Scandals to come by professed Protestants Viz. 1. To make a discrimination between those who are well Grounded in our Religion and those that are not so Those who are well Grounded in our Religion and embrace it like Wise and Understanding men viz. because of the excellency of its Principles will not be tempted to think one jot the worse of it in regard of these Offences Such will consider that if these can make a reasonable objection against the truth of the Protestant Religion the same objection lies every whit as strong against the truth of Christianity For even in the First and Purest Ages of Christianity there were as wicked people found among the Professors of it and men that did as wicked things as ever were before or since to be found in the World Such will consider too that the Protestant Religion is no more to be charged with Rebellions or any other Licentious Principles than is Christianity For this Religion is nothing else but Pure and Uncorrupted Christianity Nay they will consider that Rebellion and Treason and whatsoever hath any tendency that way and all kinds of immorality whatsoever are expresly forbidden by our Religion under pain of Damnation They being so forbidden as by the Precepts of the Gospel and the Doctrine of all the Reformed Churches so especially by the Doctrine of the Church of England as by Law established derived from the Gospel And therefore these Offences are no objection to Understanding and well Grounded Protestants against the truth of their Religion whilst those that have embraced it onely because it is the Religion of their Countrey or on such like weak and sleight Grounds do often find this Objection too strong for them and it frequently occasions their Apostasie And then especially are such in danger of Apostatizing by means of this Scandal of Treasons and Rebellions particularly as often as these sins are found among Protestants when the Adversaries of our Religion do assault them with the Sophistical Argument drawn from this Scandal with all the Advantage of their Sophistry Obj. But you may say If the Popish Treasons and Conspiracies are used by us as an Argument against that Religion why should not the Papists make use of the Treasons and Conspiracies of Protestants as an Argument against our Religion This seems to be Fair Play Sol. I answer that Popish Treasons and Conspiracies may not be used by us as an Argument against the Popish Religion nor are they so used by any wise man that I know of because for the reason already given this is a fallacious Argument But our Argument against them is that their Treasons and Conspiracies are suitable and agreeable to the allowed Principles of Popery provided at least that they be levelled against Heretical Princes And if those committed among us can be shewed to be suited to the Protestant Principles and by them encouraged then will not I for my part ever more open my mouth for the Protestant Religion But this can never be shewed but the perfectly contrary who cannot shew And as for the Principles that some Protestants have imbibed they are not Protestants in imbibing them nay they are Papists in so doing For 't is very well known they at least Originally received them from their Books Particularly from the Books as I can shew of these Jesuits Suarez Lessius Mariana Father Parsons with divers others Again Secondly God also permits these grievous Offences to come by Protestants as for the making the forementioned discrimination between Protestants and Protestants so for the farther hardening in his just judgment of wicked people For the farther hardening of irreligious people against all Religion and of obstinate Papists against our Religion In Rom. 2. 21 22 c. the Apostle saith Thou that teachest another teachest thou not thy self thou that preachest a man should not steal dost thou steal thou that sayest a man should not commit Adultery dost thou commit Adultery thou that abhorrest Idols dost thou commit Sacrilege thou that makest thy boast of the Law through breaking the Law dishonourest thou God then it follows For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you To keep to the instances of Rebellion and Treason the Papists when they see such doings among Protestants willingly overlooking the innumerable instances of this nature which themselves are so infamous for throughout the world And seeming not to know what Principles they have to encourage them in such Practices they immediately cry out These are your Protestants and this is their Religion 't is good for nothing but to make men Rebels and Traytors Princes can have no security from these Protestants And they urge the same Argument for the utter destruction of the Protestant Religion that was used by Bishlam and his Company to King Artaxerxes against the Rebuilding of Ierusalem viz. This City is a Rebellious City and hurtfull unto Kings and Provinces And no doubt of it our Adversaries will not be wanting in improving this Argument to the utmost at this time Though there are no sort of men in the world but might with a better face doe it And so by this means they more harden themselves if they can be more hardened in their Enmity to our Religion and more harden others And as I said for this reason no doubt God permitteth in his just judgment this sort of Offences as well as others to come by Protestants I mean still by Professors of the Protestant Religion for the Authors of such Offences cannot be more than in Profession Protestants Nay considered as guilty of such Offences they are truly Papists so far forth they deserve that name I may apply to this discourse those words of our Saviour Iohn 9. 39. For judgment am I come into this world that they which see not might see and that they which see might be made blind That those which sit in darkness may have the light and that those who have the light but wilfully shut their eyes against it as one would think those Papists do who live among us and will not be convinced by the strongest and most powerfull Arguments may be made blind And Offences or Scandals are great instruments in the hand of the Divine Justice for this purpose III. I come to shew that Offences are of woefull consequence We learn from our Text that they are so to the world or to men in general Woe unto the world because of Offences And likewise to those particular persons by whom they come but woe to that man by whom the Offence cometh Now First As to their being of woefull consequence to the world or to the generality of men It hath been intimated already that such is the Folly and Wickedness of the Generality that when these Snares are laid before them they occasion their falling into Sin and also Multitudes in all places are mightily hardened in sin by the means of them 1. They occasion their falling into sin to the great endangering of
of Folly and Wickedness not to interpose by his Omnipotency in hindring the folly and wickedness which are in mens hearts from being the causes of Offences Upon which account we reade in the Prophesie of Ezekiel Chap. 3. 20. of God's laying a Stumbling-block before him that turns from his righteousness and committeth iniquity And it is an idiom of the Hebrew Language which we find often in the Holy Scriptures to express that as done by another which is onely permitted to be done To give but one instance of this God is said in one place to move David to number the People whereas 't is said in another that Satan moved David hereunto so that the meaning of God's doing it must be that he permitted Satan for great and wise reasons to doe it Now 1. One Reason wherefore God hath determined not to hinder the folly and wickedness of men from being the causes of Offences is the same that is given why there must be Heresies or why he will permit Heresies to be The Apostle saith 1 Cor. 11. 19. There must be also Heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest among you Even so there must be Offences and Scandals that there may be a manifest difference and discrimination made between the sincere and the insincere Professors of Religion For this reason hath God determined not to restrain foolish or wicked men from the laying of Stumbling-blocks The cause of this Necessity is far from being his immutable Decree that men shall doe foolish or wicked things and so cause Scandals God forbid we should entertain so impious a thought But the cause thereof is the folly and wickedness of men occasioned by the abuse of their Liberty and God's determining not to prevent their causing Scandals his determinating this for great reasons One of which I say is that by them a Tryal may be made who are Upright-hearted and who Hypocritical in the Profession of Religion Who have the Power of Godliness and who the External Form onely That a difference may be made between those Wise Builders who have founded their houses upon a Rock and those Foolish ones who have built them upon the Sand Between those who have embraced Religion for its own sake and those who have embraced it for the sake of their Temporal interest and are engaged in the ways thereof from corrupt Motives and carnal Principles Thus did God Almighty permit False Prophets to work wonders by the Power of the Devil to draw the People to Idolatry in order to the making of this discrimination as may be seen Deut. 13. 1 2 3. If there arise among you a Prophet or a Dreamer of dreams and giveth thee a Sign or a Wonder and the Sign or the Wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee saying Let us go after other Gods which thou hast not known and let us serve them Thou shalt not hearken unto the voice of that Prophet or that Dreamer of dreams For the Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. That is the Lord your God permitteth this stone of stumbling to be laid in your way that it may be as it were a Touch-stone for the Tryal of your love to him that a discrimination may be hereby made between those who sincerely love him and those who only pretend to love him For the same reason likewise did not God restrain Ieroboam Ahab or the other wicked Kings Who made Israel to sin from laying before their People the great Offences and Scandals of the Golden Calves c. and temptations to Idolatry by their Precepts and Examples And by this means an apparent difference was actually made between those who were onely Iews outwardly and those who were Iews inwardly By this means were those seven thousand who hated Idolatry distinguished from the rest of the People I have saith God by the Prophet reserved unto me seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal 2. Another Reason why God hath determined the not restraining of men from giving Offence or being the Causes of Scandals is that by them the Obdurate may in his just judgment be more hardned For instance He permitted Simon Magus and his Followers to be the Authors of such mighty Scandals for this reason as we reade 1 Thess. 2. 11 For this cause God shall send them strong delusions or shall permit them to be sent that they may believe a lie or that the hypocritical Professors of Christianity may believe a lie that they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness And we may be assured that for both the Reasons now given God hath permitted the Roman Hierarchy to bring so horrible a Scandal upon the Christian Religion for so many Ages past by debauching it with such corrupt and damnable Principles and Practices viz. 1. To make a difference between the Sincere Christians and Hypocrites which I need not tell you hath by this means been made in innumerable instances Many thousands having chosen the loss of all and even the most Cruel deaths rather than to embrace those Principles and comply with those Practices and rather than not to Protest against both And 2. In his just judgment to harden such more in their wickedness as turn the grace of God into lasciviousness For 't is well known nothing is better known than that the whole Systeme of Popery is so contrived as to reconcile light with darkness the thickest darkness with the most glorious light gross Idolatry of several kinds such Idolatry as that grosser is not to be found among the Pagans unsatiable Covetousness and Ambition and monstrous Cruelty with true Christianity and a careless and dissolute life in this world with the hopes of Happiness in the other And for both these reasons hath God we may be sure permitted also fearfull Offences and Scandals to come by Protestants by those who make a Profession of this our holy Religion of true and genuine Christianity purged from all Popish mixtures which unto all sincere and pious Protestants are matter of most bitter Lamentation Particularly the Drunkenness Vncleanness and Profaneness of Multitudes that profess the Reformed Religion and the Scandal of Rebellion and Treasonable Conspiracies that some of them have incurred the guilt of and that in this Kingdome now very lately Though all good Protestants do bless God heartily for the Discovery of such Conspiracies and for the Defeating of open Resistences of the Higher Powers and secret Plots against them yet 't is a heart-breaking Consideration to such that there should be such Antichristian doings found among us by which a woefull Blot is cast upon our Religion and particularly by this last wicked Conspiracy of some Mad Desperate People who call themselves Protestants Now I say for both the forementioned reasons we may be assured God Almighty hath permitted such fearfull Offences and
convinced how greatly they are involved in the guilt of Offending or making people to Offend Of making them strangely Censorious and Vncharitable mighty Vnmanageable and Vngovernable extremely Conceited Vain and Wanton and most Vnfixed and Vnsettled Innumerable of those who have entertained such Principles having been known to run from one Sect to another till they have at last settled in Quakerism or turned mere Scepticks or cast off all Religion Have been tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and the cunning craftiness of those that lie in wait to deceive I pray take notice that what I have now said hath not proceeded from the least pique at Persons but from pure good-will to those who are herein concerned From hearty love and charity to their Souls and a solicitous concern for the interest of our Religion and the welfare of the Publique And having solemnly declared this I hope I shall not need to use St. Paul's Expostulation Am I therefore become your Enemy because I tell you the truth II. Another way of Offending or making people to Offend is inticing them to Sin by wicked Advice and Solicitations which is an horribly bad way indeed But as bad as it is it is very common Particularly as to intemperate Drinking how common is it grown in this most dissolute Age not onely to intice but even to force men to this Sin notwithstanding the woe that is pronounced against him who giveth his Neighbour drink and putteth his Bottle to him and maketh him drunk c. Hab. 2. 15. And there is a fine device of Good-Fellows to force down Drink Civilly and Gentily namely that of multiplying Healths which not to pledge or to refuse to pledge them in full Glasses and those large ones too is to be mighty Rude and at least deserves a Challenge But I will trouble my self no longer with these wicked men than while I conjure you to fly their Company and all their Haunts as you would do the Dens of the most Salvage Beasts I might add to this sin of inticing to Drunkenness that of inticing to Vncleanness and several other sorts of Wickedness not much less Common Particularly to name no more to Plots and Conspiracies against the King and his Government which of late years to our Amazement have been practised by more among us than have been known to adventure upon so fearfull a sin in some whole Ages heretofore Now these Tempters of others to Wickedness are Daring Sinners indeed Who as the Apostle saith Rom. 1. 32. knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death not onely doe the same but have pleasure in them that doe them Which Pleasure excites them to doe their utmost to make others as wicked as themselves What name shall I give to these Sinners They deserve no better than that of Devils in Humane Bodies These one would think are affraid of being damned with too little Company and they are not content to be damned for their own sins onely but must have their Reckoning inhaunced by the Sins of others which they make their own And therefore they seem not to be satisfied with the same damnation for kind with that of the Devils without the same damnation for degree too III. Another way of Offending and laying Stumbling-blocks before others is that of Affrighting or Discouraging others from being Religious or from the doing of their duty in particular instances 1. The highest Offence of this kind is that of Persecution for Righteousness sake Which is a great Offence and Scandal to those that are actually persecuted or in danger of Persecution And Persecution for Well-doing is such a Stumbling-block as hath occasioned the Falling away of Multitudes of Professors of Religion And 't is a thousand to one that he who is not well confirmed in his Religion or if he be is not a Conscientious Practicer of the duties thereof will not stand his ground especially when he meets with or finds himself in danger of the Sharpest sort of Persecutions When he meets with a Fiery Tryal or is in danger of it See what our Lord saith of the Stony ground Hearers Matt. 4. 17. These are they which are sown on stony ground who when they have heard the word immediately receive it with gladness and have no root in themselves and so endure but for a time Afterwards when Affliction or Persecution ariseth for the word's sake immediately they are offended or fall away And the danger Christ's Disciples are in of falling off from him when they cannot adhere to him but they must suffer Persecution is intimated in those words Matt. 11. 6. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me I need not tell you that the Church of Rome is horribly guilty of this kind of Offence but so is not our own Church God be thanked Her terms of Communion being none of them such as contradict any Law of God as abundance of the Best of people are verily persuaded And not a few of our Divines and other Learned men have with great and I think irresistible strength demonstrated 2. Another Offence of this nature is Representing the ways of Religion as very Rugged and Difficult and the duties thereof as over Harsh and Severe and at least next to impossible Representing the Yoke of Christ as an Vneasie Yoke and his Burthen as an intolerably heavy Burthen This hath ordinarily been the Practice of Sensual People of people who are wedded to their Lusts and Vile Affections And by this means I fear not a few poor Souls have been utterly ruined who have given more credit to these Wretched People than to their Saviour or to those Good men who assure them that such Representations are most false and unworthy from their own Experience 3. Another Offence under this Head is that which was charged by our Blessed Saviour upon the Pharisees viz. Binding of Heavy Burthens and Teaching for Doctrines the Commandments of Men Or making a great number of Additions of their own to the Laws of God and imposing them as necessary to Salvation And so making Religion to be indeed a mighty burthensome and uneasie thing And of this Offence the Church of Rome is more notoriously guilty than were those Pharisees But I must again doe that right to our own Church as to pronounce Her Guiltless as to this Offence also She having not made any thing a Part of Religion but what is plainly contained in the Holy Scriptures nor enjoyned any thing of her own as necessary to Salvation but onely in order to the more Solemn Administration of Divine Worship according to general Rules laid down in Scripture Which hath not determined as all sober men will grant the particular circumstances of Worship but prescribed Rules in general whereby the Governours of Churches may determine them 4. Another Offence under this third Head is Treating of those who have fallen into Errours
of Judgment or Practice with too great Harshness and Severity I mean continually inveighing against them with mighty Heat and Fierceness and taking all Opportunities to expose them and to make them the Objects of Hatred or of Contempt and Scorn It is found by Experience that this is so far from being the way to convince men of their Mistakes and to bring them to Repentance for their Miscarriages that it stops their Ears against our Arguments and fills them with Prejudice against our Admonitions and whatsoever endeavours we use for the Reclaiming of them We must first satisfie Offenders that we are their Friends before we can hope to work any good upon them But this kind of Behaviour is never like to convince them that we love them I am sure this is not to follow St. Paul's Admonition 2 Tim. 2. 24 25. The Servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle unto all men apt to teach patient In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them Repentance to the acknowledging of the truth Dr. Hammond's Paraphrase upon these words in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves is this Dealing with those who are of different Opinions from us with great temper and calmness though in opposing us they oppose the truth Nor again is this angry passionate way of dealing with such Persons to follow the counsel of the same Apostle Gal. 6. 1. Brethren if any man be overtaken in a fault ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the Spirit of Meekness considering thy self lest thou also be tempted Considering that thou art no less liable both to Errours of Judgment and Practice than is thy Brother and art not kept by thine own strength from falling into his Errours And let me take this Opportunity to mind you likewise that it is yet more Unchristian to be severe upon those whom we perceive to be sensible of their having been in an Errour and are returned or returning to their duty to be still upbraiding these with what is past and to load them with heavy Censures as if the change that is observed in them hath proceeded not from any good Principle not from Conviction of judgment but from the mere Fear of the lash of the Law But how contrary are these Doings to that Charity which the Apostle tells us Hopeth all things and Believeth all things and makes the best Interpretations and Constructions And this Behaviour towards such is mightily discouraging and therefore a great Offence Scandal and Stumbling-block both to them and to those who still persist in their Errours The Former by this means are shrewdly tempted to repent of their change and to go back again And the Latter to take warning by their Usage and are in danger of being made more Obstinate and confirmed in their resolution to stand their ground and to keep where they are Now I intreat such as are guilty of this Offence to consider 1. That it is a great Rashness and a great Wickedness too thus to judge of Peoples hearts What is this but to assume to our selves the peculiar Prerogative of God Almighty 2. Consider that the Execution of the Laws may be the occasion of fallen persons rising again and returning to their duty and yet notwithstanding they may so doe from the Conviction of their Judgments That is the Execution of the Laws may awaken those to more serious and impartial consideration which by other means could not be brought to it and who can say of such as are now reduced either wholly or in part that this is not their case 3. If we could certainly know that such or such are reduced by mere bye respects that no inward change is wrought in them but that they are onely become externally conformable yet such a treating of them as I am now blaming would be a mighty fault for all that For in due time these insincere Converts may become as sincerely affected towards our National Establishment as the best of our selves if they be but well dealt with But if they find us an ill natured sort of People given to Upbraiding and Censuring Gibing and Flouting we shall tempt them while they continue with us to resolve never to be of us and still to hold up an Aversation to our Church for our sakes But this is no very comfortable Consideration for 't is not impossible that False Friends may again become more mischievous to our Church than Professed Enemies And this leads me to entreat you to Consider 4. That an unkind treating of those who now come over to our Communion is a plain demonstration that we have as little true love for our Church as we have for the Souls of those we thus discourage You shall not find an Hearty Papist I 'll warrant you bestowing an unpleasing word or a sour look upon any that go over from us to their Church but he immediately embraceth them with both his Arms and bids them Wellcome Nor surely can any sincere Lovers of our Church and Religion be so much mistaken in their true interest as to discourage any from Returning that have Departed from our Communion or from Continuing therein that are Returned Lastly To give these discouragements is to put an Effectual Affront upon our Governours For those that doe so do as good as plainly tell the World that they look upon their Design in the Execution of the Laws to be mere Revenge and not the Reformation of Offenders Or if they would be thought not to have such a base opinion of their Governours they must acknowledge that they doe what they can to render their true Design therein Unsuccessfull But I know not which of these is the greater Affront to them And therefore I hope that all who hear me this day will carefully avoid this very scandalous practice of some People as they would approve themselves Good Churchmen and truly Loyal Subjects and much more as they would approve themselves Good Christians who dread to fall under the Sad Woe pronounced in my Text against those by whom Offences come IV. Another way of Offending is by an evil Example This is the last I shall name as wanting time to discourse of divers others with which I might present you Evil Examples are extremely Scandalous and Offensive by the means of the great inclination of Mankind to Imitation 'T is a known saying Plus docent Exempla quam Praecepta The most powerfull way of teaching is by Examples and these signifie more than Precepts There is no small force in good Examples but much greater in bad by reason of the Universal depravation of Humane Nature And let a man Prescribe to others never so Excellent Rules of Life if he himself be observed not to walk by those Rules he had e'en as good hold his peace for any good he is like to doe This man's Example is a Confutation of his Doctrine and Advice and he ought to expect no other