more frequently required of or attributed to the Perfect Man in Scripture then Zeal and Fervency of Spirit in the ways of God and no wonder For when Actions flow at once from Principles and Custom when they spring from Love and are attended by Pleasure and are incited and quicken'd by Faith and Hope too How can it be but that we should repeat 'em with some Eagerness and feel an Holy Impatience as often as we are hindered or disappointed And as the Nature of the Thing shews that thus it ought to be so are there innumerable Instances in the Old Testament and the New which make it evident that thus it was Shall I mention the example of our Lord who went about doing good Act. 10.38 Shall I propose the Labours and Travils of St. Paul These Patterns it may be will be judged by some too bright and dazling a Light for us to look on or at least too Perfect for us to copy after and yet St. John tells us that he who says he abides in Him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked 1 Joh. 2.6 and we are exhorted to be followers of the Apostles as they were of Christ But if the Fervency of Christ and St. Paul seemed to have soar'd out of the reach of our imitation we have Inferiour Instances enough to prove the Zeal and Fruitfulness of Habitual Goodness Thus David says of himself Psal 119.10 with my whole Heart have I sought thee and Josiah 2 King 23.25 is said to have turned to the Lord with all his Soul and with all his Might How fervent was Anna wo departed not from the Temple but served God with Fastings and Prayers night and day Luk. 2.37 how Charitable Tabitha who was full of good Works and Alms-deeds which she did Act. 9.36 Where shall I place Cornelius With what words shall I set out his Virtues with what but those of the Holy Ghost Act. 10.2 He was a devout Man and one that feared God with all his House which gave much Alms to the people and prayed to God alway But peradventure some may imagine that there is something singular and extraordinary in these Eminent Persons which we must never hope to equal but must be content to follow them at a vast Distance Well let this be so What have we to say to whole Churches animated by the same Spirit of Zeal What are we to think of the Churches of Macedonia whose Charity St. Paul thus magnifies 2 Cor. 8.2 3. in a great trial of Affliction the abundance of their Joy and their deep Poverty abounded to the Riches of their Liberality For to their power I bear record yea and beyond their power they were willing of themselves And St. Paul declares himself perswaded of the Romans that they were full of goodness filled with all knowledge Rom. 15.14 And of the Corinthians he testifies that they were enriched in every thing and came behind in no gift 1 Cor. 1.5 6. that they did abound in all things in Faith in diligence c. 2 Cor. 8.7 I will stop here 't is in vain to heap up more Instances I have said enough to shew that Vigour and Fervency in the Service of God is no miraculous Gift no extraordinary Prerogative of some peculiar Favorite of Heaven but the natural and inseparable Property of a well confirmed Habit of Holiness Lastly is Constancy and Steadiness the Property of an Habit It is an undoubted Property of Perfection too In Scripture Good Men are every where represented as standing fast in the Faith steadfast and unmovable in the works of God holding fast their Integrity In one word as constantly following after Righteousness and maintaining a good Conscience towards God and Man And so Natural is This to one Habitually good that St. John affirms of such a one that he cannot sin 1 Joh. 3.9 whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin for his Seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God Accordingly Job is said to have feared God and eschewed Evil which must be understood of the constant course of his Life Zachary and Elizabeth are said to be Righteous walking in all the Commandments of God blameless Luk. 1.6 Enoch Noah David and other excellent Persons who are pronounc'd by God Righteous and Just and Perfect are said in Scripture to walk with God to serve Him with a Perfect Heart with a full purpose of Heart to cleave to him and the like And this is that Constancy which Christians are often exhorted to watch ye stand fast in the Faith quit ye like Men be strong 1 Cor. 16.13 And of which the first followers of our Lord left us such remarkable Examples The Disciples are said to have been continually in the Temple blessing and praising God Luk. 24. And the first Christians are said to have continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of Bread and in Prayers Acts 2.42 Thus I think I have sufficiently cleared my Notion of Perfection from Scripture Nor need I multiply more Texts to prove what I think no Man can doubt of unless he mistake the main Design and End of the Gospel which is to raise and exalt us to a steady Habit of Holiness The end of the Commandment saith St. Paul 1 Tim. 1.5 is Charity out of a pure heart and of a good Conscience and of Faith unfeigned This is the utmost Perfection Man is capable of to have his Mind enlightned and his Heart purified and to be inform'd acted and influenc'd by Faith and Love as by a vital principle And all this is Essential to Habitual Goodness If any one desire further Light or Satisfaction in this Matter let him read the eighth Chapter to the Romans and he will soon acknowledge that he there finds the substance of what I have hiterto advanced There though the Word it self be not found the thing called Perfection is described in all the Strength and Beauty in all the Pleasure and Advantages of it There the Disciple of Jesus is represented as one who walks not after the Flesh but after the Spirit as one whom the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set free from the Law of Sin and Death one who 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 does not mind or relish the things of the Flesh but the things of the Spirit one in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells He does not stand at the Door and knock he does not make a transient visit but here he reigns and rules and inhabits One finally in whom the Body is dead because of Sin but the Spirit is life because of Righteousness And the Result of all this is the Joy and Confidence the Security and Transport that becomes the Child of God Ye have not received the Spirit of Bondage again to Fear but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father The Spirit it self beareth witness with our Spirit that we are
Religious Perfection OR A THIRD PART OF THE ENQUIRY AFTER HAPPINESS By the Author of Practical Christianity Therefore leaving the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ let us go on unto Perfection Heb. 6.1 LONDON Printed for Sam. Smith and Benj. Walford at the Princes Arms in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCXCVI TO Mr. Whitelocke Bulstrode of Clifford's-Inn I Here present you my dear Friend with a Discourse wherein I labour to advance the great and true Ends of Life the Glory of God and the Perfection and Happiness of Man I cannot I confess pretend to have come up to the Dignity of my Subject yet I have done what I could and have attempted it with my utmost Force I know you too well to imagine you fond of an Address of this publick nature you love the real and solid Satisfactions not the Pomp and Shew those splendid Encumbrances of Life Your rational and vertuous Pleasures burn like a gentle and chearful Flame without Noise or Blaze However I cannot but be confident that you 'll pardon the Liberty which I here take when I have told you that the making the best Acknowledgment I could to one who has given me so many Proofs of a generous and passionate Friendship was a Pleasure too great to be resisted I am Dear Sir Unfeignedly Yours R. Lucas THE CONTENTS The Introduction Page 1. SECT I. Of Religious Perfection in general Chap. 1. PErfection what It 's Notion confirm'd by Reason and Scripture p. 11. Chap. 2. This Notion of Perfection countenanc'd on all Sides however different in their Expressions p. 30. Chap. 3. Several Inferences deduc'd from the Notion of Perfection p. 42. Chap. 4. A General Account of the Blessed Effects of Religious Perfection particularly with respect to Assurance and Pleasure p. 63. Chap. 5. Of the several Steps by which the Christian advances to Perfection p. 102. Chap. 6. Of the Means of attaining Perfection And the great Ends to be aim'd at in Instrumental Duties p. 120. Chap. 7. Of some particular Motives to Perfection p. 176. SECT II. Of the several Parts of Perfection Chap. 1. OF Illumination what it consists in p. 188. Chap. 2. Of the Fruits and Attainment of Illumination p. 227 Chap. 3. Of Liberty in General p. 257. Chap. 4. Of Liberty as it relates to Original Sin p. 335. Chap. 5. Of Liberty with respect to Sins of Infirmity p. 367. Chap. 6. Of Liberty as it imports Freedom or Deliverance from mortal Sin p. 403. Chap. 7. Of unfruitfulness as it consists in Idleness p. 434. Chap. 8. Of unfruitfulness as it consists in Lukewarmness Coldness or Formality p. 452. Chap. 9. Of Zeal Or the first thing to be considered in a State of Zeal namely what Holiness or Righteousness he may be suppos'd to have arrived at p. 489. Chap. 10. Of Zeal as it consists in good Works p. 513. Chap. 11. Of Humility p. 528. SECT III. Of the Impediments of Perfection  ERRATA PAge 5. line 8. pretended read pretending p. 62. l. 4. currant r. concurrent p. 94. l. 21. after all add p. 80. l. 6. effect r. affect p. 96. l. 9. Acts r. Arts p. 116. l. ult led r. let p. 157. after fervent add such Affections are p. 167. l. 21. blot out I. p. 205. l. 31. model'd r. moulded p. World r. Love p. 223. l. 1. be r. lie p. 238. l. 16. Word r. World p. 245. l. 6. add of p. 245. l. 14. prevents r. perverts p. 258. l. 24. of r. a p. 295. l. 14. to r. by p. 302. l. 16. Men r. Man p. 306. l. 4. the Righteousness thereof r. their Righteousness therefore p. 306. l. 6. Suppose r. I oppose p. 334. l. 11. Wounds r. Wombs p. 346. l. 24. these r. there p. 421. l. 9. Affection r. Affectation p. 422. l. 10. part r. party p. 466. l. 24. now r. not p. 489. l. 8. he r. the Perfect Man p. 533. l. ult forwardness r. frowardness THE INTRODUCTION BY what Steps I am advanc'd thus far in my Enquiry after Happiness and what Connexion or Coherence there is between This and two other Discourses already Publish'd on That Subject is very obvious In the First I endeavour to remove those Objections which represent all Enquiries and Attempts after true Happiness in this Life either as fantastick or unnecessary or which is as bad vain and to no purpose And after I have asserted the Value and Possibility of Happiness I do in general point out the true Reasons of our ill Success and Disappointment in Pursuit of it In the Second I state the true Notion of Human Life insist upon the several kinds of it and shew what Qualifications and Virtues the Active and Contemplative Life demand and then consider how Life may be prolonged and improved In This Third I prosecute the same Design which I had in the two Former the promoting Human Happiness For Life Perfection and Happiness have a close and inseparable Dependance on one another For as Life which is the Rational Exercise and Employment of our Powers and Faculties does naturally advance on and terminate in Perfection so Perfection which is nothing else but the Maturity of Human Virtue does naturally end in that Rest and Peace that Tranquility Serenity and Joy of Mind which we call Happiness Now Perfection in an Abstracted and Metaphisical Notion of it is a State that admits neither of Accession nor Dimunition But talking of it Practically and in a manner accommodated to the Nature of things the Perfection of Man consists in such Endowments and Attainments as Man is generally capable of in this Life And because Man may be considered either in Relation to This or to another World therefore Human Perfection may I think naturally enough be divided into Religious and Secular By Secular I mean that which regards our Interest in this Life By Religious That which secures it in Eternity the one more directly and immediately aims at the Favour of Man the other at the Favour of God the one pursues that Happiness what ever it be that is to be found in outward and worldly Advantages the other That which flows from Virtue and a good Conscience 'T is easie now to discern which of These two kinds of Perfection is the more desireable the one purifies and exalts our Nature the other polishes and varnishes it the one makes a compleat Gentleman the other a true Christian the Success of the one is precarious that of the other certain having no Dependance on Time or Chance the Humour or Fancy of Man the Pleasure of the one is short and Superficial That of the other Great and Lasting The World admires the one and God approves the other To be throughly perswaded of This is a good step towards true Wisdom as being that which will enable Man to steer the whole Course of Life aright But while I prefer the one I do not prescribe the Neglect or Contempt of the other so far am I from it that I am
all Perfections Lord What Rest what Confidence what Joy what Extacy do these thoughts breed How sublime how lofty how delightful and ravishing are those Expressions of St. John 1 Epist 3.1 2. Behold what manner of Love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God Therefore the World knoweth us not because it knew him not Beloved now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is And those again of the Psalmist I am continually with thee thou dost hold me by my right hand Thou shalt guide me with thy Counsel and afterward receive me into Glory Psal 73.23 24. But I will descend to cooler and humbler Pleasures It is no small Happiness to the Perfect Man that he is himself a proper Object of his own Complacency He can reflect on the Truth and Justice the Courage and Constancy the Meekness and Charity of his Soul with much Gratitude towards God and Contentment in himself And this surely he may do with good Reason For the Perfections of the Mind are as justly to be preferr'd before those of the Body as those of the Body before the Gifts of Fortune nor is it a Matter of small importance to be pleas'd with one's self For grant any one but this and he can never be very Vneasie or very Miserable but without this there are very few things which will not disturb and discompose and the most obliging Accidents of Life will have no relish in them 'T is true Folly and Vanity does sometimes create a self-Complacency in the Sinner why even then 't is a pleasing Error But there is as much difference between the Just and Rational Complacency of a wise Man in himself and the mistaken one of a Fool as there is between the false and fleeting Fancies of a Dream and the solid satisfactions of the Day This will be very manifest upon the slightest View we can take of those Actions which are the true Reason of the good Mans Satisfaction in himself and render his Conscience a continual Feast to him It is commonly said that Vertue is its own reward and though it must be acknowledg'd this is a reward which is not sufficient in all Cases nor great enough to vanquish some sorts of Temptations yet there is a great deal of Truth and Weight in this saying For a state of Vertue is like a state of Health or Peace of Strength and Beauty and therefore desireable on its own account And if Pleasure properly speaking be nothing else but the agreeable Exercise of the Powers of Nature about their proper Objects and if it be then absolute and compleat when these Powers are raised and the Exercise of them is free and undisturbed then certainly Virtue which is nothing else but the Perfect Action of a Perfect Nature as far as the One and the Other may be admitted in this state of Mortality must be a very considerable Pleasure Acts of Wisdom and Charity the Contemplation of Truth and the love of Goodness must be most natural and delightful exercise of the Mind of Man and because Truth and Goodness are Infinite and Omnipresent and nothing can hinder the Perfect Man from contemplating the one and loving the other therefore does he in his degree and measure participate of his Self-sufficiency as he does of other Perfections of God and enjoys within himself an inexhaustible spring of Delight How many how various are the Exercises and Employments of the Mind of Man And when it is once polish'd and cultivated how agreeable are they all to invent and find out to illustrate and adorn to prove and demonstrate to weigh discriminate and distinguish to deliberate calmly and impartially to act with an absolute Liberty to despise little things and look boldly on dangers to do all things dextrously to converse with a sweet and yet a manly Air in honest and open yet taking obliging Language How delightful are these things in themselves How much do they conduce to the service the beauty and dignity of Human Life To these accomplished Minds we owe Histories Sciences Arts Trades Laws From all which if others reap an unspeakable Pleasure how much more the Authors the Parents of them And all this puts me in Mind of one great Advantage which the Perfect Man enjoys above the most Fortunate Sensualist which is that he can never want an Opportunity to imploy all the Vigour of his Mind usefully and delightfully Whence it is that Retirement which is the Prison and the Punishment of the Fool is the Paradise of the Wise and Good But let us come at length to that Pleasure which depends upon External Objects where if any where the Fool and Sinner must dispute his Title to Pleasure with the Wise and Good How many things are there here which force us to give the Preference to the Wise Man I will not urge that a narrow a private Fortune can furnish Store enough for all the Appetites of Vertue that a wise Man need not at any time purchase his Pleasure at too dear a rate he need not lie nor cheat nor crouch nor fawn This is the price of sinful Pleasure I will not I say urge these and the like Advantages since the World thinks it want of Spirit to be content with a little and want of wit not to practise those Acts let them be never so base by which we may compass more I 'll only remark these few things First the Wise Man's Prospect is enlarg'd He is like an Artist or Philosopher which discovers a thousand Pleasures and Beauties in a Piece wherein the Idiot can see none he sees in all the Works in all the Providences of God those Depths those Contrivances which the Fool cannot Fathom that Order that Harmony which the Sinner is insensible of Next the Pleasure of Sense that is not refined by Vertue leaves a stain upon the Mind 't is course and turbulent empty and vexatious The Pleasure of Vertue is like a Stream which runs indeed within its Banks but it runs smooth and clear and has a Spring that always feeds the Current But the Pleasure of Sin is like a Land flood Impetuous Muddy and Irregular And as soon as it forsakes the Ground it over-flow'd it leaves nothing behind it but slime and filth Lastly the Wise Man forming a true Estimate of the Objects of Sense and not looking upon them as his Vltimate end enjoys all that is in them and is not fool'd by an Expectation of more Thus having consider'd the Objects of Human Pleasure two things are plain first That the Perfect Man has many Sources or Fountains of Pleasure which the Sinner never tastes of which he cannot relish which he is a Stranger to Next as to outward things that He has even here many Advantages above the other But what is more considerable yet
and the Experience of the best Men that we must watch and pray and contend labour and persevere and that long too e're we can attain it And whoever fancies himself rapt up into the third Heaven on a sudden will find himself as suddenly led down to the Earth again if he do not use his utmost diligence to fortifie his Resolutions to cherish the New-born Flame and to guard and improve his Vertues 3ly It may be Objected against the account I have given of the growth of Vertue that when I come to the Maturity of it my Colours are too bright my Strokes too bold and the Form I have given it too Divine For you discribe it will one say as if Man now grown Perfect had nothing to do but to enjoy God and himself as if he were already entered into Rest and did actually sit down with Christ in Heavenly places as if in a word Vertue were no longer his task but Pleasure as if he had nothing to do but to rejoyce continually nothing further to press after nothing to combate nothing to contend with Whereas the Fathers generally and all Judicious Modern Writers seem to place Perfection in nothing higher then in a perpetual Progress towards it they look upon Life as a perpetual warfare and utterly deny any such Height or Eminence as is rais'd above Clouds and Storms above Troubles and Temptations But to this I have several things to say which will clear my sense about this Matter and dispel all Objections First I have described the last Stage of the Christian's spiritual Progress which I call a state of Zeal and in which I suppose the Christian to commence Perfect this I say I have described in the same manner and as near as I could in the same words which the Scripture does Secondly I do not pretend any where to assert that there is any state in this Life rais'd above Tryals and Temptations Alas The most Perfect Man will find it work enough to make good the Ground he has gain'd and maintain the Conquest he has won much watchfulness and labour much humility and fear and many other Vertues are necessary to Perseverance in a state of Perfection Thirdly As the World goes now and indeed ever did Perfection is a state we arrive at very late and all the way to it full of Labour and Travel full of Dangers and Difficulties so that upon this account the Life of Man may well enough be said to be a perpetual Warfare But Fourthly I do by no means affirm that the Perfect Man is incapable of Growth and Improvement Of this I shall have occasion to unfold my sense more fully afterwards In the mean time I cannot forbear observing here that there is a great difference between the growth of an Imperfect and a Perfect Christian for supposing Grace to be always increasing and the very Maturity of Vertue to admit of Degrees yet the marks and distinctions of such different Degrees are so nice and delicate that the Advances of the Perfect Man are scarcely perceptible to himself without the closest and strictest Enquiry Much less can they fall under the Observation of others The first Change of a Sinner from Darkness to Light from Vice to Virtue from an aversion for God and Goodness to a Sincere though not a Perfect Love of both is very palpable So again the change from a state of weakness and inconstancy to one of strength of conflict and difficulty to one of ease and liberty of fear and doubt to one of confidence and pleasure is little less evident and sensible But the several degrees of growth afterwards the improvements whatever they be of a Mature state are of another Nature not consisting in a Change but Adition and that made insensibly Here therefore the Perfect Man in order to maintain the Peace and Pleasure of his Mind need not enter into a Nice and Scrupulous Examination of the Degrees and Measures of his Virtues 't is sufficient that he make good his Post 't is enough if he follow the advice of St. Paul 1 Cor. 15.58 If he be steadfast and unmoveable and always abounding in the Works of the Lord. CHAP. VI. Of the Means of Perfection SHould I insist particularly on every one of the Means or Instruments of Perfection it would lead me through the whole Systeme of Religion it would oblige me to treat of all the Articles of our Faith and all the Parts of Moral Righteousness For the Vertues of the Gospel do all afford mutual support and nourishment to one another and mutually Minister to their own growth and strength And Prayer and the Lord's Supper not to mention Meditation Psalmody Conversation Discipline are founded upon the belief of all the Mysteries of our Religion and consist in the Exercise of almost all Christian Graces as Repentance Faith Hope Charity But this would be an endless task I purpose therefore here only to lay down some few General Observations which may serve for directions in the use of Gospel Means point out the End we are to aim at and enable us to reap the utmost Benefit from them These Observations are 1. The Practice of Wisdom and Vertue is the best way to improve and strengthen both 2. The Two general and immediate Instruments as of Conversion so of Perfection too are the Gospel and the Spirit 3. The natural and immediate Fruit of Meditation Prayer Eucharist Psalmody and good Conversation is the quickning and enlivening the Conscience the Fortifying and Confirming our Resolutions and the raising and keeping up an Heavenly Frame of Spirit 4. The immediate Ends of Discipline are the subduing the Pride of the Heart and reducing the Appetites of the Body 5. Lastly Some kinds of Life are better suited and accommodated to the great Ends of Religion and Vertue than others I will very briefly Illustrate each of these Observations and suggest from them such Rules as I shall judge most serviceable to promote Perfection § 1. The Practice of Wisdom and Vertue is the best way to improve and strengthen both This is a Proposition almost Self-evident For besides that it is acknowldg'd on all Hands that the frequent repetition of single Acts of Vertue is the natural way to arrive at an Habit of it the Practice of Vertue gives a Man great boldness towards God mingles Joy and Pleasure in all his Addresses to him purifies and enlightens the Mind and entitles him to more plentiful Measures of Grace and higher degrees of Favour If ye continue in my Word then are ye my Disciples indeed and ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free Joh. 8.31.3 To him that hath shall be given and he shall have more abundance Mat. 13.12 If this be so as undoubtedly it is it is plain That we ought not to be fond of such a Solitude or Retirement as cuts off the opportunity of many Vertues which may be daily practis'd in a more publick and active Life The true
Liberty the Constancy and Uniformity of an Holy Life and both Strength and Passion are generally owing to a Tender and Enlighten'd Conscience For while the Conscience preserves a quick and nice sense of Good and Evil all the great Truths of the Gospel will have their proper Force and natural Efficacy upon us These then are the Genuine Fruits of Meditation the Eucharist Psalmody and such-like If they do not add Life and Light to the Conscience if they do not augment our Strength nor exalt our Passions if they do not increase our detestation of Sin and our Love to God and Goodness if they do not quicken and excite Devout Purposes if they do not engage and refresh the Soul by Holy Joy and Heavenly Pleasure if I say they do not in some degree or other promote these things we reap no benefit at all from them or we can never be certain that we do But though the Ends I have mentioned be of this great use to all and consequently all are obliged to aim at them yet may the different Defects and Imperfections of different Christians render one of these Ends more necessary then another And by consequence it will be Wisdom more immediately and directly to intend and pursue that For Example if a Man's Temper be such that his Passions do soon kindle and soon die again that he is apt to Form wise and great Projects and as unapt to accomplish any thing in this Case it will be his Duty to aim especially at the increase of Strength But if on the other hand a Man's Temper be Cold and Phlegmatick Slow and Heavy it is but fit that he should particularly apply himself to the awakening and exciting Devout Affections in his Soul For as excellent purposes do often miscarry for want of Constancy and Firmness of Mind so Steadiness and Firmness of Mind doth seldom effect any great matter when it wants Life and Passion to put it into Motion Again if one's past Life has been very Sinful or the present be not very Fruitful it will behove such a one to increase the Tenderness of Conscience to add more Light and Life to its Convictions that by a daily Repetition of Contrition and Compunction he may wash off the Stain or by the Fruitfulness of his following Life repair the Barrenness of that Past Having thus in few words both made out the Usefulness of those three Ends I proposed to a Christian in the performance of Instrumental duties of Religion and shewed in what Cases he may be obliged to aim more immediately at one then another I will now enquire and that as briefly as I can how these three Ends may be scured and promoted 1st Of Tenderness of Conscience or the full and lively Convictions of it To promote this the first thing necessary is Meditation No Man who diligently searches and studies the Book of God can be a Stranger to himself or to his Duty Not to his Duty for this Book reveals the whole Will of God in clear and full Terms it gives us such Infallible Characters of Good and Evil Right and Wrong as render our Ignorance or Error inexcusable It points out the great Ends of Life so plainly and conducts us to them by such general and unerring Rules that there is no variety of Circumstances can so perplex and ravel our Duty but that an honest Man by the help of this may easily discover it For this Reason 't is that the Word of God is called Light because it does distinguish between Good and Evil Right and Wrong and like a Lamp does manifest the Path which we are to choose and disperses that Mist and Darkness with which the Lust of Man and the Subtilty of Hell has covered it And for this Reason 't is that the Good have such a Value and the Wicked such an Aversion for the Book of God For every one that doth Evil hateth the Light neither cometh to the Light lest his Deeds should be reproved But he that doth Truth cometh to the Light that his Deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God Joh. 3.20 21. Nor can he that Studies the Word of God be a Stranger to Himself any more then to his Duty For this Light ransacks all the Recesses of the Soul it traces all its Affections back to their first Springs and Sources it lays open all its Desires and Projects and strips its most secret Purposes of all their Disguise For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper then any two Edged Sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit and of the Joynts and Marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the Heart Heb. 4.12 In a word if we would preserve the Conscience quick and sensible we must be daily conversant in the Book of God For this commands with that Authority instructs with that clearness perswades with that Force reproves with that Purity Prudence and Charity that we shall not easily be able to resist it it describes Righteousness and Sin in such true and lively Colours proclaims Rewards and Punishments in such powerful and moving Language that it rouses even the Dead in Sin penetrates and wounds the stupid and obdurate To Meditation we must add Prayer For this is a very proper and essential Means to refresh and renew in the Soul the Hatred of Sin and Love of Goodness and to improve those Impressions which Meditation has made upon it We cannot easily put up Petitions to God with Confidence unless we do the things that please him for our Hearts will misgive us and our very Petitions will reproach us And the meer Thought of entring more immediately into the Presence of God does oblige us to a more careful Tryal and Examination of our Actions For God being not only Omniscient but Just and Holy too we can no more flatter our selves with the Hope of Pardon for any Sin into which we are betrayed by fondness or negligence then we can imagine him Ignorant of it But this is not all we are to pray that God would enable us to search out and discover our own Hearts Psal 139.23 24. Search me O God and know my Heart Try me and know my Thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way Everlasting And if we do this sincerely God will undoubtedly grant our Requests and will lay open to us all our present Defects and Infirmities and shew us how far short we come of the Glory of God that Perfection of Holiness and Happiness which many Eminent Saints actually arrived at upon Earth And we way be sure that Light which breaks in upon our Mind with this Brightness will not suffer any latent Corruptions to continue undiscovered nor permit us to forget the Stains and Ruins which the Sins of our past Life have left behind them Conversation is another way by which we learn to know our selves and by which Conscience
and Revealed Religion and utterly to extinguish all Conscience of Good and Evil. But this is such an Attempt in which I confess I could never have believed that the most daring sinner could have proved succesful had not the Scriptures told me that there are some who are past feeling Eph. 4.19 of a fear'd Conscience 2 Tim. 4.2 who are not ashamed when they have committed Iniquity neither can they blush Jer. 6.15 who call good evil and evil good that put darkness for Light and light for darkness that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Isa 5.20 Such sinners there are then but what does this amount to What can their Sense or Example weigh I am sure these poor Wretches are as far distant from any true Happiness as from true Sense and deserve our Pity not Imitation As will easily appear from these following Considerations 1. 'T is true Conscience depends upon Opinion but what if this Opinion depend upon Sense and Truth What if it be built upon the Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power In what a deplorable Condition are these Men of Wit The Fear of an angry God a Judgment to come and an Hell is no common or ordinary Fear 'T is not the Fear of a scratch or wound in the Body of a baâ—â—e in the Pursuit of Preferment or a Disappointment in that of Pleasure 't is not the loss or the forfeiture of Estate in part or whole 't is not a Blot upon our Reputation 't is not the Death of a Child a Brother or what is more unless he be such a Friend 't is not any thing of this kind that is the Object of this Fear but Misery pure and unallay'd complicated accumulated Misery Misery unalterable incurable and lasting as long as Eternity Methinks before one should venture on a Sin which is threatned with such a state as this and much more before one should resolve to continue in it were reasonable to be very sure that the Notion of a Hell were false and the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment a meer Bug-bear Nay I protest in a matter of this Importance I think one should scarce trust to a Demonstration unless it had passed the Test of the most solid and Impartial part of Mankind and stood the Shock and Trial of many Ages But alass after the utmost Efforts of Wit and Lust what has ever yet been produced that has been able to undergo the Examination even of an honest Man What Arguments have yet been started against a Judgment to come that have been able to work upon any who were truly serious in the Point And if a Judgment to come why not an Hell Revelation is plain and Reason can find no Inconsistency in the Doctrine Human Laws punish a single Offence sometimes with Death or Banishment with loss of Estate and by this and divers other Ways extend the Punishment of the Criminal to his Posterity that is make it as Eternal as they can And shall it be thought unjust in God to punish the repeated Provocations of an impenitent Life the Neglect of that great Salvation wrought by the Blood and published by the Mouth of his dearly Beloved Son and all this wilfully in Defiance of the Light of the Gospel and Sollicitations of the Spirit in Defiance of Mercies and Chastisements shall it I say be thought unjust in God to punish this by a miserable Eternity when Infinite Goodness has in vain tried all imaginable means to reclaim a Sinner what has he to complain of if God leave him to the Effects of his own Choice Sin as it alienates our Affections from God here so must it certainly exclude us from his Presence and his Favour hereafter And what can be the Case of that wretched Creature who is banished for ever to those black and dismal Regions which no Ray no Influence of Divine Goodness can ever reach Where shall those unhappy Creatures dwell which shall be chased by the Presence and Glory of God out of the new Heavens and the new Earth or which rather can never approach either but in that outward Darkness which is parted from the World of the Blessed by an unpassable Gulph Ah! then if this be so what do wretched Men gain by growing impudent in Wickedness alas the more insensible Men are of the Deformity and Danger of Sin the more desperate their state the more incurable their Disease and the nearer they to Death and Destruction My Spirit shall not always strive with Man This is indeed a blessed Advantage to stand upon the brink of Damnation 'T is a glorious Victory to have defeated all the Means of Grace and Happiness 'T is an Heroick Atchievement to be able to extinguish all true Sense and Reason as well as Religion and become impregnable impenetrable to all Arguments to all Motives which either the tenderest Love or the profoundest Wisdom of God and Man can attack us by 2. I cannot but think that those very Men who for the most part are obdurate and insensible do suffer some though rare returns of Anxiety and Fear Why else are they such avowed Enemies to Solitude and Retirement to all serious and calm Reflections that they are ready to take up with a most trifling and contemptible Business or Diversion nay tired with a dull and tasteless Repetition of a Folly they chuse to repeat it to their Lives End rather than be alone and thoughtful What is this but to confess that there is something within which they are afraid to awaken that there is such a Brightness in Divine Truth that they dare not open their Eyes upon it lest it should fill their Souls with the Terrours of God This Height of Wickedness then at best is a state fit only for Fortunate Sinners who can roul and tumble from Folly to Folly from one Impertinence or Extravagance to another endlesly and yet what becomes of these poor Things when a Disaster when a Disease nay but a wakeful hour by Night forces them to retire into themselves 3. A Sinner does not soon arrive at this state of Insensibility It costs him very dear to grow impudent in his Lust Many a Pang many a Torment has he suffer'd first often has he felt the Wounds of Conscience often has he trembled and shrunk at the Menaces of God The Soul can no more be reconciled to Sin than the Body to Excess but by passing thorough many painful and sickly Fits many uneasie Pangs and Qualms And is it not worth the while to endure so much in order to be damned Is it not an infallible Mark of more than vulgar Wisdom to purchase Misery at so dear a rate To endure hardship as good Soldiers of Christ Jesus for a Crown a never-fading Crown this with them is an undertaking that deserves to be exposed and lashed with the utmost severity of Spight and Confidence but to suffer as it were repeated Martyrdoms to gain an Hell this is what they think becomes Men of their
Parts and Gallantry Blessed God! to what Degree of Madness and Stupidity may Men of the finest Natural Parts sink when abandon'd by Thee or rather when they themselves abandon Thee and that Light which Thou hast set up in the World Our Lord and Master thought the Profits and Pleasures of the whole World a poor Compensation for the Loss of the Soul What is a Man profited if he gain the whole World c. Matth. 16. But these Men rather than it should not perish for ever will charge through Shame and Pain Remorse and Sickness and all the Obstacles that God has set between us and a desperate Height of Wickedness 4. Though a Sinner may come to that Pass as to suppress his Conscience and master his Fears yet he must ever be conscious to himself of the Fruitlesness and the Meanness of a Course of Sin He must needs be inwardly sensible that he has wearied himself to commit Iniquity to no purpose that his Mind has been restless and tempestuous like a troubled Sea casting up its own Mire and Dirt He must be conscious to himself that he is false and unjust unconstant and ingrateful and in Bondage to such Lusts as are mean and poor and injurious to his Repose and which he has often wished himself free from And this no doubt must be a blessed Condition when a Man 's own Mind does to his face assure him that he is that very thing which all the World condemns and scorns and which he cannot endure to be charg'd with without resenting it as the highest Affront Certainly it were better that all the World should call me Fool and Knave and Villain than that I should call my self so and know it to be true My Peace and Happiness depends upon my own Opinion of my self not that of others 't is the inward sentiments that I have of my self that raise or deject me and my Mind can no more be pleased with any Sensation but its own than the Body can be gratified by the Relishes of another's Palate 5. The more insensible a Sinner grows the more intollerable is the Disorder and Distraction which Sin produces in his Affairs While Men are under any little restraints of Conscience while they are held in by Scruples and Fears and Fits of Regret while in a Word they Sin with any Modesty so long Sin will tollerably comport with their Interest and Reputation but as soon as they grow insensible and impudent they pass all bounds and there is nothing so dear and considerable to them which they will not Sacrifice to their Wickedness Now Wife and Children Friends Estate Laws Vows Compacts Oaths are no stronger Ties to them than Sampson's Wit hs or Cords Such a one as this is very well described in the Prophet Thou art a swift Dromedary traversing her ways a wild Ass used to the Wilderness that snuffeth up the Wind at her pleasure in her occasion who can turn her away Jer. 2.22 And again he is fitly represented to an Horse rushing into the Battel He has as much Contempt for his safety and Happiness as for Reason and Religion he defies Shame Ruin and Death as much as he does God and Providence in one word with an impudent and lewd stupidity he makes all the hast he can to be undone and since he will be so it were well if he could be undone alone I am sure we have too many Instances at this Day of the miserable and fatal Effects of Atheism and Deism to leave any room to doubt whether I have strained the point here or no. Upon the whole it does appear that Sin is a great Evil and that the Evil of it is not lessen'd but increased by Obduration And from hence the Proposition infer'd does naturally follow that Deliverance from it is a great Good so great that if we estimate it by the Evil there is in Sin Health to the Sick Liberty to the Captive Day to the benighted weary and wandring Traveller a Calm a Port to Passengers in a Storm Pardon to Men adjudged to Death are but weak and imperfect Images or Resemblances of it A Disease will at worst terminate with the Body and Life and Pain will have an End together But the Pain that Sin causes will endure to all Eternity for the Worm dies not and the Fire will not be quenched The Errour of the Traveller will be corrected by the approaching Day and his Weariness refreshed at the next Stage he comes to but he that errs impenitently from the Path of Life is lost for ever When the Day of Grace is once set upon him no Light shall e're recal his wandring Feet into the Path of Righteousness and Peace no Ease no Refreshment shall e're relieve his Toil and Misery Whilest the Feet of the Captive are loaded with Fetters his Soul may enjoy its truest Liberty and in the midst of Dangers and Dungeons like Paul and Silas he may sing Songs of Praise and Triumph but the Captivity of Sin defiles oppresses and enslaves the Mind and delivers up the miserable Man to those intollerable and endless Evils which inexorable Justice and Almighty Wrath inflicts upon Ingratitude and Obstinacy A Storm can but wreck the Body a frail and worthless Bark the Soul will escape safe to Shore the Blessed Shore where the happy Inhabitants enjoy an undisturbed an Everlasting Calm but Sin makes Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience and he that perishes in it does but pass into a more miserable state for on the wicked God will rain Snares Fire and Brimstone storm and tempest this shall be their portion forever Psal 11. And Lastly a Pardon sends back a Condemned Criminal to Life that is to Sins and Sufferings to toils and troubles which Death if Death were the utmost he had to fear would have freed him from But he that is once delivered from Sin is past from Death to Life and from this Life of Faith of Love of Hope shall soon pass to another of Fruition and Glory § 2. A Second Fruit of Liberty is Good Works Here I will shew Two things First and this but briefly that the Works of Righteousness contribute mightily to our Happiness and that immediately Secondly That Deliverance from Sin removes the great Obstacles and Impediments of Righteousness and throws off that Weight which would otherwise encumber and tire us in our Race 1. Holiness is no small Pleasure no small Advantage to him who is exercised therein When Nature is renewed and restored the Works of Righteousness are properly and truly the Works of Nature and to do good to Man and offer up our Praises and Devotions to God is to gratifie the strongest and most delightful Inclinations we have These indeed are at first stifled and oppressed by Original Corruption false Principles and Vicious Customs But when once they have broke through these like Seeds through the Earthy Coats they are enclosed and imprisoned in and are impregnated warmed and cherished by
10.13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to Man but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it The Design of which Words is certainly to encourage Christians against the bigest Temptations by an Assurance of Relief from God proportionable to our Necessities and consequently must imply that if we yield to a Temptation 't is our own fault God expects we should stand firm under the highest Trials Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a Crown of Life Rev. 2.10 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne Rev. 3.21 But whosoever shall deny me before Men him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven Matt. 10.33 If therefore by Sins of Infirmity Men mean such as are consistent with the state of Grace i. e. such as good Men may frequently fall into without forfeiting the Peace of Conscience and the Favour of God I cannot possibly think that any Deliberate Sin can be such upon the score of the Temptation or that any of those Sins reckoned in the Catalogue Gal. 5. and Eph. 5. can be such on the account of the Violence or Perseverance with which they attack us But Secondly if by Sins of Infirmity they mean such Sins as Righteous Men are liable to I know not what they are from which they are exempted But if Lastly by Sins of Infirmity they mean such for which God is more easily entreated then there is no Question to be made but that there is a Difference in Sins which is to be estimated by the different Measures of Grace and Knowledge by the different Degrees of Deliberation and Surprise and by the Force or Weakness the Continuance or Shortness of a Temptation And Finally by the different Effects and Tendencies of Sins To all which I do not question but that the Spirit has regard in those Directions which it gives us for our Behaviour towards such as fall Gal. 6.1 Brethren if a Man be overtaken in a fault ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the Spirit of Meekness considering thy self lest thou also be tempted And of some have compassion making a difference And others save with fear pulling them out of the fire Jude 22 23. § 2. A Second sort of Actions are such as we call Involuntary that is those wherein we exercise no Deliberation no Choice Some have reduced Sins of Infirmity to this Head but with what Colour of Reason any one may judge For since Actions truly Involuntary are neither the Object of the Understanding nor Will 't is hard to conceive what Morality there can be in them The Grounds on which this Opinion is built are such as these First the Measure say they of Good and Evil is the Law of God But Involuntary and unavoidable Actions are not a proper Subject of Laws for to what purpose is it to prescribe Rules or to propose Rewards and Punishments to such Actions as are no way subject to our Choice Secondly they tell us 't is inconsistent with the Goodness of God and the Riches of Gospel Grace to impute those things to a Man as Damnable Sins which fall not within the Compass of his Power of Deliberation Now I must confess I am so far from denying any Actions that can lay a just claim to this Apology to be Venial that I cannot forbear thinking that they are not sinful For where there is no Law there is no Transgression But how does this way of arguing for the Excusableness of Involuntary Transgressions consist with those other Doctrines which they maintain concerning them namely That we are bound to Repentance for them That these Sins are not Venial in their own Nature but only through the Favour of God For the Law taken in its Rigour denounces Death against all Sin in general without Limitation or Exception so that if God should judge rigorously even Involuntary Sin would fall under that Sentence the wages of Sin is Death This I must confess seems to me very incoherent For if an Action be of that Nature that it cannot properly be the Matter or Subject of a Law how can it fall under the Condemnation of Law If it be of that Nature that it is incapable of any Moral Regulation nor subject to the Influence of Reward or Punishment how can it be meer Matter of Grace that a Man is not Damned for it In a word if an Action be truly and properly Involuntary it can by no means be Sin and if it be Voluntary it is subject to the Regulation of Laws 'T is a proper Instance of Deliberation and Freedom and capable of Rewards and Punishments And the Truth is the one needs no Apology and the other is not capable of any the one is a Mortal Sin and the other no Sin at all And therefore we must look for Venial Sin in some other Species of Action § 3. The last Class of Actions are those which are of a mixt Nature partly Voluntary and partly Involuntary And here I think we must place Sins of Infirmity by whatever Names we may call them For these surely if they are be rankt as by all they are amongst Actual Sins must be such Actions as have in them something of Voluntary something of Involuntary much of Human Frailty and something of Sinful much of unavoidable and something of Moral Obliquity These are the Transgressions which the Scripture seems to me to intend by Errors Defects Slips Motes the Spots of God's Children and these certainly if any must be the Sins that can consist with a state of Grace For these do not imply a Deliberate Wickedness in the Will much less an Habitual one nay they do not include in them any Wickedness at all strictly speaking but are truly the Effects of Human Frailty and the unhappy Circumstances of this Mortal Life Thus then I describe a Venial Sin it has in it so much of Voluntary as to mak it Sin so much of Involuntary as to make it Frailty it has so much of the Will in it that it is capable of being reduced and yet so much of Necessity in it it is never utterly to be extirpated it has some thing in it Criminal enough to oblige us to watch against it repent of it and yet so much in it pitiable and excusable as to entitle us to Pardon under the Covenant of Grace And thus I distinguish Venial from Mortal Sin Mortal Sin proceeds from a Heart either Habitually corrupted or deceived and captived for the time but Venial Sin results from the Imperfections and Infelicities of our Nature and our State Mortal Sin is truly Voluntary and Deliberate in the Rice and Birth of it and mischievous and injurious in its Consequence But
we courted till we be possess'd of a Habit of that Vertue which is a direct Contradiction to it and take as much pleasure in the Obedience as ever we did in the Transgression of a Divine Command 2ly There are some Sins of that provoking Nature so criminal in their Birth and mischievous in their Consequences That one single Act or Commission of one of these is equivalent to a Habit of others such is Murther Idolatry Perjury Adultery these cannot be committed without renouncing Humanity as well as Christianity without resisting the Instincts and Impulses of Nature as well as the Eight of the Gospel and the Grace of the Spirit We must break thorough a great many Difficulties and Terrors e're we can come at these Sins we must commit many other in order to commit one of these we must deliberate long resolve desperately and in Defiance of God and Conscience and what is the Effect of Habit in other Instances is a necessary Preparative in these that is Obduration In this Case therefore the unhappy Man that has been guilty of any one of these must not look upon himself as set free when he is come to a Resolution of never repeating it again But then when he loaths and abhors himself in Dust and Ashes when he has made the utmost Reparation of the Wrong he is capable of when if the Interest of Vertue require it he is content to be oppress'd with Shame and Sufferings when in one word a long and constant Course of Mortification Prayers Tears and good Works have washed off the Stain and Guilt 2. We must be free not only from a Habit but from single Acts of deliberate presumptuous Sin The Reason is plain Mortal Sin cannot be committed without wounding the Conscience grieving the Spirit and renouncing our Hopes in God through Christ for the time at least The wages of Sin is Death is true not only of Habits but single Acts of Deliberate Sin Death is the penalty the Sanction of every Commandment and the Commandment does not prohibit Habits only but single Acts too Nor is there indeed any room for Doubt or Dispute here but in one Case which is If a Righteous Man should be taken off in the very Commission of a Sin which he was fallen into Here indeed much may be said and with much Uncertainty But the Resolution of this Point does not as far as I can see minister to any good or necessary End and therefore I will leave it to God In all other Cases every thing is clear and plain For if the Servant of God fall into a presumptuous Sin 't is universally acknowledg'd that he cannot recover his Station but by Repentance If he repent presently he is safe but if he continue in his Sin if he repeat it he passes into a state of Wickedness widens the Breach between God and his Soul declines insensibly into a Habit of sin and renders his Wound more and more incurable 'T is to little purpose I think here to consider the vast Difference there is in the Commission even of the same sin between a Child of God and a Child of Wrath because a Child of God must not commit it at all if he do though it be with Reluctancy though it be as it were with an imperfect Consent and with a divided Soul though the Awe of Religion and Conscience seems not utterly to have forsaken him even in the midst of his sin though his Heart smite him the very Minute it is finish'd and Repentance and Remorse take off the Relish of the unhappy Draught yet still 't is Sin 't is in its Nature Damnable and nothing but the Blood of Jesus can purge the Guilt 3. The Perfect Man may be supposed not only actually to abstain from Mortal Sin but to be advanced so far in the Mortification of all his inordinate Affections as to do it with Ease and Pleasure with Constancy and Delight For it must reasonably be presumed that his Victory over ungodly and worldly Lust is more confirm'd and absolute his Abhorrence of them more deep and sensible more fixt and lasting than that of a Beginner or Babe in Christ The Regenerate at first fears the Consequence of sin but by Degrees he hates the Sin it self The Purity of his Soul renders him now incapable of finding any pleasure in what he doted on before and the Love of God and Vertue raiseth him above the Temptations which he was wont to fall by old things are past away and all things are become new 4. Lastly The Perfect Man's Abstinence is not only more easie and steady but more entire and compleat also than that of others He has a regard to the End and Design of the Law to the Perfection of his Nature to the Purity and Elevation of his Sowl and therefore he expounds the Prohibitions of the Law in the most enlarg'd Sense and interprets them by a Spirit of Faith and Love He is not content to refrain from Actions directly criminal but shuns every Appearance of Evil and labours to mortifie all the Dispositions and Tendencies of his Nature towards it and to decline whatever Circumstances of Life are apt to betray the Soul into a Love of this World or the Body he has crucified the World and the Body too That Pleasure that Honour that Power that Profit which captives the Sinners tempts and tries and disquiets the Novice is but a burthen a trouble to him he finds no Gust no relish in these things He is so far from Intemperance so far from Wantonness so far from Pride and Vanity that could he without any Disadvantage to the Interest of Religion he would imitate the Meanness the Plainness the Laboriousness the Self-denial of our Saviour's Life not only in Disposition and Affection of his Soul but even in his outward State and Deportment and would prefer it far above the Pomp and Shew of Life In one word he enquires not how far he may Enjoy and be Safe but how far he may deny himself and be wise he is so far from desiring forbidden Satisfactions that he is unwilling and afraid to find too much Satisfaction in the natural and necessary Actions of an animal Life I need not prove this to any one who has read the foregoing Chapters for it is what I have been doing throughout this Treatise It is nothing but what is consonant to the whole Tenour of the Scripture and to the Example of the best Times And 't is conformable to what the best Authors have writ who have any thing of Life and Spirit in their Works or have any true Notion of the great Design of Christian Religion which is an heavenly Conversation Let any one but cast his Eye on St. Basil or any other after him who aim'd at the same thing I now do the promoting Holiness in the World in the Beauty and Perfection of it and he will acknowledge that I am far from having carried this matter too high I
will never like the Israelites see a Canaan before him Life must be fill'd with good Works or else Death will look but dark and gloomy when the Conscience enquires every where after the Effects of the Word and the Spirit and the Blood of Jesus and can discover in all the parts in all the paths of Life no Tracks of any thing but Fancy and Fortune Humour and Indulgence How will it shrink and faint and tremble what pensive melancholy Doubts will damp and choke its Hope And how can it be otherwise Alas the Mind of a Christian is sufficiently informed that every Man shall receive according to what he has done in the Body God will judge every Man according to his Works what then must become of him who has none to shew If Immortality and Glory if Life and Peace be the Reward of well-doing nay of patient continuance in well-doing what will become of the drousie and supine and careless the Sot and the Sluggish who have slept and fool'd and trifl'd away Life 3. I might aggravate the Guilt of Idleness by taking an Estimate of the Talents it wastes the Obligations it slights and the Hopes it forfeits I might render Man more jealous and apprehensive of falling into it by observing how generally it prevails which is a plain Proof either of the strength of the Temptation or our Propension a plain Proof either that there is I know not what secret Magick in the Sin or else that the Cheat it imposes upon the World is a very clever a very dexterous one But I have said enough and where the former Considerations fail these will hardly succeed Therefore I will now pass on from Arguments to Advice which was the next thing proposed to be done And here my Advice must have regard to two different sorts of Persons 1. To such as are born to plentiful or competent Fortunes 2. To such as are to raise their own or to provide for the Support and Maintenance of themselves and their Families by their Labour or Industry in some Calling or profession To the Former the best Directions I can give are these 1. He that is Master of his Time ought to devote the more to Religion to whom God has given much of him much will be required Nor has such a one any Excuse left either for Omission or a hasty and cursory Performance of Duty but one one that will increase his Guilt i. e. Laziness Pleasure or some Sin or other Such a one therefore ought to be constant and diligent in frequenting the publick Assemblies of the Church his Attendance upon Prayers Sacraments Sermons must be such as becomes a Man who as it has pleased God seems born not to provide for Life but only to live only to improve and enjoy Life and carry on the nobler Designs of it and as becomes a Man whose good or ill Example is of such vast Importance to the Service or Dis-service of Religion Nor must such a ones Attendance on the Publick excuse him from the religious Offices of the Closet or his Family he ought to abound in each He may be more frequent in Meditation and Prayer in Reading and Instruction and perform each with more Justness and Solemnity than others can 2. Persons of Fortune ought to be careful in the Choice of Intimates and Friends Conversation is not always a Loss but sometimes a Gain of Time We often need to have our Forgetfulness reliev'd our Drowsiness awaken'd by the Discourses and Reflections of our Friends If Discourse were generally season'd with Grace Conversation would be the greatest Blessing if with Sense and Reason Innocence and Prudence it would be the most agreeable Entertainment of Human Life But how mischievous is the Acquaintance which infects us with Vanity and Lightness of Spirit which shews us nothing but a Gaudy out-side and a Frothy Soul whose Example binds Men in Civility to be foolish and makes Confidence and Vice and Mis-spence of Time a Fashion 3. It were to be wished That Persons of the best Rank were ever bred up to something to something that might improve to something that might amuse and innocently engage their Minds to something that might employ Life without encumbring it And yet alas what need I wish this how many excellent Qualities are necessary to render a Gentleman worthy of the Station where God has placed him Let him pursue these how many are the Vertues how many the Duties to which a Christian is oblig'd for him attend these There is a great deal requisite to make a good Master a good Husband a good Father a good Son a good Neighbour a good Parishioner an excellent Subject and an excellent Friend and yet there are many other Relations besides these In a word there is no Man who when he shall appear before God will not be found to have omitted many Duties and to have perform'd many other with less Care and Diligence than he ought and surely such a one cannot justly complain for want of Business I doubt rather on the contrary That whoever takes a just and full view of things will have reason to complain That Life is short and our Work great That let us use all the Diligence we can and be as frugal of our Time as we will we arrive much sooner at a Maturity of Years than of Knowledge and Vertue 4. The Diversions of Persons of this Quality ought to be well regulated such as become the Character of a Gentleman and the Dignity of a Christian that is that must be neither mean nor vicious But I have treated this and the foregoing Heads more copiously in Human Life to which I refer my Reader As to such in the next place who are engag'd in a Profession I have particularly considered their State in several Places and find little to add here but only to mind them That they may be guilty of Idleness too That their Idleness is the more criminal the less Temptation they have to it They may neglect the Duties of their Calling I mean their Secular Calling and if they be unfaithful and negligent in their Temporal Concern it is not to be expected that they should be more Sollicitous and Industrious about their Spiritual one They may again suffer the Cares of this Life to thrust out those of another and then they are truly idle and slothful Servants to God how industrious and faithful soever they are to the World for Life is but wasted and mis-spent if it make not Provision for Eternity and it matters little whether it be wasted in Pleasure or in Drudgery CHAP. VIII Of Unfruitfulness as it consists in Lukewarmness Coldness or Formality IN the former Chapter I consider'd that part of Unfruitfulness which consists in the Omission of Duty I am now to consider another part of it which consists in too perfunctory a Performance of it Besides those who are truly unprofitable because they slight or neglect the Duties of Religion there is another Sort
Case of Herod he had yielded no doubt to the Power and Force of the Baptists Reasons if he had not been drawn back by the Charms of his Herodias And this is the Case of every Man who is but almost a Christian he is under the Ascendant of some silly or vile Lust or other this is that which spoils the Taste of the hidden Manna and diminisheth the Price of Canaan Without doubt Men would apply themselves more vigorously to spiritual Things were they not too fond of the Body and the Pleasures of it they would certainly seek the Kingdom of Heaven more earnestly and make a better provision than they do for the other World were they not too much taken with this and therefore too apt to set up their Rest on this side Jordan Now if this be so what can we expect they only who conquer are crowned they that sow to the flesh and to the world can reap nothing from these but Corruption These kind of Christians though peradventure they are not Slaves to any infamous and scandalous Lusts are yet entangled by some other not muchless injurious though not to Reputation yet to Purity of Heart they are captived to the World and Flesh though their Chains seem better polished and of a finer Metal they cannot mount upwards they cannot conquer being retarded and kept under if not by the Strength of Temptation yet by their own Softness and Weakness and yet why should I doubt but these are conquer'd by Temptation The more innocent the Object of any ones Passion is generally the more fatal because we are the more apt to indulge our selves in it The Causes of Lukewarmness being thus pointed out 't is evident what the Cure of it consists in namely in forming just and correct Notions of Vertue and Vice in strengthening and confirming our Faith and in perfecting and compleating our Reformation I will now endeavour to possess the Minds of Men with an Aversion and Dread of this State of Lukewarmness by shewing 1. The Folly 2. The Guilt and 3. The Danger of it 1. The Folly How reasonably may I here address my self to the Luke-warm in the words of Elijah to the Israelites How long halt ye between two Opinions if the Lord be God follow him but if Baal then follow him 1 King 18.21 If you do indeed believe that your Safety and Happiness depends upon God then serve him in good earnest but if you think this depends upon the World the Flesh and the Devil then serve these if you really think that Vertue and Religion are the most solid and stable Treasure then strive sincerely and vigorously to possess your selves of them but if you really think that the Ease and Pleasure of the Body Respect and Pomp and State is the proper Portion and soveraign Good of Man then devote and offer up your selves to these For what a folly is that Life which will neither procure us the Happiness of this World nor of another To what purpose is it to listen only so much to Conscience as to damp and chil our Pleasure and so much to Pleasure as to disturb the Peace and Repose of Conscience But indeed as the Words of Elijah were rather an Irony than any real Doubt whether Baal or the Lord were God rather a scornful Derision of their Folly and Stupidity than a Serious Exhortation to deliberate whether Idolatry or the Worship of the true God were to be chosen I doubt not but mine will seem to you to carry no other Sound in them The Disparity is so vast between God and the World between Religion and Sensuality Covetousness or Ambition between those Hopes and Enjoyments we may reap from the one and those we can fancy in the other that there is no place for doubting what Choice we are to make or to which Side we are to adhere Nay in this we are more criminal than the Israelite being self-condemn'd The Israelites indeed seem to be at a Loss whether the Lord or Baal were God they doubted under whose Protection they might thrive best But at this day whoever believes a God knows very well there is none besides him Whatever passion we have for the World and the Things of it whatever spiritual Idolatry we are guilty of our Opinions are not yet so far corrupted as to attribute to them in Reality any thing like Divinity Whilst we dote on Wealth we at the same time know that it makes its self Wings and flies away whilst on Greatness and Power we know that 't is but a piece of empty and toilsom Pageantry and often the Subject of Misery and dismal Tragedies not incident to a lower State whilst we dote on Pleasure we are well assur'd that 't is dishonourable and short and intermixt with Fears and Shame and Torment We know that nothing here below is able to free our State and Fortune from Calamity our Mind from Guilt the Body from Death much less the whole Man from a miserable Eternity In one word we know that what we admire is Vanity and what we worship is indeed an Idol This being so I will insist no longer on this Topick for since the World bears no Competition with God in our Opinion though it often rival him in our Affections we are not to impute the halting of a Laodicean Christian to any Perswasion of Omnipotence or Alsufficiency or any thing like Divinity in the things he dotes on serves and worships but we must find out some other Reason of it And that is generally this we are willing to believe that our Fondness for the World and our Indulgence to the Body is consistent enough with Religion That it is no Violation of our Faith nor Provocation to God nor conserquently Prejudice to our Eternal Interest And then 't is no wonder if we blend and compound Religion and Sensuality and stand divided in our Affections and consequently halt in our Service between God and the World To prevent this I will shew 2. That this is a great Sin which is sufficiently evident from this Single Consideration That it frustrates the Efficacy of the Gospel and the Spirit and entirely defeats the great Design of the Christian Religion For 1. Religion has no effectual Influence upon the Lukewarm himself the Gospel works no thorough Change in him The Sinner is not converted into a Saint nor Human Nature perfected by Participation of a Divine one 2. The Laodiceans can never offer up to God any Gift any Sacrifice worthy of him nor render him any Service acceptable to him the Kingdom of God is Righteousness and Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost Rom. 14. He that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of Men. But alas these Men are almost utter Strangers to these things a few faint and irresolute Wishes formal and customary Prayers nigardly and grumbling Alms and an Attendance upon God's Word rather out of spiritual Wantonness than Devotion these are the Offerings