Bible but we find this among them in the company of the very worst Actions and most irregular Passions of men Out of the heart says our Saviour Matt. 15. 19. proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications false witness evil speakings And the Apostle Rom. 1. 29. ranks backbiters with fornicators and murderers and haters of God and with those of whom it is expresly said 1 Cor. 6. 10. that they shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And when he enumerates the Sins of the last times 2 Tim. 3. 2 3. Men says he shall be lovers of themselves covetous boasters â—evil-speakers without natural affection perfidious false accusers c. And which is the strangest of all they who are said to be guilty of these great Vices and Enormities are noted by the Apostle to be great pretenders to Religion for so it follows in the next words Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof So that it is no new thing for men to make a more than ordinary profession of Christianity and yet at the same time to live in a most palpable contradiction to the Precepts of that Holy Religion As if any pretence to Mystery and I know not what extraordinary attainments in the knowledge of Christ could exempt men from obedience to his Laws and set them above the Vertues of a good Life And now after all this do we hardly think that to be a Sin which is in Scripture so frequently rank'd with Murther and Adultery and the blackest Crimes such as are inconsistent with the life and power of Religion and will certainly shut men out of the Kingdom of God Do we believe the Bible to be the Word of God and can we allow our selves in the common practice of a Sin than which there is hardly any Fault of mens Lives more frequently mention'd more severely reprov'd and more odiously branded in that Holy Book Consider seriously these Texts Psal. 15. 1. Who shall abide in thy Tabernacle who shall dwell in thy holy Hill He that backbiteth not with his tongue nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour Have ye never heard what our Saviour says that of every idle word we must give an account in the day of Judgment that by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemn'd What can be more severe than that of St. James If any man among you seemeth to be religious and bridleth not his tongue that man's Religion is vain To conclude The Sin which I have now warned men against is plainly condemn'd by the Word of God and the Duty which I have now been persuading you to is easy for every man to understand not hard for any man that can but resolve to keep a good guard upon himself for some time by the grace of God to practice and most reasonable for all Men but especially for all Christians to observe It is as easy as a resolute silence upon just occasion as reasonable as prudence and justice and charity and the preservation of peace and good-will among men can make it and of as necessary and indispensible an obligation as the Authority of God can render any thing Upon all which Considerations let us every one of us be persuaded to take up David's deliberate Resolution Psal. 31. 1. I said I will take heed to my ways that I offend not with my tongue And I do verily believe that would we but heartily endeavour to amend this one Fault we should soon be better Men in our whole lives I mean that the correcting of this Vice together with those that are nearly allied to it and may at the same time and almost with the same resolution and care be corrected would make us Owners of a great many considerable Vertues and carry us on a good way towards perfection it being hardly to be imagin'd that a man that makes conscience of his Words should not take an equal or a greater care of his Actions And this I take to be both the true meaning and the true reason of that saying of St. James and with which I shall conclude If any man offend not in Word the same is a perfect man Now the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ the great Shepherd of the Sheep through the blood of the everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good word and work to do his will working in you always that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ To whom be glory for ever Amen OF A HEAVENLY CONVERSATION PHIL. iii. 20. For our Conversation is in Heaven FOR the understanding of which words we need to look back no further than the 18th verse of this Chapter where the Apostle with great vehemency and passion speaks of some among the Philippians who indeed profess'd Christianity but yet would do any thing to decline suffering for that profession there are many that walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are enemies to the Cross of Christ they cannot endure to suffer with him and for him they are so sensual and wedded to this world that they will do any thing to avoid persecution so he describes them in the next verse whose end is destruction whose God is their belly whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things Now in opposition to these sensual and earthly-minded men the Apostle gives us the character of the true Christians they are such as mind Heaven and another world and prefer the hopes of that to all the interests of this life our conversation is in Heaven For the right understanding of which phrase be pleased to observe that it is an allusion to a City or Corporation and to the privileges and manners of those who are free of it And Heaven is several times in Scripture represented to us under this notion of a City It is said of Abraham that he looked for a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God Heb. 11. 10. It is called likewise the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem Heb. 12. 22. And the same Apostle speaking of the uncertain condition of Christians in this world says of them that here they have no continuing City but look for one that is to come Heb. 14. 14. Now to this City the Apostle alludes here in the Text when he says our conversation is in Heaven For the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is rendred conversation may either signifie the privilege of Citizens or their conversation and manners or may take in both these In the first sense of the priviledge of Citizens we find 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a word of near affinity with this sometimes us'd with a great sum says the Captain to Paul obtained I 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this freedom Acts 22. 28. According to this sense 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may very well be rendred as Tertullian often does this Text municipatus
And from hence the Apostle infers in the next verse every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure So that if we live wicked lives if we allow our selves in the practice of any known sin we interrupt our hopes of Heaven and render our selves unfit for eternal life By this means we defeat all the designs of God's grace and mercy towards us and salvation it self cannot save us if we make our selves incapable of that happiness which God offers Heaven is in Scripture call'd an inheritance among them that are sanctified and the inheritance of the Saints in light so that it is not enough that this inheritance is promis'd to us but we must be qualifi'd and prepar'd for it and be made meet to be made partakers of it And this life is the time of our preparation for our future state Ours souls will continue for ever what we make them in this world Such a temper and disposition of mind as a man carries with him out of this life he shall retain in the next 'T is true indeed heaven perfects those holy and vertuous dispositions which are begun here but the other world alters no man as to his main state he that is filthy will be filthy still and he that is unrighteous will be unrighteous still If we do not in a good degree mortifie our lusts and passions here death will not kill them for us but we shall carry them with us into the other world And if God should admit us so qualifi'd into the place of happiness yet we shall bring that along with us which would infallibly hinder us from being happy Our sensual inclinations and desires would meet with nothing there that would be suitable to them and we should be perpetually tormented with those appetites which we brought with us out of this world because we should find nothing there to gratifie them withall For as the Apostle says in another sense The kingdom of God is not meats and drinks but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost The happiness of heaven consists in such things as a wicked man hath no gust and relish for So that if a covetous or ambitious or voluptuous man were in Heaven he would be just like the rich man in Hell tormented with a continual thirst and burnt up in the flames of his own ardent desires and would not be able amidst all the plenty and treasures of that place to find so much as one drop of suitable pleasure and delight to quench and allay that heat So likewise our fierce and unruly passions if we should carry them with us into the other world how inconsistent would they be with happiness They would not onely make us miserable our selves but be a trouble to all those with whom we should converse If a man of an envious and malicious of a peevish and passionate temper were admitted into the mansions of the blessed he would not onely be unhappy himself but would disturb the quiet of others and raise storms even in those calm regions Vain man that dreamest of being happy without any disposition or preparation for it To be happy is to enjoy what we desire and to live with those whom we love But there is nothing in heaven suitable to the desires and appetites of a wicked man All the joys of that place and the delights of that state are purely spiritual and are onely to be relish'd by those who have purified themselves as God is pure But if thou be carnal and sensual what are these things to thee What happiness would it be to thee to see God and to have him always in thy view who was never in all thy thoughts to be tied to live for ever in his company who is of a quite contrary temper and disposition to thy self whose presence thou dreadest and whom whilst thou wast in this world thou couldst never endure to think upon So that the pleasures of Heaven it self could signifie no good or happiness to that man who is not so dispos'd as to take pleasure in them Heaven is too pure an air for corrupt souls to live and breath in and the whole employment and conversation of that place as it would be unsuitable so would it also be unacceptable to a sensual and vicious person From all this it appears how necessary it is for us to prepare our selves for this blessed state by the constant and sincere endeavours of a holy life and by mortifying every lust and inordinate passion in our souls For till this be done we are not meet to be made partakers of the felicities of the other world And thus I have done with the first thing imply'd in this phrase of having our conversation in heaven viz. the serious thoughts and considerations of heaven or the happiness of that state and of the way and means whereby that happiness is to be attained II. The having our conversation in heaven does imply likewise the effect which those considerations ought to have upon our hearts and lives As 1. To convince us of the vanity of this world God hath on purpose made this world troublesome and uneasie to us that there might be no sufficient temptation to reasonable and considerate men to take them off from the care and thought of their future happiness that God and heaven might have no rival here below that there might be nothing in this world that might pretend to our affection or court us with any advantage in comparison of everlasting life and glory When we come to die and eternity shall present it self to our serious and waking thoughts then things will put on another face and those things which we valued so much in this life will then appear to be nothing worth but those things which we neglected to be of infinite concernment to us and worthy to have been the care and endeavour of our whole lives And if we would consider these things in time while the opportunities of life and health are before us we might be convinc'd at a cheaper rate and come to be satisfi'd of the vanity of this world before we despair'd of the happiness of the other 2. To make us very active and industrious to be as good and to do as much good as we can in this life that so we may be qualifi'd and dispos'd for the happiness of the next Men are usually very industrious for the things of this life to be rich and great in the world did we but value heaven half as much as it deserves we should take infinitely more pains for that So often as we consider the glories that are above how does it accuse our sloth and condemn our folly that we are less concerned for our souls than most men are for their bodies that we will not labour half so much for an eternal inheritance as men ordinarily do for these corruptible things Let us remember that we are hasting apace to another world and that
man is he that desireth life and loveth many days that he may see good Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking falshood But granting that there is some pleasure in Invective I hope there is a great deal more in Innocence And the more any man considers this the truer he will find it and whenever we are serious we our selves cannot but acknowledge it When a man examines himself impartially before the Sacrament or is put in mind upon a Death-bed to make reparation for Injuries done in this kind he will then certainly be of this mind and wish he had not done them For this certainly is one necessary qualification for the Blessed Sacrament that we be in love and charity with our neighbours with which temper of mind this quality is utterly inconsistent Thirdly There is yet a more specious Plea than either of the former that men will be encouraged to do ill if they can escape the tongues of men as they would do if this Doctrine did effectually take place Because by this means one great restraint from doing evil would be taken away which these good men who are so bent upon reforming the World think would be great pity For many who will venture upon the displeasure of God will yet abstain from doing bad things for fear of reproach from Men Besides that this seems the most proper punishment of many Faults which the Laws of Men can take no notice of Admitting all this to be true yet it does not seem so good and laudable a way to punish one Fault by another But let no man encourage himself in an evil way with this hope that he shall escape the censure of men When I have said all I can there will I fear be evil-speaking enough in the World to chastise them that do ill And tho we should hold our peace there will be bad tongues enow to reproach men with their evil-doings I wish we could but be persuaded to make the Experiment for a little while whether men would not be sufficiently lash'd for their Faults tho we sate by and said nothing So that there is no need at all that good Men should be concern'd in this odious Work There will always be Offenders and Malefactors enow to be the Executioners to inflict this punishment upon one another Therefore let no man presume upon Impunity on the one hand and on the other let no man despair but that this business will be sufficiently done one way or other I am very much mistaken if we may not safely trust an ill-natur'd World that there will be no failure of Justice in this kind And here if I durst I would fain have said a word or two concerning that more publick sort of Obloquy by Lampoons and Libels so much in fashion in this witty Age. But I have no mind to provoke a very terrible sort of men Yet thus much I hope may be said without offence that how much soever men are pleas'd to see others abused in this kind yet it is always grievous when it comes to their own turn However I cannot but hope that every man that impartially considers must own it to be a fault of a very high nature to revile those whom God hath placed in Authority over us and to slander the footsteps of the Lord 's Anointed Especially since it is so expresly written Thou shalt not speak evil of the Rulers of thy People Having represented the great evil of this Vice it might not now be improper to say something to those who suffer by it Are we guilty of the evil said of us Let us reform and cut off all occasions for the future and so turn the malice of our Enemies to our own advantage and defeat their ill intentions by making so good an use of it And then it will be well for us to have been evil spoken of Are we innocent We may so much the better bear it patiently imitating herein the Pattern of our Blessed Saviour Who when he was reviled reviled not again but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously We may consider likewise that tho it be a misfortune to be evil-spoken of it is their fault that do it and not ours and therefore should not put us into Passion because another man's being injurious to me is no good reason why I should be uneasy to my self We should not revenge the injuries done to us no not upon them that do them much less upon our selves Let no man's Provocation make thee to lose thy Patience Be not such a fool as to part with any one Virtue because some men are so malicious as to endeavour to rob thee of the Reputation of all the rest When men speak ill of thee do as Plato said he would do in that case Live so as that no body may believe them All that now remains is to reflect upon what hath been said and to urge you and my self to do accordingly For all is nothing if we do not practise what we so plainly see to be our Duty Many are so taken up with the deep Points and Mysteries of Religion that they never think of the common Duties and Offices of human Life But Faith and a good Life are so far from clashing with one another that the Christian Religion hath made them inseparable True Faith is necessary in order to a good Life and a good Life is the genuine product of a right Belief and therefore the one never ought to be press'd to the prejudice of the other I foresee what will be said because I have heard it so often said in the like case that there is not one word of Jesus Christ in all this No more is there in the Text. And yet I hope that Jesus Christ is truly preach'd whenever his Will and Laws and the Duties enjoin'd by the Christian Religion are inculcated upon us But some men are pleased to say that this is mere Morality I answer that this is Scripture-Morality and Christian-Morality and who hath any thing to say against that Nay I will go yet further that no man ought to pretend to believe the Christian Religion who lives in the neglect of so plain a Duty and in the practice of a Sin so clearly condemn'd by it as this of evil-speaking is But because the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged Sword yea sharper than Calumny it self and pierceth the very Hearts and Consciences of men laying us open to our selves and convincing us of our more secret as well as our more visible Faults I shall therefore at one view represent to you what is dispersedly said concerning this Sin in the Holy Word of God And I have purposely reserved this to the last because it is more persuasive and penetrating than any Humane Discourse And to this end be pleas'd to consider in what company the Holy Ghost doth usually mention this Sin There is scarce any black Catalogue of Sins in the