which might easily be accommodated to the Christian Doctrine and so a great deal of the Animosities both of the Jews and Heathens would be removed and Christianity would thereby gain more Friends and meet with fewer Enemies The Apostle finding how necessary it was at this time if possible to keep them stedfast in the Faith 1. He assures them that the Christian Doctrine was of it self so sufficient for the good of Mankind that it needed no Additions either from the Law of Moses or the Philosophy of the Gentiles which might introduce several things with a specious Appearance of Wisdom Humility and Mortification but they ought to be assured that from Christ they had all that was necessary or usefull for Salvation For in him are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge 2. That this Doctrine was at first truly delivered to them and they ought to be stedfast in it which is the design of the Text. But they might object that Epaphras was no Apostle of Christ himself and if he were yet there were many Apostles and the false Apostles pretended to be true ones and although St. Paul interposed his Authority yet he was but one and the Judaizers would not yield to it but were ready to suggest that the other Apostles were more favourable to the Jewish Customs than he and therefore it was necessary some more general and common Rule be found out whereby to distinguish the Original and Genuine Doctrine of Christ from that of Pretenders and Seducers The clearing of this is in it self a Matter of great Consequence and not only was to those of that Age but is so in every Age of the Christian Church where the same Question may be put What was the true Primitive Doctrine of Christ and by what means may we come to it which concerns us at this day as well as them And the Answer lay in two particulars which I shall endeavour to clear 1. That which the Apostles did in common deliver to the Churches planted by them was the Genuine Doctrine of Christ. 2. That which they have left in their Writings after it came to be contested which was the true Doctrine of Christ. 1. That which the Apostles did in common deliver to the Churches planted by them For we have all the reason in the World to believe that the Apostles delivered one and the same Faith to all the Churches having the same infallible Spirit to direct them There was no need for them to meet together before their dispersion and to agree upon some common Article of Faith as Ruffinus imagines lest they should differ from each other For how could they differ who had the same Spirit of Truth to lead them into all Truth And we find nothing like a Combination among the Apostles as to Matters of Doctrinâ— And if there had been it would have rendred the Faith they delivered more suspicious in that they durst not trust particular Persons with delivery of it without an antecedent Confederacy among themselves which would have looked like a mistrust of that Promise of the Spirits being fulfilled upon all of them And we find when the Gospels were to be written there was no such meeting together to settle the several Parts of it and yet this was of as much consequence to the Church of God but St. Matthew writes his Gospel in Judoea at the time saith Irenoeus that Peter and Paul preached and founded a Church in Rome St. Mark either at Rome or in Egypt not till after their decease saith the same very Ancient Father St. Luke in Greece after St. Paul planted Churches in Rome and St. John in Asia after all the rest But there was the same Divine Spirit which assisted them all and therefore there was such a concurrence as shewed their veracity but such a variety as shewed there was no Combination But it is observable that none of the Gospels were written till the Doctrine of Christ had been preached by the Apostles in many Places and many Churches were formed and established by them And there were two great Advantages thereby 1. The Unity of the Faith delivered by the Apostles was the more seen because then without the help of a written Rule they so unanimously agreed in the Doctrines they delivered Not as though it were less possible to mistake without it but on the contrary there being a much greater liableness to mistake so Universal a consent was the stronger Argument of a Divine Assistance If there had been any difference in the Doctrines preached by the Apostles there were so many Enemies both of Jews and Infidels and false Apostles who would presently have reproached the Christian Churches with it But no disagreement is ever so much as mention'd as to what the Apostles themselves taught They had one Body one Spirit one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all Where-ever the Apostles went whether into Scythia Parthia Mesopotamia or any Provinces of the Roman Empire all who were converted by them were baptized into the same Faith which St. Jude calls the Faith once delivered to the Saints But once delivered though by many Persons and in very distant places and so once delivered as the same Faith once delivered is to continue to the World's end For nothing can be made the Faith of Christ which was not always so for that were to lay a new foundation and to make another Covenant than what Christ hath sealed with his Blood But he is the same yesterday to day and for ever The Terms of Salvation can never be altered unless there be a new Saviour and new Apostles and new Teachers But if we go to Heaven by Christ we must go that way that himself hath directed For Men and Angels joining their Powers together cannot save one Soul Christ alone being the Way the Truth and the Life and none can come to the Father but by him This the Apostles very well knew and were therefore carefull to deliver nothing to the Church but what they received from Christ as St. Paul saith of himself For I have received of the Lord that which I delivered unto you Not by way of Tradition from Men but by immediate Divine Revelation for as he saith he was not an Apostle of Men or by Men but by Jesus Christ and God the Father and not long after he saith he neither received the Gospel of Man neither was I taught it but by Revelation of Jesus Christ. There was none of all the first Preachers of the Gospel so liable to the Suspicion of setting up for himself and varying from the rest as St. Paul was For he was none of the Original Number of Apostles and he was a known Persecutor of the Disciples of Christ and sudden Converts are always suspected and Ananias had a Vision to satisfie him and yet he could not tell what to think at first concerning him and the Disciples when they
it is made to serve Mens Passions against each other 3. When they seek for no Accommodation of their Differences in a fair and amicable manner The Necessities of some Cases are such That they are fit to be referr'd to such Wise Arbitration as the Law provides but if Men are restless and litigious who love Differences and delight in vexing their Neighbours with Law Suits it is certain they have not the Spirit and Temper of Christians who are to live peaceably with all Men. 2. How this proves so mischievous to Men. 1. It makes such Mens lives very unquiet and troublesome to themselves and others For it is impossible for some to disturb others but they must expect a Retaliation Many Men would have their Passions lie more quiet if they were not rouzed up and awakened by others but when they are they know not how to lay them asleep again And so they exasperate and provoke each other and take away all the Peace and Contentment of one anothers Lives And what Care and Solitude what Vexation and Trouble doth attend those who are thus Righteous overmuch that they will always be endeavouring to right themselves till they bring the greatest mischief upon themselves 2. It provokes God to shorten their days out of pity to the rest of the World For the greatest Blessings of this World are promised to the meek and patient and charitable and merciful Persons and therefore others have no reason to expect any other but a Curse upon them To conclude all by way of Advice as to the general Sense of these words 1. Not to think every thing too much in Religion and Vertue because some are here said to be Righteous overmuch The far greatest Part of Mankind err the other way They care not how little of Religion they have and they desire no more than just to carry them to Heaven Which shews they neither know what Heaven or Religion means for then they would be convinced their Minds could never be too much prepared for it 2. To understand the difference between true Wisdom and Righteousness and that which is not For upon that depends the just Measure of them both We cannot be too Wise in that which is real Wisdom but we may be too easily conceited of our Wisdom and cry up that for Righteousness which is not but a sort of busie Impertinency about little Matters in Religion and making a great noise about them which signifie very little as to true Wisdom 3. Be not too curious in searching nor too hard in censuring the Fâ—ults of others It is a very unpleasant Curiosity to find out the Faults of others like that of some Creatures which delight in Dunghils and those who consider the Frailties of human Nature will not be too severe upon the Miscarriages of others 4. Live as easily with others as you can for that tends much to the sweetning and prolonging Life It is not possible to live without Injuries take as little notice of them as may be and that may be the smartest Revenge If you are forced to right your selves do it with that Gentleness and Fairness that they may see you delight not in it 5. Avoid a needless Scrupulosity of Conscience as a thing which keeps our Minds always uneasie A Scrupulous Man is always in the dark and therefore full of Fears and Melancholy apprehensions he that gives way to Scruples is the greatest Enemy to his own Peace But then let not the fear of Scrupulosity make you afraid of keeping a good Conscience for that is the wisest and best and safest Companion in the World FINIS Books written by the Right Reverend Father in God Edw. L. Bishop of Worcester and sold by H. Mortlock at the Phoenix in St. Paul 's Church-Yard A Rational account of the Grounds of the Protestant Religion being a Vindication of the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury's Relation of a Conference c. from the pretended Answer of T. C. 2d Edit Fol. Origines Britannicae or the Antiquities of the British Churches with a Preface concerning some pretended Antiquities relating to Britain in Vindication of the Bishop of St. Asaph Folio Irenicum A Weapon-Salve for the Churches Wounds Quarto Origines Sacrae Or a Rational account of the Grounds of Christian Faith as to the Truth and Divine Authority of the Script and the matters therein contained 4 to A Discourse concerning the Idolatry practised in the Church of Rome and the hazard of Salvation in the Communion of it Octavo An Answer to several late Treatises occasioned by a Book entituled A Discourse concerning the Idolatry practised in the Church of Rome and the hazard of Salvation in the Communion of it Part I. Octavo A Second Discourse in Vindication of the Protestant Grounds of Faith against the pretence of Infallibility in the Roman Church in Answer to the Guide in Controversie by R. H. Protestancy without Principles and Reason and Religion or the certain Rule of Faith by E. W. with a particular enquiry into the Miracles of the Roman Church Octavo An Answer to Mr. Cressy's Epistle apologetical to a Person of Honour touching his Vindication of Dr Stillingfleet Octavo A Defence of the Discourse concerning the Idolatry practised in the Church of Rome in answer to a Book entituled Catholicks no Idolaters Octavo Several Conferences between a Roman Priest a Fanatick Chaplain and a Divine of the Church of England being a full Answer to the late Dialogues of T. G Octavo The Unreasonableness of Separation or and Impartialaccount of the History Nature and Pleas of the present Separation from the Communion of the Church of England Quarto A â—ourse concerning the Doctrine of Christ's Satisfaction or the true Reasons of his Sufferings with an Answer to the Socinian Objections To which is added a Sermon concerning the Mysteries of the Christian Faith Preached April 7. 1691. With a Preface concerning the true state of the Controversie about Christ's Satisfaction The 2d Edit Octavo Sermons preached upon several Occasions in 3 Volumes Octavo A Discourse in Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity with an Answer to the late Socinian Objections against it from Scripture Antiquity and Reason And a Preface concerning the different Explications of the Trinity and the Tendency of the present Socinian Controversie The 2d Edit Octavo An Answer to Mr. Lock 's Letter concerning some Passages relating to his Essay of Humane Understanding mentioned in the late Discourse in Vindication of the Trininity With a Postscript in Answer to some Reflections made on that Treatise in a late Socinian Pamphlet An Answer to Mr. Lock 's Second Letter wherein his Notion of Ideas is proved to be inconsistent with it self and with the Articles of the Christian Faith 8 to Ecclesiastical Cases Relating to the Duties and Rights of the Parochial Clergy stated and resolved according to the Principles of Conscience and Law The Rule of Faith Or an Answer to the Treatise of Mr. J. S. entituled Sure-footing
first Resolutions and to improve them into a present Practice agreeable thereto as the prodigal Son here did who when he had resolved upon it did accordingly arise and go to his Father v. 20. I do not think there are many Persons in the World who have Convictions upon their Minds of the Evil of their Ways but do resolve at one time or other before they die to repent of their Sins and to make their Peace with God But alas these are Ova subventanea they make a fair appearance but there is no principle of Life in them or as St. Jude expresses it they are Clouds without Water of no Consistency but carried about with winds hurried to and fro with the force and power of Temptations and then their Resolutions are like the Vapours St. James speaks of which appear for a little Time and then vanish away Trees they are without fruit as St. Jude goes on 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not that make no shew or appearance of Fruit but it hath no such firmness and substance in it as to endure the nipping Frosts and so it drops off and withers away Just such are the Effects of faint and imperfect Resolutions they never hold out long and only aggravate the Sins committed after them For every such Sin is a plain Sin against Conscience or else they would never have made any Resolution against it And those who continue to sin after Resolutions against their Sins not only lose all the Peace and Comfort of their Minds but make it much harder for them either to make or trust their Resolutions again and consequently to be satisfied of the Sincerity of their Repentance If we would then lay a sure Foundation for the Satisfaction of our Minds in a matter of such unconceivable Moment as the Truth of our Repentance is let us call our selves to an Account as to this matter of the firm Purpose and Resolution of our Minds Have we strictly examin'd our selves as to our particular Sins For there is no Age no Imployment no Condition of Life but hath its Temptations belonging to it which require not only our Care and Consideration but Resolution to keep us from them But suppose we have been overcome by the Sin which doth so easily beset us the Work is harder to recover the Ground we have lost than at first to maintain it but if we have sinned we must repent and the sooner the better but it is not to be done without awakening the drousie and benummed Faculties of our Minds and exercising the secret and hidden Powers therein Not as though this were to be done without the Grace of God preventing and assisting us but because God worketh in us to will and to doe of his good Pleasure we ought to work out our own Salvation with Fear and Trembling Let us then trifle no longer in a Work we can never do too well nor too soon nor go about it with too much Resolution It is the want of this which ruins such a Number of those who would fain go to Heaven but have not Courage and Resolution enough to own their Repentance and to break off their former Sins They are half Penitents they are inwardly troubled for them and wish themselves able to withstand the next Temptation but when it comes they yield and suffer themselves to be drawn away as a Bird hasteth to the Snare and knoweth not that it is for his Life Now in such Cases Resolution is not only a convenient and proper thing but a very wise thing For when once a Resolution is found to be serious and in good earnest the former Companions in wickedness will leave off to solicit and if once a penitent Sinner can endure to be despised and exposed for a time by evil Men for owning his Repentance he will find the other parts of his Change grow more easie to him and the Devil's Instruments in tempting will be like himself i. e. they will give over tempting when they see no hopes to prevail And let no Men ever complain that they want Power to break off their former Sins till they have tried what the strength of a Vigorous Resolution will do But because we have always Reason to suspect our selves let us make our devout Applications to Almighty God to give us the Assistance of his Grace through the only Mediation of his Son Jesus Christ. To whom c. SERMON II. Scripture and Tradition COMPARED In a SERMON Preached at Guild-Hall-Chapel Novemb. the 27 th 1687. Coloss. II. 6. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him THERE are two things observable in the manner of St. Paul's expressing himself to the Colossians in this Epistle 1. That he had a very good opinion of them at present as appears by the foregoing Verse For though I be absent in the Flesh yet am I with you in the Spirit joying and beholding your order and the stedfastness of your Faith in Christ. What could be said more to the Advantage and Honour of a Christian Church For Order is the Strength and Beauty of any Society uniting the several Parts to each other and thereby preserving and adorning the whole Body And the more there is of this in any Christian Church the more it resembles the Body of Christ and the greater Honour it brings to the Christian Profession Especially when it is joyned with a stedfastness of Faith in Christ i. e. with a firm and well setled Resolution to adhere to that Faith which Christ himself delivered For the true Faith of Christ is not only the Mark which distinguishes but the Soul which enlivens the Body of the Church and by its Vigour and Influence makes the several Parts of it become the living Members of Christ's Body But if all this were seen by St. Paul in the Church of the Colossians what need he to write so warmly and earnestly as he doth to them Must we think as some do that he uses these Expressions as gentle Methods of Insinuation and commends them for that which he would perswade them to But this doth not seem agreeable to the Apostles simplicity and godly sincerity which he elsewhere sets such a value upon But it is far more probable that hitherto they had been very orderly and stedfast But Epaphras going to St. Paul had informed him throughly of their condition viz. That they were like a Garrison closely besieged on all sides and although hitherto they had held out with great Courage yet he did not know what earnest Sollicitations and fair Promises and tempting Motives might do with them and therefore the Apostle writes this Epistle to encourage them in their stedfastness and to warn them against Temptations Which he doth in such a manner as shews 2. That he had a more than ordinary Apprehension of the danger they were in And this I say saith he lest any man should beguile you with enticing words v. 4 And beware lest
any man spoil you with Philosophy and vain deceit after the Traditions of men after the Rudiments of the World and not after Christ v. 8. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of Angels c. v. 18. All which expressions do imply that he had just reason to fear and to give them caution in time that while they did yet think that they stood they should take heed lest they fell And this is that which the Apostle aims at in the words of the Text As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him Receiving Christ Jesus the Lord doth not here relate to his Person but to his Authority and to his Doctrine so the Apostle himself explains it in the next Verse Rooted and built up in him and established in the Faith as ye have been taught Walking in him is an Eastern-way of speaking and supposes both an adhering to that Faith they had then received and living according to it looking on Christ and his Doctrine as their only way to Heaven And as ye had received him so walk ye in him implies that the manner of their receiving Christ and his Doctrine at first was different from that which the false Apostles endeavoured to bring in among them and that they were bound to keep close to that pure and primitive Doctrine which they at first received From hence we may consider a double Obligation lying upon them 1. To keep stedfast to that Faith which they first received without being seduced from it by the Arts of Deceivers who were then busie among them 2. To live according to it by making that Faith the Principle of a Christian Life and so walking in him as they have received him 1. As to the former the Reasonableness of it cannot but appear from the supposition here made viz. that they had received Christ Jesus the Lord. For thereby they declared that they received him as the Christ i. e. as him who was anointed of the Father to teach and instruct his Church and therefore they were bound to adhere to his Doctrine there being no other whom the Father hath sealed and appointed to declare his Will and in him were hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge They received him as Christ Jesus that is they hoped for Redemption thro' his Blood even the forgiveness of sins And if their hopes of Heaven depended upon his Mediation they had the greatest Reason to adhere only to him They received him as Christ Jesus the Lord and therefore they ought to submit to his Authority to obey his Commands and to observe his Institutions and in all Circumstances of Life to keep stedfast to the Doctrine which he delivered But here arises the great Difficulty how they should know by any certain Rule what was the true and genuine Doctrine of Christ which himself delivered For 1. The false Teachers among them pretended to deliver the true Doctrine of Christ as well as the Apostles 2. That which they at first received was no certain Rule For the false Teachers might have been before them And first Possession gives no Title in Religion 3. The Apostle doth not put the whole Trial meerly upon their Judgments or Memories or Capacities viz. What they thought or remembred was at first taught them for the Doctrine of Christ. For it was very possible for them to have mistaken or to have mis-remembred what was at first delivered Nothing can be more weak than to imagine that the Judgments of People in Matters of Faith must be formed according to the skill and excellency of their Teachers For the hearers of Christ himself although he spake as never Man spake yet did very often mistake his meaning And at one time so remarkably that although he took care to rectify their misapprehension yet it is said From that time many of his Disciples went back and walked no more with him So that the highest Infallibility in the Teachers doth not prevent the Possibility or the danger of mistaking in the Hearers And whatsoever any vainly pretend nothing can do it but Transfusing the Spirit of Infallibility into all If we look over the Apostolical Churches while they were under the Care and Conduct of an infallible Spirit yet this did not prevent their running into great Errours and Mistakes as appears by the Account we have of them given by that Spirit which cannot deceive in the Apostolical Writings In the Church of Rome it self even at that time when its Faith was spoken of throughout the World yet there were dissensions and differences there and such as were contrary to the Doctrine which was delivered And St. Paul bids them to mark such which caused them he doth not say it was impossible for them to introduce any thing contrary to the Doctrine which they had learned by Tradition from the Apostles but he not only supposes it very possible but he bids them have a particular Eye to them lest they should be deceived by them The Church of Corinth was planted by Paul and watered by Apollos and there were Disciples of Cephas and of Christ himself And yet in the Midst of so many infallible Teachers they had like to have lost all their Faith as one of them tells them How say some among you there is no Resurrection of the dead And if Christ be not risen then is our Preaching vain and your Faith is also vain Could not they remember to day what was taught them yesterday and so what the Apostles at first preached to them The Churches of Galatia had such an opinion of St. Paul upon his first preaching the Gospel among them that they received him as an Angel of God even as Christ Jesus yet presently after he saith am I therefore become your Enemy because I tell you the Truth What! Of an Angel of God or of one received as Christ Jesus to become their Enemy and that upon the most unjustifiable Account because he told them the Truth But where Truth can make Enemies Errours may easily gain Friends And so we find it was in the Apostolical Churches even under the Conduct and Teaching of the Apostles The Colossians were not yet so far gone but they were in such danger that the Apostle writes this Epistle with great Concernment for them He tells them v. 1. he had a sharp Conflict in his own mind about them They had not yet seen his Face in the Flesh being converted by some sent by him of whom Epaphras is most taken notice of but he was present with them in Spirit v. 5. i. e. He was deeply affected with their Condition for he understood the Designs and Artifices of the Seducers among them He knew what fair and plausible Pretences they had viz. that they went about not to undermine Christianity but to advance it by taking in some Jewish Customs and some Gentile Observances and Modes of Worship
first heard him were amazed after this he took a course by himself and did not go up to Jerusalem to the College of Apostles there resident but went into Arabia so that if any one might be thought to set up another Doctrine it was he but he was so far from it that he established and confirmed the Truth of what they delivered and was very successfull in his Apostleship in all Places And when there had been some Whispers concerning him as though he proceeded not in the same way with the rest he went up to Jerusalem and there upon full examination James and Cephas and John who were the leading Apostles gave him the Right-hand of Fellowship in token of their full consent in the same Faith 2. The truth of the Gospel was the more plainly discovered All this while the Apostles only preached and delivered their Doctrine to the several Churches by verbal Instructions but after these had been received in the hearts of such Multitudes that there could be no suspicion that a false Representation of Christ's Doctrine or Actions could be received by those Churches then the wise Providence of God took care for Posterity and imploy'd several Persons in distant Places and Times to write the History of our Saviour And there was this advantage to the Church that the Gospels were written no sooner For all the Churches planted by the Apostles were then made Judges whether the Gospels written were agreeable to the Doctrine which the Apostles had taught and if not there would have been just reason to have question'd either the Truth of what had been taught them or what was delivered in the Gospels But when they found the main to be fully consonant to what they had been taught the Testimony of every one of these Churches did shew the concurrence of all the Apostles as to the Doctrine contained in the several Gospels And that which adds to the strength of this Proof is that when the true Gospels were written there were several false and counterfeit Gospels dispersed abroad under the Names of the Apostles themselves As of St. Peter St. Thomas St. Matthias and others as Eusebius informs us and as we have the genuine Acts of the Apostles so there were the pretended Acts of Paul of Andrew and John and the other Apostles How came these to be rejected and the other to be carefully received Here lies the true Advantage of Original Tradition before the written Gospels that by it the several Churches were enabled to pass a true Judgment concerning them when they came to be dispersed among them For they could presently tell whether what they read wer agreeable to what they had heard and received from the Apostles As suppose the Gospel of St. Matthew being published in Judoea were carried into Mesopotamia or Persia where many Christian Churches were very early planted these being throughly instructed by the Apostles in all things relating to the Life Death Resurrection and Doctrine of Christ could presently judge whether St. Matthew's Gospel agreed with what they had heard or not and the like holds as to all the Churches in the Roman Empire So that the consent of the Churches so soon while the Memory of the Apostles Doctrine was so fresh in their minds is in effect the consent of all the Apostles who taught them And this is very different from the case of particular Persons in some Churches who might mistake or forget what was taught for this is a concurrent Testimony of all the Apostolical Churches who could not agree to approve an Errour in the Gospels contrary to the Faith delivered to them And that while some of the Apostles were still living For the other Gospels were received and approved before St. John wrote his The case had been far otherwise if no Gospels had been written in that Age for then it might have been suspected that either the Impressions of the first Teachers were worn out or they had been by degrees alter'd from their first Apprehensions by the cunning craftiness of those who lay in wait to deceive them After the decease of the Apostles the common Tradition of the Apostolical Churches was usefull in these cases 1. To convey down the Authentick Writings of the Apostles or Evangelists which were delivered to any of them 2. To bear Testimony against any pretended Writings which were not first received by the Apostolical Churches to which they were said to be written For there can be no Negative Testimony of more force than that it being improbable to the utmost degree that such a Church should not know or not make known any true Apostolical Writings 3. To overthrow any pretence to a secret Tradition from the Apostles different from what was seen in the Apostolical Writings And to this purpose Irenoeus and Tertullian make very good use of the Tradition of the Apostolical Churches against the pretenders to such a Tradition which those Churches were not acquainted with But they agree that the Apostles committed the same Doctrine to writing which they preached and that it might be a Foundation and Pillar of Faith that this Doctrine was contained in the four Gospels and that the Apostolical Churches did receive them from those who first wrote them and that within the compass of the Apostolical Age. It was therefore most agreeable to the infinite Wisdom of God in providing for a constant Establishment of the Faith of his Church in all Ages neither to permit the Gospels to be written till the Churches were planted nor to be put off to another Generation For then it would have been plausibly objected if these things are true why were they not recorded when there were Persons living who were best able to have either proved or confuted them Then we might have been satisfied one way or other but now the Jews are dead and the Apostles are dead and although there are many left who believe their Doctrine yet this can never reach to the Testimony of those who saw and heard the things themselves or whose Doctrine was attested by those who did so And this is now the mighty Advantage of the Church ever since that the things concerning Christ were written by such Persons With what another kind of Authority do those words command our Assent That which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the Word of Life For the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and shew unto you that Eternal Life which was with the Father and was manifest unto us that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you then if all the Testimony concerning Christ were to be resolved into those who heard some say that others told them they had it from such who saw those who conversed with them who saw Christ in the Flesh At such a distance the Authority of a Testimony is extremely lessen'd
only spoken are more easily misunderstood which Maldonat assigns as one great Reason of the Evangelists writing their several Gospels St. John likewise gives an account himself of the Reason of his writing and that the greatest imaginable But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have life through his Name Why written that ye might believe Did the Apostle in his old Age mistrust the Understandings or the Memories of Christians Was not the Apostle's Teaching sufficient to keep up the Principles of the Christian Faith in the hearts of the People no not while St. John himself was yet living He had certainly a very mean Opinion of Tradition that thought it necessary for him to write that they might believe that Jesus is the Son of God For there was no point of Faith more necessary than this which was required of all Persons to be owned before Baptism Yet for all this and whatever else can be said St. John thought it necessary that these things be written that they might believe He lived the longest of any of the Apostles and therefore saw how little Tradition was to be trusted for it was already corrupted in so weighty a point as the Divinity of Christ. Cerinthus and his Followers allow'd the general Tradition of the Church that Jesus was the Son of God but then they gave their own sense of it by extraordinary Favour and Adoption And from hence the Fathers agree that St. John took occasion to write his Divine Gospel to clear this Fundamental point of the Christian Faith And withall observing that the other Evangelists insisted chiefly on the Actions of Christ for one year viz. after John 's Imprisonment he resumes the whole Matter and adds those things which were omitted by the rest that so the Church might be furnished with a full Relation of all that was necessary to compleat and establish the Faith of Christians 2. As to the Epistles The first Epistle we read of in the Christian Church and in probability the first writing in the New Testament was the Decretal Epistle of the Council of Jerusalem What should make the Apostles put these Decrees into Writing They were very short and concerned the Practices of Men and withall were sent by Barnabas and Paul and Judas and Silas Were not these sufficient to deliver the Apostle's Sense to the Churches without Letters from them What a pitifull thing did they take Oral Tradition to be if they thought such Men could not by it give full satisfaction to the Churches of Syria and Cilicia unless they sent it under their hands The Epistle to the Romans was written by St. Paul on purpose to clear some main Points of the Christian Doctrine which were then warmly disputed between the Jews and the Christians and between the Judaizing Christians and others as about Justification Rejection of the Jews the difference of Meats c. And St. Paul took very needless pains in writing that excellent Epistle if he knew of Christ's appointing a Judge of Controversies there or if he thought Writing were not a certain way to make a Rule of Faith whereby they were to judge in those Matters The first Epistle to the Corinthians was written not meerly to reprove their Factions and Disorders but to direct them and to establish and prove the Faith of the Resurrection which was then contested among them The Epistle was sent by Stephanus and Fortunatus who could have carried the Apostle's Sense without his Writing but there are many weighty things besides the particular occasions which are of lasting concernment to the Church in all Ages as there are likewise in his second Epistle to them The Epistle to the Galatians was written on occasion of one of the greatest Points of controversie at that time viz. the Use and Obligation of the Law of Moses And St. Paul found by sad experience among them that it was very possible for those who had the best Instructions either to forget them or to grow out of love with them and to be fond of a change else he would never have said O foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the Truth And I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the Grace of Christ into another Gospel How was it indeed possible for them to be removed and to be so soon removed who had received the Faith by the Delivery of St. Paul himself Then for all that I can see humane Nature taken with all its Advantages and Motives and Evidences is a very fallible thing and if then it might be deceived and that so easily and grosly then much more in any following Age of the Church unless humane Nature be mightily changed for the better since the Apostle's times or any Teachers since be more effectual than the Apostles and especially than St. Paul who laboured more abundantly than they all The Epistle to the Ephesians though written upon a general Argument yet doth suppose that they were in continual danger of being deceived and tossed up and down and carried about with every wind of Doctrine by the slight of Men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive And therefore he advises them to be upon their guard and to have their Armour about them and one choice part of it is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God The Philippians were assaulted by a rude violent head-strong Faction of Judaizers which the Apostle bids them to beware of and writes his Epistle to them for that purpose and he exhorts them to stand fast in one Spirit with one mind striving together for the Faith of the Gospel In the second Epistle to the Thessalonians and in both Epistles to Timothy he gives notice of a great Defection from the Christian Faith he describes the manner of it that it shall be with signs and lying words and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the love of the truth that they shall speak lies in hypocrisie and forbid to marry and command to abstain from meats being evil Men having a form of godliness and denying the power of it I meddle not now with the time when this Apostacy began but from hence it is evident that St. Paul supposed that those who at first received the Christian Faith by Tradition from the Apostles themselves might notwithstanding through their own Weakness and Folly and the Artifices of Deceivers be drawn from it and that to prevent such mischievous consequences he knew no better means than a written Rule which he tells Timothy was able to make him wise to Salvation and to make the Man of God perfect throughly furnished to every good Work And to name no more the Colossians were set upon by some who thought to refine Christianity or
at least to make it more passable in the World and therefore would have introduced into it some Rites of the Jews some Austerities of the Gentiles some ways of Worship which would recommend them to their Adversaries and upon this occasion he writes this Epistle to them to convince them that Christianity alone was far beyond any Mixtures of the Fancies or Traditions of Men and therefore he could give them no better Advice than as they had first received the Doctrine of Christ to continue in it or in the words of the Text As they had received Christ Jesus the Lord so to walk in him The design of what I have said is that although the Gospels and Epistles were written upon particular occasions yet those occasions were so great and considerable and the Assistance of the Holy Ghost did so direct the Hands and Pens of the Evangelists and Apostles in writing them that what they have therein delivered contains a compleat Rule of the true and genuine Faith as it was at first delivered to the Church But against this it is objected that St. Paul himself charged the Thessalonians to stand fast and hold the Traditions which they have been taught either by Word or by his Epistles From whence it appears that there were other Traditions to be held that were not written The force of all this will be taken away if we consider when that Epistle was written viz. one of the first which St. Paul wrote and soon after the former Epistle to the Thessalonians which was some time before St. Luke's Gospel which was first received in the Churches of Greece planted by St. Paul Therefore all the proper Doctrine of Christ himself and all that relates to his Life and Actions were then but Traditions among them and therefore St. Paul had great Reason then to require them to stand fast to the Traditions they had been taught i. e. to the Doctrine of Christ they had received in that manner But it is urged that he mentions before something he had said about Antichrist's coming when he was with them v. 5. If this be allow'd it will be more against than for Tradition For what is become of that Tradition If it be lost then it follows that Tradition is no infallible Way of conveyance and therefore we have more Reason to adhere to a written Word 2. Which leads us to the second Reason from which I designed to prove that there ought to be a written Rule for discerning true primitive Christianity and that is from the notorious unâ—ertainty of meer Tradition I say notorious because there never was any Trial made of it but it failed even when it had the greatest Advantages I might insist upon the Tradition of the first Ages of the World when Men's lives were so long and the Principles of the Natural Religion so few and yet both before and after the Flood Mankind was strangely degenerated from them I might insist on many Instances in the first Ages of the Christian Church so many that scarce one can be produced wherein they pleaded meer Tradition but they were mistaken in it As about the Millennium the Age of Christ the time of Easter on one side or other the communicating Infants For St. Augustin quotes Apostolical Tradition for it But I shall wave all these and only mention a very necessary and important thing which was a long time trusted to Tradition and yet they differ'd so much about it as evidently proved that meer Tradition was no infallible Means of conveyance And that is about the Apostle's Creed which was to be repeated by all that were to be baptized We have many plain Testimonies to prove that this was not to be written but to be conveyed from one to another by an Oral Tradition St. Hierom St. Augustin Ruffinus all affirm it And the Creed was commonly then called the Rule of Faith which shewed that they looked on all the Articles therein contained as the Standard of necessary Points And yet there is a plain and considerable difference in the Ancient Creeds some Articles being in some which were not in others Although we have Reason to believe the necessary Points were at first the same in all Or else the several Churches must have different Rules of Faith The Church of Jerusalem was called the Mother of all Churches by the General Council of Constantinople and in the Creed there delivered to the Catechumens St. Cyril mentions the Eternal Generation of the Son before all Worlds and so doth Eusebius at Coesarea in the Creed which he saith he learnt at his Baptism which was long before the Nicene Creed Cassian makes it a part of that Creed which the Apostles delivered to the Church and was particularly received in the Church of Antioch But no such thing was delivered in the Western Creeds as far as now appears by what St. Augustin Russinus and others say in their Expositions of it St. Jerom writing against the Bishop of Jerusalem urges him with the Creed no doubt that which was received in his own Church and he saith it consisteth of three main Points the Confession of the Trinity the Unity of the Church and the Resurrection of the Flesh. And the Creed of the Church of Aquileia went no farther saith Ruffinus nor some old Copies of the Roman Creed But Marcellus of Ancyra had Eternal Life in his Creed and so had Cyril of Jerusalem so had the African Church in St. Augustin's time so had the Church of Ravenna but not the Church of Turin nor the Gallican Churches if Maximus Taurinensis and Venantius Fortunatus explained all the Articles of their Creeds Ruffinus confesses the Article of Descent into Hell was not in the Roman nor in any of the Eastern Creeds The Creeds of Jerusalem and Aquileia had not the Communion of Saints nor those of Marcellus and Epiphanius The Title of Catholick was not added to the Church in the Creed in St. Augustin's time for the makes it a Periphrasis utique Catholicam from whence probably it came to be added afterwards Ruffinus takes no notice of it and it was not extant in the old Copies of the Roman Creed nor in that of Marcellus Ancyranus These things I mention not in the least to shake the Faith of the Articles of the Apostle's Creed which St. Augustin saith was gathered out of Scriptures and is agreeable to them but to shew what an uncertain way of conveyance meer Oral Tradition is when a thing so easily remembred so constantly used of so much weight and consequence fell into such varieties in the greatest Churches while they were so scrupulous about the writing of it What cause have we then to be thankfull to God that hath taken so much care of his Church as to provide us an infallible written Rule in the Holy Scriptures whereby we certainly know what the true Primitive Christianity was which was
delivered by Christ and his Apostles But here is a great difficulty to be removed as to the written Word How can we be certain we have it if not by Tradition and if Tradition be so uncertain how can we be made certain by it that we have that written Word which the Apostles delivered For might not that fail in this as well as the Creed And then what security can we have for our Faith In Answer to this I shall shew 1. What Advantage things that are written have as to the certainty of conveyance above things meerly committed to Memory and Tradition 2. What Advantage the Scriptures have above any other things committed to Writing as to the certainty of their conveyance 1. As to the Advantage things written have above those committed to Memory and Tradition only Which will appear by these things 1. It was the way God himself made choice of where the Reason for Tradition was stronger I mean as to the Ten Commandments which were short and plain and easie to be remembred and very agreeable to the Sense and General Interest of Mankind yet the Wise God who perfectly understood the Nature of Man would not leave the Ten Commandments to an Oral Tradition but God delivered to Moses Two Tables of Stone written with the Finger of God and on them he wrote the Ten Commandments What a vain and superfluous thing were this if Oral and Practical Tradition were infallible But God 's own pitching upon this way after so long a Trial of Mankind in the other is a Demonstration of the greater certainty of it if we suppose that God aimed at the benefit of Mankind by it 2. When Religion was corrupted among the Jews the only way of restoring it was by a written Book of the Law As we find in the case of Josiah's Reformation which was made by the Book of the Law which was found in the House of the Lord. This was the Rule by which Hilkiah the High-Priest thought it necessary for Josiah to go by and not by any Tradition left among them concerning the Law which God had given by Moses 3. This was that which our Saviour appealed to in all his Disputes search the Scriptures saith he to the Jews not run to your Traditions for those were then very corrupt especially about the Messias as that he was to be a Temporal Prince c. which was then a dangerous and fundamental Mistake and therefore Christ apâ—eals from them to the Scriptures And they are they which testifie of me Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me for he wrote of me but if ye believe not his Writings how shall ye believe my Words And our Saviour severely checks the Pharisees for regarding their own Traditions more than the written Law And yet they pretended to an Oral Tradition down from Moses as the Jews do to this day and none are more grosly deceived than they 4. The general Sense and Experience of Mankind agrees herein that all matters of consequence are more certainly preserved by Writings than by meer Words There is no Invention hath been more valued by the wiser Part of Mankind than that of Letters because it is of such excellent use for conveying the sense of our Minds at a distance to others All men have so great a Mistrust either of the capacity or memory or fidelity of others that what they would have done with security they commit to Writing And whatever we truly understand of the Ages before us we are beholden to Writing for it all those memorable Actions and Institutions either of Philosophy or Religion which were not written are long since buried in Oblivion without possibility of a Resurrection But where they have been committed to Writing they are preserved after so many Ages and by it we certainly know the History of the Patriarchs and the strange Revolutions that happened from the beginning of the World By it we converse with the wisest Persons of former times and are able to justifie the Scriptures by the concurrent Testimonies of other Writers By it we are enabled to interpret Prophecies and to make plain their Accomplishments which without it we could never make out Yea by it the Wisdom of those is preserved for the benefit of Mankind who thought fit to write nothing themselves as Socrates and Pythagoras but their Disciples took care in time to write their Doctrines So that we have the general Consent of the wisest Part of Mankind that Writing is a far more certain way of conveyance than meer Tradition 2. And especially in our case where there are so many particular Advantages as to the Holy Scriptures above any other Writings 1. From the special Providence of God with respect to them for since it is agreed by all Christians that these were written by Divine Inspiration it is most reasonable to believe that a more than ordinary care would be taken to preserve them And therefore to suppose any Books of Scripture to be lost which contained any necessary Points of Faith is a great Reflexion on Divine Providence For if God watches over his Church he cannot be supposed to let such Books be lost which were designed for the universal and lasting Benefit of his Church 2. From the mighty Esteem which the Church of God had always for them for they built their Hopes of Heaven upon the Promises contained in them The Book of Scripture was their Evidence for their future Inheritance the Foundation of their Hope and Rule of their Faith their Defence against Assaults and Temptations their Counseller in cases of Difficulty their Support under Troubles and their surest Guide to a happy Eternity and therefore the Primitive Christians chose rather to endure any Torments than basely to betray it and give it up to their Enemies 3. From the early disputes that were about them Which shews that they were no Invention of After-times nor were brought into the World by Stealth and Art for they endured the greatest shock of opposition at first while the Matters of Fact concerning them were the most easily proved And having passed the severe Scrutiny of the first Ages when so many counterfeit Writings were sent abroad the following Ages could have no Reason to call their Authority in question 4. From the general Consent of divided Churches about them It might have pleased God to have kept his Church from those unhappy Breaches which have been in all Parts of the Christian World but the East and the West the North and the South can all bear Testimony to the sad Divisions of Christendom and those of many Ages standing But yet we have this considerable Advantage by them that we can have no Reason to mistrust a conspiracy where the several Bodies are so much divided 5. From the great internal Satisfaction which the Minds of good Men have concerning them and which no other Writing can pretend to give For here we read of the Promise of Divine
the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature Therefore our business is to consider whether any such things be contained in that Revelation which we all own and if they be we are bound to believe them although we are not able to comprehend them Now here are two remarkable Characters in these Words by which we may examine these different Hypotheses concerning the way of Salvation by Jesus Christ. I. It is a faithfull saying and therefore must be contained in that Revelation which God hath made concerning our Salvation by Christ. II. It is worthy of all Acceptation i. e. most usefull and beneficial to Mankind Now by these two I shall proceed in the Examination of them I. Which is most agreeable to the revealed Will of God II. Which doth offer fairest for the Benefit and Advantage of Mankind I. Which is most agreeable to the revealed Will of God For that we are sure is the most faithfull saying since Men of Wit and Reason may deceive us but God cannot When the Apostles first preached this Doctrine to the World they were not bound to believe what they affirmed to be a faithfull saying till they gave sufficient Evidence of their Authority from God by the wonderfull Assistance of the Holy Ghost But now this faithfull saying is contained in the Books of the New Testament by which we are to judge of the Truth of all Christian Doctrines And when two different Senses of Places of Scripture are offer'd we are to consider which is most reasonable to be preferr'd And herein we are allow'd to exercise our Reason as much as we please and the more we do so the sooner we shall come to satisfaction in this matter Now according to Reason we may judge that Sense to be preferr'd 1. Which is most plain and easie and agreeable to the most received Sense of Words not that which is forced and intricate or which puts improper and metaphorical Senses upon Words which are commonly taken in other Senses especially when it is no Sacramental thing which in its own Nature is Figurative 2. That which suits most with the Scope and Design not only of the particular Places but of the whole New Testament which is to magnifie God and to depress Man to set forth the infinite Love and Condescention of God in giving his Son to be a Propitiation for our Sins to set up the Worship of one true God in Opposition to Creatures to represent and declare the mighty Advantages Mankind receive by the Sufferings of Christ Jesus 3. That which hath been generally received in the Christian Church to be the Sense of those places For we are certain this was always look on as a matter of great Concernment to all Christians and they had as great Capacity of understanding the Sense of the Apostles and the Primitive Church had greater helps for knowing it than others at so much greater Distance And therefore the Sense is not to be taken from modern Inventions or Criticisms or Pretences to Revelation but that which was at first deliver'd to the Christian Church and hath been since received and embraced by it in the several Ages and hath been most strenuously asserted when it hath met with Opposition as founded on Scripture and the general Consent of the Christian Church 4. That which best agrees with the Characters of those Persons from whom we receive the Christian Faith and those are Christ Jesus and his holy Apostles For if their Authority be lost our Religion is gone and their Authority depends upon their Sincerity and Faithfulness and Care to inform the World aright in matters of so great Importance 1. I begin with the Character which the Apostles give of Christ Jesus himself which is that he was a Person of the greatest Humility and Condescension that he did not assume to himself that which he might justly have done For let the Words of St. Paul be understood either as to the Nature or Dignity of Christ it is certain that they must imply thus much that when Christ Jesus was here on Earth he was not of a vain assuming humour that he did not boast of himself nor magnifie his own Greatness but was contented to be look'd on as other Men although he had at that time far greater and diviner Excellency in him than the World would believe Less than this cannot be made of those Words of the Apostle Who being in the form of God he thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no Reputation and took upon him the form of a Servant Now this being the Character given of him let us consider what he doth affirm concerning himself For although he was far from drawing the People after him by setting forth his own Perfection yet upon just Occasions when the Jews contested with him he did assert such things which must savour of Vanity and Ostentation or else must imply that he was the Eternal Son of God For all Mankind are agreed that the highest Degree of Ambition lies in affecting Divine Honour or for a meer Man to be thought a God How severely did God punish Herod for being pleased with the People's Folly in crying out the Voice of God and not of Man And therefore he could never have born with such positive Assertions and such repeated Defences of his being the Son of God in such a manner as implied his being so from Eternity This in his Disputes with the Jews he affirms several times that he came down from Heaven not in a Metaphorical but in a proper Sense as appears by those words What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before In another Conference he asserted that he was before Abraham Which the Jews so literally understood that without a Metaphor they went about to stone him little imagining that by Abraham the calling of the Gentiles was to be understood But above all is that Expression which he used to the Jews at another Conference I and my Father are one which they understood in such a manner that immediately they took up stones to have stoned him What means all this Rage of the Jews against him What For saying that he had Unity of Consent with his Father No certainly But the Jews misunderstood him Let us suppose it would not our Saviour have immediately explained himself to prevent so dangerous a Misconstruction But he asked them what it was they stoned him for They answered him directly and plainly because that thou being a man makest thy self God This was home to the Purpose And here was the time for him to have denied it if it had not been so But doth he deny it Doth he say it would be Blasphemy in him to own it No but he goes about to defend it and proves it to be no Blasphâ—my for him to say that he was the Son of God i. e. so as to be God as the Jews
Grace and Holy Spirit as may enable us to withstand the force of the Temptation so as we be not overcome by it And these two take in the whole sense of this Expression That ye enter not into Temptation We are allowed to pray to be kept out of it but we are bound to pray and to watch too least we fall by the Power of Temptation which is then done when the Motives proper to this World prevail over those which relate to another The Motives of another world are those of a future and eternal Happiness the Motives of this World are those of present Pleasure Honour and Riches and when these come to be inconsistent with our Duty or apt to draw us from it they are said to be Temptations to us For no Sin of it self is a Temptation but something else to be enjoyed by the Commission of Sin or which cannot be enjoyed without it As in the Case here mentioned by our Saviour of St. Peter's denying his Master there was no Temptation in the Sin it self for what was there in an Act so mean so shameful so ungrateful to tempt him to commit it but it was the desire of his present Safety and the fear of running into the same Danger in which he saw his Lord which was the Temptation to him The Sins of Luxury and Intemperance that of Riot and Drunkenness of Chambring and Wantonness are not Temptations in themselves but the sensual Pleasure which accompanies them though it be forbidden is apt to draw the Lovers of it from the strict Rules of Sobriety and Chastity It is the love of this World i. e. of the Riches and Honours of it which make the sins of Ambition and Covetousness so plausible and prevailing among those who profess to believe another world Their Souls are like a piece of Iron between two Load-stones of an unequal magnitude and distance the one is far greater and hath more force in it self to attract but it is placed at a far greater distance the other is much less but very near and therefore may more powerfully draw than that which is more forcible but farther off I do not think that all those who commit Sin by the Power of Temptation are presently Infidels and dis-believe another world but although they do believe the Happiness of another Life yet it is at a distance it is out of their view and beyond their apprehension and therefore doth not work so effectually as present visible sensible Delights do which have all the advantage of suitableness to our present State of Familiarity Nearness and Insinuation It is the great Excellency and Usefulness of Faith that by it we not only believe the things of another world but that it makes things future to be to us as if they were present and things invisible to have such an influence as if they were visible and therefore the Apostle calls it The substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Invisible things must have a real Being before they can be believed and there must be evidence to the Mind before there can be true Faith how then can Faith be the Substance and Evidence of things future and possible I answer That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth not meerly signifie a real Being in opposition to Fancies and Chimera's but a firm solid and permanent Being therefore things which are passing even as Time and Motion are said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things that had no Consistence or Hypostasis and being applied to the Mind it signifies a firm and unshaken Confidence an inward satisfaction of the Truth of Divine Revelation an assured Expectation of what God hath promised and from hence arises that influence which Faith hath on the Minds of Men in resisting the Temptations of this World Therefore the two great Principles which govern Mankind are Faith and Sense while they are acted by the former they are said to resist Temptation when they are sway'd by Sense as it is opposed to Faith and includes in it the Motives of this World then they are said to give way to Temptation or to be overcome by it And so I come to consider 1. The Insufficiency of present Resolution to keep us from the Power of Temptation without Watchfulness and Prayer It is hard to imagine a greater Instance of a firm present Resolution than there was in St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles nor a sadder example of the Insufficiency of it which ought to make us hear and fear and not be too presumptuous Resolution is certainly one of the best means in the World to withstand Temptations to sin for it hath these Advantages 1. It keeps the Mind steady and fixed and therefore prepared to resist a Temptation when it comes Whereas an irresolved Mind leaves a Man open to the first Assault It is like disputing in a Garrison who shall Command when the Enemy is at the Gates A fixed and settled Mind in Religion is of mighty consequence against all Temptations for then every thing is in order for resisting when Reason governs the Mind and the Mind determines the Will and the Will stands bent and resolved upon that which upon due Consideration appears to conduce most to our eternal Happiness 2. It takes off the false Colours and Appearances of things for every thing may be represented plausibly to an irresolute Mind Temptations to Sin would never be called so if there were not something tempting in them and whatever is tempting must have a free appearance in one respect or other and while a Person is irresolved he suffers all the force of Temptation to come upon him But a resolved Mind keeps it at a distance and so breaks the Power of it whereas he who lets go his Resolution and treats with a Temptation is like one who plays with a Tarantula and is bitten before he is aware of it But there are two sorts of Resolutions 1. Some that are sudden and made in a heat and passion without due Consideration and weighing of things and such as these are of no great force or continuance And it is often seen that the same heat which caused the Resolution to be made proves the occasion of breaking it when it is carried another way The inconstancy of their Temper makes them resolve hoping thereby to bind up themselves the faster but Nature and Temptations soon grow too hard for such Resolutions which are made only by a sudden Passion 2. There are others which are made about Matters of plain Duty and against known Temptations to Sin after a due sense of our own Folly and Weakness and a firm Purpose never more to return to the practise of Sin And these are Wise and Pious as well as serious and deliberate Resolutions such no doubt the Disciples of Christ had when they left all and followed Christ besides this sudden Resolution they took up that they would rather die with Christ than deny him