one Point he is guilty of all How is this agreeable with the Equity of the Gospel to make a Breach of one Part to be a violation of the whole Law Since he cannot keep the Law and break it at the same time and so far as he did keep it he could not be guilty of the Breach of it but if he offended but in one Point he must keep all the rest It is not enough to say that the Chain of the whole is broken and the Authority of the Law-giver contemned for there is a great difference between breaking a Chain and breaking it all to Pieces there is no such Contempt in the Breach of one Command as of all and he that keeps all the rest seems to shew more regard to his Authority in keeping the other Parts of the Law than Contempt in that wherein he offends What then is the Apostle's meaning It is that the Gospel doth not allow any wilfull Breach of the Law of God in any one kind or sort whatsoever as appears by the following words For he that said Do not commit Adultery said also Do not kill now if thou commit no Adultery yet if thou kill thou art become a Transgressor of the Law What is before said that he is guilty of all is here explained that he is a Transgressor of the Law This cannot therefore be understood of any sudden Act of Passion and Surprise nor of any Failings as to the Manner of our Duties but of a wilfull deliberate Practice of some one known Sin although the Person may be carefull to avoid many others because this is not consistent with that Integrity of Mind and that sincere Regard to God and his Laws which every good Christian ought to have and so being guilty of the whole Law is to be understood with respect to the Favour of God which can no more be expected where there is a wilfull persisting in any one known Transgression of the Law than if he were guilty of all As to Sins of Omission the words of the Text taken in their full Extent have a very mortifying Consideration in them For it is much easier to know to do good than to practise it It is hard for Men under the plain Precepts of the Gospel not to know how to do good but who is there that can say he doth all the good he knows We all know we ought to love God with all our heart and soul and strength and our Neighbour as our selves yet who can pretend to do it in the utmost latitude and extent of our Duty So that what St. Paul saith of the Law is true of the Text that it concludes all under Sin For as our Apostle saith in many things we offend all And the more we know the more we offend as he tells us in these words To him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is fin What Advantage then have we by the Gospel since the more we know of our Duty the worse our Condition is if we do not practise it and we know so much more to be our Duty than we can hope to practise that this Expression seems to leave Mankind in a more deplorable Condition under the Light of the Gospel than if we had never heard of it For if the Sin be aggravated by knowing our Duty and not doing it it must proportionably be lessened by having no Opportunities to know it Therefore for the clearing the Sense of the Apostle in these words and for the right understanding the just Measures of our Duty and the due Aggravation of our Sins it will be necessary to state and clear the Nature and Extent of Sins of Omission Or to shew how far this Rule of the Apostle holds To him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is Sin To do good here doth not barely imply something that is lawfull and commendable which it is some way in our Power to do but that to which we are under some Obligation so that it becomes our Duty to do it For a Sin of Omission must suppose an Obligation since every Sin must be a Transgression of the Law But there are several sorts of things that are good and there are different kinds of Obligation and from hence arises the Difficulty of stating the Nature of Sins of Omission which some are too little sensible of and some too much But it is in it self a Subject of so important a Nature and so seldom spoken to that I shall at this time endeavour to clear it And in order thereto we must enquire I. Into that Good which we are obliged to do II. The Nature of the Obligation we are under to do it I. As to the Good which we are obliged to do that may be considered two ways 1. With respect to God and so it implies the Duty we owe on the Account of the Relation we stand in to him 2. With respect to one another and so it implies not meer Duty but something beneficial and advantageous to others which we are in a Capacity to do 1. Our Duty with respect to God is either 1. That of our Minds which lie in internal Acts which we are bound to perform towards him 2. That which consists in external Acts of Duty and Service to him 1. The Duty which we owe to God in our Minds which is not barely to know him but frequently to consider and think of him as our Maker and Benefactor It is a strange Incogitancy in Mankind to live as without God in the World to suffer the Cares and Thoughts and Business of this World to justle God out of our Minds whom we ought in the first Place to regard If we could free our Minds from that Disorder and Confusion they are under by the strong Impressions of sensible Objects and the false Idea's of Imagination they would think of nothing so freely so frequently so delightfully as the Divine Perfections For God being the most perfect Mind other Minds that are created by him do naturally tend towards him as their Centre and are uneasie and restless like the Needle touched with the Load-stone till they are fixed towards him We meet with too many things which divert and draw them another way but it is certainly one of the most necessary Duties lying upon us to call back our Thoughts from too busie and eager a Pursuit of Earthly things and to fix them in the serious Thoughts of God and another World It is the Opinion of Aquinas and the older Casuists that assoon as ever any Person is come to the use of his Reason he is not only bound to think of God but to love him as his chief Good and that it is the most dangerous Sin of Omission not to do it The latter Casuists who think this Doctrine too severe as to the first use of Reason yet cannot deny it to hold assoon as any come to the Knowledge of
an uncertain Oral Tradition which can hardly hold the same from one End of the Town to another but by unquestionable Writings of such Authority that the Christians would rather die than deliver up their Books And in these are all those Circumstances contained which we are bound to believe as Christians among which this is one of the Chief that God sent his Son into the World for the Salvation of Mankind To summ up all I desire those who after all this pretend that they are willing to believe as much as they can and those who are liable to any Suggestions of Infidelity to consider seriously with themselves whether there can be a greater and more noble Design more becoming the Wisdom Power and Goodness of God to carry on than that of rescuing Mankind out of a miserable State and putting them into a certain way of Eternal Happiness Whether such a Design must not be discovered in some particular Age of the World with all the Circumstances relating to it Whether that Age were not the fittest of all others wherein the most remarkable Prophecies were to be accomplished as to the Coming of the Mâ—ssias while the second Temple was standing Whether the Difficulties as to humane Testimonies be not equal to all Ages and Things Whether because it is possible for all Men to deceive it be reasonable to inferr that all Men are deceived and that there is nothing but Illusion and Imposture in the World and that all Men lye and deceive for the sake of lying and deceiving But if there be a Difference to be made between Men and between Testimonies then we are to examine the different Characters of Truth and Falshood and give our Assent according to them And if after the severest Examination we do not find sufficient Reason to believe that God sent his Son into the World for the Salvation of Mankind upon such Testimonies as are given of it we must conclude all Mankind to be made up of Fraud and Imposture and that there is no such thing as Sincerity and Honesty in the World or that if there be it is not possible for others to discern it Which are such fatal Reproaches upon humane Nature that no one who pretends to any Regard to it can be guilty of For if they be Universally true they must condemn themselves if not wè must see some very particular Reason why we should not rather think them deceived than fix such an indelible Blot upon the Reputation of Mankind And surely it is a great Advantage to the Truth of Religion to find that it cannot be overthrown but by such Methods as equally overturn all Truth and Certainty and that the Faith of Christianity stands not only upon the same Bottom with the common Faith of Mankind But if we reject such Assurance as is offer'd us for the Faith of the Gospel our Infidelity cannot be the Effect of Reason and Argument but of a causeless Suspicion and unreasonable Mistrust of the best Part of Mankind Who have most firmly believed the Truth of these things and have led the most holy and exemplary Lives in hopes of a Blessed Immortality And if the Testimony of any Persons deserves to be taken before others it must be of such who could have no Design upon this World but were resolved by Faith and Patience to prepare for a better To conclude For us who believe and own the Truth of this great and fundamental Article of the Christian Faith we have something else to do than meerly to vindicate and assert it This at some times is more necessary than at others and I heartily wish this were none of them I am willing to hope the best of all who in such an Age of Infidelity have the Courage and Zeal to own the Faith of this Day viz. That God sent his Son into the World in order to the making us for ever happy And I hope none who profess themselves Christians this Day will ever be discouraged by the Mocks and Flouts of Infidels so as to let go the Anchor of their Hope or mistrust the Foundation of their Faith It is as great a Piece of Wisdom to know when to believe as when not to believe and it is as certain an Argument of a weak Mind to be always doubting as to be over-forward in believing For the Soil must be very bad that can bear no Foundation But withall let us not flatter our selves only that we have a better Faith than others For how miserable will our Case be if we have nothing but a superficial Faith and a sort of Anniversary Devotion We can never thank God too much for the Blessing of this Day but God expects something more from us than meerly the giving him solemn Thanks once a Year for sending his Son into the World We must endeavour to answer the End of God's sending him i. e. to save us first from our Sins and then from the wrath to come This is the Method which God himself hath appointed not barely from his own Will and Pleasure but from the necessary Order and Reason of Things For otherwise a Man might be rewarded for doing amiss and punished for performing his Duty If we therefore ever hope for any Benefit by this coming of Christ into the World we must apply our Minds to consider seriously on what Conditions we may reasonably hope for Salvation by him Can they think that Christ came to so little Purpose as to save Men in their Sins If that were to be hoped there had been no need of his coming but it is a hard Work indeed to save us from them The Guilt must be expiated and the Power subdued the former Christ hath done but he expects and with great Reason that we should deny ungodly and worldly Lusts and work out our own Salvation with Fear and Trembling SERMON X. CONCERNING Sins of Omission Preached before the King and Queen AT WHITE-HALL ON March 18th 1693 4 being Midlent-Sunday St. James IV. 17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is Sin ALthough our Apostle in this Epistle calls the Gospel the Law of Liberty yet to prevent any Misconstruction thereof as though it allowed a Liberty to sin we no where find more strict and severe Passages against it than in this Epistle both with respect to Sins of Commission and Sins of Omission As to Sins of Commission his Expression seems hardly consistent with the Grace of the Gospel For whosoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one Point he is guilty of all Hath the Law of Moses any thing more apt to terrifie the Consciences of Men if not to drive them into despair than this It is not If one breaks the whole Law then it had been no wonder if he were guilty of all even under the Gospel which doth not take away the force of the Moral Law But If he keep the whole Law and yet offend in
Yet taking altogether our Saviour tells them They ought to watch and pray that they enter not into Temptation and he gives the Reason for it in the following words The Spirit indeed is willing but the Flesh is weak 2. In which words he gives an account of the reason of the Inconstancy and Insufficiency of good Resolutions viz. that although the Spirit be willing yet there is something we carry about us which weakens our best Resolutions and betrays us into Temptations our Flesh is weak which being so near us as to be a part of our selves makes our Case more dangerous and enforces the necessity of Watchfulness and Prayer But here arises one of the most useful necessary and important Cases that relates to practical Christianity which I shall first set down in its full Force and then endeavour to clear it The Case is this how far and in what Circumstances the weakness of the Flesh doth lessen the guilt of Sin which is committed by it If it be not an Extenuation of the Sin why doth our Saviour mention it in such a manner And if it be then these Inconveniencies follow 1. It seems to abate the necessity of our Care and Watchfulness if the Sin be lessened through the weakness of the Flesh which is unavoidable in this imperfect State 2. It seems to be a fair Plea and Excuse for the greatest part of the Sins of Mankind For 1. The Original inclination to Sin in Mankind comes from the weakness of the Flesh the very frame of humane Nature being such as exposes them to continual Temptations There is a natural Combat between the Flesh and the Spirit for the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other as the Apostle speaks and all Mankind find it too true Now wherever the Flesh is there are Inclinations agreeable to it and these being contrary to the Dictates of the Mind all the Sins of the Flesh will appear to come from the weakness of the Flesh. 2. The frequent Commission of the same Sins will be laid upon the weakness of the Flesh. For the generality of Mankind do not sin out of defiance to God or his Laws or with an obstinate Resolution to sin for they know their Duty and wish they could perform it but alas The Flesh is too hard for the Spirit in them They have many Convictions in their Minds many good Purposes and serious Resolutions at some times and if they do sin it is not with their whole Wills for they have great strugglings and checks of Conscience within even while they commit those Sins And therefore what can their continuing in sin be so properly attributed to as to the weakness of the Flesh. 3. Relapses into the same sin after Repentance seems to proceed from the weakness of the Flesh. For he that hath once smarted severely for his Sins and suffered under the Agonies of Conscience for them he that hath gone so far as not meerly to lament his Folly and to abhor his Wickedness but to make solemn Vows and Promises and Resolutions never more to return to the Practice of them it is hard to conceive that such a one should fall into his Sins again with his whole Mind and Soul for the Light of Conscience when it is once throughly kindled is not easily put out it is a secret Fire which burns inward and can hardly be extinguished and all those who sin against Conscience the Dictates of their Minds are right while they commit their Sins and therefore even these Sins seem to be excused by the weakness of the Flesh. But on the other side the Scripture is plain and express that Sins which do come from the Flesh do exclude from the Kingdom of Heaven The works of the Flesh are manifest saith St. Paul Adultery Fornication Uncleanness Lasciviousness c. Drunkenness Revelling and such like which are properly Sins of the Flesh. Of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in time past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And in another place For this ye know that no Whoremonger nor unclean Person nor Covetous Man who is an Idolater hath any Inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God Let no man deceive you with vain words for because of these things cometâ— the wrath of God on the Children of Disobedience Would God be so severe under the Dispensation of his Mercy to punish Mankind with utter exclusion from Heaven and eternal Misery for Sins which came meerly from the weakness of the Flesh Then indeed there were just cause to bewail the sad Condition of Humanity born under one Law to another bound created Sick commanded to be Sound But God will vindicate his Justice at the great Day and Mankind shall be fully satisfied that none shall be damned for the meer weakness of the Flesh but for the Sins of their Will and Choice That as they had evil Inclinations from the Flesh so they had good Inclinations from the Grace of God and the Law of their Minds ought to have governed and kept under the Law of their Members that others by the same Assistance which was offered to them have crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts thereof That the Grace of God doth enable them to deny ungodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present World That if Men do fail of the Grace of God it is through their own fault that those who relapse into sin after Repentance and escaping the pollutions of the World Their latter end is worse than the beginning and in short If Men do live after the Flesh they shall die but if through the Spirit they do mortifie the Deeds of the Body they shall live All which shews That there is so great a Possibility of fubduing the Inclinations of the Flesh that if Men neglect it and give way to the fulfilling of them this very thing will be imputed to them as a wilfull and damning Sin But here the Difficulty still rises for Christ supposes that his own Disciples even the most forward and the best resolved might fall through the infirmity of the Flesh and they did so upon no great Temptation as appears by St. Peter's denying his Master in so dreadful a manner upon so slight a Provocation as the Damsels saying to him Thou also wast wâ—â—h Jesus of Galilee What a mean low and timorous Spirit had possessed St. Peter at that time Was this he who but a few hours before said That though he should die with him he would not deny him Lord what is Man Verily in his best Estate he is altogether Vanity What St. Peter deny his Lord who made that Confession of him which Christ owned was not revealed to him by Flesh and Blood but by his Father in Heaven viz. That he was
The Right Reverend EDW. STILLINGFLEET D. D. Lord Bishop of Worcester THIRTEEN SERMONS Preached on Several Occasions Three of which never before Printed By the Right Reverend Father in God EDWARD Lord Bishop of Worcester The Third VOLUME LONDON Printed by J. H. for Henry Mortlock at the Phoenix in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1698. THE CONTENTS SERMON I. ST Luk. XV. 18. I will arise and go to my Father and will say to him Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee pag. 1 SERMON II. Coloss. II. 6. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him p. 40 SERMON III. Pet. IV. 18. And if the Righteous scarcely be saved where shall the Ungodly and the Sinner appear p. 91 SERMON IV. Eccles. XI 9. Rejoyce O young man in thy youth and let thy heart chear thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thy heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into Judgment p. 132 SERMON V. 2 Tim. I. 7. For God hath not given us the Spirit of Fear but of Power and of Love and of a sound Mind p. 169 SERMON VI. 1 Tim. I. 15. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the World to save Sinners of whom I am chief p. 209 SERMON VII St. Luk. VI. 46. And why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things which I say p. 255 SERMON VIII Rom. VIII 6. For to be carnally minded is Death but to be spiritually minded is Life and Peace p. 294 SERMON IX St. John III. 17. For God sent not his Son into the World to condemn the World but that the World through him might be saved p. 336 SERMON X. St. Jam. IV. 17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doth it not to him it is Sin p. 375 SERMON XI St. Matth. XXVI 41. Watch and pray that ye enter not into Temptation the Spirit indeed is willing but the Flesh is weak p. 413 SERMON XII Acts XXVI 8. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the Dead p. 453 SERMON XIII Eccles. VII 16. Be not Righteous overmuch neither make thy self over wise Why shouldst thou destroy thy self p. 490 ERRATA Page 107. line 5. for These read There p. 238. l. 17. dele from Yet to l. 21st p. 284. l. 21st for or r. we p. 296. l. 25. for Lord r. Law p. 298. l. 14. put out â— p. 344. l. 9. dele little p. 417. l. 7. for heatedness r. heartedness p. 418. l. 18. for Weakness r. Willingness p. 434. l. 18. For Truce r. Time p. 463. l. 1st before of put in out p. 464. l. 17. for Sea r. Sun p. 483. l. 25. for Laws r. Lives p. 485. l. 24. after now put apt p. 490. Sermon 13. In the Text for lover r. over p. 496. l. 29. before To put in 1. p. 501. l. 17. before known insert have p. 503. l. 6. blot out that p. 506. l. 22. for gain r. again p. 507. l. 1st for This r. Thus. p. 508. l. 27. for indanger r. indulge p. 509. l. 6. for Molochi r. Moloch p. 522. l. 7. for exasperate r. extenuate p. 528. l. 16. for Solitude r. Solicitude SERMON I. Preached at WHITE-HALL February the 19 th 1685 6 St. Luke XV. 18. I will arise and go to my Father and will say to him Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee IN the foregoing Verse we find the Prodigal Son so far awakened and come to himself as to be sensible of the miserable Condition he had brought himself into by his own folly and wickedness But before he came to this there is a remarkable Turn in the Course of his Life set down by our Saviour in the beginning of this excellent Parable For he was first very impatient of being under the wise Conduct of his Father and thought he could manage his own Affairs far more to his Contentment and Satisfaction if he were but permitted to use his Liberty and were not so strictly tyed up to the grave and formal Methods of living observed and required in his Father's House Which might pass for Wisdom in Age and be agreeable enough to such whose Life and Vigour were decayed and who were now to maintain their Authority over their Children by seeming to be so much wiser than they But it is a rare thing for Youth and Age to agree in the Opinion of Wisdom For it is not the Care the Experience the Judgment of a wise and tender Father that can allay the Heats or calm the Passions or over-rule the violent Inclinations of Youth but whatever it cost them afterwards some will be still trying the Experiment whether it doth not more conduce to the happiness of Life to pursue their own Fancies and Designs than to hearken to another's Directions though a Father's whose Circumstances are so much different from their own Thus our Blessed Saviour represents in the Parable this young Prodigal as weary of being rich and easie at Home and fond of seeing the Pleasures of the World and therefore nothing would satisfie him unless he were intrusted with the Stock which was intended for him that he might shew the difference between his Father's Conduct and his own And this very soon appear'd for this hopefull Manager had not been long abroad but he wasted his substance with riotous living And to make him the more sensible of his Folly there happened a more than ordinary Scarcity which made his low and exhausted Condition more uneasie to him But the Sense of Shame was yet greater with him than that of his â—olly and whatever shifts he underwent he would by no means yet think of returning home but rather chose to submit to the meanest and basest Employment in hopes to avoid the Necessity of it But at last Reason and Consideration began to work upon him which is called his coming to himself and then he takes up a Resolution to go home to his Father and to throw himself at his Feet to confess his fault ingenuously and freely and to beg pardon for his former Folly in hopes of Forgiveness and Reconciliation I will arise and go to my Father and say to him Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee Under this Parable our Saviour sets forth the state of a Sinner 1. In his wilfull degeneracy from God his Father both by Creation and Providence his uneasiness under his just and holy Laws his impatience of being restrained by them his casting off the Bonds of Duty to him and running into all kind of Disorders without regard to God or his own Soul 2. In the dissatisfaction he found in his evil Courses being very much disappointed in the great Expectations he had in the Pleasures of Sin wasting his health interest reputation estate and above all the Peace and Tranquillity of his Mind which was
to the Divine Perfections which are all wholly Spiritual then from the same Râ—ason we must remove all Perturbations from it which are as inconsistent with the absolute Perfection of it as Eyes and Ears and Hands and Feet are although they are all mention'd in Scripture From whence we justly inferr that there is a wonderfull Condescention to the ordinary Capacities and common Apprehensions of Mankind in the Language of Scripture concerning the Divine Nature which makes deeper impressions on meaner understandings and those who are of finer thoughts will see cause to attribute only such a Sense of things relating to God as is consistent with his Infinite and Divine Perfections But what now shall we say to this Tenderness and Compassion of God towards penitent Sinners Can he be moved by our Trouble and Sorrow and Acts of Contrition for our Sins If we be righteous what doth it profit the Almighty And if we be evil how can it hurt him And if when we have sinned we repent we do no more than is fitting for us but why should we imagine the Great and Wise God should have Compassion upon us when we become sensible of our own Folly For when we sin against God wilfully deliberately knowingly habitually we do what lies in us to provoke him to Wrath and Indignation against us we reject his wise Government we slight his righteous Laws we preferr the pleasing our corrupt Inclinations and sensual Lusts before our heavenly Father And what can be more provoking to him than to be so despised by one who had his Being and all the Comforts of Life from him Suppose now such a disobedient rebellious Son as here in the Parable be made sensible of his Folly is his Father bound to receive him Was it not his own choice to go from him If he hath suffered by his Folly he may thank himself for it and if his Father lets him alone in it he hath no cause to complain But such was the Tenderness of the Father towards his repenting Son that he shew'd the greatest Compassion imaginable for he did not stay at home expecting his Son 's solemn Submission before his Family but he ran towards him and fell upon his Neck and kissed him What Conceptions now ought we to have of God's Compassion towards penitent Sinners answerable to all this This I shall endeavour to clear in these Particulars 1. That God's hatred is not primarily against Persons who are his Creatures but against that which is evil which is none of his making and against Persons only so far as they are corrupted with Evil. Thou lovest Righteousness and hatest Wickedness faith the Psalmist God hates nothing for its own sake but Sin and for the sake of that he hates all Workers of Iniquity 2. There may be Good-will towards the Person of a Sinner at the same time when God discovers the hatred of his Sins I do not say God takes any Pleasure in him while he goes on in Sin for that is against the Eternal Rules of Righteousness in God but that he may have so much Good-will towards him as to design to reduce him from his evil Ways And this every Father finds in himself towards a disobedient Son while he hates his evil Courses yet he would make use of the best Methods to bring him to himself and to his Duty And upon this is grounded that Love and Kindness of God towards Mankind in sending his Son to be our Saviour and all the Promises and Invitations which are made to Sinners in the Doctrine of the Gospel 3. It is very agreeable to Infinite Wisdom and Goodness for God to shew himself full of Pity and Compassion towards penitent Sinners i. e. so as to forgive them their former Sins and to receive them into his Favour For Pity and Compassion in God is to be judged not according to the inward Motions we find in our selves but according to these two things 1. A readiness to do good to his Creatures according to their Necessities Which being in general is his Bounty and Goodness but considered with respect to the Persons of Sinners it is his Clemency or readiness to forgive and with respect to the Punishment they deserve by their Sins it is his Mercy and Pity Which in us is Aegritudo ex Miseriâ— alterius and therefore called Misericordia because the Heart is touched with the Sense of another's Misery but we are not so to apprehend it in God but that such is the Goodness of God towards repenting Sinners that he is as willing to shew Mercy as they are to repent 2. God's Pity and Compassion lies in the proper Effects of it which here in the Case of the Prodigal were passing by his former Extravagances and receiving him into as much Favour as if he had not gone astray This my Son was dead and is alive again was lost and is found Those who think they stand not in need of so much pardoning Mercy as others do are apt to repine at the Favour shew'd to great Sinners when they repent and therefore the Elder Brother could not bear the expressing so much kindness towards such a disobedient Son though now a Penitent But that there is nothing disagreeing to Infinite Wisdom and Goodness in such Compassion towards penitent Sinners will more fully appear if we consider 1. That God is not bound to deal with Sinners according to the utmost Rigour and Severity of his Justice Because he is under no fatal Necessity no superiour Law and therefore may act freely in the forgiving Offenders as seems best to his Infinite Wisdom The whole Race of Mankind is a perpetual Evidence that God doth not act according to the strictness of his Justice for if he had dealt with them after their Sins or rewarded them according to their Iniquities their Spirits would have failed before him and the Souls which he had made they had been long since destroy'd from the Face of the Earth and not suffer'd to continue in their Provocations But God hath not only forborn Sinners long when he might justly have punished them but he gives them many real Blessings and Comforts of Life freely and bountifully Now if God deal so mercifully with Sinners while they continue such is there not greater Reason to suppose he will be far more so when they cease to be such 2. A penitent Sinner doth what in him lies to vindicate God's Honour I do not say he can make satisfaction to Divine Justice for that is impossible for him to do and God hath provided for that by his own Son whom he hath made a Propitiation for the Sins of the World But a true Penitent takes all the Shame and Dishonour to himself he clears the Justice of God's Government and the Equity of his Laws and owns himself guilty of unspeakable Folly in his Disobedience O how justly saith he might God have taken me away in the midst of my Sins when my Conscience checked
Apostle calls it an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you Such is the Condition of the World without us here and of the Passions and Infirmities within us that it is a vain thing to expect a true Happiness to be enjoyed in this Life the utmost we can hope for is to be prepared for a better and God knows there is difficulty enough in that We have Hearts so vain and sensual so addicted to the Pleasures and Impertinencies of this World so prepossessed with the Objects of Sense that it is no easie Matter to bring them so much as in earnest to consider of another World But it is yet harder to fix the Thoughts of it upon our Mindâ— so as to make a deep Impression upon them as they must do if we make the Happiness of Heaven our chief End and Design Supposing that Paradise were still upon Earth in its first Glory and to be found by the Description which Moses gives of it a Man may think often concerning it where it lies what the Rivers are by which it is to be discovered but all this amounts but to a mere Speculation But suppose that he takes up a Resolution to go thither what other kind of thoughts hath he then about it as to the Truth and Certainty of the Place and the Way that leads thither and the Difficulties he is like to meet with Which make another kind of Impression than the former dry Speculation did If a Man doth not think Heaven worth all the Pains and Difficulties which lie in our way to it he never yet had one serious and becoming thought concerning it For the Happiness proposed is really so great and invaluable that the more we think of it the more we shall esteem it and the more we shall despise and triumph over the greatest Difficulties in order to it it being no less than the perfect Enjoyment of the most perfect Good in a most perfect State of Life and nothing can be desired by humane Nature greater than this 2. The Difficulties in our Way to Salvation are not such but we may reasonably hope to overcome them i. e. if we set our selves about it otherwise a very mean Difficulty will appear too great for us Therefore we must suppose not only a willing Mind but a firm Resolution to do what lies in us And there are two things to shew that we may hope to overcome them 1. That the most difficult Duties are in themselves reasonable to be performed by us 2. That God offers his gracious Assistance for the performance of them 1. That the most difficult Duties are in themselves reasonable I mean such whose Difficulty doth not arise from accidental outward Circumstances but from a Respect to the present State and Condition of humane Nature Such as 1. True Repentance which is one of the hardest Works of a Man's life when he hath been long engaged in a Course of sinning against Conscience It is not hard for such a one to be made sensible that he hath done amiss for he that acts against his Judgment is as Aristotle observes apt to repent i. e. to find fault with himself for his own Actions and to resolve to amend There is a sort of Displeasure against Sin which is consistent with the Practice of it which is called by the Casuists Attritio Impoenitentium but they say it is without a Purpose of forsaking it if there be such a Purpose that they say is Attritio Poenitentium but if it be an ineffectual Purpose the Scripture no where calls it Repentance For as long as the habitual Practice continues it is certain that Man's love to his Sin exceeds his Hatred of it and what Repentance can that be which is consistent with a prevailing Love of Sin When Persons were first made Christians their Repentance was easily discerned whether true or false because it was a publick and solemn Renunciation of all their former Sins but when Men have accustomed themselves to sin under a Profession to renounce their Sins it is a harder Matter to find out the Sincerity of their Repentance as to those Sins And here a difference must be made as to the Nature and Kind of Sins For there are some Sins which all agree to be Sins yet it is a hard Matter to convince Persons that they are guilty of them such as Hypocrisie Schism and Idolatry which Men will find something to excuse themselves from notwithstanding the clearest Evidence against them Some are such Strangers to themselves that they do not suspect themselves for those Sins which others easily discern in them as is common in the Case of Pride and Envy and Covetousness and Superstition It cannot be supposed that Persons should so particularly repent of such Sins which they are not sensible of but where Self-love blinds it cannot excuse And where such evil Habits prevail Persons must repent and search and examine themselves in order to a particular Repentance There are other Sins which are really perpetual Burthens to a good Mind but it knows not how to get rid of them with the utmost Care such as inward Motions to Sin sudden Heats and Surprises mixt Infirmities Coldness in Devotion Distractions in Prayer and many Omissions of Personal Duties in such Cases as these if we do not allow Sincerity of Repentance without through Amendment we make a general Repentance insignificant and make the Condition of many good Men desperate for none can be saved without true Repentance And if there can be no true Repentance without actual forsaking all such Kinds of Sins there is no such thing as true Repentance to be found But there are other Sins of a more dangerous and malignant Nature which argue a very bad Mind such as Malice and Hatred a rooted Aversion to what is Good and a strong Inclination to Evil. There are some Sins that are gross and notorious of which St. Paul saith The lusts of the Flesh are manifest i. e. such Sins are easily known to be Sins and Men's Consciences condemn them even while they commit them such as Murther Adultery Intemperance Injustice Perjury and such like Of which the Apostle after declares That they who do such things shall never come to Heaven Therefore as to them such a Repentance is necessary as implies not merely a dislike and sorrow for them but a thorough Change of a Man's Mind and the Course of his Life with respect to them And surely it is no easie Matter to new mold the Temper of ones Mind and to turn the Tide of our Actions to break off our beloved Sins and to bring forth Fruits worthy of Repentance This is indeed a hard Work but yet it is a most reasonable Work It is hard but it is like the taking violent Physick in some Diseases where the Humour must be purged out or the Party must die the Uneasiness iâ— not to be considered but the Necessity and in
they have not the Heart and Courage to examine them whether they be reasonable or not but rather choose to return to their former Opiates than undergo the trouble of an effectual Cure by a hearty Repentance and coming to themselves as the prodigal Son in the Parable did when his Hardship had brought him to Consideration We do not know what had become of him if he had been wise and frugal in his Pleasures if he had taken care of a good Stock and a plentifull Subsistence but he first came to be pinched with want before he was awakened to repent But we have in Scripture a more remarkable Instance of the stupifying Nature of sensual Pleasures and that was in David after his Sins of Adultery and Murther It is a wonder how a Man of such a tender Conscience in other things should continue so long under the Guilt of these Enormities without being awakened to Repentance Did he not know these to be great Sins And did not his Conscience charge him with the Guilt of them How came he then to need a Prophet to be sent to him and to deal so plainly with him as to tell him Thou art the Man But this is a plain Evidence how much the Pleasures of Sin are apt to stupifie Men's Consciences so far that unless God by his Grace be pleased to awaken them thoroughly they never come to a sincere and hearty Repentance David saw nothing more as to the Guilt of his Sins when he penn'd his 51st Psalm than his own Reason and Natural Conscience might inform him before but he had quite another Sense of his Sins then his Heart was broken and his Soul wounded under the Apprehension of God's Displeasure and this makes him pray so earnestly and so importunately to God for the Pardon of his Sins And if it were thus in the case of a Man otherwise after God's own heart i. e. afraid of offending him and carefull to please him what may we imagine it to be in those who in the time of Youth walk in the way of their hearts and in the sight of their eyes i. e. allowing themselves in all sensual Inclinations and pursuing carnal Delights so far till they have lost all Sense of God and another World and such as these nothing but the powerfull Influences of Divine Grace can awaken and recover 3. The third Reason is A General Presumption upon God's Mercy The first thing which Sinners in the Heat of their Youth and Pursuit of their Lusts aim at is to think as little as may be of what they are doing or what will be the Consequence of their Actions For every thought of themselves is very uneasie to them and every thought of God is much more so therefore they drive away all such Thoughts by one Means or other by Sleep Diversion Company and such publick Entertainments as rather heighten and inflame their Vices than correct them If all this will not do but there will be some melancholy Hours wherein Conscience begins to rouze it self and to awaken the Sinner to some Sense of his Folly then he is ready to hearken with Pleasure to any Raileries against Religion and Morality and admires the Wit of any one who dares say a bold and sharp thing against the Wisdom of all Ages and of the best Men in them And one or two such Sayings without Proof are cried up as far beyond the best Rules of Morality or the Evidence of natural and revealed Religion Any Sceptical Disputes are sufficient Demonstrations to them and the most unreasonable Cavils against Religion are embraced because against the thing they hate and even a Jest against the Day of Judgment shall signifie more with them than the strongest Arguments in the World to prove it The true Reason is they love their Vices and hate every thing which makes them uneasie to them and nothing doth more so than the thoughts of a Judgment to come But suppose after all the terrible and frequent Expressions of Scripture concerning the Day of Judgment joyned with the Reasonableness of the thing do make such Impression on their Minds that they cannot wholly shake off the Fears and Apprehensions of it then their last Endeavour is to mitigate and lessen them from a General Presumption of God's Mercifull Nature and therefore they are willing to suppose that however God to keep the World in awe hath threatned them with the dreadfull Severities of the Great Day yet as a tender Father who threatens his disobedient Son in order to reclaim him with no less than disinheriting him for ever yet when it comes to Execution he may relent not from his Son's Deserts but his own Compassion so they hope or believe or are willing to do so that God at the Great Day will not proceed according to the Rigour which he hath threatned to use And to comfort themselves in these hopes they find out all possible Extenuations of their Sins If we say they had been created purely intellectual Beings free from this load of Flesh and the Inclinations which are natural to it then it had been more reasonable to have called us to a strict Account for every Action of our Lives for then every Inclination to Evil must have come from our Minds but now our Bodies corrupt and draw them aside and the Inclinations to Evil grow faster than our Reason which should check and restrain them And when those Inclinations are strongest Men have not that Judgment which is necessary to the Government of unruly Passions So that the very Frame of humane Nature seems to plead for Sins committed in the Heat and Violence of Youth Besides such is the Strictness and Purity of the Law of God and so great the Weakness and Disability the Ignorance and Inadvertency of Mankind that if God will make no Allowance for humane Frailty who can stand before his Tribunal And if any Allowance be made for Sins of Infirmity there are so many Abatements to be made for Sins committed through sudden Passion through Mistake through the unavoidable Impotency of humane Nature in this degenerate Condition that the Severity of that Day is not much to be feared This is the utmost of the Sinner's Plea against the Severity of the Day of Judgment But to shew how faulty it is I shall offer these Considerations 1. That God will certainly Judge the World in Righteousness and therefore none shall have Cause to complain of the Harshness or Severity of his Proceedings For this Righteousness is not the Rigour of Justice but that Equity which hath a Regard to the Circumstances of Actions and the Abatement and Extenuation of Faults which arise from them 2. None shall suffer at that Day but for their wilfull Impenitency and obstinate Continuance in Sin For this is not only agreeable to the Mercifull Nature of God to forgive repenting Sinners but it is one of the great Designs of the Gospel to assure Mankind of it by the
highest Testimonies even by the Death and Resurrection of the Son of God and all the Miracles wrought in Confirmation of it and of the Truth of his Doctrine 3. There are several Degrees of Wilfulness and Obstinacy and Men's Judgments shall be according to them Some Men's Capacities Opportunities and Helps have very much exceeded others some have broken through stronger Convictions and more powerfull Assistances of Grace than others some have had more early Instructions more frequent Warnings more obliging Favours from Heaven than others And as it is reasonable that Persons suffer for their obstinate Continuance in Sin so that they should suffer according to the Degrees and Circumstances of it 4. It is no unjust Severity in God to deprive Men of that Happiness which they have wilfully refused and to condemn them to that Misery which their Sins have deserved Hath not God made the most condescending Offer of Mercy and Salvation that it is possible for Creatures to expect from him after so many and great Provocations Could Heaven stoop lower than it hath done to vile and ungratefull Sinners When the Son of God came down from Heaven on purpose to reconcile God and Man together When the Spirit of God warns and excites their Minds to the Consideration of their Eternal Welfare When the Messengers of this Reconciliation are to woo and intreat and beseech Sinners in Christ's stead as tho' God did beseech them by them that they would be reconciled to God When the Patience and Goodness and Long suffering of God is exercised so much on purpose to lead them to Repentance When God instead of perfect Obedience is willing to pardon and pass by so many Offences if they truly repent of them and to receive them still into his Favour and Mercy When after all this Men do rather preferr the present Pleasures of Sin before all that Happiness which God so freely offers is it any Injustice in him to suffer them for ever to be deprived of that which they so wilfully so ungratefully so obstinately refused And supposing the Souls of Men to subsist in another World free from all those Clouds of Errour and Mistake and the false Notions they are deceived by here as well as all the Diversions and Pleasures of this Life it is not to be imagined but they must for ever suffer an intolerable Anguish within called A Worm that never dies and a Fire that never goes out from the Reflections upon their own Folly What Vengeance beyond this God may inflict we now know not may none of us ever know it but we are sure it will never exceed the Proportion and Desert of their Sins Which is sufficient to clear the Justice of God in his Proceedings with Mankind in the Day of Judgment 2. It remains now only to shew by what means God's bringing us to Judgment may make a deeper Impression upon our Minds By considering these two things 1. That our not considering it will not make our Condition better but much worse 2. That our Considering it is the best means to prevent the evil Consequences of it 1. Our not considering it will not make our Conditon better There were great Reason indeed to walk in the way of our hearts and in the sight of our eyes and never trouble our selves with what will happen at the great Day if the putting it out of our Heads would make our Accounts the easier when it comes But alas Whether we think of it or no the Account runs on and we must answer to every particular at last and how unprovided shall we be if we spend no time here in examining stating and clearing of them as far as we are able It is a mighty Privilege we have by the Gospel that God allows us to clear our Accounts with him in this World For if we would judge our selves we shall not be judged i. e. If we call our selves to a strict Account for our Actions if we repent heartily and sincerely of our Sins if we seek earnestly to God for Mercy if we have our Consciences cleansed by the Blood of Christ from the Pollution of our Sins then we may with Joy and Peace in our Minds think of the Great Day of Recompence But if we never enter into our selves to search and examine our own Actions never look into the Habits of our own Minds nor charge our selves with the Guilt of the Sins we have committed how can we ever hope to escape the Scrutiny or avoid the Severity of that Day For our Account continually increases by our Neglect of it and the Burthen of God's Wrath must be so much heavier when we have taken no care to lessen it but after our hardness and impenitent hearts have only treasured up wrath against the day of wrath 2. Our considering that God will bring us to Judgment is the best means to prevent the evil Consequences of it For although we cannot hope to plead Innocency yet which is next in Point of Wisdom this is the most effectual Motive to bring us to Repentance And that which makes us repent makes us to grow wise in time and to lay a good Foundation for Eternal Life There are many Arguments to induce us to it in the Folly and Shame of our Sins the Wisdom of Reflection and Reformation the Instances of it and Exhortations to it recorded in Scripture but there is none more sensible and which touches Men more in Point of Interest and Concernment than this of a Judgment to come Must I then saith a penitent Sinner give a strict Account to God of all the evil Actions of my Life and suffer according to the Desert of them if I die in Impenitency How much doth it then concern me to repent betimes to repent in good earnest to repent while there is hopes of Mercy Away then all ye deceitfull Vanities of this wicked World ye have too long deceived and seduced me What will all this vain shew this busie Seducer this impertinent Outside of the World signifie when I must be stript of all and stand guilty and accused by my own Conscience before the Judgment-Seat of Christ Oh! how wretched shall I be if my Conscience condemns me before the Sentence of the Judge Therefore I am resolved to prevent the Judgment of that Day I will accuse judge and condemn my self nay I will proceed to Execution as to all the vitious Habits and corrupt Inclinations within me And although I cannot wholly mortifie them yet I will crucifie them i. e. nail them to the Cross and allow them no longer Liberty and albeit they may struggle for a time yet I will never give way to their Dominion over me any more that so Death and Judgment may find me prepared if not with unspotted Innocency yet with hearty and sincere Repentance To conclude all let the Consideration of this Day of Judgment to come enter deep into our Minds and awaken us out of our Lethargy and
the least Reflection or Consideration would make them see how bad their condition is For they have no true Sense of God or Religion at all they have no serious thoughts or apprehensions of Divine and Spiritual things this World they pretend to know something of and have too great an Esteem of the Vanities and Pleasures of it for these wholly take up their Hearts and Time and they have a savour and relish for any thing that tends to their Greatness or Honour or Entertainment of their Appetites or Fancies here buâ— if we speak to them of another World of God and Heaven and a Spiritual Disposition of Soul either they look on us with Amazement as if they were insensible of such things or else with Scorn and Contempt as if we went about to deceive them Alas They are too wise to be imposed upon by us and they have other things to mind I am sure not greater or weightier which take up all their Time and so what through the Business and the Impertinencies of this World their Time passeth away as a Table that is told and as though it were a pleasant Tale they are troubled only to think it will be so soon at an End But these are not the Persons who require any such Care to pass a right Judgment upon them for they can pretend to nothing that is spiritual as to the Tempers and Dispositions of their Minds and therefore such as these must be set aside for it is too apparent that they are only sensual and carnally minded But as the Papists distinguish of the Body of Christ so may we of the carnal Mind there is a gross and Capernaitical Sense and there is a more refined and if I may use the Expression a more Spiritual Sense of it For altho' it be a great Absurdity in them to suppose that a meer Body can be after the Manner of a Spirit yet it is not so to suppose a Carnal Mind to have a Mixture of some Spiritual Qualities and Dispositions in it And this makes the difference so much harder to be perceived between the carnally and spiritually minded since there are the same Faculties of Perception Reasoning and Application in both and the same common Principles of Religion may be owned by both which may in Reason be supposed to make some Impression on the Minds of the more ingenuous Part of Mankind who are not given over to such a Reprobate Sense as the former were Now how to distinguish between frequent good Impressions on the Mind and an habitual Temper and Disposition is not so easie to all who are concerned to distinguish them And yet a Person may be throughly convinced of his Sins and tremble at the Apprehension of the Justice and Severity of God against them he may have many Checks and Reluctancies of Conscience while he goes on to commit them he may sigh and groan and lament under the wretchedness of his Condition by his Love of Sin and yet may love his Sins all the while more than God or Heaven or any thing in Competition with them The difference doth not lie in the Nature or Number of the Impressions from without but in the inward Principle of Action A Cistern may be full of Water falling down from Heaven which may run as long as that holds which fell into it but a Spring hath it rising up within and so continues running when the other is spent A carnal Mind may have many Spiritual Convictions and good Motions and Inclinations but after a time they wear off and leave no lasting Effect behind them but where there is a Spring in the Soul there is a fresh and continual Supply of such Inclinations as keep up a constant Course of a Spiritual Life which our Saviour calls Rivers of living Water I confess it is hard to determine what a Habit or Principle abiding in our Minds is yet the Scripture doth evidently suppose such a thing when it speaks of the New Birth and the New Life and the New Creature and the Children of God all which are very insignificant Terms if there be not under them something answerable to the First Principles of Life and if there be not a Divine Spirit dwelling and acting in the Souls of good Men and raising them up above carnal and sensual Objects to things Divine and Spiritual and carrying them through the Passage of this World so as to prepare them for a better But yet there may be many things which carry some Resemblance to this Principle within which come not up to it There may be such Principles of Education and good Manners such Awakenings of Conscience such a Strength of Natural Reason and common Ingenuity as may carry one on to do some very good things and yet he may fall short of having a true Principle of Spiritual Life in him But then there must be another Principle within which contradicts this and prevails over it and carries him on to the Love of Sin which proves too strong for the Love of God and the due Regard to Spiritual things The Result of this Discourse is since the Carnal Mind is not to be taken meerly for such a one which stands out in opposition to the Gospel nor for such a one which is insensible of Spiritual things but such as may consist with a common Profession of Religion and have the same Convictions and good Impressions which others have it doth require a more than ordinary Acquaintance with our selves to be able to judge aright whether the Temper of our Minds be Carnal or Spiritual 2. But this is not all for since there is so great a Mixture of Good and Evil in the better sort of Mankind there is required not barely Knowledge of our selves but a good Judgment too to adjust the Proportions of Good and Evil in particular Persons so as to be able to judge whether we are carnally or spiritually minded For as those who are Carnal while they follow their carnal Inclinations may have many inward Strugglings by spiritual Convictions so those who are spiritually minded may meet with many Combats from the Flesh which may be troublesome where it cannot prevail But there is a great difference between the Spirit struggling against the Flesh in the carnally minded and the Flesh struggling against the Spirit in those who are spiritually minded For where there is no perfect Victory there will be some Opposition and the best have so many Failings to complain of in this World so many Infirmities and Defects in their good Actions so many Passions not brought into their due Order so many Omissions of Personal and Relative Duties such Variety of Tempers and Weakness of Resolution such Coldness in Devotion and unreasonable Dejections of Mind so many unaccountable Fears and such dreadfull Apprehensions of Death and the Consequences of it that these things must make great Abatements as to such as are truly spiritually minded But by all these things the
Difficulty still increaseth and therefore it is time to come to the Resolution of it and that will be by shewing that the Difference between the carnal and spiritual Mind lies in these three Things 1. In the deliberate Judgment and Choice 2. In the prevailing Interest 3. In the constant Rule and Measure of Actions 1. In the deliberate Judgment and Choice For the main difference as to the carnal and spiritual Mind lies in the different End which is aimed at by them Where the chief End is the pleasing our selves and the enjoying of any thing as our Happiness under the Supream Good whatever Thoughts and Intentions we may at some times have to repent of our Sins and turn our Souls from the Love of Sin to the Love of God as long as we continue pursuing a wrong End we have too great Reason to conclude our Minds to be yet carnal and sold under sin For while the Apostle represents himself so he tells us he had his Conscience thoroughly awakened with the Sense of his Sins even of those which the World is least apt to be sensible of inward and secret Sins he was not only convinced of the Excellency and Purity of the Law but had some Pleasure and Satisfaction in it he had some hearty desires to be rid of his beloved Sins but yet they were too hard for him he sighed and lamented under his deplorable Condition but till the Grace of God came to set him free he was in a miserable and hopeless State But how is it that the Grace of God thus refines and purifies the Minds of Men so as of Carnal to make them Spiritual when the same Passions and Inclinations remain A Change there must be and that real and spiritual and therefore in our best Faculties viz. our Understandings and our Wills not by a Revelation of New Objects to the Mind nor by offering any Force upon the Will but by fixing the Judgment of the Mind and the Choice of the Will upon the best and most desirable Objects which is God himself as the Supreme Good The Turn of the Soul which makes one spiritually minded must not be only from gross and sensual Inclinations but from every other kind of Good which stands in Competition with the Supreme A truly spiritual Mind is one that is possessed with the Love of God above all and that values other things as they tend to the Enjoyment of Him God must be the only Center of his Hopes and Designs for in him alone his true Happiness consists As the Psalmist expresses it Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth I desire besides thee Whatever falls short of this may agree to a carnal Mind but a carnal Mind can never love God as he ought to be loved not with a Supreme transcendent Degree of Love which is alone proper and suitable to him All other kind of Love is beneath his Infinite Goodness and Perfections and to love him as we do his Creatures is to do him the greatest Dishonour for it levels their Perfections and supposes them to deserve the same Degree of Affection from us But there may be many spiritual Notions in Men's minds about God and Religion about mystical Unions and the Participations of Divine Love many seeming Spiritual Raptures and Ecstasies and yet there may not be this spiritual Mind For the Heats of Enthusiasm may seem to be very Spiritual but are of another kind they are Spiritual as they are the Effects of a great heating of the Spirits by the Force of a vehement Imagination which hath been often accompanied with as vehement an Inclination to sensual Pleasures which shews the plain Difference between an exalted Fancy and a spiritual Mind A Spiritual Mind is such a one as is not only throughly convinced of the Reality of Spiritual things but of their Excellency and Desirableness above any others that can be offer'd to our Choice It sees through all the glittering Vanities of this World and soars above the most tempting and bewitching Follies of Mankind here It frequently retires from the Noise and Confusion the Hurry and Vexation of Worldly Affairs that it may converse more freely with invisible Objects not meerly by way of Contemplation but by raising the Affections of the Soul towards them as the things which it hath chosen for its Happiness And this makes a wonderfull Alteration in the thoughts that these different Tempers have concerning the same things I do not deny but those who have carnal Minds may have some raised and spiritual Thoughts but they are too cold and speculative they may have noble and refined Speculations about the invisible World may be fully convinced that the things which are seen could not be what they are were it not for the things which are not seen and that the things which are not seen are of incomparably greater value than those which are so much more admired because they are seen But we must not conclude that because Men do really believe Spiritual things therefore they are spiritually minded for that were to suppose all to be Saints who are not Atheists but there must be such a due Preference in our Minds of that Invisible and Eternal State above all that is accounted great and desirable here as gives a just Denomination to one that he is spiritually minded i. e. that his Mind and Soul is fixed upon another World as his proper Happiness and other things are regarded and valued in subserviency to it 2. A Spiritual Mind is discerned by the Prevailing Interest For as long as we are made up of Flesh and Spirit there will and must be a Combat between them For the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would And yet the same Apostle soon after adds They that are Christ's have crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts the Meaning is that in some particular Instances and less remarkable Cases the Flesh may sometimes be too hard for the Spirit but in all notorious Instances of the Lusts of the Flesh which he reckons up and in the main Issue of all lesser Combats the Spirit will be too hard for the Flesh in those who are spiritually minded as the Flesh will be too hard for the Spirit at last in those who are carnally minded If we look on them in the time of the Combat it will be hard to judge which is most likely to prevail but those may have the better in some particular Skirmishes who may lose very much in the State of the War a good Man may be foiled by Surprise or under some disadvantage but he will recover himself and it may be gain Ground by his Falls and a bad Man may in some fits of Devotion seem so spiritually minded that one might be apt to think he were quite changed till he returns
enjoying themselves and being full of Noise and Confidence and appear to be all Miâ—th and good Humour But there is another Account to be taken of these things If Men could look within and see all the secret Misgivings the inward Horrours of Conscience the Impatience and Dissatisfaction they have when they seriously reflect on their evil Courses it would quite alter their Apprehensions of these things and make them conclude with the Roman Orator That one Day spent according to the Rules of Vertue were to be preferr'd before everlasting Debaucheries And he was no Fooâ— no Pedant no mean and contemptible Person who said this but a Man of Wit and Sense of Quality and Experience who had Opportunities and Means enough to have pursued the most sensual and voluptuous Course of Liâ—e which yet we see out of Judgment and Choice he despised and preferr'd a far shorter Life according to the Rules of Vertue before a vicious Immortality And yet how short were the Incouragements to a good Life and the Dissuasives from Sin among the best of them in Comparison of what we all â—now now by the Gospel of Christ They went no farther than meer Natural Reason and the common Sense of Mankind carried them but we profess to believe the Wrath of God revealed from Heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of Men and that there will be a great and terrible Day wherein Men must receive according to their Works whether they be Good or Evil. And will not this dreadfull Consideration awaken the drowsie and secure Sinner and make him look about him betimes while there is yet any hopes of Mercy Will he not become so wise at least as to enter into the Consideration of his Ways and to look back on the former Course of his Life to examine and compare that with the Law of God by which he must be judged And if we have but Patience to do this he will have no farther Patience with himself for being guilty of such unspeakable Folly He will abhorr himself for all his sensual and sinfull Delights which will turn into the greatest Bitterness and Anguish to his Soul He will lament his Folly and Wickedness with the deepest Sorrow and take up sincere and firm Resolutions to return no more to the Practise of them And if this be the Result as it ought to be of all the distinguishing sinfull Pleasures of a carnal Mind I leave it to the most impartial Mind to resolve whether there will be the least Advantage by pursuing them 2. But we have too great Reason to suppose that Men may harden themselves to such a Degree of Wickedness as to be insensible of the Folly of it and to mock at those who go about to reprove them for it Such as these are at ease because they have no Sense of their Condition but so are those in a Lethargy Is their Case therefore to be envied or compared with those in Health altho' more sensible of Pain and Danger Who seem to be better pleased at sometimes and transported with their own Imaginations than Men in a Frenzy And yet no Man thinks their Condition happier for it There is a sort of Moral Frenzy which possesses some part of Mankind who are not only extravagant in their Actions but assume such a Degree of Confidence in committing them as though the wise Men of all Ages had been the only remarkable Fools in it But it is no such easie Matter to run down the Principles of Vertue and Religion they have stood the Shock of all the Sarcasms and Reproaches of former Times and there is still nothing at the Bottom of all the Scorn and Contempt that is cast upon them but a carnal and profane Temper of Mind which may bear them up for a while but it will be sure to end in everlasting Confusion and then they will find what they were so unwilling to believe That to be carnally minded is Death Not a meer State of Insensibility but the worst kind of Death A Death of perpetual Horrour and Torment A Death without the Power of Dying and yet with a perpetual Desire of it A Death whose Sting can never be taken out and whose Terror is said to be as everlasting as the Joys of Heaven And shall not the Apprehension of such a Death as this so dreadfull so unavoidable so insupportable make the greatest Sinners to tremble and be confounded at the Apprehension of it And if once such Thoughts break into their Minds farewell then to all the imaginary Pleasure and Satisfaction of a carnal Mind for it must sink it into the Confusion if not the Despair of Hell 2. But I have hitherto represented the Disadvantages of one side but are there not such on the other too Some are too apt to think a spiritual Mind to be nothing but a disorder'd Fancy and melancholy Imaginations of invisible things If this were all it were so far from being Life and Peace that there could be no real Satisfaction about it But a spiritual Mind is truly the most desirable thing we aâ—e capable of in this World For it is the best Improvement of our Minds which are Spiritual It is the purging and refining them from the Dross and Corruption which debased them It is the advancing them towards the Divine Nature by a gradual Participation of it It is the raising them above the carnal Delights and the sollicitous Cares and perplexing Fears of this World and fitting them for a perpetual Conversation with Divine and Spiritual Objects And what then can be more agreeable to the best Part of our selves here than to have a Mind so disengaged from this World and so fit for a better So that we may be content to take a view of the Worst which can be supposed as to Disadvantage here which is that good Men may be under uneequal Circumstances as to their Condition in this Life that is when the regarding another World more than this may make their outward Condition moâ—e uneasie here than it might have been if they had follow'd only the Dictates of a carnal Mind There are two sorts of Troubles we are to expect in this World 1. Such as we bring upon our selves by our own Acts 2. Such as are common to all Mankind In both these the spiritual Mind hath the Advantage 1. As to such which Men bring upon themselves Let this be supposed as it ought to be when God pleases among Christians who are to follow Christ in taking up his Cross Is there any thing in this which overthrows the Advantage of a spiritual Mind above a carnal Can a carnal Mind secure Men from Pains and Diseases from Losses and Disappointments Nay doth not the Pursuit of carnal Pleasures bring more Troubles upon Men in this Life than the Case of Persecution doth upon the best Christians If the loathsome Diseases the reproachfull and untimely Deaths which of all things ought to be most avoided by such who
and in an instant to knock off their Fetters and bid them be free but he makes use of all the gentle and effectual Methods of Perswasion not only by his Words but by his own Example that they might learn by him to despise this World who had so little in it and to prepare for that from whence he came where their Happiness should be unconceivable and without End III. The third Principle is That no such particular Favour of God is to be expected as long as his Displeasure is so just against Mankind for Sin and no effectual Means used to remove it The truth is the whole Scheme of the Gospel turns upon this Point whether God be really displeased with Mankind for their Sins so as to need a Reconciliation For if all that the Scripture so often expresses concerning the Wrath and Displeasure of God against Mankind for Sin be only figurative and hyperbolical Expressions then the whole Design of the Gospel must be given up as a meer Scheme for if God be not really displeased there is no need of Reconciliation if no need of that then there can be no need of Christ's coming to reconcile us to God and if he did not come for that End we have no Reason to believe the Scripture which affirms it over and over And I do not think any stronger Argument can be brought to prove a thing than that the most emphatical Expressions are so often applied to that purpose by such Persons who used all Sincerity and Plainness So that this matter as to the Scripture is clear if any thing can be made so and if nothing can I cannot see how it is possible to have a written Rule of Faith since all Writings are capable by Ambiguity of Words and Phrases by the different Use of Particles and Transposition of Letters and Syllables of very different Interpretations But this is not my present Business which is rather to consider the Natural Sense and Reason of Mankind as to this matter We cannot in Reason suppose any such Passion in an infinitely perfect being as that which we call Wrath and Anger in Men. For that is a violent Perturbation arising from Surprise and Indignation but there can be no Disorder or Surprise in a Being of infinite Wisdom Therefore Wrath in God must suppose two Things 1. A just Cause of Displeasure given by us 2. Such a just Displeasure following upon it as will end in the severe Punishment of Offenders if it be not removed Now whether there be a just Cause of Displeasure or not must depend upon the Natural Differences of Good and Evil. And it is impossible that any one who exercises his Reason can judge amiss in this Matter Not that all the Differences of Good and Evil are equally clear for all Propositions in Mathematicks are not so but it is sufficient to our Purpose that the general Principles are so and the greater Instances so that no Man can think that he acts as much according to Reason in one as the other And can any one of common Sense imagine God to be as well pleased with him who blasphemes his Name and despises his Service and hates Religion as with one that fears and Honours him and endeavours to please him Can he be as well pleased with him that assassines his Parents as with him that obeys them With him that robs and defrauds his Neighbour as with him that relieves him in his Necessities With him who subdues his disorderly Passions as with him that gives way to them With him who is cruel inhuman and persidious as with him that is faithfull and just and compassionate These are but some of the Instances of the Differences of Good and Evil but they are so plain and notorious that a Man must renounce the common Principles of Humanity who doth not own them And to say there are no such Differences because there have been Mistakes and Disputes about some things accounted Good and Evil is as absurd as to say there is no Difference between Day and Night because in the Twilight it is hard to distinguish them But if there be such a real Difference in the Nature of Humane Actions and God be a strict observer of them he being a God of infinite Holiness and Justice cannot but be offended with Mankind's wilfull Omission of what they know to be good and Commission of what they know to be evil But here we must distinguish between God's Displeasure against the Actions and against the Persons who commit them The former is a necessary Consequent upon the Evil of Sin and can never be removed for God is irreconcileable to Sin But those who commit Sin are his Creatures and therefore capable of Mercy and Forgiveness There is always a Desert of Punishment following upon Sin but there is no inseparable Connection between the Sin and the Punishment for the great and wise Governour of the World acts not by Necessity of Nature in punishing Sinners but by the Methods of Wisdom and Justice And if the saving of Sinners upon their Repentance can be made agreeable to these such is the Mercy and Goodness of God to his Creatures that there is great Reason to hope for a Reconciliation For although God be displeased he is not implacable although he be justly provoked to punish Sinners yet there is no absolute Necessity that he should nor any irreversible Decree that he will do it and therefore notwithstanding this Displeasure of God there is a way still left open for Reconciliation which leads to the next IV. The fourth Principle is That if God be thus displeased with the Sins of Mankind and yet there is a Possibility of Reconciliation between God and them he alone is the most proper and competent Judge on what Terms this Reconciliation may be obtained For being both the offended Party and the supreme Governour he hath the sole Right on both Accounts of fixing those Terms and Conditions upon which he will forgive Sins and receive the Offenders into Favour It is a vain thing for any to argue from one Attribute of God against another Some are apt to flatter themselves that God will easily forgive Sins because he is mercifull but they ought to consider that he is just and holy as well as mercifull and there is as much ground to fear that he will not forgive because he is just as there can be to hope that he will because he is mercifull And thus it is impossible for a considering Man to satisfie his own Mind as to God's forgiving his Sins unless he be some way assured from himself that he will do it And therefore a particular Revelation in this Case must be made if God designs to bring Men to Repentance by the Hopes of Forgiveness But meer Repentance can never make any satisfaction to God for the Breach of his Laws Suppose a Sinner come to himself and is heartily sorry that he hath offended God so many ways and with
Duties of their Places are bound to regard the Publick and the Good of others and when they do it not they are certainly guilty of Sins of Omission in a high Degree For every such Place is a Trust from God of which an Account must be given and a Sacred and Solemn Obligation goes along with them so that there can be no Sins of Omission in such Cases without Sins of Commission of as high a Nature as Breach of Trust and of the most solemn Obligations The truth is the World is so humoursome and fantastical a thing that it will hardly endure to be made better so that those who have the greatest Zeal and Resolution to do good are extremely discouraged in it when they find so many Objections and Difficulties such Frowardness and Perverseness in some such Remisness and Coldness in others such an Universal Lassitude and Indifferency that it is enough to check the best Inclinations that way and to make them leave the World to be managed as it will And there are some Seasons wherein it is much harder to do good than in others Such I mean when Wickedness and Vice have corrupted the very Principles of Men's minds when they account it a Piece of Wit to be profane and a higher sort of Breeding to despise Religion and Vertue when some are ready to pervert the best Designs and mix such mean and sinister Ends of their own with them and thereby blast them that they come to nothing when others will not endure that good may be done unless they may have the sole doing of it and endeavour to lessen the Reputation of all who are not altogether such as themselves When all imaginable Arts are used to make Government contemptible and the best Purposes ineffectual Lastly when any who are bound to carry on the publick Good account it Wisdom to do little or nothing in their Places and take all possible Care to disoblige no Body by doing their Duties for fear of evil Consequences I say when such Seasons dâ— happen there is a very melancholy Prospect of Affairs and little Hopes of doing or of seeing Good II. I now proceed to the Good which we are to do with respect to others of the same Nature and in a worse Condition than our selves and therefore need our Help and Assistance This is so remarkable a Sense of doing Good that it hath almost appropriated the Name to it self as Good Works are generally taken for Works of Charity These are such as all agree that they cannot be wholly omitted without Sin but the Difficulty lies in stating the Measure and Seasons of the Obligation to them Concerning which these Rules may be observed 1. That the Measures of Duty in this Case are very different according to the different Circumstances and Conditions of Persons For although the standing general Rules of our Duty are fixed and unalterable yet the particular Obligations depend upon great â—ariety of Circumstances as to those who are to do and to receive Good If the Easiness of Persons Conditions in the World will afford their laying by a constant Stock of Charity it will be always in readiness for such Occasions when we would be more willing to do good if it were in our Power but it is hardly possible to make such Rules which may not give Occasions for trouble to scrupulous Minds when they do not strictly observe them But we are all so far bound to do good to those in want that the not doing it according to our Abilities and Opportunities is such a Sin of Omission as is inconsistent with true Christianity but of those every Person is â—eft to judge but so as he must give an Account of it at the Great Day For it is observable that our Saviour speaking of the Proceedings then particularly mentions the Sins of Omission with respect to the doing good to others 2. There are particular Seasons when a greater Measure of doing good is required than at others i. e. When Persons suffer for Religion and a good Conscience When the Necessities of People are more general and pressing When great Objects of Charity are certainly known to our selves and concealed from others When a present Relief puts them into a way of doing good for themselves When God hath done good to us after a more remarkable Manner than he hath to others When we do the more Good because we have done so much Evil and thereby manifest the Sincerity of our Repentance by bringing forth such Fruits worthy of Amendment of Life When our Calling and Profession is to do good and we are bound to give the best Examples to others according to our Abilities When our Religion suffers by not doing good and our Faith is questioned for want of good Works Lastly When there are no such Natural Drains of Charity as Children and near Relations which need our Assistance in these and many other Instances of a like Nature there is so much greater Obligation to the doing good that it cannot be omitted without Sin II. I now come in the last Place to consider the Nature of the Obligation we lye under to do the Good we know And the Reason of considering this is from the Comparison of several Duties with one another for we may be bound to several things at the same time but we cannot perform them together and the Difficulty then is to understand which of these Duties we may omit without Sin And the Comparison may be threefold 1. As to the Nature of the Duties 2. As to the Authority which enjoyns them 3. As to the particular Obligation we are under to do them 1. As to the Nature of our Duties For there are several kinds of things that are good and we are to have a different Regard to them Some things are good because they are commanded and some things are commanded because they are good and even God himself allows us to make a Difference between these when himself saith I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice although he required both but if it happens that both cannot be done then he prefers the former altho' his own Honour seems more concerned in the latter Our Saviour extends this Rule to Mercy on the Souls of Men and to Mercy on our Bodies even out of the Case of urgent or extreme Necessity which cannot be pleaded in the Apostle's Case of plucking the Ears of Corn on the Sabbath day But from hence we have ground to inferr that when two Duties interfere with one another we are bound to preferr the greater and more substantial Duty and then the Omission of the lesser is no Sin 2. As to the Authority which requires them There is no question but when the Authority of God and Man do contradict each other God is to be obeyed rather than Man But the Authority of God's Command is not equally clear in all Cases for some things are required plainly and directly and some things by consequence and
the Christ the Son of the living God St. Peter who when other Disciples went back said to Christ Lord to whom shall we go Thou hast the words of eternal Life And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ the Son of the living God St. Peter who was so forward to defend our Saviour That he drew his Sword and cut of Malchus his Ear For him in so little a time after to deny his Lord not only once but twice nay a third time and that with Execrations upon himself This seems to be a Sin so wilful so deliberate so presumptuous that if this may be excused through the weakness of the Flesh what may not What then shall we say Doth God put such a difference between Persons that those Sins are meer Infirmities in his account in some which would be accounted presumptuous Sins in others No certainly God is a righteous Judge and he is no respecter of Persons for by him Actions are weighed he judges things as they are here and will judge Men according to them hereafter Was it that he repented presently and wept bitterly This was a very good Symptom when he came tâ— himself so soon that the Disease was not deeply rooted in him and that it was rather a sudden Passion which overcame him than a deliberate and wilful Action which he shewed most effectually by returning to his Duty and being more active and exemplary in it Whereas Judas his Agonies of Conscience ended in Despair and Self-murder But by what certain Rules may we proceed to judge what Sins are Wilful and Presumptuous and what are Sins of Infirmity or such as come from the weakness of the Flesh. We have two ways to judge by 1. From the Nature of Moral Actions 2. From the Scriptures declaring what Sins are inconsistent with the State of Salvation For there are two sorts of Infirmities 1. Such as belong to particular Actions 2. Such as belong to our State and Condition 1. As to the Infirmities of particular Actions There are three things which do very much alter and discriminate the Nature of Moral Actions 1. The Choice and Consent of the Will 2. The Truce and Deliberation about it 3. The Manner of Committing it 1. As to the Choice and Consent of the Will Here we are to observe two Rules 1. Whatever lessens the Freedom of the Will before the Act of sin doth lessen the Guilt of it So that whether it be ignorance or want of Consideration or some sudden and violent Passion as much as it abates the Freedom of Choice or Consent of the Will so much it takes away from the greatness of its Guilt But here we must suppose that which takes away the Freedom of the Will not to be in it self a sin for then original Corruption would be an excuse for all other Sins which flow from it And those who have sinned themselves into a necessity of sinning would be able to sin no longer and thus the Devils themselves and the worst of Men would be the least of Sinners But setting this aside the Rule holds good that so far as our Choice and Consent is taken away so far the Guilt is extenuated And from hence sudden and violent Passions Melancholy vapours and a disturbed Imagination do lessen the guilt of those Sins which are committed thro' the Power of them and would not have been committed if the Person had been himself i. e. capable of judging and considering as at other times 2. The Case is much harder as to what takes off from the Freedom of Consent in the very Act of Sin It is true there is not a Fulness of Consent where there is a Reluctancy of Conscience in the Commission of sin But here is an antecedent Choice and that after Convictions of Conscience and the worst part prevails only the other is not quite silent but gives secret Checks and complains of its hard usage when it cannot overcome Now in this Case a Sinner is awaken'd and if he sins it is against clear Light and strong Convictions and so the Act of Sin is the more aggravated though there may be more hopes that the Person may repent because Conscience is awake in him as there is of one that is sensible of his Disease rather than of him who doth not apprehend the danger he is in Aristotle declares That all those who are vitious against their Judgments are in a State of Infirmity such are not wicked out of Choice as the rest are nor so good as to overcome their bad Inclinations but they are in a State of War with themselves sometimes Reason and Conscience prevail and sometimes vitious Inclinations and in this Case the event of the War must declare which is the most prevailing side But in the mean time the Case of such Persons is not desperate but very dangerous and their Sins only shew that Conscience is alive in them but very weak and gives faint and dying Groans though it be not dead 2. As to time and deliberation about the Act of Sin If there be a real surprize i. e. that the Person is not aware or hath not time to consider what he is to do he that hath a Mind well resolved may be betrayed into what he would never have done if he had time to deliberate about it And this was one great Extenuation of St. Peter's Fall for from the time of Christ's Arraignment he was in a disturbance and confusion of thoughts he was surprized to see Christ carried away in such a manner to the High-Priests Hall thither he follows afar off but still remembring whose Servants Ear he had lately cut off While he was in this confusion and disorder the Damsels Question so startled and affrighted him that he denied his Master and the Fear continuing he repeated that Denial and added Imprecations to it But the great Aggravation of the sin of Judas was that it was not only a deliberate Act and designed Wickedness And in this respect David's Adultery had greater Extenuation than his Murder because many more thoughts went to the Commission of one than of the other the one being committed of a sudden the other after great Deliberation and with much Art and Contrivance Thus deliberate Acts of Fraud and Injustice of Perjury and Rebellion have a greater Aggravation than Sins committed by the force of a sudden and violent Passion And those Passions which do most hinder Deliberation do proportionably lessen the wilfulness of the Sin as sudden Fear rash Anger and the like For Fear betrays the succours which Reason offers and Anger intercepts them which storms at the first Assault and making its impression before Reason takes the Alarm The Philosopher determines that it is a worse thing for a Man to be sway'd by his Lust than by his Anger because Anger seems to be governed by Reason but is only too hasty in its Execution but Lust hath no regard to the Dictates