of the best Philosophy did we remember that we are the Offspring of God could we prostitute so noble a Nature to serve the Devil could we debase our selves so far as to truckle under the Violence and Servitude of our Passions Tully hath an admirable Saying to this purpose Put the case saith he that we should carry any thing so privately as that neither God nor man should discover us yet we should have such a reverence for our selves as not to suffer any thing that is immodest unjust or unclean to escape us So terrible is the witness of Conscience and so infallible is its decision in the great branches of our Duty THEN Sixthly Is Man such a curious piece of workmanship he must be under the peculiar Eye of Providence Thus reasons St. Paul Doth God take care of Oxen yes the very Law thou shalt not muzzle the Ox that treadeth out the corn prove sufficiently that they are under his care and the eye of his Providence BUT the care that is extended to those poor Animals that feed upon hay and corn is far below the special care that he hath of Mankind His delight is with the Sons of Men there is a peculiar eye of Favour that watches over the human Race and yet a higher degree of Love and Providence over good and holy Men. Psal 33.13 The Lord looketh from heaven he beholdeth all the sons of men v 14. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon the inhabitants of the earth v. 18. Behold the eye of the Lord is on them that fear him upon them that hope in his mercy Psal 34.7 The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them But his Love towards Mankind is so strong that it cannot fall under Words He gave us his Son and if he gave us his Son how shall he not with him also give us all things He did not take hold of the nature of Angels but of the seed of Abraham It was his Love to us that engaged him to take upon him the form of a servant and humble himself unto death even the death of the cross Seventhly IF God hath put such Marks of Beauty and Honour on the human Nature Let us love one another So the Apostle enjoins Honour all men Love the brotherhood There is something due to our Nature under the cloud of the meanest Circumstances As the Philosopher alleged when he dispensed his Alms to an unworthy Person Non homini sed humanitati Our Love must resemble the Benignity of God that maketh his Sun to rise on the evil and the good and sendeth down Rain on the just and unjust LOVE is the life of Heaven whence all Bitterness and Unkindness is banished as far as Hell 't is planted in our Nature we are enclined to it by our original Constitution it is the Livery of the Christian Religion and the Badge of our Profession The Vices opposite to it make up the Devil's Nature and his Torture too Anger Bitterness Envy and Revenge create those Storms that continually ruffle the composure of our Spirits whereas the Practice of Christian Charity hath in it the Fore-tastes of Heaven and the Life of the Blessed THERE is no injury done to us can loose us from this Obligation no Error in Opinion no Enormity in Practice no Disaster of Fortune for our Brother is of our kind and however sullied and defac't retains still the Image of God The more frequently we consider this the more we are obliged to the Psalmist's resolution I will praise thee Which leads me to the Second Particular that I mentioned viz. The Psalmist's Gratitude and Acknowledgment Now in speaking to this I shall First Mention some of those Inducements that oblige us to it And then Secondly press the Practice of it 1. GOD is to be praised because he is the only Object of Praise Love and Admiration nothing else can love us again but God or some other Creature that resembles God Therefore St. John exhorts Love not the world neither the things that are in the world if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him AND if he is to be praised because of the Works of Nature how much more because of his inestimable Love in the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ Let the purest Spirits in their Robes of Light and Innocence admire it and veil their Faces with their Wings and stand at a distance and behold what manner of Love this is wherewith the Father hath loved us that we should be called the Sons of God If we cannot fly about the World with that Swiftness and Rapidity as the Angels do in Heaven yet what hinders our Souls to center themselves in his Love by the most unquenchable Ardors when we contemplate his Love to Mankind manifested in Jesus Christ 2. THE true exercise of our Reason requires it What is that you admire or what is it you pursue The Principles of Reason are everlasting and they are never so duly placed as on God who is invariable and without shadow of turning for the world passeth away and the fashion thereof doth perish but a Mind refined by the Principles of Christian Philosophy endures for ever Do but call to mind as M. Antoninus hath it such as have been in eminent Glory the Hero's and Captains of former Ages or such as have been tumbled down by Disgrace or run down with Misery such as have engaged to talk of all Men in every Condition of Life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What 's become of all those things now And should our Reason spend its strength in the chase of such Shadows it cannot be duly employed in such transient Vanities had we but a view of the Impertinencies and Vanities that pass in one City but for one day how vain should we find the World to be 3. To praise God is the Enjoyment of Heaven The vision of God is nothing but the Light of Reason duly six'd on its true Object and advanc'd to its true Elevation when the Soul is dilated and enlarged and expatiates on its proper Theme Have you seen the Cedars or the Fir-trees that rise so high and spread their Branches so wide from a little Seed just so is the Soul how infinitely beyond its present self are its Operations then found to be Beloved now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Thus the Inhabitants of Heaven are frequently represented in the book of the Revelations c. 4.10 11. and elsewhere adoring the Excellencies of their great Creator The four and twenty Elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne saying thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory honour and power
Christianity 1. I SAY Let us consider the Nature of that God whom we serve NOTHING purifies and enlarges the Mind more than the true account of the Divine Nature And therefore our Saviour when he came to accomplish the great Reformation did in the first place establish the true Notion of Almighty God and reveal the Father unto us No wonder then if the Heathen World was miserably sunk and buried in their Lusts and Impieties when the very History of their Gods and the Fables of their Poets did represent them under the Tyranny of their Passion Lust Jealousie Rapine and Revenge acting all the Extravagancies that make our Nature miserable and infamous How could they think it but honourable to be like their Gods could they be induc'd to reform what was heroically virtuous BUT blessed be God we have no such subterfuge and pretence for our wickedness God hath manifested himself clearly unto us we have such Notions of the Deity as are adequate to the Reason and Spirituality of our Souls fix'd in the Gospel THE Holy Scriptures every where represent him as the first Original and Self sufficient Being at an eternal distance from all weakness mixture change or composition the only Center of all Life Power Goodness and Omniscience WILL you consider his Power See how elegantly the Prophet Isaiah confutes from his Power the folly of Idolatry The Nations are as a drop of a bucket they are counted as the small dust of the ballance He taketh up the Isles as a very little thing all Nations are as nothing and they are less than nothing and vanity It is he hath sitteth on the circle of the Earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers he stretches out the heavens as a Curtain and spreads them out as a Tent to dwell in THE Armies of Heaven wait his call the brightest Seraphims stand ready to fly his errands up and down the Creation to whom then will ye liken God what likeness will ye compare him to When we think of his Power the very first thoughts of it should allay the pride and swellings of Vanity How soon were the passionate complaints of Job run down with the mention of his ineffable Power and his heart struck with Silence and Reverence IF you consider his Wisdom O Lord how manifold are thy works In wisdom hast thou made them all the Earth is full of thy Riches The Lord of Hosts is wonderful in Council and excellent in working Great in Council and mighty in works who from the darkest Labyrinths and Intricacies of Providence makes the event beautiful and comely IF you consider his Goodness it endures for ever He is the Center and the Fountain of it If his Justice it is inviolable The Scepter of his Kingdom is a Scepter of Righteousness If his Holiness He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity If his Knowledge and Omniscience He is light it self and dwells in light inaccessible and with him is no darkness at all LET us then but a little more feriously reflect upon the Nature of God and warm our Soul at this fire Let us ask Is this God whose Majesty fills the Heavens and the Earth to be indeed approach'd with flat and tepid Devotions Did the Heathens worship their Idols with so much Lukewarmness as is too too visible among the Christians Nay but their sacrifices prostrations vain repetitions their superstitious Pageantry and Ceremonies requir'd a great deal of attention and application The very Devils if they were worshipped would not be satisfied with the careless behaviour of the Christians in our days and shall we approach the Invisible Immortal God with less regard than the Pagans did their dumb idols Our God is a Spirit saith our Saviour and must be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth And if you would allow me to speak a little more plainly nothing casts greater contempt upon the God that we adore or the Religion that we espouse than the manner of our Worship When we approach our Patrons and Benefactors on Earth we meet their smiles with the lowest submissions and acknowledgements But when we come unto the Altar we offer the blind and the lame in the language of the Prophet Offer it now unto thy Governour saith the Prophet The Living God must be worshipped with life and serv'd with vigour and ador'd with devotion He is all Perfection and cannot be serv'd with the cold and faint essays of half conviction and lame consideration I ask then when we dwell on the Nature of God whether or no the whole Soul ought to be employed in his Worship and Service BUT had we to do with such a Deity as the Epicureans fancied one that had eternally locked up himself within the Imperial Heavens If our actions and affairs came not at all under his cognizance then we might approach him with that remissness coldness and unconcernedness that is visible in our addresses But our God is all pure Life intent upon the Government of the World all things are open and naked before him with whom we have to do His eyes pierce into the Secrets that are buried in darkness He look'd down to see if any did seek after God He humbles himself to behold the things that are done in Heaven and in Earth There passes nothing unobserved Whether shall I fly from his presence If we ascend into the Heavens he is there in his Majesty and Power and his glorious Troops attend his pleasure He worketh all things after the Council of his own Will Whatsoever the Lord pleased that did he both in heaven and in earth in the sea and in all deep places The most casual and apparently fortuitous actions are ordered by his Wisdom Nothing so little but it falls under his care He is not a little Prince confin'd to the Hills and Mountains as the Aramites profanely imagin'd but the valleys also are his The young Lions roar and seek their meat from God the Lillies of the field are adorned not a Sparrow falls to the ground without your Father your very hairs are all numbered But 2 LET me press this from the Nature of his Law the sum whereof obliges us to love the Lord our God with all our heart with all our soul with all our strength and our neighbour as our selves The Laws of Men restrain our hands and determine our outward motions but the Laws of God set bounds to our very thoughts He that gave Man understanding sees the very first risings of our inventions and there is nothing appears irregular without but what was formed within for out of the heart proceed murders adulteries c. And therefore the Divine Law reaches the inside as well as the outside it makes a very exact Anatomy of the whole Soul and opens up our hearts unto our selves and discovers what we knew not before and yet now we know to be exactly true The most intricate cases are comprehended under
I mean the power of Miracles IF it were needful to cite Authors for this I might name many I take it for granted that here the Apostle is to prove the vanity of them that oppos'd his Doctrine and slighted his Methods for want of human eloquence he states the opposition between their way and his THEY set off their Dogmata with all the dress and parade of Rhetorical Amplifications their Proofs and Topicks mustered up in all the braveries of Art and Logick He spoke and asserted the mysteries of the Gospel with greater simplicity but greater Majesty less Ostentation in his utterance but much more Power and Efficacy We need not think by this that the Apostle was not eloquent but that he did not intend nor design to lay the stress of his Sermons on his eloquence He derived their success and victory from a higher spring Those who boasted themselves most in their philosophical composures might be overcome by such as were more eminent in that kind of Learning But the proofs of our Apostle were wholly out of that road and beyond the reach and skill of the profoundest Sophies even a demonstration that all his Enemies were forc'd to acknowledge it was the finger of God And because this is so material to the Apostles design and contains in it a very solid proof for our Religion I will endeavour to open the nature of it more fully 1. LET us consider the force and rational evidence that Miracles give to the Testimony of him that works them 2. THE special force they had to prove the Verity and Authority of Christian Religion And 1. WE must acknowledge the possibility of Miracles since we acknowledge a Deity and a Providence For he that hath established the Laws of Nature and directed the motions of all its wheels may for special ends of his Providence interupt that order and method and let us understand that he is above Nature And it is very reasonable and just for mankind upon such solemn occasions to look for extraordinary Appearances of the Divine Power both to confirm their Faith and provoke their Gratitude when God establishes new Laws or repeals old ones 't is highly necessary that his Message and Testimony be seal'd with some such undeniable Evidence as cannot rationally be resisted The multitude of jugling tricks and impostures in the world is so far from lessening this Argument that they rather strengthen it Because if Miracles were not acknowledged to be a sufficient evidence of a Divine Testimony they had never been counterfeited And it is certain that our reason closely and duly applyed to all circumstances is able to distinguish between a true Miracle and a counterfeit So we may take it for granted that the Miracles wrought by Christ and his Apostles were a sufficient undeniable Evidence that their Testimony was from God i. e. that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messias and that they were his Followers and Disciples and truly and sufficiently acquainted with his Discipline and Doctrine 2. THIS will appear if we consider the special necessity there was that such Miracles should be wrought in confirmation of Christian Religion either to point out 1. The Person of the Messias Or 2. To dispossess the Devil out of his strong holds Or 3. To satisfie the expectations of all men both Jews and Gentiles 1. THIS Proof was necessary in Christ and his Apostles to point out his Person to the Jews When the Jews require a sign from our Saviour he doth not reject the enquiry as in it self unreasonable but made in an unreasonable manner i. e. some extraordinary prodigy from Heaven such as were done in confirmation of the Laws of Moses and they would not be contented with the Miracles of our Saviour that were far more Glorious and Divine both for manner and quality than those done by Moses When I affirm that Miracles were necessary to point out the Person of the Messias I mean they confirm'd his Testimony to be from God he affirming himself to be the Messias and the sacred Oracles giving this character of the Messias that he should work Miracles For we cannot think that the wisdom and goodness of God will suffer the utmost Seal of rational Evidence to be affixed to a Ly. The Learned Huetius hath excellently cleared the Prophecies concerning the Messias from all the Cavils of the Jews and there was no characteristick given of him in the Prophets more frequent and specifick than his working of Miracles Isa 42.6 7. I the Lord have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand and will keep thee and give thee for a Covenant of the People for a light of the Gentiles To open the blind eyes to bring out the prisoners from the prison and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house And Luke 4.18 Our Saviour tells us that the famous Prophecy of the Messias Isa 61. Is fulfilled in himself HENCE is it that he appeals to his Miracles as to his credential Letters from Heaven If I had not done amongst them the works which none else did they had had no sin i. e. That of Infidelity and again Believe me for the works sake And their unbelief is justly expos'd in that queston of our Saviour ' s when he asks for which of those works do ye stone me When John the Baptist hearing of the Miracles of our Saviour sent two of his Disciples with this question to him Art thou he that should come i. e. Art thou indeed the Messias Our Saviour return'd no other answer than this Go said he and shew John again those things which you do hear and see The blind receive their sight the lame walk and the dead are raised up The Jews themselves acknowledge that they could not in reason expect greater Miracles to be done by the Messias than those which they saw perform'd by our Saviour When Christ cometh say they will he do nice Miracles than these which this man doth And Nicodemus grants That no man can do these things unless God be with him NOW those Miracles are so much the more illustrious that He not only wrought them himself but gave power also to His Disciples when he was ascended unto the Father to confirm their Testimony by Miracles And the first Ages of Christianity furnish us with many undeniable proofs so frequent and so palpable were those demonstrations of the Divine Power that multitudes of men and women were heal'd by the Apostles only by the sincere Invocation of the Name of Jesus and they such as were past all the cure of Art and Nature The shadow of S. Peter passing by did heal many And the Author to the Hebrews assures us That God bore them witness with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will And the Ancients largely prosecute this Argument that such and so many Miracles were wrought by the Apostles as clearly prov'd
the true Philosophy that animates against the pale fears and gloomy apprehensions of the Grave The merry Atheist that braved Death at a distance begins to tremble when it makes its approaches nearer then his Jests and his wanton Efforts of Fancy vanish into fearful expectations He flies to his desperate Complaints uneffectual Wishes and fruitless Prayers for the time of Prayer is over but the Christian gathers his Forces and strengthens himself in the Victory and Sacrifice and Power of our Lord Jesus Christ O how sad is it to delay the examination of our Consciences the confession of our Sins the amendment of our Lives until we have no more time than the few moments that just enter us into the Grave 6. WHEN we think of the Resurrection it should spiritualize our Souls and teach us in our desires and designs to fly above this terrestrial feculent Globe How come we to be so unwilling to leave those Habitations of sin and misery How come we to admire nothing and vanity when we are Candidates for a heavenly Kingdom If ye be risen with Christ set your affections on the things that are above c. Let the belief of the Resurrection put us in mind of the future Judgment For he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead Can we think of that solemn Appearance without fear And if we call on the Father who without respect of persons judgeth every man according to his works Let us pass the time of our sojourning here in fear Let our zeal appear more and more in trimming and preparing our Souls for Eternity That we may know him and the power of his Resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death if by any means we may attain unto the resurrection of the dead THE third thing I proposed to speak to is the Interest that our faith gives us in a happy Resurrection I mean such a lively faith as is recommended to us in the Gospel Not every one that saith Lord Lord but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven I mean the faith that purifies the heart and overcomes the World and assimilates us to the temper and Spirit of the blessed Inhabitants above and makes us more than Conquerors through Jesus Christ that loved us MY Lords and Gentlemen so far have I discours'd of this Consolatory Argument to ease our mind upon this sorrowful occasion But you see another Text viz. the earthly remains of the noble Viscount of Strathallan When I remember his true Vertues I despair to say any thing proportionable to his worth the naming of him once suggests greater thoughts than ordinarily occur When we form to our selves the most perfect Idea's of Valour and honour and generosity then we have the best Notion of that great Soul that once lodged in that Tabernacle All the Projects of his Mind were beyond the common Level The generous Inclinations he derived from his Ancestors began to appear very early A Family too well known in Britain for every thing that is great ancient loyal and generous to need any particular descants of mine I am not to act the part of a Herauld from this place there is none capable to be my Hearer but knows already how needless it is to tell Scotchmen of the noble Atchievments and many Illustrious branches of that Cedar of which our deceased General is descended He began to bear Arms when as yet he had not strength enough to manage them the vigour and alacrity of his Spirit out running the growth of his body He then when but a Child lodged no thought in his Breast but such as were daring great and difficult When he was a Boy at St. Leonard's College he gave all the proof of a docile and capacious Spirit far above any of his School-fellows but his Mind that always entertain'd extraordinary Enterprises began to be weary of an unactive life Then it was that he was made Captain in that Regiment that went to Ireland against the Rebels under the Command of an old and experienced Officer In that expedition he behaved with so much life and resolution as drew upon him the eyes of all men and every body concluded the young Captain was calculated for the greatest actions There are no words so proper for this period of his life as those we meet with in the life of Agricola Nec Agricola licenter more juvenum qui militiam in lasciviam vertunt neque segniter ad voluptates Commeatus titulum tribunatus inscitiam retulit Sed noscere provinciam nosci exercitui discere à peritis sequi optimos nihil appetere jactatione nihil ob formidinem recusare simulque anxius intentus agere And this without the change of one word was his deserved Character when first he appeared in the Fields HE came over from Ireland some years after and assisted those Forces that beat the Rebels once at Stirling and all those Loyal Gentlemen engaged in that Expedition upon all occasions bestow'd upon him the most ample Applause and unforced Commendations that were truly due to his skill conduct and fidelity AFTER this General Drummond and all his Associates became so odious to the prevailing Faction of the Covenanters that until the Mock-repentance after Dunbar fight he was not suffered to engage in his Majesties Service Mean while he went to London and the Forces commanded by his Friend were disbanded And there he was a Spectator of that Tragedy that pierced his Soul with the most exquisit grief I mean the Martyrdom of King Charles the First The Scene he saw and the preparations to the fatal blow but more he could not endure He himself could not afterwards give an account of that consternation that seized his Spirits All that 's black and terrible invaded his Soul at once the most dismal Passions struggled within his Breast confusion and indignation possest his Heart and nothing but the force of Christian Religion and the belief of Providence could have preserved his Mind from sinking How can his great Soul but burst forth into all expressions of Sadness to see prosperous Villany lift up its head withy so much rage and insolence and defie the Justice of the Almighty and pull down his Image upon earth and sacrifice the best of Men the best of Kings to the fury and hypocrisie of the Rabble O Heavens Let not the Plagues due to the Cry of that sacred Blood fall upon Britain Next day after with all speed he went to Holland to the Prince and there he was the first that saluted him King He came over with his late Majesty and commanded a Brigade of that Army that went to Worcester where his Courage and Magnanimity appear'd to the highest