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A66354
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A sermon preach'd before the Societies for Reformation of Manners, in Dublin July the 18th, 1700 / by Daniel Williams ; published at the desire of the said Societies.
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Williams, Daniel, 1643?-1716.; Societies for the Reformation of Manners.
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1700
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Wing W2656; ESTC R38620
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18,449
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30
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contest is for even Vices reproved by the Light of Nature 1. Joh. 3. 8. and Works the Lord Jesus came to destroy And who they are that contend with you even no other than the Wicked who make God their Enemy by breaking his Laws who espouse the Cause of Satan against that of Christ's and when awaken'd will Condemn their own Follies and approve of your Restraints Ought you to despond as if too seeble to carry on this Work When you have Christ and all Men of true publick Spirits on your side when your Attempts are sustained by good Laws when you are blessed already with so considerable Success and the Cause is God's in whose Power are the Hearts of all Men. Dare you be so impressed by Discouragements as to cease this Divine Work when it is so Noble in it self so peculiarly the Care of the Almighty so certain of Success at last so Glorious in its Rewards and your time so short to labour or suffer before you wear the Crown I joyn with my Brethren in bidding you be of good Courage Isa. 41. 6. and to depend on God's Protection which hath hitherto so interposed that as yet you have not resisted unto Blood Heb. 12. 4. striving against Sin 2. Manage this Reforming Work as will most tend to its Success To this end keep far from the Evils you do rebuke in others Convince by good Examples such as you inforce by Penalties Watch your Temper and Words that you give no cause of stumbling to those with whom you contend Let your Contests be with Men as Wicked and not from By-respects let it be without Partiality with all whom you find obstinately Wicked Use Prudence as well as Conscience in all your Undertakings therefore never exceed the Laws neither accuse any whom you cannot fully convict Make it appear to the Criminal that it's sence of Duty and not a meddling Temper it 's a design of Reforming Sinners and not Enmity Cruelty or Selfish Ends which encline you to get them punished Finally be Humble Modest and Watchful fairhfully Reform to the utmost of your Power and back all your Attempts with fervent Prayer to God for his Conduct Success and Blessing 2. I shall now address my self more Generally to all who hear me and contract the Improvement of this Truth to two Heads 1. Love and readily submit to Reforming Means Am. 5. 10. I wish too many are not guilty of hating him who reproveth whereas such a Man is your best Friend for he exposeth himself to pluck you as a Brand out of the Burning Jude 23. He spends his time and adventures your Indignation to keep you from destroying your self and others It 's great folly to embrace the Flatterer who serves his own turn and to abhor a Reformer who is intent on your truest Interest Be also willing to amend your ways and doings Jer. 7. 5. Tremble lest you be in their number who hate and refuse to be Reformed How sad is it to be fond of your ugliest Blemishes and unwilling to be delivered from your Mortal Disease Whatever mistaken Conceits possess you it 's your Shame you glory in it 's Self-ruin you are so resolved on Phil. 3. 19. and your obstinate Adherence to your vitious Courses is no other than desperate Madness the Considerate do now esteem it so Pro. 1. 28. and in a while it will be confessed such by your selves God is now essaying your Amendment by exciting his Servants to reprove and punish your Villanies for this you will be accountable as well as for all his other Methods of Conversion Whiles he strives there 's hope of thy reclaiming but know he numbers the days of his Patience and the means by which he would cleanse thee and if thou still resist he will give thee up to thy Lusts and soon destroy thee as incorrigible because I have Purged thee Ezek. 24. 13. and thou wast not Purged thou shalt not be Purged any more from thy Filthiness until I have caused my Fury to rest upon thee Oh then that you would strive to obey all the ways whereby God instructs you Engage your minds to serious Consideration that so things may be represented in a true Light and with that pressing Weight as to affect you suitably to their Nature then it may be expected that you will be willing to part with the Abominations which you dare not justifie on a Death-bed I charge you in the Name of that God who is your Owner and will be your Iudge that you love not what he abhors that you venture not on what he so plainly seriously and oft forbids and that you be not such Fools as to make a mock at those Sins which will render you infinitely more miserable Prov. 14. 9. than all the Punishments of God or Man in this Life can make you In a word blush that your Lusts should ever be so loved as to make you content to suffer any thing upon their Account and now apply your selves to Christ for liberty from that Thraldom wherein your Vice restrains you that so the good Laws of Men may not be a Terror nor God an Enemy 2. Let your Reformation extend beyond those Sins the Laws of the Land take Cognizance of The Law of God is the only adequate Rule of Reformation 1 John 3. 4. whatever is a Transgression of this is Sin though Humane Laws should command it or think it too trivial to be forbidden Therefore study God's Law in the Extent and Spirituality of it and frame your Lives by no lower a Rule Watch against inward Sins which the Eyes of Man discern not Rom. 2. 16. for God will judge the Secrets of the Heart and Eternally punish many Civil Persons for their Heart Unbelief Malignity and Impenitency Amend also those outward Faults of which Magistrates take no notice they restrain gross Affronts to the Divine Being and such things as disturb Human Societies But be you convinced that God's Penal Sanctions extend to whatever himself hath forbidden and it 's at thy utmost Peril if thou repent not of thy Lies thy neglect of God's Worship in thy Family and Closet thy covetous Griping thy concealed Knaveries thy Levity and Backbiting thy waste of time thy inordinate Passions and the like My Brethren God will reprove all these as well as those Crimes which the Laws of the Land do punish therefore these must be Conscientiously forsaken as ever you desire a saving Interest in God's Covenant or would avoid Eternal Destruction from the presence of the Lord. Take therefore your measure from God's Statute-Book the Bible and not only from Man's Oh live and be what that appoints for God will vindicate his own Authority and be sincerely regarded in whatever he hath made to be the Duty of his Creatures Finally be not content to abstain from the Sins forbidden by the Divine Law but strive to obtain and exercise the opposite Graces and Virtues
himself bewails his Fault hates his Sin and sincerely resolves amendment by greater Watchfulness and more fervent Applications to Christ for the assistance of his Spirit He that answers this Account keeps the Law in a Gospel Sence his Obedience is Evangelical though in many things it be short of that which is Legal or Perfect II. We have one Instance whereby the Sincerity of this Character is made good They contend with the Wicked q. d. The behaviour of Men towards the Wicked shews whether themselves keep or forsake the Law It 's a plain Characteristick if they praise the Wicked they are Men who forsake the Law but if they contend with such they are Keepers of the Law Whatever effectually inclines Men to keep the Law will compell them to contend with the Wicked as that which prevails with Men to forsake it will disincline them to contend with such It 's indeed not to be expected that such as live in Stated Rebellion against the Will of God should oppose the Profflgate but it is so decent congruous and necessary for the Keepers of the Law to oppose the Wicked and therefore to be expected that God sets it down as a fixed distinguishing property of such They contend with the Wicked You 'l find them thus employed against violent Transgressors and thereby discriminated from them I shall in some few Positions explain the Words and thereby come to state that Observation which will more directly support you in the work of Reformation and justifie your engaging therein 1. Keeping the Law is a fit Description of the Faithful Subjects and Servants of the Living God and such are intended thereby The Servants of God are variously denominated as Men fearing God Lovers of God Believers Saints Godly Righteous c. But all these Titles center in and refer to this in the Text. They keep the Law For this Law is the measure of all Goodness all true Excellency of Spirit and all Regularity of Practice do lye in a Conformity to this Rule This perfect Law appoints all that 's truly good and all that is accepted with God is done with a respect of Obedience to this Will of his Whatever justly bears the name of any Grace or Virtue must be answerable to what this defineth to be such a Grace or Virtue or it is no better than an Hypocritical Image Moreover the Truth of the highest Graces must be adjudged by their Operative Efficacy to the Obedience of this Law Faith without this is dead James 2. 20. and our Saviour determines the Integrity of Love in this manner If you love me keep my Commandments Jab 14. 15. Yea his Apostle faith This is Love that we walk after his Commandments 2. Joh. 6. Not that this is the formal notion of Love but it is such a necessary Effect of it that it is no true Christian Love which is too weak to produce Obedience Now who is a Keeper of the Law none but he who hath renounced his own Will and Humour and is resigned to the Divine Will the Language of whose Heart is Lord what wilt thou have me to do And is this any other than a Servant and Subject of the Living God Act. 9. 6. even one who hath freely accepted God in Christ for his Supream Lord and Law-Giver upon which his Relation of Servant and Subject is founded But doth this Devotedness confine it self to a meer Profession of Obedience however Solemn it be no there must be real Performance to make that good His we are whom we Obey But this may suffice to Evidence that to keep the Law Rom 6. 16. and to be God's faithful Servants and Subjects are equipollent Terms 2. Offenders committing gross and notorious Crimes are design'd by the Wicked in the Text. Not bad Men whose Crimes are concealed for notice cannot be taken of such neither can one be called Wicked for meer Infirmities for though Job could not acquit himself of such yet he appeals to God Thou knowest I am not wicked The persons therefore chiefly to be contended with Job 10. 7. are such as commit flagitious Crimes Crimes which infect others defile the Land and stigmatize the Offender of which sort are Idolatry Blasphemy Prophane Swearing Cursing Sabbath Profanation Murther Whoredom Thefts Drunkenness c. 3. Contending with the wicked imports all just and due methods to repel the wickedness of Transgressors The difference between good and bad men is fixed each Pleads his respective Cause Persues his proper Design Acteth his own Inclination Propagates his own Likeness and Abets his Party and Leader Christ and his Interest command the strength of his Subjects in opposition to Satan and his Followers Satan as the Head of the Apostacy employs his Followers in opposition to Christ and his Reforming purposes Mat. 12. 38. Great is the contradiction and the contest Vehement and Extensive The Wicked are intent to restrain the Godly from adhereing to the Laws of Christ their Soveraign and hence Violence and Persecution have their rise On the other hand the Subjects of Christ endeavour to stop the Deluge of Impiety they Reason Exhort Pray and live down Immoralities these do what they can to Reform the World as the others struggle to Pervert it They would rejoyce that their Instructions and Intreaties were successful to reclaim the Profligate but when these avail not they instance their Zeal by a sharper Testimony against crying Provocations and to their power subserve mens Amendments by what embitters notorious Crimes Magistrates become a Terror to evil doers by the Sword of Justice Ministers rebuke and inflict Church Censures Parents and Masters apply the Correcting Rod least Sin grow by the Impunity of Children and Servants Object Some will say These are obliged by Relation and Office to contend with offending Correlates but what obligation and power hath one Neighbour or Equal to embitter Sin in another Answ. Neighbours and Equals are obliged to reprove the Faults of one another its God's express Charge Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer Sin upon him 〈◊〉 19. 17. This is by no means to be omitted nor should any pretence excuse from it Thou shalt rebuke him in any wise they must be the profane Imitators of Cain who say Am I my Brothers keeper Gâ—â— 4. â—0 What is it to me if he Swear or be Drunk Let him look to himself he is none of my Charge but such Language is an affront to God's Authority who Enacts that thou shalt reprove him and requires the Sinner to accept of thy reproof You must tell him the Evil and Danger of his wicked course his amendment you must thus attempt however displeasing it may be to him to bear it or to your selves to intermeddle in it Object But suppose it be a Duty to reprove by Words sure we may rest at that whether the Offender Reform or no. 1. Answ. You must stop at this if you lived where no