namely that when the Scripture says that Faith is sufficient to Salvation we are to understand by the word Faith in this Proposition that true Faith which the Gospel requires Now if we ask what that Faith is and by what Marks it may be known All the Apostles will unanimously tell us that true Faith produces a Holy Life and that it discovers it self by all manner of Good Works They assign Good Works as the essential Mark and Character that distinguishes a saving from an Hypocritical Faith By that very thing therefore that the Gospel requires Faith it does likewise require Good Works since Faith cannot be without Works And by consequence the Opinion of those who fancy that Faith is sufficient without Works is evidently absurd and contrary to the Gospel and to the Nature of Faith it self But to set this matter still in a clearer light it is necessary to take notice here of two Mistakes which Men are apt to run into when they speak of Faith and Good Works The first is that they separate Faith from Works they look upon Faith as a thing quite different from Works and which supplies the want of them or rather they oppose Faith to Works as if these two things were contrary to each other A Corrupt Man will say I confess that I have not Good Works but however I have Faith Those who speak thus suppose that they may have Faith tho' they have not Works but St. James has directly confuted this Imagination †Jam. II. What does it profit my Brethren though a man say he has Faith and have not Works can Faith save him If Faith have not Works it is dead being alone Who can after this separate saving Faith from Good Works Can we separate that from Faith which God has declared to be inseparable from it It shews that Men are strangely blinded With Ignorance and Prejudice when at this time of day we are fain to prove things so plain and questionable The Second Illusion is that Men place Faith in Confidence alone and many define it by that They fancy that to have Faith is nothing else but to believe that God is merciful and to rely upon the Merits of Christ because Faith embraces the Promises of the Gospel the natural effect of which Promise is to fill the Heart with assurance and tranquility It is beyond all doubt that for the most part true Faith is attended with Confidence But Confidence is not the Whole of Faith and I cannot Imagine what part of God's Word countenances that Notion which places the Essence of Faith in Confidence alone The Faith which the Gospel speaks of consists in believing that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and the Saviour of the World in embracing his Doctrine as true and in making Profession of it in doing his Commandments and hoping for Salvation from him But the resolving all Faith and Religion into Acts of Confidence is the most extravagant Conceit that can enter into a Man's Head If this Notion was true it would follow from it that in order to be saved it is enough fore Man to believe that he shall be saved Which is the same thing as to say that whoever would have a right to confide in God needs do no more in order to that than actually to trust in him and that is a most ridiculous Thought which turns all Religion into a strong Fancy Before we believe a thing we ought to know why we should believe it and have good reason and solid Grounds for our Belief Before we trust in God we ought to satisfy our selves that we have a Right to confide in him for can a Man be saved only because without any ground or reason he fancies that he shall We ought not to rely upon God but according to his Promise Now God has promised nothing to those who live and are hardned in Sin far from promising any thing to them he threatens them with inevitable ruin What claim or title then can an obdurate Sinner have to the Mercy of God What Confidence can he repose in God's Promises as long as he continues impenitent None at all except we suppose in God a general Decree to save indifferently all sorts of Persons It must not be said that these Considerations are apt to Alarm and Disturb the Peace of Men's Consciences for they will Alarm none of those who are animated with true Faith and sincere Piety And as to others we do them a great piece of service when we awaken and terrify them out of that false Quiet into which a groundless Confidence has betraied them On the other hand it is a dangerous thing to teach that Confidence is the most essential thing to Faith for by this we may alarm some good Men who either through Melancholy or want of Instruction are destitute of Confidence and inward Peace And it has certainly happened that several Pious Persons are fallen into black Thoughts and sad Scruples concerning their Salvation and that they have in some measure desponded because they did not find Confidence and a sense of the love of God in themselves From all these Reflections it does evidently appear that Faith never ought nor can be separated from Good Works and that Christians are as much obliged to aply themselves to Good Works as they are to believe and to have Faith But now if it be asked why St. Paul â—hen opposes Faith to Works and why he excludes Works when he treats of Justification I answer that the Apostle â—ins at two things by this His design â—s to shew 1. That Works are not the Cause and Foundation of Men's Salvation â—ut that it flows from the pure Mercy of God through Jesus Christ This he proves with respect both to the Heathens and the Jews in the first Chapters of his Epistle â—o the Romans But he did not mean to say â—hat Good Works are not necessary under â—he Covenant of Grace His expressions are too clear to leave the least Room for any doubt about this matter To reâ—eject the meritoriousness of Good Works â—s one thing and to deny their necessity is â—nother But 2ly because it may be obâ—ected that St. Paul does intirely exclude Works and that he uses expression which implie that Christians are no longer obliged to the practice of them and that they have no influence on Men's Salvation either as Causes or Conditions but on the contrary are opposed to Faith Therefore I add that he speaks thus with relation to the Works of the ceremonial Law and especially to Circumcision There were many in St. Paul's time who asserted that Christians were bound to observe those Legal Ordinances It was about the Question that the Apostles met a Jerusalem and determined * Acts. XV. that Christians 〈◊〉 justified by Faith only and that the yoke of Mosaical Ordinances ought not to be laid up on them The same Conroverly is handled by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians where
of their Duty is that they do not profess Devotion and Piety This is the ordinary Plea of Men of Business of Worldlings of Young People of Courtiers of Military Men and of a great many besides in all Conditions We do not pretend to Devotion they cry we are ingaged in the World And with this shift they not only think themselves excusable for neglecting Piety but they fancy they have a Right to neglect it and that they do a great deal if they observe some of the External Duties of it One can hardly believe that these Persons are in carnest when they make such an Excuse It astonishes a Man to find Christians who have the considence to say That Piety is not their Business that they are of another Profession and that they are not at leisure to be Devout I fancy there are Two Things which deceive those who who alledge this Excuse 1. That they do not well understand what Devotion is they look upon it as a very austere and singular way of living from whence they conclude that but few People are able to apply themselves to it and so they turn it over to the Clergy to Women or to those who have much leisure I have observed already the Falseness of this Prejudice and shewed that Piety is neither singular nor austere 2. The other cause of their Error seems to be this that they do not consider that Piety is every Bodies Business and that such is the nature of it that it may be practised by all Men. Not but that secular Occupations and Callings do frequently obstruct Piety and ingage Men in Vice and therefore a Christian should never be so taken up with the Affairs of this Life as thereby to disable himself from performing the Duties of Christianity But after all a Man may live like a good Christian in any lawful Calling and in that sense properly we are to understand the Words of St. Paul That the Grace of God which brings Salvation has appeared unto all Men teaching them to live soberly righteously and godly in this present World * Tit. II. 11. Do those who plead it for an Excuse that they do not profess Devotion imagine that there are two ways to go to Heaven the one for Devour and the other for Worldly Men the one narrow and the other broad Do they think that the Commandments of God do not concern all Men that there is respect of Persons with God or that he dispenses with his own Laws How can they prove these Distinctions Are not we all Christians Have not we all been Baptize Does not God give us all the same Laws Or have some more reason to love God than others And ought not the great Concern of our Salvation to be equally dear to us all I grant that those who have greater opportunities and more Leisure than others ought to make use of these Advantages But I maintain at the same time that none stand in greater need of Piety than those who say we are engaged in the World we do not pretend to Devotion It is because they are not Devout that their Condition is very sad and the more they are engaged in the World the greater are the Temptations and Distraction to which they are liable Now he that is exposed to a Storm had need take more care than he who enjoys a Calm These are the principal Maxims and Sentiments which are made use of to Authorize Corruption Whoever takes notice of what is said and done in the World must needs acknowledge that these and the like Maxims are vented abroad every day so that in order to obstruct the Progress of Corruption it is absolutely necessary to undeceive Men in reference to these Sentiments and to oppose that Criminal Boldness which shamefully Corrups the Truths of Reilgion and turns Impieties into Religious Maxims and Articles of Faith CAUSE IV. The Abuse of Holy Scripture IT is a daring piece of Confidence to Authorize Corruption with Maxims borrowed from Religion but it is the last degree of Audaciousness and Impiety to turn the Holy Scripture to such a scandalous use and to seek in that Divine Book Pretences and Apologies for Vice and yet the Extravagance and Temerity of many bad Christians come up to this pitch Several declarations of the Word of God are made by them as many Maxims under which they think to shelter themselves and if we believe them there is nothing either in their Practice or Opinions but what is agreeable to the Will and Intentions of God himself This Abuse of the Scripture I design to shew in this Chapter to be one of the Causes of Corruption and it cannot he too seriously considered The Passages of Scripture which are abused to this purpose may be reduced to these Four Heads The first comprehends the places which are brought against the necessity of Good Works Under the second we will examine those declarations of Scripture by which some endeavour to prove That all Men without exception are in a state of Corruption which subjects them to Sin In the third place we shall answer the Arguments drawn from the Examples of those Saints whose Sins are Recorded in Scripture And lastly we shall make some Reflections upon those Scripptures in which the Divine Mercy is promised to the greatest Sinners There are divers Passages in Scriptures which being ill understood lead many into this perswasion That Good Works are not of absolute Necessity And First nothing is more confidently alledged to this purpose than what we read in many places * Rom. III. c. That we are justified by Faith and not by our Works No Doctrine is more clearly and expresly delivered in the Gospel than that of Justification by Faith But it is a Perverting of this Doctrine to conclude from it that Salvation may be obtained without Good Works This Conclusion must needs be false since the Gospel enjoyns Good Works as a necessary Condition in order to Salvation St Paul tells us that †Heb. XX. 14. without Holiness no man shall see God And does not that import that none shall be saved without Holiness and Good Works The same Apostle teaches us that at the Day of Judgment when Men shall be admitted into or excluded from Heaven God will have a regard to their Works to the good or evil which they shall have done | Rom. 11. 6. God will render to every man according to his Works * 2 Cor. V. 10. We must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ that we may receive according to what we have done whether good or bad This is very positive and therefore since there can be no Contradiction in Scripture here is enough already to Convince us that the Doctrine of Justification by Faith has nothing in it which destroys the necessity of Good Works But it will appear yet less difficult to reconcile these two Doctrines if we suppose that which no Man can reasonably Contest
A TREATISE Concerning the CAUSES OF THE Present Corruption OF CHRISTIANS And the Remedies thereof PART I. LONDON Printed for Ri. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul s Church-yard 1700. To the Right Reverend GILBERT Lord Bishop of SARVM Chancellor of the Most Noble Order of the Garter My Lord THE Treatise I now Humbly offer to Your Lordship in English has met with a very great and general Applause in French A Second Edition of it was desired in less than two Months after the first and it is already Translated into more Languages than one But that which ought to weigh more than any other Commendation is the high value Your Lordship sets upon this Book for if the most Accomplished Writers are the best Judges of other Mens Works there lies no Appeal from Your Lordship's Judgment concerning the worth of this I have heard Your Lordship deliver Your Opinion of this Performance in a very particular manner and reckon it among the best Books that this Age has produced and that in all respects both for Piety and Learning good Sense and true Judgment Your Lorship thought fit that so valuable a Work should be put into English You were pleased My Lord to commit this Translation to my care and I could wish I had been as well qualified for that Office as I was desirous to discharge it to Your Lordship's Satisfaction But I am Conscious of my want of Abilities in this as well as in all other things and I fear the Work of the Reverend and Worthy Author who honours me with some share in his Friendship has lost several Beauties and Graces by passing through my Hands However My Lord I have rendred his Sense as faithfully as I could and that is all I would be accountable for to the Reader for if among that Variety of nice and Tender Subjects which are touched here the Author mixes any thing which does not suit with every Bodies Notions it is his Province and not mine to defend it He lives in one of the remotest Countries in which the Protestant Religion is received and in what he writes he had his own Neighbourhood chiefly in View so that his main design was to corect things within his reach to which the State of that Church which is now in eminent danger led him But I leave to your Lordship to judge whether that which he thought proper for his own Church may not be likewise of good use to others And now my Lord I do gladly embrace this opportunity to make a publick Acknowledgment of the extraordinary Obligations your Lordship has laid upon me A Post in the service of the Church is not the greatest Favour I have received at your Hands I reckon my self much more beholden to your Lordship for the benefit of your Example and Instructions which I have enjoyed several Years in your Family But here I must make a full stop and how much soever I am inclined to say a great deal upon the subject yet I know your Lordship too well to venture on it for whatever I may think I know I must say nothing The best return I can make for the large experience I have had of your Lordship's Kindness and Generosity is to put up my most hearty Prayers for the long Continuance of your Lordship's Life and Happiness and for the lasting Prosperity of your Family this I do my Lord as truly as I profess my self with all possible Respect Your Lordship 's most Humble most Dutiful and most Obliged Servant Charles Mutel THE Authors PREFACE WE have reason to wonder at the great Corruptions that at present are to be found among Christians The Religion they profess does chiefly tend to Sanctify Men and to Purge the World from Corruption and Vice and one would think it should produce that Effect since it affords such a clear Light such powerful Motives and such effectual Helps to Holiness Notwithstanding all this Whoever enquires into the Notions and Manners of Christians must have no great share of Sincerity or Judgment if he does not acknowledge that Religion has but littil influence upon their Minds and that there is an amazing Contradiction between their Lives and the Rules of Christianity This Corruption is so evident and so generally Confessed that I need not stand to prove it Taking it then for granted that Christians live in a great neglect of their Duties It is natural to enquire into the Causes of this Corruption and to consider what Remedies should be applied to it This is what I intend to do in this Treatise in hopes that such an Enquiry will not be altogether unuseful For First it may Contribute to Maintain the Honour and the Truth of the Christian Religion and to Confute Infidels and Libertines who are apt to despise it because it's Precepts are little practised If Religion say they be true and divine How comes it to pass that it has so little efficacy and that there appears so much Disorder and Licentiousness among the Professors of it To undeceive such Men and to infuse into them a greater respect for Religion it is of very great Importance to discover the Causes of the Decay of Piety and to shew that if Men are Corrupted it is not because Christ's Religion is insufficient to introduce Vertue and Order into the World But that this Evil flows from some other Cause and that if Christians did what they might and ought to do true Piety would not be so uncommon as it is amongst them A Second Advantage which may be reaped from this Enquiry is this it will appear by it that how great soever the Corruption may be It is not however as many imagine past remedy Which imagination is a most dangerous Prejudice while Men look on it as impossible to stem the Tide of Corruption and to re-establish Order and Purity of Manners in the World they do not so much as attempt it they let things go on at the same rate and so the Disorder increases and spreads farther It cannot be denied but that we Corruption is great general and inveterate but God forbid we should look upon it as an incurable Disease The Fountains of it may easily be discovered and it is not impossible to stop them I hope this will be acknowledged by those who shall attentively and without prepossession consider what is proposed in this Work Thirdly There is no means more likely to remove this Corruption than to cut off the Occasions of it That is the surest as well as the most compendious Method One of the main Reasons why so many excellent Books designed to inspire Men with a love of Religion and Piety have not all the effect that might be expected from them is that the Authors do not sufficiently observe the general Causes of the Depravation of Manners It is to little purpose to deplore the Corruption of the Age to exhort Men and to give them fine Lessons of Morality The Work of Reformation cannot
be much advanced as long as the Evil is not taken in its Cause and as long as such Principles and Abuses continue among Christians as are and will always be Obstacles to the Progress of the Gospel Lastly I considered that this Matter had not yet been thoroughly handled by any Author at least that I know of Of those who have touched upon it in their Books some have confined themselves to Considerations purely Moral and others to Theological Reflections upon the Errors which are in Vogue or upon the Controversies which divide Christians but they have omitted many things which seem essential no doubt because they did not intend to treat this Subject purposely or because they did not take a View of the whole extent of it As these Considerations have made me wish for a long while that among so many able Men who write about Religion some might undertake so important a Subject so they have determined me to Publish these Essays upon the Causes of Corruption hoping that others will apply themselves to the full Discussion of those Matters which are here but imperfectly hinted at But that the Scope of this Treatise may be the better understood and that no body may expect that in it which according to the Scheme I formed to my self ought not to have a place here I shall acquaint the Reader with one thing which he may perhaps have foreseen from what has been already said I do not propose to my self to handle this Matter in the way of the Divinity Schools No Man therefore ought to wonder if I say nothing of the State in which all Men are born nor of that Inclination to Vice which is observed in them For tho' this is the first Original of Corruption yet certainly this Corruption would be much less if Christians did use the means which God affords them to overcome it and if there were not other Sources which feed and strengthen that vitious Propensity Besides I do not consider Corruption in general as it is Common to all Mankind but I enquire into the Causes of the Corruption of Christians in particular Neither do I design to write a Moral Treatise so that it must not be expected that I should discourse of Self-Love and Pride and of all the other Passions which are the Ordinary Occasions of Mens Sins or that I should trace out all the particular Causes of every Sin This would carry me too far and such things have been often examined I therefore apply my self only to the general Causes and I manage the the Matter thus I divide this Work into Two Parts because the Causes of Corruption may be of Two sorts I shall call those of the first sort Particular or Internal because they are within us and to be found in every particular Man that lives ill Those of the Second sort which are more general I name External because they proceed rather from certain outward Circumstances and from the unhappiness of the Times than from the fault of particular Persons The Causes I shall treat of in the First Part are no other but the ill Dispositions in which most Christians are and which hinder their applying themselves to Piety And of these I shall observe Nine I. Ignorance II. Prejudices and False Notions concerning Religion III. Some Opinions and and Maxims which are used to Authorize Corruption IV. The Abuse of Holy Scripture V. A false Modesty VI. The Delaying Repentance VII Man's Sloth and Negligence in Matters of Religion VIII Worldly Business IX Men's particular Callings The Causes to be Considered in the Second Part are these Seven I. The State of the Church and of Religion in General II. The Want of Discipline III. The Defects of the Clergy IV. The Defects of Christian Princes and Magistrates V. Education VI. Example and Custom VII Books I declare here that in discoursing upon these Sources I do not mean to tax all Christians without exception So when I speak of Ignorance and of Prejudices commonly received Knowing and Learned Men are excepted And when I observe certain Defects in the state of the the Church and of Religion in Discipline in Clergy-men or in Christian Magistrates I suppose those Faults obtain more in some Places than in others In short whoever should apply what is said in this Treatise to all sorts of Persons and Churches would certainly mistake my Design And now I must desire those who may chance to see this Book to examine seriously what 〈◊〉 propose in it No Lover of Truth or Religion can refuse his attention to a Subject of this Nature But I hope it will be more particularly welcome to Church-men and Divines who are called by their Function to set themselves against Corruption and to endeavour all they can to promote Piety and the Glory of God To Conclude I heartily implore his Blessing upon this Work who put it into my Heart to set about it and who is my Witness with what Design and Intention I publish it A TREATISE Concerning the CAUSES OF THE Present Corruption OF CRISTIANS PART I. CAUSE I. Ignorance WHEN a Man thinks of the Causes of that Corruption which over-runs the Christian World the first which offers it self to his mind is Ignorance and therefore I shall begin with it Our Notions and Knowledge are the first Principles of our Actions We can never love a Thing or adhere to it when it is not at all or when it is but imperfectly known to us Supposing then that Men are Ignorant or very little Instructed in Religion there is no wonder that they should be Corrupt for they must of necessity be so On the other hand when they appear to be extreamly Corrupt we may conclude that they want Instruction I do not deny but that Corruption proceeds sometimes from the wickedness of the Heart which resists the Light of the Understanding and that Men frequently Act against their Knowledge But it may safely be said That if Christians were well Instructed they would not be so Corrupt and that wherever an extraordinary Corruption is visible there is likewise a great deal of Ignorance This is confirm'd by the Scripture and by God's Conduct in the Establishing the Christian Religion When the Apostles speak of those Disorders wherein the Heathens lived before their Conversion they ascribe them to the darkness of their Minds * Eph. IV. 18. The Gentiles says St. Paul have their Vnderstanding darkened being alienated from the Life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their Heart The same Apostle calls the Times which preceded the Coming of of Christ the Times of Ignorance And the first Thing which God did to change the Face of the World and to rescue it from Corruption was to dispel the Clouds of their Ignorance and to enlighten them with the Knowledge of himself by the Preaching of the Gospel Although Christians cannot be charged with so gross an Ignorance as that of the Heathens yet they
Goodness of God who has so well provided for the Necessities of Men and on the other hand to set Bounds to our Curiosity and to fortify our Faith against those Doubts which might start up in our Minds by reason of so many things which we are ignorant of As therefore of all Truths none are of greater Consequence or of a more intire certainty than those which Religion depends upon so the Proof of those Truths ought to be simple evident and suited to all Mens capacity Thus when in order to prove the Being of a God we alledge for instance the State and Order in which the World subsists when we shew that the World cannot be eternal and that things had a beginning when we establish the Inspiration of Scripture by the Prophecies it contains which were undoubtedly written before their accomplishment When we prove the Truth of the Christian Religion by the Truth of Matters of Fact and History and demonstrate that if the Facts upon which Religion is founded are not certain there is no such thing as certainty in the World in respect of things that are past and that if the Testimony of the Apostles is rejected there are no Witnesses or Historians who may not be rejected upon better grounds When we confirm the Sacred History by the concurring testimony of Pagan Writers and by the most Ancient and the most unquestionable Monuments which past Ages can afford When we reflect upon the manner in which the Christian Religion was planted in the World and upon the alteration it has made in it When we insist upon the Characters of Truth Sincerity and Divinity which are observable in the Scripture In short when we take Religion to pieces and make Men see and feel that its Doctrines its Precepts its Promises and its Threatnings have nothing in them that is absurd or bad or contrary to our natural apprehensions nothing but what perfectly agrees with sound Reason and the Sentiments of our own Consciences and nothing but what is advantagious to particular Persons and to Societies When I say we urge these Proofs and others like them and have the Art of proposing them in a clear and judicious Method it is certain that they contain nothing that is very difficult These are the clearest and the strongest Proofs that can be used in a Subject of this Nature and the Arguments which are made use of to establish these Proofs are for the most part so natural and so conform to the Ideas of our Minds and to the Principles of Common Sense that there are few even of the Vulgar who may not apprehend them if not perfectly and in their whole extent which is reserved to Men of a larger Capacity yet so far at least as sufficiently to be sensible of their Force If then Difficulties and Obscurities are to be met with in the Discussion of the Principles of Religion it is because this Matter is neglected and the People are little Informed But if the same Care had been taken to Instruct Christians in the Fundamental Truths of Religion which was bestowed upon Explaining and Clearing Particular ones they would have another kind of persuasion than they have of the Truth of their Religion These great and sublime Truths have without comparison more suitableness and affinity with the Nature of Men and the Sentiments of their Hearts than many obscure difficult and less necessary things which yet have been effectually taught them 4ly But against this Experience may possibly be Objected It may be said that there are Christians who most certainly have Piety and yet did never meditate much upon the Foundations of Christianity I. Answer That it is not conceivable how a Man should be a pious Christian without being persuaded of the Truth of his Religion For at this rate Piety would be but mere Conceit and Enthusiasm and we must say notwithstanding all that Scripture and Reason tell us to the contrary that Men are Christians without Knowledge or Reason It cannot be otherwise but that good Men must have been convinced of the Truths of the Gospel and have had a lively sense that these are the most certain and the most important of all Truths If we enquire what Principle it is which produces Piety in the Hearts of the most simple People we shall find it is an unmovable Persuasion that there is a God a Judgment a Heaven and a Hell which Persuasion is necessarily founded upon some of the Proofs I have hinted at I grant which no doubt will be Objected to me that in many this Persuasion is not clear enough and that it is not the result of a particular examination but this does not lessen the force of my Argument For though the Persuasion of Good Men should not be so clear and so well grounded as it might be yet it does not follow but that it is sincere a Man may be convinced of a Truth tho' he does not discover all the certainty and all the Proofs of it and tho' he is not able to answer all the Objections against it So that still it is true that there is no Religion without the belief of the General Truths of it After all we must acknowledge that there are Good Men who are not so well instructed upon this Head as it were to be wished And this defect of Instruction this imperfection of their Faith is one of the main Causes of the defects and imperfections of their Piety Thus we may frequently observe in their Conduct such Weaknesses and Opinions as do not agree with the pure Light of Faith and with the exactness of the Rules of the Gospel This is part of the Unhappiness we lament and of that Corruption of which we seek the Causes But no Man will dispute but that if the same Persons had more instruction they would carry Virtue much farther than they do The degree of Piety does ordinarily follow the degree of Faith Where there is no Faith there is no Piety and where Faith is weak and faint Piety is â—anguid and defective This is the geneâ—al State and Character of Christians at this time either downright Impiety or 〈◊〉 Piety that is both feeble and imperfect 5ly In the last place some will perhaps Object here that Incredulity is the effect â—ather than the Cause of Corruption and that Atheism does not produce Corâ—uption but Corruption Atheism To this 〈◊〉 say that these two things do mutually uphold and support each other Many fall into Infidelity because their Hearts are vitiated their licentious way of living takes them off from enquiring into Religion and hinders their believing of Divine Truths But it is not less certain â—hat one of the great Causes of the Disâ—rders of Christians is that either they do â—ot believe at all or that they believe weakly and confusedly and this cannot â—e reasonably contested II. Here is then the first and the prinâ—ipal Defect That Men are not sufficiently â—â—structed in the general Truths and Prinâ—iples of
is enough to fill them with a good opinion of themselves Now when Men are thus blinded by Self-love and do not know themselves there is but little hope of them and they will undoubtedly fall into a state of Security These Considerations plainly shew if I â—m not mistaken that Men for the most â—art live in very great Ignorance But I â—hink my self bound to answer an Objectiâ—n which may be offer'd against what has â—een said Some will think no doubt â—â—at it is very difficult for Men to be so â—ell instructed as I suppose they ought to â—e and that the People are not capable â—f such an exact Kowledge of Moraliâ—y To satisfie those who make this Objeâ—tion and to clear this Matter fully I obâ—erve first that by all I have said I do â—â—y no means pretend that all Christians â—â—an or ought to be equally instructed I â—now that there are degrees of Knowledge â—nd that in Morality as well as in Doâ—trines Divines and Men of Parts go a â—reat way beyond the bulk of Mankind It 〈◊〉 sufficient for every one to be instructed â—ccording to his Capacity and his Condition â—ut after all it must be granted that the â—nowledge of the Principles of Morality â—s necssary to every Body or else we must â—â—rike several Precepts out of the Gospel â—nless we imagine that those Precepts are â—ntended only for a small number of Learnâ—d and Subtil Men which is directly opâ—osite to our Saviour's Words who said that his Doctrine is designed for all Mankind for the little ones and the simple rather than for * Mat. XI 25 1 Cor. X. John VI. 45. 1 Thess V. 20. Phil. IV. 8. 2 Pet. II. 5 6 7 8. the Wise and Prudent There is no Christian but ought to be a spiritual man and taught of God When St. Paul says prove all things hold fast that which is good Whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any vertue if there be any praise think on these things When St. Peter exhorts Christians to add to their faith all Christian Virtues to grow and abound in all these Virtues such Exhortations do belong equally to all the Professors of Christianity It must not be said that there are Men in the World of very dull and shallow Capacities and that Countrey People and Mechanicks cannot comprehend all these Maxims of Morality This is not so difficult as it is imagined The Duties of Morality are clear they presently affect a Man because they are consonant to the common notices and sentiments of Conscience Chuse what part of Morality you please and you may with due endeavours make either a Handy-crafts-man or a Day-labourer apprehend it so you confine your self to the Knowledge and Practice of those Duties which are necessary to such People in their several Callings Is there any thing more subtil or difficult in the Rules of Morality than there is in a hundred dexterities and shifts which are practised in the Affairs of this Life and which common People can attain to without any great pains If therefore Mens Understandings are so gross and stupid in moral Matters is not because these Matters are above their reach but because they were never taught them â—or never applied themselves to them We ought not to judge of what Men might be by what they are The best Ground becomes barren when it is not cultivated If things were well ordered among Christians in relation especially to the instruction of the People and the Education of Children the generality of them would not be so stupid and ignorant as they are We may therefore conclude that Ignorance is one of the general Causes of Corruption Christians being ill informed of the Truths and Duties of their Religion and wanting instruction both as to Faith and Manners they must needs live in a great neglect of Religious Matters It may be asked whence does this Ignorance proceed I shall observe three principal Causes of it The first is Education the way in which Children are bred up does infallibly lead to Ignorance The second is the want of Means to get good Instruction and particularly the defect of those Instructions which are delivered to Christians in Sermons Catechisms and Books The third is the Sloth and Carelesness of Men who will be at no pains to acquire necessary Knowledge We might bestow very weighty Considerations upon every one of these three Heads but since they will again come in our way in the sequel of this Treatise it is enough to have pointed at them in this place as the three main Sources of Ignorance In truth if Men are ill Educated if they are destitute of the necessary Means of Instruction and take no care about it whence should they have sufficient Knowledge unless they were instructed by Miracles by Revelations and Inspirations they cannot but be Ignorant and Corrupt But now if Ignorance be the first Cause of Corruption it is plain that the first remedy to be used against Corruption is the removing that Ignorance It is that we are to begin at if we would bring back Christians to a Life worthy of the Religion they profess Exhortations Censures and all other such Methods will signifie nothing as long as Mens Minds are not prepared by proper Instructions From all that has been said in this Chapter it may be gathered that the right way to instruct Men is before all things to convince them of the Truth of Religion and to make them sensible that there is nothing more certain or of greater Consequence in the World than the Principles of Christianity The Belief of the General Truths ought especially to be well fixed in their Minds as that there is a God a Providence a Judgment and another Life After this we must proceed to the particular Truths of the Gospel and as we go on in explaining them we ought to shew what influence those Truths have upon Holiness and Salvation But the most important thing of all when these Truths are settled is to shew that the bare Knowledge of the Christian Doctrines is not able to make Men happy that the scope of Religion is to make Men truly good and that without Piety and good Works there is no Salvation It will not be sufficient to recommend Sanctification in general but the Nature of it must besides be distinctly explained it must be shewed which are the general and particular Obligations of a Christian life and what Sins are contrary to these And here those whose business it is to instruct the People ought to be as particular as possibly they can shewing upon each Virtue and Vice what the Nature of it is and what are the several Characters Kinds and Degrees of it and proposing likewise the Motives which should discourage Men from those Vices and prompt them to the practice of the opposite Virtues as also the
pass that not being contented with the practice of Vice they do besides plead Authority for an ill Life They proceed so far as to defend the Cause of Corruption they dispute with those that condem them and they vent such Maxims and Sentiments as if we believe them will justifie or at least excuse all their Disorders I could not omit here the examining of those Maxims since their effect is so pernicious I shall therefore observe them as the third Cause of Corruption The Maxims and. Sentiments which favour Corruption are of two sorts Some are visibly Profane and Impious such are a great many Maxims of the Libertines which go for Currant in the World But there are others which Men pretend to draw from Religion I shall insist particularly upon the latter because as they are taken from Religion it self they are by much the more dangerous When Profane People undertake to defend Vice with Maxims wich are manifestly impious we stand upon our guard against them and we may confute them by the Maxims of Religion But when they employ Religion and the Truths of it in the defence of Vice the danger of being feduced is infinitely greater I shall reduce the Maxims which are made use of to Authorise Corruption to these Four Orders I rank those in the First Order by which Men endeavour to prove that Holiness is not absolutely necessary The Second Order contains those which tend to shew that the practice of Holiness is impossible The Third Comprehends those which insinuate that it is dangerous for a Man to apply himself to good Works The Fourth and the Last includes those which are alledged to excuse Corruption But as it is not less necessary to know the Remedies against Corruption than to discover the Causes of it I shall not only mention but as I go on Confute those Maxims Although nothing is more clearly asserted in the Gospel than the necessity of Good Works yet Christians entertain many Opinions which destroy this necessity and which consequently open a Door to Licentiousness The necessity of Good-works cannot be overthrown but one of these two ways either by saying that God does not require them or else by maintaining that tho' God requires them yet a Man may be Saved without the Practice of them 1. In order to prove that God does not require Sanctity and Good-works as a Condition absolutely necessary to Salvation these two Maxims are abused 1. That we are not saved by our Works And 2. That Faith is sufficient to Salvation The first of these Maxims is intended to exclude Good-works and by the second Men would substitute another Mean for obtaining Salvation I referr the Discussing of these Two Maxims to the next Chapter because they are drawn from the Holy Scripture II. Men endeavour to persuade themselves that tho' they neglect Holiness yet for all that they shall not be excluded from Salvation And that which contributes most to flatter them in this Imagination is first The Notion they have formed to themselves of the Mercy of God God say they is Good and will not judge us with the utmost rigour This is said every Day and it makes every Body hope for Salvation The Divine Mercy indeed is without question the only ground we have to hope for Salvation But the vilest Affront we can offer to that Mercy is to make it an occasion of Security Because God is Good and Merciful must not we therefore endeavour to please him May we freely offend him because he is Good and we hope he will forgive us Those who Reason at this rate understand very little what the Divine Mercy is They must suppose that it extends indifferently to all Men without any regard to their Obedience or Disobedience But this Supposition is evidently false and contrary to the Holy Scripture The Effects of God's Mercy are promised only to those who fear him and depart from evil and by consequence it is a false and pernicious Maxim to say So much Holiness is not necessary God is Good and he will not mark severely what is done amiss This is to ascribe to God an easiness and a connivance utterly unbecoming the Sovereign Judge of the World It is said besides That God will not judge us rigourously That indeed is true God is indulgent towards us and the Gospel is a Covenant of Grace in which God has a great regard to our present Condition and Weakness But it is likewise certain that God will judge us according to the rigour of the Covenant of Grace and that no Salvation is to be had for those who do not fulfil the Condition of the Gospel now this Condition is a true Faith inciting us to Holiness This must be granted and we must acknowledge the necessity of performing this Condition and of leading a Holy Life or else the Gospel is but a Jest and we must say That God does not speak seriously in it that indeed he prescribes certain Conditions that he Commands and Threatens but that nothing of all this is to be strictly understood so that tho' a Man does not comply with the Conditions which God require yet he shall feel the Effects of his Clemency If this is true there is an end of Christian Religion 2. It will no doubt be replied That provided vided a Man Repents and asks God's forgiveness he shall be Saved This is an unquestionable Truth so by Repentance we mean that which the Gospel requires and which consists in a sincere detestation of Sin in true Conversion and Amendment of Life But this is false if by Repentance we mean only a general Confession of Sins accompanied with some sense of grief and fear whereby Sinners hope at the Hour of Death to attone for all the disorder of a Vitious Life I would shew here that this is no saving Repentance but that I am to handle this Matter purposely in another Chapter If Men commonly neglect those things which are not very necessary they apply themselves much less to those which they think to be impossible Now this is the Notion which Men commonly have of Piety It is said first That it is impossible for a Man to be so Holy and to do that whiâ— God Commands A great many like the Precepts of the Gospel very well and acknowledge their Justice and Excellency Would to God say they we might live thus but we are not able to do it And being possest with this Opinion they use no endeavour to practise those Duties which they own to be Just or to attain to that Holiness to which God calls them And indeed what Man would attempt that which he looks upon as impossible Now what is said of Man's Incapacity to do good is very true when we speak of Man considered barely as Man in the corrupt State of Nature But the Question is Whether those whom God has rescued out of that State and called to the Communion of the Gospel are incapable to arrive at that degree
upon which they have most reason to reproach themselves as is well known to those who make any reflection upon their Conduct And if this Shame is able to spoil those who other wise are Virtuous and to extinguish their Zeal and Piety we ought to reckon it among the Principal Causes of Corruption 3. Shame may lead men to the highest Degrees of Wickedness For besides that a man sins against his Conscience when for fear of Men he dares not do his Duty besides that he offends God in a very provoking manner when he is ashamed to obey him and fears Men more than Him I say that this shame is apt to betray him into the great est Enormities A man is capable of every thing when he becomes a Slave to other mens Judgment and when Complaisance or Humane Consideration have a greater force upon him than the Laws of Religion and his Duty Whenever a man dares not appear good he dares appear in some measure wicked And when he ties to Vertue an Idea of Honour to Vice and from complying in every thing with the Opinions of loose and profane Persons 1. Men do not arrive of a sudden at this degree of Corruption false Shame carries them to it by little and little It makes one sin at first through Complisance tho' with some Reluctancy By this Conscience grows weaker a man contracts the Habit of slighting its Suggestions and Vice becomes more familiar to him Then he begins to sin more boldly the shame of doing good increases and the shame of sinning grows less In a little time he comes to do out of Custom and Inclination what he did before but seldom and with some inward Conflict From thence he proceeds to an open contempt of Piety and so he forsakes an Interest to which he was well affected at first but which this shame has made him dislike Thus many Persons who had good dispositions in their youth being let loose into the World have lost their Innocence and are turned Libertines and Atheists Now this false Modesty being so pernicious we can never labour too much to prevent its ill effects And this we shall succeed in if we seriously consider that there is a great deal both of Error and Cowardice in the sentiments and conduct of those who are hinder'd by shame from discharging the Duties of Religion and Conscience First there is a great deal of Error in their Proceding This Shame is founded upon nothing else but the Judgment which the World makes of Piety But if those who despise Religion are in the wrong as they most certainly are if it is Extravagance and Folly in them to pass a false Judgment upon Piety it is a much greater Madness in those who understand better Things to subscribe to a Judgment which they know to be False and Erroneous and to make that the Principle of their Actions If Vertue is a Thing that is Good Just Necessary Acceptable to God and Useful to those who Practise it if with it we cannot fail of Happiness and if without it there is nothing but Dread and Terror why should we be ashamed to give up our selves to it A Wise Man ought to esteem that which deserves Esteem and if Ignorant and Corrupt People are of another Mind he ought to set himself above their Judgment and to despise the Contempt of the senseless Multitude The Judgment of Men cannot make that Just which is Unjust nor supersede the Necessity of what is Necessary so that it should be of no weight in so important a Concernment as that of our Salvation Our Happiness is not to be Decided by Man's Esteem or Contempt and the Approbation of God and our Conscience is infinitely to be preferred before their groundless Opinions But if there is so much of Error in vicious Shame there is likewise a great deal of Cowardice in it Nothing is more base and unworthy than for a Man to desert the Interest of Vertue when he is sollicited by his own Conscience to adhere to it Not to have Resolution enough to do his Duty in such a Case is on the one hand to submit his Reason and Conscience to the Caprice of others and to depress himself beâ—ow the vilest Things in die World and â—on the other it is to have greater Regard for Men than for God And is there any thing more abject than this Proceeding Is not this shameful Cowardise in a Christian who is called to profess openly his Religion and Faith and who ought to think it his Glory to maintain the Cause of Vertue and Justice in spight of all the Contradiction and Contempt of the Age That Threatning which our Saviour has denounced against those who should not have the Courage to embrace the Christian Profession or should abandon it belongs also to those mean-spirited Christians we are now speaking of * Mat. VIII 38. Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful Generation of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the Glory of his Father with the Holy Angels The first and chief Remedy against this false Shame is then to be possessed with the following Reflections Before all things to have a right Apprehension of the Certainty and Importance of Religion to consider that it proposes to us infinite Rewards but that those Rewards are reserved only for those who have the Courage to observe its Precepts to think what Pleasure and Glory it is to be approved of God and of one own Conscience To fix deeply this great Truth in our minds that Mens Judgment is very inconsiderable that our Felicity depends neither upon their esteem nor contempt and to remember that the Scripture calls the Men of the World Fools and that a time will come when Shame Confusion and Misery shall fall to the Lot of those Despisers of Religion while * Rom. II. Glory Honour and Peace shall be to every one that does good 2. We shall easily conquer this Shame if we consider that the Danger of incurring Mens Contempt or Hatred by doing our Duty is not always so great as we may imagine I confess Piety is often despised but yet it frequently commands Respect Even those who think it strange that their Example should not be followed cannot help having a secret esteem and veneration for good Men. When Zeal is accompanied with Meekness and Discretion there is no fear that a Man should make himself odious or ridiculous by practising Vertue A Christian Deportment is so far from exposing Men always to the Contempt of the World that on the contrary it frequently happens that those who would avoid this Contempt by neglecting their Duty do thereby bring it upon themselves 3. There might be yet another Remedy against this Vicious Shame and that is the Example of Men of Authority Whatever they approve or do is reputed Honourable in the World and on the other side what they despise or neglect
Places of the Prophets I am not ignorant that some have thought that the Scripture is equally Rich every where that all Doctrines may be drawn from all Texts that those Chapters and Verses which seem the most barren and where there appears nothing extraordinary contain Mysteries and Treasures which might exhaust even the Meditations of Angels but this Conceit is so absurd and repugnant to Sense that I do not think it worth my while to Confute it Morals being so Essential a part of Religion should be very particularly insisted upon by Preachers and yet few do it so that Morality of all things is that which is the most superficially handled in the greatest part of Sermons This Fault in Preachers proceeds from several Causes Some have a Prejudice against Morality and think it ought not to be insisted on Others who are conceited with vain Learning imagine that to Preach Morals argues but an ordinary measure of Parts and little skill in Divinity and that it becomes them better to soar after high Speculations and to dive into the Mysteries of Faith and of the most sublime Theology This Custom of insisting more upon Doctrine than Morals proceeds also from another Cause which is that in this last Age Divines were fain to be continually Explaining and Disputing and so the same Method has been followed ever since I am apt to think besides that many Divines neglect Morality because the treating of it is more difficult than the explaining Doctrinal Matters Let those supercilious and speculative Divines say what they will the right handling of Morality is the hardest thing in Preaching It is easie to explain a Text or a point of Doctrine and a Man must be very meanly gifted if with the help of a Commentary or a Commons-Place he is not able to do the feat and to furnish out his hour But to Preach Morals is quite another thing I confess that there is a way of Preaching Morality which requires no great pains If Men content themselves with delivering Moral Sayings concerning Vice and Virtue this may be done without much labour But when a Preacher pursues true Morality when he is to master the Hearts of Men to reform the Manners of a whole Congregation to encounter the Inclinations of his Hearers and to make them renounce their Passions and Prejudices then it is that he meets with many and great difficulties this is an inexhaustible Spring of Labour and Mediation and a task which few Preachers care 〈◊〉 take upon them In Religion Doctrine should never be separated from Morality nor one of these preferred before the other But yet it is necessary to insist more upon Morality than upon Doctrine not only because the design of our whole Religion is to make us good Men but also because Morality cannot effectually be taught without being much dwelt upon It is only by enlarging on matters and entring into many Particulars that the two ends of Morality are to be attained which are instructing Men in their Duty and persuading them to the practice of it Morality is of a vast extent as may appear by considering how many Duties are comprised under these three Heads of Christian Morals Piety Justice and Temperance Besides these Duties which are common to all Men there are some Particular ones relating to the different Conditions Callings Ages and States which Men are in And how many things are there to be considered upon all these Heads This is not all for these Duties vary infinitely by reason of the diversity of Circumstances There are almost as many different Dispositions as there are Persons among a great Multitude of Men who are addicted to the same Vice there are hardly two who are vicious in the same degree and manner It is therefore requisite that Preachers should descend into particulars and that they should so characterize Duties Vertues and Vices that every one may know himself in the Description And yet this relates only to bare Instruction Now if in the next place we intend to engage Men to the Practice of these Duties there new Difficulties will arise and no good Success can be expected but from assiduous Care and constant Labour There are in Man's Heart so many different Dispositions and Motions so many Illusions and Prejudices so many Windings and Artifices that a very particular application is required for us to insinuate our selves into it When the Truths and Doctrines of Religion are to be Taught things need not be so minutely handled and there is no occasion to use such mighty Endeavours nay the being very particular may be a fault He that would Instruct so he is clear should rather be short than prolix The Hearers do easily apprehend the Truths which are proposed to them and the most Corrupt Men are able to discern Truth from Error a Libertine will find who is in the right or in the wrong in a Dispute But it is not so easie a thing to touch the Heart or to conquer inveterate Habits What Tully says in his Dialogue of the Orator deserves to be inserted here it is this (a) Cicero de Orat. Lib. 2. Non enim sicut Argumentum simul atque positum est arripitur alterumque tertium poscitur ita misericordiam aut invidiam aut iracundiam simulatque intuleris possis Commovere Argumentam enim ipsa ratione Confirmat quae simul atque emissa est adhaerescit Illud autem genus Orationis non cognitionem judicis sed perturbationem requirit quam consequi nisi multa varia copiosa simili Contentione orationis nemo potest Quare qui aut breviter aut summisse dicunt docere judicem possunt commovere non possunt Passions are not to be excited in a moment as a Proof does presently persuade so soon as it is proposed A Proof is confirmed by Reasons and Reasons clearly set out make an impression immediately but when we intend to raise the Passions the success does not so much depend upon the Conviction as upon the Perturbation of the Mind Oratory cannot have its effect then without Prolixity Variety Copiousness and Vehemence of Discourse Those therefore who speak briefly and calmly are fit to Instruct but not to move From these Reflections it appears that the Method of those Preachers who are large upon the Explication of Doctrines and succinct upon Morals is directly contrary to the true way of Preaching and that those do very ill understand what Morality is who either despise it or look upon it as the easiest thing in Preaching We may likewise apprehend from what has been said what are the most ordinary Faults of Preachers when they Treat of Morals I shall observe Three of them Their Morality is too general it is defective and it is sometimes false 1. Many Preachers are too general in handling Morality This is the Head which is the most slightly touched upon They spend the greater part of their Sermons in explaining the Sense of a Text
explain Texts It were therefore to be wished that for the Glory of God and the good of the Church Schools and Universities should be reformed and that the Manners and Studies of Young People should be better regulated in those places This Reformation would not be impossible if Divines and Professors would use their Endeavours about it But those kind of Establishments are not easily altered The Ordinary Method is continued and things are done as they were of Old because Men are willing to keep their Places and the Stipends which are annexed to them 3. The Third and principal Remedy would be to use greater Caution than is commonly done when Men are to be admitted into Ecclesiastical Offices The first Qualification to which according to St. Paul regard is to be had is Probity and Integrity of Life The Persons therefore who offer themselves should in the first place be examined in relation to Manners and to all those Moral Dispositions which St. Paul requires in them and those should be excluded in whom they are not found But this Article is commonly slubbered over and a Young Man must have been very dissolute if he is refused upon the account of Immorality So that the most Sacred of all Characters is conferred upon many Persons who according to the Divine Laws ought to be rejected The other Part of the Examination of Canditates relates to their Ability and Talents Now in order to judge of their Capacity it is not enough to enquire whether they know their common-Place-Book or whether they can make a Sermon it would be necessary besides to examine them about the Fundamentals of Religion about History Discipline the holy Scripture and Morality All these are important matters the knowledge of which is of daily use with reference to Practice and in the exercise of the Sacred Ministry But they are not insisted upon The examination turns upon some Trials about Preaching and upon some Heads of Divinity which are Scholastically handled by Arguments and Distinctions After which if the Canditate has satified in some Measure Ordination follows Now when such Insufficient Persons are once admitted the Mischief is done and there is no Remedy These Men are afterwards appointed Pastors in Churches where for 30 or 40 Years they destroy more than they edify How many Churches are there thus ill provided where the People live in gross Ignorance where the Youth are lost for want of Instruction and where a Thousand Crimes are committed The Cause of all this Evil is in the Ordination of Pastors It will no doubt be Objected That if none were to be admitted but those who have all the necessary Qualifications there would not be a sufficient number of Pastors for all the Churches To which I Answer that tho' this should happen yet it were better to run into this Inconvenience than to break the express Laws of God A small number of Select Pastors is to be preferred before a Multitude of unworthy Labourers We are still to do what God Commands and to leave the the Event to Providence But after all this Scarcity of Pastors is not so much to be feared Such a strictness will only discourage those who would never have been useful in the Church and it is a thing highly Commendable to dishearten such Persons But this exactness will encourage those who are able to do well and the Ministry will be so much the more esteemed and sought after CAUSE IV. The Defects of Christian Princes and Magistrates IF it had been possible without an essential Omission not to have detected this Cause of Corruption I would have passed it over in silence We ought not to speak of the Higher Powers but with great Discretion and Respect And therefore it is not without some kind of Reluctancy that I suppose in the Title of this Chapter that one of the Causes of Corruption is to be found in Christian Princes and Magistrates But if I had supprest this I should have dissembled a most important Truth and omitted one of the Heads which are the most necessary to be insisted upon in a work of this Nature By reason of the Rank which Princes and Magistrates hold they have always a great share in the good or ill Manners of the People And so I cannot excuse my self from shewing that the Corruption of Christians may partly be imputed to those who are ordained for the Government of Civil Society In order to this I shall offer some Reflections upon the Duty of Princes and Magistrates Considered 1. As Civil and 2. As Christian Magistrates Although the Institution of Princes and Magistrates does properly relate to civil Matters yet the Manner of governing their People has a great Influence upon the Things of Religion This cannot be questioned if we suppose this Principle That God who is the Author of Religion is also the Author of civil Society and Magistracy It is St. Paul's Doctrine * Rom. XIII That there is no power but of God and that the Powers that be are ordained of God If God is the Author of Religion and of civil Society he is also the Author of those Laws upon which both Religion and Civil Society are founded Now God being always consistent with himself the Laws which are derived from him cannot contradict one another and this shews already not only that there is no opposition between Religion and Civil Society but that these two things have besides a necessary relation to one another This will yet more clearly appear if we consider that Religion does not cut off Christians from the Society of other Men and that the Church does not constitute a State by it self to have nothing to do with Civil Society but that those who are Members of the Church are likewise Members of civil Society so that the same Man is at the same time both a Christian and a Citizen But it is chiefly necessary to consider the Nature of the Christian Religion 1. It was to be preached to all Men and to be received by all the World without distinction of Nations Kingdoms or States In order to this two things were necessary First that there should be nothing in Religion contrary to the Natural Constitution of States and of civil Society For else God by ordering the Gospel to be preached would have destroyed his own work Christianity could not have taken footing in the World and the first Christians would have been justly looked upon as seditious Persons But it is not less necessary on the other hand that there should be nothing repugnant to the Christian Religion in the natural Constitution of States and civil Society otherwise God by establishing Society would have put an insuperable Obstacle to the planting of the Gospel unless the civil Order and Government had been altered But our Saviour has assured us that there was to be no such thing by declaring * John XVIII that his kingdom was not of this world and by commanding his Followers
Preservative But these Books are not much better than the others nay I cannot tell whether they are not more dangerous Those Moralities are very ill placed and few People are the better for them It is a very suspicious kind of Morality which comes from the Pen of those Authors who write indifferently upon Matters of Love and religious Subjects who sometimes seem to be Libertines and sometimes devout who after they have said a hundred licentious things given you the History of a great many Disorders and related several scandalous Passages entertain you with Devotion and Piety This is a monstrous Mixture If those Authors were truly religious they would forbear writing those things which Religion condemns and which scandalize the publick Such Books are particularly fit to confirm worldly Men in their Opinion that Gallantry provided it does not proceed to the highest degree of Crimes is no great Sin and to persuade young People that they may easily grow devout here after tho' they now spend their Youth in Libertinism From all these Confiderations I infer that let People say what they will all the Books which present their Readers with Impurity either bare-faced or under some Veil are extreamly pernicious Having thus discoursed of ill Books I come now to the Books of Religion It may seem at first that I should rather seek in these the Remedy than the Cause of Corruption Indeed the end of religious Books should be to banish Corruption and to establish Piety in the World and there are many of them which attack Ignorance and Vice with Success and which may prove excellent Preservatives against the Corruption of the Age. But I hope no body will take it amiss if I say that there are Books of Religion which do not conduce much to the promoting of Piety nay that some prove a hindrance to it This I shall now endeavour to shew I shall not speak of any particular Book I will only offer some general Considerations which my Readers may apply as they see Cause It is not my Design to rank among bad Books all those Works to which some of the following Reflections may be applied Some indeed are downright bad but may are in several respects good and useful tho' they have their Faults and as good Books ought to be distinguished from bad ones so it is not less necessary to discern what is good in every Book from what is naught or useless The Books of Religion which I think ought here to be taken notice of are of four sorts 1. Those which explain the Scripture 2. The Books of Divinity 3. The Books of Morality 4. The Books of Devotion 1. It cannot be denied but that among the Books of the first sort there are some very good ones and that we have at this Day great Helps for the understanding of the Holy Scripture But it ought likewise to be granted that some of those Books which are designed for the expounding of Scripture do only obscure and perplex the Sense of it It would be tedious to mention here all the Defects of that kind of Writing I shall therefore observe only the Principal 1. The First and the most Essential is the not Expounding of Scripture according to its true Meaning and this Fault which is but too frequent in Commentaries proceeds chiefly from two Causes 1. That Expositors do not apprehend the Scope of the Sacred Writers and 2. That they enter with Prejudices upon the Reading of Scripture The true way to understand the Scripture is to know the Scope of it and never to swerve from that Good Sense and Piety joined with the Study of Languages History and Antiquity are here very serviceable A Commentator ought in a manner to transport himself into those Places and Times in which the Sacred Authors lived He should fancy himself in their Circumstances and consider what their Design was when they spoke or writ what Persons they had to deal with and what Notions Knowledge or Customs did then obtain But those who being ignorane of these things set about Expounding the Scripture can hardly do it with Success It is a Wonder if they do not miss the true Mark and if they do not obtrude forced and very often false Glosses upon their Readers On the other hand many Authors apply themselves to the examining of Scripture with a Mind full of Prejudices They explain in by the present Notions of the World Nothing is more usual with Commentators than to make the Faithful under the Old Testament speak as if they had been as well acquainted with the Truths of the Gospel as Christians are and as if those Questions and Disputes which are treated in Common-Places of Divinity had been agitated at that time When those Expositors for Instance meet with the World Righteous or Righteousness in the Psalms they fancy that David had in his Thoughts all that Divines have vented concerning Justification and upon this Supposal what do they not say or what do they not make Preachers say It has been observed that almost all Commentators are partial and endeavour to put upon the Scripture a Sense that favours the Opinions of their respective Sects This Spirit of a Party is chiefly remarkable in some of those Commentaries which these last Centuries have produced 2. The second Rule of a Commentator should be to expound clearly and familiarly the literal Sense of Scripture and never to have recourse to a mystical Exposition but in those Places where the Spirit of God directs us to look for it And yet a great many Authors do almost entirely forsake the literal Sense to pursue mystical Explications In their Opinion every thing is mystical in the Holy Scripture especially in the Old Testament They are not contented with unfolding the true Mysteries and Prophecies which manifestly relate to the Times of the Gospel but they turn all things into Figure They find Mysteries Allegories Types and Prophecies every where even in the plainest Discourses This they call searching and diving into the Scriptures But this way of expounding the Word of God is a Fountain of Illusions For as the Holy Ghost does not explain those pretended Mysteries so they must be put to their Guesses and beholden to their Imagination for the Discovery of them and he that is the most copious or lucky in his Conjectures is the greatest Man Now I leave any one to judge whether Commentators who follow no other Guide but their Imagination can avoid being very frequently mistaken and giving a great many handles to Libertines and Infidels 3. We are not to forget here the School-Commentators The Holy Scripture should be expounded in a simple and popular manner and this cannot be denied if we consider that it was given for the Instruction and the Salvation of all Men and that the Discourses of Christ and his Apostles were addressed to the Common People and to such Persons as were far from being Philosophers Nothing therefore seems more repugnant to the
of good things are sprinkled with that Spirit of Fanaticism I shall not stand to give here the Character of those Books nor to shew the mischief they may do in relation to Libertines or to those Persons who want either Knowledge or a discerning Judgment because I will not repeat what I have said of Mystical Piety Part I. Cause II. Art VIII 3. Some Authors who have put out Books of Piety have made it their whole Business to administer Comfort Those who read their Works may easily see that they looked upon the Comfortable side of Religion and that their principal design was to fill their Readers with Confidence Hope and Joy Without doubt it is a laudable and pious Design to use ones endeavours to Comfort the Afflicted and particularly good Men and I confess that we find in the Books which have been composed with that view many edifying things and noble Sentiments of Piety but for all that those Books may easily inspire Men with security when the Consolations which they dispense are not attended with great Circumspection and Prudence I could wish that all those who have published Books of this kind had well considered these two following Truths The first is that the Comforts which Religion affords belong only to true Christians so that it is an essential part of the Duty of Comforters carefully to distinguish Persons and to mark clearly who those are that have aright to Religious Comforts The Second is that it is as necessary to Sanctifie as it is to Comfort Men Nay That the Sanctifying them is the more necessary of the two because Holiness is more essential to a good Man than Consolation and Joy and also because Men are much more inclined to presume than to condemn themselves besides that there are but few who want Comfort in comparison with those who ought to be teâ—tified The Consolations of which the Books of Piety are full are intended either for Afflicted Persons or for Sinners As for the first it is better to teach them how to make a good life of their Afflictions and to bring them to examine and amend their Lives than to discourse to them upon some general Topick of Comfort which perhaps will only lay them faster asleep in security and which is besides generally misapplied For all that the Gospel says of Afflictions is commonly laid together and that too with no great Judgment and what is said only of the Afflictions of the Faithful who suffer for Christ's sake is applied to the Afflictions which are common to all Mankind It is much more necessary to teach Men how to die well than to fortify them against the fear of Death Nay we cannot give them a more substantial Comfort than if we persuade them to live well since a good Life will most certainly bring them to a happy Death But we ought to be particularly cautious when we comfort Sinners and give them assurances of the Divine Mercy for if this is not done with great circumspection we may easily harden and ruin at the same time that we are comforting them This is the mischief of those Books which speak but little of Repentance and insist much upon Confidence whose only design it is to encourage the greatest Sinners and to exhort them to a bold reliance upon God's Mercy without fearing either the heinousness or the Multitude of their Sins Such Consolations are capable of a good Sense but if they are not proposed with due explication and restrictions vast numbers of People will abuse them That which has been writ by some Authors in Books of Devotion concerning Sin and Good Works is apt to lead Men into this fancy That good Works signify nothing in order to Salvation and that Sin does not obstruct it Under pretense of answering the Accusations of the Devil and of the Law these Authors enervate the strongest Arguments for the necessity of Good Works they confute the Declarations of Scripture concerning Sanctification and they destroy as much as in them lies the Sincerity and Truth of the Precepts and threatnings of the Gospel For what they call the Accusations of the Devil and of the Law is sometimes nothing else but the just apprehensions of a guilty Conscience which are inspired by the Gospel and which should be cherished and fortified to bring Sinners to Repentance instead of being removed by ill dispensed Consolations It is said to this that Sinners are not to be driven to Despair But do we make Sinners desperate by saying that they are not in a State of Salvation when really they are not Do we not comfort them enough when we exhort them to have recourse to God's Mercy and to repent What if we should by unseasonable Consolations fill them with a vain and groundless Confidence would not that security ruin them more certainly than Desperation To make Men fearless is the ready way to undo them After all I cannot imagine why People should talk so much of Despair and seem so hugely afraid of it By the endeavours used in Books and Sermons to keep Sinners from it one would think that we had great reason to fear on that hand and that nothing were more ordinary than for Men to despair of the Divine Mercy and yet there is nothing more unusual For one Sinner who is terrified with his Sins thousands are undone by Security It is remarkable than the Scripture speaks but seldom of Despair and when we have well examined all the places which are thought to mention it we shall not find many that speak positively of it Many Church-men who have Cure of Souls confess that they never saw any Person afflicted with Despair And as for the Instances which are alledged to this purpose it is certain that what is called Desperation is commonly nothing else but a Fit of the Spleen and an effect of Grief and Melancholy So that those who make long Discourses to prevent Sinners falling into Despair take great pains to little purpose and do for the most part fight with a shadow 4. There is another Fault in some Books of Devotion quite contrary to this I have now observed which is that they terrify their Readers without reason If Authors otherwise Pious and Learned had not spoken in their Writings of the Sin against the Holy Ghost of Reprobation Despair the Power of the Devil and of some other Matters many People would have been free from those terrible Frights which the indiscreet handling of those Subjects did throw them into The reading of such Books has occasioned and does still produce great Mischiefs when they are read by Men of weak Heads that are inclined to Melancholy and the Number of such Persons is very considerable Some have fancied they had committed the Sin against the Holy Ghost and being possessed with that dismal Thought they have spent their Lives in dreadful Apprehensions of which nothing could cure them Others have imagined that their Case cure them Others have imagined that their Case was
it hath been represented in this Work The Conclusion of this Treatise THis is what I had proposed to say concerning the Causes of Corruption I might have been larger upon these Matters and have added many things which I have not touched This is a very copious Field and a Subject which can hardly be exhausted yet I think I have observed what is most material But it will be to little purpose to have detected the Causes of Corruption if those Cause do still subsist and therefore I conclude this Work with an earnest entreaty to my Readers that they will make serious Reflections upon it and that if they find that in Fact Corruption proceeds from those Causes I have mentioned they wil strive to remove them The Undertaking will no doubt appear very difficult to many They will own the Truth of what I have said but they will look upon the design of opposing the Corruption of the Age as vain and chimerical They will say that all this is very fine in the Theory but that the Practice of it is impossible I confess here is some difficulty but yet I am persuaded that what I have proposed might successfully be done at least in some respects But the general Causes of Corruption can scarce be remedied but by publick Persons I therefore apply my self here particularly to Divines and to the Pastors of the Church and I conjure them to make it their serious Business to discover and to stop the Springs of Corruption Let them turn all their Endeavours that way let them labour to dispel the Ignorance and Prejudices which so many Christians live in and to confute those Maxims and Sentiments which feed Security and Libertinism let them press with Zeal the restoring of Order and Disciplines let them incessantly lay before the People and the Magistrates the necessity of redressing several Abuses which are now in vogue let them inculcate these things and insist upon them with Zeal but at the same time with Prudence and Charity let them concert Measures among themselves let them act unanimously in so noble a Design Above all things let them take care to season young People with good Instruction and to inspire them with Sentiments of Religion and Vertue These are the Solicitudes which become the Ministers of Jesus Christ These are Enterprizes worthy of their Character and their Zeal and the things which ought chiefly to be considered in the Assemblies of the Clergy But let them not be discouraged by the Difficulties they are like to meet with They will still gain something even when they may fancy they labour in vain If they do not obtain all that they desire if they do not cure the whole Evil they will remove at least some part of it So holy an Enterprize will sooner or later be fortunate in the Issue and God will pour down a Blessing upon those Means which he himself has appointed One would think that Providence is at work to bring about happier Times and that things are tending that way This is an Age of Knowledge and Religion is now better proved and explained than ever it was There is a considerable number of judicious and learned Divines and Pastors who are deeply grieved to see the present Face of things and who are sensible how necessary it would be to oppose Corruption So many Books which are writ on purpose to revive true Christianity and to bring Men to Holiness seem to bode some blessed Revolution and to argue a general Disposition towards it God who presides over all things and particularly over that which concerns Religion bless the Designs and Endeavours of all those who have good Intentions and grant that we may quickly see Truth Piety Peace and Order intirely restored among Christians FINIS Book Printed for R. Chiswell SCRIPTORVM ECCLESIASTICORVM Historia Literaria facili prespicua methodo digesta in 2 Vol. Fol. Authore GVL. CAVE S. T. P. His Primitive Christianity 5th Edit 8º His Dissertation concerning the Government of the Ancient Church by Bishops Metropolitans and Patiâ—â—ons 8º Arch-Bishop Tenison's Conference with Pulton the Jesuit His Nine Sermons on several Occasions Seven Volumes of Arch-Bishop Tillotson's Sermons Published from the Originals by Dr. Barker Vol. 1st of Sincerity and Constancy in the Faith and Profession of the True Religion 3d Edition Corrected 1700. Vol. 2d and 3d On several Occasions Second Edition Corrected 1700. Vol. 4th Of Natural and Instituted Religion c. Second Edition Corrected 1700. Vol. 5th Proving Jesus to be the Messias c. Second Edition Corrected 1700. Volumes 6th and 7th Upon the Attributes of God Second Edition Corrected 1700. Ten Sermons on several Occasions by Bishop Patrick His Hearts Ease or Remedy against all Troubles The 7th Edition 1699. His Commentary on Genesis Exodus Leviticus and Numbers in Four Volumes His Commentary on Duteronomy 1700. Valentine's Private Devotions The 26th Edition 169â— Wharton's Sermons in Lambeth-Chappel in 2 Vol. 8º with his Life The Second Edition 1700. Dr. Conant's Sermons in Two Vol. 8º Published Bishop Williams Dr. Wake of Preparation for Death The 6th Edition 1699. Dr. Fryer's Nine Years Travels into India and Persia Illustrated with Copper Plates Fol. 1698. Bishop Willams Of the Lawfulness of Worshipping God by the Common-Prayer With several other Discourses Mr. Tulley's Discourse of the Government of the Thoughts The 3d Edition 12º 1699. The Life of Henry Chichele Arch-Bishop of Cantâ—â—â—ury in which there is a particular Relation of many Remarkable Pasâ—â—â—â— in the Reigns of Henry V. and VI. Kings of England Written in Latin by Arthur Duck L. L. D. Chancellor of the Diocess of London and Advocate of the Court of Honour Now made English and a Table of Contents annexed 8º 1699. The Judgement of the Ancient Jewish Church against the Unitarians in the Controversy upon the Holy Trinity and the Divinity of our Blessed Saviour With a Table of Matters and a Table of Texts of Scriptures occasionally explained by Peter Alix D. D. Short Memorials of Thomas Lord Fairfax Written by Himself Published 1699. The Life of John Whitgift Arch-Bishop of Canterbury in the time of Queen Elizabeth and King James I. Written by Sir Geo. Paul Comptroler of his Grace's Houshold To which is annexed a Treatise intituled Conspiracy for pretended Reformation Written in the Year 1591. By Richard Cosin L. L. D. Dean of the Arches and Official Principal to Arch-Bishop Whitgift 8o. 1699. An Exposition of the 39 Articles of the Church of England by Dr. Burnet Bishop of Sarum Fol. 1700. His Sermon to the Societies for Reformation of Manners March 25. 1700. A Practical Discourse of Religious Assemblies By Dr. William Sherlock Dean of St. Pauls The 3d. Edition 1700. ☜ Several Discourses of Repentance by the most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson late Arch-Bishop of Canterbury being the EIGHTH VOLUME Published by Dr. Barker 1700. In the Press The Fourth and Last Part of Mr. RVSHWORTH's Historical Collections Containing the Principal Matters which happen'd from the beginning of the Year 1645. where the Third Part ended to the Death of King Charles the First 1684. Impartially Related Setting forth only Matter of Fact in Order of Time without Observation or Reflection Fitted for the Press in his Life-time To which will be added Exact Alphabetical Tables