Carnal Men abuse the freeness of Grace to looseness and security and the power of Grace to negligence and laziness Our dependance on God inferrs the use of means to save our Souls Our Saviour commands us to watch and pray that we may not enter into temptation To watch without Prayer is to presume upon our own Strength To pray without Watching is to presume upon the Grace of God The Lord's Prayer is the Rule of our Duty and Desires We are ingag'd by every Petition to co-operate and concur with Divine Grace to obtain what we pray for Naaman presum'd he should be immediately cleansed from his Leprosie by the Prayer of Elisha but he was commanded to go and wash himself in Jordan seven times for his Purification A stream preserves its christal clearness by continual running if its course be stop'd it will stagnate and putrifie The purity of the Soul is preserv'd by the constant exercise of habitual Grace In short we must be jealous of our selves to prevent our being surpriz'd by Sin and continually address to the Throne of Grace for the obtaining Grace and Mercy in time of need and by Faith apply the blood of sprinkling that has a cleansing Efficacy The Death of Christ meritoriously procures the Spirit of Life and Renovation and is the strongest ingagement upon Christians to mortifie those Sins that were the cause of his Agonies and Sufferings 2. The parts of the Duty are to be considered The cleansing us from the Defilements of Flesh and Spirit and the perfecting Holiness 1. The cleansing must be universal as the pollution is We are directed to cleanse our hands and purifie our hearts that we may draw near to God with acceptance 'T is observable that in a general sense all Sins are the works of the Flesh what ever is not divine and spiritual is carnal in the language of Scripture For since the separation of Men from God by the rebellious Sin of Adam the Soul is sunk into a state of Carnality seeking for satisfaction in lower things The two jarring opposite Principles are Flesh and Spirit lusting against one another 'T is as carnal to desire vain Glory or to set the Heart on Riches as to love sensual Pleasures For our Esteem and Love are intirely due to God for his high Perfections and 't is a disparagement to set them on the Creatures as if he did not deserve them in their most excellent degrees Whatever things are below the native worth of the Soul and unworthy of its noblest operations and are contrary to its blessed end defile and vilifie it A more precious Metal mix'd with a baser as Silver with Tin is corrupted and loses of its purity and value But in a contracted sense Sins are distinguish'd some are attributed to the Spirit and some to the Flesh. The Spirit is always the principal agent and sometimes the sole agent in the commission of Sin and the sole subject of it Of this sort are Pride Infidelity Envy Malice c. There are other Sins wherein the Body conspires and concurs in the outward acts They are specified by the Apostle and distinguish'd according to the immediate springs from whence they flow the desiring and the angry Appetites The works of the Flesh are manifest Adultery Fornication Uncleanness Lasciviousness Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murders Drunkenness Revellings and such like The cleansing from carnal foul Lusts is like the washing one that is fallen into the mire which is a mixture of the two lowest Elements heavy Earth and slippery Water that defile by the touching them The more spiritual Lusts are like the stormy Winds and smoky Fire in which the two higher Elements are contain'd Pride swells the Mind and causes violent agitations in the Thoughts Anger darkens and fires it The Lusts of the Flesh are tenacious by the force of the Imagination when conversant upon Objects presented by the Senses but the Lusts of the Spirit are form'd and wrought in its own forge without the concurrence of the sensual Faculties The Lusts of the desiring Appetite Intemperance and Uncleanness are so polluting that the consciousness of such Crimes will cover the guilty with confusion Of all the debasing titles whereby the Devil is characteriz'd in Scripture none is more vilifying than that of the unclean Spirit This is attributed to him from the general nature of Sin But there is such a notorious turpitude in Lusts grosly carnal that they defile and defame the Sinner in a special manner not only as a Rebel against God but the servant of Corruption The Understanding is the leading supreme Faculty Sense that rules in Beasts should serve in Man Now what does more vilifie him than to be dissolv'd in filthy Pleasures to be drown'd in a sea of Wine than a Life sensual and dissolute drawn out in a continual connexion of dreggy delights Gaming succeeds Feasting the Ball follows the Comedy the Impurities of the Night the Intemperance of the Day Sensual Lusts degrade Men from the nobility of their Nature the dignity of their Condition as if they were all Flesh and had not a spirit of Heavenly original to regulate and restrain their lower Appetites within the limits of Purity and Honour The slaves of Sense are like the beasts that perish He that is a Beast by Choice is incomparably more vile than a Beast by Nature It would infect the Air to speak and pollute the Paper to write their secret Abominations wherein they lye and languish and 't is natural for Men to dye in those Sins wherein they live they seal their own Damnation by Impenitence How difficult the purging of these passions is Experience makes evident The radicated habits of Uncleanness and Intemperance are rarely cur'd 'T is the vain boast of the Roman Philosopher Nobis ad nostrum arbitrium nasci licet but we must first die to our selves before we can be born of our selves the forsaking a sinful Course is necessary antecedently to the ordering the Conversation according to the Rules of Vertue How few instances are there of persons recovered from the practice and bondage of those Lusts by the wise Counsels of Philosophers 'T is in vain to represent to them that sensual Lusts are prolifick of many Evils that Intemperance is pregnant with the Seeds of many Diseases it prepares matter that is inflamable into Fevers 't is attended with the Gout Stone Cholick Dropsie c. which are incomparably more tormenting than the pernicious pleasures of taste are delightful Represent to them the foul progeny of Lasciviousness rottenness in the Body wasting the Estate Infamy to sacrifice what is most valuable for the sake of a vile Woman the wisest Considerations are lost upon them they are too weak a Bridle to check their brutish Lusts. But are not these Lusts easily subdued in Christians who have the advantage of clearer Light stronger Motives and more liberal assistance of Grace to rescue
Government of the VVorld his VVord is as Powerful Lift up your Eyes on high and behold who hath created these things that bringeth out their host by number he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might for that he is strong in power not one faileth He is not only the God of the hills but of the valleys There is nothing so inconsiderable but is under the immediate disposal of his Providence A Sparrow worth but half a farthing does not fall to the ground nor a hair of our heads without his disposal All the Casualties and Contingencies in the World are order'd by him The Arrow shot at a venture was directed by an Invisible Eye and Hand to smite the King of Israel between the Joynts of his Harness and wound him to Death The most arbitrary and free Causes are under his determining Influence The Hearts of kings are in his hands and are turn'd by him as rivers of waters which a Gardiner turns into several Channels for to make his Ground fruitful Sin that is directly contrary to his Law is not only permitted and restrain'd but order'd as a means to illustrate his Providence Justice and Goodness Joseph's malicious brethren sold him into Egypt but God sent him to make provision for the Family of Jacob in a time of extreme Famine He permitted the lying Spirit to deceive Ahab by inspiring his false Prophets to encourage him to go to Ramoth Gilead that he might Fall in Battle He gives Riches and Honour to his Enemies who presumptuously break his Laws of the greatest Consequence and foresees they will abuse them and prodigally perish It was an incredible Conception to the Heathen that One God was able to govern the World But his Power and Understanding are truly infinite and 't is more easie to him than for a Man to lift a Feather The Accidents in this World are innumerable but cannot distract an infinite eternal Mind nor cause weariness in the Almighty Every Agent must be united by active Power with the Objects upon which it immediately works The Power of God is his Essence not a separable quality he is intimate and present with all things One Sun is sufficient to measure Times distinguish Seasons and to preserve an intire World of living Creatures the meanest Worm or Herb is cherish'd by its Heat as if all its Influences were confin'd for their preserving And is not an infinite God sufficient to support and dispose all things 3. Divine Providence is more special and tender towards God's peculiar People The Eyes of the Lord run to and â—ro through the whole Earth to shew himself strong in behalf of those whose Hearts are perfect towards him His tender Mercies his extensive Attribute is over all his Works But more eminently exercised according to their degrees of Goodness and his Propriety in them Our Saviour inferrs by the clearest Consequence that the Divine Providence that reaches to the falling of a Sparrow is much more concern'd for his People accordingly encourages his Disciples Fear not ye are of more value than many Sparrows God is the Saviour of all Men especially of those who believe Now as when the reason of a Command has a direct aspect upon us it more strongly binds us to obey God so when the reason of a Promise has a peculiar respect to us it engages God more strongly to preserve us God has a Right to all Mankind by a general Tenure but a special Interest in the Godly He is the King of Nations and the King of Saints 'T is his dearest Title above all the Titles of Majesty ascribed to him They are precious in his esteem his Treasure his Jewels the most valuable part of his Treasure the Jewels of his Crown the most radiant and rich Jewels Propriety and preciousness engage his powerful and propitious Providence for their Good They are exposed to many Evils for their Relation to him their Heavenly Father and for his Image shining in them For thy sake we are killed all the day long They are like a flock of Sheep among Wolves and Tigers unable to defend themselves His compassionate Love excites his Power for their preservation The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts shall do this His Love inclines him and his Promise ingages him never to leave nor forsake them When they are ready to despair he is ready to deliver Now the firm belief of the universal Providence of God and his special Care for his People is like a Rudder to a Ship without which 't is constrained to yield to every Storm but guided by it sails with every Wind to it s design'd Port. When God enter'd into a Covenant with Abraham he assures him I am the almighty God walk before me and be perfect Every deflection from our Duty proceeds either from the hope of obtaining some temporal Good or the fear of incurring some temporal Evil These Passions are very forcible in Mens Breasts We see how powerful they are in sensitive Creatures even in a Grey-hounds coarsing a Hare Hope adds Wings to the Feet of the one and Fear adds Wings to the Feet of the other Men without Faith in God will break through his Laws when Temptations work on their Hope or Fear for they are under the dominion of Sense But the belief of God's All-sufficiency that he is a Sun to supply us with all truly desirable good things a Shield to secure us from all destructive Evils confirms our Dependance on him and ingages our Obedience to him This conduces to our present Peace and future Blessedness There are secret springs of Providence that work sometimes in an extraordinary manner for the preserving his People Joseph was raised from a Prison to a Principality The poor Prophet was fed by a Raven when the wicked King was like to starve in his Palace The malicious design of Haman to destroy the whole Nation of the Jews was frustrated and reflexively pernicious to himself by a strange concurrence of Circumstances ordered by Divine Providence The faithful Companions of Daniel who resign'd themselves to his Will and Wisdom were rescued from the Furnace and Fury of the proud King by an Angel But many times the Saints of God are involved in common Calamities Inundations Earthquakes the Pestilential Air Sword Famine make no difference between the innocent and the guilty The Sun rises upon the evil and the good the Thunder falls on the good and evil Nay as our Saviour tells his Disciples They shall weep and lament when the World rejoyces But he comforts them with the assurance that their Sorrow shall be turned into Joy The Apostle declares We know all things work together for good to them that love God There are mysterious depths in the Oeconomy of Providence that the short Line of our Reason cannot sound But we may rely upon the Promise of God who can bring Light out of Darkness We have an illustrious proof of his
to what a Man has and not according to what he has not A covetous Man though rich will pretend the smallness of his Estate to excuse and palliate his illiberal giving and makes himself doubly guilty of feigned Poverty and real Avarice in God's sight But a liberal Man deviseth liberal things He duely considers the Circumstances of Persons in want and esteems a just Occasion of Charity to be a golden Opportunity and will be noble and magnificent 2. I will consider the difficulty of the Cure This will be evident from the causes of the Disease and the frequent unsuccessfulness of the means in order to it There is no kind of Sinners more inconvincible and incureable than the Worldly-minded 'T is a Rule without exception those Sins which have the greatest appearance of Reason and the least of Sensuality are the most plausible and prevailing So long as there are remains of Reason in Mankind there will be Modesty and brutish Lusts will expose to Shame The high birth and honourable rank of the unclean cannot varnish and disguise their Impurities but renders them more infamous and odious Besides unless Men are not prodigiously bad if they are not free from Fault they will not defend their Intemperance and Incontinency If there be any spark of Conscience alive it discovers and condemns those Sins and assists a faithful counsellor in their Cure But the Covetous by many fair pretences justifie themselves The Apostle expresses them by the cloke of Covetousness to hide its filthiness They pretend to be frugal but not covetous They alledge the example of those who are reputed wise who prosecute the gains of the World as the main scope of their actions They will tell you 't is necessary Prudence to improve all Opportunities to increase their Estates to secure them from Evils that may happen and to neglect providing for our Families is worse than Infidelity Thus Reason is ingaged to joyn with the Affection From hence the Covetous are not only inamour'd with the unworthy Object but averse from the Cure of the vicious Affection The love of Money smothers the Mind with Ignorance and darkens its serenity that the filthiness of the Sin is indiscernible The Covetous are like Persons sick beyond the sense of their Disease and near Death without feeling the presages of it Besides those corrupt Affections which in their rise and degrees depend upon the humours of the Body that are mutable are sometimes with force and violence carried to their Objects but when the disposition of the Body is altered they flag and distasts succeed But the root and principle of Covetousness is in the Will and when that is depraved 't is diabolical in obstinacy The most fierce and greedy Beasts when they have glutted their ravenous Appetites do not presently seek after new prey but Covetousness like a Dropsie-thirst is inflam'd by drinking and inrag'd by increasing Riches And whereas other vicious desires are weakened and broke by tract of time Covetousness derives new life and vigour from age The thoughts and affections of the Covetous are never more deeply tainted with the Earth than when they draw near to their fatal period and their Bodies must be resolved into their original Elements 2. The difficulty of the Cure is evident from the inefficacy of the means used to effect it The Divine Authority of the Scripture the clearest Reason the plainest Experience are often used in vain to reform the Covetous Of a thousand Persons in whom Covetousness is the regent Lust scarce ten are cleansed and changed from covetous to be liberal 1. The Word of God has no commanding perswasive power upon them The Word declares that Covetousness is Idolatry for it deposes God and places the World the Idol of Mens Heads and Hearts in his Throne It deprives him of his Regalia his Royal Prerogatives which he has reserved to himself in the Empire of the World He is infinitely jealous of our transferring them to the Creature Our highest Adoration and Esteem our Confidence and Trust our Love and Complacency our Dependance and Observance are entirely and essentially due to him Who in the Heaven can be compared to the Lord Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to him Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth I desire in comparison of thee The Lord is my portion saith my Soul The name of the Lord is a strong Tower the righteous fly to it and are safe Behold as the eyes of Servants look to the hands of their Masters so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until he have Mercy upon us These Scriptures are declarative of those eternal respects that are due to God from reasonable Creatures and he is highly dishonoured and displeased when they are alienated from him Now the Covetous deifie the World The rich Man's Riches are his strong City and as an high Wall in his imagination He will trust God no farther than according to visible supplies and means He takes not God for his strength but trusts in the abundance of his Riches His Heart is possessed and polluted with the love of the World and God is excluded Therefore we are commanded not to love the VVorld nor the things of it If any Man love the VVorld the love of the Father is not in him He is provok'd to Jealousie the most severe and sensible Attribute by the coldness of Mens Love From hence it appears how this comprehensive Sin is injurious to God The Psalmist tells us that the Covetous are not only the objects of God's Anger but abhorrence Thus he brands them The covetous whom the Lord abhors The words are of the most heavy signification If his Loving-kindness be better than Life his Hatred is worse than Death 'T is the root of all Evil in Persons of all conditions civil and sacred This bribes those that are in the Seat of Judgment to clear the guilty and which is a bolder Crime to condemn the innocent Of this there is recorded a cruel and bloody Instance in the death of Naboth occasioned by Ahab's Covetousness This corrupts the Preachers of the Word to speak to the Lusts not the Consciences of Men upon whom they have a servile dependance And as the Spirit of Delusion is never more the Spirit of Delusion than under the appearance of an Angel of Light so his Ministers are never more his Ministers than when they pervert the Word of God to support sinful Practices by corrupt Principles Covetousness makes Men faint and false in the time of tryal They will save the World with the loss of their Souls In short it was the impulsive cause of a Sin of the greatest Guilt that ever was committed in betraying the Son of God and his suffering the most cruel and ignominious Death A Sin never to be expiated but by the Flames that shall consume this World the place wherein he suffered Covetousness excludes all in whom
universal Providence in the regular disposal of Natural Causes superiour middle and lowest in such a union that from the insuperable Discord of Natures the insuperable Concord of Operations proceeds for the preserving of the World The Afflictions of the Saints are medicinal to prevent or recover them from Sin And what Man of Understanding does not esteem his Physician that prescribes bitter Remedies for his Health before a Cook that prepares things pleasant to his Taste Faith sees the Love of a Father through a Cloud of Tears and that he is as gracious when he corrects us for our Transgressions as when he incourages us in his Service In the Sufferings of his People from the wickedness and wills of their Enemies his Wisdom and Power appear in ordering them for excellent Effects For the same things that increase the Guilt and Punishment of their Enemies increase the Graces and Reward of the Saints These light Afflictions that are but for a moment work out for them an exceeding eternal weight of Glory When all the Folds of Providence shall be opened we shall clearly understand every Dispensation was as it ought to be and for the best The belief of this is the reason of those Commands Be careful for nothing but in every thing by Prayer and Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God And the Peace of God that passes understanding shall keep your Hearts and Minds through Jesus Christ. An unbelieving Heart anticipates future Evils exasperates present Evils and makes sharp reflections on past Evils It makes Men dead with Fear drunk with Sorrow mad with Oppression Faith in the gracious Providence of God frees us from vain fears sad prognosticks and the miserable perplexities that torment the Minds of Men. Musing on our Miseries is like chewing a bitter Pill that is readily swallowed by resignation to the blessed Will of God the Rule of Goodness Faith inlightens us to consider things with a rectified Judgment and not with the partiality of the Passions In the Churches extremity when the conspiring Enemies are great in numbers and power Faith raises the drooping Spirits If God be for us who can be against us When Antigonus was ready to ingage in a Sea-fight with Piâ—lomy's Armada and the Pilot cryed out How many are they more than we The couragious King replyed 'T is true if you count their numbers but for how many do you value me One God is All-sufficient against all the combin'd Forces of Earth and Hell We are therefore commanded to cast all our care on him for he cares for us 'T is very dishonourable to God to distrust him in doing our Duty For it proceeds either from a jealousie of his Goodness or low thoughts of his Power as if he were unable and unwilling to save us A prudent use of Means is requisite otherwise we do not trust but tempt his Providence There is a vicious Carelesness and a vertuous Care but diffident and anxious Cares as if all things run at random without the ordering of our Heavenly Father is not only fruitless but pernicious The Apostle tells the believing Hebrews Ye have need of Patience that after ye have done the Will of God ye may inherit the Promise Some Evils would admit of no Consolation without the Promise But the just shall live by Faith of God's presence with them to support and relieve them in their Sorrows and of a perfect and gracious deliverance out of them God will shortly put an end to the Malice of the Wicked and the Patience of the Saints In the next State when he has clear'd our sight we shall justifie his Wisdom and discover that all Events were divinely ordered and are beautiful to admiration Now in the Churches distress we are apt to say with Gideon If the Lord be with us why then is all this befallen us But then we shall turn the current of our wonder upon our Ignorance and Infidelity that notwithstanding the Evidence of the Word and the Experience of the Saints prove that God turns all Temporal Evils to their Spiritual Good yet we are unbelieving CHAP. VIII Love the leading Affection Men are distinguish'd by their Wills rather than by their Understandings Holy Love has the supremacy among other Graces The excellencies of Love specified Love to God the first Command in order and dignity The Causes and Properties of it considered The absolute and relative Perfections of God the motives of our Love The Benefits received from God in the order of Nature Creation and Preservation The Love of God appears in its full force in our Redemption We must learn of Christ how to love him Love must descend from God to our Neighbour 'T is commended in Scripture The extent and qualifications of it It must be sincere pure and fervent The forgiving Injuries an excellent effect of Love THE second particular Grace that we should strive to increase is Love 'T is the Apostle's Prayer for the Philippians That their Love may abound more and more in knowledge and all understanding Love is the affection of Union Of this we have an illustrious Instance recorded in Scripture That the Soul of Jonathan was knit with the Soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own Soul Love is to be directed to a double Object God and our Neighbour I will consider the excellency of this sanctified Affection and its exercise and reference to the supreme and subordinate Objects of it 'T is requisite to premise that Love is the leading Affection that draws the whole train with it not only Desire and Joy that are of near alliance with it but Anger and Hatred between which Affections and Love there is a repugnance and entire opposition are inseparable from it For aversion and flight from Evil proceeds from the love of some Good that the Evil deprives us of From hence it follows that 't is a matter of the highest Consequence by Wisdom discreet and severe to direct our Love to worthy Objects Love is the principle of all the Passions and either sanctifies and refines them from the reliques of carnal infection or seduces and corrupts them The Mind is so clouded by Carnal Love and over-rul'd by pleasant Error that it prefers sensual Happiness before spiritual that is suitable to the nature and dignity of the Soul If the Light that is in thee be Darkness how great is that Darkness The Angels of Light are distinguish'd from the Angels of Darkness not so much by Knowledge and Power as by Love and Holiness The Devils are immortal Spirits but under the tyrannous power of Hatred and Revenge of Envy and Malice which are their Sins and Torment Men are not distinguish'd so much by their Understandings as their Wills not meerly by Knowledge but Love the first act of the Will the Faculty that rules in Man and obeys God There may be knowledge of the Divine Law and an approving it by those who do not practise it For the
and serious Thoughts his Dying Love to the Soul will cause an irresistible Affection to him stronger than Death We must learn of Christ how to love him His Love was express'd in the most real Actions and convincing Evidence it was an incarnate Love a beneficent Love productive of our Salvation our love must be productive of Obedience This is the surest Trial of it If ye love me you will keep my words saith our Saviour The Frost of Fear will hinder the breaking forth of Carnal Lusts into notorious Acts as the Cold of Winter binds the Earth that noxious Weeds cannot spring up but the heat of Love is productive of all the Fruits of Righteousness Love to Christ will make every Command pleasant and the exactest Obedience to be voluntary liberal and ingenuous Fear may enforce Constancy for a time but Love is a Vital Principle continually operative in all the Transitions of this Life This secures Obedience Christ has fasten'd us to his Service by a Chain compos'd of his most precious Benefits by the pardon of our innumerable sins and to whom much is forgiven they love much Fear tries in vain to make an alliance between the Flesh and Spirit obeys some Commands and transgresses others but Love respects all Fear induces a desertion of our Duty when Evils nearly threaten us but Love encounters them with such a Character of Assurance as becomes those who esteem it a Favour and Honour to Suffer for Christ. Some are harden'd against Afflictions and endure with Courage Persecutions for the Cause of Christ but yield to pleasant Temptations like the Manna that would endure the Fire but melted in the heat of the Sun but Love to Christ by an overcoming delight renders the pleasures of Sin nauseous and insipid In short the properties of natural Love are united in the Love of Christ. Love will transport us to Heaven and transform us into his likeness Love will make us Zealous in constant and excellent Endeavours to be compleatly conform'd to him Resemblance is the common Principle of all unions in Nature 't is preparative to Love and the effect of it Experience is a sensible demonstration of this For the love of Friends if in a degree of Eminence Causes a perfect sympathy an exact correspondence in their Tempers The exercise of Love in the most precious Esteem of him in burning desires after a Propriety in him in the sweetest complacency in Communion with him are intimate and inseparable Qualities in all the Lovers of Christ. Love to him is always joyn'd with an irreconcileable hatred of Sin that cost him so dear to expiate its guilt Our love intirely and intensely is due to him and no lower degree is accepted For 't is a disparagement and infinitely unworthy of him To content our selves with a less Affection is not only far distant from Perfection but from the first disposition of a Saint The tenderest and strongest Affections in Nature must be regulated and subordinate to the Love of Christ. Our Love to him must be Singular and Supreme Briefly his Love to us is Beneficent ours is Obedient He values no Love without Obedience and no Obedience without Love 2. Love must descend from God to our Neighbour This Duty is so often Commanded and Commended in the Gospel that we may from thence understand its Excellency The beloved Disciple that lay in the Bosom of Christ from that Spring of Love derived the Streams that flow in his Writings He declares that God is Love and he that loves dwells in God and God in him 1 Joh. 4. 11. He makes it an Evidence that we are born of God of our renewed state and that we are past from death to life Our Saviour injoyns it with a note of Eminency as his new Command as the distinctive Character of his Disciples as the special Qualification of those at his right hand in the Day of Judgment to recommend it to our Love and Obedience He tells us that to love our neighbour as our selves is like the most divine Precept of loving the Lord our God We read in that Solemn Proclamation of God's Name when his Glory past before Moses that to the Title of Lord God there was immediately annext Merciful and Gracious abundant in Goodness to signifie that Goodness is his dearest Glory and in the Divine Law next to Piety to God Charity to our Neighbour is Commanded to signifie how pleasing it is to him The Gospel Eclipses all other Institutions by the Precept of Universal Love and inspiring a delightful disposition in Christians to exercise it This adorns the Gospel and recommends it to the Esteem and Affections of Men. A Person innocent and pure but of a severe and harsh Temper condemns by his Holy Conversation the Profane and Scandalous but a Good Man charms and captivates the Hearts of others that one would dare to dye for him This Duty is prescrib'd in the Extent and Qualifications of it 1. In the Extent it reaches to all within the compass of Humanity to Strangers and Enemies in all our dealings Let all things be done with Charity The Relation of Consanguinity is the Natural Cause of a Benevolent Affection to all Men. The likeness of kind prevents mischief between the most fierce and hurtful Creatures We never heard that Lyons devour Lyons or Vipers bite Vipers and unless we add Beneficence to Innocence we are but in the rank of Brutes The Love of good Will is express'd by promoting their Good and preventing Evils by rejoycing in their Prosperity and relieving them in their Afflictions This Love is more radicated in the breasts of Men by considering the condition of Nature wherein they are equal whether the original happy state of their Creation or their miserable wretched state since their Fall Similitude either in Happiness or Misery unites Mens Affections How low and despicable so great a part of Mankind is at present yet the remembrance that all Men were equal in their first honourable and happy Condition Inhabitants of Paradise and by deputation Lords of the World will raise our esteem and be an incentive of kind Affections to them And since the Fall the calamitous Condition of Mankind is a proper motive of mutual assistance to one another Society in Miseries endears the Sufferers and produces a tender sympathy between them None are so merciful as those who by Experience know what it is to be miserable The Consideration of the common Evils to which all are exposed in the present state induces a strong obligation to the offices of Love and Kindness But the principal and divine cause of Love is the Law of Christ that enjoyns us to do good to all but especially to the houshold of Faith for the spiritual Relation is more intimate and excellent than the natural That we are the off-spring of the same Heavenly Father united as Members to the same glorious Head renewed to a Divine Life by the same Holy Spirit incorporated into
with some attainments and presume we are perfect We must be contending till our Conquest over Sin be clear and compleat The reflection upon our progress will give new Spirits to proceed to new work To him that continues in well-doing Glory and Immortality is the reward Perseverance is the Crown of Christianity 2. I now come to answer the Allegations that are brought to discourage Men from endeavours after perfect Holiness I have in the Preface Answered some of the principal Objections I will consider some others to remove the most plausible Pretences The first Objection against the Divine Command of being perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect is the impossibility of obeying it How can sinful Dust and Ashes be perfect as the holy God is To this a clear Answer may be given 1. 'T is true if a Law be absolutely impossible it cancels it self For there can be no authority in a superiour to command nor obligation on a Subject to obey in a matter that is not capable of his choice Absolute impossibility quenches desire and causes despair and that enervates the strength of the Soul and cuts the sinews of Industry Now we cannot suppose that God whose Wisdom Rectitude and Goodness are essential and unchangable should command reasonable Creatures any thing utterly impossible for then the cause of their Sin and Misery would not rise from themselves but they would be fatally lost and undone for ever 2. The Command signifies not a resemblance of equality for in that sense there is none holy as the Lord but of analogy and conformity to his holy Nature of which intellectual Creatures are capable 3. In the present state our Conformity is not entire our Graces are not pure our Vertues not refin'd without allay But this is from our culpable impotence And it cannot be imagined that God should reverse this Law and dissolve the obligation of it because we have contracted a sinful disability to perform it Besides God is pleased to offer divine assistance to enable us to be like God in the kind of Holiness though not in the perfection of degrees And though we cannot attain to Perfection here we may be ascending to it The Apostle exhorts Christians to strive for the comprehension of the heigth and depth and length and bredth of the love of Christ that passes knowledge That is we must be adding new degrees of Light in our Minds We cannot know as we are known till we come to the full inlightned state above and we cannot be holy as God is holy till we come to his transforming presence in Heaven but we must be aspiring to it We have the most excellent incouragement to this Duty For if we are zealous in our desires and endeavours God will pardon our imperfections and accept us as if they were perfect But those who are settled in their defects and lye still in their laziness will be justly condemned 2. 'T is objected That this Duty is at least extreamly difficult To this I answer 1. Difficulty is an unreasonable pretence in matters of indispensable Duty and infinite consequence Our Saviour commands us to strive to enter in at the strait gate for strait is the gate and narrow is the way 't is hard to find and hard to keep but that only leads to Eternal Life The Kingdom of Heaven is to be taken by violence and the Wrath to come escap'd by flight 'T is better to take pains than to suffer Pains The Cords of Duty are more easie than the Chains of Darkness 2. There is nothing in Religion insuperable to the Love of God and of our Souls Love is not cold and idle but ardent and active in pursuit of its Object There are many Instances that resolved Diligence will overcome great obstacles to the designs of Men. Demosthenes the Athenian was the most unqualified for an Orator of a thousand His Breath was so short that he could not speak out a full Sentence his Voice and Pronunciation was so harsh and his Action so ungrateful and offensive to the most delicate Senses the Eye and Ear that the first time he spake in the publick Assembly he was entertained with Derision and the second with Disdain by the People yet by unwearied Industry and Exercise he corrected his defects and became the most Eloquent and Perfect Orator that ever flourish'd in Greece Now can there be any so difficult heigth in Religion but a strong resolution join'd with consequent endeavours and the supernatural assistance of the Holy Spirit will gradually attain to To naked Nature the Commands of plucking out the right Eye and cutting off the right Hand are extreamly hard Carnal Men pretend they can as easily stop the circulation of the Blood as mortifie their sensual Inclinations But by the Grace of God 't is not only possible but pleasant to abstain from fleshly Lusts that war against the Soul I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me saith the Apostle the word implies I can easily St. John declares his Commands are not grievous The yoke of Christ is a gracious yoke The impotence of Men to obey Christ consists in their obstinacy They are not infected by Fate nor determin'd by Destiny and constrain'd by strict Necessity to follow their sinful Courses but are chain'd to their alluring vicious Objects by the consent of their own Wills I will to convince those who are Christians only in title and profession and pretend invincible impediments against performing their Duty propound the Moral Excellencies that shin'd in some Heathens in regulating the angry and desiring Appetites Socrates who had a fiery Nature that inclin'd him to sudden Anger yet attain'd to such a constant equal Temper that when provok'd by Injuries his Countenance was more placid and serene his Voice more temperate his Words more kind and obliging Plato surprized with Passion for a great Fault of his Servant took a Staff to beat him and having lift up his Hand for a stroke stop'd suddenly and a Friend coming in and wondring to see him in that posture said I chastise an angry Man reflecting with shame upon himself Thus he disarm'd his Passion When Alexander had conquer'd Darius and taken his Queen a Woman of exquisite Beauty he would not have her brought into his presence that his Vertue might not be violated by the sight of her Scipio having taken a Town in Spain and among them a Noble Virgin very beautiful resign'd her untouch'd with her Ransom of great value to the Prince to whom she was contracted If it be said that Vanity assisted Vertue in these Persons and one Carnal Passion vanquish'd another the Desire of Praise the Pride of Life the Lust of the Flesh But shall not Divine Grace be more powerful than Humane Motives The impotence of Carnal Christians is not from the defect of assisting Grace but their culpable neglect of using it But for the intire Conviction of Carnalists that are under the tyranny of the voluptuous
Covenant with Christ in that Ordinance is of great use for the advancing of Grace The Religious Observation of the Lord's day makes us more holy The frequent discussion of Conscience is very instrumental to increase Holiness It must be distinct in comparing our Actions with the Rule serious and sincere as previous to divine Judgment with resolution to reform what is amiss and frequent I Will now proceed to declare the means that are effectual for our obtaining Holiness in degrees of eminence 1. Unfeigned Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the meritorious efficient and exemplary Cause of inherent Holiness and Actions flowing from it The Death of Christ was our Ransom not only to release us from the Curse of the Law but the dominion of Sin These were inseparable in the design of our Redeemer and are in the accomplishment of it None are pardon'd but they are sanctified If the reimpression of the Image of God in us had been only requisite for the restoring us to his Favour our Saviour's dying had been unnecessary his Instruction and Example with the sanctifying Spirit 's Operations had been sufficient But till our Guilt was expiated the Fountain was sealed no emanations of Divine Grace flow'd forth Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie us to himself a peculiar People zealous of good works Christ is the efficient Cause of our Holiness We receive from God the Author of Nature the Natural Life with all its Faculties and by the concurrence previous and concomitant of his powerful Providence we act in the order of Nature But the Supernatural Life is conveyed to us from the Son of God the Mediator Of his fulness we receive Grace for Grace Our increase is from our Head the Fountain of Spiritual Sense and Action The Holy Spirit who inspires us with the divine Life confirms and improves it was purchased by his Sufferings and is confer'd in his Exaltation As in the operation of the sensitive Faculties though the Eye be clear and qualified for sight yet 't is necessary there be a supervenient Light to irradiate the Air and actuate the visive Spirits that there may be a discovery of Objects Thus after the Soul is renewed by habitual Grace there is necessary the exciting assisting Grace of the Spirit to draw it forth into exercise every hour The Sun is the heart of the World from which all vital cherishing Influences are derived Thus from the Sun of Righteousness with healing in his wings continual Influences proceed without which the Life of Grace would languish and decay In this there is a disparity between the visible Sun and the spiritual though the fruitfulness of every Plant is from his vital Heat and descending Influences yet the quality and kinds of the Fruits is from the Sap that distinguishes them Grapes are from the Vine and Peaches and Apples are from several Trees but every Grace in the Saints is from the descending influences of Christ. Now Faith is the means by which we receive the emanations of Grace from Christ. The Apostle tells us The Life that I live in the flesh is by Faith in the Son of God The first plantation of Holiness and the highest perfection of it attainable in the present Life is by Faith that unites us to Christ. A sincere reliance on him for continual supplies of Grace gives vertue and efficacy to the means prescribed in the Word We are commanded to grow in Grace and in the experimental knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ the effectual means to obtain it 3. Contemplate our Saviour as the exemplary Cause of our Holiness His Pattern is not only a powerful one which is considered before but means to bring us to Perfection We are directed to look to Jesus the author and finisher of our Faith that we may run the race set before us till we come to its period and perfection In the Gospel there is a divine representation of the Obedience and Sufferings of our Saviour wherein every Grace that adorns the Children of God is exactly represented and all the Afflictions and tender Tryals wherewith God exercises them in order to their Glory were consecrated by his Example This is not a dead Object proposed to our view but has a vital efficacy to transform us into his Likeness as the sight of the Brazen Serpent conveyed a healing Vertue to the wounded Israelites The Apostle tells us that we all with open Face beholding as in a glass the Glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from Glory to Glory as by the Spirit of the Lord. The Gospel is the Glass wherein there is a permanent Image of Christ in his Life and Death a full manifestation of all his Vertues and this sight by the operation of the Spirit changes us into his Likeness from Glory to Glory that is by several degrees of Grace to a full conformity to him in Glory As a Painter often fixes his Eye upon the Object to form in his Imagination the Idea that guides his Hand in the designing and colouring the Face that the Copy may resemble the truth of Nature in the original So we should consider the Holiness and Perfection of our Saviour's Actions and draw the first Lines of Resolution to imitate him and every day endeavour to fill and compleat them in Actions till Christ be form'd in us Let us often compare our Lives with the Life of Christ that we may see our Imperfections in his Excellencies which will discover them and how to correct them Now in that particulars are most instructive I will consider two Examples of our Saviour for our Imitation in Duties of difficult practice The first is the Duty of Admonition wherein great Prudence is requisite mix'd with tender Love lest the Reproof be taken for a Reproach and the Person be provok'd and not reform'd and with Zeal that may give efficacy to our Counsel A Reproof must be managed like binding of a wounded part which must be neither too strait nor too slack lest it should oppress and exasperate the Wound or lest there be not a close application of the Medicine Of this mixture of Affections we have a clear discovery in our Saviour's carriage towards his Enemies 'T is related in the Gospel That a Man with a wither'd hand was present in the Synagogue and some watched whether our Saviour would heal him on the Sabbath-day that they might accuse him of profaning it And when he propounded the question whether it were lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath-day they maliciously held their peace which occasion'd his looking on them with Anger being grieved for the hardness of their Hearts This exact Pattern we should follow joining mild Severity with melting Compassion in reproving offenders The other instance is how to Compose our Spirits and resign our Wills to God in the approaches of very afflicting Evils Our Saviour in the apprehension of
most reverent observance is due 'T is revocable in its Nature but not to cease without the Will of the Legislator either expresly declar'd or vertually by the ceasing of the end of it As the Ceremonial Law is abolish'd by the same Authority that ordain'd it the end of the Institution being obtain'd But this Ordinance is by our Saviour commanded to continue till his Second Coming in Glory the end of it being the revival of the memory of his Death I will not insist upon the several Conformities between the Natural Food and the Spiritual for the principal Comparison and resemblance is in the End for which food is necessary and appointed without which there can be no subsisting Life but consider how the Life of the Soul is strengthened in this Ordinance which is not a naked sign of his Sufferings for us but the seal of the Covenant of Grace and wherein our Saviour though his bodily Presence be confin'd to Heaven yet does really and spiritually exhibit himself with all his saving Benefits to sincere Believers Consider how Repentance Faith and Love are increas'd by this Ordinance 1. Repentance is a Vital Operative Grace not only in mortifying Sin but in bringing forth many excellent Fruits suitable to it All the Terrors at Mount Sinai in giving the Law cannot make such an impression on the Conscience of the righteous and fearful Anger of God for Sin as the infliction of Wrath upon our dying Saviour He receiv'd into his Breast the Arrows of the Almighty that drank up his Blood and Spirits though in himself he was perfectly Holy Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are heal'd We read that Nathan was sent from God to David when insensible of his Guilt of Murder and Adultery to awaken him to review his Sin he for that end us'd a very moving Parable of a Rich Man that had many Flocks yet to entertain a Stranger rob'd a Poor Man of his only Lamb and drest it for him This David so resented that he threatned the severest Revenge for such an unrighteous and unmerciful action And when Nathan turned the point of the Parable against his Breast charging him Thou art the man in what Agonies and Confusion was he surpriz'd as his mournful Complaint declares When we read in the Narrative of our Saviour's Sufferings of the Treachery of Judas the Malice of the Priests the Fury of the People the Cowardise of Pilate and the Cruelty of the Soldiers how apt are we to conceive Indignation against his Murderers but when Conscience like the true Prophet shall with a piercing Reproach charge us that our Sins Condemn'd and Crucified him how will this open the Springs of Godly Sorrow and looking on him whom we have pierced cause us to Mourn as those that mourn for a first-born How will the Contemplation of him in his Sufferings excite Indignation with Zeal and Revenge against our selves for our choosing and committing those Sins that were the meritorious Cause of his Sufferings Since he bore our Sins 't is just we should simpathize in his Sorrows How instructive and exemplary was insensible Nature as if capable of Knowledge and Affection in the time of his Sufferings It was disorder'd in the Heavens and simpathiz'd in the Elements The Sun was obscur'd against all possibility of Nature for the Moon was opposite and in the Full and in the twinkling of an Eye past half the Circle of the Heavens and being empty of Light towards the Earth by its interposition hid the body of the Sun behind it The Air was as dark at mid-day as at mid-night The Earth trembled the Rocks rent Have the Rocks softer Bowels than obdurate Sinners 'T is a greater prodigy that those whose Sins made his Death necessary are unaffected with it than that Nature seemed to have changed its Principles and Properties to signifie its resentment of it God's Anger darkens the Sun and shakes the Earth and shall sinful Men be unrelenting If by Faith and Consideration we transport our selves to Mount Calvary and with the blessed Virgin stand at the foot of the Cross when our Saviour was dying we shall feel the working of her Affections when a Sword pâ—erc'd through her Soul Now in the Sacrament there is a representation of Christ Crucified before our Eyes which is the most powerful motive of Godly Sorrow and the inseparable consequent of it the destructive hatred of Sin and of holy Resolutions that as he dyed for Sin we will dye to it 2. Faith that is the Root from whence other Graces spring and flourish is increas'd and confirm'd by the use of this Ordinance As by the looking on the mysterious Brazen Serpent there was an Antidote conveyed to heal the Israelites stung by the Fiery Serpents so by the looking on Jesus in his Sufferings our wounded Spirits are healed The dignity of his Person the depth of his Sufferings and his voluntary yielding of himself to them are the supports of Faith The Sin-Offerings under the Law were entirely consumed in their Consecration to Divine Justice and no part was reserved to be eaten by the Offerers To signifie their Imperfection and Inefficacy to reconcile God to Sinners and to pacifie their accusing Consciences The Beasts by substitution suffer'd Death for those who offer'd them but could not purchase Life for them Our Saviour is as truly given to us to communicate Life as he was given for us in his Death When he offer'd himself the most solemn Sacrifice on the Cross he was not consum'd His Body and Blood are the Feast of Love upon his Sacrifice the clearest assuring sign of God's being reconcil'd to us The Blood of the Lamb the true Winâ— has rejoic'd the Heare of God and Man Our High Priest continually presents his Father in the Coelestial Sanctuary his bloody Sacrifice of which there is a Commemoration on the Holy Table If God remember our Sins we remember his anointed Priest to expiate them If the timerous Conscience be in anxiety for the number and heinousness of Sins and the number of Sinnerâ— who must perish for ever without this Miracle of Mercy as if one Sacrifice were not sufficient to abolish their Guiâ—â— let it be consider'd that his Death is of infinite value and what is infinite cannot be divided he was intirely offer'd for every penitent unfeigned Believer The weakest has as full an Interest and Benefit in it as if it had been offer'd solely for him and may apply and appropriate it to himself with as true solid Comfort as if he had been present at our Saviour's Crucifixion and heard him speaking the words of Life I give my self for thee His Blood cleanses from all Sin and is a propitiation for the Sins of the world These are no fictions of Fancy but the real operations of the Holy Spirit who
and by a Temporal Holy Rest are prepar'd for an Eternal Glorious Rest. The observing this Command enables us to do the rest for the Duties of it are Divine and Spiritual and have a powerful influence in the Souls of Men for the exercise of Grace by a proper efficacy increases it and in their sanctifying that day God sanctifies them and liberally bestows the Treasures of Grace and Joy the consequent Blessing of the divine Institution The Profaners of that Holy Time do vertually renounce their Allegiance to the Crâ—ator and Redeemer they will not attend upon his Oracles but despise the Persons and Office of the Ministers of Christ and their Contempt reflects upon him They make the Sabbath their delight in another sense than the Commandment intends they make it a Play-day Others who are call'd and counted Christians who are good in every thing but wherein they should be best they are Just and Merciful Temperate and Chaste Affable and Obliging to Men but wretchedly neglect the duties of Piety to God and the sanctifying his day That precious and dear interval to a Saint from the business of the World is a galling restraint to Carnal Men from their secular Employments 'T is true they will go to the publick Worship either for seculary respects Custom or the Coertion of the Laws or the impulse of Conscience that will not be quiet without some Religion but they are glad when 't is done and by vain discourses dash out of their minds the instructions of the Word of God They spend a great part of the day as if it were unsanctified time in curious dressing in Luxurious Feasting in Complemental Visits in Idleness and sometimes in Actions worse than Idleness The certain Cause of this Profaneness is they are not partakers of the divine Nature that inclines the Soul to God and raises our esteem of Communion with him as a Heaven upon Earth and from hence it follows that they come and go from the Publick Ordinances neither cleansed from Sin nor chang'd into the divine Image But those who conscientiously employ that day in Duties proper to it in Prayer and Hearing and Reading the Scriptures and spiritual Books in holy Conference whereby Light and Heat is mutually Communicated among the Saints and in the Meditation of Eternal things whereby Faith removes the Vail and looks into the Sanctuary of Life and Glory as Moses by Conversing with God in the Mount came down with a shining Countenance so a divine Lustre will appear in their Conversations in the following Week 5. The frequent discussion of Conscience and review of our Ways is an effectual Means of rising to Perfection in Holiness This Duty is difficult and distastful to Carnal Persons for Sense is prevalent and fastens their Thoughts upon External Objects that they are unfit for reflecting upon themselves for the proper and most excellent operations of the Reasonable Soul wherein they are rais'd to the Rank of Angelical Spirits and to a resemblance of the Deity who Eternally Contemplates with Infinite Delight the Perfections of his Nature and the Copy of them in his Works They are insensible of the Nobility of their Nature and cannot sequester themselves from Worldly things and enter into the Retirements of their Souls They are afraid and unwilling to look into their Hearts lest they should be Convinc'd and over-argued by Conscience of their woful Condition Home is too hot for them Their study is to Charm their Cares and not to be disturb'd in their Security But the Duty is indispensable requir'd of us We are commanded to stand in awe and sin not and commune with our own hearts to search and try our wayes and turn to the Lord to prove our own work The benefit resulting from it is worth our Care and should make us to digest all difficulties in the performance David declares I thought on my wayes and turned my feet to thy testimonies He first reflected on his ways and then reform'd them Conscience must be awaken'd by Grace or Judgment to Self-reflection The examen of Conscience either regards our spiritual State or our Actions in their Moral Qualities of Good and Evil. The first is of infinite moment that we may understand whether we are in the state of polluted Nature or in a renewed state and consequently whether in the present Favour of God or under his Displeasure and accordingly what we may expect in the next World a blessed or miserable Eternity But as was before observed Men are very averse from the severe tryal of their state for fear the issue will be perplexing the exact inquiry into their Lives is like the Torment on the Rack Or if sometimes they turn their thoughts inward to consider themselves they do it slightly not with sincere Judgment and though their spiritual state be uncertain or apparently evil yet they are resolved not to doubt of it This neglect is fatal to many who comfort themselves with their Company because the most are in no better condition than they are This I shall not insist on but consider the survey of Mens Actions Conscience is the centre of the Soul to which all Moral Good and Evil has a tendency 't is an internal supervisor and guardian which a Man always carries in his Bosom To perform its Office it must 1. Be inlightened with the clear knowledge of the Divine Law in its Precepts for Duties unknown cannot be practised and Sins unknown and unconsider'd cannot be loathed and forsaken The Law like a clear and equal glass that reflects the Beams according to their incidence discovers the beauties and spots of the Soul There are contain'd in it general Rules that respect all and particular Precepts that concern the several relations of Men. 2. The discussion of Conscience that it may be effectual must in the manner of it be regulated by the matter of the discussion that is good and evil Actions which are of eternal Consequence and the end of it the making us better Accordingly it must be 1. Distinct in comparing our Actions with the Rule that we may understand the defects of our best Duties and the aggravations of our Sins The Law enjoyns the Substance and Circumstances of our Duties and forbids all kinds and degrees of Sin The more particular the discussion is the more perfect 2. It must be serious and with sincere Judgment as previous to our Tryal at God's Tribunal This Consideration will excite the Conscience which is the directive and applicative Mind to be vigilant and impartial in sifting our selves that no Sin of omission or commission may be past over for what a high strain of Folly is it to be subtle to conceal any Sin from our selves which are open to the all-seeing Eyes of God Men are apt to be insensible of Sins of omission but there is no mere Sin of omission for it proceeds from a dislike of the commanded Duty which exposes to Judgment The more the Mind
Influences are so beneficial to the lower World If they are Clouded with Ignorance or Eclips'd by the Interposition of Earthly things they are useless There are divers degrees of substantial Learning and Spiritual Skill but a sufficiency of Knowledge for the great work of saving Souls is requisite in all Zeal united with Knowledge is an indispensable Qualification When the Apostles were fill'd with the Holy Ghost descending in the significant Emblem of Fiery Tongues of what admirable Efficacy was their Preaching The first Sermon Converted Three Thousand that were Murderers of our Saviour and had the stains of his Blood fresh upon them Tongues of Flesh are without Vigour and make no lasting Impression on the Hearers but Tongues of Fire have a Divine Force and Operation to dispel the Errors of Mens Minds and quicken their Affections to Refine and Purifie their Conversations They must be diligent and watchful for the Souls of their people as those who must give an Account to the Supreme Pastor and Redeemer of Souls And as they must Teach what they Learn from the Gospel so they must live as they Teach If they are Sensual and Worldly how can their Prayers ascend with Acceptance to God and descend with a Blessing to the People There should be a singularity of Holiness distinguishing those who are Consecrated to Instruct and Govern the Church Their Sins are aggravated from the quality of their Persons this is signified in the Levitical Law that appointed the Expiatory Sacrifice for the Sin of the Priest should be as Costly as for the Sin of the whole Congregation So if the tenor of their Lives be not Correspondent to their Sermons it will destroy the force of the most inflaming Eloquence and render the Doctrines of the greatest Purity without Efficacy O that all who are engaged in this Holy and without their Personal Holiness dreadful Office would duely Consider the Account they must give of their managing of it to the great Shepherd at his Appearance The Duty of the People is to Obey to Imitate to Honour their Faithful Pastors otherwise every Sermon they Hear will be an Accusation and Argument against them in the Day of Judgment 3. The Civil Relation between the Magistrates and People bind them to the respective Duties of their different States Magistrates Supreme and Subordinate in the Scale of Government are the Ministers of God for the good of the People They derive their Authority from him and are stiled Gods by an Analogy and Deputation which necessarily infers they must Rule for his Glory The end of the Magistracy should be the end of the Magistrates in the exercise of Government that their Subjects may lead a peaceable and quiet life in all godliness and honesty The Prince as the Natural Head has the Supremacy in Place and Dignity over all the parts of the Body and is vigilant for their Preservation so being the Political Head highly exalted above all degrees in the Kingdom must be provident and solicitous for the Temporal Interest and the Eternal Benefit of his Subjects He must make Laws Holy Just and Good as becomes his Lieutenancy to Christ and to Command the Execution of them He is to consider that the Actions of Kings are Examples and their Examples Rules more influential unto the Lives of their Subjects than their Laws Those who are in the Seat of Judicature must dispense Judgment with a clear Serenity with calm Tranquility of Mind without Partiality and Passions they must not Honour the Rich nor Favour the Poor but be true to their Light and Integrity All that are Concern'd in their several Stations should dispense a vigorous Influence for the suppressing Vice and encouragement of Vertue and according to the Apostles Rule should be a terror to evil doers and a praise to those who do well Especially they should be cloth'd with Zeal in punishing Offenders that do not hide their horrid Abominations but commit them without fear of the Light of the Sun or of Nature and out-dare Satan when Impudence and Incontinence and Intemperance triumph in the Ruins of Modesty Chastity and Sobriety Seneca tells of some in old Rome that were not asham'd of the â—oulest Sins but when describ'd and represented on the Theatre gloried in their shame This heighth of Villany was not limited to the Age of Nero but to this Extremity Vice is arriv'd in our Times If by just Severity such Publick and Crying Wickedness be not supprest what reason is there to fear that the Righteous Judge of the World will make the Nation a spectacle of visible Vengeance and vindicate the Honour of his despis'd Deity How will Magistrates that are careless in the Execution of the Laws appear before the impartial Tribunal above when besides the guilt of their Sins by Personal Commission they shall be charg'd with the Sins Committed by their Connivance such heap'd Damnation will sink them into the lowest Hell The Duty of Subjects is the highest Reverence of the Sacred Authority wherewith Princes are Invested They must pay Tribute for the support of the Government They must Obey for God as Princes must Rule for God But in Sinful things as Princes have no Power to Command so the Subjects are under no obligation to obey To Conclude this Argument there is no Counsel more directive and profitable for our arriving to an excellent Degree of Holiness than this let our progress in the way to Heaven be with the same Zeal as we felt in our first entrance into it and with the same seriousness as when we shall come to the end of it The first and last Actions of the Saints are usually the most Excellent David's first and last Wayes were most Excellent see his Divine Frame near his End Although my house be not so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting Covenant order'd in all things and sure this is all my desire although he make it not to grow New Converts when call'd out of Darkness into the marvellous Light of the Gospel are more zealous in their opposition to Sin and more Active and Chearful in the Service of God The bitterness of Repentance before Reconciliation Causes an Abhorrence of Sin They remember the Prayers and Tears the Anxieties of Conscience th Restless Hours that Sin cost them As one that is saved from Fire that was ready to devour him retains so strong an Impression of the danger that makes him fearful ever after They are fill'd with the Affections of Love and Thankfulness to God and Glorifie Mercy that spar'd them when Justice might have destroy'd them When no Eye had Compassion and no Relief was afforded in their extreme Misery when they lothed themselves frighted with the Image of Satan printed on their Soul then God did regard them with tender Affection when they fled from him then he did overtake them by preventing and prevailing Grace They have the quickest Sense of their Obligations to the Redeemer and the