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A58607
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The parable of the ten virgins in a sermon preached before Her Royal Highness Princess Ann of Denmark at Tunbridge-Wells, September the 2d, 1688 / by John Lord Archbishop of Canterbury.
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Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.
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1694
(1694)
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Wing S1205; ESTC R28124
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15,203
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31
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commandments in the general course of a holy and virtuous Life the Merit of Christ's perfect Obedience and Sufferings will be available with God for the acceptance of our sincere though but imperfect Obedience But if we take no care to be righteous and good our-selves the perfect righteousness of Christ will do us no good much less the imperfect righteousness of any other man who is a Sinner himself And the holiest man that ever was upon Earth can no more assign and make over his Righteousness or Repentance or any part of either to another that wants it than a man can bequeath his Wisdom or Learning to his Heir or his Friend No more than a sick man can be restored to Health by virtue of the Physick which another man hath taken Let no man therefore think of being good by a Deputy that cannot be contented to be happy and to be saved the same way that is to go to Hell and to be tormented there in Person and to go to Heaven and be admitted into that Place of Bliss only by Proxy So that these good Works with a hard name and the making over the Merit of them to others have no manner of foundation either in Scripture or Reason but are all mere Fancy and Fiction in Divinity The Inference from all this shall be the application which our Saviour makes of this Parable Watch therefore for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh as if he had said the design of this Parable is to instruct us that we ought to be continually vigilant and always upon our guard and in a constant readiness and preparation to meet the Bridegroom because we know not the time of his coming to Judgment nor yet which will be of the same consequence and concernment to us do any of us know the precise time of our own Death Either of these may happen at any time and come when we least expect them And therefore we should make the best and speediest provision that we can for another World and should be continually upon our watch and trimming our Lamps that we may not be surprized by either of these neither by our own particular Death nor by the general Judgment of the World Because the Son of man will come in a Day when we look not for Him and at an hour when we are not aware More particularly we should take up a present and effectual resolution not to delay our Repentance and the reformation of our Lives that we may not have that great Work to do when we are not fit to do any thing no not to dispose of our temporal Concernments much less to prepare for Eternity and to do that in a few moments which ought to have been the care and endeavour of our whole Lives That we may not be forced to huddle up an imperfect and I fear an insignificant Repentance and to do that in great haste and confusion which certainly does require our wisest and most deliberate thoughts and all the consideration in the world And we should provide store of Oil in our Vessels wherewith to supply our Lamps that they may burn bright to the last I mean we should improve the Grace which we received in Baptism by abounding in the fruits of the Spirit and in all the substantial Virtues of a good Life that so an entrance may be ministred to us abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ By this means when we are called to meet the Bridegroom we shall not be put to those miserable and sharking shifts which the foolish Virgins were driven to of begging or borrowing or buying Oyl which will all fail us when we come to depend upon them And though the Dying man may make a hard shift to support himself with these false Comforts for a little while yet when the short Delusion is over which will be assoon as ever he is stepp'd into the other World he will to his everlasting confusion and trouble find the door of Heaven shut against him and that notwithstanding all his vast Treasure of Pardons and Indulgences which have cost him so much and are worth so little he shall never see the Kingdom of God And lastly we should take great care that we do not extinguish our Lamps by quitting the Profession of our Holy Religion upon any temptation of advantage or for fear of any loss or suffering whatsoever This Occasion will call for all our Faith and Patience all our Courage and Constancy Nunc animis opus Aenea nunc pectore firmo When it comes to this Trial we had need to gird up the loins of our minds to summon all our forces and to put on the whole armour of God that we may be able to stand fast in an evil day and when we have done all to stand And now my Brethren to use the words of St. Peter I testify unto you that this is the true Grace of God wherein ye stand The Protestant Reformed Religion which we in this Nation profess is the very Gospel of Christ the true ancient Christianity And for God's sake since in this hour of Temptation when our Religion is in so apparent hazard we pretend to love it to that degree as to be contented to part with any thing for it let us resolve to practise it and to testify our love to it in the same way that our Saviour would have us shew our love to Him by keeping his commandments I will conclude all with the Apostle's Exhortation so very proper for this purpose and to this present Time Only let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ that is chiefly and above all take care to lead lives suitable to the Christian Religion And then as it follows stand fast in one Spirit with one Mind striving together for the Faith of the Gospel And in nothing terrified by your Adversaries which to them is an evident token of perdition but to you of Salvation and that of God Now unto Him that is able to stablish you in the Gospel and to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding joy To the only wise God our Saviour be Glory and Majesty Dominion and Power both now and ever Amen FINIS Books Published by his Grace JOHN Lord Archbishop of Canterbury THirty Sermons and Discourses upon several Occasions in Three Volumes Octavo The Rule of Faith Or An Answer to the Treatise of Mr. Sergeant c. Octav. A Discourse against Transubstantiation Octavo Alone Price 3d. A Persuasive to frequent Communion in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Octavo alone price 3d. In Twelves bound price 6d A Sermon preached at Lincoln's-Iun Chappel on the 31st of January 1688. being appointed for a Publick Thanksgiving to Almighty God for having made his Highness the Prince of Orange the Glorious Instrument of the Great Deliverance of this Kingdom from Popery and Arbitrary Power A Sermon preached before the Queen at Whitehall on Matth. 5. 44. A Sermon preached before the King and Queen at Hampton Court on Luke 10. 42. A Sermon preached before the Queen on Matth. 25. 46. A Sermon preached before the House of Commons upon a Monthly Fast on Eccles. 9. 11. A Sermon preached before the Lord Mayor at Bow-Church upon the Monthly Fast on Jer. 6. 8. A Sermon Preached before the Queen on Acts 24 16. A Sermon preached before the Queen at Whitehall upon the Monthly Fast Septemb. 16 1691. on Zech. 7. 5. A Sermon preached before the Queen at Whitehall March 20. 1692. on Psalm 73. 25. A Thanksgiving Sermon preached before the King and Queen at Whitehall Octob. 27. 1692. on Jer. 9. 23 24. A Sermon preached before the King and Queen at Whitehall Feb. 25th 1693 4. Being the first Sunday in Lent On Titus the 3d. and the 2d Sermons concerning the Divinity and Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour Octavo A Sermon preached before the Queen at White-hall concerning the Sacrifice and Satisfaction of Christ on Heb. 9. 26. Octavo A Sermon concerning the Unity of the Divine Nature and Trinity on 1 Tim. 2. 5. Octavo V. 8 9 10 11 12. V. 8. V 9. V. 10. V. 8. V 9. V 13. 1 Pet 5. 12. Philip 1. 27.
and to depend upon any thing else how groundless and unreasonable soever rather than to take the pains to be really good and fit for Heaven And this is in a very lively manner represented to us in the description of the foolish Virgins who had provided no supply of Oyl in their Vessels and when the Bridegroom was coming would have furnish'd themselves by borrowing or buying of others vers. 8 9 10. They contented themselves with having their Lamps lighted at their first setting out to meet the Bridegroom that is with their being admitted into the Profession of Christianity by Baptism but either were not stedfast in this Profession or were not careful to adorn it with the Graces and Vertues of a good life And the true Reason why men are so very apt to deceive themselves in this matter and are so hardly brought to those things wherein Religion mainly consists I mean the fruits of the Spirit and the practice of real Goodness I say the true reason of this is because they are extremely desirous to reconcile if it were possible the hopes of eternal happiness in another World with a liberty to live as they list in this present World They are loth to be at the trouble and drudgery of mortifying their lusts and governing their passions and bridling their tongues and practising all those duties which are comprehended in those two great Commandments of the Love of God and of our Neighbour They would fain gain the favour of God and make their calling and election sure by some easier way than by giving all diligence to add to their Faith and Knowledge the Graces and Vertues of a good life For the plain truth of the matter is men had rather that Religion should be any thing than what indeed it is viz. the thwarting and crossing of their vicious inclinations the curing of their evil and corrupt affections the due care and government of their unruly appetites and passions the sincere endeavour and the constant practice of all holiness and virtue in their lives And therefore they had much rather have something that might handsomely palliate and excuse their evil inclinations and practices than to be obliged to retrench and renounce them and rather than amend and reform their wicked lives they would be contented to make an honourable amends and compensation to Almighty God in some other way This hath been the way and folly of Mankind in all ages to defeat the great end and design of Religion and to thrust it by by substituting something else in the place of it which as they think may serve the turn as well having the appearance of as much devotion and respect towards God and really costing them more money and pains than that which God requires of them Men have ever been apt thus to impose upon themselves and to please themselves with a conceit of pleasing God full as well or better by some other way than that which he hath prescribed and appointed for them By this means and upon this false Principle Religion hath ever been apt to degenerate both among Jews and Christians into external and little observances and into a great zeal for lesser things with a total neglect of the greater and weightier matters of Religion and in a word into infinite Superstitions of one kind or other and an arrogant conceit of the extraordinary righteousness and merit of these things In which some have proceeded to that height as if they could drive a strict bargain with God for eternal life and happiness and have treated Him in so insolent a manner by their Doctrine of the Merit of their Devotions and good Works as if God were as much beholden to them for their service and obedience as they are to Him for the reward of them which they are not afraid to say they may challenge at God's hands as of right and justice belonging to them Nay so far have they carried this Doctrine in the Church of Rome as not only to pretend to merit eternal life for themselves but likewise to do a great deal more for the benefit and advantage of others who have not righteousness and goodness enough of their own Which was the silly conceit of the foolish Virgins here in the Parable as I shall have occasion to shew more fully by and by And it is no great wonder that such easy ways of Religion and pleasing God are very grateful to the corrupt nature of Man and that men who are resolv'd to continue in an evil course are glad to be of a Church which will assure Salvation to men upon such terms The great difficulty is for men to believe that things which are so apparently absurd and unreasonable can be true and to persuade themselves that they can impose upon God by such pretences of service and obedience as no wise Prince or Father upon earth is to be deluded withal by his Subjects or Children We ought to have worthier thoughts of God and to consider that He is a great King and will be obey'd and observ'd by his creatures in his own way and make them happy upon his own terms and that obedience to what he commands is better and more acceptable to him than any other sacrifice that we can offer which he hath not required at our hands and likewise that he is infinitely wise and good and therefore that the Laws which he hath given us to live by are much more likely and certain means of our happiness than any inventions and devices of our own Thirdly I observe that even the better and more considerate sort of Christians are not so careful and watchful as they ought to prepare themselves for Death and Judgment whilst the Bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept Even the Disciples of our Saviour whilst he was yet personally present with them and after a particular charge given them from his own mouth Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation yet did not keep that guard upon themselves as to watch with him for one hour In many things says St. James we offend all even the best of us And who is there that doth not some time or other remit of his vigilancy and care so as to give the Devil an advantage and to lye open to temptation for want of a continual guard upon himself But then the difference between the wise and foolish Virgins was this that tho they both slept yet the wise did not let their Lamps go out they neither quitted their Profession nor did they extinguish it by a bad life and tho when the Bridegroom came suddenly upon them they were not so actually prepar'd to meet him by a continual vigilancy yet they were habitually prepar'd by the good disposition of their minds and the general course of a holy life Their Lamps might burn dim for want of continual trimming but they had Oyl in their Vessels to supply their Lamps which the foolish Virgins had taken no care to provide