Articles of the Christian Faith will not avail us to our Justification and Salvation which brings me Lastly To shew you what it is to Believe ALL the Articles of our Christian Faith What to Believe All the Articles of the Christian Faith And 1. To Believe ALL these Articles does Import that we must Assent with a through perswasion of their undoubted Truth and of their Divine Authority to all and every one of those great Articles of Christian Doctrine contained in the Apostles Creed 1. To Believe them All does Import that we must Assent to all and every one of those great Articles of Christian Doctrine contained in the Apostles Creed This Collection or Summary of Christian Doctrine is called by St. Paul Rom. 6.17 That Form of Doctrine which was deliver'd to the Christians that is that Summary of Christian Doctrine to the Belief and Practice of which they were deliver'd up and solemnly Consecrated in their Baptism And the same is call'd 2 Tim. 1.13 The Form of sound words which was heard of the Apostle himself and we are commanded to hold it fast that is to take care not to depart from it in any part thereof And as we must not shrink from the Confession and Belief of any one of those Articles which have been handed down to us from the Apostles in that Summary or Form of sound words which makes up the Body of our Christian Faith so we must content our selves with the Belief of All those saving Truths and must not think there is any thing more to be Believ'd by our selves or others as necessary to Salvation But especially we must take care of possessing our Minds with a Perswasion of the Truth of such Articles as do tend to destroy what the true Genuine Doctrines of Christianity viz. All the Articles of our Christian Faith Such as tend to destroy a good Life and send us to other Mediators than Christ to interceed with the Father for its Acceptance no Articles of Christian Faith do Build as do all or most at leastwise of the New Articles impos'd upon the Belief of Christians in the Romish Church Some of those Articles in the Romish Creed do plainly take away the necessity of a Good Life as might be easily made appear were it proper here to inlarge on that Point And other Doctrines of that Church do as apparently take Men off from depending solely upon the Mediation of Christ with his Father that he would graciously accept and pass by the Imperfection of the good they do teaching 'em to apply themselves to the Blessed Virgin and other Saints as Mediators with God for ' em Nay and some of their Doctrines as that of Merits and of Works of Super-errogation do teach 'em proudly to overvalue their own Performances and to boast themselves in their Merit And therefore so far must we be from suffering our selves to be perswaded of the Truth of All these and the like Doctrines as Articles of our Christian Faith that we must utterly dissent from them all as Unjust and Unreasonable Impositions on the Belief of Christians In a word as we must strengthen our selves in the Belief of All those True and Genuine Articles of the Christian Faith so to Believe All these as necessary to Salvation is enough But to Believe more under the Character of Articles of a Christian's Faith especially if they be such Doctrines as do take off the fears of Sinning and send us to other Mediators betwixt God and Man besides the Man Christ Jesus this is indeed a Belief not only superfluous as being a Belief of more than All the necessary Articles of a Christian's Faith but is a very sinful and criminal and superstitious Perswasion 2. To Believe ALL the Articles of the Christian Faith is not only to Assent to All and every of those Articles in the Gross but to be fully perswaded of all and every of those single Truths contained in each of those Articles 2. To Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith is to be fully perswaded of all and of every of those single Truths contained in each of those Articles Every one of the Articles of our Christian Faith is full of a great deal of Meaning and many of them do contain Truths of various Kinds and Importance Thus for instance To believe that Jesus Christ was Crucify'd Dead and Buried does import this Comfortable as well as Fundamental Doctrine of Christianity That the Only Son of God suffered Death upon the Cross for our Redemption and that he made there by that one Oblation of himself once offered a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice Oblation and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World And accordingly it is said 1 Pet. 3.18 That Christ once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God And 21.24 it is said That he himself did bear our sins in his own body on the Tree But then this is not the whole that is meant in that Grand Article but also this other Doctrine That he suffered to Redeem us from all Iniquity that is he suffered on the Cross the punishment of our Sins that we seeing how odious a thing Sin is which could not be Aton'd for by a Sacrifice less valuable than the Blood of the Son of God might therefore abhor it and forsake it And this is also taught us in the very place now cited from St. Peter viz. 1 Ep. 2.24 He his own self bear our sins in his own Body upon the Tree that we being dead to Sin should live unto Righteousness And now a Person may become Guilty of Heresie by believing only one of those Truths contained in the Articles A Heretick may be such by Believing only of one of those Truths contained in the Article And accordingly there are two opposite Heresies which do at this day most grievously afflict the Church of Christ amongst us and they do divide these two great Doctrines contain'd in this one Article betwixt ' em And they are therefore Heresies because they do so divide 'em and do not each of 'em Believe both these important Doctrines The Antinomians do Believe indeed that Christ did satisfie the Divine Justice for our Sins but so as to leave no Conditions to be perform'd by them And the Socinians on the other side owning that he came to draw us off from Sin deny that he made any Satisfaction for us So that both do fundamentally Err in the Faith tho' they Believe the Article in the gross that Christ was Crucify'd Dead and Buried because neither of them Believe the whole Truth contain'd in that Article And therefore as you must Believe All the Articles so All those Divine and Necessary Truths which are contain'd in every Article of your Christian Faith according to the full Explication and Meaning thereof given us in the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds These Creeds do not contain more or different Articles of Faith than
will punish Faults as well in his Children as others if you profess your selves the Children of such a Father pass the time of your sojourning here in fear is the Inference the same Apostle makes from this Relation of being the Children of God And indeed except we do give up our selves sincerely and faithfully to obey God and in all Points to discharge our Covenant with him we are in effect not the Children of God however Baptized and so in Profession but in reality are the Children of the Devil and from him must expect our Reward So St. John assures us 1 Epist 3.8 9. He that committeth Sin is of the Devil that is he that committeth any act of known Sin is in that so far from being a Child of God that he is a Child of the Devil of whom and not of God he is an Imitator For 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 That is as the Learned Hammond does Paraphrase upon the same place whosoever is a true Child of God keeps himself strictly from every deliberate Act of Sin and the reason is Because that contrary Principle of Regeneration or Sonship from which he is said to be born of God if that continue to have any Life or Energy in it is utterly contrary and incompatible with Sin And then does follow that Characteristical distinguishing Mark he does give of a Child of God and a Child of the Devil shewing the grand difference between one and the other In this the Children of God are manifested and the Children of the Devil whosoever doth not Righteousness is not of God v. 10. In a word to conclude this Argument also As it is almost natural and therefore ever expected that Children should imitate the Life and Manners of their Parents and if they prove dissolute and of loose Behaviour it does usually redound to the Parents disgrace as generally supposed to proceed from slackness of Government so should we who are Children of God be Covenant-Breakers prove lawless and dissolute Livers it will extreamly tend to the Dishonour of our Heavenly Father whose Name is then hallowed amongst Men when we his professed Sons and Servants do dutifully and sincerely fulfill our Engagements to Him but on the contrary is then blasphemed when we live ungodly Lives So that this grand Favour and Privilege of being the Sons of God is another most powerful Argument to render us faithful in our Covenant with Him And so likewise it is Thirdly To be an Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven 3. As Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven What restraint will it put upon a young Heir and how careful will it make him to please his Parents when a great Estate is like to descend upon him but yet so that he shall certainly be disinherited of it except he behave himself soberly and regularly and dutifully to those his Parents And if so how infinitely more circumspect and wary and diligent should we all of us be to please our Father which is in Heaven by discharging our Covenant-Engagements to him inasmuch as the Heavenly Inheritance is of infinite more value than an Earthly one can be I shall not stand now to give you a description of that Exceeding Weight of Glory and of those Vast and Immense Treasures of Happiness which are laid up in Heaven for those who shall faithfully perform their Covenant with God I shall only in short shew you that such is the Nature and Constitution of the Covenant of Grace that there is no Hopes nor Expectations of ever obtaining it without a faithful discharge of all our Covenant-Engagements to God and if so then certainly there cannot be greater Obligations possible to the performance of ' em And as to the Nature of the Covenant of Grace surely one would think it were needless to prove that the Conditions of it must be performed or we cannot expect to inherit the Promises This is of the Nature of all Covenants whatsoever which consist of certain Promises and Benefits to be made good on one part not without certain Conditions to be performed on the other And why then should any so fondly expect Justification and Happiness to be conferred upon 'em except they do Repent heartily Believe practically and Obey sincerely the only Conditions of this Covenant Kingdom of Heaven not to be expected but by those who are faithful in their Covenant as has been often shewed Why sure none that look into the Gospel and see and consider how that all along Happiness is only promised to the Obedient can ever expect it upon other Terms But so it is that a sort of Antinomian Hereticks do spread abroad their pestilent Doctrines teaching that Christ by his Sacrifice and Satisfaction for us has purchased Justification and Happiness without any Conditions to be perform'd on our part and that what he has done will wholly excuse us from Duty and Obedience But this is one of the most Antichristian Errours in the World as undermining the whole design of Christ's Coming and his Preaching the Gospel amongst us which was to tie us up to higher Rules of Righteousness than were before given to the Sons of Men. It was infinitely far from the Design of him who came to save and deliver us from the Power and Dominion as well as from the Guilt and Punishment of our Sins to do any thing that should encourage us in Sin and render us secure when at any time we commit it But that which Christ has done for us amounts to this that he has purchased by his Blood-shedding an Abrogation of the First Covenant wherein was no Happiness without an Unsinning Obedience and then has procured for us this most gracious Covenant with these abatements of rigour That we shall have all that unspeakable Bliss and the Inheritance of Heaven conferred on us on condition we shall repent of and forsake our Sins and knowingly and willingly not offend him for the future And a most encouraging Argument this will be to all considering and serious Persons to make 'em faithful and diligent to perform their Covenant No People either Jews or Gentiles ever before us had the like The Jews by the Law of Moses or the meer Covenant of Works had plainly and expresly the Assurances only of a temporal Canaan and the Promises of a peaceable and prosperous Possession thereof to encourage their Duty And the poor Pagans had little Inducements to vertuous living more than the present Tranquility of Mind which arises from the meer exercise of Vertue neither of 'em Considerations strong enough to bear us up against great Temptations to sin and the difficulties in the way of our Duty But this one Consideration of an eternal Weight of Glory an Inheritance laid up in Heaven a Crown of Life infallibly ensured to those who shall be faithful unto Death This is enough to encourage us in Well-doing and
imputed to your Condemnation Nor Secondly What you do unwillingly commit through Inconsideration 2d Inconsideration We sometimes do things we do not think nor consider the Evil of 'em when we commit 'em and so their Sinfulness being unseen is also unchosen and these Slips do so steal from us without our Consideration and thinking of 'em Inconsideration excuses 1. When through surprize several ways either first by surprize and a sudden Temptation And thus St. Paul upon an unexpected occasion was surprized into a sudden Anger and into an unadvised Irreverence towards the High Priest Acts 23.1 2 3. And the beginnings of a single Passion whether of Anger or Envy and the unadvised Slips of the Tongue generally enter this way Or secondly we venture upon several Actions without thinking of their sinfulness through our natural Weariness and the length and constancy of a Temptation Thus in times of Affliction or Sickness 2. When through natural weariness and the length and strength of a Temptation by the uneasiness of the Flesh and the hardness of Man's Condition a Person is sometimes tempted to fret and murmur and to be peevish and repining And so we find it was with Job who though a Man patient to a Proverb and one to whom by the Testimony of God Himself there was none Equal in the whole Earth a perfect and an upright Man one who feared God and eschewed Evil Job 1.8 Yet this Man I say of admirable Constancy and Patience was wearied out of his Watchfulness by a tedious trial of Afflictions and in that time of his Unadvisedness uttered many Things impatient with his Lips as appear from his whole History And lastly we sometimes inconsiderately and unadvisedly do an ill Thing by reason of the violent Discomposure and Disturbance of our thinking Powers when our Mind is so disturbed that on a sudden we cannot think what we do Lastly When by the violent discomposure of our Thinking Powers our Minds are so disturbed that we cannot think what we do as upon a sudden Grief Anger or Fear And thus Samuel who was a Person so dear to God that if he could be intreated by any Man he tells us it would be by him or Moses standing to intercede before him did yet in an instance that would have drawn him into the hazard of his Life dispute God's Command when he should have perform'd it and question where in Duty it became him to Obey for when God did bid him go and Anoint David King which Service was sure to draw upon him the implacable Hatred of Saul through the sudden force of that frightful Thought instead of Obeying he answers again saying How can I go for if Saul hear of it he will kill me 1 Sam. 16.1 2. So that as for those Slips which we do unwillingly commit through either of these Causes of Inconsideration they are a matter of God's Mercy and will be graciously born with and forgiven now under the Gospel and Covenant of Grace for all those Persons now mentioned as guilty of the like St. Paul Job and Samuel were in a state of Grace and the dear Children of God I say therefore they will be graciously born with and forgiven Provided first we never be guilty of 'em Ignorance and Inconsideration excuse not these Sins 1. Which we have time to understand and observe nor 2. Crying Sins nor 3. Those we do not endeavour against nor lastly Which we are not sorry for when we have understanding of and time to observe 'em nor secondly in any great and crying Sin as Murder Adultery c. for no Man can pretend he did unwittingly commit such things as a Man's Conscience will presently start at Provided thirdly we do endeavour and strive and watch against 'em And lastly after we find that we have fallen into 'em provided we be sorry and earnestly beg God's pardon for ' em Provided thus such Slips and Infirmities as we do commit unadvisedly and inconsiderately shall not be laid to our charge And thus you see that our unavoidable Infirmities and our unwilling Transgressions which through an unaffected Ignorance and an involuntary Inconsideration we do commit shall not be imputed to our Condemnation now under the Gospel or Covenant of Grace And this is the first great Difference between the First Covenant wherein the least Sin was Unpardonable and this Second Covenant or the Covenant of Grace wherein through the Mediation of CHRIST all our Unwilling Involuntary Infirmities shall be graciously pass'd by The Second great Difference is That even our wilful and more heinous Sins when by our Repentance we bewail and forsake 'em and take better care to avoid 'em for the future they also through the Mediation of Christ according to the Terms he has obtained for us in the Covenant of Grace shall be forgiven us The 2d Difference betwixt Legal and Evangelical Obedience That our wilful and more heinous nous Sins when Repented of through the Mediation of Christ according to the Terms he has obtained for us in the Covenant of Grace shall be forgiven us and not prejudice our being Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven Among the Jews according to the strictness of Moses's Law the Punishment took place upon the first wilful breach He that despised Moses 's Law saith the Apostle if it were in an instance where the Law threatned death died without Mercy Heb. 10.28 A Man that had committed Adultery or Murder or any other Crime whereof Death was the establish'd Punishment was to the without Remedy for no Sacrifice would be accepted for him nor would the Law admit of any Favour or Dispensation But when Christ came into the World his Business was to abrogate all the Rigour of Moses's Law as well as that of the First Covenant and to preach an Universal Pardon upon Repentance Now under the Covenant of Grace God doth not cast us off upon the commission of every Sin but as he is heartily desirous that we should repent of it according to that of Ezek. 33.11 As I live saith the Lord I do not delight in the death of a Sinner but rather that he return and live So when we repent he has oblig'd Himself by his Truth and Faithfulness to forgive it according to that of St. John Epist 1.9 If we confess our Sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our Sins This is the great Doctrine of the Gospel which is a Covenant of Remission of Sins upon our Repentance Remission of Sins upon Repentance the great Doctrine of the Gospel and therefore our Saviour when he began himself to preach it he said Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand Matth. 4.17 And when he left the World he commanded his Disciples that they should declare to the World the Pardon of Sins upon their Repentance for so St. Luke tells us Ch. 24.47 that he gave 'em in charge That Repentance and Remission of Sins should be preach'd in
â—o preserve us safe and innocent as it has done thousands before us amidst all the Persecutions of evil Men on the one hand or the Allurements of the World on the other withdrawing us or frighting us into Sin so that in the strength of the Hopes of such an Inheritance we may be prevail'd upon faithfully and conscientiously to discharge this our Covenant with God And thus you see what mighty Arguments the several Mercies of the Covenant made over to us on God's part do yield us and what inviolable Obligations they do all of 'em lay upon us â—aithfully and conscientiously to discharge this our Covenant with God But Fourthly and lastly Another vast Obligation lying upon us to do the same and which ought especially to be here considered is That Promise and Vow made for us in our Baptism accordingly to discharge this our Covenant 4. As having promised and vowed in our Baptism accordingly to discharge our Covenant with God Do'st thou not think that thou art bound to Believe and to Do as they have promised for thee That is the Question which is ask'd you to which you are taught to Answer Yes verily and thereby to acknowledge the vast Obligations lying upon you on the account of that Promise and Vow to perform that your Covenant and a mighty Obligation too it lays upon us there being nothing more sacred and inviolable than â— â—â—w made unto God and more severely punish'd if it be ever violaâ—ed A Vow in general â—â—dâ—fined to be a solemn Promise made unto God whereby we do in a peculiar manner engage our selves unto him to the performance of something The matter of a Vow sometimes not a Duty 'till â—â—wed And there are two sorts of these Vows which are to be distinguish'd according to the matter of which the Vow is made For sometimes the thing which we have vowed to do was not a Duty upon us 'till such time as we made such a Vow as when a Person does solemnly promise to God that he well set apart such a Portion of his Time such a Day of the Week for the more immediate Service of God in Fasting and Prayer or that he will devote such a part of his Estate or Gains for pious or charitable Uses Secondly again the matter of a Vow may be what was incumbent upon us before only the Vow is added to strengthen the Obligation And such is the Vow was made in our Baptism Sometimes antecedently incumbent upon us and such is the matter of our Baptismal Vow whereby we were solemnly and in a peculiar manner Devoted and Consecrated to God's Service and to live to his Glory which though it was a Duty upon us before yet now we have farther obliged our selves thereunto having solemnly vowed so to do Generally the matter of a Vow is of the former sort something to which we were not obliged before as when Jacob did vow to build an House to God Gen. 28.22 And of this nature are all those Lands and Possessions over and above the Tythe or tenth Part which have been devoted and given by the Piety of well-disposed Persons for the maintenance of the Ministers and the Worship of God for the Education of Children in Schools and the Relief of the Poor in Hospitals Before they were devoted to pious and charitable Uses they were so far in the Power of the Party who own'd 'em as that he might dispose of 'em how and to what Uses he pleased But after a Vow is once made by our selves or Forefathers whereby such a Part of an Estate is determinately set aside for sacred Uses it is then a devoted thing And I will be bold to add and I will endeavour to prove it that for that very reason of its having been Vowed and Devoted to God it is one of the most provoking Sins in the World to rob God of it 'T is a provoking Sin to rob God of what has been once Vowed and Devoted to him tho' of the former Nature This is plainly seen in the case of Ananias and Sapphira Acts 5 1 2 3 4 5. These two Persons stirr'd up at first as is probable with a like pious Zeal for the promotion of Religion with many others of the first Converts to Christianity had sold a Possession and given it to the Church which according to the Circumstances of those Times was of more use than if setled upon it but Covetousness afterwards prevailing upon their Hearts they kept back part of the Price and laid a share of it only at the Apostles feet v. 3. But observe how severely Peter rebukes 'em for this Sacrilege Before they had devoted it he tells 'em they might have done what they would with it but first to bestow it wholly on the Church and then to keep back part of the Price of the Land he calls this a Lying to the Holy Ghost and immediately for the terrour of other sacrilegious Invaders of Things devoted punishes it with one of the most sudden and fearful Deaths that we find recorded either in the Scripture or profane Story This Sin of with-holding or seizing of any thing once Vowed and Devoted by our selves or others to sacred Uses is called the Sin of Sacrilege and is spoke of as seems by the manner of expression Rom. 2.22 as a Sin equalling the Guilt even of Idolatry it self And nothing is more plain to be observed than the Anger of God God's Anâ—â—â— observabâ—◠〈◊〉 on such â—â—â—â—â—â—ons even in this Life towards those who have sacrilegiously invaded God's Portion which has been once Vowed unto him either by our selves or our Forefathers and have robbed him in his Tythes and Offerings as he calls it a robbing of Himself Mal. 7.8 and threatens it with a heavy Curse of the Execution whereof if I had time I could give several instances But let this suffice to shew how heinous a thing it is to violate a Vow to God even where the matter of the Vow hath been something to which there was no Obligation before such Vow And will it be less provoking then think ye to violate those Vows wherein by solemn Engagements Men have promised to do that which before such Vows and Promises they were obliged to from the Law of Nature 'T is much more provoking to violate Vows to perform which were antecedently obliged by the Law of Nature and as a Debt due for their very Creation and Being In this case there is a double Obligation to perform such Vows When that which was commanded to be done and is necessary upon other accounts is with all solemnity engaged to be performed then the Vow does add to the Command a new and farther Obligation which will make it more criminal and a far more heinous Sin to break such Vows There are many of this kind recorded in the Scripture particularly the first part of that Vow of Jacob Gen. 28.21 is of this kind and so is our Baptismal Vow to