A SERMON PREACHED At the publike Fast Before his Maiesty at Christ-Church in OXFORD By William Chillingworth Published by command since his death OXFORD Printed by HENRY HALL 1644. 2 TIM Chap. 3. v. 1 2 3 4 5. This know also that in the last dayes perillous times shall come For men shall be lovers of their owne selves covetous boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to Parents unthankfull unholy Without naturall affection truce-breakers false accusers incontitinent fierce despisers of those that are good Traitors heady high-minded lovers of pleasures more then lovers of God Having a forme of godlinesse but denyng the power thereof TO a discourse upon these words I cannot think of any fitter introduction then that wherewith our Saviour someime began a Sermon of his This day is this Scripture fulfilled And I would to God there were not great occasion to feare that a great part of it may be fulfilled in this place Two things are contained in it First the reall wickednesse of the generality of the men of the latter times in the foure first verses For by men shall be lovers of themselves covetous boasters proud c. I conceive is meant men generally shall be so otherwise this were nothing peculiar to the last but common to all times for in all times some nay many have been lovers of themselves covetous boasters proud c. Secondly we have here the formall and hypocriticall godlinesse of the same times in the last verse having a forme of godlinesse but denying the power thereof which latter ordinarily and naturally accompanies the former For as the shadowes are longest when the Sunne is lowest and as vines and other fruit trees beare the lesse fruit when they are suffered to luxuriate and spend their sap upon superfluous suckers and abundance of leaves So commonly we may observe both in Civill conversation where there is great store of formality there is little sincerity and in Religion where there is a decay of true and cordiall piety there men entertaine and please themselves and vainly hope to please God with externall formalities and performances and great store of that righteousnesse for which Christ shall judge the world It were no difficult matter to shew that the truth of Saint Pauls prediction is by experience justified in both parts of it but my purpose is to restraine my selfe to the latter and to endeavour to cleare unto you that that in our times is generally accomplished That almost in all places the power of Godlinesse is decayed and vanished the forme and profession of it onely remaining That the spirit and soule and life of Religion is for the most part gone onely the outward body or carcase or rather the picture or shadow of it being left behind This is the Doctrine which at this time I shall deliver to you and the use which I desire most heartily you should make of it is this To take care that you confute so farre as it concernes your particulars what I feare I shall prove too true in the generall To come then to our businesse without further complement let us examine our wayes and consider impartially what the Religion of most men is We are baptized in our infancy that is as I conceive dedicated and devoted to Gods service by our Parents and the Church as young Samuel was by his mother Anna and there we take a solemne vow To forsake the Devill and all his workes the vaine pompe and glory of the world with all the covetous desires of it to forsake also all the carnall desires of the flesh and not to follow nor be led by them This vow we take when we be children and understand it not and how many are there who know and consider and regard what they have vowed when they are become men almost as little as they did being children consider the lives and publique Actions of most men of all conditions in Court City and Country and then deny it if you can that those three things which we have renounced in our baptisme the profits honours and pleasures of the world are not the very gods which divide the world amongst them are not served more devoutly confided in more heartily loved more affectionately then the Father Sonne and Holy Ghost in whose name we are baptized deny if you can the daily and constant imployment of all men to be either a violent prosecution of the vaine pompe and glory of the world or of the power riches and contemptible profits of it or of the moment any or unsatisfying pleasures of the flesh or else of the more diabolicall humours of pride malice revenge and such like and yet with this empty forme we please and satisfie our selves as well as if we were lively borne againe by the Spirit of God not knowing or not regarding what Saint Peter hath taught us That the Baptisme which must save us is Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh 1 Pet. 3 21 but the answer of a good conscience unto God When wee are come to yeeres capable of instruction many which is lamentable to consider are so little regarded by themselves or others that they continue little better then Pagans in a Common-wealth of Christians and know little more of God or of Christ then if they had beene bred in the Indies A lamentable case and which will one day lye heavie upon their account which might have amended it and did not But many I confesse are taught to act over this play of Religion and learned to say Our Father which art in Heaven and I beleeve in God the Father Almighty but where are the men that live so as if they beleeve in earnest that God is their Almighty Father where are they that feare him and trust him and depend upon him onely for their whole happinesse and love him and obey him as in reason we ought to doe to an Almighty Father who if he be our Father and we be indeed his children will do for us all the good he can and if he be Almighty can doe for us all the good he will and yet how few are there who love him with halfe that affection as Children usually do their naturall Parents or beleeve him with halfe that simplicity or serve him with halfe that diligence And then for the Lords prayer the plaine truth is we lie unto God for the most part cleane through it and for want of desiring indeed what in word we pray for tell him to his face as many false tales as we make Petitions For who shewes by his endeavours that he desires heartily that Gods Name should be hallowed that is holily and religiously worshipped and adored by all men That his Kingdome should be advanced and inlarged That his blessed will should be universally obeyed Who shewes by his forsaking sinne that he desires so much as he should do the forgivenesse of it Nay who doth not revenge upon all occasions the affronts contempts and injuries put upon
him and so upon the matter curse himselfe as oft as he sayes Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespasse against us How few depend upon God onely for their dayly Bread viz. the good things of this life as upon the onely giver of them so as neither to get nor keepe any of them by any meanes which they know or feare to be offensive unto God How few desire in earnest to avoyd temptation Nay who almost is there that takes not the Devils office out of his hand and is not himselfe a tempter both to himselfe and others Lastly who almost is there that desires heartily and above all things so much as the thing deserves to be delivered from the greatest evill sinne I meane and the anger of God Now beloved this is certaine he that imployes not requisite industry to obtaine what he pretends to desire does not desire indeed but only pretends to do so He that desires not what he prayes for prayes with tongue onely and not with his heart indeed does not pray to God but play and dally with him And yet this is all which men generally doe and therefore herein also accomplish this prophecie having a forme of godlinesse but denying the power thereof And this were ill enough were it in private but we abuse God Almighty also with our publike and solemne formalities we make the Church a Stage whereon to act our parts and play our pageants there we make a profession every day of confessing our sinnes with humble lowly and obedient hearts and yet when we have talked after this manner 20. 30. 40. yeeres together our hearts for the most part continue as proud as impenitent as disobedient as they were in the beginning We make great Protestations when we assemble and meet together to render thanks to God Almighty for the benefit received at his hands and if this were to be performed with words with Hosanna's Hallelujah's and gloria patri's and Psalmes and Hymnes and such like outward matters peradventure we should doe it very sufficiently but in the meane time with our lives and actions we provoke the Almighty and that to his face with all variety of grievous and bitter provocations we doe dayly and hourely such things as we know and he hath assured us to bee odious unto him and contrary to his nature as any thing in the world is to the nature of any man in the world and all this upon poore trifling triviall no temptations If a man whom you had dealt well with should deale so with you one whom ye had redeemed from the Turkish slavery and instated in some indifferent good inheritance should make you fine speeches entertaine you with Panegyricks and have your praises alwayes in his mouth but all this while doe nothing that pleases you but upon all occasions put all affronts and indignities upon you would you say this were a thankfull man Nay would you not make heaven and earth to ring of his unthankfulnesse and detest him almost as much for his faire speeches as his foule actions Beloved such is our unthankfulnesse to our God and Creatour to our Lord and Saviour Mat. 21 9. M rk 15.13.14 our tongues ingeminate and cry aloud Hosanna Hosanna but the lowder voice of our lives and actions is crucifie him crucifie him We Court God Almighty and complement with him and professe to esteeme his service perfect freedome but if any thing be to be done much more if any thing be to be suffered for him here we leave him we bow the knee before him and put a reed in his hand and a Crowne upon his head and cry Haile King of the Iewes But then with our Customary sinnes we give him gall to eat and vinegar to drinke we thrust a speare in his side naile him to the Crosse and Crucifie to our selves the Lord of Glory This is not the Office of a friend to bewaile a dead friend with vaine lamentation Sed quae voluerit meminisse quae mandaverit exequi to remember what he desires and execute what he commands so said a dying Roman to his friend and so say I to you To bee thankfull to God is not to say God be praised or God be thanked but to remember what hee desires and execute what hee commands to bee thankfull to God is certainly to love him and to love him is to keepe his Commandements so saith our Saviour Ioh. 19. If ye love me keepe my Commandements If we doe so we may justly pretend to thankfulnesse which beleeve me is not a word nor to be performed with words But if wee doe not so as generally we doe not our talke of thankfulnesse is nothing else but meere talke and we accomplish Saint Pauls prophecy herein also Having a forme of thankfulnesse but not the reality not the power of it If I should reckon up unto you how many direct lies every wicked man tells God Almighty as often as he sayes Amen to this forme of godlinesse which our Church hath prescribed If I should present unto you all our acting of piety and playing of humiliation and personating of devotion in the Psalmes the Letanies the Collects and generally in the whole service I should be infinite And therefore I have thought good to draw a vaile over a great part of our hypocrisie and to restraine the remainder of our discourse to the contrariety between our profession and performance only in two things I meane Faith and Repentance And first for Faith We professe and indeed generally because it is not safe to do otherwise that we believe the Scripture to be true and that it containes the plaine and onely way to infinite and eternall happinesse But if we did generally beleeve what we doe professe if this were the language of our hearts as well as our tongues how comes it to passe that the study of it is so generally neglected Let a book that treats of the Philosophers stone promise never so many mountains of gold and even the restoring of the golden age againe yet were it no marvaile if few should study it and the reason is because few would beleeve it But if there were a book extant and ordinary to be had as the Bible is which men did generally beleeve to contain a plain and easie way for all men to become rich to live in health and pleasure and this worlds happinesse can any man imagine that this book would be unstudied by any man And why then should I not beleeve that if the Scripture were firmly and heartily believed the certaine and onely way to happinesse which is perfect and eternall it would be studied by all men with all diligence Seeing therefore most Christians are so cold and negligent in the study of it prefer all other businesse all other pleasures before it is there not great reason to feare that many who pretend to beleeve it firmely beleeve it not at all or very weakly and faintly If the
in it could possibly escape us But it is certain and apparent to all the world that the greatest part of Christians through grosse and wilfull negligence remaine utterly ignorant of many necessary points of their duty to God and man and therefore it is much to be feared that this booke and the Religion of Christ contained in it among an infinite of professours labours with great penury of true beleivers It were an easie matter if the time would permit to present unto you many other demonstrations of the same conclusion but to this drawn from our willing ignorance of that which is easie and necessary for us to know I will content my self to adde only one more taken from our voluntary and presumptuous neglect to doe those things which we know and acknowledge to be necessary If a man should say unto me that it concerns him as much as his life is worth to goe presently to such a place and that he knowes but one way to it and I should see him stand still or goe some other way had I any reason to believe that this man believes himselfe Quid verba audiam cum facta videam saith he in the Comedy Potestatio contra factum non valet saith the Law and why should I believe that that man believes obedience to Christ the onely way to present and eternall happinesse when I see wittingly and willingly and constantly and customarily to disobey him The time was that we all knew that the King could reward those that did him service and punish those that did dis-service and then all men were ready to obey his commands and he was a rare man that durst doe any thing to his face that offended him Beloved if we did but believe in God so much as most subjects doe in their King did we as verily believe that God could and would make us perfectly happy if wee serve him though all the world conspire to make us miserable and that he could and would make us miserable if wee serve him not though al the world should conspire to make us happy how were it possible that to such a faith our lives should not be comformable Who was there ever so madly in love with a present penny as to run the least hazard of the losse of 10000 li. a yeare to gaine it or not readily to part with it upon any probable hope or light perswasion much more a firme beliefe that by doing so he should gaine 100000 li. Now beloved the happinesse which the servants of Christ are promised in the Scripture wee all pretend to believe that it exceedes the conjunction of all the good things of the world and much more such a portion as wee may possibly enjoy infinitely more then 10000 li. a yeare or 100000 li. doth a penny for 100000 li. is but a penny so many times over and 10000 li. a yeare is worth but a certaine number of pence but betweene Heaven and Earth betweene finite and infinite betweene Eternity and a moment there is utterly no proportion and therefore seeing we are so apt upon trifling occasions to hazard this Heaven for this Earth this infinite for this finite this all for this nothing is it not much to be feared that though many of us pretend too much faith we have indeed very little or none at al The sum of all which hath bin spoken concerning this point is this Were we firmely perswaded that obedience to the Gospell of Christ is the true and onely way to present and eternall happinesse without which faith no man living can be Justified then the innate desire of our owne happinesse could not but make us studious inquirers of the will of Christ and conscionable performers of it but there are as experience shewes very few who make it their care and businesse to know the will of Christ and of those few againe very many who make no conscience at all of doing what they know therfore though they professe protest they have faith yea their protestations are not to be regarded against their actions but we may safely and reasonably conclude what was to be concluded That the Doctrine of Christ amongst an infinite of professors labours with great scarcitie of true and serious and hearty believers and that herein also we accomplish St. Pauls prediction having a forme of godlinesse but denying the power c. But perhaps the truth and reality of our repentance may make some kind of satisfaction to God Almighty for our hypocriticall dallying with him in all the rest truly I should be heartily glad it were so but I am so farre from being of this faith that herein I feare we are most of all hypocriticall and that the generality of professors is so farre from a reall practice of true repentance that scarce one it an hundred understands truely what it is Some satisfie themselves with a bare confession and acknowledgement either that that they are sinners in general or that they have committed such and such sinnes in particular which acknowledgement comes not yet from the heart of a great many but only from their lips and tongues For how many are there that doe rather complaine and murmure that they are sinners then acknowledge and confesse it and make it upon the matter rather their unhappinesse and misfortune then their true fault that they are so such are all they who impute all their commissions of evill to the unavoydable want of restraining grace and all their omi on of good to the like want of effectuall exciting grace All such as pretend that the Commandements of God are impossible to be kept any better then they are kept and thus the world the flesh and the divell are even omnipotent enemies and that God neither doth nor will give sufficient strength to resist and overcome them All such as lay al their faults upon Adam say with those rebellious Israelities whom God assures that they neither had nor should have just reason to say so That their Fathers had eaten sowre grapes and their teeth were set on edge Ezek. 18.2 Lastly all such as lay all their sinnes upon divine prescience and predestination saying with their tongues O what wretched sinners have we beene but in their hearts how could we helpe it we were predestinate to it we could not doe otherwise All such as seriously so perswade themselves and thinke to hide nakednesse with such fig-leaves as these can no more be said to acknowledge themselves guilty of a fault then a man that is borne blind or lame with the stone or gout can accuse himselfe of any fault for being borne so well may such a one complaine and bemoan himselfe and say O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this unhappinesse But such a complaint is as farre from being a true acknowledgement of any fault as a bare acknowledgement of a fault is farre from true repentance for to confesse a fault is to acknowledge that freely and
that doe not belong to Christ Gal. 5.19.20.21 The workes of the flesh sayeth the same S. Paul are manifest which are these Adultery Fornication Vncleannesse Lasciviousnesse Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murthers Drunkennesse revellings of the which I tell you before as I have told you in times past that they which doe such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God He doth not say they which have done such things shall not be saved but manifestly to the contrary Such were some of you but ye are washed but you are sanctified but he says they which doe such things and without amendment of life shall continue doing them shall not be excused by any pretence of sorrow and good purposes They shall not inherite the Kingdome of Heaven 1 Cor. 6 9.10 And againe in another Epistle know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God be not deceived neither fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor abusers of themselves with mankinde nor Theeves nor covetous nor Drunkards nor revilers shall inherite the Kingdome of God Gal. 6.15 In Christ Iesus saith the same Saint Paul in other places nothing availeth but faith nothing but a new creature nothing but keeping the Commandements of God it is not then a wishing but a working faith not wishing you were a new creature nor sorrowing you are not but being a new creature not wishing you had kept not sorrowing you bare not kept nor purposeing vainly to keepe but keeping his Commandements must prevaile with him Follow peace with all men and holinesse Heb. 12.14 saith the Divine Author of the Epistle to the Heb. without which no man shal see the Lord. Saint Peter in his 2. Epistle 2 Pet. 1.5.6.7.8.9 commends unto us a golden chaine of Christian perfections consisting of these linkes Faith vertue knowledge Temperance patience godlinesse brotherly kindnesse charity and then addes He that lacketh these things is blind and knoweth not that he was purged from his old sinnes Let his sorrow be never so great and his desires never so good yet if he lacke these things he is blind and was purged from his old sinnes but is not Lastly Saint Iohn he that hath this hope purifieth himselfe 1 Iohn 3 3â— even as he is pure the meaning is not with the same degree of purity for that is impossible but with the same kind the same truth of purity he that doth not purify himselfe may nay doth flatter himselfe and without warrant presume upon Gods favour but this hope he hath not and againe Little Children let no man deceive you 1 Iohn 3.7 he that doth righteousnesse is righteous even as he is righteous And thus you see all the divine Writers of the New Testament with one consent and one mouth proclaime the necessity of reall holinesse and labour together to disinchant us from this vaine phansy that men may be saved by sorrowing for their sinne and intending to leave it without effectuall conversion and reformation of life which it may well be feared hath sent thousands of soules to hell in a golden dreame of Heaven But is not this to preach workes as the Papists doe no certainly it is not but to preach workes as Christ and his Apostles doe it is to preach the necessity of them which no good Protestant no good Christian ever denied but is is not to preach the merit of them which is the error of the Papists But is it not to preach the Law in time of the Gospell no certainly it is not for the Law forgives no sinnes but requireth exact obedience curseth every one which from the beginning to the end of his life continueth not in all things which are written in the Law to do them Gal. 3.10 but the Gospel sayes accordingly I have said unto you that there is mercy alwayes in store for those who know the day of their visitation and forsake their sins in time of mercy and that God will pardon their imperfections in the progresse of holinesse who miscall not presumptuous and deliberate sins by the name of imperfections but seriously and truly endeavour to be perfect onely I forewarne you that you must never looke to be admitted to the wedding feast of the Kings Son either in the impure rags of any customary sinne or without the wedding garment of Christian holinesse onely I forewarne you that whosoever lookes to be made partaker of the joyes of heaven must make it the chiefe if not the onely businesse of his life to know the will of God and to doe it that great violence is required by our Saviour for the taking of this Kingdome that the race we are to run is a long race the building we are to erect is a great building and will hardly very hardly be finished in a day that the worke we have to doe of mortifying all vices and acquiring all Christian vertues is a long worke we may easily deferre it too long we cannot possibly begin it too soone Onely I would perswade you and I hope I have done that that repentance which is not effectuall to true and timely conversion will never be available unto eternall salvation And if I have proved unto you that this is indeed the nature of true repentance then certainly I have proved withall that that repentance wherewith the generality of Christians content themselves notwithstanding their great professions what they are and their glorious protestations of what they intend to be is not the power but the forme not the truth but the shadow of true repentance and that herein also we accomplish Saint Pauls prediction having a forme of godlinesse c. And now what remaines but that as I said in the beginning I should humbly intreat and earnestly exhort every man that hath heard me this day to confute in his particular what I have proved true in the generall To take care that the sinne of formality though it be the sinne of our times may yet not be the sin of our persons that we satisfie not our selves with the shadowes of Religion without the substance of it nor with the forme of godlinesse without the power of it To this purpose I shall beseech you to consider that though sacrificing burning incense celebrating of set festivalls praying fasting and such like were under the Law the service of God commanded by himselfe yet whensoever they proceeded not from nor were joyned with the sincerity of an honest heart he professeth frequently almost in all the Prophets not onely his scorne and contempt of them all as fond empty and ridiculous but also his hating loathing and detesting of them as abominable and impious The Sacrifice of the wicked is abomination to God Prov. 15 8. What have I to doe with the multitude of your Sacrifices saith the Lord Esay the first I am full of the burnt offerings of Rams and of the fat of fed beasts when ye