much upon this one Article of Renouncing the Devil c. And so I have at length done with this no less Important than Copious Subject the Renouncing of the Devil the World and the Flesh It may seem indeed as if I have been too long upon the Explication of one single Article of our Covenant viz. the Renouncing of the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and All the Sinful Lusts of the Flesh But if it be considered that half the Business of our Christian Religion is performed in Resisting the Enemies of our Salvation it will not be a Matter of blame that I have been so long upon this Point especially in Instructing of Youth about it who ought to be very well fore-arm'd in order to their coming off Conquerors The truth of it is this Renouncing of the World the Flesh and the Devil that is the Resisting and Overcoming of all their Numerous Host of Temptations is the Christian's Warfare and great Work For as the Holy Scriptures do in a multitude of Texts Represent our State as a State of Warfare Fight the good Fight of Faith lay hold on Eternal Life for hereunto ye have been called before many Witnesses 1 Tim. 6.12 That is we Listed our selves in this Warfare at our Baptism in the Presence of the Church of Christ As our State I say is a State of Warfare against all these Spiritual Enemies so it does infinitely concern all of us to know as far as is possible All their Arts and Stratagems to deceive us and this I hope will be a sufficient Apology that I have been so improportionably long to what I have and shall be upon other Heads in shewing you what it is and how far you must Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh THE XXII Lecture Secondly That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith HAving largely Explain'd the first Condition of Life and Happiness and shew'd you what I conceive is meant by Renouncing the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh I come now to do the like as to the Second Condition upon which we are to expect to be Justify'd to have our Sins Pardon'd and eternal Life and Happiness conferr'd upon us and which we have also Covenanted with God to do and that is that we Believe all the Articles of our Christian Faith In order to the Explication of which Point 1. I will declare to you the General Nature of those ARTICLES or Christian Truths which are to be believed 2. I will shew you What it is to BELIEVE those Articles or Christian Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness And 3. I will shew you how we must Believe ALL the Articles of the Christian Faith And that I am to declare to you something in general Articles of Christian Faith of what Nature concerning the Nature of those ARTICLES or Christian Truths which are to be Believed The whole Bible both Old and New Testament is the proper Object of a Christians Faith The whole Bible the Object of a Christian's Faith both and whatever we find therein Recorded or deliver'd down to us we are to believe as a Divine Certain and Infallible Truth because all things therein contain'd are the Word of him who will not who cannot Lie who neither can be deceiv'd himself nor will he deceive others As to the Old Testament and the the Old Testament and the Writings of the Prophets Jehosophat in a Solemn Assembly of the whole People upon a Solemn Fast-day 2 Chron. 20.20 Proclaimed unto them stood up and said Hear me O Judah and Inhabitants of Jerusalem believe in the Lord your God so shall you be Established believe his Prophets so shall ye Prosper And let the Declarations of God Recorded therein be of what Nature they will the Truth of them is by no means to be called in doubt If you will not Believe surely ye shall not be Establish'd Isa 7.9 And so likewise as to the New Testament New Our Saviour upon his entrance to preach the Gospel did in the first place require of all Men to Believe it Jesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand Repent ye and Believe the Gospel Mark 1.14 15. And when he was also leaving the World and Commission'd his Disciples to go into all the World and to preach the Gospel to every Creature He declar'd that he that Believeth shall he Saved but he that Believeth not shall be Damn'd Mark 16.15 16. So that both the Old and New Testament and every part and parcel of Scripture therein contain'd is firmly to be Believ'd as the Divine Certain and Infallible Truth of God And the reason thereof as to the Old Testament is because Prophecy came not in Old time by the Will of Man but Holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.21 And we are also firmly to Believe all the parts both of Old and New indifferently because all Scripture is given by Inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good Works 2 Tim. 3.16 All the parts of it are the Dictates and Word of God himself and are more or less Useful to our Edification and Improvement in Divine Knowledge Faith and Practice And therefore all Ranks and Degrees of Men and of every Age Young as well as Old ought diligently to Study and firmly to Believe the Holy Scriptures The Bereans did so and they were accounted the more Honourable for so doing The Bereans were more Noble than those in Thessalonica in that they Received or Believed the Word with all readiness of Mind and searched the Scriptures daily Act. 17.11 And it is Recorded to the Immortal Honour of Timothy 2 Ep. 3.15 that from a Child he had known the Scriptures which were able to make him wise unto Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus Well but tho' all Scripture as being the Infallible Word of him who neither can be deceived himself nor will deceive others does Challenge the Belief of every Christian yet among the great multitude of Truths of various Kinds deliver'd in the Scriptures some are of far greater Importance and Concernment to us than others Some Truths Revealed in Scripture of greater Importance and Concernment to us than others because they do more immediately and directly tend to give us due and worthy Apprehensions of God and to Instruct us in the only sure Method of Salvation by Jesus Christ There are some Principal Doctrines of Christianity which are in their own Nature apt to have a greater Influence
following words or they put some forc'd and violent Interpretation upon 'em not at all agreeable to the meaning thereof in that Place Thus they are deceitful Workers And They will Transform themselves into the Apostles of Christ putting on the Garb and outward Appearance of Apostolick Vertues and Graces when they go forth into the World to disperse these their Errors Indeed Satan is careful to furnish those whom he sends out with suitable and agreeable Qualities according to the Nature of those Errors they are to sow in the World If their Business is to undermine the Faith of Christians to disparage the more mysterious Doctrines of Christianity of a Trinity of Persons in one Divine Nature â—â—ch as place Religion Morality â—ll be adorâ— with â—uâ—nity and of the Divinity and Satisfaction of Christ and to place the whole of the Christian Religion in Morality and a Good Life why then he will adorn his Agents with the fair and plausible Vertues of Humanity and Courtesy and Civility of Manners which are most taking amongst Persons of better Quality the likeliest Soil to sow Heterodox Opinions of that Nature in But on the other side Is it his Design to starve that Part of Christianity which consists in the Practice of moral Vertues and to Represent it all as Mystery â—â—ch as turn â—ll into Myâ—â—ry shall be â—â—ied with â—â—ting Why then his Agents shall have the Gift of Uttering themselves in Canting Phrases and obscure and dark Forms of Expressions that seem to have something of Mysteriousness in them And all they Teach it shall look as if it were Inspir'd being pour'd forth with mighty Noise and Vehemence accompany'd sometimes with Tremblings and Shakings as if under some strong Impulse from a Spirit within And yet to see the Crooked Windings of this Subtle Serpent And yet sometimes the Crooked Serpent by Men seeming Godly will propagate Principles extreamly Immoral you shall observe which is a wonderful Artifice of Satan even those very Persons whose Doctrines do directly tend to render an Honest and Upright Conversation very insignificant in Religion to be notwithstanding themselves very Demure and in outward Appearance sanctify'd Persons no Swearers nor Riotous Livers and free from those gross and scandalous Immoralities which some of the Professors of a much better Religion are perhaps notoriously Guilty of insomuch that the undiscerning Part of Men do often Embrace those very Heresies which naturally and directly tend to Encourage Sin and Dishonesty and Unmercifulness And in a word To render Men secure in the Practice of any Wickedness meerly for the sake of the appearing Holiness of those Men's Lives who teach those Principles tending to Immorality And this is an extraordinary Reach in Satan That Impure Spirit is sometimes content that some of his principal Agents should not be immorally Wicked for by a few such Men's seeming Godliness he Propagates those dangerous and destructive Principles which will make Multitudes become securely and without Remorse of Conscience Villainously Wicked And now there is not a greater Difficulty perhaps in the whole Christian Warfare The most difficult Part of a Christian's Warfare is to preserve One self untainted with Heretical Pravity colour'd over with the Varnish of Gospel Truth But yet by Trying it by proper Rules it may be done viz. than to preserve One-self untainted with Heresies and the most poysonous Errors colour'd over with a meer Resemblance of Gospel-Truth But however as difficult as it is no honest Mind that will be careful to weigh those Poisonous Doctrines and the Persons who Propagate them in the Ballance of the Sanctuary that is by those Rules which the Scripture has given us But may be able to discover the Lightness and Vanity of both and so to Renounce both one and the other And that which every one is to do that he may Renounce them is not to be too easy in Entertaining 'em because Plausible at first appearance but Impartially to Try and Examine by a true and infallible Touch-stone both their Doctrines and those who Propagate them whether they Be of God Thus we are directed 1 Joh. 4.5 Beloved Believe not every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they are of God because many false Prophets are gone out into the World And how shall you do this Why the Scripture does give you Two most infallible and plain Rules whereby to do it The one Matth. 7.16 The other the Verse immediately following the now cited Place of St. John That in Matthew is this I. By its Tendency to an Ill Life II. By its Taking off from our Dependance upon the Mediation of Christ for the Acceptance of a good One You shall know them by their Fruits If their Doctrines are apt to Infuse into your Minds any unworthy and undue Thoughts of God or any Seeds of Impiety Injustice Uncleanness Uncharitableness Sedition Rebellion in a word if they do Countenance any Immorality c. Let their Pretences and Carriage be never so fair and free from Scandal to be sure they are False Prophets and the Devil's Agents The Rule given us 1 Joh. 4.2 3. whereby to discover the Doctrines of Satan's Infusing is this Hereby know ye the Spirit of God every Spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come into the Flesh is not of God By Jesus Christ being come in the Flesh is meant that Jesus Christ took our Nature upon him that he might be a Mediatour betwixt God and Us to Reconcile the Father to us by his Satisfaction and Intercession for us And whosoever shall teach contrary to this so as to take off our Dependance upon Christ let him seem never so Zealous for a Good Life his Doctrine is of Satan's devising The whole Design of Christianity is no doubt as appears from these Two former Rules to make us Holy in this World and yet withal to create in us such a Dependance and Reliance on Christ for Salvation as to expect it not on the account of our own Holy Performances which are so Imperfect but in the Vertue of Christ's Mediation with the Father for us And whosoever will but carefully Examine the several false Doctrines so much Preacht up at this Day by our Enemies on either side by these Two Rules shewing the Design of Christianity I am verily perswaded will find most of them to thwart one Part or other of this Design and that either they discourage Holiness or if they seem to stand upon the Necessity thereof they decry the Necessity of our Dependance upon Christ's Mediation for God's Acceptance of it to our Justification and so by one or other of these Rules we may discover them to be Doctrines of Satan's infusing Most of the Doctrines of the Church of Rome do plainly tend to make Men secure in a Course of Sin and those Antinomian Tenets wherewith some of our Dissenting Brethren are too much in Love do also tend to the same causing us to depend so entirely on
therefore to take down this proud and arrogant Presumption in us so natural to Man and so dishonourable to God together with his Design of making us Holy it was withal God's Intent by such a Dispensation of his Mercies as is given us in the Gospel to create in us such a Reliance and Dependance upon Christ for Salvation as to expect it not on the account of our own holy Performance but in the Vertue of his Mediation with the Father for us for so it is written 1 Cor. 1.29 30 31. That to the end that no flesh may glory in God's presence Jesus Christ is by him made to us Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption that so he that glorieth might glory in the Lord. And indeed it does exceedingly tend to the praise and glory of his Grace that he hath made us accepted in the Beloved as it is said in Eph. 1.6 This does eminently set forth the exceeding Lustre of his Mercy towards us in the Gospel that our Imperfect if sincere Obedience shall be accepted through the Mediation of Christ It does utterly exclude Boasting and all occasions of proud Reflections on our Parts as if so mean an Obedience as ours could deserve such infinite Rewards as are made over to us in the Gospel a Temper of Mind which as it is very apt to get Entertainment in our Souls so ought of all things to be supprest within us And thus I have given you a larger account of the Nature of the Christian Religion than otherwise I should have done that I might clear the way towards coming to the Knowledge of those Fundamental Principles thereof which I told you are the proper Matter of a Christian Catechism And now answerably hereunto The Nature of Fundamental Principles the fundamental Principles of our Religion must be such Doctrines as being well understood and throughly believ'd do most powerfully and forcibly perswade and move Men to be thus Religious as to tend to destroy the Power of Sin to mortify our Lusts and all wicked Inclinations within us to render us pious and devout towards God just and charitable and peaceable Neighbours and sober chast and orderly Livers in this World And which shall withal create in us such an humble Opinion of our own Unworthiness that when we have done all that we can to deny our selves and have proceeded never so far in our Zeal to good Works we shall nevertheless confessing that we are but unprofitable Servants depend wholly on Christ's Merits and Mediation and in the Virtue of his Satisfaction and Intercession alone expect Salvation And now such is the Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace An Enumeration of Fundamental Principles particularly that part of it the Vow in Baptism wherein all do solemnly promise and vow Repentance Faith and Obedience engaging to renounce the World the Flesh and the Devil Whosoever considers this sees what Obligations ly upon him to deny himself the sinful Pleasures of the World I. The general Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace and to govern his whole Life and Conversation according to God's Commandments And whoever again understands the Constitution of this Covenant knows that it was obtain'd for him by the Mediation of Christ who is therefore Stiled The Mediatour of the New Covenant Heb. 12.24 and therefore that on his Mediation he must depend for the having those infinite Blessings made good to him which are promised therein to his Obedience And such fundamental Principles also in a prime Sense are the Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith as the Belief of God II. The Articles of our Christian Faith and of his Providence that he is our Creatour Governour and will Reward every Man according to his Works The Belief that Jesus Christ came into the World Died and Suffered to Attone for its Sins and Preach'd the Gospel to Reform it The Belief that he gives his Spirit to sanctify us and that he will hereafter come in Person to Judge us In a word The Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith These are indeed the true Principles of our Religion for these are all of them as I shall hereafter shew so many very powerful Motives to reform our Lives to forsake our Sins and to follow Holiness as that without which we shall never see God And these do most of them influence us as to a good Life so humbly to rely upon God's Mercies through Christ for the acceptance of it III. â—e Laws of Ten Comâ—â—dments And such also are the Laws of the Ten Commandments which contain the great Instances of our Duty to God our Neighbour and our Selves and to which all others may probably be reduced These Ten Commandments may properly enough be stiled the Principles of Religion for as the Root is the Principle as it were out of which all the Branches Stem forth so out of these Commandments do all the Duties of a Christian grow forth like so many Branches so that whosoever shall well study and digest these Ten Summary Commands shall scarcely fail of growing up to be a Good Christian IV. 〈◊〉 Doctrine Prayer 〈◊〉 of the â—raments And if to these we add the Doctrine of Prayer and of the Sacraments which are the necessary Means and appointed us by God of our procuring and conveying unto us his Assistance to enable us to mortify and forsake our Sins and to become Holy I do not know any other Principles that are Fundamentally necessary either to the promoting of a Good Life here or an Happy One hereafter at leastwise so far as to be the Matter of Catechetical Instruction and the Buisiness of a Catechist to inform you of them And indeed as these Doctrines are every One of them necessary to be Known Believ'd and Practic'd by every Christian that may have the Means of Knowing them and may be taught them being no other than the Covenant of Grace it self or those particular Articles contained in it and which are expresly Enjoined upon us by the Word of God to be Believ'd and Practic'd by us so our Church does account them the only Fundamental and Necessary Principles that are to be the Matter of a Christian Catechism There are it must be confest many other useful Truths contain'd in the Scriptures and those who having first laid the Foundation in these already mention'd would go on to Perfection should endeavour by Reading the Bible and other good Books and by Attending to the Preaching of the Word to gain the Knowledge of them But a Catechism ought not to be crouded with any thing more than what is purely Fundamental to a Good Life here Catechism â—ht not to crouded any thing â—e than â—at is pureâ—â—undamenâ— to a Good 〈◊〉 here and â—ppiness â—eafter and Happiness hereafter And if other Churches have fill'd their Catechisms either with many Unscriptural Tenets as the Church of Rome has hers or with any doubtful and nice Doctrines concerning
Parents your Minister and your Godfathers who as your Proxies did at the same time they gave you a Christian Name undertake for you that you should live a Christian Life Holy and Unblamable as becomes those who bear so Glorious a Title You must therefore consider what your Name is and the Importance of it that it is Christian and you must take care that you Live not so as to bring a Scandal upon that Name in any Sin and Wickedness but so as becomes those who profess Christianity and wear the Name of Christians In Holiness and Righteousness all the Days of your Lives And as he who hath called you is Holy so be ye Holy in all manner of Conversation The Force there is in a Christian name to make a Man lead a Christian life as under that Name having Listed himself And there is indeed the greatest Force in our very Christian Names to render us Conformable to the Christian Doctrine and whereby we may be perswaded to live Christian-like otherwise the Apostle would not have laid so much stress upon our very Name and Profession of Christians as he does to perswade us from that very Reason to live Holy and Christian Lives Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ or upon whom the Name of Christ is called depart from Iniquity 2 Tim. 2.19 For why It is ever expected that those that profess to be guided by the perfectest Doctrines should answerably live the most perfect Lives The Heathens did therefore expect I. A Disciple of a most Holy and excellent Religion that their Philosophers who gave the highest Principles and Rules of Morality should themselves exceed all others in a vertuous and orderly Course of Life and when they found any of their Philosophers a Tripping and living at the rate of other Men of looser Principles how severely therefore would they Reflect upon them for it Now we Christians profess our selves the Disciples of a Philosophy that does infinitely exceed all others in the Powerfulness of its Principles and Doctrines and in the Holiness and Strictness of its Commands We have given up our Names II. A Servant of a most Holy and Just God and Listed our selves to be the Souldiers and Servants not of a Lewd Jupiter a Wanton Venus a Fiery Mars a Revengeful Juno a Drunken Bacchus and a Thievish Mercury Such were the Heathen Gods and no wonder then that they who did Worship them should also Imitate them But we have given up our Names and Listed our selves the Servants of A God that hath no pleasure in Wickedness neither shall any Evil dwell with him in whose sight the Foolish shall not stand and who hateth all the workers of Iniquity who will destroy all men that speak leasing that are crafty to Cheat and Deceive and will abhor the blood-thirsty and deceitful man Psal 5.4 5 6. Nay Who will rain upon the Wicked Snares Fire and Brimstone and an horrible Tempest this shall be the portion of their Cup for the Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness his Countenance doth behold the Vpright Psal 11.6 7. III. To fight against the World the Flesh and the Devil Such is the God to whom we have given up our Names to serve And we have Listed our selves in our Baptism under our several Christian Names to fight under his Banner against the World the Flesh and the Devil so as not to be tempted or drawn off to commit any Injustice or Unmercifulness any Intemperance or Filthiness any Act of Ungodliness or Profaneness In a word any Sin against him IV. As under that Name he professes to Believe such Articles as are the most powerful Motives to deny all Vngodlyness We have Engaged our selves under our several Names in the strongest Covenants in hopes of the most glorious Rewards and out of fear of the sorest Punishments to be Faithful in our Obedience to him We have openly Profest under our respective Christian Names firmly to Believe such a Set of Articles those of our Christian Faith as are every one of them as shall hereafter be made appear the most powerful Motives in the World to make us Deny all Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and Godly in this present evil World And under the same Christian Names we have all of us profest V. To Obey the most Righteous Laws To be Governed by such Laws and Commands of Vertue and Goodness of Piety towards God of Righteousness to our Neighbours and which lay down such incomparable Rules concerning the Government of our selves as the like are not to be found in any other Philosophy And Lastly Lastly As having under that Name received Promises of most powerful Asistances to do all this We profess to have such Assistances derived to us from God by Prayer and Sacraments those Means of his own Appointment to convey down his Aid and Assistance to us to Enable us to do these Things as will make it not extreamly difficult to us to live very excellent and good Lives Thus have we Christians under our several Christian Names as under Hand and Seal profest our selves the Disciples of a Religion that does infinitely exceed all others in the Powerfulness of its Principles and Doctrines and the Holiness and Strictness of its Precepts and Rules Of a Religion that can work if its Dictates be follow'd the greatest Miracles in the changing Men's Natures and Tempers from worse to better that can turn a ravenous Wolf into a harmless Lamb a furious Lion into a tender Kid that is the most savage and violent Dispositions of Cruelty and Pride into perfect Charity and Meekness And now if we Christians should be found as Debauch'd and Evil Livers as Unconverted Heathens as Lewd as Turks as Griping as Jews as Impious and Profane as Atheists how severely and that deservedly will the rest of the Infidel World Upbraid us What Dishonour shall we thereby do to the true God and our most Holy Religion Which brings me to the Second Thing propos'd which was to Remind you that the Bad Lives of those who bear the Name of Christians do an infinite Prejudice and Dis-honour to Christianity The bad lives of Nominal Christians do an infinite Prejudice Dishonour to to Christianity And alas What bitter Reproaches have the Unchristian Lives of Christian Professors put into the Mouths of our Enemies making them to say that if we Christians did but Believe our selves those Promises in Scripture of such mighty Rewards to Holy Honest and Good Living we should sure our selves live better Lives And when any of our Christians would perswade them to forsake their own Superstition and Idolatry and to Embrace our most Holy Religion our Unanswerable Lives have provok'd them to return smartly enough upon us Would you have us to Believe the Truth of your Religion which you do not seem to Believe your selves It hinders the Conversion of Infidels And alas This is the main Thing the
in their kind but the Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it serves to nobler and better Purposes so ought it to be prefer'd to any other The Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it serves to nobler Purposes so ought it to be prefer'd to any other and most study'd by every Christian And hence therefore does St. Paul when he comes at any time to speak of Divine Knowledge not only barely enjoyn the Attainment of it as of other Vertues but does moreover add Prayers and Supplications to God to endow 'em therewith and to increase 'em therein We do not cease to pray for you and to desire that ye might be filled with the Knowledge of his Will in all Wisdom and Spiritual Vnderstanding that ye might walk worthy of the Lord in all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the Knowledge of God Col. 1.9 10. And again I cease not says he making mention of you always in my Prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Glory may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of him Eph. 1.16 17. So that tho to be excellently well skill'd in any Art or Science whatsoever which terminates only in the Conveniencies of this Life be not only Lawful but Commendable yet it is a Profaneness fit to be Renounc'd by every Christian to prefer such to Divine Knowledge and to apply your Mind wholly to the attaining of such Skill to the Neglect of those Great and Important Truths the Knowledge of which is indispensably necessary to our Everlasting Happiness And therefore let your Profession and Calling be what it will you must make it your first Care and Study to know the Nature and Design of the Christian Religion The Necessary Points of Christian Knowledge how that it is a Body of the most Excellent Principles and Laws all of 'em tending wholly to render you Holy and Good Livers and then to make you to depend upon the Mediation of Christ with his Father for his Acceptance thereof to your Justification You must also next make it more your Study to understand throughly the Covenant of Grace than the Nature and Obligation of any Humane Covenants or Contracts whatsoever And since we must build our hopes upon the performance of particular Articles and as exactly as possible square our Lives according to each single Condition of the Covenant of Grace there can be nothing of more concernment to every Christian Lay as well as Clergy than throughly to understand both the Meaning and Importance of every Doctrine of Faith and the Nature and Extent of every Christian Duty And lastly Since a good End can never be obtain'd without the Knowledge and Use of due and proper means the Nature therefore and Use of Prayer and the Nature and End of Sacraments must be a most necessary part of Christian Knowledge So much must our Appetities after Knowledge in the most Excellent of Humane Arts and Science be Renounc'd in comparison of our Desires after a competent Measure of Divine Knowledge But Lastly above all we must Renounce that prevailing Appetite in such as are of most Depraved and Corrupt Minds viz. The setting up their own Imaginations and Fleshly Reasonings against those Spiritual Notions and those more Mysterious Articles of Faith which are delivered to us in the Scripture 3. When out of Pride Prejudice and Contradiction to all Sacred Truths we set up our own Carnal Imaginations and Fleshly Reasonings against those Spiritual Notions and those Mysterious Articles of our Faith which are deliver'd to us in Scripture In the more depraved Nature of some Men there is a great deal of Untowardness and Difficulty to submit to the Sacred Truths Revealed to us by Christ in the Gospel as to Matters of Faith or such Articles as are necessary to be believ'd One that is conceited of his own Wisdom strength of Parts or Improvement in Knowledge will not submit his Reason to entertain Notions which he cannot Comprehend and Penetrate The Carnal Mind which is Enmity against God Rom. 8.7 will disdain to have his Understanding baffl'd or puzzl'd with Sublime Mysteries of Faith he will quarrel at any thing too high for his Wit to reach or too Knotty for him to unloose How can these things be What Reason can there be for this I cannot see how this can be true This Point is not intelligible And perhaps he finds fault with the whole Body of the Scriptures either because some things are obscure to him or the Phrase is not queint and fine enough Thus the Carnal Mind treateth the Dictates of Faith and the Word of God But far be it from Christians thus to indulge their own Carnal Reasonings and Self-Conceits in opposition to what God has Reveal'd to us as necessary to be Believ'd by us For certainly the Infinite Wisdom both knows what is fittest to be taught and reveal'd to us and in what Manner and Method he had best to express himself Those that did thus proudly despise the Wisdom of God measuring it according to their own Talent of Wit and Understanding did at first and do to this Day most fatally miscarry for it is written 1 Cor. 1.19 I will destroy the Wisdom of the Wise and will bring to nothing the Vnderstanding of the Prudent But our Duty is to submit our Understandings to Almighty God to be Inlightn'd by his Infinite Wisdom Casting down Imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledge of God and bringing into Captivity every Thought to the Obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10.5 There is a great deal of Vertue and Grace in an Obedient Understanding and therefore to the Disciples who were so dispos'd To them it was given as our Saviour tells us Matth. 13.11 To understand the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven but to them who are not prepar'd with an humble Mind it is not given Nor is this an hard Imposition upon Mankind to oblige 'em to believe what is above our Reason to Comprehend It is sufficient that the Holy Scriptures which do deliver such Articles of Faith as necessary to be Believ'd are sufficiently witnessed to be Divine Revelations and that there is nothing contain'd in the Articles or Mysteries themselves which is contrary or contradictory to that Reason which God has given to Man But that there should be any thing in an Article of Faith which though it be above our Reason to Comprehend especially in this its State of weakness must yet be Believ'd will not seem hard if we consider that there are many Appearances even in Nature it self which no Man has been yet found who could give a tolerable account for and yet the truth of their being so and so cannot be call'd in question This Humour of opposing Reason to Revelation proceeds from mere Pride In short this Humour of opposing our own Fleshly Reasonings against those Divine Revelations which we cannot now
upon our Lives and more powerfully to restrain us from a course of Sin and to unite us to the Practice of Vertue and Holiness than others and when they have done this to send us to God the Father to seek for Acceptance meerly through Christ his Son And upon these and the like accounts therefore such Truths as these are more particularly necessary to be Believed by us in order to our Justification before God and to our Salvation in the other World and are therefore called the Articles of our Christian Faith being a Summary and Collection of such Doctrines out of the Holy Scriptures as are of a more Concerning Nature than the rest And must therefore be distinctly Known and explicitely Believed All those other Truths of what Nature soever contained in the Holy Scriptures are indeed necessary also to be Believed at leastwise Implicitely that is we are to be possess'd with a General Perswasion that they are all certainly true because God has Reveal'd them as such But these latter which we call the Articles of our Christian Faith must be positively and Explicitely Believed that is we must throughly understand 'em and be assuredly and distinctly perswaded of each single Truth contained in 'em as without which understanding and perswasion a Good and Christian Life will not be wrought in us nor a reliance on God's Merits in Christ for the acceptance thereof Created in our Souls Such for instance is the Belief that there is a God Some Instances of such Truths for this is the very first Principle of all Religion and must necessarily make us stand in awe and fear of offending him if we throughly believe and consider it Such is the Belief that he is our Father who Created us and all the World for this will make us love him who gave us our Being And such again is the Belief that he Exercises a just and a wise Providence in the Government of the World for this will make us submit our selves to all his Dispensations as being the Appointments of one who knows better than our selves what is best for us And to instance also in some which are the Truths purely of Reveal'd Religion Such is the Belief that the Son of God came down from Heaven to suffer Death for us to Redeem us from the Punishments of Hell for this as it shews us how Odious a thing Sin is when nothing less could satisfie God's Justice against it than the precious Blood of the Son of God and consequently does extreamly tend to create in our Hearts an utter hatred to all Sin So hereby we are taught that Christ has made a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World And such lastly is the Belief for I need not now stand to mention every Article that all our Bodies shall rise again at the General Resurrection that then we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to Receive a Just Sentence for whatever we have done in the Body whether it be good or bad for this will make us careful how to lead our Lives so in this World that we may not be Condemned in the next These now are some of those Articles of our Christian Faith and are such Divine Truths as are more particularly necessary to be Believed by us as containing in them the greatest reason in the World to restrain us from all manner of Sin and to encourage us in the Practice of all Religious Duties And yet are Doctrines withal of extraordinary force to remove all conceit out of our Minds concerning our own Merits and to make us rely solely upon God's Mercies in Christ for the Acceptance of our most Holy Performances And let this suffice as to the first thing proposed which was to declare unto you something in general of the Nature of the Objects or of those Truths to be Believed the Articles of our Christian Faith And now Secondly I will also shew you what it is to BELIEVE these Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness And if it be ask'd how we must Believe these things What it is to Believe those Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness why we must be so throughly and firmly perswaded of their undoubted Truth as to be accordingly Influenced as I have now said by the Belief thereof to the Practice of Good Works and then to betake our selves to Jesus Christ to Interceed with the Father for their Gracious Acceptance Our Belief thereof must be Operative and Practical I say our Faith must be such as does Influence us to a Good Life for such is the Faith that St. Paul tells us is now required in the Christian Religion in order to Salvation Gal. 5.6 In Jesus Christ says he neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Vncircumcision but Faith which worketh by Love Some render the words and that more rightly Faith that is perfected by Love which does more expresly signifie the Apostles meaning that that Faith which will save us must be such which is perfected by the addition of those Duties which we owe to God and our Neighbour And St. James does with great Industry shew that the Christian Faith which has the promise of Justification and Salvation is a Powerful Practical Belief and that none other has any Promise What says St. James 2.14 doth it profit my Brethren tho' a Man saith he hath Faith and hath not Works can Faith save him Faith if it have not Works is dead being alone v. 17. and is no more than what the Devils have for the Devils believe and tremble v. 19. Such was the Faith of Abraham and of all the Saints And the Faith indeed for which the Holy Patriarchs and Saints were renowned of Old and are now so highly Rewarded in Heaven was a Powerful Practical and Working Faith indeed which excited them to the highest and the hardest Acts of Obedience that it was possible for Men to perform Thus Heb. 11.17 18. we read that by Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac and he that had received the Promises offered up his only begotten Son and he a Son too in whom God had promised him great Blessings And yet at God's Command he readily Obeyed believing that God would be as good as his promise to him tho' it was by raising him again from the Dead By Faith Moses when he was come to Years refused to be called the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he had respect to the recompence of reward v. 24 25 26. It was a great temptation to Moses to be made a Prince if he pleased in which Estate he might enjoy the highest Pleasures this World could afford but he Believing that God would infinitely reward him