would be Take heed lest no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive many many false Prophets shall arise and deceive many and if any one shall say unto you Lo here is Christ and there is Christ believe it not for there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they should deceive the very elect Behold I have told you before Thus he foretold how Christianity should be corrupted by Impostures and Frauds Again says he they shall deliver you up to be afflicted and killed and ye shall be hated of all nations for my names sake and then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another Thus he foretold the violence that should be used to extinguish the profession of the Truth Again saith St. Paul 2 Thes 2. There shall be a falling away and the man of sin shall come with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they might all be damned who believed not the Truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness There he foretels a fearful Apostacy from the Purity and Simplicity of the Christian Profession Again says he 2 Tim. 3.1 2. This know that in the last days perillous times shall come For men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents unthankful unholy without natural affection trucebreakers false accusers incontinent fierce despisers of those that are good traitors heady highminded lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God There he foretels a terrible corruption of manners And again 1 Tim. 4.1 2 3. The Spirit speaketh expresly says he that in the latter times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils speaking lies in hypocrisie having their conscience seared with an hot iron forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanskgiving of them which believe and know the Truth Now lay all these things together and here is as plain warning as can possibly be given of most corrupt and degenerate Times even after Christ's first coming and so that is expresly foretold which the Text evidently supposes For here would be glorious pretences to deceive violence to compel and wicked examples to offend the Disciples of Christ And what provision hath our Lord left to secure them from being misled where there is so much danger They are to attend to the Doctrine which he delivered us at first by his Holy Apostles to secure themselves from being deceived they must lay to heart the Promises of the Gospel to arm themselves against the Temptations of the World and the power of Evil Examples and they are to consider that all these things were foretold by our Lord himself and his Apostles that they might not be scandalized when they should happen nor be tempted to suspect that either Christianity was not of God from the first or at least that our Lord has neglected all care of it since because it doth so little good as yet in the world because it runs out into so many Errors and because the Truth of it is so vehemently opposed for says our Saviour Behold I have told you before But still it is in their power whether they will take warning by such Predictions and whether they will guard themselves against Errors and Evil Examples and therefore a very corrupt state of things in the Christian World will in all likelyhood shake the Faith of many believers and cause some to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them not regarding the admonitions of Christ and his Apostles before-hand and so when Christ comes he will find but little Faith upon the Earth And this is the observation which in the first place is unavoidable from the Text That even after Christ there would be degenerate Ages for this is plainly supposed as the cause why there would be but little Faith found when he should come to visit the earth for the iniquities and offences it abounds with The 2. Supposition is That the Providence of our Lord would then appear to set things right when there was the greatest need to interpose in behalf of his Church For whereas it is said When the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth it is intimated manifestly that his coming is then to be expected when little Faith is to be found amongst men and consequently when scandals and temptations are so strong that it is an hard matter to bear up against them I have said already that the evidence of Christianity doth not make all men receive it and that the Power of Christianity doth not make all that receive it wise and good men and it is not to be denied but that amongst Christians themselves there are as monstrous Errors and leud examples as ever there were in the World before Christianity or as there are now where Christianity is not at all professed Now at this rate should the Lord of the Church our Lord Jesus Christ let things go as they would it would in time come to pass that nothing of Christianity would remain in the World but the name of it and that for no other purpose but to do more hurt with it than could be done without it But how is it that Divine Providence will interpose or according to the expression of the Text that the Son of man will come and will make good his Promise of being with his Church to the end of the World which is never more remarkably fulfilled than when he interposes in those circumstances which make men think that he will not interpose and that he is not at all concerned what becomes of the State of Religion or the affairs of the Church Because our Lord hath not made the Gospel an irresistible means of convincing unbelievers and reforming wicked men therefore it would in time be needful that in order to the keeping up of true Religion and making Christians such as they ought to be that he I say should by his Providence correct his own Disciples and reduce wretched mankind into an unavoidable necessity of consideration that Truth and Righteousness should not utterly fail from among the Children of men When there is the greatest danger of losing the true profession of Christianity our Lord will not be wanting to maintain it When all Flesh had corrupted their ways God came and swept away mankind with a Floud and saved Noah to be the Father of a new and better Generation When their prosperity had corrupted their ways he called Abraham forth to preserve True Religion in him and in his Family and these and the like Providences are pledges of the same care to
Religion as Machiavel well observed was not calculated for the inspiring of Men with great Designs such I suppose as his Caesar Borgia aimed at It was too plain too Philosophical too Innocent and Charitable to raise an ambitious heat or to serve it And therefore it was very likely in process of time that it should be helped out by other Principles and Doctrines that would bring in the swelling of worldly Pride into the Church as the African Fathers in their Epistle to Celestine called it and advance one part of it to the depressing of all the rest But because true Christianity serves no such Design therefore was our Saviour opposed by the Rulers of the Jews his Doctrine did not tend at all that way viz. to make Hierusalem the Mistress of the World and that all should depend upon her it did not minister to their ambitious and worldly Hopes and therefore was not for their turn 3. If we look upon Christianity as a Rule of Worship it will still hold true that Offences must needs come because the Worship it prescribes is a Worship of great simplicity that has but two or three positive Institutions of Divine Authority viz. the two Sacraments and the Invocation of God through the Name and Mediation of his Holy Son Jesus Now this was not likely to be acceptable to the generality of Mankind who love rather a pompous number of Ceremonies and nice Observations than a grave and decent administration of Worship For the former does amuze the Senses and entertain the Imagination the latter does that but very little in Comparison and rather satisfies our Reason But most People are more apt to be affected with things that touch their Fancy than their Judgment And therefore it was hardly to be expected but in time their would grow very great excesses in this kind as there did even in St. Austin's days who complain'd of it not a little in his Epistle to Januarius Neither could it be doubted but such excesses would be accompanied with false Notions of Religion and of the way to please God For whereas the excellent design of our Saviour in appointing so small a number of external Observations leaving the necessary Rules of Decency to be determined by the Church was this to take Men off from all pretence of placing the weight of Religion in outward Ceremonies and by their very Worship to instruct them in Piety and Vertue and to shew them that God will not be pleased without those things whereas he did hereby effectually declare that God who is a Spirit would be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth that is with the Affections of a pious Heart and the Obedience that is expressed in a good Life The corrupt Nature of Man is as averse from this as 't is fond of the other and desires to please God by so easie a Religion as that which runs out into a world of Mysteries and Shews and Observations and seems to save them the labour of subduing their Lusts and Passions and of serving God by a righteous and holy Life And this was one thing that made the Primitive Christians contemptible and odious to the Heathens that they had so few Rites and Ceremonies so plain and simple a Form of Divine Service but one Altar but one Mediator no Tutelar Deities and Patrons no throngs of petty Gods but one or two Mysteries and those too plain and instructing without Pomp and Amuzement for such causes as these they reckoned the Christians little better than Atheists believing that a Religion which made no stately shew to be as good as none at all 'T is true that God himself appointed a Form of Divine Service to the Israelites that consisted of a vast number of Ceremonies but besides this that they were to be the Types to discover the Messias when he should appear There was another end of Divine Providence observable in that Constitution which was this that they having a stately and Mystical Form of Worship of their own might be less under a Temptation of learning of the Idolatrous Nations round about them whose numerous and gaudy Ceremonies in their Worship would have bewitched the Jews ten times more than they did if they had not been able to vye with them But God by his Prophet said That he gave them Statutes that were not good to be sure not the best in themselves but considering the time the best for them For when God sent his Son into the World who was to teach all mankind to Worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth and to convert the Nations from Idolatry the Scheme of the Mosaic Worship was taken down and the Church was furnished with nothing but Prayers and Praises two Sacraments and one Mediator But by all this it appears that the design of the Gospel in this matter runs counter to the fond and foolish inclinations of mankind and therefore that Offences were ready to come upon this account also So that considering the temper and design of the Gospel it was a Religion too good for a wicked World too wise for a vain and foolish World I mean it was too good and too wise to escape Opposition and all change the World would either try to keep it out or when that was in vain to attempt any longer to square and form it better to its own purposes and inclinations It was upon this account viz. of the design of the Gospel which was exalted above a worldly Spirit that a peculiar temper was required by our Saviour in order to the embracing of his Doctrine A Spirit of Honesty and Sincerity of Humility and Teachableness love of the Truth willingness to learn patience of Reproof and the like without which Dispositions the common prejudices against Christianity would certainly hinder the efficacy of those Arguments and Motives by which it was recommended And therefore since God did not intend by an irresistible act upon the minds of Men to over-rule them into a compliance with the Gospel it was not to be expected but that it should be first of all greatly opposed as it was and afterwards insincerely handled as it hath been And this although the Doctrine of the Gospel is peculiarly furnished with means to infuse a wise and honest disposition into them that want it For those means are consistent with the liberty of Humane Nature and after all men may be the worse and not the better for them Nothing could in its own Nature be more fit to awaken Men to Consideration and to lead them to Honesty and Wisdom and to conquer all worldly and carnal prejudices than the promise of Eternal Life and the warning of a day of Judgment to come It is in this that the great power of the Gospel to mend the tempers of Men consists But when all is done in this kind that can be done Men may choose their Portion in this World because they will not hearken and consider And it well became Divine Providence
to permit those to resist the Holy Spirit and the means of Salvation who would not be reclaimed by any reasonable means and that for these three Reasons 1. That there might be a clear difference made between the good and honest heart on the one side and the insincere and incourigible on the other Which had been impossible if God had by his Omnipotence equally overborn all men into the Faith and Obedience of Christ But as the case stands the Gospel is a Touch-stone that distinguisheth between the Humble and Sincere and the Unteachable and Dishonest part of Mankind And the Offences which are given by those that do not receive the Truth in the love of it are a farther trial of the sincerity and ingenuity of men as St. Paul said of one kind of Offences There must be Heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest And therefore notwithstanding Offences that remains true which our Saviour said All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out Joh. 6.37 i. e. All sincere and humble persons who are committed to the special care of Christ to train them up to eternal Life will be sufficiently armed against Temptations and the Offences that are laid in their way shall but clear their sincerity and wisdom more to the World and turn to the encrease of their reward 2. As the sincerity of the Righteous so neither had the proper advantages and power of Truth been seen had God interposed his irresistible power to prevent all Offences and Endeavours against the Truth And therefore he was pleased to suffer Errour and Folly to appear upon the stage of the World even after the heavenly Wisdom of the Gospel was made known to Mankind that by its own strength it might struggle with all kind of opposition and prevail and be justified of her Children 3. By this way the Wisdom of Divine Providence and the truth of God's word and his care over the Church is seen more illustriously than if Offences had never been suffered That Promise that the Gates of Hell should never prevail against the Church of Christ nor the Faith lost from the Earth had lain in the Gospel unobserved we should have had no occasion for recourse to it no means of tryal whether we put our trust in it had the Truth been never opposed never corrupted we had wanted one notable reason to praise God that while the Offences are so rife in this World this Church gives no Offence in matter of Doctrine or in matter of Worship and that God may count us worthy to enjoy so inestimable a Blessing let us pray that we may give no Offence by our Examples let us adorn our Profession by our Conversations and shew the Purity of our Faith by the Purity of our Actions Thus much for the necessity of Offences that thus would arise It must needs be that Offences come The Third Sermon MATTH XVIII 7. Wo unto the World because of Offences for it must needs be that Offences come But wo to that man by whom the Offence cometh I Come now to the second point viz. That Offences would do great mischief in the World. Wo unto the World because of Offences In speaking to which I shall consider I. What mischief is done by Offences II. Whence it comes that they are of so pernicious a Consequence 1. What mischief is done by them And in this Question I need not be large because the Answer to it has in some part been already given under those several heads of Scandal which I mentioned before it being impossible to shew where the Scandal of any Practice or Opinion lies without touching upon the mischief it is apt to do But to what has been said something may be added 1. The general mischief of Offences or Scandals is this That they are a prevailing Temptation upon many in the World to forsake the way of Truth and Piety For as good Examples and Encouragements good Counsels and Instructions are proper means of making others better so ill Examples and the Arts of Seducing must needs have a contrary influence God has put us into a kind of dependance upon one another and has thereby given us Opportunities of the greatest Charity and the best kinds of doing good viz. of leading and confirming one another in the way of Truth and Vertue But there is no help for it but the Society we have with one another may be abused into a means of doing one another mischief And therefore as where Truth is sincerely represented where Vertue is encouraged where Authority protects them where Wit and Learning are engaged to recommend them there abundance of good will be done upon those who are framed to learn and not to teach to follow but not to lead the way So on the other hand it is not to be expected but the abuse of all those Advantages will create Prejudices against Truth and Goodness and mislead multitudes And this is too evident from the Experience of the World in all Ages No Opinions how foolish and absurd soever how pernicious soever to the common Interest of Mankind if they have been set off with plausible Colours or supported by Authority or have been accommodated to the Interests of wicked Men but they have had Abettors and Followers and have very often taken such deep Root in the Affections of Men that 't is one of the hardest things in the World to convert them into the way of Truth But more particularly in the second place 2. The scandal of advancing Doctrines that give liberty to the Lusts of Men and ease to their Minds without effectual Reformation This Scandal I say has this pernicious effect that for the most part it fears the Consciences of Men and hardens their Hearts against all Reproof Although it be a terrible aggravation of Sin for a Man to venture upon the doing of that which his Conscience pulls him back from and for which he knows he must give a sad account at the last day if it be not prevented by Sorrow and Reformation yet such a Man is in a better condition than one that is well satisfied with himself and believes his condition to be good enough while he goes on in his sins without Reformation because he has another way to escape the damnation of Hell. For so long as a Man believes the Promises and Threatnings of the Gospel as they are and knows the Terms upon which they are made it may be hoped that he will at length lay these things seriously to Heart and that some awakening Reproof from Men or some merciful Providence of God may make the Truth which he is already provided with the belief of effectual to his Conversion But there is little Reason to hope this of a Man whose very Principles are corrupted and has no fears within himself for a charitable Man to take hold upon And therefore that saying
resolve well and to fix their Resolution not upon a sudden heat only not meerly upon the general disposition of an Honest Mind but upon a deliberate Judgment what they must lose and what they should get by doing as became them Finally he would have them to maintain a constant sense of these things upon their minds that they might not be at a loss and be found unprovided on the sudden All this is implied in watching a Work which the Disciples were bidden more strictly to attend because the Lord had told them that the hour was at hand when a terrible Tryal would befall them and therefore upon their neglect to do accordingly he justly upbraided them afterward What could ye not watch with me one hour And all this was to be drawn into consequence for the Instruction of all his Disciples to the end of the World not only upon extraordinary Occasions but in the ordinary course of their Lives that is that we should be possessed with a sense of God and our Duty of the danger we are in by the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil of the fearful consequence of yielding to these Temptations and that we should maintain a lively sense of these things upon our Minds by being conversant in the Word of God and by making the main Principles of Religion present to our Minds by a frequent consideration of them This I say is incumbent upon us all since our Saviour thought it needful for all for says he What I say unto you I say to all Watch Mark 13.37 But to Watchfulness our Lord Commands us to add Prayer Watch and Pray And Prayer implies these two things 1. A just sense of our own insufficiency that if God he absent from us our Purposes are uncertain our Resolutions wavering and inconstant and our wills and Affections alterable by every blast of Temptation though we may be provided with very good Reasons of Constancy in doing well God hath not left us meerly to depend upon the strength of Arguments and Motives though they are necessary but hath promised moreover the supernatural help of his Grace and we are not to depend meerly upon the former but knowing that we need farther assistance we should daily apply our selves to him by Prayer for it 2. It implies not only a consciousness of our inability to do the thing that God requires but moreover a steady belief of and trust in the grace of God which he hath promised that it is sufficient for us and that he will give the holy Spirit to them that ask him that he who is good to all will be ready to help them especially that call upon him in sincerity and will not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able Such is the meaning of that part of the Exhortation which concerns the means Watch and Pray Now 2. The end of Watchfulness and Prayer is that we may not enter into Temptation The meaning of which Phrase is plainly this that we may not fall by Temptation not as the words at first hearing seem to import that no Temptation may befall us for as to that Temptation which required the Vigilance and Devotion of our Lord's Disciples at this time he plainly told them it would happen and therefore by entring into temptation must be meant falling into that sin to which the Temptation is an inducement and so the Exhortation runs as if our Saviour had said You are very confident that you shall do as you ought as if it were one of the easiest things in the World but I tell you before-hand that this Confidence of yours is a dangerous Presumption and you will find your selves deceived when it comes to the Tryal if you take no more care than you are now disposed to take I Advise you therefore to consider what will happen better than you have done and to call together all those Instructions you have heard from me and make them present to your minds and be so affected with them as to betake your selves to Prayer that being thus armed not with an hasty but a prudent Resolution and with dependence upon God you may overcome the Temptation when it happens This seems to be the Natural meaning of the Exhortation Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation I proceed next to explain the Reason which our Saviour adds to enforce the Exhortation The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak And now I doubt when we hear or read these words we are too apt to interpret them as if Jesus had meant to excuse the sluggishness of his Disciples and had indeed spoken to them in this manner It were well if you would Watch and Pray that you may not fall by Temptation but the truth is though you are willing so to do yet you are not very much to be blamed but in some part to be excused if you do not and that because of the frailty and weakness of Humane Nature But I beseech you not to be fond of this way of expounding these words for it is by no means true nor in the least worthy of our Saviour's Wisdom nor agreeable to the scope of his Doctrine Let us not think so meanly of our Lord as if he gave his Disciples necessary Directions and in the same breath excused them whether they fulfilled his Directions or not These words I say do not contain an excuse of their neglect to watch and pray but a Reason why they should do both and such a Reason too as left them without all Excuse if they failed in either For thus they may be supposed to run Watch and Pray that ye enter not into Temptation for though the Spirit is willing yet the Flesh is weak and so it is absolutely necessary that ye Watch and Pray Which Interpretation as it holds forth a worthy and excellent meaning of it self so it is clearly warranted by the circumstances and scope of the place and by the condition of those Persons at present to whom these words were used and by what befel them afterwards And this will be very evident if we examine the meaning of the words by these Rules For then you will see 1. That by a willing spirit we are not to understand a forwardness to Watch and Pray but a present Resolution to overcome Temptations and that a sincere Resolution too such a Resolution as is accompanied with a strong persuasion that we shall do so and that was the case of the Disciples For if we look back in this Chapter we shall find that upon their Master's fore-warning them what occasion of Offence they would meet with that very Night St. Peter briskly steps forward in the Name of all the rest of the Apostles all agreeing to what he said v. 33. Though all men says he shall be offended because of thee yet will I never be offended Thus the willingness of the Spirit shewed it self that is a forwardness to do all that
became him in the hardest Circumstances But our Saviour willing to prove him farther answered v. 34. Verily I say unto thee that this night before the Cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice which was so far from taking down that it rather raised his assurance for he replyed v. 35. Though I should die with thee yet will I not deny thee Likewise also said all the Disciples There the Spirit shewed it self willing again and which is to be observed they were all at this time heartily disposed to do as they said all but the Traytor Judas for which reason about this time Jesus acknowledged that they were all sincere and honest Persons excepting Judas only John 13.10 11. Ye are clean but not all For he knew who should betray him therefore said he Ye are not all clean i. e. Ye are not all honest Men but ye are all so but one all but one mean as you say and intend to be as good as your word and do believe that you shall So that if we explain these words The Spirit indeed is willing by the condition of the Persons to whom they were spoken and by their present disposition and persuasion as we ought to do the meaning is plainly this as if our Saviour had said I know ye are Men of sincere and honest dispositions and do intend very well and say no more than what you resolve to make good by performance and I see that you believe you shall be as good as your word Now therefore 2. By the weakness of the Flesh we are plainly led to understand those Imperfections and Passions which honest men are not wholly free from and which will make Temptations dangerous even to the sincerest Persons especially if they trust to a present good disposition of mind and think that they are not in danger because they are now well resolved The Apostles when our Lord told them before-hand of the Temptation that would happen were conscious to themselves of their own sincerity and were so strongly possessed with an assurance of it that being men hitherto but of little Experience they did not apprehend or so much as feel their own weakness because the Temptation which would make them feel it was not present but their Master was aware of those Imperfections and Passions in them which now indeed gave them no disturbance but within a little time would do so that is when the Temptation should be present upon them They did not consider how the Passion of Fear would work when it was once plain that it would be the most dangerous thing in the World to own their Master they were not sufficiently sensible of the uncertainty of Humane Resolutions under strong inducements to Inconstancy and how very possible it is even for sincere men to be staggered nay and to be overcome by Temptations which they think themselves sufficiently guarded against by their Integrity But our Saviour knew all this and therefore told them of it before-hand and used the consideration of the weakness of the Flesh as an Argument to perswade them to Watch and to Pray and not to trust meerly to a willing mind or a sincere disposition he produces this Argument I say to make them abate of their confidence and use more diligence that they might be prepared by their own care and by the grace of God to answer the occasion that was at hand But to confirm this plain Interpretation As the willingness of the Spirit or the sincerity of these men expressed it self in their forward undertaking and promising to do as they ought so the weakness of the Flesh discovered it self in their failing to perform what they promised whereby they made good the Prediction of our Saviour that they would be all offended because of him that night And what was the Reason why the Flesh prevailed against the Spirit Why did these honest Undertakers fail of performance Even because they did not follow their Master's Advice they did not Watch and Pray for had they used this means they had not failed of the end since Jesus himself directed them to use this Method and therefore we may be sure it would have been sufficient Wherefore you may well conclude that these words The Spirit indeed is willing but the Flesh is weak were not intended here for an excuse of their not watching and praying but as a reason why they ought to do so and consequently as an aggravation of their fault in not doing it for since there was so much need of Vigilance and Devotion they were the more to blame that they neglected it And thus I have given you as I am persuaded the natural and genuine sense of this place Now there are two Points of Instruction which I shall from hence commend to your serious thoughts 1. That we look well to it that we be sincere and honest and have that willing Spirit which our Saviour acknowledged and commended in his Apostles 2. That we do not altogether trust to our present sincerity and best purposes but because of the weakness of the Flesh that we watch and pray and thereby guard our selves against all Temptations 1. That we be very well assured of our own sincerity and the honesty of our purposes which for the present any man may be easily assured of if he be sincere that is if he be honestly resolved to do his Duty under all circumstances of Temptation for what can a man ever arrive to an assurance of if not of his own present intentions Now the Argument whereby I am to persuade you to look well to this matter is of very great force and it is so plainly offered by the circumstances of this Relation that there is no avoiding it and it is this That if we are for the present sincerely and honestly disposed we have some Title to the special grace and savour of God whereas Hypocrites and insincere Persons have none at all For this was that for which our Saviour valued his Disciples that they had a willing Spirit and as I shall shew more particularly by and by that was the reason why he watched over them why he continually instructed them why he explained things to them why he took care to rectifie their mistakes and to correct their faults and to give them all the ways of improvement because they were honest men and ever intended to behave themselves like honest men They were all but Judas men of great plainness and simplicity teachable and willing to be informed of the Truth open and free in their behaviour not addicted to any notorious Vice of a Religious temper and disposition and every way fit to be trained up to the perfection of Vertue in the School of Christ and therefore our Saviour took a particular care of them and bore with all their Infirmities Mistakes and Follies till he had brought them to perfection Whereas Judas whom he excepted out of this Commendation Ye are clean was a man false and close covetous
human frailty we shall never fall For it was not only for the instruction of St. Peter that our Lord gave the exhortation of the Text to watch and pray but for the instruction of all the rest of the Apostles and not for their instruction only but it was for ours also in all Ages that he left this direction with them They were not always to expect that the special Grace of God would attend them and either keep them from great faults or set them right again after their miscarryings while they neglected to acquaint themselves with their own hearts and to take care of their actions and to seek the assistance of God's Spirit And we much less who have been longer under the guidance of God's Grace than they had been even from our infancy ever since we were baptized and taken into the Covenant of Grace who have also had the instructions of their examples and the use and benefit of our Lord's admonitions to them and have been guilty of more neglects and miscarryings than they were who moreover have been educated to a more perfect understanding of the Doctrine and Nature of Christianity than as yet they had attained to under these circumstances we are not to expect the watchful care of God's Spirit over us to lead us out of temptation and to deliver us from evil if we do not watch our selves and to watchfulness add prayer that we enter not into temptation We are not to trust to our general good purposes and honest ways but to remember the weakness of our flesh i. e. the unsteadiness of our purposes the mutability of our affections the deceitfulness of our hearts and therefore to supply all our defects with what diligence and circumspection we can and in doing all this to be very earnest in our Prayers that God would crown all with his Grace This is the way to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might And we are undoubtedly safe if we continually keep our selves under the wings of his Grace and put our selves under his protection by watchfulness and prayer For the effectual fervent Prayer of a righteous man availeth much It availeth much for another much more for himself it availeth much for the procuring of temporal blessings much more for spiritual and eternal God does not always crown the industry of a man in his labouring for the good things of this World with desired success and sometimes he sends them to the lazy and bestows them upon those that never pray But the most necessary things a good mind the best wisdom the improvements of the Soul he ever gives to the diligent and to those that depend upon him by Prayer and never otherwise And this is a plain conviction that if we are barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of God if we make no progress in Virtue nor move at all towards Perfection it is our own fault who have so ready a way to gain that help from God which will not fail to better our Natures and to strengthen us in every good work and to deliver us from temptation I have already told you how vain a thing it is to plead frailty and infirmity for not watching and praying since for that very reason our Saviour directs us to watchfulness and prayer because altho' the spirit is willing yet the flesh is weak And it is to as little purpose to make the same plea for those miscarriages that are the effects of our infirmity since there is this to make them the effects of wilfulness too that we have neglected to consider our own weakness and to go to God for help And what should be more easie and natural than for a frail Creature to have recourse to the Fountain of his being and the Author of all good the God of Power and Mercy for a supply of his own defects We are not therefore excusable if we do it not constantly and earnestly when so much depends upon it I have but one Motive more to lay before you but that methinks a very prevailing one and that is that our blessed Master himself in whom there was no sin nor sinful infirmity he I say himself who so little needed any other strength but his own practised that Advice which he gave to his Disciples he watched and prayed when the hour of temptation was coming on whilst his Disciples threw away their time and we see the different effects of their different behaviour Our Lord witnessed a good Confession but his slothful Disciples fled away shamefully and Peter the most forward of all a little before miscarryed the most shamefully of all and denyed his Master A very instructing example to shew us how much depends upon Prayer and how unreasonable a thing it is to complain of the Infirmities of our Natures and the difficulty of standing against temptations when we have so ready but withal so necessary a means of relief that Jesus himself made use of it And surely one main reason why he he did so was that we might be instructed by his examples how we ought to fortifie our selves against the temptations of the World He was tempted for us because we also were to be tempted and he prayed under his temptation for our sakes too that we might learn of him the way to overcome temptations and to be always prepared against them Let us therefore my Brethren remember the words of our Lord Jesus Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation let us also remember the example of our Lord who himself watched and prayed though he of all men that ever lived least needed any assistance against temptation Let us enter into the Church and frequent the Publick Prayers and let us enter into our Closets and never omit our Prayers to God in secret For by every such omission we loose an opportunity for our Souls we weaken our dependance upon God we lie more open to danger from within and from without and have made one step more backward and are farther from the Grace of God. In a word let us purge our selves from all insincerity and hypocrisie and be sure that we do not suffer the guilt of any wilful sin to lie upon us and ever keep our selves from presumptuous sin and to this general habit of honesty let us add a jealousie over our selves doing like those that depend upon the Grace and Providence of God for if we continue thus doing we shall not fall and that because God is our help who is not wanting to prevent us by his Grace and will therefore never fail to follow us with it whilst we walk in his ways and study to please him in all things and humbly depend upon him for our Safety in this World and our Salvation in the World to come The Fifth Sermon MATTH IV. 10. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve HERE are two Rules to be observed I. To worship and serve God. II. To
of bearing Evil from the hand of God is that which is meant by receiving it at his hand Particularly 1. We are to receive Evil with the same honourable thoughts of God wherewith we are to receive Good from him We must abate nothing of our esteem of his Righteousness or of our belief of his Wisdom and Goodness The sense of misery is indeed apt to breed hard thoughts of all those by whose means it comes if they have knowingly contributed towards it and designed what we suffer But let us remember Brethren that this is a case always to be excepted God knows and sees all the troubles that befall us nay and it is his Will that they should happen to us and yet we must not think the worse of him for it And though we take it ill of any man that can easily help us when we are in distress and yet refuses to do it yet we ought not to be so affected towards God and whilst we complain of that grief from which 't is true he could deliver us in one moment we must at no hand complain of him nor entertain the least unworthy thought of him for seeing us in pain and suffering us to continue under it 2. We are to receive Evil with the same constancy of serveing and obeying him as if we received nothing but good We are not to grow weary of Religion nor to give over Praying nor to depart from Justice or Charity or any duty incumbent on us The truth is they must be great strangers to the spirit and design of Christianity who can be tempted to count their Prayers and their Repentance and Righteousness unprofitable when they do not save them from the calamities of this World. Under the Law indeed the promises whereof were Temporal we may observe the temptation prevail'd upon some good Men. Verily said Asaph I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in Innocence For all the day long have I been plagued and chastned every morning Psal 73.13 14. But then he recover'd a better mind ver 21 22. Thus my heart was grieved and I was pricked in my Reins so foolish was I and ignorant I was as a beast before thee It was this that Job's Wife bad him do i.e. to throw off all pretence to serve God who had thus forsaken him said she Curse God and dye scorn to serve him any longer and make an end of thy life But said he Thou speakest as one of the foolish Women speaketh what shall we receive Good at the hand of God and shall we not receive Evil Nay 3. We are to receive evil from God with thankfulness for the good things we have enjoyed for those which remain and for those which we expect and above all for the hope of Eternal Life We must thank him for the care he takes of us and therefore for all his dealings with us for sending us that which he sees is most expedient for us yea for those very Trials and Chastisements which we complain of though for the present they are grievous And thus Job received Evil. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away Blessed be the name of the Lord. These I confess seem to be hard lessons but they are such as we must learn and how hard soever they may be yet let us be assured that they are not unreasonable and that is the second point I was to shew and what I chiefly designed to insist upon at present Therefore 1. We should consider that we have not deserved the Good that we receive from the hand of God but the Evil which we receive that we have abundantly deserved All indeed do not deserve Evil from God equally but all deserve it more or less And as for meriting good from him that no man must pretend to how Righteous and Godly soever he be For if God should be severe to mark what is amiss who could stand before him If he should enter into Judgment with his Servants no flesh living would be justified Now if Job who was a perfect and upright Man a Man of extraordinary Piety and Virtue received Evil from God as he ought how much more should we do so that fall short of his perfection When we suffer affliction our hearts must justifie God in all because they condemn us in so many things Our own Consciences are enough to stop our mouths or rather to make us confess that we have sinned but that God is Righteous Especially since all the good that we ever enjoyed and do now enjoy is from a holy and just God who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity For if we who are obnoxious to his Purity and Justice have yet received innumerable benefits from him it is hard and unreasonable to complain of him though but in our thoughts that he sometimes lets us feel a little of his anger and puts us in mind of our sins and of his own Justice and that as he is a gracious and a bountiful so he is withal a Holy God. Which consideration should prevail the more because 2. God has absolute Authority over us and so is every way just in correcting us for our offences not only because we have done that which deserves Punishment but because also he has a just and rightful Power to punish us for it Tho a Man knows that he has done ill yet every body must not take upon him to give him correction A Servant will submit to his Master and a Child to his Father and a Subject to the Magistrate when they will not bear Punishment from every hand as there is no reason that they should How much more should we submit to the Chastisement of the Almighty who is the Father of Spirits and our Soveraign Lord upon whom we absolutely depend because he made us out of nothing and sustains us every moment that we live When we were born we brought nothing with us into the World but have lived ever since upon the good things which God of his bounty hath lent us for our use And if he for good reasons takes them away he does us no wrong for they are not ours otherwise than by his continual Gift Which consideration disposed Job to submit when he was divested of all Naked came I out of my Mothers Womb and naked shall I return thither To the Earth from whence I was taken The Lord gave c. Let us remember that no Lord has that right over his Servant nor Parent in his Child which God has in us all and that since there is no obligation like to that which we have to God that made us nor any Authority that one can have over another equal to that which he has over us there is great Reason why we should meekly submit to his Chastisements and be content to receive not only that good which we have not deserved but that evil also which we have deserved at his Hand But this is not all For 3. To