religious meditations and that even to rapturous excesses He may take these for sweet Communion with God and the joys of the Holy Ghost and the earnest of Glory and be lifted up on high by them and enabled to speak in wonderful ravishing strains and yet notwithstanding be an evil man and in the state of such as shall be shut out For this we may observe That those whose complexion inclines them to devotion are commonly much under the power of melancholy and they that are so are mostly very various in their tempers sometimes merry and pleasant to excess and then plung'd as deep into the other extream of sadness and dejection one while the sweet humours enliven the imagination and present it with all things that are pleasant and agreeable And then the black blood succeeds which begets clouds and darkness and fills the fancy with things frightful and uncomfortable And there are very few but feel such varieties in a degree in themselves Now while the sweet Blood and Humours prevail the person whose complexion inclines him to Religion and who hath arrived to the degrees newly discours'd of though a meer natural man is full of inward delight and satisfaction and fancies at this turn that he is much in the favour of God and a sure Heir of the Kingdom of Glory which must needs excite in him many luscious and pleasant thoughts and these further warm his imagination which by new and taking suggestions still raiseth the affections more and so the man is as it were transported beyond himself and speaks like one dropt from the Clouds His tongue flows with Light and Glories and Communion and Revelations and Incomes and then believes that the Holy Ghost is the Author of all this and that God is in him of a Truth in a special way of Manifestation and Vouchsafement But when melancholick vapours prevail again the Imagination is overcast and the Fancy possest by dismal and uncomfortable thoughts and the man whose head was but just before among the Clouds is now grovelling in the Dust He thinks all is lost and his condition miserable He is a cast-away and undone when in the mean while as to Divine favour he is just where he was before or rather in a better state since 't is better to be humbled with reason than to be lifted up without it Such effects as these do meer natural passions and imaginations produce when they are tinctured and heightned by religious melancholy To deny ones self and to overcome ones passions and to live in a course of a sober Vertue is much more Divine than all this 'T is true indeed and I am far from denying it that holy men feel those joys and communications of the Divine Spirit which are no fancies and the Scripture calls them great peace Psal 119. 165. and joy in believing Rom. 15. 13. and the peace of God that passeth all understanding Phil. 4. 7. But then these Divine Vouchsafements are not rapturous or ecstatical They are no sudden flashes that are gone in a moment leaving the Soul in the regions of sorrow and despair but sober lasting comforts that are the rewards and results of vertue the rejoycings of a good Conscience 2 Cor. 1. 12. and the manifestations of God to those rare souls who have overcome the evils of their natures and the difficulties of the way or are vigorously pressing on towards the mark Phil. 3. 14. But for such as have only the forms of Godliness I have mentioned while the evil inclinations and habits are indulged whatever they may pretend all the sweets they talk of are but the imagery of dreams and the pleasant delusions of their fancies THus I have shewn how far the meer animal Religion may go in imperfect striving And now I must expect to hear 1. That this is very severe uncomfortable Doctrine and if one that shall eventually be shut out may do all this what shall become of the generality of Religious men that never do so much And if all this be short what will be available who then shall be saved To which I Answer That we are not to make the measures of Religion and Happiness our selves but to take those that Christ Jesus hath made for us And he hath told us That except our Righteousness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees we shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 5. 20. Now the Scribes and Pharisees did things in the way of Religion that were equal to all the particulars I have mentioned yea they went beyond many of our glorious Professors who yet think themselves in an high form of Godliness They believed their Religion firmly and Prayed frequently and servently and Fasted severely They were exact and exceeding strict in the observation of their Sabbaths and hated scandalous and gross sins and were very punctual in all the duties of outward Worship and in many things supererogated and went beyond what was commanded Such zealous people were They and They separated from the conversations and customs of other Jews upon the account of their supposed greater Holiness and Purity These were heights to which the Pharisees arrived and a good Christian must exceed all this And he that lives in a sober course of Piety and Vertue of self Government and humble submission to God of obedience to his Superiors and charity to his Neighbours He doth really exceed it and shall enter when the other shall be shut out So that when our Saviour saith that the Pharisaick Righteousness must be exceeded the meaning is not That a greater degree of every thing the Pharisees did is necessary but we must do that which in the nature and kind of it is better and more acceptable to God viz. That whereas they placed their Religion in strict Fastings and nice observations of Festivals in loud and earnest Prayers and zeal to get Proselytes we should place ours in sincere subjection of our wills to the will of God in imitation of the life of Christ and obedience of his Laws in amending the faults of our natures and lives in subduing our Passions and casting out the habits of evil These are much beyond the Religion of the Fanatick Pharisee not in shew and pomp but in real worth and divine esteem So that upon the whole we have no reason to be discouraged because They that do so much are cast out since though we find not those heats and specious things in our selves which we observe in them yet if we are more meek and modest and patient and charitable and humble and just our case is better and we have the Power of Godliness when theirs is but the Form And we whom They accounted Aliens and Enemies shall enter while they the presumed friends and domesticks shall be shut out But 2. I expect it should be again objected against this severity of Discourse That our Saviour saith Mat. 11. 20. That his yoke is easie and his burden is light which
from whom we are so called And that consists not in demure Looks and affected Phrases in melting Tones and mimick Gestures in Heats and Vehemence in Rapture and Ecstasie in systems of Opinion and scrupulosity about Nothing But in Faith and Patience Innocence and Integrity in Love to God and Charity to all the World in a modest sweetness and humble Deportment in a peaceable Spirit and readiness to obey God and Those He hath set over Us Where-ever These are there is the Image of our Lord and There ought to be our Love though the persons thus affected are Ignorant of many things and err in many though they differ from us in some Opinions we count Orthodox and walk not in the particular ways or Circumstances which We esteem Best And thus briefly of the Extent of the Duty we ought to Love ALL MEN but especially ALL Christians I descend to the Third general viz. III. The Excellency of Christian Love which I represent in the following particulars I. IT is the Image of God and of all the graces renders us most like our Maker For God is love and the Lover of men and his tender Mercies are over all his Works And the most sutable apprehension we can form of his Being is to look on him as an Omnipotent Omniscient Immutable Goodness And is it not a glorious Excellency that makes Men like the fountain of all perfection Our unhappy first Parents lost Paradise by aspiring to be like God in Knowledge and if we endeavour to be like him in Love we shall be in the way of gaining a better Paradise than they lost II. LOVE is the Spirit of Angels Glorified Souls and the best of Men. There is nothing by which the Angelical nature is so much distinguish'd from the Diabolical as Love and Goodness for the Devils have Spiritual and Immortal natures and great degrees of Power and Knowledge and those perhaps not much inferiour to what is to be found in some of the better Spirits so that the great difference is not in the excess of natural perfections which the Angels of Light have above those of Darkness but in this that the former abound in Love Sweetness and Benignity and the latter in Malice Cruelty and Revenge these are the very Image of Satan and Spirit of Hell Whereas all the Celestial Inhabitants live in the joyful exercise of uninterrupted Love and endearments Nor is that Love confined to the blessed and glorified Company but it sheds it self abroad upon the nether world and they are Ministring Spirits for our good Heb. 1. 14. They so far Love us that they can stoop from Heaven to serve us There is Joy there at the Conversion of a Sinner and no doubt there is Love to converted Saints and care and pity for all the rest of Men. For the spirits of the just made perfect are freed from their froward humours and pettish natures their mistaken Zeal and fondness of Opinions which straitned their Affections while they were on Earth and now they are inlarged by the vast improvements of their Knowledge and accomplishment of their Vertue by a fuller sense of Divine Love and of their Duty by the genius of their company and the imployment of the happy Place So that in Heaven all are truly Catholick in their Affections And the better any man is the more he is so upon Earth The good man makes not himself his center nor are his thoughts wholly engrost about his own concernments but he is carefully solicitous for the general benefit and never so much pleased as when he is made an instrument of Divine Goodness to promote the interests of his Christian brethren 'T was an high strain of Love in Moses exprest towards the Transgressing Israelites when he was content to be blotted out of Gods Book rather than that their Sin should not be blotted out Exod. 32. 32. And St. Paul was no less Zealously affectionate towards the Jews when he said he could wish himself accursed from Christ viz. separated from Christian communion as a most vile and abject person for their sakes Rom. 9. 3. These were spirits whom Religion and Divine Love had enlarged and the more any man advanceth in Christianity the nearer he approacheth to this generous heroick temper III. LOVE is an eminent branch of the Divine Life and Nature Love is of God and every one that Loveth is born of God saith the Apostle 1 John 4. 7 8. The Divine Nature in us is the Image of God Pourtray'd and lively drawn upon the regenerated Soul and I noted before that Love is the vital Image of our Maker 't is His spirit infused into us and growing in us and upon that account to be preferred before all Gifts and natural Perfections as St. Paul hath done it in the mentioned 1 Cor. 13. And the common Gifts of the Spirit differ from this special Grace as the Painters Picture doth from his Son His Counterfeit may indeed in a superficial appearance to the Eye resemble him more than his Child but yet it is but an empty shadow destitute and incapable of his Life and Nature So there are a sort of Gifts that have a spiritual appearance and may to those that see things at distance or have not their senses exercised seem more like the divine nature than this modest vertue But those that come near them and are better able to discern perceive that in themselves they are without the Divine Life and Motion and are meer Lifeless Pictures And here I dare say that the happiest faculty to Preach Plausibly and Pray with Fluency and Eloquence to Discourse Devoutly and readily to Interpret Scripture if it be not joyned with a benign and charitable spirit is no participation of the God-like life and nature nor indeed any more Divine than those common gifts and natural parts which those that think highly of themselves upon these accounts despise For very Evil men have been eminent in these accomplishments and Wicked Spirits are without question endowed with them and they are of themselves arguments of nothing but a faculty of Imitation a devotional Complexion and warm Imagination Whereas on the other hand Charity and Christian Love are good Evidence of a Renewed state and nature Our Saviour made it a Character Joh. 13. and the Apostle concludes from it 1 John 3. 14. By this we know that we are passed from death to life because we love the Brethren And if this be a Mark and St. John be not mistaken I doubt that some who are very gracious by many Signs of their own will want one of Christs to prove their comfortable presumption IV. LOVE is the bond and tye of Christian Communion How can two walk together except they are agreed The Church is a Body consisting of many Members which unless they Unite and send their mutual supplies one to another the whole is distempered and in the ready way to Death and Dissolution Now Charity is that vital Cement whereby they
simplicity of Life and Faith and 't was most peoples business to chatter like Pyes rather than to live like Christians or like Men. If Religion had been computed by mens talk and dispute about it those later days of the declining World had been its best and this in its growth and ways of highest improvement when all things else were verging to their Set and Period But alas the Tongue was the most if not the only religious Member And many of the Pretenders like the Aegyptian Temples were fair without but Beasts and Serpents and Crocodiles within Or like the Bird of Paradise they had Wings to flye in the Clouds of Imagination but no Feet to walk on the Ground of a vertuous practice Yea some had found the way to swim to Heaven in the Current of their appetites and to reconcile Covetousness Rapine Cruelty and Spiritual Pride with the glorious names of the Elect the People of God the Church of Christ and the good Party Religion with Rebellion and Sacriledge with Saintship Men had learnt to be godly without goodness and Christians without Christianity They were lovers of God and yet haters of their Brother haters of open Prophaneness but not of spiritual wickedness Very godly though cruel and unjust True penitents though they returned to their sins as soon as they had complain'd and wept Their hearts were good though their actions were dishonest and they had the root of the matter in them though that root were a dry stump and had no branches They were regenerated but not reformed converted but not a jot the better Devout Worshippers but bad Neighbours Lovers of God but no haters of Covetousness Had power in Heaven but none over themselves They were Gods Servants though they obeyed their appetites and his children though no better than those that are of their Father the Devil Thus had men got the knack to be religious without religion and were in the way to be saved without salvation These were gross disorders whereby Religion was taken from its foundation of Vertue and Holy living and placed in emotions raptures and swelling words of vanity And when these had kindled the imagination and raised the fansie to the Clouds to flutter there in mystical non-sense and when that was mounted on the Wings of the Wind and got into the Revelations to loosen the seals pour out the vials and phantastically to interpret the fates of Kingdoms when it flew into the Tongue in an extravagant ramble and abused the Name and Word of God mingling it with canting unintelligible babble I say when the diseased and disturbed phansie thus variously displayed it self many made themselves believe that they were acted by the Spirit and that those wild agitations of sick Imaginations were divine motions And when this fire was descended from the fansie to the affections and these being exceedingly moved by those vain and proud conceits caused tremblings and foamings convulsions and ecstasies in the body all which are but natural diseases if not worse and just like those odd ecstatical motions of the Devils Priests when they came foaming from his Altars these I say the wild phantasticks had learnt to ascribe to the blessed and adorable Spirit And when their phansies being full of turgid notions and their bodies in an ecstasie they dream'd of strange sights voices and wonderful discoveries which were nothing but the unquiet agitations of their own disordered brains These also were taken for divine Revelations and the effects of the Spirit of God shewing it self miraculously in them Briefly and in sum Every humour and phantastick unaccountable motion was by some represented as the work of that Spirit to which they are most opposite Thus when warm and brisk sanguine presented a cheerful Scene and filled the imagination with pleasant Dreams these were divine Illapses the Joys and Incomes of the Holy Ghost When heated Melancholy had kindled the busie and active phansie the Enthusiast talks of Illuminations New Lights Revelations and many wonderful fine things which were ascribed to the same Spirit and when Phlegm prevailed and had quencht the phantastick Fire rendring the Mad man more dull and unactive then the Spirit was withdrawn and the man under spiritual darkness and desertion And when again Choler was boyled up into rage and fury against every thing that was not of the Fanatique genius this also was presumed to be an Holy Fervour kindled by that Spirit whose real Fruits are gentleness and love And now after that which I have said on this occasion it may perhaps be necessary to add that I hope none here will be so uncharitable or so unjust as to think that I go about to disparage the Spirit of God and its influence which as I ought I adore and reverence and because I do so I think it fit to represent and shame the blasphemous abuses of it which would expose the most Divine things to scorn and make them ridiculous And that the Holy Spirit hath been thus traduced and injured and is still by great numbers among us 't would be shameful not to acknowledge And I add that my zeal and reverence for the realities make me thus justly sharp against the Counterfeits Nor do I think that folly and phantastry is to be spared because they wear the stollen Livery of things venerable and sacred Therefore to go on such a Religion had the corruption of it bred among us A Religion conceived in the Imagination and begot by Pride and Self-Love which gilded the Professors of it with all the glorious names and priviledges of the Gospel And when they had encircled their Heads with their own phantastick rays and swoln their Imaginations into a Tympany of ridiculous greatness they scornfully contemned all but their Darling-selves under the notion of the Formal the Moral and the Wicked and proudly pitied the poor and carnal World that is all that were not of their conceited pitch and elevation And having thus dignified themselves and debased others they herded together drew the Church into their little Corners and withdrew from the communion of others who had less conceit though more Christianity They bid us stand off lest we should have polluted them by our unhallowed approaches and having made us as the Heathen and the Publican they cried Come out from among them The true Church soundness of Judgement purity of Doctrine and of Worship if men would believe them was confined to their clans just as they wee to the Corners of Africa of old when their Friends the Donatists were there Thus did the Votaries of each Sect swell in their Imaginations till some other sort as well conceited as themselves endeavoured to take their Plumes from them and to appropriate those glorious prerogatives to their own party And this went for the power of Godliness and the spirituality of Religion under pretence of which all reverence to things sacred was destroyed For when this Spirit had got into the Pulpit and set up the Cry of
he have them deceive themselves by fond Dependences When one made this Profession to our Saviour Lord I will follow thee whither soever thou goest Christ tells him that he must expect from him no worldly Honours or Preferments no Power or sensual Pleasure no not so much as the ordinary Accommodations of Life The Foxes have Holes and the Birds of the Air have Nests but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his Head Luk. 9. 5 8. He would not have the man that likely might look for these upon the opinion of his being the Messias in the Jewish sense one that should at last whatever the meanness of his Condition was at present appear as a Mighty and Triumphant temporal Monarch I say our Saviour would not have the Man follow him for that which he had not to bestow upon him Since then that he who would not put us upon fruitless labours hath commanded us to strive to enter 't is evident that an entrance may be procured into the Gate by striving and that the Difficulties may be overcome The next thing in my Method is to shew How the manner is implyed in the Text and exprest in the Proposition viz. By striving and by this is meant a resolute use of those means that are the Instruments of Happiness They are three Faith Prayer and active Endeavour I. Faith is a chief Instrument for the overcoming the Difficulties of our way And Faith in the general is the belief of a Testimony Divine Faith the belief of a Divine Testimony and the chief things to be believed as encouragements and means for a Victory over the Difficulties in Religion are these That God is reconciled to us by his Son That he will assist our weak endeavours by the Aids of his Spirit That he will reward us if we strive as we ought with immortal Happiness in a World of endless Glory By our belief of God's being reconciled we are secured from those fears that might discourage our approaches and endeavours upon the account of his Purity and Justice By the Faith of his Assistance all the objections against our striving that arise from the greatness of the Difficulties and the disproportionate smallness of our Strength are answered And from our believing eternal rewards in another World we have a mighty motive to engage our utmost diligence to contest with all difficulties that would keep us from it What satisfaction is there saith the believer in the gratification of my corrupt Inclinations and Senses in comparison with that which ariseth from the favour of God and an Interest in his Son What difficulties in my Duty too great for Divine Aids What pains are we to undergo in the narrow and difficult way that the Glory which is at the end of it will not compensate What is it to deny a base Inclination that will undo me in obedience to him that made and redeemed me and to despise the little things of present sense for the hope of everlasting enjoyments Trifling pleasure for Hallelujahs What were it for me to set vigorously upon those Passions that degrade my noble Nature and make me a slave and a beast and will make me more vile and more miserable when the Spirit of the most High is at my right hand to assist me Why should my noble Faculties that were designed for glorious ends be led into infamous practices by base Usages and dishonourable Customs What is the example of a wicked sensual wretched World to that of the Holy Jesus and all the Army of Prophets Apostles and Martyrs What is there in the World that it should be loved more than God and what is the Flesh that it should have more of our time and care than the great interests of our Souls Such are the Considerations of a mind that Faith hath awakened and by them it is prepared for vigorous striving So that Faith is the Spring of all and necessary to the other two Instruments of our Happiness Besides which it is acceptable to God in it self and so disposeth us for his gracious helps by which we are enabled to overcome the Difficulties of our way While a man considers the Difficulties only and weighs them against his own strength let him suppose the Liberty of his Will to be what he pleaseth yet while 't is under such disadvantages that will signifie very little and he that sees no further sits down in discouragement But when the mind is fortified with the firm belief of Divine help he attempts then with a noble vigour which cannot miscarry if it do not cool and faint For he that endures to the end shall be saved Mat. 24. 13. Thus Faith sets the other Instruments of Happiness on work and therefore 't is deservedly reckoned as the first and 't is that which must always accompany the exercises of Religion and give them life and motion II. Prayer is another means we must use in order to our overcoming the Difficulties of the way Our own meer natural Strength is weakness and without supernatural helps those Difficulties are not to be surmounted Those Aids are necessary and God is ready to bestow them on us For He would have all men to be saved and to come to the Knowledge of the Truth 1 Tim. 2. 4. But for these things he will be sought unto And 't is very just and fit that we should address our selves to him by Prayer to acknowledge our own insufficiency and dependence on him for the mercies we expect and thereby to own Him for the giver of every good and perfect gift and to instruct our selves how his favours are to be received and used viz. with Reverence and Thanksgiving This 't is highly fit we should do and the doing it prepares us for his blessings and he fails not to bestow them on those that are prepared by Faith and Prayer For he giveth liberally and upbraids not And our Prayers are required not as if they could move his will which is always graciously inclined to our Happiness But as it 's that tribute which we owe our Maker and Benefactor and that without which 't is not so fit he should bestow his particular favours on us For it by no means becomes the Divine Majesty to vouchsafe the specialties of his Grace and Goodness to those that are not sensible they want them and are not humbled to a due apprehension of their weakness and dependence But for such as are so and express their humble desires in the Ardours of Holy Prayer God never denies them the assistances of his Spirit For if ye being evil saith our Saviour know how to give good gifts unto your Children how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to those that ask Him Mat. 7. 11. And These Divine Helps obtain'd by Faith and Prayer and join'd with our active constant endeavour will not fail to enable us to overcome the Difficulties and to procure us an entrance at the strait Gate
us We may indeed be confident and we ought that he will save all those that so believe as to obey him but may not trust that he will save us except we are some of those To rely upon Christ for our Salvation must follow our sincere and obedient striving and not go before it The mistake of this is exceeding dangerous and I doubt hath been fatal to many The sum is to rely on Christ without a resolute and steady endeavour to overcome every sin and temptation will gain us nothing in the end but shame and disappointment For 't is not every one that saith unto him Lord Lord shall enter into Heaven but he that doth the will of his Father which is in Heaven Mat. 7. 21. The foolish Virgins relyed upon him and expected he should open to them Lord Lord open to us Mat. 25. 11. but he kept them out and would not know them v. 11. Thus of the First imperfect Mark of Godliness A man may upon the account of meer Nature arrive to all the mentioned degrees of Faith and yet if his endeavours in the practice of Christian vertues be not suitable he will certainly come short at last II. A man may be very devout given much to Prayer and be very frequent and earnest in it He may have the gift of expressing himself fluently without the help of Form or Meditation yea and so intent and taken up in these exercises that he may as it were be ravish't out of himself by the fervours of his Spirit so that he really kindles very high Affections as well in others as in himself And yet if he rests in this and such like things as Religion and reckons that he is accepted of God for it if he allow himself in any unmortified lusts and thinks to compound for them by his Prayers he is an evil man notwithstanding and one of those seekers that shall not be able to enter The Pharisees we know were much given to Prayer They were long in those Devotions and very earnest in them often repeating the same expressions out of vehemence Ignatius Loyola founder of the Jesuites was a man almost ecstatical in his Prayers and Hacket the Blasphemer executed in the days of Queen Elizabeth was a person of Seraphical Devotion and would pray those that heard him even into transports Basilides the cruel Duke of Mosco is said to have his hands almost continually lifted up in Prayer except when they were imployed in some barbarous and bloody Execution And we have known and felt one not much unlike him There are infinite instances in our days of this dangerous sort of evil men And we may learn hence that the greatest gift of Prayer and earnestness and frequency in it is no good mark of Godliness except it be attended with sincere constant and vertuous endeavours For some men have a natural spice of Devotion in a Religious Melancholy which is their temper and such have commonly strong Imaginations and zealous affections which when they are heated flame forth into great heights and expressions of Devotion The warm Fancy furnisheth words and matter readily and unexpectedly which many times begets in the man a conceit that he is inspired and that his Prayers are the breathings of the Holy Ghost or at least that he is extraordinarily assisted by it which belief kindles his affections yet more and he is carried beyond himself even into the third Heavens and Suburbs of Glory as he fancies and so he makes no doubt but that he is a Saint of the first rank and special favourite of Heaven when all this while he may be really a bad man full of Envy and Malice Pride and Covetousness Scorn and ill Nature contempt of his Betters and disobedience to his Governours And while it is so notwithstanding those glorious things he is no further than the Pharisee Hearty and humble desire though imperfectly exprest and without this pomp and those wonders is far more acceptable to God who delights not in the exercises of meer Nature Psal 147. 10. but is well pleased with the expressions of Grace in those that fear him So that a sincere and lowly-minded Christian that talks of no immediate incomes or communications and perhaps durst not out of reverence trust to his own present conceptions in a work so solemn but useth the help of some pious form of words sutable to his desire and wants who is duly sensible of his sins and the necessity of overcoming them and is truly and earnestly desirous of the Divine aids in order to it such a one as this prays by the Spirit and will be assisted by it while the other doth all by meer Nature and Imitation and shall not have those spiritual aids which he never heartily desires nor intends to use This I think I may truly and safely say But for the Controversie between Forms and Conceived Prayers which of them is absolutely best I determine nothing of it here And indeed I suppose that in their own nature they are alike indifferent and are more or less accepted as they partake more or less of the Spirit of Prayer viz. of Faith Humility and holy desire of the good things we pray for and a man may have these that prays by a Form and he may want them that takes the other way and thinks himself in a dispensation much above it So that my business is not to set up one of these ways of Devotion against the other but to shew that the heights and vehemencies of many warm people in their unpremeditated Prayers have nothing in them supernatural or Divine and consequently of themselves they are no marks of Godliness which I hope no one thinks I speak to discredit those pious ardours that are felt by really devout Souls when a vigorous sense of God and Divine things doth even sometimes transport them Far be it from me to design any thing so impious my aim is only to note that there are complexional heats raised many times by fancy and self-admiration that look like these in persons who really have little of God in them and we should take care that we are not deceived by them Thus far also those may go that shall not enter I add III. A man may endeavour somewhat and strive in some degree and yet his work may miscarry and himself with it 1. There is no doubt but that an evil man may be convinced of his sin and vileness and that even to anguish and torment The Gentiles saith the Apostle Rom. 2. 14. which have not the Law shew the works of the Law written in their Hearts their thoughts in the mean time accusing or excusing one another Conscience often stings and disquiets the vilest sinners and sometimes extorts from them lamentable confession of their sins and earnest declamations against them They may weep bitterly at their remembrance and be under great heaviness and dejection upon their occasion They may speak vehemently against sin themselves and
pray with him Luk. 18. 11. and yet he went away never the more justified The unwise Virgins were no profligate Livers and yet they were shut out He that will enter must strive against every corrupt appetite and inclination A less leak will sink a Ship as well as a greater if no care be taken of it A Consumption will kill as well as the Plague yea sometimes the less Disease may in the event prove more deadly than the greater for small distempers may be neglected till they become incurable whenas the great ones awaken us to speedy care for a remedy A small hurt in the finger slighted may prove a Gangreen when a great wound in the Head by seasonable applications is cured 'T is unsafe then to content our selves with this that our sins are not foul and great those we account little ones may prove as fatal yea they are sometimes more dangerous For we are apt to think them none at all or Venial infirmities that may consist with a state of Grace and Divine favour we excuse and make Apologies for them and fancy that Hearing and Prayer and Confession are atonements enough for these Upon which accounts I am apt to believe that the less notorious Vices have ruined as many as the greatest Abominations Hell doth not consist only of Drunkards and Swearers and Sabbath-breakers No the demure Pharisee the plausible Hypocrite and formal Professor have their place also in that lake of fire The great impieties do often startle and awaken conscience and beget strong convictions and so sometimes excite resolution and vigorous striving while men hug themselves in their lesser sins and carry them unrepented of to their Graves The sum is we may overcome some sins and turn from the grosser sorts of wickedness and yet if we endeavour not to subdue the rest we are still in the condition of unregeneracy and death and though we thus seek we shall not enter 4. A man may perform many duties of Religion and that with relish and delight and yet miscarry As 1. He may be earnest and swift to hear and follow Sermons constantly from one place to another and be exceedingly pleased and affected with the Word and yet be an evil Man and in a bad state Herod heard John Baptist gladly Mark 6. 20. and he that received the seed into stony places received it joyfully Mat. 13. 20. Zeal for hearing doth not always arise from a conscientious desire to learn in order to practice but sometimes it proceeds from an itch after novelty and notions or an ambition to be famed for Godliness or the importunity of natural conscience that will not be satisfied except we do something or a desire to get matter to feed our opinions or to furnish us with pious discourse I say earnestness to hear ariseth very often from some of these and when it doth so we gain but little by it yea we are dangerously tempted to take this for an infallible token of our Saintship and so to content our selves with this Religion of the Ear and to disturb every body with the abundance of our disputes and talk while we neglect our own Spirits and let our unmortified affections and inclinations rest in quiet under the shadow of these specious services So that when a great affection to hearing seizeth upon an evil man 't is odds but it doth him hurt it puffs him up in the conceit of his Godliness and makes him pragmatical troublesome and censorious He turns his food into poyson Among bad men those are certainly the worst that have an opinion of their being godly and such are those that have itching ears under the power of vitious habits and inclinations Thus an earnest diligent hearer may be one of those who seeks and is shut out And so may 2. He that Fasts much and severely The Jews were exceedingly given to fasting and they were very severe in it They abstained from all things pleasant to them and put on sackcloath and sowr looks and mourned bitterly and hung down the head and sate in ashes so that one might have taken these for very holy penitent mortified people that had a great antipathy against their sins and abhorrence of themselves for them And yet God complains of these strict severe Fasters Zach. 7. 5. That they did not Fast unto him but fasted for strife and debate Isa 58. 4. Their Fasts were not such as he had chosen to loose the bands of wickedness to undo the heavy burden and to let the oppressed free vers 6. But they continued notwithstanding their Fasts and God's admonitions by his Prophets to oppress the Widow and Fatherless and Poor Zach. 7. 10. Thus meer natural and evil men sometimes put on the garb of Mortification and exercise rigors upon their Bodies and external persons in exchange for the indulgences they allow their beloved appetites and while the strict Discipline reacheth no further though we keep days and Fast often yet this will not put us beyond the condition of the Pharisee who fasted twice in the week as himself boasted Luke 18. 12. And 3. An imperfect striver may be very much given to pious and religious discourses He may love to be talking of Divine things especially of the love of Christ to sinners which he may frequently speak of with much earnestness and affection and have that dear name always at his tongues end to begin and close all his sayings and to fill up the void places when he wants what to say next and yet this may be a bad man who never felt those Divine things he talks of and never loved Christ heartily as he ought 'T was observed before that there are some who have a sort of Devoutness and Religion in their particular Complexion and if such are talkative as many times they are they will easily run into such discourses as agree with their temper and take pleasure in them for that reason As also for this because they are apt to gain us reverence and the good opinion of those with whom we converse And such as are by nature disposed for this faculty may easily get it by imitation and remembrance of the devout forms they hear and read so that there may be nothing Divine in all this nothing but what may consist with unmortified lusts and affections And though such talk earnestly of the love of Christ and express a mighty love to his name yet this may be without any real conformity unto him in his Life and Laws The Jews spake much of Moses in him they believed and in him they trusted John 5. 45. His name was a sweet sound to their ears and 't was very pleasant upon their Tongues and yet they hated the Spirit of Moses and had no love to those Laws of his which condemned their wicked actions And we may see how many of those love Christ that speak often and affectionately of him by observing how they keep his Commandments John 14. 15. especially those
place seems to cross all that hath been said about the Difficulties of Religion And 't is true it hath such an appearance but 't is no more For the words look as cross to the expressions of the same Divine Author concerning the straitness of the Gate and narrowness of the Way as to any thing I have delivered from those infallible sayings Therefore to remove the semblance of contrariety which the objected Text seems to have to those others and to my Discourse we may observe That when our Saviour saith that his yoke is easie the word we read is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifieth very good excellent gracious and the meaning I suppose is That his Precepts had a native beauty and goodness in them That they are congruous and sutable to our reasonable Natures and apt instruments to make us happy In which sense this expression hath no antipathy to the Text or to any thing I have said And whereas 't is added My Burden is light I think by this we are to understand That his Commands are not of that burdensome nature that the Ceremonies of the Jewish Laws were Those were very cumbersome and had nothing in their nature to make them pleasant and agreeable whereas his Religion had no expensive troublesome Rites appendant to it nor did it require any thing but our observation of those Laws which eternal Reason obligeth us to and which of our selves we should choose to live under were we freed from the intanglements of the World and interests of Flesh So that neither doth this Objection signifie any thing against the scope of my Discourse ANd now I come to Apply what I have said and the things I have to add will be comprehended under these two Generals 1. Inferences and 2. plain Advice in order to practice I begin with the Inferences and Corollaries that arise from the whole Discourse And 1. We may collect What is the state of Nature and What the state of Grace We have seen that 't is the great business of Religion to overcome evil Inclinations and the prevailing influence of sense and passion and evil customs and example and worldly affections And therefore the state of Nature consists in the power and prevalency of These This is that the Scripture calls the Old man Eph. 4. 22. The Image of the earthy 1 Cor. 15. Flesh Gal. 5. 17. Death Rom. 7. 24. Darkness Joh. 3. 19. and old leven 1 Cor. 5. 7. On the contrary The state of Grace is a state of sincere striving against them which if it keeps on ends in Victory And this is call'd Conversion Acts 3. 19. and Renovation while 't is in its first motions And the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1. 4. the Image of the Heavenly 1 Cor. 15. 20. The Spirit Gal. 5. 16. Light Ephes 5. 8. and Life 1 Joh. 3. 14. when 't is arriv'd to more compleatness and perfection For our fuller understanding this we may consider That Grace is taken 1. for Divine favour 2. for Christian Vertue As it signifies Divine favour so it is used 1. For those helps and aids God affords us viz. the Gospel Joh. 1. 17. and the influences of his Spirit 1 Cor. 12. 9. In this sense we are deliver'd from the state of Nature by Baptism viz. We are intitled to divine helps which is a kind of regeneration for we are born in a condition of impotence and weakness and destitution of spiritual assistances This is the world of meer nature But then in Baptism we are brought into the world of the Spirit that is are put under its influences and are assured of its aids and so are morally born again Not that this Regeneration alone will save us without our endeavours it imports only an external relation and right to priviledges and by these we may be powerfully assisted in our striving if we use them But then 2. Grace as it signifies divine favour implies his special love and kindness such as he vouchsafes to holy and vertuous men so that we may observe that there may be a distinction between a state of Grace and a state of salvation A state of Grace in the former sense is a condition assisted by the influences of Gods Spirit and all baptized persons are in that But if they use not those helps they are not in Gods special favour and so not in a state of Salvation But when those assistances are duly imployed and join'd with our sincere endeavour then the person so using them is in a state of Salvation also and in God's special love and favour Thus of the state of Grace in the first sense as taken for divine favour 2. The word is also used for Christian Vertue 2 Pet. 3. 18. and Vertue is call'd Grace because 't is wrought in us by the assistance of Gods Spirit and the light of the Gospel which are divine favours and to be in a state of grace in this sense is to be a virtuous man which supposeth divine aids and intitles to divine love These things I have taken an occasion thus briefly to state because there is oft-times much confusion in means discourses about Grace and Nature from which much trouble and many controversies have arisen And by what I have said also in these brief hints the doctrine of our Church in the office of Baptism may be understood clearly and will appear to be very sound and true notwithstanding the petty exceptions of confident Dissenters II. I may infer That the great Design of Religion and the Gospel is to perfect humane nature The perfection of our natures consists in the subjection and subordination of the affections and passions to the Mind as it is enlightned and directed by the divine Laws and those of Reason This is the state of integrity in which we were first made and we lost it by the rebellion of our senses and inferiour powers which have usurpt the government of us ever since Here is the imperfection and corruption of our natures Now Religion designs to remove and cure these and to restore us to our first and happy state It s business is not to reform our looks and our language or to model our actions and gestures into a devout appearance not only to restrain the practice of open prophaneness and villany nor to comfort us with the assurance of Gods loving us we know not why But to cure our ill natures to govern our passions to moderate our desires to throw out pride and envy and all uncharitable surmisals with the other spiritual sorts of wickedness and thereby to make us like unto God in whom there is no shadow of sin or imperfection and so to render us fit objects of his delight and love So that whatever doth not tend to the making us some way or other really better better in our selves and better in all Relations as fathers and children and husbands and wives and subjects and governours and neighbours and friends is not Religion It may
true the world is extended to those duties that relate immediately to God also By which we see how ignorantly and dangerously those people talk that disparage morality as a dull lame thing of no account or reckoning Upon this the Religion of the second Table is by too many neglected and the whole mystery of the new Godliness is lay'd in frequent hearing and devout seraphick talk luscious fancies new lights incomes manifestations in-dwellings sealings and such like Thus Antinomianism and all kinds of Fanaticism have made their way by the disparagement of morality and men have learnt to believe themselves the chosen pretious people while their hearts have been full of malice and bitterness and their hands of violence while they despised dominions and spake evil of dignities rebell'd against the Government destroyed publique peace and endeavoured to bring all into misery and confusions 'T is this diabolical project of dividing morality from Religion that hath given rise and occasion to all these villanies And while the Practisers of such things have assumed the name of the only Godly Godliness it self hath been brought into disgrace by them and Atheism incouraged to shew it self in open defiance to Religion Yea through the indiscretions and inconsiderateness of some preachers the fantastry and vain babble of others and the general disposition of the people to admire what makes a great shew and pretends to more than ordinary spirituality things are in many places come to that pass that those who teach Christian vertue and Religion in plainness and simplicity without senseless phrases and fantastick affectations shall be reckon'd for dry moralists and such as understand nothing of the life and power of Godliness Yea those people have been so long used to gibberish and canting that they cannot understand plain sense and vertue is become such a stranger to their ears that when they hear it spoken of in a Pulpit they count the preacher a broacher of new divinity and one that would teach the way to heaven by Philosophy And he escapes well if they do not say That he is an Atheist or that he would reconcile us to Gentilism and Heathen Worship The danger and vanity of which ignorant humour the contempt of morality is apparent in the whole scope of my Discourse and therefore I add no more concerning it here but proceed to another Inference which is IV. That Grace and the new nature make their way by degrees on the Soul for the difficulties will not be removed nor the corrupt nature subdued all at once Habits that grow by repeated acts time and continuance will not be expelled in a moment No man can become greatly evil or good on a sudden The Path of the just shines more and more to a perfect day Prov. 4. 18. We do not jump from darkness into full light We are not fully sanctified and converted in an instant The day begins in an insensible dawn and the Kingdom of heaven is like a grain of Mustard seed Mat. 13. 31. It doth not start up presently to the stature of a tree The Divine birth begins like the Natural in an imperfect embryo There are some seeds of Knowledge and Goodness that God hath sown in our natures these are excited by the Divine Grace and Spirit to convictions which proceed to purposes these to resolutions and thence we pass to abstinence from all gross sins and the performance of outward Duties and so at last by degrees to vigorous attempts for the destruction of evil habits and inclinations When Grace is arrived to this eminent growth 't is very visible as the Plant is when 't is above the ground But the beginnings of Conversion are not ordinarily perceived So that to catechize men about the punctual time and circumstances of their Conversion is an idle device and a great temptation to vanity and lying Who can tell the exact moment when the night ends and the dawn enters 'T is true indeed the passage from the excesses of Wickedness which begins in some extraordinary horrors and convictions is sometimes very notable but 't is not so in all or most The time of St. Paul's conversion was eminent but that change was from great contrarieties and miraculous and therefore 't is not to be drawn into instance Both the beginnings and minute progressions of Grace are usually undiscerned We cannot see the Grass just putting out of the earth or actually growing but yet we find that it doth both And Grace is better known in its fruits than in its rise By their Fruits ye shall know them saith our Saviour Mat. 12. 33. and the same way we may know our selves V. We see that there is an Animal as well as a Divine Religion A Religion that is but the effect and modification of complexion natural fear and self-love How far these will go we have seen and how short it will prove in the end The not noting this hath been the sad occasion of deceiving many Some observing great heats of zeal and devotion in the modern Pharisees take these to be the Saints and good people believing all the glorious things which they assume to themselves When others that know them to be envious and malitious unjust and covetous proud and ungovernable and cannot therefore look on them as such choice holy people are apt to affirm all to be hypocrisie and feigning In which sentences both are mistaken for want of knowing that there is a meer Animal Religion that will produce very specious and glorious effects So that though the Pharisee Prays vehemently and Fasts severely and talks much of the love of God and delights greatly in hearing and pious Discourse and will suffer all things for what he calls his Conscience yet he is not to be concluded a Saint from hence because the meer Animal Religion may put it self forth in all these expressions And though this Professor be a bad man proud and covetous malicious and censorious Sacrilegious and Rebellious yet we cannot thence be assured that he is an Hypocrite in one sense viz. such an one as feigns all that he pretends But we may believe that he is really so affected with Hearing and Praying and devout Company as he makes shew and yet for all this not alter our opinion of his being an evil man since the Animal Religion will go as far as the things in which he glories There is nothing whereby the common people are drawn more easily into the ways of Sects and Separations than by the observation of the zeal and devotion of those of the factions These they take to be Religion and the great matters of Godliness and those the religious and only godly people And so first they conceive a great opinion of them and then follow them whithersoever they lead For the generality of men are tempted into Schism and Parties not so much by the arguments of dissenters as by the opinion of their Godliness which opinion is grounded upon things which may arise from
the Formality and Superstition of Separatists that keeps on the Separation They contend for fancies and arbitrary trifles We for order and obedience The people are abused by names and being frighted by the shadows of Superstition and Formality they run into the worst Formality and silliest Superstition in the World The Kingdom of Heaven consists not in meats and drinks Rom. 14. 17. neither in Circumcision nor Uncircumcision 1 Cor. 7. 19. not in zeal for little things nor in zeal against them both the one and the other are equally formal The power of Religion lies in using Divine aids heartily and constantly in order to the overcoming the Difficulties of our way This Godliness is not exercised so much in reforming others as our selves The chief design is to govern within and not to make Laws for the World without us This is that Wisdom that is from above which is pure and peaceable Jam. 3. 17. It makes no noise and bluster abroad but quietly minds its own business at home So that certainly the best men have not always had the greatest fame for Godliness as the wisest have very seldom been the most popular They are the effects of the Animal Religion that make the biggest shew The voice of true Religion is heard in quiet it sounds not in the corners of the street The power of Godliness is seen in Justice Meekness Humility and Charity things that look not so splendidly as the Spiritual Forms And thus of the Inferences and Corollaries that may be drawn from my Discourse which though they cannot all be inferred from any of its minute and separated parts yet they lie in the design and contexture of the whole I Come now to the Advice for Practice The way of Happiness is difficult but the difficulties may be overcome by striving A little will not do many seekers are shut out what remains then but that we perswade our selves to strive and that diligently with constant resolution and endeavour We were made for Happiness and Happiness all the World seeks who will shew us any good Psal 4. 6. is the voice of all the Creatures We have sought it long in emptiness and shadows and that search hath still ended in shame and disappointment Where true substantial Felicity is we know and the Way we know Joh. 14. 4. It is not hid from us in Clouds and thick Darkness or if it were 't were worth our pains to search after it It is not at so great a distance but it may be seen yea it may be brought so near as to be felt Though the way is strait yet 't is certain or if it were otherwise who would not venture his pains upon the possibility of such an issue Many difficulties are in it but our Encouragements and Assistances are infinite The love of God and the gift of his son the blood of Christ and his intercession the aids of the Spirit and the directions of the Gospel the Invitations and Promises the rare Precepts and incomparable Examples of those holy men that have gone before us These are mighty helps and great motives to assist us in striving and to quicken us to it Let us then arise in the strength of Faith and in the encouragement of those aids and attempt with courage upon the Difficulties of our way Let us ingage our deepest Resolutions and most diligent endeavours Here is no need to deliberate the things are necessary the benefits unspeakable and the event will be glorious It is no Question I hope whether God or the Creature is to be first chosen whether Heaven or Hell be better and therefore there is no cause that we should stay and consider we cannot be rash here we cannot hurt our selves by a too sudden ingagement we have delayed too long already and every moment we sit still is one loss to our Duty and our Happiness Let us resolve then and begin with courage and proceed with diligence 't is our End and Felicity for which we are to strive and every thing is active for its End and Perfection All Creatures are diligent in serving the Designs of Providence the Heavens are in restless motion and the Clouds are still carrying about their fruitful Waters the sluggish Earth it self is always putting forth in variety of Trees and Grass and Flowers the Rivers run towards the Sea the Brooks move towards them and the Sea within it self Thus all things even in inanimate Nature may mind us of acting towards our end And if we look a little higher the Beasts of the Field the Fowls and Cattel and creeping things are diligent in striving after the good and perfection of their Natures and Solomon sends the Sluggard to those little Insects the Ant and Bee to teach him activity and diligence Prov. 6. 6. And shall the Beasts act more reasonably than the professed Sons of Reason May it not shame us that we need Instruction from the Creatures that have no understanding With what face can we carry our heads so high and look down with contempt upon inferiour Animals when they live more wisely and more regularly than we The Sum is All things are incessantly moving towards an End and Happiness is ours which therefore should ingage our most careful Thoughts and most active Endeavours We are sollicitous and diligent about things of infinitely less moment and in effect of none viz. uncertain Riches sensual Pleasures and worldly Honours though the way to these is sufficiently difficult and uneasie yet we are not discouraged we attempt all those Difficulties with an obstinate Courage though without promise of any equal assistance or assurance of success We are often defeated in our pursuits and yet we go on We are overmaster'd by cross events and yet we try again We miss our happiness when we have attain'd our end and yet we are as active in courting disappointment another time either we attain not the things we seek or find no true satisfaction in them or they die in our hands presently and yet we strive And doth not this activity about uncertain unsatisfying Trifles shamefully reprove our Negligence in reference to our great End Happiness and Perfection In striving for which we have all the powers of Heaven to aid us and the Word of God and the Blood of his Son and the experience of all that ever try'd to assure us that we shall neither fail of the things we seek nor of the pleasure that we expect from them And why then do we lazily sit down and with the Sluggard say There is a Lion in the way while we despise greater discouragements when vain things are to be sought The Merchant doth not give off because there are Storms and the numerous Dangers of the Deep to be met with in his way to the Indies nor the Souldier lay by his Arms because of the hazards and toils of War And do we act courageously for petty purchases and faint and despond when we are to strive for Crowns and
HIS was that they may be perswaded to conform theirs unto it and though mens understandings are convinced already that Charity is their Duty yet there is but too much need to represent some of the vast heap of injunctions that make it so to incline their Wills I shall therefore briefly lay together a few of the chief instances of this kind that you may have the distincter sense of the reasons of your Duty and from them the most powerful motives to enforce it In order to this let us consider in short the Injunctions of Christ and the teachings of his Apostles Our Saviour urgeth it as his New Commandment John 13. 34. and inculcates it again under the obliging form of his Command John 15. 12. He makes it a distinguishing note of his Disciples John 13. 35. and enjoyns them to love their Enemies Mat. 5. 24. He mentions it as the great qualification of those on his Right hand that shall be received into his Kingdom Mat. 25. 34 35. and the want of it as the reason of the dreadful Curse pronounced upon those miserable ones on the Left at the solemn Judgement ver 41 42. St. Paul calls Love the fulfilling of the Law Rom. 13. 8 9 10. and sets it in the first place among the fruits of the Spirit Gal. 5. 22. yea reckons it five times over under other Names in the Catalogue viz. those of Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Goodness Meekness ver 22 23. He advanceth it above all Gifts and Graces 1 Cor. 13. above the Tongues of Men and Angels ver 1. and above Prophecie and Mysteries and Knowledge and Faith ver 2. And the beloved Disciple St. John who lay in the Bosom of his Dear Lord and seems to partake most of his Spirit is transported in the commendation of this Grace He tells us that God is love 1 John 4. 7. and repeats it again ver 16. He makes it an Argument of our being born of God and Knowing Him ver 7. and the want of this an evidence of not Knowing God ver 8. He counts it the mark of Discipleship aâ—d the contrary a sign of one that abideth in Death 1 John 3. 14. He calls him a Murtherer that hates another ver 15. and a Lyar if he pretends to Love God and loveth not his Brother 1 John 4. 20. In fine he out-speaks the greatest heights of Praise when he saith God is Love and he that loveth dwelleth in God and God in him 1 John 4. 16. I might represent further that we are commanded to Love without dissimulation Rom. 12. 9. to be kindly affectioned one towards another ver 10. to put on the Breast-plate of Faith and Love 1 Thess 5. 8. to be pitiful and courteous 1 Pet. 3. 8. to provoke one another to love and to good works Heb. 10. 24. to serve one another Gal. 5. 13. to love as Brethren 1 Pet. 3. 8. We are minded of Christ's New Commandment 1 Joh. 3. 23. and of the Message which was from the beginning That we should love one another ver 11. and are urged by the consideration of Gods loving us 1 John 4. 1. Thus the Apostles exhort and teach and they Pray that our Love may abound Phil. 1. 9. and 1 Thess 3. 12. and give solemn Thanks for it when they have found it 2 Thess 1. 3. And now considering the expresness of all these places I cannot see but that any Duty of Religion may be more easily evaded than this and those who can fansie themselves Christians and yet continue in the contrary Spirit and Practice may conceit themselves religious though they live in the constant commission of the greatest sins And if such can quiet their Consciences and shuffle from all these plain Recommendations and Injunctions they have found a way to escape all the Laws of God and may when they please become Christians without Christianity For the evidence I have suggested to prove the necessity of this Duty doth not consist in half Sentences and doubtful Phrases in fancied Analogies and far-fetcht Interpretations but in plain Commands and frequent Inculcations in earnest Intreaties and pressing Importunities in repeated Advices and passionate Commendations And those whom all these will not move are Incapable of being perswaded against their humour or their interest to any Duty of Religion So that though I see never so much eagerness for an Opinion or Heat for an indifferent Circumstance without the conscience of Christian Love I shall never call that forwardness for those little things Zeal or Religion Yea though those warm men should sacrifice their Lives to their beloved Trifles I should not think them Martyrs but fear rather that they went from one Fire to another and a Worse And in this I have the great Apostle to warrant me who saith Though I give my body to be burned and have not Charity it profiteth me nothing 1 Cor. 13. 3. Thus of the First Head the Necessity of the duty I Come to the II. the Extent Our Love ought 1. To be extended to all Mankind The more general it is the more Christian and the more like unto the Love of God who causeth his Sun to shine and his Rain to fall upon the Good and upon the Evil. And though our Arms be very short and the ordinary influence of our kindness and good will can reach but to a very few yet we may pray for all men and desire the good of all the world and in these we may be charitable without bounds But these are not all Love obligeth us to relieve the Needy and help the Distressed to visit the Sick and succour the Fatherless and Widows to strengthen the Weak and to confirm the Staggering and Doubting to encourage the Vertuous and to reprove the Faulty and in short to be ready in all the offices of Kindness that may promote the good of any man Spiritual or Temporal according to the utmost of our power and capacity The good man is Merciful to his Beast and the Christian ought to be Charitable to his Brother and his Neighbour and every man is our Brother and every one that Needs us is our Neighbour And so our Love ought to extend to all men universally without limitation though with this distinction II. That the more especial Objects of our Love ought to be those that agree with us in a common Faith Gal. 6. 10. that is All Christians as Christians and because such Whatever makes our Brother a Member of the Church Catholick that gives him a title to our nearer affections which ought to be as large as that Our Love must not be confin'd by names and petty agreements and the interests of Parties to the corners of a Sect but ought to reach as far as Christianity it self in the largest notion of it To love those that are of our Way Humour and Opinion is not Charity but Self-love 't is not for Christ's sake but our own To Love like Christians is to Love his Image
are United and the Soul by which the common body lives that whereby the League between the members is preserved and health with it When this decays sad symptoms and mortal evils follow We see in Nature the great Fabrick of the World is maintained by the mutual Friendship and conspiracy of its parts which should they universally fall out and break the bond of Amity that is between them should they act their Antipathies upon each other yea should they but cease to serve one another for the general good the whole frame would be dissolved and all things shuffled into their old Chaos and Abyss And the greatest evils that have or can happen to the Church have been the effects of the Decay of Charity and those intestine Divisions that have grown up in it From these she hath always suffered more than from external persecutions The flames within have consumed her when those from without have only sindg'd her garments V. LOVE is the most Catholick grace and upon that account the most excellent since that which promotes the good of the whole is better than any private perfection for which reason things in nature will quit their particular interests when the common good so requireth as heavy bodies will ascend and light bodies descend to prevent a chasm and breach in Nature Now of all the divine vertues there is none of so large an influence as Love 't is a grace designed for the good of the community as the principle of self-Love is for the preservation of particular beings This stirs up our endeavours for the good of others and especially for the general good The Church receives no wound but Love feels the smart of it nor is any member of it afflicted but Love is grieved This is the very Spirit of our dear Lord who was touched with a feeling of our Infirmities And to these I add this last VI. LOVE commends Christianity to those without and cleanseth the Profession of it from many Spots it hath contracted within The generality of men are not able to judge of Religions themselves but usually reckon of them as they do of their Professors Whatever is excellent or else unworthy in a Votary of Religion redounds to the credit or disparagement of the Religion he hath adopted So that were the charity and goodness of Christianity transcribed into the lives of Christians it would ravish the eyes of all Beholders and out-shine all other Professions Men would more easily be perswaded to believe that Religion to be from God whose Professors they saw to be so God-like Love and goodness prevail where nothing else will these win and captivate the Soul And such conquests are better and more noble than either those of Arts or Arms which only bring the body under 'T is but small credit to any Religion to cut its way by the Sword or gain upon the world by Power or Policy That which opens it self a passage by its native loveliness and beauty is the most Illustrious and makes the surest and most generous Conquests And were Christendom but Christian in this regard and the Professors of the true Religion truly Religious that is abounding in that charity and goodness which Christianity enjoyns our Religion would spread its wings through the World and all contrary Professions would lie in the dust before it Whereas the Divisions and fatal feuds of Paganized degenerated Christendom are now the great partition-Wall between Us and the Heathen-World yea they are more particularly the great scandal of the Reformation and make us the scorn of Those of Rome And O that They that speak and pray much against the Beast would not prove instrumental to uphold his Throne We expect and hope for glorious times when the Man of Sin is faln and doubtless there shall be such But then the glory of those times consists not in external rule or dominion of the Church but in the Universal Restauration of it to its primitive Simplicity and Purity Then will the Church be Glorious indeed when all Christians shall unite upon the Foundation of an Holy Life and the joynt Profession of the few plain Fundamentals of Faith When they shall make real Goodness the Object of their affections towards each other and all Differences in Opinions and dispensable Practices the Objects of their mutual Forbearance When such times as these shall come then doth the Reign of Christ begin And this is the true and wish't Millennium Now we cannot expect those glorious days which are to Commence upon the Fall of Anti-christ till we see all Christians sincerely set upon Destroying what is Anti-christian in themselves Anti-christ will not be overthrown by our declaiming against Him and spitting the fire of Rage at the Infallible Chair It will be to better purpose for us to examine what of Anti-christianism remains in our selves And while Rancour and Bitterness Rage and Animosities upon the Account of Difference in smaller Opinions are in our Borders Anti-christ hath a Throne among us and there is nothing could be so Effectual a Blow at the Root of Anti-christianism as the exercise of Charity and Catholick Goodness And when we see these take place then may we Triumphantly sing forth BABYLON IS FALN I Come now Fourthly to the Means of attaining this excellent and Catholick Temper And I propose them by way of DIRECTION CONSIDERATION and CAUTION The DIRECTIONS are these I. Acknowledge worth in any man Whatever is good is from God and He is to be lov'd and owned in all things as well in the Paint upon the Butter-flies wing as in the glorious uniform lustre of the Sun as well in the composure of the little Ant as in the vast Bodies of the Whale or Elephant In the least Herb under our feet as well as in the Stupendous Fabrick of the Heavens over us And moral Perfections are to be acknowledg'd as well as these natural ones We are to love Vertue in an Heathen and whatever is Well or Worthy in those whose Apprehensions are most distant from our own And we must take care that we make not our Relish the Measure of Worth and Goodness Say not this is excellent because 't is agreeable to your particular Palates and that on the other hand is Vile and Loathsom because 't is distastful to your Gust and Genius There are various kinds and degrees of Excellency which differently affect the diversity of Tempers and Constitutions And at the best we are Imperfectly good and therefore cannot be the Measure of it Let us then be so Ingenuous as to own the vertue and the goodness that is in all parties and Opinions Let us commend and love it This will be a means to sweeten our Spirits and to remove the Animosities we are apt to conceive against the Persons of Dissenters and 't will ingage them on the other hand to a greater kindness for us and so Lessen our Distance and Disagreements There is a kind of Spirit among some which is so
Charity is to the Infirmities of their Understandings but for the fondness and bitter Zeal the pride and narrowness the malice scorn and separation that useth to go with the opinions of Sects these I confess are very odious and detestable and 't is very hard not to be warmed to Indignation by them These are Vices and Immoralities and a True Catholick that loves God and his Neighbour heartily may and ought to manifest his resentments against them in order to the discountenancing and curing such hateful and deadly evils Thus of my Considerations I Propose the CAUTIONS under the following Heads I. Beware of inordinate Admiration and Love of any Sect When we passionately Admire a Party we are apt to Despise them that differ from it and to confine the Church to those of that particular way Hence it is that fond Opinators invest their beloved Congregation with all the glorious Priviledges and Titles making Angels of their own men whenas for others they lookdown upon them as heretical or carnal as formal people or meerly moral who are strangers to Gods Grace and Covenant and ignorant of the mysteries of Faith and Religion and therefore they will not defile themselves with their Conversation nor come into their Assemblies They look upon the rest of Christians with an eye of pride and scorn and affectedly thank God that they are not like these Publicans these men of the world They hug themselves in the dear opinion of their own Light and conclude all others to be in Darkness They heap up Teachers to themselves 2 Tim. 4. 3. and doat upon their own Apostles I am for Paul or I am for Apollos or I am for Cephas This is a pretious man or that is a Gospel-Preacher such a one is very Powerful and such a one is very Sweet and Spiritual and O how Beautiful are the Feet of those Messengers of good tydings to them while they assure them by the Marks of their Sect that they are Gods Peculiar and Chosen People Which Fondness were not so Mischievous if at the same time all others were not counted Reprobates and Cast-aways But this follows and many other fatal evils endless Enmities are begun and Charity is destroyed and the foundation is laid for Cruelty and Persecution and Gods goodness which is to his whole Church is wronged by being narrowed and Christs Blood is undervalued and the greatest part of his Purchase is by these men given to the Devil and Christianity is undermined and the Peace of Mankind is overthrown All this we have sadly seen and I have said nothing here out of any Animosity or Bitterness nor have I any design to render any good man or number of men Odious or Contemptible but to represent the Vanity and the Mischief of this fond spirit of admiring Parties which hath been very fatal to Charity and to the whole body of Religion And we shall understand more of the evil of it if we consider St. Jude's description of the Sectaries of his time who looked upon themselves as the only illuminated people and despised all other Christians These the Apostle describes 1. by the groundlesness and vanity of their conceits They were Dreamers ver 8. 2. by their insolence against Government They Despised Dominion and spake Evil of Dignities in the same Verse 3. by their ignorant malice ver 10. They spoke evil of things they knew not 4. by their Cruelty and Unmercifulness to their Brethren They have gone in the way of Cain 5. by their Murmuring and Projecting against their Rulers ver 11. And perished in the gain saying of Core 6. By the speciousness of their shews and appearances They were Clouds ver 12. 7. By their emptiness and want of real vertue notwithstanding their pretences They were Clouds without water 8. By their unconstancy and unsetledness They were carried about of winds 9. By their violence and fury ver 13. Raging waves of the Sea 10. By their eminency and pretended Light They were Stars 11. By the irregularity of their motions and their running up and down they were Wandring Stars 12. By their discontentedness They were Murmurers Complainers ver 16. 13. by their Stubbornness in the way of their own wills Walking after their own Lusts 14. By their Proud expressions concerning themselves and their Party by their Canting and Mysteriousness of their Phrases Their Mouth speaketh great swelling Words 15. By their fond Admiration of their own People Having mens Persons in Admiration 16. By their Proud Scorn they are called Mockers ver 18. 17. By their Separation ver 19. These be they who Separate themselves 18. By their real Sensuality and self-pleasing under great Boasts and pretensions to the Spirit sensual having not the Spirit This is the Apostles description of the first Separatists the Gnosticks who admired themselves and withdrew from the Communion of other Christians under pretence of greater Holiness And I could wish they had had no Successors among us and they will have the fewer if we learn to avoid the undue Admiration of any particular Sect. My next Caution is II. That you avoid eager and passionate Disputes in these Charity is always lost and Truth seldom or never found When the Passion is raised the Judgement is gone and there is no seeing to the bottom in disturbed and muddied waters 'T is the calm and quiet considerer that finds Truth while the hot and confident disputer loseth both himself and it when his passion is once kindled he cannot speak any thing pertinently himself nor understand what is spoken to purpose by another and so can neither convince nor be convinced If thou differ with thy brother then do not ruffle with him in vehement disputes but remember the Apologue The Sun and Wind contended for the Travellers Cloak the Wind bluster'd about him and endeavoured to prevail by violence but with this bad success that the man held his Garment the faster for it At length the Sun shines forth with a calm and insinuating beam which warmed him gently and caus'd him at last to throw his Cloak from him If thou art desirous to prevail with thy friend to lay down his Opinion assault him not by the fierceness of disputes For such attempts will but raise his passion and that will make him stick the closer to his Errour but shine upon him with a calm light insinuate thy better principle by modest and gentle suggestions He that hath wedded any falshood hath many prejudices against the contrary Truth and these are not to be torn off all at once but softly and by degrees to be unwound This is the likeliest way to prevail upon Dissenters or if at any time it fails of its success there is however no hurt done Charity and Peace are preserved which are much better than most Opinions for which we contend Whereas by Disputes men are mutually provoked and tempted to pour forth many Idle and many bitter words the quiet and temper of their minds is disturbed and
the Father And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kings are from God says the Heathen And a greater than both acknowledgeth Pilate's power to be from above The Scripture intitles God to all the Royal adjuncts and both Christian and Heathen Antiquity agree in this with the sacred Oracles 1. The Kings person is said to be God's Great deliverance giveth He to HIS King 2 Sam. xxii 51. and He shall give strength unto HIS King 1 Sam. ii 10. Yea I have said ye are Gods saith the Text and consonantly Plato calls the King 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a kind of God among men And as the name of God is called upon his person so also is it 2. upon his Throne Then Solomon sate upon the Throne of the Lord as King instead of DAVID his Father 1 Chron. xxix 23. And saith the Queen of Sheba Blessed be the Lord thy God which delighteth in thee to set thee on HIS Throne 2 Chron. ix 8. To a like sense also is that of Nestor to Agamemnon in Homer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jove lent thee thy Scepter and Jurisdiction 3. The Kings Titles also relate him to God viz. those of Gods Anointed and his Servant The former given even to Saul 1 Sam. xii 3. and Cyrus Isa xlv 1. and the later to Nebuchadnezzar Jer. xxv 9. The same also Athanasius gives to Constantius the great Favourer of the Arrians 4. The Kings power likewise is from God There is no power but of God and the powers that are are ordained of God saith the Apostle And the Pythagorean 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God hath given him Dominion Upon which account also Themistius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God sent Regal Power from Heaven And that a Kingdom is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Divine Good is the assertion of Plato and the confession of Cyrus All the Kingdoms of the Earth hath the Lord of Heaven given me 2 Chron. xxxvi Yea and Tiberius acknowledgeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our Kingdom is from God And Daniel minds Nebuchadnezzar The God of Heaven hath given thee a Kingdom Power and Strength and Glory Dan. ii 27. And Athanasius in his Prayer for Constantius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou hast given this Kingdom to Constantius thy servant These I think are testimonies enough to prove that Kings wear Gods Image and Authority And therefore Menander calls the King 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God's living Image and the Pythagorean 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The King is the Figure of God among Men. But besides all this there is evidence enough in the nature of the thing to prove that Kings have their Power and Authority from God and are no Substitutes of the People which I thus inferr God made the World and consequently the World is his and his alone is the Right to Govern it But he being of such immense perfections that our Frailty cannot bear his immediate converses 't is necessary that he rule us by men like our selves and put the Sword into the hands of Creatures of our own make This he doth and hence it follows that they that Rule are Gods Substitutes and no Creatures of the People For the People have no power to Govern themselves and consequently cannot devolve any upon another Upon the whole I conclude that the same Commands and Authority that oblige us to obey God bind us to revere those that so signally wear his Image and he that disobeys the Vice-Roy affronts the Soveraign He that resists resists the Ordinance of God saith the Apostle and who can lift up himself against the Lords Anointed and be guiltless saith David in the case of Saul And thus I have dispatched the first viz. Resistance affronts the authority of God with which Kings are invested as I think I have made evident from testimony and the nature of the thing Secondly RESISTANCE is opposite to the Spirit of RELIGION Religion is of a calm and pacifick temper like that of its Author whose voice was not heard in the street It subdues our passions and governs our appetites it destroys our pride and sordid selfishness it allays the tempests and speaks down the storms of our natures it sweetens our Humours and polisheth the roughness of our tempers it makes men gentle and peaceable meek and compliant This was the Spirit of the great exemplar of our Religion this was the genius of his Doctrine and his Practice He commands the payment of all Duties to Caesar He acknowledgeth Pilates Power to be from above He commands his Disciples to pray for their Persecutors He permits them to flie not to oppose He rebukes Peters violence to the High Priests servant and the revenge of the Disciples when they called for Fire from Heaven He paid Tribute submitted to the Laws of the Sanhedrim and to that unjust sentence against his life This was his temper and the Apostles who lived among his enemies and theirs and met with severity enough to have sowred their Spirits and exasperated their Pens to contrary resolutions and instructions Yet as true Followers of their dear Lord they faithfully transmit to us what they had learnt from him viz. That we should obey those that have the rule over us submit to every ordinance of man pray for Kings and all in authority submit to Principalities and Powers and to obey Magistrates And those Noble Spirits of the first Ages after who began to be Martyrs as soon as to be Christians who lived in the Fire and went to Heaven wrapt in those Flames that had less ardor than their love These I say amidst the greatest and fiercest Fires that Cruelty and Barbarism had kindled paid the Tribute of a peaceable and quiet subjection to their Murderers and made unforced acknowledgements of the right they had to their obedience Nor do we ever read of any attempts they made to free themselves by resistance though as Tertullian saith they were in powerful numbers mingled in their Villages and in their Cities yea in their Castles and in their Armies Yea there is an illustrious instance of passive obedience in the Thebaean Legion whose tenth man being executed for not offering Sacrifice to Idols they quietly submitted to the cruelty And a second Decimation being commanded by Maximiniam the Author of the first one of their great Commanders an excellent Christian perswades them to suffer it with the same patience because it was not with their Swords they could make their way to the Kingdom of Heaven but by another kind of Warfare And now if after all this and infinitely more that might be said on this subject for men to pretend Religion and plead Scripture for Rebellion is impudent and shameless an affront to Religion and a Lie in the face of Conscience And those that cannot discern those great lines of their Duty which are set upon the High places and shone upon with a full beam and yet can find sin in little harmless circumstances which nothing hath forbidden but
the coyness and perverseness of their own fancies are like him that could see the Stars at noon but could not see the Sun and could spy the shadows made by the Mountains in the Moon but could not discern the greater spots upon its visible surface And for men to strain at the decency of an Habit or the usage of a Ceremony when they can swallow Rebellion and Sacriledge without chewing is to be like him who durst not eat an Egg on Saturday but made nothing to kill a Man Doubtless had the Scripture said by a thousandth part so much for the Jus Divinum of Presbytery as it hath for obedience to Authority had there been one plain word against Conformity as there are many against Rebellion that would have been worn bare upon the tongue and the World would have rung with it But the Injunctions and Commands of Obedience are against our humours and opinions against the darlings of our fancies and the interest of our Party and therefore here we must shuffle and evade cogg and interpret by Analogies of our own making by the Rules of our Sect and the Authority we worship by Necessity and Providence and any thing that will colour Sin and cozen Conscience that will turn Religion into the Current of our appetites and make Scripture speak the language of our humours and our interests Thus Religion and divine Authority shall be reverenced and pleaded when they agree with mens fancies and send light or advantage to the Favourites of their affections But when they cross their Models oppose the people of their imaginations and call them to duties that are displeasant the case is altered the great motives of perswasion have lost their power and influence and Religion can do nothing with them Thus briefly of the two first Heads viz. Resistance 1. affronts the Authority of God and 2. is opposite to the Spirit of Religion From which I come to the third which makes resistance both a great sin and a great punishment viz. 3. It is ruinous to the INTEREST of SOCIETIES This I must more largely prosecute because it will lead us into the sad occasion of our present meeting Man is a Creature made for Society and what is against the interest of Societies is destructive to Humane Nature And if the greatness of a sin and a mischief be to be measured by its reference to the Publick for ought I know Rebellion will be the next sin to that which is unpardonable in the degree of guilt as well as it is near it in the penalty threatned Now there are two great interests of Societies viz. GOVERNMENT and RELIGION to both which Resistance is fatal both in the doctrine and practice of it To begin with Government in order 1. Resistance is destructive to Government For if Subjects may resist the Powers over them no Government in the World can stand longer than till the next opportunity to overthrow it Every man will resist what he doth not like and endeavour to pluck down what comports not with his humour Thus every fit of discontent will stir up the various and inconstant People to seek an alteration And there was never any Government so exactly framed in the World but in the menage and administration of it many things would displease Now the generality of men are led by their present senses and if they feel themselves pained by any thing though the Grief be but in their Imagination they are for present deliverance from that Evil by any means never considering whether the way of Cure draws not greater Evils after it than the distemper and so upon every discontent the people are inflamed and upon every occasion rebel And thus is a Kingdom laid open to inevitable devastation and ruine and by a dear experience we have learnt that 't is better to endure any inconveniences in a setled Government than to endeavour violent alterations When the Sword is drawn no man knows where and when it will be sheathed When the Stone is out of a mans hand he cannot direct it as he pleaseth Men with Swords by their sides will do what likes themselves and not what is enjoyned by those that imploy them Or could we suppose what our own unhappy experience hath confuted that Armies would be obedient yet the Murders and Rapes the Spoils and devastations which are the natural issues of a Civil War are worse than any inconveniencies in any Government possible And though as my Lord Bacon notes Foreign War is like the heat of exercise good and healthful for the Body yet Civil War is like the heat of a Fever ruinous and destructive Besides those that resist either overcome the supream Power or are conquered by it If the former their Instruments in all likelihood conquer them as well as those they served them against and so from the just authority of their lawful Rulers they fall under the insolence of their licentious Vassals Or suppose they get the Government to themselves all the evils will follow which usually do upon Competitions and variety of Claims which will breed everlasting disturbance and eternal fears Such evils will follow if the resisters prevail and if they chance to be supprest and overcome by the Powers they oppose they can expect nothing less than to be crusht and ruined So that those that resist whether they conquer or are overcome draw inevitable ruine upon themselves and probably on the common Body For Laws and Government are the great Charter of our Lives and Libenties our Properties and our All and as the Father 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Murders rapes violence and all kind of mischief invade the World with Anarchy and Disorder And how far all this hath been verified in our Land a little recollection will inform us For WHEN fair Weather and a warm Sun the indulgence of Heaven and a long tranquillity had made us fat and frolick rich and full our prosperity made us wanton and our riches insolent We began to murmur we knew not why and to complain because we had nothing to complain of Discontents grew upon the stock of our ill Nature and the perverseness of our humours and every little occasion was Fuel to the Fire that was kindling in the distempered Body We began to invade the Government with malicious whispers and private Preachments with Libels and Declamations with Insolencies and Tumults And when Sedition had incouraged it self by Noise and Numbers by Popular zeal and loud talk of Reformation it flew into the highest irreverences towards the King and the most violent proceedings against his Ministers that the nearest Trees being removed they might have a full stroke at the Cedar Nor did things stop here The Sparks grew into mighty Flames and those Vapours into Thunder and Tempests The whispers of the Corner past into the noise of a Camp and the murmurs of the Street into the sound of the Trumpet The Cloud like an hand became a Magazine of Storms and our New
the Purity and Spirituality of Worship it never left canting on the Subject till mens Tongues and Minds were fired against every matter of decency and order as formal and Antichristian And so far had it prevailed as to drive those of warm affections and weak heads from all external Reverence to God and Holy things And the well meaning people being frighted with the terrible noise of Popery Superstition and Antichristianism words they had learnt to hate though not to understand boggled and flew off from every thing their furious Guides had marked with these abhorred Characters though it were never so innocent and becoming And thus a rude and slovenly Religion had made its way into the World and such a sordid carelessness in matters of divine Worship that should a Stranger have come into the Assemblies that were acted by this Spirit he would not have imagined what they had been doing and that they were about Holy Offices would perhaps have been one of the last things in his Conjecture Thus bold and sawcy talk had crept into mens Prayers under pretence of Holy Familiarity with God nauseous impertinent Gibberish under the notion of Praying by the Spirit and all kind of irreverences in external demeanour under the shelter of a pretended spiritual Worship Men had subtilized Religion till they had destroyed it made it first invisible and then Nothing AND now it being thus multiplied corrupted and debaucht being made the Game of the Tongue and the Frolick of Imagination phantastick in its principles sordid in its practices separated from the foundation of a vertuous life and made to serve the ends of Pride and Avarice what was like to follow according to the nature and order of things but Atheism and contempt of all Religion And when one says here 's Religion and another says there 's Religion a third will scornfully ask where 's Religion and what 's Religion When the Heathen Deities were so multiplied that every thing was made a God Protagoras Diagoras and others first began to question and next to affirm that there was NONE Religions have been multiplied in our days as much as Gods in theirs and we have seen much of the same fatal event and issue They made their Gods contemptible and vile by deifying things that were so and we had no less detracted from the credit of Religion by bringing it down to things of the lowest and vilest rank and nature Our Idolized Opinions were no better than their Garlick and Onyons The diseases of the Mind Phrensie and Enthusiasm which our days have worshipped were no better than those of the Body which they adored And they never raised Altars to worse Vices than REBELLION FRAUD and VIOLENCE which our Age hath hallowed and made sacred So that notwithstanding all the glorious pretensions of those Times Religion was among many taken off all its Foundations and the World prepared for Atheism The Follies and Divisions of one Age make way for Atheism in the next Thus also briefly of the Condition of our RELIGION AND thus I have shewn how much RESISTANCE of the Authority that is over us is against our DUTY and our INTEREST The former God hath plainly told us and the latter we have sadly felt It remains that we humble our selves under the sense of the publick guilt as well as complain of the consequent miseries That we may not draw down new judgements by repeating old provocations and adding our particular sins to the common score And I think we shall do well to consider what we who abhor Rebellion have contributed to the fatal evils that followed it We can perhaps be well enough content that the visible actors of those mischiefs should be lasht and exposed and it may be are well pleased and tickled with our reprehensions in which we think our selves not concerned But if we will be just if we will have this Fast to signifie we must turn our reproofs upon our selves also and with grief and shame acknowledge that our sins and Debauches our contempt of God and scorn of Religion have helpt towards the plucking down that sad judgement upon the Nation which we lament this Day And it must be confest that there were those that fought against the KING who yet spent their blood in his service and many by their vices endeavoured to engage Heaven against that Cause which themselves strove in another way to less purpose to promote And therefore we ought not to think that this Fast is appointed to inveigh against the faults of others and to make them and their actions odious but to humble our selves under the apprehension of our own and to teach us to shew our love to the King and readiness to obey him by subjecting our selves first unto God whose Vice-gerent HE is And we may be assured that they that are not Loyal to the UNIVERSAL LORD of all the World can scarce possibly be so to their particular SOVEREIGN And 't will need a great deal of Charity to help us to believe that those who make no scruple to blaspheme the Name of God and to break the plainest most earnest and most express of his Laws will be withheld by considerations of Duty or Conscience from rebelling against their King or affronting His when there is any powerful interest to oblige them to it If therefore we would give any evidence of a serious humiliation at present or any security of a future loyalty let us do so by confessing our particular sins and forsaking them and then there will be hope that the Authority of God may oblige us quietly and peaceably to submit to his MINISTER and in doing so we shall be blest with his influence and deserve his protection And thus demeaning our selves like Professors of the Gospel of Peace and Subjects of the Prince of Peace the Peace He left with his Disciples will be with us here and everlasting Peace will encircle our heads with rays of glory in the Kingdom of Peace And so the Peace of God which passeth all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus To whom with God the Father and God the Holy Ghost be ascribed all Glory Honour and adoration henceforth and for ever Amen and Amen SERMON IV. THE SIN and DANGER OF SCOFFING AT RELIGION The Second Edition SERMON IV. AGAINST SCOFFING AT RELIGION 2 PET. III. 3. There shall come in the last days Scoffers walking after their own Lusts IT is a question that hath much exercised the wits of the Curious whether there be any decay in nature or whether all things are not still as they were from the beginning in all their kinds and in all the degrees of their vigour and perfection I shall not undertake to determine ought in this Theory Be the matter how it will as to the natural world we have cause to believe that there are degeneracies in the moral This our Saviour supposeth in the Question Luke 18. 8. When the Son of man cometh shall he find
reverence of the most High which is a direct contempt of his perfections Now scorn is one of the greatest indignities especially it is sore and provoking when one is contemn'd by his inferiours and more when they are his dependants that have their bread from his Bounty such is the case here in all possible degrees of aggravation vilest worms and lowest dust scoff at the highest Majesty and fullest perfection The universal King our Soveraign before whom Angels bow and Devils tremble is derided by the slaves of his Kingdom and Creation The general Father and Benefactor flouted by those that have their Being and all their comforts from his goodness and cannot live or move or breathe without him Acts 17. 28. Instead of lowest reverence gratitude and prostrations they lift up their heads in proud scorn and defiance of him and as the Royal Psalmist speaks of them Psal 73. 18. They set their mouth against the Heavens 2. This is a sin that is a step beyond Atheism it self 'T is greater impiety to say God is a careless or a contemptible Being than to say He is not As the Moralist tells us He would rather it should be affirm'd that there was no such man as Plutarch than that it should be believ'd that there was such a man but that he was a vile and worthless person Now to deride Religion while we allow there is a God is to say by immediate consequence either that he is a careless and idle Greatness that heeds not his Creatures and so worship is an impertinence or that he is so bad or so mean a Being that he deserves not to be worshipp'd that is that we owe him no acknowledgement of his Being or his Bounty and which is more that 't is ridiculous to pay him any To deny the existence of God is gross and unreasonable but to acknowledge that and to scoff at the expressions of love and veneration of him is down-right madness So that if the scoffer be not an Atheist he is the more inexcusable in his scoffing and if possible he is worse 3. The humour of deriding Religion is monstrousness in the soul All sin is deformity but this is Horrid For a man to have his parts and members misplaced His legs suppose on his shoulders his eyes in his neck and his arms growing out of his belly is frightful but there 's a misplacing in the soul that is more ugly Man hath such powers given him as scorn and derision and while they are exercised against sin and folly there is nothing amiss in them But when they are misplaced upon holiness and wisdom upon the greatest and the purest upon the most visible and most universally acknowledg'd perfections they are then an excess of deformity in the soul and such scorners are greater monsters than the man that hath horns and hoofs 4. It is a wickedness beyond the degeneracy of Devils We read that They fought against the Angels the Ministers of God Rev. 12. 7. but never that they derided them for their Ministeries They oppose Gods ends and interests in the world but we find them not scoffing at Him No they believe and tremble Jam. 2. 19. This Fear is not a vertue indeed in those Apostate spirits and yet it proceeds from a sense and apprehension of divine power and vengeance But the impious Scoffers at Religion have out-grown that and are more bold than all the Legions of darkness They have so little dread of the wrath of God that by their scoffs they endeavour to provoke and as it were to dare him to pour his displeasure on them As if they had a mind to challenge the field with Him and to try the reality and force of his power and terrours Thus briefly of the malignity and aggravations of the sin of Scoffing at Religion There will be an occasion of saying more of it in the sequel I therefore descend now III. To an account of some Effects and Consequences of it and shall confine my self here also within the bounds of that which is mention'd as the character of these Scoffers in the Text Walking after their own Lusts We have seen that mens lusts are the ground and occasion of their scoffing and I add that this again is a cause of the greater heights and boldness of their Lusts like Water and Ice they produce one another Mens lusts put them upon scoffing at that which should restrain them and this through the judgement of God and the nature of the thing brings them at last to walk after their lusts in such obsequiousness and intireness that they follow them 1. Without any check or restraint upon their Lusts 2. Without power to forsake or disobey them 3. Without or with very little hope of remedy or deliverance from the dominion and sad consequences of them These are all dreadful things and such as frequently if not mostly follow upon the impious humour of scoffing at Relgion As to the first The Scoffers walk after their own lusts 1. Without restraint or check from the Spirit of God This strives long with sinners but it will not always strive with them that strive against it Gen. 6. 3. When men move with their Lusts as those that are joyn'd to them the holy Spirit will let them alone Hos 4. 17. And this impiety in the very nature of it is of all sins most likely to provoke Him to a dereliction of the sinner Since it is the greatest most direct and most intolerable affront of the most High and if any thing be a fighting against the Holy Spirit a vexing yea a blaspheming of Him This is Moreover such a sinner becomes a subject incapable of His communications Nothing that is sacrâ—d or serious makes any impression upon such whiffling spirits 't were as good attempt writing on the water or painting with a Pencil on the air as to think of fastening any sober sense upon the scoffer And when it is come to this that the sinner hath made himself incapable of any benefit from the influences of the Spirit He withdraws his solicitations from that miserable person He will not plough upon a rock nor sow upon the sands So that the man hath the advantage now of not being disturb'd in his pursuits by the grand Enemy of his lusts but is suffer'd to run upon the wrath of God and everlasting torments without controul from Him 2. The scoffer gets this priviledge also to walk after his own Lusts without check from his Conscience This is an Inward Judge that summons censures and condemns and while there is such a Court and such transactions in the sinners breast he cannot walk after his lusts in quiet But the scoffer takes a course with Conscience 1. He debauches it And 2. He makes it stupid As to the First it may be consider'd That when He enters upon the trade of deriding Religion he doth not believe it to be really so contemptible and ridiculous only he follows a fashion and
Grace and Hope And this very often is the condition of the Scoffer who hath debauch'd and jested away all feeling of these Interests Yea 2. there is great cause to think that he commits the Sin against the Holy Ghost or a sin that is very near it For that consists in the Disbelief and contempt of the great and last Testimony that was given by the Spirit to the truth of Christianity And that I may not seem to speak this without ground let us look into the place where the first and fullest account of this sin is We have it Matth. 12. Our Saviour had cur'd one that was possest ver 22. The people marvell'd and were inclin'd to believe upon it ver 23. But the Pharisees revil'd saying that he cast out Devils by Belzebub ver 24. Christ shews the absurdity and falshood of their suggestion arguing that then Satan would be divided against himself and his Kingdom so divided could not stand ver 25 26. And having reason'd against that malicious account of his Miracle he infers from the contrary and true way of his performing it ver 28. If I by the Spirit of God cast out Devils then is the Kingdom of God come unto you viz. then I that have done this am the Messias And he concludes by a serious application to them to shew the sad consequence of such bold and impious suggestions 31. Wherefore I say unto you All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men Where by Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost must be understood according to the context That of imputing the operation of the Spirit in Miracles to the Devil which is therefore so hainous because it is an expression of the greatest contempt of it and a bar against the being perswaded by it Now to apply this Though the Scoffer doth not impute the Spirits Testimony in Miracles to the Devil yet that is not because he hath a greater esteem of the operations of the Spirit but because he hath less belief of the existence of Devils Yea he will not allow so much as the Pharisees did That any such things were done but supposeth all to have been Impostures and delusions in the Author or cunningly devised Fables in the Relators which is a contempt put upon the operations of the Holy Spirit equal to that of ascribing them to the Devil and doth as effectually and incurably strike up the Grounds of Faith as that So that in substance the sin of the Scoffers is the same with that described in the Text though differing in circumstance and form Yea 't is the sin with aggravation since they do not barely speak against the Holy Ghost and his operations but deride them an expression of the greatest contempt possible And when men are come thus far to despise the great Testimony of the Spirit and ground of Faith after it hath been sufficiently propounded to them and entertain'd by them in favour of their Lusts we have cause to think their Infidelity is incurable and consequently unpardonable For so the Apostle hath declar'd plainly Heb. 6. 4 5 6. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly Gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost viz. in Baptism and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the World to come all which are expressions of the visibly owning Christianity and partaking in the duties and priviledges of it if they shall fall away to renew them again to repentance And they that are arriv'd at the impudent height of deriding all this are faln away with a witness and therefore I think we may conclude safely from the Doctrine of the Apostle that they are incurable and unpardonable and from this and the discourse before that 't is sadly probable they have committed the sin against the Holy Ghost This 't is like may seem very severe Doctrine but I cannot help that if it be true I am not to be blam'd for the severity of it And I 'me sure the Book of Homilies declares more positively in the case than I have done For speaking in the Tenth Homily of the Scorners of Godliness and Religion who are there describ'd the Author saith of them I think I may without danger of Gods judgement pronounce that never any yet were converted unto God by Repentance but continued still in their abominable wickedness heaping up to themselves Damnation against the day of Gods inevitable Judgement I Come now IV. to the APPLICATION which shall be 1. Earnestly to Dehort all that have the least sense of vertue or reason from Scoffing at Religion or at men for making profession of it And then 2. I shall conclude with some very brief Directions and Rules of caution to secure us from the danger of this Sin Concerning the first I consider that the Scoffers with whom I am further to treat are of two sorts 1. The desperate who have debauch'd themselves into down-right Infidelity And 2. the Fashionable ones as I crave leave for distinction to call them who do not Scoff at Religion out of enmity or malice but out of modishness and compliance and it may be out of design to be accounted Wits for so doing I shall deal First with the former sort and in treating with them shall use none of the acknowledgments of Religion but from plain unassisted reason shall shew the extreme vanity and madness of their practice And I would entreat them to think of the following things 2. Be Religion True as we know or false as they vainly imagine their Scoffing at it is exceedingly absurd Every Faculty is to be applyed to its proper object to employ and of them about others that belong not to them is foolish and unnatural Now God hath bestowed upon us Reason and understanding to judge and discourse about things that are serious and the Faculty of laughter and derision to be exercised upon things that are vain to employ the former and discourse gravely about ludicrous trifling matters is ridiculous And 't is equally absurd to be sportive about affairs that are serious Now whether Religion be true or not 't is a serious thing If true the greatest Interests of this world and another are included and concerned in it Or if it be otherwise it must yet be granted that it hath much agreeableness with the Reasons and most serious Faculties of Mankind and our greatest and most important concerns in this Life viz. the main affairs of the Government of the World are bound up with it and have relation to it So that whether true or false it is no matter of sport but subject for our most serious considerations and discourses And from this last hint about Government I mind the Scoffer 2. That his practice tends to the dissolution of humane Society and the turning of mankind into the condition of wild nature And if it should
our present safety ours our Kings our Government our Religion our posterity require from us for if we continue to do wickedly we may expect to be destroyed both we and our King This all the considerations of the next state demand loudly call for all manner of Reasons from both the worlds urge and enforce this Let us not be still stupid and deaf to such calls but hear and fear and do no more so wickedly Let us put a stop to the course of our sins and then we may expect that a stop will be put to our Troubles and the Judgements threatned and feared will be turned from us The Summ of all is to urge us to be as wise in our Generation as those poor Heathens were in theirs who Believed Fasted Prayed Reformed and we may consider further 3. The Universality of these From the greatest of them to the least of them They were all affected they all did something and so much as was accepted This is a wonderful Instance of Conversion somewhat like it is that of St. Peters 3000 in one Sermon The King humbled himself and the people Fasted and put on Sack-cloth The Greatest is not too great to humble himself before the God of Heaven nor the least too little to be consider'd by him all Flesh had corrupted it self all were become abominable in their doings and therefore all were concern'd to be greatly affected and deeply humbled from the greatest to the least From the Greatest There the Humiliation begun The King descended from his Throne and put on Sack-cloth laid by his Majesty and Glory debased himself in the dust and put on vile array significations of Sorrow and Repentance from the great 't is like their enormous sins begun thence they had their examples thence their encouragement The great draw their Trains after them Natural Pride and Ambition make all desirous to imitate them their Example is largely diffusive and infectious and makes sins fashionable their sins quickly over-spread and debauch a Nation and therefore 't was fit that Repentance should begin here where probably many of their sins did that the great should cure by their good example those they had hurt by their bad and theirs being against more Mercy and more Expectation are the greatest and most aggravating and therefore there was Reason and need that they should be most penitent and first so and accordingly here it Commenc'd Reformation is like to be general and effectual when the Great begin it in themselves it doth not stop there but passeth through the middle degrees to the least of men the meanest and least considerable those also add to the common heap of provocations and those have therefore reason to be humbled also and when Gods hand is lifted up and his Judgements are near he requires and expects that all and every one from him that sits on the Throne to him that grinds in the Mill should repent and turn to him the sins of the meanest contribute to the publick guilt and their Repentance helps forward to publick deliverance Let us duly consider this circumstance of the Repentance of the men of Nineveh and O that God in his Mercy to us and them would open the eyes of the Great among us to see this their duty and the things that belong to their Peace before they are hidden from their Eyes as their Guilt is often greatest so the publick consequent Judgements many times fall heaviest upon them Two late dreadful Judgements we have been under Fire and Pestilence These fell chiefly upon the middle and meaner sort The Judgements we have now reason to fear threaten all but chiefly the Great In the Name of God let us all pray that a deep Spirit of Humiliation may be upon them that they may reflect on the greatest of their sins in their Nature and the Mischief they have done by their Influence that they may strive to go before all the rest in Repentance and shew the Inferiour souls the way to Safety and Happiness that they may lay aside all Vanity Luxury and Intemperance Rioting and Drunkenness Chambering and Wantonness the Dalilahs the dearest sins those of Pride and Pleasure the sins by which the Nation hath been made drunk poysoned debauched and depraved that they may mourn for these great crying Iniquities and in the strength of Divine grace resolve to turn from them This would be the happiest sight that ever England saw and the most hopeful Oh that our eyes were blest with it And Let not us of the middle and inferiour sort content our selves to desire their Reformation and amendment but resolve also on our own 'T is generally very grateful to us to hear the faults of the Great ript up of our Governours especially It will concern us more to affect our hearts duly with those we are guilty of our selves And in this we the Ministers of Religion the Guides of the people at least who ought to be so should lead the way our unworthiness also hath been great and our provocations have been many we have not returned unto the Lord according to his Benefits or made a right use of his Mercies we have not been so strict in our Lives or so diligent in our great and most weighty Imployment so much concern'd for the good of the Church or Interests of mens Souls as we ought to have been many have been Loyterers some Rioters scarce any have imploy'd proportionable Zeal and circumspect diligence Our faults are published and aggravated to the height I hope beyond it by our Enemies of all sorts and we may expect still a greater load of Criminations and Reproaches Let us consider that this evil is from the Lord for our sins He said to the Lying Spirits Go and David reflected that he might have bid Shimei curse him Let us look at his hand and humble our selves before him and not spend our Breath in Invectives against the Instruments of our Troubles and Fears but apply the proper Remedy to the Root of our Distemper which we know is to bring forth Fruit meet for Repentance And let not the people spend their all their Heat and Zeal against the sins of their Governours and their Misdeeds in these they are apt to exceed and run beyond bounds and multiply their own sins in so doing But let them lay their hands on their hearts and say We have all sinned and done wickedly we have been all as sheep going astray but we will return to the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls Let them make themselves deeply sensible not only of the gross carnal Evils but of the Spiritual Iniquities malice bitter zeal contempt of Rulers and betters Schism Separation waywardness and the like and not excuse and extenuate their sins charge others and lessen their own by Pharisaical comparisons but let all sorts and degrees of men charge themselves with their own guilt and deeply abase themselves before the Almighty in the sense of it and when it is thus
that greatest of our Saviours Resurrection from the Dead by which he is declared the Son of God with power all his Doctrines and all his Actions and the whole Scope of his designs do infinitely confirm it unto us And yet we doubt and dispute and cavil when we should Repent This also greatly heightens our sins and will our condemnation if we do not seasonably speedily take another course 5. The Ninevites repented upon the Preaching of a Temporal Judgement forty days and Nineveh shall be destroyed It was the destruction of their City no express mention of the Ruine of their persons and posterities much less of the damnation of their Souls and yet upon this lesser Threatning they Repented But now besides the many Temporal evils our sins threaten us with we have denounc'd against us the loss of our Souls to eternal ages The wicked shall be turned into Hell and all the Nations that forget God Ps 9. 17. And terrible is that Sentence pass'd on the impenitent Mat. 25. 41. Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Every word speaks terrour depart and Depart cursed into Fire into everlasting Fire and Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels in their company and under their condemnation and Torment Such threatnings one would think should effectually restrain men from their sins and bring them to Repentance and woe to us if those or Gods other Methods do not effect it 6. The people of Nineveh Repented upon uncertainty of Success They were not sure that their Repentance would be accepted yea they had great reason to fear it would not for the threatning in the Form seem'd to be absolute But they knew that there was certain Ruine in the way in which they were going and some probability possibility at least that the Divine goodness might interpose for them upon their Repentance and they acted wisely and took the safer course they Repented and Repented upon the faint Encouragement of a peradventure who knows but the Lord may repent and turn v. 9. But now God hath pleased to give us the fullest the greatest assurance of Pardon and Favour upon Repentance for this we have his repeated word and his Oath and the Blood of his Son and the Testimony of his Spirit This is the Covenant he hath made with us and his Son came into the world to give us the assurance and his Spirit hath always confirmed it that by these immutable things by which it is impossible for God to lye we might have strong confidence that our Repentance will be accepted and rewarded And 't will be a very great Instance and aggravation of our hardness if notwithstanding we go on impenitently in our accustomed sins 7. The men of Nineveh Repented and they did it speedily When the Prophet began to enter into the City a days journey it follows immediately So the people of Nineveh believed God They did not stand to consult and deliberate about the business they did not say to Jonah as Foelix did to St. Paul We will hear thee some other time of this matter no They heard and Repented presently But we are apt to procrastinate and delay and put the work off from one day to another from youth to manhood from thence to old age from the time of Health to Sickness from thence to a Death-bed and still cry to morrow and hereafter But if we think to do it at all let us take the next time Delays here are most dangerous and the work will still grow the more difficult We are call'd by present Providences to instant Repentance if we delay yet longer it may be too late immediate Reformation is expected and required from us or immediate Judgements are to befal us And The same Encouragement have we for the work of speedy Repentance as these Ninevites had for this is most certain that if we Repent of the Evil we have done God will also Repent of the Evil he hath said Both which gracious Acts of Penance on our part and Pardon on Gods that they may be done God of his infinite Mercy grant through the Merits and Mediation of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord To whom with the Holy Ghost be ascribed by Angels and men by all things in Heaven and Earth as is most due all possible Praise and Power Might and Majesty Dominion and Adoration to Eternal Ages Amen SERMON X. The Various METHODS OF Satan's Policy DETECTED SERMON X. 2 COR. II. 11. For we are not ignorant of his Devices THe great and known Enemy of Mankind at tempts our ruine by a double method that of confest opposition and flattering insinuation and what he cannot compass by main strength he endeavours by Stratagem and by Artifice In which latter he hath always been most unhappily successful prevailing more by Policies than by Power Satan is most dangerous in the livery of Religion and the appearing Angel of light hath done more execution than the known Prince of Darkness Indeed in the early times of Christianity it 's enemy and ours thought to have over-born and crusht it by open ways of violence and therefore vigorously assaulted this new and naked Religion with all the force that Wit and Interest Power and Malice combined could draw together and with all that rage that Hellish zeal could inspire flew upon the naked Infant that had no captivating arts to recommend no visible aids to assist it But Innocence was too powerful for Arms and Truth and Vertue for assault and the Designer perceiving that this persecuted Christianity did but brighten and grow more conspicuous by the Flames he kindled against it That the injured Innocents prevail'd more on the World by their Patience than their enemies did on them by their Cruelties That this hated this maligned Religion stood like a Rock in the Sea while the spightful Waves and foaming Billows did but dash and break themselves against it I say perceiving how little success he had in his assaults he betakes him to his arts and his devices He pretends to that which he designs against and gets into Religion that he might overthrow it And this design he hath been ever since carrying on in the world viz. to destroy Religion by it self And if ever Christianity be exploded 't is like to be by a Spirit that highly pretends unto it So that the roaring of the Lyon is not so formidable as the wily subtilties of the Serpent And the Deceiver in the close Pharisee is more dangerous than Satan in the Publican and open Sinner Now the way to defeat frauds and wiles is to understand them and the Designer is disappointed assoon as his practices are discovered we therefore owe this care to the interest of our souls to endeavour to be acquainted with the arts of our enemy and we shall be secure from the danger of their influence when We are not ignorant of his Devices Now the chief Devices of the Grand Designer are levell'd against
any thing of it that is not rapt up into the ecstasie of admiring it Who would think now that such a Spirit as this that so highly pretends to exalt Grace should really disparage it and undermine it Who would think that the enemy of Gods Grace blew in this humour upon the world and kinled this mighty zeal that seems so gloriously to illustrate and recommend it And yet we may see reason to believe so when we shall consider that this Free Grace that is so magnificently talkt of is infinitely unworthy God and prejudicial to his Glory both in the notion of Free and in the notion of Grace For a thus admired thus celebrated freeness is but an humoursome doating on a party which self-admirers are pleas'd to call the Elect that is those of their own fashion and likeness They first fansie themselves the favourites and special darlings of Heaven not from any reason they have to think so from the goodness of their lives but the strength of their imaginations which furnish them with strong and proud presumptions and then they admire and well they may the freeness of that grace which chooseth them to be the darlings and peculiar people with as little reason as they can conceit themselves to be so And thus the freeness they commend in God is that we call childish and unreasonable fondness in our selves which is infinitely unbecoming him who is a lover of Righteousness and no respecter of persons who acts by the eternal Laws of Right and Good and not by the feminine measures of impotent humour and indulgence and the freeness of whose Grace consists not in loving or favouring us without reason but for reasons drawn from the benignity and perfection of his own nature which communicates without external motive or constraint without bounds or possibility of impediment And thus we see how a corrupt and abusive notion of the freedom of Gods grace hath been insinuated by this device to the prejudice of his Glory And as free grace has been misrepresented in the notion of Free so also hath it been corruptly taught in the notion of Grace which some have represented as a violence the divine power offers unto our wills at least superinducing a foreign quality upon us to which we contribute nothing which makes us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Heathen expresses it Good and happy by a certain fate So that good men are but a better sort of Engines By which notion of grace God is supposed to contradict the laws himself hath establisht in the Universe which have provided that every thing act consonantly to the rules of their own natures Besides which such an irresistible impulse as this defeats the doctrine of Rewards and Punishments For who is rewarded for actions that are prefectly anothers or who is punish'd for what he could not help And if grace be such a force as makes men good irresistibly and this Grace bestow'd only on one here and another there meerly as arbitrary Will shall dispose it the greatest part of men for ought I see will have fair apology for their sins at least for their neglects since they wanted that which was necessary to make them better and God alone could have given them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was the Apology of the Heathen and might be all mens else upon this supposal And to this I add that such a notion of Gods grace lays a foundation for sloth and remission of all endeavour For whoever believes that the grace of God where it comes is like a mighty current that bears down all before it irresistibly forceth our wills to a compliance and makes such sudden and miraculous changes upon our natures I say whoever believes this and thinks also that this grace is necessary to make him good and happy and that nothing he can do can obtain it or draw it near him what can we expect but that such a man should neglect all care and diligence in order to the making himself better in expectation of this necessary irresistible Grace without which his endeavours are at the best impertinent and who is so ridiculous to digg for the wind to fill his Sails or to endeavour to set to Sea without it We see then how the fulness and glory of the divine grace have been undermined by plausible and dangerous conceits that have crept into the world under the notion of free grace dishonourable to God and injurious to the interest of mens Souls And this is the second device I proposed to detect Thirdly then another design Satan manageth against Gods glory is to disparage and vilifie his Spirit which he doth by ascribing to it the foolish and sometimes wicked impulses the fond and extravagant conceits of the sons of imagination For as of old when he perceived he could not overcome the belief and acknowledgement of a Deity He multiplied Gods and Deified things of the meanest and vilest rank and nature even stocks and stones vices and diseases in like manner perceiving now that he cannot hinder the influence of the Spirit of God from being acknowledg'd in the world He crys up every folly and hot imagination for the work of the Spirit He entitles it to boyling passion under the name of zeal and to the diseases of mens fancies melancholy and phrensie under the name of the Spirits motions Thus when kindled melancholly hath inflamed the imagination with hot and scalding conceits and the fired Fancy gets into the Revelations opens the Seals pours out the Viols and fantastically interprets the Fates of Kingdoms when 't is mounted on the Wings of the Wind flys into the Clouds and flutters there in Mystical non-sense when it flows into the tongue in an extravagant ramble and abuseth the name and word of God mingling it with canting unintelligible babble I say when the diseased and the disturbed Fancy thus variously displays it self Satan makes men believe they are acted by the Spirit and that those wild agitations of sick imagination are divine motions And when this fire is descended from the fancy to the affections and these being extreamly moved by those vain and proud conceits cause tremblings and foamings convulsions and ecstasies in the body all which are but natural diseases if not worse and just such as were those odd ecstatical motions of the Devils Priests when they came foaming from his Altars These I say the same wicked Designer hath taught these wild Phantasticks blasphemously to ascribe to the blessed and adorable Spirit And when their fancies being full of turgid notions and their bodies in an ecstasie they dream of strange sights voices and wonderful discoveries which are nothing but the unquiet agitations of their disorder'd brains These also Satan perswades them to be divine Revelations and effects of the Spirit of God shewing it self miraculously in them Briefly then and in summ Every humour and Fantastick unaccountable motion hath by this device been represented as the work of
that Spirit to which they are most opposite Thus when warm and brisk Sanguine presents a chearful Scene and fills the imagination with pleasant dreams these are taken for divine illapses for the joys and incomes of the Holy Ghost When heated Melancholly hath kindled the busie and active fancy the Enthusiast then talks of Illuminations New Lights Revelations and many wonderful fine things which are ascribed to the same Spirit But when Flegm predominates and quencheth the Fantastick Fire rendering the mad man more dull lumpish and unactive then the Spirit is withdrawn and the man under spiritual darkness and desertion And when again choler is boiled up into rage and fury against every thing that is not of the Fantastick cut and measure this also is presumed to be an holy fervour kindled by that Spirit whose real fruits are Gentleness and Love Thus then doth the Devil devise to disgrace the Spirit of God and its influence by those numerous vile and vain pretensions which he thinks a likely means to extirpate the belief of the agency of the Spirit and to render it ridiculous But again 4. Satan deviseth against Gods own glory by designing against his worship Which he doth by endeavouring to destroy its reverence under pretence of Spirituality God requires to be glorified in body and in soul which are his and Satan sets the worship of one against the other that he may destroy both Thus when under the Law Religion required the Pomp and Solemnity of external Rites and Usages the subtle designer drives it on in that method so far that at last the Spirit of Religion was lost in the ceremony and the life and substance in the circumstance But when Christianity came into the world to abolish that ceremonial oeconomy in order to the establishing a more spiritual frame of Worship then doth Satan turn with the Tyde and puts on the semblance of a Zealot for Spirituality which he prosecutes so far till at last in the Gnosticks and other aiery Hereticks he had run Religion out into meer empty Fantastick Notionality In like manner where in these latter ages the world hath been disabused and hath detected the vanity of the formal outside Religion of Rome There doth the designer fall in with the Current sets up for a Reformer and mightily contends for the Spirituality of Worship He gets into the Pulpit and there with hot and sweating zeal he crys up the purity the purity of Religion and never leaves canting on the subject till he hath fired mens tongues against every matter of decency and order as formal and Antichristian And when he is shut out of those high places he creeps into corners and inflames the Spirits of the zealous and the ignorant against all harmless circumstances of Reverence and Decorum And so far hath he prevailed in this device as to drive those of warm affections and weak heads from all due external Reverence to God and things Sacred For these well-meaning people being frighted by the terrible noise of Popery Antichristianism Superstition things they have learnt to hate but not to understand boggle and fly off from every thing their furious Guides have marked with this abhorred Character And thus a rude and slovenly kind of Religion hath made its way into the world and such a sordid carlesness in matters of divine worship that should a stranger come into the assemblies that are acted by this Spirit He could not by their carriage imagine what they were a doing and that they were about holy Offices would perhaps be one of the last things he could conjecture Thus bold and sawcy talk hath crept into mens prayers under the pretence of holy familiarity with God nauseous impertinent bawling under the cover of praying by the Spirit and all kind of irreverences in external demeanour under the shelter of a pretended Spiritual worship And thus the design of Satan is successfully carried on in the world which is to subtilize Religion till he hath destroyed it To make it invisible that he may make it nothing And this is another way whereby be betrays those who are Ignorant of his Devices And thus I have dispatcht the first General viz. Satans Devices against Gods glory From which I descend to the second viz. Satans devices against the Peace of the Church which while it stands in its main and united body is like a mighty mountain unconcern'd in the tumults in the air while the blustering winds and tempests assault but cannot prejudice or disorder it And therefore the Designer endeavours to divide what he cannot deal with in its knit and combined strength He strives to crumble it into Sects and Atoms that this mountain may become an heap of Sands which he may blow up and down and scatter with his winds and so at last become a plain before him For which Design he hath two main instruments and Devices viz. 1. Pharisaical Pride under the cover of Religious strictness And 2. Intemperate Heat under the notion of Holy and Divine Zeal These are the chief Engines for the dividing purposes 1. Then he hatches and fosters a Spirit of Pride and Sectarian Insolence a sure and fatal Divider under the specious pretence of Religious strictness For where he perceives he cannot succeed in his designs of debauching the world and propagating open prophaneness and Impiety He shifts his shape puts on the cloathing of light and wraps himself in a Cloak spun of strict and severe pretensions and in this habit puts himself among the proud and conceited Professors These he and their own vanity gild and adorn with all the glorious names and priviledges of the Gospel and when they have incircled their heads with their own Fantastick Rays and are swoln in their imaginations with a tympany of ridiculous greatness They then proudly contemn all but their darling selves under the notion of the formal the moral and the wicked and scornfully pity the poor and carnal world that is all that are not arrived to their conceited pitch and elevation and now having thus dignified themselves and debased others they herd together draw the Church into their little corners and proudly withdraw from the Communion of others who have less conceit though more Christianity They bid us stand off lest we pollute them with our unhallowed approaches and having made us as the Heathen and Publican they cry Come out from among them The true Church Soundness of Judgement Purity of Doctrine and of worship if we will believe them is confined to their Gange just as it was to the corners of Africa of old when their friends the Gnosticks were there Thus they swell and swagger in their fantastick imaginations till some other Sect as well conceited as themselves endeavour to take their Plumes from them and to appropriate these glorious Prerogatives unto their own party and then they bustle and contend Here 's the Church crys one nay but 't is here crys another till a third gives the lye to them
both and then the scuffle grows warm of Pride against Hypocrisie and the self-conceit of one Sect against the Pride of another and all against sobriety and truth and thus is the Church divided the interest of Religion weakned and the world prepared for Atheism But 2. Another instrument and Device Satan useth to imbroil the Church is Fantastick heat under the name and notion of divine zeal Fire is a subtile and powerful Divider and no fire like that which is supposed to come from the Altar though it be but a passionate flame kindled in a fiery temper that is only tinctured with Religion For every thing that is hot and vehement about Religious matters wears the name and Livery of Zeal and Zeal when 't is directed by good Principles to the ends of sobriety and vertue is a noble and generous temper but when 't is actuated by ignorance and evil principles and hurried on by blind impulses to the ends of rage and animosity 't is a dangerous and killing evil And like a fire-brand in a Magazine of powder which destroys without distinction and blows up every thing that resists the fury of its motion This then being fair in its pretence and mischievous in its effects Satan useth in his designs of dividing He kindleth some little Religious warmths in eager and violent Constitutions and blows the Coals till natural passion be concerned and fired So that at last what was at first only a spark of Religion becomes a mighty flame of Rage Then breaks he out upon the Church with this holy Fire destroys that Charity which is the bond of peace and fills all with smoak and vapour darkness and confusion He Christens this Jehu-like fury a Zeal for God and declaims against every thing that is sober and temperate as luke-warmness and indifference He gets into the Populace who have many grains of Rage for one of Judgement and hurries the poor mistaken Bigot together with the proud Pharisaical Dissenter and the silly conceited Schismatick into the same unavoidable ruine to eternal ages From which c. SERMON XI THE ANTIQUITY OF OUR FAITH Stated and Cleared SERMON XI JUDE I. 3. Beloved when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common Salvation it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints OUr Saviour tells us in the Parable that where the Husbandman had sown the good Seed there the enemy scatter'd Tares where God by his Spirit and Messengers hath planted Sacred and Divine truths there Satan sets Errours Heresies and Doctrines not according to Godliness These were early in the Christian Church even in the original Purity and Simplicity of it There were then Deceivers Lying Spirits Seducers who separated themselves from the Communion of the Church crept into houses led captive silly men and silly women privily brought in damnable Heresies even to the denying the Lord that bought them turned many from the faith to follow fables dreams and sensless imaginations Such there were then and St. Paul tells us that there must be Heresies 1 Cor. 11. 19. The lusts and various corruptions of men in conjunction with the permissions of God make them unavoidable Some of the first we read of in the Christian Church were the Judaizing Christians who taught the necessity of retaining the Mosaical law the denyers of the Resurrection and the vile Gnosticks who under pretence of more knowledge and higher priviledges abused Christian Liberty to all licentiousness and vileness of living making shipwrack both of Faith and Conscience Against these St. Peter St. James St. John particularly write in their Epistles and this of our Apostle St. Jude is all directed against that Heresie In opposition to which writing of the Common Salvation he saith it was needful to write unto them the true Catholicks and exhort them that they should earnestly contend for the Faith which was once deliver'd to the Saints This was needful in his days and 't is certainly as necessary in ours in which all the old Heresies are revived with the addition of new on which account the subject is too seasonable and I chose it at this time as a Preface to the discourses I intend on all the main Principles of the Christian Religion as I have already treated in order on all the Principal heads of the Natural In the words read two main propositions are implyed 1. That there was a Faith anciently deliver'd to the Saints 2. That all Christians are bound to contend and earnestly for that Faith which was deliver'd to those Saints I begin with the First There was a Faith deliver'd to the Saints Now aimidst the great diversity and contrariety of opinions that at present are in the Christian Church each entitling it self to the Faith that was originally deliver'd to the Saints it may seem a matter of difficulty to determine which is the right the true Faith which difficulty doth not arise so much from the nature of the thing as it doth from mens corrupt interests and affections disputing about it And therefore abstracting from these I shall endeavour to set before you the chief Characters of the true Faith by which you may judge what that is and where it is to be found And 1. The Faith we treat of is an Ancient Primitive Faith Quod verum id prius Truth was from the beginning Divers of the Doctrines with which our Saviour hath enlightned every one that cometh into the world were before his personal appearance in it Before Abraham was I am saith He and Abraham saw his day the discovery of his great truths and ways He was the Author and Finisher of our Faith In him it begun and it was consummate in his personal teaching and instructions of his immediate Disciples and Apostles who by the Spirit deliver'd to us what they had received from him Natural Truths are more and more discover'd by time For many go to and fro and Science shall be encreased But those divine verities are most perfect in their fountain and original They contract impurities in their streams and remote derivations and the way to discover the corruptions is to stand upon the old ways and see how it was in the beginning By this Character of the Faith that of the Roman Church is condemn'd For all the Doctrines and usages of that Church that are denyed and opposed by ours are in comparison Novelties and Innovations and whatever Antiquity they pretend to they were not primitive Their Image-Worship Invocation of Saints Half-Communion and Prayer in an unknown tongue are directly palpably contrary to the Holy Scriptures Their pretended Infallibility and Universality their Indulgences Purgatory and Transubstantiation with divers others of their Doctrines and usages are by plain consequence condemn'd by those Sacred Writings which are the repository of the ancient Faith and Practice and both the one and the other were unknown to the first and
labours and their works do follow them THe more attentively we consider the Christian Religion in any of its parts we find greater grounds for the confirmation both of its Author and excellency so infinitely does it surpass all those writings of that nature which the great Sages of the World have with so much superciliousness on their part and admiration from their respective followers I may add too all things considered not without meriting due praise from us delivered to their Scholars And this will appear evident and undeniable if we but parallel them in any of the chief heads for instance in the principles upon which our Religion does proceed the precepts it contains and the rewards it appoints which division will comprize the summ of what we profess In all which the great Masters of Heathen wisdom do plainly discover either a great deal of Ignorance or malice in prevaricating that light they had reflected upon them from Jewish tradition so that it may be well doubted whether their Symbolick Divinity were not design'd rather to concel their own Ignorance in what they pretended to than to secure the rites and mysteries thereof from the vulgar's profanation For example 1. Take first the Principles those truths that are the Basis and foundation of our Religion such as are the Being and Nature of God the Creation of the World the Fall of man and his Redemption by a Messias the Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection 't is plain the whole Philosophick world had none or but a very imperfect knowledge of almost all of them However some of their lavish Charity have endeavour'd to squeeze as much from their writings Nay that they were not without some knowledge of our greatest Mysteries viz. of a Messias under their Daimono-Latria and even of the Trinity in Plato's Triad and the Resurrection of the body under the Indians Palin-genesis But no body that has any veneration either for the Scriptures or but for Truth in general but must see and acknowledge that all this is but tortur'd from them Nor may we deny this further that whatever Notions of this kind they had were but traditional in respect of their Origine and conjectural in reference to their ambiguity and uncertainty 2. The like is to be said of their Rules and Precepts of virtuous living For we may not detract thus much from them that they have recommended many excellent Institutes to their Sects You shall collect among them many very admirable sayings such as these To know our selves to abstain from vice to bear afflictions to do justly and speak truly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do as we would be done by and many more Indeed for that kind of Divinity which was deducible from the Rules of common prudence and observation and depended not chiefly or solely upon Divine Revelation they have done extraordinary well And if they had not furnish'd us with so many famous examples of Vertue too it would not reflect so much upon the Professors of Christianity which in the spirituality of its precepts has as far exceeded all that they have writ as some of their Lives have most of ours though that be not to be imputed to our Religion unless it were justly chargeable upon the vitiosity or defect of its Principles or Rules Thus miserably however do we compensate the Divine culture and as if Nature abhorring so great a disparity betwixt mankind would thus ballance the Heathen with the Christian World by opposing their Imperfect Knowledge but severer Vertue to our diviner Laws but greater licentiousness in Practice Many of them having by as great proportions exceeded us in their endeavours after goodness as we do them in the knowledge and other means of it 3. Last of all which brings it to our present subject Christianity propounds nothing but upon the fairest and surest encouragement imaginable For the happiness of our Religion is both transcendently superiour to their discoveries and accompts of it and then also we are sufficiently and unquestionably assur'd hereof i.e. 't is not recommended to us upon plausible perswasions and inconclusive arguments but in the genuine sence of St. Paul's expressions 1 Corinth 2. 4. in demonstration of the Spirit and Power So that we see there is a kind of peculiar excellency in the Holy Scriptures above all the Systems of the greatest Moralists the foundation of our Obedience being laid upon clearer and better principles the practice of our obedience being carried higher by the spirituality of its commands and the rewards of our obedience being incomparably greater than what we can conceive much less could they promise or bestow 'T is the last of these that is contain'd in the Text and for which I am to be further accomptable to ye in the prosecution of the words I have read And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Write Blessed c. Wherein we have these following particulars principally to be observed 1. The happiness of good men describ'd by its general nature they are blessed and by its integral parts they rest from their labours and their works do follow them 2. The Security and Evidence upon which this happiness is promis'd and asserted yea saith the Spirit 3. The time of its perfection and accomplishment partly in this life but not fully nor completely till death saying Blessed are the dead that dye in the Lord. 4. And lastly the Influence which the consideration of these premisses ought to have upon us both in Life and Death in reference to Obedience and Patience And I. To begin with the description of that happiness those rewards which are propounded to us for the encouragement of our Obedience and Patience Which are so great that I am utterly ignorant by what measures to describe them to ye The nature of that Celestial bliss as far transcending all our present felicities by which we should judge of it as it does the very capacity of our meriting it Sir Francis Bacon has observ'd We can have but a very imperfect accompt of those things which receed any whit near those extreams of Nothing and Infinity because either by their parvity or immensity they elude or confound our knowledge And especially the latter which choak the understanding and is like the beholding of the Sun whose light and lustre by which we discern other objects marrs and dimms our sight Such is the transcendent excellency of our future bliss at once the delight and amazement of our Intellectuals In the description whereof our highest expressions are so far from being hyperbolical that they amount but to a Litotes so that after our utmost endeavours we must content our selves with St. Pauls account of it in his First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unutterable for that I take to be the meaning and not as we render it unlawful of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and also unconceiveable So inevitably should we diminish
would suffer a contradiction and become imperfect And that not only for the future but the present by introducing such passions as must needs debase and allay the highest delights So that by being thus secur'd in the possession of our happiness we receive thereby an unspeakable addition to it II. Proceed we next to shew you the Security and Evidence upon which this happiness is promis'd and asserted and whether it bear any proportion to our duty and the Rewards of it for so we are allow'd to call them though not upon the account of merit yet by reason of their necessary connexion with dependance upon and that kind such a one as 't is of proportion they bear to each other There is a two-fold evidence God Almighty has given us for the strengthning of our hope and confirming of our faith in the belief and expectation of the other World The first moral grounded upon the testimony of the Spirit the other I call natural and is grounded in the things themselves 1. The first evidence of our future bliss is the testimony of the Spirit express in the Text Yea saith the Spirit But then we must have a care of what kind of Testimony of the Spirit we understand it for understand it as 't is vulgarly taken for some act or operation wrought in and upon us besides the Enthusiasm of it fain would I be satisfy'd what validity can there be in such a testimony as it self needs something else to confirm it for so this testimony of the Spirit is to be tryed by its concordance and agreement to the word of God nor do I know any other way to distinguish it from a motion or suggestion of the Devil 's besides And though to err thus in this single instance may not be very pernicious for I am not mighty solicitous how it was wrought so there be a firm perswasion in us of this truth yet in other cases I know how dangerous it is nor is it safe in this for it leaves a passage open and unguarded to down-right Atheism By the testimony of the Spirit therefore I understand the word of God or the Scriptures as made known and prov'd to us to be deriv'd from this Divine Spirit which we may call the outward testimony thereof for though St. John knew this by the other way as most certainly all others did who received any Revelation yet never was any other than the person himself assur'd that way Nor do I make degrees of more or less certainty in the way or manner of the Spirit 's revealing a thing for the Apostles were as well assur'd of the infallibility of their doctrine before they wrought any miracles as we are by them but we were not nor could be so But this notwithstanding in respect of us we must admit of such degrees for no body I hope will be so blasphemous to equal such private dictates they have in their own breast to the divine authority of the Holy Scriptures So then I make this to be the moral evidence of future happiness God hath said it in his word And this I call a moral certainty not in opposition to divine and infallible as they are sometimes contradistinguish'd but only to natural for we can desire no greater evidence we cannot have a higher confirmation of any truth than the veracity of Heaven to attest it I do not know any proposition that carries greater self-evidence than this That God ought to be believ'd in what he says and therefore though we may question the truth of the Revelation 't is impossible to do so of any thing we acknowledge to be so revealed So that the stress of this point lyes upon that great and necessary praecognition in our Religion namely the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures Upon which postulate if we proceed there is as great certainty of the truth of this proposition That good men shall enjoy eternal happiness after this life as if we should again hear that Daughter of voice and God himself should sensibly attest it 2. But there is another ground or evidence of our future happiness which I call natural because it depends upon that Intrinsick Relation and consent there is between goodness and it the difference between them being only in degree like the dawning of the Morning to the lustre of the Noon For what is it to be happy but to be united to God and what does unite us to God but Love and what is the love of God but Religion And if you remove but all inward imperfections and all outward impediments there remains no difference at all So that Virtue and Piety do not only dispose and prepare us for Heaven and Salvation but we thereby receive and experience the very beginnings and anticipations of it And though in respect of the mutability of our will and affections toward God and goodness in this world we cannot be infallibly assur'd of it as to our own particulars because every alteration in the one produceth a like answerable effect as to the other Yet in the general we may even from hence be very well assur'd hereof because there is nothing more requir'd to the compleating of our essential happiness than an advance and progression in the same vertuous tract And however it looks in a Divine if we will speak rationally to the thing we must allow the love and hatred of God to be the true natural causes of our salvation and damnation even of their very eternity it being naturally impossible to be other than happy while we love God and contrariwise if we hate him and this is the only instant cause of its continuation through all the durations of Eternity And to remove your astonishment see how in this lower world many stupendous and admirable works are daily produc'd which were mean and unnoted while they lay hid and contain'd in the seminal beginnings after the same wonderful manner by divers minute gradations does this divine Creature grow up from its first formation in our trembling and unstable desires to the stature and perfection of Everlasting Glory And yet there remains less doubt if we take in the Consideration of the Divine nature How else will you vindicate the Justice of God in all the odd and confused occurrences of this World Where 's your infinite goodness and bounty that suffers its servants always to be neglected what will become of an almighty and omniscient Justice if sinners are never call'd to an accompt Or one or t'other cannot be III. 'T is true indeed the compleating of this bliss which brings us to our next head is neither promis'd nor to be had in this life 'T is at Death these rewards become due and payable Dicique beatus Ante obitum nemo supremáque funera possit It has been the constant method of Divine providence to cause the most excellent things to follow and arise from the most uncouth and unlikely Thus in the Creation order springs from confusion and
Doctrines both Christ and his Apostles continually appealed Here is the firm reasonable Foundation of the Christian certainty The truths we believed are confirmed by Miracles than which there can be no greater evidence But now the Roman Church destroys this ground of certainty by a multitude of lying wonders which they impudently obtrude upon the belief of the people for proof and confirmation of their false and corrupt Religion the immediate consequence of which is a suspicion thereby brought upon the true Miracles and here is way made for Scepticism and uncertainty in the greatest and most Sacred Christian Doctrines And besides the Church of Rome having introduced among these many doubtful uncertain and many certainly false opinions and imposed them upon the faith of its votaries under the same obligations as it doth the most fundamental Articles what can be the consequence but that those who discover the errour or uncertainty of some of those pretended propositions of Faith should doubt all the rest And indeed since the main assurance is placed in the Infallibility of that Church for which there is so no reason and so much plain evidence to the contrary Since themselves cannot tell where that boasted Infallibility is whether in Pope or Council if we should allow them any such it follows that their Faith is precarious and hath no foundation at all In like manner the Sects among us resolve all their assurance either into a bare belief or the testimony of a private Spirit for their ground of crediting the Scriptures is but this Testimony and consequently whatever they receive from hence bottoms here The Papists believe the Scripture on the Testimony of the Church and these believe them on the Testimony of the Spirit that is in earnest the suggestions and resolutions of their own viz. they believe because they will believe and they find themselves inclin'd unto it And upon the same reason when the imagination and humour alters they may cease to believe or believe the contrary And there is not any thing in the world more various and uncertain than the suggestions and impulses of a private Spirit Besides the Sects also have vastly multiplied Articles of Faith and made all their private opinions sacred calling them Gospel truths precious truths saving truths and the like when they are but uncertainties at the best and usually false and sensless imaginations by which way also they expose the whole body of Christian Principles to suspicion and so weaken the Faith of some and destroy the Faith of others But the Church of England secures the certainty of our Faith by resolving it into the Scriptures the true seats of Infallibility and the belief of that into the Testimony of the Spirit in the true sense viz. that Testimony that God gave by his Spirit to Christ and his Apostles in those miraculous works he enabled them to perform They did not only bear witness of themselves that as our Saviour argues with the Jews Luk. 11. 48. would not have signified much The Father bore witness with them John 15. 8. and the works they performed by his power were the sure testimony Believe me for the works sake saith our Saviour Here is the ground of certainty And the Church of England entertains no Articles of Faith but those principles that have been so confirm'd that is none but what are evidently contain'd in the Holy Scriptures Whereas the Roman Church to mention no other have made the absurd Doctrine of Transubstantiation sacred though it is not only not contained in Scripture but contrary to the reason and even to the sound senses of mankind And if neither reason nor so much as our senses may be believ'd what assurance can we have of any thing A ground is here laid for everlasting Scepticism and uncertainty And the Sects have laid the same in their numerous silly tenents that are contrary to some of the most fundamental principles of Reason Nothing of which can with any shew be objected against this Church 6. The Faith delivered to the Saints was Catholick 'T was deliver'd to all the Saints entertain'd by all and was not only the opinion and belief of a prevailing Faction or of particular men in Corners The Commission given the Disciples was to go and teach all Nations and to preach the Gospel to every creature and accordingly it was widely diffused and all that profest the name of Christ were instructed in his Faith and Religion in all the articles and duties of it that were essential and necessary In these they joyn'd in holy love and communion till Sects came among them that introduced damnable Heresies contrary to the doctrine they had received These divided from the Unity of the pure Catholick Church and separated themselves from it gathering into select companies of their own under pretence of more Truth and Holiness After this manner the Church of Rome which had for some ages been eminent in the Catholick Church did at last corrupt and introduce divers unsound doctrines and usages unknown to the Ancient Catholicks and being great and powerful it assumed the name of the Catholick Church to it self and condemn'd all other Christians as Hereticks when it was it self but a grand Sect against whose depraved doctrines and ways there was a Church in all ages that did protest For the Greek Churches which are of as large extent as theirs never assented to them and divers other Christians in all times bore Testimony against those errours and depravations This Sect was large and numerous indeed but 't is not the number but the principles make the Catholick Principles conformable to those that were deliver'd to the Saints From these they have departed And the lesser Sects among us have done the same by the many vain additions that they have made to the Faith and their unjust Separation from that Church which retains the whole body of Catholick Doctrines and main Practices without the mixture of any thing Heretical or unlawful A Church that doth not damn all the world besides her own members as the Roman Church and divers of the Sects do but extends her Charity to all Christians though many of them are under great mistakes and so is truly Catholick both in her Principles and Affections I mean the Church of England as now established by Law which God preserve in its purity Amen FINIS A SERMON Preached at the FUNERAL OF M r. Jos Glanvil Late Rector of BATH and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty Who dyed at his Rectory of Bath the fourth of November 1680. and was Buried there the Ninth of the same Month. By Jos Pleydell Arch-Deacon of Chichester LONDON Printed for Henry Mortlock at the Sign of the Phoenix in St. Pauls Church-yard and the White Hart in Westminster-Hall 1681. REVEL XIV Ver. 13. And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their