the blood of Bulls and of Goats should take away sins I should now have proceeded to the Third Particular namely that the Christian Religion hath supplied all the defects and weakness and imperfection of the Jewish dispensation but that I shall not now enter upon but make one plain inference from the substance of what I have already discoursed upon this Argument If our Saviour came not to dissolve and loosen the obligation of Moral Duties but to confirm and establish it and to enforce and bind the practice of these Duties more strongly upon us then they do widely and wilfully mistake the design of Christianity who teach that it dischargeth Men from the obligation of the Moral Law which is the Fundamental and avowed Principle of the Antinomian Doctrine but directly contrary to this Declaration of our Saviour in the Text that he came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to perfect and fulfill them for to take away the obligation of a Law is plainly to destroy and make it void and contrary to the Apostle's solemn resolution of this matter Rom. 3. 31. Do we then make void the Law through Faith That is does the Gospel destroy and take away the obligation of the Law God forbid yea we establish the Law the Christian Religion is so far from designing or doing any such thing that it gives new strength and force to it But surely they that teach this Doctrine did never duly consider that terrible threatning of our Saviour after the Text which seems to be so directly level'd at them whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments and shall teach Men so he shall be call'd the least in the Kingdom of Heaven for how can Men more effectually teach the violation not only of the least but of the greatest of Gods Commandments than by declaring that the Gospel hath set Men free from the obligation of the Moral Law which is in effect to say that Christians may act contrary to all the Duties of Morality that is do the most impious things in the World without any offence against God and notwithstanding this continue to be his Children and highly in the favour of God And all the security they have against this impious Consequence is that weak and slender pretence that gratitude and love to God will preserve them from making this ill use of the grace of the Gospel and oblige them to abstain from Sin and to endeavour to please God as much as any Law could do But then they do not consider the nonsense of this for there can be no such thing as Sin if the obligation of the Law be taken away for where there is no Law there can be no Transgression as the Apostle and common Reason likewise tells us so that the Law being removed and taken away all Actions become indifferent and one thing is not more a sin or offence against God than another And what then is it they mean that gratitude will oblige Men to or preserve them from When there can be no such thing as sin or duty as pleasing or offending God if there be no Law to oblige us to the one or restrain us from the other And what is if this be not to turn the grace of God into wantonness and to make Christian Liberty a Cloke for all sorts of Sins A Man cannot do a greater despite to the Christian Religion nor take a more effectual course to bring it into contempt and to make it to be hiss'd out of the World than to represent it as a lewd and licentious Doctrine which gives Men a perfect discharge from all the Duties of Morality and obligeth them only to believe confidently that Christ hath purchased for them a liberty to do what they will and that upon these terms and no other they are secure of the favour of God in this World and Eternal Salvation in the other This is the sum and the plain result of the Antinomian Doctrine the most pernicious Heresie and most directly destructive of the great End and Design of Christianity that ever yet was broached in the World But ye have not so learned Christ if so be ye have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus that ye put off concerning your former conversation the old Man which is corrupt according to deceitful Lusts and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new Man which after God is created in Righteousness and true Holiness SERMON IV. Christianity doth not destroy but perfect the Law of Moses MATTHEW V. 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law and the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfil I Have consider'd this Saying of our Saviour's with respect to the Moral Law and those Precepts which are of Natural and Perpetual force and that our Saviour did not come either to dissolve or loosen the obligation of them for the illustration of which I propounded to clear these three Points First That the main and ultimate design of the Law and the Prophets was to engage Men to the practice of Moral Duties that is of real and substantial goodness Secondly That the Law of Moses or the dispensation of the Jewish Religion was comparatively very weak and insufficient to make Men truly good and ineffectual to promote inward and real Righteousness These two points I have spoken to I shall now proceed to the Third Namely that the Christian Religion doth supply all the defects and weaknesses and imperfections of the Jewish dispensation The Jewish Religion had very considerable advantages above the meer light of Nature which was all that the Heathen World had to conduct them towards Eternal Happiness the Jews had the knowledge of the one true God and very signal and particular Testimonies of the Divine Providence which did naturally tend to beget in them good hopes of a future Life and the rewards of another World they had the Natural Law revealed and the main Precepts of it written with God's own hand and by Moses delivered to them by which means they had a more certain and distinct knowledge of their duty they had Prophets frequently sent to them to admonish them of their Duty and to exhort them to Repentance and to warn them of approaching judgments They had good encouragement given to hope for the pardon of Sin by God's appointment of several ways of expiation which how unlikely soever they were to be available to the effectual expiation of Sin yet they did signifie that the Divine Nature was placable and did seem to figure some more effectual way designed by God for that purpose that should be exhibited in due time And finally they had most express promises and threatnings of Temporal Blessings and judgements to encourage them in their obedience and to deter them from the transgression of God's Laws These Advantages the Jews plainly had above the rest of the World God did not deal
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made a curse for us that is whereas the Law left Sinners as to those Sins which stood most in need of pardon under a Curse having provided no expiation for them Christ hath redeemed them from that Curse by making a general expiation for Sin and in this sense it is that the Author to the Hebrews says Ch. 9. 15. that Christ died for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first Covenant that is for those Sins for which the Covenant of the Law had provided no way of forgiveness and therefore St. John says emphatically 1 Joh. 1. 7. that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all Sin Thirdly The Law did not afford sufficiently plain and certain Rules and Directions for a good Life As the corruption and degeneracy of Mankind grew worse so the light of Nature waxed dimmer and dimmer and the Rule of Good and Evil was more doubtful and uncertain and that in very considerable instances of our Duty The Law of Moses was peculiar to the Jews and even to them who only had the benefit and advantage of it it did not give clear and perfect light and direction as to Moral Duties and those things which are of an Eternal and Immutable Reason and Goodness And therefore our Saviour in this Sermon explains it to a greater perfection than it was understood to have among the Jews or the letter of it seemed to intend and hath not only forbidden several things permitted by that Law as Divorce and Retaliation of Injuries but hath heightned our Duty in several instances of it requiring us to love our Enemies and to forgive the greatest injuries and provocations tho' never so often repeated and not only not to revenge them but to requite them with good turns which were not understood by Mankind to be Laws before but yet when duly consider'd are very agreeable to right Reason and the sense of the wisest and bâ—st Men. So that the Christian Religion â—ath not only fixt and determined our Duty and brought it to a greater certainty but hath raised it to a greater perfection and rendered it every way fit to bring the Minds of Men to a more Divine temper and a more reasonable and perfect way of serving God than ever the World was instructed in before Fourthly The Promises and Threatnings of the Law were only of temporal good and evil things which are in comparison of the endless Rewards and Punishments of another World but very languid and faint Motives to obedience Not but that the Jews under the Law had such apprehensions of their own Immortality and of a future state of Happiness and Misery after this Life as Natural Light suggested to them which was in most but a wavering and uncertain perswasion and consequently of small efficacy to engage Men to their Duty but the Law of Moses added little or nothing to the clearness of those Natural Notions concerning a future state and the strengthning of this perswasion in the Minds of Men it did rather suppose it than give any new force and life to it And for this Reason more particularly the Apostle tells us that the Law was but weak to make Men good because it did not work strongly enough upon the hopes and fears of Men by the weight of its Promises and the terrour of its Threatnings and that for this weakness and imperfection of it it was removed and a more powerful and awakening dispensation brought in in the place of it Heb. 7. 18 19. For there is verily a disannulling of the Commandment that was before that is of the Jewish Law for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof for the Law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did that is the Covenant of the Gospel which promiseth Eternal Life And Ch. 8. 6. for this Reason more especially the Apostle says that Christ had obtained a more excellent Ministry being the Mediator of a better Covenant which was establish'd upon better Promises And Rom. 1. 16 18. St. Paul tell us that for this Reason the Gospel is the power of God unto Salvation because therein the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men. The clear Revelation of a Future Judgment was that which made the Gospel so proper and so powerful an Instrument for the Salvation of Men. The great impiety of Mankind and their impenitency in it was not so much to be wondred at before while the World was in a great measure ignorant of the infinite danger of a wicked Life and therefore God is said in some sort to overlook it but now he commands all Men every where to repent because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the World in righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead Acts 17. 30 31. The clear discovery and perfect assurance of a future Judgment calls loudly upon all Men to leave their Sins and turn to God Fifthly The Covenant of the Law had no spiritual Promises contained in it of the grace and assistance of God's Holy Spirit for the mortifying of Sin and enabling Men to their Duty and supporting them under Sufferings but the Gospel is full of clear and express Promises to this purpose Our Saviour hath assured us that God will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him Luke 11. 13. and this the Apostle tells us is actually confer'd upon all true Christians those who do sincerely embrace and believe the Gospel Rom. 8. 9. If any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Hence the Gospel is call'd by the same Apostle the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus v. 2d of that Chap. The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of Sin and Death and in the next words he tells us that herein manifestly appeared the weakness of the Law that it left Men destitute of this mighty help and advantage at least as to any special promise of it What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and by making him a Sacrifice for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit that is that that Righteousness which the Law aimed at and signified but was too weak to effect might be really accomplisht in us who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit that is who are acted and assisted by a higher and better Principle than Men either have in Nature or the carnal dispesnation of the Law did endow Men withall And because of this great defect the Law is said to be a state of Bondage and Servitude and on the contrary
Fact is committed our Conscience is strangely disquieted at the thoughts of it When a Man does but design to do a bad thing he is guilty to himself as if he had committed it Of this we have a considerable instance in the first violence that was offered to Nature Gen. 4. 6. The Lord said unto Cain why art thou wroth and why is thy countenance fallen The very thought of that Wickedness which he did but then design did disorder his Mind and make a change in his very Countenance Guilt is the natural Concomitant of heinous Crimes which so soon as ever a Man commits his Spirit receives a secret wound which causeth a great deal of smart and anguish For guilt is restless anâ— puts the Mind of Man into an unnatural working and fermentation never to be settled again but by Repentance The Wicked are like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest which plainly shews that the Mind of Man hath a kind of Natural sense of Good and Evil because when ever we offend against Nature our Consciences are touched to the quick and we receive a sting into our Soul which shoots and pains us when ever we reflect upon what we have done I appeal to that witness which every Man carries in his breast whether this be not true 2. Men are naturally full of hopes and fears according as they follow or go against these natural Dictates A good Conscience is apt to fill Men with confidence and good hopes It does not only give ease but security to the Mind of Man against the dread of Invisible Powers and the fearful apprehensions of a future Judgment Whereas guilt fills Men with dismal apprehensions of danger and continual misgivings concerning their own safety Thus it was with Cain after he had slain his Brother It shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall sâ—ay me Nay when a Man hath done a secret fault which none can accuse him of yet then is he haunted with the terrors of his own Mind and cannot be secure in his own apprehensions which plainly shews that Men are conscious to themselves when they do well and when they do amiss and that the same Natural Instinct which prompts Men to their Duty fills them with good hopes when they have done it and with secret fears and apprehensions of danger when they have done contrary to it Secondly God shews Men what is good by Natural Reason and that two ways By the convenience of things to our Nature and by their tendency to our Happiness and Interest First Reason shews us the convenience of things to our Nature and whatever is agreeable to the Primitive design and intention of Nature that we call good whatever is contrary thereto we call evil For Example to honour and love God It is natural to honour great power and perfection and to love goodness wherever it is So likewise gratitude is natural to acknowledge benefits received and to be ready to requite them and the contrary is monstrous and universally abhorred and there is no greater sign that any thing is contrary to Nature than if it be detested by the whole kind It is agreeable also to Nature to be just and to do to others as we would have them do to us for this is to make our own natural inclinations and desires the rule of our dealing with others and to be merciful for no Man that hath not devested himself of humanity can be cruel and hard-hearted to others without feeling a pain in himself Secondly Reason shews us the Tendency of these Things to our Happiness and Interest And indeed the notion of good and evil does commonly refer to the Consequences of things and we call that good which will bring some Benefit and Advantage to us and that evil which is likely to produce some Mischief and Inconvenience and by this rule Reason discovers to us that these Duties are good To begin with Piety towards God Nothing can more evidently tend to our Interest than to make him our Friend upon whose Favour our Happiness depends So likewise for Gratitude it is a Virtue to which if Nature did not prompt us our Interest would direct us for every Man is ready to place Benefits there where he may hope for a thankful Return Temperance does apparently conduce to our Health which next to a good Conscience is the most pleasant and valuable thing in the World whereas the intemperate Man is an open Enemy to himself and continually making Assaults upon his own Life Mercy and Pity are not more welcome to others than they are delightful and beneficial to our selves for we do not only gratifie our own Nature and Bowels by relieving those who are in misery but we provoke Mankind by our Example to the like Tenderness and do prudently bespeak the Commiseration of others towards us when it shall be our Turn to stand in need of it And if we be wise enough our Reason will likewise direct us to be just as the surest Art of thriving in this World It gives a Man a Reputation which is a powerful Advantage in all the Affairs of this World It is the shortest and easiest way of dispatching Business the plainest and least entangled and though it be not so sudden a way of growing rich as Fraud and Oppression yet it is much surer and more lasting and not liable to those terrible Back-blows and after-reckonings to which Estates got by Injustice are And natural Reason does not only shew us that these things are good but that the Lord requires them of us that is that they have the Force and Obligation of Laws For there needs nothing more to make any thing a Law than a sufficient declaration that it is the Will of God and this God hath sufficiently signified to Mankind by the very Frame of our Natures and of those principles and faculties which he hath endued us withall so that whenever we act contrary to these we plainly disobey the Will of him that made us and violate those Laws which he hath Enacted in our Natures and written upon our Hearts And this is all the Law that the greatest part of Mankind were under before the Revelation of the Gospel From Adam to Moses the World was almost solely governed by the Natural Law which seems to be the meaning of that hard Text Rom. 5. 13. For until the Law Sin was in the World that is before the Law of Moses was given Men were capable of offending against some other Law for otherwise Sin could not have been imputed to them for Sin is not imputed whâ—re there is no Law And then it follows Nevertheless Death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's Transgression that is during that space from Adam to Moses Men sinned against the natural Law and were liable to Death upon that account though they had not offended against an express Revelation from God as Adam had
so with other Nations neither had the Heathen such a knowledge of God's Laws But notwithstanding this the Jewish Religion was very short and defective very weak and infectual to the great end of Righteousness and true Holiness and to raise Men to that perfection of goodness of which Humane Nature through the grace of God is capable and therefore there wanted a more perfect Institution to supply the defects and weakness and imperfection even of that Divine Revelation which God had made to the Jews and really to effect and accomplish that which the Jewish Religion attempted and aimed at and was but as I may say rudely begun under that imperfect Institution And this the Gospel or the Christian Religion revealed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ hath fully effected as will evidently appear by a particular Survey and Consideration of the main defects of the Jewish Religion which I shall shew to be all perfectly made up by the revelation of the Gospel and the Doctrine of Christianity in these following Particulars First it was a great defect of the Jewish Religion that a considerable part of it was meerly external concerning the purification of the Body and the Flesh and only figurative of that inward Purity and real Righteousness which renders Men truly good and like to God for which reason the Jewish Institution is by the Apostle to the Hebrews call'd the Law of a Carnal Commandment Heb. 7. 16 and Ch. 9. 10 is said to consist only that is chiefly in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal Ordinances imposed on them until the time of Reformation that is 'till the Messias should come and give such Laws as should really tend to reform the Hearts and Lives of Men and therefore these Laws and Ordinances are call'd poor pitiful Elements and the Rudiments of the World fitted rather for Children in understanding and goodness than to bring Men to any maturity and perfection in goodness All their Rites of purification did only sanctifie to the purifying of the Flesh but did not purge the Conscience from dead works as the Apostle to the Hebrews speaks Ch. 9. 13 14. they could not make those that performed and observed them perfect as pertaining to the Conscience v. 9. that is these Laws had no effect upon the minds of Men to make them really better to cure them of their Moral Defects and Impurities their Sins and Vices But the Christian Institution doth perfectly supply this defect by taking us off from those Carnal and External Observances and principally requiring that we worship God in spirit and in truth by giving us such Laws as wholly tend to advance real and substantial goodness purity and holiness of heart and life such as mainly tend to reform the Minds and Manners of Men and to make us like to that Holy and perfect Being whom we worship and besides an external humble and reverent demeanour of our selves in the worship of God to which Natural Religion doth likewise direct Christianity hath only Instituted two solemn External Rites viz. Baptism and the Lords Supper whereby we solemnly oblige our selves to the practice of all virtue and goodness I say only these two that by the multitude of external Observances Christians might not be taken off from the minding of the real and substantial Duties of Religion And therefore the Church of Rome have extreamly abated and weakned the force of Christianity upon the Hearts and Lives of Men by amusing them with External Rites which they have multiplied to that excessive degree as to make the Yoke of Christ really heavier than that of Moses and the Christian Religion a more external and carnal Commandment than that of the Law and by this means have diverted and taken off the Minds of Men from the main design of Christianity insomuch that they are so employed and taken up with Matters of external Ceremony that they have no leisure to think of being good Men and to mind the great and substantial Duties and Virtues of the Christian Life so that they have spoil'd the Christian Religion of one of its chief Excellencies and Perfections I mean the simplicity of its Worship which they have now encumbred with so many foolish and frivolous Rites and Observances as do not only render it more burthensom but less apt to make men inwardly and substantially good than even Judaism itself This is so true and so visible that the wiser and better sort of them have complain'd of it for several Ages and still do as much as they dare for fear of the Inquisition or some other censure Secondly Another defect of the Law of Moses was that it did not give encouragement enough to Repentance by declaring and assuring to us any certain way and method for the expiation and forgiveness of Sin This the Rites of all Religion aimed at and pretended to but were very ineffectual to that end The Heathen Sacrifices and all the cruel and barbarous Rites belonging to them did all pretend to be so many ways of appeasing the offended Deity and of making atonement and expiation for Sin and the Sacrifices of the Jews were Instituted by God himself to make an external and legal expiation and to be Types and Shadows of a better and more perfect Sacrifice which should really expiate Sin but even this was very darkly and imperfectly discovered to them besides that the expiations of the Law did only extend to the least sorts of Sins those of ignorance and inadvertency but not at all to presumptuous Sins and such as were committed with a high hand not to wilfull and deliberate Sins except in some very few and rare Cases particularly mentioned in the Law so that tho' a great part of the Religious Rites both of the Pagan and Jewish Religion aimed at the expiation of Sin yet were they really ineffectual to that end and upon the whole matter Mankind tho' they conceived good hope of God's mercy and forgiveness in case of Repentance Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his anger yet they were unacquainted with any certain and effectual means to that purpose It remains then that this great blessing of the Forgiveness of Sins was never sufficiently declared and assured to Mankind but through Jesus Christ in the Gospel So St. Paul expresly asserts Acts 13. 38 39. Be it known unto you therefore Men and Brethren that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of Sins and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses The Gospel hath provided an expiation for all Sins in general and that by a Sacrifice of inestimable value the blood of the Son of God And this is a mighty encouragement to Repentance and one most effectual means to reclaim Men from their Sins to be assured that they are indemnified for what is past And this the Apostle means when he says Gal. 3. 13. that
God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man But every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own Lust and enticed In which words these two things are plainly contained First That God doth not tempt any Man to Sin Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man Secondly That every Man's fault lies at his own door and he is his own greatest tempter But every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own Lust and enticed I. That God doth not tempt any Man to Sin Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man In which words there are three things to be considered First The Proposition which the Apostle here rejects and that is That God tempts Men. Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God Secondly The manner in which he rejects it Let no Man say so By which manner of speaking the Apostle insinuates these two Things 1. That Men are apt to lay their faults upon God For when he says Lâ—t no Man say so he intimates that Men are apt to say so and it is very probable that some did say so and 2 dly That it is not only a fault but an impious assertion to say that God tempts Men. He speaks of it as a thing to be rejected with detestation Let no Man say that is far be it from us to affirm a thing so impious and dishonourable to God Thirdly The Reason and Argument that he brings against it For God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man First the Proposition which the Apostle here rejects and that is That God tempts Men Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God Now that we may the more distinctly understand the meaning of the Proposition which the Apostle here rejects it will be very requisite to consider what Temptation is and the several sorts and kinds of it To Tempt a Man is in general nothing else but to make trial of him in any kind what he will do In Scripture Temptation is commonly confin'd to the trial of a Man's good or bad of his virtuous or vicious inclinations But then it is such a trial as endangers a Man's virtue and if he be not well resolved is likely to overcome it and to make him fall into Sin So that temptation does always imply something of danger the worst way And Men are thus tempted either from themselves or by others by others chiefly these two ways First By direct and down-right perswasions to Sin Secondly By being brought into such Circumstances as will greatly endanger their falling into it tho' none solicit and perswade them to it First By direct and down-right perswasions to Sin Thus the Devil tempted our First Parents by representing things so to them as might on the one hand incite them to Sin and on the other hand weaken and loosen that which was the great curb and restraint from it On the one hand he represents to them the advantages they should have by breaking God's Command God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evil On the other hand he represents the danger of offending not to be so great and certain as they imagined The Serpent said unto the Woman ye shall not surely dye And the Devil had so good success in this way of tempting the first Adam as to encourage him to set upon the second our Blessed Saviour in the same manner for he would have perswaded him to fall down and worship him by offering him all the Kingdoms of the World and the glory of them And thus bad Men many times tempt others and endeavour to draw them into the same wicked Courses with themselves Solomon represents to us the manner and the danger of it Prov. 1. 10 11 13 14. My Son if Sinners entice thee consent thou not if they say come with us let us lay wait for blood let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause we shall find all precious substance we shall fill our houses with spoil Cast in thy lot amongst us let us all have one purse This is the first way of temptation And to be sure God tempts no Man this way He offers no Arguments to Man to perswade him to Sin he no where proposeth either Reward or Impunity to Sinners but on the contrary gives all imaginable encouragement to Obedience and threatens the transgression of his Law with most dreadful Punishments Secondly Men are likewise tempted by being brought into such Circumstances as will greatly endanger their falling into Sin tho' none perswade them to it and this happens two ways when Men are remarkably beset with the allurements of the World or assaulted with the Evils and Calamities of it for either of these Conditions are great temptations to Men and make powerful assaults upon them especially when they fall upon those who are ill disposed before or are but of a weak Virtue and Resolution The allurements of the World are strong temptations Riches and Honours and Pleasures they are the Occasions and Incentives to many Lusts Honour and Greatness Power and Authority over otherâ— especially when Men are suddenly lifted up and from a low Condition are apt to transport Men to Pride and Insolency towards others Power is a strong Liquor which does easily intoxicate weak Minds and make them apt to say and do undecent things Man that is in Honour and understands not is like the Beasts that perish Intimating that Men who are exalted to an high Condition are very apt to forget themselves and to play the Fools and Beasts It requires great Consideration and a well-poised Mind not to be lifted up with one's Condition Weak heads are apt to turn and grow dizzy when they look down from a great height And so likewise Ease and Prosperity are a very slippery Condition to most Men and without great care do endanger the falling into great Sins So Solomon observes Prov. 1. 32. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them For this Reason Agur maketh his Prayer to God that he would give him neither Poverty nor Riches but keep him in a mean Condition because of the danger of both extreams Prov. 30. 8 9. Give me not Riches lest I be full and deny thee Both the eager desire and the possession and enjoyment of Riches do frequently prove fatal to Men. So our Saviour tells us elsewhere very Emphatically Mat. 19. 23 24. Verily I say unto you that a Rich Man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven And again I say unto you it is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a Rich Man to enter into the
Prophets was to engage Men to the practice of Moral Duties that is of real and substantial goodness Secondly That the Law of Moses or the dispensation of the Jewish Religion was comparatively very weak and insufficient to this purpose Thirdly That the Christian Religion hath supplied all the defects and weaknesses and imperfections of that dispensation these three Particulars will fully clear our Saviour's meaning in this Text. First That the Main and Ultimate Design of the Law and the Prophets was to engage Men to the practice of Moral Duties that is of real and substantial Goodness consisting in those Virtues which our Saviour mentions at the beginning of this Sermon Humility and Meekness and Mercy and Righteousness and Purity and Peaceableness This our Saviour more than once tells us was the sum and substance the main scope and design of the whole Doctrine of the Law and the Prophets Mat. 7. 12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that Men should do unto you do ye even so unto them for this is the Law and the Prophets And Mat. 22. 40. That the love of God and our Neighbour those two great Commands to which all Moral Duties are reduced are the two great hinges of the Jewish Religion on these two hang all the Law and the Prophets St. Paul calls Love the fulfilling of the whole Law Rom. 13. 10. St. James the Perfâ—ct and the Royal Law as that which hath a Soveraign influence upon all parts of Religion And therefore the Apostle Rom. 3. 21. tells us that this more perfect Righteousness which was brought in by the Gospel or the Christian Religion is witnessed by the Law and the Prophets And indeed the Prophets every where do slight and undervalue the Ritual and Ceremonial part of Religion in comparison of the practice of Moral Duties Isa 1. 11. To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me bring no more vain oblations your New Moons and your appointed Feasts my Soul hateth But what then are the things that are acceptable to God He tells us at the 16 th ver wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgment relieve the Oppressed judge the Fatherless plead for the Widow And by the Prophet Jeremiah God tells that People that the business of Sacrifices was not the thing primarily designed by God but obedience to the Moral Law the Ritual Law came in upon occasion for the prevention of Idolatry and by way of condescention to the temper of that People and thus Maimonides and the Learned Jews understand these words Jer. 7. 22 23. I spake not unto your Fathers nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the Land of Egypt concerning Burnt-offerings and Sacrifices but this thing commanded I them saying obey my voice and walk in all the ways that I have commanded and I will be your God and ye shall be my People So likewise in the Prophet Hosea God plainly prefers the Moral before the Ritual part of Religion as that which was principally designed and intended by him Hos 6. 6. I desired Mercy and not Sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than Burnt-Offerings but most plainly and expresly Mich. 6. 6. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord Shall I come before him with Burnt-offerings Wiâ— the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do â—ustly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God These it seems were the great things which God stood upon and required of Men even under that imperfect dispensation and these are the very things which the Christian Religion doth so strictly enjoyn and command so that this Righteousness which the Gospel requires was witnessed to by the Law and the Prophets I proceed to the Second Point That the Law of Moses or the dispensation of the Jewish Religion was comparatively very weak and insufficient to make Men truly good and for the promoting of real and inward righteousness it gave Laws indeed to this purpose but those not so clear and perfect or at least not so clearly understood as they are now under the Gospel and it made no express promises of inward Grace and assistance to quicken and strengthen us in the doing of our Duty it made no explicit promises of any blessing and reward to the doing of our duty beyond this Life so that the best and most powerful Arguments and Encouragements to Obedience were either wholly wanting or very obscurely revealed under this dispensation And this insufficiency of the Jewish dispensation both to our justification and sanctification to the reconciling of us to God and the making of us really good the Apostle frequently inculcates in the New Testament St. Paul Acts 13. 38 39. Be it known unto you therefore Men and Brethren that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all those things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses and Rom. 8. 3. What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh that is by reason of the carnality of that dispensation consisting in the purification of the body Gal. 3. 21. he calls it a Law unfit to give Life If there had been a Law which could have given Life verily Righteousness had been by the Law And the Apostle to the Hebrews Ch. 8. 6 7 8 c. finds fault with the dispensation of the Law for the lowness and meanness of its Promises being only of Temporal good things and for want of conferring an inward and a powerful Principle to enable Men to obedience but now hath he obtained speaking of Christ a more excellent Ministry by how much also he is the Mediator of a better Covenant which was established upon better Promises for if that first Covenant had been faultless then should no place have been sought for a second and this second and better Covenant he tells us was foretold by the Prophets of the Old Testament for finding fault with them he saith behold the days come saith the Lord when I will make a new Covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah not according to the Covenant which I made with their Fathers For this is the Covenant which I will make with the House of Israel after those days saith the Lord. I will put my Laws into their minds and write them in their hearts And Chap. 10. 1 4. he shews the inefficacy of their Sacrifices for the real expiation of Sin the Law having but a shadow of good things to come and not the lively representation of the things themselves can never with those Sacrifices which they offer'd year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect for it is not possible that
any thing wanting on God's part but on theirs as those known Texts wherein our Saviour laments the Case of Jerusalem because they obstinately brought destruction upon themselves Luke 19. 42. If thou hadst known in this thy day the things that belong to thy peace intimating that they might have known them so as to have prevented that desolation which was coming upon them and was a forerunner of their Eternal Ruine but now they are hid from thine eyes intimating that then God gave them up to their own blindness and obstinacy but the time was when they might have known the things of their peace which cannot be upon the supposition of the necessity of an irresistible act of God's Grace to their Conversion and Repentance because then without that they could not have Repented and if that had been afforded to them they had infallibly Repented So likewise in that other Text Matth. 23. 37. Oh! Jerusalem Jerusalem how often would I have gathered thee even as an Hen gathereth her Chickens under her wings and you would not And in John 5. 40. Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life He would have gathered them and they would not he would have given them Life but they would not come to him Are these serious and compassionate expostulations and declarations of our Saviour's gracious intention towards them any ways consistent with an impossibility of their Repentance which yet must be said if irresistible grace be necessary thereto for then Repentance is impossible without it and that it was not afforded to them is plain because they did not Repent The same may be said of that solemn declaration of God Ezek. 33. 11. As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and â—ive Can it be said that God hath no pleasure in the death of Sinners and yet be true that he denys to the greatest part of them that grace which is necessary to their Repentance Upon this Supposition how can it be true that if the mighty works that were done in Chorazin and Bethsaida had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have Repented Matth. 11. 21. since irresistible grace did not accompany those Miracles For if it had Chorazin and Bethsaida had Repented and without it Tyre and Sidon could not Repent The same difficulty is in those Texts wherein God is represented as expecting the Repentance and Conversion of Sinners and our Saviour wondering at their unbelief and hardness of heart and upbraiding them with it Isa 5. 4. What could I have done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes brought it forth wild grapes Mark 6. 6. 't is said our Saviour marvell'd at the unbelief of the Jews And Chap. 16. 14. that he upbraided his Disciples with their unbelief and hardness of heart But why should the Repentance of Sinners be expected or their unbelief marvell'd at or indeed be upbraided to them by him who knew it impossible to them without an irresistible power and grace which he knew likewise was not afforded to them Neither God nor Men have reason to wonder â—hat any Man does not do that which at the same time they certainly know he cannot do The bottom of all that is said to avoid this pressing difficulty is this that this impotency and disability of Sinners is their Sin and therefore cannot be pleaded in their excuse for their impenitency but God may still justly require that of them which they had once a natural power to do but wilfully forfeited and lost it they had this power in Adam and forfeited it by his disobedience To shew how slight this evasion is I need not run into that Argument how far we are guilty of the Sin of our first Parents That by that first transgression and disobedience all Mankind suffers and our Natures are extreamly corrupted and depraved cannot be denied but the corruption of our Natures is a thing very different from Personal guilt strictly and properly so call'd I will take the business much shorter and granting that Mankind had in Adam a Natural power to have continued obedient to the Laws of God yet since by one Man Sin enter'd into the World and all are now Sinners here is an obligation to Repentance as well as to Obedience and Men shall be Condemned for their Impenitency I ask now whether in Adam we had a power to Repent 'T is certain Adam had not this power and therefore I cannot see how we could lose it and forfeit it in him Adam indeed had a Natural Power not to have sinned and so not to have needed Repentance but no power to Repent in the state of Innocency because in that state Repentance was impossible because there could be no occasion for it he had it not after his fall because by that he forfeited all his power to that which is spiritually good 'T is said indeed he had it in Innocency but forfeited it by his Fall so that he had it when there was no occasion or possibility of the exercise of it and lost it when there was occasion for it or if he did not lose it by his Fall we have it still and then there is no need of any supernatural much less irresistible grace to Repentance so that our impotency as to the particular Duty of Repentance cannot be charg'd upon us as our fault not so much as upon the account of Original Sin But the want of this Power is the consequent and just punishment of our first Transgression Be it so but if this impotency still remain in all those to whom God doth not afford his irresistible grace how comes th grace offer'd in the Gospel to aggravate the impenitency of Men and encrease their Condemnation For if it be no Remedy against this impotency how comes it to inflame the guilt of Impenitency Or how is it Grace to offer Mercy to those upon their Repentance who are out of a possibility of Repenting and yet to punish them more severely for their impenitency after this offer made to them which they cannot accept without that grace which God is resolved not to afford them If this be the Case the greatest favour had been to have had no such offer made to them and it had been happier for Mankind that the grace of God had not appear'd to all Men but only to those who shall irresistibly be made partakers of the benefit of it Secondly Another Doctrine grounded upon this Metaphor of a new Creation is that we are meerly passive in the work of Conversion and Regeneration and contribute nothing to it that God does all and we do nothing at all and this follows from the former especially if we allow the Metaphor as far as it will carry us For as the first Creation of things was by an irresistible act of Divine Power so the things that
passage and was waâ—ted over by a gentle Wind and could tell no Stories of Storms and Tempests And thus I have fully and faithfully endeavour'd to open to you the just importance of this Phrase or Expression in the Text of the new Creature or the new Creation I proceed to the Second Particular I propounded namely that the real Renovation of our Hearts and Lives is according to the terms of the Gospel and the Christian Religion the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God and that this is the same in sense and substance with those Phrases in the parallel Texts to this of Faith perfected by Charity and of keeping the Commandments of God That according to the terms of the Gospel the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God is the real Renovation of our Hearts and Lives is plain not only from this Text which affirms that in thâ— Christian Religion nothing will avail us but the new Creature but likewise from many other clear Texts of Scripture and this whether by Justification be meant our first Justification upon our Faith and Repentance or our continuance in this state or our final Justification by our solemn Acquital and Absolution at the Great Day which in Scripture is called Salvation and Eternal Life That this is the Condition of our first Justification that is of the Forgiveness of our Sins and our being received into the grace and favour of God is plain from all those Texts where this Change is exprest by our Repentance and Conversion by our Regeneration and Renovation by our Purification and Sanctification or by any other terms of the like importance For under every one of these Notions this Change is made the Condition of the forgiveness of our Sins and acceptance to the favour of God Under the Notion of Repentance and Conversion Acts 2. 38. Repent and be Baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins Acts 3. 19. Repent and be Converted that your sins may be blotted out Upon the same account a penitent acknowledgement of our Sins which is an essential part of Repentance is made a Condition of the forgiveness of them 1 John 1. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness Under the notion of Regeneration and Renovation 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any Man be in Christ that is become a true Christian which is all one with being in a justified state he is a new Creature old things are past away behold all things are became new Tit. 3. 3 4 5 6 7. where the Apostle declares at large what Change is requir'd to put us into a justified state and to entitle us to the inheritance of Eternal Life For we our selves were also sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards Man appeared not by works of Righteousness which we have done that is not for any precedent Righteousness of ours for we were great Sinners but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour that being justified by his Grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of Eternal Life So that the Change of our former Temper and Conversion and Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost is antecedently necessary to our Justification that is to the pardon of our Sins and our restitution to the favour of God and the hope of Eternal Life So likewise under the notion of Purification and Sanctification 1 Cor. 6. 9 10 11. where the Apostle enumerates several Sins and Vices which will certainly exclude Men from the Favour and Kingdom of God from which we must be cleansed before we can be justified or saved Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God And such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God 2 Cor. 6. 17 18. where the Apostle likewise makes our purification a Condition of our being received into the favour of God and reckon'd into the number of his Children Touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you and ye shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord Almighty And that by not touching the unclean thing is here certainly meant our Sanctification and Purification from Sin is evident from what immediately follows in the beginning of the next Chapter Having therefore these promises Dearly Beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God that is having this Encouragement that upon this Condition we shall be received to the favour of God let us purifie our selves that we may be capable of this great Blessing And our continuance in this state of grace and favour with God depends upon our perseverance in Holiness for if any Man draw back my Soul shall have no pleasure in him And Lastly this is also the Condition of our final Justification and Absolution by the Sentence of the great Day Mat. 5. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Joh. 3. 3. Except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Heb. 12. 14. Follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. 1 John 3. 3. The Apostle there speaking of the blessed sight and enjoyment of God tells us what we must do if ever we hope to be Partakers of it Every Man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure And this Condition here mentioned in the Text of our being New Creatures is the same in sense and substance with those Expressions which we find in the two parallel Texts to this where Faith which is perfected by Charity and keeping the Commandments of God are made the Condition of our justification and acceptance with God Gal. 5. 6. In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but Faith which is consummate or made perfect by Charity and 1 Cor. 7. 19. Circumcision is nothing and Uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the Commandments of God It is evident that the Design and Meaning of these three Texts is the same and therefore these three Expressions of the new Creature and of Faith perfected by Charity and of keeping the Commandments of God do certainly signifie the same thing That the New Creature signifies â—he change of our state from a state of Disobedience and Sin to a state of Obedience and
that the Resurrection of the Dead should precede the general Judgment And what more Magnificent and suitable to this glorious Solemnity than the awful Circumstances which the Scripture mentions of the appearance of this great Judge that he shall descend from Heaven in great Majesty and Glory attended with his mighty Angels and that every eye shall see him that upon his appearance the frame of Nature shall be in an agony and the whole World in Flame and Confusion that those great and Glorious Bodies of Light shall be obscured and by degrees extinguish'd the Sun shall be darkned and the Moon turned into Blood and all the Powers of Heaven shaken yea the Heavens themselves shall pass away with a great noiseâ— and the Elements dissolve with â—ervent heat the Earth also and all the Works that are therein shall be burnt up I appeal to any Man whether this be not a Representation of things very proper and suitable to that Great Dayâ— wherein he who made the World shall come to Judge it and whether the wit of Man ever devised any thing so awful and so agreeable to the Majesty of God and the solemn Judgement of the whole World The description which Virgil makes of the Judgment of another World of the Elisian Fields and the Infernal Regions how infinitely do they fall short of the Majesty of the Holy Scripture and the description there made of Heaven and Hell and of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord so that in Comparison they are Childish and trifling and yet perhaps he had the most regular and most govern'd imagination of any Man that ever lived and observed the gâ—eatest decorum in his Characters and Descriptions But who can declare the great things of God but he to whom God shall reveal them Secondly This Expression of the â—â—ath of God being Revealed from Heaven doth not only imply the clear discovery of the thing but likewise something extraordinary in the manner of the Discovery It is not only a Natural impression upon the Minds of Men that God will severely punish â—inners but he hath taken care that Mankind should be instructed in this Matter in a very particular and extraordinary manner He hath not left it to the Reason of Men to Collect it from the Consideration of his Attributes and Perfections his Holiness and Justice and from the Consideration of the promiscuous administration of his Providence towards good and bad Men in this World but he hath been pleased to send an extraordinaâ—y Person from Heaven on purpose to declare this thing plainly to the World the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven that is God sent his own Son from Heaven on purpose to declare his wrath against all obstinate and impenitent Sinners that he might effectually awaken the drouzie World to Repentance he hath sent an extraordinary Ambassador into the World to give warning to all those who continue in their Sins of the Judgment of the great Day and to summon them before his dreadful Tribunal So the Apostle tells the Athenians Acts 17. 30 31. Now he commandeth all Men â—very where to Repent because he hath appointed a Day in which he will judge the World in Righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all Men in that he hath raised him from the Dead Thirdly This Expression implies likewise the certainty of this Discovery If the wrath of God had only been declared in the Discourses of Wise Men tho' grounded upon very probable Reason yet it might have been brought into doubt by the contrary Reasonings of Subtle and Disputing Men but to put the Matter out of all question we have a Divine Testimony for it and God hath confirmed it from Heaven by Signs and Wonders and Miracles especially by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead for by this he hath given assurance unto all Men that it is he who is ordained of God to judge the quick and dead Thus you see in what respect the wrath of God is said to be reveal'd from Heaven in that the Gospel hath made a more clear and particular and certain discovery of the Judgment of the great Day than ever was made to the World before I proceed to the Third Observation which I shall speak but briefly to namely that every Wicked and Vicious Practice doth expose Men to this dreadful danger The Apostle instanceth in the two chief Heads to which the Sins of Men may be reduced Impiety towards God and Unrighteousness towards Menâ— and therefore he is to be understood to denounce the wrath of God against every particular kind of Sin comprehended under these general Heads so that no Man that allows himself in any impiety and wickedness of Life can hope to escape the wrath of God Therefore it concerns us to be entirely Religious and to have respect to all God's Commandments and to take heed that we do not allow our selves in the practice of any kind of Sin whatsoever because the living in any one known Sin is enough to expose us to the dreadful wrath of God Tho' a Man be Just and Righteous in his Dealingâ— with Men yet if he neglect the Worship and Service of God this will certainly bring him under Condemnation and on the other hand tho' a Man may serve God never so diligently and devoutly yet if he be defective in Righteousness toward Men if he deal falsly and fraudulently with his Neighbour he shall not escape the wrath of God tho' a Man pretend to never so much Piety and Devotion yet if he be unrighteous he shall not inherit the Kingdom of God if any Man over-reach and defraud his Brother in any matter the Lord is the avenger of such saith St. Paul 1 Thes 4. 6. So that here is a very powerful Argument to take Men off from all Sin and to engage them to a constant and careful discharge of their whole Duty toward God and Men and to Reform whatever is amiss either in the frame and temper of their Minds or in the Actions and Course of their Lives because any kind of wickedness any one sort of vicious Course lays Men open to the vengeance of God and the punishments of another World the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men there is no exception in the Case we must forsake all Sin subdue every Lust be holy in all manner of Conversation otherwise we can have no reasonable hopes of escaping the wrath of God and the damnation of Hell But I proceed to the Fourth Observation namely that it is a very great aggravation of Sin for Men to offend against the light of their own Minds The Apostle here aggravates the wickedness of the Heathen World that they did not live up to that Knowledge which they had of God but contradicted it in their Lives holding the truth of God in unrighteousness And that he speaks here of the Heathen is
the Natural Knowledge which Men have of God is when all is done the surest and fastest hold that Religion hath on Humane Nature Besides how should God judge that part of the World who are wholly destitute of Divine Revelation if they had no Natural Knowledge of him and consequently could not be under the direction and government of any Law For where there is no Law there is no Transgression and where Men are guilty oâ— the breach of no Law they cannot be Judged and Condemned for it for the Judgment of God is according to truth And now this being establisht that Men have a Natural Knowledge of God if they contradict it by their Life and Practice they are guilty of detaining the truth of God in unrighteousness For by this Argument the Apostle proves the Heathen to be guilty of holding the truth in unrighteousness because notwithstanding the Natural Knowledge which they had of God by the things which were made they lived in the practice of gross Idolatry and the most abominable Sins and Vices And this concerns us much more who have the glorious Light of the Gospel added to the Light of Nature For if they who offended against the Light of Nature were liable to the judgment of God of how much sorer Punishment shall we be thought worthy if we neglect those infinite advantages which the Revelation of the Gospel hath superadded to Natural Light He hath now set our Duty in the clearest and strongest Light that ever was afforded to Mankind so that if we will not now Believe and Repent there is no Remedy for us but we must die in our sins if we sin wilfully after so much knowledge of the truth there remains no more Sacrifice for Sin but a fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery indignation to consume us The Summ of what hath been said on this Argument is briefly this that Men have a Natural Knowledge of God and of those great Duties which result from the Knowledge of him so that whatever Men say and pretend as to the main things of Religion the Worship of God and Justice and Righteousness toward Men setting aside Divine Revelation we are all Naturally convinc'd of our Duty and of what we ought to do and those who live in a bad Course need only be put in mind of what they naturally know better than any body else can tell them that they are in a bad Course so that I may appeal to all wicked Men from themselves rash and heated and intoxicated with Pleasure and Vanity transported and hurried away by Lust and Passion to themselves serious and composed and in a cool and considerate temper And can any sober Man forbear to follow the Convictions of his own Mind and to resolve to do what he inwardly consents to as best Let us but be true to our selves and obey the Dictates of our own Minds and give leave to our own Consciences to Counsel us and tell us what we ought to do and we shall be a Law to our selves I proceed to the Sixth and last Observation namely that the clear Revelation of the wrath of God in the Gospel against the impiety and unrighteousness of Men is one principal thing which renders it so very powerful and likely a means for the Salvation of Mankind For the Apostle instanceth in two things which give the Gospel so great an advantage to this purpose the Mercy of God to Penitent Sinners and his Severity toward the Impenitent both which are so fully and clearly revealed in the Gospel The Gospel is the power of God to Salvation to every one that believeth becaâ—se therein the Righteousness of God is revealed that is his great Grace and Mercy in the Justification and Pardon of Sinners by Jesus Christ which I have already shewn to be meant by the Righteousness of God by comparing this with the Explication which is given of the Righteousness of God Chap. 3. ver 22. The other Reason which he gives of the Gospel's being the power of God to Salvation is the plain declaration of the Severity of God toward Impenitent Sinners Because therein also the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men. The force of which Argument will appear if we consider these following Particulars First That the Declarations of the Gospel in this Matter are so plain and express Secondly That they are very dreadful and terrible Thirdly That there is no safety or hope of impunity for Men that go on and continue in their Sins Fourthly That this Argument will take hold of the most desperate and proâ—ligate Sinners and still retain its force upon the Minds of Men when all other Considerations fail and are of little or no efficacy And Fifthly That no Religion in the World can urge this Argument with that force and advantage that Christianity does First That the declarations of the Gospel in this Matter are most plain and express and that not only against Sin and Wickedness in general but against particular Sins and Vices so that no Man that lives in any Evil and Vicious Course can be ignorant of his danger Our Lord hath told us in general what shall be the Doom of the Workers of Iniquity yea tho' they may have owned him and made profession of his Name Mat. 7. 21. Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord c. then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work Iniquity Math. 13. 49 50. So shall it be at the end of the World the Angels shall come forth and sever the Wicked from among the Just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth Math. 25. 46. The Wicked shall go away into Everlasting Punishment but the Righteous into Life Eternal Joh. 5. 28 29. The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil unto the Resurrection of Damnatiom Rom. 2. 6. St. Paul tells us that there is a Day of wrath and of the Revelation of the Righteous Judgment of God who will render to every Man according to his deeds to them who obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of Man that doth evil 2 Thes 1. 7 8 9. That the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punisht with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his Power Nothing can be more plain and express than these general
declarations of the wrath of God against Sinners that there is a Day of Judgment appointed and a Judge constituted to take cognisance of the Actions of Men to pass a severe Sentence and to inflict a terrible Punishment upon the workers of Iniquity More particularly our Lord and his Apostles have denounced the wrath of God against particular Sinâ— and Vices In several places of the New Testament there are Catalogues given of particular Sins the practice whereof will certainly shut Men out of the Kingdom of Heaven and expose them to the wrath and vengeance of God 1 Cor. 6. 9 10. Know ye not that the Unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor Abusers of themselves with Mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God So likewise Gal. 5. 19 20 21. The works of the flesh are manifest which are these Adultery Fornication Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murthers Drunkenness Revellings and such like of which I tell you before as I have likewise told you in times past that they that do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Col. 3. 5 6. Mortiâ—ie therefore your Members upon Earth Fornication Uncleanness Inordinate Affection Evil Concupiscence and Covetousness which is Idolatry for which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the Children of disobedience Rev. 21. 8. The fearful and unbelieving that is those who rejected the Christian Religion notwithstanding the clear Evidence that was offer'd for it and those who out of fear should Apostatize from it The fearful and unbelieving and the abominable that is those who were guilty of unnatural Lusts not fit to be named and Murderers and Whoremongers and Sorâ—erers and Idolaters and all Liars that is all sorts of false and deceitful and perfidious Persons shall have their part in the Lake which burns with fire and brimstone whiâ—h is the second death And not only these gross and notorious Sins which are such plain violations of the Law and Light of Nature but those wherein Mankind have been apt to take more liberty as if they were not sufficiently convinced of the evil of them as the resisting of Civil Authority which the Apostle tells us they that are guilty of shall receive to themselves damnation Rom. 13. 2. Profane Swearing in common Conversation which St. James tells us brings Men under the danger of damnation Ch. 5. 12. Above all things my Brethren swear not lest ye fall under Condemnation Nay our Saviour hath told us plainly that not only for wicked actions but for every evil and sinful word Men are obnoxious to the Judgment of God So our Lord assures us Mat. 12. 36 37. I say unto you that every idle word that Men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the Day of Judgment For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned He had spoken before of that great and unpardonable Sin of Blaspheming the Holy Ghost and because this might be thought great severity for evil words he declares the Reason more fully because words shew the Mind and Temper of the Man ver 34. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh The Character of the Man is shewn by his words saith Menander Profert enim mores plerumque oratio saith Quintilian animi secreta detegit A Man's Speech discovers his Manners and the secrets of his heart ut vivit etiam quemque dicere Men commonly speak as they live and therefore our Saviour adds A good Man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things and an evil Man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things but I say unto you that every idle word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which I do not think our Saviour means that Men shall be call'd to a solemn account at the Day of Judgment for every trifling and impertinent and unprofitable word but every wicked and sinful word of any kind as if he had said do you think this severe to maâ—e words an unpardonable fault I say unto you that Men shall not only be condemned for their maliâ—ious and blasphemous speeches against the Holy Ghost but they shall likewise give a strict account for all other wicked and sinful speeches in any kind tho' much inferiour to this And this is not only most agreeable to the scope of our Saviour but is confirmed by some Greek Copies in which it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every wicked word which Men shall speak they shall be accountable for it at the Day of Judgment But this by the by Our Saviour likewise tells us that Men shall not only be proceeded against for Sins of Commission but for the bare Omission and Neglect of their Duty especially in Works of Mercy and Charity for not feeding the hungry and the like as we see Mat. 25. and that for the omission of these he will pass that terrible Sentence Depart ye Cursed c. So that it nearly concerns us to be careful of our whole Life of all our Words and Actions since the Gospel hath so plainly and expresly declared that for all these things God will bring us into Judgment And if the threatnings of the Gospel be true What manner of Persons ought we to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness Secondly As the threatnings of the Gospel are very plain and express so are they likewise very dreadful and terrible I want words to express the least part of the terrour of them and yet the expressions of Scripture concerning the misery and punishment of Sinners in another World are such as may justly raise amazement and horror in those that hear them Sometimes it is exprest by a departing from God and a perpetual banishment from his presence who is the Fountain of all Comfort and Joy and Happiness sometimes by the loss of our Souls or our selves What shall it profit a Man to gain the whole World and lose his own Soul Or as it is in another Evangelist to lose himself Not that our Being shall be destroyed that would be a happy loss indeed to him that is Sentenced to be for ever miserable but the Man shall still remain and his Body and Soul continue to be the Foundation of his misery and a Scene of perpetual woe and discontent which our Saviour calls the destroying of Body and Soul in Hell or going into everlasting punishment where there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched Could I represent to you the horror of that dismal Prison into which Wicked and Impure Souls are to be thrust and the misery they must there endure without the least spark of Comfort or glimering of Hope how they wail and groan under the intolerable wrath of God the insolent scorn and
Kingdom of God St. Paul likewise very fully declares unto us the great danger of this Condition 1 Tim. 6. 9 10. But they that will be Rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown Men in destruction and perdition for the love of mony is the root of all evil which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows But the greatest Bait of all to Flesh and Blood is sensual Pleasures the very presence and opportunity of these are apt to kindle the Desires and to inflame the Lusts of Men especially where these temptations meet with suitable tempers where every spark that falls catcheth And on the other hand the Evils and Calamities of this World especially if they threaten or fall upon Men in any degree of extremity are strong temptations to Human Nature Poverty and Want Pain and Suffering and the fear of any great Evil especially of Death these are great straits to Humane Nature and apt to tempt Men to great Sins to impatience and discontent to unjust and dishonest shifts to the forsaking of God and Apostacy from his Truth and Religion Agur was sensible of the dangerous temptation of Poverty and therefore he prays against that as well as against Riches Give me not Poverty lest being Poor I steal and take the name of the Lord my God in vain that is lest I be tempted to Theft and Perjury The Devil whose Trade it is to tempt Men to Sin knew very well the force of these sorts of Temptations when he desired God first to touch Job in his Estate and to see what effect that would have Job 1. 11. But put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath and he will curse thee to thy face And when he found himself deceived in this surely he thought that were he but afflicted with great bodily pains that would put him out of all patience and flesh and blood would not be able to withstand this Temptation Chap. 2. ver 5. But put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse thee to thy face And this was the great Temptation that the Primitive Christians were assaulted withal they were tempted to forsake Christ and his Religion by a most violent Persecution by the spoiling of their goods by Imprisonment and Torture and Death And this is that kind of Temptation which the Apostle particularly speaks of before the Text Blessed is the Man that endureth temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him and then it follows Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God And thus I have given an account of the several sorts of temptations comprehended under this second Head namely when Men are tempted by being brought into such Circumstances as do greatly endanger their falling into Sin by the Allurements of this World and by the Evils and Calamities of it Now the Question is how far God hath an hand in these kind of temptations that so we may know how to limit this Proposition which the Apostle here rejects that Men are tempted of God Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God That the Providence of God does order or at least permit Men to be brought into these Circumstances I have spoken of which are such dangerous temptations to Sin no Man can doubt that believes his Providence to be concern'd in the affairs of the World All the difficulty is how far the Apostle does here intend to exempt God from an hand in these temptations Now for the clearer understanding of this it will be requisite to consider the several Ends and Reasons which those who tempt others may have in tempting them and all temptation is for one of these three Ends or Reasons either for the trial and improvement of Men's Virtues or by way of Judgment and Punishment for some former great Sins and Provocations or with a direct purpose and design to seduce Men to Sin these I think are the chief Ends and Reasons that can be imagined of exercising Men with dangerous temptations First For the exercise and improvement of Men's Graces and Virtues And this is the End which God always aims at in bringing good Men or permitting them to be brought into dangerous temptations And therefore St. James speaks of it as a matter of joy when good Men are exercised with afflictions not because afflictions are desirable for themselves but because of the happy consequences of them Ver. 2 3. of this Chap. My Brethren count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience And to the same purpose St. Paul Rom. 5. 3 4 5. We glory in tribulation knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience experience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Patience trieth a Man and this trial worketh hope and hope maketh not ashamed These are happy effects and consequences of affliction and suffering when they improve the Virtues of Men and increase their Graces and thereby make way for the increase of their Glory Upon this account St. James pronounceth those Blessed who are thus tempted Blessed is the Man that endureth temptation for when he is tried he shall receive the Crown of Life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him And this certainly is no disparagement to the Providence of God to permit Men to be thus tempted when he permits it for no other end but to make them better Men and thereby to prepare them for a greater Reward And so the Apostle assures us Rom. 8. 17 18. If so be we suffer with him we shall also be glorified with him for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us And ver 28. For we know that all things shall work together for good to them that love God And this happy end and issue of temptations to good Men the Providence of God secures to them if they be not wanting to themselves one of these two ways either by proportioning the temptation to their strength or if it exceed that by ministring new strength and support to them by the secret and extraordinary aids of his Holy Spirit First By proportioning the temptation to their strength ordering things so by his secret and wise Providence that they shall not be assaulted by any temptation which is beyond their strength to resist and overcome And herein the security of good Men doth ordinarily consist and the very best of us those who have the firmest and most resolute virtue were in infinite danger if the Providence of God did not take this care of us For a temptation may set upon the best Men with so much violence or surprize them at such an advantage as no ordinary degree of grace
nothing in him to work upon or to give him any advantage over him And thus he daily tempts Men by laying all sorts of baits and snares before them going about continually seeking whom he may seduce and destroy and as far as God permits him and his Power reacheth he suits his temptations as near as he can to the humours and appetites and inclinations of Men contriving them into such circumstances as that he may ply his temptations upon them to the greatest advantage propounding such Objects to them as may most probably draw forth the corruptions of Men and kindle their irregular desires and inflame their lusts and tempt their evil inclinations that way which they are most strongly bent He tempts the Covetous Man with Gain the Ambitious Man with Preferment the Voluptuous Man with Carnal and Sensual Pleasures and where none of these baits will take he stirs up his Instruments to persecute those who are stedfast and confirmed in Resolutions of Piety and Virtue to try if he can work upon their Fear and shake their Constancy and Fidelity to God and Goodness that way and all this he doth with a direct design and earnest desire to seduce Men from their Duty and to betray them to Sin But thus God tempts no Man and in this sense it is that the Apostle means that no Man when he is tempted is tempted of God God hath no design to seduce any Man to Sin He often proves the obedience of Men and suffers them to fall into divers temptations for the trial of their faith and exercise of their obedience and other Virtues and he permits bad Men to be assaulted with great temptations and as a punishment of their former obstinacy and impiety withdraws the aids and assistances of his grace from them and leaves them to their own weakness and folly but not so as to take away all restraint of his grace even from bad Men unless it be upon very high provocation and a long and obstinate continuance in Sin But God never tempts any Man with any intention to seduce him to Sin and with a desire he should do wickedly This is the proper work of the Devil and his Instruments in this sense it is far from God to tempt any Man and whenever in the ordinary course and by the common permission of his Providence Men fall into temptation the utmost that God does is to leave them to themselves and he does not do this neither but to those who have highly provoked him to depart from them that is to those who have justly deserved to be so dealt withal And thus I have consider'd the Proposition which the Apostle here rejects namely that God tempts Men and have shewn as clearly as I can how it is to be limited and understood I now proceed to the second thing which I propounded to consider viz. The manner in which the Apostle rejects this Proposition Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God By which manner of speaking he insinuates two Things First That Men are apt to lay their faults upon God For when he says let no Man say so he intimates that Men were apt to say thus and 't is probable some did say so to excuse themselves for their deserting their Religion upon the temptation of Persecution and Suffering 'T is not unlikely that Men might lay the fault upon God's Providence which exposed them to these difficult trials and thereby tempted them to forsake their Religion But however this be we find it very natural to Men to transfer their faults upon others Men are naturally sensible when they offend and do contrary to their Duty and the guilt of Sin is an heavy burthen of which Men would be glad to ease themselves as much as they can and they think it is a mitigation and excuse of their faults if they did not proceed only from themselves but from the violence and compulsion the temptation and instigation of others But especially Men are very glad to lay their faults upon God because he is a full and sufficient excuse nothing being to be blamed that comes from him Thus Adam did upon the commission of the very first Sin that Mankind was guilty of When God charged him for breaking of his Law by eating of the fruit of the forbidden Tree he endeavours to excuse himself by laying the fault obliquely upon God The Woman whom thou gavest to be with me she gave me of the Tree and I did eat The Woman whom thou gavest to be with me he does what he can to derive the fault upon God And tho' this be very unreasonable yet it seems it is very natural Men would fain have the pleasure of committing Sin but then they would be glad to remove as much of the trouble and guilt of it from themselves as they can Secondly This manner of Speech which the Apostle here useth doth insinuate further to us that it is not only a false but an impious assertion to say that God tempts Men to Sin He speaks of it not only as a thing unfit to be said but fit to be rejected with the greatest indignation let no Man say that is far be it from us to affirm any thing so impious and so dishonourable to God For nothing can be more contrary to the holy and righteous nature of God and to those plain declarations which he hath made of himself than to seduce Men to wickedness and therefoâ—e no Man that hath any regard to the honour of God can entertain the least suspicion of his having any hand in the Sins of Men or give heed to any Principles or Doctrines from whence so odious and abominable a Consequence may be drawn I proceed to the Third Thing I propounded to consider viz. The Reason or Argument which the Apostle brings against this impious suggestion That God cannot be tempted with evil and therefore no Man can imagine that he should tempt any Man to it Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man And in speaking to this I shall First Consider the strength and force of this Argument And Secondly The Nature and Kind of it First The strength and force of this Argument God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he is untemptable by evil he cannot be drawn to any thing that is bad himself and therefore it cannot be imagined he should have any inclination or design to seduce others And this will appear to be a strong and forcible Argument if we consider First The Proposition upon which it is grounded that God cannot be tempted by evil Secondly The Consequence that clearly follows from it and that is that because God cannot be tempted by evil therefore he cannot tempt any Man to it First We will consider the Proposition upon which this Argument is built and that is that God cannot be tempted
others as above any occasion of being contemned by them He grudges no Man's happiness and therefore cannot tempt Men to Sin out of a desire to see them miserable So that none of those Considerations which move the Devil to tempt Men to Sin and Evil Men to tempt one another to do wickedly can be imagined to have any place in God And thus you see the force of the Apostle's Argument that because God cannot be tempted to evil therefore he can tempt no Man None tempt others to be bad but those who are first so themsemselves I shall now in the Second place Consider the Nature and Kind of the Argument which the Apostle here useth Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man He does not reject this impious Proposition barely upon his own Authority but he argues against it from the Nature and Perfection of God and therein appeals to the common Notions of Mankind concerning God We might very well have rested in his Authority being an Apostle Commissioned by our Saviour and extraordinarily assisted and witnessed to by the Miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost wherewith he was endowed But he condescends to give a Reason of what he says and appeals to the common Principles of Mankind For all Men will readily agree to this that God hath all imaginable perfection but it is a plain imperfection to be liable to be tempted to Evil and therefore God cannot be tempted to Evil. And if so it is as impossible that he should tempt others to it for none can have either an inclination or interest to seduce others to Evil but those who have been first seduced to it themselves Now in this Method of Arguing the Apostle teacheth us one of the surest ways of Reasoning in Religion namely from the Natural Notions which Men have of God So that all Doctrines plainly contrary to those Natural Notions which Men have of God are to be rejected what Authority soever they pretend to whatever plainly derogates from the goodness or justice of God or any other of his Perfections is certainly false what Authority soever it may claim from the Judgment of Learned and Pious Men yea tho' it pretend to be countenanc'd from the Texts and Expressions of Holy Scripture Because nothing can be entertain'd as a Divine Revelation which plainly contradicts the common Natural Notions which Mankind have of God For all Reasoning about Divine Revelation and whether that which pretends to be so be really so or not is to be govern'd by those Natural Notions And if any thing that pretends to be a Revelation from God should teach Men that there is no God or that he is not Wiâ—e and Good and Just and Powerful this is Reason enough to reject it how confident soever the pretence be that it is a Divine Revelation And if any thing be upon good grounds in Reason received for a Divine Revelation as the Holy Scriptures are amongst Christians no Man ought to be regarded who from thence pretends to maintain any Doctrine contrary to the Natural Notions which Men have of God such as clearly contradict his Holiness or Goodness or Justice or do by plain and undeniable Consequence make God the Author of Sin or the like because the very attempt to prove any such thing out of Scripture does strike at the Divine Authority of those Books For if they be from God it is certain they can contain no such thing So that no Man ought to suffer himself to be seduced into any such Opinions upon pretence that there are expressions in Scripture which seem to countenance them For if they really did so the Consequence would not be the confirming of such Opinions but the weakning of the Authority of the Scripture it self For just so many Arguments as any Man can draw from Scripture for any such Opinion so many Weapons he puts into the hanâ—s of Atheists against the Scripture it self I do not speak this as if I thought there were any ground from Scripture for any such Doctrine I am very certain there is not And if there be any parâ—â—cular expressions which to prejudic'd Men may seem to import any such thing every Man ought to govern himself in the interpretation of such passages by what is clear and plain and agreeable to the main Scope and Tenour of the Bible and to those Natural Notions which Men have of God and of his Perfections For when all is done this is one of the surest ways of Reasoning in Religion and whoever guides himself and steers by this Compass can never err much but whoever suffers himself to be led away by the appearance of some more obscure Phrases in the expressions of Scripture and the glosses of Men upon them without regard to this Rule may run into the greatest Delusions may wander Eternally and lose himself in one Mistake after another and shall never find his way out of this endless Labyrinth but by this Clue If St. James had not been an Apostle the Argument which he useth would have convinced any reasonable Man that God tempts no Man to Sin because he cannot be tempted with Evil himself and therefore it is unreasonable to imagine he should tempt any Man For he argues from such a Principle as all Mankind will at first hearing assent to And thus I have done with the first Thing asserted by the Apostle here in the Text That God tempts no Man to Sin Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted of evil neither tempteth he any Man Before I proceed to the second Assertion That every Man is his own greatest Tempter I should draw some useful Inferences from what hath been already delivered but I reserve both the one and the other to the next Opportunity SERMON XV. The Sins of Men not chargeable upon God but upon themselves JAMES I. 13 14. Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man But every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed WHEN I made entrance upon these Words I told you that next to the Belief of a God and a Providence nothing is more fundamentally necessary to the Practice of a good Life than the Belief of these two Principles That God is not the Author of the Sins of Men and That every Man's fault lies at his own door And both these Principles St. James does clearly and fully assert in these Words First God tempts no Man to Sin Secondly Every Man is his own greatesâ— Tempter The first of these I have largely spoken to in my former Discourse and from what I then said I shall only draw a few useful Inferences before I proceed to the second Viz. These which follow First Let us beware of all such Doctrines as do any ways tend to
Author of the Sins of Men. I proceed now to the Second That every Man is his own greatest Tempter But every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed God does not tempt any Man to Sin but every Man is then tempted when by his own Lust his irregular Inclination and Desire he is seduced to evil and enticed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is caught as it were with a bait for so the greek word signifies In which words the Apostle gives us a true account of the prevalency and efficacy of temptation upon Men. It is not because God has any design to ensnare Men in Sin but their own Corâ—uption and vicious inclination seduce them to that which is evil To instance in the particular temptation the Apostle was speaking of Persecution Suffering for the Cause of Religion to avoid which many did then forsake the Truth and Apostatiz'd from their Christian Profession The true Cause of which was not the Providence of God which permitted them to be exposed to those Sufferings but their inordinate love of the good things of this Life and their unreasonable fears of the Evils and Sufferings of it they valued the enjoyments of this present Life more than the favour of God and that Eternal Happiness which he had promised to them in another Life and they feared the Persecutions of Men more than the threatnings of God and the dreadful punishments of another World They had an inordinate affection for the ease and pleasure of this Life and their unwillingness to part with ease was a great temptation to them to quit their Religion by this bait they were caught when it came to the trial And thus it is proportionably in all other sorts of temptations Men are betrayed by themselves and the tâ—mptation without hath a Party within them with which it holds a secret correspondence and which is ready to yield and give consent to it so that it is our own consent and treachery to our selves that makes any temptation Master of us and without that we are not to be overcome Every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed It is the Lust of Men complying with the temptations which are offer'd to us which renders them effectual and gives them the Victory over us In the handling of this Argument I shall from these words of the Apostle observe to you these two things First That as the Apostle doth here acquit God from any hand in tempting Men to Sin so he does not ascribe the prevalency of temptation to the Devil Secondly That he ascribes the prevalency of temptation to the Lust and vicious inclinations of Men which seduce them to a compliance with the temptations that are presented to them Every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed These two Observations shall be the subject of my present Discourse First That as the Apostle doth here acquit God from any hand in tempting Mâ—n to Sin so he does not ascribe the prevalency and efficacy of temptation to the Devil That he acquits God I have shewn at large in my former Discourse It is evident likewise that he does not ascribe the efficacy and prevalency of temptation to the Devil for the Apostle in this Discourse of his concerning temptations makes no express mention of the Devil he supposeth indeed that baits are laid for Men every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed i. e. when he plays with the baits that are laid for him and swallows them And the Scripture elsewhere frequently tells us that the Devil is very active and busie to tempt Men and is continually laying baits before them but their own Lusts are the Cause why they are caught by them And I do the rather insist upon this because Men are apt to lay great load upon the Devil in the business of temptation hoping thereby either wholly or at least in a great measure to excuse themselves and therefore I shall here consider how far the Devil by his temptations is the cause of the Sins which Men by compliance with those temptations are drawn into First It is certain that the Devil is very active and busie to Minister to them the occasions of Sin and temptations to it For ever since he fell from God partly out of enmity to him and partly out of envy and malice to Mankind he hath made it his great business and employment to seduce Men to Sin and to this end he walks up and down the Earth and watcheth all occasions and opportunities to tempt Men to Sin and so far as his Power reacheth and God permits him he lays baits and temptations before them in all their ways presenting them wiâ—h the occasions and opportunities to Sin and with such baits and allurements as are most â—uitable to their tempers and most likely to prevail with their particular inclinations and as often as he can surprizing Men with these at the easiest time of access and with such Circumstances as may give his temptations the greatest force and advantage Of this the Scripture assures us in general when it tells us of these wiles and devices of Satan and of the methods of his temptations so that tho' we do not particularly discern how and when he doth this yet we have no reason to doubt of the thing if we believe that there is such a Spirit in the World as the Scripture particularly tells us there is that works in the Children of disobedience and that God from whom nothing is hidden and who sees all the secret Engines which are at work in the World to do us good or harm hath in mercy to Mankind given us particular warning of it that we may not be wholly ignorant of our Enemies and their malicious Designs upon us and that we may be continually upon our guard aware of our danger and armed against it Secondly The Devil does not only present to Men the temptations and occasions of Sin but when he is permitted to make nearer approaches to them does excite and stir them up to comply with these temptations and to yield to them And this he does not only by employing his Instruments to solicit for him and to draw Men to Sin by bad Counsel and Example which we see frequently done and probably very often by the Devil's instigation those who are very wicked themselves and consequently more enslaved to the Devil and under his Power being as it were Factors for him to seduce others but besides this 't is not improbable but the Devil himself does many times immediately excite Men to Sin by working upon the humours of their Bodies or upon their Imaginations and by that means infusing and suggesting evil motions into them or by diverting them from those Thoughts and Considerations which might check and restrain them from that wickedness to which he is tempting them or by some other ways and means
more secret and unknown to us For the power of Spirits whether good or bad and the manner of their operation upon our Minds are things very secret and of which we can give little or no account but yet for all that we have many times reason sufficient to believe a thing to be so when we are wholly ignorant of the manner of it And there is Reason from what is said in Scripture to believe that the Devil in some Cases hath a more immediate power and influence upon the Minds of Men to excite them to Sin and where he discovers a very bad inclination or resolution to help it forward and to keep Men to it as when it is said John 13. 27. that the Devil enter'd into Judas to push him on in that ill design which he had already engaged in of betraying our Saviour And Acts 5. 3. Satan is said to have filled the heart of Ananias to lie to the Holy-Ghost and to keep back part of the price for which he had sold his Estate which expressions do seem to intimate to us some more immediate power and influence which the Devil had upon those Persons but then 't is very observable that this power is never ascribed to the Devil but in the case of great and horrid Sins and whâ—re Men are before-hand notoriously depraved and either by the actual commission of some former great Sin or by entertaining some very wicked design have provoked God to permit the Devil a nearer access to them For Judas had first taken Council how to betray Christ before it is said the Devil entered into him to push him on to the execution of it And Ananias his Covetousness had first tempted him to keep back part of his Estate before it is said the Devil fill'd his heart to lie to the Holy Ghost so that what power the Devil hath over Men they first give it himâ— they consent to his outward temptations before he can get within them Hence it is that in Scripture great Sinners are described as being more immediâ—tely under the government and influence of the Devil Ephes 2. 1 2 where the Apostle speaking of those who from Heatâ—enisin were Converted to Christianity You says he hath he quickned who were once dead in trespasses and sins wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the Spirit that now worketh in the Children of disobedience or unbelief 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Spirit thâ—t sâ—â—ll acts and inspires the Children of unbeliefâ— that is those who continue in their infidelity and would not believe and obey the Gospel When Men are notoriously wicked and disobedient to the Counsels of God the Devil is said to act and inspire them which certainly signifies some more immediate power and influence which he hath over such Persons For as it is very probable that the Devil is sometimes permitted to come near good Men so as to tempt them so by notorious wickedness and impiety Men do give admission to him and he is permitted by the just judgment of God to exercise greater Dominion over them By resisting his temptations we drive him from us So St. James tells us Chap. 4. ver 7. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you but as we yield to his temptations he continually makes nearer approaches to us and gains a greater power over us Thirdly But for all this the Devil can force no Man to Sin his temptations may move and excite Men to Sin but that they are prevalent and effectual proceeds from our own will and consent 't is our own Lusts closing with his Temptations that produce Sin The Devil hath more or less power over Men according as they give way to him but never so much as to force their Wills and to compel them to consent to and comply with his temptations The grace of God doth hardly offer this violence to Men for their good in order to their Salvation and therefore much less will he permit the Devil to have this power over Men to their ruine and destruction God's commanding us to resist the Devil supposeth that his temptations are not irresistible Fourthly From what hath been said it appears that tho' the Devil be frequently accessary to the Sins of Men yet we our selves are the Authors of them he tempts us many times to Sin but it is we that commit it His temptations may sometimes be so violent as to extenuate our fault but never so forcible as wholly to excuse us for we are so far guilty of Sin as we give our consent to it and how powerful soever the temptation be to any kind of evil there is always enough of our own will in it to render us guilty I am far from thinking that the Devil tempts Men to all the evil that they do I rather think that the greatest part of the wickedneâ—â— that is committed in the world springs from the evil motions of Mens own Minds Mens own Lusts are generally to them the worst Devil of the two and do more strongly incline them to Sin than any Devil without them can tempt them to it It is not to be doubted that the Devil does all the mischief he can to the Souls of Men so far as God permits him and tho' the number of Evil Angels be probably very great yet it is but finite and every one of them hath a limited power and tho' they be very active yet they can be but one where at once so that his malice at the utmost does only all the evil that it can not all that it would he plyes where he has the best Custom where he has the fairest Opportunity and the greatest hopes he leaves Men many times for a season as it is said he did our Saviour because he despairs of success at that time and it may be sometimes when he is gone these Persons grow secure and through their own security and folly fall into those Sins which the Devil with all his baits and wiles whilst they were upon their guard could not tempt them to commit Others after he has made them sure and put them into the way of it will go on of themselves and are as mad of Sinning and as forward to destroy themselves as the Devil himself could wish so that he can hardly tempt Men to any wickedness which he does not find them inclin'd to of themselves These he can trust with themselves and leave them to their own inclinations and conduct finding by experience that they will do as ill things of their own motion as if Satan stood continually at their right hand to prompt them and put them on so that he can go into a far Country and employ himself elsewhere and leave them for a long time being confident that in his absence they will not bury their Talent and hide it in a Napkin but will improve it to a great advantage And I wish
that our own Age did not afford us too many instances of this kind of such forward and expert Sinners as need no Tempter either to instruct or excite them to that which is evil Now in this Case the Devil betakes himself to other Persons and removes his Snares and Baits where he thinks there is more need and occasion for them So that we may reasonably conclude that there is a great deal of wickedness committed in the World which the Devil hath no immediate hand in tho' he always rejoyceth in it when it is done and that there is a great deal more reason to attribute all good to the Motions and Operations of the Spirit of God than to ascribe all Sin and wickedness in the World to the Devil because the Spirit of God is more powerful and is always every where and is more intent upon his design and as forward to promote it as the Devil can be to carry on his work nay I doubt not but he is more active to excite Men to good than the Devil can be to tempt them to Evil. And yet for all this I think there is no great reason to doubt but that good Men do many good actions of their own inclination without any special and immediate motion from the Spirit of God They are indeed at first regenerate and sanctified by the Holy Ghost and are continually afterwards under the conduct of the same Spirit but where there is a new Nature it is of it self inclinable to that which is good and will bring forth fruits and do actions answerable Much less do I think that the Devil tempts every Man to all the evil that he does or the greatest part When the Lusts of Men and the habits of Vice are grown strong and confirmed the Devil may spare his temptations in a great measure for after wicked Men are wound up to such a pitch of impiety they will go a great while of themselves I have done with the first Observation that as the Apostle acquits God from having any hand in tempting Men to Sin so neither does he ascribe the efficacy and prevalency of temptation to the Devil I proceed to the Second Observation That he ascribes the efficacy and success of temptation to the lusts and vicious inclinations of Men which seduce them to a consent and compliance with the temptations which are offered to them Every Man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed We have many powerful Enemies but we are much more in danger of treachery from within than of assaults from without All the power of our Enemies could not destroy us if we were but true to our selves so that the Apostle had great reason to ascribe the efficacy of temptation to the irregular desires and vicious inclinations of Men rather than to those temptations which the Providence of God permits them to be assaulted with and consequently to lay the blame of Mens Sins chiefly upon themselves And that chiefly upon these two accounts First Because the Lusts of Men are in a great measure voluntary Secondly God hath put it in our power to resist these temptations and overcome them Now so far as the Lusts of Men are voluntary it is their own fault that they are seduced by them and if God hath put it in our power to resist and overcome temptations we may blame our selves if we be overcome and foiled by them First The Lusts of Men are in a great measure voluntary By the Lusts of Men I mean their irregular desires and vicious inclinations I grant that the Nature of Man is very much corrupted and degenerated from its Primitive Integrity and Perfectionâ— but we who are Christians have received that grace in Baptism whereby our Natures are so far healed as if we be not wanting to our selves and do not neglect the means which God hath appointed to us we may mortifie our Lusts and live a new Life so that if our Lusts remain unmortified we our selves are in fault much more if they gain new strength and proceed to habits for this could not be if we did not after we come to Age and are able to discern between and to chuse good and evil voluntarily consent to Iniquity and by wilful and deliberate Practice of known Sins improve the evil inclinations of our Nature into vicious habits but if instead of mortifying and subduing the evil propensions of our Nature which is no very difficult work to most persons if they begin it betimes we will cherish and give new Life and Power to them we forfeit the grace which we received in Baptism and bring our selves again under the Power and Dominion of Sin and no wonder then if our Lusts seduce us and make us ready to comply with the temptations of the World and the Devil Nay and after this it is still our own fault if we do not mortifie our Lusts for if we would hearken to the Counsel of God and obey his Calls to Repentance and sincerely beg his Grace and Holy Spirit to this purpose we might yet recover our selves and by the Spirit mortify the Lâ—sts of the Flesh for tho' we have left God he hath not quite forsaken us but is ready to afford his Grace again to us tho' we have neglected and abused it and to give his Holy Spirit to those that ask him tho' they have forfeited it so that tho' our Lusts spring from something which is Natural yet that they live and have domâ—â—ion over us is voluntary because we â—ight Remedy it if we would and make use of those Means which God in the Gospel offers to us Secondly God hath put it in our power to resist these temptations and overcome them so that it is our own fault if we yield to them and be overcome by them It is naturally in our power to resist maâ—y sorts of temptations and the grace of God if we do not neglect it and be not wanting to ouâ— selves puts it into our power to resist any temptation that may happen to us First It is naturally in our power to resist many sorts of temptations If we do but make use of our Natural Reason and those Considerations which are common and obvious to Men we may easily resist the temptations to a great many Sins Some Sins are so horrid in their Nature that when we have the strongest temptatioâ—s to them we cannot but have a natural aversion from them as deliberate Murder the danger and guilt whereof are both so great as make it easie for any considerate Man to resist the strongest temptation to it even that of revenge A plain act of injustice whether by great fraud or by down right oppression is so base and disgraceful so odious and abhorred by humane Nature that it is not difficult to a Man that hath but a common understanding and common inclination to be honest to overcome the greatest temptation of gain and advantage nay he must offer