visible to all the World That a Will to do Good is the only thing we want But such a Readiness and Wilâ—…ingness of Mind as is Active and Vigorous as contrives and lays Designs of Charity or embraces such as are offered and takes all wise Opportunities of doing Good this is very acceptaâ—…le to God as being the most Divine and God-like Temper the Image of â—…is own Goodness and the noblest Exercise of our Love to Men inspired with the Love of God Now in Moâ—…al Actions it is the Principle that gives the Value not so much the Gift as the Mind of the Giver and therefore St. Paul tells us That though we give all our goods to feed the poor and have not charity we are nothing 1 Cor. 13. 3. God can feed the poor without us if he so pleases but as for several other wise ends of Providence so he has ordered That the poor shall be always with us for the trial and exercise of our Virtue but the Virtue is not the Gift but the Charity And could we perform all the Acts of Charity without a charitable Mind the World might be better for it but not we our selves 2dly This readiness and forwardness of Mind to do good will observe the just proportions of Charity will give according to what a man hath I observed before That our Saviour in his Gospel hath prescribed no fixt Measures nor Proportions of Charity Nor could he reasonably do this considering the nature of Charity which though it be not so absolutely free that we may chuse whether we will be charitable or no for charitable we must be at the peril of our Souls yet the proportions must be free or it is not Charity but a Poor's rate as all the positive Laws which God gave the Iews for the relief of the Poor were no better and therefore by the wiser Iews were never placed to the account of Charity but of Justice and a Legal Righteousness Which is the very distinction St. Paul makes between a righteous and a good man Rom. 5. 7. But scarcely for a righteous man wiâ—… one die yet peradventure for a good man one would even dare to die A Righteous man is one who is legally Righteous and observes what the Law requires but a Good man is one who is acted by a free unconfined and generous Goodness Now upon this pretence That there 〈◊〉 no proportion assigned to Charity â—…ere are too many who content themâ—…lves with very little indeed with noâ—…ing which can properly be called Chaâ—…ty But I wonder in the mean time â—…hat these men make of all those Comâ—…ands and Exhortations which we find 〈◊〉 the Gospel to Charity which are so â—…any so pressing and importunate and â—…und on us by so many promises of â—…esent and future Rewards and with 〈◊〉 many terrible Threatnings denounâ—…d against the uncharitable that sureâ—… they must mean something and as â—…illing as men are in these Cases to â—…etend Ignorance I believe there are â—…w men living but know in some meaâ—…re what Charity means And though â—…ey may dispute how much they ought â—…o give yet certainly know that they â—…ught to give and that to give noâ—…hing or what is next to nothing all Circumstances considered is not Chaâ—…ity A Charitable Temper and Disposition of Mind is an indispensible Duty and the most Essential Part of the Christian Religion This our Saviour commands and he need command no more for Charity is and will be a Rule and Measure to it self Where this Divine Principle is it will teach us when and how and in what Proportion to give The Sun needs no Rules and Directions how to communicate its Light and Heat Nature is the surest and most infallible Rule and Law to it self and thus it is proportionably in Moral as well as in Natural Agents For what is the immediate effect of Nature and Life can never be taught without its Principle cannot exceed its Principle and cannot fall below it All the Rules in the World can never teach that man Charity who wants the Principle a Charitable Mind needs no Rules but turns naturally on its own Byas which will direct its Motions right There is a great difference indeed between Natural and Moral Agents Natural Agents are necessarily determined to some one End and therefore have but one Principle which uniformly and steddily pursues the Ends of Nature but Moral Agents as they act freely so they have many different Principles Inclinations and Passions which stint and limit each other that none of them can act to their utmost Vigour but as they are mutually poiâ—…ed and ballanced And this is the â—…ork of Reason and Religion to put â—…em into their Natural Order and to â—…t just Bounds to them and that proâ—…ortions the degrees of their Activity â—…d Strength but yet every Principle â—…nless violently oppressed will act acâ—…ording to its Nature as it more or â—…ess prevails And this gives Meaâ—…res and Proportions to all our Actiâ—…ns as to shew you this in our preâ—…ent Case Charity is that Love to Mankind â—…hich makes us pity all their Wants â—…nd Sufferings and inspires us with a â—…reat Zeal and Concernment to Help â—…nd Relieve them If you enquire What the Natural Measure of this Charity is I know no other Natural Measure but its Natural End that is To relieve all that suffer and are in want for that is what Charity would do and what all Charitable Men heartily wish that they could do Well! but this is impossible for there are too many miserable People for any man to Relieve them all This is true and Want of Power must of Necessity set Bounds to our Charity but since we cannot Relieve all we must relieve such as we can and wisely consider where the greatest Necessities and greatest Obligations are Which will give the Preference to Christians before Infidels to Good Men before the Wicked to God's Poor whom the Divine Providence has made Poor to the Poor of their own Making whom Idleness Luxury and Vice have made Poor and Miserable Well! But how far must we Relieve these Poor Must we give as long as we have any thing to give and make our selves the Objects of Charity By no means There are other as Natural Principles as Charity which must set Bounds to it Self-Love is a Natural and Necessary Principle no man is bound to love any man better than himself To love our Neighbour as our selves is all that the Gospel it self makes our necessary Duty though some Great and Generous Friendships and Divine Charities may go further as far as concerns this Life Next to Self-love our Natural Affection for our Wives and Children must take place as ingrafted in it and thought the Best and the Dearest Part of it as being nearest to our selves and what the best â—…en are the most tenderly concerned â—…or And this is the chief thing which â—…mong men of any Principles disputes â—…he Bounds of Charity For as for â—…hose stupid
vast and boundless Desires of Happiness in Humane Nature a reasonable and intelligent Being has no other bounds to its Desires of Happiness but the most perfect and perpetual Enjoyment whereas Sensual Pleasures besides all other Disappointments must wait the Returns of Strength and Appetite and Objects and therefore cannot always be had or cannot always please Sensual Pleasures can never be the Happiness of any Creature which has any higher Principle then Appetite for Appetite is the utmost bounds of Sensual Enjoyments but when Knowledge serves instead of Appetite as it must do in Reasonable Creatures it creates such Desires as no Appetites can answer This makes Sensual Men so insatiable in their Desires of Pleasure though Bruit Beasts know their Measures because they misplace their Natural Desires of Happiness which are boundless and infinite upon Sensual Pleasures which are limited and confined and what Disapointments and Distractions must this create when there is no proportion between the Desire and the Object besides those Sensible Mischiefs of it which do not much contribute to their Happiness For when Desire forces an Appetite beyond the Strength of Nature and the Natural End and Use of such Pleasures it impairs their Health weakens their Bodies shortens their Lives or makes them miserable which are the common Rewards of Intemperance and Lust. These Beasts who are governed by Appetite know nothing of Sense is their Happiness and Appetite is the Measure of their Enjoyment and Sensual Pleasures can fill and satisfie a meer Sensual Appetite but when knowledge is both the Reason and the Measure of our Desires Sensual Pleasures can never fill such Desires for we know more than Nature it self can enjoy and yet when we place our highest Happiness in it must desire all we know and as long as we know which is longer than we can enjoy This proves that nothing can be the Happiness of a knowing and reasonable Creature but Intellectuall Pleasures where Knowledge is Enjoyment and then Enjoyment will equal Knowledge and Desire but when Knowledge and Enjoyment are two Things they may be parted and may be unequal and such a Creature cannot be compleatly happy 2dly All Men who believe that there is a God must confess that it is very foolish and very wicked to love our Selves in opposition to God Is it possible for a Reasonable Creature to be happy who separates himself from God the World may much better subsist without the Sun for God is the Life of a Reasonable Soul the brightest Object of our Minds Eternal Truth and Wisdom there is nothing worth knowing without God for to contemplate his Wisdom and Goodness and Power in all Things is that which gives a relish to all other Knowledge In him we live move and have our Being no Wise Man would be contented to live in a World which has not a God to govern it nor to live any longer in it than he can trust to and depend on his Protection and is it then the way to be happy to divide our Selves from God can any Man chuse better for himself than God can do we know our Selves so well as he that made us does not God know what Happiness he hath made us for or does he envy us the Happiness for which he made us Why then did he make us for such a Happiness so impious is it to think that God has forbid us any thing which is our true Happiness So vain is it to hope to make our selves happy in contradiction to the Will and Laws of God No Man thinks honourably of God who does not believe that his Laws are the most infallible Methods of our Happiness as well as the Tryal of our Subjection and Obedience and he who does so can never think of making himself happy by disobeying God But supposing it were otherwise is it not perfect Distraction to oppose our selves against God Can we make our selves happy whether he will or no Are we a fit Match for infinite Power Can we resist his Almighty Arm How easily can he look us into Misery and Confusion And does it not become us to submit to him and rather chuse to obey his Will than to suffer his Vengeance This is the Natural State of a Creature to live in subjection to his Maker and Sovereign Lord to receive Laws from him and to give up himself without any reserve to his Government and Disposal and therefore this is the Natural Method of our Happiness too 3dly As for the Third Notion of Self-love to love our selves in opposition to the Love of Men to divide our selves from the rest of Mankind and to carry on a Separate Interest to which as far as we are able we make all other Interests give place This is so hateful a Temper that the very naming of it is enough to expose it No Man dares to undertake its Defence those who are most guilty of it dare not own it but disguise it with some more popular Appearances A great and generous Mind that is concerned for all the World that does all the good it can that is ready to sacrifice his private Ease Satisfactions and Fortunes nay Life it self to serve his Country or to cleanse the World of Monsters is the Darling and Favorite of Mankind he is loved he is reverenced of all as a common Friend of Humane Nature and Humane Societies But a Man who loves no body but himself is a universal Enemy and all Men ought to have a Care of him and all Men will despise and abhor him when they know him These Self-lovers themselves when they see their own Picture in another Face will spit at it for those who love no body but themselves yet desire that all Men should love them and be very tender of their Concernments though they value no bodies Interest and Happiness but their own But though this Self-love be universally condemned yet it is too universally practised and therefore I shall briefly shew how impossible it is that this Self-love which divides us from the rest of Mankind should make us happy The Principles of Humane Nature make the Exercise of it very uneasy and that can never be our Happiness which is a Force and Violence to Nature We feel a Natural Compassion for the sufferings of Mankind especially of Innocent Men who have not deserved it and as well as any Man loves himself this makes it very painful to serve his own Interest by doing injury to others One of the first Principles of Morality which all Men confess to be highly reasonable is to do to other Men what we desire they should do to us which is the Fundamental Maxim both of Justice and Charity and in other Words is to love all Men as our selves and no Man can violate this Law that is no Man can love himself in opposition to the rest of Mankind without falling under the Censures and Reproaches of his own Mind which is no happy State One of the Divinest Pleasures
Laws The general Consent of all Nations who had no Communication with each other in this Distinction between Vertue and Vice intimates no other Compact but that of a common Nature And not only the wisest Philosophers but the universal Voice of Mankind attribute these Laws to Nature not to Human Institutions And it must appear strange if these Laws had no higher Original than Human Compacts that Mankind for so many Ages should not know any thing of it but should mistake them for the Laws of Nature as after all the Information these Men can give the World the generality of Mankind do to this day But suppose this Distinction between Vertue and Vice and those Laws which command the Exercise of Vertue and forbid Vice were originally framed and enacted by Men was there no Reason in the nature of things why they agreed upon such Laws Yes they will grant that they were necessary for the Peace and good Order and Government of Human Societies to secure private Men from Injuries and Violence and to make them helpful and beneficial to each other and therefore they agreed to make them Laws But why should we think that God and Nature has not made those Laws which have natural and necessary Reasons to make them Laws Can meer Human Compacts and Governments either make or change the Reasons and Necessities of things Can they if they so pleased make Vertue Vice or Vice Vertue and as well consult the Happiness of Mankind and the good Government of the World by doing so If not then meer Human Compacts can neither make nor unmake these Laws God has made these Laws for us by making us such Creatures and giving us such Natures as require such Laws if we will live by Nature and attain our natural Happiness and who then can think that God will not as much exact from us the Observance of these Laws as Men do that he will not punish the Breach of these Laws when Human Governments find it necessary to do so And has God made the Restraints and Punishment of Mens Lusts and Vices necessary and will he not punish them himself especially when the Authority of Human Laws and Human Government is very precarious without the Awe of Religion as those Law-givers were very sensible who to give the greater Veneration to their Laws pretended to receive them from their Gods It is manifest that this very Hypothesis which allows no other Difference between Vertue and Vice but what Human Laws and Human Contracts make leaves every Man at liberty to break these Laws when he can do it safely or will venture the Punishment which is the reason that makes these Men so fond of it and shews how necessary a divine Authority is to enforce the Obligation of these Laws and to secure the very being of Human Societies So that those who reason according to the common Principles of Humane Nature can never get rid of the Notitions of moral Good and Evil nor attribute these Laws to any other Author but that God who made us and fitted our Natures to these Laws and no Man who believes that God hath given us these Laws can doubt whether he will punish the Breach of them But then if to this we add the more certain Revelation of the Gospel wherein the Wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all Unrighteousness and Ungodliness of Men this confirms all the Fears of Nature and leaves no possible Hopes for Sinners but Repentance from dead works and Faith in our Lord Iesus Christ that it is impossible for Men who know any thing of the Gospel of Christ to sin securely with their Eyes open and therefore 2dly The next step they take is to put out their Eyes or to put out the Light to put darkness for light and light for darkness to reject all the common Principles of Reason and all Divine Revelation as Ignorance Folly and Imposture But what a Task is this to perswade our selves that Darkness is Light and Light Darkness For the common Principles of Reason which Atheists and Infidels must reject before they can deny the Being of God or a Divine Revelation shine as clear and bright in the Mind as the Light of the Sun does in the Heavens and the admired Principles of Atheism and Infidelity put out our Eyes leave no Distinction between things nor any certain Rules of judging as to give some few Instances of this There is nothing lies more easie and obvious in our Minds than the Notion of a first Cause which gave Being to all things else I will not dispute this Point now but alledge it as a first Principle which Mankind naturally assent to as the most reasonable Account of the Origin of all things Now this the Atheist rejects for if they should allow a First Cause they must own a God for the first Cause of all things is a God And this is the wisest Reason they have against it though in truth it is a great Confirmation of the natural Notion of a First Cause because the Belief of a God is as natural and universal as of a First Cause And these two Notions which are both so natural to Mankind do mutually confirm each other But what Account do these Men give of the Origin of all things They either say the World is Eternal and always was what it now is or that Atoms were Eternal and that the World that now is was made by chance But is this the natural Perswasion of Mankind that the World had no Beginning and no Cause or that it was made-by chance Is any thing in the World harder to be believed than this which we can form no possible Notion of Nature teaches nothing of all this and how then should they come to know it when they neither saw the World from Eternity nor saw it made by the fortuitous Jumble of Atoms It is certain these Principles differ as Light and Darkness do To ascribe all things to a First Cause gives a sensible Account how all things were made and how they came to be so wisely made which is Knowledge and Light But to say that the VVorld was Eternal without a Cause or that it was made by chance when we see all things in it so wisely made only confounds and amazes us and leaves us in Darkness Indeed all the Principles of Atheism and Infidelity have nothing natural or enlightning in them but are a Force upon our Understandings and destroy all the true Principles of Knowledge It is very easie and natural to our Minds to believe that something is Eternal for if there ever had been nothing there never could have been any thing But the Question is which is most easie and natural to Human Understandings to say that all things are Eternal without a Cause or to assert one Eternal Being who is the Cause of all things and every Man may feel the difference between these two in his own Mind for the Notion of a First Cause
our servent and importunate prayers for a Blessing upon our Arms to pray in Faith in â—…e with an entire dependance on 〈◊〉 and a perfect Resignation to his 〈◊〉 Thus Gideon and Barak and â—…id and the Worthies of old subâ—…d Kingdoms waxed valiant in fight 〈◊〉 turned to flight the Armies of Aliâ—… and there is no other way that I â—…w of still If God be still the only â—…er of Victory Faith and Prayer is 〈◊〉 the only way to obtain Victory 〈◊〉 God and therefore if we are 〈◊〉 and remiss in our Prayers if 〈◊〉 do not pray at all or expect noâ—…g from our Prayers let us not charge any ill success to ill conduct or â—…ardize but to our Infidelity and â—…igion and indeed this is the only â—…ncholly Consideration in our preâ—… Circumstances if the Courage 〈◊〉 Conduct of a Prince if the Braveâ—… and Resolution of Soldiers if a â—…erous Army and Navy if an Arm â—…lesh could give Victory we have â—…on to hope well but if God go 〈◊〉 forth with our Armies all our â—…er Preparations are vain and how 〈◊〉 we expect that when we will not 〈◊〉 it or only mock God with some â—…nal and customary addresses without being concern'd whether he hears oâ—… no or without expecting or at least without trusting and depending on his help 6thly But to encourage those gooâ—… men how few soever there are amoâ—… us who have a great sense of thâ—… Divine Providence and a firm Trâ—… and Faith in God to be very importunate in their Prayers for thâ—… Church and Nation I observe fartheâ—… That God many times has spared 〈◊〉 wicked People at the earnest intercesâ—…ons of some few good men Thus 〈◊〉 the intercession of Abraham God promised to have spared Sodom had theâ—… been ten righteous persons found 〈◊〉 that great City God spared Isrâ—… when they had so provok'd him 〈◊〉 their Idolatries that he threatned 〈◊〉 destroy them only at the importuâ—… of Moses as the Psalmist observes thâ—…fore he said he would destroy them 〈◊〉 not Moses his chosen stood before him 〈◊〉 the breach to turn away his wrath 〈◊〉 be should destroy them 106. Psal. 23. 〈◊〉 Story of which we have 32. Exod. 7 〈◊〉 At another time when they had pâ—…voked God by their Idolatries aâ—… Whoredoms with the Daughters 〈◊〉 Moab and the Plague broke in amoâ—… them then stood up Phineas and execuâ—…d judgment and the plague was stayed 〈◊〉 Numb And therefore when God â—…clared his resolution to punish them 〈◊〉 forbad his Prophet so much as to â—…ay for them 7. Ier. 16. And in 14. â—…ek 14. professes That he would not â—…cept of any Intercessions for them â—…o these three men Noah Daniel and â—…b were in it yet they shall deliver â—…t their own souls by their righteousness â—…ith the Lord Which supposes that 〈◊〉 another time the Intercessions of â—…ese good men would have prevailed â—…d that it is very extraordinary for God 〈◊〉 deny it And if the importunate Prayers of 〈◊〉 few good men may obtain Victory â—…d Success and save a Church and â—…ation let every good man at this â—…me cry mightily to God especially as â—…e Prophet Isaiah exhorts Ye that â—…ake mention of the Lord keep not silence â—…nd give him no rest till he make Ierusaâ—…em a praise in the earth 62. Isa. 6 7. 7thly To add no more and it is a very comfortable Consideration God many times saved Israel for his own Names sake when their sins provoked him to destroy them 48. Isa. 9. For my name sake will I defer mine anger and for my praise will I refrain for Thee that I cut Thee not off 11. v. For mine owâ—… sake even for mine own sake will I do it for how should my name be polluted and I will not give my glory to another Thus God assigns the reason why he did not destroy Israel in the Wilderness when they so highly provoked him I wrought for my name sake that it should not be polluted before the heathen among whom they were in whose sight I madâ—… my self known unto them in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt 20. Ezek. 9. That is they were God's peculiar people the only worshippers of the Lord Iehovah whom he had brought out of Aegypt by a mighty hand to make his Name known in the world and though they never so much deserved to be destroyed had he then destroyed them his own great Name would have suffered with them as Moses pleaded with God Wherefore should the Aegyptians say For mischief did he bring them out to slay them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth 32. Exod. 12. And thus the Psalmist prays Help us O God of our salvation for the glory of thy name and deliver us and purge away our sins for thy name sake wherefore should the Heathen say Where is their God let him be known among the Heathen in our sight by revenging the blood of thy servants which is shed 79. Psalm 9 10. And this is matter of hope to us That though our sins are very great yet God will not utterly destroy us but will send deliverance for his name sake for the sake of that holy Faith which is professed among us lest our Antichristian Enemies should triunph and say Where is now their God When the preservation of a wicked people is for the defence and honour of the true Christian Faith we have reason to hope and good men have a very powerful argument to plead with God That he will save us for his own Names sake SERMON IV. â—…reach'd before the Queen at Whitehall February the XIIth 1691 2. IV. MATTH 1. â—…hen was Iesus led up of the Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil THE Temptation of our Saviour after his fasting Forty Days is a very proper Subject for our Meditation at this time and suggests â—…o many useful observations that I shall not wast any time in a needless Preface but shall 1. Consider in general what concerns his Temptation and 2. Explain the Nature of those particular Temptations wherewith the Devil assaulted him 1. In general Concerning our Saviour's being tempted by the Devil Now to tempt is to make a Tryal and Experiment and when the Devil tempts it is to try if he can perswade or seduce us from the Fear and Worship and Obedience of God 1. Now in the first place it is very observable that Christ himself when he became Man was tempted of the Devil and there is no greater mystery in this than that he was liable to hunger and cold and had all the innocent Appetites Inclinations Infirmities of Humane nature that is That he was a true and real Man The Ancients generally conclude that the Devil did not know at this time how great a Person our Saviour was even the Eternal Son of God for it is hardly credible that had he known this he would have made so vain and hopeless an attempt on him It
is likely enough he thought him to be some extraordinary person He knew by the Ancient Prophecies that the Messias was to appear and knew from the Prophet Daniel that the time for his coming was accomplished nay it is probable he knew all the circumstances of his Birth and heard that â—…imony God gave him at his Bapâ—… This is my beloved Son but he saw he was a Man though an extraordinary Man and might not know that he was any thing more and having formerly foiled our first Parents in Paradise in the state of innocence hoped for the like success again Now if Christ himself was tempted by the Devil none of us must hope to escape tempted we shall be and therefore must take care to stand upon our guard and to fortify our Minds against all temptations And this encouragement we have from the Example of our Saviour that to be tempted is no Sin unless we yield to a temptation for He was tempted as we are yet without sin and we cannot imagine had it been a sin to be tempted that God would have permitted the Devil to have tempted our Saviour which may ease the fears of some Melancholly Christians who are afflicted with evil and tempting thoughts which their Souls abhor for whatever the cause of such thoughts be whether a frighted and disturbed imagination or the suggestion of wicked Spirits they can no more defile the Soul which abhors and rejects them with grief and indignation than they can the Paper on which they are writ Nay hence we learn that God many times exercises those with the greatest and most difficult Tryals and Temptations who are most dear to him He had no sooner proclaimed Christ his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased but he leads him by the Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil This Life is a State of Tryal and Probation and Temptations though they create some trouble and difficulty to good men yet do them no hurt If good men Conquer Temptations do but exercise encrease and confirm their Graces and make them great and illustrious examples to the World glorify the Divine Power in the Victories and Triumphs of his Servants over the World the Flesh and the Devil give them a secure hope in God and a transporting sense of his Love and prepare great rewards for them in the next Life And if they happen in any particular encounter to be overcome as St. Peter himself was when he denied his Master yet they rise again with glory and the sense of their sin and the shame of a defeat fills them with sorrow indignation self-revenge gives them new spirit vigour activity resolution makes them more patient of hardships and sufferings more unwearied in doing good more humble and modest and more perfectly resigned to the Will of God to dispose of them and their Services to his own Glory as he pleases God does not train up those whom he Loves and whom he prepares for Glory in ease and softness Whom the Lord loveth he chastneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth And the more difficult Temptations he exposes us to the greater honour he does us the more glorious will our Triumphs the richer and brighter will our Crowns be Let us then behold our Saviour in the Wilderness separated from humane conversation and all the comforts of Life in the midst of wild Beasts and tempting Spirits and not think that God uses us hardly if at any time he lets loose the Tempter upon us and gives him power over all we have as he did in the Case of Iob to afflict us in our Relations our Bodies our Estates good Names or whatever gives us the sharpest and keenest sense of suffering and is the most difficult exercise of our Faith 2. Let us consider the time when our Saviour was tempted viz. immediately after his Baptism being full of the Holy Ghost 4. Luke 1. 1. As soon as our Saviour was baptized he was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness For Then in my Text relates to the time of his Baptism and St. Luke tells us this was done in his return from Iordan where he was baptized by Iohn By this Religious Rite our Saviour had devoted himself to the immediate service of God in the Salvation of Mankind and was inaugurated into his Prophetick Office by that Testimony which was given to him by a Voice from Heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and this was the Critical time both for the Devil to tempt and for our Saviour to baffle all his temptations and to triumph over him Could the Devil have conquered our Saviour in this first assault there had been an end of this Glorious design of mans Salvation when he had enslaved and captivated the Saviour himself and therefore he began as early with â—…he second Adam as he did with the first though not with the like success Had our first parents resisted the first â—…emptation we had been happy for â—…ver but they yielded and brought â—…eath upon themselves and their Posteâ—…ity but the seed of the Woman whom God had promised should â—…reak the Serpents Head who was made manifest to destroy the works the Kingdom and the Power of the Devil by God's order and appointment first encounters him in his own person resists his most furious assaults makes him reâ—…reat with shame and despair as foreseeâ—…ng his own destiny and the final destruction of his Kingdom As the old Serpent seduced our first Parents in Paradice and brought sin and misery and death into the world so it was very fitting that the Saviour of Mankind should give the first proof of his Divine power in conquering the Tempter This gives us great encouragement to fight under Christ's Banners against the World the Flesh and the Devil for the Captain of our Salvation has already conquered and if we are not wanting to our selves we shall be more than Conquerors through Christ who strengthens us He knows what the power of temptations is and what measures of Grace are necessary to resist them and if we do not forsake him he will not forsake us He has conquered himself and knows how to conquer and if we faithfully adhere to him we shall conquer too Nay in case we should some time be conquered this has made him a merciful and compassionate High Priest being in all things tempted like as we are He knows the weakness of humane nature and the power and subtilty of the Tempter and prays for us as he did for St. Peter That our faith fail not that if we fall we may rise again by Repentance And this is a mighty Consolation That if any man sin 〈◊〉 have an Advocate with the Father Iesus Christ the righteous who is not only a Propitiation for our Sins but was tempted also as we are 2ly St. Luke observes that our Saviour was full of the Holy Ghost which he received without measure at his Baptism when the Holy
are Prosperous they conclude they are the Favourites of Heaven when they are Afflicted and meet with cross Events then God is angry with them and has forsaken them And though this argues such a stupid Ignorance of Christianity that one would think it could be no Temptation to a Christian yet it is too Notorious that three parts of the Melancholy the Desertions nay despair of many Christians is owing to no other Cause they think their Condition safe for the next World while they are Prosperous in this but as soon as the World begins to Frown they are irrecoverably Damned but would such men consider that our Saviour himself wanted Bread in the Wilderness and had no place whereon to lay his Head it would cure these Desertions if there be no greater Guilt which a strait Fortune awakens the sense of which I doubt is too often the Case 2dly There was another Snare in this to perswade our Saviour to supply the necessities of Nature by extraordinary means without the immediate Direction and Command of God for this had been a distrust of God's Care and Providence to have relieved his own wants by preternatural and uncommanded Methods And therefore to this he Answers It is written Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God That is Bread indeed is the ordinary Provision God has made for the support of Man's Life but when these ordinary and natural Provisions fail he has other ways to support Life as he fed the Israelites with Manna and Quails in the Wilderness and gave them Drink out of a Rock but then we must patiently and securely expect by what means God will provide for us â—…d till the word proceed out of his mouth â—…l we have some particular Command â—…d Direction for it we must take no â—…xtraordinary Uncommanded much â—…ss Forbidden ways to preserve our â—…ives for this is want of Trust in God â—…r want of Submission to his Will â—…xtream want and necessity is almost 〈◊〉 irresistible Temptation to humane Nature to distrust the ordinary Proâ—…isions of Providence and to provide â—…r our selves by what means we can â—…nd to justify what we do by such neâ—…essities it requires a great degree of â—…aith and Trust in God when we have â—…o Prospect of ordinary Succours patiâ—…ntly to expect God's Provision withâ—…ut going out of God's way But â—…hus our Saviour was Tempted and â—…as taught us how to conquer this Temptation Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God If Bread fail we must expect by what other means God will supply our Wants and not transgress those Laws God hath prescribed us how desperate soever our Condition seem to be 2dly The next Temptation is in the other extreme to presume so far upon his Interest in God's Favour and Protection as to make dangerous and vain-glorious Experiments of God's care He set him upon a pinacle of the temple and said unto him If thou be the Son of God cast thy felf down for it is written He shall give his Angels charge concerning thee and in their hands they shall beat thee up lest at any time thou shouldst dash thy foot against the stone When the Tempter perceived that Christ wholly relied on the Directions and Authority of Scripture he inforces his Temptation with Scripture too misunderstood and misapplied And these are the most dangerous Temptations of all which impose upon Men with a shew of Religion as our late Experience of a wild Enthusiastic Age will tell us when nothing so bad could be thought of but some Men had Scripture-Examples or Precepts or Prophesies or Parables to justifie it and therefore we must be aware of this as well as of all the other Arts and Stratagems of the Tempter In answer to this our Saviour proves that this Text could not mean that God would command his Angels to bear him up in their hands if he should â—…ling himself from the Pinacle of the Temple because we are expresly forbid to make such Experiments of God's Protection as this It is written Thou â—…halt not tempt the Lord thy God To tempt is to try and to tempt God is to try what he will or can do for us beyond his Promise and beyond the ordinary Methods of his Proâ—…idence especially when we either â—…urmur against God for not answerâ—…ng our unreasonable demands or preâ—…ume upon his favour to do that which he has forbid us to do or exâ—…ect his Protection and Blessing when we put our selves out of the ordinary â—…rotection of his Providence it were â—…asie had I time to give instances of â—…ll these ways of tempting God the â—…emptation of our Saviour concerns â—…e last I mentioned out of a vain-gloâ—…ous humour and a presumption of God's peculiar favour to us voluntaâ—…ly without any reasonable pretence â—…uch less necessity to thrust our selves â—…to apparent and unavoidable Dangers â—…nd expect God should save us by Miâ—…cles for this is what our Saviour was tempted to to fling himself down from the Pinacle of the Temple in a presumptuous confidence of God's care of him that he would command his Angels to bear him up in their hands This looks like Faith in God a plerophory of Hope and full assurance of his Love but indeed is Vanity Pride Insolence Presumption and a tempting of God It is such an Affront and Indignity as wise Men will not bear from their best Friends when they impose upon them not to do them a real kindness but to gratifie their vanity and humour in such Demands as a wiâ—… Man cannot honourably grant And yet there is a more dangerous and fatal Presumption than this wheâ—… men have such a strong Imagination oâ—… their being the Sons the Chosen and Elect People of God that they thinâ—… they cannot do any thing to forfeâ—… God's Love they may make moâ—… bold with God's Laws than other Men for God sees no sin in his People nay indeed that it is no Sin to advancâ—… themselves and the Cause they haâ—… Espoused which they call the Glorâ—… of God by extraordinary means thaâ—… is by transgressing all the known and ordinary Rules of Justice and Charity These are dangerous Temptations â—…nd we have seen the miserable Effects â—…f them and therefore let no man â—…ink that he is so great a favorite of Heaven as to have God at his beck â—…o save him by Miracles when he â—…ilfully exposes himself to such Danâ—…ers as nothing but Miracles can Deâ—…ver him from much less to think â—…at God will alter the nature of Good â—…nd Evil for his sake that he will disâ—…ense with his Laws Laws which â—…re as Eternal and Unchangeable as â—…is own Nature when ever such vain â—…nthusiasts pretend to serve themselves â—…nd his Glory by the breach of them 〈◊〉 is written Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God 3. These two Temptations were maâ—…aged with great Art to deceive the
6. Matth. 26 30. Where from God's care of mean Inferior Creatures the Fowls of the Air and the Grass of the Field he more strongly concludes his care of Men and by the same reason from his care of particular men we may more strongly conclude his care of Kingdoms and Nations and therefore of the Lives of Princes who are the great Ministers of his Government and Providence and whose Lives or Deaths make such a mighty Change in the Affairs of the World So that when or by what means soever Princes dye this is God's doings and how severe soever we may feel it We must be dumb and not open our mouths because he has done it which is the 2. Thing to be explained What is meant by being dumb and not opening our mouths For this seems a very hard saying in the strict literal sense that we must not complain of our Sufferings when we feel 'em smart Humane Nature can't bear this we must feel our Sufferings and when we feel them we must complain To have no sense of what we suffer is Stupidity not Submission it is irreverence for the Judgments of God and in some cases the most unpardonable baseness and ingratitude to Men. To be unconcerned for the Death of our dearest Friends or greatest Patrons and Benefactors not to pay Nature's Tribute to their Memories in a Sigh and a Tear not to long after them and send some vain Wishes to call them back not to preserve their Idea fresh in our minds and to think with some uneasiness of those happy hours which their Conversation sweetn d to part with our Friends as if we suffered nothing by their loss and were as well without them is so far from being a Virtue that such a man is uncapable of ever being a Friend and never deserves to have any much more then when we lose a publick Friend and Benefactor the greatest of Friends and Benefactors which is a good Prince Let us briefly consider what we have lost in the loss of our Gracious Queen and try if we can bear the thoughts of it without complaining She was the Glory of her Sex and an Ornament to the Crown she wore made truly Great by Nature Birth and Education She had a large and capacious Mind a quick and lively Apprehension and a piercing and solid Judgment She had a strength and firmness of Mind beyond her Sex and such a dexterity in managing the greatest Affairs as would have become the greatest and most experienced Ministers Never was there greater skill in Government with less fondness for it which she could take up and lay down with the same equality and indifferency of Mind Though I doubt I must unsay that for she was always grieved at the occasion of taking the Government and as glad to resign it Never was Majesty better tempered with easiness and sweetness She knew how to be familiar without making her self cheap and to condescend without meanness She had all the Greatness of Majesty with all the Virtues of Conversation and knew very well what became her Table and what became the Council-Board She understood her Religion and loved it and practised it and was the greatest Example of the Age of a constant regular unaffected Devotion and of all the eminent Vertues of a Christian Life In the midst of all the great Affairs of State she would rather spare time from her sleep than from her Prayers where she always appeared with that great composure and seriousness of Mind as if her Court had been a Nunnery and she had had nothing else to do in the World In all the Ease and Prosperity of Fortune she had that tenderness and compassion for those who suffered which sufferings themselves cannot teach meaner Persons She was Charitable to the utmost of her Power amidst all the Expences of War and Government and when a proper Object was presented to her was always pleased when she could grant their requests and very uneasy to deny In short her greatest and most â—…placable Enemies for Virtue self will meet with Enemies in this â—…orld had no other Fault to â—…arge her with but her Throne â—…hich is the only thing for which â—…ost other Princes are valuable â—…he ascended the Throne indeed â—…efore she desired it but was â—…rust into it not by an hasty â—…mbition but to save a sinking Church and Kingdom and I hope England will always have reason to â—…ay That an empty Throne could â—…ever have been filled with a nobler Pair But though the necessary absence of the King to give check to the Progress of a Powerful and Insulting Monarch engaged her more than she desired in State Affairs yet the promoting of true Religion and the service of the Church of England the greatest and best Nursery of it since the Apostolick Age was her constant and natural Care This her Thoughts were full of and she had formed great and noble Designs had she out-lived the Difficulties and Expences of War and been at leisure to attend the peaceful Arts of Government I have reason to say this from those frequent Intimations I have had from our late admirable Primate who had great Designs Himself to serve the Christian Religion and the Church of England in its truest Interests and had inspired Their Majesties and particularly the Queen who had more leisure for such Thoughts with the same great and pious Designs It may be no Church-man ever had I am sure not more deservedly a greater Interest in his Prince's Favour and the great Use he made of it was to do publick service to Religion and what ever some Men might suspect to the Church of England though it may be not perfectly in their Way And the greatest Fault I know he had was That some envious and ambitious Men could not bear his Greatness which he himself never courted nay which he industriously avoided Before this all England knew and owned his Worth and had it been put to the Poll there had â—…en vast Odds on his side that 〈◊〉 would have been voted into the â—…e of Canterbury for no Man had â—…er a clearer and brighter Reasoâ—… truer Judgment a more easy and â—…ppy Expression nor a more 〈◊〉 fearless Honesty he was a â—…e and hearty Friend and was a â—…e Friend whereever he profâ—…â—…d to be so Though he had maâ—… Enemies at last he took care 〈◊〉 make none He was obliging 〈◊〉 all Men and though he could â—…t easily part with a Friend he â—…uld easily forgive an Enemy 〈◊〉 that Bundle of Libels witnesses â—…hich was found among his other â—…pers with this Inscription These â—…e Libels I pray God forgive them do But I cannot give you the just Character of this Great Man now â—…hat I have already said I conâ—…ss is an Excursion which I hope â—…ou will pardon to the Passion of 〈◊〉 old Friend and learn from Two great Examples That neither â—…e greatest Innocence Virtue or Merit can defend either Crowned or Mitred Heads from the
an Eternal God without knowing how any thing is Eternal These are Disputes in Philosophy and such as none but vain Men will dispute about as being acknowledged above our Compreâ—…ension and therefore no reasonable â—…bjection against our Faith Thus as for the Doctrine of the Incarâ—…ation nothing can be plainer in Scripâ—…ure than that the Son of God was made â—…an That the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us That God was manifest in the flesh And all the Disputes about this Article are purely Philosophical Some men reject it because they cannot understand how God and Man can be united in one Person Others confound the Divine and Humane Nature as Eutyches did or divide the Persons as Nestoriâ—…us did both which indeed destroy the Article of the Incarnation for the Word is not made Flesh unless the same Person who is God is Man too and continues perfect God and perfect Man after this Union But all these Disputes concern the Philosophy of the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature in Christ and if we would separate between Faith and Philosophy such Disputes might soon be ended Thus most of the difficulties in the Pelagian and Quinquarticular Controversy are ultimately resolved into mere Philosophical Disputes about Fate and Prescience Liberty and Necessity and God's concourse with Creatures or the Powers of Nature and Grace And would time permit it were easy to shew this in most of the Controversies of Religion That it is not what God has revealed and what he requires us to believe but such nice Philosophical Questions as men raise about these matters which occasion all these Disputes It has often been proposed as a means of Union to silence all Disputes To confine our selves to Scripture-Words and Expressions without determining the signification of them But this would make only an Agreement in Words not a Consent in Opinions not could it secure the Peace of the Church while all men knew that under the same form of Words they had very different and contrary Meanings which would still make them as much Hereticks to each other as if their Words did as expresly contradict each other as their Faith But would men reduce all their Disputes to Scripture and make that the only Rule of their Faith without intermixing any Philosophical Disputes with it this would be an infallible means of Union for it is only this vain pretence to Philosophy which raises all â—…ese Disputes and then tempts men to â—…ervert the Scriptures to justify their â—…hilosophy In all these cases we are concerned to â—…quire what the true sense of the Article 〈◊〉 for this the Scripture teaches and â—…o far our Faith is concerned and these â—…re not only justifiable but necessary Disâ—…utes if the true Faith be necessary And â—…uch were the Disputes of the Cathoâ—…k Fathers with the Sabellian Arian and â—…hotinian Hereticks Whether Father â—…on and Holy Ghost were only three Names or three Appearances or Manifestations of the same one single Person or any other Three but three True Proper Coeternal and Coequal Persons Or whether He who is in Scripture called the Son of God be a Creature though the most Excellent Creature or a Son and God by Nature truly begotten of his Father's Substance Or whether Christ be God Incarnate or a meer Man And their ancient Creeds pretended to no more than to teach what the Catholick Faith was not to expound the Philosophy of the Trinity and Incarnation And thus far we must explain the Faith as to know and to let others know what it is we believe and if to assert the ancient Catholick Faith against old and New Heresies should be called new Explications we cannot help it for we must explain what the Scripture teaches about these Articles and how the Catholick Church always understood them But that which we are to beware of is Not to mix Philosophy with our Faith nor to admit of any meer Philosophical Objections against the Faith nor to attempt any Explications of these Mysteries beyond what the Scriptures and the Faith and Practice of the Catholick Church will justify Indeed the Importunity of Hereticks did very often engage the Catholick Fathers in Philosophical Disputes but this they did not to explain the Christian Mysteries by Philosophy but only to shew that as incomprehensible as these Mysteries are the Philosophy of Hereticks and their Objections against these Articles were very absurd And such Disputes as these may somtimes be absolutely necessary and of great use to shame these vain Pretences to Philosophy while we do not put the Trial of our Faith upon this Issue Secondly Let us now consider what â—…eat reason we have to reject all the â—…in Pretences to Reason and Philosophy â—…en opposed to a Divine Revelation â—…r that is all the Apostle intends in this â—…ution not to discourage the use of â—…eason or the study of Philosophy â—…hich are great Improvements and a â—…lightful Entertainment of Humane â—…inds and with a wise and prudent â—…onduct may be very serviceable to Reâ—…gion too but we must not set up any â—…onclusions in Philosophy against the â—…hristian Faith nor corrupt the Faith â—…ith a mixture of Philosophy nor reâ—…ct any revealed Truths for want of â—…atural Ideas to conceive them by To shorten this Discourse as much as 〈◊〉 can I shall at present only shew you â—…hat reason we have to believe those â—…octrines which are thought the most â—…ysterious and inconceivable notwithâ—…tanding any Objections from natural Reason and Philosophy against them And the account of this must be resolved â—…nto the Nature Use and Authority of Revelation that Revelation as to such matters as are knowable only by Revelation must serve instead of Sense Natural Ideas and Natural Reason that is That we must believe things whiâ—… we do not see things which we haâ—… no Natural Notion or Conception of things which are not evident to Naturâ—… Reason for without this there is littlâ—… use of Faith no Authority of pure Revelation It is true the General Corruption oâ—… Mankind made it very necessary for God to revive the Laws of Nature and to reinforce the observation of them by his own Authority and Command but the proper work of Revelation is to discover such things to us as Nature cannot teach of which we have no Natural Notion nor any Natural Evidence At least thus it may be if God knows more than Natural Reason teaches or can comprehend and thinks it fit to reveal such Supernatural Truths to us when he sees it useful for Mankind Now if God ever does reveal such things to us if we believe upon God's Authority which is the strickt Notion of a Divine Faith we must believe without any Natural Evidence meerly because God has revealed it and then we must believe such things as are not evident to Sense and Reason and then it can be no Objection against Revelation nor against the belief of any such â—…pernatural Truths that we have no Natural Notion nor Natural
Evidence â—…f them that they are what we cannot â—…onceive and comprehend To believe no farther than Natural â—…eason can conceive and comprehend is â—…o reject the Divine Authority of Reveâ—…tion and to destroy the distinction beâ—…ween Reason and Faith He who will â—…elieve no farther than Natural Reason â—…pproves believes his Reason not the Revelation and is in truth a Natural Philosopher not a Believer He believes â—…he Scriptures as he would believe Plato â—…nd Tully not as inspired Writings but â—…s agreeable to Reason and the result of wise and deep Thoughts and this puts an end to all the Disputes about Faith and Revelation at once For what use is there of Faith What matter whether the Scriptures be divinely inspired or not when we are no farther concerned with them than with other Humane Writings to believe what they teach agreeable to our own Reason Let these Men then either reject Faith and Scripture or confess that Revelation as to all supernatural Truths must serve us instead of Sense and Reason I would gladly know of them whether they would not believe such Supernatural Truths as are not evident to Reason were they sure that God had revealed them I guess they will not be so hardy as to say That they would not believe God himself should he reveal such things as their Reason cannot comprehend and if they would believe God in such matters why will they not believe a Revelation which they themselves acknowledge to be Divine in such matters For is there any difference between believing God and believing a Divine Revelation If God does know and can reveal such Mysteries and is to be believed when he does reveal them and such Doctrines are contained in an undoubted Revelation then the unconceivableness of them can be no Argument against the Truth of the Revelation or that sense of the words which contains such Mysteries Let us then consider the natural consequence of this which is of great moment in this dispute viz. That we must allow of no Objections against Revealed Mysteries which we will not allow to be good Objections against Sense and Reason which is a necessary and unavoidable consequence if Revelation with respect to supernatural Truths stand in the place of Sense and Reason Now no man questions the Truth of what he sees and feels or what he can prove to be true by plain and undeniable Reason meerly because there are unconceivable difficulties in it as there are in every thing even the most certain and familiar things in Nature And if Revealed Truths are not more unconceivable than many natural objects of Sense and Reason why should their being unconceivable be a greater objection against believing a Revelation than it is against believing our Sense and Reason in matters equally unconceivable When God has revealed to us That he has an Eternal and only begotten Son though we cannot comprehend the Mystery of the Eternal Generation why should we not as firmly believe it as we do that Man begets a Son in his own likeness the Philosophy of which we as little understand Nor can we any more conceive the Union of the Soul and Body than we do the Incarnation of the Son of God or the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature in one Person And if we own the Authority of Revelation why should we not as well believe what Revelation teaches how unconceivable soever it be as we do what Sense and Reason teaches though it be alike unconceivable All men are sensible that it is very absurd and foolish to deny the Being of any thing which they have certain evidence of because they cannot comprehend the Nature and Reasons of it The Man who rose up and walked before the Philosopher who was disputing subtilly against the possibility of Motion put a scorn upon all his Arguments by shewing him that he could move And therefore we see that all men believe their Senses and Reason against all the difficulties in Nature and will never be perswaded by the subtillest Disputant that that is not which they certainly see and know to be Now for the same reason if Men will allow the Authority of Revelation they must believe what is revealed how unconceivable and incomprehensible soever its nature be for when we know what a thing is and this may be known by Revelation as well as by Sense as those Men must confess who acknowledge a Divine Revelation no difficulties in conceiving it must perswade us to deny that it is This is very plain in it self though few men consider it That to disbelieve what is Revealed for the sake of any difficulties in understanding or conceiving it is to reject the certainty of Revelation For what other account can be given of that difference men make between the Evidence of Sense and Reason and of Revelation but that they allow Sense and Reason to be good and certain proofs of the Being of such things as are evident to Sense and Reason how Mysterious soever their natures are but that mere Revelation is no certain proof of the Being of any thing which is not evident also to Sense and Reason how plainly soever it be revealed that is that Revelation alone can prove nothing for if Revelation it self could prove the certainty of what is revealed the difficulties in Nature and Philosophy could no more disprove a Revelation than confute our Senses Now let any man judge whether this be not unequal usage to expect more from Revelation than they do from Sense and Reason and not to believe Revelation upon the same terms that they believe their Senses Should Men resolve to believe nothing which they see till they could give a Philosophical account of the Reasons and Causes and Natures of all they see as they refuse to believe a Revelation any farther than they can conceive and comprehend the thing revealed they must of necessity be as great-Scepticks as they are Infidels For as for Contradictions it is an easy matter to make or find seeming Contradictions in what we do not understand for when we know not the Philosophical Natures of things nor how they act and yet will be reasoning and guessing at them all our false guesses may be full of Contradictions and Impossibilities because we know not the true Mystery of Nature It is this vain humour of Criticizing upon Nature which makes so many Atheists They go upon the same Principle with Infidels and Hereticks To believe nothing which natural Reason cannot conceive and comprehend now they cannot comprehend the Notion and Idea of a God which they say is made up of Contradictions and Impossibilities and therefore they reject the Being of a God They cannot conceive a Creating Power which can give Being to that which had no Being before which they think a plain Contradiction to make Something of Nothing and therefore they reject the Creation of the World and either assert the Eternity of the World or at least the Eternity of Matter They can
conceive no Substance but Matter and Body and therefore reject the Notion of a Spirit as Nonsense and Contradiction They will allow nothing to be wisely made which they understand not the reason and uses of and therefore they fancy a great many botches and blunders in Nature which cannot be the designs and contrivance of Wisdom but the effects of Chance and then the consequence is plain That the World was made by Chance not by a Wise Author Now I confess if this way of Reasoning be allowed it will be impossible to defend either Sense or Reason or Revelation against the Cavils of Atheists and Infidels for there are unconceivable and incomprehensible Secrets and Mysteries in them all and if to conceive and comprehend the Natures of things must be made the measure and standard of true and false we must deny our Senses and Reason as well as our Faith and if we do and must believe our Sense and Reason beyond our Comprehension why must we believe nothing that is Revealed any farther than we can conceive and comprehend the Nature and Reasons of it The Sum is this Humane Knowledge whatever the means of knowing be whether Sense or Reason or Revelation does not reach to the Philosophical Causes and Natures of things but only to their Being and Natural Vertues and Powers and as a Wise man who knows the Measure of his understanding expects no more from Sense and Reason than to know what things there are in the World and what they are as far as they fall under the notice of Sense and Natural Reason so we must expect no more from Revelation than the knowledge of such things as Sense and Natural Reason cannot discover But we must no more expect the Philosophy of Supernatural Truths from Revelation than we do the Mysteries of Nature from Sense and Reason Now since Humane Knowledge is not a knowledge of the Mysterious Natures of things but only to know what things there are and what they are there can be no contradiction between Sense and Reason and Revelation unless one denies what the other affirms not that one teaches more than the other teaches or that one cannot comprehend what the other teaches Reason teaches more than Sense teaches or can comprehend and Revelation teaches more than either Sense or Natural Reason teaches or can comprehend but this is no contradiction but only a subordination between these different kinds and degrees of Knowledge but as for Unconceivableness and Incomprehensibility that is no argument against any thing for Sense and Natural Reason can no more comprehend their own Objects than they do what is revealed And it is manifest perverseness to make that an objection against Revelation which we will not allow to be an objection against Sense and Reason This is sufficient as to the reason of the thing but as far as it is possible to remove mens Prejudices also against believing Mysteries I shall briefly answer two very popular Objections 1. It is thought very unnatural that when God has made us reasonable Creatures and therefore made Natural Reason to us the measure of Truth and Falshood he should require us to believe without Reason as we must do if he reveals such things to us as we know not and cannot possibly know the reasons of If we must believe with our Understanding how can we believe things which we cannot understand This were a reasonable Objection were it true for we cannot believe what we have no knowledge nor understanding of for Faith is Knowledge though not Natural Knowledge But do we not understand what it is we believe Do we not know what we mean when we say we believe in Father Son and Holy Ghost Nay do not our Adversaries understand what we mean by it How then come they to charge us with believing Contradictions and Impossibilities For if they know not what we believe they cannot know whether we believe Contradictions or not And if we do understand what it is we believe then we do not believe without understanding which is absolutely impossible if we know what it is we believe And we know also why we believe Our Faith is founded in Sense and Reason and resolved into the Authority of God which is the highest and most infallible Reason The Miracles which Christ and his Apostles wrought were evident to Sense and owned by Reason to be the effects of a Divine Power and the Answer the Blind man gave to the Pharisees when Christ had opened his eyes speaks the true Sense of Nature Herein is a marvellous thing that ye know not from whence he is and yet he hath opened mine Eyes Now we know that God heareth not Sinners but if any man be a Worshipper of God and doth his will him he heareth Since the World began was it not heard that any man opened the Eyes of one that was born blind If this man were not of God he could do nothing 9 John 30 31 32 33. And all Mankind own that the most absolute Faith is due to God and to those who speake from God and this as I take it is to believe with Reason But still we believe such things whose Natures we do not understand and cannot account for by Natural Reason and this is to believe without Reason We believe that God the Father hath an Eternal Son and an Eternal Spirit and that Father Son and Holy Ghost are but one Eternal God but this is what Natural Reason cannot comprehend nor give us any notion or conception of how God can have an Eternal Son and an Eternal Spirit really distinct from himself and yet with himself One Eternal and Infinite God Reason can give no account of the Eternal Generation of the Son nor of the Eternal Procession of the Holy Spirit and is not this to believe without Reason which a reasonable Creature ought not to do and which we ought not to think that God who made us reasonable Creatures expects from us And this I grant would be a material Objection were Reason the Judge of the Nature and Philosophy of things and did Reason require us to believe nothing but what we understand and comprehend But then we must no more believe Sense and Reason than Revelation for we do not comprehend the Nature of any one thing in the World how evident soever it is to Sense and Reason that there are such things Nature is as great a Mystery as Revelation and it is no greater affront to our Understandings no more against Reason for God to reveal such things to us as our Reason cannot comprehend than 〈◊〉 is to make a whole World which â—…eason cannot comprehend When we make it an Objection against â—…ny thing that it is without Reason or â—…s we apprehend against Reason and contrary to Reason we must first conâ—…ider whether it be the proper object of Reason otherwise it is no Objection as it is no Objection against Sounds that we cannot see them nor against Colours
that we cannot hear them because Sounds are not the Objects of Sight nor Colours of Hearing Now no man pretends that the pure Natures and Essences of things or their Essential Reasons Properties Unions Operations are the Objects of Humane Reason for no man living knows any thing about them And yet this is all the Incomprehensibility men have to complain of in the Doctrine of the Trinity and the Incarnation That they cannot comprehend how God can beget an Eternal Son nor how Three Divine Persons should be so united as to be essentially One God nor how the Divine and Humane Nature can be united into one Person God-man All which concern the Essence and Essential Properties Operations Unions Relations of the Deity which a modest man might allow to be incomprehensible if God be Infinite though he could comprehend the Natures Essences and Essential Reasons and Properties of Created Beings but when all Created Nature is such a Mystery to us that we know not the pure Nature and Essence of any one thing in the World is it an affront to our Reason that we cannot comprehend the Divine Nature Such Matters as these are neither without Reason nor against Reason nor contrary to Reason because Reason has nothing to do with them and can take no cognizance of them They belong not to Reason but to that Infinite Mind which comprehends it Self and the Ideas of all possible Beings A perfect comprehensive Knowledge of Nature belongs only to the Maker of all things for it is not only to know what things are but how to make them which would be a vain Curiosity and useless Knowledge to those who have not a Making and Creating Power This is to know things à priori with an Intuitive Ideal Knowledge which is infinitely more superiour to Reason â—…an Reason is to Sense And it is the â—…ffectation of this Intuitive making Knowledge which makes some Men Atheists and others Hereticks 2dly Another great Objection against such a Revelation as contains matters which Natural Reason cannot comprehend is To what purpose such â—…a Revelation serves What Merit there can be in believing such Doctrines And of what good use such a Faith can be to us Now I confess I cannot think it meritorious merely to believe things which are incomprehensible or that God any more intended to puzzle our Faith with revealed Mysteries than to puzzle our Reason in making a Mysterious World Whether we receive our information from Sense or Natural Reason or Revelation it is certain we must believe Mysteries if we believe any thing for all things have something mysterious and incomprehensible in their natures what natural Reason cannot account for and what God never intended we should understand For God never intended to teach us how to make the World nor how every Creature was made and therefore we cannot and are not concerned to know the internal Frame and Constitution of Nature But though neither Natural nor Revealed Knowledge extends to the Reasons and Causes of Nature and of essential Properties and Operations yet both natural and revealed Knowledge is of as much use to us as if we did perfectly understand all the secret and incomprehensible Mysteries of the nature of God or of the Natures of Creatures Both natural and revealed Knowledge are alike upon this account That they only acquaint us what things are and what ends they serve and then we know what use to make of them without understanding the secret Mysteries of Nature Is this World or any thing in it the less useful to us because we cannot conceive how God created all things of nothing Or because we do not understand the Nature of Matter nor how the several parts of Matter came by their different Virtues and Qualities Is Corn or Fruit or Herbs the less nourishing or refreshing because we know not how they grow Does it require any Philosophy to know how to eat and drink and sleep Will not our Food nourish us â—…less we understand how it is concoctâ—… and turned into Chile and Blood â—…d Spirits Nay is it of no use to â—…ow that God is an Eternal Omnipoâ—…nt Omniscient Omnipresent Being â—…less we can conceive how any Being â—…n be Eternal without a Cause and â—…ithout a Beginning Or can compreâ—…end how he can do and know all things â—…d be present in all places at once â—…ithout Extension and without Parts â—…e may make all the use that can be â—…ade of this World and of every thing 〈◊〉 it without understanding the essential â—…easons and Causes or internal Nature â—…f any thing and we must do so if we will make any use of it and we know God to all the ends and purposes for which Creatures ought to know God â—…hough his Nature be incomprehensible And thus it is in matters of pure Revelation such as the Doctrine of the Trinity and the Incarnation how unaccountable soever the Mystery of a Trinity in Unity the Eternal Generation and the Incarnation of the Son of God be yet it is the most useful Knowledge in the World Though we know not how the Eternal Father begat an Eternal Son of his own Substance nor how this Eternal Son in time became Man yet it is the most desireable Knowledge in the world to Sinners to know That God has an Eternal Son and that he so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son for the redemption of mankind that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life and that this Eternal Son of God became Man lived a poor necessitous laborious Life and died an accursed Death for the Salvation of Sinners and to know That the Holy Spirit which proceeds from Father and Son dwells in the Christian Church and quickens and animates the whole Body of Christ. If this be true as we must suppose in this Argument all Mankind must confess that this is a very useful Knowledge and never the less useful because a Trinity in Unity and the Eternal Generation and the Incarnation of the Son of God are great and unconceivable Mysteries Could we give a Rational and Philosophical Account of the Eternal Generation and of the Incarnation we should know more than we now do but Faith makes it as useful to all the purposes of Religion as the most perfect intuitive Knowledge could do This is a sufficient Answer to that Objection against the Usefulness of such Mysteries as have something incomprehensible and unconceivable in their Natures Which is an equal Objection against all created Nature which is but one great Mystery and yet the World is a very useful World and we know in some good degree what use to make of it And the Knowledge of those Gospel Mysteries which are the Subject of our present Dispute are manifestly of infinite use to us if the certain knowledge of the Pardon of Sin and Eternal Life by the Obedience and Sufferings and Death and Intercession of the Son of God Incarnate be of any use and
therefore it became the wisdom and Goodness of God to reveal these Mysteries of Salvation to us Especially if we add to this That the lapsed state of Humane Nature makes Supernatural Knowledge necessary Natural Knowledge we grant was sufficient for a state of Nature though no man would have had reason to complain had God in a state of Innocence by a more familiar intercourse with Man or by the frequent Conversation of Angels improved his Knowledge beyond the meer attainments of his Natural Faculties and it is not improbable but this might have been I am sure there is an impatient thirst after knowledge in Humane Nature and such a great curiosity for secret and hidden Mysteries that it looks very unnatural for Men to complain that God reveals more to them than Nature teaches But yet I say Natural Knowledge must be allowed sufficient to all the ends of Humane Life while Man continued Innocent for that is the Original state of Human Nature as all men must grant who believe that Man was made by God But when man sinned he forfeited the Favour of God and a natural Immortality and whether he should be restored or not and by what means he should be restored depended wholly on the Sovereign Will and Pleasure of God And therefore the Light of Nature though it could direct an Innocent Man how to Please and Worship God and to preserve himself Immortal it could not teach Sinners how to make attonement for Sin nor give them any certain hopes that God would forgive Sins and bestow immortal Life on them which makes it necessary that the Religion of a Sinner be a revealed Religion And if God in infinite Goodness is not only pleased to restore Sinners to Grace and Favour but to advance them to a supernatural state of Perfection and Happiness both of Soul and Body in the next World this must be done by supernatural Means and therefore requires a supernatural Knowledge for the Light of Nature can neither raise us above Nature nor discover supernatural Truths to us and this makes it necessary to know and believe such things as we have no natural Notion or Idea of Such things as neither eye hath seen nor ear heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man to conceive If Nature can't save us it can't discover to us the way of Salvation neither and if we must be saved by a supernatural Grace and Power it must be supernaturally revealed and what is Supernatural is the Object of Faith not of natural Knowledge This seems to me to give a plain account why God thinks fit to reveal such Mysteries to us as Nature cannot teach and as we have no natural Notion of because our lapsed state has made such Supernatural Revelations necessary to the recovery of Mankind and when we are fallen below the relief of Nature and of Natural Knowledge we ought to be very thankful to our good God for Supernatural Knowledge and supernatural Means of Salvation To God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost Three Persons one Eternal God be Honour Glory and Power now and for ever Amen SERMON XI THE Folly and Unreasonableness OF DEISM Preach'd before the King at Hampton-Court Iune 16. 1700 John xiv 1. Ye believe in God believe also in me I Shall not consider these Words as they relate to what follows but only observe in them that our Saâ—…iour not only requires his Disciples to â—…elieve in God but that they should believe also in him that is to believe that he came from God and hath revealed his Will to the World And from hence I shall take occasion to consider the Case of Deists who pretend to own that there is a God and to pay such Worship to him and to obey such Laws as meer Nature teaches but reject all Revealed Religions even the Gospel of Christ it self as no better than Cheats and Impostors This Profession of Deism is grown very fashionable among our great Pretenders to Wit and Philosophy and I am very glad that such Men are ashamed of the Name of Atheists and hope that a serious Consideration of the Folly and Unreasonableness of Deism that is to believe a God and to deny all Revealed Religion may dispose them to an impartial Inquiry into the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Faith I. The Folly of Deism I will begin with this to make Men consider a little what they intend by it or what wise End it will serve Every one sees what Men intend by Atheism to deliver themselves from the Fears of invisible Powers that they may follow their own Inclinations and do what they like best themselves without any Awe of God or Reproofs and Terrors of Conscience or the dismal Apprehensions of unknown and endless Punishments in the next World And this is the wisest Course Men can take who resolve to be wicked that they may sin with Ease and Pleasure without the bitter Allays of Shame and Fear But now if a Deist really is what he pretends to be that is if he does really believe that there is a God and that the Soul is Immortal and that Good Men shall be rewarded and Bad Men punished in the next World he believes a great deal too much to sin with Security and a great deal too little to have any comfortable Hopes of a better Life That this is certainly the most hopeless State that a Man can be in in this World it has all the Restraints and Fears of Religion but none of the Supports and Comforts of it As to shew this briefly 1. He who does heartily believe that there is a God who will punish Men for their Sins not only in this World but in the next believes too much to sin with Security though he believes nothing at all of Revelation For if Nature as they grant teaches Men that there is a Holy and Just Governour of the World who observes what we do and will punish Wickedness Natural Conscience also will accuse and terrifie and condemn wicked Men. Thus St. Paul assures us it was with the Heathen World before they had any Revelation of God's Will For when the Gentiles which have not the Law do by Nature the things contained in the Law these having not the Law are a Law unto themselves which shew the Work of the Law written in their Hearts their Consciences also bearing witness and their Thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another 2 Rom. 14 15. And the same is attested by all the Heathen Orators Philosophers and Poets And those natural Terrors of Conscience and Fears of Vengeance were in those Days before Men had ever heard of the Gospel of our Saviour so very unsupportable to bad Men that they took Refuge in Atheism against them as Lucretius does very honestly confess and admires his Master Epicurus for his brave and bold Attempt in delivering the World from the Fears of God and of Religion So that whoever believe a
spell out from the visible Creation And on the other hand though we must not urge the Authority of Revelation to prove a God which would â—…e to beg the Question yet the being of a Revelation we may for whatever proves a Divine Revelation proves a God The wisest and acutest Philosophers among the Heathens thought this the best and most sensible Proof of a God Balbus the Stoick having begun his Cicero de natura Deorum Proof of the Being of a God from â—…his visible Creation and the univerâ—…al Consent of Mankind in this Belief â—…e resolves the Firmness and Stability of this Perswasion into those visible Signs which their Gods oftentimes gave of their own Power and Presence Quòd presentiam soepe Divi suam declarant And the Argument is certainly a very good one though the Particular Instances he gives of it may be vain and fictitious and want sufficient attestation to gain belief But had Balbus instead of the Apparitions of Castor and Pollux and their ridiculous Rites of Divination seen the Miracles of Moses and of Christ the familiar Conversation of God with Abraham and Moses the terrible Appearance of Mount Sinai when God delivered the Law in an audible Voice and the infallible Accomplishment of Prophesies that is had his Proofs of a Divine Power and Presence been as undeniable as his reasoning from such Divine Appearances to the Being of a God is unanswerable all the Wit and Sophistry in the World could never have evaded this Argument for it would be impossible to perswade Men there is no God when they do little less than see him in such present and sensible Effects as can have no other Cause but a God However thus much we learn from this dispute that according to the Sense of the wisest Men such visible Effects of a Divine Power and Presence are the most irresistible Argument for the Being of God that the wisest Men did believe that if there is a God he would give some undeniable Proofs of his own Being in the Acts of Government and Providence as well as of Creation And that if there never had been any such sensible Appearances of such a Divine Power and Presence it would at least have rendred the Being of God very doubtfull This should make all those who heartily believe a God to think and speak more honourably of Revelation for the Belief of a God and of Revelation will stand and fall together that a Deist who ridicules all Revelation takes a very ill Course to perswade the World that he believes a God Secondly The unreasonableness of Deism will further appear if we consider that to acknowledge the Being of a God makes it highly reasonable to believe a Revelation I do not say that to believe a God obliges us to believe every pretended Revelation for the truth of any particular Revelation depends on those peculiar Marks of Divinity and Credibility which it bears on it but whoever beleives that there is a God cannot think it incredible that God should reveal himself and his Will to Mankind nay will see great reason to believe that he has done so as the State of the World in the different Ages and Dispensations of it did require and would admit For First No Man who believes that there is a God can question whether God can if he so pleases make a more perfect manifestation of himself and his Will to Mankind than he has done by the Works of Nature for what can't he do who made the World and is infinite in Wisdom and Power as to consider particularly some of those ways whereby God is supposed to reveal himself to Mankind God is a pure and infinite Mind who cannot be seen by Mortal Eyes and yet will any Man say that God cannot by some visible Appearances convince Men of his immediate Presence beyond all possibility of Doubt that he cannot either with or without such visible Appearances speak to them and talk as familiarly with them as one Man converses with another And then whatever Truth there be in the Story which is another Enquiry there is nothing in its own Nature incredible in those Relations we have of God's appearing to Adam and conversing with him in Paradise of his appearing to Abraham and Iacob who saw God face to face Gen. 32. 30. Of his speaking to Moses face to face as a Man talketh with his Friend Exod. 33. 11. Cannot God who formed our Minds and knows all the Springs of Thoughts draw such clear and bright Scenes and Pictures of things on our Fancy and Imagination whether sleeping or waking as shall need no other proof of their Divinity but themselves As Light is known by it self and the first Principles and Maxims of Reason by their own Evidence Cannot the Son of God who made the World and made Man if he so pleases cloath himself with Humane Nature and appear and converse in the World as a Man and familiarly instruct Mankind in the Will of God and the Way to Heaven There is no question then but God can if he pleases inspire Men with the Knowledge of his Will either by Dreams and Visions or by an audible Voice and a familiar Conversation oâ—… by an immediate Impression upon the higher Faculties of Reason and Understanding so that if there be a God there may be Prophets inspired by God to reveal his Will to Men And therefore the Pretences to Prophesie must not be laugh'd out of the World but examined The thing is not incredible because it is what God can do but the Prophet must be tried because there may be Cheats and Impostures Now the trial of a Prophet whether he come from God is by such Works as no Man can do except God be with him that is in short by what we call Miracles and foretelling things to come And here again he who believes that there is a God cannot think either Miracles or a Prediction of future Events impossible For what cannot that God do and know whose Power and Knowledge are infinite What cannot that God do who made the World Is it such a Difficulty to him who framed our Bodies out of the â—…ust to give Health to the Sick or Sight to the Blind to make the Deaf to Hear and the Lame to Walk and to â—…aise the Dead We all know this is above Humane Power and therefore if â—…uch things be done they must be done by the Power of God and we know â—…hat God can do them and therefore Miracles are not impossible or incredible to him who believes a God Thus far the Deist must agree with me unless he have a very mean Opinion of his God For a God who cannot reveal his Will to Mankind who cannot inspire Prophets nor work Miracles nor foretel things to come is no God has not the Wisdom and the Power of a God Now this is a great Point gained for if God can do all this then there is no Objection against the Nature of
great Reproach to a Christian Nation where such Doctrines are publickly owned and profess'd and such Persons courted and flattered as â—…he most refined Philosophical Wits I pray God this Nation do not find the â—…ischievous Effects of it both in Church â—…nd State Government can never be long secure without the Sacred Authority of Religion and destroy Revealed Religion and we shall quickly have none as is too visible in the Lives of Deists I 'm sure it is a vain thing to talk of a Reformation of Manners while such Men are suffered to poison the very Fountains to undermine all Religion and to root up the very Foundations of Piety and Vertue I do not love to prophesie ill Things but that Nation cannot reasonably expect to receive Good from God which is so unconcerned for his Glory and Worship it being the standing Rule of his Government He that honoureth me I will honour but those which despise me shall be lightly esteemed To God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power now and for evermore Amen SERMON XII Preach'd on September 2. 1699. Being the Fast for the Fire of London at the Cathedeal Church of St. Paul's before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor Aldermen and Citizens of London Micah vi 9. The Lord's Voice crieth unto the City and the Man of Wisdom shall see thy Name Hear ye the Rod and who hath appointed it WHen the State of this World is Happy and Prosperous it is no wonder to see Men indulge themselves in Ease and Luxury forget God or grow careless and formal in Religion For though it might reasonably be expected that happy Creatures who rejoice in the Blessings of Heaven should be very devout Worshippers of that God from whose Bounty and Goodness they receive all yet Humane Nature in this degenerate State is very fond of sensual Pleasures And when an easie and plentiful Fortune puts it into Mens Power to enjoy as much of this World as they will there are but very few who can set Bounds to their Enjoyments and taste the Pleasures of this Life without taking large and intoxicating Draughts of it and this sensualizes Mens Minds and a carnal Mind is Enmity against God saith unto God Depart from us for we desire not the Knowledge of thy Ways Never any People had more sensible Demonstrations of the Power and Presence of God amongst them and his particular Care of them than the Israelites had and yet Moses tells us in his Prophetick Hymn Iesurun waxed fat and kicked thou art waxen fat thou art grown thick thou art covered with Fatness then he forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the Rock of his Salvation Deut. 32. 15. And thus God complains Isa. 1. 2 3. Hear O Heavens and give ear O Earth for the Lord hath spoken I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me The Ox knoweth his Owner and the Ass his Master's Crib but Israel doth not know my People doth not consider And as much as we may despise and abhor the Ingratitude of the Iews this is the general State of Mankind and we may find too many Examples of it in all Times and Nations But it seems much more unaccountable when the Iudgments of God are abroad in the World that the Inhabitants thereof should not learn Righteousness Because Judgments are apt to awaken Men and make them consider When God speaks in Thunder and Lightning those must be deaf indeed who will not hear This is the merciful Design of Providence in sending such terrible Judgments on the World to make Men consider their Ways and their Doings and to convince them that there is a God that judgeth in the Earth For Judgments have a Voice had we but Ears to hear They proclaim the Power and the Majesty of God a terrible Majesty and irresistible Power theâ—… scourge and they threaten Sinners anâ—… call for Weeping and Mourning anâ—… Fasting And how unthankful soever thâ—… Iews were to God for his great Mercieâ—… and Deliverances yet they were not so insensible of his Judgments When he sleâ—… them then they sought him and returned and enquired early after God and remembred that God was their Rock and thâ—… High God their Redeemer Psalm 78â—… 34 35. This we are exhorted to in my Text To hear the Rod and who hath appointed it To consider for what reasons those Evils which we at any time suffer are come upon us and what God intends by the Rod which is the only way to grow better by our Afflictions and to prevail with God in great Pity and Compassion to remove them But this is the great difficulty Who shall reveal this Secret to us How shall we distinguish between the Corrections of God and the Wickedness of Men How shall we understand the Language of the Rod and to whom it speaks for what Sins it strikes and who are those Achans that are the Troublers of our Israel and what God expects from us in such Cases I shall briefly explain these things to you and apply it to the present Occasion But I must premise That I only address my self now to those who believe a God and a Providence and that God hath revealed his Will and the Rule of his Providence in the Holy Scriptures As for Atheists and Infidels who have neither Eyes nor Ears they can only feel the Rod like Bruits not hear its Voice like Men Though the Lord's Voice crieth unto the City it is only the Men of Wisdom that see his Name Now as for those who believe a God and the Holy Scriptures there are two very plain Interpreters of God's Judgments Natural Conscience and the Word of God For the Judgments of God have not an Articulate Voice to acquaint us in plain and express Words upon what Errand they come but they are Signs which speak by an Interpreter and if we carefully attend to the Dictates of Natural Conscience and to the Word of God we cannot mistake their meaning 1. As first No Man who attends either to the Dictates of Natural Conscience or to the Word of God can doubt who it is that hath appointed the Rod This is the first and most naturaâ—… question of all and yet a great many who profess to believe a God and a Providence seem not well satisfied in this Point They allow that some Judgments are the Hand of God but are not willing to grant this of all especially when they see what the immediate and visible Causes of such Sufferings are Some of the greatest Evils which either private Men or Publick Societies suffer are manifestly owing to the Injustice and Wickedness of Men and they can no more believe that it is the Will and Appointment of God that they should suffer such Evils than that it is the Will of God that others should do them And all such Rods as are not appointed by God can teach us nothing but the Wickedness of those by whom
but to perswade and direct you to turn the Delights and Charms of Musick into the Raptures of Devotion which would the most effectually silence all the Enemies of Church-Musick and Cathedral-Worship while as a divine Poet of our own Sings This would visibly turn Delight into a Sacrifice Now since Musick what ever it be and how well soever performed is of no use or value in Religion but as it serves the true ends of Devotion we must enquire What that Harmony and Melody is which is so acceptable to God How fit External and Sensible Melody is to promote this and how it may and ought to be improved to that purpose 1. As for the first I need not tell any Man who understands the Nature of Christian Worship that it is only they Melody of the Heart as St. Paul speakes that pleaseth God All true Christian Worship whatever the externals of it are is the Worship of the Mind and Spirit This alone is that Worship which it becomes a reasonable Creature to pay to his Maker his Sovereign Lord and Saviour as the Blessed Virgin sang My Soul doth magnifie the Lord and my Spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour For it is the Mind only that can praise God though the tongue must sing his Praises The best composed Hymns the most Musical Instruments the most Charming Voices are but lifeless Mechanical Sounds till they are Animated and Inspired by the Devotion of the Heart and God takes no more pleasure in the best Voices than in bodily strength or beauty Now the Melody of the Heart is the Consent and Harmony of all the Powers and Passions of our Souls in the Praises of God When Love and Joy and Admiration and the profoundest Reverence bear their several Parts and offer up our whole Souls as a Living Vocal Hymn of Praise Then we sing aloud in our Hearts to God when we feel the greatest Transports and Extasies of these Divine Passions which swallow us up in God and unite us to the Heavenly Quire Then we sing with true Melody in our Hearts to God when these Divine Passions which are Essential to Praise and Thanksgiving charm all our earthly Passions into a Calm quiet all their Storms and Tumults leave no jarring Discords no Discontents no Sollicitous Cares no Jealousies no Envyings to discompose the Harmony of our Souls which must be all Peace all Love all Joy to sing with a true Divine Melody the Praises of God This and nothing else is the true Praise of God when our minds are filled with such bright Ideas of his Glory and Perfections with such a lively Sense of his Majesty Wisdom Goodness Power discover'd in his great and wonderful Works of Creation Providence and the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ as transport us with Love Admiration and Joy A Heart thus full of God will break forth into Songs of Praise When the Fire is kindled within as the Psalmist observes from his own Experience we shall then speak with our Tongues Here our Praises ought to begin to be sure here they must always end in the Heat and fervour of our Affections and an inward feeling of the Divine Praises if we would have them an acceptable Worship of God As far as the Harmony of Voices or Musical Instruments serve this End they are excellent Helps to Devotion but it is only their Subserviency to the Devotion of the Mind which gives them any Value or allows them any Place in Religious Worship 2dly Let us then consider of what Use Musick is to excite and quicken our Affections and to give a new Life and Spirit to Devotion Man is not all Soul and Spirit but a compound Creature consisting of Soul and Body and while our Souls are vitally united to Bodies they receive most of their Passions from them at least feel the most strong and vigorous Motions from those Impressions which our Senses make and Sight it self does not more variously affect our Minds than Hearing does Words and Sounds have very powerful Charms and give as quick a Turn to our Thoughts and Passions as Sight it self and not only Words but even a diversity of Sounds are fitted by Nature to express and to excite very different Passions Love Joy Admiration Desire Fear Sorrow Indignation Revenge give some distinguishing Notes and Accents to the very Voice which no Art but Nature teaches and which betrays the Passion without speaking a Word And such different Notes will also as forcibly imprint such Passions on our Minds as they naturally represent and that many times whether we will or no which is a great Secret in Nature and shews an unaccountable Sympathy between Sounds and Passions which are by turns the Natural effects and causes of each other and there needs no other proof what the natural power of Musick must be to raise and to calm our Passions and the Experience of all Mankind tells us that thus it is when the Composer knows how to fit Notes to Passions which the Knowledge of Humane Nature not the meer proportion of Sounds must teach him Without this a fine piece of Musick is like a company of fine Words put together without any great Sense or Meaning they make a fine Sound and that is all Now if there be a Natural Sympathy and mutual Causality between Sounds and Passions there is no doubt but true Devotional Musick will Excite or Heighten our Devotional Passions as we daily see and complain that wanton and amorous Airs are apt to kindle wanton Fires for Nature will act like it self whether you apply it to good or to bad purposes If there be no force in Musick to give a good or bad tincture to the Mind why do any Men complain of wanton Songs They may then blame the Poet but neither the Composer nor Singer for the Musick it seems does no hurt if there be Why do they condemn Church-Musick which will have as good an Influence upon a devout Mind as the other has a bad One Why then should any Man think Musick improper for the worship of God It is a Natural Power though improved by Art as most other natural Powers are and all Natural Powers are made for the Worship and Service of God as far as they are capable of serving him which Musick is in a very high Degree if it have such a Natural Power over our Passions as to Increase and Actuate though it can't create Devotion Both Poetry and Musick were originally used to celebrate the Praises of God lost their Glory when they descended to meaner Subjects but were prophaned by a prostitution to men's Lusts and Vices The first account we have of singing is the Song of Moses Exod. 15. when God had made the Children of Israel to pass through the Red-Sea on dry ground and had drowned the Aegyptians and we can't have a more ancient Account than this which is the most ancient History in the World And throughout the Old Testament both
its Love and Care to its self but a Man who has a truly great and divine mind who loves all Men as himself and loves himself in conjunction with the rest of Mankind can by no means be called a selfish Man or a lover of himself for he has an universal love to Humane Nature which begins with himself but extends to all the World This is a plain and short account what this vicious Self-love is and why it is so called 2dly The Second thing I proposed was to shew how dangerous and perillous such Times must needs be wherein this Self-love Prevails Now those are perillous Times which expose Men to great Dangers and to great Troubles and Calamities and that with respect to their own private Fortunes with respect to the Publick and with respect to the State of Religion and what a malignant influence this vicious Self-love has upon all these great and dear Interests is so visible that methinks it should need no proof and therefore I shall at present only give some brief Hints of it And I shall not here take notice how much such Self-lovers suffer from themselves and from their own Self-love for though this makes themselves â—…iserable it does not make the Times dangerous the Times may be very prosperous and good Men very happy though such Sinners may reap the Fruits of their own Works and be filled with their own Devices though they sacrifice their Honour their Estates their Health their Lives to Intemperance and Lust though Ambition heats their brains into a Distraction and Cares and Disappointments break their Hearts or Guilt disturbs their Consciences and fills them with Rage and furious Despair the World is not much concerned in this let such Self-lovers look to it and thank themselves for what they suffer but then the Times are dangerous with respect to our private and personal Interests when Men are in great danger from one another when they are never secure from private Injuries when they know not whom to trust nor with whom to converse when it is hard to find a Friend and almost impossible to escape an Enemy when the greatest Virtue Innocence Inoffenciveness nay the Divinest Charity and all the charms of an obliging Conversation cannot secure Men from Envy Rapine and Detraction from the Venom of Tongues or from more malicious designs against their Lives and Fortunes such a State as this will make all Good Men wish as David did O that I had wings like a Dove for then would I flie away and be at rest Lo then would I wander far off and remain in the Wilderness I would hasten my Escape from the windy Storm and Tempest 55 Psa. 6 7 8 Verses And this is the very State which Self-love puts Mankind into when it prevails in the World This a late admired Philosopher calls the State of Nature wherein every Man is a Woolf to a Man but in truth it is only the State of this vicious Self-love which is the Corruption and Degeneracy of a reasonable and sociable Nature If Man was made for Society it cannot be his Nature to love no body but himself which is a Contradiction to the Nature and End of Societies He must first put off Nature if that be this Self-love before he can be capable of living in Society which seems very unaccountable that a Creature who was made for Society should not be fit for Society till he change his Nature For Men cannot live together in safety while they are all acted by this Principle Self-love makes every Man his own Center and the Center draws all to it self all that is within its sphaere of activity Pride is Self-love such an esteem for our selves as values no Man's Honour or Reputation but our own and this draws all Honour to it self is not contented unless it can out-shine all others and either by a greater brightness swallow them up or eclipse them by black and misty Vapours by all the Arts of Infamy and Reproach Covetousness is Self-love when Men will be rich whoever be poor and by whatever Arts they can do it and this draws all riches to it self and snatches them from all that come within its reach and what Injustice and Violence Theft Murders Perjuries does this occasion Self-love is the love of the Flesh the love of carnal and sensual Pleasures which will please it self whoever be grieved and injured by it Such brutish Sensualists have no regard to the Honour and Peace of Families to the Modesty of Virgins to the Sacred Vows of Wives to the Stain and Infamy of Posterity nay many times not to the dignity of Humane Nature but gratifie their Lusts in contradiction to them all Where Self-love reigns there is no place for Compassion for Charity for Justice for true Friendship every thing must give way to Self and let any man judge whether such be not perillous Times some such Men there are always in the World and great numbers of them too and we daily feel what mischeifs they do but the more the numbers of them encrease the more this Self-love prevails the more intolerable will Humane Conversation be And if we allow that Pride Ambition Covetousness Sensuality are great Enemies to the Peace and Prosperity to the good Order and Government of any Nation we must grant that Self-love which is the impure Fountain from whence all these corrupt Streams flow is very destructive to Humane Societies too it corrupts publick Justice loosens the reigns of Government softens and emasculates Mens Spirits renders them unfit for Counsel or for Arms makes them contemptible to their Neighbours and brings down the Judgments of God upon them Is any thing so destructive to any State as Divisions and Factions at home and was there ever any State-Faction without Self-love and private Interest at the bottom when great Men will rival one another and are impatient either of Superiours or Equals and prosecute their Private Animosities with the Publick Danger and when common safety requires united Hearts and Counsels will not adjourn their private Quarrels nor sacrifice their private Interests and Resentments to save a Nation It is wonderful to observe that when a Kingdom is divided into Parties and Factions the most threatning dangers are so far from uniting them that they take advantage of Publick Fears and Apprehensions to get ground of their Adversaries tho' they hazard the whole by it and what are such Factions but a Combination of Self-lovers who divide themselves from the Publick Interest unless their Private Humours and Intrigues may take place when a Party will be the Whole and if others will not let them be the Whole let the Whole perish This is the narrow peevish unsociable Spirit of Self-love a temper which generous Heathens had in the greatest abhorrence and till a more publick Spirit revive in the World we must never expect to see easie and happy days The Times will be perillous while men are such Lovers of themselves But how
of Humane Nature is to do good this I take to be the great Advantage and Glory of Riches and Power that it makes Men Publick Patrons and Tutelar Angels to their fellow Creatures which is the nearest Resemblance of the Perfection and Happiness of God and in the Pagan World made Gods of Men But Self-love knows nothing of this Happiness but destroys not only the Sense but the Notion of it But to set aside other Considerations Mankind will not suffer a Man to make himself Easie and Happy by Self-love When he is known they combine against him as a common Enemy they load him with Infamy and Reproach they strip him of his ill-gotten Riches and severely revenge his Injuries this is the great End of Humane Government and the proper use of the Rods and Axes of Princes to restrain and govern Self-love and to punish the outrages it commits This is enough to satisfie us of the Folly and Unreasonableness of this Principle and how impossible it is that Self-love should make any Man happy I will add but one Argument more to disswade you from it that this Self-love can never enter into Heaven That is a Holy Place a Spiritual State wherein nothing can enter that is Unclean Flesh and Blood whether a fleshly Carnal Mind or an Earthly Body cannot inherit the Kingdom of God There God is all in all there is Universal Love among all those blessed Inhabitants and therefore there can be nothing of Self O that blessed Place where there is perfect Unity and Harmony of Souls no Parties and Factions no Emulations and Jealousies no Private Interests no Rivals where all center in God and embrace each other and mingle Flames and feel and rejoyce in each others Happiness To which Blessed Place God of his infinite Mercy bring us all through our Lord Iesus Christ To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power now and for ever Amen SERMON XVI Preached at the Temple Church 2 Cor. iv ver 18. While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen For the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal THIS is the Principle of that true greatness of Mind which appeared in the Apostles and Primitive Christians and enabled them to do that which the Pagan Philosophy boasted of without doing viz. to contemn the World and to live above its Hopes and Fears to bear the Miseries of Life and to despise the Pleasures of it to suffer Shame and Reproach and the loss of all Things and Death it self made as terrible as Pain could make it not only without Fear but with Joy and Triumph For which Cause saith the Apostle we faint not but though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal By the Things which are seen is meant all the Good and all the Evil things of this Life by the things which are not seen all the Happiness and Miseries of the Life to come But is not this a very strange Choice to prefer what is absent and unseen before what is present and sensible To be unconcerned about the Happiness or Miseries of this Life and to live upon unseen Hopes and Fears No saiâ—… 〈◊〉 Apostle We have all the reasoâ—… 〈◊〉 world to do so because seen thingâ—…â—…re but temporal and unseen things are eternal This World will last but a little while the Fashion of this World passeth away but the World to come will have no end and this makes such a difference between seen and unseen Things that there can be no reasonable Competition as there is no Comparison between them So that in speaking to these Words there are two things distinctly to be considered 1. The Reasonableness of this Principle of looking to unseen Things or of living by Faith for it is Faith alone that can give us a View of the invisible World And 2. The Reasonableness of this Choice in preferring unseen before seen Things because the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal 1. The Reasonableness of this Christian Principle of Action of looking at unseen things or living by Faith Some unthinking Men are apt to make a Jest of believing if you have any natural Reasons or sensible Demonstrations they will hearken to you but Faith is below a man of Wit and Philosophy who knows how many Cheats and Impostors there have been in the World But such men little consider how necessary Faith is in Humane Life that they themselves in a thousand Cases have no other Principle to act upon in the greatest Concernments of this Life and that upon much less evidence than we have for another World There are but three ways of knowing any thing Sense or Reason or Faith which last extends further and has a more universal Influence upon the Government of our Lives than either Sense or Reason Our whole Conversation with Mankind is resolved into Believing into a Civil Historical or Political Faith all humane Commerce and Intercourse is founded on it and there are very few Actions of our Lives that can be performed without it that he who will not believe must not live in this World And is it not absurd and ridiculous then to laugh at believing when they might as well laugh Sense and Reason out of the World and live as well without them Now if we must live by Faith in this World if we must believe and must trust one another if we must depend on Mens Word or Oath or Friendship or Honesty though we can have no natural Certainty or Demonstration of Moral Causes what reason can there be to banish Faith out of Religion which is of such absolute necessity in all the other Concernments of Life One would think there should be less need of Faith for this World than for the next which is an invisible State and can be certainly known only by Revelation and if Faith be ever reasonable it is most reasonable where it is most necessary where there is no other means of knowledge This is enough to shew you how little those Men understand themselves who ridicule Faith which is to ridicule Humane Nature and all Humane Conversation If we may if we must believe if we cannot live without believing it must make a man contemptible to talk against all Faith which is an Essential part of Humane Knowledge and a necessary Principle of Moral Prudence Some Men are so afraid of being thought easy and credulous that they run into the other Extream and will believe nothing at least nothing concerning another World And think
for there is no reason to reject the Hopes of Immortal Life for fear of such Miseries as we may escape if we please that is if we believe and chuse Immortal Life No Man who does not prefer something else or to speak plainly who does not prefer the short Pleasures of Sin before Immortal Life need fear Eternal Miseries and therefore it is not the Fear of Eternal Miseries which they know they may escape but the Contempt of Eternal Life which makes them Infidels and it concerns them to consider well what the Consequences of this are For 1. as I have already observed and there needs no great Proof of it nothing can be more infamous than to contradict the most noble and generous Desires of Human Nature To be afraid to be immortal is to desire to be a Beast and to perish like a Beast nay it is to desire what no Beast would desire for Self-love and Self-preservation is implanted even in the brutal nature And what a prodigious Degeneracy is it of Human Nature for Men to hate themselves and their own Being and to wish and hope that they may perish in the Grave It is a vain thing to set up for the Reputation of Wit and Philosophy in this Cause for Human Nature is against them and therefore the generality of Mankind who will always hope and desire on Natures side will be against them too and Nature so abhors the Thoughts of Annihilation and Dissolution that all Men must despise those as very contemptible Creatures who can be contented to fall into nothing themselves and abhor them for their malicious Attempts to deprive other Men of the Hope of Immortality 2. It is a strong Presumption against Infidelity that it contradicts the Hopes and Desires of Nature Are there any other Natural Desires and Appetites which have no Natural Objects to answer them And why should we think that Nature should implant in us a Desire of Immortality if we were not made to be immortal This cannot be if we were made by a wise Being for then all the Desires and Appetites of Nature must be wisely made that is fitted to the nature of that Being to which they belong and then Immortal Desires can belong only to an Immortal Nature 3. It also ought to be well considered that this makes Infidelity the most inexcusable Sin for to reject not only all Supernatural Evidence but all the Desires and Inclinations of Nature will admit of no Excuse This is an Apostacy from Human Nature and though the Divine Goodness has a great tenderness for Human Infirmities yet when Men wilfully put off Human Nature they have no Right to the Excuses or to the Compassion which is due to Men. And such Men ought to be very sure that they are in the right who have no Excuse to make if they are in the wrong 4. And yet it is impossible to be secure against the Inclinations Desires and Sentiments of Nature It is possible with great Art and Violence for some time to stifle the Sense of Nature but Nature will take some Occasion or other to get loose and to revive our Fears when we have forfeited all our Hopes For 1. It is certain there can be demonstration against Nature If the Natural Desires of Immortality do not prove that we are immortal yet they are a Bar against all demonstration that we are not For that would be an ill-contrived Nature indeed which should have Natural Desires and Appetites against demonstration That should have a great Passion for Immortality when it is demonstrable that we are not immortal And if they cannot demonstrate that we are not immortal we shall certainly hope and fear on Natures side And what will all the boasting Pretences to Infidelity signify if they cannot cure our Natural Hopes and Fears 2. For Natural Fears and Hopes are very Mechanical Passions and not under the Government of our Wills and arbitrary Opinions They are no more to be silenced with Wit and Sophistry than some Natural Antipathies are which Men may think to reason away but as soon as the Object of that Antipathy appears all their Arguments are lost and they sweat and tremble and flie And thus do Infidels too who please themselves that they can reason away another World into a Fairy Land but yet can't think seriously of it without trembling 3. For whatever Baffle men put upon their Faith yet these Hopes and Fears are so natural that they can never perswade themselves that what is reported of the other World does not deserve to be hoped or feared No Argument can convince any Man that it is not desireable to live for ever or that it is not the most terrible thing of all to be miserable for ever and then it is impossible not to hope or fear The Desires of a less Happiness or the Fears of a less Misery may be conquered but when Men hear of Eternal Happiness and Eternal Misery the one the most desireable the other the most formidable thing to Human Nature it makes it impossible to any thinking Man neither to desire nor fear This shews how vain it is to struggle against Nature for Nature will be too strong for all our Pretences to Wit and Philosophy and thus all Infidels find it is at one time or other 5. I shall add but one thing more since the Desire of Immortality is so natural consider what an Eternal Torment this must be if we lose Immortal Life by our Infidelity Natural Appetites last as long as Nature does and when they are disappointed especially if it be by our own fault will torment us as long as they last Now besides all the positive Miseries which our Saviour threatens against Infidels here is a Natural Cause and Demonstration of their Misery The very Loss of Eternal Life must eternally torment them because they must eternally desire it and these disappointed Desires will turn into Eternal Anguish Despair and Self-revenge Would but Men seriously consider these things how unnatural the Inclinations to Infidelity are and how unnatural the Aversion to the Belief of Immortality is and what terrible consequences they have it would make them willing and desirous to believe and then they would find no want of Evidence There would not be so much need then of disputing against Infidelity but we might employ our time much better in exhorting and perswading you to the conscientious practice of our most holy Religion that we may obtain the End of our Faith even the salvation of our Souls Which God c. SERMON XVII Preached at the Temple Church Isaiah 5. ver 20 21. Wo unto them that call evil good and good evil that put darkness for light and light for darkness that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Wo unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight IT gives great disturbance to good Men not only to observe the general corruption of Manners that is in the World
World believe that God and Nature has taught them is false is a Mystery to me And the only Account that can be given of it is what our Saviour gives That light is come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil And when they love Darkness it is no wonder that they call it Light but they must first call Darkness Light before they can put out the Light and turn it into Darkness Now if this be the Truth of the Case as our own Experience and our Observations of other Men assure us it is this is a sufficient Reason to reject all the Principles of Atheism and Infidelity without disputing for they were not born and bred with us as what is natural is and therefore must be owing to the Lusts and Vices of Men which are the Works of Darkness and hate the Light and nothing seems stranger to me than that of all the Men in the World these Men should pretend to Reason who have the least Right oâ—… Pretence to it For what Principles can they reason on who reject the Light of Nature and of Revelation What is Natural Reason but the Reason of Humane Nature And how shall we know what this is but by those common Principles of Reason which Nature has implanted in all Mankind and which Art and Wit and Vice it self have much ado to silence and can never perfectly root out and certainly that is not Natural Reason which contradicts all the Principles of Humane Nature and what is that Reason which is not the Reason of Humane Nature Or how is Mankind concerned in such Reasons as can be no Rule to them unless they put off Humane Nature And indeed this is the Case of these very Men they have put off Humane Nature are degenerated into Bruits and have the Reason and Understanding of Bruits espouse such Principles as serve no other End but to justifie the brutal Nature and therefore laugh at the common Sentiments and Faith of Mankind and pretend to Reason only to reason Humane Nature as well as Revelation out of the World How subtilly soever these Men may dispute it sufficeth me that this is not the Original Belief of Mankind and therefore is not owing to God or Nature but to Lust. No Man can call Light Darkness till he is in love with Darkness for the sake of the Works of Darkness 3dly The same may be said of putting Bitter for Sweet and Sweet for Bitter Men must first reconcile themselves to Wickedness which is naturally very bitter uneasie and grievous and shake off all sense of Shame and Modesty and Fear before they can in good earnest reproach Vertue For till Men are very wicked Vertue is the great Pleasure the truest and sweetest Pleasure of Humane Nature Thirdly Let us now consider the Woe that is denounced against these Men and how unavoidable it is Woe be to them that call Evil Good and Good Evil c. What this Woe is is not here express'd but an indefinite Woe is very terrible for it includes all the Woes that God has any where in Scripture threatned against Sinners the Vengeance of God in this World and the eternal Miseries of the next A Woe signifies a State of extream Misery wherein Men shall bewail and lament themselves without Hope or Redress all the Miseries that such Sinners deserve and therefore the greatest that Humane Nature can suffer because this is the greatest Degeneracy of Humane Nature And therefore to warn you all of falling into this State I shall briefly shew you how unavoidable this Woe is When Men are so in love with their Sins that they resolve never to part with them they vainly think that the only way to secure themselves is to banish God out of the World and to destroy all the differences of Good and Evil and then they may please themselves and live as they list without Fear or Shame or any Danger of a future Account Now so far they are in the right that if they could banish God out of the World their Work were done and they might bid defiance to all the Pulpit-thunder and laugh at all the superstitious fears of Sinners But to perswade themselves contrary to the Sense of Nature and the universal Belief of Mankind that there is no God will not banish God out of the World And if they should find a God after they have perswaded themselves there is none as they certainly will they will find this God a provoked and terrible Judge For what greater Contempt and Despite can be offered to God than to perswade themselves that there is no God This is a State of open Enmity They hate God and would destroy his Being if they could for the Reason why they perswade themselves there is no God is because they would have none and those who hate God are hated by him and must suffer his eternal Vengeance Thus if there were no essential difference between Good and Evil they might chuse for themselves and call things by what Names they pleased Evil Good and Good Evil but if there be such a difference however they havâ—… made shift to conquer this Sense at present if they refuse the Good and chuse the Evil they must lose all that Happiness which they might expect from what is a natural Good that is all the true Happiness of Humane Nature and suffer all those Miseries which those Evils which are contrary to the Happiness of Humane Nature and destructive of it will expose them too For Good and Evil are not empty Names but Good signifies the Happiness of that Nature whose Good it is and Evil its Misery And if after all their Philosophy there be such a distinction of Good and Evil with respect to Humane Nature and that is a strange Nature which has no Good or Evil belonging to it to reject the Good must deprive them of Happiness and to chuse the Evil must make them miserable And if there be a moral as well as natural difference between Good and Evil that one deserves to be rewarded and the other punished we must expect that the Righteous Judge of the World will reward and punish us according to our Works If Men shut their Eyes or put out the Light and then call Darkness Light and Light Darkness how secure soever this may make them at present all that they gain by it is to go to Hell blindfold not to see their Danger before they feel themselves irrecoverably miserable If there be a distinction between Light and Darkness in the Moral and Spiritual as well as in the Natural World as there must be if there be any difference between true Knowledge and Wisdom and Ignorance and Folly If the Office of Light be to direct us in the way to Heaven those blessed Regions of eternal Light which those who wander in Darkness can never find If the necessary Effect of putting Darkness for Light be to lose the sight