Prince of Peace came into these lower Regions to make up the Breach between God and Man he brake down the Partition Wall proclaim'd an universal Peace by his Doctrine and confirm'd it by the Example of his own Life and the peaceable and quiet Deportment and Demeanour of his Followers Hereby fulfilling that Prophesie of breaking Swords into Plough-shares c. And the whole Contexture and Design of our Christian Religion as is most evident from all the Particulars of it can be no other then to reconcile God and Man Jew and Gentile and to reduce the whole World into one Community Now to enforce the Practice of these Duties not only of public but private Peace 't will be of singular use and importance to consider the Force and Energy of these following Arguments For 1 We are Members of that mystical Body whereof Christ Jesus is the Head Eph. 3.15 Heb. 12.14 1 Thes 5.13 Eph. 4.3 Who commands us to be at peace with all men to practice Peace among our selves and to use out utmost endeavours to preserve the Vnity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace which if we be careful to do 2 Cor. 13.11 the God of Love and Peace will be with us 2 We are all Descendents from the same common Parents Adam and Eve â— and therefore it would be most unnatural to hate Eph. 4.6 rail against and quarrel iwth our own Flesh We have all the same God to our Father and since we are Brethren how should we love and be at Peace one with another Especially since nothing can be more pleasant in this World Ps 133.1 then for Brethren to live together in Vnity 3 We have all one blessed Lord our Redeemer who purchas'd us all at one and the same Price that we might be at Peace with God and amongst our Selves He has given us all one Gospel and one Faith which is perfected in us by one and the same Spirit Since then we are united in our Minds in believing the same Doctrine it would be highly incongruous to be divided in our Affections this would be to pull down with one hand what we are endeavouring to set up with the other 4 We are all Temples of the same holy Spirit the Sanctifier by whose powerful Operation and Influence if we stifle not his Gifts and Graces by our Sins he will unite us to Christ our Head and in the mutual Bonds of Love Peace and Vnity to one another 5 We have all one Calling to Piety and Holiness of Life and we have the same Hope of our Calling in Christ Jesus we all aspire to and hope for the same Happiness and upon the same Conditions why should we therefore differ on Earth since we do all expect to be united in the same Society in Heaven where there shall be an absolute End of all Feuds and Contentions 6 We are all of us united in one Body by Baptism and herein admitted to all the Priviledges thereof as Members of the same Christian Brotherhood If we separate therefore from the Body we unchurch our selves make void the Terms and cancel the Bonds of our Peace and Reconciliation 7 and Lastly we do all partake of the same Elements in the Sacrament of Christ's Holy Supper We mystically eat the same Body and drink the same Bloud of Christ And certainly this Pledge and Assurance of his eternal Love to us should be the most powerful Motive to perswade us to love one another By these and many other Arguments Examples Precepts and Counsels we are not only oblig'd to preserve and maintain Peace in our Christian Community but to avoid as we would do the most Pestilential Disease all Factious Schismatical and turbulent Behaviour in all Societies both Sacred and Civil whereof we are Members The Mischiefs of Factions and Seditions are innumerable nor can we preserve Peace and Unity but by mutual Forbearance and Condescention and indeed 't is impossible that there should be any such thing as Unanimity amongst fiery fierce and contentious Spirits Now for the better Establishment of this Peace which I 've recommended to you by such cogent and convincing Arguments which our greatest Adversaries by all their Malice and Sophistry shall never be able to elude It concerns all Persons in every Capacity both public and private to use their utmost endeavours to promote and maintain it And therefore 1 Those that move in the highest Sphere of Government Superiors have cause to consider how much they are oblig'd to study the Peace and Quiet of the whole Community And this cannot be accomplisht by any other Means then by the Punishment of those Offences which are inconsistent with the public Weal and Tranquility of the Government and by the Encouragement of those Persons who are tractable and submissive That both Superiors and Inferiors may lead peaceable Lives 1 Tim. 2.2 in all Godliness and Honesty 2 Those that move in a lower Orb Inferiors and live as we of this Nation do under the happy Influences of a peaceable Government both in Church and State should use their utmost Endeavours to propagate and preserve it And to this End all the Subjects of this Kingdom are oblig'd to behave themselves towards their lawful Governors with all Modesty Respect Deference and Submission both to their Persons and Offices paying them that Tribute which is due to them and submitting their Persons and Fortunes to be dispos'd of by their just and reasonable Commands The Contraries to these are usually attended either with Confusion or Tyranny and which of them soever prevails the Consequences must be mischievous Thus The whole Community of Christs aâ—s are concern'd in it all Persons of all Ranks and Conditions who are Christians indeed will study to be unanimous and compliant one with another for Peace and Righteousness sake they 'l be careful to do their own Business study the mutual Satisfaction and Delight of all they converse with and endeavour to practice all those Virtues which are most conducive to the Peace and Interest of Mankind for we must acknowledge that we are all concern'd in the Blessings and Comforts of public Peace and in the Miseries of War and Discord And therefore if we crumble and divide our selves into Sects and Parties we shall be less able to repel the force of our Adversaries defend our own Interests or assist one another Nor can it be expected if our Humours and Interests clash that we should enjoy Peace and the comfortable Fruits of it under the same Government But then since we must of Necessity converse with and live amongst those that are Enemies unto Peace our blessed Saviour exhorts us to endeavour to quel and overcome the unruly spirits of Men by bearing Reproaches suffering Injuries practicing Meekness Patience and Condescension curbing and restraining our extravagant and unruly Passions which being indulg'd will undoubtedly prove the Springs and Incentives of Confusion and Disorder And indeed if Christians did but
really believe what they outwardly profess they would not incur the Hazard of Hell fire which they certainly do to gratifie a domineering Passion or please a petulent Humour for a few Moments but would rather practice those things which make for Peace tho contrary to the Bent and Tendency of corrupt Nature that they might inherit the Comforts and Rewards of it And as we lie under these pressing Obligations to promote and maintain Peace in all those Instances I 've mention'd So On the Contrary The opposite Vices forbidden Our eternal Law-giver does every where in Scripture expressy forbid all manner of Discord Unpeaceableness Emulation Provoking of one another Pragmaticalness medling in other mens Matters Tale-bearing Censoriousness Back-biting Revenge Bitterness Wrath Anger Clamour Detraction Suits in Law for Trifles c. and he brands these and all the spurious Brood of them as the Bane and Plague of all Humane Societies and he commands us further to hate and avoid all those turbulent and uncharitable Practices as being most agreeable to the Tempers and Dispositions of those factious Fiends who were excluded Heaven for their Mutinies and Disorders and shall live eternally in Broyls and Variance with one another Let all Christians then of all Ranks and Conditions study and endeavour to promote and propagate public and private Peace in Church and State in their Neighbourhood in their Families and in their whole Intercourse and Conversation with one another By which Means they shall not only please God and Man and discharge a good Conscience by endeavouring what in them lies to preserve Peace and Unity with both but this divine and excellent Frame of Spirit will dispose and qualifie 'em for the Society of the holy Angels and Saints glorified who do all unanimously concur in the same common Interests and Affections of praising and adoring the God of Purity and Peace in a perfect and harmonious Uniformity and are as sincerely one as if they were animated with the same Soul and Spirit Thus it will evidently appear from the Premisses that Christ our great Prophet has not only rectified the Mistakes and repair'd the Defects of all former Dispensations but has in great mercy to our Souls made a perfect Discovery of the eternal Will of God in what concerns his own Glory and our Good He has told us plainly what he has done already what he will do for us and what returns of Gratitude he expects from us in this Life that we may be for ever happy in a better And to enforce these saving Methods of Grace and Mercy he vouchsafes unto us the Assistances of his holy Spirit to restrain us from Sin to encourage us in and enable us to perform the Duties of Religion He has been pleas'd likewise to institute an Order of Men and invested them with Power and Authority to minister in holy Things and to be Ambassadors in his steade and has furnisht them with Abilities to instruct and govern his People and to guide them in the Ways of Salvation And to obtain an honourable Respect and Deference to their Persons and Offices that they might discharge their Duties and manage the Business of their Callings with Comfort to themselves and Success to others He tells the World that he will interpret the Respect given 'em and the Injuries done to them as if they were done to himself and to encourage them in the pious Administration of the Offices of their holy Function he has promis'd to assist 'em with his Grace and Spirit here and to recompence their holy Performances with a Crown of eternal Glory hereafter Hence we may understand by the Premisses what a Miserable Estate and Condition we were in and should have continued so had he not appointed this new and living Way for our escape and rescue Therefore we are indispensibly oblig'd not only in Duty but Interest to believe and practice that Heavenly Doctrine which has so many admirable Sanctions and powerful Motives to recommend and enforce it And indeed unless our Lives be the real Transcript of Christ's holy Example and Institutions and sincerely correspondent to what we profess the Title of Christianity will prove an empty sound nor can we expect to be dignified by that whilst we dishonour him that gives it Let every Man therefore 2 Tim. 2.19 that names the Name of Christ and expects Salvation by his Merits depart from Iniquity otherwise he undermines what he should endeavour to propagate and uphold And it would be a difficult Task to perswade others to believe that Doctrine which our own Lives and Practices are a flat Contradiction to For our Religion does not consist in the specious Pretences or the formal Appearances of being holy and devout Matth 7 2â— 't is not every one that saith Lord Lord shall enter into God's Kingdom but he that doth the Will of our Father which is in Heaven The most profound Knowledge of all the Principles and Duties of Christianity abstracted from the real Belief and Practice of 'em will prove a Scourge to and highly aggravate the Condemnation of the dissolute Christian Luk. 12.47 For he that knoweth his Master's Will and doth it not shall be beaten with many Stripes Our whole Lives then should be a Constellation of all those Gospel Graces which are recommended under this Head of Discourse And tho' there may be some mixture of Weakness and Imperfection and perhaps of Sin in all the Actions and Duties which we do yet if they be not impenitently liv'd and died in and if we use our utmost Endeavours to overcome and subdue 'em the imputative Righteousness of Christ our High-Priest will effectually interpose and accomplish our Peace and Pardon for all our Sins if we faithfully apply it CHAP. VII Of Christ's Priestly Office THat Christ Jesus the righteous might be sutably qualified for the great Work and Business of our Redemption 't was absolutely necessary as we 've seen that he should be a Prophet to dispense and accomplish that Part of his Mediatourship We shall proceed now according to our propounded Method to give you an account of the Importance of his Priestly Office Which does eminently consist in the offering up himself a real and perfect Sacrifice for the sins of the whole World and in his meritorious Intercession at God's right hand that the infinite Merits of that Sacrifice may be accepted and applied for the Comfort and Benefit of all sincere Christians that believe in and obey him Now by the Merits of this great Propitiation he has fully satisfied God's infinite Justice for Mans Delinquency and Disobedience obtain'd our Pardon and Peace with God deliver'd us from the Guilt Pollution and Punishment of all our sins and we are certain that upon some tolerable and easie Conditions he will vouchsafe unto us the powerful Assistances of his Grace and Spirit and enable us to comply with 'em to our comfort here and Salvation hereafter I shall endeavour to be very express
by other Means and Methods For a few days before his Ascension into Heaven he gave Commissions to Matt. 28.19 20. and invested his Apostles and Disciples with Power and inspir'd them with Abilities to Preach this Doctrine of Salvation to and propagate it in the World And this was not the least Miracle in it that a few Persons of the lowest Extract slender Education and arm'd with no external Power the most of 'em being poor Mechanicks as Tent-makers Carpenters Fishermen and such like should be able to withstand all the Authority Wit Learning Policy and Eloquence of the greatest Monarchs Politicians and Philosophers on Earth and all the Devils and damned Spirits in Hell which were combin'd against them and in despight of Malice it self to establish a Religion which did so much check and control the Ambitions Interests Pleasures and Appetites of the greatest Princes and their Adherents and was so directly Opposite to the then Temper and Inclinations of Mankind that they must offer Violence to their dearest Lusts and deny themselves the sensual Enjoyment of their most ravishing and transporting Pleasures ere they could become Proselites to it And yet notwithstanding all these Obstacles the Apostles and Disciples of our Lord had wonderful Success in Establishing the Gospel triumphing over and trampling upon the greatest Oppositions and did defend it and its Excellent Author with the highest Manifestations of Zeal and Integrity tho' continual Reproaches and Contumelies Racks and Prisons Flames and Martyrdoms did await 'em in every place where they came For we 've a certain account from Ecclesiastical History that eleven of the twelve Apostles and many Thousands of the Primitive Christians suffer'd violent Deaths by the hands of those who persecuted them meerly for their Religion And what rational Motive could carry 'em through such an hazardous Imployment that Christians alone should seem so fond of sufferings that they forgot Humanity it self indured Torments and abode the Flames not only with Patience and Magnanimity but with joy For tho' this Christian Courage was lookt on by the most to be either the folly or Phrensie of a distemper'd Brain yet doubtless it could be no less than the absolute conviction of their Minds and Consciences of the Truth and certainty of the Doctrine which they deliver'd with a comfortable Prospect of those inconceivable Rewards which should await 'em in another World Thus Christianity has been always hitherto and shall be ever propagated by Arguments rather than Arms by submission and sufferings rather than force and Violence And has far beyond all humane conceit been attended with such wonderful Succcess and Prevalency without any kind of Power or Earthly Authority to back it and not so much as one Sword except that of St. Peter Matth. 27.52 53. for which our blessed Saviour severely reprov'd him has been drawn in the defence of it Insomuch that 't was impossible that any thing but Truth it self which has an Omnipotent and over-ruling force in it could by such weak and improbable Means and Methods have so soon subdu'd mankind to the Faith and obtain'd a Victory over the hearts of Men in so great a part of the World And thanks be to God our Religion has not only captivated a few of the Meaner sort but the greatest of all Ranks and degrees even Kings and Emperors have submitted to Christ's Scepter and many of 'em have become nursing Fathers of his Church The greatest Philosophers Orators Rhetoricians c. such were Justin Martyr Athenagoras Tertullian Origen Clemens Alexandrinus and many others who neither wanted Wit Learning Eloquence nor Authority to defend and maintain their Heathenish Principles and Opinions yet became Proselites to the Christian Faith and zealous Preachers and Defenders of it with their very Lives and Fortunes And to our great comfort and satisfaction our Religion rides on prosperously still to conquer Nations far remote and there have been few Ages since our Saviours Exhibition in the Flesh wherein the Boundaries of his Church have not been enlarg'd with new Productions 5 The Truth and Excellency of the Christian Religion is evicted and confirm'd By the Miraculous Effusions of God's holy Spirit upon the Apostles c. by the Miraculous Effusions and gracious Influences of God's Holy and Blessed Spirit according to Christ's promise concerning it Not only on the Day of Pentecost but in many thousand instances besides to the wonder and astonishment of all Beholders And tho' the most of the Apostles and Disciples of our Lord were men of very obscure Fortunes mean Capacities as I hinted before and altogether unskil'd in humane Learning yet they were furnish'd in a moment with such an extraordinary measure of inspir'd Wisdom and Knowledge Acts 2.2 c. Acts 10.44 that the greatest Doctors among the the Jews and Philosophers among the Gentiles stood in a Maze at them were baffl'd and overcome by the Dint of their Arguments and afterwards became zealous Champions for the Defence and active Instruments in the Propagation of the Gospel All which Gifts were bestow'd by the Spirit of God for their perfect Guidance and Instruction for their Support and Comfort in the great Temptations and Pressures which they underwent and to inable 'em to convince the obstinate and unbelieving Jews and Gentiles of their Legal and Heathenish Superstitions and to convert them from their Sins and Errors to the Belief and Practice of this Excellent Religigion of the holy and Eternal Jesus 6 Upon the first publishing and promulgation of the Gospel By silencing the Heathen Oracles at our Saviours coming into the World all the Heathen Oracles were silenc'd cleombrotus Demetrius c. as Plutarch relates tho' they had been formerly very zealous Champions for them yet at Christ's coming in the Flesh they neither could nor durst speak one Word in the defence of them Ablata est Pythii Vox haud revocabilis ulli Temporibus longis Eternim jam cessit Apollo Clavibus occlusus silet ergo ritè peractis Discedens Patriae redeas ad lumina sacris Porphyr Vt citatur Lib. 5. Cap. 8. Eus de Preparat Evangelicâ Vltima Cumaei venit jam Carminis aetas Magnus ab integro seclorum nascitur Ordo Virg. Eccl. Sybils Oracles then drew their last breath and in them all others On which the same Poet sweetly Jam redit Virgo redeunt Saturnia Regna Jam nova Progenies Coelo demittitur alto And the Devil himself who was the Father and Founder of all those illusive Dreams and false Prophesies received a deadly Blow so that not only Christ himself has obtain'd an absolute Victory over him But all sincere Christians of which more fully afterwards thro' the assistance of his Grace are more then Conquerors over him and all his Agents 7 The Christian Religion in the New Omnia quae Scriptae sunt ad unum Christum referuntur nec saepit vetâ—â— scripturae nisi Christus in ea intelligatur Aug. in Ps 51. Id. in
to save for a Time he for Ever Therefore A Concurrence of all the three Offices in Christ that he might be every way sutably qualified for the Charge and Burden which he underwent he became Prophet Priest and King all which Offices were never confer'd on any but on Christ For 't is observ'd that Melchisedec was King and Priest but no Prophet David was King and Prophet but no Priest Samuel was Priest and Prophet but no King But there 's a Concurrence of all these three Offices in Christ and he was furnisht from Heaven with a sufficiency of Power Holiness Wisdom and Goodness to dispense them for the Comfort and Benefit of all that believe in and obey Him And to this End 't was necessary 1 That he should be a Prophet The absolute Necessity of Christs being a Prophet to cure that gross Ignorance which we deriv'd from the Loins of the first Adam to reveal and expound God's Mind and Will to us to teach us how to apply his Merits by the exercise of a true and lively Faith and to direct us how to walk more conformably to God's Will in doing our Duties and avoiding Sin for the future that so the Devil and our Lusts should not have the Rule and Dominion over us 2 It was necessary that he should be our Anointed Priest And Priest Altar and Sacrifice that he might propitiate and make Atonement for all our Offences free us from the Guilt and Punishment of them reconcile us to God's Grace and Favour and translate us from a state of Sin and Death to a State of Righteousness and eternal Life 3 But since this Peace and Happiness could not be obtain'd for us And Xing not applied to us but by an absolute and irresistable Power considering the many Enemies and Impediments we have to conflict with in our Christian Course therefore 't was necessary that he should be a King That having sufficiency of Power and Authority he might enable us to resist and overcome all those Difficulties and Oppositions which might hinder our Return from the Chaos of corrupt Nature to a state of Grace and Glory And to this End God has been pleas'd to raise him far above all Principalities and Powers that he might effectually apply the satisfaction which he made and the Ransom which he paid for the Salvation of Mankind Thus much of Christ's anointing in General by God's holy Spirit to those three great Offices which he receiv'd as the Head and conveyeth to his Members the Church By instructing us as a Prophet satisfying for us as a Priest and protecting and governing us as a King We pass on to Particulars CHAP. V. Of his Prophetical Office THere are several other Titles synonimous to his being a Prophet which are ascrib'd to our blessed Saviour in holy Scripture He is call'd the Pastor the Apostle of our Profession Rabbi Master a Teacher from God a Law-giver the Author and Finisher of our Faith a Minister of the Circumcision a Teacher of the Gentiles that he might be a Light to them as well as the Glory of his People Israel All which several Titles and Appellations do import that he was a Prophet sent from God to instruct his People and to guide them in the Way of Salvation And without all controversie Christ the Prophet this is he whom God the Father promis'd to send into the World whom the Prophet Isaiah tells us should be anointed to Preach the Gospel And being com'd into these lower Regions was confirm'd in this Office by an audible Voice from Heaven three times repeated as before with this peremptory Command annext to his Commission Hear ye him His Mission was also confirm'd by many notable Signs and Wonders by the Testimony of his Harbinger John the Baptist and many other infallible Proofs which would be needless to mention here But besides the Disposition and Temper of his Mind was every way sutable to his Office and Authority For his Wisdom and Discretion Purity and Holiness His Particular Qualifications Courage and Constancy Meekness and Patience Sweetness and Goodness Power and Majesty conspicuous in all his Discourses and Demeanour are so many unanswerable Topics to prove that our Lord Jesus Christ was anointed with the holy Spirit and with Power that he might be every way qualified for the due Administration of this high and extraordinary Office of a Prophet Which Office in the most strict sense denotes that the Person invested with it should be inspir'd with extraordinary Abilities to Prophesie of and foretel things to come And tho' our Anointed Saviour could not be deficient in this since his Wisdom and Knowledge are infinite yet his Prophetical Office is to be understood in a larger Acceptation and does import a Person endu'd with the extraordinary Gifts of Divine Wisdom and Authority to interpret God's Mind and Meaning and to reveal his whole Will to the Sons of Men so far as it may concern his own Glory and their present and eternal Welfare Thus we have seen how Christ our great Prophet is every way sutably dispos'd and qualified for the Management of this weighty Office We shall enquire in the next Place into the manner of its Administration The Admistration of this Office And for the better understanding of this Point We shall consider 1. What it is that God has been pleased to make known and communicate to us by the Spirit of his Son 2. What Returns of Duty and Obedience he expects from us For the 1st What God has been pleas'd to reveal to us by the Spirit of his Son Christ our great Prophet has by his Grace and Spirit reveal'd God's will to Mankind hereby declaring what he will have us believe and do that we may be happy here and for ever And to this end he has been graciously pleas'd to take away the Veil and has fully explain'd those Laws of Nature and Morality which were never understood before Mat. chapters 5.6 7. he has also corrected the Mistakes and supplied the Defects of all former Dispensations Concerning the Law which he was rectified and improv'd and added some excellent Principles and Precepts most conducing to the Interest and Satisfaction of Mankind which do far transcend all former Laws and Institutions whatsoever For in the Doctrine of the Gospel we have anexact Specimen of all those Truths which concern the Salvation of Christians wherein the Terms of our Reconciliation are fully and clearly exprest all the Doctrines Commands Counsels Conditions Covenants Threatnings Promises which respect the present and future Happiness and Misery of our Souls and Bodies are so throughly stated that he who runs may read And the excellent Design of this great Ambassie the Priviledges and Immunities of this Gospel Covenant are not limited to some few Kingdoms and Countries but extended to all Persons in all Ages thro' the most remote and distant Parts of the World The sound thereof is gone into
this Nation especially have been most signally happy in the enjoyment of public Peace and Plenty for several years Our Lot is cast in a good ground We have the Advantages of a fruitful and generous Soil which affords all things necessary and convenient for Food and Raiment for Physick and Delight We are blest with a temperate Air fruitful Seasons Conveniencies for Traffick yet secure and free from Invasion a well constituted Government a wise and merciful Prince whom God long preserve good Laws and duly administred for the Peace and Benefit of the Subject But then Secondly And our Souls We are far more transcendently happy in our precious and immortal Souls if we consider those admirable Facuities of Understanding Will Memory Affections c. and all their excellent Tempers and Dispositions which God Almighty has stampt with the Signature and Impressions of his own Divinity the love of Goodness and the knowledge of the Truth And tho' our Faculties were extremely obscur'd and deprav'd by our miserable Fall in Adam yet God has been wonderfully gracious to us in sending his dearly beloved Son into the World as we have seen at large before thereby repairing all our Defects and making up the Breach between God and us upon the gentle and easie Conditions of Faith and Repentance And to enforce all the saving Methods of Grace and Mercy he is pleas'd to vouchsafe unto us the bountiful Assistance of his holy Spirit by whose Operation and Influence we are preserv'd in a great Measure from Sin and Temptation and enabl'd to perform all our Duties to God's Glory and for the mutual Comfort and Benefit of our selves and others We have all the blessed Advantages of his holy Word and Sacraments and he has instituted and appointed an Order of Men to minister in Christ's stead and to be Ambassadors to solicite our Peace and reconcile us unto his Grace and Favour And besides all this we are certain if we be good Christians that we shall not only live comfortably here but our Souls thâ—ll be kept in safe Custody after Deaâ—â—â— that our Bodies united to our Souls and that God will bestow on us that glorious Kingdom which he has prepar'd and purchased for us where we shall perfectly enjoy all those never failing Pleasures without the least Allay or Discomposure which our Hearts can desire or hope for Thus the Divine Providence has made a wonderful Provision for our Souls and Bodies that we may live comfortably here and if we be not wanting to our selves be happy for ever And what could our gracious God have done more for his Vineyard then he has done for us Isai 1.4 Can any heart then be so callous and impenetrable as not to be influenc'd and affected with such admirable Endearments and Charms of Beauty Love and Mercy as these are How should we study therefore and endeavour as we are most strictly oblig'd in Duty and 〈◊〉 to please him in all things and conform the whole Man to his gracious and reasonable Commands How should we love him with the greatest fervency of Affection so as to desire above all things to enjoy him in all the Dispensations of his Grace and Glory Especially if we consider that there can be no Duty nor Vertue nor Grace acceptable to God unless it be founded in and flow from a Principle of Love Since then The sincerity of this Duty examin'd our Love to God is a Duty of so great Importance let us a little examine the Sincerity of it which may be understood by such Properties as these For if our Love be sincere we shall hate every thing that he hates and make it our chief Business and Delight to have a holy Entercourse with him in all the Duties and Offices of Religion and we shall study to avoid all those Sins and Temprations as the very Plague and Firebrands of Hell which shall at any time interrupt or hinder us in our Duty We shall be more zealous for God's Glory then our own Interest and be careful in all our Ways to do the Will and the Work of our Heavenly Father We shall be ready and dispos'd to forsake all things that are most dear to us in this World for his sake and the whole Bent and Tendency of our Lives will be a full Demonstration of the sincerity of our Affection to him A Mistake herein would prove of infinite Consequence to us which has caus'd me to be more express in the handling of this Point so that we are highly concern'd to be very inquilitive about the Nature and 〈◊〉 of our Love to God in Christ which to the natural and necessary Effect or a 〈◊〉 Faith and the very Source and Foundation of all Religion For if we have these worthy thoughts in our Minds concerning the Essence and Artributes of God and his Benefits to us which become the Perfection of the Divine Nature his Soveraignty over us and our Dependance upon him if we love him as the Author of all that Happiness which we enjoy and hope for then 3 We shall esteem and Honour him 2. By the 〈…〉 we 〈◊〉 to him for his Majesty and Mercy his Power and Goodness c. not only inwardly in our Hearts by conceiving always worthy Troughts of him in our Minds where all true Love is grounded 〈◊〉 also outwardly in our Demeanour and Carriage towords him in all our Words and Actionse viz. By acknowledging our whole Dependance upon him and Praying unto him for the supply of all our Temooral and Spiritual Wants by paying him the just Fribure of Thankfulness for his manifold 〈◊〉 and blessings bellow'd upon our Souis and Bodies in Hearing Reading and Meditating on his Word with a serious 〈◊〉 of Mind and fervency of Affection in receiving the holy Sacraments with a Disposition of Soul and a Posture of Body correspondent to those stupendous Mysteries in Sanctifying his Sabbaths and keeping with due Observance the Festivals of the Church in allowing a competent Maintainance a dutiful Respect and Obedience to all his Ministers and Viregerents in promoting holy Conferences with his Children and Servants for the mutual Edification and Comfort of one another And in a Word by being zealous in the whole Course of our Lives for the Enlargement of the Boundaries of his Kingdom of Grace and Righteousness as it becomes his dutiful and Obedient Children 4 This Temper of Mind will oblige us to depend upon him 3. By our Trust in Dependance upon him and to repose our whole Trust and Confidence in his All-sufficiency in general and in his Wisdom Power Goodness and Mercy in particular Always praying unto him earnestly and devoutly for the supply of all our Wants as before and depending entirely on him for protection in and deliverance from all Temptations Sin and Danger and humbly submitting our selves to the determination of his VVisdom and Providence for the disposing of us and our Concernments to his own Glory and our
the Dictates of sober Reason as the Rule and Standard to stear and manage our Affairs by For without this our best Endeavous even our religious Performances will prove either sinful or unprofitable There is always indeed some Tincture of Obliquity or Defect in every thing we do but if our Intentions be sincere in the Main God is pleas'd to pardon our Infirmities and Indiscretions and will interpret our Endeavours tho' imperfect according to the general Frame and Tendency of our Lives Yet nevertheless we are oblig'd by the Laws of our holy Profession to set our selves against all sin in general and every one in particular especially against those to which our Tempers are the most prone and incident and which we take the greatest Pleasure and Delight in These darling Lusts are the right Eyes which must be pluckt out Matt. 5.29 30. Heb. 12.1 and the right Hands which must he cut off These are the Sins which hang so fast on and cling about us and require the greatest Diligence and Watchfulness to overcome and subdue them But then we are not only oblig'd to be watchful over our most open and beloved but even over our most secret and private sins Job 24.15 Do not think when you commit them that no eye sees you For David's Sins were committed with all possible Privacy and there are many thousand such like Instances besides yet did they not escape the strict scrutiny of the divine Omniscience Prov. 15.3 The Eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good nor can the most minute Sin which we commit in our most private Retirements unless repented of flie from Justice Therefore 't is dangerous to indulge any one Lust or continue in the least Sin with delight and approbation Ne Consideres igitur quod parva sune peecata sed quod magnus est Deus c. Aug. de Paenit vera falsae Cap. 8. For tho' they may appear inconsiderable in themselves yet 't is advisable to consider that he 's an infinite God against whom they are committed Besides Sins of the smallest size are always Incentives and Decoys to greater For prophane uncharitable and unclean Thoughts if indulg'd in our Bosoms proceed to Words Words to Deeds and in this Progress of Wickedness Men are train'd on by degrees from Sin to Sin and from one degree of sin to another till they be plung'd at last into the bottomless Inundation or Abysse of Eternal Misery and Torment That we may be wise then as Serpents and innocent as Doves Mat. 16. in the true sense and meaning of the Gospel we must be strictly watchful over our selves Studying always to avoid the tempting and cursed Society of Drunkards prophane Swearers unchast Men and Women c. Flie all Occasions of Sinning and reject every Temptation with Indignation and Scorn which may prove an Enemy to Virtue or a Friend to Vice Resist 'em in the very first Assault and the Conquest will be easie and certain Consider your past Faâ—lings implore the Assistances of God's Grace and Spirit to enable you in some measure to repair the former Defects of your Lives by a more steady watchfulness over your Selves and Ways for the Future The best and most certain Means to avoid greater Sins is to make Conscience of the less Christ died for our very Slips as the Original imports and therefore those sins cannot be accounted little or cheap for which the eternal Son of God paid so dear a Price as his own Bloud When the Work of Regeneration is wrought in you beware of relapsing consider the dangerous and mischievous Consequences of Apostasie keep close to your Duty Mark 13.37 and what I say unto you I say unto all Watch. 4thly Patience and Meekness And lastly There are two other Virtues yet behind namely Patience and Meekness Which conduce much to the Peace and Happiness of our Souls and are of special Use and Advantage in the whole Course of our Christian Conversation But since these two Sister Graces do always go hand in hand Therefore for brevity's sake I shall treat of them under this same Head of Discourse Now these Virtues do peculiarly consist in bearing and suffering meekly and patiently all the cross Accidents which may befall us in this Life not only without fainting and fretting but with such an evenness and composedness of Mind and Spirit as is most consonant to the mild and gentle yet gracious and magnanimous Temper and Spirit of Christianity Besides Meekness and Patience are perfective of Jam. 1.4 and the Complement of all the other Virtues of God's holy and blessed Spirit For if all be well within we are safe from all Troubles whatsoever By this Means we secure to our selves the comfortable Injoyment of what we have and if we bear and suffer Injuries meekly and patiently God will give us more strength and contrive a speedy and happy issue out of all our Troubles Therefore why should any Affliction in this World disswade us from our Duty or abate our Zeal and Courage in the doing of it For the Instruments of our Torture saith Tertullian are the Ensigns of our Honour and Happiness Tert. Apol. Cap. 5. p. 39. the Habit of our Victory and the embroidered Garments wherein we must ride to Heaven A state of Sufferings on a good Account is the most lively Transcript of his Doctrine and Example Matth. 11.29 who commands us to learn of him not because he is wise rich or honourable but he inforces the Obligation from the Pattern of his own Meekness and Humility To suffer Persecution for Righteousness sake in some degree has been always the Portion and Patrimony of Believers under the Oeconomy of the Gospel And we Christians know no other than this strait and narrow Way which must through much Tribulation lead us into the Kingdom of God Acts. 14.22 But then to ballance our present Miseries and Sufferings which are perfective of the Virtues under Consideration with our future Hopes and Expectations The Troubles which we suffer in this World are light and inconsiderable compar'd with the Torments of Hell and if we bear them patiently they 'l dispose us for a brighter Crown when these Clouds and Storms are blown over Let us but hold out a little longer till we come within the Fortifications of the new Hierusalem and there we shall have a total Exemption both from sinning and suffering Besides if we be considerable Proficients in these Virtues They 'l make our present Sufferings less burdensome and afflictive For we shall neither be timerous in Danger envious in Want impatient under Troubles angry and restless at Reproaches and Contempt nor malicious and revengeful under Injuries and Persecutions the truth whereof is as clear as the Sun Beams from the Experience of all sound Christians But to be angry and impatient at our Sufferings will but fret and torment us and make the Burden of them
us for the Diversion and Reparation of our weary Thoughts as well as the Support and Comfort of our Bodies Religion is no Enemy to moderate Pleasures nor does it infringe the Priviledges of humane Nature in the Use of innocent Divertisementt But then we are oblig'd to observe such Measures in our Recreations as not to make our Sports our Business We should use them as we do Sawces to our Meat to set an edge upon our Faculties and revive our Spirits that we may be the more vigorous and active in all the Works and Duties both of our Callings and Religion Again Covetousness should be no Ingredient in our Pastimes And we must also see to 'em that they be not evil in themselves or if lawful that they become not otherwise by the undue Circumstances of Time and Place as on the Lord's Day on Days of Humiliation c. All Violence Passion Anger Fury Quarreling Cursing and Swearing must be utterly abandon'd in all our Sports and Divertisements For these Irregularities instead of refreshing will discompose us and become vexatious both to our selves and others Lastly our Recreations should be short so that they encroach not on our necessary Business or Religion in a fruitless Expence of that Time which might be imploy'd to better Purposes For indeed no prudent Man has so much Time lying upon his hands but he knows better how to imploy it then to spend it vainly about Trifles Thus all our Merriments should be bounded with the necessary Rules of Reason and Sobriety and if we keep our selves within these Bounds Religion does not only connive at our Mirth but commends and approves of it 2dly Chastity or Abstinence from bodily Pleasut csâ— This Virtue of Sobriety as it relates to the Body consists in the Moderation of the Lusts and Appetites of the Flesh which properly speaking is Chastity or Abstinence from bodily Pleasures The Laws of Nature and Christianity do expresly forbid all sorts of Vncleanness as Adultery Fornication Self-pollution and all the other kinds and degrees of Effeminacy and do put an absolute Restraint upon all the concurrent Motions Affections Desires lustful Appetites both of the Soul and Body For if any of these be indulg'd and complied with they will set on fire the whole Course of Nature and sud dainly plunge the whole Man into unavoidable and irreparable Mischiefs We should therefore rather flie from this Sin then dispute against it And to this End 't will be necessary to consider 1 That all sorts of Venery and Vnclenness The Dangers attending this Sin Hos 4.11 do not only suppress and stifle all the divine and spiritual Operations of the Soul but do effectually draw them away from God and his Worship This was notoriously remarkable in the Case of Solomon 1 Kings 11 12. who tho' otherwise a Prince of unparallel'd Wisdom and Prudence yet he tells us from his own miserable Experience that when inconsiderate Men have plung'd themselves into the Pit of Filthiness 't is very difficult for them to retreat For they are led saith he by the contrivances of their wanton Prostitutes as an Ox to the slaughter Prov. 7.22 23. or as a Thief to the Correction of the Stocks 'till a Dart strike through their Livers or as a Bird hasteth to the Snare and knoweth not that it is for his Life Pro. 23.27 And a Whore is a deep Ditch and a strange Woman is a narrow Pit All which imply the unavoidable dangers and Mischiefs which lustful Persons run upon who give way to and indulge their sensual and bruitish Appetites and Passions 2 The Sins of Vncleanness are usually attended with Poverty and an infirm Constitution Prov. 6.6 This has been too remarkable in the decay'd Bodies and shatter'd Estates of too many sad and miserable Instances especially of late years in this sinful Nation to the great scandal of our pure and undefiled Religion and has been no small Disparagement to the excellent Constitutions of our Government both in Church and State But tho' perhaps a vicious Libertine may which is very rare escape these temporal Punishments yet the just Vengeance of God will certainly overtake him in another World For 't is express from Scripture that God will judge Whoremongers and Adulterers and whosoever shall live and die under the Power and Prevalence of these sins unrepented of unsubdued shall never enter into the Kingdom of God 3 These Deeds of darkness cannot be hid from God's all-seeing Eye For whither can we go from his Spirit or whither shall we flie from his Presence Psa 139.7 He beheld David's Adultery as before tho' committed with the greatest Secrecy 1 Sam. 12.12 and our blessed Saviour knew the practice of the adulterous Woman of Samaria Joh. 4.18 It must needs then be a great Falacy and Cheat which Whoremongers and Adulterers put upon themselves whilst they endeavour to conceal those Works of Darkness from the Eye of the World For the infinitely wise God registers all these Offences in the black Book of his eternal Memoirs and will bring them all to a sad Account at the Day of Judgement unless they be sincerely repented of to the unspeakable Shame and Horrour of those that commit them Give no way then to your Lusts and hold no Parley with your sensual Appetites for if you do you are in great danger of being overcome Solomon tho' the wisest of Men did prostitute his Wit Learning Honour Experience and all to gratifie a lustful and wanton Appetite It stands us in hand therefore to be always upon our Guard and the best way to be so is to be watchful over our Thoughts to make a Covenant with our Eyes and to keep our Hearts with all diligence Matth. 23.26 Prov. 14.23 from whence all these Abominations flow and derive their Original For if we keep the Fountain incorrupt the Streams will be so too and if the Fear of God and the serious Apprehension of Death and Judgement dwell in our Hearts like a strong Porter they will keep the Door against and dislodge all vain and sensual Desires This was Joseph's Security against all the lustful Dalliances of his wanton and importunate Mistris And this will effectually guard all the Ports and Avenues of the Soul against the incursion of carnal Temptations so that if they should creep in by surprize or unawares such Apprehensions as these will not suffer 'em to fix there but either cast them out or kill ' em Again set a strict watch over all your Senses lest they be charm'd and allur'd by the delicate and soft Embraces of forbidden Objects Have no Communieation with lustful Persons of either Sex Alexander the great would not see the Wife of Darius lest by the Charms of her admirable Beauty he might be tempted and overcome And certainly he that dares not look on a beautiful Woman to please his eye cannot come within the danger of Wantonness and Folly And
't is better for a man saith Solomon to be Master of his own Passions than to conquer an Army Temperance in Eating and Drinking with Fasting and Labour are powerful Expedients to subjugate the Flesh and bring under the Body St. Paul made use of 'em to subdue his own Appetite and recommends the same Duties to us as the best instruments to further us in the great Work of Mortification and Self-denial To which we should not fail to joyn our earnest Prayers to God for the Assistance of his Grace and Spirit that we may obtain this comfortable Victory and Conquest over our Selves For our blessed Saviour who best understood our Frailties recommends this Duty to us as the most successful Expedient and without which all our other natural and moral Endeavours will prove ineffectual and to no purpose Now if all these Means will not secure our Chastity but that our Appetites are still headstrong and unruly then 't will be necessary to make use of lawful Marriage which God has been pleas'd to institute and allow to pare off the Excrescencies of corrupt Nature and to secure us from the Guilt and Punishment of our fleshly Lusts Yet herein we must consider that there 's a Temperance and Moderation to be used even in the Pleasures of lawful Wedlock and as all Embraces and Contact are simply forbidden with others so we must not abuse our own Allowances but preserve our Vessels in Sanctification and Honour 1 Thes 4.4 and keep our selves within the due Bounds of Justice and Modesty By these Hints we may understand how much this Virtue of Chastity will conduce to the Interest and Satisfaction not only of the outward but the inward Man for no man shall ever repent that he has liv'd chastly and virtuously as the Contraries are most pernicious to and destructive of both My designed brevity will not suffer me to enlarge further on these Heads And therefore I must leave it to your Prudence and Conscience to collect the rest 3dly The last Virtue which concerns the Body is the sober and moderate use of those Riches and Estates which the divine Providence has been pleas'd to allow us for our Support and Accommodation in this Life which is known by the name of Contentedness Which Virtue consists in the inward voluntary and universal Submission of our Wills and Desires to God's gracious and wise Disposal of us in every Estate and Condition of Life For if our Condition be prosperous this true Christian Contentment will oblige us to rest satisfied with what we have without the trouble of an anxious Care and carking Desire of getting more If we be poor this will teach us to be satisfied with that little Portion which God has given us without coveting of or murmuring and repining at the flourishing Estate and Condition of other Men. But this peaceable and innocent Composure of Mind and Spirit is only peculiar to the sound Christian For tho' the Heathens did pretend to it yet they were not Masters of it They could indeed comport with the want of Riches and were sometimes affected with a simple Poverty But if they happen'd to fall into Disgrace or Contempt then they esteem'd it an heroical act to kill themselves which in such Cases they usually did and a Demonstration of a magnanimous Spirit Lib. de Civit. Dei Cap. 10. But St. Aug. in the Case of Cato Vticensis and Lucretia detects the folly and madness of this Conceit and fully shews that this Fool-hardiness does rather proceed from an impotent and cowardly Spirit And doubtless 't is the greatest Fortitude to be Masters of our selves to conquer our own Passions and to entertain all Events with a submissive Patience Contentedness and Aequanimity Especially if we consider that God Almighty has been pleas'd to appoint a state of sufferings to be the more sutable Dispensation for the promoting of his own Glory and our Good Therefore it must hence follow that the chief and adequate Object of our Christian Contentment in which the Mind of Man can only be satisfied and without which all the Enjoyments of this World will prove empty and evanâ—â—d is the alone infinite and immutable God and the full enjoyment of him by Faith and Love in Christ our Mediator John 17.3 For that pious and gracious Soul that makes God his only Substance and Portion rusts fully satisfied in his Mercy and Goodness tho' the things of this World should fall cross and run counter to his natural Desires and Expectations The Truth whereof will more evidently appear if we consider these few Things And 1 Nothing â—ess than this infinite and Vniversal Good which fills all the Faculties can terminate the Desires and Aspirations of the Soul after an endless and blissful Immortality Pleasant sounds may delight the Ear but not the Eye beautiful Colours may please the Eye but not the Ear But that divine and excellent Spirit which injoys the Favour of God in Christ has an Universal Satisfaction and shall abound with the perfection of Parts in this Life and Degrees in the future to his unspeakable and endless Comfort 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen they love c. 2 This Vniversal Good must be powerfully imprest upon and have its residence in the Cabinet of the Heart which is the Fountain and Principle of all rational and religious Thoughts and Actions Now all the Pleasures Riches and Honours of this vain and transitory World do only rove and fluctuate in the Fancy and have no Communication nor Intercourse with the Soul for they are like the Armour of Saul to David too wide and unfit for it But the true sense of God's Love in Christ does replenish every Corner of the Heart with Grace and Truth and gives that substantial Pleasure and Contentment that there 's no Joy on Earth like that of resting satisfied with the Enjoyment of God the Supreme Good 3 This only is the Complement and Perfection of all other Virtues but especially of this Christian Contentment Nothing less then the Supreme Good can replenish the Soul and in the midst of all temporal Enjoyments there 's still a plus ultra something to be desir'd and pursued which is yet superior far more excellent Moses could not be satisfied 'till he came to the Top of Pisgah that he might see the beauty and fruitfulness of the promised Land But a Believer's Rest and Contentment is only in Heaven and without a certain Prospect of and Title to those future Rewards all the puny Delights on Earth will prove nauseous and unsavory to him 4 'T is the Property of this supreme Good which can only afford the rational Powers of the Soul plenary Contentment to be permanent and of everlasting continuance For tho' we should enjoy all things even to our wishes yet the very apprehension of a future change as we see in the more favourable Intervals of chronical Distempers would stifle or diminish our present Ease and Contentment
lasting Monuments of God's Grace and Power and of their Patience and Magnanimity to all succeeding Generations Let no sincere Christian then be discourag'd tho he be now and then obnoxious to Satans Temptations For if he hold out vigorously the Power and Malice of the Devil shall not only be much abated by the Opposition of good Angels who are much more able and active to preserve and protect us then Devils and wicked Men can be to mischieve and hurt us But the Spirit of God is also greater in us 1 Joh. 4.4 then he that is in the World and he who is God over all has prescrib'd such Bounds to our Enemies of all sorts that they are now confin'd like those turbulent and otherwise uncontrolable Waves of the Sea Job 1 1â— that they can only move so far and no further then he pleases But this is to be understood of Believers only For the sinful and disobedient Eph. 2.2 3. the unbelieving and impenient are led captive by him become his absolute Slaves and Vassals and are forward to commit all those Villanies which he doth perswade and tempt 'em to tho never so dishonourable to God or mischievous to themselves and others But here I must note to you Absolute Conquest over Sin not attâ—â—able in this Life that we cannot expect an absolute Conquest over Sin and Satan in this Life by the Sacrifice of Christ's Death And therefore we had need to stand continually upon our Guard and pray incessantly for the Assistances of God's Grace and Spirit to help our Infirmities and enable us to resist them yet this we are certain of which may encourage us in the Conflict that when we come within the Fortifications of the new Hierusalem we shall reap the blessed Fruits of this great Expiation and have a total Exemption from all Temptation Sin and Suffering whatsoever Then shall our Bodies shine as the Brightness of the Sun Beams and as the Stars for ever and ever and our Souls shall be cloath'd with an immaculate and spotless Dei-formity Then shall all those Laws which are now so difficult to be perform'd be either cancell'd and repeal'd or our merciful High-priest will furnish us with a Sufficiency of Will and Power to obey them Then will all our Desires Inclinations and Affections cheerfully concur without any by-respects to our private Interests or Passions in the promoting of God's Glory and the mutual Joy and Happiness of the whole Community of holy and beatified Spirits Then shall all Labour and Travel Sorrow and Sickness be at an end and Death it self which is now so terrible to Flesh and Blood shall be swallow'd up in absolute and perfect Victory Then shall the Devil our most malicious and inveterate Enemy and all his Agents be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone and shall be confin'd eternally to those Flames and Tortures which are prepar'd for him and his Angels There are several other Benefits resulting from this great Propitiation More particular Benefits which I have toucht already and therefore shall only name them here as the Conquest which Christ has obtain'd over the World with all its vain Pomps 1 Joh. 5. â— Honours Beauties Pleasures c. which the Apostle did so much glory in and rejoice at Eph. 2.15 16. He has put away the Enmity between God and Man between one Man and another and between every good man and his own Conscience He has ratified and confirm'd the new Covenant between God and us Heb. 10.29 in his own Bloud repair'd God's Honour which had been so much obscur'd and violated by our Disobedience and Rebellion against him and has restor'd us to all those just Rights and Priviledges which we thereby forfeited and lost He has rais'd and advanc'd us to the Honour and Happiness of God's own Sons thus mystically uniting us to himself and elevating us above the World In a Word he has fully satisfied God's Justice which had been so often affronted by our Iniquities and perfectly made up the Breach between God and Man as we have prov'd before to the advancement of his own Glory and the unspeakable Comfort and Happiness of all true Believers Thus our most faithful and compassionate High-Priest has made our perfect and plenary Atonement with God by that infinite Sacrifice and unsinning Obedience which he perform'd in his Life and has perfected at his Death Which Propitiation of his is fully correspondent to God's determinate Counsel and all the Prophesies and Types in holy Scripture concerning him We have seen likewise what a happy State and Condition Mankind is in by his Assumption of our Nature and what Blessings and Priviledges he has purchas'd for us and will certainly bestow on us if we endeavour to make our Lives the Transcript of his Doctrine and Example We shall Apply this Point by considering what practical Inferences may be drawn from it And 1 The serious and impartial Consideration of this great Mystery The Influence which this Doctrine should have upon Practice should affect our Souls with the highest Transports and oblige us to make the most affectionate Returns of Love and Duty towards him No Imagination could devise any thing beyond this That the Lord of eternal Life should stoop from the Top of Heaven and under the Vail of our Flesh endure the Pain and Infamy of an accursed Cross not only to rescue his Enemies from Death but to exalt them to eternal Life What infinite Obligations are these and how unworthy should we be of those Favours if the effects in our Hearts and Lives do not bear some considerable Proportion to those wonderful Emanations of his Love and Bounty And how should we Love him above all things who has thus loved us 2 This is a most solid Foundation for our Faith Rom. 8.32 our Hope and Confidence to rest upon amongst all the distracting Cares and Sorrows of a miserable World That we live under the Providence and Protection of an all-powerful and merciful God and have the Plea of Christ's infinite Merits to secure and confirm to us our present and eternal Peace upon such reasonable easie Conditions as are propounded in the Gospel If these things were duely weigh'd and consider'd they would prove the best and most absolute Catholicon to cure all the melancholly Suggestions of Distrust and Infidelity 3 Our serious Reflexions upon that black and tragical Scene of Christ's Sorrows and Sufferings for our Sins may give us a true Representation of the damnable Nature heinous Aggravations and dreadful Consequences of 'em and inspire us with the greatest Dread against Detestation of those Enemies which are so dishonourable to God and mischievous to our selves For our Sins alas have been the Betrayers and Slanderers of the most innocent Son of God our best Friend and most compassionate Redeemer and the immediate Authors too of that painful and infamous Death and all the precedent Cruelties which he suffer'd for
all his Undertakings for the Advancement of the true Honour and Interest of the establisht Religion his Subjects Peace and his own Safety Give a plentiful Portion of thy Grace and Spirit to all the several Stewards and Dispensers of thy holy Mysteries whether they be Arch-Bishops Bishops or other subordinate Priests and Deacons but more particularly to him whom thou hast intrusted with the more immediate Care and Inspection over our Souls in this Parish Enable them to feed their Flocks with true Wisdom and Knowledge that after a plentiful Conversion of Sinners from the Errour of their Way they may shine like so many Stars in thy Kingdom and Glory for ever and ever And let the same holy Spirit we most humbly beseech thee sanctifie and direct all the King's Councellors Judges Magistrates and Ministers whatsoever that they may be all faithful and zealous in their several Stations and Callings for the Maintenance of thy true Religion the Encouragement and encrease of Piety and Justice and brotherly Love and Unity amonst us And now O Lord as we have pray'd unto thee for the supply of all temporal and spiritual Wants so we beseech thee to accept of the hearty Return of our most affectionate Praise and Thanksgiving for the abundance of thy Grace and Mercy vouchsafed to our Souls and Bodies We bless thee for our Creation Preservation and manifold Deliverances from Temptation Sin and Danger for all the comfortable Motions of thy holy Spirit and the blessed effects thereof in our Lives and Actions for our Health and Liberty Peace and Prosperity But above all let Heaven and Earth praise thee for thine infinite Love and Compassion to our miserable Nature in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ and herein we praise thee more particularly for his Merits and Intercession his Doctrine and Example the benefit of Repentance and promise of Pardon for thine unwearied Patience and passionate Entreaties to save us from Sin and Ruin for all the blessed Opportunities of Grace and Mercy in this Life and the assured hope of a blessed Immortality in that which is to come Finally we beg the Assistance of thy good Providence which hath watcht over us and preserved us this Day to defend us this Night also Refresh our wearied Bodies with comfortable Rest and Sleep and keep our Souls and Bodies from the Violence and Malice of the Spirits of Darkness from all evil Accidents and illusive and filthy Dreams So that if thy good Providence bring us to the Enjoyment of another Day we may serve thee fathfully and sincerely both in the business of our Callings and Religion Take us not out of this World we pray thee till thou hast dispos'd and qualified us for the happy and eternal Enjoyment of a better and let thy merciful Kindness be our Support and Comfort in the whole remaining part of our Lives In confidence whereof we recommend our Selves Ours to thy gracious disposal in Christ Jesus in whose most holy Name and prevailing Words we beseech thee to hear us Our Father c. A Morning Prayer for a Private Person O Most merciful and gracious God the Fountain of all goodness and blessing of life and peace of plenty and pardon thou art greatly to be feared and had in reverence of all that draw unto thee Wherefore I humbly beg the assistance of thy Grace at this time to sanctifie and enliven my Devotions that I may pray with the Spirit and pray with the Vnderstanding also For I must confess O Lord to my great shame and sorrow that I am a most vile and sinful Creature less then the least of all thy Mercies and lyable to the severest of thy Judgements All the Powers and Faculties of my Soul and Members of my Body are polluted with the contagion and filthiness of Original Sin I am clothed with Iniquity as with a Garment and my Transgressions are gone over my head like a sore burden too heavy for me to bear I have sinned in every Circumstance in every Condition and Imployment of my whole Life not only in my youth and days of ignorance but in my more discerning and riper years Insomuch that there are few sins which I have not either actually committed or at least been inclined to to the great increase of my present Misery and future Condemnation * Here mention your partitular sins as Besides vile Creature that I am I have been so miserably intangled in the snares of Sin and Wickedness as to be hurried on either to the wilful neglect of the Duties of Religion †Here confess your particular Omissions of and Failings in Duty or those I perform are done with so much indifference and formality hypocrisie and distraction coldness and indevotion that even my Prayers and other religious Performances are not seldom turned into sin And to render all my Transgressions out of measure sinful the guilt of 'em has been hugely aggravated and encreast ‖ Here consider the circumstantial Aggravations as when how often where c. by the Commission of 'em from time to time against the clearest Convictions of thy Word and Spirit the Testimony and many checks of my own Conscience notwithstanding my many solemn Vows and Resolutions to the contrary Wherefore holy Father thou mightest justly enter into Judgment with me and if thou shouldest be extreme to mark what I 've done amiss I should not only be of all Men but of all Creatures the most miserable But with thee is mercy and forgivenness and because thy fatherly Compassions fail not therefore I am not consumed thou passest by the Transgressions of thy Servant and retainest not thine Anger for ever Let the abundant Merits of thy Son and my most merciful Redeemer make a full and satisfactory Atonement for the Sins and Offences of my whole Life and for his Righteousness sake deliver me I beseech thee from the Guilt and Stain and from the Power and Punishment of all my reigning Lusts which I have hitherto indulg'd and cling about me * Here mention the Sins to which you are most inclin'd and pray earnestly against them Enable me to subdue and overcome all those Follies Indiscretions the unreasonable Cares and unrelenting Affections that remisness and indisposednes in Duty †Here mention and pray against your several indispositions to Duty whereby I 've been so miserably led captive hitherto to the great dishonour of my holy Profession the Scandal of others and the extreme trouble and disquiet of my own sorrowful and afflicted Conscience Rescue me from those many alluring Temptations which are daily perplexing me in every Condition of life ‖ Here mention the Temptations which do oftnest aâ—â—ault you or give me a Sufficiency of spiritual Strength when they assault me to overcome them lest my Enemies prevail against me and lead me unawares into the Pit of Destruction and endless Perdition For this end I humbly beg the Aids of thy holy Spirit to purifie my