ends wherein the best and wisest men shall be esteemed the very worst superstitious cold and formal men by those that are zealous in some Faction and know no Religion but that zeal because such times as these may be it is safest to content our selves in gaining those rewards and blessings that are peculiar to Religion the testimony of a good Conscience and life eternal in the World to come 3. And then lastly Because hypocrisie is so deceitful and sly a sin as always serving worldly interest which is apt insensibly to blind the eyes and infatuate the minds of the wisest men and yet hide it self from them themselves it will concern us to be very frequent and impartial in the examination of our selves to weigh our counsels to try our ends to prove our designs in every action relating any way to Religion It will be needful to consider whether we indeed design it really intend to promote and practise it whereever we make a profession of it And then because that God alone knows the heart and because his Grace is most needful to discover our selves unto our selves in the midst of the many sins and passions that may infatuate and beguile us let us earnestly pray for his Holy Spirit to deliver us from all the infatuations and all the seductions of our lusts Let us make the Address which David did Psal 139.22 24. with whose words I shall conclude Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting The Eleventh Sermon John 14.1 Ye believe in God believe also in me The whole verse is thus Let not your heart be troubled ye believe in God believe also in me THESE words are a preface to a very large and kind discourse made by our Lord unto his followers wherein he delivers the main foundations of Christianity as well in matter of Faith as Practice which is the reason why he begins it with such words as might effectually stir them up to give both attention and belief to all that he should deliver in it Ye believe in God believe also in me In which words we have two parts 1. A concession or supposition Ye believe in God that is ye believe that there is a God and what is consequent hereupon that he is to be trusted and obeyed although some others read the words not as a Declaration Ye believe in God but as a Command Believe in God but there is no reason to depart from our own Translation in this matter 2. Here is a Precept also Believe in me that is to say believe that I am the Son of God sent by him into the world to reveal the Gospel of life eternal and therefore judge your selves obliged to believe whatsoever I reveal and obey whatsoever I command you Now being that belief in Christ in the sence I have now explained unto you is here required as an addition or further accession to the mere belief in God only as he may be known by the light of nature The Subject which the Words before us offer to our consideration is That the belief of Christian Doctrine as it is revealed to us in the Gospel over and above that knowledge of God which the light of Nature affords unto us is necessary to our eternal happiness In the prosecution of which Point 1. I must first consider That the firm belief of the Gospel of Christ is most expresly required by God and the denial of such belief forbidden under no less a penalty than the utter loss of life eternal Salvation is always promised to them who believe in him who hath revealed it and become his Followers and Disciples to other persons it is not promised As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Joh. 3.14 15. Nor is it only promised to those and those only that so believe but denied to them that believe not to them that refuse to yield their belief to him whom God hath sent and sanctified to be the Saviour of the World He that believeth on him is not condemned but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God And so again omitting several other places of the same sense and signification in the first Epistle of St John chap. 5. ver 10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself he that believeth not God hath made him a Lyar because he believeth not the Record that God gave of his Son Thrice did God bear this Record and owne our Lord to be sent by him by an express voice from Heaven once at his Baptism in these words Matt. 3.17 This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased A second time at his transfiguration upon the mount with some addition to those words Matt. 15.5 This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him And yet again a third time a little before our Saviours passion when praying to God in these words Father glorifie thy name he was answered by a voice from Heaven saying I have both glorified it and will glorifie it again John 12.28 To all which clear and express testimonies given by the Father to his Son I might first add the glorious miracles wrought by Christ during his life then his resurrection from the dead and the effusion of his Spirit upon the Apostles sent by him and all the miracles wrought by them and all his other followers also which being evident demonstrations that he was the very son of God and sent by him to save the World highly aggravate the great sin of infidelity and unbelief and teach us to forbear to wonder that it should be punished with death eternal and that Christ himself should thus pronounce Mark 16.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned 2. But then secondly lest you should think that God will have us believe the Gospel meerly because he will have it so and that he had no further end in the truth therein revealed unto us than that we should believe them only I further add that the belief of those truths is greatly necessary to several ends of infinite moment and importance 1. For the full and perfect knowledge of the duties which he requires from us 2. For the like knowledge of the great motions to those duties 3. For our better support under all our tryals fears and dangers 1. The belief of the great truths revealed unto us in the Gospel is necessary for the perfect knowledge of the duties which God requires from us and that upon several considerations namely 1. because that though the light of nature well improved may in some measure direct us to very many of them yet
can we hope that we shall preserve it unless there be zeal opposed to zeal unless we be concerned for truth as they concern themselves against it can we reasonably judge we can secure it No if they find that we our selves are cold and indifferent in our Religion that we shew no hearty affection for it that we value our ease love our pleasure esteem the smallest concerns and interest more than we prize and value that may they not then justly conclude that we shall easily part with it And will not this excite their diligence and encourage attempts to take it from us May I speak what I verily think is true It is our indifference in our Religion the gross neglects that very many and the foul contempts that some others have clearly shewed unto this profession that hath given encouragement to our enemies to design and attempt its extirpation If they can say and I wish they may not they have no concernment for their Religion they have no regard for the Ministers of it they neglect they despise it in life and practice many of them very seldom appear in their publick Assemblies and Congregations very few frequent that holy Sacrament which is the great and solemn profession of joyning in Communion with it They give no evidence of any zeal or affection to it and therefore no doubt they will part with it upon very cheap and easie terms bring their Estates or ease and safety bring the advantages of this world into a competition with it and there is no doubt but they will abandon and quit the one that they may quietly enjoy the other They will rather chuse to enjoy their Estates ease and safety without their Religion than their Religion without these If we could penetrate into the hearts of those that design the extirpation of our Religion I fear we should find these thoughts in them and that these have encouraged that design which cannot otherwise be resisted than by letting them know they are deceived that we have as great and warm a zeal for the preserving our Religion as they for its ruine and destruction 2. To this zeal we must add endeavour it is not the goodness of a cause that is sufficient to defend it If it be true and just and reasonable it must be evidenced so to be and endeavour used for its defence If it be true it is so much fitter to be pleaded If it be just it is just to appear and labour for it it doth still so much the more deserve the use of reason in every private Prosessor of it the use of Authority in every Magistrate for its advancement and preservation The wisest Laws will not secure the best Religion if they themselves be not secured They can neither plead nor execute themselves They rather excite contempt and scorn and irritate enemies to opposition where they are left to shift for themselves without any countenance from the Magistrate Now therefore it would still retain the Reformed Religion reformed I say by the blessing of God upon the pains of our Forefathers and at the expence of the very blood of many of them if we desire to deliver it down to our posterity as they transmitted it unto us we must upon every fair occasion profess our hearty belief of it profess our zeal for its defence maintain its truth against opposers give no occasion to them to think that fraud or force hopes or fears rewards or punishments in this world shall ever chase or remove us from it And may not the diligence of our enemies for the subversion of our Faith awake our minds excite our diligence to maintain it If they insinuate and intrude into all societies all places all degrees and ranks of men and use the utmost of their skill to seduce them and impose upon them to move them both by hopes and fears to embrace their errours and delusions shall we be idle or remiss in the mean time in the securing of real truth Have they so much of zeal and fervor for meer vanities and superstitions And have we none for real piety Are they so active as that they compass Sea and Land to make men Proselytes unto them And have we no care to secure our selves at least at home Do they neglect no opportunity do they omit no endeavours no not the foulest and most unlawful to promote and propagate their Religion And are we asleep are we in a maze are we in a dream while we should defend and secure ours Awake we then from that security and from that coldness and indifference from that remisness and neglect which gives encouragement to our enemies to attempt the destruction of our Religion and may if not in time reformed exceeding justly provoke God to deliver us up into their hands 3. Let us all awake while it is day and unite our selves in joynt endeavours the third particular I proposed to defend and propagate our Religion Let us joyn together in the clear and open profession of it Let us coustantly attend the Worship of God in the publick Assemblies where the Religion is professed Let us frequently joyn in the Celebration of that holy Sacrament which is not only a Communion with Christ our Head but the aptest and clearest signification of our Communion each with other Let us mutually counsel and advise let us encourage one another to retain and hold fast that Faith which was once delivered to the Saints striving for the faith of the Gospel and in nothing terrified by our adversaries 4. Which is the fourth of these methods which our Apostle here propounds for the defence of the true faith and so is that which we profess Our Faith is that which our blessed Lord came down from Heaven to reveal to men he confirm'd it by many mighty Miracles he died on the Cross he rose again he ascended to Heaven he gave the Spirit to his Apostles and holy Fellows to preach and propagate it in the world These and several after them for divers Ages laid down their lives for its defence and made it victorious in the world notwithstanding all the oppositions that the powers of the world and the lusts of men made against it and why should we fear the wit or malice the craft or strength that any enemie can use against it if we will be faithful our selves to it We can at most but die for it And have we not reason to encourage us so to do if ever the times which God forbid should call for that What saith our Lord in this case Luk. 12.4 5. Be not afraid of them that kill the body and after that have no more that they can do but I will forewarn you whom you shall fear fear him who after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell yea I say unto you fear him Fear God and nothing but God only Fear him and you shall not need to fear any other thing but him only He can discover the
to flesh and bloud and to the animosity which they have against the persons of other men to brand them with opprobrious names to pour contempt and scorn upon them and to believe that it is Religion so to do I think we have reason to beware of such a dangerous vice as this which turns a sin into Religion and so in truth makes Religion a contradiction unto it self 3. One thing more I must further add to what I have said of this Point which is the delight that a man may take either in the opposing or deriding of the Religion of other persons and the great opinion which he may have of himself for this which yet can give him no assurance that he is not a hypocrite in so doing I need not say how sharp and eager strifes are raised about Religion in the World I need not shew what fierce debates what hot contentions there are about it and have been in all former Ages These are known and evident things but that which is here to be considered is that the zeal that many men have in these disputes is rather to destroy the Religion that is professed by other persons than set up another instead thereof it is to subvert and not to reform it is to overthrow and not amend In the mean time being it is concern'd about Religion and being it hath a mighty passion in this concern it passes for Religion itself so apt are men to mistake them to embrace a shadow instead of truth and to judge themselves to be Religious for a negative not a positive thing for being against the Religion of others rather than for any of their own wherein they gratifie their own passions please their own corrupt affections and so easily suffer themselves to be deceived and imposed upon 3. But then thirdly we must consider that as hypocrisie is not only an easie Religion but also pleasant to flesh and blood in many instances and effects so that it also powerfully tends to serve those ends which men are apt to propound and follow that is to say 1. The reputation of being judg'd to be truly pious 2. And the obtaining of wealth and power and all the advantages of this World 1. The appearance of Religion destitute of the power of it doth for a time gain the reputation of true Religion nay more reputation for the most part than true Religion itself obtains Our Saviour relating how the Pharisees gave Alms to gain the glory of men presently adds verily I say unto you they have their reward Matt. 6.2 relating how they prayed in the streets to the same end adds the very same words again verily I say unto you they have their reward v. 5. relating how they disfigured their faces when they fasted that they might appear to men to fast adds the very same words again verily I say unto you they have their reward v. 16. of the same Chapter that is to say they gain that glory which they seek they are esteemed as they desire the best and strictest sort of men and so the Apostle St Paul suggests when he calls this very sect of the Pharisees the strictest sect of their Religion Acts 26.5 when he reports that they taught according to the perfect manner of the Law Acts 22.3 for here he designs not to let us know that the thing itself was so indeed but that it was commonly judged to be so so great was their credit among the people that when six thousand of them refused to do what the rest of the Nation did swear allegiance unto Caesar and were fined for refusing so to do The wife of Pherotas a rich man out of the great opinion she had of their singular Piety and devotion was ready to pay the Fine for them she paid it and was applauded for it nay flattered with hope of the very Kingdom they told her God himself had decreed that she and her husband and their issue should have the Government of the Nation and that he himself had assured them of it in the communion they had with him and this their Prophecie was believed upon account of the great reputation of their Piety Joseph amiqu lib. 10. cap. 3. Nor must you think it a strange thing that hypocrisie should gain the reputation of true Religion for I must fay something stranger still namely that it often gains a greater credit and reputation at least for a time than true Religion itself obtains the reasons whereof are plain and evident For The Hypocrite makes it his very business to appear in the visible show of Piety takes care that every Religious action appear to the eyes or come to the knowledge of the World so did the Pharisees give their Alms so did they order their prayers and fasts that the World might observe and understand them whereas the sincere and true Christian thinks it enough to approve himself to God in private and takes no thought how to commend himself to men further than by avoiding scandal and by a true and unaffected discharge of duty to God and men without the circumstance of pomp and shew of much appearance in so doing The Hypocrite again pretends to the very height of Piety to the greatest measures of perfection the upright person pretends no more than he hath really attain'd unto The Hypocrite makes it his great business to be always speaking of Religion in every place in every company at all times upon all occasions though they be never so unseasonable the upright person contents himself to give Religion its due place to take convenient opportunities to mention propagate and promote it The Hypocrite makes it his design to shew a singular zeal and fervour for the smallest things that relate to Religion nay things of no concernment in it the upright person is more modest lays no more of stress on things than the Laws of God or men require By all which means it comes to pass that the reputation of the hypocrite sometimes far exceeds that of true and wise and sober Christians which as it may press a strong temptation to bewitch and draw men to that sin so should it move to the greater watchfulness the greater diligence to avoid it 2. But then secondly as hypocrisie often gains the credit of true Religion nay more than that itself can gain in the general blindness of mankind so doth it most effectually serve for the advancement of other ends which men are apt to entertain namely the gaining of wealth and power and all the advantages of this World And here I shall not make any stay upon meaner persons who yet generally find it useful for their advantages in the world to make a shew of greater Piety than they are really possessors of But I shall observe to what degrees of power and honour the Pharisees did advance themselves by their pretences to greater exactness in Religion than other factions amongst the Jews Josephus tells us that there were three sects
clear evidence that they have the Grace of God in them and therefore are in favour with him But then the latter namely the breach of their resolutions and the continuance in their sins they look upon as a humane frailty common to the Saints with other persons common both to the good and evil But whatsoever men may judge in favour of their own corruptions I am obliged to put you in mind of that which I hope you know already That it is not the mere intent and purpose of the reformation of wilful sins of an habitual course in evil but the true and real reformation of it that recommends us to Gods favour So St Paul himself assures us who having mentioned the several sins that are common in the lives of men concludes his Discourse with these words Let no man deceive you with vain words for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the Children of disobedience Ephes 5.6 4. To make one step further Others there are who do indeed practise some real parts of Religion but then wholly neglect others They hear they pray they seem to be zealous in these things and possibly in some others too but yet still live in such sins as are inconsistent with Christianity and the solid hopes of life eternal They still live some in impurity and sensuality others in injustice and iniquity others in envy and ambition others in pride and scorn and malice so that no mans good name and reputation no mans life how blameless and innocent soever is safe from their unrighteous censures yet all this while they are so far from thinking this to be any sin that they make a piece of Religion of it and believe themselves to be so much better by how much they censure others 5. Lastly There are some other persons who make a commutation with God in doing the things he hath not required instead of those which he hath commanded They impose some penances upon themselves or practise those imposed by others instead of repentance and reformation they live by Laws of their own making instead of those which God hath made or else they are most extremely diligent in the constant practice of one Duty to make some recompence and satisfaction for the total omission of another their temperance shall excuse their injustice or their justice their sensuality their zeal shalf excuse their animosity their very profession of Religion shall excuse the neglect of the practice of it yet all this while they judge themselves in the favour of God and confidently hope for eternal happiness From all which instances it appears how apt men are to imagine themselves to be righteous in the eyes of God to be grateful and acceptable to him although they live in wilful and habitual neglect of the Laws and Precepts of the Gospel 2. Having thus dispatched the first general proceed we now unto the second where I shall endeavour to give an account of the rise and occasion of this errour 3. And first of all there is no doubt but that the inordinate love of the World and the sinful gains and pleasures of it is an eminent and great cause why men abuse and flatter themselves with the vain hopes of Gods favour and of the salvation promised by him although they live and die in their sins This love it was which did at first hinder the faith of Christianity obstruct the belief and reception of it and so our Saviour himself suggests John 7.17 If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self Where he insinuates that those persons Who were willing to obey the Gospel provided they knew it be of God to live by the rules arid precepts of it would easily yeild belief unto it when it was duly propounded to them add consequently that the great reason why men would not yield their belief to it was because they would not yield obedience to the Laws therein prescribed unto them because they would not forsake those lusts which the Gospel commands us to forsake the lusts of the flesh the lust of the eye and the pride of life And as it was these inordinate lusts that hindered the progress of Christian Faith when it was first revealed and published so did the very same lusts first bring corruption and delusion into the Faith of those persons that made profession of Christianity and still continues to lead them into misbelief They will not part with their beloved lusts and pleasures they will not forget their sinful gains or what is easie what is pleasing to flesh and blood the forgoing these is by our Lord expressed by the plucking out of an eye and by cutting of a right hand Matt. 5.29 30. whereby he declares the great unwillingness that is in men to deny their natural inclinations though never so sinful and inordinate On the other hand as they are unwilling to deny their natural inclinations to forgo their inordinate lusts and appetites so are they likewise very unwilling to despair of eternal happiness under them or of the favour of God to them that 's a black and stabbing thought as the other is troublesome and ungrateful Now what is the issue what is the effect of these two things put together the issue is this men presently study to find out arts how to reconcile the hopes of happiness with the enjoyment of their lusts and alas there needs no great art for a man to deceive and cheat himself where he is willing to be deceived he easily steps into this hope that his sins though wilful and habitual are nothing more than humane frailties common to the good as well as evil that God will never impute them to him that he may firmly hope to be saved though he never abandon and forsake them 2. But then secondly that which gives something of advantage to this errour in some persons is the comparing of the difficulty of subduing of their lusts with the vast greatness of that loss which they suffer who lose that glory and immortality which is promised to us in the Gospel They will not imagine that such a loss should attend the neglect or non-performance of a thing so extremely hard and difficult which errour differing from the rest which I have before mentioned to you seems to deserve some more notice than what I have taken of the rest 1. And first of all those who make use of this argument to promise themselves eternal happiness although they continue in their sins ought to consider that that happiness which God hath promised being unspeakably great and glorious deserves our labour merits our study to attain it upon any terms whatsoever they be howsoever difficult to flesh and blood and to our natural inclinations The greater it is the greater the care the greater diligence the more of labour doth the attainment of it merit and so our Saviour himself suggests when he compares the