not to the true God but to an Idol of their own Fancy But there is a great deal of difference between such Conceptions of God in our Minds which fall short of the Perfections of the Divine Nature as all ours must do for want of Faculties to comprehend him and such which attribute something to him which is unworthy of him Not that if any happen to be mistaken in their Conceptions of God we must presently charge them with Idolatry for the Scripture makes that to lie in an open and publick Dishonouring of God by giving that Worship which is alone due to him to any thing besides himself It is the setting up of another Interest among Mankind in opposition to his Power and Soveraignty It is such an Exposing the proper Object of Divine Worship as to render it mean and contemptible For nothing can be a greater Disparagement to the Divine Nature than to be supposed to be like the Work of Mens hands or to have any of his own Creatures to have that Worship given to them which belongs to himself And so it takes away the due Apprehension which ought to be always maintained of the Infinite Distance between God and the Workmanship of his Hands But these Consequences do not reach to inward false Conceptions of God yet they ought by all possible Means to be avoided by those who would give unto God in their Minds the Honour which is due unto him And to avoid all wrong Apprehensions concerning him we must settle in our Minds such a fixed Notion of him as results from those Evidences which prove his Being Rom. 1. 20 For the invisible things of God saith the Apostle are understood by the things that are made i. e. the visible frame of the World doth afford such plain Evidence of the Wisdom Power and Goodness of the Maker of them that from thence we may form a distinct and clear Notion of God in our Minds as a Being Infinitely Wise Powerful and Good This is the most natural easie and orderly Conception we can have of God in our Minds because it arises from the same Arguments which prove his Being And when our Minds are fixed and settled herein the next thing is to exclude all mean and unworthy Thoughts of him as inconsistent with his Divine Perfections Therefore whatever savours of Impotency or Cruelty whatevertends to abate our Reverence to lessen our Esteem to damp our Affections or to cool our Devotion towards him cannot be agreeable to those just Conceptions we ought to have always in our Minds concerning him For the Honour of God doth not lie in having such terrible Apprehensions of his Majesty and Power and Justice as may drive us into Horrour and Despair but in entertaining such an Opinion of his Wisdom Goodness and Loving kindness as may incline us to Love him and to Trust in his Mercy And then God is truely honoured by us when we preserve a deep Sense and Awe of him upon our Minds When we Adore him for his Infinite Perfections When we Esteem him as the most proper Object of our Love as well as of our Fear When we put our Trust and Confidence in him and depend upon him as to the Conveniencies of this Life and the Happiness of another when the desire of our Soul is towards him and our Meditation of him is frequent and serious and delightful to us when we set him always before us and direct the Course of our Lives and Actions to the Pleasing him When we dare not wilfully do any thing to offend him but make it our chief study and business to do what tends to his Honour and to promote it in the World It is therefore of very great Consequence as to the whole Course of Religion to keep up in our Minds such a true and setled Notion of God as may influence our Devotion reform our Disorders inflame our Affections and keep us from being led aside by the violent and impetuous Heats of Imagination For this is the true Source of most of the Extravagancies of Mankind about Religion They have no true Notion of God in their Minds but they dread his Power and know not how to please him and so run from one thing to another through the several Methods of Superstitions or Enthusiasm as agrees best with their Fancies which is so unstable and uncertain a Principle that no steady Course of Religion can be steer'd by it A Man who Acts by Imagination is like a Ship at Sea without Anchor or Compass which Rouls up and down just as the Wind and the Waves carry her But Reason and Understanding is a steady and uniform Principle and being well fixed from a due and thorough Consideration of the Nature and Will of God keeps the Mind even and constant and goes on its Course as well as it can and makes its way notwithstanding the Force of the Current and Tide of Natural Inclination be against it and that the Clouds and Vapors of Imagination often hinder the Freedom of its Motion Nothing is so uncomfortable nothing so ungovernable as a restless Imagination and when it is oppressed with a Religious Melancholy then every thing seems dark and confused we neither know God nor our selves as we ought to do and we must judge amiss when we judge by such a false Light And therefore our wisest course in such a case is to be Humble and Patient to suspend any Peremptory Judgment as to our selves till we have clearer Light and those Mists and Vapors are dispersed which darken and perplex our Thoughts 2. Men dishonour God when they pretend to honour him not according to his Will but their own Intentions and Imaginations There are some things practised and defended in the Christian World which one would hardly think possible to have ever prevailed had it not been that they thought to do Honour to God by them I shall not insist upon the pretences in the Church of Rome of Honouring God against his Will by giving Divine and Religious Worship to Images Saints and Angels c. because though there be a great deal of Folly and Superstition and real Dishonour to God in them yet there is no such Mischief to the rest of Mankind unless they take up an Imagination that God will be honoured by rooting out and destroying all such as cannot comply with them in their Superstitious Follies But as the true Spirit of Religion wears off that of Persecution often comes in the place of it like Wasps and Hornets out of a dead Carkass Thus in the Jewish Church in our Saviour's time there was the same outward shew and Pomp of Religion which had been in their best times and our Saviour himself frequented both the Synagogue Worship and the Solemn Festivals at the Temple Luk. 4. 16. Mat. 23. 2. nay he allow'd that the Scribes and Pharisees sate in Moses's Chair and that his Disciples should observe what they taught agreeable to the Law but
yet he elsewhere charges them that by their Traditionary Doctrines they had enervated the Force of the Law and therefore they did honour him with their Lips Mat. 15. 8. but their Heart was far from him i. e. they had no true Love of God or their Neighbour but they thought to make amends for all that by a wonderful zeal for their own Traditions and the lesser things of the Law which they shewed not only by an unwearied diligence to gain Proselytes but by dedestroying all such as opposed their Designs and that not in an ordinary way of Passion and Revenge but they would needs have all this to be done for the Honour and Service of God Whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service Joh. 16. 2. A strange kind of Service indeed to take away the Lives of his best and most useful Servants But although no Religion in the World be so directly contrary to all Acts of Cruelty an Inhumanity as the Christian is yet upon the Degeneracy of that the same kind of Spirit hath risen up and prevailed over too great a part of the Christian World But especially the very same Jewish Spirit of Zeal and Hypocrisy and Cruelty had enter'd in these last Ages into a Society of Men whom I need not Name who have undermined the genuine Principles of Morality inflamed the Spirits of Princes to all the Effects of a Cruel War and a Merciless Persecution and used their utmost Endeavours to root out all such as dare not Sacrifice their Consciences to the Will of a Prince under their Direction And which adds to all this they have the Impudence to assume that Motto to themselves Ad majorem Dei Gloriam as though they aimed at nothing but doing greater Honour to God Such as these go beyond Hophni and Phinehas for their Wickedness although great was confined to a narrow Compass but these disperse themselves into all States and Kingdoms and carry on the same uniform Design viz. to do all the Mischief they can under the pretence of Advancing the Honour of God 3. But certainly there is a Way left to give to God that Honour which is due to Him otherwise it were to little purpose to say Them that honour me I will honour But I shall not take in here all the ways how we may Honour God but consider that which is most proper to the Design of these Words For which we are to observe that the External Worship and Service of God was in general well enough kept up and observed in the Tabernacle at Shiloh There the High Priest attended the Daily Sacrifices were offer'd and the People resorted thither at the Solemn Feasts from all parts of the Land But the great Examples of Wickedness in the Sons of Eli had spread themselves so far that the People were generally corrupted and the best Part of their Religion which lies in a Reformation of Manners was almost gone There were some Pious and Devout Persons such as Eli himself a Good Man but a Bad Magistrate being Remiss and Careless in the Execution of his Office and no doubt many among the People as well as Elkanah and Hannah were devout and serious in the Service of God and other Duties of Religion but yet God himself takes notice of the Wickedness of his People Israel at the time when the Ark was removed from Shiloh And therefore we have Reason to take particular Notice of that Passage to Eli concerning the Reason of the Punishment of his House Because his Sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not For their Sins were of a very Contagious Nature and by not restraining them the People were run into a great degree of Looseness and Profaneness So that it was not for Eli's Personal Miscarriages that God thought himself so dishonoured by him but for want of taking due Care for the Suppressing Profaneness and Corruption of Manners in others And this shews the true way how God may and ought to be Honoured by those who are bound to take Care of others viz. by giving all due Encouragement to true Religion and Vertue and by making use of the most effectual Means for suppressing Irreligion and Profaneness And this indeed is a Great and Noble Design fit for the greatest Minds and Persons of the highest Station to to be Employed about I cannot deny that it is a Difficult Work for it is easier to subdue the Bodies than the Passions of Men and how many will rather venture their Lives than mortify their Lusts And let them pretend what they will we find that they will sooner part with any thing than with their Sins Do we not daily see that they will let go Honour Reputation Interest Health and the hopes of Heaven rather than those Vices they have been accustomed to the Practice of How can we then imagine that the meer Fears of the Execution of Humane Laws should presently restrain those whom no Fear of Hell or Damnation could hitherto Reform But yet a stop may and ought to be put to the insolent Growth of Profaneness for if it be suffered to be too hard for our Laws it will in time be too hard for all sort of Government Yet how shall a stop be put to it under such Difficulties For it cannot be denied that we have Excellent Laws against Vice and Debauchery and that Magistrates have had sufficient countenance from Authority for the due Execution of them But yet the Complaints are great of a mighty overflowing of all sorts of Wickedness still among us I hope they are not all true but yet I am afraid there is too much ground for them What is the Reason of such a complaint of Profaneness and Irreligion among us at a time we pretend so much to Reformation It is no wonder that the bad Examples of those who ought to Reform others bring Vice into Fashion but when that cannot be alledged what is the Reason that good Examples do so little towards the Reforming others It is easie to resolve all into the Corruption of Humane Nature but that is a General Answer which serves for all Times and Places and must suppose them alike And if it be a good and sufficient Answer it is to little purpose to talk of Laws Religion and Reformation For unless they may have some Power to alter and amend the Course of Mens Actions they signify very little to the real Benefit of Mankind no more than Sea-Marks do towards hindring the course of the Tide But meer Examples although of excellent use to all Ingenuous Minds yet to others they are but like Statues of Mercury in the Road which point to the right way but Men will go which way they please notwithstanding Therefore to Laws and Examples the Magistrates Power must be added which was appointed for this purpose to be Terrour to those that do evil Rom. 13. 3. as well as an Encouragement to those that do well And then the
Reformation of Manners the true way of Honouring God With the necessity of putting the Laws in Execution against Vice and Profaneness IN A SERMON Preached At White-Hall By the late Right Reverend Father in GOD EDWARD Lord Bishop of Worcester And Published by Their Majesties Special Command The Second Edition Not Printed in any of the Volumes of his Lordship's SERMONS LONDON Printed for Tho. Bennet at the Half-Moon in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. The way of honouring God by a Reformation of Manners IN A SERMON Preached At White-Hall 1 Samuel 2. 30. For them that honour me I will honour and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed THese Words were spoken by a Prophet of the Lord to Eliâ— at that time the High-Priest and Judge over Israel upon Occasion of the Wickedness of his Sons and the Hishonour brought upon Religion thereby which was so great that it is said v. 17. they made the People abhor the Offering of the Lord. But that we may the better comprehend their Scope and Design there are some remarkable particulars to be considered with respect to the Circumstances that attend them 1. That their Sins were of a high and scandalous Nature being an open Affront both to the Ceremonial and Moral Law The Offering of the Lord was that which himself had appointed in the Law of Moses wherein it was expresly required that the Fat of the Sacrifices of Peace-Offerings must be burnt upon the Altar Lev. 7. 31. and after that the Joints were to be divided and the Priest was to have his share v. 33 34. and the People that offer'd them the rest But these Sons of Eli thought themselves too great to be tied up to such a strict observance of the Niceties of the Law and therefore they sent their Servants to demand what they pleased v. 13 14 15 16. without any Regard to that Order which the Laws appointed It is possible they might think although such lewd and and profane Persons are not much given to thinking that the matter was not great how or in what manner they took the share which belong'd to them but God who best knew what was pleasing to himself saith The Sin of the young Men was very great before the Lord. v. 17. For God will and ought to be served in his own Way and they who thought to be Wiser than his Laws smarted for their Folly Lev. 10. 1. Thus Nadah and Abihu two brisk young Men had a mind to try the Experiment of offering strange Fire before the Lord not taking it from the Altar as God had appointed Lev. 1. 7. ch 6. v. 12. ch 16. v. 12. And what came of this Presumptuous violation of God's Law They were immediately consumed by a strange Fire themselves for ch 10. v. 2. it is said A Fire went out from the Lord and devoured them and they died before the Lord i. e. they were struck dead with Lightning upon the Place and their dead Bodies were carried forth from before the Sanctuary out of the Camp v. 4. that all the People might observe the Truth of what Moses said to Aaron on this Occasion v. 3. This is that the Lord spake saying I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me and before all the People I will be glorified It is true God did not punish Hophni and Phinehas in the same manner who added great Lewdness and Immorality to their other faults v. 22. but He severely threatens the whole House of Eli for their Sins and as a sign of the rest he declares that these profligate Wretches should both be taken off the same Day v. 34. Which was accordingly accomplished with dreadful Circumstances â—â— 4. v. 11. For the Ark of God was taken at the same time 2. That the House of Eli was advanced to that Dignity which it then enjoy'd by an Extraordinary Method of Providence For when Nadab and Abihu the Sons of Aaron were destroy'd Lev. 10. 6. 1 Chr. 24. 2. there remained Eleazar and Ithamar for the other died Childless from them descended two Branches of Aaron's Family Num. 3. 4. Eleazar was of the Elder House but Eli who descended from Ithamar was in possession of the High Priesthood by God's Approbation And when Abiathar in Solomon's time was put by the High Priesthood 1 Chr. 14. 2. 5. it is said that he descended from Ithamar 1 Kings 24. 27. and was of the House of Eli and he was therefore thrust out that God might fulfil his Word which he spake concerning the House of Eli in Shiloh By which we find that God had raised up the House of Eli after an Extraordinary manner and no doubt according to the Wise Methods of Divine Providence for an Extraordinary End and we find no ill Character fixed upon Eli himself although he had judged Israel forty years 1 Sam. â— 18. but there were those about him and very near him who were loose profane and dissolute Persons and although those who are most concerned do commonly hear the last of the Miscarriages of those related to them yet the Cry was so great that it came to his Ears and he took notice of it and reproved them for it ch 2. v. 22 23 24 25. And he said to them why do ye such things c. The good old Man seems to be heartily concerned and troubled for his Sons Follies but this did not answer God's End for the Reason He gives of the heavy Judgments denounced against his Family ch 3. v. 13. was because his Sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not God expects something more than meer Words or bare Reproofs where his Honour and that of Religion are so much concerned But when Profaneness Looseness and Irreligion crept in among them and grew too hard for the Government God threatens to do such a thing in Israel ch 3. v. 11. at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle I need go no farther 3. That although God was justly provoked by the Sins of the House of Eli yet there was a concurrence of the Peoples Sins in bringing down such severe and astonishing Judgments There was no great loss in Hophni and Phinehas unless they had been better but it was a terrible Judgment to have the Ark of God taken and carried Captive and thereby their whole Religion exposed to scorn and contempt among their Neighbours who hated them for the sake of their Religion For when the Idolatrous Nations about them had corrupted themselves and the Worship of God He was pleased by the Ministry of Moses to set up a Form of Worship among the People of Israel according to his own Will This gave great Dissatisfaction to all their Neighbours and encreased their Spight and Malice against them which they were ready to shew on all Occasions but never more than when the Ark of God was taken Captive and carried
Apostle supposeth the Sword is born in vain ver 4. when the Magistrate is not the Minister of God in this respect a Revenger to execute Wrath upon him that doeth evil It was the Great and Just Honour of Princes of Old that by their means Mankind was reduced from a rude and disorderly kind of Life to the Practice of Civility and Good Manners and it is as great a Foundation of Honour still when Men are so much Apostatized from them to bring them back again to the due Order and Decency of Living The Case is much harder of those who are Degenerate under Laws than of those who were so without them For they have learnt to despise their Remedy and by Arts and Subtilties to avoid the Force of that which was intended for their Good But however none ought to be discouraged from so Excellent a Design which Recommends it self to all Wise and Good Men and will never want the Assistance and Prayers of all that are so and God himself will in an especial Manner give Honour to Those who thus Honour him in his own Way by using the most Effectual Means for the Reforming the Manners of Men. But what are those ways which may be called Effectual It 's true that depends upon the Favour and Blessing of God but it is no hard Matter for us to judge what are the most likely Means to be Effectual Such as 1. An Universal Discountenancing of all sorts of Vice and Profaneness be the Persons of what Rank or Quality soever For if those of the House of Eli be suffer'd to transgress the People will follow their Examples although the Good Old Man did not like their Doings but he did not take Care enough to Restrain them 2. An Even Steady Vigorous and Impartial Execution of the Laws against Looseness and Debauchery so that it may not look like a sudden Heat or Design of Popularity but proceeding from a due and well-temper'd Zeal for God and Religion 3. A Wise Choice of fit Instruments to pursue so Good an End I mean such as Jethro recommended to Moses Men of Courage and Integrity Fearing God and hating Covetousness Exod. 18. 21. And such I hope are to be found in the several Parts of the Nation 4. Lastly A diligent Inspection into the Behaviour of those who are the proper and immediate Instruments for carrying on so good a Design For if there be no Inspection afterwards it will be look'd on as a meer matter of Form or an Order given out to satisfie the Importunities of some and the Clamours of others It were to be wished that all who are Imploy'd in such a Work had an Equal Mixture of Wisdom and Zeal but it is not possible to hinder some from having unequal shares of these And it is great Pity so Good a Cause should Miscarry through the Indiscretion of any who are Zealous for it On the other side It is possible that some who pretend to an Equal Zeal for it in general may Use such Artifices and Fair Pretences as may effectually baffle and undermine it while they seem to be concerned to promote it So that what through the Intemperate Heats of some the Coldness and Indifferency of others and the certain Averseness all bad Men have to any real Design of Reformation there is a Necessity for such an Affair to be often look'd into and an Account taken of the Management of it if any great Advantage be expected by it And surely no greater Advantage can be expected as to this World than from such a Design managed as it ought to be For what can we propose to our Selves that can tend more to promote the Honour of Almighty God which we ought above all other things to be concerned for For the Righteous God loveth Righteousness and he abhors all kind of Wickedness What then can be more Pleasing to him than to have all sorts of Impiety and Profaneness discountenanced punished and if it be possible rooted out What can tend more to the Honour of his Vicegerents than to shew so much of a Resemblance to Him as to Love what God Loves and to hate what he hates and to imploy their Power for the same End which God himself doth his viz. to Advance his Glory and to do Good to Mankind What can tend more to the Honour of our Church and Nation than to let the World see by such Good Works as these what the Reformation is which we aim at Not meerly of some disputable Points as to Doctrine and Practise which we have earnestly contended for and with great Reason but a true and serious Reformation of the Hearts and Lives of Men without which all our other Pretences will fall infinitely short of what God expects from us and the very Name of Reformation will be a Reproach to us II. I now proceed to the second Particular viz. the Rules and Measures which God observes in distributing Honour among Men Them that honour me I will honour but they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed Which may be understood two ways I. As to the Societies of Men which have one Common Interest II. As to the Interests and Honour of Particular Persons I. As to such Societies of Men which have one Common Interest And so it implies that the Welfare and Reputation and flourishing Condition of such depends upon their Zeal and Concernment for God and Religion But here we meet very great Difficulties for Reason and Experience seem to contradict each other about it On the one side it seems most agreeable to the Justice of Divine Providence to Reward and Punish those in this World who will not be Capable of being rewarded or punished in another for there will be no Communities in another World But on the other side we cannot deny matter of common Experience for how long have the Turkish and Papal Monarchies to name no other flourished when the seven Churches of Asia and the Churches of Africa have been long since destroyed How strangely hath Mahometism spread in the Eastern Parts of the World And what a Check hath there been upon the Reformation in these Western Parts With what a mighty Torrent did it prevail at first Then it stood at a stand and hath of late Years gone so much backward and suffer'd so very much in many Parts of it And yet we think and that very justly that the Honour of God is concerned in all this What shall we say to the Insolent Oppressors of Mankind who make no Conscience of ruining Cities and Countries and offering Violence to the Bodies and Consciences of Men to Advance and Support their own Grandeur and yet have been suffer'd to prevail so far as to be made an Argument against Providence by Atheistical Men It is to be hoped that God in his own time will vindicate his Honour and clear this point to the Satisfaction of all reasonable Men but yet we cannot penetrate into the Wisdom and Secrets