World blinding the Minds of them that believe not. 2 Cor. 4, 4. Walk they do in the Works of Darknefs, making Provifion for the Flesh to fulfil the Lufts thereof. Rom. 13. 12. Subject to the Rulers of the darkness of this World. Eph. 6. 12. And finally, are to be caft out into outer Darkness. Matt. 25. 30. But now they, to whom they are oppos'd, are the Children of the Light, and the Children of the Day, they are not of the Night, nor of Darkness 1. Thef. 5, 5. They are enlightned by the Word and Spirit of God, with the Knowledge of faving Truth, of God the Father of Lights, and of his only Son JESUS Christ, the Light of the World, and this is Life Eternal, to know the only true God, and JESUS Chrift whom he hath fent; fo that howfoever any of them were once Darkness, yet now are they Light in the LORD. The Gofpel efpecially, even the glorious Light of the Gospel of Chrift, whereby he hath brought Life and Immortality to Light, hath fhin'd unto them, and opened their Eyes, turning them from Darkness to Light, that they may be made meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light. Thefe Characters here given us by Chrift of these two forts of People fhew abundantly, which of them he esteem'd Wife, and which Foolish.

Yet, will the fame be made more clear by confidering, Secondly, How he qualifies and limits the Judgment he gives concerning the Wisdom of the Children of the World. They are wifer (faith he) yet not altogether, nor in all things, no, not in the principal thing of all; but only in their Generation, in their own way, for this World only, and in the Management of

their worldly Concerns, which is their whole Care and Business, and all that they defire to be wife for. They are not, neither defire they to be wife for Heaven, or unto Salvation. And fo according to the common Proverb, they are Penny Wife, and Pound Foolish, about the perifhing Trifles of this World very wife, but about the weighty concerns of Eternity more Foolish. I will destroy (faith God) the wisdom of the Wife, and will bring to nothing the Understanding of the Prudent. I Cor. 1. 19. God taketh the Wife in their own Craftiness, and the LORD knoweth the thoughts of the Wife that they are vain. I Cor. 3. 19, 20. The Wisdom of worldly Men is but a vain Wisdom, God frequently defeats it, and fruftrates even the worldy designs of fuch wife Men to make them fee their folly, and how little their Wifdom is worth. It is but a Fleshly Wifdom. 2 Cor. 1. 12. 2 Cor. 1. 12. At the best, it only helps them to compass low and carnal Ends. A Wisdom, that is Earthly, Senfual Devilish. Fam. 3. 15. For the things of the Earth, not of Heaven; for the things of the Body, not of the Soul; for the things which the Devil Tempts with, not wherewith God Rewards his Children. A wisdom that above all things keeps Men from being Good and Happy, therefore are these things which will make Men eternally happy, said to be hid from the Wife and Prudent, and Reveal'd unto Babes. Matt. 11. 25. And that not many wife Men after the Flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are call'd. 1. Cor. 1. 26. A wildom it is that must be unlearn'd of every one that will become wife unto Salvation. Let no Man deceive himself; if any Man among you feem

et b

eth to be wife in this World, let him become a Fool, that he may be wife. 1 Cor. 3. 18.

Let us now conclude from these Premises, and we must confefs, that the Children of this World, how wife foever they are in their Generation, are, in truth, not wife but foolish. For all comes to this in the Clofe, That they are very wife to undo themselves eternally; wife enough to compafs and bring about thofe defigns in this Life, which will be fure to end in eternal Deftruction.

The business of Wisdom is to make choice of a right end, which attain'd, may make one most happy, in finding out proper means for the attaining to that end; and laftly, in fo dexteroufly ufing thofe means, as that he may not miscarry in his defign. Now, tho' the Children of this World may be wife both in finding out the proper means conducing to the end which they have refolv'd upon, and in a very cunning ufe of the fame; yet fail they in the main point, that is, in the choice of a right End. An earthly imperfect, fhort kind of happiness they aim at, fuch as this World can afford them, and this too, tho' fo mean, incompleat and tranfient, is fo uncertain a thing, and, little in their power, that after all both their Wifdom and Diligence, they may, and very often do fail of it, and never are able to obtain it; whilft, on the other fide, the Children of light have chofen an Heavenly,Perfect and Eternal Good, even the Inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, for the end they aim at; and are well affur'd in the diligent ufe of the proper means of obtaining it, they cannot fall fhort of it, for it is referv'd in Heaven

for

for them. Undoubtedly therefore they are wife in their choice of a right End, wherein they may be perfectly and eternally happy. But the other, who have made a worldly Happiness their End and Choice, have, in this, fufficiently betray'd their folly, and then their wife Choice, and ufe of means to that End, muft needs be their folly too. For he is certainly a Fool that hath pitch'd upon an end which is not worth his labour, and not quit coft tho' one get it. And the more pains one takes in fearching for the means of compafling fuch an end, and the more time and ftudy he is at to ufe them fuccefsfully, the more he befools himself; he Robs himself of his eafe and quiet, and cumbers both Head and Body with a great deal of Contrivance and Care, and wearifom drudgery for a thing, which, when he hath it, is but good for little, and muft quickly be loft again, and it may, be, never be got at all; one hour will certainly, within a while, leave him nothing of all that his Wisdom and Diligence have procured. Thou Fool, fo is be (faith our Saviour) who layeth up Treafure for himself, and is not rich towards God, Luke 12. 21.

2. Our Saviour doth affirm, That worldly Men take a wifer courfe to attain to their worldly Ends, than the Children of light do to attain to the things they feek for. That thofe are wifer for this World, than these are for the World to come. For tho' they have fixed on a wrong end, yet they discover more wisdom (fuch as it is) in contriving and working for that end, than thefe do in labouring for one infinitely better.

This might be fhewn yery largely in all the feveral forts of the Children of this World, the Voluptuous, the Ambitious, the Covetuous; thefe have feveral defigns and ends which they purfue, and feveral ways they have of Profecuting their feveral ends, yet all of them are the Children of this World; and 'tis easy to obferve what cunning and fubtile Arts each of them have to fetch about their feveral Designs, and become Mafters of their wishes and defires, above what can be observ'd in the Children of Light, whose end, which they have propounded to themselves, is the happiness of the World to come. It fhall fuffice to Inftance in a few particular Indications of this their Wifdom, leaving the reft to every Man's own Obfervation. Let us now only take notice of his Wisdom, first, about the End he aims at, and fecondly, about the Means and Use of them.

First, His wisdom about the end thus fhews its felf, to be more than that which the Children of Light use about their's.

1. Whatever the thing be which they aim at as their chief end, they are very intent upon it. Having won their Affection, and so feated it felf in the Heart, it also continually bufieth their thoughts, fo that whatever elfe they are doing it will come ever and anon into their Mind, and call it off from the work they have in Hand. In their very Sleep they Dream of it, at their Meals they talk of it as their beft Sauce to their Meat, and in their Prayers (if they use any) whatever they fay, this they moft think upon. And