my Discourse against fleshly lusts in the strictest sense as they signifie all manner of uncleanness contrary to chastity General Discourses against vice are seldom successful towards the recovery of men from under their dominion and therefore when we assault the body of death we must level our strokes against particular limbs and members as the surest and the speediest way to our victory BUT that I may discourse with the better success let us consider First the Exhortation it self Abstain from fleshly lusts and this Exhortation is strengthen'd with a twofold Argument one is taken from the opposition of such lusts to the Soul and the other taken from our present state condition and relation We are but pilgrims and strangers NOW that I may make those fleshly lusts as odious to the Christian eye as is possible I will in the first place lay before you some considerations to represent them in their true and proper colors And Secondly I will offer those Remedies from Reason and the holy Scriptures by which we may be defended against their assaults First Do but consider that those fleshly lusts are directly opposite unto the Nature Spirit and Tendency of Christianity It was our Saviour's great design when he took upon him our Nature to fortifie our Spirits beyond the reach of bodily impressions to establish them in an absolute Empire and just Sovereignty over the Senses to exalt that part of us that is divine and heavenly to its true elevation that it might no more truckle under the body that the senses and all the motions that we feel by them might be kept at their true distance and not meddle with that command and authority that belongs to the mind In a word that our Souls might be adorn'd with their true Glory and Majesty When we are thus set at liberty then and not till then are we free indeed when we remember the value strength and excellency of the Soul which though it be united to the Body and therefore must mind the concerns of the Body with great care and tenderness yet it more vigorously desires to be united unto God It may subsist without its Union to the Body but it cannot be happy unless it be united unto God so that this Union of the Soul with God is in a manner folded up in its very nature and essence WE are in the strictest sense the off-spring of God and it was reasonable for us to expect that when the Son of God did appear to reform Mankind he should level his Directions and Precepts against those vices and sins most vigorously that did sink the Soul below its true glory and dignity the sins that took down its Plumes by which it mounted the heavens but now was become soft trifling and degenerate And because no lusts did break the vigour of our mind and blunt the edge of our Spirits and weaken our union with God more than fleshly lusts in the strictest sense therefore do we find the cautions against those sins so frequent in the New Testament with this assurance that he that is in Christ Jesus hath crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof THE Arguments that S. Paul makes use of against those sins are heavenly and sublime 1 Cor. 6.19 20. Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and you are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your bodies and in your spirits which are Gods Answerably to this we find that the first Christians notwithstanding of the blackest Calumnies of their Pagan adversaries lived the life of Angels in earthly Bodies their Chastity was so great a Jewel in their eyes that many of their Christian Women most cheerfully resign'd their life rather than part with their honour And Tertullian towards the close of his Apology resolutely defies the impudence of the Pagans for they themselves did acknowledg the purity and innocence of the Christians in this matter because they judg'd it a more intolerable punishment for their Women to be condemned to the Stewes than to suffer Martyrdom How many of the Christian Women among the Romans when the Goths and Vandals made their Irruption into Italy threw themselves into Tyber rather than be expos'd to the savage Embraces of lust and dishonour The Story of the young man recorded by S. Jerom is very memorable who feeling himself entangled in the embraces of a wanton Strumpet did bite off his own Tongue and spit it in her face lest the strength of his temptation and the weakness of humane nature might betray him into Indecencies unbecoming his holy Profession We see then it is most certain and clear that fleshly lusts are in their nature and tendency contrary to that Religion which our Saviour planted and the first Christians embrac'd But Secondly LET us remember that these fleshly lusts are severely punish'd both here and hereafter We are told by Solomon Prov. 6.26 that by means of a whorish woman a man is brought unto a piece of bread And the Parable of the Prodigal in the fifteenth of S. Luke represents the miserable estate of such with great advantage the sufferings that those lusts expose men to are not confin'd to one single capacity but they spread their Poison not only through the body reaching sometimes even beyond the bones into the marrow but also through all the suffering capacities of human nature health fortune life and reputation are the ordinary Sacrifices that are brought to the Altars of this unclean Devil Solomon again tells us Prov. 66.33 That a wound and dishonour is his reward and his reproach shall not be wiped away Have you sometimes observed the macerated Skeletons of Lust worn in the Devils warfare bearing the dishonourable marks of their Masters service sometimes in their foreheads to such a degree of infamy that hardly one would think that Mankind could be made so miserable And though those Trophies of Misery have frequently been displayed to the scandal of Religion disgrace of human nature and the terrour of all Spectators yet so inconsiderate are the most part of Mankind and so stupifying is the Enchantment that it requires a heavenly frame and a bold Resolution to subdue those imperious and stubborn lusts How many did God remarkably punish for this sin Numb 25. Zimri and Cozbie were slain in the very act and four and twenty thousand of the Children of Israel fell for their unlawful mixture with strange Women And though God had left those filthy Creatures without Punishment yet the sin carries corruption in its Nature for he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption in the most literal sense Add to all this the flames of unquenchable fire that are prepared for the Sons of Lust and Wantonness in the other World They may possibly escape the notice and observation of earthly Judges but when the hidden things of dishonesty are brought to light then Heb. 13.4 God will judge whoremongers and adulterers Thirdly CONSIDER that
stoop so low as to take notice of man or the highest amongst the sons of men who dwell in houses of clay whose foundation is in the dust THIS Contemplation is so just and so natural to the Souls of Men that it appeared frequently beyond the bounds of the Church Tully argues pertinently from this Consideration that it were the grossest Stupidity the most unaccountable Folly the most unreasonable Madness to admit that we our selves are endued with a Principle of Wisdom and free Election that our Actions are managed by counsel and choice and yet think that the vast Machine of the World the Harmony of all its parts the Beauty Order and Variety of all its wonderful productions should be destitute of some supreme and infinitely wise Contriver to regulate its Motions and order all its Revolutions And this may be discovered in the whole and through every part of it the divine Providence displays its Artifice in the works of Nature to the conviction of the most stubborn and the observation of the most ignorant THE Lillies of the field do exceed the glory of Solomon and the little Flowers that we overlook preach the unimitable Wisdom of their Creator The Beauty of Nature and its Productions infinitely surpasses the faint Endeavours of human Skill and Invention In the best polish'd Steel we discern remarkable protuberances but when we view the works of Nature whether by our eyes immediately or by the interposal of Microscopes we are forc'd to say with the Psalmist Marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well AND yet no part of the visible frame of Nature points more significantly to the Deity than the Body of Man which made the devout Psalmist retire into himself as into the Abstract and Epitome of the World the Quintessence of the Creation he had for a while ranged abroad his thoughts ran the circuit of the Heavens and saw as it were the Deity tuning the Spheres ruling the Orbs ordering the course of the Sun when he perceived that secret and universal spring of Motion the wheel within the wheels his unfathomable Wisdom his unlimited Goodness his irresistible Power his active Providence his unsearchable Omniscience his Eyes that pierce to the secrets that are buried in darkness then he comes home fully satisfied fraughted as it were with the purchase of his Enquiry I will praise thee O God c. Galen in his Book De Vsu Partium which some say he wrote in a kind of divine Enthusiasm the more he viewed the Skill that is transparent in the structures of human Bodies the Wisdom and Art that shines in the formation of all the parts the more clearly did he discover the Author of Nature And tho he was no great Friend to Religion yet his Philosophy constrained him to acknowledge that there was some divine Skill some invisible Hand that guided the motions of Nature and presided over all its actings they appear to be ordered pondere numero mensura every grain weight weighed in the balance of infinite Wisdom WE cannot look abroad either below or above but all things preach the One Great Numen whose Power and Presence runs to and again without whose Government and Conduct the Elements would break their mutual league and correspondence they would quickly jumble themselves into their original Chaos and break all the Laws of Order and Beauty THIS is the voice of universal Nature but made more loud and audible in the structure of Man's Body So one of the Ancients reasons against that acute Heathen Cecilius after he had considered the Heavens and the Earth the the four Seasons of the Year the Hills Valleys Trees Mountains the Stars and their influence he then as it were to strengthen his Argument to give it the last stroke that he might force his Adversary to yield considers the structure of human Bodies he invites him to admire the stately House that God built for the Soul the five Senses plac'd in the higher rooms to view and watch over the concerns of the body his Eye full of Life and Majesty most useful and yet most beautiful his erect Countenance the convenient habitation of his Brain his Veins like so many channels wherein the Blood regularly circulates his Nervs and Arteries his Stature Proportion and Features his Arms and Limbs the Distance Use and Situation of all his parts undeniably prove the Wisdom of God that displays it self more visibly in Man than any where else So that as that excellent Author reasons 't is hard to know whether the Use or Ornament exceed one the other but to be sure both are undeniable Monuments of infinite Wisdom and Omniscience IT was then a blind Fancy in Epicurus and his Followers to affirm That there was no design in the contrivance of Man's Body As if so beautiful a Fabrick had been rais'd by chance as if the Materials had leapt together without counsel or foresight as if they had started into this order without the direction of some wise and powerful Being as if blind Chance which is no cause at all had been the Parent of Proportion and Order But Tully affirms There is nothing so absurd but some of the Philosophers did own and defend it I leave this Contemplation and let us see how far we may improve the Psalmists Philosophy for the Government of our Lives And The Text offers two things to our Consideration I. The Psalmist's Acknowledgment and Resolution II. The Foundation and Ground of his Acknowledgment I consider the last particular in the first place which tho it be last in the order of the Words is yet first in order of Nature I mean the Ground and Foundation of his Acknowledgment Marvellous are thy works and c. GOD placed Man among his fellow Creatures as Superintendent of the lower World He is the Image of God and in him some rays of the Divinity appear and until such time as he fell from his Obedience by Folly and Presumption all the lower Animals did acknowledge him as their Governour He was plac'd upon the Theatre of the World to hold intelligence with Heaven to be the Mouth and publick Orator of the Creation to admire the works of God And he that was thus taught to admire is himself one of the greatest Miracles in Nature But let us improve this Theory to direct our Christian Practice and Morals And First ARE our Bodies thus curiously fram'd then certainly they ought not to be abus'd to the vilest drudgeries of Sin Why did God build such beautiful Tabernacles Did he design this stately Habitation to be the receptacle of wild and furious Passions and unbridled Appetites to be the dwelling-house of unclean Spirits Is it usual with wise and considerate Men to bestow so much cost and pains in building Houses for keeping the filthiest Creatures Do Men erect stately Palaces for the meanest uses No certainly No more did God design that our Bodies that are so wonderfully made
should be the instruments of unrighteousness To this purpose the Apostle exhorts Rom. 10 v. 1. I beseech you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living Sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service And again 1 Cor. 6. v. 15. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ How clear and solid is the Consquence v. 20. You are bought with a price wherefore glorifie God in your bodies and in your spirits which are Gods It was on this Consideration again that he exhorts the Thessalonians 1 Epist 4. v. 4. That every one should know how to possess his vessel the Tabernacle where the Soul dwells in sanctification and honour THE Nimbleness and strength of the body is not to be prostituted to Sloath Idleness and Luxury those Vices thwart the design of God cross the purposes of our Creator baffle and affront the kindness of our great Benefactor Therefore we are taught by the curious Fabrick of our Bodies to remember that God takes special notice how we employ them Psal 494.9 Vnderstand O ye brutish among the people and ye fools when will ye be wise he that planted the ear shall he not hear and he that formed the eye shall he not see LET me add to this that God is to be worshipped with the Body as with the Mind For he made both redeemed both and will glorifie both I need not prove this it were a reflection on the Gravity of my Hearers to offer at any proof of that nature But there are amongst us who have banished the Worship of the Body out of our Churches to bow their knees or to stand upright at some of the more solemn pieces of Worship is thought Superstition and they measure the Purity of Religion by its Rusticities and Undecencies and think that they are never got far enough from Rome unless they oppose all the decent Customs of the civilized World As if the Eternal Majesty of Heaven were to be approached contrary to the Custom of all Nations the Devotion of all Churches and the common Sense of all Mankind THE Devotion of such resembles the Superstition of those Pagans that Strabo mentions that offered none of the Flesh of their sacrifices unto their Gods but affirmed that the Gods were contented with the Blood only as if they had no regard to the Externals of their Worship The behaviour of some of us in the time of God's worship would not become us in the presence of our Governours But customary and universal Faults are not so easily reformed and some of them the more they are reproved the more incurable they become Secondly IS the Body so curiously framed Is this brittle and mortal Edifice so artificially reared Are there such prints of the Finger of God on this Tabernacle even whilst we are here then judge what it will be when it is raised from the dust when it shakes of the dishonours of the grave and appears with its Robes of Light when this unwieldy clog of Flesh and Blood is made pure and aerial nimble enough to vie with the swiftest Angels and fly with ease in the regions of Glory when we shall be all Life Light Spirit and Wing fellow sharers of Angelical Pleasure Now the earthly Tabernacle drags and pulls down the Soul to low and despicable Enjoyments then the Body is made strong and refined to comply with the highest Capacities and Inclinations of the Mind WE shall mount aloft from the Earth unto the Air where his imperial Throne is erected We shall shine ass the brightness of the firmament and as the stars for ever and ever when we are got loose from the Prisons of the Grave and the Fetters of Corruption knockt off but now in our present state how hard is it for us to raise our thoughts to the Liberties of the Sons of God! WHEN we have our feet upon the top of Mount Zion when we see the Glories and Empires of this little Globe below us and we our selves beyond Danger and Temptation far above its frowns and flatteries How will our Souls be transported to find their Garments lighter and our selves encircled in the arms of Divine Love and instead of this lumpish Clay this load that damps and depresses our Spirits the weight that holds them in fetters and captivity we shall then be cloathed upon with our house which is from heaven when mortality shall be swallowed up of life and the shackles of our bondage broken to pieces THE very thoughts of this pure and Angelick state if they dwelt seriously upon our spirits might crack the strings that tie our Souls to our Bodies to think that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is WE cannot express the glory of the Body after the Resurrection better than in the language of the Scriptures There is one glory of the sun another of the moon and another glory of the stars so also is the Resurrection of the dead it is sown in corruption raised in incorruption 't is sown in dishonour raised in glory 't is sown in weakness raised in power 't is sown a natural body raised a spiritual body Thus we are told by the same Apostle to the Philippians that he shall change our vile bodies that they may be fashioned like his glorious body by the power whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself With what confidence then may we lay them down in their grave since we are sure to receive them again pure and incorruptible beyond the Weaknesses and Indispositions of their former Captivity The hour is coming when all that are in their graves shall hear his voice we may triumphantly apply to our selves that place in the book of Job 19.25 I know that my redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God Thirdly ARE our Bodies such curious Representations of his Wisdom and Skill then we should treat them honourably and decently after the Soul is departed The first Christians had a great care that the poorest of their number should be handsomly interr'd and many times did they dress the bodies of the meanest Christians with costly Ointments and odoriferous Spices that they might do honour to the human Nature and testifie their hope of the Resurrection that the dear Companions of the Soul might be decently treated and laid in their graves as in their safe repositories until the general summons of the Arch-Angel awakened them WHEN their Enemies observed their great care of the Bodies of the Martyrs to do the Christians despite they burnt the Bodies of their dead and scatter'd their Ashes in the Sea lest the Christians might have the satisfaction of doing the common offices of humanity to their deceas'd Relations Certainly the Bodies of the dead should be preserved from all rude Affronts and
converse with God and with our own Souls That we who see Motes in our Neighbours eyes may at last pull out the beam out of our own WHEN we read of the strict Diet of the Apostles to which they were tied by the common Law of Christianity and withal remember their ordinary Entertainment from the World a Catalogue whereof we have in 2 Cor. 6. v. 4 5 6 7. In all things approving your selves as the ministers of God in much patience afflictions in necessities in distresses in stripes in imprisonments in tumults in labours in watchings in fastings I say when we call to mind that this was their entertainment one would think there needed no more to keep their flesh within bounds and under the perfect command of Religion And yet we find that the same Apostle last cited did use voluntary chastisements and restraints towards himself that he might be wholly disengaged from all fleshly solicitations 1 Cor. 9.26 27. I therefore so run not as uncertainly so fight I not as one that beateth the air but I keep under my body and bring it unto subjection lest that by any means when I have preached to others I my self should be a cast away AND it is most certain the reason why we are not so successful in our resolutions against vice and folly is that we are not so particular in our choice of particular means and methods against particular sins When we beat the air in the language of the Apostle and never aim our strokes at particular sins we hover and are bewilder'd in the midst of many indefinite projects and fancies if we resolutely fight against the body of death we must wound it in some particular limb before the strength of the whole be taken down And therefore I would heartily advise all serious men in their retirements to single out some particular sin to which they find themselves more inclin'd for the object of their special resistance And this method hath this advantage also that not one sin falls without the ruin of many others to which it is nearly related And to close this advice in one word young and robust people that are healthful and vigorous where there is no danger of sickness infirmity or old age should frequently fast and pray that they may be strengthened against temptations that their Spirits being recollected they may with greater security venture abroad in the midst and hurry of secular incumbrances So far have I discours'd against Fleshly Lusts in their restrain'd signification as they proceed from wantonness and lasciviousness But I see no necessity why we may not understand the Fleshly Lusts in this place in their full extent as they signifie all those unruly passions and desires that act the unregenerate part of Mankind and drive them forward upon innumerable Precipices of error folly and mischief all of them reduc'd by S. John to three heads the lusts of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life All those gilded nothings and hurtful Idols that Mankind gaze upon with so much dotage and fondness all of them whether singly considered or in the bulk are contrary to the Nature and Genius of Christianity inconsistent with true peace and tranquility of mind and wholly set against the welfare of our Souls We have a Catalogue of them in the Epistle to the Galatians Chap. 5. v. 19. In which Catalogue the Lusts of the Flesh strictly so called are placed in the front Now the works of the flesh are manifest which are these Adultery Fornication Vncleanness Lasciviousness Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies V. 21. Envyings Murthers Drunkenness Revellings and such like of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in times past that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God THE Apostle then bids us abstain from those Lusts that are so directly opposite in their nature and tendencies to the beauty and just interest of our Souls AND this leads me to the second Particular that I design to speak to and that is the Apostle's first argument against those Fleshly Lusts taken from their opposition to the Soul They are drawn up in battel array against the natural life as well as the mind And that I may make this apparent in a few words 'T is easie to observe that they war against the Soul in its purest and highest excellencies and though they cannot commit a direct rape and violence upon its Spiritual Nature yet do they combine all their force and strength to entice and allure it unto unworthy compliances And this is so much likely to succeed in that we are plac'd in the confines of Heaven and Earth Our Souls hang between the pleasures of the Body and its own Speculations and these objects that our Bodies feel make such impressions upon us by their neighbourhood that it is with great difficulty that the Soul is victorious over their importunity and frequent assaults Now all the prejudice that the Soul can suffer may be reduc'd to these three Heads 1. IT may be sullied in its natural perfections and operations 2. IN its moral endowments and accomplishments 3. IT may be depriv'd of its supernatural rewards and carnal Lusts do war against the Soul in all these regards 1. I SAY they war against it in its natural perfections and excellencies Now the true perfection of the Soul is to be united unto God This is its natural element the contemplation of truth is its true and proper employment and if by the enchantment of our Senses we have forgot our selves yet the accusations of our Consciences the pricking reproofs and regrets of our mind amidst the noise and hurry of external avocations sufficiently inform us that our Souls are violated against their original tendency when they are made to worship the Creature instead of the Creator We were originally design'd to view the Creation but not to rest upon it not to dwell in its embraces but so far to consider it that by those Ladders we might climb unto the Author of our Being HEAR then the reasonings of our own mind How have we enslaved them to those mean and abject drudgeries that are unworthy of their Nature and Original Now those Spirits that are Sisters to Cherubims and Seraphims by complying too much with their Senses are become feeble flat and unweildy for their more genuine and spiritual operations Had we nothing else to do but to make provision for the Flesh and fulfil the Lusts thereof we needed not such Souls as now we are furnished with Souls that can grasp so many truths together and lodge them without confusion or disorder that search into the Secrets of Nature and feel pleasures wherein the Body can have no share Why ought we to have such intellectual furniture if we had nothing else to do but to move above the surface of the ground for some few Months or Years and then lye down in eternal silence in
thee We may say of this Conflict with the World as the Royal Psalmist said of his frequent Combats with his enemies 't is he that teacheth my fingers to fight and without doubt the Divine Wisdom is apparent in our Conquest over the World else how could poor Creatures all made up of error darkness and precipitance venture on Tentations of all sorts without his special Conduct and Presence How quietly doth the Psalmist rejoice in the Meditation of his fatherly Care and Assistance He maketh me to lye down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the quiet waters he restoreth my Soul he guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his names sake thy rod and thy staff they comfort me 'T is through God alone we shall do valiantly The weapons of our warfare are mighty through him he not only treads Satan under our feet but the World also which is the Devils great Confederate against the Saints 2. WE are assured of the Victory through the Triumph and Victory and Jesus Christ He hath bidden us himself be of good cheer for he hath overcome the World He is the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah he marcheth upon the Head of his Disciples with displayed Banners against the Legions of Darkness the World Hell and the Grave are hauled at the Wheels of his triumphant Chariot Therefore the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews bids us consider the cloud of witnesses but most of all Jesus Christ himself the Author and Finisher of our Faith When we are like to faint when our fears grow thick and dark then consider the Captain of our Salvation who hath already broke the force of our enemies and is set down on the right hand of the Throne of God and there employes his Power in Heaven and Earth for the conduct safety and success of his followers Let us believe with the Apostle S. Paul that we shall be able to do all things through Christ that strengthens us 3. WE are assured of the Victory by the Strength and Energy of the Divine Nature So we are told in the Text that that which is born of God overcometh the World and in Chap. 4. He that is in us is stronger than he that is in the World If we were to grapple with the World by equal strength we could not promise to our selves the Victory but we are partakers of the Divine Nature we are carried above our selves God is in us in a truer and higher sense than the Poet meant it THE Divine Nature is full of Life and Power it grows unto perfection unto the stature of a perfect Man in Christ Jesus until it lodge us at last in the bosom of God 'T is a Coal from the Altar that inflames the Soul and consumes the Body of Death to nothing What is not the Christian Religion able to do in conjunction with Omnipotence THIS is it that wrought such incredible Changes in the World and if others have been so successful and victorious in their Conflicts with the World why ought we to despair Had not the Luminaries of the Church the same flesh to mortifie the same passions to overcome the same World to contend with and if they overcame the World why may not we be victorious also BUT let us improve this Meditation for our practice If we are thus assured of the Victory if we do not wilfully desert our Stations then let us not be discouraged with the Terrors of the World nor with those imaginary difficulties by which Men frequently fright themselves from their duty But in the midst of our fears and objections let us strengthen our selves in God and debate the matter with our own Consciences in the Language of the Psalmist Why art thou cast down O my Soul hope in God remember and call to mind the Victory that Men of like Passions have attained why do you thus sit down hanging your head as if the World were invincible WHY do we suffer our selves so tamely to be carried down the Stream Let us bear up against it and remember that we have to do with a broken and conquered Enemy and if we do not shamefully yield God will stand by us at our right hand and make Vs more than Conquerors through Jesus Christ It is unbecoming the Goodness of God to leave us when we are engaged with such formidable Enemies If he be for Vs who can be against Vs Here we are but Pilgrims and Strangers and since we have renounced the World so solemnly why do we look back upon it with so much fondness and delight why are we diffident of the Victory For the Captain of our Salvation looks on and suffers us to be surrounded with Tentations that he may make proof of our Courage Constancy Fidelity Loyalty and Patience God looks on the Conflicts of his people with delight and by their tryals and hard encounters he fortifies their Souls for Immortality which is the prize IT was the glimmering of this Meditation made so many of the antient Philosophers think that a Man without suffering was without reputation for honour by the esteem and vote of all Mankind belongs to them that have suffered and striven resolutely in the midst of all disasters against Vice and its insinuations To this purpose Seneca in his Book de Providentia says That a Man bearing up resolutely against disadvantages and disasters was a spectacle worthy Jupiter himself to look on SINCE then we are furnished with better Principles and a clearer Light let us under the Conduct of our High Priest face all Tentations and keep our consciences void of offence towards God and towards Men for the things that are terrible to Mans eyes are but Scare-Crows and Apparitions to the eyes of Faith AND this leads me to the third and last Particular that is The Mean by which this Victory is obtained the Apostle saith Faith is our Victory THE Figure is obvious enough this is the Mean and Weapon by which we trample under foot the World and all its glittering vanities and soar above it We are by our Laws Citizens of another Kingdom we are neither intangled with its snares nor blinded with its foolish hopes nor govern'd by its pernicious Maxims nor dazled with its false lights while we keep our eyes open to the light of Faith and the Glories that our Jesus hath manifested to us in the Gospel then we grow too big for this World and the sight of that Inheritance enlarges our Souls and the Earth becomes contemptible in our eyes BUT that I may make this the more clear I shall endeavour to give light unto it by the Nature and Excellency of Faith it self which when we have considered this Conquest will appear to be the most necessary result of Faith AND 1. Consider that by Faith we are furnished with new Principles we have a Spirit giv'n us stronger than the World opposite to it far above it this is frequently asserted by S. John
its rules and directions if the grosser acts of impiety and wickedness were only forbidden and our Souls were left at liberty to entertain mischievous designs within then we should want the most effectual mean to heal the distemper of our Nature But he that perfectly knows what is in Man the whole frame of his Soul the contrivance first risings manifold circumstances and design of all his actions hath encircled him with such a perfect Law a Law that divides between the Soul and the Spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts of the heart THIS Rule is so exact and authoritative that it reaches all the windings and the turnings of the Soul the most artificial excuses cannot hide our inventions from that piercing Light that shines in it it enters into the closest retirements and sees into the secret imaginations It s authority sits so close to the mind of Man that it can no more shake its force than divest it self of its own Nature AND this effectually proveth a Supreme Dominion of our Law-giver this invisible Authority of him who sees our hearts and hath armed our Consciences with light and power sufficient to accuse us and to chastise us with its sharp reproofs for our inward failings as well as for our outward miscarriages AND if the Divine Law that is folded up in the very constitution of the Soul be so powerful and piercing God cannot but abhor those services and complemental submissions of such as approach him with their lips but leave their hearts behind them especially when we consider under the New Testament how clearly the Law of Nature was explain'd and improv'd beyond the Standard of Moses by our Lord and Saviour its high and generous Principles by which we are acted beyond the common level of Mankind and rais'd to a participation of the Divine Nature This is it that enters the Soul with its divine power and efficacy and strikes down its pride under the Authority of God and Christ It leads every thought captive to its obedience we are more than Conquerours through Jesus Christ that loved us So far from being captive to the Law of Sin that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us The Disciples of Moses Law did vindicate themselves to the people that they had not taken either Ox or Ass by violence or oppression but S. Paul protests he did not so much as covet any mans silver or gold WHEN we then sufficiently digest this Meditation of the Perfection of his Law we must remember he is not to be served in a trifling indifferent manner but we must meditate in his Law night and day So the Psalmist O how love I thy Law it is my meditation night and day sweeter than the honey and the honey comb Those testimonies were more delicious unto him than all the pleasures of Gold and Silver In the glass of this Law he saw all the blemishes of his Soul and then he was transported with the beauty and purity of it The Law of the Lord is perfect 3. I URGE this Truth from the Nature and consideration of our own Souls their force and activity How curious is it in its enquiries how fond of its contemplations Its pleasures are refin'd pure and Angelical how swift in its thoughts from East to West it flies through the Earth it makes to it self Ladders of the visible Creatures to climb to Heaven that it may see the face of God Now if it dwell with so much vigour and complacency on lesser objects how vigorously should it adore God himself the first and original beauty DID God furnish our Minds with such noble Powers only to till the ground or make provision for the Flesh and bestow some transient thoughts on his service and obedience No certainly This Soul of ours that can grasp so many Truths and lodge them together without confusion that is all Life and Motion must bestow its noblest and strongest desires on God there needed not such intellectual furniture to feed our bellies and feast our senses The Beast enjoys those objects more feelingly and with greater satisfaction they want the uneasie alarms of Conscience to awaken them to higher things therefore they enjoy them without disturbance and interruption But Poor Man when he forgets himself and hearkens to the enchantments and flatteries of Sense cannot so far unite with those despicable things but that still the regrets and uneasie reflections of his mind call him higher and reproach him when he forgets his parentage and original IF we then in some measure understand our selves know but the frame and constitution of our own Soul observe its motions and activity if we feel the manner of its operations and reflections its aspiring strength and vivacity we must conclude that God did not give us this Soul to serve him negligently and carelesly but to bestow upon him our highest adorations our most profound submissions our deepest acknowledgments our most joyful thanksgivings Nay never to rest satisfied with our selves until we attain to that habitual delight in his Worship that the Angels have in Heaven who wait with their Wings stretch'd ready to fly when he commands OUR Souls are so near a kin to those bright favourites of Heaven that though we cannot run so nimbly yet ought we to come as near to them as may be Though their present posture hath set them incomparably beyond us yet we feel that our Souls claim their kindred and acquaintance 'T is true our incumbrances are many but frequently may we gain ground and let our Souls know their heavenly nature and activity that they needed not be oppress'd with the weight of the Body nor confin'd to those Walls of Flesh but that at some time or other nay frequently we may converse with God himself DID we feel the honour and satisfaction of those flights to Heaven how they fortifie the mind how much they lessen the World how much they establish the Soul in its choice how they advance our Victory and confirm our hopes We would grow more bold in repelling temptations more ardent in our prayers more watchful upon our guard nay more than Conquerours through Jesus Christ that loved us Let us remember then that whether we consider God or his Law or our own Souls We must serve him with zeal and devotion with our strength and affection No man can serve two Masters 4. LET me urge this from the Practice of the best of Men. The zeal of thy house saith the Psalmist hath eaten me up Thy Testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever for they are the rejoicing of my heart I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous judgments I love thy commandments above gold yea above fine gold Rivers of waters run down mine eyes because men keep not thy Law O how love I thy Law It is my meditation all the day at midnight will I rise to give thanks unto thee
have the Testimony of S. John to this great Truth that the whole world lyes in wickedness and this is very evident if we consider 1. The opposition and strugglings that we feel within our selves before we are illuminated by the Gospel 2. The slow progress of Grace after we are illuminated And 3. The Relapses of the best of Men into their former faults and failings 1. I SAY Do but consider the struglings of our Reason against our Corruptions before we are acquainted with the Gospel And this proves sufficiently that we have an unhappy byass in our Nature to oppose the Dictates of Reason as well as Revelation We are made up of Body and Spirit there is a Law in the Members bringing into Captivity the Law of the Mind crossing its counsels and designs bowing and bending its most heroick resolutions what a load do we feel when we would fly towards Heaven Our sensual inclinations and propensions baffle and affront the Sovereignty of the Mind And the Schools of all the Pagan Philosophers seem to reason from this Truth as from the universal experience of Mankind We feel such intestine commotions between our Reason and our lower Appetites that the one is run down against its natural tendencies oppressed and buried under the drudgeries of the Body So that we cannot but see and feel the decayes of our first Beauty the lamentable ruins of our original frame And this needs neither proof nor illustration to any that is so far acquainted with himself as to reflect on his own acts and inward motions How frequently is he hurried to follow the importunity of his Senses against the clearest light of his Soul How often baffled in his best thoughts by their unreasonable clamour and noise In one word when we would prove that there is a corruption in the World we need no more than bid men of ingenuity and consideration look within themselves and they must acknowledge the great disorder that attends on most of their actions and that it proceeds from some unhappy principle of Corruption that maintains a constant War against the Spirit What God made was beautiful and harmonious the Soul of Man as well as his Countenance looked towards Heaven his lower faculties were then calm and obedient But when we view him in his present condition we feel that he is miserable and his greatest infelicity is that he knows not of himself where to find his remedy 2. THIS is clear if we consider the slow progress of Grace after we are acquainted with the Gospel This corruption is so inveterate and so deeply rooted that even when we are rescu'd from its tyranny it yet molests our peace and disturbs our quiet We must fight after we are in possession of Canaan as well as when we struggled with our enemies in the Wilderness My meaning is that the Canaanite is still in the Land and the most signal Victory leaves some remains of the Enemy though scatter'd and broken yet they are very troublesome and uneasie SUCH is the strength and enchantment of tentations such the subtilty of our enemies the infirmity of our Nature and the soft insinuations of Sense that unless we keep the strictest watch we lose more ground in a moment than we are able to recover in a considerable time And though we feel our selves sometimes full of life and alacrity to run the race that 's set before us yet in an instant such weariness creeps over all our faculties that we grow lumpish and heavy cold and unactive as the Earth So difficult a thing it is to climb up the Hill to row against the stream to change the old customs of our Nature to pull up inveterate habits and to crucifie the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof So backward are we to receive the impressions of the Gospel that when our Souls are form'd into the Image of Jesus Christ we again look back unto Egypt God is provoked every moment to desert us his Graces are not improved his Spirit is resisted his love despised so slowly goes our Victory forward after full and plain Convictions the most solemn Vows and deliberate Resolutions If the Light of the Gospel in conjunction with and superadded to our Reason conquers our Corruption so slowly we must conclude that it is very deeply rooted in our Nature especially when we consider 3. THE relapses of the best of Men into their former follies Nothing proves more the weakness of Humane Nature than the remarkable failings of Wise and Religious Men. And it is observable that the Divine Providence hath sometimes permitted the most eminent Saints to fall into the very sins that they most abhorr'd and were most opposite unto their habitual resolutions What more inconsistent with the generous and warlike Spirit of David than by treachery and baseness to expose his faithful Servant Vriah to unavoidable ruine and destruction What more unagreeable to the Wisdom of Solomon than to prostitute his Royal Authority to the humors and fancies of so many Women Was there any thing more unlike the zeal and courage of S. Peter than to be so soon frighted at the Challenge of a poor Maid If we are kept from the most notorious Crimes we should wholly impute it to the Grace and Favour of God THE danger and prevailing force the universality and pertinacious obstinacy of this Corruption cannot be better express'd than in the Language of the Holy Scriptures We are transgressors from the womb shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin Branches of the Wild Olive Naturally dead in trespasses and sins Born only of the Flesh Sin is present with us and doth so easily beset us We are become servants unto sin and in the Apostle's phrase brought into bondage And this is the reason why most men are past all feeling their Consciences being seared with a hot iron they are deaf unto the suggestions of the Spirit secure against all the Threats of the Law they are not wrought upon either by hopes or fears and in a word they stand out against the variety of Gods methods WHEN we reflect upon the former Truth with attention It teaches us humility For if this Corruption be so infectious so pertinacious and so difficultly cur'd may not we infer with Eliphaz the Temanite What is man that he should be clean and he which is born of a Woman that he should be righteous Behold he putteth no trust in his Saints yea the heavens are not clean in his sight how much more abominable and filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like water WHEN we remember that we have been made a little lower than the Angels crowned with glory and dignity yet now fall'n in a manner below the Beasts that perish that our understandings are darkned with ignorance and error and our Souls become the habitations of many passions ought not this consideration alone to take down our pride and vanity There is not a more compendious method to attain
Well of Living Waters Dilherus renders it Puteus aquae viventis a deep Well non collectitiae clausae atque stagnantis sed ultrò scaturientis that by its copious frequent and uninterrupted ebullitions waters all the neighbouring Regions they are the only Waters can quench the Thirst of reasonable Souls this is the Well after which they pant and breath As the Hart panteth after the Water-brooks Psal 42. HERE Interpreters take care to distinguish betwixt a Fountain and a Well Every Well is a Fountain but every Fountain is not a Well So the Well implies great depth and profundity and this Phrase added to the former does insinuate that the Waters of the Sanctuary are not only pure clear and serene but very deep they are not a puddle nor a standing Lake not like the Waters of Gomorrha where Fishes cannot live but the smooth and deep Rivers of Paradise THIS Metaphor then duly considered does imply the Purity Profundity and free Communication of these Oracles First I SAY the Purity of these Waters The Church of Christ is not to be fed with Dreams and Fancies and corrupt Doctrines not with noise ostentation and popular tricks but with Words of Eternal Life 2 Tim. 1.13 Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in Faith and Love which is in Christ Jesus We are to take heed 1 Tim. 4.16 to our selves and to our doctrine for this is the way to save our selves and them which hear us THE Hereticks of all Ages have been proud and subtile and indefatigable and there is no Antidote against their Poyson but to adhere to the Simplicity of the Gospel the pure Canon of the Scriptures the antient Creeds and Liturgies of the Church the faith which was delivered to the Saints the Doctrines that have been received uno ore apud omnes Christianos the Golden Rule of Vincentius Lirenensis quod apud omnes quod ubique quod semper This is certainly the Rule of Faith and by this Standard were the antient Heresies examined baffled and confounded Reason Scripture and Universal Tradition were the Weapons by which they defended the Truth For the Apostle foretells 2 Cor. 4.2 3. That the time would quickly come when men could not endure sound doctrine but after their own lusts they should heap teachers to themselves and turn their ears from the truth and follow after fables They did so in a little time and the offspring of Simon Magus covered the Church as the Frogs did Egypt This occasioned the Heresiologies of Irenaeus Epiphanius S. Augustine Many forsook the Simplicity of Faith and mixt the Waters of Life with the putrid Streams that they drew from their own Cisterns THE Credenda of our Religion are but very few and the Constitution of Human Nature did require that they should be few For since our Saviour did calculate his Religion not for any particular Sect or Party but for the whole Body of Mankind it cannot be thought that he design'd that it should be spun out into Nice Decisions Metaphysical Distinctions odd and Barbarous Words When the School Divinity began to be the Learning of the Western Church and Aristotle's Philosophy gave Laws to their Theology how miserably was the Christian Religion mangled and broken into airy Questions uncertain Conclusions and idle Problems that eat out the Life of true Learning and Devotion And Articles imposed on the Belief of the Church neither necessary in their Nature nor revealed by Christ nor taught by the Apostles nor founded in Reason nor consisting with the Analogy of Faith The Christian Religion thus ratified unto nothing became feeble and dry lost its force and primitive vigour And the truth is since the Thirteenth Century in which that kind of Learning domineered in all Schools Colleges and Monasteries all Discourses even the Homilies that exhort the People to Repentance and a Holy Life were all blended with that bombast Jargon But our Religion was first plainly delivered and loves perspicuity and fixes its residence in the most ingenuous Souls and if it be covered and mantled in darkness who can distinguish it from Nonsense and Vanity AND therefore since Christ by us conveys these Waters to his Church let us not sully them with Chimerical Guesses and Uncertainties but let us pour them out in their original Purity and Simplicity without alteration corruption or addition How often doth the Apostle exhort to this 2 Tim. 7.8 In doctrine shewing uncorruptedness gravity sincerity sound speech that cannot be condemned And Titus 1.9 holding fast the faithful word as thou hast been taught that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince gainsavers AND this is not done by Passion or reviling Language for where did you ever hear that a man was recovered from Heresie or Schism by heaping reproaches upon him Our Arguments may be intrinsecally strong but if they are set off with venom rancour and personal aspersions they may well irritate the Disease but they shall never reclaim the Erroneous and therefore when we deal with any such either on the right or left hand let us state the Controversies fairly else we but beat the Air neither must we multiply them needlesly nor are we to toss and bandy those Questions to serve the designs of Fame Ostentation of Learning or Popularity but with a sincere resolution to edifie the Church to fight under the Royal Standard of Christ to preserve his Church his chast and dearly beloved Spouse Secondly THIS Metaphor implies the profound Nature of Gospel Mysteries 't is puteus profundus aquae viventis The Woman of Samaria said to our Saviour of Jacobs Well that it was very deep 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 how much more profound are the Wells of Salvation The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven the deep things of God the Mysteries kept hid from Ages and Generations Great is the Mysterie of Godliness God manifested in the Flesh justified in the Spirit seen of Angels believed on in the the World received up into Glory We are taught by the Gospel to speak the Wisdom of God in a Mysterie The illuminated Apostle of the Gentiles in contemplation of these Mysteries fell in a transport of admiration O the depth of the Wisdom and Knowledge of God how unsearchable are his Judgments and his Ways past finding out THOUGH there be nothing in the Gospel that overthrows Reason or subverts its Principles yet its Mysteries and Revelations are beyond it The whole Contrivance of our Redemption is a Mysterie and then certainly we ought to approach the administrations of his House with pure hearts and clean hands Let us wash our hands in innocence when we compass his Altar They were to look to their feet that came to the Temple of Jerusalem much more should the Sons of Aaron the immedidiate Servants of the Sanctuary prove the keenest enemies to all prophanation of holy things I am no friend to Superstition and as little to Giddiness and
God saith Isaiah In all publick Sacrifices there was some Ceremony to signifie the translation of the punishment from the People to the Sacrifice Thus the Person among the Heathens that was appointed for a publick Sacrifice had all the Imprecations of the People heaped upon him as he went along the streets But our Saviour did not only expiate the sins of one City Kingdom or Family but the sins of the whole World past present and to come in their most heinous Nature and numberless Aggravations He made Atonement for them all by that one peculiar Sacrifice which needs not again be repeated because it had no imperfection He himself alone bore our sins in his own body on the Tree that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousness And our sins are thus for ever buried if we do not reinflame the Wrath of God by our impenitence Now when we remember the Love of Jesus in dying for us and all the circumstances of his Disgrace and the variety of these peculiar Vertues that appeared in him under his saddest Torture may not we pray in the words of the Greek Church By thy unknown sufferings Lord have mercy upon us NOW I go forward to the second Particular that I propos'd to speak to and that is by whom this Cup was ordered and prepared And our Saviour tells S. Peâ—er that it was the Cup his Father gave him to drink The sufferings of our Saviour were not casual and fortuitous but duly weigh'd by infinite Wisdom So much the Apostles St. Peter and St. John in their Scraphick Prayer acknowledge Of a truth against thy Holy Child Jesus whom thou hast anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy Counsel determined before to be done I might illustrate this Truth 1. From the signification of Ceremonies under the Law particularly that of the Scape-Goat and the Red Heifer 2. From the Prediction of Prophets especially the Prophecies of Isaiah and Daniel 3. From the nature of his Undertaking whether 1. the Sacrifice that he offer'd or 2. the Religion that he planted I say from all those Heads I might demonstrate this great Truth viz. that the sufferings of our Saviour were weighed and ordered in the Divine Counsel But I must leave this and the third Particular also which was the alacrity and readiness of his Soul to drink this Cup insinuated in the Question propos'd to St. Peter Shall I not drink the Cup that my Father giveth me And those things I leave at present that I may make some Application of what I have already insisted on And 1. CAN we read the History of his Passion without any Concern Are we made of Flint Marble or Adamant O stupid and inconsiderate Sinner Wilt thou look upon him whom thou hast pierced by thy sins We find that when this Tragedy was acted universal Nature seem'd to groan The Sun did hide his head the Earth blush'd to be the Theatre of so much Villany and have we no sense at all When we remember that we were principally accessory to his grievous Torments He was bruis'd for our iniquities he was wounded for our transgressions the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes are we healed Shall we again crucifie him afresh by our treacherous and perfidious impenitence This is a higher outrage than that other committed by the Jews As for his Crucifiers many of them were converted but this obstinate contempt of his Love sets us without the bounds of Mercy tho his mercy be above the heavens and over all his works To provoke him again by our sins is a downright affront to his Love but after such undeniable proofs of his kindness to disbelieve the Gospel is utterly inexcusable Infidelity makes the nearest approaches to the sin against the holy Ghost which I take to be the malicious opposition of that Light and Evidence which God offers for our Conviction When the Messias came he proved his Mission and Authority by the most convincing Miracles and Signs more glorious than ever Moses wrought nor was it reasonable to expect that he should bring with him fairer Credentials to recommend himself and his Doctrine than those he displayed before his Country-men But his Countrymen shut their Eyes against the Light He came unto his own and his own received him not And we are guilty of the very same sin if we trample upon the Gospel which at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed by them that heard him He seal'd the Truth by his Death confirm'd it by his Resurrection and by the various Gifts of the holy Ghost proves beyond all contradiction that He is at the right hand of God the Father Secondly DID our Saviour thus die for us Then we ought to treat our selves with greater regard than to be inslav'd to our former sin Did he hide the glory of his Divinity that he might redeem us from misery and despair by his own Blood Was it for this that he took flesh of our Flesh that we might be made partakers of the divine Nature Why do we live like so many mean sordid abject Creatures as if we were confin'd by the frame of our Nature to the Earth only As if we could look no higher than the trifling interests of this World So sadly have we forgot our selves and though very frequently our Pride makes us hateful to God and odious to one another yet do we truckle under the meanest Vices We were not redeem'd with corruptible things such as silver and gold but with the precious blood of the Son of God This is the Argument that St. Paul makes use of to heighten our esteem of our Brethren Wilt thou make thy Brother perish for whom Christ died And the Argument of St. Peter to aggravate the folly and wickedness of the Hereticks that they deny'd the Lord that bought them To be bought by the blood of the Son of God is the powerful Argument of the Gospel against Sin and if we resist this we may justly fear to be delivered up to a Reprobate Sense Our sins set us at the greatest distance from God he is Light Beauty Strength and Perfection and Sin is folly weakness error and deformity Let us therefore fly from it because so horrid in its Nature so dismal in its consequences that nothing could attone it but the Blood of the Son of God Thirdly HERE is the true remedy against despair So reasons S. Paul He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things And a little after Who is he that condemneth it is Christ that died This is the powerful Oratory that prevails before the Throne of God nay it is irresistible in the mouth of a penitent sinner Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord