unclean or unlawful in its own nature to be used nor can any man's touch make it so nor can any of these things defile a man's Conscience but a man's Conscience is defiled by that which comes from his heart by evil Thoughts by evil Words and by Actions contrary to the Command of God such as murders and adulteries c. These are the things that defile a man but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man i. e. doth not by any means affect his Soul or his Conscience for in this respect he is neither better for washing nor worse for letting it alone and to think otherwise is a Superstition hurtful to your selves and dishonourable to God and of very bad consequence tho it be not so impudent and notorious an abuse as the making void of God's Law by the other lewd Tradition that I mentioned before It is to this purpose that we are to understand the method and design of our Saviour's Discourse in this place in answer to the Objection of the Pharisees brought against the Disciples From which Answer there are some things to be gathered well worth our observation 1. That it is sufficient to overthrow the Authority of a pretended Tradition that it is contrary to the Commandment of God 2. That if there be one Traditionary Doctrine that notoriously contradicts the Law of God that one instance is sufficient to overturn the credit of that Tradition which pretends to deliver unwritten Doctrines of equal Authority with those that are written 3. That the universal consent of some one Age or more That such and such Doctrines were delivered by word of mouth many Ages before is no Argument that they were so delivered 4. That we have great reason to stick to the Word of God delivered to us in the Scriptures and to examine all Doctrines and Rules which are said to be necessary to Salvation by that Rule and to reject the Authority of unwritten Traditions 1. That it is sufficient to overthrow the Authority of a pretended Tradition That it is contrary to the Commandment of God For if when Tradition is pretended for any Doctrine or Practice it be not enough to shew that the same Doctrine or Practice is inconsistent with what is plainly required in the Scriptures which are acknowledged by all to contain the Word of God I say if this be not enough then our Saviour used an insufficient Argument against the pretended Tradition of not suffering the Son that was under a Vow of the contrary to relieve his Father or Mother that it made void the commandment of God But doubtless our Saviour was so far from using a bad Argument that he used the best and most convincing of all And truly if we did not in this case consider our Saviour's Authority yet it must be a monstrous prejudice that keeps any man from discerning the strength of this Argument against the Authority of any unwritten Doctrine That it is contrary to what is written for nothing is more certain than that Contradictions cannot be true and yet they must be true if that Doctrine for which unwritten Tradition is pretended can be of God tho it contradicts the written Tradition which is by all acknowledged to be Divine But as plain as this Argument is yet it is very well for us that we find our blessed Saviour giving such Authority to it because there are Christians in the World bearing up themselves upon the Tradition of the Church that are loth to admit this Argument which we have no cause to be amazed at because it is an utter Confutation of all their pretences We charge them with having brought into the Church new Articles of Faith and new Doctrines of Worship which are not only very different from what was taught at first by Christ and his Apostles but some of them contrary thereunto as we can shew them out of the Scriptures But this way of proceeding doth by no means content them and they insist upon it that the Cause may be tried otherwise For say they You acknowledge that our Church was once a pure Church and taught the Gospel sincerely but if as you say she departed from the pure Faith and Worship which the Apostles left it is impossible but this must have been very notorious because it could not have been done without opposition and resistance from some that must needs observe it Tell us therefore When were these new and false Doctrines introduced Who were the men that brought them in Who were the first that made the discovery What Council condemned them after they were discovered For if none of these things can be shewn it is absurd to think that any such alteration should have been as you say Which reasoning amounts to thus much That it is impossible we can be sure that in the compass of a thousand Years there was a great alteration happened in the state of Religion unless withal we can tell how it came about and just when it came about the precise time and the punctual manner and circumstances thereof which is just as if a man almost desperately sick of a Disease that had been for some Years growing upon him should prove to his Friend that he is as well as ever he was in his Life for says he You know I was well once and if I am now so ill as you say pray shew me the time when this Disease first happened the manner how and what Physicians were called about me which kind of arguing would certainly prove no more than that the Disease had taken his head When the Servants came and told their Lord that the tares came up with the wheat it was excusable in them to say We sowed good seed whence hath it these tares But when their Master told them An enemy hath done this if they had disputed and told him It was impossible there should be any Tares at all because he could not tell punctually that very Night when they were sown and who the Persons were that took the malicious pains to sow them then they had been very inexcusable thus to renounce their own certain knowledge for the sake of a vain Speculation Now we are very sure that the Apostles did at first sow nothing in the Church but good and true Doctrine Our Fathers that lived about fourteen hundred Years after found quite another sort of Doctrine gotten into the Church and some of them contrary to what the Apostles taught as the Scriptures manifestly shew and yet there have been a long time and still there are certain Disputers that go about to stagger others with such like questions as we have been speaking of and teach them to defy all reasoning out of the Scriptures till these questions are satisfied What Age What Year of our Lord were these Errors brought into the Church Who were they that brought them in and who first complained of them Now although a very reasonable account both may be and hath been given of
careful to take none I. Be careful to give no Offence i. e. to lay no stumbling-block in any man's way to lead him into Sin or Error or to confirm him in it Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Wo be to that man by whom the offence cometh Now the way to keep our selves free from this guilt is to love the Truth our selves sincerely to desire it diligently to pursue it and likewise in all our actions to live by Rule and then we shall be sure to avoid giving ill Examples And we are the more obliged to this because we are not only to give an account of our selves to God but of our selves also with reference to the good or ill that others have received by us Let us consider my Brethren how careful we should be of our own actions and those especially that lye open to others when if we do ill our selves we shall not only be to answer for our own transgression of God's Law but very likely for the sins of others who are either led into some unlawful Practice or confirmed in it by our Examples Which makes such an increase of Guilt and is so great a sin in it self that it is sometimes needful for a man to abate of the use of his own liberty in things not unlawful of themselves lest another that is likely enough to make a wrong construction of it and to encourage himself in manifest sin should indeed do so And for this reason St. Paul handling the question of eating things offered to Idols acknowledgeth That meat commendeth us not unto God for neither if we eat are we the better neither if we eat not are we the worse But says he take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to them that are weak who are not throughly confirmed in the Worship of one God according to the Gospel For as he goes on if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idols temple shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols i. e. be emboldened to commit Idolatry 1 Cor. 8. So that altho it was not in it self unlawful to be present at those Sacrifices yet the Example being scandalous St. Paul concludes it to be a sin against the brethren and against Christ ver 12. And this inasmuch as it would grieve their weak Conscience i. e. not as we use I doubt to understand that word grieve that it would trouble and displease them but really hurt them by making them bold to partake of the Idolatrous Sacrifice And now Brethren if in things that are perhaps in their own Nature lawful we ought to use caution lest by an uncharitable use of our Liberty we encourage others to do things that are in themselves absolutely unlawful How much more cautious should we be not to give any Authority to sin by an Example that is evil in it self So likewise we ought with the more care to chuse our persuasions in Religion because in all likelihood we do not chuse them for our selves only but for our Children for our Servants for some of our Neighbours for many that some way or other depend upon us and for whom we must answer at the Day of Judgment And since we cannot profess we cannot live but the world observes us so how instructing ought to be our Profession how instructing our Conversation How apt to promote Innocence Truth Virtue and Piety And this the more the more we are in the Eye of others In short no words I can use can make such an impression upon you as these words of our Saviour ought to make Wo be to him by whom the offence cometh But this is not all 2. We must also be careful not to take Offences not to be led into Sin and Error by Example or Allurements by any kind of Temptations whatsoever To justify which Exhortation I desire you to observe these Three things 1. That our blessed Lord hath foretold that Offences would come nay that it must needs be that they come Nay I have shewn that the most dangerous Offences are particularly foretold in the New Testament Now Brethren this very warning in general much more those particular warnings were designed to take away in some good measure the danger of those scandals by arming us with caution against them beforehand Since that is to be applied to all other particular Scandals that is expresly added to the Prediction of lying wonders Behold I have told you before Now if the Offences though very dangerous of themselves were lessened by being foretold our guilt in falling by such Offences must be so much the greater because being forewarned we would yet take no warning The Offensiveness of these Offences is in some part abated by the cautions of the Scripture inasmuch as we have no cause to be startled and amazed and to question the care of God's Providence over his Church because Offences come since the Author of our Faith has told us before-hand that they must needs come And 2. We are also forewarned of the guilt and misery of falling by Offences inasmuch as our Saviour hath said Wo to the world because of offences i. e. as I told you at first because of that evil which will happen by taking Offence But if men were free from guilt in the committing of those sins which they fall into by reason of Scandals that are laid in their way in short if taking Offence were not it self a sin and in many cases a very great sin and such a sin as we shall be sadly accountable for at the day of Judgment there could be no reason given why our Saviour should denounce a Wo upon this account Wo unto the world because of offences 3. Let us not forget what was observed last time That God permits Offences to come which according to the common course of things were in themselves most likely to come he permits them I say for the Trial of our Ingenuity our Honesty and Sincerity There must be heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest It is by no means unavoidable to stumble at Scandals because we are forewarned of them but if we take warning it is for the Praise and Reward of our diligence and faithfulness in keeping to God's Word Our Saviour speaking of the Signs and Wonders done by false Christs and false Prophets says That if it were possible they should deceive the very Elect that is they would deceive the very best men but that they are guarded by Sincerity and by the Grace of God and these words plainly intimate that this would be the Touchstone to distinguish Persons truly and solidly good from all others That notwithstanding the fair colours that would be put upon wicked Practices and Errors they would persevere in the ways of Truth and Godliness And now that we may not be mis-led by Offences but keep our selves
some awakening Reproof from men or some merciful Providence of God may make the Truth which he is already provided with the belief of effectual to his Conversion But there is little reason to hope this of a man whose very Principles are corrupted and has no fears within himself for a charitable man to take hold upon And therefore that Saying of our Saviour may be well applied to such a Person If the light that is in him be darkness how great is that darkness Moreover as there is little hope to reform that man's evil Practices whose Persuasions make him secure and easy all the while so there is no little difficulty to be met with in trying to undeceive him for men will hold comfortable Errors as long as they can find the least pretence for it And which is not the least mischief of this Offence though such Errors are not laid down without a great trouble yet they are taken up with much readiness they are apt to spread far and wide And to this I believe the experience of the world agrees viz. That although there are mistakes that lead to Trouble of Mind and over-much Restraint yet for one that is led away by such Mistakes an hundred there are that believe comfortable Lies which either wholly take off the Restraints of Religion or in such part as to render them ineffectual 3. Perverse Disputes and an obstinate maintenance of Error by all the Arts of Sophistry has this lamentable evil commonly attending it That it renders many persons utterly careless to examine on which side the Truth lies Perhaps they are but few in comparison that are framed to an inquisitive Spirit and they who are not so framed by Nature or by Education must force their Tempers to Patience and take pains with themselves which is an Employment that men soon grow weary of and commonly they break off pretending it is to no purpose to search any farther but that when there is so much to be said on both sides when there is such an appearance of Reason for and against the same thing it is time for them to give over being Judges for themselves And indeed in things that are either really disputable or of less moment this were not much to be blamed But in matters of high consequence and questions that touch the very Vitals of Religion it often happens that men grow weary of searching Truth and give up themselves wholly to be led by the Authority and Judgment of others after the Controversy is stifly maintain'd for some time on both sides And it were well in this case if it were an even Lay whether they chuse the true Guide or not But when a Guide is to be chosen and followed with an implicit Faith the false Guide hath this Advantage always that he exceeds in Confidence in lofty Pretences in swelling Titles in positive denouncing Damnation to all that are not of his way And though a modest man that speaks justly of things and claims not to be infallible deserves the most credit yet 't is great odds that the other has most Followers amongst those that understand not the Merits of the Cause 4. The same Cause has too often a yet worse Effect and that is to run some persons into Infidelity and an utter neglect of Religion as if no Certainty could be had of the Principles of Religion seeing there is so much Controversy about it And some have said That it will be then time enough for them to believe in God and to worship him when they that pretend to oblige them to it are agreed about it The truth is were it not for that secret Impression of his own Being which God hath left upon our Nature it is not improbable but the monstrous Errors that have been obtruded upon a great part of mankind under the name of Faith and the Force and the Fraud wherewith they have been maintained had let in Atheism like a Deluge upon the world especially considering that there are those in the world who are so full of Zeal for their own way that they have no tenderness for the common Principles of Faith but are rather content that all should sink together than that their own Doctrines should not stand We have been born in hand that no assurance can be had of the Truth of Christianity but from the Authority of such and such men and they that believe upon other Grounds had as good have no Faith at all That if it were possible for them to propound any thing that is false we cannot be certain of any one Article that is true That the same exceptions may be made to the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles that are made against the Stories of latter Miracles And finally That by the same reason that any of their Traditions are rejected the Holy Scriptures may be rejected too and indeed we have lived to see the utmost that can be done by Wit and Learning to diminish the Authority of the Bible Now this I say is a most dreadful Offence and has done infinite mischief in the world that men who are violently engaged in a wrong way of Religion care not for the most part what they venture in the service of their own Cause for whilst they lay the same stress upon false or at least disputable Points that they do upon the most necessary and acknowledged Principles of Religion and bend all their Wit to shew that no difference ought to be made they give occasion to men that would fain be Atheists to deceive themselves into what they would be For a very little Consideration will serve to satisfy them that something is false which is propounded to them as an Object of their Faith and they know they have then leave given them to conclude that nothing is true 5. There is another great mischief of Offences that are given by Errors in Doctrine or Practice and a mischief that often happens in the world which is that of running into a contrary Extreme The Church found this by sad experience in the Fourth and Fifth Ages when men of no small Note disputing against one Heresy fell into another of an opposite nature to the no small trouble of Christendom Truth sometimes as well as Virtue lies in the Mean and they that transgress on any one side do not only this mischief to give what authority they can to the wrong side they are of but they do this mischief too of giving occasion to others to offend on the other Extreme Thus the abuse of Church Authority on the one side has bred in some men contempt of all such Authority on the other The Scandals that have been given by propagating Opinions by Force and Violence have produced in many a fond persuasion that there ought to be no restraints whatsoever in matters of Religion Superiors have required unlawful things in Divine Service and to be revenged upon that abuse it has been said that they are not to
be obeyed in matters of Prudence and Expedience Religion has been made to run out into Shews and Ceremonies and this has begotten prejudices against all appearance of Beauty and Reverence in the external Worship of God And on the other side the excesses of men in departing from one extreme are scandalous to those whom they left and do confirm them in their Errors Thus because there are some who abuse the Liberty this Church gives to all of using the Holy Scriptures and who reject the assistance of their Guides they that are concerned the People should know as little of the Bible as is possible argue from the Folly and Vanity of the former how dangerous an Instrument it is in the hands of the Laity And because 't is impossible but that a Judgment of Discretion in matters of Religion being allowed to all must be liable to be abused they that abuse it to the making of Sects and Parties and the bringing in of Innovations give a Candle to that Church to glory in her Dissention which provides that all should believe as she believes because of her Authority and that no man judges of the particulars of his Faith for himself The truth is the Instances of this mischief are so many and so undeniable that whenever any great Scandal is given by Communities or Churches that consists in one Extreme a man may without the Spirit of Prophecy foretel that if the great Mercy of God prevent it not it will in time beget the other Extreme It is the great unhappiness of Mankind that opposite Errors which look as if one would destroy the other do really strive to support one another And yet there is hardly any foolish Advice more frequent than to run from an Extreme as far as is possible as if that were the way to make an end of it But by this means woful Mischiefs have happen'd in the world Divisions have been multiplied Uncharitableness increased and men more and more hardned in their ways of Error and Sin 6. The Scandal of mixing absurd and impious Doctrines with the Truth and unjustifiable Practices with such as are to be commended has this notorious mischief still attending it that it hinders the Conversion of Infidels and is a terrible obstruction to the propagating of Christianity Averroes did not speak his own sense alone when he said Since the Christians eat their God let my Soul be with the Philosophers The Scandals that are given to Jews and Turks I need not name But to make an end of this unpleasing Argument 7. And lastly The mischief of these and all other Offences is so much the greater because when once Offence is given no man can tell where the mischief will end For instance Suppose by my Example I animate another to sin in like manner or that I do not only corrupt his Manners but his Principles too and so do him all the hurt I can Who can say that this is all the mischief I have done Is it not likely that he will infect others as I have infected him And that they may go on to propagate the mischief which had its beginning from me And that the next Age may be the worse for me And that my Guilt may be growing Ages after I am dead Apply this to all the Offences that are given in the world and consider not only the greatness of the mischief they do but the spreading nature of it and we shall find great reason in those sad words of our Lord Wo to the world because of offences But 2. Whence comes it that Offences are taken and so all this mischief done by them In general it might be sufficient to answer That for whatever Causes some men are apt to give Offence for the same others are apt to take it and therefore it would not be impertinent to call over in this place the unsuitableness of the Gospel to the Lusts and to the Vanity of mankind whether it be considered as a Rule of Faith or Manners or Worship But to this it may be added 1. That there are a great many in the world who for want of either good natural Abilities or good Education have little ability to judge for themselves and therefore the most part take their Impressions from the Authority of other mens Examples or Instructions And therefore when they fall into ill hands they fare accordingly to which our Saviour seemed to have a particular regard in the Verse before the Text Whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me it were better for him that a milstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea So that because there would be some Persons sincerely disposed who in many things could not judge for themselves but must be led by Authority our Saviour for their greater security provided this frightful Threatning to deter all men from taking the advantage of their weakness to mislead them 2. Some stumble at Offences laid before them and take up pernicious Doctrines merely from impatience of considering and taking time to lay things together He that judges rashly and hastily may by chance make a true Judgment but he shall as often judge falsly it being no difficult thing as I observed last time to lay such colours upon Error as will require some leisure to see through them And in such cases if a man be unwilling to take pains and desires to come presently and easily to the Conclusion he gives the Seducer all the advantage he could desire and is indeed just the Person he desired to meet with one easily deceived by a false appearance of Reason 3. The strange Influence which the carnal Affections of men and their worldly Interests have upon their Judgments is a fatal cause of laying them open to the mischief of Scandals We are too apt to desire Doctrines and Examples in favour of liberty to sin and therefore when they are offered we are not so apt as we should be to guard our selves against them Thus it was among the Jews as God said by Jeremy Jer. 5.31 The prophets prophesie falsly and my people love to have it so To these I might add other Causes viz. The prejudice of Education undue admiration of mens Persons prejudice against Truth arising from prejudice against Persons an Inclination to Opinions suitable to our own Temper and Complexion love of Novelty on the one side and on the other hatred to change though it be for the better all which Dispositions and Circumstances expose those that are under them to the mischief of Offences But I should be over-tedious to run into all the Particulars under this Head which may also be more profitably supplied by Directions in the Close of all And so I come to the third intention which was to reduce what has been said to matter of Exhortation And I shall leave with you these two necessary Cautions I. Be careful to give no Offence II. Be
them is but this that they do effectually draw forth that wickedness which otherwise would have lain more undiscovered in the Hearts of Men but then also they manifest more clearly that Integrity that Piety that Diligence and Constancy and Virtue and Charity of Good Men which otherwise had not so much appeared Bad Men do by means of Heresies grow worse and the Good grow better by them according to that saying in Daniel Chap. 12.10 The wicked shall do wickedly and shall not understand but the wise shall understand They are hardened and these are purified and the difference between Virtue and Sincerity on the one side and Hypocrisy and Vice on the other is so clearly seen that the good Examples will at last prevail against the scandal of those that are Evil and the indirect ways of supporting Error will shew the simplicity and Virtue of the Children of Truth to more advantage than it could possibly have had without the Comparison so that it will be much more easy for People of honest tempers and dispositions to discern which is the true Flock of Christ and to what Communion they are to betake themselves When our Blessed Saviour and his Apostles planted the Church things were not so ordered as to make Proselites of all sorts of Men however they were qualified but rather to gather together the Children of God that were scattered abroad that is all that were of pious and honest Dispositions and though the mighty Evidence wherewith the Gospel was preached drew in some that were none of the best yet either Persecutions or Schisms soon purged the Church of them again and Heresies seem to have been permitted ever since to carry on the same design of distinguishing between the Good and Bad and making it appear more evidently who are the faithful Followers of Christ And it can by no means be unworthy of the Providence of God to suffer those Evils to happen which he makes to work for the same good end which was designed by that manner wherein the Gospel was at first revealed 2. Neither are Schisms and Heresies any objections against the Truth and Goodness of a Church unless it were always a disparagement to be opposed and forsaken which certainly it is not for otherwise Christianity it self as it was taught by Christ and his Apostles must needs have been a false Religion and the Church which they founded a false Church for thence came the Gnosticks and Valentinians and I know not how many Heresies more and the Apostle told the Elders at Miletum Acts 20.30 That from themselves would arise men teaching perverse things that would draw disciples after them It is certainly for want of better Arguments that the Reformation is to be objected against upon the account of those Parties into which it is divided and this Church of England for the sake of those Parties that have broken off from the Communion of it For as to the latter it is either no mark of a true Church to hold fast all that were once of it or else the Church of Christ was not that true Church since many went off from it and which perhaps they that make this Objection will be more concerned to consider they from whom so many Nations have broken off cannot escape their own Censure As for the Unity of those that keep together in one Profession and Communion this is no certain mark of Truth for as men may be united in Truth so they may be united in Error And all parties have this mark common to them that so far as they do not differ they agree together and if this be an Argument of Truth those Parties equally have it that are most contrary to one another But 't is one of the most silly Objections in the World against a common Cause that is maintained by People that cannot agree in many things that therefore that Cause is naughty and erroneous this I say is intolerably vain and impertinent since this is to make the reason of Truth and Error to depend upon the uncertain Passions and the Interests of Men. For by this means 't is in the power of ill-disposed Persons that for whatever reason may bring in a new Heresy to make all that Truth which they professed before to be Truth no longer And if it be a good Argument against us it is as good an Argument against Christianity in the general in the Mouth of a Turk or a Jew Christians are so far from being agreed what is true Christianity that they are fallen into Parties that have no Religious Communion with one another and therefore Christianity is a false Religion nay it is still a stronger Argument in the Mouth of an Atheist against all Religion whatsoever since Christianity Mahometanism Judaism and Paganism are at so great a distance from one another But there needs no other Answer to this Objection than that which the Text affords by which we see that Heresies and Parties were unavoidable and so far from being an Argument against the truth of Christianity that God was pleased to permit them even for the advantage of the Truth And therefore those that are so offended at the Divisions of the Church as to take occasion from thence either to throw off the Profession of Religion till all Parties are agreed about it or to take up with that which pretends to most Unity without any farther Examination are hereby demonstrated to be insincere and vicious Persons for as Heresies are permitted by Providence that they which are approv'd so they are permitted that they which are reprobate and cannot bear a Trial may be also made manifest and it is no loss to the Truth if she be not found by those that love her not In the mean time they that are of God will hear his Word and Wisdom will be justified of her Children And that we may be found in that number we are to make it our first and principal Care to avoid the greatest Heresy of all and the cause of the rest and that is the Heresy of a wicked Life and vicious Affections Then we shall be more and more built up in our most Holy Faith and confirmed and established in the Truth as it is in Jesus For as evil Deeds make Men hate the Light so if our Deeds be good and our Consciences pure we shall love the Light and rejoice in it we shall buy the Truth and not sell it we shall buy it with being at the pains of impartial Enquiry and Consideration and we shall not sell it for either comfortable or gainful Errors To Conclude God hath in that manner Revealed the Truth which concerns our Salvation that they may easily be deceived who are willing to be deceived but that they who seek it sincerely shall be sure to find it The Ninth Sermon 2 PET. I. 19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark
Unity only in Faith and Goodness is to be preserved 2. It is possible that where there are discords there may be yet more truth professed than where there are none and that for the former Reason because there may be Unity in the worst Errors Besides the common Faith that is professed by all Christians one part of the Church may maintain the Purity of that Profession against another that hath superadded new and false Doctrines to it and yet the Reformed part may labour under Discords that affect their very Communion while the other doth not There may be on the one side disobedience to Authority overvaluing of Questions of no great moment a greater stress laid upon Opinions or Practices than the Cause will bear and this shall be sufficient to break Christian Communion and at the same time whilst gross Errors are maintained on the other side with one consent the differences that happen by the bye may be so over ruled by Authority by Force and Power and by the sensible Interests of this World that how wide soever they are they shall not yet rend Communion But in such a case it were the fondest thing in the World to chuse a Doctrine by the mark of Unity among those that profess it Therefore in this divided State of Christendom it is easie to see what Christians are to do to preserve the Unity of the Body of Christ as much as in them lies and to be sure that they are within the Unity of the Church in all respects 1. I need not say that they are to stand fast in the Faith which was first delivered to the Saints in the Common Faith of Christians for without this they could not so much as continue in that Body into which they were baptized only I may add That they are to lay it up in their hearts and to value it as the greatest Treasure and to proclaim their esteem of it and to acknowledge all that profess it to be of the same Body with them This being that Faith which Christ came down from Heaven to establish in the World and which he sent the Holy Ghost to inspire his Apostles withal to reveal it to us and to confirm it for us by the Writings and by the Miracles of inspired Persons 'T is by this Faith and this Profession therefore which includes Baptism that they are Christians who will not allow us to be of the Church 2. Let them keep themselves from entertaining any corrupt or false Doctrines not only any that are contrary to the Scriptures but any as necessary to Salvation which are not to be proved by the Scriptures for thus they will be sure to keep themselves from any dangerous Errors and continue not only true but pure Believers and they sure are not the less but the more in the Unity of the Church who receive nothing as necessary to be believed in order to Salvation but what by the undoubted Records of our Christian Faith appears to have been taught by Christ and his Apostles 3. Let every private Christian be most careful to observe the Commands of our Lord Jesus in the Government of all his Affections and all his Actions for Unity in this thing ought to be amongst all Christians since without Obedience no Man how qualified soever he may be in the Church upon other accounts shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven not every one that saith Lord Lord Without this it is not the being of the one Church it is not the professing of the one Faith no nor the being of a pure Profession and a pure Communion that will unite us really and effectually to our Lord Jesus the Head of the Church but we shall be cut off from him as Branches that bring forth no fruit 4. Let him maintain an universal Charity to all Christians Good will to those that are misled and seduced in endeavouring to reduce them as he hath opportunity in praying for them readiness to be beneficial to all his Brethren to forgive Injuries and to overcome evil with good compassion to the miserable pleasure in that which is for the particular good of any one of his Brethren and much more in what is for the general good of all Thus he shall preserve himself in the other Unity which is the Duty of the Church the Unity of Charity and Good will 5. Let him live in strict Communion with the particular Church whereof he is a Member in subjection to the Authority of it in observing the Rules of it for the guidance of Religious Assemblies for the ordering of all things that fall under human Authority i. e. the Authority of the lawful Guides of the Church in order to the Edification and well Governing of it Thus he shall maintain an Unity of Communion with his Brethren and his Guides and so in effect with the whole Christian Church where the Parts of it do as they ought to do and most undoubtedly we are not to be united to any of them in things wherein they do as they ought not The Sum of this Advice is easie to be understood and to a good Man as easie to be practised There is no need for him to trouble his own Mind with nice and intricate Questions about Unity because he will maintain his part in order to the Unity of the Church by doing his plain Duty by sticking to the Faith which is professed by all Christians the Faith into which we were baptized by rejecting whatsoever is contrary to the Scriptures and making them the Rule of his religious Perswasions which all Christians ought to do by observing the Rules of the Gospel for the Government of his Life and Actions in which yet undoubtedly all Churches and every Member of every Church ought to conspire though this part of Unity is hardly remembred when Men talk of the Church by bearing Christian Affection towards all that name the name of Christ whereby he performs the Duty of Unity towards them which whether they do or not they ought to perform too Finally By frequenting the Service of God in publick Prayers and Exhortations in the Administration of Sacraments according to the Order of the Church whereof in particular the Grace and Providence of God hath made him a Member and which observes the Institutions of our Lord Jesus in all the publick Offices of Religion For thus he performs his part of Unity towards the whole Church with respect to Communion nor is he nor can be to blame if others will not be perswaded to it It is a fond thing to think of seeking a True Church that is the only Church in opposition to all others or to be scandalized at the divided State of the Church which we cannot help and under a pretence of seeking for Unity to mind nothing else We are to preserve our selves in the Unity of the Church by professing true Doctrine and by leading good Lives by a charitable Spirit and Behaviour towards all Christians by frequenting
of the Jewish State and Religion which was to be accompanied with manifest Tokens of God's Favour to the Christians and of his indignation at their Enemies And thus we are to understand that passage in St. Peter The end of all things is at hand be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer 1 Pet. 4.7 Not that this was in a strict and proper sense the Coming of Christ because he did not come in Person as he will do at the last day but in some sense it might be so called because he appeared by his Power and Providence to do the same work in part which will with incomparably greater perfection be done at the last i.e. to take Vengeance of the ungodly and to save his own People for the Incorrigibleness of the Jewish Nation and their incurable hatred of the Truth and obstinate Persecution of it was dreadfully punished in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Christians had not only all escaped out of it before the Roman Army came against it but by the destruction of it they gained also a very considerable rest from Persecution for some time after And now the reason why this wonderful Providence was called the Coming of Christ seems plainly to be this That after his Ascension into Heaven he set down at the right hand of God and had all Power put into his hands and therefore because it is he that governs the World as well as the Church such remarkable Revolutions as that was for the destruction of his enemies and the saving of his Servants are called the coming of Christ God hath given him to be head over all things to the Church and therefore such Passages as that was are called his coming to signifie that they are the effects of his Providence and Government for the good of his Church no less than if he had come in Person to order them as he will do at the end of the World to order all things then And for this reason then though in the proper sense of his coming he will come but once at the end of the World yet in this improper sense of it his appearance to destroy his Enemies and to save his People that trust in him nothing hinders but that he may be said to come often before the end of the World i. e. as often as his Providence doth signally and remarkably appear for this purpose And thus we are to understand the coming of the Lord in 2 Thes 2.8 where it is said of the Man of sin that wicked one That the Lord shall consume him with the spirit of his mouth and destroy him with the brightness of his coming which being to be done before the personal coming of Christ to Judgment the meaning must be that his destruction shall be so remarkably the Work of a Divine Providence that all shall confess it was not the effect of worldly Policy but no less the doing of the Lord than if himself had come in Person to destroy him And whenever the Kingdoms of the World become the Kingdoms of the Lord when the knowledge of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea When those magnificent Predictions are fulfilled concerning the universal prevalence of Truth and Goodness amongst Men with which the Old and New Testament are plentifully furnished and which are to be fulfilled before the coming of Christ to the last Judgment then also is it true that the Lord comes i.e. by the Power of his Spirit and Providence to renew and reform a degenerate World that was running headlong into perdition And thus much concerning the sense of these Words when the son of man cometh which I have shewn do principally signifie that great and amazing revolution when he shall come by coming in his own Person at the last day to judge the World but in a secondary sense do also signifie the remarkable Works of his Providence in punishing some and saving others even in this Life Now 2. How are we to understand that other clause will he find Faith upon the Eartb The meaning of the Question is plainly this That he will not find Faith on the Earth or very little in comparison But what is here meant by Faith I answer that is easily discerned by the Parable and the Application of it that went before The design of both which was to infer the conclusion in the foregoing verse And shall not God avenge his own Elect which cry day and night unto him though he bear long with them I tell you he will avenge them speedily That is to say God would hear the Prayers of righteous Men and in a little time take their cause into his own hand and then says our Saviour Nevertheless when the son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth i. e. notwithstanding the Promises of God to hear the Prayers of good Men and to interpose for them that depend upon him there will be but little Faith in these Promises found up-upon the Earth even when the Son of Man comes to fulfil them The greatest part will not be found to believe any thing at all of them and so will be surprized with that day without any preparation for it or expectation of it Many will yield to the Temptations of this present World and throwing off their dependance upon God will think to secure themselves by Flattery and Hypocrisie from the Violence of wicked Men others will despair of any better state of things and very few will lay to heart the promises which God hath made to hear the Prayers of his Servants and to save them Few will strengthen themselves in God by crying to him day and night and by putting their whole trust and confidence in him and this notwithstanding the clear and strong reasons they have from his Word so to do Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith on the earth And thus we may from other places of Scripture observe that immediately before the Day of Judgment there will be a great falling away from Christian Piety and Charity nay and the World should begin once more to depart from the Purity of Faith many false Prophets shall arise and shall deceive many and because Iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold But says our Saviour he that endures to the end shall be saved thereby intimating that it would be some matter of difficulty to endure to the end Thus also St. Peter tells us that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying Where is the promise of his coming which is plainly meant of the Day of Judgment before which according to the Revelation of St. John Satan was to be loosed for a little time and to go out and to deceive the nations and to gather them together against the City of God And therefore it will be remarkably true at the day of Judgment that when the Son of Man cometh he will find but
consider the Excellency of the Gospel with the Purpose of God not to overbear the World into the Faith and Obedience of it by forcing the natural Liberty of Men it had rather been much more strange if it had escaped opposition and corruption than to have been both opposed and corrupted as it hath Thus our blessed Saviour himself and his Apostles foretold that it would be Take heed that no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive many many false Prophets stall arise and deceive many and if any one shall say unto you Lo here is Christ and there is Christ believe it not for there shall arise false Christ's and false Prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they should deceive the very elect Behold I have told you before Thus he foretold how Christianity should be corrupted by Impostures and Frauds Again says he They shall deliver you up to be afflicted and killed and ye shall be hated of all nations for my names sake and then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another Thus he foretold the violence that should be used to extinguish the Profession of the Truth Again saith St. Paul 2 Thess 2. There shall be a falling away and the man of sin shall come with all deceiveableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they might all be damned who believe not the Truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness Theâ—e he foretels a fearful Apostasie from the Purity and Simplicity of the Christian Profession Again says he 2 Tim. 3.1 2. This know that in the last days perilous times shall come For men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents unthankful unholy without natural affection truce-breakers false accusers incontinent fierce despisers of those that are good traitors heady high-minded lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God There he foretels a terrible corruption of Manners And again 1 Tim. 4.1 2 3. The Spirit speaketh expresly says he that in the latter times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils speaking lies in hypocrisie having their Conscience seared with an hot iron forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the Truth Now lay all these things together and here is as plain warning as can possibly be given of most corrupt and degenerate Times even after Christ's first coming and so that is expresly foretold which the Text evidently supposes For here would be glorious Pretences to deceive Violence to compel and wicked Examples to offend the Disciples of Christ And what Provision hath our Lord left to secure them from being misled where there is so much danger They are to attend to the Doctrine which he delivered us at first by his Holy Apostles to secure themselves from being deceived they must lay to Heart the Promises of the Gospel to arm themselves against the Temptations of the World and the Power of evil Examples and they are to consider that all these things were foretold by our Lord himself and his Apostles that they might not be scandalized when they should happen nor be tempted to suspect that either Christianity was not of God from the first or at least that our Lord has neglected all care of it since because it doth so little good as yet in the World because it runs out into so many Errors and because the Truth of it is so vehemently opposed for says our Saviour Behold I have told you before But still it is in their power whether they will take warning by such Predictions and whether they will guard themselves against Errors and Evil Examples and therefore a very corrupt state of Things in the Christian World will in all likelihood shake the Faith of many Believers and cause some to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them not regarding the admonitions of Christ and his Apostles before-hand And so when Christ comes he will find but little Faith upon the Earth And this is the Observation which in the first place is unavoidable from the Text That even after Christ there would be degenerate Ages for this is plainly supposed as the cause why there would be but little Faith found when he should come to visit the Earth for the Iniquities and Offences it abounds with The 2. Supposition is That the Providence of our Lord would then appear to set things right when there was the greatest need to interpose in behalf of his Church For whereas it is said When the son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth It is intimated manifestly that his coming is then to be expected when little Faith is to be found amongst Men and consequently when Scandals and Temptations are so strong that it is an hard matter to bear up against them I have said already that the Evidence of Christianity doth not make all Men receive it and that the Power of Christianity doth not make all that receive it wise and good Men and it is not to be denied but that amongst Christians themselves there are as monstrous Errors and leud Examples as ever there were in the World before Christianity or as there are now where Christianity is not at all professed Now at this rate should the Lord of the Church our Lord Jesus Christ let things go as they would it would in time come to pass that nothing of Christianity would remain in the World but the name of it and that for no other purpose but to do more hurt with it than could be done without it But how is it that Divine Providence will interpose or according to the expression of the Text that the Son of man will come and will make good his Promise of being with his Church to the end of the World which is never more remarkably fulfilled than when he interposes in those Circumstances which make Men think that he will not interpose and that he is not at all concerned what becomes of the State of Religion or the Affairs of the Church Because our Lord hath not made the Gospel an irresistable means of convincing Vnbelieuers and reforming wicked Men therefore it would in time be needful that in order to the keeping up of true Religion and making Christians such as they ought to be that he I say should by his Providence correct his own Disciples and reduce wretched Mankind into an unavoidable necessity of consideration that Truth and Righteousness should not utterly fall from among the Children of Men. When there is the greatest danger of losing the true Profession of Christianity our Lord will not be
wanting to maintain it When all Flesh had corrupted their ways God came and swept away Mankind with a Flood and saved Noah to be the Father of a new and better Generation When their Prosperity had corrupted their ways he called Abraham forth to preserve true Religion in him and in his Family and these and the like Providences are Pledges of the same care to interpose in behalf of Truth and Righteousness when the Faithful seem to fail from among the Children of Men. While God seems to let the World alone and to suffer all Men to go on in their own ways as if he took no notice of them nor were at all concerned at what they did he is all the while trying and proving what they are not indeed for his own Information for he knows all things but for the instruction of those that are to come after If he at every turn should interpose when we think it needful we should very seldom know who are sincere and who are Hypocrites it is very fit that it should be sometimes seen whether Men are what they pretend to be whether indeed they are concerned for that Truth for which they have once pretended a mighty Zeal whether they are governed by Conscience as they say or by mere worldly and politick Considerations for such Discoveries as these are very instructing and serve for the bringing about of much good in the World and in the Church which we may reasonably presume to be one cause why when the Son of Man comes he will find but little Faith upon the Earth because while he suffers the World to go on as if he minded it not he is trying those that pretend to Faith and upon the Tryal many are discovered not to have it In short Divine Providence is so far from being regardless of the Affairs of Men that it then most of all shews it self when Men are tempted to think that it regards nothing i. e. when there is but little Faith to be found in the Earth and this will be abundantly demonstrated at the close of all things that is at the Day of Judgment which will be the most convincing Act of Providence that ever was in the World and one Forerunner of it will be that Question Where is the promise of his coming And now the use of all ought to be that which is the declared intention of our Saviour in the beginning of the Parable And he spake a Parable to them to the end that men ought always to pray and not to faint For the true Ground of Prayer is Faith in the Providence and Promises of God and if there be no time when these fail then ought Men always to pray and not to faint i.e. they ought always to depend upon God's Providence they ought always to believe his Promises they ought always to be certain that their Prayers are heard and will turn to good account for them that God is gracious to all and much more to them that love and serve him and if they do all this then they will always pray and not faint i.e. and not be discouraged And if they ought always to pray then also when they are most apt to be discouraged and when there is but little Faith to be found upon the Earth nay then most of all because when Temptations to Unbelief are greatest we should the most of all strengthen our selves by recourse to God and dependance upon him To this Instance in Prayer there are two things must go 1. A stedfast Resolution to walk in all the ways of God and not to be diverted out of them by any worldly Interest whatsoever For he can have no Faith to go to God who thinks of taking care for himself without regard to his Duty to God A Man is not in a condition to seek the Favour of God or to commend his case to him that contrives how to shift for himself without him 2. A perfect resignation of himself to the Will of God for by this also it is that a Man entitles himself to his Favour and Blessing The most effectual way to obtain the particular Blessings we pray for at any time if they are such things as may prove evil as well as good for us is to leave the matter after all to the disposal of Divine Providence for then if we obtain them we get his Blessing with them too if we do not we are sure to get his Blessing without them which is the general thing we pray for always With these Dispositions we are in a fit case to present our Prayers to God for Spiritual Blessings for our selves and for the Church of Christ which will assuredly come accompanied with Temporal ones too if it be best for us and if God sees that it is better for his Church to be prosperous than to be afflicted in this World and then it is better so to be when Men are sufficiently prepared for it by God's Correction and their own Repentance Men ought therefore always to pray and not to faint for their Prayers thus qualified will not fail of obtaining what they ask which our Saviour thought good to illustrate by an Example in the Parable delivered before the Text viz. of an unjust Judge that neither feared God nor regarded man who nevertheless upon the importunity of a Widow did what was right in her case much more shall God hear the Prayers of his faithful Servants For 1. He is the Just God and is of himself ready to right those that do at any time suffer wrong 2. He is also the merciful God that regardeth Men and when we desire things of him that are needful he is of himself ready to grant what we ask or at least that which is more needful than what we ask 3. Whereas the Judge in the Parable seem'd to contemn the Poverty and Meanness of that Person that sued to him for Justice for which reason she is represented here to be a Widow one of a destitute Condition that wanted a Patron to assert her Right God who is Just and Good to all is particularly gracious to his Servants and esteems them highly and no Circumstances of Meanness and Distress which he suffers them to fall into can alter his Favour towards them for all which Reasons if the Judge in the Parable granted the Widow's Suit merely because she lay upon him and was troublesome to him much more will God to whom we are never troublesome when we make our Requests known to him grant what we ask because he is Righteous and Gracious and loveth and pitieth us as a Father doth his Children The Fourteenth Sermon AN ASSIZE-SERMON PREACHED at St. Maries in Bury 1678. Levit. XIX xii Ye shall not swear by my name falsly THE Religious Use of an Oath depends chiefly upon the Matter and the Discharge The Matter must be worthy of that Obligation which an Oath implies in promising it must not be unlawful that we may swear in Righteousness
few to the prejudice of all others And therefore while it was pure they could not bear it whose Gain was their Godliness and who had been used to tell Lies in Hypocrisie 3. The proneness of Mankind to Superstition is another cause of disapproving what God approves The true Disciples of Christs are according to their Religion for a plain Faith a pure and simple Worship and for a few Mysteries no more than God has made And for making Charity and Purity the end of all these But generally speaking people are for being saved by a multitude of Ceremonies with a Priest to administer them They love to be amused and to have their Imaginations entertained with Mysteries that they do not understand and then to believe that their Souls have received a great deal of good by it On the other side Christianity does very little gratifie the Fancy and labours very much to inform the Understanding and therefore has been thought a Religion fit only for Philosophers being not accommodated enough to the Vulgar unless it were dressed out with more Mystery and Pageantry But then the ancient Fathers made no doubt to call it a Philosophy and such a one as was designed to make Plowmen and vulgar Persons Philosophers i. e. to cure them of Superstition and to inform their minds with the knowledge of the most profitable Truths This is the true business of Christian Priests not to make gain to themselves by deceiving people that were to be deceived nor to get power and dependencies by those Doctrines whereby the people get ease and liberty and ignorance but instead of nourishing and encouraging to repress and correct the proneness of Mankind to Superstition 4. These two opposite Infirmities a fondness of any thing that is new on the one hand and a passionate Zeal for that which has some Antiquity on the other do by turns promote this Mischief Some Errors have very successfully taken place at first when they were Entertainments to those that loved Novelty and the same Errors in process of time are hugged by others because they have the appearance of great Antiquity They are few in comparison that had not rather be told what is Late and what is Ancient than what is True To which we may add 5. The vast influence that prejudice and prepossession has upon Mens understandings which is very often so great that it will not allow any thing to be said on the other side and so condemns him that offers Truth before he is heard or if a hearing cannot be avoided it is able sometimes to divert the attention or if attention be given it can corrupt the Judgment Men in those circumstances are but ill Judges whatever their natural Abilities are They love one side of the Question they bate the other and they judge accordingly 6. In many Persons the impatience of considering and weighing things and the ease of letting others judge for them without examining Particulars is the cause of false Judgment For the ease that a Man gets this way inclines him to believe that there are Judges who cannot err and will be sure to tell him nothing but Truth and this disposition is a mighty friend to those that pretend to so high an Authority because it gives them an opportunity to say what they list and to determine what they please Whoever therefore comes with truth on the other hand against an Authority that must not be thought capable of mistaking 't is like to be welcome neither to those that teach nor to those that are taught for in effect he comes to the former to tell them that they must quit their power and to the latter that they must quit their ease These are some of the causes of Men's condemning those whom God justifies by which it appears that it is an Evil which comes of Evil. And the conclusion we are to make of them it is this That we do by no means square our Professions and our Actions by so false a Rule as that of pleasing Men and gaining the favour and good Words of Men for they may and they often have and I doubt not but they often will condemn those whom God justifies and by the same reason they will justifie those whom God condemns To get Favour and to avoid Disgrace is a happiness which he that scorns is not wise but 't is no rule for a Man to live by and he that makes it so cannot be honest Man may condemn those whom God justifies That is the first Point The second is this 2. That to be condemned by Man is tolerable if God justifies A Truth so clear that more Words cannot make it clearer but they may serve to fasten it more upon our Minds Let us consider such things as these 1. The infinite disproportion between GOD and Man St. Paul's meaning was that GOD justifies and Man condemns and to shew that in comparison no body condemned in this case he puts his meaning into the form of a Question It is God that justifies who is he that condemns A wise Man will not be much troubled to be rail'd at by a Slave if he be honoured by a King 2. We can cetainly tell how to please God because we know what profession and what practice he approves for he hath told us what they are and we may believe him We are secure also that what will please him to day will do so to morrow and that what he accounts good service now he will always reckon to be so For God changes not and can by no means contradict himself He conceals no part of our Duty from us and therefore to gain his Favour we need not go forward and backward nor contradict our selves neither If we study to approve our selves to God as we have but one Lord to please so he is ever constant to himself our way is one and plain and our rule the same yesterday to day and for ever 3. God knows the very secrets of our hearts and the springs of all our actions and therefore they whom God justifies are truly worthy He that can bear the All-seeing Eye of God is in reality all that he appears to be he is that Just Faithful and Unbiassed Man and he has that pure and clear Mind which if we could see with our bodily Eyes we should as Plato fancied be ready to fall down and worship it Man justifies only by the outward appearance and sometimes happens to be pleased with profession and service where nothing is meant of that which is so well taken A Knave and a Hypocrite may win thanks from Man but where God justifies there is Faithfulness and Integrity and whoever condemns such an one disgraces himself more than him 4. If God justifies us our own hearts do at the same time acquit and absolve us says St. John If our hearts condemn us not then have we confidence towards God And 't is true on the other side that if God condemns us not
then have we confidence of our selves By doing those things that please him we are sure to please our selves By making him our Friend we shall infallibly make one Friend more and that is our own Consciences which is infinitely more to us than the opinion of the World 'T is a plain case that we approve our selves to God by following Truth and Goodness and this we know will not put us upon struggling with our own Judgment and straining points against our clear knowledge of what we ought to do All the while we are gaining his Favour we are sure we do well and when we have done it we shall thank our selves instead of being plagu'd with a sad and black remembrance of the way we took to get it Acquaint now thy self with God and be at peace with him and so shall good come unto thy Soul 5. There lies no Flattery nor false Accusation nor outward accident against us to put us out of God's Favour or to make us lose that we have wrought to turn his mind or to blot our services out of his remembrance No change of Fortune shall bring us into disgrace which consideration St. Paul laid great strength upon in pursuance of the Text. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword v. 35. I am persuaded says he that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord v. 38. Nay says the Apostle in all these things we are more than Conquerors that is we get by being condemned by others because by that we are made more dear to God who will consider not only that we served him but under what discouragements from the World we did so Lastly 6. Whom God justifies them he also glorifies For whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to he conformed to the Image of his Son that he might be the first-born among many brethren v. 29 30. i. e. Those whom he foreknew to be his most faithful Servants he did before time decree that by suffering for Righteousness they should follow so glorious a Pattern as their elder Brother the Lord Jesus Moreover whom he did predestinate them he also called i. e. he brought them to the profession of the truth in a hazardous time that they should shew their Integrity and whom he called them he also justified and whom he justified them he also glorified Which is so sure that the Apostle mentions it as if it were done already Then he proceeds in the following Verses What shall we say to these things If God be for us who can be against us He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him freely give us all things who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect It is God that justifies who is he that condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us The conclusion is this That whoever condemns we are not to be discourag'd if God justifies But it may be said That all this is very true indeed but it serves the turn of all Parties even of those who are most severely condemned by each other while each of them pretends to have God and Truth on their side And therefore that this Subject might have been more usefully pursued by shewing particularly what that Faith and that Practice is with which they must be qualified whom God justifies and how we are assured of it Now I considered all this at first but then I knew that I was to speak to persons who are neither ignorant of the Doctrine of this Church nor of the evidence whereby it appears to be the very Truth of Christianity by which whoever governs himself in worshipping God in behaving himself to others and in all his ways shall be assuredly justified of God though all the World should condemn him for it But I considered also that of all things which are apt to shake the constancy of modest Persons nothing is more likely to do it than the mighty confidence wherewith they of the Roman Church condemn us and exclaim against us For to those who are acquainted with the History of the World and of the Church it must needs be a surprize that Men who are said to be Learned and known to be zealous do pronounce against us with no less severity than if we were mere Infidels One would think there must be some deep reason for it when they make us nothing at all and themselves all in all For thus they will not allow that we are a Church or that we have any certainty so much as of that true Doctrine we profess for they know us better than we do ourselves and as for our Salvation they are as sure it belongs not to us till we are converted to them as if they kept the Keys of Heaven Nor do they sink us more than they raise themselves who are not only a Church but the whole Church and not only not deceived but even Infallible They talk as if there were no safety with us and no danger with them which may raise such doubts in weaker Minds that I thought it not unseasonable to bring to your remembrance how violently the Apostles and their Christian Brethren were condemned by Men of whom yet these Men will grant that they were justified of God If it shall be said This is a common-place Argument of which all Men serve themselves I answer That the Argument is so much the stronger For if these Men themselves will tell you that confidence is not to be trusted you will I hope make this application That neither is their confidence to be trusted and therefore that you ought to consider what they are before you believe them to be what they call themselves and examine what they teach before you think the worse of your selves for what they call you And this is all that we desire of you That you would weigh the reasons of things and not mind sweling Words Brethren it is by no means a new Artifice to talk in a very high strain when Argument runs very low Thus Jews and Gentiles exclaimed against our Fathers the Apostles and the primitive Believers condemning them for going against Antiquity Universality Authority Tradition Philosophers Law-makers Kings and Nations And yet when all was done all this was but empty noise and vain pretence and the Cause of Christianity was the Cause of God Foul Errors have been drest with glorious appearances of Truth and Truth has been opposed with Confidence and God suffers it to be so to try the sincerity of Men that while they who are willing to be deluded fall by