where thou dwelleft, even where Satan's feat is: and thou holdeft faft my name, and haft not denied my faith, even in thofe days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was flain among you, where Satan dwelleth. The faints in glory praise him, there being none to open mouth to his difhonour: but living faints praife him, in the face of contradiction by a wicked world: Prov. xxviii. 4. -Such as keep the law, contend with the wicked.

II. The fecond general head is, to fhew, How it is a valuable mercy and privilege of the living, that they have accefs to praise God in the world. The living should value this as their privilege,

1. In regard they might juftly ere now have been put beyond ali poffibility of praising God at all; but might have been blafpheming in hell, through extreme anguish and defpair: Lam. iii. 22. It is of the Lord mercies that we are not confumed, because his paffions fail not. The rich man in hell, tor Snted in the flame, had no accefs to praife God the burden of wrath lying on the damned there, will hold down for ever their praifes, and change them to howlings.

2. In regard of the honour thereby to be brought to God in the world; which in itself is most valuable, and therefore is man's chief end: 1 Cor. x. 31. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatfoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Compared with Pfal. 1. 23. Whofo offereth praife, glorifieth me. He lives to good purpose, that lives to the honour of God: and he that doth not fo live, doth at best but trifle away a life, never reaching the main end of it. Nothing fhould be fo dear to us as God's honour; and therefore our all muft be

laid out on it as he calls for it, Luke xiv. 26. And it is the mercy of life, that we have access to honour him in the world.

3. In regard of the good to be thereby done to others. The view of this made Paul content to abide out of heaven for fome time; as you may fee, Philip. i. 23. 24. I am in a frait betwixt two, having a defire to depart, and to be with Chrift; which is far better nevertheless, to abide in the flesh, is more needful for you. O what a fatisfying thought muft it be, to be inftrumental towards the faving of a foul from hell, and bringing it to acquaintance with Chrift! No body knows what a good word, or a good example, at a time may do: and to this the living have access only; but once dead, men can be no more serviceable to the world of mankind: Eccl. ix. 10. For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest.

4. It is an honour to serve and honour God in the world. This makes a man truly worthy and honourable. The dignity of the mafter, and the work, reflects an honour on the fervant that does it. Therefore fays the Pfalmift, Pfal. lxxxiv. 10. A day in thy courts is better than a thousand: I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. And fince no mafter is fo honourable as God is, it must be then a peculiar honour to be serviceable to him,

Heb. xi.

5. This is the only true balance of that meannefs, mifery, and trouble that attends this life. Confidering the fpiritual original, make, and vast capacity of the foul of man; it will appear but a

very mean thing to be taken up in eating, di ing, decking; yea, in building, planting, work ing, de. on this curfed earth. From the feat of the bleffed could we take our profpect, men fo employed here would appear but as a company of emmets bufy in a hillock. The troubles that attend this life are innumerable; and they fly about us, as the midges do in a hot fummer-day. All which viewed by the foul, are apt to make a noble mind fick of this life, in its beft appearances; as a bird would be of the cage. The only balance for all this, that in it there is accefs to praife God the world. Hereby the meanest things are ennoble, and the hardest things foftened, that God is to be honoured in these.

6. As men have accefs to praise God in this world, they hage accefs to raife their reward in another world. Men think it a great matter to have access to raise an eftate for themselves and theirs but we have accefs, by our honouring of God in this world, to raise our reward in the other. For though the Lord doth not give eternal glory for our works he gives it according to them: 2 Cor ix. 6. which foweth Sparingly, Shall reap alfo fparingly: and he which foweth bountifully, hall reap a bountifully. And they that have fhined here in fefulness moft, will fhine there in glory moft: Dan, xii. 3. They that be wife, fhall fhine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the ftars for ever ander. Compared with 1 Cor. xv. 41. There is one glory of the fun, and another glory of the moth, and another glory of the Stars; for one ftar differeth from another ftar in glory.

7. lastly,

7. laftly, The praising of God carries a reward in its bofom, to be enjoyed in time: Pfal. xix. 11. -In keeping of them [the judgments of the Lord] there is great reward. It is good, pleafant, and comely, Pfal. cxlvii. 1. There is a fecret fatiffaction in one's having done his duty, endeavouring to live to the honour of God, 2 Cor. i. 12. And particularly it makes a pleasant reflection, when one is come to the end of his coufe: as in the cafe of Paul, 2 Tim. iv. 7. have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Compared with what our Lord fays, John xvii. 4. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And he that praiseth God to others, is himself partaker of the fruits.

III. The third general head is, to fhew, How this access to praise God in the world, is and will be the peculiar mercy of the living.

1. It is the peculiar mercy of us who are now living on the face of the earth; it is peculiar, I fay, to us at this time. They who are yet unborn, can do nothing, fince as yet they are not: they who are now dead,, though yet they are in being, have no access more to praife God in this world, Pfal. cxv. 17. There have been many generations on earth before us; and millions of men and women are gone by death from hence into another world, who fometimes had their turn of access to this praise but now, though they are, yet not one of them all has access to join us in praifing God.

2. In all time to come, to the end of the world, this privilege will be confined to those who for Q 2

the

the time shall be on the stage. There will be generations after us, as there have been before us; and the work will be devolved on the next generation for their time; with whom we, being gone off the ftage, will have no more access to join, than those already dead have to join with us. And then they will go, and another rife up in their ftead, and get the work put into their hands, none of the former to meddle with it: and fo on to the end. The reafons are,

1f, There is no returning to this world when once gone. Death is a flitting for good and all, never to come back, Job vii. 9. 10. Job was fenfible of this, Chap. x. 21. when he faid,-I go whence I fhall not return, even to the land of darknefs, and the fhadow of death. We must praise him before we lie down in the grave, or never; for there is no rifing out of it to that work, Pfal. lxxxviii. 10. We cannot come back, and God will not bring us back.

2dly, The ftate and bufinefs of the two worlds are, by an unalterable purpose, made quite different. Here men are in a state of trial; there in a fettled ftate for ever, according to their management in the trial. Here is the place of working at the command and for the honour of the Master; there is the place of the reward of their works. If the fun fhould come back over from weft to eaft, and fo make night day too, the ordinance of heaven would be quite altered; fo no body expects it. As little is the accefs of any but the li ving, to praise God in the world, to be expected or looked for.

3dly, This world is under a peculiar mark of divine indignation, as defiled by fin, Gen. iii. 17.5

and