instead of the infinite fulness of God Now there seem to be three things in a formal hypocrite that do especially force a kind of devotion and shew of religion from him viz. Conscience of guilt self-love and False apprehensions of God First There is in all men a natural conscience of guilt arising from that imperfect and glimmering light that they have of God and of their duty towards him which though it be in some men more quick and stinging in others more remiss and languid yet I think is not utterly choaked and extinguished no not in the worst and most disâ—olâ—â—e men but that it doth sometimes beget a bitter sadness in the midst of their sweetest merriments and doth disturb their most supine and secure rest by fastning its stings in their very souls at some time or other and filling them with agonies and anguish and haunting them with dreadful apparitions which they cannot be perfectly rid of no more than they can run away from themselves This foundation of hell is laid in the bowels of sin itself as a preface to eternal horrour Now although some more profligate and desperate wretches do â—uriously bluster through these briars yet others are so cought in them that they cannot escape these pangs and throws except they make a composition and enter into terms to live more honestly or at least less scandalously In which undertaking they are carryed on in the next place by the power of self-love or a natural desire of self-preservation For the worst of men hath so much Reason left him that he could wish that himself were happy though he have not so much light as to discover nor so much true freedom of will as to choose the right way of happiness Conscience having discovered the certain reward and wages of sin self-love will easily prompt men to do something or other to escape it But now what shall they do why Religion is the only expedient that can be found out and therefore they begin to think how they may become friends with God they will up and be doing But how come they to run into so great mistake about religion why their false and gross apprehensions of God do drive them from him in the way of superstition and â—ypocrisie instead of leading them in the way of sincere love and self-resignation to him Self being the great Diana of every natural man and the only standard by which he measures all things he knows not how to judge of God himself but by this and so he comes to fancy God in a dreadful manner as an austere passionate surly revengeful Majesty and so something must be done to appease him but yet he fancies this angry Deity to be of an impotent mercenaâ—y temper like himself and not hard to be appeaâ—ed neither and so imagines that some cheap services specious oblations external courtesies will engage him and make him a friend a sheep or a goat or a bullock under the old Testament a prayer or a Sacrament or an Almes under the new For it is reconciliation to an angry God that he aims at not union with a good God he seeks to be reconciled to God not united to him though indeed these two can never be divided Thus we see how a man void of the life and spirit of Religion yet forces himself to do God a kind of worship and pay him a kind of homage 2. Sometimes men may be said in a sense to be forced by other men to put on a vizard of holiness a dress of Religion And this constraint men may lay upon men by their tongues hands and eyes By their tongues in the business of education often and ardent exhortation and inculcation of things divine and heavenly and thus an unjust like the unjust Judge in the Gospel though he fear not God sincerely yet may be overcome by the importunity of his father friend minister tutor to do some righteous acts This seems to have been the case of Joash King of Judah the spring head of whose religion was no higher than the instructions of his tutor and guardian Jehojada the high-priest 2 King 12. 2. By their hands that is either by the enacting and executing of penal laws upon them or by the holy example which they continually â—et before them exempla trahunt By their eyes that is by continual observing and watching their behaviour when many eyes are upon men they must do something to satisfie expectations of others and purchase a reputation to themselves It may be said that sometimes God doth lay an external force upon men as particularly by his severe judgements or threatnings of judgements awakening them humbling them and constrâ—ining them to some kind of worship and religion Such a forc'd devotion as this was the humillation of Ahaâ— 1 King 21. and the supplication of Saul 1 Sam. 13. 11 12. For God himself acting upon men only from without them is far from producing a living principle of free and noble Religion in the Soul Now the better to discern this forc'd and violent Religion I will briefly describe it by three or four of its properties with which I will shut up this point 1. This forc'd Religion is for the most part dry and spiritless I know indeed thaâ— Fancy may be screw'd up to a high pitch of joy and frolickness so as to raise the mind into a kind of a rapture as I have formerly hinted in my discâ—orse upon these words A meer artificial and counterâ—â—it Christian may be so strongly acted by imagination and the power of self love that he may seem to himself to be fuller of God than the sober and constant soul You may see how the hypocritical phatisâ—â—â— swâ—llâ—â— with â—â—â—conceit gloryed over the poor man that had been blind but now saw more than all they Joh. 9. 34. Thou wast altogether born in sin and dost thou teach us and indeed over the whole people Joh. 7. 49. This people that knoweth not the law is cursed A counterfeit Christian may rise high as a Meteor and blaze much as a Comet which is yet drawn up by meer force from the surface of the earth or water And as to the external and visible acts and duties of Religion which depend much upon the temper and constitution of the body it may easily be conceived and accounted how the mimical and mechanical Christian may rise higher in these and be more zealous watchful and cheerful than many truly religious and godly men as having greater power and quickness of fancy and a greater number of animal spirits upon which the motions and actions of the body do mainly depend The animal spirits may so nimbly serve the soul in these corporal acts that the whole transaction may be a fair imitation of the motions of the divine spirit and one would verily think there were a gracious principle in the soul itself This seems to be notably exemplified in capâ—ain Jehu whose religious actions as he would fain have them
Though faith abhors the blasphâ—my of laying blame upon God yet it so fixes the soul upon him and causes her so to eye his hand and end in all mal-administrations of men that she hath no leisure to fall out with men or quarrel with instruments These Discontents I said were frequently attended with an evil and seditious zeal for relaxation discovering itself in secret treacherous conspiracies and many times in boisterous and daring attempts These are at the first sight so directly contrary to the character given of Religious men viz. the Psal 35. 20. Gal. 5. 22 23. Col. 3. 12 13 14 15 16. quiet of the Land and the genius of Religion which is wholly made up of love peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faithfulness meekness temperance mercy kindness humbleness of mind forbearance forgiveness charity thankfulness wisdom that it is easie to conceive that Religion in the power of it would certainly heal this evil disease also There are many pretenders to Religion whose complaint is still concerning oppression and persecution their cry is all for liberty and deliverance but to make it the more passable and plausible they stile it the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ This pretence is so fair but withall so deceitfull that I count it worth my time to speak a little more liberally to it And here I do from the very bottom of my soul protest that I account the advancement of the glory of God and the Kingdom of Christ to be the most desirable thing in the World and that it is highly becoming the greatest spirits upon earth to employ the very utmost zeal and diligence to assist the accomplishment thereof yea so utterly do I abhor irreligion and Atheism that as the Apostle speaks in somewhat a like case I do verily Phil. 1. 18. rejoyce that Christ is professed though it be but pretended and that truth is owned though it be not owned in truth I will further add that the oppressing and obstructing of the external progress and propagation of the Gospel is hated of Christ and to be lamented of all true Christians Yea I will further allow men a due sensibleness of their personal oppressions and injuries and a natural warrantable desire to be redeemed from them And now having thus purged my self I entreat the Christian Reader patiently and without prejudice to suffer me to speak somewhat closely to this matter Yea I do verily assure my self that I shall be accepted or at least indulged by all free and ingenuous spirits who are rightly acquainted with the genius of Christian Religion and do preferr truth before interest And first For the complaint that is mostly concerning oppression and persecution certainly Religion if it did rightly prevail in our hearts would very much heal this distemper if not by a perfect silencing of these complaints yet surely by putting them into another tune I reckon that Religion quite silences these complaints when it engages the soul so entirely in serving the end of God in afflictions and in a right improvement of them for religious purposes that she list not to spend her self in fruitless murmurings and unchristian indignations As fire seizeth upon every thing that is combustible and makes it fewel for itself and a predominant humour in the body converts into its own substance whatever is convertible and makes it nourishment to itself so doubtless this spirit of burning this divine principle if it were rightly predominant in the soul would nourish itself by all things that lye in its way though they seem never so heterogeneous and hard to be digested and rather than want meat it would with Sampson fetch it out of the very eater himself But if Religion should not utterly silence these complainings by rendring the soul thus forgetful of the body and regardless of its smart in comparison of the happy advantage that may be made of it yet methinks it should draw the main stream of these tears into an other channel and put these complaints into an other tune It is very natural to the Religious soul to make God all things unto itself to lay to heart the interest of truth and holiness more than any particular interest of its own and to bewail the disservice done to God more than any self-incommodation Must not he needs be a good subject to his Prince who can more heartily mourn that Gods Laws are not kept than that he himself is kept under that can be more grieved that men are cruel than that they kill him that can be more troubled because there are oppressions in the world than because he himself is oppressed such subjects Religion alone can make As for the Cry that is made for liberty and deliverance I confess I do not easily apprehend what is more or more naturally desirable than true liberty yea I believe there are many devout and Religious souls that from a right noble and generous principle and out of a sincere respect to the Author and End of their creation are almost intemperately studiouâ— of it do prefer it above all prefermeâ—◠〈◊〉 hing that may be properly 〈◊〉 â—â—sual and would purchase it with any thing that they can possibly part with But yet that I may a little moderate if not quite stifle this cry I must freely profess that I do apprehend too much of sensuality generally in it because this liberty is commonly abstracted from the proper end of it and desired meerly as a naturally convenient good and not under a right religious consideration Self-love is the very heart and centre of the animal life and doubtless this natural principle is as truly covetous of self-preservation and freedom from all inconveniences grievances and confinements as any Religious principle can be And therefore I may well allude to our Saviours words and say If you love and desire Mat. 5. 47. deliverance only under the notion of a natural good what do you more than others Do not even Publicans the same But were this divine principle rightly exercising its Soveraignty in the soul it would value all things and all estates and conditions only as they have a tendency to the advancement and nourishment of itself With what an ordinary not to say disdainfull eye would the Religious soul look upon the fairest self-accommodations in the world and be ready to say within itself What is a meer abstract deliverance from afflictions worth Wherein is a naked freedom from afflictions to be accounted of Will this make me a blessed man Was not profane and impudent Ham delivered from the deluge of Water as well as his brethren Were not the filthy shameless daughters of Lot delivered from the deluge of Fire as well as their Father And yet we are so far from rising up and calling these people blessed that the heart of every chast and modest Christian is ready to rise against the very mention of their names when he remembers how both the one and the other though in a different sense
this spring from a Religious principle think ye or a selfish Doth it not agree well to the animal life and natural self to be tender of its own interest and concernments to wish well to its own safety to defend it self from violence May I not allude to our Saviours words and say If ye hate them that hate you Mat. 5. 46. how can that be accounted Religious Do not even the Publicans the same I doubt we know not sufficiently what spirit we should be of The power of Religion rightly prevailing in the soul would mold us into another kind of temper it would teach us as well to love and pitty and pray for Papists Mat. 5. 44. Rev. 19. 20 21. as to hate Popery I know the Prophesie indeed that the Beast and the false Prophet shall be cast alive into the lake burning with brimstone and the remnant shall be slain with the sword of him that sate upon the horse But in as much as that sword is said to proceed out of his mouth I would Eph. 6. 17. Hos. 6. 5. gladly interpret it of the word of God which kills men unto Salvation However let the interpretation of that Text and others of the like importance be what it will I reckon it very unsafe to turn all the Prophesies and threatnings of God into Prayers lest haply we should be found to contribute to the damning of mens souls Yea when all is 2 Thes 2. 12. said concerning the reprobating decrees of God and his essential inflexible punitive justice and all those Texts that seem to speak of Gods revenging himself with delight are interpreted to the utmost harshness of meaning that the cruel wit of man can invent yet it remains a sealed and to me a sweet truth I have no pleasure in the Ezek. 18. 32. chap. 33. 11. death of him that dyeth saith the Lord God and again As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked Wherefore to wave all those dreadfull glosses that do rather describe the bitter and revengefull ingeny of man that makes them than interpret the pure and perfect nature of God upon whom they are made let us attend to that beautiful character that is every where given of Religion which is Exod. 32. 32. Numb 11. 29. Rom. 92 3. Luke 19. 10. Acts 10. 38. Rom. 5. 6. our highest concernment in the person of Moses of Paul and of Christ Jesus himself the Author and exemplar of it who by his incarnation life and death abundantly demonstrated the infinite Benignity and compassionate ardours of his soul towards us when we were worse than Papists as being out of a possibility of salvation without him and let that mind be in us which was in him also Though it be not directly our Saviours meaning in my Text yet I believe it is reductâ—vely that this pure and divine principle Religion springs up into everlasting life not only our own but other mens also But however Religion is described sure I am it is most unnatural to the Religious soul that is regenerated into the pure spirit of piety pitty and universal charity to be of a cruel fierce revengeful damning disposition And therefore whatever are the Ranting and Wrathful strains of some mens Devotions I beseech the Reader to endeavour with me that Charity towards mens souls may go along in conjunction with zeal and piety towards God when we present our selves before the throne of his grace And so I am confident it will if we pray sincerely to this purpose viz. That God would cause the wickedness of the wicked to come to an end that he would consume the Antichrist but Convert the Papist and make the wonderers after the beast to become followers of the Lamb I doubt there are many that think they can never be too liberal in wishing ill to the Papists nay they count it a notable argument of a good Protestant I had almost said an evidence of grace to be very raging and invective against them Alas how miserably do we bewray our selves in so doing to be nothing less than what we pretend to by doing it For are not we our selves herein Antichristian whilest we complain of their cruelties our own souls in the very act boyling over with Revengefull and scalding affections If we do indeed abhor their cruelty because it is contrary to the holy precepts of the Gospel and the true Kingdom of Christ we ought to be as jealous at the same time lest any thing like unto it should be found in our selves otherwise are we not carnal For meer nature as I have often said will abhor any thing that is contrary to it self and will not willingly suffer its delicate interest to be toucht The Apostle tells us that no man speaking by the Spirit of Christ calleth Christ accursed 1 Cor 12. 3. But I doubt it is common to curse Antichrist and yet by a spirit that is Antichristian I mean carnal selfish cruel and uncharitable For there is a spiritual Antichrist or if you will in the Apostles phrase a Spirit of Antichrist as well as a political 1 John 4. 3. Antichrist and I doubt the former prevails most in the world though it be least discerned and bann'd Men do by Antichrist as they do by the Devil defie him in words but entertain him in their hearts run away from the appearance of him and in the mean time can be well enough content to be all that in very deed which the Devil and Antichrist is All this evidently appears to be for want of the true power and spirit of Religion which I commend for so great a healer even the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of our distempers Perhaps no Papist will find in his heart to read this Epistle written by a Heretick yet possibly too some one or other may therefore I will adventure briefly to prescribe this same medicinal Divinity to them also though perhaps I might be excused upon another account all that which I have hitherto said to distempered Protestants being rightly enough mutatis mutandis applicable to them But moreover whereas they value their Church and the truth and rightness of it by its universality and prosperity the power of Religion would make men to value themselves and their adherents only by the divine impressions of piety and purity and to account such only worthy of the glorious title of Apostolical and children of God who are sincere followers of the Apostles wherein they were followers of Christ viz. in true holiness and righteousness Are they industrious and zealous for the Proselyting of the world and spreading of their interest far and near And are not all wicked men yea and the Devil himself so too The fairest and most flourishing state of a Church is nothing to God and so consequently not to a godly soul in comparison of those excellent divine beauties wherewith Religion adorneth the world But whereas the greatest
Soul of man is molded and formed into a resemblance of the divine nature then hath it a true fellowship with him Now this communion with God in his Attributes is to be seen two wayes 1. When the soul is in its measure according to the capacity of a creature all that which God is This is the communion which the Angels have with God Their beholding of the face of God is not to be understood of a meer speculation or an idle gazing upon a Deity but they see him by receiving his Image upon themselves and reflecting his glory and brightness they partake of the goodness purity holiness wisdome righteousness of God which makes them such glorious spirits and the want of this makes the other whom we call Devils to be what they are Thus godly men shall have communion with God they shall see God Mat. 5. 8. Heb. 12. 14. Yea thus they have communion with him in some measure They do not only see God in the world as the Devils do nor see him in the word as many hypocritical and wicked men do but they see him in themselves in the frame of their own souls they find themselves molded into his image and a resemblance of him drawn upon them This is a beautiful vision of God true and real though not full and complete This is set out in Scripture by being holy as God is holy 1 Pet. 1. 16. perfect as God is perfect Mat. 5. ult This our Saviour exhorts us to seek after Mat. 11. 29. take my yoke upon ye learn of me for I am meek and lowly and the Apostle Ephes 5. 1. Be ye followers of God as dear Children When the nature and perfections of God his holiness goodness righteousness wisdom c. are coppyed out upon our natures and the same Spirit is in us which was in Christ Jesus then have we a true communion with God which blessed communion when the soul becomes all that which God is by a conformity of nature 2. When the soul in its actions as a creature doth rightly answer to the Attributes of the Creator As when the soul doth answer the goodness of God with suitable affâ—ctions of love and joy and delight when the soul doth correspond to the Soveraignty and wisdom of God by the Acts of self-denyal and resignation doth converse with the righteousness of God by patience and a holy Acquiescency When the soul doth rightly exert those Acts which are proper and suitable to the nature of God then it may be said to hold communion with him in his attributes when the actions and notions of the soul do correspond to the divine nature and attributes Now this suitableness of the soul I mean especially with reference to the incommunicable attributes of God where there is no place for imitation though it hold good in the rest also 2. A godly soul hath communion with God in his word To read profess or hear the word is not to hold a real communion with God therein many do so that are strangers to God A man may read my letters and yet correspond with my enemy That Son in the Gospel that heard his Fathers command and answered I goe sir but went not had no right communion with his paternal authority But when the soul is ennobled into such a frame as this word doth require then it holds communion with God in his word e. g. when the soul puts forth those acts of humiliation holy fear and reverence godly trembling which do suit the nature of a divine threatning when the soul answers the command of God with suitable resolutions repentings reformations and real obedience when it entertains the promise with suitable acts of holy delight joy refreshment recumbency and acquiesces in the same then doth it truly converse with God in his word 3. A godly soul hath communion with God in his works And that is when the 〈◊〉 doth answer the several providences of God with suitable and pertinent affections and dispositions The godly soul doth not only eye and observe the hand of God in all things that fall out but doth comply with those providences and is molded into that frame and put upon those duties which such providences do call for Then doth the soul rightly hold communion with God in his works when it is humbled under humbling providences is refreshed strengthned and grows up under prosperous providences as they did Act. 9. 31. who having rest given them were edified comforted multiplyed c. when the soul doth rightly comport with every providence and the will is molded into the will of God then do we hold communion with him in his works This theme is large because the works of God are manifold of Creation Redemption Preservation works towards other men and towards our selves both towards our outward and inward man A godly soul hath communion with God in all these in the sense that I named even now though perhaps not equally in all yet sincerely and truly By what hath been said you understand that right fellowship with God is not a bare communion of names To have the name of God called upon us and to be called Christians or the people of God or to name the name of God to profess it to cry Lord Lord doth not make any one really and truly the better man doth not make a soul rightly happy It is not enough to cry the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord with them in Jer. 1. 4. to make our boast in the Law with them Rom. 2. 23. to call our selves the Children of Abraham as the Jews did in John Baptists time Mat. 3. 9. These priviledges and professions are extrinsecal to the soul and do nothing to the true ennobling of it But right fellowship with God is a communion of hearts and natures of will and affections of interests and ends To have one heart and will the same interest and ends with God is to be truly godly A Godlike man is the only godly man A Christ like nature brought into the soul doth only denominâ—te a man a true Christian It is not speaking together but loving and living together that brings God and the soul into one I live yet not I but Christ that livâ—th in me Gal. 2. 20. And thus I suppose you have a fair account why the Apostle James chap. 2. do's so much preferr works before faith for indeed faith is nothing worth save only that faith which joyns the soul to the object and makes the thing believed ones own as also why the Apostlâ— Paul prefers love before a faith of miâ—acles 1 Cor. 13. 2. Though indeed a justifying saith is the most miraculous that faith that unites the soul and God together is more excellent and indeed more miraculous than the faith that removes Mountains When I consider the proper happiness and perfection of a soul and the nature of this true blissful communion with God I cannot but wonder how it is possible that men