other things should be made subordinate and subservient to this great Design and be no further minded by us than they really are so For that which is our great End will subdue all other things and bring them into subjection to it and will reject them and throw them aside if they be inconsistent with it If Heaven be our utmost aim and in order to that it be our great study and endeavour to be Righteous and Holy this Resolution and Design sincerely entertained will over-rule all other Considerations and make all the things of this World to stoop and give way to that which is our chief End the Eternal Happiness and Salvation of our Souls And thus I have done with the Second Thing I proposed namely what is meant by seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and what by seeking them first I proceed in the Third place to lay down some plain Rules for our Direction and Furtherance in seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness that is in the great business of Religion First Let us always live under a lively and powerful sense of another World that we are placed here in this World but for a little while and that wholly in order to our preparation for a better and a happier Life Let this thought be often in our Minds that Eternity is the most considerable duration and the next World the place of our Everlasting abode where we must dwell and continue for ever and therefore our present state is but of little Moment and Consideration to us but only in order to our future and Everlasting Condition We may please our selves here for a little while with Toys and Trifles with Dreams and Shadows of Pleasure and Happiness and may be exercised with some Troubles and Afflictions for a short space for a moment as the Apostle calls it our light afflictions which are but for a moment and so indeed it is compared with all Eternity but the substantial and durable Happiness or Misery remain for Men in the other World and will certainly be their portion according as they have demeaned themselves in this World Now the serious Consideration of this cannot fail to put us upon vigorous preparations for another World and to make us wholly intent upon our Eternal Concernments and to resolve whatever becomes of us in this World to take effectual Care that we may be Happy for ever He that firmly believes the Immortality of his Soul and a Life after Death which will never have an end must needs take into Consideration his whole duration and bend all his Care and Thoughts how he may avoid the greatest and most lasting Misery and secure to himself an Immortality of Bliss and Happiness Secondly Let us be always under a Conviction of the absolute and indispensable necessity of Holiness and Righteousness as the only way and means whereby the Kingdom of God is to be attained and that Holiness and Happiness are not to be separated the one being a necessary Condition and Qualification for the other and consequently that it is the vainest thing in the World for any Man to hope to enter into the Kingdom of God without endeavouring after his Righteousness there is so strong a connexion between them that a Man may as reasonably expect to be well and at ease without Health as to be Happy without Holiness for this makes us like to God and our Likeness and Conformity to God is that alone which can make us capable of the Blessed Sight and Enjoyment of God We must be Partakers of a Divine Nature in order to our participation of the Divine Blessedness And the Consideration of this will effectually engage us to seek the Righteousness of God without which we shall never enter into his Kingdom and to follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. Thirdly Let us always remember that Righteousness is of a great extent and comprehends in it all goodness it takes in all the Duties of Religion and the Practice of all of them it is a Complication of all Graces and Virtues of all the Parts and Ingredients of all the Duties and Offices of a good Man To denominate a Man Righteous all Causes must concurr all the Essential Principles and Parts of Religion and Goodness must meet together Knowledge and Practice Faith and Good Works Right Opinions and Real Virtues an Orthodox Profession and a Holy Life abstaining from Sin and doing of Righteousness Purity of Heart and Unspotted Manners Godliness and Honesty the Bridling of our Tongue and the Government of our Passions and above all things Charity which is the Band of Perfection For Righteousness is our Conformity to the Law of God as Unrighteousness and Sin is the Transgression of it Now this if it be real and sincere will be uniform and universal equally respecting all the Laws of God and every part of our known Duty and will not content it self with an especial regard to one or two Precepts of the Law tho' never so considerable and then allow it self in the neglect and violation of the rest no nor with the observation of the Duties of one Table of the Law if it overlook the other no nor with Obedience to all the Commandments of God one only excepted St. James hath put this very Case and determined it that he that shall keep the whole Law save only that he offend in one point is guilty of all that is he is not sincere in his Obedience to the rest And therefore if we seek the Righteousness of God our Righteousness must be Universal as he that hath called us is holy so must we be holy in all manner of Conversation in the tenor of our Actions and the whole course of our Lives and any one Reigning Sin and Vice any gross and notorious defect in the Virtues of a good Life will spoil all our Righteousness and will effectually shut us out of the Kingdom of Heaven Fourthly Let us wisely subordinate the several parts and duties of Religion to one another according to the intrinsical worth and value of them that so we may mind every part of Religion in its due place and according to the true nature and importance of it Knowledge and Faith are in order to Practice and a good Life and signifie nothing unless they produce that the Means of Religion such as Prayer and Fasting diligent Reading and Hearing of the Word of God Reverent and Devout Receiving of the Blessed Sacrament are of less account and value than that which is the End of all these which is to make us inwardly and really good and fruitful in all the works of Righteousness which by Jesus Christ are to the Praise and Glory of God And therefore the Means of Religion which I have mentioned are to be regarded and used by us in order to the attaining of these Ends without which they are meer Formalility and Hypocrisie and instead of finding acceptance with God they are an
genuine Sense of this Expression seems to be this that those who according to the good Pleasure of God's Will and the wise dispensation of his Providence are appointed to suffer for his Cause should demean themselves so and so Let them that suffer according to the will of God that is those whom God thinks fit to call to Suffering And this agrees very well with the like Expression Chap. 3. of this Epist ver 17. for it is better if the will of God be so that is if God have so appointed it and think it fit that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing Secondly What is here meant by committing the keeping of our Souls to God as to a faithful Creator That is to deposit our Lives and all that belongs to us in a word our selves into the Hands and Custody of his Merciful Care and Providence who made us and therefore we may be sure will faithfully keep what we commit to him For as we are his Creatures he is engaged to take care of us and will not abandon the work of his own hands Besides that he hath Promised to be more especially concerned for good Men to support them in their Sufferings for a good Cause and to Reward them for it and he is faithful that hath promised And therefore there is great Reason and great Encouragement in all our Sufferings for God's Cause and Truth to commit our Souls to his Care and Custody Our Souls that is as I said before our Lives and all that belongs to us in a word our selves For so the word Soul is frequently used both in the Old and New Testament Psal 7. 5. Let the Enemy persecute my Soul and take it that is my Life for so it follows in the next words yea let him tread doâ—n my Life upon the Earth And Psal 54. 3. Oppressors seek after my Soul And Psal 59. 3. they lie in waâ—t for my Soul that is my Life And Psal 16. 10. Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell my Soul that is my self thou wilt not suffer me to continue in the Grave and under the power of Death but wilt raise me up to Life again And so likewise in the New Testament Mar. 8. 35. Whosoever will save his life shall lose it but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospels the same shall save it The same word which is here rendred Life in the very next Verse is rendred Soul For what shall it profit a Man if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soul that is his Life And so likewise Joâ— 12. 25. He that loveth his Life shall lose it And he that hateth his Life in this World in the Original the Word signifies Soul He that hateth his Life in this World that is who neglecteth and exposeth his Life in this World for the sake of Christ shall keep it unto Life Eternal And Luke 9. 25. that which the other Evangelists render by the word Soul or Life he renders himself for what is a Man advantaged if he gain the whole World and lose himself And so here in the Text to commit the keeping of our Souls to God is to commit our selves to his Care and Providence Thirdly What is here meant by committing our selves to him in well-doing By well-doing is here meant a fixt Purpose and Resolution of doing our Duty notwithstanding all hazards and sufferings which is call'd by St. Paul Rom. 2. 7. A patient continuance in well-doing It signifies sometimes acts of Goodness and Charity but in this Epistle it is taken in a larger sense for Constancy and Resolution in the doing of our Duty as Chap. 2. 15. for so is the will of God that with well-doing that is by a Resolute Constancy in a good Course ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish Men. And ver 20. But if when ye do well and sâ—ffer for it that is if when ye suffer for well-doing ye take it patiently this is acceptable with God And Chap. 3. ver 6. As long as ye do well and are not afraid with any amazement that is are Resolute and Constant in doing your Duty notwithstanding all Threatnings and Terrors And ver 17. For it is better if the will of God be so that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing that is for your Religion and Constancy in so good a Cause as Christians and not as Criminals upon any other account So that the plain meaning of the words is as if the Apostle had said wherefore being forewarned of Suffering and Persecution for the Cause of Religion the summ of my direction and advice upon the whole matter is this that since it is the will of God that ye should suffer upon this account commit your selves in the constant discharge of your Duty and a good Conscience to the particular Care and Providence of Almighty God as the faithful Creatour And now I come to handle the particular Points contained in the words and they are these Three First That when Men do suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion they may with confidence commit themselves their Lives and all that is dear to them to the particular and more especial Care of the Divine Providence Secondly Always provided that we do nothing contrary to our Duty and a good Conscience for this the Apostle means by committing our selves to God in well-doing If we step out of the way of our Duty or do any thing contrary to it God's Providence will not be concerned for us to bear us out in such Sufferings Thirdly I shall Consider what ground of Comfort and Encouragement the Consideration of God as a faithful Creatour affords to us in all our Sufferings for a good Cause and a good Conscience First When Men do suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion and God's Truth they may with confidence and good assurance commit themselves their Lives and all that is dear to them to the particular and more especial Care of his Providence In the handling of this I shall Consider these three things 1. When Men may be said to Suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion and when not 2. How far they may rely upon the Providence of God to bear them out in these Sufferings 3. What â—â—ound and Reason there is to expect the more Particular and Especial Care of God's Providence in case of such Sufferings 1. When Men may be said to Suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion and God's Truth and when not In these Cases First When Men Suffer for not renouncing the true Religion and because they will not openly declare against it and Apostatize from it But it will be said that in all these Cases the question is what is the true Religion To which I answer That all Discourses of this Nature about Suffering for Religion do suppose the truth of some Religion or other And among Christians the truth of the Christian Religion
God is said to give over the abominable Heathen to a Reprobate Mind As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge God gave them over 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to an Injudicious and Undiscerning Mind When Men abandon themselves to Wickedness and Impiety God withdraws his Grace from them and by his secret and just Judgment they are deprived of the Faculty of discerning between Truth and Error between Good and Evil. 2 Thes 2. 10 11 12. It is said that the Man of Sin should come with all deceiveableness of Unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the love of the Truth that they might be Saved And that for this Cause God would send them strong delusion that they should believe a Lye that they all might be Damned who believed not the Truth but had pleasure in Unrighteousness And it is just with God that Men of Vicious Inclinations and Practices should be exposed to the Cheat of the grossest and vilest Impostors God's Providence is concerned for Men of honest Minds and sincere Intentions But if Men take pleasure in Unrighteousness God takes no further care of them but delivers them up to their own hearts Lusts to be seduced into all those Errors into which their own vain Imaginations and their foolish hearts are apt to lead them Thus have I endeavoured as briefly as I could to shew that an honest Mind that sincerely desires and endeavours to do the Will of God is the best security against fatal Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion both because it disposeth a Man to make a true Judgment of Divine Things and because the Providence of God is more especially concerned for the security of such Persons There remains â—an Objection to be answered to which this Discourse may seem liable but this together with the Inferences which may be made from this Discourse I shall referr to another opportunity The Second SERMON ON JOHN VII 17. If any Man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self I Made entrance into these words the last Day in which our Saviour declares to us that an honest and sincere Mind and an hearty Desire and Endeavour to do the Will of God is the best Security and Preservative against dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if any Man desire to do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self Now there are I told you two great Mistakes in Religion To reject any thing which really is from God and to receive and entertain any thing as from God which is not really from him And therefore I proposed from this Text to shew how a sincere Desire and Endeavour to do the Will of God is a security to Men against both these Dangers namely upon these two Accounts First Because he who sincerely Desires and Endeavours to do the Will of God is hereby better qualified and disposed to make a right Judgment of Spiritual and Divine Things and that for these two Reasons I. Because such a Person hath a truer Notion of God and Divine Things He that resembleth God most is like to understand him best because he finds those Perfections in some measure in himself which he Contemplates in the Divine Nature and nothing gives a Man so sure a Notion of Things as Practice and Experience II. Because such a Person is more Impartial in his search and enquiry after Truth and therefore more likely to find it and to discern it from Error That Man only stands fair for the entertainment of Truth who is under the Power and Dominion of no Vice or Lust because he hath nothing to corrupt or bribe him to seduce him and draw him aside in his enquiry after Truth He hath no manner of concernment that the contrary Proposition should be true having the indifferency of a Traveller and no other Interest but to find out the right way to Heaven and to walk in it But if a Man be biass'd by any Lust and addicted to any vicious Practice he is then an interested Person and concern'd to make a partial Judgment of Things and is under a great Temptation to Infidelity when the Truths of God are proposed to him because whatever the Evidence for them be he cannot but be unwilling to own the Truths of those Doctrines which are so contrary to his inclination and interest Secondly Another Reason why they who sincerely desire to do the Will of God have a greater security in discerning Truth from Error is because the Providence of God is more especially concern'd to preserve such Persons from dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Things which concern their Eternal Salvation When Men are of a teachable Temper of an humble and obedient frame of Mind God loves to reveal himself and his Truth to them Psal 25. 9. The Meek will he guide in Judgment and the Meek will he teach his way The proper disposition of a Scholar is to be willing to Learn and that which in Religion we are to Learn is what is the good and acceptable Will of God that we may do it for Practice is the end of Knowledge If ye know these Things saith our Saviour happy are ye if ye do them It is necessary to know the Will of God but we are only happy in the doing of it and if any Man be desirous to do the Will of God his Goodness is such that he will take effectual care to secure such a one against dangerous and fatal Errors He that hath an honest Mind and would do the Will of God if he knew it God will not suffer him to remain ignorant of it or to be mistaken about it in any necessary Point of Faith or Practice Thus far I have gone I shall now proceed to remove an Objection to which this Discourse may seem liable and then draw some Inferâ—nces from the whole After all that hath been said some perhaps may ask Is every good Man then secure from all Error and Mistake in Matters of Religion This is a mighty Priviledge indeed But do not we find the contrary in Experience That an honest Heart and a weak Head do often meet together For answer to this I shall lay down these following Propositions First That if there were any necessity that a good Man should be secured from all manner of Error and Mistake in Religion this Probity of Mind and sincere desire to do the Will of God is the best way to do it because such a Temper and Disposition of Mind gives a Man the best advantages to discern betwixt Truth and Error and God is most likely to reveal his Will to such Persons But there is no necessity of this because a Man may be a good Man and go to Heaven notwithstanding a great many Mistakes in Religion about things not necessary For while we are in this
upbraid the degenerate state of the Christian World at this day which does so abound in all kind of Wickedness and Impiety so that we may cry out as he did upon reading the Gospel Profectò aut hoc non est Evangelium aut nos non sumus Evangelici Either this is not the Gospel which we read and the Christian Religion which we profess or we are no Christians We are so far from that pitch of goodness and Virtue which the Christian Religion is apt to raise Men to and which the Apostle here calls the Divine Nature that a great part of us are degenerated into Beasts and Devils wallowing in abominable and filthy Lusts indulging our selves in those Devilish Passions of Malice and Hatred of Strife and Discord of Revenge and Cruelty of Sedition and Disturbance of the Publick Peace to that degree as if the Grace of God had never appeared to us to teach us the contrary And therefore it concerns all those who have the face to call themselves Christians to demean themselves at another rate and for the Honour of their Religion and the Salvation of their own Souls to have their Conversation as becometh the Gospel of Christ and by departing from the Vicious practices of this present Evil World to do what in them lies to prevent the Judgments of God which hang over us or if they cannot do that to save themselves from this untoward Generation A SERMON ON 1 PETER IV. 19. Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their Souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator THIS Epistle was written by St. Peter who was the Apostle of the Circumcision to the dispersed Jews who were newly Converted to Christianity And the Design of it is to Confirm and Establish them in the Profession of it and to instruct them how they ought to demean themselves towards the Heathen or Gentiles among whom they lived and more particularly to arm and prepare them for those Sufferings and Persecutions which he foretels would shortly overtake them for the Profession of Christianity that when they should happen they might not be surprised and startled at them as if some strange and unexpected thing were come upon them at the 12 v. of this Chapter Beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery Tryal which is to try you that is do not wonder and be not asâ—onish'd at it as if some strange thing hapned unto you And then he instructs them more particularly how they ought to behave themselves under those Trâ—als and Sufferings when they should happen not only with Patience which men ought to exercise under all kinds of Sufferings upon what Account and Cause soever but with Joy and Cheerfulness considering the Glorious Example and Reward of them v. 13. but rejoyce in as much as ye are partakers of Christs Sufferings that when his Glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding Joy And at the 14. ver he tells them that besides the Encouragement of so great an Example and so glorious a Reward they should be supported and assisted in a very extraordinary manner by the Spirit of God resting upon them in a glorious manner as a Testimony of the Divine Power and Presence with them v. 14. If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you or as it is in the best Copies for the Spirit of Glory and of Power even the Spirit of God resâ—eth upon you that is the Glorious Power of the Divine Spirit is present with you to comfort and bear up your Spirits under these Sufferings But then he cautions them to take great Care that theiâ— Sufferings be for a good Cause and a good Conscience v. 15. But let none of you suffer as a Mâ—â—therer or as a Thief or as an evil-doer that is as an Offender in any kind against Human Laws made to preserve the Peace and good Order of the World or as a busy-body in other mens matters that is as a pragmatical Person that meddles out of his own Sphere to the Disquiet and Disturbance of Human Society For to suffer upon any of these Accounts would be matter of Shame and Trouble but not of Joy and Comfort But if they suffer'd upon Account of the Profession of Christianity this would be no Cause of Shame and Reproach to them but they ought rather to give God Thanks for calling them to suffer in so good a Cause and upon so glorious an Account V. 16. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian if that be his only Crime let him not be ashamed but let him gloriâ—ie Gâ—d on this behalf for the time is come that Judgment must begin at the House of God that is the wise and just Providence of God hath so order'd it at this Time for very good Reasons and Ends that the first Calamities and Sufferings should fall upon Christians the peculiar People and Church of God for their Tryal and a Testimony to the Truth of that Religion which God was now planting in the World And if iâ— first begin at us that is at us Jews who were the ancient People of God and have now embraced and entertained the Revelation of the Gospel what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God that is how much more severely will God deal with the rest of the Jews who have crucified the Son of God and still persist in their Infidelity and Disobedience to the Gospel And if the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear that is if good Men be saved with so much Difficulty and must through so many tribulations enter into the kingdom of God what will become of all Ungodly and Impenitent Sinners Where shall they appear How shall they be able to stand in the Judgment of the great Day From the Consideration of all which the Apostle makes this Inference or Conclusion in the last ver of this Chapter Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their Souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator Thus you see the Connexion and Dependance of these words upon the Apostle's foregoing Discourse I shall explain the several Expressions in the Text and then handle the main Points contained in them The Expressions to be explained are these What is meant by those that suffer according to the will of God what by committing the keeping of our Souls to God â—s unto a faithful Creator and what by well-doing 1. What is meant by suffering according to the will of God This may be understood of Suffering in a good Cause such as God will approve But this is not so probable because this is mentioned afterwards in the following Expressions of committing the keeping of our Souls to God in well-doing that is in suffering upon a good Account And therefore the plain and
is taken for granted where ever we speak of Mens Suffering Persecution for it And the plainest Case among Christians is when they are Persecuted because they will not openly deny and renounce the Christian Religion And this was generally the Case of the Primitive Christians they were threatned with Tortures and Death because they would not renounce Jesus Christ and his Religion and give demonstration thereof by offering Sacrifices to the Heathen-gods Secondly Men do truly suffer for the Cause of Religion when they are Persecuted only for making an open Profession of the Christian Religion by joyning in the Assemblies of Christians for the Worship of God tho' they be not urged to deny and disclaim it but only to conceal and dissemble the Profession of it so as to forbear the maintenance and defence of it upon fitting Occasions against the Objections of those who are Adversaries of it For to conceal the Profession of it and to decline the defence of it when just occasion is offer'd is to be ashamed of it which our Saviour Interprets to be a kind of denial of it and is opposed to the confessing of him before Men Mat. 10. 32 33. Whosoever shall confess me before Men him will I also confess before my Father which is in Heaven But whosoever shall deny me before Men him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven And this by St. Mark is express'd by being ashamed of Christ that is afraid and ashamed to make an open profession of him and his Religion Mark 8. 38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and finful generation of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels And this likewise was the Case of the Primitive Christians under the moderate Emperors when the Persecution of them was not so hot as to drive them to a denial of Christ provided they would be contented to conceal and dissemble their Religion in that case they did not hunt them out nor Prosecute them to renounce their Religion if they made no discovery of themselves But yet they who suffered because they would not conceal their Profession of Christianity did truly suffer for the Cause of Religion Thirdly Men do likewise truly suffer for the Cause of Religion when they suffer for not betraying it by any indirect and unworthy means such as among the Primitive Christians was the delivering up their Bibles to the Heathen to be burnt and destroyed by them For to give up that holy Book which is the great Instrument of our Religion is in Effect to give up Christianity it self and to Consent to the utter extirpation of it And such likewise is the Case of those who suffer in any kind for not contributing to break down the Fences of Religion in any Nation where the Providencâ— of God hath given it a Legal Establishment and Security or in a word for refusing to countenance and further any Design which visibly tends to the Ruine of Religion For to destroy Religion and to take away that which hinders the Destruction of it are in Effect much the same thing Fourthly Men do truly suffer for the Cause of Religion when they suffer for the Maintenance and Defence of any necessary and Fundamental Article of it tho they be not required to renounce the whole Christian Religion For what St. Paul says of the Article of the Resurrection of the dead is true of any other necessary Article of the Christian Religion that the Denyal of it is a Subversion of the whole Christian Faith because it tends directly to the overthrowâ—ng of Christianity being a Wound given to it in a Vital and Essential Part. And this was the Case of those who in any Age of Christianity have been persecuted by Hereticks for the Defence of any Article of Christianity And I cannot but observe by the Way that after the Heathen Peâ—secutions were ceased Persecution was first begun among Christians by Hereticks and hath since been taken up and carried much beyond that bad Pattern by the Church of Rome which besides a standing Inquisition in all Countries which are entirely of that Religion a Court the like whereto for the clancular and secret Manner of Proceeding for the unjust and arbitrary Rules of it for the barbarous Usage of Mens Persons and the Cruelty of its Torments to extort Confessions from them the Sun never saw erected under any Government in the World by Men of any Religion whatsoever I say which besides this Court hath by frequent Croisadoes for the Extirpation of Hereticks and by many Bloody Massacres in France and Ireland and several other places destroyed far greater numbers of Christians than all the ten Heathen Persecutions and hath of late revived and to this very Day continues the same or greater Cruelties and a fiercer Persecution of Protestants if all the Circumstances of it be considered than was ever yet practised upon them and yet whilst this is doing almost before our eyes in one of our next neighbour Nations they have the Face to complain of the Cannibal Laws and bloody Persecutions of the Church of England and the Confidence to set up for the great Patrons of Liberty of Conscience and Enemies of all Compulsion and Force in Matters of Religion Fifthly Men do truly suffer for the Cause of God and Religion when they suffer for asserting and maintaining the Purity of the Christian Doctrine and Worship and for opposing and not complying with those gross Errors and Corruptions which Superstition and Ignorance had in a long Course of Time brought into the Christian Religion Upon this Account many Good People suffer'd in many past Ages for resisting the growing Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome which at first crept in by Degrees but at last broke in like a mighty Flood which carryed down all before it and threatned Ruin and Destruction to all that opposed them Upon this Account also infinite Numbers suffered among the Waldenses and Albigenses in Bohemia and in England and in most other Countries in this Western Part of Christendom And they who suffer'd upon this Accountâ— suffer'd in a good Cause and for the Testimony of the Truth Sixthly and Lastly Men do truly suffer for the cause of Religion when they suffer for not disclaiming and renouncing any clear and undoubted Truth of God whatsoever yea though it be not a Fundamental Point and Article of Religion And this is the Case of those many Thousands who ever since the IV. Council of Lateran which was in the Year 1215 when Transubstantiation was first defin'd to be an Article of Faith and necessary to Salvation to be believ'd were persecuted with Fire and Sword for not understanding those words of our Saviour this iâ— my Body which are so easily capable of a reasonable Sense in the absurd and impossible Sense of Transubstantiation And though this disowning of this Doctrin be
Chap. ver 14. for the Name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you The Spirit of God is here promised to strengthen and support all that Suffer for the Name of Christ in a very conspicuous and glorious manner according to that Prayer of St. Paul Col. 1. 11. That Christians might be strengthned with all might according to God's Glorious Power unto all Patience and Long-suffering with joyfulness For when God is pleased to exercise good Men with Trials more than Humane and such Sufferings as are beyond the common rate of Humane Strength and Patience to bear he hath engaged himself to endue and assist them with more than Humane Courage and Resolution So St. Paul tells the Corinthians who had not then felt the utmost rage of Persecution 1 Cor. 10. 13. No Temptâ—tion or Trial hath yet befallen you but what is common to Man that is nothing but what is frequently incident to Humane Nature and what by Humane strength with an ordinary assistance of God's Grace may be grapled withal But in case God shall call you to extraordinary Sufferings he is faithful that hath promised who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it that is as he hath ordered and appointed so great a Temptation or Trial to befall you so he will take care that it shall have a happy issue by enabling you to bear it by affording you grace and strength equal to the violence and power of the Temptation For as he is said to fall into temptation that is Conquered by it so he is said to get out of it or escape it who is enabled to bear it and in so doing gets the better of it And for this we may rely upon the faithfulness of God who hath Promised that we shall not be tried above our strength either not above the strength which we have or not above the strength which he will afford us in such a case And why then should we be daunted at the apprehension of any Suffering whatsoever if we be secured that our Comfort shall be encreased in proportion to our Trouble and our strength in proportion to the sharpness and weight of our Sufferings Or else Thirdly In case of Temporary falling the Providence and Goodness of God will give them the Grace and Opportunity of recovering themselves from their fall by Repentance For the Providence of God may sometimes for wise Ends and Reasons see it fit to leave good Men to their own Frailty and to faint and fall shamefully under Sufferings so as to renounce and deny the Truth sometimes to punish their vain Confidence in themselves as in the case of Peter who declared more Resolution and bare it out with a greater Confidence than any of the Disciples when he said to our Saviour tho' all men forsake thee yet will not I and yet after this he fell more shamefully than any of the rest so as to deny his Master with horrid Oaths and Imprecations and this tho' our Saviour had prayed particularly for him that his Faith might not fail From which Instance we may learn that God doth not engage himself absolutely to secure Good Men from falling in case of a great Temptation and Tryal but if they be sincere he will not permit them to fall finally though he may suffer them to miscarry grievously for a time to covince them of the Vanity of their Confidence in themselves and their own Strength Sometimes God my suffer Good Men to fall in order to their more glorious Recovery and the greater Demonstration and Triumph of their Faith and Constancy afterwards which was the Case of that happy Instrument of our Reformation here in England Arch-bishop Cranmer who after he had been so great a Champion of the Reformation was so overcome with Fear upon the Apprehension of his approaching Sufferings as to subscribe those Errors of the Chuch of Rome which he had so stoutly opposed a great part of his Life But he did not long continue in this State but by the Grace of God which had not forsaken him was brought to Repentance and when he came to suffer gave such a Testimony of it and of his Faith and Constancy as was more glorious and more to the Confirmation of the Faith of others than a simple Martyrdom could have been if he had not fallen for when he was brought to the Stake he put his right Hand withwhich he had signed his Recantation into the Fire and with an undaunted Constancy held it there til it was quite burnt for a Testimony of his true Repentance for that foul Miscarriage and when he had done gave the rest of his Body to be burnt which he endured with great Courage and Cheerfulness to the last So that he made all the amends possible for so great a Fault and the Goodness of God and the Power of his Grace was more glorified in his Repentance and Recovery than if he had never fallen But what shall we say when notwithstanding these Promises of extraordinary Comfort and Support in case of extraordinary Sufferings so great Numbers are seen to faint in the day of Trial and to fall off from their Stedfastness Of which there were many sad Instances among the Primitive Christians and have likewise been of late in our own Times and n places nearer to us This I confess is a very melancholy Consideration but yet I think is capable of a sufficient Answer And first of all let this be establish'd for a firm and undoubted Principle that God is faithful to his Promise and therefore we ought much rather to suppose in all these Cases that there is some Default on our part than any Failure and Unfaithfullness on God's Part. Thus St. Paul determines in a like Case when the Promise of God seemed not to be made good to the Jews he lays the Blame of it on their Unbelief but acquits God of any Unfaithfulness in his Promise Rom. 3. 3 4. For what if some did not believe shall their unbelief make the Faith or Fidelity of God without effect God forbid Yea let God be true but every man a lyar This I confess does not answer the Difficulty but yet it ought to incline and dispose us to interpret what can fairly be offer'd for the Removal of it with all the Favour that may be on God's side I say then Secondly That when good Men fall in Case of extraordinary Temptation and recover again by Repentance and give greater demonstration afterwards of their Constancy and Resolution in the Cause of God and his Truth the Faithfulness of God in his Promises is sufficiently vindicated as in the Cases I mentioned Because the Promise of God is not absolute that good Men shall be preserv'd from falling but that the Temptation shall have a hâ—ppy issue and that they shall not finally
support you under Sufferings and to reward them Thus much for the first Point namely that when Men do suffer truly for the Cause of Religion they may with confidence commit themselves to the more Peculiar Care of the Divine Providence The Second SERMON ON 1 PETER IV. 19. Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their Souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator FROM these words I proposed to Consider these three Points First That when Men do Suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion they may with confidence commit themselves their Lives and all that is dear to them to the peculiar and more especial Care of the Divine Providence Secondly This we may do always provided that we be careful of our Duty and do what is required on our Part and that neither to avoid Sufferings nor to rescue our selves out of them we do any thing contrary to our Duty and a good Conscience for this is the meaning of committing our selves to God in well-doing Thirdly To shew what Ground of Comfort and Encouragement the Consideration of God under the Notion of a Faithful Creator does afford to us under all our Sufferings for a good Cause and a good Conscience The First of these Points I have treated on at large in my former Discourse I proceed now to the Second Namely when in all our Sufferings for the Cause of Religion we may with Confidence and good Assurance commit our selves to the peculiar and more especial Care of God's Providenceâ— This is to be understood always provided that we be careful of our Duty and do what is required on our part and that neither to avoid Sufferings nor to rescue our selves out of them we do any thing contrary to our Duty and a good Conscience And this I told you was the meaning of committing our selves to God in well-doing for if we either neglect our Duty or step out of the Way of it by doing things contrary to it the Providence of God will not be concern'd to bear us out in such Sufferings So that in our Sufferings for the Cause of God and Religion to commit our selves to him in well-doing may reasonably comprehend in it these following Particulars 1. Provided always that we neglect no lawful Means of our Preservation from Sufferings or our Deliverance out of them In this Case Men do not commit themselves to the Providence of God but cast themselves out of his Care and Protection they do not trust God but tempt him and do as it were try whether he will stand by us when wâ— desert our selves and bring us out of Trouble when we would take no Care would use no Endeavours to prevent it If we will needlesly provoke Trouble and run our selves upon sufferings if we will neglect our selves and the Lawful Means of our preservation if we will give up and part with those Securities of our Religion which the Providence of God and the Laws of our Country have given us if we our selves will help to pull down the Fence which is about us if we will disarm our selves and by our own Act expose our selves naked and open to Danger and Sufferings why should we think in this Case that God will help us when we would not help our selves by those lawful Ways which the Providence of God had put into our hands All Trust in God and Dependance upon his Providence does imply that we joyn Prayer and Endeavour together Faith in God and a prudent and diligent use of Means If we lazily trust the Providence of God and so cast all our Care upon him as to take none at all our selves God will take no Care of us In vain do we rely upon the Wisdom and Goodness and Power of God in vain do we importune and tire Heaven with our Prayers to help us against our Enemies and Persecutors if we our selves will do nothing for our selves In vain do we hope that God will maintain and defend our Religion against all the secret Contrivances and open Assaults of our Enemies if we who are united in the Profession of the same Religion and in all the Essentials of Faith and Worship will for some small Differences in lesser Matters which are of no moment in Comparison of the things wherein we are agreed I say if for such slight matters we will divide and fall out among our selves if when the Enemy is at the Gates we will still pursue our Heats and Animosities and will madly keep open those Breaches which were foolishly made at first what can we expect but that the common Enemy should take the Advantage and enter in at them and whilst we are so unseasonably and senselesly contending with one another that they should take the Opportuity which we give them to destroy us all 2. Provided likewise that we do not attempt our own Preservation or Deliverance from Suffering by evil and unlawful Means We must do nothing that is contrary to our Duty and to a good Conscience nor comply with any thing or lend our helping Hand thereto that apparently tends to the Ruin of our Religion neither to divert and put off Sufferings for the present not to rescue our selves from under them because we cannot with Confidence commit our selves to the Providence of God but in wellâ—doing This is an Eternal Rule from whence we must in no Case depart That men must do nothing contrary to the Rules and Precepts of Religion no not for the sake of Religion it self We must not break any Law of God nor disobey the lawful Commands of lawful Authority to free our selves from any Sufferings whatsoever because the Goodness of no End can sanctifie Evil Means and make them lawful We must not speak deceitfully for God nor lye no not for the Truth nor kill men though we could thereby do God and Religion the greatest Service And tho' all the Casuists in the World should teach the contrary Doctrine as they generally do in the Church of Rome yet I would not doubt to oppose to all those the single Authority of St. Paul who expresly condemns this Principle and brands it for a dâ—mnable Doctrine that Evil may be done by us that Good may come Rom. 3. 8. And not as we be slanderously reported and as some affirm thas we say let us do evil that good may come whose damnation is just St. Paul it seems looked upon it as a most devilish Calumny to insinuate that the Christian Religion gives the least Countenance to such damnable Doctrines and Doings as these and pronounceth their Damnation to be just who either teach any such Principle as the Doctrine of Christianity or practise according to it Let those look to it who teach That a right Intention and a good End will render things which are otherwise evil and unlawful not only lawful to be done by us but in many Cases meritorious especially where the good of the Church and
time of the general suspension of Trade and Business from an apprehension of approaching troubles by reason whereof both the numbers and the necessities of the Poor are greatly and daily increased among us and besides the Poor of our own Nation God hath sent us great numbers from abroad I mean those who are fled hither for shelter from that violent storm of Persecution which hath lately fallen upon them for the Cause of our common Religion According to the compassion we shew to them we may expect that God will either preserve us from the like Sufferings or graciously support us under them What do we know but that God is now trying us and hath purposely put this opportunity into our hands of preventing or mitigating or shortning our own Sufferings according as we extend our Charity and Pity to those who have suffered so deeply for the Cause of God and his truth Seventhly Provided in the last place and above all that we be sincere in our Religion and endeavour to be universally good and holy in all manner of Conversation and to abound in all the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God This is the largest sense of well-doing and the most necessary of all the rest to prepare us for Sufferings and to give us Courage and Constancy under them and likewise to engage the Providence of God to a tender care of us and Concernment for us if he shall â—ee it fit to bring us into a State of Suffering But if we live in open Contempt and Violation of God's Laws if we make no Conscience of our Ways and Actions we cannot possibly have any well grounded Trust and Confidence in God for he hates all the workers of iniquity and his Providence sets it self against them for evil Bad Men draw many Mischiefs and Inconveniencies upon themselves as the Natural Consequence of their Actions but besides this the Vengeance of God haunts and pursues Evil-doers and his just Providence many times involves them in many Difficulties and Dangers besides and beyond the Natural Course of things Upon the wicked says David he will rain snares So that as ever we expect the comfortable Effects of the Divine Care and Providence we must live in a dutiful Obedience to God's Holy Will and Laws Bad Men may make a Profession of the true Religion and may in some sort believe it tho' they do not live according to it and yet perhaps for all this out of meer Generosity and Obstinacy of Mind they cannot bear to be threatned and terrified out of the Profession of the Truth and will endure a great deal of Trouble and Inconvenience before they will renounce it knowing themselves to be so far in the Right that they stand for the Truth and hoping perhaps thereby to make some amends for their bad Practice But when all is done nothing gives a Man true Courage and Resolution like the Testimony of our own Hearts concerning our own Sincerity and the Conscience of well-doing And on the contrary he that hath not the Resolution and Patience to mortifie his Lusts and to restrain his Appetites and to subdue his irregular Passions for the sake of God and Religion will not easily bring himself to submit to great Sufferings upon that Account There is considerable Difficulty in the Practice of Religion and the resolute Course of a Holy Life but surely it is much easier to live as Religion requires we should do than to lay down our Lives for it and as I have told you upon another Occasion he that cannot prevail with himself to live like a Saint will much more hardly be perswaded to die a Martyr I proceed to the Third Point namely what ground of Comfort and Encouragement the Consideration of God under the Notion of a faithful Creator does afford to us under all our Sufferings for a good Censcience and a good Cause Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their Souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator And in this I shall be very brief And this is a firm ground of Comfort and Encouragement to us under all our Sufferings for God to consider him as the Author of our Beings or as it is exprest in the Text as a faithful Creator one that is not fickle and inconstant in his Affection and Kindness to his Creatures but is true to his own Design and will not abandon and forsake the Work of his own Hands So great a Benefit as that of our Beings freely conferr'd upon us is but an earnest of God's further Kindness to us and Future care of us if by our ill Carriage towards him we do not render our selves unworthy and incapable of it That we are God's Creatures is a Demonstration that he hath Kindness for us if he had not he would never have made us as it is excellently said in the Wisdom of Solomon Cap. 11. 23. 24. Thou hast mercy upon all for thou lovest all the things that are and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made For never wouldst thou have made any thing if thou hadst hated it And ver 26. Thou sparest all for they are thine O Lord thou lover of Souls To whom then may be with so much Confidence commit our selves as to him who freely gave us our Being From whom may we expect so tender a Regard and Consideration of our Case and all the Circumstances of it as from this great Founder and Benefactor For he that made us knows our Frame and whereof we are made and how much we are able to bear he considers our Strength or rather our Weakness and what Courage and Resolution he hath endued us withal and what Comfort and Support we stand in need of in the day of Tribulation And as they who make Armour are wont to try that which they think to be good and well temper'd with a stronger Charge not to break and hurt it but to prove and praise it So God exerciseth those whom he hath fitted and tâ—mpered for it with manyfold Temptations that the tryal of their faith as St. Peter expresseth it 1 Pet. 1. 7. being much more precious thâ—n of gold tried in the Firâ— may be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ So that this Consideration that we are God's Creatures does as I may say oblige him in Faithfulness to his own Act and in Consequence of his bringing us into Being at first to be concern'd for us afterwards so as never to abandon us nor quite to take away his loving-kindness and Mercy from us till we are good for nothing and do in a manner cease to be what he made us that is Reasonable Creatures A Person or People must have proceeded to the utmost degree of degeneracy when God will consider them no longer as his Creatures nor shew any Pity or Favour to them things must be come to extremity when God deals