whatever is venerable grave decent and becoming For doubtless there is such a thing as Natural Decency and Decorum which may be rated according to the different Circumstances and Qualifications of Men. Thus some things may pass irreprehensible in a private Person which are unbecoming a Prince And that which may be allowed in another would yet be unfit for a Minister of the Gospel who is to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Tim. 3.2 of good behaviour which in Verse 8. is expressed by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Grave i. e. Adorned with a comely Gravity and Decency in his whole Conversation So that whatever Degree or Place a Man holds in the World he ought to Act suitably and agreeably to it Thus Parents and Masters ought to set their Children and Servants an Example of Gravity and Becomingness Which though in many things it is to be taken and measured from the Use and Custom of the Place and Nation wherein they are yet there are some General Rules of becomingness which Nature and Reason will furnish us withal For Grave and Venerable and Becoming being Things of a Moral Nature it is certain that there is some Rule and Measure whereby these things are to be known as well as for any other Vertue As 1. This Gravity and Becomeingness which the Apostle advises us to follow requires that we Act in all things suitably to the Dignity of our Nature We are to Consider that God hath made us Rational Creatures and endued us with a Power of discerning between Moral Good and Evil. Now we having the Laws of Good and Evil of what is Base and Deformed and what is Honest and Becoming engraven upon our Souls whenever we Transgress these Rules we Act contrary to the Excellency and Dignity of our Nature Hence was that Precept of the Philosophers Reverere teipsum Reverence thy self i. e. Take Care that thou Act not below the Dignity and Eminency of thy Nature For Right Reason being that Rule and Measure according to which all our Actions are to be formed and squared whenever we swerve and deviate from that Rule we go below and debase our Natures And this Superiority of Reason over all our Animal and Brutish Passions and Inclinations is denoted in Gen. 1.28 where God bids Man have Dominion over the Fish of the Sea and over the Fowl of the Air and over every living thing that moveth upon the Earth There are many Passions and Affections and Sensations which arise from the Body and as they are Innocent in themselves so they are Necessary to the Perfection of our Nature Wherefore Man being made after the Image of God he has likewise an Empire and Rule and Dominion given him over all his Bodily Affections and Inclinations to moderate and guide them in the lesser World as God doth all the parts of the greater throughout the whole Creation Thus St. Jude Verse 6 speaking of the Lapsed Angels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which kept not their first Estate the Vulgar Latin has it Principatum suum non servaverunt which is thus expressed by Simplicius after the Platonical manner In Epictet p. 163. and in terms very little different from the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 neglecting that Archical Power wherein consisted their similitude with God and giving themselves up to the Conduct of their irrational Appetites Now when the Bruitish Life leads us astray from the Government of Reason and we cast away that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Principality and Archical Rule wherewith God hath invested us over all our Corporeal Passions and Affections then the Order of the Creation is inverted and the Beast governs the Man than which nothing can appear more unbecoming and unhandsome to every one that hath any spiritual sense and discerning in him It was an Evil which Solomon says he saw under the Sun Eccles 10.7 Servants upon Horses and Princes walking as Servants upon the Earth The Moral is true in every Wicked Man in whom Reason is dethron'd and the lowest of his Appetites and Desires command and force him to obey them For any Man therefore by Intemperance Debauchery and a lawless pursuit after sensual Pleasures to abuse any Power of his Body or Faculty of his Soul he does that which is Dishonest and Uncomely in forcing Reason from its Seat and setting up his Brutish Lusts in its stead To be carried out in a fond doating upon the World and an immoderate love of Sensual Vanities and to follow them with a mighty eagerness and desire as if they were the ultimate Happiness of Man it is to debase and dishonour our Souls It is an abuse and a slur cast upon Humane Nature because we make use of it to those Purposes which God never intended it for In like manner to be over-curious in making Provision for the Body and to bestow too much time in Decking and Adorning that to the Prejudice and Neglect of the Soul it is what is unbecoming and dishonourable to a Man because 't is a preferring our worser part before our Souls which are much the Nobler half of us Now as for that Decency which ought to be even in our Apparel it is to be measured by the Custom and Manners of the best and wisest Persons among whom we live whose Judgment in this Case ought by no means to be slighted or undervalued The State likewise and Condition of Persons is to be Considered They that are Gorgeously Apparalled and live Delicately says Christ Luke 7.25 are in King's Courts In which our Saviour does not condemn the wearing of Rich Apparel either as a thing undecent or unlawful but seems to intimate that the Quality and Condition of Persons is to be observed 2. Gravity and Comeliness require that in all our Actions we consider the end of our Beings and that we Act suitably and agreeably to that end Every thing is such as is the end to which it is determined and as the end is more or less Noble so is the Excellency of a Creature proportionably more or less Now the highest and best end of Man as a Rational Creature must undoubtedly be the Participation of the Nature of God for there is nothing in the World more Noble nothing more Excellent than this Wherefore all Comeliness and Decorum consisting in an apt and due order and consent it follows that we then Act the most Becoming when we Act the most Agreeably and Consonantly to the Great and Universal End of our Beings Therefore whatever it be that hinders our Communication with God and our partaking of his Nature so far forth it is Dishonest Vile and Unsuitable to our Intellectual Creature It was good Advice of the Wise Ben Syrack Ecclesiast 7.36 Remember the end and thou shalt never do amiss For he that Acts agreeably and conformably to the end of his Being he Acts according to that Order which God hath appointed and therefore cannot be guilty of any thing that is Base and Unworthy Let
and Transgressions of the Eternal Laws of Nature Therefore it follows Verse 16. Wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes cease to do evil learn to do well relieve the Oppressed judg the Fatherless and plead for the Widow From hence you see that it is clear as the Sun that God puts a higher estimate and value upon the faithful discharge of these Moral Duties of Religion than he does upon the immediate Acts of his own Worship And that whatsoever Service is performed to him it is no further acceptable than as it stands in Conjunction with Acts of Kindness Beneficence Justice and Equity towards our Fellow-Creatures Nay our Saviour himself and his Apostles when they would give us a brief Summary or Compendium of Religion they always make the practice of Moral-Virtue to be the main part and foundation of it For thus our blessed Lord himself says that to love God and our Neighbour are the substance of the Law and the Prophets And St. James tells us Chap. 1.27 that true Religion before God and the Father is this To visit the Fatherless and Widows in their Affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the World Moreover the value that God puts upon Moral-Virtue is so great that when the Scripture gives a Character of any person that is dear and acceptable to God the description is for the most part drawn from instances of Morality In the 31st Chapter of Job we find that Holy Man making a profession of his Innocency and Integrity and all the instances he gives of it are but so many Acts of Moral-Virtue yet has he this Commendation given him That he was a perfect and upright man one that feared God and eschewed Evil Job 1.1 And that which indeared Cornelius to God and made him be thought worthy of the Visit of an Angel first and then of an Apostle was as we read Acts 10.2 That he was a just and devout Man one that feared God with all his House and gave much Alms to the people and prayed to God always Insomuch that St. Peter makes this general Deduction and Conclusion from it Verse 34 35. Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons but in every Nation he that fears him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him As if the Apostle had said In all times and ages whoever he be and in whatsoever part of the World that acknowledges the being of a God and sincerely honours him and lives up as near as he can to the Prescriptions of right Reason that Almighty Being looks down with a favourable Eye upon him Certain it is that Christianity it self whose ultimate end is the Salvation and Blessedness of Mankind hath therefore appeared saith St. Paul Tit. 2.12 teaching us That denying all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World Which is nothing but the perfection of Morality And that we may conclude this Argument when the Apostle would give us the Character of a compleat and full grown Christian he says Heb. 5.14 that he is such a one who by reason of use hath his Senses exercised to discern both good and evil So that the Perfection of all Religion is made to consist in having a vital rellish and discrimination of good and evil 2. By these Moral Actions we partake of the Nature of God The Apostle in 2 Pet. 1.4 makes the ultimate End and grand Design of Christian Religion to be our partaking of a Divine Nature Now the Nature of God as it is communicated to us does not consist in Wisdom or Power but in Goodness and Truth in Holyness Justice and Equity in Love Commiseration and Pity All which are Moral Excellencies and Perfections and as we partake more or less of them so do we more or less resemble and draw down God into our Souls The Eternity Omniscience and Omnipotency of God are no where set as our Copies to follow for these are Incommunicable Properties of his Nature but in all his Moral-Perfections we are to imitate and become like unto him It is by his Holiness and Purity by his Love and Goodness that God falls down into our Souls and impregnates them with his Sacred Life and forms there his own Image and Likeness And we cannot doubt but that which so nearly resembles God and is nothing but his own Life and Nature copyed out and implanted in his Creatures must needs be most of all valued and respected by him and we are in his Favour as we increase in Holyness and Purity in Truth Goodness and Righteousness Now that God accounts these Things most dear to him is evident from that Example he proposes to us for our Imitation that is The Example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who was God dwelling in our Nature and in whom that Divine Life which is the highest Perfection of Men and Angels was most clearly and conspicuously discovered And the great Things which have made the Life of Christ Examplary and set as a Godlike Pattern for us to follow were 1. His Superlative Love and Charity designing not so much his own Interest as the universal and common Good of all the World His Kindness and Compassions were not circumscribed to this or that particular sort of Men but extended and communicated to all that were capable of them He made no distinction of Age or Sex or Parties but scattered his Bounty to all and filled all Places and all Persons with Joy and Gladness by his Presence And whenever he made use of that Almighty Power which resided in him it was not to the Harm and Damage but to the Support and Relief of those he conversed withal 2. Again he made his Life an Examplary Pattern to us in his Humility and the Resignation of his Mind to the Divine Will and Pleasure For we never find our Saviour ever arrogating any Praise or Glory to himself but refers all the Glory of his Actions to God Insomuch as though he knew himself to be Innocent and without Sin yet he refuses to be called Good saying That none was good save one that is God And whatever his Condition was he never murmured or repined at it but entirely committed himself to the wise Providence and Disposal of God Nor did he ever desire the fulfilling his own Will and Desires any further than they might consist with the good Pleasure of his Heavenly Father 3. And then lastly Our Lord has given us a clear Example of an unspotted Purity both of Body and Soul He conversed with a Wicked and Censorious World with Men that lay at the catch to ensnare him and yet we do not read they could ever fasten any Sin upon him And as his Soul was ever kept undefiled and unspotted from the World so his Body was never polluted by any inordinate Pleasure or Excess but both Body and Soul remained always pure as the Temple of the Living God
Here now is that Divine Nature that we are called to partake of and this is the perfect Image and Resemblance of the Divinity that we are to be conformed to and yet these are no other than Moral Vertues and our partaking of the Nature of God is the conformity of our Souls to these and such like Rules of Eternal Reason 3. The Practice of Moral Virtues is so absolutely necessary that without it we can never perform any Christian and Acceptable Service unto God The Ten Commandments must first be kept before we can arrive to that higher measure of Perfection required of us under the Gospel and we must first be good Men before we can be good Christians and none can be good except he be true and faithful and just and honest For what Sign can that Man give that he desires to be like to God in Justice and Equity who never omits any occasion of injuring and defrauding his Neighbour How can he be said to be a Follower of Jesus who went about doing good that will neither afford Relief to the Bodies or Souls of Men God is Love but when Men live in Envy and Hatred and Malice it were strange they should be like to God Suppose any Person should say That he desires and hopes to inherit the pure State of Angels hereafter can we believe this when we see him at the same time pursuing all beastly and sensual Pleasures The Practice of Moral Vertue is a thing that God has put into our Power and he requires that we should be faithful to it because from hence Springs that new Nature which is wrought in us by the overshadowing Power of the Spirit of God There is such a near connection between these Moral Virtues and that Divine Life which Jesus came to plant in our Souls that one cannot be without the other nor can we perform any Service acceptable to God while we either neglect or are false in the Practice of these These are the Arguments which may serve to enforce the serious Practice of Vertue in general upon us and to let us know that the esteem which God hath of us is according to our Growth and Progress in it All other Qualifications are of little or no worth in Comparison of this And if we are defective here though we are otherwise never so gloriously accomplished it will do us no good We may now briefly consider the Incouragements the Apostle gives to the faithful Discharge of these Virtues in general They are these two express'd v. 9. 1. That these things are not new nor strange the Apostle desires nothing but what they had learnt and heard and seen in him If they feared the Truth of what he said they should look on him and see if his Life and Actions were not conformable to his Doctrin Examples are very great Encouragements to a Holy Life and Christians ought not to walk every Man by himself but imitate and stir up and follow one another in the same Course of Holiness That as they offer up the same Common Petitions and Prayers for themselves and all Mankind so they should all strive together and incourage one another in the same way of Virtue that so at last they may all come to the glory and felicity of Jesus who is gone before them 2. He tells them the God of Peace should be with them in so doing The highest Motive and Incentive to the Practice of Holiness and Virtue that can be thought of Though all the World be in a Storm and Confusion about us yet so long as we are Holy and Good that God who Creates an Everlasting Peace for Righteous Men shall be always with us And where he is present there is an Eternal Quietness and Calm God will never forsake his own Life and Nature and Holiness being the very Nature of God he cannot but love and regard it wherever he finds it in any person Though Earthly Parents may forget their Children yet God cannot be unmindful of those that are Good Virtuous and Holy He can never withdraw himself from them but will continually visit them with his Powerful Love He gives them that Peace of Conscience in this Life that the World cannot give and brings them at last to that Land of Peace and Blessedness where there is no Disturbance or Alteration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whatsoever things are true The Gospel being given to amend the Manners and reform the Lives of Mankind and to bring into use those Virtues which began to grow out of fashion through the general Wickedness and Corruption of the World the Apostle begins with Truth Whatsoever things are true Now Truth is to be considered 1. As it refers purely to the Understanding 2. As it relates to Practice First in Opinions and in reference to our belief of any Doctrin that is propounded to us and thus 't is opposed to Error or Falshood and Heresie So that when the Apostle injoins us to follow those things that are true he would have us entertain no other Doctrins but such as are purely Christian Now although a good Christian that believes the Scriptures and sincerely endeavours to understand them aright and to lead his Life according to them may be well assured that God will keep him from all Errors that are destructive of his Salvation yet because Error is so various and that there be too many who act the Devil's part and make it their business to delude Harmless and Innocent Persons it will not be amiss to lay down some few Rules whereby we may discern true Doctrins from false and secure our selves in a good measure from being imposed upon For the Scripture being a Book that is not all of the same Nature nor written by one Man in the same Method and Style but is filled in some places with Advices and Counsels to that which is best sometimes with Precepts and Commands and in other places with dark and obscure Prophesies and lastly with the choicest Parts of true Reason and Knowledg though often delivered in somewhat a Mysterious way These things being considered it is impossible that all Men should have the same Thoughts and Apprehensions and conceive of all places in the Scripture after the same way and manner Hence it comes to pass that some Men through weakness and carelesness and others out of design broach many Errors and Falshoods and spread them abroad in the World Therefore if there may be some plain Rules set down which may serve as a Mark to guide us in a doubtful and dangerous way it cannot but be gratefully received by every one that loves Ingenuity and Truth 1. Therefore whatever Doctrin is repugnant and inconsistent with the Goodness Wisdom and Power of God it is to be rejected as an Error For the Goodness Wisdom and Power of God are so manifest in all things and in all places that as no Man can miss of the knowledg of the Being of his Creator so it cannot be a
testifie against them that they would not be served so themselves they would not willingly receive such Measure again Is there not all the Reason in the World that Men should abstain from doing that which they are not willing to receive 2. Every Good Man would willingly enjoy so much of this Worlds Goods as may make his passage Comfortable while he is Travelling towards the next And if every Man wish such things to himself in Justice he ought not to Envy them to others much less ought any to hinder or endeavour to frustrate the honest Industry and Diligence of another to support himself in the World And the Reason is because no Man would be Abused so himself And if Men would always in the performance of their Duty to others strive to square their Actions by this Rule the World could not be so over-run with Deceit and Treachery If every one when he is going to hinder the welfare of another or Oppress and Encroach upon his Neighbour would but Ask himself the Question Would I be pleased to be so dealt with by another Or if I might have my own Choice would I not desire to be otherwise used by other Men Why then should I mete that Measure which I cannot endure to receive again This would be the way to free the World from that great Burden of Cruelty and Oppression that it groans under There would not be so many Complaints of Mens hard Usage of one another of their Unmercifulness and those frequent Instances of Rapine and Extortion Moreover every Man does not only wish and desire his own Good but this desire is sincere and accompanied with real Endeavours What a Man does for himself he does it with a real intent to do himself good and with the same Measure ought all others to be Treated Let Love be without Dissimulation says St. Paul Rom. 12.9 Every Man loves himself sincerely and desires that all others should do so too which by way of Justice engages us all to unfeigned Kindness without Hypocrisie Those that the Apostle mentions in James 2.16 that would give good Words to the Poor and Indigent and bid them depart in Peace and be Warmed and Filled but never gave them any thing whereby they should be so they would not have been served so themselves They would have said that Good Words could not Fill a Hungry Belly nor Cloth a Naked Back nor Warm Chill and Benummed Limbs Therefore he is Unjust that uses those very Courses he Complains against 3. Every Man desires that God would Pardon all the Offences done against him and if so then our Saviour's Rule of Justice must take place in reference to others For if we desire that God would remit the Trespasses done against him it were Injustice in us to Treasure up the Wrongs of others against us in order to a Retaliation and Revenge Nay our Blessed Lord is so express in this Duty that he makes it a part of our Prayers to be forgiven no otherwise than we forgive others This would make the World better indeed if all Men were Convinced they ought to walk thus and if upon this Conviction they would sincerely endeavour to manage the Course of their Lives accordingly there would not be so much Hatred and Malice and Revenge and Bitterness in the World as there is But Men's rough and uneven Tempers would be changed and wrought into Mildness and Kindness forgiving one another as God for Christ's sake has forgiven them 4. Every Good Man would have God supply all his Wants and Necessities and therefore in Justice we ought to do the same to others We that must Ask even our Daily Bread at the Bountiful Hands of God must remember that there is a piece of Justice due to others Whether it be to supply the Bodily Wants and Necessities of any one or whether it be to Comfort a troubled Spirit and Cheer up a drooping Soul or whether it be to defend the Cause of such as are injuriously Wronged and Oppressed All these are parts of Justice that we owe to others forasmuch as we would have them deal in that fair manner with us With what Measure ye mete it shall be Measured to you said our Saviour i. e. you cannot but expect that God and Man should deal with you as you deal with others You see now by these particular Instances which are all included in that general Precept before mentioned of our Blessed Lord how Comprehensive this Virtue of Justice is And I have the rather made choice of them for their plainness-sake and the general Influence they have upon all the Actions of our Lives and also because Justice seems to bear a part and to be interwoven into the Frame and Nature of all other Virtues and from the distinct Consideration of other particular Virtues the several Offices of Justice may be taken For as Justice respects God it is Piety as it relates to Men it may be termed Probity and because Mercy and Kindness and Good-Nature are due to their respective Objects so far forth they are comprehended under Justice and involved in that Golden Rule given by Christ It remains now that we briefly prosecute such Inferences as may naturally flow from the Apostles Exhortation to such things as are Just 1. This Teaches us that Just Right are not Arbitrarious and Factitious things and Changeable by Will and Pleasure They are not things that are merely made so by Law for then it would be in the Power of Men to turn the greatest Villanies into the most Consummate Virtues and Consecrate Wickedness by the Sanction of a Law Indeed Plato as he is Cited by that Excellently Learned Person Dr. Cudworth represents the Old Atheistick Hypothesis something after this manner Intellectual System l. 1. c. 5. p. 892. That every Man has an infinite Right to all things and that whatever his Sensual Appetite desires though it be the Murder of another Person he has a Right to do it yet because it is impossible that all Men should have Dominion and every Man having a Natural Right or Jus ad omnia it so came to pass that after Men had been a good while Cutting and Slashing and Justling against one another the State of Nature being a State of War against all they became at length weary hereof and therefore compounding the business amongst themselves they agreed together by Pacts and Covenants neither to do nor suffer Injury but to submit to Rules of Equality and make Laws by Compact in order to their Peaceable Cohabitation they calling that which was required in those Laws by the Name of Just Here we have the Sum of the Atheistick Ethicks whose Foundation is laid as the forecited Author observes in the Villanizing of Humane Nature as that which has not the least Seeds of Equity and Philanthropy Charity or Benevolence but what arises from mere Fear Imbecillity and Indigency No Care and Concern for Publick and Common Good but tends directly
to the destruction of all Society For if there be nothing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Just that is If there be no such thing as Just and Right Naturally and Antecedently to all Will and Power but that it wholly arise and flow from Positive Determination then it will not be Unjust for any Man to break and rescind those very Compacts and Agreements which he himself hath made as oft as he hath Opportunity and Power so to do Which must effectually destroy all Society and leave all Men in a State of War one with another the Greater and more Powerful like Brutes Eternally preying upon and devouring the Weaker But that there is such a thing as Just and Right by Nature is pertinently observed by that great Poilosopher Dr. More in his useful Treatise of Ethicks lib. 2. c. 6. where upon Andronicus Rhodius his Definition of Equity That it is that by which the Defect and Error of the Law is supplied and corrected He adds If there be nothing Just but by virtue of some Written Law what need is there of Emendation of the Law since the Law it self be it what it will makes any thing Just But it is the Property of Equity to Correct the very Law and to appoint such things upon Emergent Circumstances which if he could have foreseen them the Legislator himself would have Constituted and Appointed which yet were very Ridiculous if the Nature of Just and Unjust depend wholly upon the Arbitrament and Pleasure of the Legislator and not upon the Nature and Circumstances of things themselves Wherefore we are to conceive of Just and Right as things Essentially inherent in God who is that Eternal and Living Law from whence all Justice and Equity flows And he has Engraven these Principles in Humane Souls so that if there had never been any Positive Laws made yet there would have been such a Nature as Just and Right which was so Yesterday to Day and will be for Ever Eternally Independent upon all Will whatever 2. We are informed that all Men in the World have a Right to Justice and though they be never so Wicked they ought not to be Injured or Wronged For Just and Right being Eternal and Unchangeable things that can never alter or be otherwise than they are the outward Circumstances of Men ought to make no alteration in them Though a Man therefore be never so Wicked he must not be Defrauded or Injured or Oppressed because he has a Right by God's Order and Decree to the things of this World and consequently cannot without Injustice be despoiled of his Propriety Contrary to the Fancy of some who think none but Saints have any true Right to Earthly Possessions and Enjoyments whereas certainly their Claim is the least their Holy Lord himself saying That his Kingdom was not of this World Christ's Religion doth not Justifie an Unrighteous Action though done to a Wicked Man 3. It Teaches us that there is no Sin so Black and Heinous as that of Injustice For as Justice in some sense comprehends all other Virtues under it so all Sins have some tincture of Injustice in them For there is a Right that is due to God another to our Neighbour and a Third to our selves and to violate and break any of these is a piece of Injustice But besides this the Heinousness of Injustice appears in this in that it is the most destructive of Societies It is that which is a manifest Nusance against the well Being of the World and that which turns the Earth into a desolate Wilderness to be Inhabited only by Wild Beasts Therefore this Sin being so contrary to the Nature of Man as he is a Sociable Creature and so opposite to God's Providence and Government of the World hence it is that there is no Sin so severely taken notice of as this of Injustice For the Great Lord and Father of all having Ranked all Beings that are capable of Moral Good and Evil under their distinctive Families and formed them into several Societies and Corporations whatever in their respective Precincts deviates from the Rules of Just and Right must have a more severe Inquiry than any other Fault forasmuch as it more or less tends to the overthrow or subversion of Society 4. It Teaches us in all our Actions to follow that which is Just Which if every Man would carefully endeavour to do the World would soon be turned into a perfect Heaven and become once more the Habitation of Righteousness And why should not Men endeavour to bring on such a Spirit of Benignity and Righteousness which may put an end to all Rapine Cruelty and Oppression That may take off their Minds from the World which is commonly the Cause and Root of Injustice He that follows that which is Right and Just will certainly find the Advantage of it He shall have Peace of Conscience here and the great Reward of Blessedness hereafter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whatsoever things are pure The Apostle comes now to urge the following and practising such things as are pure The Old Translation renders it Sancta as supposing it to have been Read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whatsoever things are holy Now the Universal Christian or Divine Life being expressed frequently by this general Term of Holiness of which Purity is an Essential Branch it may very well be supposed to be comprehended under it And we have no reason to depart from the common and more restrained Expression Whatsoever things are pure Moreover Sanctum is no other than Separatum as Grotius observes a thing that is separated and set apart from common and impure Uses and Consecrated to the Service of God And thus Sanctity is opposed in Scripture to Filthiness or Pollution Hence it is that the Righteousness of the Saints is compared to Fine Linnen Clean and White for the fine Linnen is the Righteousness of Saints Revel 19.8 in opposition to the Impurities of Sin and Vice which are denoted by Filthy Garments Zech. 3.4 where Joshua being Clothed with Filthy Garments the Angel says Take away the Filthy Garments from him And unto him he said Behold I have caused thine Iniquity to pass from thee and I will Cloth thee with change of Raiment The Purity then that St. Paul exhorts us here to is no other than an Essential Part and Branch of the Divine Life whereby we have so perfect and full a Command over all our Sensual Appetites and all the Delights and Allurements of Flesh and Blood that they may not in the least hinder our Union and Conjunction with God nor by gross and material Steams and Suffusions intercept our sight of that Eternal Pulchritude of the Divine Nature to which we ought always to have an Eye and direct all our Actions Hence the Platonists speak so much of their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Purgative Virtues whereby they cleared the Mind from all those irregular Motions that were raised from the Objects