A SERMON Preach'd to the SOCIETY FOR Reformation of Manners IN Nottingham Novemb. 24. 1698. By JOHN BARRET Minister of the GOSPEL Published at the desire of the said Society LONDON Printed by Tho. Snowden and sold by Iohn Richards Bookseller in Nottingham 1699. A SERMON FOR THE Reformation of Manners AMOS v. xv Hate the Evil and love the Good and Establish Judgment in the Gate It may be that the Lord God of Hosts will be Gracious unto the Remnant of Joseph THough the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was very bitter and set Mans Teeth on Edge yet the right Knowledge of Good and Evil is good and necessary without which we cannot hate the Evil and love the Good The Nature and Difference of Moral Good and Evil is invariable For any to conceit Virtue and Vice of an indifferent Nature in themselves that the former is only good because commanded and the latter only evil as forbidden is certainly a most wild and very false conceit Or to imagine that the Holy God of His absolute Soveraignty might have commanded us to despise His infinitely Glorious Majesty to blaspheme His most Sacred and Reverend Name and to be unjust intemperate to run into all excess of Riot to make Beasts of our selves to be Lewd and Debauch'd to work all uncleanness with greediness Or to imagine that he might have prohibited our living Soberly Righteously and Godly in the World surely such thoughts would be horribly injurious to the Holy one of Israel most impious and blasphemous thoughts They that could entertain such thoughts of God would shew themselves no Christians while thus they would subvert all Religion Such would not shew themselves Men but rather to have put off all Reason and Humanity Such would shew themselves Enemies to Mankind who cared not to turn the World upside down cared not to turn Human Societies into Herds of brute Beasts Yea such would interpretatively and by consequence deny that there is a God that Ruleth and Judgeth in the Earth As such Laws would be most contradictory to the Infinite Goodness and Holiness of God And if He were not infinitely Good and Holy he should not be God Deny His perfect Holiness and you deny Him to be God Yet note by the way that besides those things which are intrinsically good or evil there are other things indifferent in themselves which passing under the stamp of Divine Authority the Lord requiring them they thus become unquestionable Duties or forbidding other of them they are Sins till such injunction or prohibition be taken off And it must needs be thus upon that Fundamental undeniable Principle That God our Maker Owner and Supreme Ruler and Governour hath a Sovereign Right of commanding and that Man is under an indisputable Obligation to obey Him in all his Commands That 't is unquestionably good to yield obedience even to such positive Commands But evil to transgress and violate them As God made Man a Reasonable Creature and Upright after his own Image while Man kept his integrity there was a right understanding and good accord betwixt God and Man Mans will being fully conform to the will of his Maker Thus at first Mans Nature was fram'd to love the good and to hate evil And nothing more congruous to right Reason than that it should be so And therefore wicked Men in Scripture are commonly called Fools a proper Name for them as wanting the right use of Reason As loving that which in all reason they should hate and abominate and hating that which they ought to love Which shews the horrible depravation of Mans Nature by and since the Fall Oh the monstrous deformity of sinful Souls what lamentable horrible disorders are here As Sinners love simplicity and hate knowledge Prov. 1.22 Love Darkness and hate the Light as chap. 3. of the Evangelist St. John ver 19 20. Love their base Lusts and hate Holiness Unto such a foolish cross-grain'd froward and perverse People was the Prophet Amos here sent The Children of Israel the House of Joseph for whom together with their Brethren the Children of Judah the Lord had done more than for all the Families of the Earth besides When yet they requited Him evil for good they went on provoking Him with their manifold Transgressions and their mighty Sins as here ver 12. For which they are severely threatned Yet here behold and wonder Oh should we not wonder at the goodness and mercy of God shewn towards such provoking Creatures as Sinners are The Lord with His sharpest reproofs and severest threatnings is pleas'd to intermix most gracious Calls and Counsels to repent and turn that so he might repent of the evil threatned and turn from His fierce Anger yea that he might be gracious unto the Remnant of Joseph According to that Ezek. 33.11 As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the Death of the wicked but c What various methods doth he take to bring sinners to a better pass that iniquity may not be their ruine His patience and goodness is to lead them to Repentance His inflicting lesser judgments as warning-pieces is that if they take warning and turn unto the Lord that smiteth them greater evils may be prevented severer strokes may be kept off more wasting Calamities Land-desolating Judgments may be turned away And still he follows them with gracious earnest Calls and and with sweet encouraging Promises if any means might work on them As here v. 4 5 6. Seek ye me and ye shall live But seek not Bethel Seek the Lord and ye shall live And v. 14 15. Seek good and not evil that ye may live and so the Lord the God of Hosts shall be with you Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgment in the Gate c. Here is a Sovereign Remedy prescrib'd to and for a People in a most dangerous Case When judgment was towards them the Decree ready to bring forth Sentence ready to be executed And 't is the Lords own prescription who is called their Physitian Exod. 15.26 Here 's a threefold Duty requir'd 1. Hate the Evil. 2. Love the good 3. Establish Judgment in the Gate And Gods mercy held forth or promis'd thereupon It may be that the Lord God of Hosts will be gracious unto the Remnant of Joseph Which tho spoken of with a may be yet all the doubt was whether they would Repent and Reform not whether God would be gracious to them if they did so See Jer. 18.7 8. What needeth explanation I may take notice of as I go on These four Axioms or Propositions I take to lie plain in the Text that he that runneth may observe and take notice of I. 'T is Gods express Charge Will and Command that Men hate Evil. II. So likewise That they love that which is good III. And that according to their power and capacity they establish Judgment in the Gate IV. And this way a People may hope to
not suffer a Witch to live And hath not God made that which you have undertaken a Duty where the contrary is forbidden or condemn'd and where other plain unquestionable Duty cannot otherwise be perform'd The Israelites were expresly charg'd not to conceal an Enticer to Idolatry Deut. 13.8 Neither shalt thou conceal him And the reason against concealing notorious Offenders is the same here as there viz. if such be conniv'd at and suffered to go on in their Wickedness their wicked Practices and Impunity together will certainly tend to corrupt others and encourage others in the like Wickedness Again where the People are reprov'd that none called for Justice Isa 59.4 this is very obvious that if it were not a Duty to call for Justice on Delinquents if not a Duty to bring Offenders to Justice there had been no just cause to lay this to their charge as their sin as a culpable neglect that none called for Justice Again what Man is there that believes his Bible that can deny but those sins which you endeavour to get suppress'd if they commonly go unpunish'd make way for God's dreadful Judgments to break in upon a Land Then ought you not to do what in you lieth to make up the Hedg And are you not this way standing in the Gap for the Land Now can you at all question whether that be not your Duty Are you in any doubt or suspence whether that be more than the Lord requires more than needs then consult Ezek. 22.30 Again is it not God's express charge that we partake not of others sins that we have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of Darkness but rather reprove them Eph. 5.7 11. And 't is not enough that you joyn not in Fellowship with the wicked but you must shew your dislike of their wicked Courses and that in the most likely way to stop them Now meer verbal Reproof is not likely to do good on Beastly Stupid Hardned Obstinate Sinners but like enough to do hurt to work contrary to Intention where Sinners are full of Malignity In which cases that general Rule takes place Matth. 7. v. 6. Give not that which is Holy to the Dogs neither cast ye your Pearls before Swine And see Prov. 9.7 8. He that reproveth a Scorner getteth to himself shame And he that rebuketh a wicked Man getteth himself a blot Reprove not a Scorner lest he hate thee Here more good a better effect may be expected by putting such under the Rebukes of Justice and the Civil Magistrate at least more benefit to others Pro. 19.25 Smite a Scorner and the simple will beware chap. 21.11 When the Scorner is punished the simple is made Wise Certainly where Sinners are hardned and obstinate a verbal Reproof is not enough nor will excuse those from partaking of their sins who might do more to restrain them and do it not See 1 Sam. 2.23 24. compar'd with ch 3.13 When all you can do is little enough to restrain that Wickedness which has so long abounded Mourning in secret is not enough nor a private Reproof where you may meet with a Sinner that seems not uncapable of receiving it Alas how many desperate impudent Sinners may you meet with that would laugh at your Reproofs as Leviathan is said to laugh at the shaking of the spear But as Qui non prohibet cùm potest jubet He that does not prohibit a thing when he might in effect wills and commands So not opposing Sin and Wickedness so far as one might is interpretatively a maintaining or promoting it 4. Are you not oblig'd to set against sin in your Places by your Baptismal Vow and Covenant You are Christs listed Soldiers And I hope in the work you have undertaken you are sighting under his Banner owning his Cause acting his Interest and opposing the contrary Interests of the Flesh the World and the Devil And how shall we prove our Loyalty and Fidelity to Christ if we are not Enemies to sin 5. And should you not follow your Prayers with suitable endeavours To pray for Reformation but to do nothing to promote it what is that but in effect to un-say ones Prayers Shall I say that is to contradict ones Prayers or to undo them To pray Hallowed be thy Name and yet to take it patiently tho' one hears God's Sacred and Reverend Name dishonour'd and blasphem'd To pray Thy Kingdom come and yet not to appear against the Kingdom of Satan the Kingdom of Darkness as one might and ought To pray Thy Will be done on Earth c. and yet to suffer bold Heaven-daring Sinners to go on in their open Rebellion against God and manifest Contempt of his holy Laws without controul when one might bring them under some Restraint or Legal Rebukes how do these things agree To pray that the Wickedness of the Wicked may come to an end and yet suffer Men to go on in their Wickedness when one might put some stop to them sure this is not right but rather like saying ones Prayers backwards 6. Consider you have such an opportunity now offer'd wherein to be active for God and against the abounding Wickedness of the Age which if you should not lay hold on you may never have the like again How great encouragement you have to appear for a Reformation of Manners having such Laws and Rulers Magistrates to countenance and back you And what excuse could you have if you sat still at such a time as this Well think of it you may never have the like opportunity and advantage again as now you have of serving God and your Generation 7. And know this if you act sincerely in this Business the Lord will take it well he will look on you as serving him in your Generation And how good is it to be at work for God Psal 106.30 31. Then stood up Phineas and executed Judgment And that was counted unto him for Righteousness The Lord accepted it declared his Approbation of it as a piece of Service that should not go unrewarded Tho' it is not in your Hands to execute Judgment yet 't is something that you have Hearts to promote the execution of Justice And while you are standing up for God against the evil Doers fear not but he will be with you and stand by you And shall not your work be rewarded God would reward Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians as having wrought for him serving his Providence in being Instruments of inslicting Judgment upon proud Tyre whenas Nebuchadnezzar and his Soldiers had no intention of serving God in the War Ezek. 29.18 19 20. May not you hope the Lord is better pleased with the Service you have undertaken And he is the most bountiful Rewarder And if greater Judgments should be coming on a sinful Kingdom such as seek Righteousness may have hope to be hid in the day of the Lord's Anger In times of Publick Calamities they are safest or may bear up best who have the greatest care not to
find Grace and Favour with the Lord to the preventing or removing of judgments and for the continuing and further conferring of His mercies That as it is Jer. 31.23 The Lord bless thee O Habitation of Justice and Mountain of Holiness the Blessing of the Lord should be on such a People 1. To begin with the first of these That 't is Gods express charge and command that we hate evil Quest 1. What kind of evil are we to understand here Answ Not meer Natural or Penal evil but Moral or culpable evil We must kiss the Rod accept of the Punishment of our Iniquity Lev. 26.41 but hate those ill manners that are displeasing to the Lord and are wont or likely to bring us under the Rod. Hate Sin which is the evil of evils the greatest evil Quest 2. How are we to hate it Answ There is a twofold hatred 1. An hatred of Aversation Thus we must hate sin as having an Antipathy unto it Hate it so as to shun and avoid it all we can 2. An hatred of Opposition From an enmity to sin not barely shunning it but striving earnestly against it Setting our selves against Sin as real enemies to it both in our selves and in others And surely they that are reconciled to God and at peace with Him they that are Friends to Christ cannot but be Enemies to Sin Now this and the two following Duties are included in the very Law of Nature These are common Principles of Natural Religion But we who have Gods will more clearly revealed to us in his written word shall be left more inexcusable if we conform not to his will herein What can be more plain than that Psal 97.10 Ye that Love the Lord Hate Evil So then none should have a face to say They love God who do not hate Sin in their Hearts And how plain is that Rom. 12.9 Abhor that which is evil Where the word ' 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is emphatical Abhor it even a Hell it self And great reason for this strict Injunction 1. Forasmuch as God hates Sin 'T is the abominable thing which he hates Nothing in the world so odious to him as Sin May it not be said that Sin in some respects is more odious than the very Devils These as they are Gods Creatures have some Natural good in them whereas there is nothing but evil in Sin And propter quod unum quodque tale est illud est magis tale It is only for Sin that the Devils are such odious Creatures in His pure Eyes Now as God hates Sin ought not we herein to be Followers of God 2. We cannot love the Lord in sincerity if we do not hate Sin Now this is the First and Great Commandment Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart Which is a thing impossible without an hatred of Sin Ye that Love the Lord Hate Evil. Sin is such an Enemy to God so contrary to His most Pure and Holy Nature and to His most Righteous will so opposite to his Interest to his Honour and Glory that if we have the love of God in us we must necessarily hate and abhor Sin for its contrariety to God 3. And certainly 't is a great Duty also incumbent on us to Fear the Lord Thou shalt Fear the Lord thy God and Serve him Fear ye not me saith the Lord If I be a Master where is my Fear But there is no true fear of God without an hatred of Sin Prov. 8.13 The Fear of the Lord is to hate Evil Psal 36.1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart that there is no fear of God before their Eyes 4. And 't is as certain that without an hatred of Sin we shall do no execution on it Now Sin is such a deadly Enemy that here we must Kill or be Kill'd Oh it warreth against our Souls And till we hate it we shall at most but Fence or Skirmish with it not Fight in good earnest against it What is it only to scratch its face to raise its skin This will not indanger its Life at all The surface of a meer outward Reformation is far short of the work of Mortification There is no wounding Sin to the Heart till we hate it Indeed the love of Sin is the very life of it But hatred seeks the destruction of its Enemy And without hating Sin we shall not be for mortifying it And if we are for sparing the Life of Sin our Lives must go for its Life 5. We cannot have the Complacential love of God till we hate Sin There is at least a Secret League with Sin till we come to hate it Never till then that our league with sin is broken And 't is certain that till our League with Sin is broken God and our Souls are not agreed While in League with Sin there 's no Reconciliation no Peace with God See Isa 1.16 18. and ch 59.2 6. Upon the whole this is a Discriminating Note and Mark necessary to distinguish true Converts such as indeed turn from Sin unto God to difference them from the wicked from Hypocrites These may abstain from many Sins but not from a right principle A wicked Man may refrain from the outward act of many Sins either upon some pang and horror of Conscience or upon some Worldly account when he is far from loathing and hating them He has a love to them still But fear of wrath to come or fear of loss shame or other punishment in this world lays a restraint upon him 'T is part of the Description and Character of a wicked Man Psal 36.4 He abhorreth not evil And 't is enough to prove one wicked still A bare abstinence from Sin will not prove one a true Convert but there must also be a real abhorrence of it Use I. That the Lord hath given such express charge to hate evil then is it not manifest that they are here condemned who indeed are direct Antipodes to this Divine Command who stand in Diametrical opposition to it I mean such as hate the good instead of hating evil Alas how many hate the Light because their deeds are evil How many that hate him that rebuketh in the Gate and abhor him that speaketh uprightly As here v. 10. How many that hate Instruction and that hate Reformation even hate both the Name and Thing How many that hate Holiness and hate Gods Saints and Servants for that for which the Holy Psalmist professeth his great delight was in them Psal 16.3 their excelling in Virtue Bear witness Sirs bear witness Are not such notorious Despisers of Gods Command Yea do not such shew themselves haters of God Oh what height of Impiety is this Use II. This should put us upon serious Self-Examination and on a strict Enquiry into our Hearts whether we indeed hate evil And great need of an impartial search here that we be not deceived and mistaken Then 1. Have we an hatred of sin as sin As 't is an
the most hopeful way to procure and promote others Weal You are most likely to help to make bad Men good to make evil Times better to procure much good to the Societies which you are Members of and to keep off Publick Evils But I beseech you see that you be true lovers of Goodness even eo nomine as goodness and so lovers of all that is truly good As we must hate all evil hate every false way so must we love all that is good love every good path Partiality would bewray Hypocrisie When the Heart is indeed gain'd to the love of that which is good it is for the whole of real goodness not barely for the Lists or for a few Shreads of it Thus are Secret Duties good what the Lord requires Then before these as well as for other Duties wherein others joyn with you And thus you must be for costly Duties that require more self denyal than ordinary And let me mind you of one thing more scil That Love is a leading Affection and an active Principle As I remember one calls it The great Wheel of the Soul that sets all agoing Love will carry out the Soul to the thing loved Thus if you love that which is good you will be followers of that which is good you will cleave to that which is good you will be promoters of that which is good And so they that hate the evil and love the good these are the Men who will be for establishing Judgment in the Gate The Gate of the City was the noted place where the Judges used to sit As Lyra says Sicut praecipitur Deut. 16. v. 18. ad hoc ut quilibet tam peregrinus quam civis possit statim Judicis invenire That as well strangers as Citizens might know whither readily to go for Justice To establish Judgment in the Gate is to see the due administration of Justice that Justice be not neglected nor perverted but rightly and duly executed So I come to a Third Proposition III. Gods will is that Justice and Judgment have place and a due course amongst Men. And tho' this looks and points more directly and especially towards Rulers Judges Civil Magistrates yet others are not to look on themselves as wholly unconcerned in this matter Even private persons upon many Accounts are obliged to do what in them lieth that Judgment may be established in the Gate Without Question this is a thing that all ought to pray for All should be sending up their Votes their Prayers to Heaven for Rulers Magistrates that they may keep judgment and do justice that under them we may lead quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty Again many private persons may have a stroke in establishing judgment amongst us may contribute something towards it by giving their Votes for persons rightly qualified when our Representatives are to be chosen or any are to be Elected into Offices wherein they shall have any share in the Government and by their place be concerned more or less with the distribution of Justice And let them look to it how they will Answer it to God and their own Consciences who regard not how they cast away their Votes in such cases on persons not fit to be trusted so that they can but serve their own turns But further private persons ought as occasion is offered to encourage and be assistant unto Magistrates in the due execution of Justice in the right discharge of their Office And this way may they promote the work of establishing Judgment in the Gate 'T is a Duty incumbent upon all to seek Righteousness Zep. 2.3 To seek Judgment Isa 1.17 And 't is an heavy charge brought in against the Jews Isa 59.4 None calleth for Justiee And the People are not excus'd as to the Priests Male-administration Jer. 5.31 The Prophets prophesie falsly the Priests bear rule by their means and my People love to have it so And we see in the Text that the Lord is so for Justice and Judgment having a due course that without better care about it he would not have them think or hope that he would be gracious unto them Now it cannot seem strange that he is so concerned for Justice and Judgment taking place if we consider these two or three things following 1. His Honour as he is the Supream Ruler of the World is here concerned As when Judges Magistrates on the contrary wrest and pervert judgment bearing down truth and right as far as they can countenancing or connivingar impiety and profaneness which they ought to punish and suppress and oppressing or discountenancing true goodness and piety which they ought to protect and promote these things are a great reproach and dishonour unto God whose Ministers Officers and Deputies they are 'T is as if they would have the World believe that God is altogether such a one as they are 2. His love to Justice Righteousness and Equity with his abhorrence of the contrary He loveth Righteousness and Judgment Psa 33.5 and 37.28 Isa 61.8 I the Lord love Judgment With which compare Isa 59.14 15. Judgment is turn'd away backward and Justice standeth afar off And the Lord saw it and it displeased him that there was no Judgment Pro. 17.15 He that justifieth the Wicked and he that condemneth the Just even they both are abomination to the Lord. So woe to such Isa 5.23 3. His Love to Mankind and Care of Humane Societies How ill can these subsist without Judgment Therefore he would have Judgment established in the Gate because Judgment establisheth the Land Prov. 29.4 The King by Judgment establisheth the Land Whenas the perverting of Judgment tends to the overthrow of a Land both efficiently and meritoriously God hath in favour towards Mankind for the Preservation and well-being of humane Societies ordained the Office of Civil Rulers for administring Justice to keep Men in order or to punish Disorders What were an Army without Officers but a Rout So what were a Nation or City without Rulers but a Mob or confused Tumult And tho' such were not assaulted with a Foreign Enemy yet how likely soon to come to ruine by intestine Discords What lamentable Broils and Tumults would arise without any way or means to appease them Yea such is the Degeneracy and Corruption of Mankind that without Rulers and Civil Government better order might be expected amongst brute Beasts than among Men. Thus Men would come to be oppress'd every one by another and every one by his Neighbour Yea thus the Estates and Lives of the Honestest and Best would lie continually at the Mercy of the Vilest and Worst of Men. But I must think of the special occasion of our Assembling at this time I am forc'd to to be too short on the former Propositions and prevented going further tho' there is a 4th Proposition in the Text before us which I can only speak to by the by Only there is one thing which you should all take notice of