promoted by a Sect call'd Antinomians who Believe as if Men might go to Heaven in the way to Hell without Faith Repentance and new Obedience thus no necessity of good Works and all this because we are said to be Saved thorough Grace which is most True and indeed excludes Good Works from being the meritorious Cause of Salvation but not from being means and way to it for he who created us without us will not Save us without us Here is also a kind of Free-willers who directly strike at God's free Grace in Christ and I dare say are as much against it as Socinians are against his Person Sins against God's Justice his Truth and other Attributes are great but I look upon Sin against his Grace as one of the greatest and less pardonable Here we have a Monstrous Sect call'd Quakers Monstrous I call it for its Doctrine is a Rhapsody of Errors in several kinds they have troubled the World with a number of idle Pamphlets containing a confused heap of Spiritual and Natural Ignorance full of Nonsense Presumption wresting and misapplying of Holy Scripture and a meer racking of good Sense and sound Reason which is able to disgust any Rational Man from Reading them as I confess I soon was but some who made it their Business to go throughly with them have therein found several Pernicious Impious and Blasphemous Tenets drawn out of their Writings which they have Published and set their Names to 't This I may say of Quakers that to themselves they assume the Name of Christians but in my Opinion without True grounds For they own no other Christ but him whom they say to be within them whom they make speak any thing they please then they are not Baptized in the Name of Christ whose Ordinances they Reject and Despise for they own no Sacraments deny Ministry by way of Office in the Church which is the House of the God of Order yet all Order therein but what is of their own making they would destroy and condemn All that are not of their own Persuasion usurping only to themselves the name of God's People withal in their Worldly Concerns they are Cunning and Crafty Busie and Active Thriving and Multiplying medling with many Things with a Stock of ready Money to supply their Occasions and carry on their common Interest in the World The Government hath thought fit to give them a Toleration I wish they do not prove a Snake in its Bosom for they are as dangerous to the State as to the Church Certainly 't is a great Sin to suffer them to Dishonour God through their Blasphemies as 't is in them to do 't Several other Heresies and Errors in Doctrine we have here whereof some are more and others less known Who can tell them all But all thô in different Degrees are contrary to Gospel Truths and thô winked at are to be reckoned among the sinful Opinions and Doctrines in the Nation But as the Nation is infected with many Sins in the Mind so 't is full of others seated in the Heart wherein is the Spring of all sinful Practises For Matth. 15.19 saith our Blessed Saviour out of the heart proceed evil thoughts or desires murthers adulteries fornications thefts false witness blasphemies This leads us to the Second Branch of the great and many Sins of the Nation which consist in Practice and upon this Head with David I may say thô very short of what the thing deserves Rivers of water run down mine eyes Ps 119.136 because they keep not thy Law The Sins properly lodged in the Heart are First Hypocrisie a damnable Sin in this World and accordingly to be rewarded in that which is to come Matt. 24.51 for there is a portion for hypocrites who indeed can sometimes dissemble with and impose upon Men but not so with God The Hypocrite is Squint-ey'd and thô he looks one way yet like the Waterman Row's towards a quite contrary It is bad upon all accounts but in Matters of Religion abominable like the Pharisees as our Saviour with many a Woe tells them they are like unto whited Sepulchres Matth. 23.23 24 25. c. which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead mens bones and of all uncleanness an outward shew of Piety and Virtue but in reality are nothing less They strain at a Gnat and swallow a Camel and outwardly appear righteous unto Men but within are full of hypocrisie and iniquity The Roman Poet could say of such Qui Curios simulant sed Bacchanalia vivunt In some things of the least moment they would seem to be Pious and Conscientious they pay tithe of Mint of Anise and Cumin but omit the weightier matters of the Law like the Jews who upon the preparation day of the passover John 18.28 would not go into the Judgment-Hall lest they should be defiled but made no Conscience to shed innocent Blood and to cry out Crucifie Crucifie Pride and Vanity is another Sin of the Heart Mark 7.22 or it proceedeth out of it of it I make but one Sin for a Proud Man is a Vain Man Pride is the Sin of the Devil and of our First Parents now too natural with many among us who look very big upon others as if they were not Flesh Blood and Corruption as well as other Men yet they are not made of a Matter of a different nature of what others are they came into the World like other Men shall Die and be a Pasture for Worms as well as others Some are proud of their Riches which as Solomon saith Prov. 23.5 certainly they make themselves wings and fly away as an Eagle others are proud of their Honours which in a short time are laid in the Dust others of their Pleasures for they have all that Heart can wish so had Belshazzar in the great Feast he made to a Thousand of his Lords to his Wives and Concubines Dan. 5.5.6 but in the same Hour came forth fingers of a Man's hand and wrote over against the Candlestick upon the plaistering of the Wall of the King's Palace Then the King's countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him so that the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against another and in that night was the King slain v. 30. 1 Cor. 3.1 Others are proud of their Parts as Wit Learning c. for knowledge puffeth up for want of knowing themselves those parts they prophane and make a wrong use of Others are proud of their Strength Comliness Beauty and such Bodily Endowments but to all such the Apostle saith What hast thou that thou didst not receive Ch. 4.7 now if thou didst receive it why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it Be thankful for what thou hast received and Glory not in thy self or in thine own Shame but glory in the Lord. Ch. 1 31. Pride is a Sin odious to God and Man which
hinting that there is no God Giddily Impiously Prophanely and Blasphemously striking if not at the Being yet at his Attributes Works Word and Providence express it in their Discourses and Coversation and some in their Writings whereby they seduce and corrupt the Judgment of some influence the Weak and give a great Scandal to those who fear God and have an awful reverence for his Holy Name when they happen to hear them in their Atheistical fits This is a presumptuous and defying Sin which among us too many are guilty of such teach the way to Hell and were taught in the School of Vanninus and of such abominable Wretches for he who owns not the true God and hath not the right Notion of and due Reverence for him is as if he believed no God This is so odious and shameful that Men take it as a great Injury to be call'd Atheists and thô the thing be really in them yet hate to be call'd by its Name and we have cause to remember how because the Title of a Bill was against Atheism c. great exceptions were taken against it as of a great stain upon the Nation that we thereby should declare to Foreign Countries how we have Atheists among us which is too true thô some whom there is cause to suspect to be such would not have it said But I would have such to answer me one question Which of these two brings a greater Scandal and Reproach to England either not to forbear saying we have Atheists when we have and not to punish them or else to own the Truth that we have some but care not to restrain and punish them David declareth Ps 53.1 that where abominable Iniquity is committed and no regard had to Virtue or Vice there is no God Next we have the Deists whose Religion consists only in acknowledging one God and think that is enough to be Saved Who thô they own a God yet fancy him to be other then he is and to act otherwise then he doth they are for a Natural Religion without and against Revealed they think all Religions to be equal and that any one is at liberty to chuse which he pleases and that he may be saved in any Idolatry is another Sin of the Nation I mean not only the Spiritual one of those whose God is their Riches Honour Pleasures and their Belly but gross and material Idolatry of those who believe Religious Worship to be due to the Creature and actually render it and in too many Places there are too many Books that justifie it I thank God Protestants here are not of that Opinion but Papist are own and practise it and that Abomination is in the sight of all still committed in the Land which is thereby defiled Priests contrary to Laws do every where even out of Foreign Parts swarm as much as ever Papists are as free as can be whilst poor Protestants against the Laws of their Country are barbarously Persecuted in Popish Dominions yet one would think we might somewhat better their Condition with threatning here Papists with the like Usage I shall not say as to Liberties and Lives for our Religion like theirs doth not bind us to be Sanguinary but as to Estates and Fortunes with our Neglecting to take the same care to Defend our Religion as they do to Promote theirs we seem to intimate that theirs is better than ours but if we whosoever we are under the Notion that we are not Persecutors be ashamed of Christ and of his Cause in his due time he will be ashamed of and disown us I may say I remember the time when here it was not so Is it not the height of impudence for Popish Priests to go as of late they have done to dying Men To Doctor Connor after they by Protestant Ministers had been prepared for Death to disquiet them and not give over till they had made them do what upon such occasions is usual for Papists yet this hath been winked at no inquiry made no examination taken against those who so notoriously break the Laws of the Land The following Paper in French was on a Lord's Day April 24. 1698. posted up over the French Chapel door in St. James's and other Places in these words Hereby notice is given that in case any French Refugee be willing to go back into France there to abjure Heresie he may address himself to the French Ambassador and according to his Quality he shall be rewarded By this beginning we may see what we must expect from his being here one would think such things should not belong to his Instructions or Commission but what would they say if our Ambassador in Paris had attempted any thing of the like nature Never till of late any Foreign Minister was allowed two Popish Chapels one Private for Himself and Family which no Man will question and to the great grief of many another Publick one for all that have a mind to come to 't with Four or Five Priests belonging to it and neither Legislarive nor Executive Powers would take any notice of it but God will in his due time and may be punish us by such Snakes as we keep in our Bosom For these many years together we have had very near this City a Nunnery hitherto undisturbed and one more near about the same distance but another way is a forming or rather already formed Another Mass-Chapel in Town is as much frequented by hundreds at this time as it was when in the hands of Benedictine Friars And now Priests to seduce People as much as ever do transform themselves into all shapes and too often do prevail upon Servants Prentices and Masters too Yet by the Laws it is Treason to intice any one to be reconciled to the Romish Church as well as to be reconciled to 't But as yet it doth not appear that any effectual care hath been taken to hinder that great Evil and to prevent this Venom of Popish Idolatry from spreading farther to the Ruine and Destruction of precious Souls the Scandal of Religion and Shame of the Nation Blasphemy unhappily we have here Socinians who would be called Vnitarians and others have in every possible way taken great care to infect the Nation and spread among us their Blasphemous Opinions against the most Holy Trinity they are so well known by their impious Doctrines and unwarrantable Practices to propagate them that there is no need any longer to mention them here in this Place 'T is pity they have not been taken notice of in the way of Punishment as in their presumptuous Offences against God's Cause Another sort of Blasphemers as execrable as can be do impiously in their Discourses ridicule the adorable Mystery of the Incarnation our Saviour's Birth of a Virgin the Holy Scripture and the whole Christian Religion which they call Priest-Craft a Forgery of Melancholick Brains and such other abominable things as makes one's Hair stand on end Libertinism is here
Soul therein included So Secondarily he ought to take care of his Honour in the World when it crosses neither Piety nor Virtue and by all lawful means defend it when maliciously and violently assaulted by bad Men. And this those that set themselves for Censors of other Men's Actions ought to take notice of especially when they know them to be no Despisers of good Advice when duly given But the abominable Disease of Calumny being now so Epidemical the danger of suffering it so visible and great and the harm thereby done so frequent it requires the greater Care to prevent and suppress it Nothing more destructive to Society and nothing brings more confusion into the World than doth speaking ill one of another Whence do often arise Quarrels Fightings Duels Bruises Wounds and Death but from words Mis-spoken Mis-reported and Mis-understood O the Tongue that cannot be governed thô (a) Jam. 3.5 6. A little member how great a matter a little fire kindleth it setteth on fire the course of nature More mischief proceeds from the Organ of Speech than from all the other Members of the Body as we may see in what the Apostle saith about it (b) Rom. 3.13 14. With their tongues they have used deceit the poison of asps is under their lips their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness What in English we call Slanderers or False Accusers is in Greek called Devils for the Devil is their Father who as our Saviour saith was a lyar and a murderer from the beginning How many children in that kind hath he in the World Prov. 10.18 thô in some different degrees and ways But He that hideth hatred with lying lips and he that uttereth slander is a fool Some out of Malice Revengefulness or the like sinful Principle do either invent Lies with out any ground against others or misinterpret their Words and Actions and are glad of any pretence to Blacken their Neighbour with false Aspersions and malicious Insinuations And these Men have another fortunder them who publish the Lies and Slanders which the others forged and so become partakers of other men's sins Both he who steals the Money and he who puts it into the Bag are guilty so he who spreads abroad the Slander is as guilty as he who invented it thô herein sometimes there is a difference for some publish it out of Imprudence others out of a sinful Compliance and others out of Malice Nay there are some who out of their own natural Corruption take pleasure to hear others ill spoken of and thô in their mind they be convinced the things are not true yet in their Heart are glad of it and contrary to the Rules of Charity and Prudence will rather believe Evil than Good thô in doubtful Cases the least they should do is to suspend their Judgment till they see a just cause and not presently to proclaim it abroad and thus fall into the snare for this is a direct breach of the Ninth Commandment Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour whether his Goods Good Name or Life be concerned Spreading ill Reports upon uncertainties and hear-say is a base thing and odious before God and a nice point in the sight of Men who being pinch'd in so sensible a part as Reputation will kick against such as thus lash them behind Neither do I think that the Laws of God and Men require in a Man the Stoician 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Insensibility as if he was a Stock or a Stone but rather do allow him in lawful ways to vindicate his good Name as to defend his Life One Case excepted when 't is plainly for the Cause of the Lord Jesus then suffer all things gladly from those that have Authority and Power over you The Spaniards have a saying Por tu honra pon la vida y pon los dos por tu Dios. Hazard thy Life for thy Honour But venture both for thy God 'T is fit for the good of Human Society that a strong Curb should be be put upon Authors and Promoters of Slanders ' to take away from the Sufferers all just cause from doing themselves justice when wronged in this case and by these means shall Peace be kept and it will strike Terror upon Offenders in this kind or else this will bring in Trouble and Confusion for there are some Men in the World who are as ready to venture all they have to vindicate their Reputation when unjustly assaulted as to defend their Life This is spoken as to Men. But in relation to God there are more pressing Motives not only against him who raises false Reports against another but also against him that takes it up Believes and Propagates it God's word we have for it for he that doth so shall not abide in God's Tabernacle nor dwell in his Holy Hill for David puts the Question to God (a) Psal 15.1 3. Lord who shall abide c. which he Answers He that taketh not up a reproach against his Neighbour What is to take up a reproach the Old Translation hath it very plain not to receive a false report against his neighbour He who desireth to be in God's Favour and be admitted into his House must not hearken to encourage or support a false Report against another but say I will not be concern'd and so let it fall The meaning of the place is of a large extent some explain the words takes not up a reproach by doth not lift up ignominy and scandal upon his Tongue and with it lays no snares to others either with forming false things or wresting those that be true Who will not hear speak or believe a Reproach or false Report against his Neighbour thereby to keep innocent his Ear Tongue and Heart I say further that in some cases Truth it self as to matters of Fact when prejudicial to some body ought not to be published without necessity and a lawful Call as when a Man is upon Oath summoned to bear Evidence in a Court of Justice to preserve a Man's Right but when by such Reports some body receives harm and no body no good thô they were True ought to be suppressed and buried Doeg's report to Saul of what had happened between David and Abimelech was True Psal 53. yet David for it cursed him 't is not always well and fit to speak the Truth A Son 's Saying My Father is a Thief and a Drunkard may be True but 't is ill of him to say it so 't is when against the Rules of Charity Several other kinds of Sins we have here which to mention would prove an endless Task and indeed who can number them all Whether of Inclination and Temper of Relations Professions Conditions Ages of both Sexes Family Personal and National Sins and there is too much cause to complain that England is become a sink of evil in all sorts not only the iniquities of the Country but also those of others How great Sinners
from him that sitteth upon the Throne to the Beggar upon the Dunghill must we all be since the Man according to God's own Heart so heavily complained (b) Psal 38.4 Mine iniquities are gone over mine head as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me And elsewhere (c) Psal 40.12 Innumerable evils have compassed me about mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up they are more than the hairs of mine head therefore mine heart faileth me O that we could every one of us speak of our Sins so feelingly and penitently as He did of His and that God would appoint over us Refiners and Purifiers some Hezekiah and Josiah who also as they begun to Reign shewed their zeal for God and against Sin I hitherto have spoken of our Sins I must now say something of the punishment With Paul I say to my self and to all Sinners (a) Gal. 6.7 8. Be not deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a Man soweth that shall he also reap For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption But he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap everlasting life Here is Good and Evil a Gracious Reward and a just punishment offered let us chuse well 'T is of God's Truth and Justice that Punishment should follow Sin he rewardeth both Good and Evil we are told how (b) 1 Cor. 3.8 every man shall receive his own reward and ever it was so (c) Heb. 2.2 for every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward There is a Reward for the Righteous so saith our Saviour (d) Matth. 5.12 Great is your reward in heaven Long before he had by David said that the Obedience to God's Laws was the way to 't (e) Psal 19.11 In the keeping of them there is a great reward and as there is a recompense for the good so there is for the wicked (f) Psal 91.8 With thine eyes shalt thou see and behold the reward of the wicked We for our Sins have felt and still feel Judgments of several sorts for I must come home First the Honour of the Nation is low in the world which doth hit in a sensible part Foreign Countries at this time want the Value and Esteem which once they had for England Time was and 't is not long since when our Neighbours were in fear of and had us in Reverence but now 't is otherwise the reason is plain (g) 1 Sam. 2.30 Them that honour me I will honour and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed that is shall be honoured by Men as they are of God as we have it in the examples of David at the latter end of his Life of (h) 2 Chro 17.10 Jehoshaphat Hezekiah (a) Chap. 32 23 27. and their People under them but now God hath smitten us in that very tender part (b) Prov. 14.34 Righteousness exalteth a Nation but sin is a reproach to any people Also (c) Rom. 2.9 Tribulation and anguish upon every Soul of Man that doth evil The strength of the Nation is much weakened now it cannot do what formerly it could and what remaineth of it is through certain ways and means made useless The Comliness is gone (d) Psal 39.11 For when thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth For God is a consuming fire and we are as stubble before him There is now a concurrence of Sins committed of Judgments inflicted and of others threatned so that not only we feel but also have cause to fear for God's Mercies we by our sins have made our selves unworthy of and deserved his most severe Judgments We seem in our carriage ashamed to Confess and Repent of our Sins thô not to commit them so that 't is a wonder that having so often sinned against Grace and the Gospel we have not quite sinned it away it threateneth to to leave us to go to others who will value it more than now many do among us Also the Riches are lessen'd Poverty is come on apace upon many I know those who formerly Fared plentifully now to want the Conveniencies even the Necessaries for Life Trade once Flourishing is now much decay'd the Mastery of the Sea question'd and a Blast laid almost upon every thing we undertake We have felt the great Scourges Plague Fire War Unseasonable weather one after another and Dearth yet are not returned to God we are troubled with Partialities Factions Hatred and Animosities The Nation is Divided Subdivided Undersubdivided yet we will not return to God but walk contrary to him so no wonder if he walks contrary to us and I am afraid it may at last be in fury For as we have been unthankful under Mercies so we are become uncorrigible under Judgments besides we have God's word for it to be seriously read in the Texts (a) Lev. 26. Deut. 28. Joel 1. and 2. Amos 4 2 Chron. 7.19 20 21 22. quoted in the Margin which contain terrible Judgments but the worst are the Blindness of Mind and hardness of Heart which many are punish'd with who mind not and care not for the Dispensations of God's Providence and are (b) Rom. 1.26 27 28 29 30 31. Given up to vile Affections and to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient being filled with all unrighteousness Fornication Wickedness Covetousness Maliciousness full of Envy Murther Debate Deceit Malignity Whisperers Backbiters Haters of God Despiteful Proud Boasters Inventers of Evil things Disobedient to Parents without Vnderstanding Covenant-breakers without natural Affection Implacable Vnmerciful This is all now written for us as once it was for the Romans for those Sins are among us as they were among them and I look upon them not only as Sins but also as Punishment for Sins For when God leaves Men to themselves from one Sin they by his just Judgment fall into another for these Spiritual and Temporal Punishments are only Warning pieces What then will the Murthering ones be Do we wait and stay till some destroying Angel come upon us Well may we cry out with the Prophet (c) Lam. 3.22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not We read how once upon an unseasonable weather of Rain and Thunder in Wheat-Harvest time (d) 1 Sam. 12.18 the people greatly feared and cry'd out they had sinned And in another place 't is said that (a) Ezra 10.9 All the men of Judah and Benjamin trembled because of their sin and for the great rain which they look'd upon as a Punishment for it So should we who of late almost every Summer about Harvest time have had such Rains as prejudiced the Corn and other Fruits of the Earth upon the like case as now ours is (b) Micah 6.9 The Lord's voice crieth unto the City