But then secondly To the keeping a man's Baptism pure and undefiled that which was thought further necessary was that from falling into an habitual practice of any of those smaller and less scandalous sins which carelesness and culpable ignorance would be very apt to betray a man into the Acts of he ought to indeavour to secure himself by great cautiousness and sincere enquiry after the knowledge of his Duty that from sins of omission from growing cool in Religion and remitting of his first Love he ought to indeavour to preserve himself by constant Meditation and hearty Prayer to God for the assistance of his holy Spirit that in order to grow in Grace he ought to be always humble and teachable penitent and devout meek in spirit and pure in mind and that to attain Perfection he ought to be always pressing forward towards the mark of the prize of the high calling with a perfect contempt of the World an entire Love of God and a boundless Charity to all Mankind 3. This was what the Primitive Christians understood by keeping their Baptism pure and undefiled viz. A regular and constant practice of all Holiness and Virtue from the time of their Baptism to their Death And to this they thought themselves most strongly obliged by the very Form of their Baptism They were immersed into the Water and they rise out of it again and this great Solemnity was never after to be repeated in token that as Christ once died for Sin and Rose again never to come under the power of Death any more so they were this once to have their Sins perfectly washt away by his Blood and were bound never to return under the Power of them any more Thus St. Paul himself most expresly and excellently argues Rom. p. 6. v. 9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more death hath no more dominion over him For in that he died he died unto Sin once but in that he liveth he liveth unto God Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof The force of which Argument is plainly this When we descended into the Water and rise out of it again we made publick profession that as we hoped for pardon of our past sins through the Merits of the Death of Christ so we our selves would thenceforth die unto sin that is utterly cast it off and forsake it and for the future rise again to walk with Christ in newness and holiness of Life So that unless from the time of our thus putting off sin we continue constantly to live in all holiness and righteousness we have no just reason to expect Remission by virtue of the Death of Christ into which we were baptized For it being the express Condition of the Remission of sin that we continue no longer in it but live from thencefotth unto God the Blood of Christ it self which was shed to be a Propitiation for the Sins of the whole World can avail nothing for one that continues in Sin whom our Saviour himself has particularly excepted from the benefit of the Pardon purchased by his Death and Passion 4. Accordingly Persons after their Baptism were instructed That they must now utterly and for ever renounce all the sinful pleasures and desires of the World They were told that they now received remission of their past sins by vertue of the Death of Christ and therefore they must take great heed that they sinned no more They were told that they now washed their Garments in the Blood of the Lamb for a signal whereof they were accordingly cloathed in white and that they must take care to bring this unspotted Innocence with them before the Tribunal of Christ To which Custom our Saviour himself seems to allude Rev. 3. 4. Thou hast a few Names even in Sardis which have not defiled their Garments and they shall walk with me in white for they are worthy They were told that they were now baptized for the remission of all their past sins and if they kept not this Baptism pure and undefiled they could not be sure they should ever be able to obtain the like full and perfect Remission again They were told that they now started in that great Race which they were to run for the Crown of Immortality and if those who were found tardy in an earthly Race were beaten and disgraced of how much sorer punishment should they be thought worthy who negligently faultred in the race of Immortality They were told that they now entred into that Covenant of God the Seal whereof was Let every one that Names the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity and if they kept not this Seal their punishment would be among Apostates whose Worm shall not die and whose Fire shall not be quenched They were told that they had now escaped the Pollutions of the World through the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and if after this they should be again intangled therein and be overcome and turn from the Holy Commandment delivered unto them their Punishment should be double to that of those who had never known the way of Righteousness Finally They were told that they were now enlightned and had tasted of the heavenly Gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and were sealed thereby unto the day of Redemption and if after this they should fall away it would be exceeding difficult to renew them to Repentance That they had now received the perfect knowledge of the Truth and if after this they sinned wilfully there would remain no more Sacrifice for sin but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery Indignation which should devour the Adversary In a word That they now received a certain Promise and Assurance of Eternal Life but if they would sell this blessing for the momentary gratifications of sense they might perhaps afterwards be rejected when they should desire to inherit it and find no place for Repentance though they might seek it carefully with Tears 5. These were the severe cautions with which the Primitive Church obliged baptized Persons upon their utmost Peril to keep themselves stedfast from the time of their Baptism in all holy and blameless Conversation Those who did continue to walk suitably to this Profession were said to be washed to be sanctified to be justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God And because in those purest times there were hardly any among Christians who did not walk suitably to their Profession it being the same thing then to be a Christian and to be a good Man therefore those Terms Elect Regenerate Sanctified born of God and the like which we now appropriate only to the best and most holy Men are not in Scripture
fiery flame and his Wheels as burning fire A fiery stream issuing and coming forth from before him Thousand thousands ministring unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand standing before him the Judgment set and the Books opened Lastly be not content to believe slightly and in general a state of Reward or Punishment for Virtue or Vice but meditate frequently on the Happiness of those who shall be admitted to the heavenly Jerusalem to the general Assembly of the first-born to an innumerable company of Angels and to God the Judge of all and to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant Consider the Happiness of those who shall be made Kings and Priests unto God and shall reign with him for ever who shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and as the Stars for ever and ever And on the other hand meditate seriously on the Misery of those who shall be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone where the Worm dieth not and the Fire is not quenched and where they shall be tormented Day and Night for ever and ever 22. I have been the longer upon this Head because it is the first and most necessary Foundation of all Religion and because that slight careless and only customary Assent to the great Truths of Religion which is the Summ of most Mens Faith seems to be the chief reason why things of the utmost importance have so so small an effect upon the Lives and Actions of Men. There is no need that every Man should proceed just by those steps which I have set down but whoever will indeed make Religion the Business of his Life must by some like Method work in his Mind a firm and well-grounded Belief of all its great Doctrines and a deep and vigorous Sense of them CHAP. III. Of right Notions concerning Religion in general 1. SEcondly Endeavour to attain right Nations concerning Religion in general Next to the Belief of the Truth and of the Necessity of Religion there is nothing of greater Importance than the framing right Notions concerning the Nature of it For when Religion is represented as requiring any thing that is either not possible or not necessary to be practised when 't is represented as consisting in such things as are either not worthy of God or not profitable to Men in a word when Religion is so represented that Men may hope to be religious without being vertuous and to be accepted of God for some outward performances without a holy temper and disposition of Mind this cuts the very Sinews and undermines the Foundation of all Religion 2. Now therefore to attain right Notions concerning the Nature of Religion a Man ought firmly to persuade himself of these following Considerations That the exercise of those great Moral Vertues of Godliness Righteousness and Temperance which are the eternal and unchangeable Law of God is a thing in its own Nature both truly excellent and indispensably necessary to prepare Men for that Happiness which is the Reward of Religion That God truly and sincerely desires to make Men happy by the exercise of these Vertues And that therefore the great and ultimate Design of all true Religion is to recommend these Vertues and to inforce their practice 3. That the exercise of these great Moral Vertues of Godliness Righteousness and Temperance which are the eternal and unchangeable Law of God is a thing in its own Nature truly Noble and Excellent is evidently acknowledged by the common Consent and Verdict of all Mens Consciences These Virtues are the imitation of the Perfections of God and as no Man is so brutish as not to admire the Perfections of Justice and Goodness when he considers them abstractedly in God so he cannot but pay a proportionable respect to whatever he sees carry their resemblance in Men. Hence Vertue is the most lovely and venerable of all things and approves it self to the Reason and Consciences of Men Hence Vice becomes truly odious and however it may insinuate it self into the Practice can never recommend it self to the Judgment of Mankind Hence even those very Persons who by the prevailing Power of some Interest or Lust are themselves drawn aside out of the Paths of Virtue cannot yet forbear to give it its true Character and Commendation in others Thus the Officers who were sent by the Pharisees to apprehend Jesus could not forbear declaring that he spake as never Man spake And the Roman Governour when he gave Sentence that he should be Crucified could not at the same instant forbear openly professing that he found no fault in him Men cannot chuse but think well of that Virtue which the Dominion of their Lusts forces them to desert or the necessity of their Affairs compels them to discourage They cannot but wish they were the Men they are not and pray with Balaam that though they imitate not the Life yet at least they might die the death of the Righteous and that their last end may be like his Though therefore virtuous Men are frequently persecuted in the World and sometimes meerly for their Virtue yet t is not because Virtue can ever be hated but because those from whom they suffer mistake it to be what it is not or else because knowing it to be what it is they are notwithstanding prevailed upon by some private Interest to persecute it contrary to the Judgment of their Conscience which would force them to honour and respect it An Instance of the former Case are all the Persecutions of the Christians in the Primitive Times 'T is certain these Men were Virtuous and Religious and 't is certain they suffered meerly upon that account But then 't is also as certain that those from whom they suffered did not persecute them because they thought them Religious but because they mistook them not to be so they did not persecute them because they thought them to be worshippers of the true God but because they looked on them as despisers of their false ones They were so unhappily blinded by Prejudice and Idolatry that they mistook Religion for Superstition and Superstition for Religion Hence they implacably persecuted that Doctrine whose Evidence and Conviction if they would have opened their Eyes they could not have resisted and endeavoured to root out the true Religion out of Zeal to the honour of a false one An eminent Instance of the latter Case is the Condemnation of our Saviour He was manifestly innocent of the Crimes laid to his Charge and Pilate knew him to be so but then 't is also manifest that he did not condemn him because he was Innocent but because he was willing to do the Jews a pleasure Our Saviour's Innocence was sufficient to convince the Mind of his Judge and 't was only Interest that over-powered the force of that Conviction Virtue therefore is truly Noble and Excellent in it self and wicked Men even while they are persecuting it cannot deny it to
return to your Duty For if your Resolutions when firmest are not able to resist much less will they do it when they have once been broken if you cannot withstand the temptations of Vice while it is yet at a distance much less will you be able to do it when it has interested your Passions and insinuated it self into your Affections if you cannot maintain your Ground while the Spirit of God is ready constantly to assist you much less will you do it when he has withdrawn himself from you But resolve bravely now while it is called to Day while you have Time and may do it with the greatest Advantages to make your Religion easie and your Happiness secure set out with a mighty Resolution in the Christian Race and press forward toward the Mark of the Prize of the high Calling Despise all the Temptations of the World and the Flesh and resist the Devil and he will flee from you 3. Again while one who has early entered into the Profession of Religion maintains his Integrity and stands firm against all the Temptations of Sin and Satan he carries with him not only a quiet Conscience and an undisturbed Mind but such a full Assurance and Joy in the Holy Ghost as inables him to perform his Duty not only willingly but cheerfully and to despise all the Temptations of this present World as Vanity and Nothing But when once he has made Shipwrack of a good Conscience and is overcome by the Temptations of the World and the Devil to sin in any gross and notorious Instances then Fears and Doubts Anxieties and Scruples must be his Portion and though by Repentance he may recover a well grounded Hope and through the Mercy of God a certain expectation of Pardon yet not easily the assurance and joy of Innocence Think not therefore when you are tempted by Sin that you may now yield to its Solicitations and afterwards by Repentance recover your first peace and quiet of Conscience For when once the support of a good Conscience is lost Obedience will be much more difficult and Peace will not return but after much Labour and many Fears after great Sorrow and long Doubts But resolve now to resist the very first Motions of Sin and be convinced there is no Pleasure but in a good Conscience nor any Joy but in the Obedience of God's Commands 4. Lastly While one who has entered betimes into the Profession of Religion continues resolutely to preserve his Innocence and conquers all the Temptations of Sin he has a certain Title to that exceeding weight of Glory that Crown of Righteousness which God has laid up for those who shall keep the Faith and patiently continue in well-doing But when once he turns from the holy Commandment delivered unto him and is overcome by the inticements and allurements of Sin he forfeits his Title to that Crown of Glory and to what degree his after-endeavours will restore him he cannot tell That Repentance will procure him Mercy and Pardon is certain but to recover the Reward and the Crown of Innocence it must be very early and very effectual All that a late Penitent can hope for is to obtain forgiveness and be admitted to Heaven The bright Crowns will be reserved for those who have fought the good Fight and overcome the World Think not therefore when you are assaulted by Temptation that you may now enjoy the Pleasures of Sin and afterward by Repentance attain to the Reward of Virtue also For though God hath indeed promised that those who are hired into the Vineyard at the eleventh hour that is those who are late instructed in the Religion of Christ or in the knowledge of their Duty shall have the same Reward with those who have born the burden and heat of the Day yet he has no where promised that those who stand idle in the Vineyard till the 11th Hour that is who notwithstanding they believe the Gospel and know their Duty yet defer their Repentance to the last shall receive likewise the same Reward But resolve now as a faithful Soldier of Christ to resist resolutely the Temptations of the Devil to despise the Glory and Vanity of the World to get above the Pleasures and Deceits of Sense and then your Labour will be sure not to be in vain in the Lord. 5. 'T is to those who thus overcome that those great and glorious Promises in the New Testament are made Rev. 21. 7. He that overcometh shall inherit all things and Rev. 3 21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne and the like He that overcometh that is He that having embraced the Gospel of Christ and being firmly persuaded of the Truth of his Religion continues stedfast in this Faith and in the Obedience thereof in spight of all the Temptations of Sin and Satan to the contrary In the Primitive Times the great Temptation with which Christians were assaulted was Persecution by which they were tempted to deny their Saviour and to renounce that Faith which they had once embraced by returning again to the Idolatrous worship of the Heathen Gods This was their peculiar Conflict and Trial and he that in that great Trial resisted unto Blood chusing rather to endure the most exquisite Torments and to die the most cruel Death than to deny Christ was said in a peculiar and more emphatical Sense to have overcome And to those Persons we must understand these great Promises to be primarily and more immediately made But that they proportionably belong to all other Christians also who in the midst of any other Temptations shall keep the Works of Christ and victoriously persevere in their Integrity to the end is evident For the Promise is not made to him that overcometh for that reason because 't is this or that particular Temptation that he overcomes but because he maintains his Integritry inviolable to the last notwithstanding the force of any Temptation to the contrary And perhaps if we consider the Matter closely 't is not easie to determine which is more difficult and shews a greater constancy of Mind to die for the sake of Christ or to live in the constant contempt of all the Pleasures and Enjoyments of Life to part actually with all our temporal Goods for the Name of Christ or to keep them with such indifferency as if we enjoyed them not Those Persons therefore who entring early into the Profession of Religion when their temptations to Sin were most numerous and most powerful continued stedfast in the Love of God and of Virtue unmoved amidst the perpetual Allurements of Pleasure the dazling Vanities of worldly Glory and the manifold Deceitfulness of Riches were by the Ancients looked upon with no less Esteem than those who suffered for the Name of Christ and were thought to have a Title to as great a Reward 6. Let those who have still