And to feek, and mind, and fet our affections upon thefe, is to do thofe things which the confideration of each of these refpectively calls for; fo to meditate on God and mind him, as to fear, and love, and ferve him ; to feek his glory as our laft end, and the enjoyment of him as our chief good: to feek his favour above all things, and to fue to him as the fountain of all grace, and the giver of every good and perfect gift, and of all bleffings temporal, fpiritual, and eternal, by the powerful interceffion of his Son, the great and only Mediator between God and man, to be obtained for us, and to be wrought in us, by the powerful virtue and operation of the Holy Spirit fo to mind the angels and bleffed faints above, as to afpire after their fociety, by imitating their virtues, and being followers of those who through faith and patience have inherited the promifes: fo to meditate on our future bleffedness, as to raife our hearts and affections above this world, and effectually to engage us to fit ourselves for that bleffed ftate and condition, that we may be meet to be made partakers of that glorious inheritance: and, laftly, fo to mind all the duties and means necessary and conducing to our falvation, as effectually to perform them; to order our lives, and all the actions of them, with a regard to eternity; in a word, to omit and neglect nothing that may further and promote the great defign of our eternal falvation, and to do nothing that may contradict or hinder it. This is to feek and fet our affections upon the things that are above. And thus I have done with the first thing I propounded, the nature of the duty which we are exhorted to. I proceed to the

Second thing I propounded, which was to confider the force of the arguments which are used to perfuade us to it. Here are three arguments in the text to this purpose; two of them are exprefs, and the third of them implied. I. If ye be rifen with Chrift, feek the things which are above.

II. Seek the things which are above, where Chrift fit. teth at the right hand of God.

III. The tranfcendent and incomparable excellency of the things above, in comparison of earthly things. This is intimated in the oppofition: Set your affections on the

things which are above; and not on things on the earth. I fhall briefly fhew the force of each of thefe arguments.

I. If ye then be rifen with Chrift, feek the things which are above: that is, if ye believe his refurrection, if ye will be conformed to him in it, if ye be made partakers of the power and virtue of it.

1. If ye believe the refurrection of Christ. The refurrection of our Lord Jefus Chrift was the great feal of his miniftry, and confirmation of his doctrine: and one great branch of his doctrine was heavenly mindedness, That we fhould lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, becaufe where our treafure is, there will our hearts be alfo that we fhould firft feek the kingdom of God, and the righteoufnefs thereof.

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2. If we will bear a conformity and refemblance to him in his refurrection. He is our great pattern and example, which the gofpel propounds to us; and that we may have the nearer conformity to him, the Apoftle doth not only propofe the virtues of his life to our imitation, but where we cannot literally imitate him, the Apostle urgeth fpiritual conformity; that thofe things which he did and fuffered in his body, we should do and fuffer fpiritually; as Chrift died for fin, fo we fhould die to fin; as he literally rofe again from the dead, fo, in conformity to him, we should be fpiritually raised to newness of life. As he afcended into heaven, fo we should afcend thither alfo in our hearts and affections. Col. ii. 12. Buried with him in baptifm, wherein alfo ye are rifen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raifed him from the dead. Rom. vi. 4, 5. Therefore we are buried with him by baptifm into death, that like as Chrift was raifed up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even fo we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be alfo in the likeness of his refurrection. To be raised from the dead, is in order to a new life. So the Apostle tells us, ver. 9, 10, 11, Knowing that Chrift being raised from the dead, dieth no more, death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto fin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewife, reckon ye alfo yourselves to be E e 2

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dead indeed unto fin; but alive unto God, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. As the refurrection of Chrift was in order to a better and happier life, to his afcenfion into heaven, and his living with God; fo, in conformity to Chrift, our fpiritual refurrection fhould be in order to a heavenly and divine life. And what is the meaning of all this, but that men are apt to imitate those whom they love, and do affect to resemble them as much as they can? And therefore, to endear our duty to us, the mortification of our lufts, and a holy life, the Apoftle tells us, that hereby we bear a conformity to Chrift, the great object of our love and imitation.

3. If ye be made partakers of the power and virtue of his refurrection. The refurrection of Chrift is not only a pattern, but hath a power and efficacy in it, to raise us to a fpiritual and heavenly life. When Chrift rofe, he did not rife alone, but many of the bodies of the faints who were dead rofe with him, to fignify to us the power of his refurrection. It communicated a virtue to those who had an intereft in the merits of his death and fufferings, whereby they are enabled to live a new and heavenly life. John xi. 25. I am the refurrection and the life; be that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet fhall he live. Eph. 1. 19. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward, who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Chrift, when he raised him from the dead. Phil. iii. 10, 11. That I may know him, and the power of his refurrection, and the fellowship of his fufferings, being made conform able unto his death; if by any means I may attain the refurrection from the dead. Col. ii. 13. And you being dead in your fins, and the uncircumcifion of your flesh, bath he quickened together with him. Now, this power is derived to us by believing on him, who raised up Fefus from the dead, that he is also able to raife us, who are dead in trefpaffes and fins, to a divine and heavenly life. The

II. Argument is contained in thefe words, Seek the things which are above, where Chrift fitteth at the right band of God. Which words do declare to us the exaltation of Chrift's human nature, and his being advanced to be the King and Governor of his Church, having all power

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and judgment committed to him. Luke xxiv. 26. Chrift's afcenfion, and his fitting at the right hand of God, is called, his entering in his glory. Ought he not to have fuffered thefe things, and then to enter into his glory? that is, to be invested with all power and authority for the good of the church. But most particularly the Apoftle defcribes this, Eph. i. 20. 21, 22. And fet him at his own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principalities, and powers, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but that which is to come; and hath put all things under his feet, and given him to be head over all things to the church.

And now the force of this argument is from the relation that is between the head and the members, between Chrift and Chriftians. The members have an affection for the head, which makes them aspire heavenwards; and the head hath an influence upon the members. If I be lifted up from the earth, fays our Lord, I will draw all men unto me. This is fpoken of his crucifixion, fignifying what death he should die, as the text tells us, John xii. 32, 33. But it is proportionably true of his afcenfion, and fitting at the right hand of God; for there is a power and virtue in the refurrection of Chrift, and in his afcenfion into heaven, as well as in his death, to draw all men to him. The gift of God's Holy Spirit is the fruit of his afcenfion, and exaltation at the right hand of the Majefty on high: And it is by the powerful operation of the Spirit of God upon our hearts, that we are raised to newness of life, and our affections fixed upon heavenly things. We are naturally bowed down to the earth, and inclined to the things of this world, curvæ in terris animæ, et cæleftium inanes; but our glorified Saviour fitting at the right hand of God, by the power of his Spirit, draws our affections to him. The

III. and laft argument, which is but implied in the text, is the tranfcendent and incomparable excellency of heavenly things, above things on the earth, which the Apoftle intimates by the oppofition, Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth; earthly things are perishing and tranfitory, grofs and unfatisfactory, and

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cannot be the felicity of an immortal foul, being neither fuited to the fpiritual nature, nor to the immortal duration of our fouls; they can neither fatisfy us while we live, nor preserve us from death, nor comfort us in it, nor accompany us into the other world, nor contribute any thing to our happiness there; and if they can do nothing towards our happiness, why fhould we fet our hearts upon them? They that feek for happinefs in earthly things, are like the women fitting over our Saviour's fepulchre, with their faces bowed down to the earth; they Jeek the living among the dead: Our happiness is not here, it is rifen, it is above. Let our hearts afcend this ther, where our happiness and our treasure is. Why fhould we bestow our affections upon thefe low and mean things, when there are incomparably better objects to fix them upon ?

The inference from all this fhall be, to engage and perfuade us by all these arguments and confiderations, to feek and mind the things which are above, where Chrift fitteth at the right hand of God; and to have our converfation there, where our Saviour is, and from whence also we look for him again, to change thefe vile bodies, that they may be made like unto his glorious body, according to the working of that mighty power, whereby he is able to fubdue all things to himfelf. Let all our actions have reJation to another world, and our converfation declare that we are mindful of another country, that is, a heavenly. Is Chrift our head rifen, and afcended into heaven? Let us, in our hearts and affections follow him thither, and patiently wait till he receive our fouls, and raife our bodies, and take us wholly to himfelf, that we may be for ever with the Lord.

The refurrection of Chrift is a demonftration of a future ftate after this life, and a pledge of a bleffed immortality in another world. For our Lord, by his refurrection from the dead, hath conquered death, and abolished it, and brought life and immortality to light. He is the firft-fruits of them that flept, and his refurrection is an earnest and affurance of ours; and from thence the Apoftle makes this inference, Therefore, my beloved breahren, be ye ftedfast and unmoveable, always abounding in

the