which would break another
man's heart, sobriety will make him go light under, and not be much
disquieted for any thing. Why, what is the matter of it? Can it trouble
his peace or access to God? Can his portion be removed? What, then, should
ail him, for the light of God's countenance is more recompense than all
the world? Proceed we now to apply this in some uses.

Use I. It discovers unto the most part of men how little they are advanced
in Christianity. Many are insober in the use of the world, and what must
their affections be? The works of darkness, that become not the children
of God nor the children of the day, are yet common in the visible church.
Insobriety in many is palpable, and written on their forehead. That
beastly sin of drunkenness abounds in many congregations. But II. We would
even convince the Lord's own children of great short coming in this duty.
Although your carriage before men might pass free of censure of
insobriety, yet O! how many things will God put such a construction on!
There are many saints that cannot walk soberly in the use of this world.
They spend their time upon it, and this is insobriety. Scarce can prayer
and communion with God get an hour in the day from their calling, and when
ye have to spend, insobriety is written upon many passages of your
behaviour. Your meat, and drink, and clothing, should declare that ye are
waiting for a better inheritance. But O! how are your affections wedded
unto this present world! The current and stream of many of your thoughts
go this way, what shall I eat or drink, or what shall I put on for
clothing? And ye spend your spirits in projecting, and in following out
your projects. There are some evident demonstrations of insobriety in the
affections. For, (1) Most of your thoughts run upon temporal things and
certainly if your hearts were not in this world, your minds would follow
your hearts. Christians, too many amongst you spend whole days, and never
any object enters into your minds but one thing of the world after
another. Your minds are highways for the travellers of this world to come
through. It may be ye will steal an hour, or half an hour for prayer, but
the rest of your conversation is not in heaven, but void of God. According
as every hour furnishes new opportunities, so are your minds here, Phil.
iii. 20. And meditation upon spiritual things, that is the nerves and
sinews of religion, that is a rare thing. If your affections were not more