us the Aid and Assistance of his Holy Spirit Our Saviour affirms it Luke 11.13 He gives it to them that ask it viz. in devout and constant Prayers And sure his Grace is sufficient for us as God Almighty says it himself 2 Cor. 12.9 Whosoever therefore is buried with Christ in the Baptism of Repentance Sin shall have no dominion over him he is freed from it as we read Rom. 6. at the 7th and 14th Verses And whosoever is born of God overcometh the world 1 John 5.4 Those that walk in the spirit do not fulfil the lusts of the flesh Gal. 5.16 But like St. Paul they keep under their bodies and bring them into subjection lest they should be cast away 1 Cor. 9.27 They baffle Hell and the Devil they resist him till he begon from them Resist the devil says St. James and he will flee from you Jam. 4.7 In a word The weapons of their warfar are mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of God as it is 2 Cor. 10.4 5. So that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present northings to come nor height nordepth nor any other Creature is able to separate them from the love of God Rom. 8.38 39. And if this be true if nothing hinders but they may then surely they are obliged ever to continue in his Love that is as I have proved from the 21st Verse of the 14th Chapter of the Gospel according to St. John in the constant Practice and Observance of his will For they and they only that endure unto the end shall be saved as it is Matt. 24 13. But no man we are told Luke 9.62 having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God Our blessed Saviour in Matt. 7.24.25 compares him that learns his will and doth it to a wise man who builds his house upon a rock which stands firm and will never fall tho' the rain descend and the flouds come and the winds blow and beat upon that house From all has been said we may draw the following Inferences I. No Doctrine can be more Antichristian than such as encourage Vice and a loose way of living For nothing can be more contrary to the Nature and Constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven Whatsoever doth so is directly opposite to the very design of Christianity tends to the Subversion of it and conspires the Ruine and Overthrow of the Kingdom of God among Men. Nothing then can be vainer or more ridiculous than to take that for a true Christian Doctrine which allows Men in or encourageth them to Sin Whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God 1 John 3.10 So that though our Righteousness doth not reach unto God so as to add to his Happiness yet are we obliged to be righteous Though when we have done all we must say We are unprofitable servants yet we must do all Though we must not be proud and indeed we have no reason to boast for all our good works yet we are obliged to do all good works Though we can do nothing without the Grace of God yet we must believe he affords us sufficient Strength and we are to act upon that Supposition and do our Duty diligently otherwise our Neglect and Folly is inexcusable Though our Saviour died and made a full and sufficient Satisfaction for us yet it was in order to our Reconciliation to God and Holiness He has not purchased for us a Licence to sin but except we repent purifie our selves from all Iniquity and grow zealous of all good works we shall still perish we shall receive no Benefit by his Sacrifice For though the Ceremonial or Judaical Law be abolished yet the Natural Law the everlasting Law of Holiness of Reason and Equity or Conscience stands firm and can never be repealed Could you imagine that that Law was made void through Faith God forbid says the Apostle yea doth he add we establish the Law Rom. 3.31 And though we are justified freely and saved by Grace yet it is through Faith and that not a dead Faith such as the Devils may have but such an one as worketh by Love as we have seen Cal. 5.6 Let us not then object any thing against our Duty but set about it instantly knowing that we are to expect no Grace no Favour no Mercy at God's Hands upon the Account of our Faith if it doth not purifie us from all iniquity and that it will avail us nothing at all to have believed in Jesus Christ if we do not believe in him so as to forsake all our Sins and become pure and holy and fruitful in all good Works and frame our Lives perfectly according to his Will and the Precepts of his Gospel submitting our selves wholly to his Government and his most heavenly Kingdom and letting him rule us and reign over us Otherwise our Faith is a dead Faith no better than that of Devils who believe and tremble Jam. 2.19 We are therefore inexcusable if we are so impertinent after this as to wrest either through our Ignorance or Instability any Saying in the Bible to favour our Lusts and so flatter us in our own Destruction Some Men are very fond of these and the like places Be not righteous overmuch And What I would that I do not but what I hate that I do It is no more I then that do it but sin that dwelleth in me As if by these or the like they were discharged from the Duty and Necessity of Holiness But either these Words are capable of a good sence reconcâ—leable with our strictest Duty or else they are not the Dictates of the Spirit of God nor the Sence of the Holy inspired Men themselve but the Proverbs or Sayings of dissolute Men who are there personated which lie under the Dominion of sin and are brought into captivity to the law of sin We are little verst indeed in Scripture if we know not there are some things obscure in it Yet we must be blind if we do not plainly perceive that it doth indispensably exact of us a righteous and just and a vertuous and holy Life agreeable to the heavenly and everlasting Laws of the Kingdom of Heaven Our God has no pleasure in wickedness neither shall any evil dwell with him Such as be foolish shall not stand in his sight for he hateth all them that work vanity He shall destroy them that speak leasing The Lord will abhor both the blood-thirsty and deceitful man as the Psalmist has it Psal 5.4 5 6. And God is not of another Mind under the Gospel but if the Christian Faith did indeed make void the Necessity of being truly righteous and holy and allowed its Professors the Liberty of living in Immorality and Sin it ought to be rejected of all sober
promises offered up his only begotten Son accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead By Faith Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward The time would fail to tell of Gideon and of Barak and of Sampson and of Jephtha of David also and Samuel and of the Prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained promises stopped the mouths of lions quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong waxed valiant in fight turned to flight the armies of the aliens Women received their dead raised to life again and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings they were stoned they were sawn asunder were slain with the sword they wandred about in sheep-skins and goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy All these obtained a good report through Faith But you see it was a lively and operative Faith that had such an influence upon all their Actions as to make 'em comply in every thing with the good and holy Will of God Those then have not Faith who do not lead good Lives or at least not such an one as is spoken of in this Chapter that is an active and saving Faith for that Faith is good for nothing which doth not effect a thorough Reformation and cause Men to live justly and vertuously But now what is it we mean by Morality If by it you understand a mere formal and outward conformity to the Laws of Holiness without inward Purity that is very far from the Kingdom of Heaven As for Example the Giving of Alms Praying Fasting and the like not from a Principle of Piety or a Religious Fear and Love of God but meerly to be seen and approved of Men and had in good repute or the like But this is not true Morality 't is Hypocrisie Or if you mean the Morality of the Heathen Philosophers that was imperfect and deficient weak and obscure And so was in some measure the Moral Law of Moses as is evident from many places of Scripture Yet it was a great Advantage to the People of the Jews and a peculiar Blessing being a very considerable Help to Natural Religion and an Introducement to Christianity But if you will know what true Morality is that is Christianity itself 'T is an exact and perfect conformity of our Lives and Actions of our Thoughts Words and Deeds to the eternal Laws of right Reason naturally that is by God himself imprinted upon our Consciences and as it were reprinted and that more deeply by the Gospel of his Son And whoever vilifies Morality taken in this sence vilifies and undervalues the Christian Religion and rejects the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ In the Sanction of the Second Covenant is fulfill'd the Divine Oracle of the 31st of Jeremy at the 33th Verse where God did promise That he would put his Laws in our inward parts and write them in our hearts that he would be our God and we should be his people Since most Men were so dull as not to perceive it and find it out themselves they are told That the kingdom of God is within them Luk. 17. â—1 That the true way to worship God is to worship him with the Mind and in sincerity of Heart John 4.23 That the Dictates of our Consciences are the very Laws of God which we ought to reverence and to observe religiously that to contradict them is an abominable guilt and that God hates Sin mortally that is whatsoever is against right Reason and Equity For the Gospel unfolds and proposes to us all the Precepts or Dictates of Conscience that is the everlasting Laws of right Reason and denounceth the Wrath of God against every Soul that will not submit to 'em and be ruled by 'em declaring that this is the Will of God that God delighteth in no other Service but this but if we do this we shall live as it is written Luke 10.28 And the holy Jesus the only begotten Son of God is come into the World not only to tell us of this but to give us a full assurance of it and present unto us all the helps and motives necessary thereby to recommend our Duty to us and imprint the everlasting Laws of God in our inward parts according to the Oracle in Jeremy He hath therefore undergone the bitter and ignominious Death of the Cross and has offer'd the Sacrifice of himself not only to make Satisfaction for our past Rebellions in order to a reconciliation and to make a publick reparation of the Divine Honour and Authority which was affronted by all our Actions that were contrary to his Laws and to right Reason but also to give us thereby an invincible Proof and a convincing Argument that God cannot love sin that he cannot away with it that he will never be Friends with sinners till they actually forsake their sins and learn righteousness Since as an excellent Man of our Church has it his Infinite Justice and Holiness would not permit him to propound Terms of Reconciliation with fallen Mankind without such a glorious and open manifestation of his just hatred and displeasure against sin and rebellion For no other consideration could prevail with God to be reconciled with us and to remit our Offences upon condition of amendment and newness of Life but the powerful interposition of his dear and only begotten Son and his suffering in our Nature the punishment due to sin when he took upon him to make satisfaction for it in our behalf to the injur'd Majesty of God that the Justice and indispensable Obligation of God's Laws might be thereby acknowledged and demonstrated and so a due reparation made to the Divine Honour and Authority Not but that as the same Reverend Author goes on God Almighty by the unlimited Goodness of his own Nature is infinitely inclin'd to all Acts of Favour and Pity and he might without wrong to any one if he had seen it fit absolutely have pardon'd the Sins of Mankind without any other Consideration than their repentance and amendment But he best knowing Mens Hearts did not think it sufficient barely to send his Son among us to declare his Will and demand our Obedience he was pleased also to print his Laws the eternal Laws of Holiness in our Minds and to make a deeper impression upon our Spirits he was pleased I say to make an Example of his own begotten Son when he took upon him to be the Advocate and the Pledge of Sinners thereby to convince us that since he spared not his own Son but
Confusion Everlasting Misery must inevitably be our Portion if thou hast not Compassion upon us For by our Unbelief and Disobedience we have deserved the Flames of Hell and our Folly and Inconsideration hath plunged us into Destruction O good Lord punish us not in thine Anger Suffer us not to perish for ever and fall into the bitter pains of Eternal Death But give us Grace now to repent actually and sincerely of all our Sins And then for the sake of our blessed Saviour be pleased to accept of our hearty and sincere Repentance Be merciful unto us O Lord be merciful unto us who are grieved for our Transgressions and are ashamed that we have offended thee Help us to contract such holy Dispositions that we may obtain the Salvation of our Souls Give us thy Holy Spirit we humbly beseech thee that we may perfectly hate and forsake all Sin and love and follow after Righteousness and true Holiness and that instead of our former Carelesness and Neglect of Religion we may now become earnest and diligent in learning and practising thy whole Will being always filled with that Zeal and Devotion which ought to accompany our Prayers that we may obtain thy Grace and Benediction Give us a true Contrition O Lord for all our Sins a deep Veneration for thy great Name a profound Humility a meek and charitable and contented Spirit and entire Trust and Dependance upon thy all-wise Providence and a Christian Hope that may purifie us as thou art pure Give us Grace to be always prepared against all that shall happen unto us in this World resigning our selves entirely into thy Hands Give us the Wisdom that is from above which is pure peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated full of Mercy and of good Fruits O give us that Peace which the World cannot give and which surpasseth all Understanding and fill our Hearts with that blessed Joy which is a continual Feast and a perpetual Comfort and is no where to be found but in a holy Mind and a good Conscience And particularly we pray thee give us a due sence of all thy Benefits that we may never be so ungrateful as to forget how many good things we have received from thee Blessed be thou O good God for all thy Temporal and Spiritual Blessings Blessed be thou that thou hast been so good and kind to us notwithstanding all our Provocations that we are still alive and that thou hast preserved us to this Hour and hast waited for our Repentance with so much Patience and Long-forbearance And for ever blessed be thy good Name for the inestimable Hope thou hast set before us by the Mediation of thy Son our Saviour whom thou hast sent to make Propitiation for all true Penitents and to bless us and lead us into the way of Happiness in turning every one of us from his Sins who therefore has brought Life and Immortality to light through the Gospel and hath so powerfully called us to Glory and Vertue by exceeding great and precious Promises that by these we might be Partakers of the Divine Nature having eseaped the Corruption that is in the World through Lust O Infinite Goodness to snatch us from Death and lead us in the way of Eternal Life How shall we escape if we neglect that great Salvation Good God since the Blessed Jesus shed his precious Blood to redeem us from all Iniquity that he might deliver us from this present evil World to make us New Creatures holy and pure to live with thee eternally in Heaven O may we become a peculiar People unto thee zealous of all good Works that through our Vileness we make not the Blood of thy Son ineffectual to the saving of our Souls and so loose the Benefits of his Redemption May we ever submit our selves unto thee and live soberly justly and godly in this present World and work out our Salvation with Fear and Trembling till we arrive at last to a happy Death and remit our Spirits into thy Hands Suffer us not O Lord to lust after evil things to fix our Hearts and place our Affections upon the things of this World nor to be restless and impatient for any Enjoyment of it Make us more and more sensible of the Uncertainty and Vanity of all worldly things and of our own Unworthiness of the least Good we enjoy that we may be content to want the Pleasures and Comforts of this World and if it be thy Will endure patiently its Crosses and Troubles so at last we do but obtain Heaven and for ever escape those dreadful and everlasting Torments of Hell which we have righteously and often deserved Have Pity O Lord upon the whole Race of Mankind More particularly take thy Church we humbly beseech thee into thy special Care and Protection There is none that fighteth for us but thou O God O let not thy Truth fail in the World grant that all Men may come to the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ that we may all serve thee unanimously under his Banner and having conquered the World the Flesh and the Devil whilst we follow the Captain of our Salvation we may enjoy the blessed Effects of that glorious Victory in mutual Love and universal Charity and so attain to the Felicity of the Kingdom of Heaven Bless and protect our Sovereign whom thou hast set over us Defend him in all Dangers and give him good Successagainst his Enemies and the Enemies of our holy Religion Bless and preserve our gracious Queen and the Royal Family Grant to all that are put in Authority under them that they may truly and indifferently minister Justice to the Punishment of Wickedness and Vice and to the Maintenance of thy true Religion and Vertue Bless all those that minister unto us the Word of Life that they may save themselves and those that hear them Be good and gracious we beseech thee to all our Relations our Friends and Benefactors Pour thy Blessings upon this whole Family and all those among whom we live Put thy Fear and thy Love in our Hearts that we may live comfortably like Brethren and Christians one with another Have mercy O good Lord upon all that are in Trouble Sorrow Need Sickness or any other Adversity and those especially to whom our Prayers are due succour and relieve them comfort them with the Hopes of a better and eternal Life and fit them for that blessed Life Pardon our Enemies give us Grace to love them and do good unto them and them Grace to repent that we may all live better than we have done for the time past that we may all be Partakers of thy Salvation O give us Grace daily to amend what is amiss in us that we may go on unto Perfection and may be so happy as to enjoy the Pleasures of divine Love and Holiness to Eternity Take us all this Day Night O Lord into thy good and mighty Protection * That is to be said in the Morning