 
 * P&Un xyi. 2. Jobxxix. u, it. Philem. v. 7. 
 
 The 
 
34 Merchanctife and Hire 
 
 The Way of Holinefs is the Way of BkJJlng. Goi 
 has promifcd to blefs hisPcople in this his required 
 Way. It is He chat gives us To-wer to get Wealth. 
 Read his Promifes to an Obedient holy People, 
 Deut. xxviii. " All thefe HkJJings flail come upon thec, 
 Bleffed fialt thou be in the City and in the Field ^C. 
 He has threatned to curfe an unholy People in the 
 famelnftances. If he blow upon 'em they are blafled. 
 God juftly iwpoverifoes the Places that rob him of 
 his Offerings and Alms. To with-hold his Dues 
 tends to Poverty. But prove me now y faith the Lord,if 
 I do not pciur out a, Blejfing, when you pay to Me and 
 mine my Part out of your Eftates f. " Alas ! fays 
 * c an excellent Divine, that Men have generally fo 
 cc little Faith in God's Providence or Promifes ! 
 " Few believe Him when he fays, " Let there be 
 <c Meat In my Houfe that there may be eno 7 in your 
 " own ! few can truf God as to the Gains of Piety 
 ? and Charity. 
 
 6. Our Mcrchandife and Hire ftiould be holy to 
 
 God, that fo his ffiritualBleJflng ma y ctme on our Seuls. 
 
 This lies efpecially in a fpiritual Mind, and hea- 
 venly Affedions,and theComforts of Grace : Thefe 
 arcthcperfeft Gifts from the Father of Spirits, and 
 are more (infinitely morej than ail prefent Riches. 
 God gives the Power to eat our Bread, and ufe it 
 bolily. To him that has this Heart, he will add 
 more Grace. He (hall increafe with the Increafings 
 efGod. Thus the liberalSoul is made fat inSpimuals, 
 and ht that watereth is watered wain. And well re- 
 
 O 
 
 paid is he that/iw>e.f in worldly Things, and reaps in 
 Spiritual : Like the Woman of Samaria who gave 
 Chrift a Uttle common Water,and received of Him. 
 
 f Deut. xxviii. 15, 16, 17* Hag, j. 9, Proy. *i. 24, 
 Mai. iii. 8, *2* 
 
 a 
 
jHolinefsto the Lord. 
 
 a Well of living Water, within her Self, ff ringing up 
 into everlafting Life. i 
 
 7. Let your Merchandife and Hire be Holinefs 
 to the Lord, And you fly all have Riches in Heaven. So 
 our Lord propofed to the yeung Man that came to 
 him. The Promifc is, (C He that (oweth to the Spirit , 
 Jhall of thsSpirlt reap Life Everlafting. The Promifes 
 of this Nature are multiplied (| in the Book of God, 
 becaufe our carnal Minds are fo averfe to the Be- 
 lief of them. But will Chrift fail us in aPoint that 
 he has fo often repeated ? He has faid, " Thy Father 
 cc which fees In fecret will reward thee openly. Thou. 
 " foalt be recompenfed at tke Refurreliion of the Juft* 
 " Make to your felvcs Friends of the Mammon of Un~ 
 Cff right coufncfS) that when ye fail they m*y receive you. 
 " into everlafting Habitations. Provide Bags which 
 u wax not oldy a Treasure in Heaven that faileth nof 9 
 cc where no Thief approacheth, nor Moth corrupteth. . * 
 Thefe are true Sayings of God, He is faithful ihat 
 hath.promifid. Both in our Devotions and Cha- 
 rities we mould have Refpect unto the Recompenfe of 
 Reward : Knowing (fays the Apcftle) that in Heaven 
 ye have a better and mere enduring Subjtance Cafl net 
 away therefore your Confidence which hath great Recom* 
 pence of Reward. 
 
 You muft be juft to God and your Selves, and 
 make theie Riafons of your Duty fo many Motives: 
 to it. 
 
 You fee i. That the meanefc Things may be of 
 good and great Ufe to the Glory of God - and the 
 moil contrary Things be made to turn to our Salva- 
 tion. We may (o ferve God and our Selves o 
 
 * John iv. 14. Prov. xi. 25. Gal. yi. 8, [I Luke xiv. 14 
 xvi. 9. xii. 33, Heb. x. 24. 
 
Merchandise and Hire 
 
 as to make it a Friend to Him and our 
 Souls. We may extract Holiness out of the Dirt 
 and Clay of this World, the thick Claj wherewith 
 fo many load themfelves and bury themfclves. God 
 'fits as a Refiner and does this for us. Grace turns all 
 it touches into Gold. It is a Stone thatattrads arid 
 fixes the very Iron to its Pole, which is Hollnefs, 
 Heaven and God. AsPfylofcpby has found out the 
 richer! Virtues in the meanett Herbs and Plants, fo 
 pivinity teaches us how to improve^and ufe the 
 mean Things of this World to the rnoft fpiritual 
 and heavenly Ends : And when we ferve God and 
 our Souls of earthly Things, then are they indeed 
 wifely and rightly ufed. 
 
 2. Let us be humbled for the 111 Ufe we have wade, 
 of our worldly Bufinefs and Gains, our si I? ufe of them 
 unto Unbolinefs and Sin. What is more" Enmity to 
 God and our Selves than this ? Mens worldly Af- 
 fairs engrofs and eat them up \ eat out the Heart of that 
 little Religion they profefs. The Cares of the World 
 .find the Deceitful fie ft of Riches choke the Word. Men 
 go, one to hlsFarm and another to his Merchzndife. God, 
 and the poor, and their own Souls are forgotten 
 and negleded by them. They trup In uncertain 
 Riches, and renounce thtlMngGed* They fall in- 
 O Temptations, and Snares, and many foelijl) and hurt- 
 ful Lufts^hich drown them inDcftruttlon and Perdition. 
 They are filled, and they fill the World, with allUn- 
 r'igititeoufnefs, Fornication, Wickednefs, Covet ON fnefs t 
 \Vhat a fhamcful Abufe is this of the Bounties of 
 Providence ! and a turning his Glory Into Shame ! 
 
 3. See the Honour &nd Happiucfs of a religious People. 
 They and all that belongs to them are Hellnefsto the, 
 
 \ Luke viii. 14. Matth. xxii-5. J Tim.vi.p, 17. Rcm. f. 
 
 
Holiness to the tord. 37 
 
 Lord. Bleffed & holy is He that hath part in this. 
 They are in God's Church here in the Image of 
 Jefus, the great High Prieft of their Profeffion. 
 They are a holy Priefthood,* fpiritttal Heufe, the Houfe- 
 hold of Faith. What can Angels be, and what can 
 Heaven be more than this, Holinefi to the Lord ? Jefos 
 is this, within the Holy cf Holies, at the right Hand 
 of God. He calls his cholen into Ftlbw/kif -with 
 Him, and with his Angels. His People are a King- 
 dom ofPrie/ts, a holy Nation. There are Garments of 
 Glory and Beauty provided for them, wherein fhortly 
 to enter the Holieft of all So the Afoftle falutes 
 
 and fuperfcribes , * " To the Church of God 
 
 fc which is at Corinth, (anttifiedin Jcfus Chri ft, called 
 f to be Saints with all that in every Place call upon the 
 cc Name of fefus Qhrifc our Lord, bcth theirs and ours / 
 cc I thank my God always on your behalf, for the Grace of 
 fc God that is given youby Jefus Chrift. 
 
 4. andlaftly, I befeech you brethren, by the Mer- 
 cies of God, that you prefent your Selves, Children, 
 Families, Sub fiance, Gifts, Talents, all you are and 
 have, as living Offerings to God, holy and accepta- 
 ble thro Jefus Ghrifl. How fhould an unholy Perfon 
 offer to v God in a holy manner ? The Perfon is 
 more than his Eftate. Chrift feeks not yours but you. 
 The Soul is his, and all Souls are fo. There are the 
 Riches of Souls, their noble Faculties and Powers 
 with every natural and acquired Gift ; and what 
 fliould be thy Gift to God but The.fe \ thy whole 
 Self ; Body, Soul and Spirit, which is your reafonable 
 Service. Prov. xxiii. 26. My Son, give me thy Heart. 
 
 Next to thy */fare thy Children : Give theft to 
 God as thy beft Riches, thy richeft Jewels. They 
 are holy to Him by Covenant, as the Family of Abra- 
 
 Ccr. i. :. i Pet. ii, 5, 9. Exod, xix. 6. 
 
 ham 
 
g 8 
 
 and Hire 
 
 haw was. This Bkjfing is come upon us Gent.L 
 thro Faith in that BleJJ'ed Seed, In Whom the Familis* 
 of the Earth are blejfid : and thro' Whom the Offerings 
 f the Gentiles are acceptable to God, being fan&ified by 
 the Holy Ghoft. What can a Man give to God in Ex- 
 change for his Soul and the Souls of his Houfe ? will 
 he give his EJtate, and think it will be accepted ? I 
 trow not. 
 
 God values our Hearts and Spirit's above all our 
 Silver or Gold, our Herds and Flocks. If a Man 
 would give all tkeSubftance of his Houfe injtead of Love , 
 the Loves of his Soul and the Souls ok his Houfc, 
 it would be contemned. Thoufands of Rams were a 
 Jo?s-neck in lieu of the Lwe of one Soul. 
 
 "We owe the firft and greateft Piety and Charity to 
 our Selves and at Home. We and ours are mad* for 
 ever, if we are holy to the Lord : But we are profane 
 and miferable without it. 
 
 The rich and the foor equally owe Them / lives to 
 God, and are equally able to render it. The Lord Is 
 the Maker of them both, and they are alike acceptable 
 to Him. The one muft be rich in gotd Works, ready 
 to distribute, willing to communicate ; and the other 
 rnuft be rich in Faith, Heirs of the Kingdom. 
 
 It is a holy Thing to givs unto fucb as the fc, from 
 .Faith and Love 'which is 'in Chrift Jejus. 
 
 1 will read you, the be ft Offering that any Man 
 can make to God ! read it and bUt&e it, and I have 
 done: Gen, xviii. -19. I know Abraham, that he will 
 command his Children and his Houfoold after him y and 
 they Jhall keep the Way of the Lord ; that the Lord 
 way bring upon Abraham that which He hath fpokcn cf 
 him. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
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