our great trespass Our evil deeds bring all other evils upon us 2. That great Sins have usually a proportionable punishment after all that is come upon us there is the greatness of our punishment for our evil deeds and for our great trespass there is the greatness of our Sin But when I say that great Sins have a proportionable Punishment I do not mean that any temporal Punishments are proportionable to the great evil of Sin but that God doth usually observe a proportion in the temporal punishments of Sin so that although no temporal punishment be proportionable to Sin yet the temporal punishment of one Sin holds a proportion to the punishment of another and consequently lesser and greater Sins have proportionably a lesser and greater Punishment 3. That all the Punishments which God inflicts in this Life do fall short of the demerit of our Sins and seeing thou our God hast punish'd us less than our iniquities deserve In the Hebrew it is and hast kept down our iniquities that is that they should not rise up against us The LXX expresseth it very emphatically thou hast eased us of our sins that is thou hast not let the whole weight of them fall upon us Were it not for the restraints which God puts upon his anger and the merciful mitigations of it the Sinner would not be able to bear it but must sink under it Indeed it is only said in the Text that the punishment which God inflicted upon the Jews though it was a long Captivity was beneath the desert of their Sins But yet it is universally true and Ezra perhaps might intend to insinuate so much that all temporal Punishments though never so severe are always less than our iniquities deserve 4. That God many times works very great Deliverances for those who are very unworthy of them and hast given us such a Deliverance as this notwithstanding our evil deeds and notwithstanding our great Trespass 5. That we are but too apt even after great Judgments and after great Mercies to relapse into our former Sins should we again break thy Commandments Ezra insinuates that there was great reason to fear this especially considering the strange temper of that People who when God multiply'd his blessings upon them were so apt to wax fat and kick against Him and tho he had cast them several times into the furnace of Affliction though they were melted for the present yet they were many times but the harder for it afterwards 6. That it is good to take notice of those particular Sins which have brought the Judgments of God upon us So Ezra does here after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass and should we again join in affinity with the People of these abominations Secondly Here is a Sentence and determination in the Case wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us so that there should be no remnant nor escaping Which Question as I said before doth imply a strong and peremptory affirmative as if he had said after such a provocation there is great reason to conclude that God would be angry with us till he had consumed us From whence the Observation contained in this part of the Text will be this That it is a fearful aggravation of Sin and a sad presage of ruin to a People after great Judgments and great Deliverances to return to Sin and especially to the same Sins again Hear how passionately Ezra expresses himself in this Case verse 6. I am ashamed O my God and blush to lift up mine eyes to thee my God Why what was the cause of this great shame and confusion of face He tells us verse 9. for we were bondmen yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage but hath extended his mercy to us to give us a reviving to set up the House of our God and to repair the desolations thereof and to give us a Wall in Judah and in Jerusalem that is to restore to them the free and safe exercise of their Religion Here was great Mercy and a mighty Deliverance indeed and yet after this they presently relapsed into a very great sin verse 10. And now O our God what shall we say after this for we have forsaken thy Commandments In the handling of this Observation I shall do these two things First I shall endeavour to shew that this is a very heavy aggravation of Sin and Secondly That it is a fatal presage of ruin to a People First It is a heavy aggravation of Sin after great Judgments and after signal Mercies and Deliverances to return to Sin and especially to the same Sins again Here are three things to be distinctly spoken to 1. That it is a great aggravation of Sin to return to it after great Judgments 2. To do this after great Mercies and Deliverances 3. After both to return to the same Sins again 1. It is a great aggravation of Sin after great Judgments have been upon us to return to an evil course Because this is an Argument of great obstinacy in evil The longer Pharaoh resisted the Judgments of God the more was his wicked heart hardned till at last he arriv'd at a monstrous degree of hardness having been as the Text tells us hardned under ten plagues And we find that after God had threaten'd the People of Israel with several Judgments he tells them that if they will not be reformed by all these things he will punish them seven times more for their sins And if the just God will in such a case punish seven times more we may conclude that the Sin is Seven times greater What sad complaints doth the Prophet make of the People of Israel growing worse for Judgments Ah! sinful Nation a People laden with iniquity children that have been corrupters a seed of evil doers He can hardly find words enough to express how great Sinners they were and he adds the reason in the next verse Why should they be smitten any more they will revolt more and more They were but the worse for Judgments This renders them a sinful Nation a People laden with iniquity And again The People turneth not to him that smiteth them neither do they seek the Lord of Hosts therefore his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still And the same Prophet further complains to the same purpose When thy hand is lifted up they will not see There is a particular brand set upon King Ahaz because affliction made him worse This is that King Ahaz that is that grievous and notorious Sinner And what was it that rendr'd him so In the time of his distress he sinned yet more against the Lord this is that King Ahaz who is said to have provoked the Lord above all the Kings of Israel which were before him 2. It is likewise a sore aggravation of Sin when it is committed after great Mercies and Deliverances
sake of that to deny themselves almost all sort of ease and pleasure To deny themselves did I say No they have wisely and judiciously chosen the truest and highest Pleasure that this World knows the Pleasure of doing good and being Benefactors to Mankind May they have a long and happy Reign over us to make us happy and to lay up in store for Themselves a Happiness without measure and without end in God's glorious and everlasting Kingdom For his Mercies sake in Jesus Christ to whom with thee O Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory Thanksgiving and Praise both now and for ever Amen A SERMON AGAINST EVIL-SPEAKING Preached before the King and Queen AT WHITE-HALL Febr. the 25 th 1693 4. A Sermon against Evil-speaking TIT. iij. 2 To speak evil of no man GEneral Persuasives to Repentance and a good Life and Invectives against Sin and Wickedness at large are certainly of good use to recommend Religion and Virtue and to expose the deformity and danger of a Vicious course But it must be acknowledged on the other hand that these general Discourses do not so immediately tend to reform the Lives of men Because they fall among the Croud but do not touch the Consciences of particular Persons in so sensible and awakening a manner as when we treat of particular Duties and Sins and endeavour to put men upon the practice of the one and to reclaim them from the other by proper Arguments taken from the Word of God and from the nature of particular Vertues and Vices The general way is as if a Physician instead of applying particular Remedies to the Distemper of his Patient should entertain him with a long discourse of Diseases in general and of the pleasure and advantages of Health and earnestly persuade him to be well without taking his particular Disease into consideration and prescribing Remedies for it But if we would effectually reform men we must take to task the great and common disorders of their Lives and represent their faults to them in such a manner as may convince them of the evil and danger of them and put them upon the endeavour of a cure And to this end I have pitched upon one of the common and reigning Vices of the Age Calumny and Evil-speaking by which men contract so much guilt to themselves and create so much trouble to others And from which it is to be feared few or none are wholly free For who is he saith the Son of Sirach that hath not offended with his tongue In many things saith St. James we offend all And if any man offend not in word the same is a perfect man But how few have attain'd to this perfection And yet unless we do endeavour after it and in some good measure attain it all our pretence to Religion is vain So the same Apostle tells us If any man among you seemeth to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart that man's Religion is vain For the more distinct handling of this Argument I shall reduce my Discourse to these Five Heads First I shall consider the Nature of this Vice and wherein it consists Secondly I shall consider the due extent of this Prohibition To speak evil of no man Thirdly I shall shew the Evil of this practice both in the Causes and Effects of it Fourthly I shall add some further Considerations to dissuade men from it Fifthly I shall give some Rules and Directions for the prevention and cure of it I. I shall consider what this Sin or Vice of evil speaking here forbidden by the Apostle is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to defame and slander any man not to hurt his reputation as the Etymology of the word doth import So that this Vice consists in saying things of others which tend to their disparagement and reproach to the taking away or lessening of their Reputation and good Name And this whether the things said be true or not If they be false and we know it then it is down-right Calumny and if we do not know it but take it upon the report of others it is however a Slander and so much the more injurious because really groundless and undeserved If the thing be true and we know it to be so yet it is a defamation and tends to the prejudice of our neighbour's reputation And it is a fault to say the evil of others which is true unless there be some good reason for it besides Because it is contrary to that charity and goodness which Christianity requires to divulge the faults of others though they be really guilty of them without necessity or some other very good reason for it Again It is Evil-speaking and the Vice condemn'd in the Text whether we be the first Authors of an ill Report or relate it from others because the man that is evil spoken of is equally defam'd either way Again Whether we speak evil of a man to his face or behind his back The former way indeed seems to be the more generous but yet is a great Fault and that which we call reviling The latter is more mean and base and that which we properly call Slander or Backbiting And Lastly Whether it be done directly and in express terms or more obscurely and by way of oblique insinuation whether by way of down-right reproach or with some crafty preface of commendation For so it have the effect to defame the manner of address does not much alter the case The one may be more dextrous but is not one jot less faulty For many times the deepest Wounds are given by these smoother and more artificial ways of Slander as by asking questions Have you not heard so and so of such a man I say no more I only ask the question Or by general intimations that they are loth to say what they have heard of such a one are very sorry for it and do not at all believe it if you will believe them And this many times without telling the thing but leaving you in the dark to suspect the worst These and such like Arts though they may seem to be tenderer and gentler ways of using men's reputation yet in truth they are the most malicious and effectual methods of Slander because they insinuate something that is much worse than is said and yet are very apt to create in unwary men a strong belief of something that is very bad though they know not what it is So that it matters not in what fashion a Slander is dress'd up if it tend to defame a man and to diminish his Reputation it is the Sin forbidden in the Text. II. We will consider the extent of this Prohibition to speak evil of no man and the due bounds and limitations of it For it is not to be understood absolutely to forbid us to say any thing concerning others that is bad This in some cases may be necessary and our duty and in several cases
call for all our Faith and Patience all our Courage and Constancy Nunc animis opus Aenea nunc pectore firmo When it comes to this Trial we had need to gird up the loins of our minds to summon all our forces and to put on the whole armour of God that we may be able to stand fast in an evil day and when we have done all to stand And now my Brethren to use the words of St. Peter I testify unto you that this is the true Grace of God wherein ye stand The Protestant Reformed Religion which we in this Nation profess is the very Gospel of Christ the true ancient Christianity And for God's sake since in this hour of Temptation when our Religion is in so apparent hazard we pretend to love it to that degree as to be contented to part with any thing for it let us resolve to practise it and to testify our love to it in the same way that our Saviour would have us shew our love to Him by keeping his commandments I will conclude all with the Apostle's Exhortation so very proper for this purpose and to this present Time Only let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ that is chiefly and above all take care to lead lives suitable to the Christian Religion And then as it follows stand fast in one Spirit with one Mind striving together for the Faith of the Gospel And in nothing terrified by your Adversaries which to them is an evident token of perdition but to you of Salvation and that of God Now unto Him that is able to stablish you in the Gospel and to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding joy To the only wise God our Saviour be Glory and Majesty Dominion and Power both now and ever Amen A Thanksgiving-Sermon FOR Our Deliverance by the P. of Orange Preached at Lincolns-Inn-Chappel January 31. 1688. To the Worshipful the Masters of the BENCH And the rest of the GENTLEMEN Of the Honourable Society of Lincolns-Inn THough I was at first very unwilling to Expose to the Publick a Sermon made upon so little Warning and so great an Occasion yet upon second thoughts I could not think it fit to resist the Unanimous and Earnest Request of so many Worthy Persons as the Masters of the Bench of this Honourable Society to whom I stand so much indebted for your great and continued respects to me and kind acceptance of my Labours among you for now above the space of Five and Twenty Years In a most grateful acknowledgment whereof this Discourse such as it is in mere Obedience to your Commands is now humbly presented to you by Your most Obliged and Faithful Servant JOHN TILLOTSON Feb. 28. 1688 9. A Thanksgiving-Sermon FOR Our Deliverance by the P. of Orange EZRA ix 13 14. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our Iniquities deserve and hast given us such a deliverance as this Should we again break thy Commandments and join in affinity with the people of these Abominations wouldst not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us so that there should be no remnant nor escaping I Am sufficiently aware that the particular occasion of these Words is in several respects very different from the Occasion of this Day 's Solemnity For these Words were spoken by Ezra at a time appointed for Publick and Solemn Humiliation But I shall not now consider them in that relation but rather as they refer to that Great Deliverance which God had so lately wrought for them and as they are a Caution to take heed of abusing great mercies received from God and so they are very proper and pertinent to the great Occasion of this Day Nay these Words even in their saddest aspect are not so unsuitable to it For we find in Scripture upon the most solemn Occasions of Humiliation that good Men have always testified a thankful sense of the goodness of God to them And indeed the Mercy of God doth then appear above measure merciful when the Sinner is most deeply sensible of his own Vileness and Unworthiness And so Ezra here in the depth of their sorrow and Humiliation hath so great a sense of the greatness of their Deliverance that he hardly knew how to express it And hast given us such a Deliverance as this And on the other hand we find that good Men in their most solem Praises and Thanksgivings have made very serious reflections upon their own unworthiness And surely the best way to make Men truly thankful is first to make them very humble When David makes his most solemn acknowledgments to God for his great Mercies to him how doth he abase himself before Him But who am I and what is my people And so likewise after he had summoned all the powers and faculties of his Soul to join in the praises of God he interposeth this seasonable meditation He hath not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities The greater and more lively sense we have of the goodness of God to us the more we shall abhor our selves in dust and ashes nothing being more apt to melt us into tears of Repentance than the consideration of great and undeserved Mercies vouchsafed to us The goodness of God doth naturally lead to repentance Having thus reconciled the Text to the present Occasion I shall for the more distinct handling of the Words take notice of these two Parts in them First Here is a Case supposed should we after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and since God hath punished us less than our iniquities deserve and hath given us such a deliverance as this should we again break his Commandments Secondly Here is a sentence and determination in the Case Wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consum'd us so that there should be no remnant nor escaping This is not spoken doubtfully though it be put by way of question but is the more vehemently positive the more peremptorily affirmative as if he had said it cannot otherwise be in reason expected but that after such repeated provocations God should be angry with us till he had consumed us First Here is a Case supposed should we after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass and since God hath punish'd us less than our iniquities deserve and hath given us such a deliverance as this Should we again break his commandments and join in affinity with the People of these abominations In which Words these following Propositions seem to be involv'd which I shall but just mention and pass to the Second Part of the Text. 1. That Sin is the cause of all our sufferings after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for
returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battel to the strong nor yet bread to the wise nor yet riches to men of understanding nor yet favour to men of skill but time and chance happeneth to them all NEXT to the acknowledgment of God's Being nothing is more essential to Religion than the Belief of his Providence and a constant dependance upon him as the great Governor of the World and the wise disposer of all the affairs and concernments of the children of men And nothing can be a greater argument of Providence than that there is such an order of Causes laid in Nature that in ordinary course every thing does usually attain its end and yet that there is such a mixture of Contingency as that now and then we cannot tell how nor why the most likely causes do deceive us and fail of producing their usual effects For if there be a God and a Providence it is reasonable that things should be thus Because a Providence does suppose all things to have been at first wisely fram'd and with a fitness to attain their end but yet it does also suppose that God hath reserved to himself a power and liberty to interpose and to cross as he pleases the usual course of things to awaken men to the consideration of him and a continual dependance upon him and to teach us to ascribe those things to his wise disposal which if we never saw any change we should be apt to impute to blind necessity And therefore the Wise-man to bring us to an acknowledgment of the Divine Providence tells us that thus he had observed things to be in this World that though they generally happen according to the probability of Second Causes yet sometimes they fall out quite otherwise I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battel to the strong c. The connexion of which Words with the foregoing Discourse is briefly this Among many other Observations which the Wise Preacher makes in this Sermon of the vanity and uncertainty of all things in this World and of the mistakes of men about them he takes notice here in the Text and in the Verse before it of two Extremes of human Life Some because of the uncertainty of all worldly things cast off all care and diligence and neglect the use of proper and probable means having found by experience that when men have done all they can they many times fail of their end and are disappointed they know not how Others on the contrary rely so much upon their own skill and industry as to promise success to themselves in all their undertakings and presume so much upon second Causes as if no consideration at all were to be had of the First The Wise Preacher reproves both these extremes and shews the folly and vanity of them On the one hand of those who sit still and will use no care and endeavour because it may all happen to be disappointed and to fail of Success Not considering that though prudent care and diligence will not always do the business yet there is nothing to be done without them in the ordinary course of things and that in the order of Second Causes these are the most likely and effectual means to any end And therefore rejecting this lazy Principle he counsels men whatever they propose to themselves to be very diligent and vigorous in the use of proper means for the attainment of it in the Verse immediately before the Text Whatever thy hand findeth to do do it with thy might But then he observes also as great a folly and vanity on the other hand that they who manage their affairs with great wisdom and industry are apt to presume and reckon upon the certain success of them without taking into consideration that which in all human affairs is most considerable the favour and blessing of that almighty and wise Providence which rules the World I returned says he and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battel to the strong c. I returned and saw that is having consider'd on the one hand the folly of sloth and carelessness I turned mine eyes the other way and saw as great an error on the other hand in mens presuming too much upon their own diligence and conduct without taking notice of the Providence of God For I have found says Solomon by manifold observation That the success of things does not always answer the probability of second causes and means So that the sum of the Preacher's advice is this When thou propoundest any end to thy self be diligent and vigorous in the use of means and when thou hast done all look above and beyond these to a Superior Cause which over-rules and steers and stops as he pleases all the motions and activity of second Causes And be not confident that all things are ever so wisely and firmly laid that they cannot fail of success For the Providence of God doth many times step in to divert the most probable event of things and to turn it quite another way And whenever he pleaseth to do so the most strong and likely means do fall lame or stumble or by some accident or other come short of their end I returned and saw under the sun that is here below in this inferior World That the race is not to the swift This the Chaldee Paraphrast does understand with relation to warlike affairs I beheld says he and saw that they who are swift as eagles do not always escape in the day of battel But I chuse rather to understand the Words in their more obvious sense that in a Race many things may happen to hinder him that is swiftest from winning it Nor the battel to the strong That is victory and success in war do not always attend the greatest force and preparations nor doth that side which in humane estimation is strongest always prevail and get the better Nor yet bread to the wise Neque doctorum panem esse so some render the Words that learned men are not always secured against poverty and want Nor yet riches to men of understanding for so some Interpreters translate the Words Neque industriis divitias esse that those who take most pains do not always get the greatest estates Nor yet favour to men of skill that is to those who understand men and business and how to apply themselves dextrously to the inclinations and interests of Princes and Great men Others interpret these Words more generally Neque peritorum artificum esse gratiam that those who excel most in their several Arts and Professions do not always meet with fuitable encouragement But because the Word which is here render'd favour is so frequently us'd by Solomon for the favour of Princes the former sense seems to be more easy and natural But time and chance happeneth to them all that is saith Aben Ezra there
is a secret Providence of God which sometimes presents men with unexpected opportunities and interposeth accidents which no human wisdom could foresee Which gives success to very unlikely means and defeats the swift and the strong and the learned and the industrious and them that are best vers'd in men and business of their several ends and designs It sometimes happens that he that is swiftest by a fall or by fainting or by some other unlucky accident may lose the Race It sometimes falls out that a much smaller and weaker number by the advantage of ground or of a pass by a stratagem or by a sudden surprise or by some other accident and opportunity may be victorious over a much greater force And that an unlearned man in comparison by favour or friends or by some happy chance of setting out to the best advantage the little learning he has before one that hath less may arrive at great things when perhaps at the same time the man that is a hundred times more learned than he may be ready to starve And that men of no great parts and industry may stumble into an estate and by some casual hit in Trade may attain such a Fortune as the man that hath toilâ—d and drudg'd all his life shall never be able to reach And Lastly that a man of no great ambition or design may fall into an opportunity and by happening upon the mollia tempora fandi some soft and lucky season of address may slide into his Prince's favour and all on the sudden be hoisted up to that degree of dignity and esteem as the designing Man who hath been laying trains to blow up his Rivals and waiting opportunities all his days to worm others out and to skrew himself in shall never be able to attain The Words thus explain'd contain this general Proposition which shall be the subject of my following Discourse That in human affairs the most likely means do not always attain their end nor does the event constantly answer the probability of second causes but there is a secret Providence which governs and over-rules all things and does when it pleases interpose to defeat the most hopeful and probable designs In the handling of this Proposition I shall do these three things First I shall confirm and illustrate the truth of it by an Induction of the particulars which are instanc'd in here in the Text. Secondly I shall give some reason and account of this why the Providence of God doth sometimes interpose to hinder and defeat the most probable designs Thirdly I shall draw some inferences from the whole suitable to the occasion of this Day In all which I shall endeavour to be as brief as conveniently I can First For the confirmation and illustration of this Proposition That the most likely means do not always attain their end but there is a secret Providence which over-rules and governs all events and does when it pleases interpose to defeat the most probable and hopeful designs This is the general Conclusion which Solomon proves by this Induction of particulars in the Text. And he instanceth in the most probable means for the compassing of the several ends which most men in this World propose to themselves And the great darlings of mankind are Victory Riches and Honour I do not mention Pleasure because that seems rather to result from the use and enjoyment of the other Now if a man design Victory what more probable means to overcome in a Race than swiftness What more likely to prevail in War than strength If a man aim at Riches what more proper to raise an Estate than understanding and industry If a man aspire to Honour what more likely to prefer him to the King's favour and service than dexterity and skill in business And yet experience shews that these means as probable as they seem to be are not always successful for the accomplishment of their several ends Or else we may suppose that Solomon by these Instances did intend to represent the chief engines and instruments of humane designs and actions Now there are five things more especially which do eminently qualify a man for any undertaking expedition and quickness of dispatch strength and force providence and forecast diligence and industry knowledge and insight into men and busines And some think that Solomon did intend to represent these several qualities by the several instances in the Text. The Race is not to the swift that is men of the greatest expedition and dispatch do not always succeed For we see that men do sometimes out-run business and make haste to be undone Nor the battel to the strong that is neither does force and strength always carry it Nor yet bread to the wise which some understand of the provident care and pains of the Husbandman whose harvest is not always answerable to his labour and hopes Nor yet riches to men of understanding or industry that is neither is diligence in business always crown'd with success Nor yet favour to men of skill that is neither have they that have the greatest dexterity in the management of affairs always the fortune to rise And if we take the words in this sense the thing will come much to one But I rather approve the first interpretation as being less forc'd and nearer to the Letter So that the force of Solomon's reasoning is this If the swiftest do not always win the race nor the strongest always overcome in War If knowledge and learning do not always secure men from want nor industry always make men rich nor political skill always raise men to high place nor any other means that can be instanced in as most probable do constantly and infallibly succeed then it must be acknowledg'd that there is some other Cause which mingles it self with humane affairs and governs all events and which can and does when it pleases defeat the most likely and bring to pass the most improbable designs And what else can that be imagin'd to be but the secret and over-ruling Providence of Almighty God when we can find no other we are very unreasonable if we will not admit this to be the Cause of such extraordinary events but will obstinately impute that to blind Necessity or Chance which hath such plain characters upon it of a Divine Power and Wisdom I might be large upon every one of these Instances in the Text and illustrate them by pat and lively Examples both out of Scripture and other Histories But I shall briefly pass over all of them but the second the battel is not to the strong The race is not to the swift If we understand this literally it is obvious to every man to imagine a great many accidents in a Race which may snatch Victory from the swiftest runner If we understand it as the Chaldee Paraphrase does with relation to War that the swiftest does not always overcome or escape in the day of Battel of this Asahel is an eminent Instance who
the foundation of that which is reveal'd And therefore nothing can in Reason be admitted to be a Revelation from God which does plainly contradict his essential Perfections Upon this Principle a great many Doctrines are without more a-do to be rejected because they do plainly and at first sight contradict the Divine Nature and Perfections I will give a few Instances instead of many that might be given In vertue of this Principle I cannot believe upon the pretended Authority or Infallibility of any Person or Church that Force is a fit Argument to produce Faith No man shall ever persuade me no not the Bishop of Meaux with all his Eloquence that Prisons and Tortures Dragoons and the Galleys are proper means to convince the Understanding and either Christian or Humane Methods of converting men to the true Religion For the same Reason I cannot believe that God would not have men to understand their publick Prayers nor the Lessons of Scripture which are read to them Because a Lesson is something that is to be learnt and therefore a Lesson that is not to be understood is nonsense for if it be not understood how can it be learnt As little can I believe that God who caused the Holy Scriptures to be written for the instruction of mankind did ever intend that they should be lock'd up and concealed from the People in an unknown Tongue Least of all can I believe that Doctrine of the Council of Trent That the saving Efficacy of the Sacraments doth depend upon the intention of the Priest that administers them Which is to say that though the People believe and live never so well yet they may be damn'd by shoals and whole Parishes together at the pleasure of the Priest And this for no other reason but because the Priest is so cross and so cruel that he will not intend to save them Now can any man believe this that hath any tolerable Notion either of the Goodness or Justice of God May we not appeal to God in this as Abraham did in another Case Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked That be far from thee to do after this manner Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right Much more to destroy the righteous for the wicked and that righteous and innocent People should lie at the mercy and will of a wicked and perverse Priest to be sav'd or damn'd by him as he thinks fit That be far from thee Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right For to drive the argument to the head if this be to do right there is no possibility of doing wrong Thus in things which are more obscure we should govern all our Reasonings concerning God and Religion by that which is clear and unquestionable and should with Moses lay down this for a certain Principle All his ways are judgment a God of truth and without iniquity just and right is He And say with St. Paul Is there then unrighteousness with God God forbid And again We know that the Judgment of God is according to truth 2 ly The other Inference is this That the Nature of God is the true Idea and Pattern of Perfection and Happiness And therefore nothing but our conformity to it can make us happy And for this reason to understand and know God is our great excellency and glory because it is necessary to our imitation of Him who is the best and happiest Being And so far as we are from resembling God so far are we distant from Happiness and the true temper of the Blessed For Goodness is an essential ingredient of Happiness and as without Goodness there can be no true Majesty and Greatness so neither any true Felicity and Blessedness Now Goodness is a generous disposition of mind to diffuse and communicate it self by making others to partake of our Happiness in such degrees as they are capable For no Being is so happy as it might be that hath not the power and the pleasure to make others happy This surely is the highest pleasure I had almost said pride of a great Mind In vain therefore do we dream of Happiness in any thing without us Happiness must be within us the foundation of it must be laid in the inward frame and disposition of our spirits And the very same causes and ingredients which make up the Happiness of God must be found in us though in a much inferiour degree or we cannot be happy They understand not the Nature of Happiness who hope for it upon any other terms He who is the Authour and Fountain of Happiness cannot convey it to us by any other way than by planting in us such dispositions of mind as are in truth a kind of participation of the Divine Nature and by enduing us with such qualities as are the necessary Materials of Happiness And a man may assoon be well without Health as happy without Goodness If a wicked man were taken up into Heaven yet if he still continue the same bad man that he was before coelum non animum mutavit he may have chang'd the Climate and be gone into a far Country but because he carries himself still along with him he will still be miserable from himself Because the man's mind is not chang'd all the while which would signifie a thousand times more to his happiness than change of place or of any outward circumstances whatsoever For a bad man hath a Fiend in his own Breast and the fewel of Hell in his guilty Conscience There is a certain kind of temper and disposition which is necessary and essential to Happiness and that is Holiness and Goodness which is the very Nature of God and so far as any man departs from this temper so far he removes himself and runs away from happiness And here the foundation of Hell is laid in the evil disposition of a man 's own mind which is naturally a torment to it self And till this be cur'd it is as impossible for him to be happy as for a Limb that is out of joint to be at ease because the man's Spirit is out of order and off the hinges and as it were toss'd from its Center and till that be set right and restored to its proper and natural state the man will be perpetually unquiet and can have no rest and peace within himself The wicked saith the Prophet is like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest There is no peace saith my God to the wicked No peace with God no peace with his own mind for a bad man is at perpetual Discord and Wars within himself And hence as St. James tells us come Wars and Fightings without us even from our Lusts which warr in our members And now that I have mention'd Wars and Fightings without us this cannot but bring to mind the great and glorious Occasion of this Day Which gives us manifold Cause of Praise and Thanksgiving to Almighty God For several wonderful Mercies and Deliverances and