profligate Sinners can shelter themselves in a Schism and palliate or expiate their other Crimes by a factious Zeal and therefore if ever we desire to see Christianity flourish we must Pray heartily for Peace and Unity among Christians But that we may the better understand what we are to Pray for let us briefly enquire wherein the Unity of the Church consists and that is in the Unity of Faith the Unity of Communion and the Unity of Love and Charity 1st Unity of Faith Whereby I do not understand that all Christians must agree in all the Opinions and Speculations of Religion it would be well if it could be so but this can never be while men have such different Understandings and Abilities such different Skill and Opportunities of enquiry but the Unity of Faith is secured by an Agreement in all the Fundamental Articles of Religion though a little varied in some nicer Speculations which are like the different Features in mens Faces which distinguish them from one another but do not alter the Human Shape And this is the difference between the Disputes which divide Papists and Protestants and the Disputes of Protestants among themselves The first subvert the Foundations of Christian Faith and Worship and therefore these Differences can never be Accommodated and Reconciled they will not part with their Errors and we must not embrace them if we love our Souls for as dear a thing as Peace is we must not part with Truth for Peace But now the Disputes among all that are allowed to be Protestants whatever mistakes there may be on any side do not overthrow any necessary Article of the Christian Faith and therefore the Unity of the Faith may be secured amidst all these Disputes Some of these Disputes are only inconvenient Modes of speaking and the difference is only in Words when both Parties really mean the same thing which I believe if all Heat and Passion were laid aside would in a great measure appear to be the true State of that Protestant Controversy about Justification by Faith alone Others are mere Philosophical Disputes in which the Christian Faith is not peculiarly concerned for they have been and are disputed in all Religions such as the Controversy about God's Eternal Decrees and the Power and Efficacy of Nature and Grace which is only a reviving of that old Philosophical Dispute about Necessity and Fate and God's concourse with second Causes to produce their Effects And thus it is in some other Cases Now methinks such Disputes as these which do not properly belong to the Christian Faith should not divide the Christian Church Let men dispute about them as Philosophers but as Christians let it suffice them to believe what Christ and his Apostles have plainly taught us t at is enough to carry us to Heaven and methinks it should be enough to make us agree in the Way thither As to Explain this more particularly but very briefly There is no good Protestant but will confess That we are Justified only by the Merits of CHRIST's Death and Sacrifice as the only Expiation and Atonement for our Sins That no works of Righteousness which we can do can make Satisfaction to God for our Sins nor merit Eternal Life which is the Gift of God That Christ is our only Saviour and that he is the Saviour only of his Body or Church That we are incorporated into the Body of Christ and put into a state of Justification by Faith and the Christian Sacraments That no impenitent unreformed Sinner though he do profess to believe in Christ and be baptized shall be saved by Him and therefore though Repentance and a Holy Life do not merit the Pardon of Sin nor Eternal Rewards yet they are necessarily required in all those who shall be forgiven and saved by Christ. This I say all good Protestants agree in and all this is plainly taught in Scripture and whoever believes this and practises accordingly shall certainly be saved And what need is there then of reducing all this into Artificial Schemes wherein Mens Fancies and Conceits differ What necessity is there of disputing what the Office of Faith or what the Efficacy of Works is in our Justification when we all agree that we are saved only by the Mercy of God and the Merits of Christ through Faith in his Blood and the Exercise of Repentance and a holy Life To understand the reason and order of things conduces much to the beauty and perfection of Christian Knowledge but Men may be saved and the Peace of the Church better secured without such particular Determinations Thus all good Protestants agree that all God's Works are known to him from the foundation of the World That Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world That God knows who are his and always did so That we are predestinated to the adoption of children by Iesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved That we are predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will 1. Ephes. 5 6 11. That when God comes to judge the World he will appear infinitely just and good and merciful That bad men shall have no reason to complain of God and that good men shall have nothing to arrogate to themselves This secures the Glory of God of his Wisdom Goodness Justice Power and Soveraignty and what need is there to enquire any farther into the Divine Decrees than the Scripture has revealed in the particular explication of which when men follow their own Fancies they vastly differ from each other to the great disturbance of the Peace of the Church We are assured by plain Testimonies of Scripture That God desires not the death of a Sinner but rather that he should return and live That our destruction is of our selves That all the good we do is wholly owing to the Grace of God who worketh in us both to will and to do of his own good pleasure That all the evil we do is owing to our selves That every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death This we all agree in and this attributts the glory of all the good we do to God and the shame of all the evil we do to our selves this encourages us to do good in a confident assurance of the Divine Grace and teaches bad men that they must not think to excuse their wickedness by charging it on God And this is all that is necessary for us to know because it is all that is needful to the purposes of Religion and a holy Life But when men frame this into Philosophical Hypotheses they then divide as far from each other as East and West and all the attempts of reconciling them
of Humane Nature is to do good this I take to be the great Advantage and Glory of Riches and Power that it makes Men Publick Patrons and Tutelar Angels to their fellow Creatures which is the nearest Resemblance of the Perfection and Happiness of God and in the Pagan World made Gods of Men But Self-love knows nothing of this Happiness but destroys not only the Sense but the Notion of it But to set aside other Considerations Mankind will not suffer a Man to make himself Easie and Happy by Self-love When he is known they combine against him as a common Enemy they load him with Infamy and Reproach they strip him of his ill-gotten Riches and severely revenge his Injuries this is the great End of Humane Government and the proper use of the Rods and Axes of Princes to restrain and govern Self-love and to punish the outrages it commits This is enough to satisfie us of the Folly and Unreasonableness of this Principle and how impossible it is that Self-love should make any Man happy I will add but one Argument more to disswade you from it that this Self-love can never enter into Heaven That is a Holy Place a Spiritual State wherein nothing can enter that is Unclean Flesh and Blood whether a fleshly Carnal Mind or an Earthly Body cannot inherit the Kingdom of God There God is all in all there is Universal Love among all those blessed Inhabitants and therefore there can be nothing of Self O that blessed Place where there is perfect Unity and Harmony of Souls no Parties and Factions no Emulations and Jealousies no Private Interests no Rivals where all center in God and embrace each other and mingle Flames and feel and rejoyce in each others Happiness To which Blessed Place God of his infinite Mercy bring us all through our Lord Iesus Christ To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power now and for ever Amen SERMON XVI Preached at the Temple Church 2 Cor. iv ver 18. While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen For the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal THIS is the Principle of that true greatness of Mind which appeared in the Apostles and Primitive Christians and enabled them to do that which the Pagan Philosophy boasted of without doing viz. to contemn the World and to live above its Hopes and Fears to bear the Miseries of Life and to despise the Pleasures of it to suffer Shame and Reproach and the loss of all Things and Death it self made as terrible as Pain could make it not only without Fear but with Joy and Triumph For which Cause saith the Apostle we faint not but though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal By the Things which are seen is meant all the Good and all the Evil things of this Life by the things which are not seen all the Happiness and Miseries of the Life to come But is not this a very strange Choice to prefer what is absent and unseen before what is present and sensible To be unconcerned about the Happiness or Miseries of this Life and to live upon unseen Hopes and Fears No saiâ—… 〈◊〉 Apostle We have all the reasoâ—… 〈◊〉 world to do so because seen thingâ—…â—…re but temporal and unseen things are eternal This World will last but a little while the Fashion of this World passeth away but the World to come will have no end and this makes such a difference between seen and unseen Things that there can be no reasonable Competition as there is no Comparison between them So that in speaking to these Words there are two things distinctly to be considered 1. The Reasonableness of this Principle of looking to unseen Things or of living by Faith for it is Faith alone that can give us a View of the invisible World And 2. The Reasonableness of this Choice in preferring unseen before seen Things because the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal 1. The Reasonableness of this Christian Principle of Action of looking at unseen things or living by Faith Some unthinking Men are apt to make a Jest of believing if you have any natural Reasons or sensible Demonstrations they will hearken to you but Faith is below a man of Wit and Philosophy who knows how many Cheats and Impostors there have been in the World But such men little consider how necessary Faith is in Humane Life that they themselves in a thousand Cases have no other Principle to act upon in the greatest Concernments of this Life and that upon much less evidence than we have for another World There are but three ways of knowing any thing Sense or Reason or Faith which last extends further and has a more universal Influence upon the Government of our Lives than either Sense or Reason Our whole Conversation with Mankind is resolved into Believing into a Civil Historical or Political Faith all humane Commerce and Intercourse is founded on it and there are very few Actions of our Lives that can be performed without it that he who will not believe must not live in this World And is it not absurd and ridiculous then to laugh at believing when they might as well laugh Sense and Reason out of the World and live as well without them Now if we must live by Faith in this World if we must believe and must trust one another if we must depend on Mens Word or Oath or Friendship or Honesty though we can have no natural Certainty or Demonstration of Moral Causes what reason can there be to banish Faith out of Religion which is of such absolute necessity in all the other Concernments of Life One would think there should be less need of Faith for this World than for the next which is an invisible State and can be certainly known only by Revelation and if Faith be ever reasonable it is most reasonable where it is most necessary where there is no other means of knowledge This is enough to shew you how little those Men understand themselves who ridicule Faith which is to ridicule Humane Nature and all Humane Conversation If we may if we must believe if we cannot live without believing it must make a man contemptible to talk against all Faith which is an Essential part of Humane Knowledge and a necessary Principle of Moral Prudence Some Men are so afraid of being thought easy and credulous that they run into the other Extream and will believe nothing at least nothing concerning another World And think
God for man would swallow me up he â—…ting daily oppresseth me mine eneâ—…es would daily swallow me up for they 〈◊〉 many that rise up against me O thou most â—…igh What time I am afraid I will â—…ust in Thee in God I will praise his â—…rd in God I have put my trust I will â—…t fear what flesh can do unto me 4thly When God does think fit to â—…rrect his People yet he always reâ—…oves his Judgments upon their sincere â—…epentance This was God's express â—…ovenant with Israel 26. Levit. 40 â—…1 42. If they shall confess their iniquiâ—… and the iniquity of their Fathers with the trespass which they trespassed against me and also that they have walkâ—…d contrary to me and that I also have â—…alked contrary to them and have brought â—…hem into the Land of their Enemies 〈◊〉 then their uncircumcised hearts be humâ—…led and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquities then will I remember my Covenant with Jacob and also my Covenant with Isaac and also my Covenant with Abraham will I remember and I will remember the land Thus in the time of the Judges when God for their sins delivered them into the hands of their Enemies when they cried to God he raised up Saviours for them Nay many times when their Repentance was not very sincere nor lasting yet in great goodness and compassion he spared them When he slew them then they sought him and returned and enquired early after God and they remembred that God was their Rock and the high God their Redeemer nevèrtheless they did flatter him with their mouth and they lied unto him with their tongue for their heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his Covenant but he being full of compassion forgave their iniquities and destroyed them not yea many a time turned he his anger away and did not stir up all his wrath for he remembred that they were but flesh a wind that passeth away and cometh not again 78. Psalm 34 c. So that how angry soever God be we have a certain way of appeasing his anger Nothing but sin can provoke a merciful God and a compassionate Father to punish He has a great tenderness for all his Creatures He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men and therefore he is more easily appeased than he is provoked judgment is his strange Work but he â—…ights in Acts of Mercy and seems â—…ased with an honourable occasion 〈◊〉 shew mercy without exposing his â—…ws and Government to contempt â—…d therefore Repentance and Reforâ—…tion will always appease him nay â—…metimes we see that the very shews â—…d appearance of a publick and solemn â—…pentance though it be not so sinâ—…re and hearty as it ought to be â—…akes him stay his hand and expect â—…r return And this is a great encouâ—…gement and a Powerful obligation on 〈◊〉 to return to God when he strikes 〈◊〉 humble our selves under his mighty â—…nd for there is no other way to reâ—…ove his Judgments and this will do 〈◊〉 It is a vain thing to trust in Armies â—…d Navies in the Courage and Conâ—…ct of Princes and Generals when â—…ur Sins fight against us when God â—…efuses to go forth with our Armies â—…r no King is saved by the multitude of â—…n host a horse is a vain thing for safeâ—…y neither shall he deliver any by his â—…reat strength but the eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him upon them that â—…ope in his mercies 33. Psal. 16 17 18. Nay the justice and righteousness of our Cause will not always secure 〈◊〉 of Success for those who have a very just Cause may deserve to be punished and then God may justly punish them and deliver them into the hands 〈◊〉 their Enemies God does not always determine what is Right and Wrong by the events of War for he is the Sovereign Judge of the World and may punish a wicked Nation by unjust Oppressors as he often did the Israelites The Profession of the true Religion will not always secure us when ouâ—… Sins cry for Vengeance When the Iews cried The Temple of the Lord 〈◊〉 temple of the Lord the Prophet told them They trusted in lying words for will ye steal and murder and commit adultery and swear falsly and burn incense to Baal and come and stand before me in this house which is called by my name and say We are delivered to do all these abominations 7 Jer. 4 10. To glory in the profession of the true Faith or in a vigorous opposition to the Errors and Corruptions of Religion when we are Atheists or Infidels in our Lives may make God punish us but is no reason on our part why he should save us but true and sincere Repenâ—…ance will save us We profess the sinâ—…ere Faith of Christ we fight in a just Cause if it be lawful to defend our â—…elves against the powerful Oppressor â—…f the Protestant that is the true Christian Faith and the Liberties of Europe and we have no reason to fear â—…ny thing but our sins Let us but reâ—…orm our Lives and put away the evil â—…f our doings and our Arms will be as Prosperous as our Cause is Just God will then gird our Princes and soldiers â—…ith strength to the battle will teach â—…heir hands to war and their fingers to â—…ght 5thly Faith and Prayer are more â—…owerful than Arms as it must necesâ—…arily be if God only gives Victory â—…nd Success This we learn from the â—…hole History of the Iews the Apoâ—…le to the Hebrews gives us a particular â—…ccount of the Power of Faith II. Heb. â—…2 33 34. Of Gideon and Barach and Sampson and Ieptha and David who â—…hrough faith subdued kingdoms wrought â—…ighteousness obtained promises stopped â—…he mouths of lions quenched the violence â—…f fire escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong waxed valivaliant in fight turned to flight the armies of the aliens Moses his Prayer was more powerful than Ioshua's Arms for when Moses held up his hands Israel prevailed when he let down his hands Amalek prevailed 17. Exo. II. Hezekiah's Prayer overthrew the Assyrian Army when Rabshekah came against Ierusalem and reproached them with their Trust in God We must not indeed expect such miraculous Victories as God gave to Israel but this makes no difference for the Power of Faith and Prayer is the same still and all Victory is God's still who gives Success as well by invisible Means and seeming Accidents as by the most visible interposal of a miraculous Power For God gave Israel miraculous Deliverances not because he could not save them without a miracle but because he would make it visible to all the world That he was their Saviour But still God hears our Prayers and answers them he is still the Saviour and Deliverer of all those who trust in him and hope in his Mercy and therefore the only sure way to conquer our Enemies is to prevail with God by
Evidence â—…f them that they are what we cannot â—…onceive and comprehend To believe no farther than Natural â—…eason can conceive and comprehend is â—…o reject the Divine Authority of Reveâ—…tion and to destroy the distinction beâ—…ween Reason and Faith He who will â—…elieve no farther than Natural Reason â—…pproves believes his Reason not the Revelation and is in truth a Natural Philosopher not a Believer He believes â—…he Scriptures as he would believe Plato â—…nd Tully not as inspired Writings but â—…s agreeable to Reason and the result of wise and deep Thoughts and this puts an end to all the Disputes about Faith and Revelation at once For what use is there of Faith What matter whether the Scriptures be divinely inspired or not when we are no farther concerned with them than with other Humane Writings to believe what they teach agreeable to our own Reason Let these Men then either reject Faith and Scripture or confess that Revelation as to all supernatural Truths must serve us instead of Sense and Reason I would gladly know of them whether they would not believe such Supernatural Truths as are not evident to Reason were they sure that God had revealed them I guess they will not be so hardy as to say That they would not believe God himself should he reveal such things as their Reason cannot comprehend and if they would believe God in such matters why will they not believe a Revelation which they themselves acknowledge to be Divine in such matters For is there any difference between believing God and believing a Divine Revelation If God does know and can reveal such Mysteries and is to be believed when he does reveal them and such Doctrines are contained in an undoubted Revelation then the unconceivableness of them can be no Argument against the Truth of the Revelation or that sense of the words which contains such Mysteries Let us then consider the natural consequence of this which is of great moment in this dispute viz. That we must allow of no Objections against Revealed Mysteries which we will not allow to be good Objections against Sense and Reason which is a necessary and unavoidable consequence if Revelation with respect to supernatural Truths stand in the place of Sense and Reason Now no man questions the Truth of what he sees and feels or what he can prove to be true by plain and undeniable Reason meerly because there are unconceivable difficulties in it as there are in every thing even the most certain and familiar things in Nature And if Revealed Truths are not more unconceivable than many natural objects of Sense and Reason why should their being unconceivable be a greater objection against believing a Revelation than it is against believing our Sense and Reason in matters equally unconceivable When God has revealed to us That he has an Eternal and only begotten Son though we cannot comprehend the Mystery of the Eternal Generation why should we not as firmly believe it as we do that Man begets a Son in his own likeness the Philosophy of which we as little understand Nor can we any more conceive the Union of the Soul and Body than we do the Incarnation of the Son of God or the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature in one Person And if we own the Authority of Revelation why should we not as well believe what Revelation teaches how unconceivable soever it be as we do what Sense and Reason teaches though it be alike unconceivable All men are sensible that it is very absurd and foolish to deny the Being of any thing which they have certain evidence of because they cannot comprehend the Nature and Reasons of it The Man who rose up and walked before the Philosopher who was disputing subtilly against the possibility of Motion put a scorn upon all his Arguments by shewing him that he could move And therefore we see that all men believe their Senses and Reason against all the difficulties in Nature and will never be perswaded by the subtillest Disputant that that is not which they certainly see and know to be Now for the same reason if Men will allow the Authority of Revelation they must believe what is revealed how unconceivable and incomprehensible soever its nature be for when we know what a thing is and this may be known by Revelation as well as by Sense as those Men must confess who acknowledge a Divine Revelation no difficulties in conceiving it must perswade us to deny that it is This is very plain in it self though few men consider it That to disbelieve what is Revealed for the sake of any difficulties in understanding or conceiving it is to reject the certainty of Revelation For what other account can be given of that difference men make between the Evidence of Sense and Reason and of Revelation but that they allow Sense and Reason to be good and certain proofs of the Being of such things as are evident to Sense and Reason how Mysterious soever their natures are but that mere Revelation is no certain proof of the Being of any thing which is not evident also to Sense and Reason how plainly soever it be revealed that is that Revelation alone can prove nothing for if Revelation it self could prove the certainty of what is revealed the difficulties in Nature and Philosophy could no more disprove a Revelation than confute our Senses Now let any man judge whether this be not unequal usage to expect more from Revelation than they do from Sense and Reason and not to believe Revelation upon the same terms that they believe their Senses Should Men resolve to believe nothing which they see till they could give a Philosophical account of the Reasons and Causes and Natures of all they see as they refuse to believe a Revelation any farther than they can conceive and comprehend the thing revealed they must of necessity be as great-Scepticks as they are Infidels For as for Contradictions it is an easy matter to make or find seeming Contradictions in what we do not understand for when we know not the Philosophical Natures of things nor how they act and yet will be reasoning and guessing at them all our false guesses may be full of Contradictions and Impossibilities because we know not the true Mystery of Nature It is this vain humour of Criticizing upon Nature which makes so many Atheists They go upon the same Principle with Infidels and Hereticks To believe nothing which natural Reason cannot conceive and comprehend now they cannot comprehend the Notion and Idea of a God which they say is made up of Contradictions and Impossibilities and therefore they reject the Being of a God They cannot conceive a Creating Power which can give Being to that which had no Being before which they think a plain Contradiction to make Something of Nothing and therefore they reject the Creation of the World and either assert the Eternity of the World or at least the Eternity of Matter They can
conceive no Substance but Matter and Body and therefore reject the Notion of a Spirit as Nonsense and Contradiction They will allow nothing to be wisely made which they understand not the reason and uses of and therefore they fancy a great many botches and blunders in Nature which cannot be the designs and contrivance of Wisdom but the effects of Chance and then the consequence is plain That the World was made by Chance not by a Wise Author Now I confess if this way of Reasoning be allowed it will be impossible to defend either Sense or Reason or Revelation against the Cavils of Atheists and Infidels for there are unconceivable and incomprehensible Secrets and Mysteries in them all and if to conceive and comprehend the Natures of things must be made the measure and standard of true and false we must deny our Senses and Reason as well as our Faith and if we do and must believe our Sense and Reason beyond our Comprehension why must we believe nothing that is Revealed any farther than we can conceive and comprehend the Nature and Reasons of it The Sum is this Humane Knowledge whatever the means of knowing be whether Sense or Reason or Revelation does not reach to the Philosophical Causes and Natures of things but only to their Being and Natural Vertues and Powers and as a Wise man who knows the Measure of his understanding expects no more from Sense and Reason than to know what things there are in the World and what they are as far as they fall under the notice of Sense and Natural Reason so we must expect no more from Revelation than the knowledge of such things as Sense and Natural Reason cannot discover But we must no more expect the Philosophy of Supernatural Truths from Revelation than we do the Mysteries of Nature from Sense and Reason Now since Humane Knowledge is not a knowledge of the Mysterious Natures of things but only to know what things there are and what they are there can be no contradiction between Sense and Reason and Revelation unless one denies what the other affirms not that one teaches more than the other teaches or that one cannot comprehend what the other teaches Reason teaches more than Sense teaches or can comprehend and Revelation teaches more than either Sense or Natural Reason teaches or can comprehend but this is no contradiction but only a subordination between these different kinds and degrees of Knowledge but as for Unconceivableness and Incomprehensibility that is no argument against any thing for Sense and Natural Reason can no more comprehend their own Objects than they do what is revealed And it is manifest perverseness to make that an objection against Revelation which we will not allow to be an objection against Sense and Reason This is sufficient as to the reason of the thing but as far as it is possible to remove mens Prejudices also against believing Mysteries I shall briefly answer two very popular Objections 1. It is thought very unnatural that when God has made us reasonable Creatures and therefore made Natural Reason to us the measure of Truth and Falshood he should require us to believe without Reason as we must do if he reveals such things to us as we know not and cannot possibly know the reasons of If we must believe with our Understanding how can we believe things which we cannot understand This were a reasonable Objection were it true for we cannot believe what we have no knowledge nor understanding of for Faith is Knowledge though not Natural Knowledge But do we not understand what it is we believe Do we not know what we mean when we say we believe in Father Son and Holy Ghost Nay do not our Adversaries understand what we mean by it How then come they to charge us with believing Contradictions and Impossibilities For if they know not what we believe they cannot know whether we believe Contradictions or not And if we do understand what it is we believe then we do not believe without understanding which is absolutely impossible if we know what it is we believe And we know also why we believe Our Faith is founded in Sense and Reason and resolved into the Authority of God which is the highest and most infallible Reason The Miracles which Christ and his Apostles wrought were evident to Sense and owned by Reason to be the effects of a Divine Power and the Answer the Blind man gave to the Pharisees when Christ had opened his eyes speaks the true Sense of Nature Herein is a marvellous thing that ye know not from whence he is and yet he hath opened mine Eyes Now we know that God heareth not Sinners but if any man be a Worshipper of God and doth his will him he heareth Since the World began was it not heard that any man opened the Eyes of one that was born blind If this man were not of God he could do nothing 9 John 30 31 32 33. And all Mankind own that the most absolute Faith is due to God and to those who speake from God and this as I take it is to believe with Reason But still we believe such things whose Natures we do not understand and cannot account for by Natural Reason and this is to believe without Reason We believe that God the Father hath an Eternal Son and an Eternal Spirit and that Father Son and Holy Ghost are but one Eternal God but this is what Natural Reason cannot comprehend nor give us any notion or conception of how God can have an Eternal Son and an Eternal Spirit really distinct from himself and yet with himself One Eternal and Infinite God Reason can give no account of the Eternal Generation of the Son nor of the Eternal Procession of the Holy Spirit and is not this to believe without Reason which a reasonable Creature ought not to do and which we ought not to think that God who made us reasonable Creatures expects from us And this I grant would be a material Objection were Reason the Judge of the Nature and Philosophy of things and did Reason require us to believe nothing but what we understand and comprehend But then we must no more believe Sense and Reason than Revelation for we do not comprehend the Nature of any one thing in the World how evident soever it is to Sense and Reason that there are such things Nature is as great a Mystery as Revelation and it is no greater affront to our Understandings no more against Reason for God to reveal such things to us as our Reason cannot comprehend than 〈◊〉 is to make a whole World which â—…eason cannot comprehend When we make it an Objection against â—…ny thing that it is without Reason or â—…s we apprehend against Reason and contrary to Reason we must first conâ—…ider whether it be the proper object of Reason otherwise it is no Objection as it is no Objection against Sounds that we cannot see them nor against Colours
great Reproach to a Christian Nation where such Doctrines are publickly owned and profess'd and such Persons courted and flattered as â—…he most refined Philosophical Wits I pray God this Nation do not find the â—…ischievous Effects of it both in Church â—…nd State Government can never be long secure without the Sacred Authority of Religion and destroy Revealed Religion and we shall quickly have none as is too visible in the Lives of Deists I 'm sure it is a vain thing to talk of a Reformation of Manners while such Men are suffered to poison the very Fountains to undermine all Religion and to root up the very Foundations of Piety and Vertue I do not love to prophesie ill Things but that Nation cannot reasonably expect to receive Good from God which is so unconcerned for his Glory and Worship it being the standing Rule of his Government He that honoureth me I will honour but those which despise me shall be lightly esteemed To God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power now and for evermore Amen SERMON XII Preach'd on September 2. 1699. Being the Fast for the Fire of London at the Cathedeal Church of St. Paul's before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor Aldermen and Citizens of London Micah vi 9. The Lord's Voice crieth unto the City and the Man of Wisdom shall see thy Name Hear ye the Rod and who hath appointed it WHen the State of this World is Happy and Prosperous it is no wonder to see Men indulge themselves in Ease and Luxury forget God or grow careless and formal in Religion For though it might reasonably be expected that happy Creatures who rejoice in the Blessings of Heaven should be very devout Worshippers of that God from whose Bounty and Goodness they receive all yet Humane Nature in this degenerate State is very fond of sensual Pleasures And when an easie and plentiful Fortune puts it into Mens Power to enjoy as much of this World as they will there are but very few who can set Bounds to their Enjoyments and taste the Pleasures of this Life without taking large and intoxicating Draughts of it and this sensualizes Mens Minds and a carnal Mind is Enmity against God saith unto God Depart from us for we desire not the Knowledge of thy Ways Never any People had more sensible Demonstrations of the Power and Presence of God amongst them and his particular Care of them than the Israelites had and yet Moses tells us in his Prophetick Hymn Iesurun waxed fat and kicked thou art waxen fat thou art grown thick thou art covered with Fatness then he forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the Rock of his Salvation Deut. 32. 15. And thus God complains Isa. 1. 2 3. Hear O Heavens and give ear O Earth for the Lord hath spoken I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me The Ox knoweth his Owner and the Ass his Master's Crib but Israel doth not know my People doth not consider And as much as we may despise and abhor the Ingratitude of the Iews this is the general State of Mankind and we may find too many Examples of it in all Times and Nations But it seems much more unaccountable when the Iudgments of God are abroad in the World that the Inhabitants thereof should not learn Righteousness Because Judgments are apt to awaken Men and make them consider When God speaks in Thunder and Lightning those must be deaf indeed who will not hear This is the merciful Design of Providence in sending such terrible Judgments on the World to make Men consider their Ways and their Doings and to convince them that there is a God that judgeth in the Earth For Judgments have a Voice had we but Ears to hear They proclaim the Power and the Majesty of God a terrible Majesty and irresistible Power theâ—… scourge and they threaten Sinners anâ—… call for Weeping and Mourning anâ—… Fasting And how unthankful soever thâ—… Iews were to God for his great Mercieâ—… and Deliverances yet they were not so insensible of his Judgments When he sleâ—… them then they sought him and returned and enquired early after God and remembred that God was their Rock and thâ—… High God their Redeemer Psalm 78â—… 34 35. This we are exhorted to in my Text To hear the Rod and who hath appointed it To consider for what reasons those Evils which we at any time suffer are come upon us and what God intends by the Rod which is the only way to grow better by our Afflictions and to prevail with God in great Pity and Compassion to remove them But this is the great difficulty Who shall reveal this Secret to us How shall we distinguish between the Corrections of God and the Wickedness of Men How shall we understand the Language of the Rod and to whom it speaks for what Sins it strikes and who are those Achans that are the Troublers of our Israel and what God expects from us in such Cases I shall briefly explain these things to you and apply it to the present Occasion But I must premise That I only address my self now to those who believe a God and a Providence and that God hath revealed his Will and the Rule of his Providence in the Holy Scriptures As for Atheists and Infidels who have neither Eyes nor Ears they can only feel the Rod like Bruits not hear its Voice like Men Though the Lord's Voice crieth unto the City it is only the Men of Wisdom that see his Name Now as for those who believe a God and the Holy Scriptures there are two very plain Interpreters of God's Judgments Natural Conscience and the Word of God For the Judgments of God have not an Articulate Voice to acquaint us in plain and express Words upon what Errand they come but they are Signs which speak by an Interpreter and if we carefully attend to the Dictates of Natural Conscience and to the Word of God we cannot mistake their meaning 1. As first No Man who attends either to the Dictates of Natural Conscience or to the Word of God can doubt who it is that hath appointed the Rod This is the first and most naturaâ—… question of all and yet a great many who profess to believe a God and a Providence seem not well satisfied in this Point They allow that some Judgments are the Hand of God but are not willing to grant this of all especially when they see what the immediate and visible Causes of such Sufferings are Some of the greatest Evils which either private Men or Publick Societies suffer are manifestly owing to the Injustice and Wickedness of Men and they can no more believe that it is the Will and Appointment of God that they should suffer such Evils than that it is the Will of God that others should do them And all such Rods as are not appointed by God can teach us nothing but the Wickedness of those by whom
Laws The general Consent of all Nations who had no Communication with each other in this Distinction between Vertue and Vice intimates no other Compact but that of a common Nature And not only the wisest Philosophers but the universal Voice of Mankind attribute these Laws to Nature not to Human Institutions And it must appear strange if these Laws had no higher Original than Human Compacts that Mankind for so many Ages should not know any thing of it but should mistake them for the Laws of Nature as after all the Information these Men can give the World the generality of Mankind do to this day But suppose this Distinction between Vertue and Vice and those Laws which command the Exercise of Vertue and forbid Vice were originally framed and enacted by Men was there no Reason in the nature of things why they agreed upon such Laws Yes they will grant that they were necessary for the Peace and good Order and Government of Human Societies to secure private Men from Injuries and Violence and to make them helpful and beneficial to each other and therefore they agreed to make them Laws But why should we think that God and Nature has not made those Laws which have natural and necessary Reasons to make them Laws Can meer Human Compacts and Governments either make or change the Reasons and Necessities of things Can they if they so pleased make Vertue Vice or Vice Vertue and as well consult the Happiness of Mankind and the good Government of the World by doing so If not then meer Human Compacts can neither make nor unmake these Laws God has made these Laws for us by making us such Creatures and giving us such Natures as require such Laws if we will live by Nature and attain our natural Happiness and who then can think that God will not as much exact from us the Observance of these Laws as Men do that he will not punish the Breach of these Laws when Human Governments find it necessary to do so And has God made the Restraints and Punishment of Mens Lusts and Vices necessary and will he not punish them himself especially when the Authority of Human Laws and Human Government is very precarious without the Awe of Religion as those Law-givers were very sensible who to give the greater Veneration to their Laws pretended to receive them from their Gods It is manifest that this very Hypothesis which allows no other Difference between Vertue and Vice but what Human Laws and Human Contracts make leaves every Man at liberty to break these Laws when he can do it safely or will venture the Punishment which is the reason that makes these Men so fond of it and shews how necessary a divine Authority is to enforce the Obligation of these Laws and to secure the very being of Human Societies So that those who reason according to the common Principles of Humane Nature can never get rid of the Notitions of moral Good and Evil nor attribute these Laws to any other Author but that God who made us and fitted our Natures to these Laws and no Man who believes that God hath given us these Laws can doubt whether he will punish the Breach of them But then if to this we add the more certain Revelation of the Gospel wherein the Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all Unrighteousness and Ungodliness of Men this confirms all the Fears of Nature and leaves no possible Hopes for Sinners but Repentance from dead works and Faith in our Lord Iesus Christ that it is impossible for Men who know any thing of the Gospel of Christ to sin securely with their Eyes open and therefore 2dly The next step they take is to put out their Eyes or to put out the Light to put darkness for light and light for darkness to reject all the common Principles of Reason and all Divine Revelation as Ignorance Folly and Imposture But what a Task is this to perswade our selves that Darkness is Light and Light Darkness For the common Principles of Reason which Atheists and Infidels must reject before they can deny the Being of God or a Divine Revelation shine as clear and bright in the Mind as the Light of the Sun does in the Heavens and the admired Principles of Atheism and Infidelity put out our Eyes leave no Distinction between things nor any certain Rules of judging as to give some few Instances of this There is nothing lies more easie and obvious in our Minds than the Notion of a first Cause which gave Being to all things else I will not dispute this Point now but alledge it as a first Principle which Mankind naturally assent to as the most reasonable Account of the Origin of all things Now this the Atheist rejects for if they should allow a First Cause they must own a God for the first Cause of all things is a God And this is the wisest Reason they have against it though in truth it is a great Confirmation of the natural Notion of a First Cause because the Belief of a God is as natural and universal as of a First Cause And these two Notions which are both so natural to Mankind do mutually confirm each other But what Account do these Men give of the Origin of all things They either say the World is Eternal and always was what it now is or that Atoms were Eternal and that the World that now is was made by chance But is this the natural Perswasion of Mankind that the World had no Beginning and no Cause or that it was made-by chance Is any thing in the World harder to be believed than this which we can form no possible Notion of Nature teaches nothing of all this and how then should they come to know it when they neither saw the World from Eternity nor saw it made by the fortuitous Jumble of Atoms It is certain these Principles differ as Light and Darkness do To ascribe all things to a First Cause gives a sensible Account how all things were made and how they came to be so wisely made which is Knowledge and Light But to say that the VVorld was Eternal without a Cause or that it was made by chance when we see all things in it so wisely made only confounds and amazes us and leaves us in Darkness Indeed all the Principles of Atheism and Infidelity have nothing natural or enlightning in them but are a Force upon our Understandings and destroy all the true Principles of Knowledge It is very easie and natural to our Minds to believe that something is Eternal for if there ever had been nothing there never could have been any thing But the Question is which is most easie and natural to Human Understandings to say that all things are Eternal without a Cause or to assert one Eternal Being who is the Cause of all things and every Man may feel the difference between these two in his own Mind for the Notion of a First Cause