find any of those Virtues that I have mentioned condemned and forbidden A clear Evidence that Mankind never took any exception against them but are generally agreed about the Goodness of them Fourthly God hath shewn us what is good by External Revelation In former Ages of the World God revealed his will to particular Persons in an extraordinary manner and more especially to the Nation of the Jews the rest of the World being in a great measure left to the conduct of natural Light But in these later Ages he hath made a publick Revelation of his Will by his Son And this as to the matter of our Duty is the same in Substance with the Law of Nature For our Saviour comprehends all under these two general Heads the love of God and of our Neighbour The Apostle reduceth all to three Sobriety Justice and Piety The grace of God that brings Salvation hath appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World So that if we believe the Apostle the Gospel teacheth us the very same things which Nature dictated to Men before only it hath made a more perfect discovery of them So that whatever was doubtful and obscure before is now certain and plain the Duties are still the same only it offers us more powerful Arguments and a greater Assistance to the performance of those Duties so that we may now much better say than the Prophet could in his days He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what it is that the Lord requires of thee Fifthly and lastly God shews us what is good by the motions of his Spirit upon the Minds of Men. This the Scripture assures us of and good Men have experience more especially of it though it be hard to give an account of it and to say what motions are from the Spirit of God and what from our own Minds for as the wind blows where it listeth and we hear the sound of it but know not whence it comes nor whither it goes so are the Operations of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men secret and imperceptible And thus I have done with the three things I propounded to speak to All that now remains is to make some Inferences from what hath been said by way of Application First Seeing God hath so abundantly provided that we should know our Duty we are altogether inexcusable if we do not do it Because he hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what the Lord requires of thee therefore thou art inexcusable O Man whosoever thou art who livest in a contradiction to this light God hath acquainted us with our Duty by such ways as may most effectually both direct and engage us to the practice of it we are prompted to it by a kind of natural Instinct and strong impressions upon our Minds of the difference of good and evil we are led to the knowledge and urged to the practice of it by our Nature and by our Reason and by our Interest and by that which is commonly very prevalent among Men the general voice and consent of Mankind and by the most powerful and governing passions in Humane Nature by hope and by fear and by shame by the prospect of advantage by the apprehension of danger and by the sense of honour and to take away all possible excuse of ignorance from us by an express Revelation from God the clearest and most perfect that ever was made to the World So that when ever we do contrary to our Duty in any of these great Instances we offend against all these and do in the highest degree fall under the heavy Sentence of our Saviour This is the Condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light Secondly You see hence what are the great Duties of Religion which God mainly requires of us and how reasonable they are Piety towards God and Justice and Charity towards Men the knowledge whereof is planted in our Nature and grows up with our Reason And these are things which are unquestionably good and against which we can have no exception things that were never reproved nor found fault with by Mankind neither our Nature nor our Reason riseth up against them or dictates any thing to the contrary We have all the Obligation and we have all the Encouragement to them and are secure on all hands in the practice of them In the doing of these things there is no danger to us from the Laws of Men no fear of displeasure from God no offence or sting from our own Minds And these things which are so agreeable to our Nature and our Reason and our Interest are the great things which our Religion requires of us more valuable in themselves and more acceptable to God than whole Burnt-offerings and Sacriâ—ices more than thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl more than if we offered to him all the Beasts of the Forest and the Cattle upon a thousand Hills We are not to neglect any Institution of God but above all we are to secure the observance of those great Duties to which we are directed by our very Nature and tyed by the surest and most sacred of all other Laws those which God hath riveted in our Souls and written upon our Hearts And that Mankind might have no pretence left to excuse them from these the Christian Religion hath set us free from those many positive and outward observances that the Jewish Religion was incumbred withall that we might be wholly intent upon these great Duties and mind nothing in comparison of the real and substantial Virtues of a good Life Thirdly You see in the last place what is the best way to appease the displeasure of God towards a sinful Nation God seems to have as great a Controversie with us as he had with the People of Israel and his wrath is of late years most visibly gone out against us and proportionably to the full measure of our Sins it hath been poured out upon us in full Vials How have the Judgments of God followed us And how close have they followed one another What fearful Calamities have our eyes seen enough to make the ears of every one that hears them to tingle What terrible and hazardous Wars have we been ingaged in What a raging Pestilence did God send among us that swept away thousands and ten thousands in our streets What a dreadful and fatal Fire that was not to be checked and resisted in its course 'till it had laid in Ashes one of the Greatest and Richest Cities in the World What unseasonable weather have we had of late as if for the Wickedness of Men upon the Earth the very Ordinances of Heaven were changed and Summer and Winter Seed-time and Harvest had forgotten their appointed Seasons And which is more and sadder than all this what dangerous attempts have been made upon our
Duties namely those which are comprehended under those two great Commandments of the love of God and our Neighbour In the Christian Religion there is very little that is meerly Positive and Instituted besides the two Sacraments and praying to God in the Name and Mediation of Jesus Christ 2. The most prefect Revelation that ever God made to Mankind I mean that of the Christian Religion doth furnish us with the best helps and advantages for the performance of Moral Duties it discovers our Duty more clearly to us it offers us the greatest assistance to enable us to the performance of it it presents us with the most powerful Motives and Arguments to engage us thereto so that this Revelation of the Gospel is so far from weakning the obligation of natural Duties that it confirms and strengthens it and urgeth us more forcibly to the practice of them 3. The positive Rites and Institutions of Revealed Religion are so far from entrenching upon the Laws of Nature that they were always designed to be subordinate and subservient to them and when ever they come in competition it is the declared will of God that positive Institutions should give way to natural Duties and this I have shewn to be plainly the meaning of this Saying in the Text I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice If Circumstances be such that one part of Religion must give place God will have the Ritual and Instituted part to give way to that which is Natural and Moral It is very frequent in Scripture when the Duties of Natural Religion and Rites of Divine Institution come in competition to slight and disparage these in comparison of Moral Duties and to speak of them as things which God hath no pleasure in and which in comparison of the other he will hardly own that he hath commanded When ye come to appear before me who hath required this at your hands Isa 1. 12. Thou desirest not Sacrifice thou delightest not in Burnt-Offerings Psal 51. 16. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl He hath shewn thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy But God no where makes any comparison to the disadvantage of Natural Duties he never derogated from them in any Case he never said he would have such a thing and not mercy or that he had rather such a Rite of Religion should be performed than that men should do the greatest good and shew the greatest Charity to one another It is no where made a question will the Lord be pleased that we deal justly every Man with his Neighbour and speak the truth one to another that we be kind and tender-hearted and ready to forgive that we be willing to distribute and give Alms to those that are in need there is no such question as this put in Scripture nay it is positive in these Matters that with such Sacrifices God is well pleased I instance in this Vertue more especially of Kindness and Compassion because it is one of the prime instances of Moral Duties as Sacrifice is put for all the Ritual and Instituted part of Religion and this disposition of Mind our Saviour makes the root of all Moral Duties Love is the fulfilling of the Law and the Apostle speaks of it as the great End and Scope of the Gospel The end of the Commandment is Charity And this temper and disposition of Mind he advanceth above Knowledge and Faith and Hope The greatest of these is Charity and without this he will not allow a Man to be any thing in Christianity this he makes our highest perfection and attainment and that which abides and remains in the future state Charity never fails This our Saviour most effectually recommends to us both in his Doctrine and by his Example this he presseth as the peculiar Law of his Religion and the proper Mark and Character of a Disciple This he requires us to exercise towards those who practice the contrary towards us to love our Enemies and to do good to them that hate us And of this he hath given us the greatest Example that ever was when we were Enemies to him he loved us so as hardly ever any Man did his Friend so as to lay down his Life for us and he Instituted the Sacrament for a Memorial of his love to Mankind and to put us in mind how we ought to love one another And now the Application of what hath been said upon this Argument to the occasion of this Day is very obvious and there are two very natural Inferences from it First From what hath been said upon this Argument it plainly appears what place Natural and Moral Duties ought to have in the Christian Religion and of all Natural Duties Mercy and Goodness This is so primary a Duty of Humane Nature so great and considerable a part of Religion that all positive Institutions must give way to it and nothing of that kind can cancel the obligation of it nor justifie the violation of this great and Natural Law Our Blessed Saviour in his Religion hath declared nothing to the prejudice of it but on the contrary hath heightned our obligation to it as much as is possible by telling us that the Son of Man came not to destroy Mens lives but to save them So that they know not what manner of Spirit they are of who will kill Men to do God service and to advance his Cause and Religion in the World will break through all obligations of Nature and Civil Society and disturb the Peace and Happiness of Mankind Nor did our Saviour by any thing in his Religion design to release Men from the obligation of Natural and Civil Duties He had as one would imagine as much Power as the Pope but yet he deposed none of the Princes of this World nor did Absolve their Subjects from their Fidelity and Obedience to them for their opposition to his Religion he assumed no such Power to himself no not in Ordine ad Spiritualia nor that ever we read of did he give it to any other Whence then comes his pretended Vicar to have this Authority And yet the horrid attempt of this Day was first designed and afterwards carried on in prosecution of the Popes Bull of Excommunication and was not so much the effect of the despair and discontent of that Party here in England as the Natural Consequence of their Doctrines of Extirpating Hereticks and Deposing Kings and Absolving Subjects from their Allegiance to them No Zeal for any positive Institution in Religion can justifie the Violation of the natural Law the Precepts whereof are of primary and indispensable Obligation The Pope's Supremacy is not so clear as the Duty of Obedience to civil Government nor is Transubstantiation so plainly revealed in Scripture as it is both in Nature and Scripture that we should do no murder And yet how many thousands have been
and not Sacrifice which Saying is quoted by him out of the Prophet Hosea chap. 6. 6. I desired mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than burnt Offerings which Text our Saviour cites and applies upon two several Occasions the considering and comparing of which will give full Light to the true meaning of it The First is here in the Text upon occasion of the Pharisees finding Fault with him for conversing with Publicans and Sinners the other is Matth. 12. 7. where the Pharisees blaming the Disciples of our Saviour for plucking the Ears of Corn on the Sabbath day our Saviour tells them if ye had known what this meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice ye would not have comdemned the guiltless that is if they had understood the true Nature of Religion and what Duties of it are chiefly and in the first place to be regarded they would not have been so forward to censure this Action of his Disciples So that the plain meaning of this Saying is this that in comparing the parts of Religion and the Obligation of Duties together those Duties which are of moral and natural Obligation are most valued by God and ought to take place of those which are positive and ritual I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice that is rather than Sacrifice according to the true meaning of this Hebrew Phrase which is to be understood in a comparitive Sense as is evident from the Text it self in Hosea I desired mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings if they cannot be observed together let Sacrifice be neglected and the work of Mercy be done And the Reason of this seems very plain because shewing Mercy or doing Good in any kind is a prime Instance of those moral Duties which do naturally and perpetually oblige but Sacrifice is an instance of positive and ritual Observances and one of the chief of the kind so that when moral Duties and ritual Observances come in Competition and do clash with one another the Observation of a Rite or positive Institution is to give way to a moral Duty and it is no Sin in that case to neglect the Observation of such a Rite yea though it were commanded and appointed by God himself And though this may seem to be a breach of the letter of the Law yet it is according to the true mind and meaning of the Law it being a tacit condition implyed in all Laws of a ritual and positive Nature provided the observance of them be not to the hindrance and prejudice of any Duty which is of a higher and better nature in that case the Obligation of it does for that time give way and is suspended And this will appear to be the true meaning of this Rule by comparing more particularly the Instances to which our Saviour applies it His Disciples passing through the Corn on the Sabbath Day and being hungry pluckt the Ears and did eat this our Saviour does justifie to be no Breach of the Law of the Sabbath because in that case and in such Circumstances it did not oblige for the Disciples being call'd to attend upon our Saviour to be instructed by him in the things which concerned the Kingdom of God that is in the Doctrine of the Gospel which they were to publish to the World this Attendance hindred them from making necessary Provisions against the Sabbath they in obedience to their Master being intent upon a better Work but that they might not starve the necessities of Nature must be provided for and therefore it was fit that the Law of the Sabbath which was but positive and ritual should give way to an act of Mercy and Self-preservation If ye had known what this meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice ye would not have condemned the guiltless And the reason is the same as to any instrumental part of Religion by which I mean any thing which may be a means to promote Piety and Goodness as Prayer hearing the Word of God keeping good Company and avoiding bad the Duties of this kind our Saviour here in the Text where he likewise applies this Rule compares with moral Duties To avoid the Company of vicious and wicked Persons is a good means to preserve men from the contagion of their Vices and was always esteemed a Duty among prudent men both Jews and Heathens and is in no wise disallowed by our Saviour but yet not so a Duty as to hinder a greater Duty nor so strictly and perversely to be insisted upon as if one ought not to converse with bad Men in any Case or upon any Account no not for so great and good an end as to reclaim them from their Vices In this Case we ought to consider that our first and highest obligation is to moral Duties comprehended under the love of God and our Neighbour among which one of the chief is to do good to Men and to shew Mercy and Pity to those that are in Misery and the greatest good that one Man can do to another is to be instrumental to reclaim him from the Evil and Error of his Way because this is to save his soul from death and we cannot imagine that God ever intended by any Rule of prudence or positive Constitution of the Jewish Law so to forbid their accompaning with bad and scandalous Men that it should be unlawful to converse with them in order to their Recovery and Amendment Go ye and learn what that meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice And St. Paul was of the same mind in the Precepts he gives concerning avoiding the Company of scandalous Christians 2 Thes 3. 14 15. and if any man obey not our word by this Epistle note that man and have no Company with him that he may be ashamed yet count him not as an enemy but admonish him as a brother St. Paul qualifies his Precept lest Christians should mistake it and fall into the Jewish extream not to converse with those whom they esteemed scandalous and wicked upon any account whatsoever no not in order to their Amendment and Reformation The Bond of Intimacy and Friendship with bad Men ought to be broken and yet the Bond of common Humanity may be as strong as ever It is one thing to discountenance bad Men to bring them to Shame and a Sense of their Fault and quite another thing to abandon them to Ruin and even in case of notorious Heresie or wickedness of Life it is one thing to cut them off from the Society and Communion of Christians and quite another to cut them off from Humane Society to cut their Throats and to extirpate them out of the World And yet the matter was carried thus far by the furious Zeal of the Jews when Christianity first appeared in the World they thought that no Mercy in such Cases was the best Service that could be done and the best Sacrifice that could be offered to Almighty God and
so with other Nations neither had the Heathen such a knowledge of God's Laws But notwithstanding this the Jewish Religion was very short and defective very weak and infectual to the great end of Righteousness and true Holiness and to raise Men to that perfection of goodness of which Humane Nature through the grace of God is capable and therefore there wanted a more perfect Institution to supply the defects and weakness and imperfection even of that Divine Revelation which God had made to the Jews and really to effect and accomplish that which the Jewish Religion attempted and aimed at and was but as I may say rudely begun under that imperfect Institution And this the Gospel or the Christian Religion revealed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ hath fully effected as will evidently appear by a particular Survey and Consideration of the main defects of the Jewish Religion which I shall shew to be all perfectly made up by the revelation of the Gospel and the Doctrine of Christianity in these following Particulars First it was a great defect of the Jewish Religion that a considerable part of it was meerly external concerning the purification of the Body and the Flesh and only figurative of that inward Purity and real Righteousness which renders Men truly good and like to God for which reason the Jewish Institution is by the Apostle to the Hebrews call'd the Law of a Carnal Commandment Heb. 7. 16 and Ch. 9. 10 is said to consist only that is chiefly in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal Ordinances imposed on them until the time of Reformation that is 'till the Messias should come and give such Laws as should really tend to reform the Hearts and Lives of Men and therefore these Laws and Ordinances are call'd poor pitiful Elements and the Rudiments of the World fitted rather for Children in understanding and goodness than to bring Men to any maturity and perfection in goodness All their Rites of purification did only sanctifie to the purifying of the Flesh but did not purge the Conscience from dead works as the Apostle to the Hebrews speaks Ch. 9. 13 14. they could not make those that performed and observed them perfect as pertaining to the Conscience v. 9. that is these Laws had no effect upon the minds of Men to make them really better to cure them of their Moral Defects and Impurities their Sins and Vices But the Christian Institution doth perfectly supply this defect by taking us off from those Carnal and External Observances and principally requiring that we worship God in spirit and in truth by giving us such Laws as wholly tend to advance real and substantial goodness purity and holiness of heart and life such as mainly tend to reform the Minds and Manners of Men and to make us like to that Holy and perfect Being whom we worship and besides an external humble and reverent demeanour of our selves in the worship of God to which Natural Religion doth likewise direct Christianity hath only Instituted two solemn External Rites viz. Baptism and the Lords Supper whereby we solemnly oblige our selves to the practice of all virtue and goodness I say only these two that by the multitude of external Observances Christians might not be taken off from the minding of the real and substantial Duties of Religion And therefore the Church of Rome have extreamly abated and weakned the force of Christianity upon the Hearts and Lives of Men by amusing them with External Rites which they have multiplied to that excessive degree as to make the Yoke of Christ really heavier than that of Moses and the Christian Religion a more external and carnal Commandment than that of the Law and by this means have diverted and taken off the Minds of Men from the main design of Christianity insomuch that they are so employed and taken up with Matters of external Ceremony that they have no leisure to think of being good Men and to mind the great and substantial Duties and Virtues of the Christian Life so that they have spoil'd the Christian Religion of one of its chief Excellencies and Perfections I mean the simplicity of its Worship which they have now encumbred with so many foolish and frivolous Rites and Observances as do not only render it more burthensom but less apt to make men inwardly and substantially good than even Judaism itself This is so true and so visible that the wiser and better sort of them have complain'd of it for several Ages and still do as much as they dare for fear of the Inquisition or some other censure Secondly Another defect of the Law of Moses was that it did not give encouragement enough to Repentance by declaring and assuring to us any certain way and method for the expiation and forgiveness of Sin This the Rites of all Religion aimed at and pretended to but were very ineffectual to that end The Heathen Sacrifices and all the cruel and barbarous Rites belonging to them did all pretend to be so many ways of appeasing the offended Deity and of making atonement and expiation for Sin and the Sacrifices of the Jews were Instituted by God himself to make an external and legal expiation and to be Types and Shadows of a better and more perfect Sacrifice which should really expiate Sin but even this was very darkly and imperfectly discovered to them besides that the expiations of the Law did only extend to the least sorts of Sins those of ignorance and inadvertency but not at all to presumptuous Sins and such as were committed with a high hand not to wilfull and deliberate Sins except in some very few and rare Cases particularly mentioned in the Law so that tho' a great part of the Religious Rites both of the Pagan and Jewish Religion aimed at the expiation of Sin yet were they really ineffectual to that end and upon the whole matter Mankind tho' they conceived good hope of God's mercy and forgiveness in case of Repentance Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his anger yet they were unacquainted with any certain and effectual means to that purpose It remains then that this great blessing of the Forgiveness of Sins was never sufficiently declared and assured to Mankind but through Jesus Christ in the Gospel So St. Paul expresly asserts Acts 13. 38 39. Be it known unto you therefore Men and Brethren that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of Sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses The Gospel hath provided an expiation for all Sins in general and that by a Sacrifice of inestimable value the blood of the Son of God And this is a mighty encouragement to Repentance and one most effectual means to reclaim Men from their Sins to be assured that they are indemnified for what is past And this the Apostle means when he says Gal. 3. 13. that
put to Death because they could not understand this hardword and believe this impossible thing And yet if the supremacy of the Pope were clearly of Divine Right and the Doctrine of Transubstantiation as plain as the institution of the Sacrament yet these being but positive matters in Religion there would be no reason to kill men for not understanding and believing these things nay it would be contrary to Religion to do it because the Law of Mercy and Humanity which is the Law of Nature ought not to be violated for the promoting of any positive institution and God hath plainly said that he will have mercy rather than Sacrifice yea rather than the Sacrifice of the Mass if it were what they pretend it is the offering of the natural body and blooâ— of Christ because it would be needless for Propitiation of Sin being once made by Christ's offering himself once for all upon the Cross there needs no more Sacrifice for Sin Nay I will go further yet I had rather never administer the Sacrament nor ever receive it than take away any Man's Life about it because the Sacrament is but a positive Rite and Institution of the Christian Religion and God prefers Mercy which is a Duty of natural Religion before any Rite or Institution whatsoever Besides that all acts of Malice and Cruelty are directly contrary to the particular Nature and Design of this blessed Sacrament which is to commemorate the Sufferings of the Son of God for our sakes and to give us an example of the greatest Love that ever was and thereby to excite us to the Imitation of it 2. What hath been said gives us a right Notion and Character of that Church and Religion which prefers the positive Rites and Institutions of Religion and the observance of them to those Duties which are of natural and Eternal Obligation Mercy and Goodness Fidelity and Justice and which for the sake of a pretended Article of Religion or Rite of Worship which if it were certain that they were revealed and instituted by God are yet meerly positive will break the greatest of God's Commandments and teach men so It is too plain to be denyed that the Principles and Precepts of natural Religion were never so effectually undermined and the Morality of the Christian Religion never so intolerably corrupted and debauched by any thing that ever yet had the face of Religion in the World as by the allowed Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome and this out of a blind and furious Zeal for some Imaginary Doctrines and Rites of the Christian Religion which at the best are of meer positive Institution and of the same rank among Christians that Sacrifices were in the Jewish Religion For which we need go no further for an instance than in the Occasion of thâ—s Day 's Solemnity upon which Day about fourscore years ago there was designed a mighty Sacrifice indeed the greatest and richest burnt-offering that ever was pretended to be offered up to Almighty God by those of any Religion whatsoever not the blood of Bulls and Goats but of King and Princes and Nobles more in value than thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl than all the Beasts of the Forrest and the Cattle upon a thousand Hills Here was a prodigious Sacrifice indeed but where was Mercy the thing God chiefly desires and which above all other things is acceptable to him no Mercy not even to those of their own Religion whom these nice and tender Casuists after a solemn debate of the Case had resolved to involve in the same common Destruction with the rest rather no mercy than that this Sacrificewhich their mad zeal had prompted them to should be omitted To conclude They that can do such inhumane things and think them to be Religion do not understand the nature of it but had need to be taught the first Rudiments of natural Religion that natural Duties are not to be violated upon pretence no nor for the sake of positive Institutions because natural Religion is the Foundation of that which is instituted and therefore to violate any natural Duty for the sake of that which is instituted is for Religion to undermine and blow up it self Let those who do such things and teach men so go and learn what that meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice SERMON III. Christianity doth not destroy but perfect the Law of Moses MATTHEW V. 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfil THERE is no Saying in the whole Gospel which the Jews did so frequently object to the Christians as this of our Blessed Saviour as if his Words and Actions were plainly repugnant and contrary to one another for when it is evident say they that he took away so many Ceremonies Purifications Distinctions of Meats Sacrifices Judicial Laws and many other things yet he says he came not to destroy the Law or the Prophets so that it is plain that he did throw down the Law of Moses and in so doing contradicted his own Saying that he did not intend to destroy the Law To clear our Saviour's words of this Objection it will be requâ—site to consider the Scope and Design of his Discourse in this Chapter by which we shall fully understand the sence and meaning of these Words in the Text. Our Saviour in this Sermon which contains the Sum and Substance of his Religion doth earnestly recommend to his Disciples and Followers and strictly enjoyns the perfect Practice of all Goodness and Virtue declaring to them that he came to bring in and establish that Righteousness which the Jewish Religion indeed aimed at but through the Weakness and Imperfection of that Dispensation was not able to effect and accomplish And to take away all suspicion of a Design to contradict the former Revelations of God made to the Jews by Moses and the Prophets or to destroy their Divine Authority by carrying on a Design contrary to them I say to prevent any imagination of this kind he does here in the Text expresly declare the contrary Think not c. Intimating that some either did or at least might be apt to suspect that his Design was to destroy the obligation of the Law and to undermine the Authority of Moses and the Prophets to free them from this jealousie he declares plainly that he had no such thought and intention it was far from him I am not come to destroy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to abrogate or dissolve the Law to encourage Men to the breach and violation of it for the word is of the same sense with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the 19. ver whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments and with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 3. 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do we then make void the Law by Faith Which is the same question with that of the same Apostle Gal. 3. 21. Is the Law
and degeneracy of Humane Nature that there is a real Change made in them by the operation of God's grace upon their Minds yet it is as certain in experience that this Change is made in very many by very silent and insensible degrees 'till at length the seeds of Religion which were planted in them by a good Education do visibly prevail over all the evil inclinations of corrupt Nature so as to sway and govern the Actions of their Lives and when the Principles of grace and goodness do apparently prevail we may conclude them to be in a Regenerate sâ—ate tho' perhaps very few of these can give any account of the particular time and occasion of this Change For things may be seen in their Effect which were never very sensible in their Cause And it is very Reasonable that such Persons who never lived in any evil course should escape those Pangs and Terrours which unavoidably happen unto others from a course of actual Sin and the guilt of a wicked Life and if there be any such Persons as I have described who are in this gradual and insensible manner Regenerated and made good this is a Demonstration that there is no necessity that this Change should be in an instant it being so frequently found to be otherwise in Experience And as for others who are visibly reclaimed from a notorious wicked Course in these we likewise frequently see this Change gradually made by strong impressions made upon their Minds most frequently by the Word of God sometimes by his Providence whereby they are convinâ—'d of the evil and danger of their Course and awakened to Consideration and melted into Sorrow and Repentance and perhaps exercis'd with great terrours of Conscience 'till at length by the grace of God they come to a fixt Purpose and Resolution of forsaking their Sins and turning to God and after many struglings and conflicts with their Lusts and the strong byass of evil habits this Resolution assisted by the grace of God doth effectually prevail and make a real change both in the Temper of their Minds and the Course of their Lives and when this is done and not before they are said to be Regenerate But all the while this was a doing the new Man was forming and the work of Regeneration was going on and it was perhaps a very considerable time from the first beginning of it 'till it came to a fixt and setled state And this I doubt not in experience of most Persons who are reclaim'd from a vicious course of Life is found to be the usual and ordinary Method of God's grace in their Conversion And if so it is in vain to pretend that a thing is done in an instant which by so manifold experience is found to take up a great deal of time and to be effected by degrees And whereas some Men are pleased to call all this the Preparatory work to Regeneration but not the Regeneration it self this is an idle contention about words For if these Preparations be a degree of goodness and a gradual tendency towards it then the work is begun by them and during the continuance of them is all the while a doing and tho' it be hard to fix the point or instant when a Man just arrives at this state and not before yet it is very sensible when a Man is in it and this Change when it is really made will soon discover it self by plain and sensible effects Fourthly and Lastly all this is very agreeable to the plain and constant tenour of Scripture Isa 1. 16. where the Prophet exhorts to this Change he speaks of it as a gradual thing Wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well that is break off evil and vicious habits and gain the contrary habits of virtue and goodness by the exercise of it The Scripture speaks of some as farther from a state of grace than others Jer. 13. 23. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil plainly declaring the great difficulty equal almost to a natural impossibility of reclaiming those to goodness who have been long habituated to an evil course And the Scripture speaks of some as nearer to a state of grace than others Our Saviour tells the young Man in the Gospel who said he had kept the Commands of God from his youth that he was not far from the Kingdom of God But now if by an irresistible act of God's power this Change be made in an instant and cannot otherwise be made how is one Man nearer to a state of Grace or farther from it than another If all that are made good must be made so in an instant or not at all then no Man is nearer being made good than another for if he were nearer to it he might sooner be made so but that cannot be if all must be made good in an instant for sooner than that no Man can be made so If the similitude of our being dead in sins and trespasses be strictly taken no Man is nearer a Resurrection to a new Life than another as he that died but a week ago is as far from being raised to life again as he that died a thousand years ago the Resurrection of both requires an Omnipotent act and to that both are equally easie The two Parables of our Saviour Matth. 13. 31 33. are by many Interpreters understood of the gradual operation of grace upon the hearts of Men. That wherein the Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a grain of Mustard-seed which being sown was the least of all seeds but by degrees grew up to be the greatest of herbs and to leaven which a Woman took and hid in three measures of meal 'till the whole was leavened intimating the progress of God's grace which by degrees diffuseth it self over the whole temper of a Man's Mind into all the actions of his Life To be sure the Parable of the seed which fell upon good ground does represent the efficacy of the word of God accompanied by his grace upon the Minds of Men and that is said to spring up and increase and to bring forth fruit with patience which surely does express to us the gradual operation of God's word and grace iu the Renovation and Change of a Man's Heart and Life The New Testament indeed speaks of the sudden Change of many upon the first preaching of the Gospel which I have told you before is not a standard of the ordinary Method of God's grace the not considering of which hath been a great Cause of all the Mistakes in this Matter 'T is true those which were thus Converted to the belief of the Gospel their Faith was a virtual Principle of all grace and virtue tho' not formally the habit of every particular grace St. Paul himself who was a prime instance of this kind speaks as if he acquir'd
Not but that Mankind had always apprehensions and jealousies of the danger of a wicked Life and Sinners were always afraid of the vengeance of God pursuing their evil Deeds not only in this Life but after it too and tho' they had turned the Punishments of another World into ridiculous Fables yet the wiser sort of Mankind could not get it out of their Minds that there was something real under them and that Ixion's Wheel which by a perpetual motion carried him about and Sisyphus his Stone which he was perpetually rolling up the Hill and when he had got it near the top tumbled down and still created him a new labour and Tantalus his continual hunger and thirst aggravated by a perpetual nearness of enjoyment and a perpetual disappointment and Prometheus his being chained to a Rock with an Eagle or Vulture perpetually preying upon his Liver which grew as fast as it was gnawed I say even the wiser among the Heathens lookt upon these as fantastical Representations of something that was Real viz. the grievous and endless Punishment of Sinners the not to be endured and yet perpetually renewed Torments of another World for in the midst of all the ignorance and degeneracy of the Heathen World Mens Consciences did accuse them when they did amiss and they had secret fears and misgivings of some mighty danger hanging over them from the displeasure of a superior Being and the apprehension of some great mischiefs likely to follow their wicked actions which some time or other would overtake them which because they did not always in this World they dreaded them in the next And this was the foundation of all those Superstitions whereby the Ancient Pagans endeavoured so carefully to appease their offended Deities and to avert the Calamities which they feared they would send down upon them But all this while they had no certain assurance by any clear and express Revelation from God to that purpose but only the jealousies and suspicions of their own Minds naturally consequent upon those Notions which Men generally had of God but so obscured and depraved by the Lusts and Vices of Men and by the gross and false conceptions which they had of God that they only serv'd to make them superstitious but were not clear and strong enough to make them wisely and seriously Religious And to speak the truth the more knowing and inquisitive part of the Heathen World had brought all these things into great doubt and uncertainty by the nicety and subtilty of Disputes about them so that it was no great wonder that these Principles had no greater effect upon the Lives of Men when their apprehensions of them were so dark and doubtful But the Gospel hath made a most clear and certain Revelation of these things to Mankind It was written before upon Men's Hearts as the great Sanction of the Law of Nature but the impressions of this were in a great measure blurred and worn out so that it had no great power and efficacy upon the Minds and Manners of Men but now it is clearly discovered to us the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven which expression may well imply in it these three things First The Clearness of the Discovery the wrath of God is said to be revealed Secondly The extraordinary Manner of it it is said to be revealed from Heaven Thirdly The Certainty of it not being the result of subtle and doubtful Reasonings but having a Divine Testimony and Confirmation given to it which is the proper meaning of being revealed from Heaven First It imports the Clearness of the Discovery The Punishment of Sinners in another World is not so obscure a Matter as it was before it is now expresly declared in the Gospel together with the particular Circumstances of it namely that there is another Life after this wherein Men shall receive the just recompence of Reward for all the actions done by them in this Life that there is a particular time appointed wherein God will call all the World to a solemn account and those who are in their graves shall by a powerful voice be raised to Life and those who shall then be found alive shall be suddenly changed when our Lord Jesus Christ the Eternal and only begotten Son of God who once came in great humility to save us shall come again in Power and great Glory attended with his Mighty Angels and all Nations shall be gathered before him and all Mankind shall be separated into two Companies the Righteous and the Wicked who after a full Hearing and fair Tryal shall be sentenced according to their Actions the one to Eternal Life and Happiness the other to Everlasting Misery and Torment So that the Gospel hath not only declared the thing to us that there shall be a future Judgment but for our farther assurance and satisfaction in this Matter and that these things might make a deep impression and strike a great awe upon our Minds God hath been pleased to reveal it to us with a great many particular Circumstances such as are very worthy of God and apt to fill the Minds of Men with dread and astonishment as often as they think of them For the Circumstances of this Judgment revealed to us in the Gospel are very solemn and awful not such as the wild fancies and imaginations of Men would have been apt to have drest it up withal such as are the Fictions of the Heathen Poets and the extravagancies of Mahomet which tho' they be terrible enough yet they are withal ridiculous but such as are every way becoming the Majesty of the great God and the Solemnity of that great Day and such as do not in the least â—avour of the vanity and lightness of humane imagination For what more fair and equal than that Men should be tried by a Man like themselves one of the same Rank and Condition that had experience of the Infirmities and Temptations of Humane Nature So our Lord tells us that the Father hath committed all judgment to the Son because he is the Son of Man and therefore cannot be excepted against as not being a fit and equal Judge And this St. Paul offers as a clear proof of the equitable proceedings of that Day God says he hath appointed a Day in which he will judge the World in Righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained And then what more congruous than that the Son of God who had taken so much pains for the Salvation of Men and came into the World for that purpose and had used all imaginable means for the Reformation of Mankind I say what more congruous than that this very Person should be honoured by God to sit in Judgment upon the World and to Condemn those who after all the means that had been tried for their Recovery would not Repent and be Saved And what more proper than that Men who are to be judged for things done in the Body should be judged in the Body and consequently
the Natural Knowledge which Men have of God is when all is done the surest and fastest hold that Religion hath on Humane Nature Besides how should God judge that part of the World who are wholly destitute of Divine Revelation if they had no Natural Knowledge of him and consequently could not be under the direction and government of any Law For where there is no Law there is no Transgression and where Men are guilty oâ— the breach of no Law they cannot be Judged and Condemned for it for the Judgment of God is according to truth And now this being establisht that Men have a Natural Knowledge of God if they contradict it by their Life and Practice they are guilty of detaining the truth of God in unrighteousness For by this Argument the Apostle proves the Heathen to be guilty of holding the truth in unrighteousness because notwithstanding the Natural Knowledge which they had of God by the things which were made they lived in the practice of gross Idolatry and the most abominable Sins and Vices And this concerns us much more who have the glorious Light of the Gospel added to the Light of Nature For if they who offended against the Light of Nature were liable to the judgment of God of how much sorer Punishment shall we be thought worthy if we neglect those infinite advantages which the Revelation of the Gospel hath superadded to Natural Light He hath now set our Duty in the clearest and strongest Light that ever was afforded to Mankind so that if we will not now Believe and Repent there is no Remedy for us but we must die in our sins if we sin wilfully after so much knowledge of the truth there remains no more Sacrifice for Sin but a fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery indignation to consume us The Summ of what hath been said on this Argument is briefly this that Men have a Natural Knowledge of God and of those great Duties which result from the Knowledge of him so that whatever Men say and pretend as to the main things of Religion the Worship of God and Justice and Righteousness toward Men setting aside Divine Revelation we are all Naturally convinc'd of our Duty and of what we ought to do and those who live in a bad Course need only be put in mind of what they naturally know better than any body else can tell them that they are in a bad Course so that I may appeal to all wicked Men from themselves rash and heated and intoxicated with Pleasure and Vanity transported and hurried away by Lust and Passion to themselves serious and composed and in a cool and considerate temper And can any sober Man forbear to follow the Convictions of his own Mind and to resolve to do what he inwardly consents to as best Let us but be true to our selves and obey the Dictates of our own Minds and give leave to our own Consciences to Counsel us and tell us what we ought to do and we shall be a Law to our selves I proceed to the Sixth and last Observation namely that the clear Revelation of the wrath of God in the Gospel against the impiety and unrighteousness of Men is one principal thing which renders it so very powerful and likely a means for the Salvation of Mankind For the Apostle instanceth in two things which give the Gospel so great an advantage to this purpose the Mercy of God to Penitent Sinners and his Severity toward the Impenitent both which are so fully and clearly revealed in the Gospel The Gospel is the power of God to Salvation to every one that believeth becaâ—se therein the Righteousness of God is revealed that is his great Grace and Mercy in the Justification and Pardon of Sinners by Jesus Christ which I have already shewn to be meant by the Righteousness of God by comparing this with the Explication which is given of the Righteousness of God Chap. 3. ver 22. The other Reason which he gives of the Gospel's being the power of God to Salvation is the plain declaration of the Severity of God toward Impenitent Sinners Because therein also the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men. The force of which Argument will appear if we consider these following Particulars First That the Declarations of the Gospel in this Matter are so plain and express Secondly That they are very dreadful and terrible Thirdly That there is no safety or hope of impunity for Men that go on and continue in their Sins Fourthly That this Argument will take hold of the most desperate and proâ—ligate Sinners and still retain its force upon the Minds of Men when all other Considerations fail and are of little or no efficacy And Fifthly That no Religion in the World can urge this Argument with that force and advantage that Christianity does First That the declarations of the Gospel in this Matter are most plain and express and that not only against Sin and Wickedness in general but against particular Sins and Vices so that no Man that lives in any Evil and Vicious Course can be ignorant of his danger Our Lord hath told us in general what shall be the Doom of the Workers of Iniquity yea tho' they may have owned him and made profession of his Name Mat. 7. 21. Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord c. then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work Iniquity Math. 13. 49 50. So shall it be at the end of the World the Angels shall come forth and sever the Wicked from among the Just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth Math. 25. 46. The Wicked shall go away into Everlasting Punishment but the Righteous into Life Eternal Joh. 5. 28 29. The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil unto the Resurrection of Damnatiom Rom. 2. 6. St. Paul tells us that there is a Day of wrath and of the Revelation of the Righteous Judgment of God who will render to every Man according to his deeds to them who obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of Man that doth evil 2 Thes 1. 7 8 9. That the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punisht with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his Power Nothing can be more plain and express than these general
Kingdom of God St. Paul likewise very fully declares unto us the great danger of this Condition 1 Tim. 6. 9 10. But they that will be Rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown Men in destruction and perdition for the love of mony is the root of all evil which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows But the greatest Bait of all to Flesh and Blood is sensual Pleasures the very presence and opportunity of these are apt to kindle the Desires and to inflame the Lusts of Men especially where these temptations meet with suitable tempers where every spark that falls catcheth And on the other hand the Evils and Calamities of this World especially if they threaten or fall upon Men in any degree of extremity are strong temptations to Human Nature Poverty and Want Pain and Suffering and the fear of any great Evil especially of Death these are great straits to Humane Nature and apt to tempt Men to great Sins to impatience and discontent to unjust and dishonest shifts to the forsaking of God and Apostacy from his Truth and Religion Agur was sensible of the dangerous temptation of Poverty and therefore he prays against that as well as against Riches Give me not Poverty lest being Poor I steal and take the name of the Lord my God in vain that is lest I be tempted to Theft and Perjury The Devil whose Trade it is to tempt Men to Sin knew very well the force of these sorts of Temptations when he desired God first to touch Job in his Estate and to see what effect that would have Job 1. 11. But put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath and he will curse thee to thy face And when he found himself deceived in this surely he thought that were he but afflicted with great bodily pains that would put him out of all patience and flesh and blood would not be able to withstand this Temptation Chap. 2. ver 5. But put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse thee to thy face And this was the great Temptation that the Primitive Christians were assaulted withal they were tempted to forsake Christ and his Religion by a most violent Persecution by the spoiling of their goods by Imprisonment and Torture and Death And this is that kind of Temptation which the Apostle particularly speaks of before the Text Blessed is the Man that endureth temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him and then it follows Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God And thus I have given an account of the several sorts of temptations comprehended under this second Head namely when Men are tempted by being brought into such Circumstances as do greatly endanger their falling into Sin by the Allurements of this World and by the Evils and Calamities of it Now the Question is how far God hath an hand in these kind of temptations that so we may know how to limit this Proposition which the Apostle here rejects that Men are tempted of God Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God That the Providence of God does order or at least permit Men to be brought into these Circumstances I have spoken of which are such dangerous temptations to Sin no Man can doubt that believes his Providence to be concern'd in the affairs of the World All the difficulty is how far the Apostle does here intend to exempt God from an hand in these temptations Now for the clearer understanding of this it will be requisite to consider the several Ends and Reasons which those who tempt others may have in tempting them and all temptation is for one of these three Ends or Reasons either for the trial and improvement of Men's Virtues or by way of Judgment and Punishment for some former great Sins and Provocations or with a direct purpose and design to seduce Men to Sin these I think are the chief Ends and Reasons that can be imagined of exercising Men with dangerous temptations First For the exercise and improvement of Men's Graces and Virtues And this is the End which God always aims at in bringing good Men or permitting them to be brought into dangerous temptations And therefore St. James speaks of it as a matter of joy when good Men are exercised with afflictions not because afflictions are desirable for themselves but because of the happy consequences of them Ver. 2 3. of this Chap. My Brethren count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience And to the same purpose St. Paul Rom. 5. 3 4 5. We glory in tribulation knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience experience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Patience trieth a Man and this trial worketh hope and hope maketh not ashamed These are happy effects and consequences of affliction and suffering when they improve the Virtues of Men and increase their Graces and thereby make way for the increase of their Glory Upon this account St. James pronounceth those Blessed who are thus tempted Blessed is the Man that endureth temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him And this certainly is no disparagement to the Providence of God to permit Men to be thus tempted when he permits it for no other end but to make them better Men and thereby to prepare them for a greater Reward And so the Apostle assures us Rom. 8. 17 18. If so be we suffer with him we shall also be glorified with him for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us And ver 28. For we know that all things shall work together for good to them that love God And this happy end and issue of temptations to good Men the Providence of God secures to them if they be not wanting to themselves one of these two ways either by proportioning the temptation to their strength or if it exceed that by ministring new strength and support to them by the secret and extraordinary aids of his Holy Spirit First By proportioning the temptation to their strength ordering things so by his secret and wise Providence that they shall not be assaulted by any temptation which is beyond their strength to resist and overcome And herein the security of good Men doth ordinarily consist and the very best of us those who have the firmest and most resolute virtue were in infinite danger if the Providence of God did not take this care of us For a temptation may set upon the best Men with so much violence or surprize them at such an advantage as no ordinary degree of grace
that our own Age did not afford us too many instances of this kind of such forward and expert Sinners as need no Tempter either to instruct or excite them to that which is evil Now in this Case the Devil betakes himself to other Persons and removes his Snares and Baits where he thinks there is more need and occasion for them So that we may reasonably conclude that there is a great deal of wickedness committed in the World which the Devil hath no immediate hand in tho' he always rejoyceth in it when it is done and that there is a great deal more reason to attribute all good to the Motions and Operations of the Spirit of God than to ascribe all Sin and wickedness in the World to the Devil because the Spirit of God is more powerful and is always every where and is more intent upon his design and as forward to promote it as the Devil can be to carry on his work nay I doubt not but he is more active to excite Men to good than the Devil can be to tempt them to Evil. And yet for all this I think there is no great reason to doubt but that good Men do many good actions of their own inclination without any special and immediate motion from the Spirit of God They are indeed at first regenerate and sanctified by the Holy Ghost and are continually afterwards under the conduct of the same Spirit but where there is a new Nature it is of it self inclinable to that which is good and will bring forth fruits and do actions answerable Much less do I think that the Devil tempts every Man to all the evil that he does or the greatest part When the Lusts of Men and the habits of Vice are grown strong and confirmed the Devil may spare his temptations in a great measure for after wicked Men are wound up to such a pitch of impiety they will go a great while of themselves I have done with the first Observation that as the Apostle acquits God from having any hand in tempting Men to Sin so neither does he ascribe the efficacy and prevalency of temptation to the Devil I proceed to the Second Observation That he ascribes the efficacy and success of temptation to the lusts and vicious inclinations of Men which seduce them to a consent and compliance with the temptations which are offered to them Every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed We have many powerful Enemies but we are much more in danger of treachery from within than of assaults from without All the power of our Enemies could not destroy us if we were but true to our selves so that the Apostle had great reason to ascribe the efficacy of temptation to the irregular desires and vicious inclinations of Men rather than to those temptations which the Providence of God permits them to be assaulted with and consequently to lay the blame of Mens Sins chiefly upon themselves And that chiefly upon these two accounts First Because the Lusts of Men are in a great measure voluntary Secondly God hath put it in our power to resist these temptations and overcome them Now so far as the Lusts of Men are voluntary it is their own fault that they are seduced by them and if God hath put it in our power to resist and overcome temptations we may blame our selves if we be overcome and foiled by them First The Lusts of Men are in a great measure voluntary By the Lusts of Men I mean their irregular desires and vicious inclinations I grant that the Nature of Man is very much corrupted and degenerated from its Primitive Integrity and Perfectionâ— but we who are Christians have received that grace in Baptism whereby our Natures are so far healed as if we be not wanting to our selves and do not neglect the means which God hath appointed to us we may mortifie our Lusts and live a new Life so that if our Lusts remain unmortified we our selves are in fault much more if they gain new strength and proceed to habits for this could not be if we did not after we come to Age and are able to discern between and to chuse good and evil voluntarily consent to Iniquity and by wilful and deliberate Practice of known Sins improve the evil inclinations of our Nature into vicious habits but if instead of mortifying and subduing the evil propensions of our Nature which is no very difficult work to most persons if they begin it betimes we will cherish and give new Life and Power to them we forfeit the grace which we received in Baptism and bring our selves again under the Power and Dominion of Sin and no wonder then if our Lusts seduce us and make us ready to comply with the temptations of the World and the Devil Nay and after this it is still our own fault if we do not mortifie our Lusts for if we would hearken to the Counsel of God and obey his Calls to Repentance and sincerely beg his Grace and Holy Spirit to this purpose we might yet recover our selves and by the Spirit mortify the Lâ—sts of the Flesh for tho' we have left God he hath not quite forsaken us but is ready to afford his Grace again to us tho' we have neglected and abused it and to give his Holy Spirit to those that ask him tho' they have forfeited it so that tho' our Lusts spring from something which is Natural yet that they live and have domâ—â—ion over us is voluntary because we â—ight Remedy it if we would and make use of those Means which God in the Gospel offers to us Secondly God hath put it in our power to resist these temptations and overcome them so that it is our own fault if we yield to them and be overcome by them It is naturally in our power to resist maâ—y sorts of temptations and the grace of God if we do not neglect it and be not wanting to ouâ— selves puts it into our power to resist any temptation that may happen to us First It is naturally in our power to resist many sorts of temptations If we do but make use of our Natural Reason and those Considerations which are common and obvious to Men we may easily resist the temptations to a great many Sins Some Sins are so horrid in their Nature that when we have the strongest temptatioâ—s to them we cannot but have a natural aversion from them as deliberate Murder the danger and guilt whereof are both so great as make it easie for any considerate Man to resist the strongest temptation to it even that of revenge A plain act of injustice whether by great fraud or by down right oppression is so base and disgraceful so odious and abhorred by humane Nature that it is not difficult to a Man that hath but a common understanding and common inclination to be honest to overcome the greatest temptation of gain and advantage nay he must offer