promise of the divine Spirit to enable them in the discharge of their holy Office and therefore that they ought to be attended to with such reverence as is due to the Ambassadors of God to the interpreters of his mind and will Not that the truly humble man is bound to yield a blind assent to whatever he hears delivered from a Pulpit or that he is presently to renounce his own reason and understanding whenever it is contradicted by his immediate Pastor No we do not claim this dominion over the reason and consciences of our brethren We do not require an absolute assent to all we say onely thus much an humble man will and ought to think his duty not to oppose every private scruple of his own to the received doctrine of the Church in which he lives much less to separate from it without manifest and plain grounds He ought rather to distrust his own private judgment when it stands in competition with the publick sense of the Church and to use all possible diligence for further information before he be positive in his opinion He ought to apply himself with all humility to his Superiours to desire satisfaction from them and he ought to attend to them with patience and submission and to be very cautious lest any prejudice or self-interest should be the ground of his persuasion and then if after a due diligence he find himself still unconvinced yet still humility will oblige him not to judge those who differ from him nor to withdraw himself from the publick service of God as long as there is nothing required of him as a condition of Communion which he is not fully convinced to be be unlawful Now he that proceds with this humility and deliberation in the examination of those doctrines of the Church which seem doubtful to him This humble temper will either lead him to the means of satisfaction from the instruction of his Superiours or at least will secure him from the danger and malignity of his Errour For simple Errour is not dangerous in it self unless it arise from a culpable cause or unless it lead to sin or disobedience And this an humble man will hardly be tempted to for the sake of any private Opinion 4. An humble and modest man will be willing to yield to such Arguments as the matter he enquires about is capable of and will not require greater evidence for revealed truths than the nature of the things will admit of And indeed the want of this temper of mind may justly be accounted the fundamental Principle of Atheism and Irreligion Many disputers there are in the World who think it an Argument of Wit and Parts to be able to defend a Paradox and to stand their ground against all opposition These men seek not Truth but Victory and do not so much endeavour to satisfie themselves as to amuse others and therefore as long as they are able to raise an Objection which they think their Adversary cannot answer they take it for granted that it is unanswerable and think that a sufficient reason to deny the force of all positive Arguments whatsoever Now this perverse and conceited way of disputing renders men very unfit to enquire after truth in any kind of Science but especially in Religion for the doctrine of the Gospel is not capable of such proofs but that a perverse and unteachable Spirit may find some kind of evasions to abate the force of them and may raise some kind of groundless suspicion that possibly things might have been otherwise than they are there represented The evidence of Christian Religion in these days doth in great measure depend upon the historical truth of those relations of matters of fact which were done by our Saviour and his Apostles in confirmation of the doctrine they taught and the truth of those things is attested by as credible witnesses as any matter of fact ever was and matters of fact are not capable of any other or better proof than the testimony of those who were eye-witnesses of them But yet still a man that were perverse and obstinate might say that the evidence of sense is more convincing than that of witnesses That seeing is believing and if I could see some of those signs and wonders wrought now which are reported to have been done in our Saviours time I would believe But as for these Historical narrations if either the Authors of them were themselves deceived or did intend to deceive or delude posterity neither of which is absolutely impossible if either of these things should have been those relations are no evidence at all Now although it be the most absurd and unreasonable thing in the world to suppose that so many thousands of the Primitive Christians should lay down their lives so cheerfully in testimony of the truth of the Gospel without being satisfied about it themselves or with intention to deceive others Though this be the absurdest thing in the world yet if any man will be so perverse as to think so of the Apostles and first Christians what further Argument can be used to convince him For what further evidence can we expect of any mans sincerity in what he saith than that he will lay down his life to attest it as they did And then for their knowledge in these things we may well appeal to the divine wisdom wherewith they spake and wrote that such men could not be deceived in the plainest matters Yet still the testimony of the Apostles and first Christians is not so great evidence as that of sense though it be as great as the nature of the thing is capable of And therefore a man that is resolved to yield to nothing but sensible demonstration must expect to go away unsatisfied as to the truth of the Gospel because it is not now capable of that kind of evidence But now an humble Enquirer after truth that sought for knowledge in order to practice such a one would not be thus obstinate and refractory in his proceedings He would content himself with such evidence as the things he enquires about are capable of and will require no greater And indeed it is reasonable to suppose that those perverse disputers who are not content with that rational evidence we have for the truth of the Gospel would not be convinced though they saw a miracle For our Saviour hath plainly told us in a like case If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they believe though one arise unto them from the dead The Law of Moses was at first confirmed to the Jews by miracles but afterwards they were to be content with the testimony of their Fathers concerning it and those who would not believe the doctrine of Moses upon that evidence according to our Saviours judgment would not be convinced by the greatest miracle even the resurrection of one from the dead The case is now the same with us as it was with the Jews in our Saviours time At the
may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus The Judgment therefore here and elsewhere so frequently forbidden cannot be meant of the Judgment of authority in matter either Civil or Ecclesiastical 2. Neither are we forbidden all kind of judgment of the persons of men from their outward and visible practices though we have no superiority over them we are still allowed the judgment of discretion to distinguish between man and man to know whom to avoid and whom to associate our selves with and it is a great part of Christian prudence so to do The actions of many men are so plain and notorious that they are not capable of a mild and easie interpretation and should we stay till publick authority had set a mark upon such persons before we provide for our own innocence and security by forsaking their acquaintance and conversation we may in time grow partakers in their iniquity and be defiled by them Bad Company and Example do insensibly prevail upon our minds and betray us into evil and unless we were allowed to make a judgment of some persons from the actions we see we could have no reason to stand upon our guard or beware of them Nay further Christian Charity it self which obligeth us against all rash and malicious censures of other men doth in many cases not onely allow but exact of us to make a judgment of and be jealous over them that we be able to afford to them seasonable reproof and admonition before they are confirmed in a habit of sin And to this kind of Judgment if it be exercised with true charity and moderation out of a zealous concern for the soul of our offending Brother there is a reward annexed S. James v. 19. Brethren if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him let him know that he that converteth a sinner from the evil of his way shall save a soul from death and hide a multitude of sins Now we should be excluded both from this duty and blessing if it were not Iawful to judge of men in some measure by what we hear and see 3. We are not forbidden to judge and pass censure upon our selves For this is elsewhere made our duty and prescribed to us as a great means to escape the Judgment of God For this S. Paul tells us 1 Cor. xi 31. If we would judge our selves we should not be judged And the reason is plain For would men find leisure seriously to examine their own lives and actions and to judge impartially of them they would not then so freely indulge themselves in those practices to which they know the judgement of God is due They would think themselves obliged in all times and places to a more strict and circumspect walking with God and when they have through inadvertency and neglect yielded to temptation by a due examination and judging of themselves they would be convinced of the necessity of an hearty and sincere repentance before they go hence and be no more seen The power of Conscience was given us by God for that end that we might be enabled to judge of the good and evil of our actions and be thereby more vigorously engaged to continue in well-doing and eschew evil upon a prospect of a future and more dreadful judgment that would otherwise ensue When therefore S. Paul tells us verse 3. that he judged not his own self This is not to be understood as though he made no judgment at all of his own life and actions and particularly of his discharge of his Apostolick Office mentioned in the former Verses but that he was not finally to rely upon his own judgment but that although he knew nothing of himself as he declares Verse 4. yet he was not thereby justified in as much as he was afterward to be judged by the supreme Judge of all the Earth who knew better how he had behaved himself and would judge more impartially than he himself could and then immediately subjoins the prohibition of the Text Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come These things therefore being excepted from the general prohibition the sin which is here forbidden is the uncharitable practice of censuring and condemning other men without any probable or just grounds when men take occasion from little circumstances and appearances to judge the person of their Neighbour and the inward thoughts and inclinations of his heart When they take up an ill opinion of him from every idle report and stick not to spread and divulge the same to his prejudice When they take all occasions to lessen and detract from the good he doth and aggravate the evil This unchristian practice is capable of many degrees and aggravations which I shall not insist on particularly I shall onely take notice in general that whoever will consider calmly with himself how he would have his Neighbour deal with him in the like matter with what candour and simplicity he would have him judge of the outward circumstances of his life how loth he would be to have the worst interpretation made of all his words and actions and how willing he would have others be to admit his excuses if not to take away yet at least to lessen and alleviate the guilt of any miscarriages such a one cannot but understand what those degrees of uncharitable judgment are which are here forbidden I proceed therefore to the second thing propounded to shew the great unreasonableness of this practice and this will appear from these three considerations 1. From the baseness of its original 2. From the greatness of the injury done to the person we censure unjustly 3. From the mischief which redounds to the Publick by uncharitable judgment of one another 1. For the original of this practice of censuring and reviling one another I think it may ordinarily be resolved into one of these three Principles 1. Secret pride and over-valuing our selves Men who are destitute of real worth and yet have a mighty opinion of themselves have no other means to buoy up themselves in that conceit but to pick faults in the life and actions of other men And this I doubt is the humour of too many pretenders to the strictness of Religion who if they declare a great abhorrence of some particular fault of their Neighbours which is contrary to their own natural inclination or present interest are apt vainly to please themselves with the opinion of their own righteousness and to vaunt it in the language of the Pharisee Luke xviii 10. God I thank thee that I am not as other men are Extortioners Vnjust Adulterers or even as this Publican Now the unreasonable folly of this method of proceeding no man can be ignorant of that considers the nature and genius of true Religion that it doth not consist in the abstinence from some particular sins which I may apprehend others to be guilty of but in an universal obedience to all the commands of God And therefore what
is not in the power of any mortal eye though never so impartial to discern rightly of him or his actions Besides there are few men so impartial in their judgment as to take in all circumstances even of outward appearance we too frequently pass censure according to our own preconceived opinions and prejudices and are often biassed by our zeal interests or affections which do usually as much mis-represent persons and actions to our understanding as coloured Mediums do objects to the eye Thence arises the great difference between the several judgments men make of the same things Nay so deceitful is the heart of man so hardly to be searched into that we are not competent Judges of our own actions We have many arts to deceive our selves many secret evasions and false pretences to beget an opinion of our own worth and righteousness and to hide our selves if I may so say from our own souls and then how can we hope to make a right judgment of other men But now the Lord who is to come is of infinite knowledge and 't is his Prerogative alone to understand the thoughts of man and the counsels of his heart This God testifieth of himself Jer. xvii 9. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it I the Lord search the heart I trie the reins even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings Again Prov. xxiv 12. If thou sayest behold we knew it not doth not he which pondereth the heart consider it and he that keepeth thy soul doth not he know it The all-seeing eye of God can discern those inwards acts of piety which a good man is imployed in though they meet with censure and reproach among men and can as easily unmask all the false pretences of the Hypocrite since all things are naked and open before him Now the consequences of these considerations to dissuade us from judging before the time is easie and obvious For what more reasonable motive to restrain our curiosity in prying into and censuring the actions of others than that the exact knowledge of those things is too wonderful for us and that we cannot attain to it and withall that there is a judgment to come when if we make a false and uncharitable judgment we shall be plainly convinced of it before God and all his holy Angels and then who can persuade himself that it will not be a matter of great shame and confusion of face to see those men whom we had unjustly censured and reviled receive praise from the unerring judgment of God and for those very actions which we here condemned made partakers of the reward of Righteousness the Crown of Glory and Immortality 2. A further consideration to dissuade from all uncharitable judgment is that the Lord who is to come and he alone hath power and authority to judge That Lord whose Creatures we are and on whom we depend daily for our support and well-being hath onely absolute right and dominion over us and except in those cases where he hath delegated his authority to Princes Parents and other Governours to judge of and determine those outward actions that concern Society he hath reserved the power of giving Laws to mankind and of judging according to them to himself onely And therefore besides the presumption which while we judge others we are guilty of our selves by boldly intruding into those things which we know not we do withall sacrilegiously invade the royal Prerogative of God to whom alone judgment belongeth This is St. James's argument James iv 12. There is one Law-giver able to save and to destroy who art thou that judgest another And S. Paul to the same purpose Rom. xiv 4. Who art thou that judgest anothers servant to his own Master he standeth or falleth But to conclude Thirdly and lastly we ought not to judge before the time because the Lord cometh who will be the severe avenger of all uncharitable judgment of our brethren This he himself assures us S. Matt. vii 1 2. Judge not that you be not judged for with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged and with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again And from this ground S. Paul argues Rom. ii 1. Therefore thou inexcusable O man whosoever thou art that judgest for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thy self for thou that judgest dost the same things Verse the third And thinkest thou this O man that judgest them that do such things and dost the same that thou shouldest escape the judgment of God Now I conceive the Apostles Argument is equally cogent whether he be understood here to speak of the same sins in specie or rather of other sins of equal guilt Since the unreasonableness of judging our Neighbour for some particular sins when we are guilty of others as heinous is altogether as evident as though we did the same things we condemn him for And therefore S. Paul himself in the latter part of that Chapter when he pursues the same argument makes his instances not only in sins of the same kind but of equal degree Verse 22. Thou that abhorrest Idols committest thou Sacriledge And now let any man consider how dreadful his condition must needs be at the judgment of the great day if the Lord who is to come should be extreme to mark what he hath done amiss and should deal with him according to the utmost rigour of the Law and then he cannot want sufficient arguments to persuade him to a meek and candid interpretation of the faults of others especially if he call to mind that God hath declared that he shall have judgment without mercy which hath shewed no mercy which shewing of mercy doth not consist barely in the relieving the wants of those that are in misery but in an universal charity as well in our thoughts and judgments of others and in an humble forbearance of their faults and infirmities as in other acts of bounty and liberality It remains now since we all believe and are assured that our Lord will certainly come to judge the World that we behave our selves as men that wait for his coming as by all other Exercises of Holy Living so more particularly by Meekness and Charity towards others that laying aside all rash and uncharitable censures of other men we may be in some measure capable of receiving the promise of our Saviour Luke vi 37. Judge not and ye shall not be judged condemn not and ye shall not be condemned SERM. III. JOHN vij 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 HE that considers with himself the great variety of Opinions in matters of Religion which have prevailed in the Christian World and the great zeal and animosities wherewith men of different persuasions are wont to maintain the distinguishing opinions of their Party scarce
his good Spirit to enable us to understand and do those things which are necessary for us and to lead us into all truth For we are not to understand this promise of our Saviour as though God would infuse the knowledge of divine truth by a miracle but that those that will do the will of God shall be blest by him in the diligent use of those ordinary means which he hath appointed for their instruction And therefore in the old Oeconomy the Jews were referred to Moses for their instruction what they ought to do And under the Gospel God hath given some Apostles some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ and to these men and their successors we must have recourse in order to instruction and satisfaction in matters of Religion To these themselves we may have recourse in the Books of the New Testament which they have left behind them as a certain guide to us in all things necessary if we be not wanting to our selves To their Successors we have recourse in our attendance upon the publick Ministry who derive their commission by a continued succession from the Apostles who were impowered by Christ to ordain others for the continuance of their Office to the end of the World And to these persons thus impowered all private Christians ought to apply themselves with humility and diligence for their instruction and in the diligent use of those means of knowledge above-mentioned he that will do the will of God by vertue of this promise of our Saviour shall know of the doctrine 3. This condition if any man will do his will implies further that in our search after divine truth and in our use of those means of knowledge which God hath afforded us we must propose to our selves the doing the will of God as the ultimate end of our knowledge This is that which is more particularly expressed in the Text. Many there are who are very inquisitive after truth but they have oft-times very different and undue ends in their enquiry sometimes they do it to gratifie their curiosity sometimes that they may be able to maintain their Party they are ingaged in with some plausible shew of reason sometimes they do it for ostentation and vain-glory that they may appear wiser and more learned than their neighbours and sometimes they seek for knowledge as other men do their Merchandise that they may make a gain of it and provide for their subsistence in the World Now Now all these several sorts of Enquirers may possibly attain the several ends they propose to themselves they may grow learned and wise in the ordinary account of men they may grow rich and gain esteem and applause among men and in this they have their reward but still they may want the true knowledge and satisfaction which our Saviour here speaks of which is not attainable by any that do not intend and resolve to do the will of God according to their knowledge this alone makes them capable of a full and sensible conviction of the divine authority and excellency of those revelations which are contained in the Gospel For it is not every one that can talk superficially about religious matters or that can give a tolerable account of the rational grounds upon which the truth of the Gospel is conveyed to us not every one that can dispute learnedly about points of Faith and decide Controverfies not every one that is thus accomplished is properly said to know of the doctrine in our Saviours sense No he that is resolved to do the will of God absolutely and entirely such a one shall receive a more full and ample satisfaction concerning those things that are necessary for him than can be gained by the strongest reasonings and most convincing demonstrations He shall find in his soul a lively sense of the excellency of those truths which the Gospel delivers such as shall leave no room for doubtfulness or disputing 4. We must not onely intend and resolve to do the will of God and propose to our selves this as the great end of our enquiry but we must actually endeavour to discharge those duties we already know if we hope to attaim to a sufficient satisfaction in our Religion for he that neglects to do the will of God as far as he already knows he cannot be presumed to have a sincere resolution of submitting to those further instructions which he may find in the Gospel And indeed in this place our Saviour may well be understood to exact this qualification of those who came to hear him that they should practise those duties they already knew if they would be satisfied concerning the truth of his Religion for otherwise it may seem an improper and preposterous way of proceeding to persuade men first to obey the Gospel and then to promise them satisfaction about the truth of it Men are not willing to enter upon a way of living so strict and severe as the Gospel enjoyns without being satisfied before hand of the truth of it that that is truly the will of God which is there required and that it is their great duty and interest to obey it Nay it is manifest by sad experience that many who are convinced of the truth of the Gospel are yet very backward to practise the precepts of it but how much more unwillingly would they undertake this practice if they were not capable of satisfaction about the truth of the Gospel till they had obeyed it So that it is most reasonable to suppose that the doing the will of God here spoken of must in part be understood of those previous instructions in the will of God which those who came to hear our Saviour had before received The Jews to whom our Saviour here directs his discourse had the instructions of Moses and the Prophets from whom they might have understood the principal rules of good living and their obedience to Moses and the Prophets would doubtless have been a great preparation for their reception of the Gospel and then for those Enquirers after truth who have been bred up in a Christian Commonwealth they cannot be supposed to be wholly ignorant of their duty No man can ordinarily grow up in a Christian Society to an age capable of such enquiries but must have been competently instructed in the general rules of good living in the substantial and necessary parts of Religion Those three great branches of Duty which S. Paul teaches us to be the summe of the Gospel the living righteously soberly and godly in the World are in themselves of so evident an obligation that no man who hath come to the use of Reason especially in a Christian Common-wealth can be ignorant that it is his duty to live so Suppose we then a man competently instructed in the general rules of good living whether by the Law of Nature written in his
mind or conscience as was the case of the better sort of Heathens or by the Law of Moses as the Jews were in our Saviours time Or lastly by the benefit of a Christian education as the state of those among our selves is who come to examine the truth of the Gospel and to enquire more nearly into the sense of it Suppose we a man already instructed by any of these means in the fundamental rules of practice desirous of further knowledge and satisfaction in the doctrine of the Gospel he must be careful to live up to those principles he is already instructed in resolving also to submit obediently to whatsoever else upon his further enquiry he shall find to be his duty Such a man thus prepared by doing his duty and thus resolved to do the will of God as far as it shall be made known to him such a one is the person to whom this promise of our Savior doth belong 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 I proceed to the second thing propounded to shew the certainty of success to those that seek for knowledge with this preparation and here it will not be amiss to consider briefly in what sense this promise is to be understood before we undertake to prove the certainty of it We are to observe therefore that this promise of our Saviour is not to be understood so universally as though no man who was sincerely resolved to obey God shall fall into any kind of errours in matters of Religion For this is contradicted by the constant experience of all Ages for it would be very uncharitable to suppose that among most of the dissenting parties in Religion who maintain great controversies with one another there should not be some persons truly devout and sincere on both sides We are not therefore to suppose that a man truly religious shall not err at all but that he shall not be led into such errors as are dangerous to or inconsistent with his salvation And indeed the promise in this place is not set down in so general terms as that they should seem to require any larger interpretation than this I am speaking of If any man will do his will saith our Saviour he shall know of the doctrine I now beliver to you whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self Which cannot reasonably be extended beyond these two things 1. He shall receive satisfaction concerning the truth of Christian Religion in general that it is a doctrine truly divine and heavenly and that the author of it came from God and delivered his mind and will 2. He that will do the will of God shall be satisfied also concerning those particular truths which are indispensably necessary for him to know in order to his salvation These two things will be the undoubted effects of a religious frame of mind of a sincere resolution to do the will of God and will certainly be made good to all who seek for knowledge with that preparation and this we have great reason to be assured of whether we consider 1. The natural influence that a religious temper of mind hath upon the understanding to make it fit for the reception of divine truth 2. The peculiar blessing and assistance of Gods good spirit which always accompanies a truly religious man to guide him into all truth which is necessary for him I will begin with the former and shall endeavour to shew that the practice of religious Duties hath a natural efficacy upon the mind to clear its discerning faculties to make it capable of understanding and giving a full assent to the doctrine of the Gospel And this I shall make appear by instancing in some particular duties which are of a natural obligation which no man can be ignorant of each of which singly considered hath a very immediate influence upon the understanding to make it capable of divine knowledge In consideration of which it will also appear that the contrary vices to these are the onely causes of dangerous and damnable errors The Duties I shall particularly insist on are these 1. Simplicity of mind without prejudice 2. Purity of heart and affections 3. Humility 4. Calmness of Temper 5. Prayer to God These are all Duties of a natural obligation and therefore he that comes to examin the truth of the Gospel cannot be presumed ignorant of nor unwilling to practise them if he seek for knowledge with that preparation I have been speaking of 1. He that examines the doctrine of the Gospel with this intention to satisfie his conscience concerning those things that are necessary for him to believe and do resolving by Gods grace to do the will of God as far as it shal be made known to him such a one will bring with him an honest simplicity of mind not biassed by prejudice or preconceived opinions such a one will consider with himself that the truth of things doth not depend upon his own fancy or petty reasonings that a strong imagination cannot make those things Articles of Faith which God hath not revealed and therefore he will bring with him no preconceived opinion which he will not be ready to lay aside upon sufficient evidence to the contrary he will not endeavour to distort and wrest the plain words of Scripture to that sense of things which he formerly had but will readily yield up all his former notions to the authority of divine revelation That we are naturally obliged to this simplicity of judgment in all enquiries after truth is evident because in all manner of disputes this is one of the first things we challenge from our Adversary as our undoubted right that he would hear what we have to say without prejudice and therefore we also ought to bring with us to a religious debate the same free and unprejudiced minds which we expect from others And indeed this temper of mind is highly necessary and very advantageous to prepare us for the reception of truth For certainly the power of prejudice is very great to darken mens minds and to mould them into such apprehensions as are most suitable to it And therefore it is easie to observe how men who are engaged in a Party and prepossessed with the distinguishing opinions of their Sect easily find ways to pervert the plainest places of Scripture to their own sense to make it agree with the Analogy of their Faith that is of their darling Notions When I speak of laying aside prejudice in the search after divine truth I do not understand that we must call in question all kind of preconceptions we have had concerning religious matters Some things there are in Religion of so great certainty and evidence that though an Angel from Heaven should teach us otherwise we ought not to receive him Such are those preconceptions we have concerning the Being and Attributes of God that he is most wise just powerful faithful
conscience being as it were bribed in their testimony by the love they bear to the pleasures and profits and honours of this World Now if we lay aside these two sorts of men those that act by no principle of Reason at all and those who are manifestly corrupted by their lusts and smother and contradict their own Reason neither of which can be esteemed fit men to be relied upon as Judges of Truth the remainder of the World if there be any not reducible to one of these two sorts is infinitely a less number than those who have been constant Witnesses to and Assertors of the Divine Providence and that with the loss of all other things that are most dear to them and of life it self And therefore I think it reasonable to infer that though the Fathers in the former Chapter be considered onely as Witnesses of this Truth in general that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him yet their examples added to the convictions of our own Reason are sufficient to justifie the wisdom of our choice in being religious though we had no further motives to it than this inasmuch as they who renounce Religion do it either without or against their Reason and there can be no competent evidence on their side who do so but the force of their examples before mentioned will be yet more considerable to engage us to imitate their patience if we consider 2. The great difference between their state and ours and the far greater advantages we enjoy above them How far their knowledge extended beyond the the principle before mentioned it is not easie nor necessary to determine But thus much is plain that their condition was much more imperfect than ours under the Gospel The knowledge they had of a future state was dark and obscure the promises they received were mysterious and unevident but now under the Gospel the case is much otherwise The types and shadows and ceremonies of the Law under which the promised Messias was obscurely represented of old are now exchanged for the substance it self Now life and immortality is brought to light by the Gospel We have now greater demonstration of the goodness and mercy of God towards us than they had in that he spared not his own Son but gave him for us all We have a better prospect of the promised reward We have now clearer promises of the divine Spirit to assist and support us in all our Trials and to enable us to run our Race with patience These and many other advantages of knowledge we enjoy These encouragements to practise we have received beyond what the Fathers were acquainted with And this the Apostle refers to in the conclusion of the former Chapter These all having obtained a good report through saith received not the promises God having provided some better things for us that they without us should not be made perfect Now the inference from this consideration is very plain and obvious For if the Fathers before the coming of our Saviour who received not those exceeding great and pretious promises which are revealed in the Gospel did yet exercise so great degrees of Faith so mighty a confidence and trust in God as to endure such bitter things in obedience to him as we read they did how strongly should this excite and provoke our zeal and fervor to follow after them in this glorious enterprize and to run with patience the Race set before us how should we be ashamed and blush to read the History of their sufferings and the glory of their vertues if we who enjoy so many advantages above them do yet come short of their bravery and resolution and constant obedience to the will of God 3. The examples of those who have gone before us in the ways of Vertue ought to have this further influence to engage us in the like chearful discharge of our duty inasmuch as they are witnesses of the possibility of those things that are required of us in order to the attainment of that reward the Crown we seek for The hardest duties required of us have been long since accomplished by them and accomplished with such full assurance of hope such ravishing apprehensions of the joy set before them as perfectly over-balanced all the difficulties they met with and made them joyful and couragious amidst the most severe tortures Let no man then pretend that the commands of God are impossible to be kept that his Laws are hard or grievous to be done since we have seen them fulfilled in so high a manner and that under a more imperfect dispensation than that of the Gospel as the state of those manifestly was nor is it a bare possibility of our task which we are taught by their example but they are Witnesses of the loveliness of Vertue that it is very excellent and desirable worthy our choice and constant embraces though it be attended with greatest dangers and persecution For if it were not so it were not possible that all the Saints and Martyrs who have gone before us should have expressed so constant a joy and satisfaction in what they suffered for its sake It was a fansiful supposition of Tully that if Vertue could be seen by bodily eyes it would appear so comely and amiable so beautiful and lovely that men would need no other arguments to invite them to embrace it I will not say this supposition is altogether extravagant because it may fairly be understood of those great examples of Vertue some of which have appeared in all Ages to vindicate its practice from all the disadvantages under which the folly and slothfulness of men is wont to represent it In brave and Heroick examples Vertue appears as it were clothed with flesh and blood visible to the eyes of the most stupid and insensible since there are none so barbarous and savage who will not follow a truly vertuous man with reverence and applause though they see him oft-times clouded by affliction and oppressed by the malicious and unjust The truth is no kind of Arguments hath greater advantages of persuasion and leave us more without Excuse than good and vertuous Examples Others may speak great things in commendation of Vertue and the Reward prepared for it but if notwithstanding they live not as they teach there is an easie answer to be made to such Exhortations and we may be apt to reply Surely these men do not really believe what they endeavour to persuade us for if they did it would be their interest to practise Vertue as well as ours and why do they neglect it But when men teach us by Example as well as Doctrine then they may urge their precepts with good assurance and we have no excuse or pretence left why we should not follow and imitate them The Saints therefore and Martyrs who have left behind them such glorious Memorials of their obedience and faith in God and patient sufferings for conscience sake do herein give us the most powerful
conclusion and could such an Argumentation deceive we could have little encouragement to believe any thing upon the testimony of our Faculties Again If this were the effect of some early revelation made to men when they were yet few in number and retained in the dispersion of Nations and still preserved notwithstanding the gross ignorance they fell into as to other matters This must be a great evidence of the clearness and evidence of that revelation at first and must consequently much confirm us in the belief of it And indeed it is not improbable that the rational Evidences of this Truth of a Judgment to come might have been confirmed to the first Ages of the World by some divine revelations which were communicated to all and thence derived and propagated through all the several Religions and Superstitions which afterward were entertained by the Heathen World It is not to be doubted but that Noah understood this Truth and would not fail to instruct his Family which were all humane souls that were left alive in so necessary a matter which might have so great influence upon them to keep them in obedience to God who had so lately delivered them from so universal a destruction Nay there is still extant the remainder of a Prophecy concerning a Judgment to come much ancienter than the Flood This we find cited by Saint Jude 14. And Enoch also the seventh from Adam prophesied saying Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his Saints to execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him And this leads me to the last and most undeniable evidence of this truth 4. The particular revelation of it in holy Scripture but the testimonies of this Truth that there is a Judgment to come are so frequent in the Writings of the Evangelists and Apostles that it were altogether needless to recite them to you Every one that hath heard of the Gospel must understand that is one chief Article of our Christian Profession Nothing more plainly revealed nothing more frequently inculcated than that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ I proceed therefore to the second thing proposed The Method of proceeding at that day Every one shall receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad That the good or evil of mens actions in this life is the rule and measure according to which they shall be judged at the great day that they who have done good shall receive the good they have done and they who have done evil shall receive according to that likewise is a Truth so fully and plainly taught in holy Scripture that one would think men could not easily mistake or deceive themselves in this matter For 1. It is very plain that no other way of proceeding can be agreeable to the Purity and Justice of the Divine Nature The righteous God loveth righteousness and his countenance will behold the the thing that is just and he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity The righteous therefore and they onely can be capable of reward from him when he cometh to judge the Earth and the wicked and unrighteous and they only must be the objects of his wrath and vengeance To do otherwise than so and to invert this method would be a contradiction to all the divine Attributes and to all the Methods whereby God hath made himself known to the Sons of men And therefore the Author of the Book of Wisdom saith thus to the Almighty Wisd xij 15. For as much as thou art righteous thy self thou orderest all things righteously thinking it not agreeable to thy power to condemn him who hath not deserved to be punished To which we may also add That it is not agreeable to his Purity and Justice to reward the unrighteous and disobedient And therefore we may observe That in all the methods of Gods dealings with the Sons of men he hath all along declared the greatest abhorrence of sin and wickedness and the greatest severity against those that continued in the commission of it It was Sin onely that brought Misery and Death into the World For by one mans disobedience sin entered into the World and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned And when God was pleased out of his infinite mercy and compassion to contrive the way of our recovery and to send his Son into the World for our Redemption he would not admit us to terms of Peace and Reconciliation without the greatest demonstration of his justice and severity against sin and that in the Sufferings of his onely begotten Son For he was made sin for us who know no sin he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities by his stripes we are healed Now we are not to persuade our selves that our Saviours sufferings in our stead can be available to us or free us from the punishment of our sins while we continue in them For he bare our sins in his own body on the tree for no other end but that we being dead to sin might live unto righteousness that so being saved from our sins here we might be saved from the Wages of them hereafter And therefore Saint Paul tells us that the grace of God hath appeared to all men to bring salvation no otherwise than by teaching us to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live righteously soberly and godly in this present World Thus if we consider the nature of God and his dealings with Mankind we cannot but expect that when he cometh to judge the World he will judge according to righteousness They who have done good shall be rewarded by him and they who have done evil shall receive a due recompence of their evil deeds 2. This is further evident from the several promises and threatnings in Scripture which are all along made use of as Arguments to persuade us to the practice of righteousness and true holiness and to discourage and dissuade us from sin and wickedness which it were in vain to do if the promises of the Gospel can be due to any but upon condition of their obedience or if the Wrath to come could be avoided any otherwise than by forsaking those sins to which it is threatned Thus Saint Paul argues from the promises of the Gospel 2 Cor. vij 1. Having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God Thus again S. Peter i. 4. tells That by the Gospel there are given unto us great and pretious promises that by these ye may be partakers of the Divine Nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through Lust and besides this giving all