one Point he is guilty of all How is this agreeable with the Equity of the Gospel to make a Breach of one Part to be a violation of the whole Law Since he cannot keep the Law and break it at the same time and so far as he did keep it he could not be guilty of the Breach of it but if he offended but in one Point he must keep all the rest It is not enough to say that the Chain of the whole is broken and the Authority of the Law-giver contemned for there is a great difference between breaking a Chain and breaking it all to Pieces there is no such Contempt in the Breach of one Command as of all and he that keeps all the rest seems to shew more regard to his Authority in keeping the other Parts of the Law than Contempt in that wherein he offends What then is the Apostle's meaning It is that the Gospel doth not allow any wilfull Breach of the Law of God in any one kind or sort whatsoever as appears by the following words For he that said Do not commit Adultery said also Do not kill now if thou commit no Adultery yet if thou kill thou art become a Transgressor of the Law What is before said that he is guilty of all is here explained that he is a Transgressor of the Law This cannot therefore be understood of any sudden Act of Passion and Surprise nor of any Failings as to the Manner of our Duties but of a wilfull deliberate Practice of some one known Sin although the Person may be carefull to avoid many others because this is not consistent with that Integrity of Mind and that sincere Regard to God and his Laws which every good Christian ought to have and so being guilty of the whole Law is to be understood with respect to the Favour of God which can no more be expected where there is a wilfull persisting in any one known Transgression of the Law than if he were guilty of all As to Sins of Omission the words of the Text taken in their full Extent have a very mortifying Consideration in them For it is much easier to know to do good than to practise it It is hard for Men under the plain Precepts of the Gospel not to know how to do good but who is there that can say he doth all the good he knows We all know we ought to love God with all our heart and soul and strength and our Neighbour as our selves yet who can pretend to do it in the utmost latitude and extent of our Duty So that what St. Paul saith of the Law is true of the Text that it concludes all under Sin For as our Apostle saith in many things we offend all And the more we know the more we offend as he tells us in these words To him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is fin What Advantage then have we by the Gospel since the more we know of our Duty the worse our Condition is if we do not practise it and we know so much more to be our Duty than we can hope to practise that this Expression seems to leave Mankind in a more deplorable Condition under the Light of the Gospel than if we had never heard of it For if the Sin be aggravated by knowing our Duty and not doing it it must proportionably be lessened by having no Opportunities to know it Therefore for the clearing the Sense of the Apostle in these words and for the right understanding the just Measures of our Duty and the due Aggravation of our Sins it will be necessary to state and clear the Nature and Extent of Sins of Omission Or to shew how far this Rule of the Apostle holds To him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is Sin To do good here doth not barely imply something that is lawfull and commendable which it is some way in our Power to do but that to which we are under some Obligation so that it becomes our Duty to do it For a Sin of Omission must suppose an Obligation since every Sin must be a Transgression of the Law But there are several sorts of things that are good and there are different kinds of Obligation and from hence arises the Difficulty of stating the Nature of Sins of Omission which some are too little sensible of and some too much But it is in it self a Subject of so important a Nature and so seldom spoken to that I shall at this time endeavour to clear it And in order thereto we must enquire I. Into that Good which we are obliged to do II. The Nature of the Obligation we are under to do it I. As to the Good which we are obliged to do that may be considered two ways 1. With respect to God and so it implies the Duty we owe on the Account of the Relation we stand in to him 2. With respect to one another and so it implies not meer Duty but something beneficial and advantageous to others which we are in a Capacity to do 1. Our Duty with respect to God is either 1. That of our Minds which lie in internal Acts which we are bound to perform towards him 2. That which consists in external Acts of Duty and Service to him 1. The Duty which we owe to God in our Minds which is not barely to know him but frequently to consider and think of him as our Maker and Benefactor It is a strange Incogitancy in Mankind to live as without God in the World to suffer the Cares and Thoughts and Business of this World to justle God out of our Minds whom we ought in the first Place to regard If we could free our Minds from that Disorder and Confusion they are under by the strong Impressions of sensible Objects and the false Idea's of Imagination they would think of nothing so freely so frequently so delightfully as the Divine Perfections For God being the most perfect Mind other Minds that are created by him do naturally tend towards him as their Centre and are uneasie and restless like the Needle touched with the Load-stone till they are fixed towards him We meet with too many things which divert and draw them another way but it is certainly one of the most necessary Duties lying upon us to call back our Thoughts from too busie and eager a Pursuit of Earthly things and to fix them in the serious Thoughts of God and another World It is the Opinion of Aquinas and the older Casuists that assoon as ever any Person is come to the use of his Reason he is not only bound to think of God but to love him as his chief Good and that it is the most dangerous Sin of Omission not to do it The latter Casuists who think this Doctrine too severe as to the first use of Reason yet cannot deny it to hold assoon as any come to the Knowledge of
an uncertain Oral Tradition which can hardly hold the same from one End of the Town to another but by unquestionable Writings of such Authority that the Christians would rather die than deliver up their Books And in these are all those Circumstances contained which we are bound to believe as Christians among which this is one of the Chief that God sent his Son into the World for the Salvation of Mankind To summ up all I desire those who after all this pretend that they are willing to believe as much as they can and those who are liable to any Suggestions of Infidelity to consider seriously with themselves whether there can be a greater and more noble Design more becoming the Wisdom Power and Goodness of God to carry on than that of rescuing Mankind out of a miserable State and putting them into a certain way of Eternal Happiness Whether such a Design must not be discovered in some particular Age of the World with all the Circumstances relating to it Whether that Age were not the fittest of all others wherein the most remarkable Prophecies were to be accomplished as to the Coming of the Mâ—ssias while the second Temple was standing Whether the Difficulties as to humane Testimonies be not equal to all Ages and Things Whether because it is possible for all Men to deceive it be reasonable to inferr that all Men are deceived and that there is nothing but Illusion and Imposture in the World and that all Men lye and deceive for the sake of lying and deceiving But if there be a Difference to be made between Men and between Testimonies then we are to examine the different Characters of Truth and Falshood and give our Assent according to them And if after the severest Examination we do not find sufficient Reason to believe that God sent his Son into the World for the Salvation of Mankind upon such Testimonies as are given of it we must conclude all Mankind to be made up of Fraud and Imposture and that there is no such thing as Sincerity and Honesty in the World or that if there be it is not possible for others to discern it Which are such fatal Reproaches upon humane Nature that no one who pretends to any Regard to it can be guilty of For if they be Universally true they must condemn themselves if not wè must see some very particular Reason why we should not rather think them deceived than fix such an indelible Blot upon the Reputation of Mankind And surely it is a great Advantage to the Truth of Religion to find that it cannot be overthrown but by such Methods as equally overturn all Truth and Certainty and that the Faith of Christianity stands not only upon the same Bottom with the common Faith of Mankind But if we reject such Assurance as is offer'd us for the Faith of the Gospel our Infidelity cannot be the Effect of Reason and Argument but of a causeless Suspicion and unreasonable Mistrust of the best Part of Mankind Who have most firmly believed the Truth of these things and have led the most holy and exemplary Lives in hopes of a Blessed Immortality And if the Testimony of any Persons deserves to be taken before others it must be of such who could have no Design upon this World but were resolved by Faith and Patience to prepare for a better To conclude For us who believe and own the Truth of this great and fundamental Article of the Christian Faith we have something else to do than meerly to vindicate and assert it This at some times is more necessary than at others and I heartily wish this were none of them I am willing to hope the best of all who in such an Age of Infidelity have the Courage and Zeal to own the Faith of this Day viz. That God sent his Son into the World in order to the making us for ever happy And I hope none who profess themselves Christians this Day will ever be discouraged by the Mocks and Flouts of Infidels so as to let go the Anchor of their Hope or mistrust the Foundation of their Faith It is as great a Piece of Wisdom to know when to believe as when not to believe and it is as certain an Argument of a weak Mind to be always doubting as to be over-forward in believing For the Soil must be very bad that can bear no Foundation But withall let us not flatter our selves only that we have a better Faith than others For how miserable will our Case be if we have nothing but a superficial Faith and a sort of Anniversary Devotion We can never thank God too much for the Blessing of this Day but God expects something more from us than meerly the giving him solemn Thanks once a Year for sending his Son into the World We must endeavour to answer the End of God's sending him i. e. to save us first from our Sins and then from the wrath to come This is the Method which God himself hath appointed not barely from his own Will and Pleasure but from the necessary Order and Reason of Things For otherwise a Man might be rewarded for doing amiss and punished for performing his Duty If we therefore ever hope for any Benefit by this coming of Christ into the World we must apply our Minds to consider seriously on what Conditions we may reasonably hope for Salvation by him Can they think that Christ came to so little Purpose as to save Men in their Sins If that were to be hoped there had been no need of his coming but it is a hard Work indeed to save us from them The Guilt must be expiated and the Power subdued the former Christ hath done but he expects and with great Reason that we should deny ungodly and worldly Lusts and work out our own Salvation with Fear and Trembling SERMON X. CONCERNING Sins of Omission Preached before the King and Queen AT WHITE-HALL ON March 18th 1693 4 being Midlent-Sunday St. James IV. 17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is Sin ALthough our Apostle in this Epistle calls the Gospel the Law of Liberty yet to prevent any Misconstruction thereof as though it allowed a Liberty to sin we no where find more strict and severe Passages against it than in this Epistle both with respect to Sins of Commission and Sins of Omission As to Sins of Commission his Expression seems hardly consistent with the Grace of the Gospel For whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one Point he is guilty of all Hath the Law of Moses any thing more apt to terrifie the Consciences of Men if not to drive them into despair than this It is not If one breaks the whole Law then it had been no wonder if he were guilty of all even under the Gospel which doth not take away the force of the Moral Law But If he keep the whole Law and yet offend in
Yet taking altogether our Saviour tells them They ought to watch and pray that they enter not into Temptation and he gives the Reason for it in the following words The Spirit indeed is willing but the Flesh is weak 2. In which words he gives an account of the reason of the Inconstancy and Insufficiency of good Resolutions viz. that although the Spirit be willing yet there is something we carry about us which weakens our best Resolutions and betrays us into Temptations our Flesh is weak which being so near us as to be a part of our selves makes our Case more dangerous and enforces the necessity of Watchfulness and Prayer But here arises one of the most useful necessary and important Cases that relates to practical Christianity which I shall first set down in its full Force and then endeavour to clear it The Case is this how far and in what Circumstances the weakness of the Flesh doth lessen the guilt of Sin which is committed by it If it be not an Extenuation of the Sin why doth our Saviour mention it in such a manner And if it be then these Inconveniencies follow 1. It seems to abate the necessity of our Care and Watchfulness if the Sin be lessened through the weakness of the Flesh which is unavoidable in this imperfect State 2. It seems to be a fair Plea and Excuse for the greatest part of the Sins of Mankind For 1. The Original inclination to Sin in Mankind comes from the weakness of the Flesh the very frame of humane Nature being such as exposes them to continual Temptations There is a natural Combat between the Flesh and the Spirit for the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other as the Apostle speaks and all Mankind find it too true Now wherever the Flesh is there are Inclinations agreeable to it and these being contrary to the Dictates of the Mind all the Sins of the Flesh will appear to come from the weakness of the Flesh. 2. The frequent Commission of the same Sins will be laid upon the weakness of the Flesh. For the generality of Mankind do not sin out of defiance to God or his Laws or with an obstinate Resolution to sin for they know their Duty and wish they could perform it but alas The Flesh is too hard for the Spirit in them They have many Convictions in their Minds many good Purposes and serious Resolutions at some times and if they do sin it is not with their whole Wills for they have great strugglings and checks of Conscience within even while they commit those Sins And therefore what can their continuing in sin be so properly attributed to as to the weakness of the Flesh. 3. Relapses into the same sin after Repentance seems to proceed from the weakness of the Flesh. For he that hath once smarted severely for his Sins and suffered under the Agonies of Conscience for them he that hath gone so far as not meerly to lament his Folly and to abhor his Wickedness but to make solemn Vows and Promises and Resolutions never more to return to the Practice of them it is hard to conceive that such a one should fall into his Sins again with his whole Mind and Soul for the Light of Conscience when it is once throughly kindled is not easily put out it is a secret Fire which burns inward and can hardly be extinguished and all those who sin against Conscience the Dictates of their Minds are right while they commit their Sins and therefore even these Sins seem to be excused by the weakness of the Flesh. But on the other side the Scripture is plain and express that Sins which do come from the Flesh do exclude from the Kingdom of Heaven The works of the Flesh are manifest saith St. Paul Adultery Fornication Uncleanness Lasciviousness c. Drunkenness Revelling and such like which are properly Sins of the Flesh. Of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in time past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And in another place For this ye know that no Whoremonger nor unclean Person nor Covetous Man who is an Idolater hath any Inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God Let no man deceive you with vain words for because of these things cometâ— the wrath of God on the Children of Disobedience Would God be so severe under the Dispensation of his Mercy to punish Mankind with utter exclusion from Heaven and eternal Misery for Sins which came meerly from the weakness of the Flesh Then indeed there were just cause to bewail the sad Condition of Humanity born under one Law to another bound created Sick commanded to be Sound But God will vindicate his Justice at the great Day and Mankind shall be fully satisfied that none shall be damned for the meer weakness of the Flesh but for the Sins of their Will and Choice That as they had evil Inclinations from the Flesh so they had good Inclinations from the Grace of God and the Law of their Minds ought to have governed and kept under the Law of their Members that others by the same Assistance which was offered to them have crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts thereof That the Grace of God doth enable them to deny ungodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present World That if Men do fail of the Grace of God it is through their own fault that those who relapse into sin after Repentance and escaping the pollutions of the World Their latter end is worse than the beginning and in short If Men do live after the Flesh they shall die but if through the Spirit they do mortifie the Deeds of the Body they shall live All which shews That there is so great a Possibility of fubduing the Inclinations of the Flesh that if Men neglect it and give way to the fulfilling of them this very thing will be imputed to them as a wilfull and damning Sin But here the Difficulty still rises for Christ supposes that his own Disciples even the most forward and the best resolved might fall through the infirmity of the Flesh and they did so upon no great Temptation as appears by St. Peter's denying his Master in so dreadful a manner upon so slight a Provocation as the Damsels saying to him Thou also wast wâ—â—h Jesus of Galilee What a mean low and timorous Spirit had possessed St. Peter at that time Was this he who but a few hours before said That though he should die with him he would not deny him Lord what is Man Verily in his best Estate he is altogether Vanity What St. Peter deny his Lord who made that Confession of him which Christ owned was not revealed to him by Flesh and Blood but by his Father in Heaven viz. That he was
Contrivances for his own happiness He began to suspect his wise Father did not allow his Children liberty enough at home and that he concealed from him the great Mystery of the Happiness of Life and therefore concluded that if he did give way to those Desires which he found to be natural but his Father thought unreasonable he should enjoy much more Pleasure and Satisfaction than he did at home And being resolved upon this he gives way to those Inclinations he found strongest in himself denies himself no Pleasures of Life accounts Vertue but a Name which sowre and morose Persons put upon their own humours and Religion but a Device for Fools to deceive themselves and Knaves to deceive others by And so he throws off all checks and restraints upon himself and never regards the Good or Evil of what he doth for his Lusts are his Laws and the satisfaction of them he now looks upon as the only real Happiness of Mankind And could any thing be supposed more provoking to his heavenly Father than such a wicked and dissolute way of living So contrary to his Father's Will to his own Reason Conscience Interest Reputation and which soon brought him to Shame and Misery 3. But that which added yet more to the height of the Provocation was that he did not think of returning home to his Father upon the first apprehension of his own Folly but he resolved to undergo any difficulty and submit to any hardship rather than do what was necessary in order to Reconciliation with his Father How hard a Matter then is it to bring an habitual Sinner to Repentance It is not easie to bring him to any due and serious Conviction of the Evil of his doings but it is far more difficult to change the inward Disposition of the Mind and to alter all the great Designs and Pleasures of Life It is but a mean Notion of Repentance which is apt to prevail in the World as though it implied no more than some Acts of Contrition for greater Sins when the Habit and Disposition remain the same But true Repentance is the turn of the whole Soul from the Love as well as the Practice of Sin and this is not a thing to be done easily or suddenly a Sinner will bear a great many Checks and Reproofs of Conscience before he will part with his beloved Sins he will struggle a great while with himself and endure many Conflicts between an awaken'd Conscience and rooted Inclinations before the penitent Sinner can assure himself that his Repentance hath had its due and effectual operation upon him For we see here nothing but extremity brought the Prodigal to himself and made him at last to resolve to arise and go to his Father c. As Themistocles said of the People of Athens they did by him as Men commonly do by a great Tree they run to it for shelter in a Storm but care not how they use it another Time that is too true of Sinners with respect to God when they can make a shift for themselves any other Way they despise Religion and make God their Refuge only at a day of Extremity but not their Choice when their Conditions please them But when the prodigal Son had so slighted his Father broken his Commands despised the Advantages he had at home and was so hardly brought to think of returning thither how came he now to be so incouraged in his Mind to arise and go to his Father and confess his fault with hopes of being forgiven after all this We find no other Account here given but that he was his Father however he had offended him and therefore he was resolved he would arise and go to his Father as though there were charms and force enough in that word to answer all Discouragements Which being an Argument taken from the Bowels of Pity and Compassion which a Father hath towards a relenting Child we must enquire how far this will hold with respect to God who is so infinitely above all the fond Passions of humane Nature that it is a diminution to his Glory and Majesty to be thought like to Mankind and therefore his thoughts and ways are said to be as far above ours as the Heavens are above the Earth To clear this we are to consider not only that our Blessed Saviour doth here lay the force and weight of the Parable upon the tenderness of a Father to his Son but that he elsewhere argues from it in such a manner as to convince us that God hath far greater Pity and Compassion towards Mankind when they make due Applications to him than Fathers can have towards their Children even when they ask for necessary Sustenance What Man is there of you whom if his Son ask bread will he give him a stone Or if he ask a fish will he give him a serpent If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your Children How much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask him There have been Philosophers so severe against the Passions of humane Nature that they would not allow any Pity or Commiseration towards others whatever their Condition or Relation were but only acting according to Reason in supplying their Wants But the Christian Religion doth far more reasonably allow such Passions in Mankind as dispose them to do good to others by fixing such an impression on their Minds of others Misery as doth excite them to do what is fitting for their Ease and Support And Compassion is not as some imagine such a mean and selfish Passion as doth arise only from the Apprehension that we may suffer the same things our selves which we pity others for but it is a generous Sense of what others feel joined with a Readiness to help them according to our Power And in this Sense our Saviour not only allows it in Fathers towards Children but looks on it as necessary in humane Nature in order to the good and advantage of Mankind and therefore himself taking our Nature upon him is said to be touched with the feeling of our Infirmities and to have compassion on the Ignorant and on them that are out of the Way But although this be allowable in humane Nature how can such a thing as Compassion be attributed to the Divine Nature which is uncapable of such impressions and motions which we are subject to And yet the Scripture is very full and clear in attributing Pity and Compassion to Almighty God with respect to his Creatures The Psalmist saith The Lord is full of Compassion and Mercy long-suffering and of great Goodness St. James saith He is very pitifull and of tender Mercy And in that wonderfull Appearance to Moses when God himself declared his own Attributes the greatest part consists of his Kindness and Mercy towards Mankind The Lord God mercifull and gracious long-suffering and abundant in Goodness and Truth keeping Mercy for thousands
which might easily be accommodated to the Christian Doctrine and so a great deal of the Animosities both of the Jews and Heathens would be removed and Christianity would thereby gain more Friends and meet with fewer Enemies The Apostle finding how necessary it was at this time if possible to keep them stedfast in the Faith 1. He assures them that the Christian Doctrine was of it self so sufficient for the good of Mankind that it needed no Additions either from the Law of Moses or the Philosophy of the Gentiles which might introduce several things with a specious Appearance of Wisdom Humility and Mortification but they ought to be assured that from Christ they had all that was necessary or usefull for Salvation For in him are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge 2. That this Doctrine was at first truly delivered to them and they ought to be stedfast in it which is the design of the Text. But they might object that Epaphras was no Apostle of Christ himself and if he were yet there were many Apostles and the false Apostles pretended to be true ones and although St. Paul interposed his Authority yet he was but one and the Judaizers would not yield to it but were ready to suggest that the other Apostles were more favourable to the Jewish Customs than he and therefore it was necessary some more general and common Rule be found out whereby to distinguish the Original and Genuine Doctrine of Christ from that of Pretenders and Seducers The clearing of this is in it self a Matter of great Consequence and not only was to those of that Age but is so in every Age of the Christian Church where the same Question may be put What was the true Primitive Doctrine of Christ and by what means may we come to it which concerns us at this day as well as them And the Answer lay in two particulars which I shall endeavour to clear 1. That which the Apostles did in common deliver to the Churches planted by them was the Genuine Doctrine of Christ. 2. That which they have left in their Writings after it came to be contested which was the true Doctrine of Christ. 1. That which the Apostles did in common deliver to the Churches planted by them For we have all the reason in the World to believe that the Apostles delivered one and the same Faith to all the Churches having the same infallible Spirit to direct them There was no need for them to meet together before their dispersion and to agree upon some common Article of Faith as Ruffinus imagines lest they should differ from each other For how could they differ who had the same Spirit of Truth to lead them into all Truth And we find nothing like a Combination among the Apostles as to Matters of Doctrinâ— And if there had been it would have rendred the Faith they delivered more suspicious in that they durst not trust particular Persons with delivery of it without an antecedent Confederacy among themselves which would have looked like a mistrust of that Promise of the Spirits being fulfilled upon all of them And we find when the Gospels were to be written there was no such meeting together to settle the several Parts of it and yet this was of as much consequence to the Church of God but St. Matthew writes his Gospel in Judoea at the time saith Irenoeus that Peter and Paul preached and founded a Church in Rome St. Mark either at Rome or in Egypt not till after their decease saith the same very Ancient Father St. Luke in Greece after St. Paul planted Churches in Rome and St. John in Asia after all the rest But there was the same Divine Spirit which assisted them all and therefore there was such a concurrence as shewed their veracity but such a variety as shewed there was no Combination But it is observable that none of the Gospels were written till the Doctrine of Christ had been preached by the Apostles in many Places and many Churches were formed and established by them And there were two great Advantages thereby 1. The Unity of the Faith delivered by the Apostles was the more seen because then without the help of a written Rule they so unanimously agreed in the Doctrines they delivered Not as though it were less possible to mistake without it but on the contrary there being a much greater liableness to mistake so Universal a consent was the stronger Argument of a Divine Assistance If there had been any difference in the Doctrines preached by the Apostles there were so many Enemies both of Jews and Infidels and false Apostles who would presently have reproached the Christian Churches with it But no disagreement is ever so much as mention'd as to what the Apostles themselves taught They had one Body one Spirit one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all Where-ever the Apostles went whether into Scythia Parthia Mesopotamia or any Provinces of the Roman Empire all who were converted by them were baptized into the same Faith which St. Jude calls the Faith once delivered to the Saints But once delivered though by many Persons and in very distant places and so once delivered as the same Faith once delivered is to continue to the World's end For nothing can be made the Faith of Christ which was not always so for that were to lay a new foundation and to make another Covenant than what Christ hath sealed with his Blood But he is the same yesterday to day and for ever The Terms of Salvation can never be altered unless there be a new Saviour and new Apostles and new Teachers But if we go to Heaven by Christ we must go that way that himself hath directed For Men and Angels joining their Powers together cannot save one Soul Christ alone being the Way the Truth and the Life and none can come to the Father but by him This the Apostles very well knew and were therefore carefull to deliver nothing to the Church but what they received from Christ as St. Paul saith of himself For I have received of the Lord that which I delivered unto you Not by way of Tradition from Men but by immediate Divine Revelation for as he saith he was not an Apostle of Men or by Men but by Jesus Christ and God the Father and not long after he saith he neither received the Gospel of Man neither was I taught it but by Revelation of Jesus Christ. There was none of all the first Preachers of the Gospel so liable to the Suspicion of setting up for himself and varying from the rest as St. Paul was For he was none of the Original Number of Apostles and he was a known Persecutor of the Disciples of Christ and sudden Converts are always suspected and Ananias had a Vision to satisfie him and yet he could not tell what to think at first concerning him and the Disciples when they
not seem to confine the Consequences here mention'd to another World altho' the full Accomplishment of them be only there to be expected but if we attend to his Scope and Design in the End of the foregoing Chapter and the Beginning of this we shall find that even in this Life the result of a carnal Mind is a sort of a Spiritual Death and of a Spiritual Mind is Life and Peace For when St. Paul in the 7â—h Chapter had represented himself as carnal and sold under Sin although there were great strugglings between the Convictions of his Conscience and the strength of carnal Inclinations yet as long as the latter prevailed so that he could not do the things that his Mind and Reason told him he ought to do but did those things which he was convinced be ought not to have done The more he reflected upon himself the more sad and miserable he found his Condition to be as appears by that Emphatical expression which follow'd upon it O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death But he no sooner finds hopes of Delivery and Escape out of that Estate but he breaks forth into Transport of Joy and inward Satisfaction Thanks be to God who hath given us the Victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Not meerly a Victory over Death but over Sin too And so he begins this Chapter after a triumphant manner There is therefore no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit For the Lord of the Spirit of Life which was in Christ Jesus hath made me â—â—ee from the Law of Sin and Death He that groaned under his Captivity before to the Law of Sin doth now rejoyce in his Deliverance from it by the Grace of the Gospel For what could not be done by natural Freedom by the Power of the Law and the Force of Reason is brought to pass by the Assistance of Divine Grace given to the Souls of Men by Jesus Christ. For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the Flesh What was that which the Law could not do It could awaken convince terrifie and confound the Consciences of Sinners under the Sense and Apprehension of their Sins but it could neither satisfie the Justice of God nor the Minds of Men it could not remove the Guilt nor take away the Force and Power of Sin But God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinfull Flesh and for sin condemned sin in the Flesh i. e. Jesus Christ becoming an expiatory Sacrifice for Sin took off the damning Power of Sin and by the prevailing Efficacy of his Grace subdued the strength and force of it to such a degree That the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit How could this be if St. Paul still considered himself in the same Condition he did in the foregoing Chapter For if he were still in Captivity to the Law of Sin in his Members how was it possible that the Righteousness of the Law should be fulfilled in him How could he walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit if the Good which he would he did not and the Evil which he would not that he did For these things are so repugnant to each other that when they are spoken of the same Person it must be under different Considerations the one of him as meerly under the Power of the Law the other as under the Grace and Influence of the Gospel The one was like rough and a churlish sort of Physick which searches into every Part and puts all the ill Humours of the Body into Motion and makes a general Disturbance and Uneasiness within but yet lets them remain where they were the other is like a gentle but more effecutal Remedy which carries off the Strength and Power of inward Corruptions and alters the Habit and Temper and puts quite another Disposition into us which produces very different Effects upon us For instead of Horrour and Despair and inward Anguish and Confusion there will follow a new Life of Joy and Peace here and Eternal Happiness hereafter And this is what the Apostle means in the Words of the Text To be carnally minded c. Wherein are two things which very much deserve our Consideration I. The different Tempers of Men's Minds some are carnally and others spiritually minded II. The different Consequences which follow them To be carnally minded is Death but to be spiritually minded is Life and Peace I. The different Tempers of Men's Minds The different Denominations are taken from the Flesh and the Spirit which are here represented as two Principles so different from each other that the same Person cannot be supposed to be acted by both of them For as the Apostle saith in the foregoing Words They that are after the Flesh do mind the things of the Flesh but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit Where the Flesh in a Moral sense takes in all our sensual Inclinations which are sinfull either in their Nature or Degree The Spirit is that Divine Principle which possesses the Mind with the Love and Esteem of Spiritual things and keeps our natural Inclinations within the Compass of God's Law To be carnally minded is to be under the Influence of carnal things so as to make the Pursuit of them our chief Design To be spiritually minded is to have so deep and just a Sense of God and his Law upon our Minds as to make it our business to please him and therefore to subdue all such Inclinations which are repugnant to his Will But here lies the main Difficulty how to judge concerning this matter so as to be able to determine whether we our selves be carnally or spiritually minded Which is a thing of so great Consequence for us to know that the Peace of our Minds the true Comfort of our Lives our due Preparation for Death and a happy Eternity do all depend upon And yet that this is a real Difficulty will appear from these Considerations 1. It requires a greater Knowledge of our selves as to our spiritual Condition than most Persons in the World can pretend to For it is not a slight and superficial View of our selves not a transient sudden Reflection nor a partial Inquiry into our inward Passions and the Course of our Actions which can make us capable of passing a true Judgment upon the Temper of our Minds but there must be a true Light a serious and diligent Search frequent Recollection free and deliberate Thoughts long Observation and due Comparison of our selves with our selves and with the Law of God before we can form a just Opinion as to the prevailing Temper and Disposition of our Minds It 's true this is not necessary in all Persons for some and I am afraid too many are so carnally minded that
to his former Practices If we had been to judge of Ahab in the time of his Humiliation and of David in the time of his Impenitency after his Sins of Adultery and Murther we should have thought in common Justice and Charity the latter had been the carnal and the former the spiritual minded Man But it was quite otherwise which shews that we are not to judge of Men's spiritual Condition by sudden and violent Motions whether good or bad but by that Interest which prevails with them in the whole Course of their Lives To give a general Character of a Man from some violent Passion against the Tenour of his Life would be like drawing the Picture of a Man in a Fit of an Epilepsy or a convulsive Motion of his Face And to believe a Man to be a good Man because he hath some good Moods and passionate Fits of Devotion is as if we should take a piece of rotten Wood for a true Phosphorus because it shines sometimes or suppose Judas to be a Saint because he was so much in our Saviour's Company The inward Habits and Dispositions of Men's minds may be cover'd over and disguised a great while but a tempting Occasion lays them open as no doubt Judas did not get his Habit of Covetousness of a sudden but it was still growing and ripening under a fair Appearance and when the proper Season came the secret Malignity brake forth and the Temptation of Thirty Pieces of Silver discover'd the Baseness and Hypocrisie of his Heart Sometimes the Vein of Hypocrisie lies deep and is cover'd over with such a fair out-side that no one can have Reason to mistrust it till it discovers it self and then the Corruption is found so loathsome as to render ordinary Sincerity suspicious But this is a common Fault either to be too easily deceived or too unreasonably mistrustfull there is no certainty in a Deduction from particulars but where the Causes are equal and necessary It is as absurd an Inference that there is no such thing as a spiritul Mind because some who have pretended to it have been found Carnal as that there is no such thing as common Honesty among Men because some who have long born the Name of honest Men have been found great Cheats and Impostors But when a predominant Habit doth discover it self the Person must bear that Title and Denomination which it gives him 3. A Spiritual Mind is known by the general Conformity of Actions to a Divine and Spiritual Rule and so a carnal Mind by following the Bent and Inclinations of the Flesh. And there lies a great Part of the Difference for such who lay no Restraint upon their Natural Inclinations must needs be carnally minded because the Flesh as St. Chrysostom observes is not taken by St. Paul meerly for the Body but for the corrupt Part of our selves as consisting of Soul and Body It is observed by Cicero 3. de Rep. That Mankind came into the World in a very ill Condition with a Body naked frail and infirm with a Mind subject to Troubles dejected with Fears impatient of Labour prone to Lust but in the midst of all this there is a certain Divine Flame of Wit and Understanding which lies as it were buried and overwhelmed but with great Care and Industry may be so preserved and improved as to command our Appetites and governour Passions But alas How little doth the Reason of Mankind signifie to the greatest Part of them It helps them to see their Folly and like a Sea-light to a sinking Ship in a dark Night makes those who are aboard to behold their Misery without helping them out of it If the Frame of human Nature be considered in it self and by way of Speculation we have no Cause to complain of it for as God hath given us inferiour Faculties suitable to the Constitution of our Bodies so he hath likewise Superiour which are capable of controlling and covering them But when Habit and Custom is joyned with a vicious Inclination how little doth human Reason signifie All the Considerations of Natural Order and Decency and Regularity and good Example are easily over-born by the strong Propensities of a corrupt Inclination which hurries Men on to satisfie first their brutal Appetites and leaves Consideration till afterwards So that Reason seems by such an After-game rather given to torment than to reform them Therefore the wise God hath superadded his own Law to inforce that of Reason by a greater Authority that Men may think themselves more concerned to take care of their Actions when they must give an Account of them to one infinitely above them But what can Mankind do in such a wretched Condition For the Law of it self is but like a Toyl to a wild Beast the more he struggles the more he is intangled so that he sees his Misery by it but not his Remedy But such is the Goodness and Mercy of God towards Mankind that he hath never refused to accept those who have sincerely endeavour'd to do his Will according to the Measure of that Assistance which he hath given them Thus we find Characters of Men in all Ages who were said to be Righteous before God just and upright and perfect Men and yet some of the most eminent of these had remarkable failings as Noah Abraham and Job yet they had extraordinary Testimonies of God's approving their Integrity and passing by those Faults which were contrary to the general Design and Tenour of their Lives I confess we meet with two Instances to the contrary in Scripture which deserve our Consideration and those were of extraordinary Persons too eminent for their long and faithfull Service of God and yet upon single Faults committed by them he was very severe with them Which may seem to take much off from this Lenity and Goodness of God towards such who have a general Sincerity of Mind towards him But if we more strictly consider these two Cases we shall find there was something very provoking in the Circumstances of them which made God so much more displeased with the committing them For they were Sins committed by them in their publick Capacities and about such things wherein the Honour of God was more particularly concerned The first is the Case of Moses who was a great Pattern of Wisdom and Meekness and Faithfulness for forty Years together in the Conduct of a very froward People in the Wilderness yet at last he happen'd to fail in some Part of his Duty and God was so angry with him that he would not hear his Prayer for going into Canaan but he cut him off in the Wilderness at last as he did the People for their Unbelief But what was this Sin of Moses which made God so highly displeased with him If we read the Passage as it is related in the History of the Fact it is not so easie to find it out The People murmured for want of Water God upon Moses his
well of themselves unless they think amiss of others and such are very prying into the Faults of other Men and are pleased with hearing them because hereby they bring them on the same Level with themselves What a Satisfaction doth it seem to profane Men to find out the Miscarriages of such who pretend to Religion But are they the better or Religion the worse for them To be a Scandal to Religion is a great Aggravation of a Fault but still Religion is not to blame for it was the want of it which made them commit those Faults but where there is a desire to hear the Miscarriages of other Men and a Pleasure in relating them no doubt there is an ill Temper of Mind from whence this proceeds 6. In not using the same Measures in judging the good and the evil of other Men. The one they presently and easily believe but the other they make many Difficulties about If any evil Action be reported of a Neighbour that is presently entertained and spread abroad to his mighty disadvantage although it be at first taken up from a malicious or ill grounded Report But if a good Action be told they find out all possible ways either to lessen the Credit of the Reporter or the Nature of the Action or to find out Circumstances to exasperate it So much Malice and ill Will doth appear in the ordinary Considerations of Mankind and the Judgments they pass upon one another 7. In pronouncing concerning Mens final State in another World Which is wholly out of our reach and Capacity For that depends upon such things which it is impossible for us to know as 1. The Nature and Aggravation of Mens Sins which depend upon Circumstances we cannot know but God doth What measure of Knowledge they had what Temptations they were under what means of Resistance what Degrees of Wilfulness and Presumption there were in them 2. The Sincerity of their Repentance for those Sins We know it may be the Sins they have committed but we cannot know how much they have smarted for those Sins in secret what Agonies of Mind they have undergone for them how earnestly they have pray'd for Forgiveness and Strength against them what an inward Abhorrence and Detestation they have of them what a real Change hath been made in their Souls as to what they have loved and delighted in 3. What Failings are consistent with a general Sincerity We know a perfect Obedience is impossible therefore we must allow some or else we must send all to Hell But then how to fix the nature and number of such Failings so as to say So far he may fail and yet be sincere is impossible for us to do since we must take in those Circumstances which it is impossible for us to know 4. What things are absolutely necessary to Salvation of particular Persons Bold and presumptuous Men are very positive and daring in such Cases but such as are modest and humble dare not go farther than God hath declared Some unreasonably restrain the Possibility of Salvation to the Bounds of their own Communion but I should sooner question the Possibility of their Salvation who thus censure and condemn the rest of Mankind Which is not consistent with that Charity which the Scripture makes more necessary to Salvation than any one Communion 5. The Bounds of God's Mercy The usual Terms of it are expressed in Scripture But even that hath acquainted us that God hath not tied up himself from some extraordinary Instances of it As in the Case of the Thief on the Cross. This is no ground for Incouragement to any to put off their Repentance but it is a sufficient ground to keep us from censuring any as to their final Condition in another World 2. The Mischief they bring upon themselves by being thus severe towards others 1. This provokes the Malice of others against them who are sure to be revenged if possible on such who are so ready to condemn others and to lay open their Faults thereby to expose their Weakness or Hypocrisie Whereas Candour and Fairness makes Men willing to use the same towards those who use it to others 2. It provokes God to be severe to such as shew no Mercy towards others And so our Saviour understands it Matth. 7. 1 2. Nothing we have so much Cause to dread as the Severity of God's Judgment upon us and nothing should make us more willing to shew Kindness and Good-Will to others than to consider that God will have a regard to it in his dealing with us Especially if it appear in our Actions as well as our Words Which is the next thing to be considered 2. We may be Righteous overmuch in the moral Practice of Righteousness towards others 1. That Men may exceed herein 2. That this proves mischievous to themselves 1. That Men may exceed in Righteousness in their dealings with other Men. In the Matter of right and wrong between Party and Party Men may be Righteous overmuch viz. When Men take all the advantages which the Law gives them against others without Consideration of their Condition and Circumstances It hath been long since observed That Summum jus summa injuria the Reason whereof is That the Law being made for a whole Community cannot be so framed but it may pinch hard upon some particular Persons if it be severely pursued whose Circumstanâ—es are such as the Law never intended The Foundations of Justice saith Cicero are that no innocent Person suffer and that the common Good be maintained Where the Circumstances of Persons deserve Pity it is not Justice but Inhumanity to pursue their own Right to the ruin of others No certain Rules can be set down because Circumstances vary so much but it doth not become a good Man to insist upon a bare Right to the utter ruin of another if they are such as deserve Commiseration i. e. Poor helpless and willing to do what they are able for Satisfaction Aristotle saith That a good Man doth not pursue the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the exactness of Law but abates of his Right although he is sure he hath the Law of his side Is it then unbecoming a good Man to pursue his Right No. But he ought so to manage it as to shew he hath a regard to Equity as well as Justice But there are several ways of Mens being Righteous overmuch 1. When they mind Justice without Mercy The truth is such Persons are not so much as moral Heathens so far are they from being good Christians Which so earnestly recommends Charity and Kindness to our greatest Enemies So that even our Justice ought to have a mixture of Mercy in it 2. When they make the Law the Instrument of their Revenge when they are glad they have taken their Enemies at such an advantage We may here apply St. Paul's words We know the Law is good if a Man use it lawfully But there may be a very unlawful use of it when