the Sea 't is a hot fire surely that is not cooled with so much water Others will have it in Mount Aetna Vesuvius or some such burning Mongibels Another is so ridiculous as to fancy it in an hill of Ireland the Torments one will have them to be only by fire another by fire and water a third neither by fire nor water but by the violent convulsions of hope and fear The Tormentors some say they are the Holy Angels others say they are the very Devils The extremity of Pains according to some are as violent as Hell according to others they are more mild Their continuance some will have it to be to the end of the world others about ten years others during the Popes pleasure so that if he speak but the word they are free They likewise contradict Scripture for that saith The bloud of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin 1 John 1.7 and if this be so what need of purging by the fire of Purgatory That saith when the Righteous die they enter into peace and they rest in their beds Isai 57.2 And if this be so that they are at peace and rest then they are Lyars who say they enter into Purgatory-Torments That saith Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth that they may rest from their Labours as it is in the Text and if this be so that they are Blessed from the time of their death and thenceforth rest from their Labours then surely they never feel the pains of that hot Region for Blessedness cannot consist with misery nor rest with trouble nor reward with punishment This Text is so clear against it that as we are told a Famous Doctor of the Church of Rome and one of the Sorbon-Colledge Picherellus by name did ingeniously confess St. John had in these few words put out the fire of Purgatory They that die in the Lord rest from their Labours they suffer nothing only they do something that is cease not day and night saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come Rev. 4.8 should serve our turn True Faith can no more be without Good Works than the Sun without light or the Fire without heat shew we then our Faith by our Works always abounding in the work of the Lord for our labour will not be in vain being our works will follow us So much of this Text of Scripture Now of the Text of Nature a Text dead indeed in the Letter but alive in the Spirit and well may he become our Text who was himself a Living Sermon for his life was truly Doctrinal he living in the Lord and his death a good Application he dying in the Lord. As for his life it was according to the designe of the Gospel and the character of a true Christian for it was sober righteous and godly His Sobriety appeared in all his deportment in his personal and private capacity He was a man exceeding humble notwithstanding the great temptations he had to be Proud both upon the account of Birth and Fortune he was it is well known of an Antient and Honourable Family and he had Providence so ordering it a large and plentiful Estate and to use the words of the Psalmist his Lot fell into a good ground yea he had a goodly Heritage notwithstanding he was so Great in the eye of the world that he was little in his own he was so humble and lowly He was likewise very discreet and reserved not apt to be familiar with every one and with whom he was so it was not suddenly but after he understood them and their humor He was a man of few words but they were wise and to the purpose He observed with Solomon that in many words there wanteth not sin and folly and that he that refraineth his lips is wise He knew how to govern his Tongue and his Passion for he kept both from all extravagancy His calmness and moderation of Affection was very remarkable though he knew how to be angry yet he seldom practiced it for he so ruled his passion that it was a hard matter to discover any in him Chastity a rare Virtue indeed in this Debauched Age wherein many take a pride in sin that they may be of the fashion adventuring to take Crimes upon Trust and to perish by Credit this rare vertue of Chastity was conspicuous in him And so was Temperance his moderation in this Point is well known unto all men how free he was from all Excess His Righteousness appeared in his Dealing and Carriage towards man giving every one his due He was a Loyal Faithful Obedient Subject to the King whom he served in the Office of a Magistrate and a Souldier as a Justice of Peace and a Deputy-Lieutenant he thought nothing too much either to do or give for his Soveraign being always ready to serve him in Person and Goods And as he served his King so he served his Country willingly truly and faithfully I may say of him as a Roman Historian does of another he was Vir bonus Reipublicae necessarius a good man and necessary in the Common-wealth His practice was according to his Office to do justice The cause which he knew not he searched out and when it lay in darkness his strict and Impartial examination often brought it to light and then did truth and justice meet How many were beholding to him for justice how many for Counsel how many for peace for partly by counsel and partly by authority he reconciled many differences and prevented more his deportment in his Office was grave and something severe to discountenance and awe unruly people but his carriage at other times was sweet and affable He was not like Nabal that was so proud and churlish that a man could not speak unto him no he despised no man but would speak to the meanest and hear the meanest speak to him again Access to his person was easie for though his condition were High yet he was not apt to over-look his Neighbours He was a good Common-wealths man improving his Estate and maintaining divers other mens by keeping them at constant work all the year As for his charity to the Poor though some perhaps suspected it because he joyned with others in putting the Law in execution against Vagabonds and wandring Beggars there was a mistake in it he had charity for the Poor though not for Beggars There is a difference put between these by the Law of Moses by the Gospel of Christ and by the Laws of most Nations God in the Law ordered that there should be no beggar among his people Israel and yet he sayd that the poor should never cease out of the Land The distinction between them is this Mendicus est qui Publice stipem petit Pauper qui non potest se sustentare c. a Beggar is one that publickly seeks for Relief wandring about betaking himself to no calling when he is able
in the Text to his Philippians observance and therefore we may reasonably conclude that the following of it is both seasonable and proper for all persons when surrounded and opprest with troubles and distresses What Conversation of which we ought to be careful doth mean I suppose every one understands It being the outward carriage and government of a man's self in this World or the common and usual course and way of a man's Life and Actions In the ordering and managing of which we ought to use our utmost care and discretion And that upon these following Reasons First Because there is nothing of us falls so much under Humane Cognizance and Observation as this For how we live and what we do is exposed to every Eye and we cannot demean our selves or be concerned in any worldly Affairs but many both Friends and Enemies will take notice of them and make remarks upon them And therefore since we lye open and naked to the sight of as Rational and Intelligent persons as our selves and who will be as curious and Critical to observe our way of living as we are of theirs certainly it will become us to be very careful and circumspect how we walk and act in this present World Secondly We ought to do it because that it 's from this outward Conversation and visible course of a Man's life that we all censure and judge one another We know that they are not a few who are puft up with the Pride and Ambition of sitting in the Chair and upon the Bench of Judgment nor are they less numerous who make it their business and delight to sift and censure their Neighbours and Brethren But if Men will judge as they ought to do they have no way left them to do it by but the visible Actions and the constant course of a Man's dealings and conversation And if Men will venture to pass sentence upon humor and hear-say fancy and opinion jealousie and suspicion I am afraid the Judgment they give will be found to be as often false as it 's malicious To know a Man's heart or to understand the frame and temper of a Man's mind and constitution is a Prerogative that belongs to God alone and therefore there can be no way left for us to know one another by but the apparent actions and habitual course of a Man's life Now then seeing that it 's by this alone that we judge and censure one another and that upon this our worldly Reputation stands or falls it will be our interest and prudence to be cautions in what we speak and do And though it be impossible to live so warily and without offence but that some ill natured and wicked minded men will maliciously turn all we say to the worst sense and traduce the most Honest and generous Actions yet if we can satisfie our Consciences in the Truth of what we speak and the Righteousness and Justice of what we do we need not dread the sting and poyson of calumny and slander For it 's found True upon Trial that a good Honest mind and a clean life is armour of proof against all the railings and revilings of malicious Tongues Thirdly We ought to be very careful of our outward Conversation Because of the good and bad Influences it may have upon others especially if Providence hath seated us in any degrees of Place Office Riches Parts and Qualities above others For of such a spreading and diffusive nature is Conversation that the next standers-by are tinctured with it if it be good but most certainly infected and corrupted by it if it be bad And if this be the effect of Conversation among equals how much more powerful will it be in those who are in the highest forms of Dignity and Preferment For as the Lives and Examples of such Men are more visible and observed so they carry along with them a kind of Licence and Authority For the mean and unthinking Vulgar are apt to believe that they never do ill or amiss if they do no worse than what they see the Great Wealthy and Learned daily do Now if our Conversations have such an Influence and Operation upon others we ought then to have a special care in the government of them Because if they be Good and Vertuous we may in time possibly stop the mouths of our Gainsayers and convert our Enemies from the Errors of their ways But if they are loose and vicious we shall give our Adversaries just cause to blaspheme corrupt our Brethren and Friends and encrease our own Damnation by being the unhappy Instruments of destroying many Souls The Second Proposition That the most Prudent Course we can take with our Conversations is to guide and govern them by the Laws and Rules contained in the Gospel of Christ and I particularly mention Laws and Rules by way of Explication For though it be true that this Phrase the Gospel of Christ doth in Scripture-sense comprehend First All the Essential and Fundamental Articles of our Faith Secondly All Good Holy and Just Laws for our Practice And Thirdly All the great and precious promises for our encouragement here and recompence hereafter Yet as these words the Gospel of Christ stand related to the word Conversation in the Text we cannot suppose them taken in that latitude before mentioned but are restrained to that particular part of the Gospel call'd Laws and Precepts For if Conversation doth mean the outward visible actions and usual course of a Man's life then the Gospel of Christ with reference to them must intend no other but that part of it which is their Guide and Director and we all know that the standard and measure of Mens lives and actions are Laws and Precepts And it 's this and this chiefly and only which we are to mind and take notice of in the ordering and governing our selves and conversations It 's very possible that many Men do wish that there might be found out some other way for them to be Christians and not to be thus strictly bound up to guide their lives and actions by such strait and severe Laws which are contained in the Gospel And it 's as possible that there are others far worse than these who will presume to be their own Priests and Popes and take the liberty and power of dispensing with the Laws of Christ and live by methods of their own invention and making And to an observing eye these Libertines who go under the name of Christians and Protestants too are very numerous for we daily see that Humor and Passion prejudice and pretence of Conscience zeal for a Party and fondness of some new Opinion byass of Interest Ambition after Honour and Popular Applause and the grateful relish of sinful pleasure to fleshly lusts have in a great measure supplanted the Rules and Precepts of our Blessed Lord. And Christians for the most part choose to be under the bondage of several Tyrants rather than submit to the easie and gracious Monarchy
that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Titus 2. 11 12 13 14 And it was the charge of Christ to his followers That they should let their lights shine before men that is be Examples and Patterns of Piety and Holiness to all the World In short The Gospel of our Lord and Saviour doth strictly prohibit all Sins and Vices and every evil work which defiles a Man's mind or weakens his Body or blemishes his Fame and wastes his Estate And secondly it doth with great Authority enjoyn the practice of all Goodness and Vertue and every thing else that is worthy of praise And therefore that Life and Conversation which becomes the Gospel must in the first place be Pure and Holy clean and undefiled Secondly The Conversation which becometh the Gospel of Christ is that which is managed with all meekness and moderation in the mind and spirit and which carefully promotes Union Peace and Love in the World This is apparent from our Saviour's command Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in mind and from the Apostles direction that we should be mean in our own eyes in honour preferring one another and to condescend to men of low degree and to let our moderation be known unto all men So that the frame and temper of Mind and Spirit with which we are to govern our selves is to be meek and humble soft and gentle calm and moderate to all we converse with Again the Gospel of Christ directs us to further all the degrees of Love Amity and Quietness Our Saviour having call'd all Peacemakers the Children of God and pronounc'd them happy and also declared who are the heavenly-born Christians even they that love one another And how frequently do all the Apostles command and order us to be of modest and peaceable behaviour and to live in an unfeigned mutual love one with another As Rom. 12. 9 10 17 18. Let love be without dissimulation Be kindly affectioned one towards another in brotherly love in honor preserving one another Recompence to no man evil for evil provide things honest in the sight of all men And if it be possible as much as in you lies live peaceably with all men Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace and things where with me may edifie one another Rom. 14. 19. And the most passionate and earnest request that ever St. Paul made in his life was that to his Colossians Put on therefore as the Elect of God Holy and beloved bowels of mercy kindness humbleness of mind meekness long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you so also do ye And above all these things put on Charity which is the bond of Perfection Colossians 3. 12 13 14. And as the Gospel of Christ doth commend to our study practice unity peace and love every thing that promotes their flourishing growth so it forbids whateyer may obstruct and hinder it As namely all rash censuring and judging tale-bearing and backbiting whispering of lies and scandals publishing of Libels and defamations charging us not to give railing for railing but to avoid all occasions of janglings and quarrels and to keep our selves from proud peevish and passionate humours and sowing the seeds of strife and sedition And what is the great end and design of all these Evangelical Laws but only that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty 1 Timothy 2. 2. And thus very briefly I have shewed what that Conversation is which becomes the Gospel of Christ All which is excellently comprised in those words of the Apostle Rom. 14.17 The Kingdom of God that is the Gospel-dispensation doth not consist in meats and drinks in controversies and disputes about things Indifferent but in solid Righteousness Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost And the like character doth St. James give of the Religion and Gospel of Christ For saith he If you have bitter envying in your hearts then the Religion which you have and profess is Earthly Sensual and Devilish But the Religion which is from above and came from God and Christ teaches all Men first to be Pure and Holy and secondly to be Peaceable and gentle easie to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality without hypocrisie And the fruit of Righteousness is sown in Peace of them that make peace James 3. from Verse the 13. to the end of the Chapter And so much for the Third Particular I pass to the Fourth To consider the Reasons why in Evil and Perilous Times we should then more especially lead pure and peaceable Lives according to the Gospel of Christ. And the Reasons are these Three First That we may if possibly prevail with God to be our favourer and friend And this is no small Argument to perswade us to be more Holy and Religious in dangerous and evil Times than at any other Because then it is we stand most in need of having God our Assistant and Defender For it 's he alone which hath the ordering and managing of all Humane Greatness and Wisdom and worldly affairs which generally have their Events and Successes according as God approves or dislikes the persons in whose hands they are plac'd For you must know that let the Cause or Design be what it will that any Nation or number of Men do take in hand yet there is an Over-seeing Eye and an Over-ruling Hand which turns and disposes all things to the advantage of them that endeavour to please him and to the destruction of them whom he is justly provok'd to hate And therefore in all Humane undertakings and Publick affairs it will be the prudence and interest of men to gain if possibly the great God on their side For if men will coin Projects and Designs in their own inventions If they will use their own art and skill in the management of them and relye upon their own parts and power to bring them to pass and all this without any concern or care whether God be their Friend or not I think such persons have no good grounds to hope that any prosperous events will crown their enterprize or endeavours The Royal Prophet who had run through as many various stages of Humane affairs and Worldly changes as ever any Man or Monarch did and who had observed that Providence did always interpose his Wisdom and power in the ordering and disposing of all things here below did at last conclude with this Maxim That the Greatest worldly Power and the deepest Policies of States-men were weak and foolish if God did not take the Actors under his Countenance and Protection Hence it was that he attributed the Art and Abilities which Men use in the building of