good the forementioned charge of Idolatry and of other Impious Practices and Principles against them that it is unimaginable how it should be possible that any who are not stark-blind or resolved that they will not see should not acknowledge them And as for the elaborate tricks whereby they endeavour to justifie themselves from those Accusations and to perswade the World that they are undeserved they may doubtless whensoever they shall have a mind to it devise others no less plausible with as little pains to make forcing of Virgins no Rape lying with other folks Wives no Adultery cutting of Purses no Theft Robbing of Churches no Sacrilege and in one word they may with as little exercise of their brains invent ways to do whatsoever is most flatly forbidden in the ten Commandments without being guilty of transgressing any one of them I might proceed to instance in very many other Doctrines of the Romish Church which by what we have said of the Christian Religion we may be perfectly assured are Anti-Christian but I will onely adde two or three more As their asserting the Insufficiency of the holy Scriptures for mens salvation and denying them to be the Sole Rule of Faith and joyning with them their own paltry Traditions as equally necessary to be believed and this against the express words of S. Paul to Timothy 2 Epist. 3 Chap. where he tells him that the holy Scriptures are able to make him wise unto Salvation through faith which is in Christ Iesus And that All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in Righteousness That the man of God may be perfect thorowly furnished unto all good works And their teaching that the Gospel is obscure and difficult to be understood even in things necessary to be believed and practised Which as it makes it greatly inefficacious for the purpose which we have proved it is designed for so doth it open a gap for vile interpretations of any part of it and exposeth it to the power of Heretiques and especially of the Romish ones to make it a mere Nose of Wax Which none can doubt that consider also therewith their Doctrine of Implicite Faith and that other upon which it is grounded viz. That of the Infallibility of their Church which as the Iesuites define is seated in the Pope's Chair But whether it be asserted that the Popes have an unerring faculty or they and their General Councils together this Doctrine being received as by them it is without the least ground for unquestionably true doth greatly hazard nay and even necessitate the betraying of men to the very worst both of opinions and practices whensoever this pretended infallible guide shall be pleas'd to propose them to them And whosoever believes it must to use the words of M r Chillingworth be prepared in mind to esteem vertue vice and vice vertue Christianity Anti-christianism and Antichristianism Christianity if the Pope shall so determine And this Doctrine without doubt is that which causeth those of the Papists to stick so fast in silthy 〈◊〉 and to persist so obstinately in their foul errours who are not detained therein by the love of gain with which their Popes and other Ecclesiasticks by the means of diverse of them are mightily enriched or by the dear affection they bear to their other lusts which they are so exactly fitteâ—… for the satisfaction of Their Doctrines being very many of them so ridiculously absurd plainly false and of such dangerous consequence I say nothing else certainly could hold the sincerer sort of Papists in the belief of them but this consideration that any one of them being let go their great Dagon of the Churches Infallibility must necessarily to the ground with it I might also instance in their Doctrine of the Dispensableness of the most Solemn Oaths which is no less destructive to Humane Society than it is to Piety And in that of the Popes power to absolve Subjects from their Allegiance to their lawful Sovereigns And to them adde a great number of Maximes of the most famous order among them the Iesuites and Resolutions of Cases of Conscience which are as wicked and destructive of a holy Life as the Devil himself can well devise But to be employed with Hercules in emptying the Augean stable would be as acceptable a work as stirring so far in this nasty Sink Whosoever shall peruse the Mystery of Iesuitism may find more than enough there to turn his stomach though it should be none of the most squeamish and quezy and to make him stand astonished and bless him that ever such loathsome and abominable stuff should come from persons that derive their name from the Holy Iesus But to hasten to the conclusion of this Chapter the most pure and holy Religion of our Saviour hath the Church of Rome defiled with as impure and unholy opinions and practices and hath taken the most effectual course not only to render it a feeble and insignificant thing for accomplishing the Design for which it was intended by the Blessed Founder of it but also to make it unhappily successful in serving the directly contrary The great Mystery of Godliness hath she transformed into a grand Mystery of Iniquity and by that means most excessively confirmed its professed enemies the Iews and Mahumetans in their enmity against it And for my own part I should not stick to say as did Averroes when he observed that the Popish Christians adored that they ate Sit anima mea cum Philosophis Let my soul take its fate with the Philosophers in the other world did I think Christianity to be such a Religion as she makes it As much as I admire it now I should then prefer that of Socrates Plato and Cicero very far before it Though I abhor so far to imitate the Papists in the Devilishly cruel uncharitableness as to pronounce them all in a state of damnation yet I dare assert with the greatest and most undoubted confidence that all that continue in Communion with that degenerated and Apostate Church run infinite hazards And moreover that it is impossible that any sincere persons should give an explicite and understanding assent to all her Doctrines but that whosoever can find in his heart to practise upon them can be nothing better than a shamefully debauched and immoral wretch Nor is it conceivable what should induce any to exchange the Reformed for the Popish Religion as too many have of late done that have but a competent understanding of both besides the desire of serving some corrupt interest And we plainly see that the generality of those that turn Apostates from the Church of England to that of Rome are such people as were a Scandal to her while they continued in her And that Atheism and Popery are the common Sanctuaries to which the most abominably vicious and profane of this Age do betake themselves CHAP. XVIII The Third Inference That these two sorts
give over all thoughts of becoming better nay and to let the reins loose unto all ungodliness But yet nothing short of Sincerity and diligent serious endeavors to abstain from all Sin will be admitted by him in order to our being made the objects of his Grace and Favour And as for Wilful and Presumptuous Sins of what kind soever he makes no allowances for them but hath by himself and his Ministers declared very frequently that they shall not be pardoned without our unfeigned Reformation from them And Lastly notwithstanding the allowances and abatements that in tender Compassion to us he is pleased to make us no less than our absolutely Perfect Holiness is designed by him though not to be effected in this yet in the other World CHAP. IV. That Holiness is the onely Design of the Promises of the Gospel shewed in Two Particulars And of the Threatnings therein Contained SEcondly The Promises and Threatnings of the Gospel have most apparently the promoting of Holiness for their onely Design First The Promises it is plain have This S. Peter assureth us 2 Epistle ch 1. v. 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and pretious promises that by these you might be partakers of the Divine Nature having escaped the Corruption that is in the world through lust And S. Paul doth more than intimate the same in 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having saith he these Promises dearly beloved viz. those which the foregoing Chapter Concludes with let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of the Lord. Again Rom. 12. 1. I beseech you by the Mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living Sacrifice holy acceptable to God which is your Reasonable Service And be ye not conformed to this present world but be ye transformed by the Renewing of your Minds c. 1. We always find these promises either limited to Holy persons or made use of as encouragements and exciting motives to Holiness The Apostle tells us that it is Godliness which hath the promises of the life that now is and of that which is to come The promise of the Beatifical vision is made to the Pure in Heart Blessed are the Pure in Heart for they shall see God That of the Kingdom of Heaven to the Poor in Spirit or those that are of humble and lowly tempers The promise of obtaining Mercy to the Merciful That of inheriting the Earth of temporal felicity to the Meek or such as live in obedience to Government c. That of Eternal life to those that patiently Continue in Well-doing That of sitting with Christ on his Throne to those that overcome that is that mortifie their Lusts and corrupt affections The promise of a Crown of life is used as a motive to perswade to faithfulness to the Death But to what purpose do I multiply instances when as there is not a particular promise throughout the whole Gospel but it is expressed or plainly enough intimated that its performance depends upon some duty of Holiness to be on our parts first performed or at least heartily endeavoured And whereas the Promises of Pardon and of Eternal Life are very frequently made to Believing there is nothing more evidently declared than that this Faith is such as purisieth the Heart and is productive of Good Works 2. Nay the Nature of these Promises is such as is of it self sufficient to satisfie us That Holiness is the Design of them 1. This is manifestly true concerning the Principal Promises or those which relate to the other life They may be reduced to these three Heads That of the holy Spirit of Remission of Sin and of Eternal happiness in the Enjoyment of God Now for the first of these viz. The Promise of the Spirit that is it to which we are beholden for grace and assistance in the great work of subduing Sin and acquiring the habit of Holiness and this is the very business for the sake of which that Promise is made to us And for the second third they are such as none but holy Souls are capable of That none but such are capable of having the Guilt of their Sins removed and of being freed from the displeasure and wrath of God is self-evident for the Guilt of Sin must needs remain while its power continues these two are inseparable from each other Sin is so loathsome and filthy a thing as shall hereafter be shewn that it is perfectly impossible that the blood of Christ it self should render a sinner lovely or not odious in the sight of God any otherwise than by washing away the pollution of it And nothing is more apparent than that holy Souls alone are in a Capacity of the Happiness that consists in the Enjoyment of God in the other World than that as without Holiness no man shall see the Lord as saith the Author to the Hebrews So without it none can see him For the full and Complete participation of God which our Saviour promiseth his Disciples and faithful followers ariseth out of the likeness and Conformity of mens Souls to him But there is such a perfect unlikeness and contrariety in impure and polluted souls to the infinitely Holy God that it is impossible there should be any Communications from him to them any friendly agreement and complacency between Him and them He is not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness neither can evil dwell with him Psal. 5. 4. What Communion hath Light with Darkness saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 6. 14. But vicious and unholy souls are full of Darkness whereas God is pure splendid Light and in Him is no Darkness at all The Platonists would not admit that any man is Capable of being acquainted with Divine things that is not purged from that which they called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Remissness of Mind and Brutish Passions How utterly impossible then is it that such as are not so should be acquainted with the Divinity it self Hierocles saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. As a Bleer eye cannot look upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things very bright and shining so a Soul unpossessed of vertue is unable to behold the Beauty of Truth How unable then is such a soul to behold the Beauty of God himself to see him as he is and be happy in the sight of him Those eyes which have continually beheld Vanity as saith an Excellent late writer of our own would be dazled not delighted with the Beatifick Vision Thanks be to God saith the Apostle who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in Light Those can by no means partake of it that are not by Holiness made meet and disposed for it What happiness can we find in the enjoyment of God when he is of a perfectly contrary nature to our own and moreover how can we then enjoy him There must be in us a likeness
that they might gain in this Grand one we should quickly see Christendome in most lovely and blessed Circumstances All people that have any thing of sincerity would quickly unite and agree together and as for factious Hypocrites they would be with ease supprest and put out of all capacity of doing mischief This I say might be easily shewn and plainly demonstrated but it needs not there being nothing in the world more undeniably evident CHAP. XXVI The Tenth Inference That an Obedient Temper of Mind is an excellent and necessary Qualification to prepare men for a firm Belief and right understanding of the Gospel of Christ. That it is so by virtue of Christ's promise That it is so in its own Nature This shewed in three Particulars viz. in that 1. It will help us to judge without prejudice concerning the Doctrines contained in the Gospel 2. It will give satisfaction concerning the main Doctrines of Christianity far excelling any that can arise from mere speculation 3. It will secure from the Causes of Errour in those Points that are of weightiest importance Six Causes of such Errours laid down and an Obedient Disposition of mind shewed to secure from each of them TEnthly We learn what is the best Temper and Disposition of mind to bring to the Study of Christ's Gospel in order to our firm belief and right understanding of it Seeing its Design is to make men entirely obedient and truly holy it is evident that a desire so to be is the most excellent and necessary qualification for that purpose Our Saviour saith Iohn 7. 17. If any man will do his will or is willing to do it he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self That is in the first place he shall be throughly satisfied concerning the truth of the Gospel shall be abundantly convinced that the Christian Religion is no Imposture that the Author of it came from Heaven as he declared he did and was sent by God to reveal his Will Such a one when it comes to be sufficiently proposed to him shall heartily embrace the Gospel as containing the true the onely true Religion And therefore observe what he saith Iohn 8. 47. He that is of God heareth God's words ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God That is as if he should say He that is of an obedient Temper and ambitious of doing the will of God shall receive the Doctrine which in his name I preach to him and the reason why you Iews for your parts refuse so to do is because you are insincere and hypocritical It is said Acts 13. 48. That as many of the Gentiles as were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is doubtless in this place to be rendred disposed or in a ready preparedness for Eternal Life believed That is Those which were Proselytes of the Gate who were admitted by the Iews to the Hope of Eternal Life and to have their portion in the Age to come without submitting to their whole law or any more than owning the God of Israel and observing the seven precepts of Noah as Master Mede hath learnedly and with great conviction shewn These being desirous to live Godlily and not prejudiced against the Christian Religion as the Iews generally were did then at Antioch receive the Gospel upon its first being made known to them And of this sort was Cornelius whose conversion to Christianity we read of before in the tenth Chapter Secondly and consequently this sence is also implied in the first cited words of our Saviour viz. That as he which is willing to do God's will shall know that Christ's Doctrine came from him so he shall rightly understand that Doctrine too For it would be to no purpose for him to believe the Gospel to be true if his Faith be not accompanied with an ability to pass a right judgement on the sence of it And therefore he must needs be able to distinguish between the Doctrine of Christ and that which is falsly imposed at any time upon the world as his and fathered upon him by ungodly Heretiques as well as satisfied that what he delivered in the general is the Will of God S. Iohn to this same purpose expresseth himself 1 Epistle 4. 6. He that knoweth God that is practically or is Obedient heareth us he that is not of God or is not willing to obey him heareth not us hereby know we the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error That is by this obedient temper we are capable of distinguishing betwixt these two Spirits And I say from the Design of the Gospel that being to make men Holy it may be presumed that whosoever considereth it with a desire of being so must needs both believe it to have come from God and also be inlightened in the true knowledge of at least all the necessary Points of it and be enabled to give a particular explicite and understanding assent to them So that it shall not lie in the power of any subtile seducer to rob him of his Faith or to infect him with any Principles that are directly destructive to it or are so plainly in their consequences so as that he shall see it and make that ill use of them as to be perswaded by them to let go his hold of any Fundamental Article of the Christian Religion For our Saviour having so infinitely concerned himself for the destroying of sin in us and to make us partakers of his holiness as to aim at this above all things in all he did and suffered in the world and to make it the whole business of his Gospel we may be certain that those Honest Souls that come to the study of it with a desire of reaping this advantage by it cannot be left destitute of Christ's grace and blessing to make it successful to them for that purpose which it is impossible it should be without a thorow-belief of it and a right understanding of at least all its absolutely necessary and Essential parts This we might be assured of from that consideration though there were no Promise extant of that his grace to such well disposed people as there are diverse others besides that which we have produced But besides this a sincere desire of being obedient and holy must needs of it self very greatly dispose us for the belief and sufficient understanding of the Gospel and be very necessary in order thereunto also For First It will help us to judge without prejudice and partiality concerning it and the particular Doctrines therein contained He whose hearty desire it is to please God in doing his Will will be unbyassed in his judgement in enquiries after it He knows that he cannot make that to be Truth by thinking one way or other which was not before so and that truth will be truth whatsoever he thinks on it And therefore doth not wish that this or that may be so and then endeavour to perswade himself that it is so