so directly suited to a Devout Mind that it presently enters it moves and actuates it inspires and informs it with the very Passions it describes And though all good Men are not equally mov'd in this Duty yet all I believe are more or less mov'd It was very much the business of the Prophets and all of Prophetick Education our Lord and his Disciples practis'd it frequently it was ever a great part of Religious Joy and one of the greatest Pleasures of pious Retirement And I wish from my Heart the esteem of it were revived in our Days I perswade my self it would add much to the Warmth and Pleasure of Devotion it would contribute to introduce Religion into our Families and for ought I know into our very Recreations and Friendships And this minds me that as I have under every foregoing Head taken notice of the Advantages of Conversation so I should not forget it here This has a lively influence upon our Minds and always kindles in the Soul a gentle heat And did we but accustom our selves to entertain one another with Discourse about another World did we mingle the Praises of God with the Feasts and Joys of Life did we retire to our Country-Houses to contemplate the variety and riches of Divine Wisdom and Bounty in those natural Scenes of Pleasure which the Country affords and did we now and then invite our Friends to joyn with us in offering up Halelujahs to God on this account what Brightness and Serenity what Calm and Pleasure would this diffuse through all our Souls through all our Days To this that I have said touching the exciting Holy Passions I will only add one Observation formed upon those words of the Apostle Jam. 5.13 Is any among you afflicted Let him Pray is any merry Let him sing Psalms That Religion must be accommodated to Nature and that devout Passions will soon shoot up when they are engrafted upon a Natural Stock With which I will joyn this other That since we are most affected by such truths as are most particular circumstantiated and sensible and therefore imprint themselves more easily and deeply on our imagination for this Reason I should recommend the Reading the Lives of Saints and excellent Persons were they not generally writ so that we have reason to desire somewhat more of the Spirit of Piety in the Learned and more of Judgment in the Pious who have employed their Pens on this Argument § 4. The immediate Ends of Discipline are the subduing the Pride of the Heart and the reducing the Appetites of the Body By Discipline I here understand whatever voluntary Rigours we impose on our selves or whatever voluntary Restraints we lay upon our allowed Enjoyments And when I say that the Humiliation of the Heart and subjection of the Body are the immediate Ends of both I do not exclude any other which may be involved in these or result from them Now of what Importance these two things are I need not shew For since all Sin is distinguished in Scripture into the filthiness of the Spirit and the Flesh it is plain that the Pride of the Heart and the Lust of the Body are the two great causes of all Immorality and Uncleanness And therefore these are the two great Ends which the Wise and Good have ever had in their Eye in all their Acts of Self-denial and Mortification This is sufficiently attested by the Example of David Psal 131. Lord I am not high minded I have no proud looks I do not exercise my self in great matters which are too high for me But I refrain my Soul and keep it low like as a Child that is weaned from his Mother Yea my Soul is even as a weaned Child And from that other of St. Paul 1 Cor. 9.25 26 27. And every one that striveth for the Mastery is temperate in all things Now they do it to obtain a corruptible Crown but we an incorruptible I therefore so run not as uncertainly So fight I not as one that beateth the Air But I keep under my Body and bring it into subjection lest that by any means when I have preached to others I my self should be a cast-away Whoever thus mortifies the Pride of the Heart whoever thus brings under the Body will soon find himself truly set free and Master of himself and Fortune He will be able to run the way of God's Commandments and to advance on swiftly towards Perfection and the Pleasure and Happiness that attends it And to attain these blessed Ends I do not think that we need ensnare our Souls in the perpetual Bonds of Monastick Vows I do not think that we are to expose our selves by any Ridiculous or Fantastick observances There is I say no need of this for we may as oft as we shall see fit retrench our Pleasures abate of the Shew and figure of Life we may renounce our own Wills to comply with theirs who cannot so well pretend either to Authority or Discretion And if these things cannot be done in some circumstances without becoming Fools for Christ that is without that Tameness that Condescension that Diminution of our selves which will never comport with the Humours and the Fashions of the World here is still the more room for Mortification and for a nearer and more eminent Imitation of the Blessed Jesus Provided still we decline all Affectation of Singularity and when we Practise any extraordinary instance of Self-denial we be ever able to justifie it to Religious and Judicious Persons by the Proposal of some excellent End Fasting indeed is plainly prescribed in Scripture and though the Obligation to it with respect to its Frequency and Measure be not the same on all yet all should some time or other Practise it as far as the Rules of Christian Prudence will permit And I have often thought that Fasting should generally consist rather in Abstinence from pleasing Meats than from all not the Food which nourishes our strength but that which gratifies the Palate ministring most directly to Wantonness and Luxury For the better Regulation of Voluntary Discipline I propose by way of Advice three things 1. I do not think it best to bring our selves under any perpetual and unalterable ties in any instance of Self-denial There is a Vertue in Enjoying the World as well as in Renouncing it and 't is as great an Excellence of Religion to know how to abound as how to suffer want Nay what is more all voluntary Austerities are in order to give us a Power and Dominion over our selves in the general course of a prosperous Life and Lastly I very much doubt when once a Man has long and constantly accustomed himself to any Rigour whether it continue to have much of Mortification in it or whether it so effectually tend to promote our Spiritual Liberty as it would if we did return to it but now and then as we saw occasion 2. We must not multiply unnecessary Severities and that no Man may think
Parts and Gallantry Blessed God! to what Degree of Madness and Stupidity may Men of the finest Natural Parts sink when abandon'd by Thee or rather when they themselves abandon Thee and that Light which Thou hast set up in the World Our Lord and Master thought the Profits and Pleasures of the whole World a poor Compensation for the Loss of the Soul What is a Man profited if he gain the whole World c. Matth. 16. But these Men rather than it should not perish for ever will charge through Shame and Pain Remorse and Sickness and all the Obstacles that God has set between us and a desperate Height of Wickedness 4. Though a Sinner may come to that Pass as to suppress his Conscience and master his Fears yet he must ever be conscious to himself of the Fruitlesness and the Meanness of a Course of Sin He must needs be inwardly sensible that he has wearied himself to commit Iniquity to no purpose that his Mind has been restless and tempestuous like a troubled Sea casting up its own Mire and Dirt He must be conscious to himself that he is false and unjust unconstant and ingrateful and in Bondage to such Lusts as are mean and poor and injurious to his Repose and which he has often wished himself free from And this no doubt must be a blessed Condition when a Man 's own Mind does to his face assure him that he is that very thing which all the World condemns and scorns and which he cannot endure to be charg'd with without resenting it as the highest Affront Certainly it were better that all the World should call me Fool and Knave and Villain than that I should call my self so and know it to be true My Peace and Happiness depends upon my own Opinion of my self not that of others 't is the inward sentiments that I have of my self that raise or deject me and my Mind can no more be pleased with any Sensation but its own than the Body can be gratified by the Relishes of another's Palate 5. The more insensible a Sinner grows the more intollerable is the Disorder and Distraction which Sin produces in his Affairs While Men are under any little restraints of Conscience while they are held in by Scruples and Fears and Fits of Regret while in a Word they Sin with any Modesty so long Sin will tollerably comport with their Interest and Reputation but as soon as they grow insensible and impudent they pass all bounds and there is nothing so dear and considerable to them which they will not Sacrifice to their Wickedness Now Wife and Children Friends Estate Laws Vows Compacts Oaths are no stronger Ties to them than Sampson's Wit hs or Cords Such a one as this is very well described in the Prophet Thou art a swift Dromedary traversing her ways a wild Ass used to the Wilderness that snuffeth up the Wind at her pleasure in her occasion who can turn her away Jer. 2.22 And again he is fitly represented to an Horse rushing into the Battel He has as much Contempt for his safety and Happiness as for Reason and Religion he defies Shame Ruin and Death as much as he does God and Providence in one word with an impudent and lewd stupidity he makes all the hast he can to be undone and since he will be so it were well if he could be undone alone I am sure we have too many Instances at this Day of the miserable and fatal Effects of Atheism and Deism to leave any room to doubt whether I have strained the point here or no. Upon the whole it does appear that Sin is a great Evil and that the Evil of it is not lessen'd but increased by Obduration And from hence the Proposition infer'd does naturally follow that Deliverance from it is a great Good so great that if we estimate it by the Evil there is in Sin Health to the Sick Liberty to the Captive Day to the benighted weary and wandring Traveller a Calm a Port to Passengers in a Storm Pardon to Men adjudged to Death are but weak and imperfect Images or Resemblances of it A Disease will at worst terminate with the Body and Life and Pain will have an End together But the Pain that Sin causes will endure to all Eternity for the Worm dies not and the Fire will not be quenched The Errour of the Traveller will be corrected by the approaching Day and his Weariness refreshed at the next Stage he comes to but he that errs impenitently from the Path of Life is lost for ever When the Day of Grace is once set upon him no Light shall e're recal his wandring Feet into the Path of Righteousness and Peace no Ease no Refreshment shall e're relieve his Toil and Misery Whilest the Feet of the Captive are loaded with Fetters his Soul may enjoy its truest Liberty and in the midst of Dangers and Dungeons like Paul and Silas he may sing Songs of Praise and Triumph but the Captivity of Sin defiles oppresses and enslaves the Mind and delivers up the miserable Man to those intollerable and endless Evils which inexorable Justice and Almighty Wrath inflicts upon Ingratitude and Obstinacy A Storm can but wreck the Body a frail and worthless Bark the Soul will escape safe to Shore the Blessed Shore where the happy Inhabitants enjoy an undisturbed an Everlasting Calm but Sin makes Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience and he that perishes in it does but pass into a more miserable state for on the wicked God will rain Snares Fire and Brimstone storm and tempest this shall be their portion forever Psal 11. And Lastly a Pardon sends back a Condemned Criminal to Life that is to Sins and Sufferings to toils and troubles which Death if Death were the utmost he had to fear would have freed him from But he that is once delivered from Sin is past from Death to Life and from this Life of Faith of Love of Hope shall soon pass to another of Fruition and Glory § 2. A Second Fruit of Liberty is Good Works Here I will shew Two things First and this but briefly that the Works of Righteousness contribute mightily to our Happiness and that immediately Secondly That Deliverance from Sin removes the great Obstacles and Impediments of Righteousness and throws off that Weight which would otherwise encumber and tire us in our Race 1. Holiness is no small Pleasure no small Advantage to him who is exercised therein When Nature is renewed and restored the Works of Righteousness are properly and truly the Works of Nature and to do good to Man and offer up our Praises and Devotions to God is to gratifie the strongest and most delightful Inclinations we have These indeed are at first stifled and oppressed by Original Corruption false Principles and Vicious Customs But when once they have broke through these like Seeds through the Earthy Coats they are enclosed and imprisoned in and are impregnated warmed and cherished by
of Men who at the last Day will fall under the same Character and Condemnation not because they perform no Duties but because their Performance of them is depretiated by Coldness and Formality Men who make a fair Appearance of Religion and yet have no inward spiritual Life Men who do generally observe the external Duties of Religion but with so little Gust with such Indifference and Lukewarmness that they are neither acceptable to God nor useful to themselves This State of Deadness may be consider'd either more generally as it runs thorough the whole course of our Lives and Actions or more particularly in this or that Instance of Religion 1. When 't is so general that the Bent and Course of our Lives is for want of relish of the Things of God perverted and depraved when we have no Designs drive on no Ends that are suitable to the Excellency and Dignity of our Nature to the Holiness of our Profession and to the great and manifest Obligations of God when we have no Joys or Pleasures no Thirsts or Appetites that do truly become a Christian when we make no Progress no Advance towards our great End when our Discourses and Employments have no Tincture of the Spirit and no Tendency to Edification I think we may then boldly conclude that this is a state of Carnality and Death And that this want of Relish in the general Course of our Lives proceeds from a real want of a Sincere Faith and true Illumination For were the Mind once truly Enlighten'd were it once clearly convinc'd firmly and habitually perswaded of the Beauty and Excellence of the Things of God as we should have Notions different from those of worldly carnal Men so would there consequently be a Difference in the Nature of our Hopes and Fears of our Desires and Designs of our Joys and Sorrows and as necessarily in the main Scope and Tendency of of our Conversation Whoever therefore finds this general Stupidity in the Course of his Life let him not flatter himself in the Performance of any of the Duties of Religion he has a corrupt carnal and blind Heart his Performances proceed not from true Principles and have not that Life and Vigour in them that they ought they are as different from the Performances of a Man truly regenerate and sanctified as the Civilities and Complements of a well-bred Acquaintance from the substantial Offices of a Sincere and affectionate Friend Nor can any Man who will take the least pains to examin himself be ignorant of or mistaken in the Condition of his Soul if this be it For whoever will act honestly and impartially ought not to pass a Sentence of Absolution on himself upon the bare Performance of some relative or instrumental Duties of Religion but he ought to Inquire First What Vertues he Practises which put him upon Expence Hazard or Travel what Works of Piety or Charity he performs and what Proportion they bear to his Ability Next he ought to consider the Design and End he proposes to himself in all his Religious Performances whether he seek the Honour of God the Welfare of Man and his own Improvement and Growth in Goodness or whether he does this meerly to acquit himself of a task and discharge himself of what he takes for granted as a Duty though he finds no pleasure no advantage in it Thirdly he must reflect upon the Frame and Temper of his Mind in reference to these Duties what hunger and thirst he has for Righteousness what Warmth Ardor Elevation or Earnestness of Mind accompanies his Performances what Peace and Pleasure his Reflection on them or whether Religion be not a burthen to him or something to which Custom only reconciles him Lastly he ought to examine what Operation what Influence his Religious Performances have upon him Prayer Hearing Reading and such-like Duties do naturally tend to enlighten the Mind purifie the Heart increase our Love strengthen our Faith and confirm our Hope and therefore where this is not the Effect of them we may conclude that they are not discharg'd in that manner and with that Sincerity they ought He therefore that will examin himself aright must not ask himself how often he reads how often he hears c. and then rest there but must ask himself what Effect these Performances have had upon his Mind which he will soon discern if he demand of himself what the bent and scope of his Life is how much he advances and improves in the Conquest of any Vice and the Attainment of any Vertue what he loves or what he hates what Esteem he has for the Things of God and what for the things of Men. And in a word how he follows after Universal Righteousness and how he encreases in Purity of Heart and Poverty of Spirit 2. Lukewarmness or Coldness may be consider'd more particularly as it discovers it self in the Performance of this or that Duty in Hearing Reading Prayer and Participation of the Lord's Supper Now 't is certain that there is a Deadness in these Duties which proceeds from a carnal and unsanctified Heart and is a plain Symptom of a State of Sin And yet it is too common that they who are subject to it make little Reflection upon it and are little concerned for it On the other hand many complain of Lifelessness in Duty where there is no just ground for this Complaint And this is no small Evil to such for it disturbs the Peace of their Minds damps the Chearfulness and Alacrity of their Service and clogs and encumbers their Religion with needless doubts and Scruples Some have gone about to set this matter right very unskilfully and whilst they have as they thought shun'd Enthusiastick Raptures and irregular Heate have really betray'd the Cause of true and solid Fervency of Spirit and talked of Prayer and such other Duties in such a manner as cannot but reflect disadvantagiously on themselves amongst such as are moderately vers'd in the Scriptures and have any Experience of the Power of God's Word and Spirit upon their Souls But what surprises me most is that some of very deserved Repute have taught That the seeking spiritual Pleasure in Prayer is an Enemy to Perfection That Heat and Ardor of Spirit in Prayer does often happen to the weakest Christians and very seldom to the Perfect But my business not being to combat the Opinions of Men but to advance Truths in the most charitable and in the most effectual manner that I can Therefore without taking Notice of the Motives or Reasons which have byass'd any on this Subject I will lay down two or three Propositions which will I hope clear this Matter and promote the Design I am now carrying on 1. Then Lifelessness or Lukewarmness in these Duties must never be constant There is a vast Difference between habitual and accidental Coldness in Duty the Former is the Symptom of worldly carnal and unregenerate Minds but not the Latter Many are the Accidents which