are nothing else but the Disputes of Philosophy and therefore according to the Apostolical Command to be wholly flung out of Religion and not suffered to affect our Faith one way or other To be a Philosopher and a Christian to Dispute and to Believe are two very different things and yet it is very evident that most of the Arguments against Revelation in general and most of the Disputes about the particular Doctrines of Christianity are no better than this vain deceit of Philosophy that were the Matters of Faith and the Disputes of Philosophy truly distinguished this alone would be sufficient to settle the Faith of Christians and restore Peace and Unity at least in the great Fundamentals of Religion to the Christian World 1. As to begin with Revelation in general The Books of Moses are the most Ancient and that considered the best attested History in the World the whole Nation of the Iews whose History he writes pay the greatest veneration to him and if we believe the Matters of Fact which he relates he was certainly an Inspired Man who could neither deceive nor be deceived And it is impossible to have greater Evidence for the Truth and Authenticalness of any Writings at such a distance of time than we have for the Writings of the New Testament and indeed the Infidels of our Age have very little to say purely against the Credibility of the History and then one would think that all their other Objections should come too late unless they will justifie Pharaoh in disbelieving Moses and the Scribes and Pharisees in disbelieving our Saviour after all the Miracles they did For if they will disbelieve Moses and Christ though they have nothing material to object against the Truth of these Histories nothing which they would allow to be good Objections against any other History they must by the same reason have disbelieved them though they had seen them do all those great Works which are reported of them in such Credible Histories But whatever the Authority of these Books are they think they may securely reject them if they contain any thing which contradicts their Reason and Philosophy and they find a great many such things to quarrel with They think Moses's History of the Creation very unphilosophical That the Story of Eve and the Serpent is an incredible Fiction That the Universal Deluge is absolutely impossible and irreconcileable with the Principles of Philosophy and it does not become Philosophers to have recourse to Miracles That what we call Miracles are not the effects of a Divine Power but may be resolved into Natural Causes That Inspiration and Prophesy is nothing but natural Enthusiasm and all the Pretences to Revelation a Cheat and Imposture That Nature teaches us all that we need to know That there is no other certain knowledge but this That we are not bound to believe any thing which our own reason cannot grasp and comprehend and therefore Revelation is perfectly useless and God himself cannot oblige us to believe any thing which does not agree with the Reason of our own Minds and the Philosophy of Nature Those who understand the Mystery of Modern Infidelity know that these and such like are the wise Reasons for which they reject and ridicule all Revealed Religion and endeavour to rob and spoil men of one of the greatest Blessings in the World a Divine Revelation So that Infidelity is resolved into these vain Pretences to Philosophy that Men will understand how to make destroy and govern the World better than God 2. As these Men oppose Reason and Philosophy to Revelation so others either deny the fundamental Articles of Christianity for the sake of some Philosophical Difficulties or corrupt the Doctrines of Christianity by a mixture of Philosophy The Gospel of our Saviour is the plainest Revelation of the Will of God that ever was made to the World all its Doctrines are easily understood without Art and Subtilty and yet there is not a more nice intricate perplext thing in the World than what some Men have made the Christian Faith All the Subtil Disputes of Philosophy are brought into the Church and Plato and Aristotle are become as great Apostles as St. Peter or St. Paul As to give some few Instances of it for time will not permit me to discourse it at large What are the Arian Socinian Pelagian Controversies but meer Philosophical Disputes with which these Hereticks corrupted the Catholick Faith There is nothing more plain and express in Scripture than the Faith of Father Son and Holy Ghost or the Doctrine of the Trinity in Unity and that great Art and Subtilty which has been used and to so little purpose to pervert those Texts of Scripture wherein this Doctrine is contained is an evident proof That this is the plain natural obvious sense of those Texts since it requires so much Art and Criticism to put any other sense on them and that will not do neither till men are resolved rather to make any thing of Scripture than to find a real Trinity there If then this Faith be so plainly contained in Scripture what makes all this dispute about it What makes those who profess to believe the Scripture so obstinate against this Faith Truly that which makes some men Infidels makes others Hereticks that is a vain Pretence to Philosophy The first Philosophical Dispute is about the Divine Unity We all own with the Scripture that there is but one God but we say further as the Scripture teaches us That there are Three Father Son and Holy Ghost each of which is true and perfect God This they say is a Contradiction and if it be so there is an end of this Faith for both parts of a Contradiction can't be true But to be Three and One upon different accounts and in different senses is no Contradiction for thus three may be One and One Three and this is all the Scripture teaches or that we profess to believe whatever the Mystery of this Distinction and Unity be But this will not satisfie these Philosophical Wits unless they can comprehend how Father Son and Holy Ghost are really and distinctly Three and essentially One the manner of which the Scripture gives no account of and therefore this is no dispute in Faith but only in Philosophy Another objection concerns the Divine Generation how God can beget a Son of his own Substance which the Arians thought inferred a Division of the Divine Substance And a Third Objection concerns an Eternal Generation how it is possible that the Father should beget an Eternal Son that the Son should be begotten without any beginning of Being and that the Father should not be at least some few moments before the Son and consequently the Son not Eternal Now we all grant that we can give no Philosophical account of this no more than we can of the simple Divine Essence or of Eternity it self but we may believe that God has an Eternal Son as we do that there is
an Eternal God without knowing how any thing is Eternal These are Disputes in Philosophy and such as none but vain Men will dispute about as being acknowledged above our Compreâ—…ension and therefore no reasonable â—…bjection against our Faith Thus as for the Doctrine of the Incarâ—…ation nothing can be plainer in Scripâ—…ure than that the Son of God was made â—…an That the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us That God was manifest in the flesh And all the Disputes about this Article are purely Philosophical Some men reject it because they cannot understand how God and Man can be united in one Person Others confound the Divine and Humane Nature as Eutyches did or divide the Persons as Nestoriâ—…us did both which indeed destroy the Article of the Incarnation for the Word is not made Flesh unless the same Person who is God is Man too and continues perfect God and perfect Man after this Union But all these Disputes concern the Philosophy of the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature in Christ and if we would separate between Faith and Philosophy such Disputes might soon be ended Thus most of the difficulties in the Pelagian and Quinquarticular Controversy are ultimately resolved into mere Philosophical Disputes about Fate and Prescience Liberty and Necessity and God's concourse with Creatures or the Powers of Nature and Grace And would time permit it were easy to shew this in most of the Controversies of Religion That it is not what God has revealed and what he requires us to believe but such nice Philosophical Questions as men raise about these matters which occasion all these Disputes It has often been proposed as a means of Union to silence all Disputes To confine our selves to Scripture-Words and Expressions without determining the signification of them But this would make only an Agreement in Words not a Consent in Opinions not could it secure the Peace of the Church while all men knew that under the same form of Words they had very different and contrary Meanings which would still make them as much Hereticks to each other as if their Words did as expresly contradict each other as their Faith But would men reduce all their Disputes to Scripture and make that the only Rule of their Faith without intermixing any Philosophical Disputes with it this would be an infallible means of Union for it is only this vain pretence to Philosophy which raises all â—…ese Disputes and then tempts men to â—…ervert the Scriptures to justify their â—…hilosophy In all these cases we are concerned to â—…quire what the true sense of the Article 〈◊〉 for this the Scripture teaches and â—…o far our Faith is concerned and these â—…re not only justifiable but necessary Disâ—…utes if the true Faith be necessary And â—…uch were the Disputes of the Cathoâ—…k Fathers with the Sabellian Arian and â—…hotinian Hereticks Whether Father â—…on and Holy Ghost were only three Names or three Appearances or Manifestations of the same one single Person or any other Three but three True Proper Coeternal and Coequal Persons Or whether He who is in Scripture called the Son of God be a Creature though the most Excellent Creature or a Son and God by Nature truly begotten of his Father's Substance Or whether Christ be God Incarnate or a meer Man And their ancient Creeds pretended to no more than to teach what the Catholick Faith was not to expound the Philosophy of the Trinity and Incarnation And thus far we must explain the Faith as to know and to let others know what it is we believe and if to assert the ancient Catholick Faith against old and New Heresies should be called new Explications we cannot help it for we must explain what the Scripture teaches about these Articles and how the Catholick Church always understood them But that which we are to beware of is Not to mix Philosophy with our Faith nor to admit of any meer Philosophical Objections against the Faith nor to attempt any Explications of these Mysteries beyond what the Scriptures and the Faith and Practice of the Catholick Church will justify Indeed the Importunity of Hereticks did very often engage the Catholick Fathers in Philosophical Disputes but this they did not to explain the Christian Mysteries by Philosophy but only to shew that as incomprehensible as these Mysteries are the Philosophy of Hereticks and their Objections against these Articles were very absurd And such Disputes as these may somtimes be absolutely necessary and of great use to shame these vain Pretences to Philosophy while we do not put the Trial of our Faith upon this Issue Secondly Let us now consider what â—…eat reason we have to reject all the â—…in Pretences to Reason and Philosophy â—…en opposed to a Divine Revelation â—…r that is all the Apostle intends in this â—…ution not to discourage the use of â—…eason or the study of Philosophy â—…hich are great Improvements and a â—…lightful Entertainment of Humane â—…inds and with a wise and prudent â—…onduct may be very serviceable to Reâ—…gion too but we must not set up any â—…onclusions in Philosophy against the â—…hristian Faith nor corrupt the Faith â—…ith a mixture of Philosophy nor reâ—…ct any revealed Truths for want of â—…atural Ideas to conceive them by To shorten this Discourse as much as 〈◊〉 can I shall at present only shew you â—…hat reason we have to believe those â—…octrines which are thought the most â—…ysterious and inconceivable notwithâ—…tanding any Objections from natural Reason and Philosophy against them And the account of this must be resolved â—…nto the Nature Use and Authority of Revelation that Revelation as to such matters as are knowable only by Revelation must serve instead of Sense Natural Ideas and Natural Reason that is That we must believe things whiâ—… we do not see things which we haâ—… no Natural Notion or Conception of things which are not evident to Naturâ—… Reason for without this there is littlâ—… use of Faith no Authority of pure Revelation It is true the General Corruption oâ—… Mankind made it very necessary for God to revive the Laws of Nature and to reinforce the observation of them by his own Authority and Command but the proper work of Revelation is to discover such things to us as Nature cannot teach of which we have no Natural Notion nor any Natural Evidence At least thus it may be if God knows more than Natural Reason teaches or can comprehend and thinks it fit to reveal such Supernatural Truths to us when he sees it useful for Mankind Now if God ever does reveal such things to us if we believe upon God's Authority which is the strickt Notion of a Divine Faith we must believe without any Natural Evidence meerly because God has revealed it and then we must believe such things as are not evident to Sense and Reason and then it can be no Objection against Revelation nor against the belief of any such â—…pernatural Truths that we have no Natural Notion nor Natural
credulous Fools and to think themselves the only wise Men in the World to be wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own Sight This indeed perfects all the rest and there is no help for it for if they will contradict all Mankind they must think either themselves or all the rest of Mankind to be Fools Now I believe those who are at all acquainted with the Passions of Human Nature cannot think this is a very easie thing to despise the general Sense of Mankind which at least looks more like the Sense of Nature than the private Opinions of some few Philosophers or to scorn all Men for Fools and Ideots who ever believed a God and a Providence the moral Differences of Good and Evil Revelation Prophecy and Miracles Nothing but absolute Demonstration can reasonably harden a Man against such an universal Consent and it is enough to make any Man to suspect even Demonstration it self to have all the World against him For we can never think that all Mankind should conspire to resist Demonstration and yet by what I have already said you may easily perceive that they are far enough from demonstrating the Principles of Atheism and Infidelity But besides the general Sense of Mankind which they may despise as an unthinking Multitude though the less of Thought and Design the more there appears of Nature in such a general Consent but I say besides this they should consider how many very wise thinking Men and great Philosophers have in these Points thought as the Multitude do I will not name Moses and the Prophets nor Christ and his Apostles for whom I know they have little Reverence but what think they of Pythagoras and Plato and Tully and Seneca and Epictetus and many other such Men Were they all Fools too and yet they were neither Atheists nor Infidels and were zealous Preachers of moral Vertue And as for the Unthinking Multitude as they call them it is worth considering that the greatest Numbers of them are as wicked as they themselves are or could wish them to be that it is sufficiently their interest to be Atheists and Infidels too and yet Nature is too strong for their Fears and they believe a God and the Difference of Good and Evil though they believe and tremble as the Devils do It is wonderful what should give these Men such Confidence to despise all the World and I can think of no other Reason for it but that they find it necessary and the only way they have to be even with the World that since all Mankind despise them they will despise all Mankind But they find this a very unequal Match and are very uneasie under it For the Judgment of all Mankind is a perswasive Argument of the Sense of Nature their despising Mankind is only a Sign of Folly and Impudence I shall make some few Observations on what I have said and so conclude I. I observe how the Love of Sin will corrupt Mens natural Sense and Notions of Things and blind and stupifie their Minds Nothing else but this can make an Atheist or an Infidel That there wants no Proof of the Being of God is evident from the general Belief of Mankind and there is nothing in the Notion of a God which should make any Man averse to the Belief of a God but only his Justice in punishing Sinners and that can make no Man afraid of believing a God but those who resolve to live in Sin There is no other Exception Men can take against the Gospel of Christ which promises Forgiveness of Sins to those who repent of their Sins and reform their Lives but that Repentance and Reformation are made the Gospel Terms of Forgivness and Hell-fire is denounced against impenitent Sinners If we consider this before-hand it may convince us how unnatural Sin is and how foolish Sinners are Sin can never be reconciled to the Principles of Nature and Sinners are so foolish as to put out the Light of Nature that they may transgress the Laws of Nature which is a very foolish Design to put out the Light that we may sin and not know it till we feel our selves eternally damned for it 2dly This may satisfie us how difficult a thing it is to sin with security much more difficult than to obey the Laws of God It is a much easier thing to conquer and subdue our sensual Lusts and Appetites by the Arguments and Motives of Religion by the Fear of God and the Rewards and Punishments of the next Life than it is to deliver our selves from the Notions of Good and Evil from the Belief of a God and of the Gospel of Christ that if we consult our own Ease and Satisfaction it is much easier to be a good Man and to be saved than to live in Sin without the Fears of Damnation 3dly I observe how vain a thing it is to be wicked upon Principles Men of Honour when they know they do such things as the World accounts infamous think themselves in Reputation bound to justifie them but those Principles whereby they pretend to justifie their Vices are more infamous than their Vices themselves as an Atheist or Infidel in the Opinion of the VVorld is a more contemptible Creature than a common Sinner All Men who are liable to Temptations themselves have a great Compassion for the VVeakness of Human Nature but when Men will justifie their Vices and justifie them by renouncing God and all Religion this strikes those who otherwise it may be are as bad themselves with Horror and Indignation makes wise Men despise them and good Men abhor them and I wish this general Contempt of them were more publick and visible which would either cure their Atheism and Infidelity or make them more modest that they should not appear so wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight 4thly I observe the irrecoverable Condition of these Men who call evil good and good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight they have hardened themselves beyond the ordinary Methods of God's Grace and therefore must unavoidably fall under this VVo For when Men have wilfully put out their Eyes and stifled all the natural Notions of their Minds you may as well think of converting bruit Beasts as of converting them This is a miserable hopeless State VVhich God of his infinite Mercy deliver us all from through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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profligate Sinners can shelter themselves in a Schism and palliate or expiate their other Crimes by a factious Zeal and therefore if ever we desire to see Christianity flourish we must Pray heartily for Peace and Unity among Christians But that we may the better understand what we are to Pray for let us briefly enquire wherein the Unity of the Church consists and that is in the Unity of Faith the Unity of Communion and the Unity of Love and Charity 1st Unity of Faith Whereby I do not understand that all Christians must agree in all the Opinions and Speculations of Religion it would be well if it could be so but this can never be while men have such different Understandings and Abilities such different Skill and Opportunities of enquiry but the Unity of Faith is secured by an Agreement in all the Fundamental Articles of Religion though a little varied in some nicer Speculations which are like the different Features in mens Faces which distinguish them from one another but do not alter the Human Shape And this is the difference between the Disputes which divide Papists and Protestants and the Disputes of Protestants among themselves The first subvert the Foundations of Christian Faith and Worship and therefore these Differences can never be Accommodated and Reconciled they will not part with their Errors and we must not embrace them if we love our Souls for as dear a thing as Peace is we must not part with Truth for Peace But now the Disputes among all that are allowed to be Protestants whatever mistakes there may be on any side do not overthrow any necessary Article of the Christian Faith and therefore the Unity of the Faith may be secured amidst all these Disputes Some of these Disputes are only inconvenient Modes of speaking and the difference is only in Words when both Parties really mean the same thing which I believe if all Heat and Passion were laid aside would in a great measure appear to be the true State of that Protestant Controversy about Justification by Faith alone Others are mere Philosophical Disputes in which the Christian Faith is not peculiarly concerned for they have been and are disputed in all Religions such as the Controversy about God's Eternal Decrees and the Power and Efficacy of Nature and Grace which is only a reviving of that old Philosophical Dispute about Necessity and Fate and God's concourse with second Causes to produce their Effects And thus it is in some other Cases Now methinks such Disputes as these which do not properly belong to the Christian Faith should not divide the Christian Church Let men dispute about them as Philosophers but as Christians let it suffice them to believe what Christ and his Apostles have plainly taught us t at is enough to carry us to Heaven and methinks it should be enough to make us agree in the Way thither As to Explain this more particularly but very briefly There is no good Protestant but will confess That we are Justified only by the Merits of CHRIST's Death and Sacrifice as the only Expiation and Atonement for our Sins That no works of Righteousness which we can do can make Satisfaction to God for our Sins nor merit Eternal Life which is the Gift of God That Christ is our only Saviour and that he is the Saviour only of his Body or Church That we are incorporated into the Body of Christ and put into a state of Justification by Faith and the Christian Sacraments That no impenitent unreformed Sinner though he do profess to believe in Christ and be baptized shall be saved by Him and therefore though Repentance and a Holy Life do not merit the Pardon of Sin nor Eternal Rewards yet they are necessarily required in all those who shall be forgiven and saved by Christ. This I say all good Protestants agree in and all this is plainly taught in Scripture and whoever believes this and practises accordingly shall certainly be saved And what need is there then of reducing all this into Artificial Schemes wherein Mens Fancies and Conceits differ What necessity is there of disputing what the Office of Faith or what the Efficacy of Works is in our Justification when we all agree that we are saved only by the Mercy of God and the Merits of Christ through Faith in his Blood and the Exercise of Repentance and a holy Life To understand the reason and order of things conduces much to the beauty and perfection of Christian Knowledge but Men may be saved and the Peace of the Church better secured without such particular Determinations Thus all good Protestants agree that all God's Works are known to him from the foundation of the World That Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world That God knows who are his and always did so That we are predestinated to the adoption of children by Iesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved That we are predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will 1. Ephes. 5 6 11. That when God comes to judge the World he will appear infinitely just and good and merciful That bad men shall have no reason to complain of God and that good men shall have nothing to arrogate to themselves This secures the Glory of God of his Wisdom Goodness Justice Power and Soveraignty and what need is there to enquire any farther into the Divine Decrees than the Scripture has revealed in the particular explication of which when men follow their own Fancies they vastly differ from each other to the great disturbance of the Peace of the Church We are assured by plain Testimonies of Scripture That God desires not the death of a Sinner but rather that he should return and live That our destruction is of our selves That all the good we do is wholly owing to the Grace of God who worketh in us both to will and to do of his own good pleasure That all the evil we do is owing to our selves That every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death This we all agree in and this attributts the glory of all the good we do to God and the shame of all the evil we do to our selves this encourages us to do good in a confident assurance of the Divine Grace and teaches bad men that they must not think to excuse their wickedness by charging it on God And this is all that is necessary for us to know because it is all that is needful to the purposes of Religion and a holy Life But when men frame this into Philosophical Hypotheses they then divide as far from each other as East and West and all the attempts of reconciling them
will observe a just proportion Let no Man then enquire how much he must give the proper enquiry is how much he must love Let no man satisfy himself with some small trifling Presents which bear no proportion to what he has upon pretence that God has prescribed no proportion of giving but let him ask himself Whether in his own Conscience what he gives bears any proportion to that love and charity to the poor and miserable which God requires and let him remember that though God has not fixt the proportions of giving he requires great degrees of Charity and though Men may give liberally without Charity yet not to give in some due proportion is a certain sign of want of Charity when there wants no ability to give Give me leave to observe by the way that what I have now said of Charity is true of all other Christian Graces and Virtues that it is the principle which both must and will give laws and measures to the external acts of such Graces and Virtues As to instance at present only in the Acts of Religious Worship the measures and proportions of which are as much disputed and no more determined and limited by the Laws of our Saviour than those of Charity We are commanded to fast and pray and to communicate at the Lord's Table and to read and meditate on the Holy Scriptures and such other acts of Religion but we are not told how often we must fast and pray and receive the Lord's Supper nor how much time we must spend in our publick or private Devotions for though all the publick Exercises of Religion must be regulated by the publick Authority of the Church which as to time and place and other external circumstances is the safest rule yet our private Devotions are free and both publick and private Devotions have a great latitude and thus as it is in the case of Charity some men think they can never spend time enough in the publick and private â—…xercises of Religion and others â—…hink a very little will serve the turn â—…nd any trifling pretence is sufficient to â—…xcuse them from their Closets or the Church and especially from the Lord's Table And the resolution of this is the same â—…s in the case of Charity We are commanded to be devout Worshippers of God and the true spirit of Devotion â—…aturally prescribes the external meaâ—…ures and proportions Devout minds who have a true sense of God and of their constant dependance on him That they owe all temporal and spiritual Blessings to him and daily need the pardon of their Sins the ptotection of his Providence and the supplies of his Grace will never fail to worship God whom they inwardly reverence and adore and as our devout sense of God encreases in strength and vigour the external expressions of devotion will be more frequent more lively and affecting for nature will exert it self and will exert it self in proportion to its strength and vigour But to return 3. The third thing I proposed I must at present wave that where there is a willing mind with a fit proportion according to our abilities which as you have heard there will be where there is a truly willing and charitable mind whether it be more or less that we give it is equally acceptable to God Such a man is accepted according to what he hath not according to what he hath not and indeed there is no great occasion to insist on it for it is self-evident that God will not exact that from us which we have not Only we must observe that this does not excuse any man from Charity though he have nothing to give he must have a willing charitable mind to make him accepted nor does it excuse those from Charity who have but little to give for they must give according to what they have nor does it excuse those who have nothing to give from other acts of Charity which require the giving nothing and a great many such acts of real charity there are which poor people may do for each other though they have not a penny in their purse But it is time now to turn my Discourse to the proper business of this great Solemnity Publick Charities are always reckoned amongst the greatest Ornaments of any Country and make up the most lovely and charming part of their Characters Stately and magnificent Buildings shew great Art and great Riches and a gallant and noble Genius but great Charities have something divine and strike the Mind with a Religious Veneration There may be much more magnificent Shows than this Day 's Procession but none which affect wise and good Men with a sincerer Pleasure To follow a great number of Orphans in the mean but decent Dress of Charity singing the Praises of God and praying for their Benefactors is beyond all the Roman Triumphs however adorned with a pompous Equipage and great numbers of Royal Slaves These present us with nothing but the miserable Spectacles of Spoil and Rapine the uncertain Changes and Viâ—…issitudes of Fortune the lamentable Fate of conquered Princes and People and the Pride and Insolence of Conquerors but here are the Triumphs of a generous Goodness and divine Charity Triumphs without Blood and Spoil without Slaves and Captives unless redeem'd Slaves rescued from the Jaws of Poverty and all the Injuries and Miseries of a ruined Fortune That to me this great City and this honourable Train never looks greater than in this humble Pomp. A Pomp not for Vanity and Ostentation but to endear and recommend Charity by shewing the visible and blessed Fruits of it and to the same End I must give you an account of the present State of these publick Charities The Report was here Read THAT these are all great Charities I need not tell you indeed all so great that it is hard to know to which to give the Preference and what occasion all these Charities have of fresh liberal and constant Supplies the Report acquaints you But I cannot pass over one thing I observe in this Report and which I fear many necessitous People feel that there have been no Orphans taken into Christ's Hospital this Year nor as I remember for two Years last past I do not mention this by way of Reflection as any fault in the administration and government but to put you in mind how much that excellent Foundation needs your Supply and though I do not love to compare Charities they being all of great use and necessity in their kind yet I think this Foundation has something to plead for it self beyond any other A helpless Age destitute of Friends â—…nd all means of Support will plead â—…or it self without saying any thing â—…t is a pitiable Sight to see poor â—…nnocent Children turned helpless inâ—…o the wide World to starve or beg or steal or to suffer all imaginable Difficulties and Necessities at home without Education without Government or Discipline without being used â—…o labour or taught any honest
great Reproach to a Christian Nation where such Doctrines are publickly owned and profess'd and such Persons courted and flattered as â—…he most refined Philosophical Wits I pray God this Nation do not find the â—…ischievous Effects of it both in Church â—…nd State Government can never be long secure without the Sacred Authority of Religion and destroy Revealed Religion and we shall quickly have none as is too visible in the Lives of Deists I 'm sure it is a vain thing to talk of a Reformation of Manners while such Men are suffered to poison the very Fountains to undermine all Religion and to root up the very Foundations of Piety and Vertue I do not love to prophesie ill Things but that Nation cannot reasonably expect to receive Good from God which is so unconcerned for his Glory and Worship it being the standing Rule of his Government He that honoureth me I will honour but those which despise me shall be lightly esteemed To God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power now and for evermore Amen SERMON XII Preach'd on September 2. 1699. Being the Fast for the Fire of London at the Cathedeal Church of St. Paul's before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor Aldermen and Citizens of London Micah vi 9. The Lord's Voice crieth unto the City and the Man of Wisdom shall see thy Name Hear ye the Rod and who hath appointed it WHen the State of this World is Happy and Prosperous it is no wonder to see Men indulge themselves in Ease and Luxury forget God or grow careless and formal in Religion For though it might reasonably be expected that happy Creatures who rejoice in the Blessings of Heaven should be very devout Worshippers of that God from whose Bounty and Goodness they receive all yet Humane Nature in this degenerate State is very fond of sensual Pleasures And when an easie and plentiful Fortune puts it into Mens Power to enjoy as much of this World as they will there are but very few who can set Bounds to their Enjoyments and taste the Pleasures of this Life without taking large and intoxicating Draughts of it and this sensualizes Mens Minds and a carnal Mind is Enmity against God saith unto God Depart from us for we desire not the Knowledge of thy Ways Never any People had more sensible Demonstrations of the Power and Presence of God amongst them and his particular Care of them than the Israelites had and yet Moses tells us in his Prophetick Hymn Iesurun waxed fat and kicked thou art waxen fat thou art grown thick thou art covered with Fatness then he forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the Rock of his Salvation Deut. 32. 15. And thus God complains Isa. 1. 2 3. Hear O Heavens and give ear O Earth for the Lord hath spoken I have nourished and brought up Children and they have rebelled against me The Ox knoweth his Owner and the Ass his Master's Crib but Israel doth not know my People doth not consider And as much as we may despise and abhor the Ingratitude of the Iews this is the general State of Mankind and we may find too many Examples of it in all Times and Nations But it seems much more unaccountable when the Iudgments of God are abroad in the World that the Inhabitants thereof should not learn Righteousness Because Judgments are apt to awaken Men and make them consider When God speaks in Thunder and Lightning those must be deaf indeed who will not hear This is the merciful Design of Providence in sending such terrible Judgments on the World to make Men consider their Ways and their Doings and to convince them that there is a God that judgeth in the Earth For Judgments have a Voice had we but Ears to hear They proclaim the Power and the Majesty of God a terrible Majesty and irresistible Power theâ—… scourge and they threaten Sinners anâ—… call for Weeping and Mourning anâ—… Fasting And how unthankful soever thâ—… Iews were to God for his great Mercieâ—… and Deliverances yet they were not so insensible of his Judgments When he sleâ—… them then they sought him and returned and enquired early after God and remembred that God was their Rock and thâ—… High God their Redeemer Psalm 78â—… 34 35. This we are exhorted to in my Text To hear the Rod and who hath appointed it To consider for what reasons those Evils which we at any time suffer are come upon us and what God intends by the Rod which is the only way to grow better by our Afflictions and to prevail with God in great Pity and Compassion to remove them But this is the great difficulty Who shall reveal this Secret to us How shall we distinguish between the Corrections of God and the Wickedness of Men How shall we understand the Language of the Rod and to whom it speaks for what Sins it strikes and who are those Achans that are the Troublers of our Israel and what God expects from us in such Cases I shall briefly explain these things to you and apply it to the present Occasion But I must premise That I only address my self now to those who believe a God and a Providence and that God hath revealed his Will and the Rule of his Providence in the Holy Scriptures As for Atheists and Infidels who have neither Eyes nor Ears they can only feel the Rod like Bruits not hear its Voice like Men Though the Lord's Voice crieth unto the City it is only the Men of Wisdom that see his Name Now as for those who believe a God and the Holy Scriptures there are two very plain Interpreters of God's Judgments Natural Conscience and the Word of God For the Judgments of God have not an Articulate Voice to acquaint us in plain and express Words upon what Errand they come but they are Signs which speak by an Interpreter and if we carefully attend to the Dictates of Natural Conscience and to the Word of God we cannot mistake their meaning 1. As first No Man who attends either to the Dictates of Natural Conscience or to the Word of God can doubt who it is that hath appointed the Rod This is the first and most naturaâ—… question of all and yet a great many who profess to believe a God and a Providence seem not well satisfied in this Point They allow that some Judgments are the Hand of God but are not willing to grant this of all especially when they see what the immediate and visible Causes of such Sufferings are Some of the greatest Evils which either private Men or Publick Societies suffer are manifestly owing to the Injustice and Wickedness of Men and they can no more believe that it is the Will and Appointment of God that they should suffer such Evils than that it is the Will of God that others should do them And all such Rods as are not appointed by God can teach us nothing but the Wickedness of those by whom