A SERMON Preached at St. PAULS Church in London April 17. 1659. And now Published at the desire of the Lord MAYOR and the COURT of ALDERMEN By NATH. INGELO D.D. and Fellow of Eton Coll. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Iustin. Martyr Printed for L. Fawn at the Sign of the Parrot in S. Pauls Church-yard 1659. Dr. Ingelo's Sermon TO THE Right Honourable The Lord MAYOR And the Court of ALDERMEN of the City of London Right Honourable Right Worshipfull IT was an excellent saying of a Martyr {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} That is Of all things by which we most industriously design the advancement of Gods service there is none so acceptable unto him as those endeavours by which we strive to make men better He needeth not any of our services but he accepts what we do in conformity to his God-like actions And as they do naturally terminate themselves in the happinesse of his Creatures in which the Divine goodnesse pleaseth it selfe So He takes our hearty diligence in good part when we shew our selves true Co-workers with Him This is the greatest Honour of which a Creature is capable and the highest instance of subserviency to our Maker Our Saviour hath said this in other words My Father worketh till now and I work My Father though He rested upon the Sabbath day from the works of Creation having made the world such as He had designed it to be yet He continues the work of the gracious preservation of his Creatures And I having nothing of my own to do work with Him In his great love to me He hath shown me what He doth made me partaker of his Counsels and is always with me in rare instances of His Presence because I ever do what pleaseth him Our Lord knew with what great desire of restoring the state of the fallen Creation He was sent into the World And being fully fatisfied in the worthinesse of the divine appointment rejoycing that it was so acceptable to the Father that He should become a Saviour He omitted no fit meanes to bring that purpose to effect For which He received publickly great approbations from above declared not onely in words but other most significant Testimonies It was my design to throw a mite into this Treasury by the preaching of this Sermon which exhorts us unto the pursuit of Goodnesse that by it we may attain a noble conformity to God and do honour to Him by the lively expressions of it in our actions As men can be made good only by resemblance of that Archetype Image so I know nothing by which one may so plainly manifest the excellency of Goodnesse as by making it appeare to be the Glory of God and that none do truly worship him but such as are like Him in disposition and practise All the world hath acknowledged the Imperfection of Humane Nature And those which have had the happines to understand better than others have perceived that its defects are onely to be made up by a participation of a Divine Nature Neither have they more clearly discerned that the perfections of God are the infallible patterns of all worthy imitation then they have confidently pronounced that the chief thing in Divinity is Goodnesse In the early dayes of the Heathen world this notion was so deeply implanted in their minds that when Pythagoras had raised the Italians out of the miseries of vice by his excellent precepts and formed them into the happinesse of a well-governed life whilest their neighbours wondred at their felicity which they themselves perceived to be true by their inward sense and general experience what said they {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} c. Thenceforth they reckoned him among their Gods they took him for a good Doemon and lover of mankind And whilst every body gave their opinion some said he was one of the heavenly Gods come down in the shape of men to teach the world and to reform humane Naure being {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} an happy spurre to prick on sluggish men to vertue and happiness than which a greater good could not come to men So the Lycaonians as we read in the Acts of the Apostles seeing one of Lystra which was a creeple from his Mothers womb enjoy the use of his feet by the charity of Saint Paul cryed out The Gods are come down to us in the likenesse of men As they esteemed God to be the Authour of all Good they were right but thinking every good thing to be God by a grosse mistake they brought in Idolatry being not able to distinguish between the giver and receiver or between Him that was the Original spring and such as by the Fountains leave derived the streames to others taking every good thing for the best of all Whether there had a tradition continued to them from the beginning That God in the similitude of mortal man should bestow great blessings upon the world I know not If they had it was made good in Christ or God manifest in the flesh But they plainly declared How much they believed Goodness convertible with God as also in that rather than they would attribute any evill to Him as indeed they ought not being ignorant to answer the Question {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} they would needes set up another Principle for the Authour of â—vill not discerning it seems that the Creature upon which goodnesse is derived but not immutably fixed might degenerate into evill by its own will and so bring in mischief without setting up an Anti-God As these things do sufficiently declare that inseparable connexion that is between the Nature of God and supreme Goodnesse So concerning his worship it hath been pronounced on all hands that there is no instance so considerable and proper as the imitation of his goodnesse They said of old {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Then we worship God best when we imitate him most This is a most reasonable service For how highly must they needs honour the Divine Nature that count themselves and all things else utterly contemptible so far as they are unlike unto it And have no Standard by which they estimate worth besides the resemblance of that Holy Image and knowing that to be such do carefully endeavour to make themselves and others partakers of it By these things we see what need we have to acquaint our selves well with the Divine Nature and to take care that we understand God aright not only because true apprehensions of Him are necessary to bottome a good confidence and are the roots upon which Love and Adoration grow but also because if we form wrong imaginations concerning God we shall quote him for a defence of our own unworthinesse and make the blasphemy of our errour very hardly curable It was an unanswerable Argument by which the ancient
of seeming devotion But those which really put out his Spirit and expresse his Image do truly glorify their Lord and so our Saviour sayes he was glorified in his true followers Joh. 17. 10. and he sayes that in his next coming he will be glorified in them again 2 Thes. 1. 10. when he will reveal to all the world that his admirable holinesse was the only pattern of all true worth and excellency The true appearances of this divine Image are of such wonderful effect sometimes that they dazle the eyes of those which behold them and make them confesse as Marcus Antonius saith in his Epistle of the Christians of his time {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} i. e. That they had an in-dwelling God formed in their souls We do honour to God if we do heartily promote his knowledge and love in the world The words of Galen are excellent to this purpose which he hath in the speech which he makes as a hymne in praise of the Creator {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} c. This I esteem to be true worship not to sacrifice to him Hecatombs of Bulls but if I know him my self and declare to others the greatnesse of his wisdome power and goodnesse The Italian glosse is much to the same purpose in which doing all to the Glory of God is thus expounded Rendendogliene voi ogni honore è procurando che tutti gli altri facciano il simile i. e. Giving all honour to him your selves and endeavouring that all others may do the same But of this I shall speak more largely in the fifth instance We glorify God if we resign our selves to the Government of his will for by so doing we honour it above our own self-will and the examples of all others that contradict it This is performed in two things In following the divine precepts as indispensable rules Then we truly give honour to God when we obey his Lawes as the orders of the great Father and Governour of all things and as he said {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} simply co-will with God and plainly sympathize with his pleasure The Commentator upon Pythagoras his golden verses doth excellently interpret that precept of performing all due rites to our Ancestours thus If children do follow those holy directions which their parents left them they do them more honour then if they offered solemn sacrifies When Achan had sinned and through covetousnesse slighted the Commandement of God he was bid to confesse and give glory to God Men give glory to God when they confesse the folly of their wilful deviations from the righteous commands of God but they honour him much more when for the regard which they bear to the wisdom and goodnes of his most just appointments they will not deviate By chearfully submitting to those conditions of life and estate that he is pleased to allot to us If we quarrell with his dispensations towards us we accuse him of rigor and harshnesse in his government and when we have begun to think that God useth us hardly in his dealings with us we think dishonourably of him and have prepared our selves to hate him What honour and preference did our Saviour give to the Divine will when in such famous instances of tryal he said not my will but thine be done How well did his Scholar great Paul follow his steps who had learned in every condition to be content with Gods allowance I may fitly adde to these the golden words of Epictetus which Arrianus hath recorded {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} c. And now ô Lord do what thou wilt with me I will find no fault with thy appointments If thou wilt have me sick I am content or well or poor or rich or publick or private to stay or go and addes {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} I will not only submit unto thee but also defend the righteousnesse and wisdom of thy doings Lastly we do honour to God if we endeavour as much as we can to further all the noble designes and excellent works of God in the world by this we shall declare that we value his ends as the most worthy and desirable things in the world What is his chief design but to advance Goodnesse Righteousnesse Knowledge Equity Charity Purity Benignity Peace and Love The righteous Lord loveth righteousnesse The Kingdom of God is in Righteousnesse Peace and Ioy in the Holy Ghost His delight is in goodnesse and mercy pleaseth him above all burnt offerings and sacrifices He rejoyceth in the prosperity of the children of men O that there were such a heart in them as that they would fear me that it might go well with them and their children after them The counsels of God do show a plain way to these ends and he facilitates our correspondence with his advice by taking in our interest and he takes himself honâ—red when we become Co-workers with him as the Apostles word is or as the Philosopher varies it but a little {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Co-workers of all good which is all one for his works are all good He is righteous in all his wayes and holy in all his works This is to honour God when in correspondence with him in his God-likeâ— designes a man makes account of it as his proper office in the world to do good to all men to take care of all men and as a common father teacher and helper to further them in the participation of God to promote their happinesse and comforts It is worthy of a good man to make himself as it were a common Priest to offer up prayers continually for all the world It is observable that when our Saviour commended the imitation of his fathers perfections he instanced onely in Charity Mat. 5. And when he condemned the world for their ungodlike carriage he mentioned only uncharitablenesse Mat. 25. By this spirit and practise we make a return to God of what we have received from him and employ his liberality to his honour by making it redound to his praise not from the second or third but from many hands When thou art converted go and strengthen thy brethren Or if there be any thing done to thee for which thou owest a love to me pay it by feeding my sheep and who are Christs sheep all poor miserable creatures for he was the good shepherd that came to seek and to save what was lost There is a passage in Trismegistus that is a lively representation of this point After he had been made partaker of the divine light he heard a voyce saying to him {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} be thou a guide to such as will follow thee that mankind may be saved by God upon which he began presently as he saith {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} to discover the beauty of holinesse and to preach {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} c. O worldly
not forbear the tasting of a little meat it may be but once to prevent thy brothers damnation Besides thou dost indiscreetly adminiâ—ter an occasion to confirm his foolish estimation of an Idol above the true God to whose Honour we are to refer the actions of our whole life and whose Gloâ—y can scarce by any thing be so advanced by us as by a prudent charity so much may serve for the explication of the Coherence of the Text The verse contains one of those two comprehensive principles which divide the substance of Religion between them and are of such important use to a good man in all his wayes that he can never neglect either of them but he must needs miscarry The first is Dependance upon God that is a constant clasping about Almighty Goodnesse which hath given us a Being but not without an absolute necessity of cleaving still to it without which we cannot support our selves as we perceive by that Impotency and feeblenesse which we often feel in our selves Alas we should sink down into nothing and so would the whole Creation were it not for that omnipotent life which penetrates through all things to comfort and sustein them Whosoever ceaseth this duty to God the first Cause of all things tears himself off from his root withers and becomes unprofitable to God and himself and growes as stupidly as the Trunks of senselesse Trees upon roots that afford them sap and juice though they know it not The second is a sincere ordination of our selves and our works to the honour of God which is a consequent of the former for it is as absurd morally not to live to God as it is impossible naturally to live of our selves This Latter is the exhortation of Saint Paul in the Text and I have the rather chosen it for the subject of this discourse because though it is by many much talked of yet few things are more mistaken and none more neglected In the explication of this great point I shall endevour to 1. State the true notion of Gods glory 2. Shew how we may glorify God in all we do 3. Demonstrate that we ought to do so 4. Give notice of some things by which God and Christian Religion have been much dishonoured First I will endevour to state a true Notion of the Divine Glory But being about to write of such a subject I may well begin with the words of an excellent Philosopher who going to describe Gods nature sayes thus {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} i. e. Now what manner of thing should I be whilst I speak of God what beauty of speech what light of apprehension revealing it self in clear expressions what harmony of well chosen words is needfull to describe to my self and others so great a matter This he might well say considring that by reason of the excellency of Gods Nature the darknesse of our minds and the poverty of speech it is difficult to think or speak any thing worthy of him Some by reason of the unworthinesse of their soules are apt extremely to debase the glory of God and it is possible so far to mistake that in stead of praising him we may blaspheme And it is an acknowledged truth that our Religion depends not upon a slight extramission of ill grounded expressions or shallow affections but upon a deep intramission of Gods reall excellencies That we might not mistake the Divine Glory he who only could hath told us what it is When a worthy man and one very familiar with God made this prayer to him I beseech thee shew me thy glory he received a grant of his prayer in these words I will make my goodnesse passe before thee which is called the Glory of God Verse 22. Thou shalt see my back parts for my face cannot be seen thou shalt see as much as can be shown or is fit for thee to see my Name shall be told thee by which I glory to be known In the next Chapter when the Divine Glory passed by this proclamation was made The Lord the Lord God Mercifull and Gracious long-suffering abundant in goodnesse and truth c. This was a glorious Name indeed and worthy of God Moses saw God appearing after this manner more then once for God shewed himself to him decked with the Glory of his goodnesse when he came forth in the Creation of all things and rejoyced to see every thing made good And God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good as if he had said God having in rich benignity made all things in a decent correspondency to his own goodnesse pleased himself as an artificer doth when his work answers the beautiful Idea's of his own mind The Psalmist hath express'd this in plain words After he had taken an exact view of God as he appeared decked with the Glory of his works for so he begins My God thou art great clothed with Honour and Majesty thou coverest thy self with light as with a Chrystal robe c. He addes ver. 31. The Glory of the Lord shall endure for ever the Lord shall rejoyce in his works From the forementioned Scriptures we perceive that Gods Glory is the Divine Goodnesse which shines forth in his works and those merciful condescensions by which he seeks to make his creatures partakers of his own blessednesse according to their capacities Whilst this goodnesse passeth before our eyes we see God as a bright Sun incircled with his own out-spread rayes of Light and Love being capable indeed of no other Glory but what accrues to him from the displaying of his own goodnesse no more than the Sun can be seen but by his own Beams He which can receive nothing if he will have Glory must give That which may be known of God shining in Nature taught the Philosophers the same truth Hierocles speaks very well to this purpose {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} c. i. e. There can be no reasonable cause given for the Creation of all things but the essential goodnesse of God for he is good by Nature and perfectly free from envie Other causes besides this may be assigned but they savour more of humane imperfections then correspond with Gods blessednesse and perfection So Simplicius {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} c. i. e. God having an omnipotent power and infinite good will made nothing evil but all things good as much as could be that is as much as every thing is capable of his goodnesse So that if we take notice of the world {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the free efflux of the Divine goodnesse we may easily perceive the design of God in the Creation to have been like that of an excellent Limner who having filled a large Room with divers Tables some bigger some lesse beautifies them all according to their proportions with his skilful hand Here also we may receive an account of the difference