governance to do alwayes that which is righteous in thy sight Have you any hope or any faith when you say that Prayer And if you do your duty as you can do you think the failure will be on Gods part Fear not that if you can trust in God and do accordingly though your sins were as scarlet yet they shall be as white as snow and pure as the feet of the holy Lamb. Only let us forsake all those weak propositions which cut the nerves of faith and make it impossible for us to actuate all our good desires or to come out from the power of sin 2. He that would be free from the slavery of Sin and the necessity of sinning must alwayes watch I that 's the point but who can watch alwayes Why every good man can watch alwayes and that we may not be deceived in this let us know that the running away from a temptation is a part of our watchfulness and every good employment is another great part of it and a laying in provisions of Reason and Religion before hand is yet a third part of this watchfulness and the conversation of a Christian is a perpetual watchfulness not a continual thinking of that one or those many things which may indanger us but it is a continual doing something directly or indirectly against sin He either prayes to God for his Spirit or relies upon the promises or receives the Sacrament or goes to his Bishop for Counsel and a Blessing or to his Priest for Religious offices or places himself at the feet of good men to hear their wise sayings or calls for the Churches prayers or does the duty of his calling or actually resists Temptation or frequently renews his holy Purposes or fortifies himself by Vows or searches into his Danger by a daily examination so that in the whole he is for ever upon his guards * This duty and caution of a Christian is like watching lest a man cut his finger Wise men do not often cut their fingers and yet every day they use a knife and a mans eye is a tender thing and every thing can do it wrong and every thing can put it out yet because we love our eyes so well in the midst of so many dangers by Gods providence and a prudent natural care by winking when any thing comes against them and by turning aside when a blow is offered they are preserved so certainly that not one man in ten thousand does by a stroak lose one of his eyes in all his life time If we would transplant our natural care to a spiritual caution we might by Gods grace be kept from losing our souls as we are from losing our eyes and because a perpetual watchfulness is our great defence and the perpetual presence of Gods grace is our great security and that this Grace never leaves us unless we leave it and the precept of a dayly watchfulness is a thing not only so reasonable but so many easy wayes to be performed we see upon what terms we may be quit of our sins and more than Conquerors over all the enemies impediments of Salvation 3. If you would be in the state of the Liberty of the Sons of God that is that you may not be servants of sin in any instance be sure in the mortifications of sin willingly or carelesly to leave no remains of it no nest-egg no principles of it no affections to it if any thing remains it will prove to us as Manna to the sons of Israel on the second day it will breed worms and stink Therefore labour against every part of it reject every proposition that gives it countenance pray to God against it all and what then Why then Ask and you shall have said Christ. Nay say some it is true you shall be heard but in part only for God will leave some remains of sin within us lest we should become proud by being innocent So vainly do men argue against Gods goodness and their own blessings and Salvation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as S. Basil sayes they contrive witty arts to undo themselves being intangled in the periods of ignorant disputations But as to the thing it self if by the remains of sin they mean the propensities and natural inclinations to forbidden objects there is no question but they will remain in us so long as we bear our flesh about us and surely that is a great argument to make us humble But these are not the sins which God charges on his people But if by remains we mean any part of the habit of sin any affection any malice or perverseness of the Will then it is a contradiction to say that God leaves in us such remains of Sin lest by innocence we become Proud For how should Pride spring in a mans heart if there be no remains of Sin left And is it not the best the surest way to cure the Pride of our hearts by taking out every root of bitterness even the root of Pride it self Will a Physician purposely leave the Reliques of a disease and pretend he does it to prevent a relapse And is it not more likely he will relapse if the sickness be not wholly cured * But besides this If God leaves any remains of Sin in us what remains are they and of what sins Does he leave the remains of Pride If so that were a strange cure to leave the remains of Pride in us to keep us from being proud But if not so but that all the remains of Pride be taken away by the grace of God blessing our endeavours what danger is there of being proud the remains of which Sin are by the grace of God wholly taken away But then if the Pride of the heart be cured which is the hardest to be remov'd and commonly is done last of all who can distrust the power of the Spirit of God or his goodness or his promises and say that God does not intend to cleanse his Sons and Servants from all unrighteousness and according to S. Pauls prayer keep their bodies and souls and spirits unblameable to the coming of the Lord Jesus But however let God leave what remains he please all will be well enough on that side but let us be careful as far as we can that we leave none lest it be severely imputed to us and the fire break out and consume us 4. Let us without any further question put this argument to a material issue let us do all that we can do towards the destruction of the whole body of sin but let us never say we cannot be quit of our Sin till we have done all that we can do towards the mortification of it For till that be done how can any man tell where the fault lies or whether it can be done or no. If any man can say that he hath done all that he could do and yet hath failed of his duty if he can say truly that he hath endured as much
establish truth upon unalterable foundations as long as men handle the word of God deceitfully that is with designs and little artifices and secular partialities and they will for ever do so as long as they are proud or covetous It is not the difficulty of our questions or the subtilty of our adversaries that makes disputes interminable but we shall never cure the itch of disputing or establish Unity unless we apply our selves to humility and contempt of riches If we will be contending let us contend like the Olive and the Vine who shall produce best and most fruit not like the Aspine and the Elm which shall make most noise in a wind And all other methods are a beginning at a wrong end And as for the people the way to make them conformable to the wise and holy rules of faith and government is by reducing them to live good lives When the children of Israel gave themselves to gluttony and drunkenness and filthy lusts they quickly fell into abominable idolatries and S. Paul sayes that men make shipwrack of their Faith by putting away a good conscience for the mystery of Faith is best preserved 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a pure conscience saith the same Apostle secure but that and we shall quickly end our disputes and have an obedient and conformable people but else never 2. As Bishops were the first Fathers of Churches and gave them being so they preserve them in being For withour Sacraments there is no Church or it will be starved and dy and without Bishops there can be no Priests and consequently no Sacraments and that must needs be a supreme order from whence ordination it self proceeds For it is evident and notorious that in Scripture there is no record of ordination but an Apostolical hand was in it one of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one of the chief one of the superior and Ruling Clergy and it is as certain in the descending ages of the Church the Bishop alwayes had that power it was never denyed to him and it was never imputed to Presbyters and S. Hierom himself when out of his anger against John Bishop of Jerusalem he endeavoured to equal the Presbyter with the Bishop though in very many places he spake otherwise yet even then also and in that heat he excepted Ordination acknowledging that to be the Bishops peculiar And therefore they who go about to extinguish Episcopacy do as Julian did they destroy the Presbytery and starve the Flock and take away their Shepherds and dispark their pastures and tempt Gods providence to extraordinaries and put the people to hard shifts and turn the chanels of Salvation quite another way and leave the Church to a perpetual uncertainty whether she be alive or dead and the people destitute of the life of their Souls and their daily bread and their spiritual comforts and holy blessings The consequent of this is If Sacraments depend upon Bishops then let us take care that we convey to the people holy and pure materials sanctified with a holy ministry and ministred by holy persons For although it be true that the efficacy of the Sacraments does not depend wholly upon he worthiness of him that ministers yet it is as true that it does not wholly rely upon the worthiness of the Receiver but both together relying upon the goodness of God produce all those blessings which are designed The Minister hath an influence into the effect and does very much towards it and if there be a failure there it is a defect in one of the concurring causes and therefore an unholy Bishop is a great diminution to the peoples blessing S. Hierom presses this severely Impiè faciunt c. They do wickedly who affirm that the holy Eucharist is consecrated by the words alone and solemn prayer of the consecrator and not also by his life and holiness and therefore S. Cyprian affirms that none but holy and upright men are to be chosen who offering their Sacrifices worthily to God may be heard in their prayers for the Lords people but for others Sacrificia eorum panis luctus saith the Prophet Hosea their Sacrifices are like the bread of sorrow whoever eats thereof shall be defiled This discourse is not mine but S. Cyprians and although his words are not to be understood dogmatically but in the case of duty and caution yet we may lay our hands upon our hearts and consider how we shall give an account of our Stewardship if we shall offer to the people the bread of God with impure hands it is of it self a pure nourishment but if it passes through an unclean vessel it looses much of its excellency 3. The like also is to be said concerning prayer For the Episcopal order is appointed by God to be the great Ministers of Christs Priesthood that is to stand between Christ and the people in the entercourse of prayer and blessing We will give our selves continually to prayer said the Apostles that was the one half of their imployment and indeed a Bishop should spend very much of his time in holy prayer and in diverting Gods judgments and procuring blessings to the people for in all times the chief of the Religion was ever the chief Minister of blessing Thus Abraham blessed Abimelech and Melchisedeck blessed Abraham and Aaron blessed the people and without all controversy saith the Apostle the lâ—ss is blessed of the Greater But then we know that God heareth not sinners and it must be the effectual fervent prayer of a Righteous man that shall prevail And therefore we may easily consider that a vitious Prelate is a great calamity to that Flock which he is appointed to bless and pray for How shall he reconcile the penitents who is himself at enmity with God How shall the Holy Spirit of God descend upon the Symbols at his prayer who does perpetually grieve him and quench his holy fires and drive him quite away How shall he that hath not tasted of the spirit by contemplation stir up others to earnest desires of Celestial things Or what good shall the people receive when the Bishop layes upon their head a covetous or a cruel an unjust or an impure hand But therefore that I may use the words of S. Hierom. Cum ab Episcopo gratia in populum transfundatur mundi totius Ecclesiae totius condimentum sit Episcopus c. Since it is intended that from the Bishop grace should be diffused amongst all the people there is not in the world a greater indecency then a holy office ministred by an unholy person and no greater injury to the people then that of the blessings which God sends to them by the ministries Evangelical they should be cheated and defrauded by a wicked Steward And therefore it was an excellent prayer which to this very purpose was by the son of Sirach made in behalf of the High Priests the sons of Aaron God give you wisdom in your heart to
that he have remaining in him no habit of any sin whatsoever Our old man must be crucified the body of sin must be destroyed he must no longer serve sin sin shall not have the dominion over you All these are the Apostles words that is plainly as I have already declared you must not be at that pass that though ye would avoid sin ye cannot For he that is so is a most perfect slave and Christs freed man cannot be so Nay he that loves sin and delights in it hath no liberty indeed but he hath more shew of it than he that obeys it against his will Libertatis servaveris umbram Si quicquid jubeare velis He that loves to be in the place is a less prisoner than he that is confined against his will 2. He that commits any one sin by choice and deliberation is an enemy to God and is under the dominion of the flesh In the case of deliberate sins one act does give the denomination he is an Adulterer that so much as once foully breaks the holy Laws of Marriage He that offends in one is guilty of all saith S. James S. Peters Denial and Davids Adultery had passed on to a fatal issue if the mercy of God and a great repentance had not interceded But they did so no more and so God restored them to Grace and Pardon And in this sense are the words of S. John 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he that does a sin is of the Devil and he that is born of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he does not commit a sin he chooses none he loves none he endures none talia quae non faciet bonae fidei spei Christianus they do no great sin and love no little one A sin chosen and deliberately done is as Tertullians expression is crimen devoratorium salutis it devours salvation For as there are some sins which can be done but once as a man can kill his Father but once or himself but once so in those things which can be repeated a perfect choice is equivalent to a habit it is the same in principle that a habit is in the product In short he is not a child of God that knowingly and deliberately chooses anything that God hates 3. Every Christian ought to attain to such a state of life as that he never sin not only by a long deliberation but also not by passion I do not say that he is not a good Christian who by passion is suddenly surpriz'd and falls into folly but this I say that no passion ought to make him choose a sin For let the sin enter by anger or by desire it is all one if the consent be gain'd It is an ill sign if a man though on the sudden consents to a base action Thus far every good man is tied not only to endeavour but to prevail against his Sin 4. There is one step more which if it be not actually effected it must at least be greatly endeavour'd and the event be left to God and that is that we strive for so great a dominion over our sins and lust as that we be not surpriz'd on a sudden This indeed is a work of time and it is well if it be ever done but it must alwayes be endeavoured But in this particular even good men are sometimes unprosperous S. Epiphanius and S. Chrysostom grew once into choler and they past too far and lost more then their argument they lost their reason and they lost their patience and Epiphanius wished that S. Chrysostom might not die a Bishop and he in a peevish exchange wished that Epiphanius might never return to his Bishoprick when they had forgotten their foolish anger God remembred it and said Amen to both their cursed speakings Nay there is yet a greater example of humane frailty S. Paul and Barnabas were very holy persons but once in a heat they were both to blame they were peevish and parted company This was not very much but God was so displeased even for this little Fly in their Box of Oyntment that their story sayes they never saw one anothers face again These earnest emissions and transportations of passion do sometime declare the weakness of good men but that even here we ought at least to endeavour to be more than Conquerors appears in this because God allows it not and by punishing such follies does manifest that he intends that we should get victory over our suddain passions as well as our natural lusts And so I have done with the third inquiry in what degree God expects our innocence and now I briefly come to the last particular which will make all the rest practicable I am now to tell you how all this can be effected and how we shall get free from the power and dominion of our sins 4. The first great instrument is Faith He that hath Faith like a grain of Mustard seed can remove mountains the mountains of sin shall fall flat at the feet of the Faithful man and shall be removed into the sea the Sea of Christs blood and penitential waters Faith overcometh the world saith S. John and walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh there are two of our enemies gone the world and the flesh by Faith and the Spirit by the Spirit of Faith and as for the Devil put on the shield of Faith and resist the Devil and he will flee from you saith the Apostle and the powers of sin seem insuperable to none but to them that have not Faith we do not believe that God intends we should do what he seems to require of us or else we think that though Gods grace abounds yet sin must superabound expresly against the saying of S. Paul or else we think that the evil spirit is stronger than the good Spirit of God Hear what S. John saith My little children ye are of God and have overcome the evil one for the Spirit that is in you is greater than that which is in the world Believest thou this If you do I shall tell you what may be the event of it When the father of the boy possessed with the Devil told his sad story to Christ he said Master if thou canst do any thing I pray help me Christ answered him If thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth N. B. And therefore if you do believe this go to your prayers and go to your guards and go to your labour and try what God will do for you For whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray believe that ye shall receive them and ye shall have them Now consider Do not we every day pray in the Divine Hymn called Te Deum Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us this day without sin And in the Collect at morning prayer and grant that this day we fall into no sin neither run into any kind of danger but that all our doings may be ordered by thy
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They are in themselves ungodliness and will produce more they will encrease unto more ungodliness But the faith of a Christian had other measures that was faith then which made men faithful to their vows in Baptism The faith of a Christian was the best security in contracts and a Christians word was as good as his bond because he was faithful that promised and a Christian would rather dy then break his word and was alwayes true to his trust he was faithful to his Friend and loved as Jonathan did David This was the Christian Faith then their religion was to hurt no man and to do good to every man and so it ought to be True Religion is to visit the Fatherless and Widow and to keep our selves unspotted of the World That 's a good religion that 's pure and undefiled so S. James and S. Chrysostom defines 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 true religion to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a pure faith and a godly life for they make up the whole mystery of godâ—iness and no man could then pretend to Faith but he that did do valiantly and suffer patiently and resist the Devil and overcome the world These things are as prâ—perly the actions of Faith as alms is of Charity and therefore they must enter into the moral definition of it And this was truly understood by Salvian that wiâ—e and godly Priest of Massilia what is Faith and what is believing saith he hominem fideliter Christo credere est fidelâ—m Deo esse h. e. fideliter Dei mandata servare That man does faithfully believe in Christ who is faithful unto God who faithfully keeps Gods commandments and therefore let us measure our Faith here by our faithfulness to God and by our diligence to do our Masters Commandments For Christianorum omnis religio sine scelere mâ—culâ vivere said Lactantius The whole religion of a Christian is to live unblameably that is in all holiness and purity of conversation 2. When our faith is spoken of as the great instrument of justification and salvation take Abraham's faith as your best pattern and that wâ—ll end the dispute because that he was justified by Faith when his faith was mighty in effect when he trusted in God when he believed the promises when he expected a resurrection of the dead when he was strong in Faith when he gave glory to God when against hope he believed in hope and when all this past into an act of a most glorious obedience even denying his greatest desires contradicting his most passionate affections offering to God the best thing he had and exposing to death his beloved Isaac his laughters all his joy at the command of God By this faith he was justified saith S. Paul by these works he was justified saith S. James that is by this faith working this obedience And then all the difficulty is over only remember this your faith is weak and will do but little for you if it be not stronger then all your secular desires and all your peevish angers Thus we find in the holy Gospels this conjunction declared necessary Whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them Here is as glorious an event promised to Faith as can be expressed Faith shall obtain any thing of God True but it is not Faith alone but faith in prayer faith praying not faith simply believing So S. James the prayer of Faith shall save the sick but adds it must be the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man so that faith shall prevail but there must be prayer in faith and servour in prayer and devotion in fervour and righteousness in devotion and then impute the effect to faith if you please provided that it be declared that effect cannot be wrought by Faith unless it be so qualified But Christ adds one thing more When ye stand praying forgive but if ye will not forgive neither will your Father forgive you So that it will be to no purpose to say a man is justified by faith unless you mingle charity with it for without the charity of forgiveness there can be no pardon and then justification is but a word when it effects nothing 3. Let every one take heed that by an importune adhering to and relying upon a mistaken Faith he do not really make a shipwrack of a right Faith Hymenaeus Alexander lost their faith by putting away a good conscience and what matter is it of what religion or faith a man be of if he be a Villain and a cheat a man of no truth and of no trust a lover of the World and not a lover of God But I pray consider can any man have faith that denyes God That 's not possible and cannot a man as well deny God by an evil action as by an heritical Proposition Cannot a man deny God by works as much as by words Hear what the Apostle sayes They profess that they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate Disobedience is a denying God Nolumus hunc regnare is as plain a renouncing of Christ as nolumus huic credere It is to no purpose to say we believe in Christ and have faith unless Christ reign in our hearts by faith 4. From these premises we may see but too evidently that though a great part of mankind pretend to be saved by Faith yet they know not what it is or else wilfully mistake it and place their hopes upon sand or the more unstable water Believing is the least thing in a justifying faith For faith is a conjugation of many Ingredients and faith is a Covenant and faith is a law and faith is obedience and faith is a work and indeed it is a sincere cleaving to and closing with the terms of the Gospel in every instance in every particular Alas the niceties of a spruce understanding and the curious nothings of useless speculation and all the opinions of men that make the divisions of heart and do nothing else cannot bring us one drop of comfort in the day of tribulation and therefore are no parts of the strength of faith Nay when a man begins truly to fear God and is in the Agonies of mortification all these new-nothings and curiosities will neglected by as baubles do by children when they are deadly sick But that only is faith that makes us to love God to do his will to suffer his impositions to trust his promises to see through a cloud to overcome the World to resist the Devil to stand in the day of tryal and to be comforted in all our sorrows This is that precious faith so mainly necessary to be insisted on that by it we may be Sons of the free woman liberi à vitiis ac ritibus that the true Isaac may be in us which is Christ according to the Spirit the wisdom and power of
is hard to miss both Let every Preacher in his Parish take care to explicate to the people the Mysteries of the great Festivals as of Christmas Easter Ascension day Whitsunday Trinity Sunday the Annuntiation of the blessed Virgin Mary because these Feasts containing in them the great Fundamentals of our Faith will with most advantage convey the mysteries to the people and fix them in their memories by the solemnity and circumstances of the day In all your Sermons and Discourses speak nothing of God but what is honourable and glorious and impute not to him such things the consequents of which a wise and good man will not own never suppose him to be author of sin or the procurer of our damnation For God cannot be tempted neither tempteth he any man God is true and every man a lyar Let no Preacher compare one Ordinance with another as Prayer with Preaching to the dispaparagement of either but use both in their proper seasons and according to appointed Order Let no man preach for the praise of men but if you meet it instantly watch and stand upon your guard and pray against your own vanity and by an express act of acknowledgement and adoration return the praise to God Remember that Herod was for the omission of this smitten by an Angel and do thou tremble searing lest the judgement of God be otherwise than the sentence of the people V. Rules and Advices concerning Catechisme EVery Minister is bound upon every Lords day before Evening Prayer to instruct all young people in the Creed the Lords Prayer the Ten Commandements and the Doctrine of the Sacraments as they are set down and explicated in the Church Catechism Let a Bell be tolled when the Catechising is to begin that all who desire it may be present but let all the more ignorant and uninstructed part of the people whether they be old or young be requir'd to be present that no person in your Parishes be ignorant in the foundations of Religion ever remembring that if in these things they be unskilful whatever is taught besides is like a house built upon the sand Let every Minister teach his people the use practise methods and benefits of meditation or mental prayer Let them draw out for them helps and rules for their assistance in it and furnish them with materials concerning the life and death of the ever blessed Jesus the greatness of God our own meanness the dreadful sound of the last Trumpet the infinite event of the two last sentences at doomsday let them be taught to consider what they have been what they are and what they shall be and above all things what are the issues of eternity glories never to cease pains never to be ended Let every Minister exhort his people to a frequent confession of their sins and a declaration of the state of their Souls to a conversation with their Minister in spiritual things to an enquiry concerning all the parts of their duty for by preaching and catechising and private entercourse all the needs of Souls can best be serv'd but by preaching alone they cannot Let the people be exhorted to keep fasting days and the feasts of the Church according to their respective capacities so it be done without burthen to them and without becoming a snare that is that upon the account of Religion and holy desires to please God they spend some time in Religion besides the Lords-day but be very careful that the Lords-day be kept Religiously according to the severest measures of the Church and the commands of Authority ever remembring that as they give but little Testimony of Repentance and Mortification who never fast so they give but small evidence of their joy in God and Religion who are unwilling solemnly to partake of the Publick and Religious Joys of the Christian Church Let every Minister be diligent in exhorting all Parents and Masters to send their Children and Servants to the Bishop at the Visitation or other solemn times of his coming to them that they may be confirm'd And let him also take care that all young persons may by understanding the Principles of Religion their vow of Baptism the excellency of Christian Religion the necessity and advantages of it and of living according to it be fitted and disposed and accordingly by them presented to the Bishop that he may pray over them and invocate the holy Spirit and minister the holy Rite of Confirmation VI. Rules and Advices concerning the Visitation of the Sick EVery Minister ought to be careful in visiting all the Sick and Afflicted persons of his Parish ever remembring that as the Priests lips are to preserve knowledge so it is his duty to minister a word of comfort in the time of need A Minister must not stay till he be sent for but of his own accord and care to go to them to examine them to exhort them to perfect their repentance to strengthen their faith to encourage their patience to perswade them to resignation to the renewing of their holy vows to the love of God to be reconcil'd to their neighbours to make restitution and amends to confess their sins to settle their estate to provide for their charges to do acts of piety and charity and above all things that they take care they do not sin towards the â—nd of their lives For if repentance on our death-bed seem so very late for the sins of our life what time shall be left to repent us of the sins we commit on our death-bed When you comfort the afflicted endeavour to bring them to the true love of God for he that serves God for Gods sake it is almost impossible he should be oppressed with sorrow In answering the cases of conscience of the sick or afflicted people consider not who asks but what he asks and consult in your answers more with the estate of his soul than the conveniency of his estate for no flattery is so fatal as that of the Physician or the Divine If the sick person enquires concerning the final estate of his soul he is to be reprov'd rather than answer'd only he is to be called upon to finish his duty to do all the good he can in that season to pray for pardon and acceptance but you have nothing to do to meddle with passing final sentences neither cast him down in despair nor raise him up to vain and unreasonable confidences But take care that he be not carelesly dismiss'd In order to these and many other good purposes every Minister ought frequently to converse with his Parishioners to go to their houses but alwayes publickly with witness and with prudence lest what is charitably intended be scandalously reported and in all your conversation be sure to give good example and upon all occasions to give good counsel VII Of ministring the Sacraments publick Prayers and other duties of Ministers EVery Minster is oblig'd publickly or privately to read the Common Prayers every day in the week at