in Sin and Impenitency Who can be sure that God will give him â—he Grace to recover himself as those Hoâ—y Men did Those who presume to sin as they did in hopes that they shall in like manner wipe off their Sins by Repentance and Amendment reason just like a Man who should swallow down Poyson and conclude it would not kill him because some who have been Poysoned have Escaped Death But that which deserves here our greatest Consideration is the time which those Saineâ— lived in There is great difference between 〈◊〉 Christians and the good Men under the Old Testament Men before Christ haâ— not by a great deal that Light which we have and did not know as we do the Duties of Holiness Our Saviour teacheâ— us that distinction when he says * Mat. XII 1. The John the Baptist was the greatest among they who were born of a Woman but that the leâ—â— in the Kingdom of Heaven was greater theâ— John the Baptist that is to say that Christians have a much greater Light than either John Baptist or all the ancient Prephets had Now the measure of Knowledge ought to be the measure of Piety and therefore Christians ought to excel the Jews in Holiness What God did bear with as that time would be in us altogether intoleable and how can it be lawful for us to imitate the Ancients in their Vices when we are bound to surpass their Vertues This Principle is of great moment and without it we can hardly silence Profane Persons a Libertine insisting upon Presidents will say That Polygamy he keeping of Concubines Murder Divorce upon the slightest pretences and such like Disorders are not so criminal as they are imagined to be he will produce the Instances of Abraham and Jacob of the Judges of Israel of David and the Jews Far be it from us to detract from the honour and praise due to those Ancient Worthies they have done much for the Time they live in But God forbid too that we should lessen the Glory and the Advantages of the Christian Religion If we speak like Christians we will say That God in his Goodness did pass over many things by reason of the Time and of the natural Temper of the Jews who were a gross and carnal People Our Saviour's Answer to the Pharisees coneerning Divorce is very much to our purpose * Mat. XIX Moses suffered you to put away your Wives but from the beginning it was not so And then he adds that whosoever should imitate the Jews and do that which had been done and tolerated till then should be guilty of Adultery We may easily apply this Answer to the instance of St. Peter since before our Saviour's Ascension the Apostles were weak as yet and possessed with various Prejudices But I think my self bound to add a Word or two concerning the Example of St. Paul because it is commonly mistaken That Apostle says †1 Tim. I. 13 15. that he was a Blasphemer a Persecutor who was not worthy to be called an Apostle and that he was the chief of Sinners At the first hearing of these Words many imagine that St. Paul had been a profligate Man a Swearer and a Godless Wretch and yet he means nothing else but that he had once persecuted the Church For otherwise St. Paul before his Conversion to Christianity was a good Man and his Life was blameless and exemplary for this he appeals to God and the Jews Acts XXIII 1. and XXVI 4. If he did persecute the Church then it was through a blind Zeal and Ignorance and for that reason as he tells us himself ver 13. he obtained mercy from God Is not this quite another Case than that of those Christians who knowingly and wilfully allow themselves in Sin It is another mistake to make St. Paul say as some do that he is the greatest of Sinners he does not say that he says only that he is the chief or the first of those Sinners whom Jesus Christ did save His meaning is that he holds the first rank among converted Sinners that he is a remarkable Instance of the Divine Mercy and that Jesus had begun by him to shew his Clemency and Goodness Thus he explains himself Verse 16. For this cause says he I obtained Mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him This is exactly what he meant for as to what some imagine that St. Paul out of Humility acknowledges himself the greatest of all Sinners I think that explication is wrong and that it neither agrees with Truth nor Piety nor good Sense A good Man is not bound to think himself worse than the greatest sinners on the contrary he ought to bless God for that Good which the Divine Grace has wrought if him But as the last Refuge of Sinners is the Mercy of God so they commonly abuse those Places which set forth the greatness of that Mercy They found this principally upon these Words Where Sin does abound Grace does much more abound Under the Covert of this short Sentence the most flagitious Sinners think themselves safe But the bare reading of St. Paul's Discourse will soon convince us that this is to wrest the Scripture into a false and pernicious Sense The Apostle's Design is to shew that all Men being rendred Sinners in Adam and by the Law the Goodness of God was so great that he was willing to Save them through Jesus Christ In order to establish this Truth he had prove thâ— before Christ Sin and Death reigned erery where not only among the Heathen but also among the Jews upon this â—â—adds that where Sin did abound Grace â—â—mercy more abound to signify God's havâ—â—â— mercy on them when they were involved in Sin and Death In a Word St. Pâ—â— sets the happy Condition to which Mâ—â— were advanced by Jesus Christ in opposition to that which they were in before This is the sense of that place and the drift of the whole Epistle Can any one infer from thence that now we may freely sin and that Grace will exert in self rewards us whatever sins we may commit It is fit to observe besides that whiâ—â— St. Paul speaks of Grace he does not only mean the pardoning but likewise the saâ—ctifying Grace which destroys the pretention of the Libertines The Apoâ—â— himself confutes it with a great deal of vehemence He foresaw that some would â—gue like those we now contend with aâ—â— he makes this Objection to himself * Rom. 6.1 2 3 11 12. Whâ—â— then shall we continue in sin that Grace may bound And this is his Answer God forbid how shall we that are dead to sin live 〈◊〉 longer therein We who have been baptized into Christ's death that we should walk in newness of Life Reckon ye also your selves dead unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your Mortal Body
of Holiness which he requires of them The Apostles give us another Notion of those who know and believe in Jesus Christ They represent to us indeed the miserable Condition in which Men naturally are and the greatness of their Corruption but they tell us at the same time that Christ is come to deliver them from that State * Phil 4.13 that a Christian can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth him * 2 Tim. 11.21 That he is perfect and throughly furnished to all good works †1 John ver 34. That he who loves God keeps his Commandments and overcomes the World This plainly imports that we are no longer in that State of Corruption and Death wherein Man being left to himself is a slave to Sin or at least that we ought to be no longer in that State after all that which the Grace of God has done for us It is the greatest Injury that can be done to Christ and his Grace to say That his Coming his Death his Gospel and his Spirit are not able to Sanctify Men and that after they are Redeemed and Adopted by God it is impossible for them to be good and to do what he Commands If this was true where would be the Power of the Christian Religion and what could we think of God's proceeding when he addresses his Commandments to us At this rate he gives us a Law not that we should keep it but rather to convince us that we cannot observe it In this Case what will become of our Saviour's Precepts and what are We to think of those pure and exalted Morals which he has left us Evangelical Holiness will be nothing else but an imaginary and unpracticable Sanctity Those Ideas of Perfection will be but mere Ideas without any reality like those of that Philosopher who form'd a fine Scheme of the best Government of a Common-wealth but it was a Project which could never be executed It were to be wished we might remember that Thanks be to God we are no longer Heathens and that Men should be encouraged and not disheartned by extravagant Maxims and Discourses Which is the imitating those Cowardly Spies who after they had viewed the Land of Canaan went about to dispirit the Israelites and to persuade them that the Conquest of that Land was impossible 2. It is not only said That we are not able to be so Holy as the Gospel requires but it is added besides that God would not have us be so that he makes use of Sin to keep us humble and to make us feel the constant need we have of his Grace as well as to kindle in us the desire of a better and more perfect Life This Maxim represents Corruption as a thing unavoidable agreeable to the Will of God and in some measure useful But what can be more false than to pretend that God would not have us be Holy Why then does he Command us to be so Why does St. Paul say * 1 Thess 4.3 This is the Will of God to wit your Sanctification What can be meant by these Words of St. Peter †1 Pet. 1.15 16. As he who has called you is Holy be ye also holy in all manner of Conversation for it is written be ye holy for I am Holy If it be said that God would have us be Holy but not perfectly Holy as we shall be in Heaven I ask no more Who did ever pretend that we ought to be as Holy in this World as we are to be in the Life to come Nothing else is required of Men but that they should be as Holy as God would have them to be and as Holy as his Grace enables them to be in this Life To alledge against this That God would not have us be so Holy is a ridiculous Evasion which implies a Contradiction Besides this Maxim taken in that Sense which it first offers to the Mind seems to make God the Author of Sin For it supposes not only that God would not have us to be so Holy but which is more strange that he wills the contrary that lie has his Views Designs and Reasons why he should not permit us to attain that degree of Holiness to which the Gospel calls us That is the meaning of these Words That God makes use of Sin to keep us humble to make us feel the need we have of his Grace and to make us long for another Life If it was said only That God had some Reasons to permit Sin such an Assertion would be true but those who alledge this Maxim to excuse themselves from obeying the Gospel ascribe to God a positive Design and a direct Intention which renders that Obedience impossible which derogates from his Holiness and Justice and which is manifestly contrary to those Declarations which he himself has made in Scripture If it were further said That our Sins ought to humble us and that they should serve to make us wiser and more circumspect for the time to come and to raise in us a longing after a happier State this would be very Reasonable But it does not follow from thence that we are to ascribe to God those Views and Intentions which this Maxim ascribes to him There is a vast difference between the Design which God proposes to himself and the Event of Things These Two should never be confounded Neither ought the natural Effect of Sin to be confounded with the Consequences of it The natural Effect of Sin can be no other but Evil if the Consequences of it are not always fatal and if Men reap some Advantage from it that is as we say by accident However God has no need of Vice to form us to Humility he has other Means enough to humble us and to make us feel the need we stand in of his Grace without being necessitated to let us live under the Dominion of Sin to produce those Dispositions in us And there remains still even in the very holiest Men matter enough for them to have recourse to the Divine Mercy and to aspire to a better Life notwithstanding all the progress they can make in Holiness This will be fully cleared in the sequel of this Chapter 3. Here is another Maxim which is pretty common it is said That this World is the place of Corruption that this Life is the time of Sin and that Holiness is reserved for Heaven Mens Minds are so infected with this Imagination that we hear it said every Day even by those who have some Piety That we live in this World only to offend God and that we do nothing but sin But certainly nothing is more contrary to the Doctrine of the Gospel Than this for tho' it is true in a sound sense that this World is the Place of Corruption and that Sin will never be intirely abolished but in Heaven yet that does by no means excuse us from serving and fearing God as long as we live here The first thing a
of the Efficacy of Christianity or of the sincerity of its Precepts Promises and Threatnings I grant then that Corruption is great that the Course of the World is very bad and that in all probability there will always be Wickedness upon Earth But that this Corruption should be always the same so that no Reformation can be hoped is what cannot be maintained without affronting Religion without introducing Fatality and extinguishing all Zeal among Christians By the Maxims we have hitherto Examined Men endeavour to prove that the practice of Holiness is either of no great necessity or that it is impossible But there are some others which represent the Study of Vertue as dangerous so that here vicious Men do not stand barely upon the defensive part but they attack their Adversaries who recommend the Duties of Holiness 1. They pretend that we cannot insist so much upon Works without obscuring the Glory of the Divine Mercy We must ascribe all say they to Mercy and nothing to our own Righteousness There is no true Christian but acknowledges That our Salvation is entirely owing to the Divine Mercy and rejects the Opinion which attributes any Merit to Good-works It is that Mercy which gave us Christ for our Redeemer and our Salvation is founded upon that Redemption It is that Mercy which pardons the Sins of those who Believe and Repent and which bears with the Infirmities of Regenerate Christians And it is from the same Mercy that we expect that Glorious and un-merited Reward which is laid up in Heaven for Good Men. All these are as many Acts of the pure Mercy of God But as we have shewed that the Mercy which Saves us does not excuse us from Good-works so the necessity of Good-works does not lessen in the least the Riches of God's Mercy Unless we admit that there are Contradictions in Scripture we must acknowledge that the Doctrine of Sanctification does perfectly agree with the Doctrine of Grace And in Truth to say That God gave up his Son to Death in order to Save Men and that he will grant Remission of Sins and Eternal Happiness to every believing and repenting Sinner is as much as can be said to magnify the Divine Mercy Except we should pretend that God would be more merciful if he did indifferently Save all Mankind and Reward Vice and Vertue alike but this would be a horrid Thought and no less than downright Blasphemy Then Sinners might say indeed Let us continue in Sin that Grace may abound Let us suppose that a Prince pardons a Rebellious Subject and that he is ready to confer the greatest Honours and Benefits upon him on condition that this Subject shall accept of the Pardon that is offered him and shall relapse no more into the same Crime Would any Man be so unreasonable as to say that the Clemency of that Prince would be much greater if he did grant his Favours to this Rebel tho' he should persist in his Crime And yet this is the same thing which some Men would have God do It is very strange that any one should think to Honour God by such Conceits as do not only injure his Mercy but his other Perfections too Because God is Merciful must we forget that he is Holy Just and Good It is said that we must ascribe all to the mercy of God what then must we have no regard to his Holiness his Justice and his Truth Must what the Scripture tells of these last Perfections be faintly and tenderly expounded whilst we press and scrue up to the highest pitch what it says of Mercy As to what is added that we ought to ascribe nothing to our own Righteousness it is unquestionably true But do we ascribe any thing to Man when we say that he is bound to do his Duty and to accept the favour which God is pleased to bestow upon him Can any Man say that the Rebel I Mentioned just now is the Author of his own Happiness and that he deserves the Pardon granted him by his Prince because he accepts of it and fulfils the condition upon which it is offered What reason then has a Man to value himself upon his own Righteousness or to arrogate any Merit to himself since he is indebted to the Grace of God both for the beginnings and the progress of his Sanctification In short we should take heed that for fear of ascribing any thing to Man we may not rob the Divine Grace of what belongs to it by not acknowledging its Gifts and Power in a Regenerate Man 2. Here is another Maxim which is alledged in Confirmation of the preceding and which aims at the same Mark It is this That we must not speak so much of Good-works lest we inspire Men with Pride and Presumption And to support this Maxim it is usual to run out upon Mens inclination to Pride and upon the heinousness of that Sin But this Maxim proceeds only from the false and confused Notions which Men have about Religious Matters Either this Maxim has no Sense at all or else it mounts to this That whosoever applies himself to Holiness and Good-works is in danger of falling into Pride and that a neglect of Vertue contains a Man within the Bounds of Humility Which is as much as to say that a Man may be Holy without Humility and humble without Holiness Two Things which are the most ridiculous and contradictory that can be asserted At this rate it would be a dangerous thing to be a Good Man and more safe to be otherwise By pursuing Vertue and Holiness a Man draws near to Sin and to the greatest of Sins I mean Pride and by neglecting Holiness he attains Humility which is one of the chief Christian Vertues If this is true all that we call Vice or Vertue is but an empty sound It is much that Men should not see that there can be no Holiness without Humility nor Humility without Holiness that where there is Holiness there is Humility and Pride is excluded and that where Pride is there is no true Sanctification The holier a Man grows he becomes the more humble and he is so far from coming the nearer to Pride by proceeding in Holliness that on the contrary he removes the farther from it The instance of our Blessed Saviour who was both perfectly Holy and perfectly Humble is a proof that Humility is not incompatible with Holiness But the Nature of Humility is not well understood There are many who conceive no other Humility but that which arises from the Disorders of a vicious and irregular Life So that when they would humble good Men they rank them among the vilest Sinners they make them say that there is nothing but Wickedness and Abomination in them and that they have deserved Eternal Damnation by innumerable Sins which they have committed every Moment of their Lives and even by the best Actions they have done The strongest Expressions and the most excessive Hyperboles are scarce sufficient to
giving an account of his Dispute with St. Peter and of his reproving him for his too great Compliance with the Jews he affirms that we are justified by the Faith of Christ and not by the Work of the Law Why has not than difference been observed which St Paul makes about Works When he speaks of the Works of the Mosaical Law he calls them the Works of the Law or barely Works but when he treat of the Works which the Gospel prescribes he call them Good Works because they are really good holy and profitable in their own Nature but this Title of Good Works is never bestowed upon the Works of the Ceremonial Law which considered in themselves had nothing of Goodness or Holiness in them In a word Good Works in St. Paul's stile are quite another thing than barely Works or the Works of the Law If this had been considered such great â—ains needed not to have been taken to make * Rom. 3.27 St. Paul agree with St. James †Galat. 11.16 St. Paul says that Man is justified by Faith withâ—ut the Works of the Law | Jam. 11.24 and St. James â—hat Man is justified by works and not by Faith â—nly There is no contradiction between these two Apostles Both follow one Hypothesis and argue upon the same Principles St. Paul disputing against the Jews who wou'd tie Christians to the Observance of the Works of the Mosaical Law â—â—ffrms that Faith in Christ is sufficient provided it brings forth Good Work 's â—nd that it is not necessary to observe the Mosaical rites St. James disputing against â—ereticks who pretended that Faith did â—ave without Good Works and so did â—ntirely ruin our Saviour's Morals deâ—lares that Faith which does not proâ—uce Good Works is not sufficient to â—alvation Is not this the same Doctrine with St. Paul's But instead of reconciling these two Apostles some People find here great difficulties They do not reconcile St. James with St. Paul but they rather refute St. James by St. Paul St. James is expounded with great Caution as if he had gone too far by saying that Man is justified by works and not by Faith only This Proposition is softned as much as possible it is excused rather than explained but as for what St. Paul says that Faith alone justfiies without Works it is taken in the utmost strictness so that all is ascribed to Faith and nothing to Good Works Nay Faith is set in Opposition to Good Works and God to God himself the Passages of Scripture which speak of Faith being brought out against those which relate to Works It is true say some the Scripture says that without Holiness no manshall see God but it is likewise written that we are not justified by our Works but only by Faith And by this way of reasoning Men raise themselves above the reproaches and accusations of their own Consciences I say it once more this is to attack and confute the Word of God by it self and to charge the Holy Ghost with self-contradiction For in short if a Man can be justified without Good Works he can be saved without them too since the being justified is the same thing with the being saved Now if a Man can be saved without Good Works he may see the Face of God without Holiness which is directly contrary to what St. Paul tells us * Heb. 21.14 that without Holiness no man shall see the Lord. 2. A great many People imagine that it is one of the Priviledges of Christians not to be tied to the Observation of God's Law as the Jews were some mistaken places give occasion to that Error and particularly this †Rom. 6. We are no more under the Law but under Grace These words are thus interpreted The Law did prescribe Works but the Gospel requires only Faith the Law did threaten but the Gospel speaks only of Grace and Pardon So that to require Works at this time of day is to bring back the Dispensation of the Law There is something of Truth in this reasoning but those who make use of it to free themselves from the Observation of God's Commandments do very little understand either what the Law or the Gospel is and wherein these two Dispensations differ It is certain that the Law was a Dispensation of Severity it did not propose to Men remission of sins and salvation as the Gospel does The Law had not that power and efficacy to sanctify Men which Grace has The Law laid upon the Jews great many Obligation which were not only burdensom and painful but which besides had no intrinseâ—â—â— Holiness in them and those Duties were enjoyned under a Curse The Law it self was a time of Severity and Malediction in respect to all the Nations of the Earth since all the while that Oeconomy did subsist they were excluded from the Covenant which God had made with the Jews In these several regards we are not under the Law but under Grace But if from this that we are not under the Law we should infer that we are no longer bound to do what is just this Inference would overturn the whole Gospel and transform Religion into Libertinism Iâ— because we are under Grace we ought to speak no more of Works why should the Gospel prescribe Works and the same Works which the Law enjoyned excepting only the Ceremonies Why should this Gospel call us to a Holiness which exceeds that of the Jews and enforce this Obligation with more terrible Threatnings than those of the Law Why did our Saviour John the Baptist and the Apostles preach up Repentance and enter upon their Ministry with these Words | Mat. 3.2 and 4.4 repent ye According to the Hypothesis of these Men they should have spoken to them after this manner * Acts 11.17 This is the time of Grace the Law is past and the Covenant of Works is abolished therefore fear nothing let not your sins trouble you for Salvation is promised to all Mankind Whence comes it to pass that our †Mat. 5.6.7 Saviour speaks only of Works in his Sermon upon the Mount or that St. Paul declares that the natural intention and the proper effect of Grace is to teach Men to live according to the rules of Temperance Justice and Godliness Must we say that God is altered that he does not love Holiness so much now as he did heretofore of that Sin is become less odious to him since it was expiated by the death of his Son But it is said we are no more under the Law What are Christians then a Lawless People On the contrary we are under the Law I mean under the Law of Christ under | Rom. 8.2 the Law of the Spirit of life which makes us free from the Law of Sin and Death But let us hear St. Paul himself in what sense and respect does he say that we are no more under the Law but under Grace He says this precisely to shew that
Man to be too Just or too Wise and whether there can be a vicious excess in Righteousness or Wisdom If a Man may be over-righteous he may likewise love God too much for to be righteous and to love God is the same thing Now God requires that we should love him with all our Heart and consequently that we should be as righteous as it is possible for us to be But far from being over-righteous we can never be righteous enough And if we can never be righteous enough is there any occasion to exhort us that we should not be over-righteous I wish Men had at least that reverence for the Scripture as not to make it speak Absurdities I know the ordinary Evasion Vicious Men will say that when Piety runs to excess it leads to Superstition or Pride and becomes troublesome and ridiculous Every body says that but without Reason I have refuted that Opinion and shewed that true Piety never degenerates into Superstition or Pride and that Devout Men who are Superstitious or troublesome have but a false Devotion or a misguided Zeal This may direct us to the true meaning of the Sentence in Question Solomon does not speak here of true Justice and Wisdom For whether he may have an eye here upon Superstitious or Hypocritical Persons whose Righteousness is but imaginary which Sense is adopted by many Interpreters or whether he speaks of those who exercise Justice with too much severity as some think or whether as it is conceived by others he gives this advice to busy and presumptuous People who meddle in things which do not concern them and fancy themselves able to determine all Matters however it is plain that Solomon does not speak here of good Men who exactly follow the Rules of true Justice and Wisdom If we stick to the last of these Three Expositions which seems to agree best with Solomon's design then the meaning of this place is clear and rational and has nothing in it contrary to Piety whereas the sense which is put upon these Words by the Libertines is both Absurd and Impious Those who would either justify or excuse Corruption use to object in the second place That since the Scripture teaches that all Men and even good Men are deeply ingaged in Corruption it must follow from thence that Holiness and Good-works are not so very necessary and that the practice of these is impossible Now to prove this universal Corruption of all Men they bring several Declarations of Scripture and this among the rest There is not one that doeth good no not one c. Psal 14. Rom. 3. If their meaning in citing these Words was only to shew that there is no Man altogether free from Sin and if it was granted on the other-hand that good Men do not sin in the same manner that the wicked do I would not quarrel much about this Interpretation tho' not altogether exact or agreeable to the scope of David in the 19th Psalm But there is another design in it which is to inferr from these Words that Men differ very little from one another that they are all guilty of many great Sins and that none do or can practise the Duties of Holiness In a word this is intended for the Apology of Corruption and to silence those who oppose it If what David says in this place is to be strictly understood it will follow that there is not one good Man upon Earth that all Men are perverted that they are all become abominable by their Sins and that there is not one single Person that is just or that fears God But this Consequence raises Horrour it is contrary to Truth and Experience and to what the Scripture declares in a Thousand places where it speaks of Good Men and distinguishes them from the Wicked Nay this Consequence may be destroy'd from what we read in that very Psalm which mentions the Just who are protected by God and the Wicked who persecute them This complaint of David must therefore be understood with some restrictions By reading the XIV Psalm we may perceive that David intends to describe in it the extream Corruption of Men in his time There he draws the Picture of Impiety and Atheism and speaks of those Fools who say in their hearts that there is no God and whose life is a continued chain of Sins It must be observed in the next place that when St. Paul cites these words out of the XIV Psalm in the Epistle to the Romans Chap. III. he does it with a design to shew that the Jews were not much better than the Heathens and that they had as much need of a Saviour * V. 9. What then are we better than they No in no wise for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin This is the Assertion which St. Paul maintains and which he proves from that complaint which David made of Old †V. 19. There is not one that does good c. From whence he concludes that all mouths must be stopped and that all the World is become guilty before God so that the Law of Moses could neither justify nor sanctifie the Jews But he teaches at the same time that Christ was come to rescue Men out of that miserable Condition And it were a strang thing if we must dill say of Christians that there is none that does good no not one 2. This answer is to be applied to that place in the Ephesians where it is said * Ephes II. 1. i. that we are dead in trespasses and sins for to the same end these words are quoted I do not deny but all Men abstracting from the Divine Grace are to be considered as dead in their Sins That is St. Paul's meaning in that place he speaks here of the Natural state of Men and particularly of Heathens which was a State of Corruption and Death in which they had perished had not God taken pity upon them But the Apostle intends to make the Ephesians sensible of that unparallel'd Mercy of God by which they were converted to Christianity being but poor Heathens before who were dead in their sins and obnoxious to the Wrath of God He does not say to them you are dead in your sins it is falsifying the Text to cite it so and to say we are dead in our sins but you were dead he speaks of the time past when they were Heathens * and 5. c Among whom says he speaking of the Jews we had our Conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind but now he adds God has quickned us together with Christ both you that were Heathens and we that were Jews are raised again from this spiritual death by virtue of God's great Mercy This is the true meaning of that place which gives us a lively Idea of Mens Natural Corruption and of that happy State to which Christ
that they offend God at every foot and yet this is what Men would establish from this Maxim That the justest Man sins Seven times a day Those who have a mind to Quote the Scripture should neither add to nor diminish from it they should not alter the Words nor divide Sentences from what goes before and what follows for otherwise there is no Absurdity or Impiety which may not be proved from the Word of God 5. But our Adversaries will say Whether that Place is alledged right or wrong it does not matter much since there are others which say the same thing in stronger Expressions Does not St. Paul say Rom. VII * Rom. VII I am carnal sold under sin for in me dwelleth no good thing for that which I do I allow not and what I would that do I not but what I hate that do I. I see a Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bringing me into captivity to the Law of Sin which is in my Members O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this Death If St. Paul himself speaks after this manner who can deny that the greatest Saints fall into very heinous Sins and have still a large stock of Corruption in them Those who draw this Inference from the Words of St. Paul make him speak that which is quite contrary to his thoughts He is so far from saying any thing that favours the cause of Sinners that on the contrary his design is to prove the necessity of a good Life and to make Men sensible of the Efficacy of the Gospel in reference to Sanctification He has this in his view in the VII Chapter to the Romans where he represents the difference between a Corrupt and a Regenerated Man and between the Condition of Man under the Law and his State under the Gospel So that all he says of the Carnal Man sold under Sin c. is to be understood of a corrupt Man living under the Law I am not ignorant that Divines otherwise Able and Pious Men have thought that St. Paul speaks of himself in this Chapter and that he represents there what passes within a Regenerate Man but I know likewise that a great many Orthodox Divines have rejected that Exposition as contrary to the scope of the Apostle to the constant Doctrine of the New Testament and to the Spirit of the Christian Religion It h a sad thing that when a place is capable of two Senses Men should pitch upon that which comes nearer to the Pretensions of Sinners I do not intend here to enter into a Dispute nor to offend those of a contrary Opinion I am persuaded that they have no design to countenance Corruption but as in all things we ought to seek the Truth and as the Truth here is of great Consequence for the promoting of Piety so I entreat those who might have Scruples concerning those Words to make these following Reflections 1. Let them seriously and impartially consider whether it may be said that St. Paul was a Carnal Man fold under Sin a Man who did no Good but Evil and a Man involved in Death these are the strongest Expressions which can be used and which the Scripture uses to give as the Character of Wicked and Impious Men To believe this of St. Paul is so very hard that a Man must be able to digest any thing who is not startled at it 2. I desire them to attend to the Drift of St. Paul he had undertaken to shew that the Doctrine of Justification by faith did not introduce Licentiousness this he had proved in the whole VI Chapter as may appear by the reading it Is it likely that in the VII Chapter he should overturn all that he had established in the preceding \ and say that the holiest Men are captivated to the Law of Sin If this be St. Paul's Doctrine what becomes of the Efficacy of Faith to produce Holiness and how could he have answered that Objection which he proposes to himself Chap. VI. 1. and 15. Shall we continue in sin shall we sin we that are under Grace St. Paul ought to have granted the Objection if it be true that the most Regenerate are sold to Sin But it is plain that in the VII Chapter he goes on to prove what he had laid down already to wit that the Gospel sanctifies Men and not only this but that the Gospel alone can sanctifie Men and that the Law could not This is the Scope of the whole Chapter In the very first Four Verses he shews that Christians are no longer under the Law nor consequently under Sin and that they are dead to the Law that they may bring forth fruits unto God He expresses himself more clearly yet in the 5th Verse where he says that there is a considerable difference between those who are under the Law and those who are in Jesus Christ He plainly distinguishes these two States and the time past from the present When we were in the flesh says he the motions of sin which were by the Law did work in our Members to bring forth unto death but now we are delivered from the Law that we should serve in newness of Spirit These are the two States The Sate past was a state of Corruption the presect State is a State of Holiness But as it might have been inferred from thence that the Law was the cause of Sin the Apostle refutes that imagination from the 7th to the 14th Verse After this he describes the miserable Condition of a Man who is not Regenerated by Grace and who still is under the Law He begins to do this from the 14th Verse by faying the Law is spiritual but I am carnal sold under sin c. And here no doubt it will be said that St Paul speaks of himself and not of those who were under the Law for says he I am carnal c. But one may easily see that the Apostle uses here a way of speaking which is very ordidinary in discourse and by which he that speaks puts himself in the room of those he speaks of And St. Paul had the more reason to express himself in this manner because he had been himself under the Law before he was converted to Christianity There are many instances in Scripture of this way of speaking and we find one in this very Chapter which is beyond exception St Paul says in the 9th Verse I was alive without the Law once c. If we do not admit here a figurative expression or if these words are strictly taken then we must say that there was a time when this Apostle was without Law which is both false and ridiculous As therefore it is plain that when he says Ver. 9th I was without Law he speaks of the State of those Men to wliom the Law was not given so it is unquestionalbe that when he says I am carnal c. he describes the State of a
Corrupt Man living under the Law and not his own This is the Key which lets us into the meaning of his Discourse in which the Law is mentioned almost in every Verse 3. Lastly That which makes it as clear as the Sun that this is his true sense is that when the Apostle considers and speaks of himself as a Christian he uses quite another Language To be satisfied of this we need but run over this Chapter and compare it with other places in his Epistles If he says here ver 7 8. That concupiscence is felt and reigns within a man who is under the Law he declares Gal. V. 24. That Christians have crucified the flesh with the lusts of it If he says ver 9 10. That sin lives within him and that he is dead he had said Chap. VI. 2 11. That he was dead unto sin and living unto God through Jesus Christ If he says ver 14. That he is carnal and sold under sin it is apparent that he does not there speak of himself since Chap. VIII 1 and 8. he tells us That those who are in Christ Jesus are not in the flest and that those who are in the flesh cannot please God and have not his spirit If he says here v. 18. I know that in me dwelleth no good thing he declares Eph. III. 17. that Christ dwells in our hearts by Faith If he says ver 19. The good that I would I do not and the evil which I hate that I do he testifies in many places That the faithful do that which is good and abstain from evil If he complains ver 21 22 23. of his being captivated to the Law of Sin he teaches Chap. VI. 17 22. That Christians are no longer the servants of Sin that they an freed front it and become the servants of Righteousness If he cries out ver 24.0 wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this Death It is manifest that these are not the Expressions of a Man Regenerated by Jesus Christ for he addâ— immediately I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is therefore now as Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit For the Law oft he Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death Chap. VIII 12. Now let any Body judge whether what is said in this Chapter can be applied to St. Paul considered as a Regenerated Christian Can it be said that Concupiscence reigns in him who has crucifyed it That Sin lives in him who is dead to Sin That he who is not in the Flesh is a carnal Man That he who is freed from Sin is sold to Sin That no good thing dwells in those in whom Christ dwells That a Man is at the same time miserable and happy a Slave and yet delivered by Jesus Christ dead and alive To say this is it not to call Good Evil and Evil Good to put Darkness for Light and Light for Darkness Is it not to admit downright Contradictions in Scripture But especially is it not to open a door to Licentiousness and to give us a strange Notion of a Regenerate Man By all that has been said I do not mean that there are no remnants of Corruption in those who are Regenerated Neither do 〈◊〉 deny but that in those whose Regeneration is but begun there is some such struggle as that which is described in this Chapter This is Musculus's Notion in his Commentary upon the Romans * Page 118. But that this Chapter should be the Picture of a Regenerate Man and of a true Member of Christ is a thing so contrary to the Gospel and to all he Ideas of Religion that one can hardly â—imagine how there could ever be Men who believed it But that which Corrupt Christians endeavour to prove by those Passages I have mentioned they think to put out of all question by the Examples of those Saints Whose Sins are recorded in Holy Writ To this purpose they alledge Noah Lot Abraham Sampson David Solomon St Paul St. Peter c and from these Instances they conclude that since those great Saints fell into such heavy Sins Sin is no Obstacle to Salvation and that it is not inconsistent with Piety If We did make a right use of the Word of God we would draw a quite contrary influence from these Instances and consider that it is absurd to plead Precedents against an express Law If we must needs be governed by Examples we ought certainâ—â— to chuse the good and not the bad one to imitate what is praise worthy in the Saints and not what deserves blame theâ— Faults being like so many Beacons set 〈◊〉 to keep us from striking upon the samâ— Rocks But to answer directly I say first Thaâ— we are a little too apt to rank among Sainâ— some Illustrious Persons mention'd in the Sâ—cred History who perhaps were nothing less than Holy Men and who it may be diâ—perish in their Sins tho' God thought iâ— to make use of them to carry on the Designs of his Providence and to deliver hiâ— People It would be a rash thing to pronounce upon any Man's Salvation or 〈◊〉 speak irreverently of those great Men bâ— the instance of Solomon whose Salvation has been at all times questioned by Divines should teach us not to be so hasty in placing those among Saints of whom the Scripture speaks with some honour and is sheltering our selves under their Examples As to those who by the Testimony of Scripture it self did truly fear God 〈◊〉 might observe that they fell but once into those Sins related in the Sacred History which would by no means favour impenitent and habitual Sinners But this answer does not fully satisfie for besides that it apposes a thing which in respect of several â—ersons cannot certainly be known there are â—ome Sins which are so black such as Adulteâ—y and Apostacy that a Man can hardly comâ—it them more than once except he is alâ—gether sold to Sin and further any one of â—ose Sins is incompatible with a State of â—egeneration We must therefore frankly own that â—hen those great Men sinned in that manâ—er they did not act like Saints that they â—ut themselves into a State which considerâ—d in it self was a State of Damnation and â—hat they had perished if they had contiâ—ued in it for as Ezekiel says Chap. XXXIII â—8 When the righteous turneth from his â—ighteousness and committeth iniquity he shall â—ven die thereby We may judge of the heinâ—usness and danger of those sins by the deâ—ree of Repentance which some of these Men â—ave expressed for them and by the publick â—cknowledgments they made of them What â—arms was David in when he composed he LI Psalm which is the Psalm of his Repentance What a deep sense had St. Peter of his fault in denying his Master What do then such Examples signify to â—hose who live
is thought mean and disgraceful It would therefore be an easy thing to them to correct the Notions which Men commonly have of Religion As soon as they shall love and honour it other Men will no longer be ashamed of it but will place their Glory in practising it This I am to inlarge upon in the second Part of this Treatise CAUSE VI. The delaying of Repentance I Do not know whether any Illusion is more Ordinary or contributes more to the support of Vice in the World than that which I design to attack in this Chapâ—er and that is the Delaying Repentance We must not believe that Men are so blind and so hardened as never to think of their Salvation There are few who have not a general Intention to obtain it Even â—mong those who live ill many are convinced that Conversion is necessary and that they are not yet in a state of Grace If it be asked why then they do notrepent I answer That so unreasonable a Proceeding which seems so contradictory to it self ought to be imputed to the hope they entertain of clearing all scores one day by Repentance and of obtaining the Pardon of all their Sins through the Divine Mercy This is the true Cause of the greatest part of those Sins which are committed in the World It is that deceitful Hope which frustrates all the endeavours that are used to make Men for sake their Vicious Habits The delay of Conversion ought therefore to be placed among the Causes of the bad lives of Christians and the importance of this Subject has made me resolve to bestow a particular Chapter upon it Now to handle this matter right we are to observe two different ways of putting off Conversion for all Men do not delay it in the same manner and the same Sentiments and Dispositions ought not to be supposed in them all Some put it off to a remote time and to the very end of their Lives Others do not adjourn it so long they design to go about it a good while before Death at least they hope so and they put it off to an undetermined time The first sin properly in hopes of Pardon but the others sin in hopes of Repentance The former deceive themselves more grossly they think that in order to be saved it is enough to beg for Mercy and to repent tho' never so late the Illusion of the others is more subtil they conceive it is necessary to reform and to forsake sin but for all that they do not Convert themselves Tho' these two ways of delaying have an affinity with one another and might in a great measure be encountered with the same Arguments yet I shall consider them here separately Men commonly entertain this Opinion That if they do but Repent at the end of their Lives their Sins will be no hindrance to their Salvation They allot for this Repentance the Approaches of Death Old-Age or the time of Sickness and they suppose that then they shall fit themselves for a Christian Death by Confessing their Sins and having recourse to the Divine Mercy It is not I think needful to prove that this Opinion is very common for who can deny it Neither will I go about to shew that it feeds Corruption and encourages Security by proposing to Men such a method of Salvation as leaves them at liberty to live still in Sin for that is self-evident It is more important to let Men see how false and dangerous an Imagination that is which makes them believe that so they Repent before Death they shall avoid Damnation and be Saved In order to this we must endeavour to discover the Principle they Act upon and to unfold the true Sentiments of their Hearts The delay of Repentance includes Two different Motions the one carries a Man towards Salvation and the other towards Sin On the one had Man is neither such an Enemy to himself as to be altogether unconcerned about his Salvation nor so as blind not to perceive that Repentance is necessary On the other hand he is so addicted to his Lusts that he cannot resolve to renounce them In perplexity Self-love finds him out an Expedient by which he things to reconcile with his Appetites the care of his Salvation And that is that if he sins yet he intends to Repent But here it is manifest that this Man puts a Cheat upon himself and that such Sentiments proceed only from self-love and from a strong affection to Sin Nothing else but the absolute necessity of Dying and of giving an Account to God obliges him to destin the end of his Life to Acts of Repentance For it cannot be said that the Love of God and of Vertue has any share in this Conduct Is it any love or regard to God that makes a Man desire him in his last Extremity and when he can enjoy the World no longer This shews that a Man thinks of God only because he expects Salvation at his Hands which is to deal with him as with an Enemy to whom we surrender our selves as late and upon as good Terms as we can and only that we may not perish Such a Delay includes a positive Resolution to offend God and to gratify one's Passions at least for the present He that thinks to Repent hereafter is not willing to Repent now He allots the present time for the satisfying of his Lusts and for the committing of those Sins which are to be the matter of his future Repentance This is all that is fixed and certain in his Resolution for as to what he promises for the future it is most uncertain and if we consider the thing right he promises nothing at all for he does not know whether he shall not die very soon nor what he shall do in case he lives sometime longer The Hazard to which a Man exposes himself by this Delay is evident In order to a compleat Repentance Two Things are requisite The first is to have Time and Opportunity to Repent the second is to make use of that Time and Opportunity Those who put off their Conversion to the last Must suppose that they shall have these two Advantages But these things are extreamly uncertain and no Man in the World can be sure of them 1. No Man can promise himself that he shall have Time and Opportunity to Repent at the end of his Life It is true in fact that more than one Half of Mankind die without having time to prepare for Death If we reckon up all those who are snatched away in an Instant by unforeseen Accidents or a sudden Death all those who perish in War all those who are seized with Distempers which take away their Senses all those whom the Approaches of Death do not move to Repentance because they do not apprehend themselves in any danger of dying And if we add to these those whose only Preparation is to have a Minister to pray by their Bed-side when they can hardly hear a few Words of
what he says It is certain that all these together make up above the Half of Mankind Upon this I ask even supposing that it were time enough for a Man to Repent when he sees Death coming whether it would not be Folly and Madness for him to venture his Salvation upon the hope of repenting then It seems to many that it is the way to drive Sinners into despair to tell them they ought not to build the hope of Salvation upon what they shall do in the Extremity of Life But what I have said just now proves evidently that if Salvation did depend upon the manner of dying Men must live in continual Fears and in a kind of ' Desperation since their Salvation would depend upon a thing which the Half of Mankind cannot reckon upon On the contrary nothing is more comfortable to Men than to know that God grants them their whole Lives to work out their Salvation in and that if they improve to that purpose the Leisure and Conveniences they have their Death will be happy which way soever it may happen But tho' what I have said were not true and tho' all might assure themselves that they shall perceive the Approaches of Death and have time to prepare for that last Passage yet what certainty have they that they shall make use of that Opportunity and that their Conversion will not be most difficult if not impossible Conversion is not wrought without God interposing by those Means which Grace uses for that end And can any Man flatter himself with the Hope that these Means shall be offered him to the last and that God in his just Anger will not withdraw them from him There is neither particular Revelation nor General Promise to give such Assurances to any Man living So far from it that God tells us many things in Scripture which leave no ground for Hope to those who abuse his Mercy But further What can we imagine that God will do in favour of a hardned Sinner at the time of Death When God has made use of the Preaching of his Word of Exhortations Promises Threatnings inward Suggestions and Motions of his Grace when God I say has used all these Means for Twenty Thirty or Forty Years without any success I cannot Apprehend what Men expect that he should do more at the Hour of Death If it be said that he can by a particular Dispensation by sudden Inspirations by a kind of Miracle Convert a Sinner in his last Minutes I will not dispute what God can do but I will not scruple to say that in the ordinary course of Grace Conversion is not wrought by sudden and miraculous Inspirations The Gospel speaks of nothing like that and those who look for such Miracles had best see what they found their hope upon It is certain besides that Repentance is most difficult on Mans part when he is at the point of Death If a Man has lived in Ignorance and Vice is he not in great danger of dying Ignorant and Hardned How will he perform Duties then of which he has not so much as a Notion Can a Man at that time change his ill Inclinations and shake of his vicious Habits of a sudden All those who have applied themselves to the Work of Conversion know by experience that the Conquest I will not say of many but of one single Vice has required both Time and assiduous and constant care Vicious Habits are not to be destroyed but by degrees and good ones are acquired only by reiterated Acts. It is repugnant to Mans Nature that this should be done in an Instant How can any one then reckon that so considerable a Change as that which true Conversion requires will be effected in the short time of a Sickness And if this was possible and through great endeavours might be done yet can any Man assure himself that he shall have then all that Freedom and all that Strength of Mind and Body which are necessary to set about this general Reformation Is the time of Sickness wherein a Man is so much sunk and has the least either of Leisure or Strength so very sit for a Business of this Importance All that a Man can do then is to betake himself to some confused and abrupt Devotions the ordinary Refuge of those Sinners who have lived in a state of Obduration But will that serve the turn Are some hasty Reflections upon a Man's past Life some Acts of Contrition some Prayers proceeding from trouble and agony and extorted only by the fear of Death some Sobs and Groans indistinctly breathed up to Heaven are these I say sufficient to make amends for all that is past to extirpate many inveterate Habits and to secure to a Sinner an Eternity of Bliss I shall add Two Consideration which are Convincing and cannot be contested 1. By growing in Years Men lose the sense and remembrance of their Sins Age and Custom produce this Effect Excepting some extraordinary Sins which cannot be forgot most Men do not remember their Faults And how should they remember them since for the most part they do not perceive when they commit them We daily see Men who will Lye and Swear and fly out into Passion almost every Minute and yet do not reflect upon it nay they think themselves free from those Faults This Error proceeds so far that some very great Sinners who are living in Criminal Practices fancy themselves Pious and make no doubt but that they are in the Favour of God Now since the Custom of Sinning does blind Men to such a Degree is it likely that after they have spent their Lives in this Security they will effectually Repent at their Death Can a Man Repent who does not know the. Reasons why he should who docs not feel or has forgot his Sins and who thinks besides that he is in a good State and that he needs no Repentance 2. If Repentance supposes the Knowledge of Sin it supposes besides a Hatred of it But hew ho has loved Sin to the last is less able then to hate than he is to know his Sins I cannot comprehend how a Man who has loved the World all his Life who has made it his only delight and study to gratifie his Lusts and who has always been cold and indifferent towards Religion should when Death appears suddenly change his Inclinations hate what he loved and love what till then he looked upon with indifference So quick a passage from the Love to the Hatred of Sin is very rare The sorrow for Sin and the Hatred of it are always faint and weak in the beginnings of Repentance even in those who repent sincerely Conversion proceeds by degrees a Man must have discontinued sinning and be already settled in the Habits of Virtue before he can have a strong aversion to sin And what kind of Repentance then can that be which begins in the extremity of Life 1. But here it is Objected first that God is always
ready to restore the greatest Sinners to his Favour when they have recourse to his Mercy and that there are express Promises in the Gospel which assure us of this I grant it God never rejects a repenting Sinner But before a Man can build upon this the hope of being received into God's Favour at the Hour of Death he must be sure that he shall then sincerely repent Now I think I have demonstrated that this is what no Man can depend upon As to the Promises which are made to Repentance in the Gospel I do not deny but that they may be applied in a good sense to all Sinners but yet it is certain that they are made in favour of those whom God was to call to the Christian Religion and chiefly in favour of the Heathens Christ and his Apostles were to assure all Men that the sins they had commited should not exclude them from the Covenant of Grace provided they did sincerely mourn for them and part with them When the Heathens came to Baptism nothing else was required of them but that they should Repent and make a solemn Vow of being Holy for the time to come But as to Christians it cannot be said that God demands nothing of them but Repentance and Sorrow for Sins for he calls them to Holiness upon pain of Damnation In this sense it was that the Apostles preached Repentance and by this we may know how much Christianity is decayed That Repentance which consists in the Confession of Sins and in a Resolution to forsake them is the Duty at which the Heathens began This was the first thing which the Apostles required of them it was preparatory to the Christian Religion St. Paul * Heb. VI. places the Doctrine of Repentance among the Fundamental Points and the first Duties in which the Catechumens were instructed before Baptism But now Christians look upon Repentance as the Duty with which they are to end their Lives that is to say they design to end where the Heathens begun and to enter Heaven at the same Gate which admitted Pagans into the Church 2. It will be said further that sometimes Men who have lived in Sin die to all appearance in very good Dispositions To this I reply That we see a great many more of those Persons who die in a state of Insensibility and that by Consequence a Sinner who puts off his Repentance has more reason to fear than to hope For who has told him that the Fate of these last will not be his and what surer Presage can there be of so Tragical a Death than the present hardness of his Heart Besides I do not know whether it happens frequently as the Objection seems to suppose that Persons who have lived ill are well disposed when they die If Repentance can be saving and effectual when it begins only upon a Death-bed every body must own that it ought to be very lively and deep attended with demonstrations of the most bitter Sorrow and with all the Proofs that a dying Man can give of the Sincerity of his Conversion But we do not see many Instances of this Nature There are but few great Sinners who express a lively Compunction at their Death or a sincere Detestation of their Sins who have a due sense of their Wickedness and endeavour as much as they can to make Reparation for it who practise Restitution and edify all about them by discharging the other obligations of Conscience It is but seldom that we see such Penitents Besides the Expressions of Devotion and Repentance which are used by dying Men are not always sincere It is much to be feared that their Repentance is nothing else but a certain Emotion which the necessity of Dying and the approaches of God's Judgment must needs raise in the Mind of every Man who has his Wits about him and has some Ideas of Religion Nothing is more deceitful than the judging of a Man by what he either says or does when he is under the effects of Fear or Trouble It is commonly said of those who have given some signs of Piety upon their Death-beds that they have made a very Christian End But there is often a great Mistake in that Judgment And to be satisfied of it we need but observe what happens to some who have escaped Death or some eminent Danger While the Peril lasted who could be more humble and holy than they They shewed so much Devotion and uttered such Discourses that all the Standers by were edisyed by them their Tears their Prayers their Protestations of Amendment in a Word their whole Deportment had in all appearance so much of Christian Zeal in it that the Beholders were struck with Admiration But are there many of these who when the Danger is over continue in the same Dispositions remember their Promises or alter any thing in their former Course of Life Almost all of them return to their old Habits as soon as the Calamity is past These are generally the fruits of that Repentance which is excited by the fear of Death in those who Recover And what Effects then can it have in respect of those that Dye I confess we ought not to condemn any Body but I think we should not pronounce a definitive Sentence in favour of those who have led an ill Life For tho' Mens Judgment makes no alteration in the State of the Dead yet it may have a very pernicious Effect upon the Living who conclude from it that a Man may die well tho' he has lived ill And while I am upon this Subject I must say that nothing contributes more to the keeping up of these dangerous Opinions than when the Ministers of Religion commend without Discretion the Piety of the Dead And yet this is frequently done especially in great Towns and in the Courts of Princes There are to be found in those Places mean-spirited and unworthy Preachers who prostitute their Tongues and their Pens to the Praise of some Persons who had nothing of Christianity in their Lives and whose Condition should rather make a Man tremble But if some remnant of Shame restrains them from carrying their Flattery so far as to commend the Lives of those whose Panegyrick they have undertaken then they seek the Matter of their Praises in some signs of Piety which those Persons gave before they left the World Now I dare say that the most Atheistical Discourses and the Corruptest Maxims of Libertines are not by much so subtil a Poyson as such kind of Elogies delivered before Men who are engaged in all the Disorders of the Age and then dispersed through the World 3. The Instance of the Converted Thief who prayed to our Saviour upon the Cross and was received into Paradice is seldom forgotten But this Instance is generally very ill understood First it is supposed without any ground for it that this Thief repented only upon the Cross and that his Conversion was the effect of a sudden Inspiration But
we ought to live no longer in Sin These are his own words * Rom. 7.14 15 16 17.18 What then Shall we Sin because we are not under the Law but under Grace God forbid On the contrary Sin shall not have dominon over you for ye are not under the Law but under Grace you were formerly the servants of Sin but now being made free from Sin and become the servants of God Ye have your fruit unto holiness We need but read the sequel of his Discourse to see how he inveighs against those who turned the Grace of the Gospel into a pretense to live in Sin Before I leave this matter I shall taâ—â— notice of two Errors which are pretty common The First is the applying to Christians at this day all those things which were spoken of old by the Apostles to the Converted Jews It is said that we are no more under the Law and Christians are often exhorted to bless God for being no longer under the Curse of the Law and the Yoke of Moses And upon this a great many Oppositions are observed betwixt the Law and the Gospel For my part I do not think those Exhortations and Oppositions so very proper to be insisted on when we are speaking to Men who never were Jews unless we do it with a design to shew the Excellency of the Gospel-Covenant above that of the Law and the advantages of Christians above Jews For after all the Law was given only to the Jews and the Gentiles were never subjected to the Ceremonies or the Curse of it as the Jews were Why should we then say to People who never were under the Law You are no more under the Law The Apostles indeed spoke in that manner to the Converted Jews but as to those who were formerly Pagans it would be more fitting to tell them * Thess 1.9 Ephes 11.12 4.17 You have been converted from Idols to the living God Remember that ye were in times past Gentiles without hope and without God in the World and therefore live no longer like Heathens It is a great fault not to expound the Scripture according to the true scope of it and to apply all that it contains to all sorts of Persons without distinction The other Error is of greater consequence People fancy that because we are not under the Law which was a Covenant of Rigor we are now to speak of nothing else to Men but of Grace and Promises and that it is contrary to the Spirit of the Gospel to threaten and to denounce Curses against Sinners It has been said already in what sense the Law was a Covenant of Rigor in opposition to the Covenant of Grace but the Gospel has also its Curses and they are much more terrible than those of the Law The Gospel speaks of the future Punishments of another Life in much clearer and stronger Expressions than the Law does To be convinc'd of this we need but reflect upon that opposition which St. Paul makes between the Law and the Gospel in the Tenth Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews He that despised Moses Law died without mercy under two or three Witnesses of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who has trodden under foot the Son of God and has counted the Blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and has done despight unto the Spirit of Grace We know him that has said Vengeance belongeth unto me I will recompense faith the Lord. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living God 3. The Libertines do likewise abuse what St. Paul says in the Epistle to the * Gal. 5. Galatians concerning Christian Liberty when he declares that Christians are freed from the bondage of the Law when he exhorts them to stand fast in that Liberty and protests that Christ prositeth nothing to those who would be justified by the Law But a Man may see with half an Eye that the Apostle means only that Christians are no longer bound to observe Circumcision and the other Ceremonies of the Law of Moses That St. Paul has no other view or design but this will plainly appear to every one who will read the whole Epistle and particularly the second Chapter of it In the V Chapter we find two things which are decisive in this Matter 1. St. Paul speaks there expresly of Circumcision * Gal. V. Behold I Paul say unto you that if you be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing for I testifie again to every Man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole Law †ver 13. Christ is become of none effect unto yon whosoever of you are justified by the Law ye are fallen from Grace 2. It is very observable with what circumspection the Apostle delivers himself left his Doctrine should be wrested to favour Licentiousness after he had said You are called to liberty he adds immediately only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh He explains what he means by living after the Flesh by making an enumeration of those Sins which the Flesh produces and which exclude Men from the Kingdom of Heaven He exhorts Men to live after the Spirit and to practise the Christian Vertues In the Fourth Chapter he pursues the same Exhortations and he ends the Epistle with these remarkable Words which contain the summ of his Doctrine * Chap. VI. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Vncircumcision but a new Creature that is to say Whether a Man be a Jew or a Heathen it matters not so he believes in Jesus Christ and observes God's Commandments †ver 16. Peace and Mercy be on them all who walk after this Rule Is there anything plainer than this Doctrine And yet how clear soever it may be Christian Liberty is alledged to set Men free from the Obligation to keep God s Commandments All that St. Paul fays against Circumcision and the Ceremonies of the Law is by an Enormous Blasphemy turned against the Holy Commandments of the Son of God Can any thing more Odious or Prophane be imagined than the perverting of the Holy Scripture at this rate 4. Those who plead on the side of Corruption are wont to object against what is said in behalf of Holiness this Sentence of Solomon's | Ephes VII 16. be not righteous overmuch neither make thy self over-wise And what Inferences do they riot draw from thence They conclude from this Place That a Man ought not to pretend so much to Holiness or to set up for a good Man and that in all things Mediocrity is best One may easily apprehend that such Sentiments must needs introduce Licentiousness especially when they are thought to be supported by a Divine Authority But let us see whether or no such Conceits can be founded upon this Sentence of Solomon's I shall ask in the first place Whether it is possible for a