For the proposing vast Recompences for very slight and trivial Matters betrays great Want of Judgment in not setting a true value upon things either upon Rewards or Services or both Now by the Law of our Creation we owe God all possible Duty and Obedience a great deal more than the best of us do yield to him And should God have exacted it on the Account of his Sovereign Authority over us without promising us any thing at all much less any great Matters we had been indispensably obliged to it And our best Actions stand in need of Pardon so far are they from deserving to be Crowned Nothing in us or done by us can bear the least Proportion to the Heavenly Glory And therefore that besides a Pardon God should promise us Eternal Life as the Reward of what we do for him is what can hardly enter into our Thoughts But now Revelation does relieve us in this Matter The Scriptures tell us That Christ by his perfect Obedience and Death in our room and stead hath highly Glorified God and his Government and not only redeemed us from Hell and Destruction to which we were liable but also merited Everlasting Glory for us And that the Design of this whole Affair is to magnify the Riches of God's Grace and show the vast Regard he has to the Death and Intercession of his own Son that on his Account he offers such an unspeakable Reward to us Rom. 5.12 That as Sin has reigned unto Death so might Grace reign through Righteousness to Eternal Life by Jesus Christ our Lord. It is not for any Works of Righteousness that we have done or can do it is not because of their Intrinsick Worth that such great Things are given to us Heaven is the Purchase of Christ's Blood it is for His Sake we are accepted and rewarded And so upon our Faith and Obedience we freely receive the Blessings which he hath merited And the more we abound therein the greater is our Reward not because of our Merits but because of God's gracious Promise and Respect to the Blood of his Son for which he assigns us different Degrees of Glory in Proportion to our different Measures of Holiness and Obedience VII § VII I shall add one Consideration more which will equally reach both this and the foregoing Head viz. Natural Light and Reason cannot assure us where Grace is to be had to enable us to perform the Terms on which the Pardon of Sin and the Enjoyment of the Heavenly Glory is suspended Whosoever consults himself the Vanity of his own Mind the Corruption of his own Heart the Turbulency of his Passions the unruliness of his Appetite the Strength of Temptations the Weakness of his Resolutions and the Force of Evil Examples will quickly see an absolute Necessity of a Divine Power to turn him into and keep him in the Paths of Holiness Some Ingenious Men tell us very strange and surprizing Stories of the mighty Strength of Wheels and Pullies and Screws that 't is possible by the Multiplication of them to pull up an Oak by the Roots with a single * Bishop Wilkin's Archimedes p. 96. Hair of a Man's Head lift it up with a Straw or blow it up with ones Breath So that by these Contrivances one of Sampson's Locks when shaven off would have had far greater Strength and done greater Wonders than he himself when all of them were on As Extravagant as this may seem to be yet 't is much more easy and likely than for any Man by his own feeble Arm to pluck up those inveterate Evil Habits which Time and Custom have settled in him and made natural to him Now what well-grounded Confidence can we have from the meer Light of Nature of Divine Help for the accomplishing this great and necessary Work Whether any shall ever enjoy it seeing the same Sins that make us need it render us most unworthy of it Or in what Proportions it shall be given forth and how long it shall be continued Whether the Spirit of God shall be like those Periodical Winds which in some Parts of the World do annually blow to help the Mariner forward in the pursuit of his gainful Voyage or whether it shall only be like that bright Minute which Astrologers tell us of that comes but once in the whole Compass of a Man's Life and which if he lazily let slip he shall never have such another but is doom'd to Misery by a Fatal Necessity all the remainder of his Days But the Christian Institution is peculiarly called the Ministration of the Spirit 2 Cor. 3.8 c. as contra-distinguish'd from the Judaical one tho' that also had God for its Author so small a Portion of it was given forth under the one like little Drops of the Dew from Heaven which just wets the Ground in Comparison of what is bestowed under the other like a plentiful Shower of Rain from above that abundanly Waters it It was in the New Creation as in the Old The cold and dark Evening went before the warm and bright Morning and God appointed the lesser Light to Rule the Night and the greater one to govern the Day The Jewish Dispensation like the Moon had its Glory and its Influence on these lower Bodies But the Gospel is like the Sun who may with more reason than any thing which some Ancient Philosophers dreamt of be called the Soul of the World whose bright and warm Beams give a new Life and Being to all things here below awaken the sleepy and drowsy Spirit in every Creature and cause the Fruits of the Ground to Spring up and flourish and Crown the Year with an abundant Increase Therefore our Blessed Saviour stiles himself the Light of the World Joh. 8.12 a Title which he doth deserve because of the Objects that he hath informed us of having set those Old Truths which before were but darkly apprehended in a full and clear Light and acquainted us with those New ones which had it not been for him we had for ever remained Igrant of And he doth deserve it no less because of that Vital Influence with which his Heavenly Doctrine is accompanied without which all Knowledge in our Minds would be but like decayed Drugs which tho' taken into our Bodies having lost all their Virtue never operate upon them nay Men could not act worse if they verily believed or knew those Doctrines to be false than they do now they believe and know them to be true Joh. 1.4 Ephes 5.14 His Light is the Life of Men Wherefore he saith Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the Dead and Christ shall give thee Light And by the Scriptures we are certified that God hath appointed his own Son to be his High Almoner to distribute this Royal Gift of his among us his needy Creatures That being God and Man he hath the Infinite Goodness of the one and the tender Bowels of the other united in him And
he hath not only the Kindness of an Ordinary Man but his Humane Nature was filled with a Spirit of Love and Compassion and therefore he who hath so strictly commanded us to deal forth our Bread Isa 58.10 and draw out our Souls to the hungry will be much more ready to do it himself The Woman of Samaria tho' none of the best Temper or Character who denied him a Draught of Common Water might have had the Water of Life from him if she had but seriously asked it of him Joh. 4.10 And tho' the Hearts of his Country-men the Jews were full of Malice against him yet from a Custom that had obtained among them of bringing Water from Siloam to the Temple and pouring it out there he takes Occasion to intimate to them that He was the Fountain of Saving-Grace and gives them an Universal Invitation saying If any man tho' he be never so poor Joh. 7.37 or hath been never so wicked yet if he thirst let him come to me and drink And assures them that they should not repair to him in vain For he adds He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of living Water This spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive as St. John the infallible Commentator adds And there are several Circumstances of this Speech of his which the Evangelist mentions and are worthy of our Observation In the last Day that great Day of the Feast Jesus stood and cried saying If any man thirst c. 'T is the Feast of Tabernacles that is here meant one of the three on which all the Males in Israel were to appear at Jerusalem the First and the Last Days whereof were Great Days and in a Special manner to be observed as a holy Convocation wherein it was not Lawful for them to follow their Worldly Employments And consequently this being a Day of Leisure there was the greater Confluence of the People And it being the Last Day and they on the Point of departing to their several Homes just as they were going he utters these Words that so they might stick and abide by them as mens last Speeches are wont to do And then 't is added that Jesus stood up The usual way among the Jews was for those who taught the People to do it Sitting but here we find our Saviour chose the other Posture that his Voice might reach the further And he did not faintly Whisper but he Cried that every one there might be sure to hear him and that by the Loudness and Fervency of his Delivery he might make the greater Impression upon their Souls So earnestly did he desire to draw Men to him for their Spiritual Advantage And as a Sanative Vertue was sent forth from the Body of Christ here on Earth for the Curing the Natural Distempers of all those who resorted to him and believed on him so shall Influences of Grace flow forth from him in Heaven for the healing the Spiritual Diseases of those who seek to him and depend upon him He will do as great Miracles and Cures on Mens Souls as ever he did on their Bodies Open the Eyes of them who were Born blind quicken them who are dead in Trespasses and Sins restore their Feet to them that are Lame cleanse them that are Lepers and cast out the unclean Spirits from those who have been possessed by them And to remove all Jealousies and Obstructions he hath given us such a Description of the Gracious Nature and Will of God as is most worthy of him and most proper to incline us to return to him to awaken the Negligent and encourage the Doubting He hath clearly inform'd us of his Holiness Justice and Omniscience as a Remedy against the vain and fatal Imaginations of those who are secure in Sin and are apt to fancy him like a drowzy Judge on the Bench who neither hears nor regards how Causes go He hath as fully display'd before us the Riches of his Grace that awaken'd Sinners might not despair and so prove obstinate and irreclaimable It was the Reproach of the Israelites Ps 106.20 that they changed the Glory of God into the Similitude of an Ox that eateth Grass 'T is of a more pernicious Consequence to transform him into the Likeness of a roaring Lion thirsting after Mens Blood and greedy to devour their Souls Our Blessed Saviour in pursuance of his great Design which is to recover Men from Sin hath given us quite other Representations of him That he is desirous to be at Peace and ready to give forth of his Grace Luk. 11.11 12 13. That the most tender-hearted Father can't be half so ready to give Bread to his Starving Child as God is to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him And to cut off all Objections to this purpose viz. how can God consistently with his Holiness Justice and the Honour of his Government bestow so rich a Blessing on us the Scriptures further tell us it was one End of his Death to purchase Saving-Grace for us It was part of the Prize for which he ran a Branch of that Joy that was set before him Heb. 12.2 as an Encouragement to him to endure the Cross and despise the Shame and Pain of it He knew he should have a Seed and see the Travel of his Soul Isa 53.10 11. and be satisfied with the blessed Fruit thereof And when he ascended up on High Ps 68.8 he received Gifts for Men indefinitely of all Sorts and Ranks yea even for the Rebellious also Acts 5.31 and was exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance to Israel and Forgiveness of Sins Yea saith the Apostle to those Men whose Hands were yet reaking in the Blood of Christ and who therefore one would think should never have been applied unto or if they had of all Men living they should have been the Last that ever should have heard such glad Tidings yet on the contrary Unto you First saith he Acts 3.26 God having raised up his Son Jesus hath sent him to bless you in turning not a few only but every one of you from his Iniquities Considering the Nature of the Gospel the Representation therein given of God the Temper of Christ his tender Love to the Souls of Men which drew him down from Heaven his Carriage on Earth his Death Ascension Exaltation and the Ends of them which he who did not stick at the hardest Command of his Father that of laying down his Life will be sure punctually to answer and his own Honour which is so deeply engaged the Glory of a King consisting so much in the Multitude of his Subjects Prov. 14.28 we have the highest Reason to believe that nothing is more Grateful to him than the lifting up a perishing Sinner out of the Pit and the helping a strayed Soul in its Return to God The CLOSE I
no remedy We can never have a firm Foundation for a Full and Comfortable persuasion that God will indeed forgive Sins unless some Act of Grace and Indemnity be publish'd from Heaven to that end and purpose Such a one we read of in the Holy Scriptures in which we have the highest Assurance that can be either given or desired We have a firm word of Promise frequently repeated to build upon The Son of God came down from Heaven on purpose to preach this Doctrine in his own Person He hath purchased this Blessing for us by the sharpest Sufferings When he returned to Heaven Luk. 24.47 he commanded that Remission of Sins should be preached in his Name and hath settled an Order of Men who are appointed by this Argument to beseech Sinners to be reconciled to God This is one express Article of the New Covenant which he hath sealed with his own Blood that God will be merciful to our Iniquities and our Sins he will remember no more He bequeathed this as his dying Legacy among all his sincere Followers in his Last Will and Testament A Remembrance whereof he would have continually kept up among them and in order thereunto he instituted the Ordinance of the Supper for the Cup which we there drink of is the New Testament in his Blood which was shed for the Remission of our Sins And as a Priest he intercedes for this great Blessing and as a King bestows it on his People II. § II Suppose that Natural Light and Reason could assure us that God would forgive yet it cannot certainly inform us how far this Pardon shall reach either as to Persons or Offences If we had been left barely to our own Thoughts and Conjectures in this matter very few if any could have had a well-grounded comfortable Assurance that they in particular should find Mercy at the hands of God We could not reasonably presume it should be an Universal and Unlimited Pardon Surely God will make Examples of some and for any thing I know might every one say he may make one of Me among the rest If any be excepted why not I If I am a mean and inconsiderable Man 't is no great matter no great loss if such an one should perish And I am the rather induced to fear that I shall because of the Inequality of the Divine Favour in distributing temporal Mercies with so Sparing a hand to me the bestowing of which is the chief Ground I have to hope for his Pardon And therefore those who are very low and poor and under such miserable circumstances that they rather indure life than injoy it have Reason to suspect the good will of God towards them to whom he has given such weak and feeble Motives to Repentance and such slight Grounds to hope for a Pardon thereupon If I am a Man of Figure for that very reason God may single me out to make his Power his Justice and his Wrath so much the more Glorious And generally wise Governors are wont to make some such as these Publick Examples of their just Displeasure But be a man what he will as to his Circumstances in this World there is none but has committed a great many Sins and some of them are of a Crimson Dye For where is the Person to be found who has not often offended against shining Light and indearing Love against alluring Mercies and bitter Afflictions against repeated Promises and solemn Vows Now 't is true indeed that any single Sin tho' of the smallest Size will make sad Work in the Conscience if it be set home with Power on the Heart As the disorder of any minute single part of our Bodies an inconsiderable Stone or a small quantity of Gravel in our Reins will fill us with most exquisite Pain Yet generally it is the Multitude and Greatness of mens Sins and the heinous Aggravations of them that make the deepest wound in their Spirits Hence God has given us so many repeated Declarations in his Holy Word of the Fulness the Plenty the Riches of his pardoning Grace and Mercy That he will forgive iniquity transgression and sin That the Blood of his Son cleanseth from all Unrighteousness c. These Scriptures are like those Herbs which some curious Men tell us of that have the Signature of those parts of the Body whose Griefs they are designed to asswage Or the Figure and Colour of those Diseases for the Cure whereof the kind Hand of Nature has provided them They clearly shew our Disease as well as are intended to heal it and plainly signify how hard a matter it is to settle the peace of a troubled Soul Nay the Better and more Serious any man is so much the Greater would have been his Uncertainty and Perplexity in this matter For the Better any man is the more does he observe the inward Corruption of his own Heart which others take no Notice and make no Account of And the deeper Sense has he of the Holiness and Justice of God of the Vileness of his own Sins of his Desert of Wrath and Vengeance and his Unworthiness of Divine Favour And every man but especially such a one knows so much More against himself than he does against the Generality of Others that it is reasonable for him to conclude that all things considered he is one of the Chiefest of Sinners How natural is it therefore for all and especially for such to cry out Tho' peradventure there may be Mercy for Others yet sure there is none for Me I am afraid that I and My Crimes may be excepted and that pardoning Grace shall not extend so very far as to take Me and my Sins within its Reach and Compass that the Wing of Mercy will not be spread so wide as to cover Me and all my numerous and mighty Offences But now from this miserable Distress Revelation doth thoroughly deliver us by certifying us that as far as the Heavens are above the Earth Isa 53.7 8 9. so far are God's Ways and Thoughts above ours And therefore he is ready Abundantly to pardon Our Blessed Lord hath told us Mat. 12.31 All manner of Sin and Blasphemy shall be forgiven Blasphemy is a wounding the Name of God Now every Man is tender of his Reputation as of the Apple of his Eye and God is jealous of his own Honour Yet not only all other Offences but even this too of what sort and kind soever tho' attended with very aggravating Circumstances shall be forgiven unto Men 't is spoken indefinitely to Any Man always provided he comply with the Conditions of the Gospel the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost only excepted And 't is very observable how these words are brought in Our Saviour was now most highly provok'd by the malicious Pharisees whose malignant Souls were possest by a worse Devil than any of the Bodies of those who were healed by him and therefore wickedly imputed his Miracles to the Power of Satan Our Lord
looked odly for him to have been less forward and zealous to provide for God's Worship than his Subjects were But yet for all this Samuel charges him roundly for it and tells him it was Rebellion and Stubborness which are as the Sin of Witchcraft Iniquity and Idolatry And holy Men have been wont to think as ill of their Own as of other mens Sins upon this Account Holy David aggravates his folly from this Circumstance viz. the Person against whom it was committed And he so intently fixed his Eye upon this as tho' none else had been offended by him Against thee Ps 51.4 thee only have I sinned And God himself by the Mouth of Nathan whom he sent to him warmly expostulates with him 2 Sam. 12.9 10. Wherefore hast thou despised the Commandment of the Lord to do Evil in his Sight And agen immediately after Thou hast despised Me saith he to him in the Name of God And this is not only the Language of God in the Scriptures but in his daily Providences too Let any man consider the numerous Calamities wherewith many times the World is covered as with a black Cloud behold the Strugglings of dying Infants listen to the Cries of a wounded Spirit and attend to the Groans of a departing Sinner and then let him judge whether the Sins of Men are Acts of Weakness in God's Account and Esteem Scripture indeed is brought in to countenance this strange Assertion For 't is said * Id. p. 322. he knoweth our Frame Ps 103.14 But if we read on to the end of the Verse it will appear that this is not spoken of the Corruption of our Natures but the Weakness and Frailty of our Constitution For 't is added He remembreth that we are but Dust And the same is the true sense and meaning of that other Text which is press'd into this Service Isa 57.16 For I will not contend for ever neither will I be always wroth as is evident from the following words which contain the true reason of these not because their Miscarriages are the weak Acts of finite and fallible Creatures c. but because then the Spirit should fail before me and the Souls which I have made I might add This is a Gracious Promise which we know by meer Revelation whereas we are treating of what may be known by the meer Light of Nature and Reason In short no Man would with any Patience bear such a Plea as this in the Mouth of his Servant or Child for their wilful Contempt and Defiance of his Authority And such talk as this is one of the most effectual ways to give a fatal Check to the working of that Repentance which some design so much to extol and which indeed can hardly be extolled too much provided Men do it not so as to justle a Mediator and the Necessity of Faith in him in order to forgiveness out of the World For the chief Consideration that melts down an Ingenuous Spirit into a Godly Sorrow is this the Wisdom Majesty Authority Power Goodness and Justice of God whom he hath displeased So that some Men by endeavouring to advance Repentance do indeed diminish and discourage it as the Sun by raising up Vapours out of a River lessens the Quantity of Water that was in it 6. 'T is urged That for * Peccata Hominum non tam in Dei contumeliam quà m in propriam utilitatem sub boni alicujus apparentis obtentu fieri plerumque ac licet in eo Nomines fallerentur nihil tamen infenso in Deum animo patratum fuisse Herbert ubi supra the most part Mens Sins are not committed so much in Despight to God as for their own Advantage under the plausible shew of some Appearing Good And if this be all that a Thief or a Murderer have to say for themselves That the one robbed and the other assassinated his Neighbour not out of any direct Design to affront the Law or Government but meerly to get a good Sum of Money or to be reveng'd on his Enemy which to them did seem very desirable this would never prevent the pronouncing or executing the Sentence of Death upon them 7thly Lastly 'T is yet further argued That 't is Worthy * Dr. Whichcot's Serm. p. 313. of God to Pardon Penitents It is more effectual to the Purpose of God's Honour and Glory For when he Pardons he procures himself Love and gains the Heart and Soul of his Creature But if he punish the Party endures because God is Stronger and the Creature cannot make Resistance And again 'T is †P. 318 319. a greater Excellency to win and reconcile by Gentleness and Fairness than to overcome by Power and Force To win and overcome by fair Means by Reason and Argument by Courtesy and Gentleness these shew Wisdom and Goodness but to crush and subdue may be done by Power and Subtilty by Power because the Person cannot make Defence by Subtilty because the Person was surprized and taken at unawares But the Case is not very fairly put Here is mention made of the invidious Words of Power and Force and Subtilty and the Creatures Weakness which are not the Springs of God's punishing Men but not a word of Holiness and Justice Preservation of Publick Order the Honour of the Divine Law and Government or the Desert of the Offender which are the true Causes of it Men do not suffer because God bears them down by main Force as an Oppressor or outwits and over-reaches them by Craft but because they have deserved Punishment and these valuable Ends which I am sure 't is Wisdom effectually to secure do call for the inflicting of it And as for Goodness it never was the Intent of God nor can it be for his Glory as Governor of the World to represent himself as a Being of meer Clemency and Kindness No Creature would be more despicable than a living King resembling his own Marble or Brazen Statue with a Scepter in its Hand which it never stirs and a broad Sword lifted up in a very threatning Posture as tho' it would cleave any Man in two that came near it but this terrible Instrument is in a dead Hand that never gives a Stroke and therefore is fit only to take up so much Room and stand for a Shew in a Publick Place where the smallest Bird or Insect would quickly make bold with it and pitch upon it without any Fear or Concern And God may tho' he Chastize the Guilty be for ever secure of the Reputation of that his Goodness having given abundant Demonstrations of it towards all his Creatures and knowing further how in a glorious manner to display it towards those who never offended him And Sinners having abused that Attribute 't is but rational to fear that his other Attributes should be employed to repair the Injuries and Dishonours which have been cast upon it But he adds to the same purpose The Creatures suffering
is evident that he continues many Old Punishments and sends New and sometimes very severe ones on those that are truly Penitent This was undeniably the Case of David 2 Sam. 12.9 10 11. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house because thou hast despised me c. Thus saith the Lord Behold I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house c. And Death at last seizes them as well as the rest of Mankind which is generally looked upon as the standing Mark of God's Displeasure against Sin And how can mere Reason assure me that that shall put a final Period to all my Miseries that there are not some very severe Penalties yet behind for me to endure in the other World The Generality of men have trembled at the thoughts and fears of future Vengeance Lucretius * At mens sibi conscia facti Praemetuens adhibet stimulos terretque flagellis Nec videt interea qui terminus esse malorum Possit nec qui sit poenarum denique finis Atque eadem metuit magis haec ne in morte gravescant Lucret. himself represents a guilty Mind as very jealous that Death was not the End of Misery but the Beginning of greater Evils And therefore among other Replies which the great Patron of meer Natural Religion makes to those who might object that Repentance was no Satisfaction to Divine Justice this is one If any †Si ulterior aliqua irrogari debeat poena Deum Summum post hanc vitam ad tempus aliquod breve vel etiam diuturnum Supplicium de peccatoribus Sumere posse Herbert de Relig. Gentil p. 199. further Punishment ought to be inflicted God may inflict it on Sinners for a shorter or a longer time after this Life Such a Notion as this is did obtain among the Heathen as is acknowledged by their Advocate * Id. p. 196. it 208. and is too plain to be denied Were it not for Scripture Purgatory would not seem to be an absurd Doctrine The Imperfection of Good mens Repentance would incline one to suspect that after this Life they might be cast into the Fire again for the further burning up that Dross that still adheres to them But of this more in the next Chapter And I do not yet see but that if the Scriptures be laid aside I may as well argue from the Instances of God's Severity in this Life and from the undergoing a very painful Death and sometimes a bloody cruel and untimely one which is the lot of many true Penitents as well as others That God does not and will not pardon men tho' they do Repent As another may argue from the Instances of his Common Bounty and Kindness to Wicked men That he will pardon them if they do Moreover by the Light of Nature we can't attain to a well-grounded Confidence that if God should turn away his Wrath from us he will besides this receive us into the Arms and Embraces of his Love become a Friend as well as cease to be an Enemy not only refrain from Chastizing but also feast a Returning Prodigal besides the laying of the Storm cause the Sun to shine and lift up the light of his holy Countenance on our Souls and bless us with a sense of his Loving-kindness which is better than Life Tho' David was so far reconciled to Absalom as not to Execute him yea to permit him to return to Jerusalem yet for a long time he would not Suffer him to see his Face But here Revelation doth thoroughly deliver us from all our Melancholy Fears For it assures us that tho' God continue Old Afflictions or lay New ones on those whom he forgives yet 't is only for their Spiritual and Eternal Advantage to purge out their Corruptions to exercise and improve their Graces That all the Strokes he gives them are like those of a Statuary on his ill-shaped Marble to bring them into a beautiful Image and Form and so make them more meet to grace and adorn the Heavenly Building which they are designed for That they shall never be in Heaviness unless there be a Necessity for it That God will remember their Frame and his own Promise and therefore never suffer them to be tempted above what they are able to bear as a Gardener by his Glasses defends his young and tender Plants from those rough and cold Winds which they can't well endure And if our Danger be Extraordinary so shall his Assistance also be Act. 7.56 When the Jews gnasht on St. Stephen with their Teeth and were ready to devour him the Heavens were open'd and he saw Christ Standing at the right hand of God In all other places of the New Testament he is represented as Sitting there How comes he at this time to be seen in a different Posture St. Stephen was now in very great Danger And so great was our Saviour's Concern for him on this account that as if the Throne of Glory had now been uneasy to him he rises up and is seen standing at the right hand of his Father that he might be in a greater readiness to afford that Help to his distressed Servant which his present Circumstances did so loudly call for The Scripture tells us Psal 89.32 That tho' he visit their Iniquities with a Rod and their Transgressions with a Stripe yet his Loving-kindness he will never take away from them That if it be not apparently their own Fault he will manifest himself to them Joh. 14.21 and fill them with that Peace which passeth all Understanding Phil. 4.7 And there have been many in all Ages who have practised upon and lived up to the Principles of Christianity and in so doing have found this to be true by a long and comfortable Experience Yea not a few have fed on this Heavenly Manna that once were some of the Chiefest of Sinners who when they were first awaken'd have lain under dreadful Agonies of Conscience and one would have thought even after their sincere Conversion should have gone drooping and mourning all their days to their very Graves Indeed a constant lively Sense of their pasts Sins hath continued engraven on their Spirits but yet they have been freed from that Distress and Terror of Soul which once they laboured under As the Print of the Nails and Spear remained in our Saviour's Hands and Side for unbelieving Thomas put his Finger into 'em but not with that Anguish and Torment which they caused in him when he hung upon the Cross Yea Gal. 6.16 walking according to Rule Peace according to the Promise hath been upon them and they have been fill'd with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory And if it hath not been thus with others 't is not the fault of Christianity but of the Professors of it CHAP. II. Of a Future State of Bliss THis is what no
man's Friend is laid Plutarch speaks no more confidently when he endeavours to comfort * Consol ad Apol. Edit Xylandri p. 109 c. Apollonius upon the untimely Death of his very promising Son he adopts that Saying of Socrates That Death is like a deep Sleep or a long Travelling into a foreign Country or else 't is a total Destruction of Body and Soul and speaks to the last as well as the two other that he may demonstrate Death to be no Evil. This was one of the Ingredients he uses to make a Plaister to heal the Sore of his distressed Friend And the best that he could say was IF the Saying of the Ancient Poets and Philosophers be true †P. 120. as 't is Probable that it is that Good men are advanced when they die and some of them as 't is reported more highly than others and there be a certain Place appointed for pious Souls in which they live you have reason to hope well concerning your Son that he is got among ' em As for Death saith * Antoninus l. 7. §. 32. Antoninus whether it be a Dissipation of the Elements or a Reduction into Atoms or an Annihilation it is either an Extinction or a Transmigration Or as others read it it is either †Gataker in locum p. 273. a Dissipation of the Elements Resolution into Atoms Annihilation Extinction or Transmigration A Saying that much resembles that of Seneca ‖ Contemnite mortem quae vos aut finit aut transfert Seneca de Provid ch 6. Despise Death which either ends or translates you He that would see more of Antoninus's Uncertainty let him turn to the Places * Lib. 3. §. 3. l. 4. §. 14. 21. l. 6. §. 24. l. 7. §. 50. l. 8. §. 25. 58. l. 10. §. 58. l. 12. §. 5. cited in the Margent To these Philosophers I will add the famous Historian †Vita Agricolae ad finem Tacitus who speaking in very affecting Terms concerning the Death of his Father-in-Law Agricola drops this Passage IF there be any place for the Ghosts of Good men IF as Wise men define the Souls of Great Persons die not with the Body in Peace maist thou rest c. Of the same Strain is the Speech of that noble Roman Lady Veturia a Woman of an admirable Wit and Address and whose Spirit was altogether as great as her Quality who among other Arguments with which she diverted her Son Coriolanus from ruining his own Country when it was entirely at his Mercy makes use of this That if she could but succeed in her Enterprize of prevailing with him to lay aside his she should not only gain Immortal Honour here upon Earth but also IF there be a place saith she * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dionys Halicarn l. 8. p. 522 523. Edit Wichelii for the Reception of Humane Souls after they are dismiss'd from the Body mine shall go not to a subterraneous and dark one where 't is SAID that miserable Wretches are lodg'd nor to the Plains of Lethe as they are called but to the High and Pure Aether where 't is REPORTED that they who are descended from the Gods do lead a blessed and happy Life I am not without some Grounds of Jealousy that the Whole of her Speech whereof these Words are a part as 't is set down was made for her by Dionysius according to the usual custom of most Historians who are wont to put Words into the Mouths of those Persons whose Actions they relate and don 't so much tell us what They spake as what Themselves would have said had they been to have made a set Oration under the same Circumstances wherein they frequently over-do make them talk much finer than it can rationally be supposed They are capable of doing lay on so much Paint that it easily appears to an observing Eye to be the work of Art and not of Nature But be it the Incomparable Veturia or the Grave Dionysius 't is not very material 'T is evident the Person that spake was very doubtful about a Future State Now if it were thus with the most Learned and Sagacious Men with the most Elevated and Exalted Souls how sad in all likelihood must it needs be with the Body of Mankind If they who had got the Higher Ground above the Heads of the Common People and had the Advantage too of standing on one another's Shoulders could see such a little way before 'em what shall we think of the little Creatures that sate below In short we do not find that Everlasting Life in the other State was in any Heathen Nation an Article of Religion established by Law It was but slightly touch'd on by Philosophers when ever they did name it which was but seldom as a Motive to excite Men to the Practice of Vertue Other Arguments they use and trust to which they did better understand and it is Prudence for a man not to urge those Reasons which are strongest in themselves but rather fight with that Weapon which he is a Master of and knows how best to manage And 't is a shrewd Observation of * St. August de Civit. Dei l. 4. c. 22. l. 6. c. 9. St. Austin That tho' the Heathens had abundance of Gods to whom they did particularly apply themselves to one for one Blessing to another God for another Favour and therefore the Knowledge of the Gods was necessary that they might direct themselves to them aright and not ask Water from the God of Wine c. Yet Varro himself who was very well skill'd in the matter hath not mentioned so much as one God whom they were to pray unto for Eternal Life 'T is true indeed we who have been taught from our very Infancy by the Gospel that there is such a Place as Heaven and so glorious a Reward for the Righteous in the other State may be apt to think that we have hit upon it by the Exercise of our own unassisted Reason or that it was very easy so to have done But herein it fares with us as oftentimes it doth with a Studious Man who having familiarly convers'd with good Authors doth verily think some of those Notions and Expressions too which he hath learnt from them are the genuine Off-spring of his own Mind and Thought Just as Corn that springs up in some places seems to the Husbandman to be the natural Product of the Ground he having never sowed it with that sort of Grain the Seeds of which in Reality were taken up by the Wind from another Field whereto they did originally belong and invisibly dropt down there I can't better express my Sense of this than in the Words of a modern Author who herein speaks very well tho' judging by the main Design of his Book I take him to be a very Singular Unitarian seeing he cuts off all the necessary Articles of our Faith excepting that of the Belief of
Jocular and Pleasant or Savage and Cruel Plutarch not having Cordials of his own strong enough to support the Spirits of Apollonius for the Loss of his Vertuous Son borrows one from Pindar whom he quotes describing the State of the Pious after Death to whom he would have him believe the Departed Youth was gone whose Happiness he describes in Words to this effect They do continually †Plutarchi Consolat ad Apollon p. 120. enjoy a clear Sun-shine when this Earth of ours is wrapt up in Darkness The Fields round about them are adorned with beautiful Roses and shaded with Trees that yield Frankincense and bear Golden Fruit. Some sport themselves on Horse-back others divert themselves with Musick The Country is always pleasant and so are they who dwell in it And there are no other Clouds but what arise from the Smoak of Incense which they plentifully burn on their Altars whose sweet Odours at once refresh their Gods and themselves too But it may be some will say these were Poets yet Poets were their great Divines * Stillingfleet's Orig. Sacr. p. 57 58. of Old Let us therefore hear some of their grave Moral Philosophical Writers Plato brings in Socrates †In Axiocho Tom. 3. p. 371. giving a Description of the future Happy State which he learnt from Gobryas who had it from I know not what Brazen Tables exactly resembling that of Pindar for which reason I shall not translate it Tho' in the Close Socrates confesses he is not sure that these Particulars are so but only in the * P. 372. General that the Soul when it leaves the Body goes to a place where it lives free from Grief but whether it be above or below he knoweth not Seneca tells us that there the †Ep. 102. Aliquando Naturae tibi Arcana retegentur c. Secrets of Nature shall be open'd there shall be neither Night nor Shade all the Stars mingling their Lights together and joining them as in one Common Stock And if this be so the latter part of the Opinion of the Magi which ‖ De Iside p. 370. Plutarch from Theopompus informs us of may be true that after a bloody Scuffle among the Gods for six thousand Years at last Mankind shall be happy and neither need Food nor cast a Shadow But as for the Former part of it viz. their not wanting of Food Tully is of another mind And in truth no Man talks so pleasantly on this Argument as he doth For he fancies that Separated Souls will get a little above the Clouds and thick Exhalations of the Middle * Necesse est ita feratur ut penetret dividat omne Coelum hoc in quo nubes imbres ventique coguntur c. Tusc Qu. l. 1. p. 1056. Region of the Air into a clear and warm place which will be so agreeable that they will not attempt to climb higher and there they shall be nourish'd with the same Food with which the †Eaque ei demum naturalis est Sedes eùm ad sui similem penetravit in quâ nullâ re egens aletur sustentabitur iisdem rebus quibus Astra sustentantur aluntur Id. Ib. Stars are fed Now it may be the Reader may long to know but he will not long to take his Commons with them when I have told him what Sort of Diet it is those Heavenly Bodies are nourish'd by 'T is very Coarse if * De Nat. Deorum l. 2. p. 1134. Tully himself or †Totum hoc Coelum quod igneus aether mundi summa pars claudit omnes hae Stellae quarum iniri non potest numerus omnis hic coelestium coetus ut alia praeteream hic tam prope à nobis agens cursum Sol omni terrarum ambitu non semel major alimentum ex terreno trahunt inter se partiuntur nec ullo alio scilicet quà m halitu terrarum sustinentur Hoc illis alimentum hic pastus est c. Senec. Quaest Nat. lib. 6. c. 16. Seneca may be believed For 't is no other than the thick and greasy Vapors which Steam up from the Waters or the Dunghil of this Earth on which we tread and a Man Man might justly fear the being starved among them For as the Stars are many and very great so they are hard Labourers and therefore as we might reasonably suppose if he had not told us * Tot Sydera tam exercitata tam avida per diem noctemque ut in Opere ita in Pastu Quaest Nat. l. 2. cap. 5. greedy Eaters too and besides them the Sun who is much nearer especially according to his Opinion and a very great Devourer hath nothing else to nourish him but what he can plunder from this little Globe of ours And that the Musick may be suitable to the Feast the Separated Souls are entertained there with the imaginary †Quid hic inquam quis est qui complet aures meas tantus tam dulcis Sonus Hic est inquit ille qui intervallis conjunctus imparibus sed tamen pro ratâ portione distinctis impulsu motu ipsorum orbium conficitur c. Tully in Somn. Scip. p. 1318. col 2. Harmony of the Spheres But the Orator goes on ‖ Profecto beati erimus cum corporibus relictis cupiditatum aemulationum erimus expertes c. Tusc Qu. ubi supra There they shall be freed from Aemulation and Covetousness tho' in so great a Scarcity of Provisions as must needs be among them there 's Temptation enough to that Vice and from the great Height of the Place have a notable Advantage of better understanding the Heavenly Bodies who so unconscionably rob 'em and the whole Structure of this Earth which is so kind as to nourish them tho' so wretched a Place one would think should be no very pleasant Sight Especially considering what he pleaseth himself withal at another Time that when he dies he shall * O praeclarum diem cùm ad illud divinum animorum Concilium coetumque proficiscar cumque ex hâc turbâ colluvione discedam De Senectute p. 1264. depart from this rude and disorderly Rout and Crew here below And I confess 't is a desirable thing to get out of such a mad Croud but then it can't be very agreeable to a Wise and Serious Spirit to behold them at a Distance no more than to be among them But then he shall be joined to * Ib. that Assembly and Council of Souls and converse with those Famous Men whom he had known and heard and written of This indeed is a noble Strain one of the best that I have observed among all the ancient Philosophers But Socrates said it before him and from him he borrowed it For Plato brings him in comforting himself with the Thoughts that on his Removal hence he should be with Orpheus and Musaeus with Hesiod â€
quiet Possession of the Place still calling the respective Constellations by those Names But that was the effect of a wild and extravagant Fancy Sober Reason will hardly allow that they who in the Course of their Lives have long resembled those Brutes should upon any Terms be translated thither The Returning Prodigal doth express the Natural Sense of such Men when they prove true Penitents in that Speech of his to his Father Luk. 15.19 I have sinned against Heaven and before thee and am unworthy to be called thy Son make me one of thy hired Servants The meanest Place the lowest Office in thy Family is too high for me But now by Revelation we are assured that Heaven stands open to receive Publicans and Harlots Mat. 21.31 upon their sincere Conversion And those Jews that had such a Malignity of Spirit as to contradict and blaspheme yet had not missed of Eternal Life if they had not thrust it from them and judged themselves unworthy of it Act. 13.46 2. Those that are mean and poor and unlearned and such the Bulk of Mankind is Socrates would have Heaven to be the Peculiar of Elevated and Refined * In Platonis Phoedone p. 81 82. Philosophical Spirits As for those that have been notorious for Gluttony and Wantonness and injuring others he tells us their Souls when the Men die pass into such Brutes whose Manners they did most nearly express in their Lives and Actions As suppose into Goats Asses or the like He is indeed a little civiller to the good honest Moral Men as they call 'em who have been famous for Temperance and Justice which they have acquired by the dull way of Custom and Thought but have not arrived to in the more exalted Method of Philosophical Precepts and Discipline For he allows they may be transformed into Bees and Wasps and Ants or it may be some of them may put on an Human Shape again and make a new Sett of Indifferent Men. But the Souldiers are wont to carry all before them here below and they hope to do so above The * Cluverii Germ. Antiq. l. 1. c. 32. p. 221. Celtiberi Hispani and Cimbri and the Druids thought that they who died Valiantly in the Field should have the highest Place in Heaven And Julian * In Caesaribus p. 39 40. who may reasonably be supposed to be well acquainted with the People of that Country where he had so successfully managed a War tells us this very Perswasion made the Old Germans behave themselves so Couragiously in the Field For my own part if it had been my Work to have Billeted them I should never have Assigned them their Quarters in Heaven who generally make every place where they come to be a Hell upon Earth But Titus †Josephus de Bell. Jud. l. 7. c. 4. the Roman Emperor carries it so far that 't is not to be endured For in his Speech to his Souldiers he tells them that Valiant Men who die in the Field shall climb up to the Stars but Cowardly Fellows who die by a Disease tho' every blot of wickedness be wiped away from them shall sink down Beneath Plato * De Repub. l. 5. p. 468. is more moderate he would have all Men who excel in Virtue whether they died through Age or any other way advanced to be Daemons in the other State but he gives the upper hand to those who die with their Swords in their Hands and sell their Lives to their Enemies at a dear rate Tully would have Heaven to be the Reward of the Brave and Publick †Somn. Scipionis Spirited-men who have been very serviceable to their Country by dispatching a Tyrant out of the way or some such Heroical Action Especially if to the Political and Active Virtues there be but added the Idle ‖ Macrob. in Somn. Scip. l. 1. c. 4. It. l. 2. c. 17. ones as Macrobius calls them i.e. the Contemplative and Philosophical ones And we it may be might be apt to think it very likely that some of the great Monarchs of this World if they employ their Authority and Power for God's Honour some of the Rich Men that use their great Estates or some of the Wise and Learned ones of this World who improve their Wit and Parts and great Knowledge for the propagating his Cause and spreading his Interest may be thus amply rewarded by him But as for poor unlearned Men how little can they do for him who are but as the Dust of the Ballance that hath not Weight enough to turn the Scales either this way or that and therefore cannot with any Modesty expect to receive very much from him especially since they find that God gives them so very little of the good Things of this Life And if Scripture be laid aside the only Rule is the Goodness of God and the Effects of his Bounty and Providence And thereupon these Men might well fear that he who gives them these lower Blessings with so sparing a Hand would not bestow those infinitely greater ones upon them But now by Revelation we are assured That those inconsiderable Men whom their Fellow-Creatures would scorn to look upon may come to see the Face of God They whom their rich Neighbours would disdain to place among the Dogs of their Flock Job 30.1 may sit down and Feast with Angels And this is so unlikely to bare Reason that the Apostle James might well usher it in with that solemn Preface Jam. 2.5 of Hearken my beloved Brethren has not God chosen the Poor in this World rich in Faith and Heirs of the Kingdom Yea Christ assures us That those Men stand fairest for that blessed Place He never said so Severe a thing concerning any Poor Man as he did of all the Rich Matth. 19.24 That it is easier for a Camel to go through the Eye of a Needle than for them to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven 3. Those that are eminently Holy and Serious For the better Men are the more sensible they are of their own Vileness and unworthiness of Heaven tho' at the same time they are the more desirous of being admitted into it VI. § VI Natural Light and Reason cannot assure us what the Terms are upon which this Blessedness may be ours Astronomers have not invented more Imaginary Lines in the Heavens than we should have been contriving fanciful ways to have brought us thither That Repentance and persevering Holiness are necessary is obvious at the very first sight But the Doubt is whether these are Sufficient To say nothing of the Justice of God it seems inconsistent with the Divine Wisdom to require no more than these For all prudent Governors are always wont to observe a Proportion between the Rewards that are offered and those Services for which they are proposed even the highest Generosity must in some measure be conducted by this Rule or else it degenerates into Extravagance and Folly
Cannot Conclude without making a little Reflection upon what has been said And 1. How should we love and value and adhere to the Gospel of Christ and the Blessed Author of such a Revelation How are Writers esteemed who treat of Matters which are of very great Use and Service to Mankind in the things of this Life And what a Price do Men set upon those Books wherein Difficulties are cleared up and those profitable Inventions are contained Now what is there of so great Importance as Pardon of Sin and Immortal Life the Doctrine whereof is encumber'd with so many Difficulties which are too hard for Natural Light and Reason but are so clearly plainly and fully Solved by the Holy Scriptures How are Men pleased with an exact Description of a Foreign Country tho' they do not so much as dream of dwelling in it nor have any thoughts or hopes of having so much as one Foot of Land there How then should we value the Gospel that gives us so full and plain an Account of the Heavenly Country and how we may be possessed of all the Glory of it What an Esteem have ingenious Men for a Book of Astronomy that gives an Account of the orderly Motions of the Sun Moon and Stars What an happy Invention is that of those Glasses whereby they discover some lesser Bodies which the naked and unassisted Eye is not able to perceive tho' thereby they have no more Benefit from their Light and Influence than those who are the most ignorant of these Affairs How should we value the Sacred Oracles which do discover the Heavenly State to us which is not to be known by mere Reason and how we may so order our own Motions as to get above and out-shine any of those glorious Luminaries Let us adhere to the Bible for if once we give up that we are off from our Center we shall find nothing whereon our Soul can rest but shall be at our Wits-end Methinks that Courtier spoke like a Man of Sense to the Pagan King Edwin whilst he was considering whether he had best to turn Christian or no when he said thus to him * Bede's Eccles Hist Gentis Angl. l. 2. cap. 13. The present Life of Man upon Earth Sir if compared with that Time which is to us unknown seems to me to resemble a little Sparrow which while your Majesty was feasting within with your Royal Retinue in your warm Parlour during the roaring of the blustering Winds and the falling of great Quantities of Rain and Snow without flew in at one Door and presently flew out at another All the time it was in the House it was well shelter'd from Wind and Weather but as soon as it got out into the cold Air we were altogether as ignorant whither it went as we were whence it came Thus we can give some Account of our Soul during its Abode in the Body while it was housed and harboured therein but where it was Before and how it fares with it Afterwards is to us altogether unknown If therefore Paulinus he was the Christian Bishop who laboured to Convert those Heathens by his Preaching can certainly inform us herein he deserves in my Opinion to be followed And the King after he had heard Paulinus's Sermon spoke like an Understanding Man when he said I have long ago been convinced that the Idols we have Worshipped were meer Nothings because the more diligently I have sought for the Truth in this way of Religion so much the farther was I from finding it But now I openly profess that by this Preaching the way of obtaining Eternal Life and Happiness is clearly laid before us Whereupon he immediately gave Orders for the Demolishing the Heathen Temples and Altars 2. Let us take heed that we do not fall short of Pardon and Heaven Sad was the Case of that wicked and prophane Lord at Samaria who barely saw the great Plenty with his Eyes but never tasted of it he stood at the Gate to let in others but was trampled to Death by the Multitude pressing in upon him Much worse will be our Case if we only hear of the great Provision which God has made for us in the other State and never feed upon it but be trodden down to Hell in the Crowd of our own unpardoned Sins It is a double Misery to be drowned within sight of Shore to miss of that Pardon and of that Heaven that are so plainly revealed and of which we have heard so much and so often 3. Let us clear up our Right and Title to both of them How long have we remained in Doubts and Fears and shall we always continue in that uneasy Posture like a Door on its Hinges moving this way and that but still hanging in the same Place where it was many Years ago To clear up our Right 't is necessary that the following Rules be observ'd 1. Don't give Way to immoderate Worldly Sorrow If we be like a Carkass that lies under the Weight of that Earth which presses upon it and never stirs Hand or Foot to help it self If we lie down under our Burdens only mourning and complaining and indulging our selves in black and gloomy Thoughts we can never expect that God should help us especially if we do worse than this if we sinfully afflict our selves we can't reasonably hope that God should comfort us and raise up them who madly cast or bow themselves down If with our own Hands we plunge the Dagger into our Breast it would be a Miracle if we did not lose our Blood and Spirits faint and feel a great deal of Pain They that will chew upon nothing but Wormwood and Gall and delight in rolling it up and down in their Mouths are likely to walk in the Bitterness of their Souls all their Days 2. Watch against the Encroachments of Bodily Melancholy This naturally disposes a Man to Fears and Jealousies is the black Root of many idle but vexatious Scruples and perverse Cavillings and will make him refuse to be comforted tho' there be ever so great Reason for it If a Stander-by convince him of some saving Work of God on his Soul and of his Right to Pardon and Eternal Life yet as soon as he is gone all is undone again the Melancholy Christian being like a faulty Watch which may be wound up and go a little while ones Hand is upon it but no sooner is that removed off but it runs down in an Instant and stands still again When such meet with Worldly Crosses from which none are exempted it casts them into deep Fits of Sorrow which in a Serious Person presently runs into dreadful and amazing Fears about his Soul and the supposed miserable and forlorn State thereof As Peter when he was over-shadowed with a Bright Cloud so any other of the Disciples of Christ when cover'd with a Black one Luke 9.33 are apt to speak they know not what especially against themselves All proper Natural Means therefore
Creation and thought the more Excellent the Sacrifice was the more likely it was to reach this end This is evident from the Cause and their End in offering any Sacrifices but especially Humane Ones They hoped the Death of the Victim should be in lieu of that of the Offender and the Gods they thought would not be Quòd pro vitâ hominis nisi vita hominis reddatur non posse Deorum immortalium numen placari arbitrantur Caesar de Bello Gall. l. 6. Cùm inter coetera mala etiam Peste laborarent Homines ut victimas immolabant impuberes aris admovebant pacem eorum sanguine eorum exposcentes Justin Hist l. 18. c. 6. appeased unless the Life of one Man went for another This is plain also from the very Names they gave their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Expiatio Piamentum Piamen Februa Lustratio Purgatio Rites and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Piaculum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Sacrifices and the Manner of their offering them which was not only among the Jews but the Heathens Outram de Sacrif p. 278 c. too with Solemn Prayers to God that all the Plagues which they or their Country had deserved might light on the Head of the Victim and so they themselves escape And hereupon they thought that all their Sins did meet upon it and defile it to that Degree that none who had touched it dared to return home till they had wash'd and purified themselves And now let the Reader judge whether Sacrifices were only Symbolical of their Sorrow and that Men never dreamt of any atoning Virtue in them But that all Men of all Nations look'd on Repentance as an Expiation and the only one too I 'll put an end to the Readers trouble § IX and my own when I have observed the several Contradictions and gross Blunders of our Modern Deists They profess to believe that there is Oracles of Reason p. 197. One Infinite Eternal God and yet the Reader may remember that in my Epistle to him I have shew'd him That Mr. G. is for Two Page 194. Gods the one Good the other Evil. Mr. B. tells us The First Good who is also the First Principle of all Beings hath but ONE Affection or Property and that is Page 90. LOVE And yet in the same Page adds There is nothing dreadful in the whole Nature of God but his JUSTICE no Attribute else being terrible A. W. says this is one of the Chief Heads of their Religion That we are to expect Page 197. Rewards and Punishments hereafter according to our Actions in this Life which includes the Souls Immortality and is proved by our admitting Providence But yet in the same Letter see how faintly he speaks viz. Grant that they SEEM reasonable c. But Mr. B. speaks Out Page 125. That the Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul was but a cunning Trick and Invention of the Politicians who had not so much a regard to TRUTH as Honesty a very great Instance of their Honesty to invent Useful Lies and that herein they did as Physicians do by their Patients or Nurses by their Children who tell them a fair Story tho' never so false that they may deceive them for their Good If the Son don't speak home enough let 's hear the Father who saith Ideoque nos Creaturae sumus aeterni Dei apparitiones momentaneae quas tantum terris ostendunt Fata nec ultra esse sinunt veluti effigies in Aulaeis Discourse of Sir H. B's de Anima In the Oracles of Reason p. 156. We Creatures are the Momentary Apparitions of the Eternal God which the Fates only shew to the Earth and don 't suffer to be any longer as Images in Tapistry Hangings The whole Discourse Mr. B. calls An undigested Id. p. 154. Heap of his Father's Thoughts And that these are only such Id. p. 157. Twilight Conjectures as our Humane Reason whereof we yet so vainly boast can furnish us with So that indeed all Philosophy excepting Scepticism is little more than Dotage A Censure true enough tho' not so decent from the Mouth of Mr. B. A Son should not use his Pen to let fall such Blots on his Father's Writings and Memory But how vainly indeed to use his own Word doth he boast of REASON when he calls it the Soveraign Preface to Oracles of Reason p. 3. Rule and Touchstone the Supreme and Primitive Director of every Man if it give no better a Light than this and what Sorry Oracles is it like to utter Mr. B. tells us To be Page 91. sure the Deist is no Idolater none can accuse him of Idolatry But the Reason is a very poor one viz. because he acknowledges one Supream Everlasting God and thinks Magnificently of him So do the Papists as well as he and yet Protestants unanswerably prove them guilty of Idolatry And the Deist according to his Principles will be an Idolater if he live in a Popish or a Pagan Country For saith A.W. Page 203. the Learned in all Religions in the outward Ceremonies of every Religion are every Man of 'em content to Conform to those of their own Country And seeing some of the Heathen Worship is very filthy and obscene we may guess at his Sobriety and Chastity if ever he should fall among ' em But suppose it should be free from Obscenity yet for a Man to join in the Worship of an Image or a false God which he believes to be so meerly because 't is the Religion establish'd by Law is Gross sneaking Hypocrisy which a Man of Honour would Scorn and thereby we may guess at their Moral Vertue which they talk so much of as another of their Fundamentals And seeing the Deists as they themselves say think so Ib. Magnificently of God and Mr. B. was such a zealous Account of the Life and Death of Mr. Blount p. 6. Assertor of the Glory Honour and Adoration of ONE GOD let us a little examin this Mr. G. saith there can be no such thing as a pure Page 187. Spirit independent of all Body and Matter and that they that advance the Opinion of pure and Immaterial Substances trust to Fancy and meer Conjectures and so God is a Mateiral Being And having degraded the Deity from a pure Spirit into a Body he endeavours to prove there are answerable Qualities to be found in him For since 't is Evident from this Page 190. uncontrovertible Maxim Nemo dat quod non habet that the Qualities of all things and therefore of Body are in God himself that is in an infinite Degree of Perfection the most pure of Spirits 't is not likely that Body should be derogatory to the Purity of infinitely inferior Spirits And so God is an infinitely hot dull and heavy Body and yet at the same time he is Infinitely Cold and brisk and light too For there are Bodies to which all these Qualities do belong And doth not this Man now think very MAGNIFICENTLY of his