therefore to take down this proud and arrogant Presumption in us so natural to Man and so dishonourable to God together with his Design of making us Holy it was withal God's Intent by such a Dispensation of his Mercies as is given us in the Gospel to create in us such a Reliance and Dependance upon Christ for Salvation as to expect it not on the account of our own holy Performance but in the Vertue of his Mediation with the Father for us for so it is written 1 Cor. 1.29 30 31. That to the end that no flesh may glory in God's presence Jesus Christ is by him made to us Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption that so he that glorieth might glory in the Lord. And indeed it does exceedingly tend to the praise and glory of his Grace that he hath made us accepted in the Beloved as it is said in Eph. 1.6 This does eminently set forth the exceeding Lustre of his Mercy towards us in the Gospel that our Imperfect if sincere Obedience shall be accepted through the Mediation of Christ It does utterly exclude Boasting and all occasions of proud Reflections on our Parts as if so mean an Obedience as ours could deserve such infinite Rewards as are made over to us in the Gospel a Temper of Mind which as it is very apt to get Entertainment in our Souls so ought of all things to be supprest within us And thus I have given you a larger account of the Nature of the Christian Religion than otherwise I should have done that I might clear the way towards coming to the Knowledge of those Fundamental Principles thereof which I told you are the proper Matter of a Christian Catechism And now answerably hereunto The Nature of Fundamental Principles the fundamental Principles of our Religion must be such Doctrines as being well understood and throughly believ'd do most powerfully and forcibly perswade and move Men to be thus Religious as to tend to destroy the Power of Sin to mortify our Lusts and all wicked Inclinations within us to render us pious and devout towards God just and charitable and peaceable Neighbours and sober chast and orderly Livers in this World And which shall withal create in us such an humble Opinion of our own Unworthiness that when we have done all that we can to deny our selves and have proceeded never so far in our Zeal to good Works we shall nevertheless confessing that we are but unprofitable Servants depend wholly on Christ's Merits and Mediation and in the Virtue of his Satisfaction and Intercession alone expect Salvation And now such is the Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace An Enumeration of Fundamental Principles particularly that part of it the Vow in Baptism wherein all do solemnly promise and vow Repentance Faith and Obedience engaging to renounce the World the Flesh and the Devil Whosoever considers this sees what Obligations ly upon him to deny himself the sinful Pleasures of the World I. The general Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace and to govern his whole Life and Conversation according to God's Commandments And whoever again understands the Constitution of this Covenant knows that it was obtain'd for him by the Mediation of Christ who is therefore Stiled The Mediatour of the New Covenant Heb. 12.24 and therefore that on his Mediation he must depend for the having those infinite Blessings made good to him which are promised therein to his Obedience And such fundamental Principles also in a prime Sense are the Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith as the Belief of God II. The Articles of our Christian Faith and of his Providence that he is our Creatour Governour and will Reward every Man according to his Works The Belief that Jesus Christ came into the World Died and Suffered to Attone for its Sins and Preach'd the Gospel to Reform it The Belief that he gives his Spirit to sanctify us and that he will hereafter come in Person to Judge us In a word The Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith These are indeed the true Principles of our Religion for these are all of them as I shall hereafter shew so many very powerful Motives to reform our Lives to forsake our Sins and to follow Holiness as that without which we shall never see God And these do most of them influence us as to a good Life so humbly to rely upon God's Mercies through Christ for the acceptance of it III. â—e Laws of Ten Comâ—â—dments And such also are the Laws of the Ten Commandments which contain the great Instances of our Duty to God our Neighbour and our Selves and to which all others may probably be reduced These Ten Commandments may properly enough be stiled the Principles of Religion for as the Root is the Principle as it were out of which all the Branches Stem forth so out of these Commandments do all the Duties of a Christian grow forth like so many Branches so that whosoever shall well study and digest these Ten Summary Commands shall scarcely fail of growing up to be a Good Christian IV. 〈◊〉 Doctrine Prayer 〈◊〉 of the â—raments And if to these we add the Doctrine of Prayer and of the Sacraments which are the necessary Means and appointed us by God of our procuring and conveying unto us his Assistance to enable us to mortify and forsake our Sins and to become Holy I do not know any other Principles that are Fundamentally necessary either to the promoting of a Good Life here or an Happy One hereafter at leastwise so far as to be the Matter of Catechetical Instruction and the Buisiness of a Catechist to inform you of them And indeed as these Doctrines are every One of them necessary to be Known Believ'd and Practic'd by every Christian that may have the Means of Knowing them and may be taught them being no other than the Covenant of Grace it self or those particular Articles contained in it and which are expresly Enjoined upon us by the Word of God to be Believ'd and Practic'd by us so our Church does account them the only Fundamental and Necessary Principles that are to be the Matter of a Christian Catechism There are it must be confest many other useful Truths contain'd in the Scriptures and those who having first laid the Foundation in these already mention'd would go on to Perfection should endeavour by Reading the Bible and other good Books and by Attending to the Preaching of the Word to gain the Knowledge of them But a Catechism ought not to be crouded with any thing more than what is purely Fundamental to a Good Life here Catechism â—ht not to crouded any thing â—e than â—at is pureâ—â—undamenâ— to a Good 〈◊〉 here and â—ppiness â—eafter and Happiness hereafter And if other Churches have fill'd their Catechisms either with many Unscriptural Tenets as the Church of Rome has hers or with any doubtful and nice Doctrines concerning
Jesus Acts 19.5 that is into the Belief that Jesus is the Christ or Mediatour between God and Man for this is the great Fundamental Doctrine of Christianity as the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 3.11 assuring us that Other Foundation can no Man lay than that Jesus is the Christ And he that denyeth that Jesus is the Christ is the great Liar and an Anti-Christ 1 Joh. 2.22 But whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is Born of God 1 Joh. 5.1 that is is Adopted into the Christian Church and Family â—II â—njoy the â—ledges 〈◊〉 Gospel Fifthly And as Christians are a Society of Persons call'd out of the World to Repentance Faith and Gospel-Obedience so to the Enjoyment of those Inestimable Priviledges of the Gospel viz. 1. Most Reasonable and Excellent Laws given by a most Great and Gracious Governour to Conduct 'em to Heaven Laws writ in their Minds and in their Hearts Heb. 8.10 that is Laws which are for the most part the very Dictates of natural Reason 2. They are such as are Priviledg'd with having great Measures of Divine Grace and Assistance to enable 'em to Obey those Laws for whereas the Law was given by Moses Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ Joh. 1.17 and is the Priviledge of the Church of Christ under the Gospel 3. They are such who have Assurance of Pardon of Sins upon their Repentance for the Transgression of those Laws for with Respect to those of the Christian Church God is pleas'd to say Heb. 8.12 I will be Merciful to their Vnrighteousness and their Sins and Iniquities will I remember no more And lastly As to the Eternal Life and Happiness Christ does assure us Joh. 17.2 that The Father has given him Power over all Flesh that he should give Eternal Life to as many as are given him or are given him out of the world ver 6. that is that he has a Power of conferring the Rewards in Heaven to as many as come within the Pale of the Church if they do withal live in Obedience to its Laws and Constitutions Thus is the Church of Christ a Society of Men call'd forth of the World as to a most Holy Profession and Calling so to the Enjoyment of most singular Priviledges Church â—h who 〈◊〉 End of â—ncorpoâ—â—nto one 〈◊〉 and of â—g God 〈◊〉 their Sixthly And they are such Who to the End of being Incorporated into One Society and of having God to be their God and they themselves his People have Enter'd into Covenant with him It is the Royal Charter granted by the King to the Members of a Corporation or City whereby they have certain Priviledges granted them from the King and wherein they are Tied to discharge certain Duties to him and to One another that makes 'em of a confus'd Multitude to become a Corporation or regulated Society And those who stand out and will not accept of those Priviledges nor oblige themselves to their several Duties shall not be reputed of that Corporation nor receive any Advantages from it And so it is here with that Society which is call'd the Church of Christ It is the Covenant of Grace granted us by the King of Heaven wherein we have the most inestimable Priviledges those contain'd in the Gospel graciously Ensur'd unto us and most reasonable Duties both to God and Man required of us that do embody and join us into one Spiritual Society the Church and those who will not Enter into such a Covenant with God are Aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and Strangers from the Covenantts of Promise having no hope and without God in the world Eph. 2.12 But those who have join'd themselves in Covenant with Him are No more Strangers and Forreigners but Fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God ver 19. And as by being United in one Covenant Christians are Incorporated into one Society so by the same Means it comes to pass also that they have God to be their God peculiarly and they become his People Thus Heb. 8.10 This is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days that is in the time of the Gospel I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a People It is the Nature of all Covenants to Unite the Parties Covenanting together and to give to each Party an Interest in the other I entred into Covenant with thee and thou becamest mine Ezek. 16.8 So that by having Enter'd into Covenant with God we are Entitled to his particular Protection and Care over us and we give to him thereby a new and stronger Claim to our Obedience Seventhly I. In Baptism And Christians are thus Enter'd into Covenant with God and thereby made Members of Christ's Church in their Baptism For as all the Members of a Corporation are not usually made Members of that Society without some certain Solemnities so it pleased God that no One should be Enter'd into Christ's Church and be made a Partaker of the Priviledges of it without that outward Rite of Baptism for so we find that when our Saviour sent his Apostles to Found and Build the Church they receiv'd as a Commission to call forth out of the World a Church by the Preaching of the Gospel So an Appointment to Incorporate all Men therein by Baptism Go and Teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Matth. 28.19 And hence 1 Cor. 12.13 it is said That we are all Baptiz'd into one Body or admitted by Baptism into one Church Eighthly And they are Appointed to Renew the same II. To Renew it at the Lord's Supper by Feasting often together at the Lord's Supper This was anciently and is still the usual Method of Uniting more closely together the Members of any Society or Corporation their Feasting often together at one common Table and for this Reason amongst others it is that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is Appointed in the Church of Christ So the 1 Cor. 10.17 it is said That we being many are one Bread and one Body for we are all Partakers of that one Bread Ninthly And now upon all these foremention'd Accounts The Church one Body the Church of Christ is One Body Thus Eph. 4.4 5 6. There is one Body and one Spirit even as ye are all called in one Hope of your Calling one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all where you see that because all Christians are call'd out of the World into one Hope of their Calling or to the Enjoyment of the same Priviledges to one Faith or to Believe one God Father Son and Holy Ghost exprest here by one Spirit one Lord one God and Father of all and because Incorporated by one Baptism or by the Use of the same Sacraments that therefore they are one Body The Covenant of Grace that great
to leave off having any Communication or Agreement with him and any Hand in his base and ungrateful Rebellion against God so to Renounce his Works of Sin was to Disclaim Abandon or Forsake all and every Sin as being the proper Service of the Devil and in the real Meaning of it no less than a throwing off God's Authority and a dis-owning of his Power This I say was the first Meaning of the Words in the first Ages of the Church Nor are they to be Interpreted in a much different Sence at this Day For Satan has his Kingdom still in the World The Words are to be understood in much the same Sence at this day Satan having his Kingdom still in the World and even amongst Christians and the Laws of Sin which are the Laws of his Kingdom being still Obey'd by the greatest Part of Mankind and the Laws of Sin which are the Laws of that his Kingdom are Obey'd by the greatest Part of Mankind The Barbarous Nations amongst the Pagans do directly serve him at this Day and it is many a Christian's Lot who is cast amongst 'em to be forced either to Join with 'em in such Impious Service or to suffer Death with Torments for refusing And even in the Christian Pale tho' his Power is much weaken'd here since the Coming of our Saviour to what it was before yet still as Christ has his Church so Satan has his Synagogue amongst us and too many there are within the Limits of Christendom who do openly and avowedly Obey no other than the Laws of his Kingdom All your Atheists and Deists who Blaspheme God and the Christian Religion and all your Profane Swearers and Cursers whom you shall hear every Hour in the Day to Dare God as it were by their horrid Oaths and Imprecations to Damn 'em that is to send 'em to the Devil and all those who Resort to Charmers and Conjurers and Fortune-tellers as many Thousands do in this Nation All these I say are the open and profest Subjects of Satan's Kingdom And how many Lewd and Riotous Livers are there amongst us who do little else but the Works of the Devil and Obey no other Laws but those of Sin So that as you will Renounce the Devil and all his Works in that Sence wherein the Church does at present understand the Words you are with all possible care to avoid being of the Number of such Men. And I know no more that need be said at present This Renunciation for the most Part the same with Repentance to explain the Importance of the words Renounce the Devil and all his Works except it be this That if we consider such a Renunciation as the Act of One who has been heretofore a Slave to Satan and a Servant to Sin then it signifies to Forsake and Abandon the Service of Sin and the Devil formerly Liv'd in and so being a Ceasing to do Evil and a Learning to do well is the same with Repentance But if it be the Act of One of those who may be said to need no Repentance of which sort are Infants who have never committed Actual Sin then to Renounce the Devil and all his Works does mean a firm Resolution never to side with him in his Rebellion against God and as carefully as he can to avoid the committing of any Sin as being that whereby God's Rightful Authority is cast off and the Devil 's Vsurpt Dominion submitted to And so much for the Meaning of Renouncing the Devil and all his Works The Devil â—nd all his â—orks of Sin â—ust be absoâ—utely and enâ—rely Renounâ—ed because And now Lastly it remains that I should shew you how that it is necessary we should Absolutely and Entirely Renounce the Devil and all his Works As to those other Enemies to our Souls the World and our own Flesh there is some Temper to be us'd being neither of 'em are Absolutely and in themselves Evil but only by accident when the World is too intensely Belov'd and our Flesh too much Indulg'd to the Prejudice and Hurt of the Soul and therefore there are some Degrees of Affection and Regard allow'd to both them But the Devil is the Evil One and he is by way of Eminence and Singularity styl'd the Wicked One in the Holy Scripture as Matth. 13.19 There is noâ—hing but Eâ—il proceeds â—rom Satan and 1 Joh. 2.13.19 So that there 's not the least Good and nothing but Evil proceeds from him and therefore no manner of Agreement is to be made with him What Concord hath Christ with Belial 2 Cor. 6.15 Nor are we to imagine we can divide our Service betwixt God and him We cannot serve God and Mammon Matth. 6.24 So that the Devil is Absolutely and Entirely to be Renounc'd by us And Sin â—hether we â—â—nsider it in 〈◊〉 original â—ause and â—ature 〈◊〉 in its sad â—ffects and â—onsequents 〈◊〉 the utmost â—vil And so likewise must his Works of Sin Sin as Sin is entirely Evil Consider it in its Original Cause and Nature and consider it in its Effects and Consequents and there is not a worse Evil in the World than Sin View it in its Original and first Cause and it is a Brat of the Devil 's the First-born of Hell And view it again in its Nature and it is a Choosing of quite other Ends than what the Wise and Good God has Appointed us and ordain'd us for and is a Going quite cross to those Laws and Rules which he has given us And then consider it next in its sad Effects and Consequents and there is no Evil in the World to be Compar'd to it It is a Sin says One which turn'd glorious Angels into hideous Devils and tumbl'd them down from Heaven to Hell It is Sin that fill'd the the World with Woes and Plagues brought Death and Diseases and a vast and endless Summ of Miseries into it It is Sin that torments and terrifies the Conscience that kindles Hell Flames Exposes the Soul to the eternal and direful Revenges of the great God And in a word Sin is so perfectly and only Evil that the worst of Things here were they free from the Contagion and Evil of Sin would be Excellent and Amiable So that Sin also is Absolutely and Entirely to be Renounc'd by us and there is no one Sin nothing in the least of Sin that may willingly be comply'd with â—herefore no â—ne Sin nor â—ny thing the â—ast of Sin â—ust willingâ—â— be comply'd â—ith I say No One Sin nor any the least of Sin for so Poisonous a thing it is in spoiling of every thing that is Good in Man that if we shall allow our selves but in One single Sin it will utterly spoil all our other Righteousness If a man keep the whole Law and yet offend in one Point he is guilty of all Jam. 2.10 And One such single Allowance will stop God's Ears against all our Prayers If I regard Iniquity in my
will not fail of Bestowing the former so there is no reason in the World to fancy he will forbear to Inflict the latter It was not without the highest Reason and perhaps because nothing less than Eternal Punishments are sufficient to restrain Sinners from those Pleasures of Sin which are present that he did Threaten to Inflict such at first And when Laws so Reasonable in themselves and whose Obedience neither the Goodness of the Lawgiver in so bountifully Rewarding nor the fear of his Power in so terribly Punishing can secure are basely Transgrest and Trampled upon by base and ungrateful Rebels against the Majesty of Heaven what reason is there any Sinner should promise himself That God will not Punish the Trangression of 'em to as high a Degree as in his Word he has Threaten'd And for any Man therefore without any Ground at all but his own sond Wishes and Desires he might not be so Punisht to to Promise himself That God will after all forbear him is such a desperate Peice of Madness as can never enter into the Hearts of any but those whom Satan has Insatuated and Befool'd to their Ruine and Destruction Wherefore you must take care that you Abandon and utterly cast out of your Souls the very first Motions of such Thoughts looking upon 'em as no other than Suggestions from Satan whenever they enter into your Minds And in so doing you will Renounce as it highly Concerns you that First and most dangerous Temptation of Satan Secondly The next of these more general Policies of Satan II. By Corrupting the Vnderstanding and Reason of Man by putting him upon curious Enquiries after â—â—ess Matâ— and upon â—â—king a â—â—ul Expeâ—â—ent of the â—â—erences beâ—en Good 〈◊〉 Evil. whereby he did at first and does still endeavour to draw all Mankind to venture upon a Revolt from God was his corrupting the Reason and Vnderstanding of Man by putting him upon curious Enquiries into vain and unprofitable Things and by inciting him to make an Experiment what was in Sin in order as he pretended to enlarge his Knowledge But in reallity with a design to draw over his Soul a thick Cloud of Ignorance that so he might lead him blindfold into any Sin and Misery In the day ye shall eat thereof says the Serpent then your Eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods knowing Good and Evil Gen. 3.5 that is to confine your Knowledge to the narrow subject of God's Laws and to study only to know how you may please your Maker is an Injury to that Noble Faculty your Understanding whereby you may be Equal with God himself if you please and therefore that nothing may escape your Knowledge that you may understand all that which is Good for Man try the Experiment of knowing Things forbidden as well as allow'd 〈◊〉 Mind of â—n natuâ—â— desirous â—ncreasing â—â—wledge And this indeed was a most exquisite and refin'd piece of Policy such as Hell it self could not invent a more effectual One to ruine Man withal and yet One whose Mischief was less discernible A hungry Stomach does not more eagerly crave Meat than the Mind of Man does naturally desire Knowledge which is Food to the Intellectual Part as Meat is to the Bodily And if it be Useful and Good it adds Nourishment and Strength and Vigour to the Inward Man as wholesome Diet does to the Outward â—xperimenâ— Knowâ—ge of Sin â—â—ds the â—â—son and â—â—fies the â—â—ce of spiâ—â—al things And now behold here the deep Policy of Satan that when the Reasonable Soul of Adam did hunger and thirst so eagerly after Knowledge and when possibly he thought it might make him able to steer his Way towards Happiness with greater certainty and safety if he should once Experimentally know Evil as well as Good as we commonly know a Way the better ever afterwards which we have once mist Satan by Tempting him to commit Evil instead of Enlightning his Mind did thereby quite extinguish the Candle of the Lord in the Soul of Man Divine Knowledge so that instead of discerning his Way to Heaven thenceforward he was not able so much as to guess at it For why Sin like Mud does strangely foul and defile the Soul It stirs up the Lusts and Appetites within a Man and these rising upwards do wonderfully cloud and muddy a Man's Reason Sin does even turn a Man Topsy-turvy It puts the Affections Lusts and Appetites uppermost and tumbles Reason and Judgment down and therefore Just as in a Vessel which has a Sediment in the Bottom but clear Liquor in the Top if you turn it up the Dregs mixing with the purer Part makes that which was clear as Chrystal before become very foul and muddy So in a Soul defil'd with Sin Reason can no longer see where the Way of its Happiness does lye The Truth of it is To spend too much of our Time and of our Thoughts in gaining the Knowledge of Things And even â—re Curiosiâ— after less â—ofitable â—ings takes 〈◊〉 from the â—â—owledge of â—â—d and our â—â—ves and 〈◊〉 Means of â—â—ppiness in themselves Lawful as in the Laws of our Country or in the Mysteries of Trade will too much take a Man off from Enquiring into and will hinder the Knowledge of God and of our selves and of the Means of being happy in Heaven which does infinitely more concern us Hence Not many wise Men after the Flesh not many Mighty not many Noble were called 1 Cor. 1.26 But if Men seek to Enlarge their Knowledge by Experimentally knowing of Sin and with Solomon Give their Heart as to know Wisdom so to know Madness and Folly they will not only soon perceive with him That it is but Vexation of Spirit but they will find it will extreamly stupify their Sense and Apprehension of spiritual Things And being frequently and habitually committed will cause in them such a Reprobate Mind as will disable 'em at length to know any difference between Good and Evil. And by this very Wile does he to this Day bring such an Ignorance in Religious Matters By these Means he brings that Ignorance in Divine Matters which reigns in most Mens Minds as does apparently reign in the Minds of some Men. Some he engages in nice Enquiries after a Thousand other things to draw 'em off from ever looking into their Bibles And as to Others by decoying 'em into one Sin after another he does at length improve their Knowledge of Evil to that degree that at last they come to know nothing of Good nay to have so little a sence of it such stupify'd Apprehensions concerning it as to Call Evil Good and Good Evil. And then having once blindfolded the Reason of Man with the Ignorance of Divine Things what Sin and Misery is there And being spiritually ignorant Men are easily led into whatever Sin and Misery That Satan does not most easily lead Men into For why Good and Useful Knowledge such as the
an Eternity of Woe and Misery His Mercy is sufficiently satisfied in laying no Tyrannical Impositions upon us as Satan and all false Gods have done upon their superstitious Votaries It is yet a farther Demonstration of his Mercy that our vertuous Performances tho' they are their own Reward here yet they shall be also abundantly Recompenced hereafter He does moreover let us see his Mercy in his long Forbearance of us notwithstanding that by our numberless Provocations we do Grieve his Holy Spirit But he has given us the greatest Discoveries of his Mercy beyond what could ever enter into the Hearts of Men to expect when he gave his own Son to be an Atonement and Expiation for our Sins that his Justice might not proceed against us and when he sent him to us with a Covenant of Grace as an Act of Pardon proposing to us not only a perfect Reconciliation with our offended God but infinite Rewards in Heaven if we would return to our due Obedience and Pay him no other but a reasonable Service I think this is sufficient for Mercy to do and if such immensurable Mercies will not win upon us it is time that as severe a Justice should then take place for we are to consider God as the supreme Governour of Men and Justice is as necessary an Attribute in Government as Mercy Nor is his Severity in Punishing the Sins of a short Life with an Eternity of Woe and Misery but what is agreeable to his Justice and Wisdom as supreme Governour of the World It is necessary in all Governments that the Laws thereof should be enforc'd with such Penalties as shall be sufficient to deter People from the Transgression of those Laws And therefore the Penalties being future it is necessary they should be vastly Great to Over-balance the Profits or Pleasures of Sin which are present It may seem hard indeed at first sight in Humane Governments that a Person for Clipping a Peice of Silver which bears the Image and Superscription of Caesar or for Stealing it from another should forfeit not only his Goods and Chattels but also his Life it self but yet since upon the Temptations of present Profit bad Men will adventure to commit such Facts and the Authority of Laws cannot otherwise be kept up nor Men's Rights and Properties preserv'd It is not thought by the Honest Part of Mankind Inconsistent with the Wisdom and Justice of Governours to inflict even such Punishments as extend to the loss of Life It is these alone are sufficient to Out-weigh the present Consideration of Profit to the Offender and effectually to move him to live in Obedience to Government and therefore these as great as they be are esteem'd but Just and Equal So here in the Government of God over us The Pleasures and Profits of Sin to compass which Men will Transgress the Laws of Heaven are but short true it is but yet being present and the Punishments Threaten'd to 'em being apprehended by most Sinners to be at a great distance they are therefore generally prevailing and Men for that Reason do venture to Transgress the Laws of God a Thing of worse Consequence than the Violation of Humane Ordinances and therefore it is no other than what can be expected from the Justice and Wisdom of the supreme Governour of the World to inflict such infinite and eternal Punishments In short Divine Vengeance as well as Humane must be such as will Over-balance the Reasons and Motives to Sin And the Pleasures and Profits of Sin being present and the Divine Punishments not taking place but in another World according to the Fundamental Rules and Reasons of Government they must be Infinite and Eternal and all little enough or otherwise they will not be sufficient to secure our Obedience to the Laws of Heaven So that there is no Strength in this Argument of Sinful Men against the Justice of Eternal Torments in the behalf of their Lusts whereby they would perswade you as well as themselves into a most dangerous Security and with-draw you from or slacken you in your Duty Secondly Nor are the Duties of our Religion hard Sayings which no Man can bear II. That the Duties of Religion are hard Sayings which no man can bear as they will likewise plead All the Duties enjoin'd us in the Gospel respect either God our Neighbour or our Selves Those to God as we find 'em laid down in pure and undefiled Christianity undefiled I say with the Inventions of Men are no superstitious senseless and uncouth Observances so much the matter of all other Worships besides the Christian but are all of 'em indeed a most reasonable Service Those which respect our Neighbour are no other than Acts of Justice Peace and Charity the contrary of which would destroy Humane Society or make us Beasts of Prey one to another And as to those Duties we owe to our selves why they are no other than that we should truly and justly Value our selves neither overmuch by Pride nor too little by letting base Lusts to reign over us or the inferiour Part of our Nature to Domineer it over our Reason and Understanding the Superiour and in all Equity the governing Part of us And what is there hard in all this that we should Quarrel with our Duty except we count it hard that God who has made us reasonable Creatures would not suffer us to Transform our selves into unreasonable Brutes Thirdly And this is a sufficient Answer also to that other Pleading of sinful Men That they are made of Flesh and Blood and therefore sure God will not require Men upon the Forfeiture of Salvation if they do not to Mortify the Flesh III. That they are made of Flesh and Blood and that therefore sure God will not require Men upon the Forfeiture of Salvation if they do not to mortify the Flesh For these Men who Plead thus ought to consider that they consist of Soul and Spirit as well as of Flesh and Blood and as the Soul is Superiour and the Governing Part within us So it is highly Reasonable it should have the Obedience of the Other And this is all the Mortification which Religion puts the Flesh to It would keep it in Subjection to the Dictates of right Reason and that is all And tho' this Mortification of the Flesh is to be exercis'd by Imposing some Severities sometimes upon the Body as by Fasting and Watching c. Yet this is no more to be complain'd of than that Refractory Children and Servants and Subjects must be sometimes kept up under Discipline as there shall be occasion Nay but Lastly say these Men God has set us in a World full of Temptations and abounding with sensual Delights and Pleasures and he therefore who has Plac'd us in it sure will not Command us upon Pain of Damnation to Overcome those strong Temptations and to Deny these Pleasures of the World Lastly that God has set us in a World full of Temptations and
if you through the Spirit do mortifie the Deeds of the Body ye shall live for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God and so Heirs of Eternal Life so necessary it is as ever we expect the Favour of God and future Happiness to subdue the Flesh and all its Lusts and Appetites its Passions and Affections all our fond and foolish Imaginations and false Prejudices and whatever else within us which savours of Carnality to the Power and Conduct of Right Reason enlightned by the Word and Spirit of God To this purâ—ose of keepâ—ng under our Fleshly Lusts â—t was that our Reason was given us And to this purpose it is that our Reason was given us That Excellent and Divine Faculty was not certainly bestowed upon us to such Vile and Base Purposes as to purveigh for a filthy Carcass which shall consume ere long in Stench and Rottenness but to nobler and better Purposes you may be sure viz. to Govern and Manage the Animal part of us our Flesh and to render it serviceable and useful to Reason and Religion The best Philosophers amongst the Heathens the Platonists do call the Mind that Divine part of us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Charióteer and compare it to a Rider and the Body or Flesh and all its Troop of Affections or Passions of Lusts and Appetites they compare to so many rude and wild Horses that must be Manag'd and Tam'd and kept in goood order and render'd Serviceable and Useful to the Mind and Reason Now so it is as a well-order'd and Manag'd Horse may sometimes stumble and start aside tho his Rider keep a very strait Rein and a weary hand upon him So in this corrupt and depraved State of our Natures our Fleshly Lusts will sometimes at leastwise even in the most Regenerate have some small tendencies some Imperfect Velleities and Wouldings towards Evil Things But if we shall take due care to keep so watchful an Eye and wary an Hand over 'em as presently so soon as we perceive any Evil Motion and Tendency to curb and restrain it and not willingly nor wilfully to indulge any Evil Inclination we shall by the Gracious Acceptance and Favour of God be accounted good Managers of that hard Province the Renouncing or Subduing of our Fleshly Lusts If in the general course of our Lives we act like Men endowed with Reason and Grace we shall be pardon'd all our Unwilling and Unavoidable Infirmities III. And Lastly 3. To Renounce ALL the Sinful Lusts of the Flesh what I shall have done this point when I have shew'd you what is meant by Renouncing ALL the sinful Lusts of the Flesh and in what sense and how far we must Renounce 'em ALL. And by Renouncing ALL the Sinful Lusts of the Flesh can be understood no less than that we must Indulge no part nor Faculty of our Corrupt Nature in the Transgression of any of God's Commandments All Men are not alike Addicted to Sin but according as their Temper and Inclinations do differ accordingly are they more or less given some to one Vice some to another Thus some are Naturally High-minded and these disdaining to Think in the common Road or to submit their Judgments to commonly receiv'd Opinions are always starting new Notions and broaching New Heresies Some again will be Orthodox enough in their Opinions but being Persons of warm Constitutions and Sanguine Complexions they cannot help it they 'll say their being overcome by the Pleasures of Sense The whole Herd of Unregenerate Sinners are not made up of such as are all over wicked But some are more particularly in their own Nature addicted to be Covetous some to Revenge and others to Lust and the like And then when these their Natural Dispositions are strengthen'd as is usual by long Accustom'd Habits of Indulgence to some such Complexional Vices it becomes a very difficult Work utterly to Renounce such Sinful Lusts of the Flesh But however difficult it is There must be no one Fleshly Lust suffer'd to Reign in us there must be no Indulgence to any one Fleshly Lust nor must there be any Vitious Inclination suffer'd to Reign in us for the Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all Vngodliness and Vnrighteousness of Men Rom. 1.18 And whosoever shall keep the whole Law says St. James and yet offend in one point that is shall allow himself in the Indulgence of any one Sinful Lust he is guilty of all James 2.10 shall be as surely punish'd as he who had liv'd in a breach of all And indeed our Business is particularly to set our selves in opposition to those Lusts Our business is particularly to oppose Lusts of Temper and Constitution which arise from our particular Temper and Constitution and to subdue them And also to break off those Habits whereby these Natural Inclinations and proneness to some particular Sins have grown strong upon us And this is that which is called Matth. 5.29 30. A Cutting off the Right Hand and a plucking out of the Right Eye whâ—ch Divorcing of our selves from our beloved Lusts because it is so difficult to go about and so few have the Courage to do it effectually it is therefore said That the Gate of Heaven is strait and that many of those who shall seek to enter in shall not be able Luke 13.24 Now this is hard Doctrine to the Carnal Man This because it is a hard Doctrine to the Carnal Man is much Evaded who is wedded to his Lusts and has no mind to part with ' em Such therefore are for finding out all the Evasions possible to shift off the necessity of such a sorrowful Separation as dreadful almost to 'em as that of Soul and Body And because they find St. Paul himself a Regenerate Person no doubt owning that he found a Law that when he would do good evil was present with him and that he delighted in the Law of God after the Inward Man but that he saw another Law in his Members warring against the Law of his Mind and bringing him into Captivity to the Law of Sin which was in his Members so that with the Mind he did serve the Law of God but with the Flesh the Law of Sin Rom. 7.21 22 23 25. Because I say they find even St. Paul expressing himself as they think as unable to Resist the Temptations of Fleshly Lusts and that all that he was able to do was in his Mind and Conscience to disapprove of that which the prevailing power of Lust within him forc'd him to commit They do therefore conclude that provided it be with Reluctance and some Counter-Strivings against their Lusts that they do yield thereto that they are in a Regenerate State however tho in the Issue they do comply therewith and consequently that it is not of such necessity to Renounce ALL but that the Inferior Appetites may be Indulg'd what the Mind and Reason do
excellent Sermons and Discourses of his most admirable Example and Life and of his Death and Sufferings to Root out of the Lives of Men whatsoever is Sinful and Wicked and to Implant in its stead all the Parts of Vertue and Goodness But Secondly It is not enough to make a Man a good Christian II. To Act Virtuously upon Christian Principles that he live a strict and unblamable Life but it is moreover necessary to render him such that he act Virtuously upon Christian Principles Both indeed are necessary to the constituting a Man a true Christian The most regular Life that can be except it be Acted upon Christian Principles is but meer Morality at the best as the most Orthodox Belief that is if it be Barren in good Works is but a dead Faith Thus Temperance may be observ'd because of our Health and plain and punctual Dealing by the Men of Trade because of their Interest Men may Fast and Pray out of Hypocrisy and to appear Good to others and may distribute large Alms to gain the Applause of Men as you may see Mat. 6.2 5. And indeed considering that Godliness is profitable for all things having the promise of the Life that now is as well as of that which is to come 1 Tim. 4.8 And since of the Christian Religion it may be said that Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace Men may lead very blameless Lives in all respects because of the Advantage and Tranquility of Mind that arises meerly from a regular and orderly Conversation But all this will be accounted by God to fall far short of the Christian Religion and will entitle the Man to no Reward in Heaven that acts upon no better Reasons nor Motives than these Verily I say unto you they have their reward says our Saviour Mat. 2.6 Nay He that lives an orderly good moral Life upon the Belief only that there is a God that his Providence and Care is extended over us that our Souls shall never Dye but are capable of and shall receive Rewards or Punishments in another world can be only said to be so far Religious as the good Moral Heathens were who Believ'd and Acted upon the Principles of Natural Religion only and who having no other Law did by Nature the things contain'd in the Law Rom. 2.14 But to constitute a Man truly Religious and to denominate his Religion the Christian Religion it is farther necessary that he moreover Act upon Christian Principles such as not the Light of Nature only but the Gospel of our Saviour does reveal unto us for in the day when he shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ it will be St. Paul tells us according to his Gospel Rom. 2.16 And so main a part in his Gospel were the Principles of reveal'd Religion that he told the Corinthians he determined not to know any thing amongst them save Jesus Christ and him Crucified 1 Cor. 2.2 that is the Means and Methods of our Salvation by a Crucified Saviour which can be known only by Revelation he was resolv'd should be so much the Subject of his Preaching amongst them that they might almost conclude he himself knew nothing else and did not much care whether they did also Thus the Christian Religion you see is out of Christian Principles to lead an holy good Life Nor Thirdly III. Dependance upon the Mediation of Christ that our imperfect Righteousness may be accepted also necessary Is it enough to render the Religion of us Christians compleat that by the force of good Christian Principles we lead good Lives but to together therewith we must depend upon the Mediation of Christ with the Father for us that our imperfect Righteousness may be graciously accepted to our Justification For alas the best of us all must consider this that when we have done all that is commanded us we are but unprofitable servants Luk. 17.10 But alas the best of us all do exceedingly fail in doing all that is commanded us for we have all sinned and come short of the glory or Approbation of God Rom. 3.23 And therefore as there is One Mediatour between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2.5 So we are strictly commanded Col. 3.17 that whatsoever we do in word or in deed we should do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus And particularly as to that so considerable part of Religion Prayer it is ordain'd we are told Joh. 15.16 That whatsoever we shall ask of the Father in his Name he will give it us And also as to that other great Duty of Christian Worship Thanksgiving we are solemnly enjoin'd Eph. 5.17.20 As we will shew our selves not to be unwise but understanding what the Will of the Lord is to give thanks always for all things unto God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ And In him we have boldness and access with confidence by the Faith of him Eph. 3.12 The Meaning of which and innumerable other places that might be produc'd to this purpose is this That considering our own Vileness and Unworthiness by reason of our Sins we should ground all our Hopes and Expectations of Favour and Acceptance and Reward solely upon Christ That we should offer all our Deeds to God as Sacrifices and Services unworthy of Acceptance in themselves and as proceeding from us but pleasing and acceptable to God only for his sake Such Deâ—ndance the â—istinguishâ—g Character 〈◊〉 a true â—hristian And now this I take to be the grand distinguishing Character of Christianity which ought therefore never to be omitted when we pretend to give a full Account thereof As to a good Moral Life some Pagans did arrive to great degrees in Virtue such as I wish may not rise in Judgment against us Christians now a-days And as for their Acting this upon good Principles I can hardly imagine that those who had such noble and worthy Thoughts of God and of their own Souls and who plac'd their Happiness in Purity and Uprightness were so much wanting in that Ingredient also of Virtue viz. The Acting it upon good Principles as some do think They seem to me only to have wanted the Knowledge and Belief of some more and better Principles which we do enjoy to render their Virtue compleat in that respect also But that the best of our Performances are so imperfect that it was thought requisite in the Divine Wisdome that the Son of God should become a Sacrifice to expiate their Guilt and a Mediatour with his Father to obtain their Acceptance is what the proud Hearts of natural Men never thought of and no Religion but the Christian ever taught But on the contrary when they had done well they did proudly over-value it and did arrogantly challenge the Reward not as of Grace but of Debt Dependance â—â—on Christ â—ecessary to â—ake down â—n Arrogant â—onceit of â—ur own â—ighteousâ—ess a Temâ—er of Mind â—ost displeaâ—â—ng to God And
in these Questions and Answers now read as the Text beginning First With what pertains to the Nature of the Covenant of Grace And in order to the Understanding hereof it may not be amiss to premise something concerning the more general Notion of such Covenants as are usually made betwixt Governours and their Subjects And such an One if it be perfect in all its Parts and fully exprest may be defin'd to be An Agreement between the Two Parties wherein there are Promises The Notion of a Covenant Rewards or profitable Considerations made over on one Part and certain Conditions to be perform'd on the other And wherein also there is an Obligation on the one side of undergoing some certain Penalties in case of not performing those Conditions consented unto by him and impos'd on him by the other A Covenant I say is a mutual Agreement between Two Parties It is a mutual Agreement for if it be not mutual and both Parties are not consenting to the Terms the One to the making good the Promises the Other to the performing the Conditions the Agreement is none at all or it is not Perfected nor is it Obliging on either side There may be indeed a Law given by one that is Superior in Power and Authority which the Inferior is bound to Obey whether he consent or no because he is plac'd by the Divine Ordinance under the Other 's Command and if he does refuse to Obey he may be justly Punisht but then such a Transaction is to be consider'd as the giving of a Law not as the making of a Covenant Nor is this a slight Difference for where a Superior has given a Law if the Inferior has also Covenanted and consented upon good Considerations and upon the Expectation of promis'd Rewards to obey that Law such a Covenant does withal lay a farther Obligation on the Party on whom the Conditions ly to be perform'd by vertue of his own Consent to do it so that in the Violation of his Duty in such a case he shall be accounted not barely Disobedient but a Covenant-breaker which is added as a more aggravated Sin Rom. 1.31 and therefore deserving a more severe Punishment As there are Conditions therein on our side so express Promises on the other It was farther added in the Definition That in a Covenant there are certain Promises Rewards and profitable Considerations made over on one Part on certain Conditions to be perform'd on the other And herein also with respect to these Promises there seems to be another main Difference betwixt the Imposing of the Law and the Making of a Covenant The Difference seems to be in this That in the Imposing of a Law the Law-giver does not necessarily oblige himself to confer any Benefits more than natural Equity does oblige him to and it is sufficient to the Validity of his Law to render it Obligatory if there be a Threatning of Punishments great enough to deter the Subject from the Violation of that Law But a Covenant does imply something more comfortable in the Notion of it and therein the Party covenanting tho' it be God himself does graciously Condescend to oblige and bind himself by express Promises and usually by some outward Solemnities as visible Signs and Seals to the performance of such Promises And here also is another very considerable Difference betwixt the Obligations of a Law and a Covenant that whereas on performance of Obedience to the Laws of a Superior the Subject upon such his Obedience can have only by vertue of the Law some general and faint Hopes of Benefit so far as is Equitable and as those who do well may expect to receive well But by vertue of a Covenant the Party promising has moreover given to the other a full assurance of certain Benefits to be made good to him insomuch that upon our Repentance and Confession of our Sins God will reckon himself in Justice and Faithfulness bound since the giving of the new Covenant to forgive us our Sins and to cleanse us from all Vnrighteousness 1 Joh. 1.9 So that in short A Covenant lays a greater Obligation than the meer imposing of a Law does upon both the Parties joyn'd in Covenant a greater Obligation I say upon the One to perform the Conditions upon the Other to make good the Promises And let this suffice to have remark'd upon the more general Notion and Nature of a Covenant A View of â—he Covenant â—f Grace But for our better understanding the distinct Nature and Notion of the Covenant of Grace in particular we must take our Rise from the very Creation and consider the several Dispensations of God by way of Covenant with Mankind And to begin with the Covenant made with Adam and in him with all Mankind the whole Proceeding stands thus God having made Man â—pright and â—n a capacity â—ever to have violated his Covenant did Engage him â—o a perfect â—xact and â—nsinning Oâ—edience God having made Man upright and given him a great measure of Light to direct him and of Strength to enable him to do as he should appoint proceeded then to make this very reasonable Covenant and Agreement with him He agreed to continue and increase that Light and Strength to him and to reward his acting according to it with immortal Life and Happiness provided he making use of his Understanding and Power would persevere to obey his Maker's commands which if he should not do in every particular Instance of Duty he threatned him with Death and eternal Misery But then leaving him to act according to that freedom of Will wherewith as a reasonable Creature he had endow'd him Man did â—iolate it Man did by his own voluntary Disobedience thro' the Cunning of Satan tempting him thereto transgress the Law given him by his Maker Gen. 2.17 and did thereby cast himself into a State of Sin and Misery under the Bondage of Satan without any power or possibility to recover himself out of that wretched Condition And thus he broke his Covenant with God Sinn'd against his Creatour and so forfeited all the Happiness convey'd to him therein both for himself and his Posterity And now was Man in a desperate and forlorn Condition His own Sin had made him liable to the severest Strokes of God's displeasure and the Divine Justice and Wisdom The Divine Justice Wisdom and Holiness requir'd satisfaction and Holiness would not permit the Almighty however his Goodness inclin'd him to Pity to let his Sin go unpunisht and to restore him to a capacity of Happiness without a valuable Satisfaction made to infinite Justice such as should shew the Divine hatred of and severity against Sin for the security of his Government in the World And yet no Creature in the Heavens above or in the Earth beneath was sufficient for so great an Undertaking as to satisfy for him For There is no Man can Redeem his Brother or pay God a Ransom for him for the
Enjoyment of Women to those who shall slay the Unbelievers that is Christians for so they do call us especially because we believe not in their Mahomet This one Principle of their Religion I say is enough to debauch Humane Nature to the lowest Degree of Naughtiness by giving Encouragement to the Two worst of Sins Lust and Cruelty Its Principles tend to Lust and Cruelty and accordingly the Effects of it are That they give an unbounded Range to their Lusts amongst themselves and are Cruel and Blood-thirsty to all the World besides being Instigated by their very Religion to fill the whole Earth with War Desolations and Misery so that this is another Religion also which Tends instead of Improving to deprave Humane Nature and to make it much worse And Thirdly As to the Jewish Religion Judaism was an imperfect and unfinisht Draught of Religion tho' that indeed was of a Divine Original yet whether it were that the Infancy of the World was not ripe for a more deep and manly Instruction or whether that particular Nation however to whose Disposition and Capacity those Laws and Constitutions were suited was unfit for the highest and hardest Lessons so it was that St. Paul calls their Ordinances Poor and Beggarly Elements Gal. 4.9.3 And indeed as to the Ritual Part of their Law the Ceremonies and Sacrifices thereof were for the most part Types and Shadows of good things to come Heb. 10.1 And as to the Moral Part Moses for the hardness of their Hearts was forc'd to Indulge 'em what the Perfection and Purity of the Christian Religion will by no means allow of as may be seen in the Case of Putting away a Wife for every Cause Luke 19.8 But above all it is to be consider'd that universal Love and Charity to Enemies to all Mankind of what Nation and Religion soever they be which does so nearly resemble us to God himself Who maketh his Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good Matt. 5.45 was as it were a New Commandment to them Joh. 13.34 And yet such an unbounded Charity and Kindness as this is the great and necessary Duty of Christianity So that Judaism at the best and before that it was Corrupted by the false Interpretations put upon the Law by the Scribes and Pharisees was but an imperfect Draught of Religion begun by Moses but left to be finished by the more perfect Stroaks of our Saviour's Pencil afterwards who is therefore said to have Come not to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fill 'em up Matth. 5.17 Thus Imperfect at best was the Jewish Law But now consider Fourthly The whole Body of that Religion Christianity a most excellent Religion which Christ our supreme Head and Governour has given us and under whose Guidance we have the Happiness to be as we are the Members of Christ's Church and nothing can represent God in more Noble Characters and Glorious Perfections nothing can give a more Honourable and Rational Account of his Proceedings with Man both in his Creation and Redemption of him than it does And as his Laws are infinitely beyond what the Wisdom of any Humane Law-givers did ever yet contrive for the good Order of Man in this World and his real Happiness both in this and the World to come so no Motives nor Reasons can possibly be more Powerful than those which Christianity does give us to Obey those Laws 〈◊〉 Gives a excellent â—esentatiâ—â—f God As to the Nature of God Christianity does plainly Represent him as a Being that has no manner of Imperfection in his Nature but as One that is Adorn'd with all the most Glorious Attributes and highest Perfections possible It represents him to us so infinitely Wise Just and Holy and yet so wonderfully beyond all Comparison Good and Merciful and to add to all this so intimately Present to all we say or do so Omniscient in discerning the very Thoughts and Intents of our Hearts and withal so absolutely Powerful in doing whatsover he pleases in Heaven and in Earth that Shall not this his Excellency make us afraid Job 13.11 〈◊〉 gives an â—ourable â—â—nt of his â—eedings 〈◊〉 Manâ— with reâ—ce both â—s Creaâ—â— and Reâ—tion of 〈◊〉 And then as to his Proceedings with Man both in his Creation and Redemption of him Christianity gives us the most Plain and rational Account thereof in the World It gives us to know how that God made Man Upright and being so we were at perfect Agreement with him but that afterwards we fell by Transgression from him and must have suffered the Doom of Rebels for so doing It lets us then know That God taking Pity of us in this miserable Case sent his own Son to Preach Repentance and to offer Terms of Reconciliation to us And moreover because it was not consistent with God's Holiness nor with his Wisdom and Justice as Governour of the World to let Sin go unpunish'd or to accept of a Sacrifice and Satisfaction less infinite in Value than he was in Majesty who was Offended that he therefore gave this his only Begotten Son also to Dye for us and accepted of his infinitely Meritorious Sufferings here instead of our suffering Eternally hereafter and as a sufficient Satisfaction to his injur'd Justice which we in our own Persons could not pay without perishing Everlastingly Christianity does withal Reveal to us that this our High-Priest after having Offer'd himself for us here on Earth a Sacrifice for our Sins he is now gone into Heaven to Intercede with the Father in the Merit thereof that it may be accepted to the Pardon of ' em And it also Informs us that being Ascended to his Father which is in Heaven in order fully to Reconcile him to Man he has substituted his Holy Spirit here on Earth to perfect the Reconciliation and Conformity of our Natures to God by moving and moulding our Hearts to true Repentance and Faith in him This is in short that account which Christianity gives us both of our Creation and of our Redemption And so every way Rational it is in it self and so exceedingly agreeable to the wisest Methods of Government in the World that tho' it was beyond the reach of our Reasons before this whole Mystery of Redemption was Reveal'd to us in the Gospel to think of such an extraordinary way for our Recovery out of a lost and undone Condition and of Reconciliation to God yet now since it is Revealed all the reason of Mankind whose Vnderstandings the God of this world hath not blinded must own that there is no method of Proceeding in such a Case could be more worthy of the Holiness Justice Mercy and Wisdom of God nor so likely to work Repentance in Man nor consequently more agreeable to the wise Governour of the World to take than this So agreeable to the best improved reason of Mankind are the Doctrinal and even the most mysterious Parts of the Christian Religion that Religion which it
is our Happiness as we are Members of Christ's Church to be under the Direction of Nor can any thing be better contrived for the Happiness of Men Its Laws aâ—â— excellently contrived for the good Order and Happiness of Mankind with relation to themselves or others than what the Laws of our Saviour do directly tend to As to our selves they do so powerfully tend to mortify our Lusts and Appetites those Rebels to our own Reason to moderate our Passions and Affections which so violently rack and disturb our own Breasts and they are excellently fitted also to make us so Humble and Self-denying so Temperate and Sober so Chast and Pure as Men on Earth would appear to be Angels come from Heaven were the Laws of Christ universally followed And lastly as to Others such Justice and Uprightness such Charity and Kindness such Quiet and Peaceableness does Christianity incline Men to upon which account the State of the Gospel is represented as that In which nothing should destroy nor hurt in the holy Mountain Isa 11.9 And let me also add such Prudent and Fatherly Care of Children Servants and Dependants do the Laws of Christ prescribe as would make a Heaven here upon Earth were they universally Obey'd I say were they universally Obey'd And yet to add to all this Excellency of Christ's Government and Laws over us already seen so Powerful is our Obedience to all these Laws Enforc'd by those mighty Principles and Motives of Christianity And are Enforc'd by most powerful Principles and Motives viz. The Articles of our Christian Faith I mean so very Perswasive and Forcible are the Motives which Christ does give us to the Practise of these Vertues beyond what was in any Reasons and Motives which the Philosophers or even Moses did give the Gentiles or the Jews to be in any degree Vertuous that this is another addition to our Advantage in having Christ for our Supreme Head and Law-giver and in being Members of Christ's Church In a word so Honourable to God so Perfective of our own Natures and so Beneficial to mankind are the Laws of Christ and so well is our Obedience secur'd to 'em by those Principles he has taught us that this very Thing does speak our exceeding Great Priviledge in being Members of Christ and under his Conduct and Government as our supreme Head and Law-giver But especially this Advantage will appear to be very Great if we consider How that together with those most excellent Laws that he has given us he has also appointed us most Edifying and comfortable Ordinances Another Branch of this first Part of a Christian's Priviledge are most Edifying and Comfortable Institutions and Ordinances to conduct us to Heaven Now by Divine Institutions and Ordinances I do mean those positive Appointments and Observations which he has given his Church and all the Members thereof for their Improvement in the Knowledge and Practice of his Holy Religion and Laws And that which our Great Law-giver has done of this Nature is this He has Ordain'd solemn and set Days viz. The Christian Sabbaths for his own Service He has Order'd that publick Assemblies of all Christians should be held upon those Days He has Authoriz'd and Commanded the Publication and Preaching of his Laws at those publick Assemblies He has appointed that Common Prayers Supplications and Thanksgivings for Divine Grace and Assistance to Enable us to perform these Laws then Preacht and for other Mercies should be jointly put up to him by all Christians on those solemn Days and publick Assemblies And lastly he has Enjoin'd therein the use of Sacraments as means of Conveying such Grace and Assistance and also as Oaths and Obligations upon us to be Obedient to those Laws All which are the Priviledges that do belong to the Members of Christ's Visible Church And if we compare 'em with what others want of this Nature they are indeed most singular Favours vouchsafed only to such as are Members thereof and which Aliens and Strangers have no Right nor Admittance to And consider'd in themselves they are most admirable Advantages towards the Observation of God's most Holy Laws and in order to a Holy and Good Life I. â—lick Orâ—ances the â—viledge of â—ry Memâ— of Christ's â—rch First I say All these foremention'd Priviledges do belong to the Members of Christ's Church to such as have been Baptized and profess themselves to be Christians To understand which Rights and Priviledges the better you must know that as there are Two sorts of Members in the visible Church so there are Two kinds of Priviledges that belong to each sort as One rightly states this Matter each having those Priviledges which are proper and peculiar to 'em according to the relation they bear to the Head and their Fellow-members First There are Members only by Foederal or Covenant Holiness such are only Born of Water when by Baptism they are United to Christ and the Church and took upon them the Profession and Practice of the Christian Religion Now the Priviledges that do belong to these are of the same make with their Church-Membership Outward and consisting only in outward and publick Communion with the Church in Word and Ordinances Secondly There are Members by Real and Inherent Holiness such as are not only Born of Water but of the Spirit also when by the inward Operation of the Holy Ghost their Souls are Renew'd after the Image of God and made Partakers of a Divine Nature And the Priviledges that do belong to these are not only the foremention'd Ones but together with them others that are suitable to their more spiritual Relations Inward and such as consist in the special and particular Care and Protection of God and in the more plentiful Measures of his Grace and in the more sensible Comforts of his Holy Spirit according to that of our Saviour Mat. 25.29 Vnto every One that hath or Improveth those Talents of Grace he has received shall be given and he shall have abundance So that these latter and more peculiar Priviledges indeed do not belong to every Member of the visible Church but to those only who are sincere in their Profession of Christianity and who by their more than ordinary Piety are become Dear to God But then as to Outward Priviledges it is not only the Duty but it is the Priviledge which of Right belongs to Every Member of Christ's Church to Observe the Lord's Day to be Present in the Publick Assemblies to Join in the Common Prayers and even to Partake when of Age of the Lord's Supper So we find Acts 2.41 42. That the whole Three Thousand Souls who received the Word and were Baptized continued stedfastly in the Apostle's Doctrine and Fellowship and in breaking of Bread and in Prayers True it is such is that more than ordinary Regard that the Church of Christ has for the Lord's Supper that most solemn Ordinance in the Christian Religion that when any Member becomes Scandalous for
any Sin he is to be Suspended from Communion in that till he amends Scandalous Members to be suspended from the Lord's Supper So it is order'd in the Rubrick before the Communion Service that if any be an open and notorious Evil-Liver so that the Congregation be thereby Offended The Curate having Knowledge thereof shall Call him and Advertise him that in any-wise he presume not to come to the Lord's Table until he hath openly declared himself to have truly Repented and Amended his former Naughty Life that the Congregation may thereby be saisfy'd which before were Offended And the same Order shall the Curate use with those betwixt whom he perceiveth Malice and Hatred to reign not suffering them to be Partakers at the Lord's Table till he Knows them to be Reconciled But otherwise till a Member become Notorious and Scandalous for his Evil Principles or Practices he may claim the Right to be Admitted to the Lord's Supper for even Judas himself before he Betray'd our Saviour did Partake with him at the first Institution of the Supper as you will find Matth. 26.25 26. So that as to the Outward Institutions and Ordinances of Christ they are Priviledges you see that do belong to all the Members of Christ's Church to all such as have been Baptized and Profess themselves to be Christians And now Secondly If we compare but these Outward Priviledges of God's Holy Ordinances with what others do want of this Nature they are indeed most singular Favours vouchsafed only to such as are Members of Christ's Church and which Aliens and Strangers have no Right nor Admittance to I. Christian Ordinances are a singular Favour which Aliens and Vnbelievers do not nor have any Right to enjoy For alas The Infidel part of the World whether Jews Turks or Pagans have none of these Divine Ordinances amongst ' em They neither Know the Lord's Day nor Hold any Assemblies thereon for the Instruction in his Laws neither do they Profess Belief in nor Pray to the One True God Father Son and Holy Ghost and they are utter Strangers to our Holy Mysteries And hence it comes to pass that those miserable People continue still in Blindness Ignorance and Barbarity remain perfect Slaves to Satan and their own Brutish Lusts and for the most part of 'em are degenerated into such Inhumanity Cruelty and Brutality that Tygers Wolves and Vipers the most Devouring and Venemous Creatures in the World are not so mischeivous to Mankind as that Part thereof who either know not or contemn God's Holy Ordinances are one to another So true it is what Solomon has Observ'd Prov. 29.18 that Where there is no Vision or no Word and Ordinances of Divine Revelation the People perish Which brings me Lastly To consider What excellent Priviledges they are in themselves II. They are excellent Advantages consider'd in themselves And that they are upon Two accounts First As being most admirable Advantages towards the Observation of God's most Holy Laws Secondly As being exceedingly comfortable to those who Enjoy ' em I. â—onducing â—htowards 〈◊〉 Edificaâ— And First Divine Ordinances are most Excellent Priviledges as being most admirable Advantages towards the Observation of God's most Holy Laws and in order to a Holy and Good Life For why In these Holy Ordinances we have all the Means both Outward and Inward afforded for our Conversion As to the Outward you have the very Scriptures themselves the Body of those Holy Laws publickly Proclaim'd and Read out to you the Scripture it self I say Which was given by Inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works 2 Tim. 3.16 17. In these Holy Ordinances again you are not left to the Deceits and Whispers of a private Spirit but you have the Doctrine of the Church collected into a Form of sound Words and containing all that is necessary whether as to Faith or that Love which is in Christ Jesus or which is required in the Christian Religion 2 Tim. 1.13 You have this Collected I say partly by the Apostle's themselves and partly by others the wisest and best Divines out of the Holy Scriptures and propos'd to you as a Rule to walk by And moreover you have the Ministers of Christ constantly Applying both to your direction The Ministers of Christ I say who as his Ambassadors do Pray you in Christ's stead to be Reconciled to God 2 Cor. 5.20 Again In these Holy Ordinances you do not wrestle with God for his Mercies in the strength only of your own private Prayers but you have your Devotions mingled with the concurrent Prayers of all God's People and so by your joint Forces after an humble but powerful manner do Besiege Heaven for the joint and united Prayers of Christians have above all others the Promise of a Gracious Answer Matth. 18.20 Our Saviour assuring us there that Where Two or Three are gather'd together in his Name there he will be in the midst of them And lastly You receive herein from the Blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ that Food which is necessary to the Nourishment of the Soul as Meat is to the Strength of the Body the same Blessed Saviour of the World assuring us as you will see John 6.55 and the 63. compar'd together that His Flesh is Meat indeed and that his Blood is Drink indeed And then as to the Inward Means of performing God's Laws viz. The Grace and Assistance of his Holy Spirit this as it is absolutely necessary to enable our Weakness in this our faln State so it is no otherwise to be expected than in the Use and Ministry of Divine Ordinances as shall be presently seen In a word The outward Ordinances and Institutions of the Gospel together with the Holy Spirit accompanying them are the only ordinary Means of Conversion Some may pretend to be above Ordinances but Experience tells us that accordingly as Men do slight and neglect 'em accordingly do they decay in Grace and Vertue and when once they begin wholly to lay them aside they become perfectly Graceless and are given up to a Reprobate Mind as is daily seeni in such as make nothing of Profaning the Lord's Day and do totally lay aside Prayers and Sacraments â—ost comâ—ble to Souls of those who enjoy them Secondly And they are not more Profitable and Edifying than they are Comfortabler to the Spirits of all Pious Souls who Enjoy ' em Holy David was a most eminent Instance of this My Soul thirsteth for God for the living God when shall I come and appear before God Psal 42.2 See what earnest Longings he had for the publick Service And I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the Lord Psal 122.1 And Psal 65.4 he expresses his sense of this Matter thus Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causest to
Christ's satisfaction as to make us neglect the Working out our own Salvation On the contrary the Socinian at the same time he pretends much for Morality and a Good Life denies the Sacrifice and Satisfaction of Christ and that God the Father gave him to be an Attonement for the Sins of Mankind and in the Vertue of his precious Blood to Intercede in Heaven for our Reconciliation so that he wholly takes off our Faith or Dependance on Christ for Justification Thus may the most dangerous Errors now in the Church of Christ with a little Watchfulness and Care to examine the Tendency of them be discovered by you from whose Suggestions they proceed and that they are Tares of the Enemies that is the Devils sowing whilst the Husbandman was asleep But do you I beseech you carefully beware of such false Doctrines and deceitful Teachers both which are Satan's Temptations to draw you unwittingly to sin against and dishononr God And tho' his Agents seem never so Demure and appear never so Sanctify'd who do teach Men such Doctrines Beware of those Wolves who come to you in Sheeps cloathing you shall know them by their Fruits If they shall endeavour to instill into your Minds any undue Apprehensions of God the Father Son and Holy Ghost contrary to what you are taught out of the Scripture in the Doctrine of our Church or any pernicious Opinions that in their Nature and Tendency shall render an Holy Good Life unnecessary to our Justification assure your selves they are no Ministers of Christ but of Satan And are set on work by him to destroy God's Authority amongst Men and to set up his own Laws in their Hearts the Thing he aims at And so much for this Time THE Tvvelfth Lecture First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh THE Point that we are now upon is to make as full a Discovery to you as here we can of that Great Work of the Devil his Tempting us to Sin A Work so eminently the Business and Employment of Satan and so Dangerous and Destructive to Mankind and also manag'd in such manifold and cunning Methods that it ought particularly to be consider'd by us The Devil says a Father has nothing else that he does but Tempt us to Sin He neither Eats nor Drinks nor Sleeps nor does he any thing else but Tempt Deceive and Subvert us This is his Meat this is his Honour this is his Joy In this he is Indefatigable and if he could have his Will he would never cease Tempting us but that he is restrain'd by the Power of God And now in order to the Countermining and Defeating this mischievous Work of his First Having shew'd you by what Temptations and Means he Overthrew the whole Race of Mankind and drew it off from Obedience to God to do Service to him And Secondly Having also laid before you such Temptations as he Levels against the Church of Christ the true Servants of God either utterly to destroy 'em or to Corrupt their Religion that by that they might Dishonour their Maker Thirdly I am now to shew you III. Satan's great Industry is to gain over to to his Party or to Tempt to some scandalous Enormity such Persons as are more than ordinarily Eminent for their Rank their Order or their Piety in the Church That next to his Destroying and Perverting of whole Churches his great Industry is to gain over to his Party or to Tempt to some grievous and scandalous Enormity such Persons as are more than ordinarily Eminent for their Rank or Quality their Order or their Piety in the Church of God And * First Such as are most Eminent for their Station or Quality First Such as are most Eminent for their Station or Quality Hence Elymas the Sorcerer that Child of the Devil apply'd himself so diligently to Sergius Paulus a Deputy and Great Man in his Country to turn him from the Faith Acts 13.7 8. And hence as in that long Catalogue of the Kings of Judah and Israel how few were there who were not Idolaters and highly Infamous for some high Abomination or other So since the World became Christian how many Kings of the Earth are there who have Committed Fornication that is Idolatry with the Whore of Babylon and liv'd Deliciously with her and how will both they and the Merchants of the Earth Weep and Mourn over her when her Calamities come upon her Rev. 18.9.11 It is Astonishing to consider how that so many of the Honourable and the Rich who of all Men living are Oblig'd to be Grateful to God for so many extraordinary Favours and Blessings which they Enjoy above other Men should yet carry it so insolently against their Great Benefactor lifting up their Heads above the Heavens as it were Trampling under Foot all Laws both Divine and Humane Such Men's â—ickedness â—ot altogether â—â—om the â—emptingness 〈◊〉 Riches but â—e Industry 〈◊〉 Satan to â—et over such â—â—ading Men â—o his Party Such Men's â—xamples if â—ad of maligâ—ant Influâ—nce because â—â—onspicuous and both in Word and Deed denying and disowning any Powers above ' em Why this is not altogether from the Temptingness of Greatness and Riches which it must be confest are alone a very considerable Temptation but also from Satan's more than ordinary Industry to gain over to his Party and Interest such Men above all others For why These are Generals and Great Officers as it were in the Church Militant and these therefore if they can be but Prevail'd upon to Revolt from God all the Herd of Mankind besides will in a manner follow of course There is indeed Satan does very well know it nothing that has a more malignant Influence upon the Lives and Manners of Men than the lewd and profligate Courses of those who are Eminent in Quality or Power Their Examples are doubtless of vast Importance As in this World they live in a Croud all their Life So they pass not into the Other without a Train of Followers at their Heels If their Examples are extraordinarily Good they bring many to Heaven along with 'em if they have been Vicious and Naughty whole Troops follow to Hell after them for Subjects Children Servants Dependants all take after their Lord and Master except it be very rarely So that those who abound either in Wealth or Honour And will â—ring upon 'em â—he Guilt not â—â—ly of their â—wn but of â—â—her Men's â—ins because 〈◊〉 and do therefore think they have a greater Priviledge to Sin than others because they have greater Temptations to it than other Men are miserably mistaken for as their Lives being publick and conspicuous lye more open to the Observation and Imitation of the World and therefore do cause more to Sin So they shall not have their own only but the Sins of others so far as they have Influenc'd 'em to Sin
to Answer for And the Reason hereof is this The Actions of Great Men have some Force of a Precept with 'em Their Actiâ—ns have the â—orce of a Preâ—ept as well as â—f a Pattern which Inferiâ—rs are afraid â—o shew their â—islike of as well as of a Pattern For as One well observes Those who are much Ey'd cannot Sin singly both because Men of weaker Minds and less Consideration look upon them as the great Masters of Knowledge and Bravery and therefore strive to imitate and be like them And also because they have many Dependants that hope to receive something from them and to be some way Better'd by them and this they cannot hope to be except they Copy out their Examples and shew their Love and Honour or rather Flattery to them in Endeavouring what they can to be like them And therefore we do commonly see the Generality upon any Change are ready to take up with the Religion or Transcribe the Pattern and Ape the Actions and Vices of their Prince or other Governour and their Faults as well as Habits shall become the Fashion of the Country So that an Unholy Prince shall seldom have a Religious People a Debaucht Nobility and Gentry a Devout and Orderly Neighbourhood and Family a Wicked Father Pious Children or an Evil Master Good Servants But their Actions have the Force not only of a Pattern but also of a Rule and Law which Inferiors and Dependants are affraid to go against So that it is not to be wonder'd that the Devil should be more than ordinarily industrious to gain over to his Party such as are most Eminent for their Station and Quality One such tall Cedar sweeps away with him in his Fall all the lower Shrubs within the reach of its Branches But then it does infinitely concern Persons of Quality Great Men therefore 〈◊〉 must of all others Renounce the Temptations of Satan of all Men Living utterly to Renounce the Ways of Sin because their ill Examples are of such Bad and malignant Influence upon others And they should Renounce all the ways of Scandalous and Notorious ill Living as they are Influential upon others not only for the sake of other Men but also for their own dear sakes For alas If a Man 's own single Sins unrepented of will Plunge him into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone how Deep into the bottomless Pit must they sink who have besides their own Personal Transgressions the Sins of many others pressing 'em Downwards and loading 'em with all the Curses of Hell for the ill Example and other Motives to Wickedness which they gave ' em So that it concerns the Great Ones of all others to look to their Ways and vigourously to Renounce and Resist the Temptations of Satan to Sin and Wickedness Secondly II. Such as are most Eminent on the account of their Order viz. the Ministers of Religion The Devil is also wonderfully Industrious to Tempt into some scandalous Sin or wicked Course of Life or at least-wise to Invent and Propagate some scandalous Story against such as are Eminent on the account of their Order viz. The Ministers of Religion We of the Sacred Function are design'd in a more Eminent manner it must be confest to be the Light of the World to be Candles set not under a Bushel but on a Candlestick that we may give Light to all that are in the House So that if he can draw a thick Cloud of Ignorance over our Understandings and bring Immorality into our Practice what he may do with the rest of Mankind who are to be Guided by us he does Rationally enough Conclude He is doubly Enrag'd against such both because in the Nature and Design of their Office they are to destroy his Kingdom because the rest of the World do altogether Eye them for their Pattern Hence no Temptation left untried to withdraw such into some scandalous Enormity He is indeed doubly Enrag'd against us both because we are the Men who in the very Nature and Design of our Office are to Destroy his Kingdom and because the Rest of the World do altogether Eye us for their Pattern Insomuch that they are generally more Influenc'd by our Lives than by our Doctrine and are exceedingly Scandaliz'd so as to think they may Sin with Allowance and Excuse if we our selves shall happen in the least to miscarry For these Reasons there are no Wiles nor Artifices nor prevailing Temptations left untry'd whereby Satan does not Attempt to withdraw the Ministers of Religion into some scandalous and enormous Crimes so that when any of the Holy Order happen to be overtaken in a Fault it is not so much to be wonder'd at as having not only the same Natural Infirmities with other Men but far more furious Assaults made upon 'em to Overcome 'em That indeed there are so many shining Lights as this Church and Nation may justly Glory in having at this Day is because We are kept by the Power of God to Salvation 1 Pet. 1.15 But that a Minister of Religion should sometimes Fall as well others and that very foully too is not to be Admir'd at much less made a matter of Reproach to the whole Order as it commonly is since our Saviour himself told Peter Behold Satan hath a Desire to have you you above all Others that he may sift you as Wheat Luk. 22.31 And he did sift that great Apostle to the Purpose insomuch that he did wilfully Deny his Master Thrice And hence â—he more Inâ—ustrious a Minister is â—he more Inâ—ustrious is â—atan to Oâ—rcome him And indeed the more Eminently Industrious any Minister of Religion is found in the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom the more Industrious is Satan to Overcome him Hence without doubt it was that he singled out as St. Peter you see before so St. Paul sending his Messenger One of his Black Angels to Buffet him as you will see 2 Cor. 12.7 True it is God in his wise and good Providence did order that Temptation of Satan's to a good End and to the Advantage and Security of that Apostle For he Gave him a Thorn in the Flesh and permitted Satan's Messenger to Buffet him lest he should be Exalted above measure or to keep him Humble But Satan no doubt did intend thereby however his Designs were Over-rul'd by the Divine Providence as is most usual to Overthrow St. Paul because he was in Labours more abundant in Stripes above measure in Prisons more frequent 2 Cor. 11.23 that is more Industrious in Propagating the Gospel than others and came not a Whit Behind the very Chiefest of the Apostles ver 5. And in the â—â—ry way â—herein he is â—â—st serviceâ—le to the â—hurch of â—â—d Satan â—es endeaâ—ur to make â—n most â—ischievous And in the very way that such are most Serviceable to the Church of God Satan does so order it that they shall be Transported beyond the Bounds of Moderation and Sobriety
As to Riches these are not in themselves Hurtful but Good and are bestowed upon us to good Ends and Purposes to the Relieving the Poor and Distressed to the Encouragement of Industry and in many other ways which the Laws of Piety and Charity do direct * And those who enjoy 'em have great Advantages of doing Good therewith to others Comfort and the Benefit of their own Souls And those therefore on whom God has bestowed Wealth have admirable Advantages put into their Hands to do Good therewith to the Comfort of others and to lay up to themselves Treasures of Reward in Heaven by their good Works Nevertheless it was no hard Censure our Saviour pass'd upon Riches in saying That a Rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 19.23 For both Scripture Nevertheless Riches are a mighty Temptation whether we conâ—â—er Men as â—etting Posâ—ssing or as â—arting with 〈◊〉 Losing of â—em and daily Experience tells us that Riches are a very great Temptation to manifold Sins and Offences against God and that whether we consider Men with respect to their Getting Possessing or their Parting with or Losing of them First Consider Men in the State of getting Riches and St. Paul tells us 1 Tim. 6.9 That they who would be Rich fall into a Temptation and a Snare and into many foolish and hurtful Lusts which drown Men in Destruction and Perdition And our own Experience also gives us to see I. In the over-â—â—ger Pursuit 〈◊〉 Richesmen 〈◊〉 run themâ—lves into â—any grievâ—â—s Sins how many horrid and black Crimes and into what miserable Snares so as never to be able to disentangle themselves out of 'em do Men run themselves into by an over-eager Pursuit of Riches A dividing betwixt God and Mammon is the lowest Degree of Sin that is occasion'd hereby which yet God will not endure as you will find Matth. 6.24 The Neglect of Religion and Contempt of Heavenly Things is the next And it is not seldom we see that Men to raise themselves Estates in this world will not stick at Oppressing the Poor at Cheating of Orphans and Widows at Corrupting of Witnesses and Juries and Forging of Evidences and to add Impiety to Injustice to get but a small Pittance of worldly Wealth they will Rob God in his Tythes and Offerings by Sacrilegiously detaining those Dues which were allotted both by the Laws of God and Man for the Maintenance of the Worship of God and his Ministers a Sin compar'd by St. Paul with Idolatry it self Rom. 2.22 As also into â—any miseraâ—le Snares so â—s to behardâ— ever able 〈◊〉 disent angle â—hemselves â—ut of ' em And then as to the Temptations and Snares into which Men by the unjust acquiring of Riches do often Entangle themselves it is indeed Terrible to consider how they do frequently thereby run themselves into such a Condition that like a wild Beast entangled in a Net they cannot get out For when once Riches are got by any methods of Wrong or Robbery there must be an entire Restitution of all that has been unjustly gain'd or ever the Man can be said to Repent or hope to Recover the Favour of God And yet this Restitution after many and repeated Acts of Injustice becomes almost Impossible to be done For why the Love of Money is so near to the Miser's Heart that he can sooner spill the Blood thereof than part with it And if that which he has Ill-got has not Thriven with him as seldom it does why then he has not where-withal to Restore to every Man his own without reducing Himself and Family to extream Beggary which how hard a thing it is to bring himself to and in Practice how seldom heard of I leave it to your own Observation to Inform your selves So that you see into what a miserable Temptation and Snare Men do Entangle themselves by grasping after unlawful Gain For as Restiâ—ution is necessary to Peace with God so it is â—xtreamly difficult to be willing or â—ble afterwards to make it They have it not in their Will or if in their Will not in their Power to make Restitution and yet without Restitution they can have no Peace with God and therefore such at length do usually fly for Refuge from their upbraiding Consciences if not into utter Atheism as is usual with other great Sinners At least-wise they 'll shelter themselves under some lewd Anti-nomian Principles which teach Men to rely upon Christ and to roll upon his Promises notwithstanding any Extortions Oppressions or other unrepented Sins they may be at the same time Guilty of for which Reason perhaps your Dealers and Men of Business are so apt to be found at the Feel of Fanatick Teachers Such Temptations to Sin are Men liable to in the Getting the Riches of this World Secondly And no less also are those subject to who do Possess them II. And no less Temptations are those subject to who do possess ' em Experience tells us that a great Estate is a very great Temptation to Idleness and Luxury to Pride and Insolence to Irreligion towards God and a Profane Idolatrous Trust in Riches And in a word to Commit the highest Offences towards God their Neighbour and Themselves I say to Idleness and Luxury the former whereof is the Rust of the Mind the latter is a Canker that devours and destroys the Body And how great a Temptation to Idleness and Luxury Riches are is eminently seen in the Case of the Rich Man in the Gospel Luk. 12.19 He had no sooner got his Barns and his Coffers full but he Sings a Requiem to his Soul Soul thou hast much Good laid up for many Years take thine Ease Eat Drink and be Merry And so likewise they are a strong Temptation to Pride and Insolence and that in Respect both to God and Man As to his Behaviour towards God how apt is the Rich Man in the midst of all his Successes to Sacrifice to his own Net and to Burn Incense to his own Drag as the Prophet words it Hab. 1.16 that is to Attribute all to his own Wit and Policy and Conduct exclusive of God's Providence And then as to his Carriage towards Men how often do Riches make those that have 'em to carry themselves with a most unreasonable Haughtiness and Disrespect towards Persons of lower Fortunes to look upon Men of little or no Estates as the Cattle only and Vermin of the World and to treat 'em as their Slaves and Vassals as if they were not Creatures of the same Kind with themselves and had not Souls as Precious in God's sight as their own And then as to Irreligion and Insolence towards God The impious Contempt of God and of all that is Sacred which Men in the midst of their Abundance do cast upon that Bountiful Benefactor who Gave 'em all things Richly to Enjoy cannot be more exactly describ'd than in the Case of the Israelites Deut. 32.13 14
of a Magistrate if such a One pretends to correct Sin or to enjoin the strict Observation of any Duty that Part of Religion is thought the worse of and slighted the more for his concerning himself about it And as a Good Name renders a Man capable of doing much Good so to have the Approbation of others to his worthy Designs puts Life and Vigour into his Contrivances for the Publick And active in Promoting it It makes him Active and Zealous in the Prosecution of 'em and gives Refreshment to his tired Thoughts and Spirits under the Fatigues of compassing ' em And to Crown all when such a One comes to Die his Death is lamented as a publick Loss or some Judgment befall'n the Age or Place which was not worthy of him His Memory is sweet and precious whereas that of the Infamous stinks worse than his very Carcass or as the Wise-man says The Memory of the Just is blessed but the Name of the Wicked shall rot Prov. 10.7 So Valuable in it self is that sort of Honour which consists in the high Esteem and Reputation of the Wise and Vertuous Part of Mankind concerning a Person occasion'd by the excellent Qualities and divine Graces shining in him or upon the account of some extraordinary Actions perform'd by him And yet for your farther Satisfaction A desire of Reputation and Credit is a thing implanted in our Natures by God that it is not only in it self a valuable Blessing but may with due Regulations be desir'd enjoy'd and carefully retain'd by us I am to tell you That God himself who is not the Author of Sin has implanted in the Nature of every Man a love of his Credit and a desire to have a Good Name amongst Wise and Vertuous Persons and this the Divine Wisdom has done that this desire of Credit and Reputation might be a Spur to excite us to Vertuous Performances and a Bridle to restrain us from lashing out into Sinful Extravagances Hence that of the Apostle Wilt thou not be afraid of the Power Do that which is Good and thou shalt have Praise of the same Rom. 13.3 And indeed Lastly It is a Duty incumbent upon all Christians And to preserve a Reputation untainted and unsuspected of Evil is a Duty enjoin'd us by his Laws to preserve their Reputation untainted and as much as possible unsuspected of Evil. So the Apostle Phil. 2.15 Be blameless ye Sons of God without Rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse Nation amongst whom shine ye as Lights in the world And in the 1 Thes 5.22 we are Enjoin'd to Abstain from all Appearance of Evil. Some will pretend so they can but Approve their Consciences to God they care not what Men say of ' em But besides that seldom any grow shameless and regardless of their Credit till they have lost all sence of Conscience as well as of their Honour This is at best but a very uncharitable Saying It is every Man's Duty indeed in the first place to take care of doing any thing that is in it self Evil and by which God is offended and if he cannot discharge his Conscience to him in a Good thing without incurring the Offence and and Censures of Men he must in such Case be content to approve his Actions to God only But in Charity to other Men's Souls we must also with St. Paul Act. 24.16 Exercise our selves to have always a Conscience void of offence as towards God so towards men by giving no occasion to suspect us of Evil and that because of giving no Offence Lest our liberty become a stumbling Block to them that are Weak and an occasion of falling in our Brother's way which we are Caution'd against Rom. 14.13 and 1 Cor. 8.9 Besides that if a Person be of ill Fame tho' he may not deserve it all his Speeches and Actions shall be ill Interpreted no Man regards what he says or does his Proposals shall be suspected his Counsels and Rebukes tho' wholsome and just scorn'd and despis'd the Man he speaks for the side he adheres to the Cause he defends and the Business he manages shall suffer Prejudice and speed the worse for the ill Opinion is held of him So that as the Father said Nobis necessaria est Vita nostra aliis Fama nostra Angl. de Bon. vid. Cap. 22. A Good Life is necessary to us and a Good Name necessary to our Brethren And as we must labour to have a good Conscience towards God for our own sakes so also to have a good Report amongst Men for our Neighbours So Valuable is a good Esteem in it self so desirable to be Attain'd and so carefully to be Preserv'd Nevertheless â—ven a Good Name is in â—me measure 〈◊〉 be Renounâ—ed by us â—he Temptaâ—â—ons it gives 〈◊〉 Nevertheless as useful as is the Honour and Esteem of Good Men even this is in some measure to be Renounc'd by us and the Temptations also it gives us which are not inconsiderable For the natural Desire of Honour and Credit amongst Men is apt to make us too eagerly to desire Praise making our own Glory the main End of the Good we do or at least-wise to make us desire more than is proportionable to our Deserts When possest of Reputation and Esteem we are apt to take it wholly to our selves and not to refer it to God to whom the Glory of all that is Good in us does properly belong and to make it an Instrument of our own Advancement only neglecting to use the Authority which our Credit and Reputation in the World does give us to discountenance Irreligion and to encourage Piety in the World And sometimes Persons do so much over-value their Good Name and Reputation amongst Men as to fly to undue Means of preserving it nay to prefer the Esteem of Men more than the Honour that cometh from God In all which Cases there is great occasion for that Renunciation and Self-denial with respect to that Honour which consists in an High Esteem and Reputation amongst Men. As First we must so far Renounce the Honour that â—â—ll accrue to us from our good Works as not to make our own Glory the End and Reason of any Good we do And First It behoves us so far to Renounce and Reject the Honour and Reputation that shall accrue to us from our Pious or Good Works as Not to make our own Glory the end and Reason of any Good we do We must Take heed that we do not our Alms before Men to be seen of them otherwise we shall have no Reward of our Father which is in Heaven Matth. 6.1 But on the contrary the main and chief End of all we do must be God's Glory insomuch that Whether we Eat or Drink or whatever we do we must do all to the Glory of God 1 Cor. 10.13 And indeed so far should we be from affecting the Honours and Applauses of Men upon the account of anything
has committed to you to Trade withal for his Glory and if you shall neglect to lay out any thing of that Nature to your Master's use it will be required at your Hands as you will see Matth. 25. Fifthly As valuable as is a Good Name and Reputation amongst Men You must Renounce all undue Means of preserving it V. As valuable as is a Good Name and Reputation amongst Men we must Renounce all undue Means of preserving it In which Rank I shall place not only Duelling that most Barbarous and Unchristian Custom amongst the great Ones Such are Duelling upon the account of Slanders amongst the great Ones But also going to Law upon every Scandal so common amongst the Ordinary sort of People when they slander one another As to the former That Person who Challenges his Slanderer to give him Satisfaction as he calls it in the way of Duel he seems to me to take the ready way to confirm the World in the Opinion that he was not Injur'd The worst his Adversary could say of him was something which spoke him a very Ill Man and herein he goes about to prove himself the worst of Men even a Murderer of his Neighbour and a Felo de and consequently one that might not be unlikely to commit any other Wickedness But if it should take off the Scandal from him in the Opinion of a foolish World what Comfort will that afford when it is certain that No Murderer hath eternal Life abiding in him 1 Joh. 3.15 Nor is it so agreable to that forbearing and forgiving Temper Going to Law thereupon usual amongst common People which should be in every Christian to go to Law upon words of Slander Now therefore there is utterly a Fault amongst you because ye go to Law one with another why do you not rather take Wrong That is in matters of Trespass and Fraud if the Loss may be supported or in Cases of Slander wherein generally speaking there is a much more effectual way of clearing an injur'd Innocence than by Impleading of the Slanderer before a Magistrate Why in such Cases do you not rather take Wrong I say in such Cases there is generally a much more effectual way of clearing an injur'd Innocence than by Impleading of the Slanderer before a Magistrate For besides that this sort of Lawing seems in most a piece of Revenge in the Party traduc'd upon his Accuser for discovering some secret Wickedness which he was ashamed to have publisht rather than with any Design or Hopes of clearing his Innocence insomuch that he who comes off Triumphantly from the Justice of Peace is seldom the better thought of in the Neighbourhood and still they will be apt to think it was a Work of Darkness and only wanted a sufficient Proof Besides this I say an open and plain Discovery before Neighbours of the falshood and malice of the Slanderer in the most mild and Christian way or if such a Discovery cannot be made a Circumspection and Care to live so Inoffensively and Innocently as no one will believe the Calumny this will in time work all evil Surmises and Suspicions out of the Minds of Men. Lastly And we must utterly Renounce and forfeit the Esteem of Men rather than incur the Dis-favour of God Lastly we must utterly Renounce and forfeit the Esteem of Men rather than incur the dis-favour of God The best and wisest of Men are but Men still and do often judge of other Persons and their Proceedings not as they ought or as God Judgeth Thus we see When Jesus began to shew unto his Disciples how that he must go up unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the Elders and Chief Priests and Scribes and be killed then Peter took him up and began to rebuke him saying Be it far from thee Lord this shall not be unto thee Matth. 16.21 22. that is he endeavour'd earnestly to disswade him from so hazardous an Undertaking and would have him be more careful of himself And so it often happens to his faithful Disciples especially his Ministers If any more than ordinarily Zealous of their Master's Glory or faithful in his Service shall attempt to Reprove a great Man or to oppose the Stream of Wickedness or some ungodly but prevailing Customs his Friends too much savouring of worldly Wisdom shall violently disswade him not to be thus Righteous over-much as they think But if it shall so happen that in the Discharge of our Duty we have not their Approbation be they never so Wise or esteem'd never so Vertuous having in the first place with all Sincerity consider'd what is necessary for us to do we must vigorously proceed in the Discharge of a good Conscience let who will condemn us of Rashness or Imprudence And this is what the Apostle commands us 2 Cor. 6.3 4.8 He bids us Give no offence in any thing that the Ministry be not blamed that is he would have us make it in the first place a special part of our Care to Abstain strictly from all things that may give any just Offence and Avert any from the Faith endeavouring to Approve our selves to all that all Men may look on our Behaviour in the Gospel with Reverence and not with Censure And so be attracted to a Christian Life not deter'd from it But then he charges us withal In all things to approve our selves as the Ministers of God in much Patience Affliction by Honour and Dishonour by evil Report and good Report as deceivers and yet true that is he would have us approve our Fidelity in the Discharge of our Office by all proper Means thro' the various Fates of being reproachfully Treated by some as well as respectfully by others by being Vilified as well as Commended So that thus at length you have seen how that that part of Honour which consists in the Good Esteem and Reputation of the wise and vertuous part of Mankind tho' it is much to be valued in it self and may be lawfully Desir'd comfortably Enjoy'd and ought carefully to be Preserv'd Yet there is great place for Renunciation with respect both to the Attainment and Enjoyment thereof and particularly as to the Loss of it that we must so far Renounce it as not to prefer the Esteem of Men before the Honour that cometh from God Fourthly And now I am to take into consideration the Honour which is conferr'd not by the wise and vertuous part of Mankind nor given always upon the account of good Qualities and worthy Performances but the Esteem of another sort of Men and for the most part for quite different Qualities and Performances viz. The Applauses of the Vulgar and of the Croud of Men upon the account of what they judge Praise-worthy and Glorious IV. â—â—w far that â—â—nour is to Renounced â—â—ich consists 〈◊〉 the Apâ—â—auses of the â—â—lgar upon â—hat they do â—count â—â—aiseworthy â—â—d Honouâ—â—ble Now by the Vulgar and the Croud of Men I do not mean barely
our Lusts are up it is a strange Encouragement to us to Sin in Company and fulfil ' em This heartens us against our Fears and abates the Dread of Punishment which would follow the Satisfaction of our Lusts Now if we are Punisht for 'em it will not be we alone and it is a Comfort to have Fellows in Miseries and a Man dares both do and suffer many things in Company which he would have been dis-hearten'd to have ventur'd on singly But Secondly We are still more hearten'd to Sin if the Examples thereof are Common and Many II. If common and many For why Besides that there is a great deal of Proneness and Propension in all our Natures to Vice and Wickedness the only Restraint upon our Inclinations that we break not out suddenly into all Exorbitancy of Ungodliness is as inwardly from the Innate Turpitude and Baseness of Sin So outwardly from the burning and shining Lights and glorious Examples of Vertue that are abroad in the World Now our inward sense of the Filthiness of Sin soon ceases when we see it Practic'd by the most and those as shrew'd and as wise Persons as our selves and from without there can be no Upbraiding and ill Report in giving swing to our naughty Desires if Vice has once got its Multitudes of Followers and the Generality of Men of its side Thirdly But farther yet Examples of Sin are very Contagious if they are the Examples of such for whom we have a great Esteem III. If of such for whom we have a great Esteem Persons of all Sects and Parties in Religion fix upon some in their own way as very excellent Persons and exact Patterns fit to be imitated in all they do as if Men were not Men still and the Best were not subject to Mistake and Failing whatever Duty of Christianity these Men whom they particularly Admire seem to have but a small regard to they do not think it at all necessary because such a Good Man would not if it were be wanting in it they think And so as to any sinful Practice on the other side Why should I scruple to do so and so thou wilt say when such a One and I am sure he understands what he does sticks not to do the like He is a wise Man a good Man nay and a Scholar and yet does so and so nor does he fear going to Heaven for all that Fourthly But above all the Examples of Sin are the most prevalent when they are backt with the Authority of those whom we stand in awe of IV. If of those of whom we stand in awe These are the Men who will expect not only to be Obey'd but Honour'd And if we Ape and Imitate 'em in all their ways we may hope thereby to obtain their Favour If we shew a dislike of their Courses we may have reason to fear their Displeasure And what is it that two such active Springs in our Nature as our Hopes and Fears are will not force us to or drive us from So powerful you see are the Examples of Sin when they are backt with all these Advantages And now the Examples of Sin have all these Advantages in 'em to influence you to Conform your selves unto ' em Ever since the unhappy Fall of Man there is in every Child of Adam a great deal of Proneness to Sin rather than to Vertue Alas We carry a Principle about us which is not only buisy and ready to close with the Temptations of others Examples but is forward to betray us to Sin tho' we had few Examples for it Nay evil Inclinations and corrupt Desires are so powerful within us that even the best Instructions and the most pious Examples and all other good Means and Helps are daily found too weak and unable to Overcome ' em And yet as if all this were little enough there are far more Examples abroad in the World of Wickedness than of Goodness insomuch that by the World in Scripture simply taken is often meant no other than wicked Men they make up so great a Part thereof And not only too many Great Men whom you have an Awe of do give most abominable Examples of Profaneness Lewdness Drunkenness c. to their Inferiors but to come nearer Home to you too few of your Parents and Masters I am afraid are Examples to you of Religion and of the Fear of God Nay and perhaps some that you have an Esteem for and you may take for Good Men may be Examples of Schism and Separation and of breaking the Unity of the Church and despisers of the Sacrament or in one Kind or other not so Good as they should be not entirely and uniformly Good And now what must you do in this Case Why by all means you must Renounce and Refuse Conformity to such bad Examples We must by all Means renounce and refuse Conformity to such bad Examples For You must by no means follow the Examples of Sin be they who or what they will Let them be never so many you must not follow a Multitude to do Evil Exod. 23.2 It will not afford the least Ease to the Torments of the Damned that they are the many and that the Saved are the few Nor must the Examples of the Greatest no nor of those you count Good Men be a Rule to you when they vary from the Laws of God There is no Man so Great Wise or Good that he can dispense with God's Laws and absolve you from your Allegiance to the Soveraign Lord of Heaven and Earth This Great Man or that Parent or Master to flatter and please whom you do follow their Examples in sinning against God and your own Soul cannot afford you Protection from God's Wrath nor Rescue you from under the Stroak of Divine Vengeance No but he shall be as liable to it himself as the poorest Slave No First a Christian a Souldier of Jesus Christ is call'd out to Combat against the wicked Examples of the World as much as against any one sort of Enemy in his Christian Warfare I. A Christian is call'd out to Combat against the wicked Examples of the World as much as against any one sort of Enemy in his Christian Warfare and be they never so many never so mighty he must not be over-born by 'em so as to Conform himself unto 'em and either Renounce his Faith or commit any Sin by the influence of such numerous and mighty Examples We read the 2d of Kings that in the Days of wicked Ahab the whole People of Israel were so Apostatiz'd from the true Religion that Elisha thought there was but himself left alone who had not through the influence of so many Idolatrous Examples and the Power of that wicked Prince together with the Corruption of their own Hearts so prone to Idolatry he thought there was Not one man left in Israel who had not bowed his knee to Baal But he was never the more stagger'd for
turn'd upside down The Affections Lusts and Appetites do now Reign and Reason and Conscience are dragg'd after them in miserable Slavery And as to the Will of an Unregenerate Man the most that it can do is not without Reluctance and Regret to comply with the Temptations of the Senses like him in St. Paul I know that in me that is in my Flesh dwelleth no good thing for to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I find not for the Good that I would I do not but the Evil which I would not that I do Rom. 7.18 19. The best that can be suppos'd of the Unregenerate Man is this that after the Preaching of the Laws of God to him and a Divine Light has been let thereby into his Understanding he does approve in his own Mind of the Ways of God as most excellent Such was he in St. Paul Rom. 7.22 I delight in the Law of God after the inward Man that is according to the Understanding or Superiour Faculty contrary to the carnal or bodily part of him such a one does approve of what the Laws of God do prescribe But then alas he must own that he sees another Law in his Members warring against the Law of his Mind and bringing him into Captivity to the Law of Sin which is in his Members v. 23. So that the State of an Unregenerate Man is a State of meer Confusion Disorder and Rebellion the Affections Lusts and Appetites rising up in Opposition to the Dictates of the Mind and Conscience And it is a State of meer Impotency and Weakness the Mind and Conscience being so far unable to govern the Affections Lusts and Appetites that these latter get the better of the day carry the Mind and Reason captive and force it slavishly to do what the Flesh requires to have done by it so exceedingly spoil'd and broken in the Unregenerate Nature is all that Excellent Frame and Constitution wherein Man was at first Created 2. And consequently then the Image of God wherein Man was at first Created must needs be miserably defaced 2. The Image of God wherein he was first Created defac'd in a State of Unregeneracy For why In that Excellent Perfection and Order which appear'd in the Frame and Constitution of Humane Nature it was that those lively Strokes of the Divine Power Wisdom and Goodness were plainly visible But as a mishapen and monstrous Picture in which there is nothing of Regularity and good Feature cannot without Injury be said to Resemble some Excellent and Goodly Personage so neither can the defac'd and deform'd Nature of an Unregenerate Man be said to be made after the Likeness of God Some Faint and Remote Resemblances true it is do still remain under all those Defacements even as in the Ruines of a Stately Palace there may appear something of Admirable Architecture There is still remaining in the most Corrupt Nature True it is that part of the Image of God which consisted in those things which are Essential to Man as Man that is the Soul and all its Faculties of Understanding Will and Affections these do still remain the same for Substance as they were before But the Image of God as it consists in our Moral Perfections viz. in the Order and good Harmony of the several Faculties of Humane Nature with respect one to another and in that Perfection which did Originally belong to each single Faculty The Image of God I say in this respect is miserably defac'd in the Natural Man As to the good Harmony of the several Faculties and Powers of Humane Nature you have already seen how that is spoil'd And as to the Perfection which should be in every one of these several Faculties that in an Vnregenerate Man is very little Alas in his Understanding what is there now but Blindness and Darkness What in his Will but Stubborness and Perverseness What in his Affections but Violence and Disorder And what in his Lusts and Appetites but Sensuality and Irregularity So sadly is the whole Nature of the Unregenerate Man Corrupted so that little or nothing of the Image of God does now remain in him But Lastly Above all Man in his Unregenerate Nature is now miserably Alter'd from what he was in that all the Faculties and Powers of Soul and Body instead of Inclining towards and Centring upon God and Heavenly Things tend downwards towards the Creature Lastly the Tendency of all the Faculties both of Soul and Body are towards the Creature As to the Appetites and Desires in the Unregenerate they are in a manner wholly sensual and are hardly ever to be satisfy'd with what Gratifies the Senses The Affections also are wholly set upon Worldly Enjoyments and the Will does also preferr and chuse such far before Spiritual Consolations And what is more in the Unregenerate Man the very Mind and Conscience is defil'd Tit. 1.15 And they who are after the Flesh do mind the things of the Flesh Rom. 8.5 do mind Earthly Things Phil. 3.14 Their whole Thoughts and Contrivances their Meditations and Purposes are wholly upon those poor and paltry Vanities of this World and are altogether taken up in making Provisions for the Flesh and their Hearts and Affections cling closely and solely to the Earth Hence it is said of such that they live after the Flesh Rom. 8.13 and that they walk after the Flesh 2 Pet. 2.10 they are so wholly Addicted to Fleshly and Worldly Things And thus you see what is meant by the Flesh And now it is time to consider in what sense and how far we must Renounce the Flesh And 1. The Flesh must be Renounc'd by our being Renew'd in the whole Frame and Constitution of our Nature after the Image of God To Renounce 〈◊〉 Flesh is be renewed 〈◊〉 the whole â—rame and â—â—nstitution 〈◊〉 our Nature â—â—ter the Iâ—age of God Thus we are commanded Eph. 4.22.23 24. to put off concerning the former Conversation the Old Man which is corrupt according to the deceitful Lusts and to be Renewed in the Spirit of our Minds and to put on that New Man which after God is Created in Righteousness and true Holiness So that the whole Corrupt Nature must be Restor'd as near as it can to its first Constitution and that Divine Likeness wherewith it was then stamp'd That is the Mind which is now covered with Darkness and Ignorance must be Enlightned with true and practical Knowledge Ye have put on the New Man which is Renewed in Knowledge after the Image of him that Created him Col. 3.10 The Will which is now obstinately bent against the Ways of Righteousness must be made compliant with God's Will The Affections which are now set upon Worldly Things must be called off from these Earthly Vanities and fix'd upon Spiritual and Heavenly Objects And Lastly the Lusts and Appetites which in the State of Nature are continually Rebelling against the Mind must be Reduc'd to their Original
the Understanding and Reason and do carry the Will into Slavery to ' em I will take the whole Frame of this our depraved Nature in pieces that so viewing that Corruption which residing in every of the Faculties and Powers thereof renders all of 'em so many sinful Lusts of the Flesh we may be better able to Renounce each of those sinful and fleshly Lusts And First let us consider that Corruption which Resides in the Mind and renders it Fleshly and consequently the Motions even of the Intellectual part of our Nature no better than sinful Lusts of the Flesh The sinful Lusts of the Fleshly Mind what And our Understanding alas which should be full of Divine Knowledge such as may be a Lamp unto our Feet and a Light unto our Paths is in the Unregenerate Man full of Vanity Ignorance of and Prejudice against Divine Truths The Unregenerate Man neither understands nor seeks after God Rom. 3.11 He likes not to Retain God in his Knowledge or to consider any thing concerning him but is vain in his Imaginations having his foolish heart darkned Rom. 1.21 28. Nay the best Habits of the Mind in the Unregenerate Man are Corrupt having the Vnderstanding darkn'd being Alienated from the Life of God through the Ignorance that is in them Eph. 4.18 And hence it comes to pass that whereas the great and proper Appetite of the Mind is after Knowledge an Appetite which God hath put into the Soul of Man and so a thing Beautiful and Good This very desire of Knowledge becomes a sinful Lust of the Fleshly Mind in several Cases particularly in these following viz. when either we misplace our Desires of Knowledge upon wrong Objects or when we do immoderately study to be exquisitely skill'd in Humane tho' Lawful Arts and Sciences to the Neglect and Contempt of Divine Knowledge And Lastly when out of Pride Prejudice and contradiction to all sacred Truths we set up our own Fleshly Imaginations and Reasonings against the Spiritual Notions that are dictated to us And accordingly such our Appetites or Desires even of Knowledge it self must be Renounced as so many sinful Lusts of a Fleshly Mind And first we must Renounce the Desires of Knowing wrong Objects that is we must not Gratifie but Mortifie our Desires of Knowing such Things which are either Hurtful to be known 1 When we are curious to know Things which are either Hurtful to be Known or are not proper for Man to know Now as to this we are to consider that there is a certain Distemper of Mind called Curiosity which as it is of like Nature so it is of full as hurtful and Mischievous Effects to the Mind as that Distemper is to the Body which stirs up Persons to eat Chalk or Coals or Trash or whatever affords either none at all or a very ill Nourishment Such is the Curiosity of Knowing Evil which was the thing that ruin'd our first Parents and afterwards Solomon and since him many other Persons Such are they who have a great Desire to taste those Pleasures which are in Sin and by Tasting of 'em their Minds are defil'd and their Morals Corrupted and it is seldom that they do ever after return to have a right Judgment of Good or Evil. Thus hurtful is the Knowledge of some things so that it is much better to be Ignorant thereof than to know ' em Again there are others whose Curiosity gives 'em a strange Itch to know Hidden Things such as are not proper for Man to know Or not proper for Man to know as the Decrees of Predestination and the Counsels of God's Will which is the Ark that no Mortal Eye ought to look into And many are wonderfully Inquisitive to learn the Future Events of Kingdoms and States and of their own and others private Fortunes And therefore it is that they are so apt to give heed to every pretended Prophecy and thô few are so very wicked as to Consult Evil Spirits themselves by Magical Arts yet Multitudes will make no scruple to Resort to Fortune-tellers and Conjurers and those that do consult 'em or are reputed to do thô it be an Impiety so severely threatned Deut. 18.11 12. But all Curious Enquiries whatever into the Secrets of God's Providence are to be Renounc'd by us Christians as being the Gratifications only of a sinful Curiosity Secret things belong unto the Lord our God but those things which are Reveal'd unto us and our Children for ever that we may do all the words of his Law Deut. 29.29 â— When we do â—mmoderately â—tudy to be Exquisitely Skill'd in whatever Humane Arts and Sciences to the Neglect or Contempt of Divine Knowledge 2. We must Renounce that as a sinful Lust of the Fleshly Mind which improportionably to the true worth of things is more desirous to furnish it self with the Knowledge of what concerns only this Mortal Life than with the Knowledge of those Divine Truths which direct us to Life Everlasting Now this is Life Eternal or that Knowledge which leadeth and directs us to Life Eternal That we know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent Joh. 17.3 But alas such is the Folly of the Carnally and Worldly wise that most Persons do neglect the Knowledge of God and the Christian Religion as if it were little worth when certainly in the end there is nothing will stand us in that stead as this sort of Knowledge Some there are whose whole search is for the Causes and Cures of Bodily Distempers and yet alas all is but Guess and Conjecture and an ordinary Malady not very seldom baffles the most Learned Physician and he sits down heavy in Disgrace and Disappointment But the Knowledge of God and Religion if duly apply'd never fails to Cure the Soul of all its Infirmities nor will it fail to fill the Mind with the Sweetest Comforts and Satisfactions Others you shall have who desire and care for nothing more than good Skill in the Laws of their Countrey whereby they may raise themselves good Estates in this World but alas such Knowledge can only serve a present Interest but by the Knowledge of our Christianity we may be able to provide our selves Bags that wax not old Eternal in the Heavens Some are wholly bent upon Merchandize and Trade but when the most Skilful Pilot shall split upon the Rocks or be foundred in the Sands he who has Heaven in his Eye may steer his Course without danger through the roughest Billows of Adverse Fortune And others there are who seem to aim at no higher Knowledge than how to Till their Land and feed their Cattle and when after all the Crop fails the most painful Husbandman he who knows the Laws of Christianity need not fear a joyful and a plentiful Harvest so excellent and useful is Divine Knowledge above all other Arts and Sciences Not that I would cast a Disparagement upon them they are the Gift of God and useful
squeamishly Refuse â—he Objection â—rom Rom. 7 â—leared But that you may not make Shipwrack of a good Conscience by falling into the usual Mistakes about the sense of this place you are to know that St. Paul's design in this 7th to the Romans being to Represent the Ill Condition of the Jews as under the Law of Moses which only Enlightn'd their Minds so far as to Convince 'em of many things to be Sins which otherwise they could not have known to be such but gave no power to 'em to overcome those Lusts because the Jews could not bear such a Charge against themselves and their Law he does suppose himself in the case of a mere Jew and personating such a one does accordingly argue as from experience against the Converting power of the mere Law of Moses which was destitute of those Assistances afforded in the Gospel And this is a Scheme and Figure of Speech usual with this Apostle in many other places Thus for their sakes he did transfer in a Figure those things to himself which could not be personally spoken of him 1 Cor. 4.6 And nothing is more usual than the same way of speaking amongst Men especially in Reproofs and such cases as would be ill Resented to be downright charg'd withal but when we say We do so and so under this disguise it is usual with more Success and less Offence to Disparage and Correct very Ill Practices But that St. Paul should speak it of himself when he tells 'em That he saw another Law in his Members warring against the Law of his Mind and bringing him into Capiivity to the Law of Sin which was in his Members and that with the Mind he did serve the Law of God but with the Flesh the Law of Sin is contrary both to what he affirms elsewhere of himself and of those who are truly Regenerate For of himself he affirms Rom. 8.2 That the Law of the Spirit of Liâ—e had made him free from the Law of Sin and Death And Ver. 1. he says of those who are in Christ Jesus and to whom Condemnation does not belong and who are consequently Regenerate that they walk not after the Flesh We must Renounce the Flesh and all â—ts Sinful Lusts so as to have an Averâ—ion an Antiâ—athy in our hearts thereunto but after the Spirit And Gal. 5.24 it is said that they who are Christs have Crucify'd the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts In short therefore and to draw towards a Conclusion we must not content our selves in this great Work of Renouncing ALL the sinful Lusts of the Flesh that we have our Minds enlightned so as to know what we ought to do whilst our Affections and bodily Powers do remain Rebellious against the Dictates of our Minds and Consciences But we must have our whole Natures possess'd with an Aversion an Antipathy from the very Heart against all Sin and we must have both the Mind Will and Affections nay the very Lusts and Appetites fully bent against it And we must have on the contrary a hearty Love and Disposition to all Vertue wrought in all the same Faculties both of Soul and Body VVe must be Renewed in the Spirit of our Minds and put on the New Man which after God is Created in Righteousness and true Holiness Eph. 4.23 24. And when a Person is thus inwardly Chang'd throughout in all the Faculties and Powers of Soul and Body it is then only that he can be truly said to be a New Creature a New Man And this indeed This the hard Part. to become thus Renew'd in the Spirit of our Minds so as to have the Heart and Affections set against Sin and sinful Pleasures as well as the Mind Convinc'd of the Evil of 'em is the hard Work This is certain that it is not possible for any Man to work so great a Change in his Nature of himself but it is the Spirit of God that must Assist wonderfully in the doing of it And indeed That we may be said sincerely and throughly to Renounce the Flesh and ALL its sinful Lusts that Renovation of our Corrupted Nature wherein this Renuntiation does consist must be such as is wrought in us by the Spirit and Grace of God This I say because it is very possible for a Man to be Chang'd from some sensual Courses to an utter hatred thereof and yet remain in God's Eyes a Carnal and Vnregenerate Man and the reason is because his Change proceeds not from any Inward Vital Principle of Vertue but from some prudential Methods in the management of his Pleasures as some the most sensual Epicures that live shall become at length temperate and sober because their Constitutions will not bear a Debauch but as the Spirit of God had nothing to do in the Change so in their Hearts and Minds they remain still to be sensual And others again you shall meet who have a full Conviction in their Minds and Consciences through the preaching of the Word of the Evil of Sin and yet in their Affectiens they Love it and their Lusts and Appetites Rebelling against the Reason of their Mind will have it and their Wills do finally chuse it so that these Persons with the Mind do serve the Law of God but with the Flesh the Law of Sin as St. Paul in that much mistaken Chapter Rom. 7.25 does represent as was now shew'd you the Case of the Carnal Jew abiding only under the Conviction of the Law But where the Spirit of God works the Change that Person is Sanctify'd wholly and the whole Spirit and Soul and Body will be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Thes 5.23 So that such a Person shall effectually Renounce the Flesh and All its sinful Lusts both of the Inward and of the Outward Man And accordingly as we will draw nigh to God and have him draw nigh to us we must cleanse our hands and purifie our hearts and not be double-minded James 4.8 We must through the help of his Grace Cleanse our selves from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the Fear of God 2 Cor. 7.1 We must be always I say in the perfecting of one degree after another our Holiness and that Image of God which we lost by our Fall for the subduing of All our Lusts must be the Work of Time and it is not of a sudden that we can get an intire Conquest over 'em ALL. But if in our Strivings against 'em we find our selves still more and more to get ground upon 'em we are in a hopeful Condition In a Word therefore Brethren we are Debtors not to the Flesh to live after the Flesh for if ye live after the Flesh ye shall die but if through the Spirit ye do Mortifie the Deeds of the Body ye shall live for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God Rom. 12.13 14. The Reason of having enlarg'd so
his Name to all Nations Thus has God provided us of means which will most certainly restore us to his Favour He has not left us in a forsaken state but has prescribed us this Method of Repentance to recover us out of it and to be the great Instrument of our Pardon and Reconciliation And our Repentance through the Mediation of Christ will be accepted for our Pardon whatever our Sins have been whether known or unknown whether they have been wilful or involuntary Sins Repentance will be accepted to our pardon for our known or secret Sins whether wilfully or unwilly committed but now forgot though generally repented of 2. For our most known and wilful Sins if particularly repented of First Our unknown or secret Sins which whether wilfully or unwillingly we have committed but now we have forgot shall be forgiven us upon our hearty though general Prayer to God to forgive us such as was that of David O cleanse me from my secret Faults Psal 19.12 and upon our diligent care hereafter not knowingly and wilfully to transgress any of God's Laws And Secondly Our most unknown and wilful Sins even they shall also be forgiven us if for every particular Sin we know our selves to have committed we particularly repent of it by confessing it to God and by taking care to amend and forsake it for the future 'Till we are reclaimed indeed from our former Sins and are become God's dutiful Sons and faithful Servants for the present and for the future it is not consistent with the Honour of his Justice and Holiness with the Authority of his Laws and with the Wisdom of his Government to receive us into his Favour But as soon as ever we are conscientiously reform from our Sins he will be reconciled to us if we are heartily sorry for what has been past and amended for the future and in case of Injury and Wrong done to God or Man we undo as much as in us lies what has been done amiss by making amends and reparation for what we have injured either We cannot be said to repent of a Sin unless we undo And in case of Injury to Man if Restitution be made as much as in us lies what has been done amiss Therefore if any one has offended his Neighbour and given him just cause of Anger against him he that will truly repent and expect that God will hear his Prayers for his Pardon must go and acknowledge his Offence endeavour to appease his Neighbour and be reconciled to him for so our Saviour has ordered Matth 5.23 before he offer his Prayer to God And he that has injured his Neighbour either by taking away his good Name by Slander or his Goods by wrong Dealing must take off the Slander and restore what he has unjustly got and so did good Zacheus upon his Repentanee we find Luke 19.8 when he embraced the Gospel And so likewise towards the Reparation of God's Honour I must needs add as a necessary part of Repentance Of high Dishonour to God and Religion if that be not repaired by an eminent Repentance that he who has formerly liv'd a very notorious and scandalously ill Life to the great Dishonour of God and Religion must now towards the Reparation of God's Honour be as famous for his eminent and exemplary Piety that his Repentance may be accepted a private Sorrow for publick Scandals falling vastly short of undoing what has been done amiss in which consists the restitutive part of Repentance The necessity of this we have exemplified in the case of the Woman who washed our Saviour's Feet with her Tears and wiped them with the Hair of her Head Luke 7.44 She had formerly it seems been a very vile Woman but the reason why her Sins which were many were forgiven is said by our Saviour to have been because she loved much vers 47. And thus if we do repent our Sins shall not be imputed to us but through the Merits of Christ's Death and the Grace of the Gospel they shall be looked upon as if they had never been And thus I have shewed you that other great Difference betwixt that Obedience required now under the Covenant of Grace and the Obedience required by the First Covenant That whereas the Obedience required by the First was a Perfect Exact Vnsinning Obedience the never Offending at all Now not only our involuntary Sins and Infirmities but also our most voluntary and and wilful Transgressions when by Repentance we bewail and forsake 'em and take better care to avoid 'em for the future they also through the Mediation of Christ according to the Terms he has obtained for us in the Covenant of Grace shall be forgiven us and not prejudice our being Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven And upon the whole I have now shewed you The sum of Evangelical Obedience as to all that Obedience required now under the Gospel to make us Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven that there is not required indeed a Perfect Exact Unsinning Obedience the never offending in any one part which was the indispensible Condition of the First Covenant but there must be a Sincere and Entire Obedience paid to all the Laws of the Gospel Sincere it must be by being a true and undissembled Service Obeying 'em not only because most for our Health and Interest as generally the Laws of Religion are but even where they are contrary to our Inclinations and Interest because God commands us And entire it must be by being the Obedience of the whole Man of our Understanding our Wills our Affections and our Actions to the whole Law of God and that at all times And this if we endeavour the best we can to do that our unwilling and involuntary Failings which through Ignorance and Frailty we commit shall upon our Prayers to God be forgiven us and that our wilful Transgressions when we repent of and forsake 'em through the Mediation of Christ and the Grace of the Gospel shall not be imputed to our Condemnation In a word That Obedience to speak also in the Words of the Learned Dr. Hammond The sum also thereof according to Dr. Hammond which is the Condition of the Second Covenant and of our being made Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven Negatively it is not a Perfect Exact Unsinning Obedience the never offending at all in any kind of Sin this is the Condition of the First Covenant Nor secondly is it never to have committed any deliberate Sin in the former course of our Lives Nor thirdly never to have gone on or continued in any habitual or customary Sin for the time past But it is positively the New Creature or Renewed Sincere Honest Faithful Obedience to the whole Gospel giving up the whole Heart unto Christ the performing of that which God enables us to perform and bewailing our Infirmities and Frailties and Sins both of the past and present Life and beseeching God's Pardon in Christ for all such and
Devotion towards God Justice and Charity towards their Neighbour and a subjecting of their Lusts and Appetites to right Reason which is the great Duty to themselves I say Christians must as much distinguish themselves from the profane Crew of Idolatrous and Wicked Heathens and Unbelieving Jews by an exact and regular and a better Life as the Jews were to distinguish themselves from the Idolatrous and Wicked Heathens in those days by a Ritual Holiness Nay And does he call us a Royal Priesthood Why this he does here and also Rev. 1.6 where we are told That Christ hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father And what doth this import but that we are as much to exceed both Jews and Gentiles in holy Living as the Priests among the Jews were to excel the rest of the People in a Legal Purity and Cleanness Christians are to shew themselves to be Kings by their Victories over the World the Flesh and the Devil over Sin and Satan and they are to be as it were Priests because they are to present their Bodies a living Sacrifice Holy acceptable unto God which is our reasonable Service and are not to be conformed to this World but to be transformed by the renewing of their Minds Rom. 12.1 2. And are to offer up the Sacrifice of Praise continually the Praises of God Heb. 13.15 They are to offer charitable Alms which are called an Odour of a sweet smell a Sacrifice acceptable and well-pleasing unto God Phil 4.18 This is the Importance of those high Expressions of St. Peter and this indeed do the following Words declare But ye are a Chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood an Holy Nation a Peculiar People that ye should shew forth the Praises of Him who hath called us out of Darkness into his marvellous Light And indeed so much it concerns us who are Members of Christ's Church to distinguish our selves from the rest of the World by our excellent Lives far above other People that our Blessed Saviour came into the World died and suffered all those stupendious Things recorded in the Gospel all on this very Design To purchase such a Body of Men that should more peculiarly and zealously serve God and to work and persuade us to it Thus Tit. 2.14 it is said That he gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works And hence were all his Discourses and Preachings to us especially that most divine Sermon upon the Mount to raise all his Disciples and Followers to the highest pitch and perfection of moral Vertue and Goodness He came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfil them Matth. 5.27 That is to enlarge and encrease our Duties to God and Man and to our selves to make the Obedience of the Heart as necessary as that of the outward Man to make the very Thoughts of Uncleanness criminal as well as Adultery it self And in a word hence does he require of us his Members that our Light should so shine before Men that they might see our good Works and glorifie our Father which is in Heaven vers 16. That is he requires that by the Eminence of all divine Graces and Vertues shining in our Lives we should be as a Candle set on an Hill to enlighten the benighted and bewildred World straying in the darkness of Ignorance and Errour that they might find their way by the Brightness of our Examples to Heaven and Happiness And by the savourliness lastly of our good Conversation he requires that we should be as Salt in the World to season the corrupted Manners of Men. Such strong Obligations lie upon us as Members of Christ's Church to be faithful in our Covenant that is to perform all due Obedience unto God Secondly Nor is the consideration of our being Children of God 2. As Children of God less fruitful of good Arguments shewing us those vast Obligations lying upon us faithfully and conscienciously to discharge our Covenant with him There is no relation that is which does speak more of Duty and Duty sounded upon better Reasons than that of a Child to his Father A Wifâ— owes some Duty and Observance to her Husband because the Husband is the Head of the Wife a Servant to his Master because from him he has Provision a Subject to his Prince Children are bound to the strictest Obedience to their Parents as owing to 'em their Being because of Protection But a Child owes his very Life and Being and all that he has is originally derived from his Parent Especially this is so with the Children of God upon a double account both that of Creation and that of Adoption Consider us as the Children of God with respect to Creation and not only our Life and Being but all Things necessary to the support and maintenance of this Being of ours that it falls not back into Annihilation and Nothing is wholly owing to that God whose Offspring we are according to that of the Apostle Acts 17.28 In him we live and move and have our Being for we are his Offspring But consider us who are Baptized Christians farther as the Children of God by Adoption and then over and above our Being and all that belongs to it our Well-being also both in this and a better Life is wholly of his Gift For if Children of God as St. Paul does argue Rom. 8.17 then Heirs Heirs with God and joint Heirs with Christ so that if we suffer with him we shall be also glorified together And now if for Life and Being and also for all that Well-being Children of God as owing both Being and Well being too which we have or hope to enjoy in this or the Life to come we wholly and entirely depend upon God our Father Do we not then owe to him as his Children all the Duty all the Observance and all the Diligence possible in the discharge of such Duty and Observance This the very Light of Nature teaches us but the Scripture does most expresly upon that very score of being his Children require of us A Son honoureth his Father and a Servant his Master says God by his Prophet Mal. 1.6 If I then be a Father where is mine Honour And if I be a Master where is my Fear And upon the same score of our being Children of God does St. Peter most earnestly exhort us to a Renunciation of the World and our filthy Lusts and to a faithful and careful discharge of our Duty to God our Father As Obedient Children says he 1 Epist 1.14 15. not fashioning your selves according to the former Lusts in your Ignorance but as he which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of Conversation And vers 17. If ye call on the Father that is profess your selves the Sons of your Heavenly Father who without respect of Persons judgeth every Man according to his Works can see Blemishes and
perform the Covenant of Grace We were obliged to perform all that Duty which we therein engaged to perform by the very Law of Nature upon the account of our Creation and dependence upon God from whom as a Fountain we derive all the Good we already have and hope to enjoy But when moreover we come solemnly and expresly to engage our selves to the performance of such Conditions we add strength to our former Obligations tying 'em faster upon our selves and in the breach of the Laws of God we thenceforward become not only barely disobedient but moreover faithless and Covenant-breakers and shall be therefore punish'd not only as disobedient but also as faithless and perfidious Rebels Nor does it in the least lessen the Obligation that this Vow was made by others for you in your Infancy for not to prove to you now which shall be done in its due place that it is in the Power of Parents or Guardians to oblige their Minors to the Performance of Conditions without their own express Consent at that time provided there shall considerable Advantages accrue to 'em thereby it is moreover plain from Scripture that Parents may devote their Children to the Service of God in a very peculiar manner and therefore they had Power to devote us to the Worship of the True God as prescribed us in the Gospel or New Covenant to which Covenant we shall therefore stand obliged as much as if in our Persons we had Vowed and Engaged our selves to perform it Of this Power in Parents we see an instance in Samuel 1 Sam. 1.11 Nor is the thing contrary to Reason and natural Equity the Philosopher himself affirming that both the Parents may devote the Children whilst young as they please since Children at that Age are to be accounted not so much at their own as at their Parents disposal The thing is just and reasonable and therefore it is highly criminal in us to break that Baptismal Vow A Vow is much of the nature of an Oath and therefore to violate it is Perjury It is a sin much of the nature of Perjury a Vow and an Oath being promiscuously used in Scripture as Numb 30.13 one for another And indeed as to our Baptismal Vow since therein God is made a Witness a Judge and a Revenger it is in its full importance no less than and Oath and the violating thereof would be Perjury He is called to as a Witness of our Sincerity in what we do promise and oblige our selves thereby to do He is appeal'd to as a Judge of our Performance whether we are faithful or not And as he is a God that will not be mocked he will certainly be a Revenger and a severe one too if we shall falsly and perfidiously brake our Vows of Renouncing the World the Flesh and the Devil of Believing in God and Obeying Him and shall on the contrary give our selves up to the Service of Sin and Satan live like those that Believe not God nor the Christian Religion and in perfect contradiction to the Apostle's Rule deny not all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts as we are commanded and have promised but deny to live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World In such a case I say he will be a severe Revenger of our Perjury and of our Apostacy I say of our Apostacy for he will then consider us not as ordinary Sinners but as those who have in effect renounced our Religion and will allot to us therefore not the ordinary measures of Punishment due to unbelieving Jews Turks and Infidels but extraordinary ones such as are due to faithless and perfidious Renegado's Oh it had been happy for us if we had never been Baptized if after those Vows we have therein made to do all we can to destroy Satan's Kingdom and the Power of Sin in the World we shall fight against God by our impious and wicked Deeds Better it is that thou shouldst not Vow than that thou shouldst Vow and not pay Eccl. 5.5 It is a less fault not to Vow at all than having Vowed not to perform the one being but a Neglect the other an Affront nay a Contempt of his Majesty who will not suffer a scorn to be put upon himself What shall I say why take therefore the Advice of the Wise Man v. 4. When thou vowest a Vow unto God deferr not to pay it for he hath no pleasure in Fools pay that which thou hast Vowed And say resolutely with Holy David Psal 119.106 I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous Judgments I have solemnly resolved and bound my self by the most sacred Ties which I will never break but do now confirm that I will carefully perform my part of the Covenant which I find to be most just and good The End of the First Volume THE CONTENTS LECTURE the First THe Meaning of the word Catechize The Definition of a Catechism pag. 1 Christian Religion What First A Moral good Life an essential part of Christianity pag. 2 Secondly To act Vertuously upon Christian Principles Thirdly Dependance upon the Mediation of Christ that our imperfect Righteousness may be accepted also necessary pag. 3 Such Dependance the distinguishing Character of a true Christian Dependance upon Christ necessary to take down an arrogant Conceit of our own Righteousness a Temper of Mind most displeasing to God pag. 4 The Nature of Fundamental Principles An Enumeration of Fundamental Principles First The general Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace Secondly The Articles of our Christian Faith pag. 5 Thirdly The Laws of the Ten Commandments Fourthly The Doctrine of Prayer and of the Sacraments A Catechism ought not to be crouded with any thing more than what is purely Fundamental to a good Life here and Happiness hereafter pag. 6 A Catechism is a general Instruction in the Fundamental Principles of Christianity Such were the Ancient and Apostolical Catechisms And such is our Church Catechism The Persons that are to be Catechized are every Person pag. 7 The necessity of every Person 's being well grounded in Religious Principles by Catechetical Instruction The Contempt hereof is the effect of Pride and the cause of Ignorance pag. 8 The Seeds of Vertue and Principles of Religion can never be too soon sown in Childrens Hearts However a clear Understanding of Catechetical Doctrines is attainable only by Persons grown up to some Years of Discretion It is not below Persons of any Age or Quality to lay the Foundation of their Knowledge in Catechetical Instruction The End of Catechizing to prepare for Confirmation Confirmation What pag. 9 Confirmation necessary First As a solemn Ratification of the Covenant with God Secondly As it consists in the Episcopal Benediction and laying on of Hands Confirmation Beneficial First As the solemn Profession therein made imprints serious Thoughts and religious Resolutions pag. 10 Secondly As the Episcopal Benediction Prayers and laying on of Hands have spiritual Blessings attending them pag.
of Riches Men do run themselves into many grievous Sins As also into many miserable Snares so as to be hardly ever able to disentangle themselves out of ' em For as Restitution is necessary to Peace with God so it is extreamly difficult to be willing or able afterwards to make pag. 146 Secondly And no less Temptations are those subject to who do possess ' em In the Possession of Riches Men are Tempted to the highest Offences against God their Neighbour and Themselves But lastly the great Sins of all are occasion'd by a Lothness to part with and a Fear of losing ' em pag. 147 From a lothness to part with Riches arises Unmercifulness to Men. From the Fear of losing 'em Apostacy from God In what sence and how far Riches are to be Renounced pag. 148 In General being they are not Evil in themselves they are in Cases only to be Renounced by us wherein we cannot without Sin Pursue Possess or Retain them As First Riches consider'd in the Getting no Man must so put his Heart upon 'em as to Esteem 'em his chiefest Good and Happiness Nor must he labour after 'em with immoderate Care so as to neglect the great Duties of Religion and Devotion Especially he must beware of Enriching himself by unjust Means pag. 149 Particularly not by Sacriledge Whoever has unjustly gain'd any thing must renounce it by making Restitution thereof Secondly Riches consider'd in the Possession are to be renounced by paring off those Superfluities which tempt Idleness and Luxury Pride and Insolence and an Idolatrous Trust in Riches and by bestowing it to Pious and Charitable Uses pag. 150 And Lastly By suffering the Loss thereof rather than Apostatize from the Faith pag. 152 LECT XV. What is meant by the Honours of this World and in what Sence and how far they are to be Renounced What is meant by Honour properly and strictly What in the general Meaning of the word pag. 153 First Nobility or Gentility The original Nature of Nobility or Gentility The Abuses it is subject to and in what Instances to be renounced First A Gentleman be he of what Rank or Quality soever must utterly renounce all that Honour which pretends to Place him above the Laws of God or Man and beyond Reproof or Punishment when he has Violated either pag. 154 Such a One is bound above others to be a strict and orderly Liver and upon his Failure is more open to Reproof and more liable to be severely Punished Secondly As also that which exalts Persons above their Brethren to that degree as to despise and oppress the rest of Mankind as if they were but a lower Rank of Creatures and had not the same God to their Father Bodies Form'd out of the same Clay and Souls as Excellent in their Natures and as capable of Improvements as precious in God's sight and as much the Heirs of Heaven as their own pag. 155 Thirdly Such ought even to Renounce all Pretensions to Honour who have degenerated from those worthy Qualities which Ennobled their Ancestors pag. 156 This the Determination of our Saviour and his Apostles in their Case Lastly And such ought to Renounce all Pretensions to Honour amongst Christians at least-wise who despise Religion and its chiefest Vertues as Qualities beneath ' em But if such are accounted Honourable by vain Men they are Despicable in the Eyes both of God and of all Wise and Good Men. pag. 157 The Summ how far Paternal Honour is to be Renounced Secondly In what Sence and how far Civil Honour is to be Renounced whether the Favour of Princes or the Effects of their Favour Posts of Honour pag. 158 These kind of Honours and outward Glories are dazling and bewitching Things But First A Prince's Favour tho' extreamly Valuable when it can be had without Sin yet no Man must gain possess or retain it by wicked Arts or sinful Compliances Nor Secondly the Effects of their Favours high Places and Titles of Honour First In the obtaining of these no Man must grasp at that which is above his Capacities and Abilities to manage to the Publick Good pag. 159 This Mischievous to the State This Mischievous to the Church Nor Secondly ought Persons of the best Capacities and greatest Abilities be over-eager and importunate in their Suits and Applications to those who bestow them pag. 160 Thirdly How far and in what Sence that Honour which consists in the high Esteem and Reputation of the wise and vertuous part of Mankind is to be Renounc'd This is what the Wise Man calls a Good Name and is more Valuable than Riches or precious Ointments pag. 161 It is a more peculiar Blessing than any the greatest Treasures and procures better Security to our Persons and Estates It is a necessary Qualification to the Episcopal Promotion It is Comfortable to a Man 's own self pag. 162 And smells Sweet in the World It renders a Person capable of doing Good in it And active in Promoting it A desire of Reputation and Credit is a thing Implanted in our Natures by God And to preserve a Reputation untainted and unsuspected of Evil is a Duty enjoin'd us by his Laws pag. 163 Nevertheless even a Good Name is in some measure to be Renounced by us and the Temptations it gives us As First we must so far Renounce the Honour that shall accrue to us from our good Works as not to make our own Glory the End and Reason of any Good we do pag. 164 Secondly We must not affect but renounce those Praises which are above our Deserts Thirdly We must beware of taking the Honour and Respects given us for any worthy Performances wholly to our selves and of not transferring it to God to whom the Glory of all that is Good in us does properly belong pag. 165 Fourthly We must abhor making a Reputation for Religion an Instrument only to our own Advancement But must use the Authority our Credit gives us to discountenance Vice and to encourage Vertue in the World pag. 166 Fifthly As valuable as is a Good Name and Reputation amongst Men we must renounce all undue Means of preserving it Such are Duelling upon the account of Slanders amongst the great Ones Going to Law thereupon usual amongst common People Lastly We must utterly renounce and forfeit the Esteem of Men rather than incur the Dis-favour of God pag. 167 Fourthly How far that Honour is to be renounced which consists in the Applauses of the Vulgar upon what they do account Praise-worthy and Honourable pag. 168 This sort of Honour must be utterly and absolutely renounced Lastly In what Sence and how far we must renounce those outward Expressions of Respect either by Word or Deed which are usually given upon the account of any of the foremention'd Honours pag. 169 First No Created Being either Men or Angels must suffer those Respects to be given them whether by word or deed which are proper and peculiar to signify our sence of God's Majesty
Heart the Lord will not hear me Psal 66.18 Nay so absolutely an Evil is Sin and so Absolutely and Entirely it is to be Renounc'd by us that the least Sinful Action is not to be committed in order to attain the greatest Good So little a Sin as an Officious Lie must not be told no not to save a Man's Life Nor a Pious Fraud nor a Holy Cheat committed to promote the Good of the Church and to Secure and Propagate what we take to be the True Religion For if the Truth of God hath more Abounded through my Lie unto his Glory why yet am I judged as a Sinner Whereas he who telleth such a Kind and Serviceable Lie will certainly be Judg'd as such and as it follows Whosoever shall say Let us do Evil that Good may come of it his Damnation is just Rom. 3.7 8. So that every Christian must Absolutely and Entirely Renounce the Devil and all his Works of Sin And indeed it is but to consider And indeed if the Nature of Satan and of Sin and the horrid Consequence of yielding to either be well consider'd it is hardly possible not absolutely and entirely to Renounce both as well as know the Nature of Satan and of Sin and the horrid Consequence of yielding to either of them and it is impossible any should not Absolutely and Entirely Renounce that is utterly Detest and Avoid and Beware of them As for the Devil why Even the Perversest of People the Israelites when it was solemnly put to their Reason and Consideration who to serve God or the Devil could not without the utmost Detestation think of the latter If it seems Evil unto you says Joshua to them Josh 24.15 16. to serve the Lord choose you this day whom you will serve whether the Gods of the Amorites in whose Land ye dwell and those Gods were no other than Devils but as for me and my house said he we will serve the Lord. And the Result was That the People answered and said God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other Gods God forbid The very Thoughts of such a Thing when they came to Consider it was Odious to them And if we did but Consider the odious Nature of Sin we should not more Abhor the Devil himself than Abandon every Sin For why He that committeth Sin is of the Devil we are told 1 Joh. 3.8 Such a One is of the Devil's Party he is a Sharer in the Devil's Rebellion against God and in his wicked Designs to destroy God's Authority And tho' he be not a Devil himself yet he is near A-kin to him and shall Partake with him as in his Rebellion so in his Punishment And who that Considers this can stick Entirely to Abandon and to Abhor so foul a Thing as Sin is But however whether People will Consider it or no However this if we do not do we shall forfeit all Right and Title to those infinite Blessings held forth in the Covenant of Grace so necessary it is that every Christian should absolutely and entirely Renounce the Devil and all his Works of Sin that this if you do not do you will forfeit all your Right and Title to those infinite Blessings held forth to you in the Covenant of Grace and Purchas'd for you by the Blood of Christ If you do not utterly Renounce the Devil by having nothing to do with him in his foul Rebellion against God you will be accounted no Members of Christ's Church but of the Synagogue of Satan as the Apostatizing Gnosticks those great Enemies of God are call'd Rev. 2.9 and that for their Halting betwixt God and Satan And except you do also utterly Renounce his Works of Sin by abandoning every known Sin as that whereby the Divine Authority is thrown aside and his Power disown'd you will be so far from being the Children of God that you will be styl'd no better than Children of the Devil For whosoever is Born of God doth not commit Sin it is said 1 Joh. 3.9 that is does keep himself strictly from all deliberate Sin And in this the Children of God are manifested and the Children of the Devil whosoever doth not Righteousness is not of God as the same Apostle goes on ver 10. And who else is it think ye but he who Overcometh both the Devil and all his Works of Sin that shall ever Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven Why he and none else shall Inherit so inestimable a Blessing we are assur'd Rev. 21.7 8. He that Overcometh shall Inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my Son But the Fearful and Vnbelieving and the Abominable and Murderers and Whoremongers and Sorcerers and Idolaters and all Liars shall have their part in the Lake that Burneth with Fire and Brimstone which is the Second Death So necessary upon these several Accounts it is that according as has been Explain'd you should Renounce that is Disclaim Abhor and Abandon the Devil and all his Works of Sin Which that you may all of you do God Almighty grant of his infinite Mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen THE Tenth Lecture First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works I Have already shew'd you First who the Devil is and Secondly in Part what are his Works All Sin whatsoever I have shew'd you is a Work of the Devil but there are some particular Sins which being more directly level'd against God's Authority and expressing more of the natural Temper and Disposition of Satan and being more his own Practice than others do more particularly deserve the Title and Character of the Works of the Devil and what they are I have shew'd you Secondly And as Sin so his Tempting of us to Sin is another main and principal Work of the Devil And I have reserv'd this Subject of Satan's Temptations to be particularly handled in some set Discourses by themselves that so I might have more room to Expose 'em to you there being no subject in Practical Divinity of greater Consequence and Concernment to our Souls than to be throughly Informed in the Ways and Methods of Satan's Temptations Now to Tempt one in the general Notion of the Word To Tempt is to make a Tryal of a Person does barely signify to make Tryal of a Person either by Words or Signs by Promises or Threats whether or no he will do such a thing And the Tempting of a Person may be Morally Good or Evil according to the End for which such a Tryal is made If the Tryal be of a Person 's Vertue To Tempt a thing morally Good or Evil according to the End thereof only that Occasion may be afforded him to give an Experiment and Proof thereof that so if he do well he may be Rewarded if Ill that his Hypocrisy and the Corruption of his Heart may be discovered and he himself Humbled with the Sight and Sence thereof to his Amendment There is nothing may