a Providence how is it possible that the World should subsist in the midst of such violent Concussions or that it should have held out so long time A Ship abandon'd to the Mercy of the Winds without either Helm or Pilot can never run a steady course without dashing against the Rocks or being swallow'd up by the Waves Whence comes it then that these subterraneal Fires these Earthquakes and these Inundations cause not that universal Havock which they might do By what unexpected Power are the Effects of these dreadful Accidents suspended or limited Who is it that corrects the distempers of a corrupted Air What Virtue purifies whole Cities and Regions infected with the Pestilence Certainly he must be very blind who sees not that 't is the same hand which made the Universe that preserves it and that after God has made use of these Unundations these Fires and Earthquakes for those ends which to us are for the most part unknown he stops 'em from going any farther and destroying the vast Machine of the World Lastly they are astonish'd that Good Men should be so often opprest and that the wicked should Triumph That Impiety and Vice should Reign predominant and that Innocence and Virtue should be overwhelmed This is one of their great Objections that has so much perplex'd the Wise in all Ages Claudian confesses ingenuously That he questions whether the World be Governed by a Wise Intelligent Providence or by Blind Fortune beholding Virtue under Oppression and Rufinus the most famous Criminal of his Age flourishing in High Advancement And it is reported of a certain Philosopher that he became an Atheist because he observ'd that God did not inflict immediate Punishment upon a perjur'd Person And the Wise Cato unfortunate in fighting for the Liberty of his Country could not forbear saying That there was a great Incertainty in the Government of the Gods To which I may add what is related of Domocritus That he put out his Iâ—yes with the Reverberation of a Glittering Buckler because he would not behold the Prosperity of the Wicked Thô I must confess that this last Story seems to me very improbable For what likely hood is there that Domocritus who only made it his Business to ridicule all the World should be troubl'd at the Prosperity of the Ungodly Now tho' this Objection seems very plausible nevertheless it is very easily answered First it is not always true that Virtue is oppress'd and Vice recompenc'd Good Men are not alwas Afflicted and the Wicked are frequently punish'd No Man will presume to deny it Nor are there any Ages or Years that do not furnish us with Examples Thus the same Clandian who was offended at the Prosperity of Rufinus says That the Punishment which he receiv'd absolv'd the Gods Abstulit hunc tandem Rufini Paena Tumultum Absolvitque Deos. In the Second Place People who are not so are many times thought to be Virtuous and Good People because they carry a fair Outside of Probity and Piety 'T is needless to produce any Proofs of it 't is agreed upon by all the World there is no Person that has not been frequently deceiv'd and there are an Infinite number who deceive themselves But to unfold this difficulty more clearly I assert that they most grosly deceive themselves when they imagine the Wicked to be happy because they appear to be so because they are Rich because they are advanced to vast preferments and wallow in pleasure and delights How many are there that seem to enjoy a Perfect Felicity who are really most unfortunate and tormented with bitter Pangs of an accusing Conscience How many wealthy People are there whose Condition is much more sad then that of the most Miserable Wretches How many great Men are there who in their Elevated Stations enjoy no rest or quiet Day or Night I need no other Testimony then Tiberius who could not forbear declaring to the Roman Senate that every Day he dy'd a Cruel Death Could you but look into the Insides of those that you esteem Happy and Rich said Seneca you would find 'em to be Miserable to be Poor to be Infamous and that they resemble those Walls which are only Painted without side Such a Felicity is no solid and true Felicity 't is only an Image and slight Appearance of it For which reason it is that while they can stand upon their Legs and make a vain Bravado of Grandeur they appear what they are not and make People believe 'em happy But if any accident befals 'em that puts 'em out of Order and discovers 'em then you come to see the Filth and Infamy that borrow'd Splendour conceals And the Famous Historian Tacitus speaking of Tyrants could we but see their Souls laid open says He we should behold 'em torn and mangl'd by their own Crimes like the Bodies of Criminals cut with the Lashes of the Whip We must not wonder then to see the Wicked Potent and Rich in Grandeur and Reputation so far from thence concluding that there is no Providence that we have no reason to envy their Felicity I confess however that there would be some reason to be astonish'd at their appearing Prosperity were there no other Life but this and that we were not then to come to Judgment But before we blame the Conduct of the Almighty or before we deny a Providence we ought to be assur'd there is no other Life to be expected after this and that God will never punish those whom he now supports Now I know not whether there be any one to be met with who will presume to assert that he is clearly convinced that there is nothing to be thought of after this Life that there is nothing to be hop'd or fear'd after Death tho' there are several who endeavour to persuade themselves that it is certainly true with whom we shall enter the Lists in the sequel of our Discourse The Second Reflection is That 't is an Error to believe good Men Unhappy because they are afflicted seeing that Afflictions are so useful to those that are expos'd to 'em whereby to make 'em sensible of the Emptiness of this World and the Vanities of it to wean 'em from this Earth and make 'em think of a better Life to tame their Pride to reduce 'em from their Deviations and Wandrings and bring 'em back to their Duty These are the Benefits of Misfor-fortune of which it would be easie to convince the most obstinate Now for a Man to be convinc'd that Afflictions do not render the Sufferers unhappy he needs no more but to consider the Tranquility of mind which Good Men enjoy when they are most Afflicted One would think sometimes that he suffers in the Body of another person or that he is Insensible or if it happen that through the Violence of his Pain he discovers some Motions of Impatience and le ts fall some Murmurings he recovers himself presently again You shall see Sereneness and Joy reseated in
Question must not they be willingly blind who dare presume to number what concerns the Worship which is due to the Deity among things of little Importance Is there any one which is of greater Moment then that which has a regard to the Sovereign Being which all Men ought to adore And is it likely that God should Rule and Govern Monarchies and Republicks and leave Men at their Liberty to serve him according to their Fancies As if it were a thing Indifferent to Him to be ador'd for Example under the shape of the most Vile and worthless Animals as the Pagans painted some of their Gods Is it possible that Men can have such extravagant thoughts of the most perfect of all Beings Where is that King so Negligent as to permit his Subjects the Liberty to act according to their own humours in his Affairs in his Armies in his Exchequer and leaves it to their Discretion to Obey and Serve him as their Capricio's lead ' em How then can they who boast their Wit presume to say of God the Wisest of all Beings what no Man would adventure to say of a Person meerly Mortal Besides were it true that God took no care of things that concern Religion whence comes it to pass that they who are of this Opinion pay some certain Homage to the Deity Wherefore do they sometimes pray to him since God takes no notice of what they do and consequently never troubles himself about their neglect of his Worship Their Actions ill agree with their Belief and cause those that see 'em to believe that they are of another Opinion Therefore it was a good saying of one Diocles who espying Epicurus in the Temple cry'd out What a Feast what a Spectacle is this for me to see Epicurus in the Temple All my Suspicions are Vanish'd Piety reassumes her Seat and I never more clearly beheld the Grandeur of Jupiter then now that I see Epicurus upon his Knees Certainly if this Opinion which we have refuted were true there would be never any more need of paying Worship to a Deity 'T was true that Epicurus confess'd that the Excellency of Divine Nature deserv'd of it self that some Honour should be given to Her tho' she concern'd her self no more with the World then if there were no share of her in it and tho' there were nothing to be expected by it from Her But he only spoke thus in conformity to the Common Sentiments For in short the God of that Phylosopher according to his System was a Piece apart from the Workmanship which a Man might well suppose not to belong to it and yet no change befall it Otherwise it is certain that if he had acted and spoken conformably to his Real Opinions he would have said in plain Terms that Piety was a fruitless thing and he would never have perform'd any act of Religion Cicero therefore rightly understood him l. 1. de Nat. Deor. There are some People says he and have been before now who believe that the Gods never meddle with human Affairs But if that Opinion be true what will become of Piety CHAP. VI. Of the Immortality of the Soul I Come to those who never much torment themselves whither there be any Providence or no because they hold the Soul to be Mortal that it perishes with the Body or at least that there is no farther fear of any thing after this Life that there will be no Judgment that all that has been said of Paradise and Hell are meer Fables such as the Pagan feign'd of their Elisian Fields c. And therefore that all Religions ought to be indifferent to Us since we shall be never the more Happy nor the more Unfortunate whatever Religion we Embrace 'T is a wonderful thing that there should be found among Christians Men that dare deny what the Heathens have acknowledg'd and what the most Barbarous of Nations acknowledge to this Day as we are given to understand by many Relations And this to such a degree that far from believing that the Soul perishes they have rather chosen to hold some of 'em that the Soul was from all Eternity Others that when the Soul took leave of one Body it transmigrated into another or else was re-united to God or that it was transform'd into some Angel or Devil or that it intermix'd it self with the Elements And this Opinion of the Soul 's being Immortal infused that Courage and Undauntedness into 'em which they made appear in Fight as Bartholinus observes of the Danes in his Book of the Antiquity of Denmark 'T is a thing so much the more surprizing because there are an Infinite Number of Reasons that convince us of the Immortality of the Soul I might prove it by the ardent Desires of Immortality and by that Idea which we naturally have of a future Life an Idea which nothing can Eradicate So that there is no person who indepently from all Consideration and from all Education but either fears or hopes something according as he has either led a Virtuous or Vicious Life when he ponders upon that same darksom and gloomy Futurity wherein the Present Life sets from our Eyes But to make out this Truth as clear as day I argue thus If the Soul dy'd such a Death would happen either because the parts of it would come to separate or because it would destroy it self or because some other created Substance would destroy it or because that God himself would annihilate it There can be conceiv'd no other Causes of the Soul 's dying But it is certain that there can nothing like this be said of our Soul 1. It cannot be said that the Parts of the Soul separate from one another because the Soul has no parts It is a Spirit And he must be blind that dares deny it and assert that the Soul is no more then Matter then Wind or a Vapour then a Certain Agitation of subtil Spirits intermix'd with the Blood It is impossible to conceive that a Soul which knows it self and all other Beings that surround it that reaches sublime Truths that knows an Invisible God that reflects with it self upon its own thoughts that measures the Stars the Earlh and Seas that corrects our Senses and Imagination that penetrates into Futurity and discovers the deepest Secrets should be nothing but anagitated Matter because that nothing is more incomprehensible then a Body that thinks that reasons that deliberates and reflects upon it self Which way soever the Parts of a Body are chang'd it can never be brought to that pass by those various Changes or Rangings that if it knew not it self before it should ever come to know it self nor could it ever be made capable of having one single thought With all the Efforts of our Wit we can never comprehend what Epicurus said That our Reasonings and our Idea's are no more then the Agitation of certain Little Bodies and that the Circular Motion of an Atome may be the Vast and Immense
Idea of Infinity It is also as absurd to say that a Body knows as to say that a thought is Red or Green that the Act of arguing is Hot or Cold or that a Metaphisical Speculation is round or square 'T is clear then that the Soul is not Material and that by Consequence it has no parts and therefore it cannot dye No Sickness can destroy it because it has no blood nor humour that can feed it Neither Sword nor Fire can kill it because it has no parts that Iron can divide or Fire consume 2. Neither can the Soul be said to destroy it self for Right Reason teaches us that nothing tends of it self to its own Destruction and Ruin that every Being is desirous of it self to remain in the same Condition wherein it is and that every Change that happens to any subject proceeds from an Exterior Cause besides that it can never be conceiv'd how a Soul should destroy it self 3. It cannot be said that the Soul can be deâ—troy'd by other Created Substances because we ought not to assure our selves of what we â—annot conceive unless God reveals it to us Now it is impossible to comprehend that a Creaâ—ed and finite Substance can destroy a Spiritual Nature nor do we know it to be otherwise by Revelation 4. It cannot be said that God destroys and annihilates our Souls For besides that the Annihilation of a Being is one of those things of which there is not any example in Nature we have no Revelation that God designs the Annihilation of Souls On the contrary if they with whom we contend would acknowledge the Divinity of Scripture it would be easie for me to produce 'em proofs which invincibly make out this immortality which we assert This First Argument may be supported by a Second which is this That if the Soul be not immortal and that there be no other Life after this we must then conclude that it was only given to Man to render him more miserable then the Beasts and to be a torment to him For if Man had not a Rational Soul the Remembrance of what is pass'd the Consideration of the Present and the Apprehension of Futurity would never afflict his Mind but he would be like the Beasts which if we may believe the new Philosophers feel no pain or if they do feel any 't is only a present pain If then the Soul be not immortal it would have been better that God had made us walking Machines then to give us a Soul only to make us Suffer 'T is said that Man being so like to Beasts all dies with him as it is with other Creatures But this Objection is unworthy a Rational Man 'T is true that there is some Conformity between a Man and a Beast A Man is Born and is subject to Death he preserves his Life by nourishment and his Kind by Generation and he is subject to the irregularities of Humors All this is common with the Beasts I confess likewise that there is a Conformity which is disgraceful to Man and this is that which consists in the disorders of the Body and Sences and the Predominancy of the Passions 'T is a shame to Man that his Passions over-rule him where Reason ought to Command and that he is not the Master of his own Body nor of all the Motions of it Nevertheless all that can be concluded from hence is that Man is Mortal so far as he has any thing of Conformity with Beasts But we must renounce our Reason if we deny that Man has not an infinite number of things that exalt him above Brutes and in that respect it is that Man is Immortal Althô they who believe the Soul to be Mortal laugh at the Revelation yet there are some who make use of a Passage in Ecclesiastes to confirm their Opinion 'T is in the Chap. 13.19 20 21. The same thing befalls both Man and Beasts the death of the One is like the death of the other both the one and the other breathe the same Breath and Man has no advantage above a Beast for all is vanity All goes the same way All was dust and to dust they shall return Who knows whether the breath of Man mounts upward or whether the breath of a Beast descends downward But if these People who borrow the Authority of Salomon to support their Error had read the Book from which they-fetcht their Argument they would have seen that that same Great and Wise Prince was far from believing the Soul to be Mortal His aim is there only to withdraw the hearts of Men from the Love of the World from their extraordinary Propensity to the Creatures and all things that fall under the Senses On purpose to incline and persuade 'em to Love to Fear and Serve the Lord only And this is the conclusion which he draws at the end of his Book from all the Arguments which he produc'd before The scope of the whole Discourse is Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole Duty of Man Now I leave it to Judgment Whether if Salomon had thought that the Soul did not subsist after death he would have taken so much pains to excite Men to the exercises of Piety for which there was no reward to be expected since the Belief of the Immortality of the Soul is the Foundation of Piety and Religion But for an absolute Conviction that this Great King did not believe the Soul to be mortal there needs no more then to read his Tenth Chapter From the very beginning he threatens Men with a Judgment to come and exhorts 'em to remember God in the days of their youth and not to delay their Turning to God till the last years of their Lives A needless Exhortation if the Soul were to dye For what reason is there that Man should fear any thing after death if All were to dye with him Afterwards in the 9th Verse he tells us in express terms That the dust returns to the earth from whence it was taken but that the Spirit returns to God that gave it Is not this an invincible Proof that he believed the Immortality of our Souls For how could it be said that our Spirit should return to God that gave it if it subsisted no longer after it was departed from the Body which it enlivened Is it possible that a nothing of Soul and Spirit should return to the Bosom of God The wise Salomon so little believ'd our Soul to be Mortal that in the same Chapter ver 17. he says God shall judge the Just and the Vnjust and then shall be the time for all things and over all his Works which he would never have said had he had the least Thought that our Soul died with the Body So that by the Passage which they alledge he meant no other thing but that in respect of the Body the condition of the Beasts was equal to that of Men that the same thing befals him and
in so many other Things Is it not a Proof that this is one of those Truths of which we come to the knowledge as soon as we begin to make use of our Reason and which we cannot withstand without renouncing the Light of our Intellects It would be no difficult Thing for me to prove this Universal Consent would I but collect together what the Pagans have written concerning the condition of Souls after Death of the Judges before whom they were to appear of the Punishments and Rewards prepar'd for Men in the other World all that Plato believ'd upon this Subject and Particularly the Plat. de Repub l. 11. Recital which he causes one Amnenius to make in his Republic whom he introduces return'd to Earth twelve Days after his Death to make a Report of all that is transacted in Hell and giving an Account that the Judges before whom the Souls of the Departed appear place the Just upon the Right hand and the Wicked upon the Left and cause the Virtuous to ascend to Heaven while the Latter are forced to descend I might add what Strabo relates of the Brachmans among the Indians what is recited to us by those who have Travell'd into Asia Africa and America And I might add to all these Proofs another which might be drawn from the Opinion of almost all Nations that there was a necessary Duty incumbent upon 'em to appease the Deity which prevail'd so far thaâ— many offer'd Human Sacrifices for that purpose I add to all these Arguments this Reflection That if there be no future Judgment Virtue is no more then a Fantom and that 't is a Folly to pursue her Maxims Men may give themselves over to all sorts of Crimes and Impieties without Reluctancy he may be a Traytor Perjur'd Wretch a Knave a Faithless Villain an Adulterer from this time forward he has no more to do but to make himself most powerful in Society and preserve his Life since he has nothing to fear after Death no more then if he had led a Life the most Exact and Virtuous that could be imagin'd But where is that Man to be found that wou'd not abominate an Opinion that favours in this manner the most Horrid of Crimes and most Impious Enormities Or if it were receiv'd what Man would be willing to brook that the World should be no other then a wide Receptacle of only Thieves and Robbers a meer Chaos where there was no Curb upon the Conscience CHAP. VIII Where it is prov'd that altho' we had no certain Proofs of a Judgment to come yet we ought to live in such a manner as if we were assur'd of one LET us press a little closer upon those against whom we dispute and put the Question to 'em whether they are well assur'd that all that is said of the Day of Judgment and Life to come are Fables and Stories as they loudly gave out Do they believe it to be a thing contrary to the Virtue of a most Perfect Being to punish those who have so often Violated his Laws those that refus'd to obey him and whom he spar'd in this Life Is it less becoming God to be Just then to be Merciful I question whether any Body will presume to uphold it tho' there are many who have doubted the Truth of the Day of Judgment and others who upon their Death-beds have said That they were going to be inform'd of three Things whether there were a God whether the Soul were Immortal and whether there were a Heaven or Hell a very Edifying Confession I will grant that our Indifferent-Men may not be absolutely convinc'd by our alledg'd Reasons or by any others which we could produce However they must confess that there is some cause to Question whether the Sentiment which they have embrac'd be true or no. They believe that all Remorse of Conscience proceeds from the Prejudices of Education But I believe they proceed from an Apprehension of being punish'd for what we have committed and from the fear of a Judgment which is not possible for us to avoid They say that I am deceiv'd yet they ought at least to acknowledge that it is not so clear that I am in an Error but that there may be some reason to doubt whether I am or no. This then appears to be their Condition that they know not certainly according to their own Confession whether they shall be Eternally Miserable as it is requisite for 'em to acknowledge that they have deserv'd to be by their Transgressions or whether they shall be annihilated Good God! What an Uncertainty is this Would it not then be better in the midst of this uncertainty to practise that which would gain 'em Eternal Felicity if it be true that there is a Paradise then to do those things that are rewarded with Eternal Pains if there be a Judgment or a Hell In the choice of Opinions which Men know not certainly whether they be true or false sound Judgment and right Reason require that Men should prefer that Steerage that leads 'em to gain if truth be on their side and where there is nothing to lose if they be deceiv'd and on the other hand reject that by which they can gain nothing tho' they were in the Right but much to lose should it prove their Misfortune to be deluded This is now our Case A Man who lives as if he were to be judg'd has nothing to be afraid of supposing he should be deceiv'd but every thing to hope for if he be not in an Error He has nothing to be afraid of if he has been mistaken unless it be that after Death he finds no God no Paradise nor meets any more with himself again I confess that this is to be look'd upon as a great Misfortune but at least he ought no more to be afraid of any suffering or that he shall be more Miserable then he who has liv'd as if there were no Judgment to be expected Both the one and the other must lose their Being and all the Consequences of Being as Pain Pleasure Felicity and Misery This is the greatest Mischief that can befall a Good Christian supposing him to be in an Error But if he be not deceiv'd he may be sure of enjoying Felicity Eternal and Infinite Happiness There is then great Gain attends him if he be not deluded but there is nothing to lose in case he be by the Confession of the ungodly themselves On the other side a Man who believes not a last Judgment and who lives in the unbelief of it has nothing to hope for if he be not deceived because his greatest Felicity is to be annihilated but every thing to be afraid of if he be under a mistake For if at his departure our of the World he finds there is a God that there is a Judgment or a Hell there cannot be imagin'd a Creature more miserable Now let any Man judge whether it be not the Accomplishment of
before another which is much more pure because nothing ought to be dearer to us then Truth and for that we ought arwaps to remember what St. Paul says that we never ought to do Evil that Good may come of it To which we may add That Truth of it self is not contrary to Peace and that it is only by Accident that it is the occasion of Wars and Commotions 'T is not Truth but the Corruption of Men which causes War and is the Fuel of Discord 3. They will say in the Third Place that God always Pardons the Good Intention and therefore he will not deny Salvation to those who prefer Peace before Truth because they think they please God in doing so This Third Objection is refuted very easily by the same Scripture which teaches us that a Good Intention is not sufficient to justifie our Actions before God when we do that which he has forbid us to do And to be convinc'd of this there needs no more then to read the History of Saul God had commanded him to exterminate the Amalekites in such a manner as he enjoyn'd him Nevertheless he spar'd the best of the Oxen and the best of the Sheep to Sacrifice to the Lord. One would have thought there had been nothing blame-worthy in this Action Nevertheless Samuel gives him a terrible Reprimand Has the Lord said He as great delight-in Burnt Offerings and Sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord Behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken then the fat of Rams For Rebellion is the sin of witchcraft and stubborness is as Iniquity and Idolatry because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord he has also rejecte Thee from being King Thus you see how his good Intention was rewarded To this we may add the History recited in the 1st of Kings chap. 13. A man of God was sent to Bethel to prophesie against the Altar of Jeroboam He performed exactly the Command which had been given him and because that God had forbid him to eat and drink in that Country he would not enter into Jeroboam's Palace But meeting an old Prophet in his return who assur'd him that an Angel had commanded him from the Eternal to carry him back to his House and to give him to eat the Man of God suffered himself to be over-rul'd and went and Din'd with the Prophet He thought that that was no violation of the First Order he had receiv'd because he made no question of the Truth of what was told him His Intention was only to obey the Eternal Nevertheless God call'd this Action Rebellion and at the same moment caus'd the Old Prophet that had brought him back to pronounce to him the Sentence of his Death which was afterwards executed by a Lyon To teach us not only that there is no Authority which ought to oblige us to violate the Commands of God but also that our Good Intentions are not sufficient for our Justification The History of Vzzah describ'd Sam. 2.6 confirms the same Truth This Man seeing that the Oxen that drew the Ark drew it all a one side and fearing that August Symbol of the Presence of God should fall stretch'd forth his Hand to hold it There is no question to be made but that his Intention was Good Nevertheless God smote him and he dy'd upon the spot because that none but the Priests and Levites were to touch the Ark. After all this let our Indifferent Men flatter themselves with their good Intentions The Jews believ'd they offer'd a pleasing sacrifice to God in putting the Christians to Death But can it be imagined that their good Intentions were acceptable to God Saint Paul's Intention was good when he persecuted the Church but was that Intention sufficient to justifie him He does not think so himself since he acknowledges his Sin and Confesses that if God had given him Grace 't was the most Illustrious Proof of his Clemency 1 Tim. 1. CHAP. XIV Three Arguments against the Indifferent-Men I Draw a Second Argument against these who defend Indifferency of Religions from hence that the Scripture causes us to look upon it as a great Crime for a Man to abandon a Truth to the knowledge of which he has once attain'd and as a Crime that ought to be severely-punish'd For it would never speak in that manner if it were true that it was lawful to Sacrifice Truth for Peace There needs no more then to read the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews Chap. 6. v. 4 5.6 For is it possible for those who were once enlighten'd and have tasted of the Heavenly Gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the Good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come If they shall fall away to renew them again vnto Repentance Seeing they Cruoifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame Can People be painted out in blacker Colours then to compane 'em with those that Crucify the Son of God They are also much more to be blam'd for they who Nail'd to the Cross the Saviour of the World had no knowledge of him but these Men Crucifie him well knowing who he is The first put him to Death in Mortal Flesh but the Second Crucifie him in Glory and Immortality The Apostle shews us yet more clearly the Enormity of their Sin and the punishment which they deserve in the Tenth Chapter of the same Epistle For if we Sin says he wilfully after we have receiv'd the Knowledge of the Truth there remains no more sacrifice for Sins but a certain fearful looking for Judgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour the Adversaries He that despis'd Moses's Law died without Mercy under two or three Witnesses Of how much surer 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 sanctify'd an unholy Thing and has done despite to the Spirit of Grace For we know him that has said Vengeance belongs unto Me and I will recompence saith the Lord. And again The Lord shall Judge his people It is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God Is it possible that St. Paul should thus discourse if there were any Reasons to induce a Man to forsake the Truth without stirring and without being afraid of the Judgments of God But because the Apostle speaks here of those that quit the Truth voluntarily and for that perhaps it may be thought that he discourses not here of those who forsake the Religion which they think most pure to avoid the Mischiefs they might suffer by it but only of those who quit their Religion without any Necessity there needs no more then to read the following Verses where he exhorts the Faithful Hebrews to suffer as they had done rather then renounce the Truth But call to remembrance the former days in which after ye were Illuminated
Sisters yea and his own Life also he cannot be my Disciple And v. 33. So likewise whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all he hath he cannot be my Disciple VI. Wherefore St. Paul calls those Idolaters who committed any one of those Acts which the Pagans practis'd 1. Corinth 10. VII If it be sufficient for a Man to believe in his Heart without making open Profession of the Truth how comes it that the same Apostle Commands us to believe in our Hearts and make Confession with our Mouths unto Salvation Rom. 10.9 10. And that St. Peter would have us Be ready always to give an Answer to every Man that asks ye a Reason of the Hope that is in you 1. Pet. 3.15 VIII If it be true that Man may be faithful and practise a False worship and observe the Ceremonies of a Corrupt Religion then might He Drink the Cup of the Lord and the Cup of Devills contrary to the saying of St. Paul 1. Cor. 10. and have Communion with God yet walk in Darkness contrary to the Precepts of St. John 1 Epist C. 1. v. 6. And a Man may have received the Good Seed of God into his Heart and withdraw himself in time of Persecution contrary to the Doctrine of Christ Mat. 13. IX A Man might be an Idolater and yet be Saved contrary to what the Apostle determins 1 Cor. 6. that Idolaters shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven X. He may be register'd in the Book of Life of the Lamb and adore the Beast contrary to what is written by St. John Apoc. 13.8 And all that shall Worship the Beast whose Names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb. XI If the Opinion of those against whom we Combat were true would St. John threaten Eternal Torments to the Adorers of the Beast Apoc. 14. v. 9 10 11. If any Man worship the Beast and his Image and receive his mark in his Forehead or in his hand the same shall drink the Wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the Cup of his indignation and be shall be tormented with Fire and Brimstone in the Presence of the Holy Angels and in the Presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever c. XII The same beloved Disciple would have placed the Fearful at the head of those for whom the Lake of Fire and Brimstone is reserved Apoc. 21.8 Would Jesus Christ threaten to spue the Lukewarm out of his Mouth Apoc. 3.16 For who are the Fearful and Lukewarm but they who understand the Truth yet fearing the Hatred and Cruelty of the World compose their outward Behaviour in such a manner that they make a shew of approving a Religion of which they acknowledge the Falshood Such as have an Orthodox Soul and Lips of Infidels who will neither be altogether for Jesus Christ not altogether for the World who divide themselves between the One and the Other and would fain be reconcil'd to Both In a word who do that which our Indifferent Men believe may be done without a Crime XIII Whence comes it to pass that the Holy Ghost condemns those that halt on both sides 1 Kings 18.21 Zephan 1.5 and those that worship and swear by the Lord yet swear by Maloham also XIV Wherefore is it that the Two Apostles St. Paul and St. John of which the one had been taken up into Heaven the Other had seen in the Spirit the Heavenly Jerusalem Commands us to come out from among the Unfaithful and from Babylon Apoc. 18.4 Long out of her my People says the Lord by St. John that ye be not partakers of her sins and that we receive not of her Plagues and 2 Cor. 6.14 15 16 17. Be ye not unequally yoak'd with Vnbelievers for what fellowship hath Righteousness with Vnrighteousness and what Communion hath Light with Darkness What Concord hath Christ with Behal or what part hath he that believes with an Infidel What Agreement has the Temple of God with Idols For ye are the Temple of the Living God c. Wherefore come out from among 'em and be ye separate says the Lord and touch not the Vnclean thing and I will receive ye XV. Lastly Wherefore is it that we are commanded to suffer for Righteousness sake and that the Spirit of God makes such large Promises to those that suffer Persecution Matth. 5.10 Heb. 12. James 5.10.11 Phil. 1.29 2 Tim. 2.11 12. I add to all these Proofs those Passages of Scripture where the Apostles command us to offer to God not only our Souls but our Bodies also and to Glorifie him in our Bodies and our Spirit Rom. 12.1 I beseech you therefore Brethren that ye present your Bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service and 1 Cor. 6.20 For ye are bought with price therefore Glorifis God in your Body and in your Spirit which are Gods Is it not a great piece of Sacriledge to refuse the giving of that to God which belongs to him He created both our Bodies and Souls he has redeem'd 'em both the one in the other Is it not then just that we should consecrate both to him Wherefore should we separate what God has joyn'd and what he has given us to the end we should employ it to his Glory How great a sin it is how great a piece of Impiety to divide our selves between God to whom we owe all things and the World to which we owe nothing To deny our Tongues to God to whom we owe our Lives and to be asham'd of calling our selves the Servants and Disciples of Christ who was not asham'd to call us his Brethren and who for our sakes has suffer'd a most cruel and ignominious death To demonstrate yet more clearly the Falshood of this Opinion which I labour to destroy I think it convenient to make these few Reflexions The First is That it is a strange thing that there should be so many People that make no scruple of Lying in Religion which is a thing of the greatest Importance and the most Sacred in the World in regard that Lying is a Vice unworthy a Man of Honour The greatest Debauchees become sensible of the things of Conscience if they happen to swear a Falshood before a Judge So true it is that we have a natural Aversion against telling a Lye Who would not wonder then that Men who are desirous of Reputation should not be asham'd to lye in a thing that is most grave and serious in the World the Concern of God himself of Truth and our own Salvation If a Subject who gives but the least suspition of an Intention to Revolt from his Prince and who only lets fall some words that will admit of a bad Construction is handl'd with so much severity in regard that Royal Majesty is so Sacred that it is not to be injur'd in any manner whatever without incurring the guilt of
a hainous Crime What greater Transgression can a Man commit then to make a shew of being an Enemy to God and his Truth What Torments ought not they to expect who are guilty of such Impiety The Second Reflexion is this That they who dissemble in Religion commit a very great crime against their Brethren for they incite 'em by their own example to Apostacy and make 'em believe that the Religion which they profess is the true Religion So that if they who poison the Body are lookt upon as the wicked'st People in the World How much more criminal are they who poison the Soul who present their Brethren the Mortal Draught and make a shew of Drinking it to the end that others may not be afraid of swallowing it And what Torments ought not they to fear from Him who threatens to punish most severely Lyers and such as give scandal to his little Children This Remark is so much the more necessary because there are several Persons who believe that a Man may abide in a false Religion with a design to make known the Truth to those who know it not wherein they grosly abuse themselves For besides that I would willingly ask 'em whether they can speak it with a safe Conscience that they only stick to the false Religion which they profess on purpose to shew the falshood of it and whether it be not meerly because they find it more advantageous for their Business and for the enjoyment of the Conveniencies of Life I would put this farther question to 'em were the First of these the real Motive that detains 'em Who is he that has enjoyn'd 'em to extend their Charity so far as to expose themselves willingly to Damnation out of hopes to convert others For where is it that God has promis'd to Save those who shall turn Idolaters to Save their Brethren Does not St. Paul expresly say That we ought not to do evil that good may come of it But so far are they from Converting others by adhering to a false Religion that quite the contrary they confirm 'em in their own Opinion and corrupt many by their bad Example They may make good Hypocrites like themselves but very rarely good Christians The Third Reflexion which I add to the two preceding is this That if Dissimulation in Religion be permitted and that it be lawful to embrace that which best agrees with our carnal Interests we must confess that the Martyrs who have laid down their Lives with so much Courage and suffered such cruel Torments were all Fools and Madmen while they rather chose to lose their Lives when there was no necessity for it and perish in the midst of consuming Flames then to condescend to the least complyance thô but in outward shew and buckle to their Persecutors But God forbid we should deprive those Christian Hero's of their merited Honour and look upon as extravagant the wisest of all Mortals Have we not more reason to call our Lukewarm and our fearful Christians Fools who rather chuse to preserve their Wealth and Worldly Advantages then one day to enjoy those Eternal Felicities which God prepares for those that will be faithful to him who are more afraid of the present then the future of that which can Kill the Body then of that which precipitates the Soul into Hell who are more afraid of Death then of the cruel Torments of Hell who prefer the World before God and Time before Eternity To these Three Reflexions I shall add a Fourth which seems to me to be of great Importance that the Inside can never be good when the Outside is evil And that it is not possible for a Man to deny God with his Lips but he must renounce him in his Heart when he has had time to reflect upon what he has done I say when he has had time to consider with himself that I may not oppose the Example of St. Peter whose Fears so far disturb'd his Mind that quite transported beyond himself and only studying which way to avoid the danger that threatned him he neither remembred Jesus Christ nor the Promise which he had made him 'T will be no difficult thing to understand this 4th Reflexion if we consider that 't is in the Heart that Men take that unhappy and cursed Resolution to renounce Jesus Christ with their Lips and that 't is in their Hearts that they meditate an Accommodation with the present Time 'T is therefore to no purpose for 'em to say that they reserve their Hearts for God and that they surrender 'em entirely to him thô they forsake his Truth that they do not renounce him with their Hearts althô they deny him with their Lips To talk in this manner is to deceive themselves and they who discourse after this manner are like a Woman that should say she had bequeath'd her Heart to her Husband and only made her Body common to her Lovers Or to a Man that should rend the Reputation of his Neighbor or Murder him yet pretend that in his Heart he abhorr'd Murder Backbiting and Calumny and that he tenderly lov'd the Person whom he had bereft of Life They who dissemble cannot deny but that the motions of Self-Love prevail over the Impulses of the Love of God because they will neither sacrifice their Wealth nor their Ease to his Glory So that if they were always to be judg'd by the Sentiments of their Hearts they would always deserve no less then Condemnation and Death CHAP. XVI An Answer to some Objections 'T IS but reasonable now to Answer some Objections which they make us The First is drawn from that which Jesus Christ says John 4.24 God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and Truth Therefore say they God is satisfy'd with the Heart and with the inside Worship not requiring exterior Adoration But if this be the Consequence which is to be drawn from the words of the Saviour of the World Why does he exhort us to own him before Men to bear his Cross and to suffer for him Certainly if he required no more then the Heart wherefore does he exact from us an outward Profession which exposes us to a Thousand Disgraces and a Thousand Sufferings Is our Life of so little value that he would have us to be so prodigal of it when there is no occasion But what Man of Judgement is there who does not perceive that his meaning is only to shew us what sort of Worship is most pleasing to God and that it his pleasure that under the Gospel we should pay him a Spiritual Worship abstracted from Matter and all those Observances which were only proper for the Infancy of the Church independant from Circumstances of Time Persons and Places Whether it be that God filling all the World with the Immensity of his Being is no longer to be Ador'd at Jerusalem or Guerezin only or whether it be that being a Spirit he is not rightly Honour'd by